As you read through this list you will probably be surprised at what we have come up with, writes Alistair Williams from www.alistairwilliams.com/aroundtheworldtravel, but hear us out. There are very good reasons why these are not necessary in most instances.
First Aid kit:
Improvise. A triangular bandage to support your arm can be made from a T-shirt (and in that situation you would be more than happy to cut up a T-shirt, as you can imagine). Bite relief can be found in natural herbs and tiger balm (see the Hit List). The small number of plasters are never enough for what you will need, nor is the gauze dressing.
We recommend making your own kit. Ibuprofen. Material (not plastic) plaster that is in a roll and needs cutting to size. Pick up gauze when you arrive, as it is very expensive in the UK, but buy some as you’ll probably need it. A safety pin. Iodine. In 99 per cent of cases everything else can be bought when you need it. The only time you may need something you don’t have is if you are staying with a hill tribe, two days from the nearest hospital and you break your leg. These kind of exceptional circumstances should be borne in mind by travellers.
Insurance:
Like most people we are not a fan. Insurance companies require receipts for everything you claim for. Yet how many receipts do you keep? Exactly, very few, which means that if something is lost or stolen you can only claim for a small percentage of what you have lost. Most insurance policies also have an excess, which means you have to pay for every claim you make. Often, the paperwork involved makes it not worthwhile. So, unless you are carrying around expensive equipment and have the receipts for them do not worry about insuring them, worry about looking after them (see above for padlocks and bike locks). Our excess was £50 for lost and stolen items and £75 for medical claims. When you travel in Asia, Africa and South America it is generally very cheap to buy medication and to see a doctor. For example, I thought I had broken my foot after landing heavily on it after jumping off a wall. In Thailand that cost me just £20, including two x-rays and seeing a specialist doctor. On a few occasions in Argentina regarding a stomach infection this cost just £30 and in Vietnam seven stitches, anaesthetic and antibiotics cost just £60. Claiming was useless as it would have cost us more money to have done so. So, unless you have a serious problem we do not believe that insuring against this kind of scenario is worth it. Our travel insurance cost £320. Had we saved that money we could have paid for any kind of medical problem we had.
The trouble with this however is that if you get yourself into a serious medical situation (forget losing all your belongings, which can be replaced) you are not covered. We suggest that a low cost “serious medical emergencies” policy is looked into, rather than one that covers you for loss or theft, delay etc. When you are travelling you need to be responsible and look after yourself and your things. Most long-term travellers we meet do not have insurance, but set aside the money they saved and use that for emergencies.
Clothes:
We, like most people brought too many and subsequently dumped a lot along the way. You can buy more clothing far cheaper than in the West. These will also be more in tune with local custom so you will fit in better and not be a tourist beacon. Take a change of clothes on top of what you wear on the plane and then top this up with things you need in each climate and environment you visit. When I went to Antarctica I had just a poncho I bought in Bolivia. I picked up £100 worth of waterproofs, jumpers and high-specification sunglasses at a fraction of the cost in the UK and it meant I didn’t carry it around for four months before I headed there. To minimise space further, take two pairs of underwear. Wash one pair as you take a shower, change into your spare underwear and when you shower again your washed ones will be dry! Easy.
Quick-drying towel:
This seemed like a good idea at the time, but really, in humid conditions, it dries slowly anyway. Towels also cause mould and damp in your rucksack. This is not a good situation. Simply replace a towel with a thin sarong, which can be used for lying on at the beach and wearing around the pool. Think multi-purpose and you realise that a towel is a useless thing to bring. After all, generally you will be in a hot climate, where drying out under a fan is heaven!
At the end of the day…
We took more items, but decided to leave them out as they turned out to be “nice to have”. You just need to remember the rules:
- You can buy most stuff out there, but ensure you buy it from a reputable dealer.
- Take far less than you think
- Consider what activities and how “off the beaten track” you are going and whether this may need extra things.
- Clothes are the hardest thing to reduce, but leave them for when you get home and buy what you need and when on the road.
- Take things that have many uses rather specialist products.
- Take Duct tape!
Read the Hit List and Alistair’s intro on round-the-world trips.
