Travelling around the world is something that not everyone is lucky enough to experience in life. But needless to say it doesn’t come without its challenges, and these challenges can really cause you to burn out quickly, should you not put the appropriate measures in place. So do yourself a favour, and consider some of these tips below to help you make the most of your once in a lifetime trip, especially when you’re adhering to a budget.
Home Comforts
Home Cooked Food
At home, eating out at a restaurant is a luxury that many people don’t experience very often at all, but when you’re making your way from country to country, it’s the other way around. Instead of looking forward to going out to a fancy restaurant, you’ll find yourself craving the basic foods that you have on a daily to weekly basis back at home.
As much as I love Indian cuisine, after falling ill in India and then finally getting my appetite back, I couldn’t think of anything that I wanted more than creamy mash potato (yes basic plain mash), so I got the ingredients, and knocked up the best batch I could make, with just a fork to mash. Believe me when I say it was far from perfect, but it really helped me feel comfortable in a foreign land after being bedridden for days.
When looking at booking accommodation, look to see if there’s any places with usable kitchen facilities and whip up your favourite meal from home, and I promise you’ll feel rejuvenated in no time. Plus if you’re cooking your own meals, then you can dictate exactly what you’re consuming, making it easier to stay healthy whilst you go.
Sliders & Home Clothes
Whether you choose pyjama trousers or shorts, t shirts or hoodies, making sure that you’ve packed super comfy home clothes is essential to feeling more relaxed in a foreign environment. Sliders/flip flops are also a much needed item for your bag, as you’ll often find that there may not be sufficient space to dry your feet, and tracking small puddles around the room is not the safest or most pleasant idea. Crocs or slippers are also viable options, but just ensure that the soles are suitable for journeys to the bathroom, as the floors may well be wet, and there’s not much worse than soggy slippers or even soggy socks.
Streaming
Bringing a decent speaker can be a game changer if travelling as a couple or group, and will instantly upgrade your home cinema game. Or you can opt for a good set of headphones to really immerse yourself in the series that you’ve been dying to watch.
The psychology of watching a series, especially a long one, I find gives the feeling of a routine of something that you enjoy doing which will help keep you grounded amidst all the madness and chaos of travelling the world and living out of a bag. It’s an activity that you’ll enjoy and will make you more comfortable on the road. The speaker we use is a Wonderboom Bluetooth Speaker and my headphones are Senheiser HD350t’s, the sound and build quality on both are fantastic. Click on the product names to view these products on Amazon.
Incense
These cheap sticks can be found at many different stores and markets all around the world, coming in all colours and fragrances. Having a pack of these in your bag can really make all the difference when you want to make the space you’re staying in more homely and comfortable. Also if you’re staying in accommodation that doesn’t smell great, it’s a cheaper, healthier and more pleasant alternative to covering up the smell than emptying half a can of aerosol.
Pillow Sprays
Cheap and long lasting, a pillow spray can really help when you’re feeling a little blue about not being in your own bed. I opt for a lavender spray that I use on my pillows at home in order to help me drift into a deeper sleep. Alternatively you can pick a smell that reminds you of home, that way you’ve always got that piece of home comfort with you along the way.
Condiments
Something so damn simple, yet in many countries you’ll find that they have their favourites and they don’t tend to stock much outside of a small selection like ketchup, mayo or sweet chilli sauce. Having a small bottle of brown, bbq or sriracha sauce can make all the difference when you really want to enjoy your food as much as you would at home.
Nutrition
Fresh Fruit
The world is full of weird and wonderful fruit, and the best bit is, it’s really good for you. Start in the morning with a small glass of water and some fruit, to help ready your stomach for the day ahead. Pineapple on an empty stomach can help to regulate your bowel movements for better gut health, and a handful of berries with your morning oats will provide you with fiber, disease-fighting antioxidants, vitamins and minerals to ensure you start your day on the right foot. Fresh King Coconut water & freshly squeezed fruit & veg juices are also great for packing in healthy vitamins and minerals on the go.
Bottled Water & Isotonic Drinks
When visiting hot countries, you may find it tricky to stay constantly hydrated when you’re profusely sweating throughout the day, so it can be a great idea to add a few electrolytes and a little sugar into your hydration routine to help keep your levels stable, and keep you feeling your best.
Also a large range of countries have running water that isn’t safe to drink, so making sure you drink bottled water will save you from the infamous Delhi-Belly, I’ve had it and I wouldn’t recommend it.
Fresh Vegetables
Literally one of the most obvious things to mention in this list, but when you’re travelling it’s easy to get swept up in fancy dining and over indulgent consumption, which can lead to your immune system not quite working at 100%, so just making sure to get a variety of colourful veg into your daily diet will for sure make all the difference.
Vitamin Effervescent (Berroca)
Laying/sitting sedate for hours on end can really take its toll on your body, leaving you feeling unrested and zapped of energy. Berroca can really come in handy when you’re not feeling great and you haven’t got free access to the nutrition described above. Cracking one of these fizzy tablets in half and plopping it in your water bottle will keep you topped up with vitamins and minerals, when fruits and greens aren’t so readily available. I’ll even take one of these before large amounts of physical activity, to make sure I don’t lag in energy and underperform. To stock up on the best tasting flavour Mango, then just click here.
Probiotics & Prebiotics
Gut health is probably the most overlooked factor in a person’s overall well-being, but it’s also one of the most important factors to consider as gut health can very much dictate your mood and overall health. An incredibly useful tool to help promote good gut health and a healthy gut microbiome, are Probiotics & Prebiotics which can be found naturally in fermented foods and drinks such as Kimchi, Kombucha, Kefir & Pickles, or can be added into your daily diet through supplementation. For a better understanding of what Pro and Prebiotics are, and why they’re important, click here.
Cold & Flu Remedies
It’s inevitable that you’re going pick up some sort of virus when you’re travelling due to the amount of people you pass and meet in places like airports and city centres, so it pays to be prepared with a stock of cold & flu remedies for when you’re feeling a little run down. I personally opt for Lemsip Lemon and add some Honey, Lemon, Ginger & Black Pepper for added benefits.
Planning
Chill Days / Evenings
When you’re at home, you would never eat out every night and get boozy 5 times a week as it’s just not sustainable, and the same is to be said when you’re travelling. Having days and evenings when you plan to do as little as possible will help bring some level of normality back to life, keep you grounded and give you time to fully rest up. Activities such as watching films, reading books or listening to music can be great choices for ways to really chill when you’re away from home.
Good Route Planning
Burnout occurs quickest in stressful environments, and there are very few things more stressful than lugging around a heavy backpack when you don’t know where you’re going. Sitting down and doing the research for 5 minutes can mean all the difference later on when you have to travel. I use apps such as Google Maps & Rome2Rio to map out my route and check transport links, and when I’ve decided on a plan, then I will detail it down on a Notion page for safekeeping and reference later on. Doing this prior to setting off will save you from a load of headaches and helps to keep costs down by doing your homework.
Self Care
Haircuts, Massages, Spa Treatments, Manicures, Pedicures, etc. All of these activities may seem like luxuries and they are when you’re in the UK, but when you’re in a host of other countries around the world, you may just find that some of these treatments come at a fraction of what you would pay for them at home. In Cambodia I managed to get a manicure and pedicure for less than £4, and in Vietnam a foot massage can set you back around £3! And if you don’t want to spend even that amount, then you can quite easily clip your own nails, slap a face mask on and groom your own hair in order to feel better and save a few bucks.
FaceTime Time Slots
Checking in with your loved ones at home can go one of two ways; it can either make you miss home more which can be hard to take if you’re planning on travelling for a while, or it can be great in that it can make you feel as though you’re not missing out on the everyday life at home, by having routine calls your family. Either way it’s important to let someone know what’s going on and how you’re feeling when you’re away on an adventure. Just remember to make use of the world clock function on your phone, so you don’t go calling your nearest and dearest in the middle of the night.
Exercise
Walking/Running
The easiest exercise activity to do no matter where you are. All you need is a good pair of running shoes and a water bottle, plus you can use your run tracking apps like Runkeeper and Strava (both available on iOS & Android) without using data to track your progress. The app will track your run with GPS at no cost to you, and then the system will update to save your run when you next connect to the internet. If you want start running or turn it into more of a habit, then click here
Fun Physical/Sports Activities
Beautiful beaches & breath taking mountain ranges aren’t just incredible places to fill up your Instagram feed with, they also provide the most fantastic way to train against the elements. Rather than lounging at the beach all day, perhaps pay a few quid and rent a surfboard to catch some waves, it’s an incredible workout and a very difficult skill to get the hang of. Is there a mountain range near to where you’re staying? Well get your hiking gear on, search for the best trail online, and go scale that beast! I promise you, the sense of achievement of reaching a peak is like no other feeling, and the sleep after a long day of hiking is too good.
Yoga / Pilates
Another activity that’s easy to access and really promotes a great mental state is Yoga or Pilates. If you’re the sort of person that prefers going to an actual class then you should use apps like MeetUp to find people running classes in your area. And if you’re not in luck, then you can make use of apps such as DownDog which have a huge selection of Video Yoga classes to choose from, and all you need is a phone with an internet connection and a yoga mat.
Martial Arts
A little bit trickier to access but still doable, Martial Arts gyms can be found online with a few searches should you know where to look. A good start is a plain old google search with words like ‘boxing gym near me’, and then browsing around the local map to see what’s available. A more specific search and you may uncover some fantastic resources like BJJ Globetrotters, which is an affiliation program for BJJ schools around that world that allow for travellers to train at their academies for free!
So if you’re more in to Martial Arts, then don’t lose hope just because you’re travelling, because there’s plenty of opportunities to train all around the world. If you’re travelling with someone else who partakes in martial arts then you can always carry things like boxing gloves and pads which don’t take up too much room, or find a space with a padded floor you can use to grapple.
Lifting Weights / Resistance Training
Being the activity that requires the most equipment, Resistance Training much like Martial Arts will probably require you to do a little research into the facilities available in the local area. However weight lifting gyms and leisure centres are a very universal concept, and you’ll struggle to find a place that doesn’t have some sort of establishment that you can pay to use.
Dependent on where you’ve chosen to stay, a lot of hotels and sometimes even hostels have gym facilities for you to use, that come included within the price of room. As with all the exercises listed above, exercise provides people with not just structure and discipline that you would have at home, but also floods the body with endorphins, that literally make you feel good.
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