Backpacking Info Site

You heard about a great camping escapade in a foreign country. You force your unwilling family to come along. You buy your tickets, pack your bags and reach the airport just in time. Bang, that’s when you realise, where are those damn passports?

The sun is setting over the horizon, what a breathtaking view! You are enjoying the very first evening of your very first backpacking trip. The night has now set and it’s turning darker and colder by the moment. You decide it’s the time to light the fire. Surprise! Someone forgot to pack the lights.

Wow, you think, what great starts to what were supposed to be memorable trips!

But don’t you worry, you are at the right place now. Just read along and we’ll ensure you get all the info you would ever need related to perpetrations about backpacking.

The very first and obvious issue is, destination. Choose the place you wish to visit, some lake maybe, what about hiking or maybe something you always dreamt of escaping to since you were a child. But don’t stop just here, also demarcate the route you’ll take to reach there and accordingly plan how you are going to get there.

If it’s the better health that prompted you to backpacking or even if it’s not, mind you, don’t leave without a Medical Insurance especially if you have to cross the borders. Moreover, different places may be affected by various diseases, some you may not even be aware of. So get yourself immunised and carry some medicines that may come handy there. But ensure your doc agrees and explains to you what and how to use them.

Money is of course going to be a deciding factor in how comfortable your trip will turn out to be. Make sure you carry enough cash and keep it sufficiently secured. You would never want money to become a spoilsport.

Check for the weather expected there. Pack your clothes and sleeping bags accordingly. Warm clothing, long sleeves, water resistant boots, what ever that you may require, pack it along.

Passport (if going abroad), tools like the Swiss army knife or Leatherman Charge TTi multi-function penknife, mosquito repellent, light, sun glasses, torch with spare batteries and toiletries you might need for hygiene are things you can not miss out on.

Now, you are well set and all you’ll need to worry about is how you’ll get the best out of you on this trip.

Drugs and Terrorism are a great menace that appear to be rampaging across today’s world. Owing to this, many countries of the world are facing the threat head on, and there have been remarkable links established between the two. Frankly speaking one supports the other and vice versa. One is the need and the other is a want. Both these have been a great setback to the tourism industry on the whole. Travelers, who travel frequently from one nation to another, are often warned by their tourism and foreign relation department on these imminent threats. There is also a fine line of demarcation done by US and many European countries to give its citizens a word of advice, before they plan to travel in central Asia, South East Asia, Africa and Asia pacific regions. The United States State Department keeps an up to date list of countries that are safe to travel in, and those that are not.

It is worth noting that there are many spectacular destination spots in these regions, but owing to drugs and terrorism, these countries are suffering an economic slow down. Today, tourism is a prolific sector and it is a lucrative one as well. The whole of the Asian belt, especially the Golden Crescent, is known for the opium trade activity. Of these, three nations, Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan give the world’s maximum opium production. Furthermore, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Iraq, Morocco, Dubai, Italy, Cambodia and many CIS countries serve as breeding grounds for Terrorism and mafia.

The impact of terrorism alone has been widespread on the tourism sector. There have been instances, where tourists of many prosperous countries were kidnapped, and their respective governments were extorted for huge amounts of money in exchange for their release. Many were killed at point blank range. The most aggressive and stubborn form of terrorism is likely to be seen in Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Nepal. You will find perfect example of the link between drugs and terrorism in Afghanistan. The Taliban rule in Afghanistan contributed to 57 percent of the world’s supply of opium. And by the end of year 1999, opium cultivation raised to 85 percent. The money generated through opium exports, helped the Taliban support their Terrorist activities. It was also a great deal of help to Taliban rulers when they were fighting US and allied forces.

For supporting Terrorism, it is essential that dollars are spooled in. And drugs are a potent medium to materialize this process. Moreover, you will also find many occasions, wherein, local police officials have made huge seizures from foreign tourists. Considering this, it can be inferred that Drugs and Terrorism work close together. And with Tourism adding a viable medium, the mixture is effective enough to take any peace loving nation in one go.

A strong link between Drugs and Terrorism can be seen in Colombia. The largest terrorist groups operating in the country are Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the United Self-Defense Groups of Colombia (AUC), and the National Liberation Army (ELN). These groups receive huge amounts of money through taxation, narcotics and other activities. There have been instances, where at three different times tourists from Europe and America were attacked, in Colombia, resulting in heavy causalities. Thereafter, a warning was sounded across the world for American and European citizens, not to visit these countries.

Of late, the latest situation is that Drugs and Terrorism has been ingrained in the roots of terrorist supporting countries to such an extent that it is considered a trade and strong business activity. New recruits are continuously added to the fully operational wings spread across nations and continents. A stringent plan of action needs to be implemented to uproot this ticking time bomb from the face of the world map, and make it the best place to live.

Mobile Phones are fast becoming an indispensable part of the travel kit. These are considered as the fastest means of communication, not to mention the cheapest. Many mobile manufacturing companies are venturing into the latest international standard of phone models, which are loaded with powerful communication features. The best part of competition as seen in the industry is that you can get a hold of affordable deals on your favorite mobiles. The competition is not restricted to the mobile manufacturing companies only. There is high level of competition amongst the companies offering communication services, and, as a result, users get slashed call prices to some extent. However, you still have to pay for the roaming charges. That is one thing which will quickly empty your pockets, if you are an avid mobile chatter and love to be connected most of the time while traveling in some foreign destination. You can, if you want, change your behavior for some time and bring some worthy savings to your travel budget in order to invest later in your travel schedule. You’ll really enjoy this piece of advice later.

In order to lessen your burden of paying hefty bills for your mobile phones, it is always the best alternative to go for Skype, Yahoo mobile or any other VoIP service to save huge amounts. For all those PDA users, you have the additional advantage right in your hand! With the help of Wi-fi, you can use free hotspots to call to any destination across the world, while you move forward with your rucksack on your shoulders. It is not feasible to use a prepaid phone card (SIM) to call your home country or any other part of the world. And if you have plans to meet the locals of the country you are traveling in, then it’d be a complete bargain option to go for the local network connections. The reason being, it’d be cheap, and you’ll get the networks immediately without very many lost connections.

Mobile phones can easily fit into the traveler’s kit as an ideal means of communication and you have the power to remain connected to world in your hands, even when traveling in any of earth’s remotest corners. There are mobile phones, which give you a week’s back up facility, and therefore you needn’t carry charger every time you travel to those uninhabited and formidable locales.

European and American travelers who visit Asian countries often have to grapple with the network problem. And the same is true for the travelers of other nations who travel to European countries and US. In all such cases, it would be a working idea that you insert the SIM card of that particular country or region in your mobile phones. You can look for a variety of network service providers such as Singtel, M1, Starhub etc. in Singapore; simPATI, KartuAs, IM3, Flexi, ProXL, Fren, Telkomsel and others in Indonesia and so on. The best thing to do is that you preferably go for the same networks, which your friends from the present destined country actually use. In this way, you can save a lot. It would be good if you enquire about the network service providers from the fellow travelers, locals; or search on any popular search engines for information. You can also search for the best deals with localized network service providers. If you run out of talk time, then you can simply get it recharged using top ups. These are easily available and you don’t actually have to apply much effort.

Mobile phones are the best communication for those who travel to distant destinations. One obvious benefit is that you are connected 24×7 and above all, there is nothing more personal like this!

Life is unpredictable and anything can happen at any moment. Times can be good or bad. If you are insured you have nothing to fear. You have planned for your travel or are in the midst of planning one! And now you’re bags are all packed. Try asking one question to yourself…Are you insured to travel! Today most of the companies offering travel solutions provide travel insurance as the best means to travel safely and sightsee in different countries across the world. Whether you are a rookie, a budget traveler, or on your honeymoon, you need your insurance cover in place in order to enjoy the best of traveling.

If you are traveling with your family and children, then they are your obvious concerns, and you have to remain careful and wary about their protection, during the entire trip. Travel insurance is the smart insured way to travel across the world. Regardless if in Europe, America, Asia or Australia, or any place in the world, the insurance travels with you all the time. The insurance holistically covers the loss of luggage, life or any possible incidents involving natural or climatic disorders.

Many companies, who offer travel insurance policies, check the areas where you intend to travel beforehand. The assessment is made on the basis of terrorist threats; topographical unevenness and much more. The companies release new insurance plans every now and then, which are truly customized to suit your travel needs. Therefore, it will be a sane decision on your part to have the appropriate backpackers’ insurance policy with you. The policy should cover your family and you in one stringent network and provide you the means of safe travel, anywhere across the world.

While going for a good travel insurance policy, it is an utmost necessary that you examine the company rules and regulation, the premium covered and the policy tenure. There are some insurance policies which offer you sumptuous benefits, but when it comes to the charging premium, you have to pay an arm and a leg. One other thing you need to take care of, is that when going for the perfect insurance, make sure it is something strong. The policy should take care of your health and wealth, while you keep yourself engaged in the busy travel schedule.

If you don’t find yourself in with the right travel insurance, you’ll feel could feel completely fooled or robbed by the insurance agent. You will get to know that you have already spent lots of money in getting all the medical attention and aid. Think that you are in some foreign country and meet with a fatal accident, and you don’t have enough money with you to get immediate medical attention. What will you do? Where will you go in the strange land? Obviously, if you have already thought on those lines, by now you’d have covered your travel under the insurance scheme, way before you are even reading these lines of caution.

To give an example, NHS in the UK is one of the premium insurance companies, which offers travel insurance schemes to travelers who want to travel to other countries. The company gives foolproof insurance cover including medical insurance; personal possession insurance and much more. Please check with the insurance company about the age factor and other proprietary information, before you actually go for insurance coverage. It is good to opt for a long term insurance policy.

An ideally packed travel insurance will give you complete financial and life security in the foreign land and you don’t have to worry about anything. All you have to do is travel and enjoy the rich beauty of the region.

Passports and Visas are the most essential travel documents for international travel. The nature of both documents is different, but purpose, to travel across countries, is the same. A Passport, as issued by the government, is the document that establishes the status of an individual as the citizen of that nation. A visa on the other hand, is the authenticated permission granted to make an entry or exit to any foreign nation and home country.

Whether you plan your travel to any destination around the world, you simply cannot do without passports and visas. There are different types of visas offered to citizens belonging to different countries. There are specialized visas for different staying purposes. The prominent visa types offered include tourist visas, student visas, diplomatic visas, business visas, journalist visas, visas for missionaries and much more. The time period of stay also varies accordingly with your purpose of stay.

These travel documents are an essential part of your travel kit. Passports and Visas validate that you can legitimately travel across other nations without too much hindrance. Many European countries offer visas after careful inspection of the individual status. The Schengen Visa issued in this respect for third world nations follows very stringent rules and you need to go through a completely hectic process. But, once you get through the intricacies, you can have a visa for as many as 24 prosperous European nations.

For the US, there are some other requirements to clear the visa hurdles. Remember, Passports and Visas need to have valid dates, and purposes respectively, as required for your entry or exit to countries. It is therefore important that you need to keep the passport renewed from time to time. The citizenry of United States of America should have to present a valid U.S. passport, if they wish to travel via air, land or sea between the U.S. and the other countries. For the US citizen who is filing an application for the first time to secure a passport, he/she can present himself/herself to any of the over 9000 passport acceptance facilities distributed across the US, along with their 2 passport size photographs, driver’s license and valid proof of U.S. citizenship.

As described in the US official documents on Passports and Visas, acceptance facilities include post offices; county and municipal offices; Federal, state and probate courts. Of late, there are 13-regional passport agencies and 1 Gateway agency where you can go for passport renewal or receiving new passport. However, in either case you must personally be present. The conditions which make it essential for a US citizen to acquire a new passport include, it has been over 15 years since your passport was issued; or the passport was issued to you when you were under 16 years of age; or your passport was lost or stolen. Furthermore, the Passport Services Office gives the exact and latest information to its citizens on the entire process of obtaining, replacing or changing a passport.

It is also essential that you carry a photocopy of your traveller’s cheque, passports and visas. Individual citizens belonging to nationalities of Australia, Canada, New Zealand and United Kingdom, can apply for their passport requirements from respective state departments, by filling applications in a prescribed format. Citizens of all these prosperous nations can easily acquire tourist visas from the underdeveloped and developing nations by undergoing simple procedures. However, for a developing country’s national, it is not at all an easy task to get the visa for these developed countries. Next time you travel to your destined tourist country, you‘ll be ready with predeparture information and this will help you plan your travel accordingly.