So you decided it's time to go traveling. Perhaps summer vacation will
soon be here, or perhaps you are tired of working "for the man." You've
saved up some money, or maybe you just have a credit card. You've got a
fancy SLR camera or maybe you've got an acoustic guitar. But if you are
like me, you want to go somewhere you've never been, meet fellow travelers
but also meet the locals, and just generally do whatever the hell you want,
when you want. I like to sleep in; unless there is a beautiful sunrise
to see; read a book, unless there is an interesting cultural event; or
eat great cheap food, unless you've gotten diarrhea. For me travel is also
about doing things cheaply; I want to spend as much time as possible on
the road, and money is often the limiting factor. So I've tried to indicate
some ways to save money below. One critical way is to buy things when and
where you need them; it's often cheaper than buying them at home. For example,
I got my vaccinations in Bangkok for $30; it would have cost 2-3 times
that in the US.
Drugs: IMO, it's not worth the risk of getting caught with contraband in a foreign country. You might conceivably be quite good at avoiding the heat in your home country, but each country has its own laws, procedures, etc. There are so many fun things to do in these places, that reality is enough. But if you are going to bring it with you, IMO, pills are a lot safer than marijuana because marijuana looks distinctive and smells strong, two things that can get you busted in customs. When I flew back to Los Angeles from Tokyo, the US customs agent pulled me out of line (it must have been my funny-looking pants) and searched all four of my bags. It took about 30 minutes and he went through everything, including every film canister, my tube of toothpaste, and my dirty underwear. If you are still not convinced, take it with you, but don't try to bring it back into the US. If you are visiting the US, don't worry, it's easy enough to find drugs here.
Toiletries: bring all your favorites, but don't bring extras unless they are really uncommon. It may sound crazy, but shampoo and toothpaste are sold everywhere. Condoms are sold in lots of places where sex is only legal between husband and wife. Contact lens wearers may need to bring extra supplies unless you will be in major cities. Bring a spare pair of glasses and your prescription.
Travel Gadgets: In general, I look down on these sorts of things, but a few are useful, though I always try to spend as little as possible on this stuff, because it isn't used very much and is more likely to get lost than break. Travel alarm clocks are nice when you have an early morning plane or train to catch or want to watch a sunrise. A money pouch that can hold a passport that fits under a shirt or as a thin fanny pack is quite useful and adds some security. My passport and travelers cheques never left this pouch and I only took it off when I was sleeping or showering. I had a small flashlight that came in useful a couple of times, and a Swiss Army style knife was occasionally helpful. I bought 6 feet of chain and a small lock for securing my bag when sleeping on trains. As I mentioned, I just had a simple duffel bag for Asia, and it was inconvenient to carry around, but it was waterproof and generally worked well. For my last trip, I bought a fancy traveler's backpack with padded straps, internal frame, and rugged construction. It certainly is more comfortable, but hardly a requirement for budget travel. No matter what kind of bag you carry, you'll want a day-pack for sightseeing and short hikes.
Clothes: It's very easy to bring a lot more clothes than you will need. Here's my packing list, assuming I'm going to a warm place: one decent shirt and pants (khakis work well). Five T-shirts, three pairs of shorts, two pairs of socks, sandals, one pair of running shoes (for all athletic/hiking occasions), bathing suit, towel or sarong (sarongs make great towels/bedsheets/clothing). Don't waste your money on fancy travel clothes, cotton works great, is cheap, and can be discarded if ruined. I met one guy who had bought these polyester clothes designed for travelers. They had lots of pockets, the pant legs and sleeves zipped off, and were supposedly easy to clean and quick drying. They were also $120 and made him look like a dork.
For Prague and Eastern Europe, it was December, so I packed for warmth. Two turtleneck shirts, three T-shirts to go underneath, two pairs of jeans, one thick wool sweater, a water-proof jacket, wool hat, ski gloves and some sturdy hiking boots. Since I was wearing most of my warm clothes most of the time, my backpack was mostly empty.
Camera: I'm a shutterbug, so I always take an SLR with an extra lens or two, and have also started lugging around a tripod for night shots and when I want to be in the picture. My favorite lenses are a 28-105mm zoom, and a 20mm. This covers practically every situation, though a close-focus lens attachment is also nice (for flowers and bugs). With print film, color can be corrected in the lab, so the only filter you really need is a polarizing filter to cut down on glare or to make the sky bluer. If you are in the US, buy lots of film from one of the New York mail-order photo shops; these are the best prices available. Also carry several different film speeds. I mostly shoot ASA 100 during the day, with some 400 speed and a roll or two of 1600 speed for night and indoor shots.
Travel Guide: Pretty critical, really, to a successful trip. You've got to find one that suits your budget and style, and some are just better than others. Regardless of where you are going, I think it's worth the investment to buy the APA Guide for that place. It is chock full of great photos and useful cultural and historical information. After you read the APA Guide, leave it at home because you probably won't need it anymore. But you will need a more complete travel guide. I liked Lonely Planet's South-East Asia on a Shoestring. It's the guide that got them their start, and it's definitely good, but in Indonesia, Moon Publications Indonesia Guide is a better book. It is totally worth the time to spend an afternoon in the bookstore reading some of the guidebookes until you find one that is well regarded and fits your style. Read the bio on the author, read a couple of pages in the intro plus a couple of pages of a city you're (hopefully) somewhat familiar with. If you like what you see, buy the book.
Book: If you are traveling alone, you will want a book to read, but one should be enough as there are used bookstores in a lot of places and it's easy to find good things to read. Fast or fussy readers might want two.
Whew! That sounds like a lot to carry. I think I'll take my own advice and leave half of that stuff at home...
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