A Checklist For Travellers

A Step-by-Step Guide to Complete Before You Jet Off Around the World

Photo Source: Flickr - gregw66

The other day my friend asked me,

“Vicky, how many pairs of shoes shall I take travelling with me?”

She’s just about to take off on her big adventure around the world. First stop is Australia, where she is working for a few months or so, before heading onto South-East Asia. She’s currently in the panic mode, the sort of confused excitement and nerves that you start to feel the week before you jet off.

So, I thought I’d put together a checklist out there for all of you nervous pre-travelling people out there, staring worriedly at your empty backpack perched next to your mountainous pile of clothes. Follow this through and you will be fully prepared for your adventure across the globe. It won’t be the Bible to your travels I’m afraid but it will set you off on a good start.

Visas

Photo Source: Flickr - One-Fat-Man

First things first, you need to make sure you have sorted out your visas. Check with the country's foreign embassy before you go if you need to get a visa before landing. I remember before I went to Thailand, we all thought we were prepared, we had packed our bags, we had brought everything we needed, we were set. Until I got a phone-call one week before our flight from my panicked friend,

“Vicky, we need visas!?”

Cue one panicked trip to Hull (the nearest Thai Embassy) in order to pick up this mystical visa. It involved several drives past the Humber Bridge as it turned out the Embassy was located in a random industrial estate and my friend and I had no idea where we were. I then spent most of my time there looking at pictures of a Thai-Bride Wedding from a friendly old gentleman preparing to fly back to Thailand to see his wife. When I told my other friend of my last-minute vacation to Hull she just looked at me and said,

“You know you don’t need to get a visa before you go to Thailand?”

Turns out my friends mum had a got a little bit apprehensive about her daughter going away. We didn’t actually need a visa. Getting a visa for holiday-ing travellers isn’t such an issue, with most countries in Asia you can get a visa once you land. However, for you guys who are working or volunteering abroad visas become that little bit more complicated and it’s a requirement for you to have one before you go. The charity I worked with in Vietnam did not know this and we spent the first 2 weeks in Cambodia applying for working visas for Vietnam, taking a big chunk out of our volunteering and teaching time. So, it’s well worth applying for working visas well in advance just in case (also, if you’re working with children you will need a CRB which can take even longer!).

Trip to Boots

Photo Source: Flickr - travel.executive

One of the most valuable things that you can do before you travel is take a trip to Boots. This is no joke, this is serious stuff. Remember the Friend’s episode where Monica tries to find her wedding dress with Rachel and Phoebe in a military operation style, whistle and all? This will be exactly the same; you will need a full-scale, organised, efficient and Monica-like plan to accumulate all the toiletries you’ll need. I always make the stop-off here to buy anything and everything that I will need in the coming months travelling. 

Suncream is a must-have. Some suncream in Asia contains a whitening agent and if you’re like me and your travels are the only moment when you can get a slight tan this is not great. You will also need to buy a fair amount of mosquito spray. It is definitely a wise investment (mind; don’t buy any spray with DEET content above 70% because it will double as nail varnish remover), until you're there you won't realise how annoying mosquito's actually are. You should also stock up on paracetamol and re-hydration sachets. Re-hydration sachets sound weird but they are miracle cures to hangovers. You can buy Boots own blackcurrant flavour and mix it with some Sprite when you’re feeling drained and you will feel re-vitalised. Remember to also stock up on essentials such as shampoo, conditioner, shower gel and make-up wipes. Nothing will seem as luxurious as Boots-own conditioner when you have been living in Asia for a few months, trust me. Also, a handy thing to take which you wouldn’t usually think of is…wait for it… toilet roll. I always stay at my grans in London before I go on my travels and for some reason, every time before I leave; she gives me some toilet roll. I never regret her slightly strange gift. Many public toilets abroad won’t have any tissue and on a 20-hour coach journey this loo roll will be a saviour.

Vaccinations

Photo Source: Flickr - epSos.de

Vaccinations are a must-have no-excuse essential to get before you leave the country. Depending on where you are going to it is sometimes a requirement to have certain vaccinations before entering the country (for example, you must have the Yellow Fever jab before you go to some countries in Africa). Make sure you book these in well-advance of your departure date with your local GP as some of the vaccinations may take a few months until they come into effect. Also, be aware that some of these may cost you and they can be quite expensive so make sure you factor these into your budget. I know some of you out there may be thinking to just “risk it”, YOLO and all. But trust me; you don’t want to end up in a hospital abroad. There’s nothing worse then being ill and not being at home. I remember visiting a friend of ours in Vietnam who was taken to hospital because of dehydration and stomach issues and the hospital was okay, but creepy as hell. Who wants to be ill surrounded by doctors and nurses who don’t even speak your own language? Plus, Rabies and Japanese encephalitis are nothing to laugh about.

Pack

Photo Source: Flickr - stevecoutts

This has got to be the most daunting stage of the checklist. Everyone hates packing at the best of times, never mind packing your whole life into one tiny backpack for 6 months or more. It seems like an almost impossible task, where are you even meant to start? First stop, whittle down your clothes pile to half, trust me, you will not wear that top you’ve worn once since you got it at Christmas. It may seem like a brilliant idea at the time to pack it, but you will never wear it and it will just take up space. I’ve compiled a list below with a rough guideline of what you need:

• Three pairs of shorts

• 6-8 pairs of tops – why not also throw in a dress for good luck?

• Jumper/Hoodie (bus rides get chilly when the air con is blasting)

• One pair of trousers

• As much underwear as you can fit in

• A sarong – again good for those long bus journeys and those leather seats

• Sleeping bag liner – for when the hostel beds don’t live up to your expectations

• Pyjamas

• Toiletries

It’s also useful to pack some clothes wash or washing powder. If you’re really going off the beaten track you will not have the luxury of a hostel’s laundry service so this will be your life saviour. I also heard a piece of advice today that apparently you should pack all of your heavy items at the top of your bag. This way the weight of it will fall onto your shoulders instead of the bottom of your back. You will also save so much space if you roll your clothes instead of folding. I changed my packing method halfway through one of my trips and it was amazing at how much extra room I had for tacky/awesome souvenirs and presents.

Know your first destination

Photo Source: Flickr - Gilles FRANCOIS

This may sound a little stupid due to the fact that you will have booked your flights to your first destination but it’s always good to have some sort of knowledge of where you are going to stay on your first night. It doesn’t have to be a set plan or a step-by-step guide but you should know what area of the city you want to stay in. It’s usually very easy to google the ‘toruisty’ place abroad. For example, the area that everyone stays in Bangkok is Koh San Road. If you’re very prepared you could always book your first night at a hostel. It will save you the stress of finding a place after your 16 hour plane journey. If it’s a rubbish hostel then it's no effort to find another one the next day. It will also prevent you from being fooled into accepting a ridiculously over-priced low-quality hostel room because of the calls of “Lady! Lady! It’s very good, very cheap”.

The Last Meal

Photo Source: Flickr - EEPaul

The evening before your flight I think it’s always a good idea to have your fave meal. No matter where you are travelling to you will be deprived of beautiful bland English cuisine for months on end. If in Asia, it will be replaced with rice, lots of rice. Soya sauce will be your staple instead of ketchup and you will find you will have cravings for that bright red hot chilli sauce that you see on every plastic table out there. You will miss chips, you will miss toast, you will miss milk, you will miss cereal (Asia doesn’t really understand the concept of breakfast). I remember after living in Vietnam for at least a month my friend and I were sick of eggs for breakfast (we always went to this side-street restaurant before volunteering and had two eggs, in tomato sauce, with lots of coriander and a baguette). One day, as we were cycling to our volunteering placements, we came across a stall selling Dairylea sandwiches. It was like a Gift from God. Every morning afterwards we cycled to this store, brought some cheese sandwiches from a kindly old Vietnamese woman who would always smile and wave, and have a slice of slightly Westernised food for once. So, before you jet off prepare your Last Meal. My sister demanded a full 3-cousrer from my Dad before she left for Borneo for 10 weeks. Start creating your banquet now and make it a good one.

After reading this slightly random guide I hope you now feel well-prepared to jet off on your travels! Don’t freak out if you forget anything, you will not be stranded in the middle of nowhere, other countries still have supermarkets and chemists so if the worst does come to the worst you can always buy your forgotten items once you’re there. Don’t stress out about the little details, this isn’t what travelling is about, the little details no longer matter, it’s the journey that does.

(oh, and the answer to the shoes question? I told her two pairs would be just fine)