Useful stuff

Useful web sites

Some of these are also on my blog as recommended sites - I collected them as I went along.

Keeping in touch

• GreatWay2Call - register your credit card details on this site, log in, give it the number you want to call. An economical way of making calls home from anywhere, the limitations being that you need to get into the Internet first. Best for calls from a mate's house while away so it doesn't cost them anything.
• Skype - good for free calls to friends and family with computers who also have Skype installed, doable from an Internet cafe where they already have it on their computers.
• MSN Messenger - the instant messenger of choice for 99% of people I met while away. Free, easy.
• Hotmail and Gmail were two of the most-used e-mail programs I saw, both free, and while Gmail comes with a shitload of free storage, you do need to be invited to open an account by an existing Gmail user. NB Hotmail is notoriously unreliable in many locations.
• NOTE: Locally purchased international phone cards are often the cheapest and easiest way of keeping in touch. Calls from International phone booths in many places are incredibly cheap.

Accommodation

See note on accommo below...

• Hostelworld - Superb. Secure, reliable online booking of hostels, some of which are rated by guests, I've used it for most places where I was rocking up for the first time. You can make your booking instantly and also arrange things like taxi pick-ups (often free) directly with the owner of the hostel.
• Sleeping in Airports - you might have to, best to take a look at this before you spend what could be a very uncomfortable night on a hard floor. Lima Airport highly recommended, JFK don't even bother.

Forums / free stuff / generally useful

• An excellent source of information on India is Indiamike.
• Tales of Asia has a lot of good info and articles on South East Asia, specialising in and based in Cambodia.
• Convert currencies or suss out how much that sandwich just cost you with the XE Universal Currency Converter.
• Tart your photos up before you put them online with free Picasa software.
• Tart up your photos online for free using PXN8.
• Flickr is an excellent web site for uploading and sharing photos, but there plenty of others to choose from.
• Put together very funky panoramic photos with Autostitch.

Tips

Like I said, I'm no expert, but these have proved pretty useful for me.

When you arrive

The guidebooks don't always do so well at telling you what to be aware of when you first arrive in a place...

• Have your accommodation booked ahead.
• Even if you don't have the slightest idea what you're doing, look like you own the place - look confident.
• Get properly marked taxis from taxi ranks - avoid anyone that approaches you in an airport or railway station offering a taxi as they will overcharge. Taxi offices in some airports are also overpriced.
• Agree all taxi and rickshaw fares before you even get in the vehicle. In some places they will be up to four times what they should be.
• Get talking with other backpackers - go looking for accommodation together if you haven't booked, share taxi fares, strength in numbers and all that.
• Take a look at rooms or dorms before you hand over any money or get too relaxed. If the place is a dump, you're under no obligation to stay.
• Photocopy the map in your Lonely Planet and use that if you don't want to hump the book around with you.
• Smile and be polite no matter how pissed off you are.

Accommodation

• Google anywhere you're thinking of staying at to see what others have said about it.
• Get up to date ratings, see photos, and book securely through Hostelworld.
• Lonely Planet has often proved to be hopeless at providing current, reliable recommendations (even the newest edition of Lonely Planet may be up to two years out of date) - don't rely too heavily on it.
• The very best source of information on places to stay is other travelers - listen to recommendations.

Safety and security

• Most people in poorer places are honest and honourable - be aware but not paranoid.
• Trust your own instincts - if the situation doesn't feel right, get out of it.
• Don't make a spectacle of yourself - dress appropriately for the area, and keep valuables concealed.
• Watch out for other backpackers, especially in larger hostels. Lock your bags when you're not in your dorm, cable lock items to pipes or other secure places.
• Get a taxi if it's late, but don't let anyone you don't know get in with you.
• Keep photocopies of your passport, tickets, travelers cheques and other essential documents, but also scan them and keep the images safe online by e-mailing them to yourself.

Packing

You will almost certainly take more than you need. I did. This is the list I used, with the things I packed and never used taken off, and some notes and recommendations added. But make your own mind up, and remember there's hardly anything you can pack before you leave that you can't buy when you get away.

Happiness

• Take an MP3 player with as much music as you can fit on it. Sod the old thing about missing the sounds of life surrounding you if you're wearing headphones - 24 hours on a Chinese train and you'll be climbing the walls without some music, and familiar tunes can save the day when you're really pissed off. Also, you can back your photos up or keep software you might need on it.
• Have a book with you at all times. Try reading stuff you never thought of reading before.
• Clean, dry pants should always be kept in reserve.
• That other person in the airport arrivals lounge who looks a bit clueless just might be your best mate for the next two weeks, so go and say hello.
• Ignore all of this advice and just enjoy yourself.