Top Travel Tips:

After travelling for a fair bit, I should really have some good advice to impart. You'd think. Turns out... not so much: it doesn't seem like I'm any the wiser since setting out. In some ways, it feels like I'm getting more clueless, particularly when it comes to budgeting as the different prices and exchange rates boggle my mind. Is boggle even a proper word? Whatever, in the interest of being vaguely constructive, here are some meagre scraps of advice:

1. Buy, borrow or steal a rucksack which unzips at the front, rather than a top-loading one. Trust me on this one as I'm speaking from bitter experience here. I have an ancient one that opens with a drawstring at the top and it means you have to rummage around and pull everything out if you want something from the bottom. I'm deeply envious of the backpacks that just open up like a suitcase so you can see what's in them.

2. Pack as light as you possibly can; remember that you will have to carry around on your back every single item you take. That extra pair of trousers may not feel like it weighs much when you're taking it out of your closet, but when you swing your pack onto your shoulders for the millionth time you will be wishing it was at the bottom of a river.

3. Take only stuff that you can bear to lose. It's so much easier not to have valuables to worry about, especially if you're travelling alone and don't have anyone to watch your bags. The only things I have that are of any value are: an average camera, a tatty discman, my passport, aeroplane ticket and ATM cards; and I keep these with me pretty much all the time. Take only clothes that you can part with as by the end of the trip they will not only be manky after inumerable hostel laundrys and hard wear, but you will also be heartily sick of the sight of them.

4. Keep things in plastic bags. It kills me to say it, as everyone complains about everyone else rustling bags in dorm rooms late at night or early in the morning, but it is a truly useful way to keep your stuff clean and compartmentalised, so you know where everything is. This is especially useful if you're stuck with a rucksack you practically have to dismantle each time you want to extract something (see above).

5. Wet wipes. I don't know what genius mind invented these marvels, but they're the best when there's no soap to wash your hands or you're covered with grime after a long ride in a grubby bus.

6. Take full advantage of book exchanges. You can find them in hostels and internet cafes anywhere with lots of backpackers passing through. It means that you only need to carry at most two books at a time - a guidebook if you need one, and something to read - both of which you can exchange. Sometimes exchanges charge a fee, but it's still cheaper than buying new or secondhand, and there are plenty that don't.

7. Trust your instincts. If a situation, place or person doesn't feel right to you, it probably isn't. I didn't have any problems travelling as a woman alone and found that people were really friendly, but if I was in an area that felt sketchy, I left pronto, and if I got bad vibes off someone I made my excuses or just walked away. The only place I felt at all uneasy was India.

8. There is a happy medium to trip planning. If you plan ahead too much and book things in advance, sometimes you change your route or find better options and then you're stuck. On the other hand, if you coast along and never make reservations, you can end up missing out. It might sound obvious, but it took me a while to get this balance right: book the things you really want to do; for all the rest, just wing it.

9. Don't go to Tahiti. Way overrated.

10. Have fun. It's pretty stupid, but I did meet people who weren't enjoying themselves, yet kept pushing onwards because they somehow felt they should. No one is forcing you to go anywhere. If you've had enough of a place, leave. If you're bored with moving around, stop. If you think you'll slit your wrists at the sight of another waterfall but feel obliged to see every single one, don't. Travelling is a great way of meeting people, seeing places, and not working (gotta love that part) - relax, be flexible, give yourself a break every now and then, and enjoy it!