Packing tips for backpackers- top five things to remember

Now I may be wrong (and correct me if I am) but I think it may have been a little while since I last posted. The truth is I've been a bit domesticated. One of those young layabouts who keeps a steady job, a consistent social life and knows the current plot arcs on all the popular tv shows. Shameful, I know.

But I'm back! And travelling again! Life will have meaning once more! With my UK visa expiring shortly, I'll be doing the long trip back to Australia soon but before I go, I just have to take some time to run off 'round Europe. Who knows when the chance will come again?

So that's September's plan, a jaunt around the continent, skipping across boarders and navigating the train system like a freaking boss. My interrail ticket has arrived, I've stocked up on toiletries and there are about twelve different "useful lists" floating around my living room. Over the next month I should have lots of updates, hopefully some helpful and mildly witty ones. But since I'm currently killing time in St Pancras awaiting my train to gay Paris, I thought I'd try and offer some packing advise. 

The general rule of thumb for packing (that every experienced backpacker everywhere will repeat to you) is to lay out everything you want to take, then halve it. This always holds true but there are always some items you'd never want to do without. 

St Pancras International

And so, triumphantly, I present to you my top five list of things I'd never want to do without on a trip! Enjoy!

1. Moisturizer and deodorant- you'd think these would be things you could pick up anywhere if you left them behind but a lot of deodorants and skincare products you'll purchase overseas include irritants you won't be used to and  offer "whitening" properties. i.e Bleach. So unless a patchy white face and underarms is the look you're going for, best to take your favorite brands from home.

2. An extra padlock- if you don't bring one Murphy's Law says you'll almost certainly will lose yours or acquire a second bag or encounter a locker that your first one doesn't fit on. Particularly useful if you're taking long bus or train trips in slightly dodgy company where you may nod off at some point. You can lock your daypack to the seat or you belt buckle or whatever else. Not going to stop a determined thief but it will stop an opportunist.

3. Posh clothes - unless you're on an actual trek or climbing Everest or some such malarkey, you're almost certainly going to want to go out to bars or a nice dinner or show or even just wander through a city centre. And you're not going to want to do that in your skeezy sneakers and a souvenir beer vest. I'm not saying take your old prom dress or a suit but a nice shirt or cute dress and clean shoes will be invaluable.

Bonus general clothes rule: if you'd be embarrassed to walk down the high street in it back home, you're not going to feel comfortable in it overseas.

4. Umbrella or rain jacket- as a general guide, if you'll be spending most of your time in cities go with the umbrella. If you're more likely to be roughing it, go with the rain jacket. Or both! Easily purchased overseas but the first time you realize you need one (i.e it's chucking it down) they'll either be exorbitantly overpriced or nowhere to be found.

5. A smartphone- hands down the number one thing you don't want to do without. Yes they're expensive, yes it would totally suck to lose it but get some insurance and bring it anyway. It's an all in one phone, train timetable, trashy novel, guidebook, room/ticket booker and translator! If you're spending more than a week in any country where you don't speak the language I highly recommend getting the relevant "lingopal" app, which is a translator tool. The "light" versions don't cost a penny and the full versions are less than a quid. These bad boys have saved my life on multiple occasions. My new favourite app in the world is Tripit, which lets me directly import itineraries, booking numbers, confirmation emails, etc into one easy to manage location. Not only that, it also creates maps to the various locations I have to go and can give me weather updates. Absolutely fab. 

(Note: if you do follow my advise and end up relying on your phone to manage all this, don't forget the charger. You'll look mighty stupid)

Other things to check out: 

• If you're looking for specific advise on packing lists for a "hardcore" backpacker trip, Travel Independent is always a good place to start and this page in particular will help.
• If you're "flashpacking" and are looking for suggestions that are more fashion minded I thought this article was great. 
• If you're starting a student exchange, this site would be a good place to start. 

(Dear people from the future - if any of these links stop functioning, let me know and I'll replace/delete them)

Days like these

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Stepping outside today, it was hard to believe that summer could be almost over. After weeks of rain, horrible flooding, hailstorms and enough cloudy, overcast days to make me want to cry, today has just been a blessing. A day like today rates up there with fresh pasta and Jane Austen and boys in waistcoats and dress shoes. Having only just come back from Thailand (thereby relegating myself to the very low end of the poverty bracket) I should of course be entirely too used to sunny days, but having a couple here at home is just so special. Even the hardened traveller should be able to appreciate a good thing, and I've never been one to not make the most of days like these. 
Long rambling walks with the boy, coffees at Pink Lane, fresh flowers in the house and dramatic, fervid arguments with myself about whether I really need to go back to a full time job. But with Leeds festival and Northampton coming up, I can only pray that this weather holds for just a few more weeks. Pretty please? I'll be really, really good. 

Insta-Newcastle II

So... Thailand

So Thailand, I hear you've decided to rain on my holiday. To trap everyone indoors with only the hum of the air conditioner and crackly CNN for company. In fact, you know what else I've heard, Thailand? I've heard you don't want us here. It's the only logical explanation for all this. I bet that's why you've made boat trips and beach visits pointless and swimming dangerous. I think you're bored of us already, Thailand, and you just want us to go home and cry. 

Is that right, Thailand, huh? Is that what you really think? 

Well guess what Thailand! Screw you! Screw you and your mama because we're going to have fun anyway! We're going to get soaked and ride in tuk tuks and argue with shop owners about whether or not we should be allowed to stand under their awnings! We're going to watch the State of Origin with a cold cider and a crowd of screaming Aussies (go the Blues, by the way). We'll take long, scenic day trips and make use of every patch of sun we get. We'll take overnight trains and avoid any mention of ping pong at all costs. We'll clamber through trees and do battle with food poisoning and maybe even win. Because that's what we came here to do. 

And even on the days when it's clear that the rain has won and the day seems wasted, we'll still enjoy ourselves. We'll drink overpriced coffees and convince friendly drivers to take us across town for a fraction of the cost because it's the nice thing to do and we'll be trapped otherwise. Maybe we'll see shows or go walk in the wet sand. We'll write long emails to family, create inventive facebook posts and seriously consider getting tailored suits. You never know. Because as moronic (but cheap) as it may be to go to Thailand in the rainy season, we're still having the time of our lives. Because that's what we came here to do. We're awesome like that.

Barcelona for beginners - Five travel tips for novices

It's fine and dandy to blog about abstract concepts and vague themes but us travel bloggers are occasionally obligated to return to the actual basis of our expertise and blog about an actual place that we've actually been to. After all, we can't expect you readers to live vicariously through us if we're not actually going anywhere. And so, to Barcelona I went.

Were I a braver soul, my flight may have involved me annoying fellow passengers with football chants (Barcelona FC style) and attempting to converse with EasyJet's very British staff in Spanish, such was my excitement. However, shy and retiring wallflower that I am, I contented myself with an imported Frankie mag and the conversation of my travel buddy. After all, wannabe Geordie I am but wannabe Geordie Shore I will never be. 

A Spanish holiday tends to end up being either a glorified art gallery tour or a foodie/wino's dream of sangria and paella. I attempted to mix both together and it all ended up a bit higgledy piggledy. Trust me, if you're not absolututely obsessed with Gaudi; craning your neck to stare at his buildings does get old eventually. 

And so, for the average joe travellers of the world: Here's my guide to enjoying Barcelona.

1. Try and stay relatively close to the city centre as the metro and buses are going to cost you two euro each time you step on and a long walk can be a miserably hot affair. We stayed at Ona Barcelona which, whilst being a liiiitle noisy and a bit boring, was in a brilliant location, had very friendly staff and was absolutely, spotlessly clean. I definitely recommend staying on the fifth floor if you can where it's hotter, but much quieter. The showers on our floor (and really the bathrooms in general) were the best I've ever come across in a hostel. Ever.

Ever the Work-In-Progress: Gaudi's Sagrada Familia

2. Pick and choose your Gaudi carefully. The buildings are lovely, the church is lovely, the park is lovely, but after a while it will all start to seem a bit sameish and frankly garish. With costs of entry being around 15-20 euros, I'd hate to see you all bored by him. I recommend the park, which is free and makes for a nice bit of exercise if you've been ordering one too many tapas dishes for your table. The others can all be happily viewed from the outside without feeling you've missed out on something significant. Of course, when doing anything outdoors in Barcelona: be prepared to feel like you're in the middle of a friggin dust storm.

3. Practice your Spanish, but be prepared for some scathing looks. Still brimming with pride from last year's very successful South American trip, I felt my basic spanish should at least be up to par for ordering food. Yeah, turns out not. It wasn't pretty. I still maintain it's far better to try and fail, but unlike many other countries where attempting the language gets you smiles of appreciation, here it seemed more to annoy. So feel free just to point to things on the menu and save yourself the embarrassment, but try not to resort to too much English. At least remember to say por favor and gracias. It's quite literally the least you can do.

4. Explore the Gothic Quarter. Hands down, this was my favourite part of the whole trip. All those tiny alleyways, all those beautiful boutiques, all those quirky folks and eyebrow raising artworks. Absolutely darling. Fab. Spend an afternoon there if you can and seek out La Clandestina when you're ready for a tea/coffee/fresh juice break. Best cafe in the whole city. I won't tell you exactly where it is because I truly can't remember. Right at the green door, left at the ruin and past the tattoo parlour I think? Or was it left at the museum? Whatever, I'm sure you'll find it... eventually. 

5. Ask first, order later. The Santa Caterina Market is definitely worth your time, if only to check out the ruins beneath before heading on to the Chocolate Museum (Best museum idea ever, by the way. I mean, you get to eat the entry ticket!) but watch out for those wily fruit sellers. Make sure you ask how much something is first even if it's labelled. Otherwise you'll have it wrapped and bagged with your money already changing hands before you'll find out it's suddenly ten euros for a tiny punnet of raspberries. Good luck getting your change back at that point. 

Insta-Newcastle

Birthdays Abroad

It's been a week of milestones over here in ye olde England. A twenty-second birthday, a seventh month in the UK and eighteen months of being a Him and Her, rather than a singular unit. Gosh, it's just excitement after merry excitement in my life. Oh, and the weather finally broke. 

With the sun shining, the birds singing and the heating finally getting switched off; it's dang hard to find anything to complain about. Mornings are spent wandering the streets finding vampire rabbits (aaahh!) afternoons are spent in sunny beer gardens, evenings spent baking cupcakes and nights spent... booking flights and accommodation in Thailand. That's the problem with us young folks - we're absolutely impossible to please. When they dubbed us the Global Generation they truly weren't kidding. So what shall I do til I'm twenty-three? Enjoy each patch of sun whilst it lasts, then move on to the next one. 

And they all went marching

Home sick today with little to do and no energy to do it. So how else is a girl to entertain herself but to write? Even in sickness, life is pleasantly calm at the moment. The sun is finally out (and I'm told it will reach twelve degrees at the end of the week! Twelve!) and our neighbour's cat has been sunning herself on our garden wall for the better part of two hours. My envy of her is extreme. Aside from my aching bones and heavy head, my only other irritant today is the ants who've decided to call our kitchen home. Fellow bloggers have been commenting for weeks about these wee beasties who've suddenly appeared in houses from Glasgow to Bournemouth and, sadly, Anthony and his friends decided to finally bless us with their presence about a week ago. 

Our attempts at being cruel to be kind have so far not deterred them and it seems any spare scrap of food, neglected sweet or open packet is forfeit in this war. And so, with groaning belly, dizzy vision and tired legs; my mission today is simple. Get the house ship shape and completely spotless. That orta starve the little ratbags out of here. 

Playing House

In a move that is likely to completely alienate me from my target audience; I seem to be settling down. 
Rather than fantasising about great adventures to come, my thoughts are occupied by what we'll have for dinner or how many people we'll invite to the house party. I've become one of them. The happily hibernated folks. But with a job as fun as mine, a flat as great as mine and a boyfriend as darling as mine... can I really be blamed for this?

With trips already in the planning stages for July and October I'm pretty darn certain I'm not a totally lost cause. After all, the travel bug always bites when you least expect it. For now though I'll spend my weekends with cups of tea and freshly baked cakes, happily playing house.

Easter

The thing about compulsory holidays is that they're usually more depressing than they are relaxing. Don't get me wrong, there's a lot that's right about Easter, Christmas, Melbourne Cup Day and all the rest but there's always a slightly forced edge to any celebrations. Easter especially managed to achieve this for me this year. There's the obvious problem with it that it makes me miss my younger siblings and cousins and of course the combination of tonnes of chocolate and a sudden awareness of how much winter paunch I've gained... never a great mix. 
One thing that was great about Easter over here though was the Easter Sunday Dinner. Full sized roasts, vegetables, sauces, pies and desserts. That right there is a tradition I can get behind. Might be something to bring back to the Aussies one day.