Review: The Essential Guide To First Time Backpacking by Amy Day

So like the last travel book I read and talked about, I'd like to do the same. What a wonderful set up and intro. God I'm a talented writer.

I've recently finished 'The Essential Guide To First Time Backpacking - Everything You Need To Know Before You Get On The Plane by Amy Day. It took me a couple of days reading on and off but I really enjoyed it. Amy Day is a wonderful writer and to be completely honest it felt like having a chat in a living room with a friend who knows everything you want to know. Throw in a couple of swear words and a bottle of wine and it would almost be like she was in the room with me. 

This book covers everything you need to know about backpacking from someone who has clearly been there, done that, got the T-shirt... More than once! She illustrates her advice with stories from her life, as well as some precautionary tales about other travelers.

This guide has a section for everything and for everyone, there is even a chapter for parents of backpackers. She does a good job of putting everyone's mind at ease about the big wide world that most of us hope to be exploring.

What I learned from this book? Although I will be traveling a very common route for backpackers, no one has done MY trip before, so no one, not even Amy Day can tell me everything I need to know about everything. I just need to let go and live in the moment. Prices vary from person to person. Get visas are different for everyone. Each person will  value items and countries in their own way.

My trip is just that, mine. Although I've picked up a lot of tips and ideas, she can't tell me exactly what it will be like. Let's be honest, I did know that before hand, but it's good to be reminded.

Chat soon.
Rhiannon

Mooncup Diary and Review

So I've watched a lot of videos and read a lot of blogs about travelling and what to take etc. All posts aimed at female travelers (oorah) say that a Mooncup is vital. You can pick from 2 sizes (under 30/no kids or kids/over 30). It sounds a little one size fits most but it is made from silicone so quite soft and pliable. 

Now a Mooncup sounds absolutely disgusting, yet, it is so much better for the environment and less toxic for your body than traditional products. Also you'll never be caught without. Sadly this does mean that you can no longer be the girl who hands out tampons in the toilet to distressed strangers.

Day One.

So my period has started again, sigh, yet this time instead of reaching for a box of tampons I force myself to grab the mooncup I bought 2 periods ago. It's a terrifying product but we warriors must crack on.

So I sat on the toilet scrunched up the cup like they say and inserted it. It hurt. More than I think it should have. Maybe I didn't do it right. But I continued. I went to bed that night with a water bottle and hating my body (my first day is always the worst).

Day Two.

I woke up needing another 8 hours. Life takes it out of you man. But I needed to run errands so onward. I removed the cup, which also hurt. I felt stretched and dry and quite awful to be honest. But positive side: I didn't spill anything. Ok so let's try again. This time I used lubricant, which actually helped. It didn't hurt, but whenever I thought about it I felt sick. Yet I soon enough forgot it was there and went on with my day.

4 hours later I needed to wee so I started thinking about it and took it out. I noticed I was spotting, nothing noticeable on dark underwear. This time I felt a little like removing a tampon, once again no spilling, success! I rinsed it with warm water and put it back in again. Pretty easy to forget about.

Day Three.

I woke up pretty much forgetting about the mooncup. Last night I stayed at my boyfriends house (who is very interested with this whole thing).This morning I went for a pee and he was like "ooo you guna go change your Mooncup?" And I had completely forgotten about it, so that must be a good thing. My flow is starting to lighten up now so this will probably be my last day of analysing.

Conclusion.

Ok so for the first time putting it in it was weird and I didn't like it, after a couple of goes I feel like a pro. For the first hour or so I knew it was there. It doesn't hurt if it's not high up enough like a tampon, but it does feel odd, like a bubble or something.

Would I recommend it? Yes actually, It's not super different to using a tampon. So far I've only used it in the comfort of my own home but I can see this being easier to use when travelling than pads and definitely less toxic than tampons.

And for the price of £19.99 from the online shop, it seems like a lot, but you will definitely save money in the long run.

Rhiannon

Review: Backpackers Guide to Southeast Asia 2016

For Christmas this year my parents gave me money for "Travel Books." As great as that is I had no idea where to start.

Also this Christmas Gethin (the boyfriend) bought me a kindle ereader. It was so sweet and thoughtful. Almost like he and the parents were in cahoots.

Anyway getting to the point! On December 28th I went on a book binge.

I spent £2.99 on the Backpackers Guide to Southeast Asia 2016 by Funky Reads. Now for someone who always looking to get a bargain or spend as little as possible it was quite the leap...even though it was only three quid. 

So the "guide" is broken up into about 10 sections.

Introduction.

Things to do before your trip.

Suggested backpacking routes.

Visa and Border crossings.

Budgeting.

Best Festivals 2015-2016 (The chapter title is 14/15 but that's wrong).

Where to party.

10 places to experience local culture.

Destinations for Adventure and nature.

First time FAQ.

According to my kindle the book should only take 1 1/2 hours to read. It's quite an easy read and my favourite parts were visa and first time FAQ. Both sections are obviously great for people who've not backpacked before.

2. Things to do before your trip.

Things to do before your trip is a good section to remind you that it's probably a bad idea to just grab a backpack and cut loose, but I'm not your mother, you can do whatever. It includes ideas on travel insurance, backpacks, vaccinations and more.

3. Suggested backpacking routes.

Now the biggest part of this guide is the routes to take. The author starts in Thailand, which is fair as most people travel from there. It is a good overview of each area. Here they talk about budgeting, routes, best hostels in the area and some great travel advice concerning buses and strips. 

4. Visa and Border crossings.

Visa's are still something I'm trying to get my head around and this helped a tiny amount. Border crossing is not something I immediately thought of when I thought backpacking so this is good to get you thinking. This section is good if you're from the countries it mentions, if not you have to work out visas for yourself. 

5. Budgeting.

The budgeting section is useful but I found it a bit unnecessary. Only because at the beginning of each subsection in routes they said the average spend or whatever. Also as everyone has different comfort levels and price budgets it seems a bit difficult to say "this is how much you should be spending."

6 + 7. Best Festivals 2015-2016 and Where to party.

(The chapter title is 2014/15 but that's wrong).

These sections were more of a calendar and a reminder to book your hostels in advance. As they're giving you a calander of where to party, I feel like it's nothing you couldn't get from a quick google search. Yet if you're planning your trip around the party season it's good to have everything in one place to see.

8 + 9. 10 places to experience local culture.

Destinations for Adventure and nature.

These sections are a nice added extra for people who want something most backpackers don't get. Yet, I think most backpackers who want to experience different things probably won't be reading guides or following. If you want to stick to the Bangkok parties that's all well and good but these sections discuss hiking, village life and lagoons. Nothing is in great detail but if anything here takes your fancy I'd do some more research before setting off into the unknown.

10. First time FAQ.

This chapter was great for me because I am a first time traveler. They bring up questions I've actually been asking myself, about accommodation, other travelers and safety issues. This section is probably the only one which goes into further detail. If the entire book was just answering questions by experienced backpackers I'd be over the moon.

This is the first travel guide I've completed but also the first book I've finished in 2016 (2 very special titles).

Worth the price?

As it's only £2.99 I'm not going to be having loads of sleepless nights. I'm happy I bought the book because it's given me a greater scope in the field, but I don't think I'll be purchasing another copy. 

This is a good book as a simple overview on backpacking, however, in my honest opinion I think it's nothing special, the content is things I've read on plenty of blogs and seen in enough videos. 

Essentially it didn't grip me as a major page turner but I'll go back to it for tips again.

Rhiannon.