10 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Went Travelling For The First Time
Last year, I embarked on my first ever backpacking style trip and it changed my life. Since arriving back in the UK, my experiences of traveling have touched on every aspect of my life, from my career to improving my mental health.
It’s now been nearly a year since I traveled around China and I am currently in the midst of planning my gap year. It is only now, from reading other blogs and watching vlogs that I realised all of the things that I had ‘done wrong’ and that’s when I decided to come up with this list, of ten things I wish I knew before I went backpacking for the first time.
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Looking to plan a gap year? Here are some posts that may help you:
10 Things I wish I knew before I went backpacking for the first time
1. Backpack > Suitcase
This is a highly talked about subject in the travel world which often results in some arguments.
I had always been a suitcase person, until I went to China. There were hardly any escalators, lifts, and well developed sidewalks everywhere like there is back home and this quite often meant that I had to drag my bright yellow huge suitcase up lots of flights of stairs, stuffing it under bunkbeds (it would never fit), and attempting to lift it high enough to fit on the rails in the sleeper trains without it falling down and hitting me in the face…This resulted in instant regret.
The first thing I purchased for my gap year was a backpack.
So honestly, I think that if you’re going somewhere or on a trip where you’ll easily be able to drag around a suitcase or have someone do it for you, by all means, bring a suitcase.
But I think I’m going to stick to backpacks from now on.
2. When it comes to packing, less is more
As a first time traveler, I really wish I’d done some research into what I actually need when it came to packing. I read every single packing guide out there and packed everything that was suggested. And if you’ve read the first tip, you’ll know that this meant I was dragging around an extremely overweight suitcase…around China.
For some reason, I really thought that I’d need 5 pairs of shoes, when in reality, I wore my converse absolutely everywhere I went. I also brought the entire contents of my wardrobe along with me, because, every single piece of item I picked up, I thought; “Oooh, that could be handy.”
2 weeks into my trip, my suitcase broke. That is how overpacked it was. So I had to buy a brand new suitcase. But whilst in Fujian, listening to my ever so lovely fellow group member ~moan~ that people were helping me to take my luggage up and down stairs, and that I “shouldn’t have packed so much if I couldn’t life it by myself”, I’d had enough. My friend Faye helped me to say goodbye to half of my things, and I donated them to charity.
3. Budget properly
Living the dream really does come at a high price. I really should’ve researched more about budgeting, especially in Asia.
I think, because everything seemed much cheaper than back home, I lived the ‘luxurious’ side of life and did and purchased everything that I wanted to. And it wasn’t until I got back home that I realised how much money I had spent, and really regretted it.
Let’s not forget how much vaccinations are. Because I had no idea, and can say that I definitely spent at least £1K on just getting jabs.
Make sure to research the destinations you’re planning on visiting thoroughly if you’re serious about budgeting. I have some basic budgeting tips in each of my country guides.
4. Don’t be afraid to ask to tag along
In my first tour group, everyone but me went in a couple or in a group of friends, so unfortunately for me that meant I was the only person who didn’t know anyone else. This meant that on ‘free days’ where the others would spend their days exploring the local town, shopping or having a good trek – I’d usually be sat in my room, alone.
At first, I was too shy to ask if I could tag along, and I was way too nervous to figure out which way I’d have to go to get to where and how on earth I would get back to my hostel (at this point I hadn’t purchased any data or figured out how to pre-download maps so google maps was a no). So I wasted many hours panicking over nothing. I ended up making some awesome friends.
5. Invest in a GoPro
If I could change anything about my time in China, it would be to invest in a GoPro earlier and to take way more photos (oh and of course to bring a backpack instead).
I had my DSLR on me, but I was too nervous to use it so for the entirety of my trip, it stayed inside it’s bag.
I was also super bad at storing my photos, I really wish I’d taken a hard drive with me.
Sidenote – don’t be afraid to ask other people to take photos of you!
6. Live like a local
I spent the first few days of my trip hiding in hostels, afraid to explore solo. But then I forced myself to socialise and explore and that’s when I realised that living like a local is the best way to travel.
Don’t eat western food if you want to avoid food poisoning. Explore dodgy looking streets (safety first please) as they quite often lead to the coolest places. Make friends with the locals. Do how locals do. Don’t follow the selfie sticks.
7. Backpacking really does change you
My whole life I’ve travelled and not to be the “backpacking changes you” stereotype, but it seriously did change my life.
Traveling made me realise that I worry about things I really shouldn’t, that I take my home life way too for granted. Backpacking helped me to become a more positive, independent and confident person.
One of my favourite things about backpacking is the relationships you make. You become friends with other travellers in minutes and you have those relationships for life.
8. Take a bum-bag
One of the girls I met on our tour in China took a bum-bag (fanny pack/money bag) with her everywhere. The first time a tour guide recommended that we wore our rucksacks on our fronts due to high cases of theft, I realised why.
Since then, I have 3 bum bags that I wear everywhere and rarely worry about anything being taken from me!
9. Learn some basic language
It’s so much more helpful for yourself and for the locals if you actually bother to try and learn the local language of the country you’re visiting – even if it’s just hello and thank you. Manners do wonderful things.
10. Travel blues are real
Coming back home sucks. Don’t get me wrong, I was excited to see my family and have some custard creams with tea. But as soon as I landed, reality hit me that I wouldn’t be living the dreamy freedom lifestyle for a while. I wasn’t going to spend everyday exploring, meeting new people, and trying new things. Back to work I go!
Be prepared for this moment, because it truly sucks. Travel blues can be helped if you research how.
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10 Comments
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Lana
Thank you!! Ahaha, overpacked suitcase was not the greatest idea I had! Looking forward to hearing about your travels!
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Ashleigh Hogan
Had a similar suitcase problem whilst in Cambodia, as one of my wheels broke but only had a few days left so tried to make do. Always go with a Backpack now!!
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Lana
Ahh no!! It sucked, right? For me it was the same, I had a 4 wheel suitcase and one of the back ones fell off which meant that the only way the suitcase would stand up was leant against something!! Sooo frustrating! Lesson learnt, for sure!
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Karen
This is a great list of things learned You are very honest about things you would do differently. I definitely think living like a local can be so rewarding.
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Lana
Thanks, Karen! Absolutely, honesty is the key! Living like a local is such an amazing experience, and one that I highly recommend.
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Zi @craving.adventure
Such a great list! I’m sure it will come in handy to anyone planning their first solo trip!
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Lana
Thanks for your comment, Zi! I sure hope it does come in handy for anyone, especially those planning a first time trip 🙂
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Rebecca
This is so timely! I’m looking to do a backpacking trip soon. I love hearing other peoples experiences.
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Hannah
These are brilliant tips! I’ve never been backpacking or long term travelling but I’d definitely fall foul to some of these pitfalls (I’d be there with an overpacked suitcase too!) I’m going to keep these tips handy for my future travels! Thanks so much!