The five essentials of backpacking

So you’ve read or heard about Ibn Battuta, Ibn Jubayr and Zheng He, and now you want to see the world like they did, but you don’t have a rich patron willing to bankroll your dreamy wanderings. What should you do? Learn to backpack, of course!

Travelling alone is one of the most liberating, exhilarating and inspiring things you can do, so we’ve put together five of the most important things to help you get started.

1. START SMALL

Your first trip alone shouldn’t involve boarding a plane for Phnom Penh city just like that. Backpacking alone needs careful planning, months and months of research, and practice.

Your best bet is to start small. Test your backpacking skills first on shorter trips and in regions that are not too unfamiliar to you.

A short trip into places closer to home will help you answer a lot of important questions, like how well you can plan, budgets, pack, etc.

2. BUY A GOOD GUIDE BOOK

Almost all of the potentially terrifying prospects of travelling alone can be avoided if you have a good guidebook, especially one written by serious researchers who have been there, done that, and understand the real challenges you will face.

Having such a guide book could be the difference between you waiting two days for a bus or knowing where to get a lift.

They’ll also tell you what roads and areas to avoid, where you might find lodging and even the nearest place with access to the internet.

The three top English language guide book publishers for independent travellers are Lonely Planet, Rough Guides and Bradt.

Books by these publishers are written by journalists and travellers who  offer honest, real experiences and information collected in person; they have trekked, backpacked and hiked all over the region they are writing about.

These books are updated regularly, so always buy the latest editions. If you don’t want a physical book, there are cheaper e-versions for your device. Just make sure you’ve packed a battery booster!

3. RESEARCH AND PLAN WELL

“We fear what we don’t understand.” This is often why many of us are scared to travel independently or go off the ‘beaten track’: the unfamiliar makes us apprehensive. But what if you could appreciate every new place as if looking through local eyes?

A good guide book helps a lot, but there’s a wealth of other resources available on the web, including sites where locals share information about their own regions, such as the popular Spotted by Locals. The best way to arrive in a foreign country is to really do your homework. When you understand a place, you no longer fear it.

 4. USE BUDGET FORMS OF TRAVEL

Travelling for lengthy periods of time means that you must save money, and one of the best ways to do that is to be clever with your travel options.

First, stick to budget airlines. When booking long-haul flights, you can sneak in another place of interest by accepting a lengthy stopover in the middle. Avoid one- or two-hour stopovers, as these aren’t even long enough to get out of the airport. Opt for ones that include around seven hours for a layover.

Not only is this usually the cheaper flight option, but this could give you time to see a little of the city. It also makes your journey feel like two short flights rather than one painful long one.

Another great way to save money is to use local transport. This ticks two boxes: first, public transport will always save you money; second, it allows you to really see a place through the eyes of the locals.

5. STAY IN BACKPACKER HOSTELS

Most travel-loving folk will opt for cool, bohemian, travellers’ hostels. Usually, such places charge by the bed, making them super cheap compared to hotels.

One of the reasons is that the beds are often in a shared dormitory, although some places do offer private rooms.

Usually, the better places will also have cool communal spaces to hang out, excellent self-catering facilities and cheap events to help you see the local town in the company of other travellers.

The fact that most of the residents will also be travelling alone means they’re just as likely to strike up a conversation with you as you are with them.

Backpacking hostels are great places to meet amazing people, and often it is these people that make the journey all the more fascinating.

(This article is written by Tharik Hussain. Tharik is a freelance British Muslim travel writer, journalist, broadcaster and photographer specialising in the Muslim stories of Europe. Hussain’s first ever radio documentary, America’s Mosques; A Story of Integration, has been declared one of the world’s best radio documentaries for 2016. All his work can be viewed at www.tharikhussain.co.uk)