Posts tagged backpacking

I hear The Beach referenced by more travelers I meet than any other film. I loved this movie the first time I saw it and rewatched it several times. It’s not rated well on IMDB and rarely do I enjoy movies that aren’t, but this one has always been an exception for me. Good to finally meet people who like it too =)

Others that I think people should check out:
- Before Sunrise - young traveler romance film set in Europe.
- Into the Wild - sell everything you own and trek across the country and into the wilderness. Oh, yeah, and the most badass soundtrack you’ll ever hear.
- Interstate 60 - one of the most underrated and undiscussed movies of all time. Watch it.

Honorable mention to Deliverance ;D

walkingbase replied to your photo: location change: Makati City, Metro Manila,…
“Have you couchsurfed over there at all, is there anyone who offers couches?”

I stayed with this guy my very first few nights in the Philippines. Arbie is awesome and is also a tumblr blogger. We’ve hung out since I stayed with him and he continues to amaze me.

There are a few other couches that I found being offered around the Manila area, but not many with high response rates. Quite a few of the ones being offered are from other travelers here.

I’ve spent most of the rest of my time in the Philippines so far with family. I will try to couch surf a little bit when I get to Palawan, but we’ll see… doesn’t look like there are many couches there.

As far as software goes, this stuff is probably some of the coolest technology I use while traveling. This was especially important while I was traveling in the States back when free wifi wasn’t everywhere you went. While in the Philippines I’ve found that free wifi isn’t very common or reliable, even in wealthy, populated areas.

Maps
Probably the best kept secret of the web for travelers currently. If you have a smartphone, you must try this. Get google maps on your phone, go to settings, then Labs. Turn on “Pre-cache map area” and follow the instructions it gives (currently on my android, long press a spot on the map, select the location, hit “Pre-cache map area”). It will download all the map tiles for all the depths in a 10 mile radius. Here’s a post with more detailed instructions and photos.

This lets me walk around without a paper map. In the Philippines, cellphones are ubiquitous and smartphones are rather common. I find that I look like less of a tourist pulling out my phone than I do pulling out a paper map.

Currently on my android it won’t show my current location with just GPS - it wants a data connection. I generally know where I’m going before I go out though and so far I’ve never gotten lost. I usually just look for an intersection and then try to find it on the map.

I probably use this thing 10+ times per day.

Mail
Gmail has long been available offline, but the most recent version from the Chrome store is extra badass since it includes a nifty user interface.

On your phone, the setting is sort of hidden on Android:

From within the android gmail client:
Press menu
select more
select settings
scroll down and select labels
change the number of days from which you want messages kept on the phone
change individual labels (effectively folders) to none, this number of days, or all


Calendar
Google calendar is also available offline: hit the cog wheel thingie in the top right of your google calendar page and the option is in the dropdown. Also you can get the app button and such here.

On your phone, the setting is easy to find on Android under Settings -> Calendar Sync.

This is a simple one. It seems obvious and dumb, but I’ve never read it anywhere else, so I thought I’d share.

While traveling, I carry my own towel. Hostels and other places I stay don’t always have them or they want to charge for them. When hopping from hostel to hostel, hotel to hotel, hotel to plane, you may not want to put a soaking wet towel in your bag. You can put it in a plastic bag for keeping your things dry temporarily, but this isn’t the greatest solution. Also, if you plan to shower multiple times in a day, try this to ensure you’ll always have a dry towel:

Wipe the water off your body with your hands. Start with your head. Press the water out of your hair by flattening it against your head. Brush off your shoulders like you’re brushing off dirt.
Keep going down your body and you’ll find that, especially if you’re not super hairy, you can remove most of the water without a towel.

Also, I use a quick dry towel from MSR. Packs small, dries super quick. I’ve got the XL size because I like to wrap my towel around me.