For anyone that reads this blog regularly, you’ll all know that I love to plan, I’m an organised freak, I like to have everything in place, know what I’m doing, and where I’m going.

I remember when I first started going on big trips I would sit in front of a map and try and plan a route to every town or city, and then decide how long we were going to stay in each place for. It seemed essential to me, while my travel buddy would be looking over my shoulder saying:

“Why don’t we just go to Barcelona, see how much we like it and stay until we’ve had enough?”

I wish this was the type of attitude that I could have started with, and didn’t have to get used to, or learn, because this really is the best way to travel.

Planning a big trip is difficult, you can over-plan or under-plan, and almost always pack things that you will never use. Below is a list of tips to help organised freaks like me plan a little less.

KNOW WHAT SORT OF TRIP IT IS — Is this a ‘once in a lifetime’ trip? Will you never go again? Some people go travelling just once and come home and say that it was great, but that they wouldn’t do it again. But most people will get the bug and say, I need to go back to that place one day, but also everywhere else in the world.

You should understand if this is something you are likely to come back to, if it’s your one chance then you should try and see everything you want to see, meaning a lot of moving around which can be tiring. If you’re someone like me that knows they’ll be returning at some point then you can afford to leave out some things. You don’t need to see every city in Thailand, or go to every edge of India to experience the life and culture there. As you meet people along the way you’ll pick up patterns, loads of people will tell you about an incredible place that you’ve never even heard of and you’ll want to visit too so don’t book flights weeks in advance, otherwise you’ll feel like you’re missing out.

GETTING PLACES — If you’re doing a trip where you are getting on a bus, train or plane every few days then you should understand that it really eats into your time away which you might have planned for at first.

This is something that I’m not so great at and always underestimate the time it will take to get from one place to another, especially when you’re travelling by bus. The driver will stop off at a cafe and take his time eating lunch, there will be accidents blocking your way and mountains to wind up and down. I remember hiring a scooter and doing the Chiang Mai to Pai route (which was completely breathtaking — post coming soon). Google Maps said it would take us five hours, so we left in the afternoon, and after getting lost a couple of times, and having to take it much slower than we would have liked because of the state of the roads, it actually took us about seven, it turned dark, and in the mountains it turns surprisingly cold. Even though we got to see the sun set over the mountain tops, I wish we had given ourselves extra time, it’s actually quite scary in the pitch dark jungle.

PACK LIGHT — I’ve become something of a packing expert over the years, my boyfriend is especially good at this, although girls always need a few extra bits. You see people everywhere with backpacks on the size of small apartments. I’ve known people to take tents, mountain boots, five different books, a chemists worth of lotions, high heels, the list is honestly endless. They all look at my backpack and say ‘how have you got so much stuff in that tiny little bag?!’ It takes some practice, but you don’t need to bring a lot of stuff.

Even if you’re doing a year trip in which you’ll be going to both tropical and winter climates, you don’t need to take two wardrobes worth. If you’re going mountain climbing just once then the hundreds of tourist companies will have boots to hire, so there’s no need to buy a pair and carry them around all year. Another tip is to invest in a kindle. With all the travelling around a lot of people love to read a book, but don’t keep buying them as you go and clog up your backpack, just download them.

(I’m writing a separate post about more packing tips — it really is an art)

BE PREPARED — I’m sure you’ve heard this a million times from friends and family. ‘You have to be prepared, I just want you to be safe.’ But this tip doesn’t relate to the usual always keep your wits about you.

You should be prepared for a culture shock, no amount of planning or reading could have prepared me for the complete shock I got as I arrived in Bangkok for the first time. First of all it was a heat that I had never felt before, it was rush hour, and I hadn’t eaten anything substantial for about 24 hours. We got onto the Sky Train from the airport, the amount of people they manage to get in those things during the mornings is quite amazing, and I started to feel faint. As soon as we got off the train I sat on the floor not able to see properly, and I knew I needed something full of sugar. My boyfriend managed to get me to a drinks stand and I felt better, but it took a few days to get used to Thailand — massive culture shock.

Another thing that you should be prepared for is the different attitudes and rules. For example, in Thailand you shouldn’t ruffle a cute kids hair — it’s quite insulting to touch the head. Every country has it’s own attitudes, us British are known for being a bit uptight, whereas Laotians are known for there welcoming nature. Some things just won’t make sense to you, some attitudes you’ll find quite frustrating, and some you’ll take home with you, every country has different expectations that you need to embrace.

Be prepared to learn a lot, experience the best (and sometimes the worst) experiences of your life, and be prepared to fall in love with traveling.

Be kind and recommend — go on ☺

Originally published at flipflopapotomous.wordpress.com on March 19, 2015.