Being a girl can sometimes be hard, especially when
you have to fit everything you’ll be using for the next 6 weeks in a 55 liter
backpack. Don’t worry though, it is doable if you prepare yourself well and
pack smartly.
What works best for me is to empty my bed and put on
it everything I would want to take with me… done that? Good, now remove 2/3.
Check if you’re packing any duplicates; obviously you’ll
be taking a lot of pictures so you don’t want to look like a complete hobo but
having 3 black shirts with you is a bit unnecessary, cut it down to one; nobody
is going to see the difference between them anyways and you’re just wasting
space
15 must haves
1. Dry shampoo - Of course your plan is to clean your hair every 3-4th day...but
that's not going to happen, at some point you will oversleep or be late for the
next train and then it's good to grab your dry shampoo. There are a lot of
different types so make sure you find one that suits your hair before you
leave. Also remember that the shampoo is only made for the scalp, not for the
hair itself.
2. Baby wipes - A
pack will last you forever and will be your best friend on a 14 hour train ride
down Italy or just whenever you have a day where no shower is available.
3. Clean underwear - and a lot of them! You read all these lists about what
to pack and in the underwear section they say 3-4… bullshit! Being a girl means
that your underwear won’t take up that much space either way PLUS you don’t
need to be wasting a perfectly good day in Budapest running around looking for
a washing machine because you’re out of underwear, well either that, going
commando or using your bathing suit.
4. Snack - take
around 5 little bags of cup-a-soup, noodles or whatever you like that doesn’t
take much space and is easy to make (or even eat raw). Always have 5 in your
bag, even though your next stop is going to be London where you know you’ll
find food, you never know what’s going to happen on your way there.
5. A water bottle - It’s a complete must must must! Cannot say it enough,
although you might in some cases want to ask a local if the water from the tap
is drinkable.
6. Walking shoes - Now that's a no-brainer for most people but if you haven't been backpacking before you might not realize the distances that your going to walk. You don't want to be in a gorgeous city and after a day of sightseeing when you want to go out pub-crawling realize that it's impossible because your legs just gave up. Sometimes you even just go out for a little stroll and at the end realize that you've walked 50 km around the whole city in the past two days.
7. Tampons & other toiletries- Your
period isn’t supposed to come for another 2 weeks but in the progress of
travelling between time zones, your rhythm gets messed up and you forget to
take one, maybe even two pills, ups, now your period has arrived and you’re in
the middle of sightseeing 15 km from your hostel. Finding the next toilet
is easier than finding the next supermarket and toilet, plus then you won’t
have to buy a whole box of them and carry around with you.
8. Little black book - & a pen of course, you will be getting
information, directions or needing to memorize stuff at the weirdest moments,
then it’s good to be able to reach in your purse and write it all down. At the
end of the trip it’s also going to be fun to look at it and remember all the
fun random moments.
9. Band aids - very
easy to forget but so necessary when something happens.
10. Make up remover wipes - unnecessary to bring cotton, eye makeup remover and
face cleaner. Maybe worse for your skin but you’re going to be fine for some
weeks.
11. Leggings - yes,
yes we all know, leggings aren’t pants, but in your trip they’re going to be!
Unalike jeans they don’t take forever to dry and take so much less space also they're great if a day suddenly gets colder. Just
make sure you either have thicker leggings or wear a t-shirt that goes further
than you ass, you want to be the one seeing stuff, not showing the locals your
stuff, if you know what I mean. Then if you really want jeans take the thinnest
ones you have.
12. A Swiss army knife - It
will come in handy when you least expect it
13. Plastic bags - if
something gets wet, dirty, can explode and so on it’s good to have some extra
plastic bags in your backpack.
14. Sweater - No
matter how hot the country you’re going to is, you’re going to have moments
where you’ll want to put on a sweater, even the hottest countries have airports
and trains that get freezing at times.
15. Photocopy of your passport - & of other documents. While you have your passport
and tickets with you at all times it’s always good to have taken a copy of
everything and keep that in the back of your backpack, just in case.
Now, good backpacks are amazing when it comes to
support and making you feel like you’re carrying 5 kg even if you actually have 20, BUT you have
to make sure you pack your bag correctly! I didn’t realize the importance of this
until my friend one day didn’t spend enough time fixing her bag and after only
half a day of travelling she was close to crying from pain
- Heavy items - They always belong at the bottom of the main compartment, closest to your back.
- Semi heavy items - On top of the heavy items, in the main compartment, close to your back
- The lightest items - at the top, the bottom and in the front of your bag.
No matter what you pack always keep in might that whatever you have with you might be stolen, lost or left behind somewhere. If there is something in there that you can't imagine losing, then don't bring it. Computers for example are a big no no. There will be times where you'll have to leave your bag unattended for a while, whether its in the hostel or the bag compartments outside your train room. You will feel a lot better knowing that no matter what item gets stolen, it won't be the end of the world.
Good luck & if you have any questions my email is to the right :)
-Kat
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