Basic things you should know for the first time traveling to Europe

(Gotravelings.com) Instead of desiring to travel to all places or eat every foods, you have to calm down and plan carefully your journey to have the very first perfect backpacking trip to this old continent.

You want to eat pasta in Rome, stand on Eiffel Tower, come across the red street in Amsterdam, or join in the party in Munich .... It is just when you have the whole year traveling in Europe, or else, you only can choose places based on your capability.

1. Right choices

Europe is a continent which has rich culture and history, and countries here connect with each other strongly. You cannot go to all the countries in a journey (except you do not care about money and time). If you try to go as many as possible, your time spending for train, bus, plane will make your trip shorter.

 

Europe nations are small in square, but rich in cultural and historical places. Photo: Google Images

So what is the secret? You might choose the best 5 places must go. It can be drinking beer in Hofbrauhaus, Munic, Germany; or eating tapas in Barcelona; or visiting Tate Modern in London. Bookmarking all the important places that you have chosen, then spread the trip around those places. When you can define which countries or cities you want to go in the allowed time, the next step is find the way to get there.

10 days are normally suitable for backpackers' wallet. Traveling alone in Europe is easier than in any other continent, because most of European can speak English. You can book a hostel room or transportation ticket online. You should find (or hunt) cheap flight tickets for months before your trip start, sometimes even year before. You should remember that using inter-city or inter-country buses will be cheaper than that of train or plane. You had better find and compare the prices before buying.

You should not miss the symbolic places like the Colosseum arena in Rome (Italy), Eiffel Tower in Paris (France), Charles bridge in Prague (Czech Republic), etc. Those are really amazing places. Many posts in a lot of forums engage travelers to discover new places, but you don't have to follow all of it, especially in your first trip to Europe.

You also don't have to follow everything written in the guide book. There are many restaurant you want to try but are not written in the book, but you can be more opened by experiencing new things. If you read about the Louvre museum (Paris, France) is the place you must go, but you are accidentally lost in the Blek Le Rat world (the famous graffity artist) with a lot of his works on the walls, you can spend times to discover both of them.

2. Travel by season

July to September is the high traveling season in Europe when you have to share spaces with millions of other travelers. Hotel, hostel, dormitory are mostly full or high price; train, bus, and plane are also harder to book. 

Therefore, you can think about Autumn or Spring time, and if you are not afraid of the cold, you can go in winter. You will find everything easier and more peaceful like it is only for you.

Winter in Austria is cold, peaceful, and not very crowded will be an ideal place for your traveling. Photo: autocarhire.com

One thing you should take notice is to travel to Europe at the right time, participating into some festival in this old continent like Oktoberfest (beer festival in Germany), Biennale (modern art exhibition in Italy), La Tomatina (tomato festival in Spain), Tomorrowland (electric music in Belgium), Exit (summer music in Serbia), etc, you will definitely have the unforgettable memories. There also one thing you should consider is the fee and expenses, and you should book all the services 3 months or more before.

3. Know how to protect yourself.

The first time in Europe, you have to take care of yourself from being cheated. Sometimes, the offer for cheap price or some winged words might attract you. In this case, being wise and cold-head will help you to stand up from the attracted words from sexy girls in Amsterdam, or street vendors in Paris. The feelings of a backpacker this time have to be strong. If you don't feel safe, you'd better to quickly go away to another place.

If you still have times after traveling to main cities, you can think about Budapest, Krakow, or Lisbon. These cities will surely bring to you a lot of surprises.

Learning some basic sentences of local language, you can at least know how to greet and ask "do you know English" in local language. 

Pack your baggage lightly, you don't need 3 jeans in the summer or big coat in the Autumn in Europe. The 1 liter shampoo bottle can be replaced by the small convenient packs or a soap. Remember, you are backpacker.

But you need to have at least one decent clothes such as a t-shirt, long trouser, or shoes when you plan to hear opera in England theater or eating dinner in a restaurant in Berlin.

4. Spend money at the right places

Although you are backpacker, sometimes you still have to pay a big amount of money to experience the special characteristics like going on the gondola boat in Venice, enjoy the afternoon tea in London, drink German beer and eat smoked pork, etc.

Bring as much money as possible, especially small money, visa card, traveler check (type of check for traveler which can be changed into money). Visa card will allow you to buy flight ticket back home, and you don't need to put it with cash. Cash should be put in different places. Europe is beautiful and the people are friendly, but there are bad and good people everywhere, so you should take care of your safeness first.

You should have visa card (or master card) and cash to guarantee the expenses for your trip. 

Photo: us.123rf.com.

You go a thousand kilometers to go to different cities with lots of new things, so don't waste your time drinking beer or wine in a bar, hotel, or hostel. Step outside where a lot of amazing things are waiting for you.

Working hard and saving money for your own journey, sometimes, you can be mean to yourself when you are at home, but generous when traveling.

The final things is to enjoy every single moment on your trip.

- Hoai Nam -

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Sillong, a peaceful city inside India

(Gotravelings.com) Shillong city , Meghalaya state in the North-East India is known as Scotland of the East because of its natural peaceful and magnificent beauty .

Shillong is the destination of visitor all over the world. In Shillong, tourists can take from 5 to 6 days to explore the city without being bored . Police Bazar area (often known as PB) is a commercial area of the city, which is close to the main bus station with lots of shops, restaurants and hotels . It is very convenient for tourists to visit the city's sightseeing .

Laitumukra area has many cafes, bars, and entertaining places for young people. Cuisine in Shillong also plentiful with dishes from China, North and South India .

On Jaiaw road, visitors can go to the butterfly collection showroom of Mr.Wankhar, a resident of the city. If you prefer, you can buy all kinds of butterflies are framed as a souvenir . Gallery always welcome guests from 11 am to 4 pm everyday from Monday to Friday every week.

The majestic forests are still primitive with lots of picturesque waterfalls , lush green hills dotted with deep blue lakes . (Photo: Cherrapunjee)

Take a tour around the city, you might go to several ancient churches. Stepping into Christianity cathedral , you will admire the beautiful works with stained glass windows and arches. Nearby are Ward lake, the city library, and the church All Saints church which was built in the 19th century .

There is a place you should not miss , it's Burra Bazaar . In the morning Burra Bazaar will have a market called Iewdu , the largest market in the Northeast. This market will introduce to visitors lovely scenes of everyday life of city residents .

The Khasis market has many things for tourists to choose from. You can buy more local agricultural products, all kinds of souvenirs such as hand-woven scarfs, mountainous butterflies, wild honey, wild mushrooms, berries and many other things. Many tourists carry cameras to filming the normal life here .

Leisurely taking a walk up the hill to explore the huge forests, you will see a dreamy landscape with Elephant waterfall, the Sillong peak, golf yard, Lady Hydari Park, and Polo Ground . You can relax for hours at Ward lake, which is shaped like a horseshoe. In the lake, there are many carps. There are also many beautiful roads with cafe lounges along the two sides. In the orchid garden, where you can admire the orchid flower from Meghalaya and rich vegetation. The opening hours are from 9.30 am to 6 pm, and the ticket is free.

Visitors can relax and daydream in the sunshine in the early morning, and see that life seems to slow down . Photo: Heartyindia .

You also should not ignore Mawsinram and Cherrapunjee, the places where you can admire the world's highest waterfall as Cherrapunjee. The two places about 60 km far from Shillong. You can not go to two locations on the same day. You will have to take a day just to explore one place only. Car transport may cost between Rs 1,500 (30 USD) to Cherrapunjee and Rs 1,800 (40 USD) to Mawsinram .

Only 10 km from the city, if you are kind adventurous person, you can hike to the top of Shillong (1,960 m high) or Lei Shillong, where you can see the city. Or you can climb to Sohpetbneng peak, which is 20 km far from the city, and where Hynfiiewtrep tribes live. Additionally , you can choose for yourself a tour to Mawphlang, whic is 24 km far from the city to admire the 0.4 hectares pristine forest; or Cherrapunji (57 km from the city) to admire the great waterfalls Nohsngithiang , Kshaid Dain - thlen and Noh Kailikai.

From Mumbai , tourists can take a direct flight to Guwahati and then take a taxi to Shilliong, which is nearly 100 km far. Or you can go to Guwahati airport by train or flight from anywhere in India, then drive to the North-East to Shillong. From Kolkata also has direct flights to Shillong.

The nature here is to make visitors fascinated . Photo: Heartyindia .

Shillong is the preferred location of domestic and overseas travellers.

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Travel Alone to India - Should or Should not

On the crowded roads without any women shadow at Kolkata, and if you are a woman/girl, you will need a hand to survive among those burning eyes from the men; and need a shoulder to lean on when witnessing a scene of  incinerators on Ganges river; and need somebody beside to be petrified for the immortal love symbol of Taj Mahal.

Burning glances in Kolkata

Even if you are a seasoned traveling/backpacking experienced girl, you cannot imagine traveling alone in India. Right after going out of Kolkata airport, you will immediately feel like a fish out of water.

There are a lot of men everywhere with big black eyes staring at you, ready to let out a string of insistent invitation with the voice of power. The city is too large and heterogeneous for you to know where to locate. In fact, when you decide to travel to India, you need even more than a man. It's better to go in a group of more than 4 to 5 people, because you will soon realize that it is the country where women's rights are something so luxurious. Whether you want or not, you have to accept this rules when entering to this country: power is in men's hand.

Men are everywhere.

Men with glossy hair by gel, carrying bag and wearing black shoes are walking in a hurry on the streets. Men drive auto-rickshaw/ taxi/ three-wheel taxi which have odometer. Men sell scarf and women sell clothes on the pavement. Men line up to withdraw cash at the ATM - and a policemen stands near by. Men properly go for a pee at some public toilet without doors built "proudly" like bus stop. Even the public toilet does not have places for women.

A "mish-mash" in Kolkata

On the street, walker - taxi - auto-rickshaw everything for itself. From an old building - vestige of colonial times, a man in a sophisticated suit carrying a handbag goes out. He put his leg on a ladder; immediately another men who is chatting with his friends comes with a woody box, kneeling down, taking a small towel and a brush to clean the sophisticated man's shoes.

A smelly urine stinks strongly from a smeared wall of a public toilet at the corner of the streets; beside it, a man coolly eat a kind of cakes like doughnut.

You will be definitely surprised with a strange scene. A policeman holds a head of a rope as big as biceps, another way of the rope is tied at a pillar on the other side of the road. There are loads of men standing behind that rope in a ready position; when the traffic light turns into green, the policeman drop the rope down to the road, and the crowd rush through the road.

The hostels in Kolkata for the backpackers are placed deeply behind doors opened on a narrow front. Outside, there are a lot of broker-men. They will guide you to the hostel in the area, dividing room and carrying your stuffs. One hostel adjoins another hostel, like a maze. Those brokers also help you to gather sufficient number of rooms; and of course, you have to give them a little tip - about 5USD.

Never think about the cleanliness of the room with 8.2m square and the price of 7 - 10 USD per night; because you will easily see the smeared basin; and you had better not to see the lavabo.

Discover India cuisine

India has a special street food which is milky tea. Hot milky tea is poured out to a wry cup fired thinly and lightly, you can even see sediment at the bottom of the cup. But the price is really really cheap (like you buy for nothing). After drinking, you should break the cup or else the seller will use it again to sell it to another guest.

There is indispensable food in India restaurant which kind of cake made from fried wheat flour, curry, cheese, or a thick mixture made from milk. If you cannot eat vegetarian food, you can choose chicken. But for sure you will love eating the cake mention above and curry cooked with chicken and cheese.

Train in India

There is one thing you should experience in India is going by train. With a heavy population, in India, people have to book for train ticket before a long time. However, at the train stations in India, there is always separate area for foreigners. If you can find that place, you only have to give the ticket seller your passport and you will have a prior ticket. 

However, it is only in the case that you can find that area, because the train stations are often very crowded, and there is no English sign in each area. Therefore, there are a lot of brokers around you. When you are "visited" by the broker, they will tell you many reasons to let you be desperate with the prior ticket for foreigners such as "this area is under construction" or "it is torn down" or "it is burnt", etc, but they still have ticket for you. Of course, you will have to pay the prices for that ticket  double or triple higher than the real value.

The best way for you is to go directly to any room, meet a person who you think it is an employee working there, and ask he/she to show you the place selling tickets for foreigners.

There is a notification that the train station in India is always crowded with passengers and beggars. Many people impersonate as the disabled to panhandle.

Train in India is not very new. Even you buy a ticket for the first class - in a air-conditional lying hold, you cannot avoid the shaking.

Ganges is here - Regenerate day by day

At the beginning of the year, the weather in Varanasi, in the Northen of India, is cool in a day and cold at night and in the early morning. Therefore, you should bring a long with light blanket (airline blanket) in your baggage.

The people here mostly have low income. There are many small and zigzag lanes. Sometimes, you can meet small stores selling scarf, fabric, and nice accessories for girls, those stores are like a miracle for girls here.

Thread the way through many deep lanes, the Ganges appears under the magnificent sunset. The river and its banks deep in the tender sun light of the sunset.

The kids play football are laughing in one corner; another corner, there are some Indian girls talking about colorful fabric and amazing accessories. Some house-wives are washing clothes nearby the river. All the scenes are so beautiful under the peaceful sunset. There is a house where they do cremation - many old  decrepit people who think they cannot live for longer live at that house, waiting for the time they return to the sacred river.

Along the river banks are majestic city walls, extending endless. In the evening, people come out from many small lanes. The men quickly prop some long plates towards the Ganges. People put  on the plates small woody table  which is covered by a yellow fabric and decorated by some big shells, flowers, candles, and censer. On each plate, they put some relief shaped like a cobra. People gather around a circle to start singing, and the girls dance. A hundred metre far from the crowd, there are many tied bodies put on the firewood estrade. The cremation begin.

However, the next morning, the river is likely to regenerate. In the bright dawn, young and old people go to the river to have a wash. The ladders are painted colorful, which make the river looks more fresh.

Lovely Agra

If Varanasi is fierce, Agra is lovely and tidy. On every road of this small city, you will always see the Taj Mahal image looming under the fog. The Agra people are the kindest and most decent that you may see in this country.

You don't need to pay 20USD to see Taj Mahal closely. There is a secret place behind the main gate which is on the other side of a ditch. The poor people can see the beauty of Taj Mahal everyday here, behind the barbed wire fence without paying any fee.

Jaipur - a pink city

Small Jaipur - clean and romantic, so that there are many tourists choose to stop and take a rest here. The reason why they call it a pink city is that in the past, queen of king Jaipur really liked pink color, so he decided to paint the city pink.

Jaipur is also famous for gemstone, and it is also the heaven of bags and scarfs. You will be welcomed like a queen in any stores on the streets. The seller often call you "Madam, madam"and invite you to go into the shop and show off a lot of bags, purses, and scarfs.

You have to learn to be brave to bargain and avoid the simulated desperate eyes of the seller,s because then you can buy a lot of things with cheap prices (around 2USD - 3 USD per stuff) while the sellers are thanking you a lot.

SOME SMALL TIPS FOR YOU:

1. Traveling to India is really great, because the trip will be really challenging. The trip help you to know a lot of things about the relationship between person and person and mankind. Any cost is also really cheap.
2. Remember that the thief/robbers in India are considered "professors in pickpocket".
3. New Year Eve in India is in the middle of February. In this occasion, people will throw ball containing multicolor paints at each other.
4. If you want to discover Tibet, it is not necessary to go to China. Dharamshala in India is the capital of Tibetan exiles.
5. Bargain, bargain and bargain with everything! Be brave to choose the right price because prices for stuff in India is really cheap.
6. When moving, you should choose to go by bus rather than by train. The bus is warmer and more convenient and faster than the train.

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How to travel the world on very little money ?!

I have travelled the world on very little money in the past and I’ve never really ‘saved for the big trip’. I could have stayed at home longer, worked more and saved a sufficient amount of money, but most of the time I just get too eager to get on the road again.

I’ve had moments on the road where I’ve nearly hit a big fat zero in my bank account, but somehow it has always worked out and I’ve found a job doing something. The world, from my experience, is a pretty friendly place, and there’s usually people willing to help you out and offer you work in times of need. Travelling on a tight budget can sometimes be more fun than when you travelled with money.

The way I see it, to live, you need food, and you need water. Oh and air, mustn’t forget air. As long as you have those things, you’re pretty much sorted when it comes to the staying alive part. As they say, “the best things in life are free” and whilst it can be nice to have millions in the bank, if you’ve not got it, that shouldn’t stop you from having a damn good time. You can still walk around cities, gaze up at famous landmarks, hike through the countryside or sunbathe on the beach.

Here’s what I’ve learnt about how to travel the world with barely any cash in the bank.

Budget

If you want your money to last as long as possible, you’re going to have to set a budget and be quite frugal with your money. The trick is to keep track of your spending so that you don’t blow your budget too early on. This is easier said than done. If you’re going away for a fixed length of time, whip a calculator out and divide the amount of money you have by the number of days you’ll be away. If you go over your budget on one day, spend less the following day. A little trick I have is to only carry around the amount of cash I am allowed to spend for that day.  If you’re travelling indefinitely, then just try to stretch your money out as long as you can and be prepared to work and let fate have a part to play.

Travel and Work

If you’re worried about running out of money, travel to somewhere where you know you would be able to get work. If you know you can get a working holiday visa in Canada, England, New Zealand, Australia etc, it might be a good idea to include that country in your travel plans if you’re low on cash. But even if you aren’t travelling to a country where you are legally allowed to work, there are many cash in hand jobs you can do in places like hostels and bars. I have met people who work ski seasons in Canada and then do summer seasons in Europe, and I know lots of people that have been permanently travelling and working for years.

Stay in one place for longer

The longer you stay in one place, the more friends you make. The more friends you make, the more people will help you. Someone might be able to hook you up with a job, or they might offer you a place to stay for a while. If you hang out in a bar often enough, you sometimes get a few free drinks thrown your way. If you’re looking to rent accommodation or transport, the longer you stay, the cheaper it gets. Renting accommodation by the night in a hostel can be quite expensive, but if you rent an apartment by the month, you’ll be spending a lot less.

Eat like a local

Avoid restaurants geared for tourists and eat like a local. Ask around and find out where they eat. I’ve often found that the restaurants with the best food are the ones that look pretty basic. Yes the restaurant may have plastic chairs, bad lighting and paper table cloths, but the fact that it is packed to the brim suggests that the food is good. If the locals are eating there, so am I, and you can be guaranteed it will be cheaper. If you’re staying in a hostel, see if people want to chip in and cook up a meal. If there’s quite a few of you, eating in and cooking yourself can work out a lot cheaper.

If its safe, fill up your water bottle from the tap

This is a relatively small thing, but can save you money in the long run. If the water’s safe to drink where you’re travelling, fill up your water bottle from the tap to save money on bottled water. If you’re in a country where the water’s a shade of brown, drink bottled water and avoid spending money on more expensive soft drinks.

Drink before you go out

If you like to party and you know you’ll be allocating much of your budget towards booze, buy it in the supermarket instead of buying drinks when you’re out. If you can leave your cards somewhere safe, just take cash with you on a night out so that you don’t end up with random payments for champagne and cocktails on your bank statement!

Have a skill you can use

If you have a skill, whether it’s plumbing, photography, massage, web design, writing, bartending, cooking or teaching, you might be able to use it in return for free accommodation, board or money. I have a friend who made really nice earrings and people she met started asking her to make some . I had another friend who made a website in return for accommodation and living allowance. If you’re into web design, photography or writing it might be worth sending a few speculative emails before you set off on your travels.

Do your RESEARCH

Wherever you’re going, do your research about how much things should cost in the place you’re going to. There are billions of pages on the internet and you can find pretty much anything on google these days, so there’s no excuse. So don’t be a dummy- make sure you’re well informed before you go. Have an idea of what you want to do and the cheapest way to do it.

Consider Free Accommodation & Hitchhiking

Some people feel a little bit uncomfortable about staying with a stranger for fear of being ripped off, harmed or having something stolen. This is a call you can make for yourself, but there are plenty of people out there who would be nice enough to give you a ride to where you’re going, or offer you a room for the night.

A friend of mine gave me a very useful tip about staying with strangers- his theory was that you should be the one approaching them rather than them approaching you. He reckoned this way round they are much less likely to have an agenda and rip you off,  and if you approach them you can trust your own judgement and instincts.

Consider Couchsurfing or WOOFING, which is where you work on an organic farm in return for food and board.

- Victoria at Pommie Travel - 

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Handbook travelling - Part 1: Prepare journey into the wilderness

You are the peoples who are preparing for an expedition, exploring the unfamiliar frontier.
You are preparing for a trip to an ecological zone that you know so indefinite.
You are about to plunge into the deep forest mountains because the mission was entrusted.
Have you fed up with life's hustle and bustle of the city, tired of mechanical civilization's amenities ... you want to find the peace between the natural?
Do you want to become a modern Robinson Crusoe?
Or for a reason, you are going to live a long time in areas with wildlife, without people.

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SAVING MONEY FOR TRAVELING - HOW ?!

Do you indulge in traveling and investigating various cultures around the world? If the answer is yes, we will provide you some tips which help you to save money for your indulgence.

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TIP - Cheap flights ?! - Part 2

In part one, I have shown some ideas about booking the flight ticket through airlines' website,s I have to remind you again : IF YOU WANT A REAL CHEAP FLIGHTS, find the promotion on the airlines' websites and book the ticket around 2 months before the date you want to fly in order to guarantee the seats and to take CHEAPER PRICES for your tickets.

>>> Back to : TIP - Cheap Flight ?! - Part 1

And now, enjoy the part 2 of the topics with more information and tips about finding and deal with some problems with cheap flights ...

<Continue ..>

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TIP - Cheap flights ?! - Part 1

Today, after my study at the university, I am thinking of going to Singapore next April or May. Therefore, I have to think of the plan for the whole trip of 4-5 days in Singapore. Of course, since I have some experiences of traveling and backpacking, I am able to manage what, how, and when to travel. When I was trying to book a cheap flight ticket on the internet, I thought of writing an article about this problem - cheap flight or not ? 

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Tip: Pack Light, Pack Smart

Well, I have just visit some travel forums and meet some questions about "PACKING". What things need to be packed and what we don't need to pack. It seems to be difficult for those who never travel before - or we call virgin traveler. It reminds me of who I am years before. So that, I read a very helpful article at one site guiding about packing, so I want to share some tip of how to to PACK LIGHT, PACK SMART. 

Thanks to this guide, I think it is soooooooooooooooo helpful. Just take a look.

Pack Less

Tackle the amount of stuff you're taking 1. Set out what you think you'll need to pack (include items like camera and guidebooks). 2. Put two thirds of it away. Even then, you may still find yourself with too much clothing while traveling. Force yourself to be ruthless! Try this test: put small items in the pockets of clothes you're wearing -- would you still want that stuff if you had to carry it on your body? Carry the light, right clothes Types of clothing are crucial to light, smart packing -- all-purpose or multi-purpose clothing means less space in a bag. Style is a good thing, but you'll wish you hadn't brought all those shoes.
• Bring soap (more on soap below) and you can get by with two shirts - one long sleeved, one short. Wear one while the other dries. You'll buy shirts on the road, too. And if yours are logo shirts, give 'em away or trade 'em before you come home.

• Pack or wear zip-off pants with several pockets; the lower legs can be zipped off and you don't need to pack a pair of shorts. Dorky -- yes, very. Light, washable, easy -- yes, very.Pants pockets make the difference in easy road travel, too. I got four pairs of the same cargo pants at European H&M stores in spring '06 because they have seven buttoning pockets. My day bag was soon almost empty while the pockets got packed, and they're my new travel faves.
  
  
• Check out money belt you can wear like a belt, rather than the cloth pouches. Either way, do learn about travel money stashing in clothes.

Packing Space Tips

• Stuff shoes
  
  Shoes provide massive unused space in a backpack. Cram them with underwear and socks Speaking of shoes, consider Teva flipsoles -- built in indoor flip-flops  save packing space. Looks -- not so much. Comfy, though.

• Roll your clothes
  
  Roll clothing you don't want to wrinkle. Some folks put clothes in plastic bags with the same goal in mind (haven't tried it).

• Keep toiletries tiny
  
  • Buy sample size toothpaste tubes and deodorant.
  • Stash small hotel soaps for travel use; carry in a small ziploc bag.
  • Pour your own shampoo into a plastic travel bottle(obtainable at drugstores) -- better yet, use the same small soap (above) for your face, hair, body, as shaving soap and for hand-washing clothes. You can buy small laundy soap packets at laundromats on the road (spendy but easier than carrying), or bring sample sizes. I've bought cups or capfuls of laundry soap at hotel front desks, too.
    
  • Mini folding toothbrush is a must -- get 'em at Walmart.

All those clothing pockets can also become toiletry kits in packing - stash stuff that might ooze in a plastic baggie.

Pack the Right Bag

To truly travel light, ensure you have the perfect bag or backpack with tons of compartments so you can get your camera, clothes, guidebooks, and all necessities in one bag, preferably carry-on size so you needn't wait at airports for a checked bag - easier to sling on buses and trains, too. If you need a big bag or backpack for a long trip, use your backpack's zip off day pack as a carry on, or get a carry on shoulder bag both for the plane and for walking the streets at your destination. Check out a passport holder / travel wallet), too.

Bags sized for carry-on will also fit in most hostel lockers. 

Tip: Current carry on bag size: keep it at or under 22x9x15 (ask when you buy your ticket). You can divide by sevens to be safe and keep carry on bags at 21x7x14.

Leave a Little Room

Lastly, leave some space in your bag for souvenirs. My souvenirs are often clothing which I can wear home and don't have to pack, like a Guatemalan shirt or a Mexican poncho. And if you find you were too ruthless about packing light and are short of clothes, you've killed two birds with one stone by getting an extra shirt and a souvenir.

Don't forget to bring a light heart.

If you wish to travel far and fast, travel light. Take off all your envies, jealousies, unforgiveness, selfishness, and fears.

- From:  About.com: Student Travel - 

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