Backpacker problems: 7 things I had to struggle with in my first month

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So here we are: firmly in the middle of our trip of your life. It was exactly a month ago since we left London - an astonishing month in which we swam under waterfalls, drove to lonely islands with kayak, dipped for the first time, explored the depths of the Millennium Cave and stared into the crater of an active volcano.

It turned out to be much better and easier than I had predicted. Of course there were some backpacker problems that I had to deal with-some we expected, others didn't.

1. Find nothing

"Okay, I'm finally admitting it. I am indeed a nerdlinger," I wrote to my old desk colleague with a copy of the lower picture. As an organizational freak, I like punctuality, I like appointments and I like order. Under normal circumstances, I would unpack and organize everything as soon as I arrive at a new goal.

However, if you are constantly on the go, it is not practical to unpack everything; You have to learn to live from your backpack. And that was the problem: I was constantly looking for one or the other thing until I finally, much to Peters amusement, decided to name and list parts of my backpack, which everyone contained.

old = “backpacker problems” yes, I'm a nerd, but I'm a happy one,organizedNerd

If I now unpack or unpack, I make sure that I stow things in your right place, which makes it finding, using and storing things much, much easier. Yes, I'm a nerd, but I'm a happy, organized nerd.

2. Smell different

Okay, stop giggling at the back - I don't mean that I smell badly; Simply different. I am used to my special toilet articles: my shower gel, my body lotion, my shampoo, my perfume.

I packed small amounts of things I needed, but when we made our way, I decided to use the toilet items provided by the hotel to keep my own supplies. Of course, this meant that I smelled of generic hotel toilet articles, which was strangely confusing.

In the meantime I have returned to my own brands. I will probably come back to this problem as soon as my supplies are used up, but hopefully I have got used to all other changes by then, which makes it a little less disturbing.

3. The view of a slumming

I have never been camping wildly and before this trip I had never stayed in a mixed dormitory, so I was a little worried about making the backpacker circuit. I am not particularly maintenance -intensive, but I like warm showers and comfortable beds, so I wondered if I had the courage to deal with "real" backpack travel.

My only consolation was the fact that I had lived in Bangladesh without electricity, running water and a real night chair for a month. Certainly, if I did it back then, could I do it now?

We haven't been released in the wild yet, but we stayed in places with some fairly simple facilities. To my surprise, I handled her with little difficulty. It takes a change in expectations, but when that is done, slumming can be surprisingly fun.

Pro tip: I grew up as a Muslim, which means that we clean ourselves with water when nature calls, not just with toilet paper. In large parts of Asia, there are bidets in public toilets, which is great, but not in most parts of the world.

In the absence of a water jug, I use a fantastic small device called Hygienna Solo. It is not the most lady -loving thing that can be discussed in public, but it works so well that I wanted to share it. I am convinced that the whole world will use it in the future.

4. 'operate'

I have an unofficial saying: clean your own toilet and you always stay modest. The idea is that you never become too comfortable or too medium -sized to lose contact with those who are less lucky than you.

I come from a family of workers and never felt comfortable among submissive employees. It is not a problem if I slide (see above); It is more in hotels of the upscale class where people run to open the doors, or insist on carrying their drink from the bar to their table, or apologizing many times to have to wait a second second. My insistence on the fact that "no, no, no, it's okay" always feels like pretended grandmatics.

We returned to our room a few times while the room cleaning was still in progress. On these occasions, I asked Peter whether we could come back later or wait outside because it was uncomfortable to relax in a room in which people cleaned him for us. Fortunately, he understands how I feel. I guess we have to do it more often than not slums.

5. Share all of our moments

I started a personal blog a long time ago before I became a "real" author. The blog shared many ups, depths and insights into my life, including marriage, divorce and mourning.

At some point I stopped sharing details about my relationships (divorce will do that to you). In the context of Atlas & Boots, Peter and I shared pictures and videos of us together.

Alt = "Backpacker problems Mt. Yasur"

We have created the blog to give ourselves a valve for our letter and photography, 2) to give our trip a certain focus, 3) to make us more marketable when returning ("We not only bashed around for a year!") And 4) generate a small income on the way. Shareing calm moments is part of what makes a travel blog successful, but it is uncomfortable for me to do this.

Despite my past as a blogger, I share very few pictures on Twitter and do not accept any Facebook requests from people that I do not know "in real life". Suddenly starting to share our life in public feels strange.

6th malaria

Eh Gade. Don't take Lariam. That's all.

7. Error

When Peter and I arrived in Vanuatu, I told him that I would practice "Unagi" if I was confronted with beetles. For those who are not familiar with the term, this should help.

Although I can now handle spiders, I am still fear of death from beetles, so you will understand my horror to meet this little guy.

What you do not see on the video is that shortly after we stopped it outside, another a few meters from my bed crawled out, which proved to be much more difficult to catch. The South Pacific offers the perfect environment for everything that crawls and crawls. Let's just say that I make a phase of adaptation. The Unagi will come soon ... I hope.
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