What have I learnt?
The ultimate bag is max carry-on size&shape with wheels and backpack straps that hide when not needed. Nothing uglier than a backpack with 500 straps hanging off it. Except maybe old airport tags - they say "I just got off the plane, mug me" and leave you open to being separated from your bags if not ripped off on check-in at our next flight.
If you can't fit carry-on you're overpacking.* Rather buy 1 thing you forgot or find you need rather than carry 10 just in case you need them.
*Sports gear excepted.
Valium or Temazepam is 100% required for any flight 6hrs or more. Ultimate flight is drop after check in, eat 1st meal, sleep until descent wakes you, step off fresh as a daisy.
Don't read travel guides, particularly lonely planet. They just ruin the experience for you. Live a little.
If you absolutely must have a lonely planet, the first backpackers you stop at in the country will have 20 to give away free, so don't waste your money at home.
Eat street food. They can just as easily have terrible hygiene in the kitchen of the overpriced fancy restaurant up the street. At least you can see the street vendor cook it.
Squat toilets are fine. No toilet paper, no so good. Carry some if you're in that sort of country.
Don't sleep under coconut trees.
Don't hand your passport to anyone for any reason. Keep a photocopy of it with your emergency credit card in your pack. If you hire something, make a big show of taking 50 photos from every angle before you get on/in it.
Nobody befriends you at random because they love people from oz. It's a scam. Put your wallet on a chain in some countries, particularly in Europe. Never accept anything handed to you, even up to a baby. Set it down and keep walking. Never pick up anything someone drops in front of you. Likewise if you get splashed with something, walk faster, walk around with it, fix at your hotel later.
If you want to meet locals, try couchsurfing or WWOOFing. WWOOFing is amazing, there's some physical work involved but at the same time you can have unique, irreplacable experiences and experience truly local food & life.
We undoubtedly have an amazing country here. It is over-regulated but that makes it safe, and you can always go to cambodia if you just have to rocket launcher a cow before you die. Our welfare system plays a large part of that and we need to protect it and accept the minority of dole-bludgers that rort the system in return for the day to day safety & security that comes from having a reasonably equal society.
The other stunning thing is how clean & unpolluted our country is, particularly most of our rivers and coasts. That should be preserved at all costs.
Oh and if in expensive places like Europe, you can live perfectly well on the 5 food groups. Bread, cheese, tomato, black coffee & red wine.
Your business is with the person at the counter.
