That’s it: you’ve decided to go traveling, congratulations! You’ve done the hardest part, you’ve bought your first plane ticket and here you are already dreaming of sumptuous landscapes and adventures, each more extraordinary than the last. It’s time to prepare your travel backpack, the one that will be on the road with you for a long time. This companion will keep all your things warm, and against which you can fall asleep in complete peace. This backpack is your whole life inside, it’s like your pocket house! It is therefore crucial to choose a bag that suits you best and that can hold all your things. But how are you going to fit your whole life into a backpack? Wandering and exploring the world with your backpack is not innate and it is only with time that you learn to travel differently and to travel light. So you inevitably make mistakes. I have gone on four long trips and I would like to share with you my experience as a backpacker a backpacker.
From the 120-litre suitcase to the 38-litre backpack
The first time I left France, I was barely 21 years old and I was going to Australia for 8 months with the idea of working on farms and then crossing Australia in a van. I was light years away from knowing what was going to happen to me and I was scared. I knew nothing about the world of travel and I had not done enough research on the subject. So I left with a 120-liter suitcase (30 kilos of stuff), containing a good part of my wardrobe (a dozen t-shirts, 6 sweaters, 2 coats, 6 pants, etc.). I won’t tell you how hard it was to get around. Realizing how ridiculous it was, I decided to swap my suitcase for a backpack, a 90-liter (222-kilometer rucksack! At that moment, I was happy; I could finally walk down the street without dragging a ball and chain around. Finally, I still had to manage to put this damn bag on my shoulders.
Why do we travel with a huge backpack?
We are afraid. The fear of missing something once we get there. Every business is a worry. The extra weight in our backpacks corresponds to our fears and doubts. We imagine all possible situations and want to anticipate them all. We invent stories and to each hypothesis, we add an “essential” thing to put in our bag. We end up filling our bags with things that we will certainly never use. So it’s time to detach ourselves from material things and apply the concept of “happy sobriety” to the world of travel. To learn more about this concept, I invite you to read Pierre Rahbi’s book .
Why lighten up and travel with a small backpack
Having a 60-liter backpack means you’re sure to fill it with unnecessary things and, above all, to have a heavy and bulky bag. Having a 40-liter bag will force you to take less and forget about the superfluous. You simply won’t have a choice. Hikers have long understood how important the size of the bag is. They have no choice, they will walk several dozen kilometers with their bag on their shoulders. It is therefore imperative for them to have the lightest bag possible. Every gram less can make a difference over such distances. The lighter the bag, the more pleasant it is to walk. Discover the association Randonnée Léger When you go on a world tour, you will carry your backpack with you on every trip, sometimes standing in crowded buses, sometimes walking from your hostel to the train station. In the end, you will spend several dozen hours with your bag on your shoulders, so why bother with unnecessary things?
The day I traveled without a backpack despite of myself
A year ago, I was going to the Sziget Festival in Hungary for about ten days, and I found myself without any belongings. The airline misplaced my 70-liter bag, which contained all my belongings, as well as my sleeping bag. I found myself stripped of everything, with only the clothes I had on me, namely a pair of jeans and my hoodie. Well, guess what? I survived! My sidekick Michael lent me a great vest. I simply bought a spare pair of shorts and underwear for less than 5 euros and I did very well. Unless you go on an expedition to Antarctica or cross the Amazon, no matter what country you go to, there will ALWAYS be shops where you can buy what you need, and at modest prices.
What to put in your backpack for a trip around the world?
What to pack for your world tour? You’re not the first to ask yourself this question. Many travel bloggers spread out the contents of their backpacks at the dawn of their departure. The idea is interesting, but these new explorers generally have no experience of long-distance travel. I invite you instead to read the advice of people who have returned from their long trip and who will tell you in unison to take a small bag:
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