Backpacking tips: How to survive long bus and train journeys
Here’s the choice: bus or plane. After a short deliberation you find yourself perched on top of your backpack waiting for a seven hour local bus to roll up. The plane would’ve taken 45 minutes but the bus is a tenth of the price: it’s a no-brainer for the budget-conscious backpacker. Plus on the road you get to experience life with the locals. However, any long journey is going to leave you twiddling your thumbs. Here are a few tips for beating the boredom and surviving those never-ending journeys:
Load up your mp3 player. Hum your way closer to your destination.
If you can manage it without feeling travel sick, make sure you’ve got a good book to hand. In the backpacking hotspots around the world, you can normally buy and sell a range of novels and guidebooks.
Be prepared. Have a warm jumper for the air conditioning. Spend some time napping: that’ll kill a few hours. Also pack a sick bag just in case the windy mountain roads leave you feeling green.
Pack tasty snacks and bottled water. Some long distance buses stop for a lunch break but not all. Coach-style buses will generally have a toilet onboard: pack some toilet paper and hand gel and you’ll be sorted.
Smile and chat to locals and other travellers. This is one of the best places to pick up travel tips such as what hostels should be avoided and which food needs to be sampled.
Sit back and enjoy the view. You may journey around towering mountains and through remote villages and this is a fantastic chance to admire some untouched regions.
If all else fails there’s always “I Spy”, with your fellow travellers!
