Tips for traveling

I wanted to keep an ongoing list of travel tips I learned from things that I did or wished I did while on the trip. This is my ongoing list, in no particular order

1. Bring a small roll of duct tape. Luggage can rip
2. Keep a pen with your everyday bag because filling out customs forms gets tedious
3. Roll up clothes and put them in ziplock bags, that way it’s easier to organize and won’t get wet
4. Memorize your passport number, it’s annoying to have to pull it out all the time
5. If you’re going to a cold place, bring hand/toe warmers
6. Bring a few cliff bars, you never know when the next time you’ll find a place to eat or if you’re in a rush, they come in handy
7. Carry twice as much cash as you think you’ll need, if you’re going to use an ATM, tell your bank ahead of time
8. Pack half as much as you think you’ll need, most hostels will have a place you can wash your clothes and most of the time people aren’t going to notice/care you wore your underwear twice in a row
9. If traveling through different countries that require visas, bring a few 2×2 pictures of yourself for the visa application, those can get expensive
10. When flying, wear sweats, shoes that are easy to take off, and keep your metal-y stuff in your bag. It makes going through security much quicker.
11. Bring a power strip, that way you’re not fighting with people for an outlet if you need to charge your stuff at the airport.
    • Also bring outlet adaptors because US electronics aren’t going to plug into the wall anywhere else outside the US
12. Most public places in China don’t provide toilet paper. Plan to either bring your own or just don’t poop
13. Exercise well before the start of your trip. I’ll be easier to carry heavy baggage and endurance to walk around all day and night will be better. I focused mostly on legs and back and started working out 3 months prior.
14. Personal preference but I’ve traveled with luggage, duffle bags, and backpacking backpacks from REI and the backpack wins hands down. It evenly distributes the weight on your body and pulling a rolling luggage makes you look like more of a prime target for suspicious people.
15. Leave the ego at home and try to learn a few words of the language. I’ve never run into people that were rude because I was trying to say Thank You in their native language.
16. Talk with strangers, ESPECIALLY Australians, if I could, I’d pay an Aussie read me a book just to hear the accent. I’ve learned a ton about the world and many of these tips I’ve posted are from conversations with fellow travelers
17. Depending on your personality and who you’re traveling with, don’t travel with a set agenda, just know what everyone’s goals are for the trip and the city and plan around that. Delays and unexpected events are going to happen