Before you head into a new country, check whether or not you need an entry visa. You can do this by asking other backpackers who have been there - but remember that it's dependent on nationality so ask backpackers from your home country. Other methods are to ask at the relevant embassy, at a travel agency or on the internet.
If you need a visa, it can take up to a week to be granted. If you go in person to the foreign embassy to obtain one, make sure you smile at all times, queue with honour and be grateful when the person behind the counter charges you lots of money and takes away your passport. At this point count your blessings that you have a photocopy of your passport in your bag - and a copy scanned and left in your e-mail inbox... just in case the original never returns!
If you go in person to a foreign embassy - something known as "going on a visa run" make sure you have patience, all the necessary documentation and an early night - the visa departments are normally only open in the mornings. Also, check you are wearing suitable clothing... I once headed into the Chinese Embassy in Vietnam wearing a T-shirt stating "Tibet will be Free" - luckily a friend stopped me just in time... and even lent me her particularly tight and feminine jumper to cover up the political statement!
The price of entry visas varies but expect to pay around $60 or more and you won't go far wrong. Make sure when you plan your trip that you budget for these hidden extras.
equipment
The equipment you decide to take is down to personal choice. A few things you may be wise to pack are:
first aid kit with sterile needles, malaria tablets, paracetamol etc
cuddly toy (for various photo opportunities)
addresses & phone numbers
water bottle / water bladder
passport photos for visas
small roll of duck tape
sunhat & sunglasses
biodegradable soap
waterproof jacket
camera / journal
needle & thread
driving license
hidden cash
sunglasses
sink plug
earplugs
padlock
map
pen
Make sure you've got a decent rucksack. Mine was a bit over the top but at least I knew it wouldn't fall apart. It tore a few times as it rattled around in the back of jeeps and buses but a few strips of duck tape sorted that out. When you decide which one to buy, see how easily you can lock it. Sure, anyone can put a knife through the side to steal your unwashed socks but that's unlikely in a hostel... you'll want to keep everything locked up in a dorm as you never know who's coming and going.
The rucksacks with wheels are a waste of time as you can bet they'll have broken and fallen off within a few days. Also, they only work on the smooth tarmac of a few Western countries - forget them in Asia, Africa and South America.
When you pack, remember you have to lay everything out that you want to take, halve it and halve it again... then you've just about got all you need. Now you know that, I bet you lay 4 times as much stuff out as you want to take! Pack the heavier stuff at the bottom and ask someone in a travel shop how you should set up your straps as this is key to your back's survival.
I've heard many stories about the uselessness of money belts. One girl had hers cut as she slept on a night bus. The perpetrator slit along the bottom of the belt, took out over $200 worth of cash, left the passport and jumped off the bus never to be seen again. If you choose to use a money belt, make sure you have more cash hidden elsewhere.
Think twice before handing over your valuables to a hotelier for safe-keeping. Sometimes it may be safer to keep them on your person.
transport options
planes
Rest assured, if you want to head right round the world, you'll have to take a flight somewhere. You may think you'll board ships and ensure not one flight is taken but I guarantee your will will be broken by one of a number of reasons. You may want to keep up with friends you've met, you may want to visit a country that won't open its land or sea borders to foreigners, you may be running out of time or money, you may even want to do a skydive. One way or another, you WILL take a flight. That's not such a bad thing as flying is the safest method of travel.
trains
Trains are great. They are comfortable, warm, allow you to move about and often offer beds. I spent 7 days and nights on a train through Russia and wouldn't have traveled any other way. The views were stunning, the beds comfortable (after a few vodkas), the provadnitsas a bit dodgy but pleasant most of the time, the restaurant car intimidating but fun. Chinese trains are good value - I sat on one for 36 hours with only a China guide book for company and still had the time of my life. Beware though, in China, litter is not seen as an issue so plastic pot noodle bowls will lie all over the floor and be thrown from every open window all through your journey. If you want to travel on a train in style yet on a budget, head for India - what more can I say.
Long distance railway carriages usually offer boiling water so make sure you've got some tea, coffee or sachets of something to keep you going.
buses
I've had great journeys and utterly appalling journeys! At the start of my trip, I took a bus from London to Krakow in Poland - it cost me £50 (one way) and took over 24 hours. I once decided to sit at the front of a bus in India to gain a bit of leg room... I managed to put my feet up on a bench in front for a few hours which was as close to luxury as you could imagine on an Indian bus. I later realized that the bench contained the buses batteries which were leaking heavily, all over my trousers it transpired, which had been dissolved by the acid!
I was almost in tears on one bus due to the rough roads and my position at the back. The seats were wooden and the inflatable cushion I'd bought in India had burst after about the fifth compression. Never sit at the back, that's my advice.
On one bus in Bali I took a front seat next to the driver but found no leg room so had my chin resting on my knees for a few hours. The windscreen was only a foot away and the Balinese seem to enjoy playing chicken down the middle of the bumpy roads throughout their journeys. The convention is that the smaller vehicle should move out the way so I was praying not to come across a larger bus. I could see myself hurtling through the front windscreen at any moment. Never sit at the front, that's my other advice!
I was told by a local in India that the best place to sit is 2 rows behind the driver. You are close enough to the exit, nearer the front for a less bumpy ride, there is enough cushioning in front of you, and the driver is likely to steer himself away from a crash - so you're on the safer side of the bus.
On any buses your luggage will probably be taken away and you just have to hope it's still around when you arrive at your destination. Basically, if it goes on top put it there yourself or try to follow it up and ensure it's tied down. If it's put underneath, put it there yourself and try to keep watching it until the doors are closed. Make sure your passport, photographic films and your money are all on your possession because I knowmany people who have lost their luggage in transit.
tuk-tuks
What can I say. These souped-up golfing buggies with lawnmower engines attached are noisy and dangerous - yet great fun! Make sure you and a friend take one each after a few beers one night, then ask your drivers to get you back to your guesthouse before the other. Tuk-tuk racing gives you a thrill as close as you can get to Formula One!
Tuk-tuks, rickshaws, cyclos, motos - all the smaller forms of transport are cheap and fun, but the drivers will be sure to try to scam you so you've got to keep one step ahead. Realize that they get commission, often in the form of fuel vouchers, if they take you to a place that will attempt to sell you tat. You can play the game for cheap travel if you like.
taxis
These are comfortable and safe but expensive. Never take one from an airport unless you're happy to pay well over the odds. If there are buses into town take one as they're cheaper and more fun - especially when you haven't a clue where you're going!
walking
This is my favourite method of travel - although not suitable when trying to cross Siberia or the Sahara! You get to meet so many local people by walking around their neighbourhoods and gain a better understanding of real life. You will get pestered in certain countries by people trying to get you to use their transport rather than walk, but if you can hold off from the temptation you will be well rewarded. Always look confident though, even if you've strayed down a dodgy alley as a lost tourist is easily spotted and easy prey!
scams
By the time you read this all the scams will have been updated and more ingenious than ever. Basically, if you are offered something for nothing or something at an unbelievably good price, it's a scam. The more you are likely to gain, the more you WILL lose. If your passport is ever mentioned in a scam attempt it could be a serious one that could leave you penniless and without a passport to get home.
Usually, scammers are not dangerous people and it can be fun letting them take you for a beer and some food whilst they tell you about all the money you could make carrying gems or using their casino. At a convenient time you make your excuses and leave.
I was caught by a scam in China where myself and a friend ended up buying a Chinese guy a slap up meal. The price was high but the experience was amazing so we didn't mind too much. We would never have had such a good meal had we tried to do it ourselves so we were grateful of losing a few Doofers. In some scams, the experience is worth the losses involved. It does hurt when you realize you let your guard down though!
Never take a taxi from Delhi airport unless you are very confident about making it to your hotel. It is almost certain that if you are alone in a taxi in Delhi you will be told your hotel is overbooked or the taxi driver will not know where to go. Perhaps even, your area of town will be on fire or a riot will be under way. Police may get involved to substantiate the story but believe none of it. This is the most famous scam I know and still works as the teams become cleverer and cleverer.
In Delhi, if not all over India, the scams are ingenious, which is unfortunate because it will leave you trusting nobody and becoming rude to locals who may be just trying to be friendly. Myself and a couple of friends thought we were being duped when we were told the annual festival we were about to go to had been cancelled because a local politician had just died. We decided to cancel our guided tour which was to include a drive to the festival in disgust at such an obvious attempt to curtail the trip we had negotiated, and instead took a local bus out to the remote town for the sunset festival... which had been cancelled because a local politician had died. The sunset was amazing though!
money
Yes, you'll need some. You'll need quite a lot really! You'll realize that it goes a lot quicker than you think it will. Play our game and you'll get a better insight as to where it goes. Take some traveler's cheques for security, some dollars and a little bit of some of the currencies you will be using. It's really useful to turn up at a border with a few Doofers to bribe a border guard with!
Hide your money all over your person and rucksack. Remember the obvious places are the ones the thieves will know about - e.g. the money belt, the wallet, under the hat, in the shoe. Think laterally and there are plenty of weird places that a few notes can be discretely hidden.
I found a debit card really useful. There are ATMs everywhere (well almost - last time I was there, Tibet lacked ATMs) and if you choose your bank carefully you won't be charged extra for withdrawals abroad. ATM's allow you to keep your wallet light.
injuries & inoculations
Make sure you've taken every conceivable inoculation that you might need... you'll need them. I decided I wouldn't be needing the jab for Japanese Encephalitis since I wouldn't be trekking whilst in Russia. A few months later I was rambling through the forests of Siberia realizing that I was at risk of picking up a nasty disease.
I met a girl who had been bitten by a dog in Thailand and was being treated for rabies. The jab only prolongs the time you have to get to a hospital from 24 hours to 48 hours. - and she took 28 hours to get to one. Luckily she's had the jab so she was in time. Had she not been, she was as good as dead. Nevertheless she had 4 weeks worth of serums to inject herself with as she continued her journey into China. She soon found it hard to find ice in China to keep her serums cold... but needs must. Rabies kills.
Malaria is also a killer, and many backpackers stop taking their malarial prophylactics due to their varying side effects. Having met people who have malaria, this is NOT a good idea.
