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The Indian Sub-Continent has always been popular with backpackers because there’s plenty to see, and travelling around the country is cheap. Just a few of the reasons to travel to India include: to enjoy yourself; to experience different cultures; to feel a sense of independence.
You can travel in the country for the 6 months that most tourist visas permit, yet still feel like you only saw a tiny part of the country and its cultures. In fact, India is so huge that you could spend years there and still not see half of it. There are Himalayan valleys, Hindu temples, Rajasthani palaces and forts, and tropical beaches
Though prices are rising and tourism there is aimed more and more towards the middle classes, it’s possible to stay in a bamboo hut on a beach for 100 Indian Rupees a night. Food is also very affordable and it’s possible to eat in India for a couple of Dollars per day. However, Prices increase at restaurants that cater for backpackers and western food is nearly always more expensive than Indian food.
India is used to backpackers and although travelling around takes time, it is easy enough to travel around. It’s relatively safe too, so long as you use some sense and show respect for the locals. The majority of travelers in India travel on a route that has been used by thousands and thousands of other travelers before them, and you’ll come across lots of services tailored specially towards backpackers.
Local travel agents can easily be found on popular routes and are useful for arranging flights, visas and day trips. Sleeper trains and overnight buses are ideal for backpackers and offer an inexpensive way to cover moderate distances. Long in-country distances can be covered by using domestic flights, which are generally low-cost, dependable and are bookable on the day.
Backpacking there is never boring and you’ll constantly have something to phone to your friends and family about, particularly if you leave the backpacker ghettos behind and explore India away from the most popular destinations. Then you’ll feel more like a traveller and less like a tourist.

When you are planning your backpack adventure you need to consider what supplies are needed for the trip. On a longer trip this is particularly important and you will need to plan carefully. Be sure to choose a backpack that is large enough for the things you need to take. It must also be comfortable so be sure to try out different backpacks and see which is right for you. It’s a good idea to load supplies into the backpack and not to try them when they are only empty.

So what supplies will you need to put into your backpack to take with you on a trip? One of the most important things you will need for a backpacking adventure is a map and compass. There no point in going on the adventure if you wont be able to find your way! The next item is food and drink supplies. This will vary depending on how long your trip will be. For a longer trip you will obviously need more food including high energy bars and drinks. You should carry a first aid pack in case of any unfortunate accidents.

To enjoy your backpacking expedition it is important to have a way of cooking your food for when you rest for the night together with waterproof matches too. If you are trekking over several days then it may not be practical to carry lots of water so a water filtration system will supply unlimited water. If you are out and about in the hot sun and wearing light clothes then take sunscreen to you avoid getting sunstroke, also sunglasses will provide comfort for your eyes. Take insect repellent to prevent insect bites when trekking in warm weather.

There is so much you can think of that you will want to take when you go backpacking and it is a challenge to fit it all in. You don’t want to be carrying heavy gear around with you so by being smart, you can still carry the gear you need with little compromise.

By lugging heavy backpacking gear around with you it will not only slow you down and tire you quicker, it could have an affect on your back or joints. A smart way to negate the need to carry heavy gear is by taking the items that can provide multiple uses. You will not only cut down on the item that you need to pack, but will lengthen the load you have to take.

So what items can have multiple uses? The following list demonstrates how to get more than one use out of gear that is typically used on a backpacking trip. You may find you are using some of this stuff as multiple uses anyway without realizing it.

Parachute cord Although you probably wont be parachuting on your backpacking adventure you will find that this is a useful bit of kit and has several uses. Use it to hang your clothes on or for tying up food bags for overnight camping. It will come in useful if anyone has an accident and you need to tie a splint in place. When packing it, wind it up loosely and tie it to the outside of your backpack.

Candles They are extremely light and you will hardly notice carrying them. Apart from the obvious use of providing extra light they can be used to start a stubborn fire. They also work great as a waterproofing agent. They are far easier and lighter to carry than a heavy lantern.

Duct tape Duct tape is very strong and durable and can be used in a multitude of situations. A roll of tape will probably last you a long time. It can be used for repairing backpacks, tents, sleeping bags and provides a wrap for a bandage and many more uses. Duct tape should be an essential part of your backpacking gear.

Safety pins Very useful to help secure bandages or to act as clothespins. These are small and lightweight and have many uses.

Plastic placemats Again lightweight and easy to pack use them for putting you boots on to prevent mud and dirt in your tent. When sitting down do not use blankets as they could get wet – use a placemat. You can even use it as a make-do table to prepare your food on.

It is much easier to over-pack your backpack than under-pack it and it’s very easy to over pack it with food. Learn the secret of packing your food to take with you on your backpacking trip.

Packing your backpack correctly is always a challenge as you want to take everything you need – without being over-burdened. By planning your food needs carefully you will find that you pack exactly what’s needed and select the most suitable choices such as the lightest items that can fit easily into your backpack, together with all your other backpacking gear.

There are three key factors that you will have to bear in mind when planning your food for your backpacking trip. Firstly, consider both the amount of room and weight that you can actually allocate for food. Next, consider your own energy needs. Lastly, how many days do you plan to go for on your trip? These three factors will definitely help decide the food that you actually need to pack.

There are a few more key factors such as planning to eat one cooked, hot meal a day. The meals left should be both easy to prepare and required little or no cooking. Purchase foods that are designed to be prepared in their packaging. Bear in mind to buy single portion meals so that you only eat what you need. You need to be thinking smart when it comes to planning backpacking meals.

Always aim to eat three meals a day together with snacks. Eating well is very important as it keeps you well-nourished and revitalized, ready for the day ahead. It will keep your energy levels up and enhance sleep as well as boost morale if the going gets tough. It’s worth thinking about taking vitamin supplements on your trip if you think it would be useful, especially for longer trips. Be sure to eat every meal that you planned and never skip a meal.

As the Christmas holidays come to an end and the remnants of family visits are swept under the rug, the children tire of their new toys in an ever hurrying pace and work begins anew, it seems as though the hectic pace of the holidays is put behind us yet again.

If only that were so.

For a teenager, or a family that houses one, the end of Christmas can only mean one thing: next stop summer vacation. As the New Year dawns, all eyes turn to those three long months where parents toil away at work while their teens run amok, gaining valuable life experiences in the arts of ‘hanging out’ and learning to disobey. Well, perhaps summer isn’t all bad, but it can certainly take its toll on a parent worried about the advancement of their child outside of the boundaries of school.

In the past, parents have worked hard towards finding places that their kids can go during the summer where they can learn, experience, and stay out of mom and dad’s hair. From summer camp, sports clubs, camping trips and a week with Grandma, parents have stretched themselves fairly thin for ideas about what to do with a boisterous teen that both takes up months worth of time and provides teens with something they can actually take away from the experience. However, more often than not, teens end up apathetic (or start out that way), and turn the experience from something they could learn from to something they disdain.

Perhaps this year, parents should try a new system. It is time to stop trying to impose learning experiences on your teens and start giving them something they won’t recognize as a life lesson. I mean, of course, travel.

Since as far back as I can remember, the idea of backpacking Europe has been a rite of passage for affluent families in North America. In the past, however, a lack of safety, cheap flights and tour companies forced parents to wait until their teens were already emancipated before they could give them the experience of their lives. Nowadays, however, this has all changed. Companies such as Big Brother Backpacking (www.bigbrotherbackpacking.com) offer tours specifically for youths looking to do something life changing with their summer (or parents who are looking to get a little quiet time). Considered leaders in the art of teen adventure travel, Big Brother Backpacking offers small, five person group tours aimed at teaching teens the art of travel leadership while providing them with the opportunity to see something more than just their home town. As a tour company specifically aimed towards students, Big Brother Backpacking provides a coming of age European travel adventure without the worry that your child will end up spending the entire time (and allowance) in a bar in Amsterdam. Since the company allows the travelers themselves to determine where the trip will go in  real-time, students are taught how to plan and execute a trip in a small group, make close friends from a variety of backgrounds, and experience Europe in a hands on way. Instead of being forced into a learning environment they will attempt to ignore, teens are given a firsthand opportunity to see what personal success through determination really means (not to mention getting a bit of much needed exercise away from the computer and a solid geography lesson).

For parents willing to wait until graduation and splurge on a cross country drinking tour, there are also companies aimed towards allowing the youth to run wild for the first time. Bus tours for post grads such as Contiki tours (www.contiki.com) or European Bus Tours (www.europe-bus-tours.com) offer the chance to see a variety of bars and clubs across the continent (and maybe a site or two along the way). (Unlike a backpacking tour, however, these bus tours leave much to be desired in the way of experience, as without photos a lot of the trip’s events are mysteriously forgotten the morning after.) For parents looking to send their kids on a budgeted sightseeing trip (careful of the hidden fees), bus tours are a good way of knowing where your child is and what they are up to on any given day.

Whichever you choose, remember that this summer can be different. Your child can be satisfied with learning and gaining life experience, can be kept safe, and can truly enjoy themselves doing something productive. Now it is just a matter of letting them go.

If you are looking to get into backpacking, camping and hiking you are going to need to get the right equipment. From clothes, to tents, grills and other things you want to make sure that not only you have what you need, but that it will be reliable enough to last out in the wilderness. Other hobbies and activities may have some room for a little bit of cheaper equipment, but nothing can ruin your backpacking, camping and hiking weekend faster then a leaky tent or a grill that will not work.

Finding The Right Backpacking, Camping And Hiking Gear

The first things to look at are those that you will use at camp – grill, tent, and other things you would find there. You should come up with a list of everything you think you think you will need weeks if not months before your trip. You do not want to be scrambling to get a last minute piece of backpacking, camping or hiking equipment because at times like these you will purchase the wrong thing or pay too much. I can tell you from experience there are a couple things you absolutely will need.

First off is your tent. I would always get a little bit bigger tent then you think you need, especially if you do not have to hike in to your camp site. I would also pay a bit more and go with as high quality a tent as you can find as cheap tents are never worth the money saved. Eureka makes high quality tents in variety of sizes although they can be a bit expensive. After the tent you may want to get another shelter area for eating and relaxing, but these only really come in handy if the weather is going to be bad.

After the tent the next most important thing at camp is your grill. I usually like to try to find a nice high quality portable butane grill, although charcoal can be effective as well. You also need to make sure that you bring things that can make camp life easier – a good quality axe, some newspaper to start a fire, rope and an extra tarp always come in handy.

After you have got your base camp situation in order the next part to plan for your backpacking, camping, and hiking outing is your personal gear. The weather will dictate this the most, but no matter what time of year it is you want to get a pair of high quality backpacking hiking boots. This is probably the most important piece of backpacking, camping, and hiking gear you can get.

If you are planning to go out on a hiking and backpacking trail you should do some research before you set out to make sure that the trail is within your skill level and can be completed easily by you and your group. There are a few simple tips you can follow to make your hiking and backpacking trail experience the best it can be.

Tips and Guidelines for Hiking and Backpacking Trails Worldwide

The first thing you want to make sure of is that your park your car well off the road and away from anyone’s private driveway. If you can find a public spot for use with the trail that would be best, or simply live it back at your home base. Once you get on the hiking and backpacking trial, stay on it. No matter how enticing a cutoff looks it can put you in a dangerous position.

You can get lost or enter an area of the trail that is dangerous. You can also damage and destroy the natural vegetation. Most of the trails have taken years to build up, so use them to avoid getting lost or wandering off. In addition to that you may end up going onto private property. Property owners often give permission for the trial to pass over their land but can revoke it if people tend to stray all over their land.

If you do not have to bring them I would leave your dog at home. Many parks allow pets and if you do bring one be sure to clean up after it. There is nothing worse then going out onto a hiking and backpacking trail and finding the leftovers of other peoples pets. You should also plan your backpacking trip for the right time of year. I would not plan a trip during a time when it is going to be wet like the early spring as this is not only messy to hike in, but can cause significant damage to the trail.

A not on fire, if you smoke be sure your cigarette is completely extinguished when you are finished and as is true with all garbage, carry the butt out with you. Do not start a fire at your campsite before you leave, even if it is a low risk fire day. When nature calls on the trail go and try to keep at least 100 yards from streams and lakes to avoid contaminating the water. Bury your toilet paper and feces at least several inches deep in the ground.

Do not feed the wildlife you come across. While a major part of the fun in going out on a hiking and backpacking trail is seeing animals, it is best to leave them alone. That is about it, get out there and have some fun!

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!

You’re living the dream; turning up at a new and exciting destination every few days, checking out the local dishes and exploring the sights of temples, markets and local life. This is the life….until one day you’re stuck in a tuk tuk breathing in the heavy traffic fumes, worrying about where you are going to lay your sleepy head for the night when a local seller pushes some fried chicken claws in your direction and argghh you can’t stand it all anymore! You’re hot, definitely bothered and have had it with the pollution and the smell of sewage. The skewered locusts that once astounded you now just make you feel queezy. Before you scoot into the closest internet café and book a flight back home take a minute out. This feeling has probably happened to all the seasoned backpacker you’ve met. The diagnosis is a case of new-culture overload and here are a few remedies that will get you back to the state of avid adventurer in no time at all!

Give yourself a break. Find a quiet, clean air conditioned café with no stray animals lurking in the corners. Buy something familiar (a mug of coffee and a slice of toast can work a treat) and lose yourself in a favourite book.

Consider taking a night out of the backpacker ghetto and checking into a swankier pad. It may involve some extra dosh but it will enable you to get the max out of your travelling experience, rather than longing for the Heinz Baked Beans back home.

Are you missing loved ones? With services like skype there is no excuse for not staying updated – give your folks a call if it helps.

Take your new culture in stages. Diving straight from the plane and straight into a prawn curry with extra chillies is probably not the best plan. Allow your body to get used to the new food, climate and time zone.

Having the right attitude is key. The new culture you are in is different but it is not worse than another culture. It’s good to see each country in its own unique light rather than comparing it to another culture. We know this is easier said than done when the plate of fresh pasta you ordered arrives looking, and smelling, like an octopus shaped mush but smile, stay calm and breathe in the new world around you.