“What’s important is that you make the leap. Jump high and hard with intention and heart. Pay no mind to the vision that the committee made up. You get to make your life.” – Cheryl Strayed

 
After a much-needed break, Nomaddiction is back and ready to fill 2016 with plenty of adventure, inspiration and drive! Only 10 days in to the new year and I have already found myself packing my bags and jetting around the country. Having just arrived back home again, I am feeling ready to tackle the New Year and write about everything travel related for you to indulge in and be inspired by.

Driving through rural Victoria

To get you ready for your upcoming trips this year, I have put together a list of travel essentials that’ll help you get by on the road.

1. Noise Cancelling Headphones

It is definitely worth investing in a decent pair of headphones. Not only will a pair of good quality headphones enhance the music you’re listening to, it will drown out background noises on buses, trains, planes, hostel rooms etc.
 

2. Camera

When you travel, you want to take plenty of pictures that capture each and every glorious moment. To get the best quality pictures, again you’re going to want to invest in a good quality camera. You don’t need to be an SLR whiz to take amazing photos, however I do recommend buying an SLR quality camera. I use my Canon EOS 1100D, which is easy to use and great for beginners.
 

3. Neck Pillow

While these items look ridiculous and can take up a lot of room in your bag, I 100% cannot live without mine when I travel! There’s nothing worse than having a sore neck after sleeping in an awkward position on a long flight. When you’re not flying, you can use your neck pillow as an extra pillow on your hostel bed if you (like me) prefer extra neck/shoulder support or if you’re camping, they make a great pillow in general!
 

4. Baby Wipes

Baby wipes are great! They can be used for almost any purpose and are easy to carry, taking up barely any space in your baggage. I always keep baby wipes on me and use them for cleaning my hands, make up wipes and for cleaning my bits when there is a large amount of time between showers (eg. Long haul flights, camping etc).
 

5. Book

I’m one of those people who severely struggles with reading a book on a digital device. I much prefer to hold the tangible product in my hands and bask in the great papery smell that can only be experienced by holding a real book. While books can take up a bit of room in baggage, you only need to pack one and then participate in hostel/public book swaps in order to continue reading and lighten your potential heavy load.
 

6. Food

I always pack survival food. For me that pack includes a tube of vegemite, a tube of cheesy vegemite, ritz crackers and zappos. Unfortunately, all of these products are Australian (you can take the girl out of Australia, but you can’t take Australia out of the girl –amirite?!) so if you’re reading abroad, the only advice I can offer is ‘that sucks’.
 

7. Vomit Bag

One of the great little gem’s of advice that my Mother gave me was always take the vomit bags from the Airplane. I always laughed at her and thought she looked crazy stealing as many vomit bags from the back of chairs as possible. That is, until I fell ill with the most horrible hangover ever and very ungracefully threw up out the front of a religious temple in Vietnam – not a fine moment. In between spews, I remembered my Mum shoving a vomit bag in my backpack before I departed, so in an act of desperation I opened the front pocket of my bag, and like some kind of holy grail sent from above, there was a vomit bag, clean and folded, ready to be annihilated.
Ever since then, I’ve followed in my Mum’s footsteps and always grab a handful of vom-bags before getting off a plane.
 

8. International Travel Adapter

No explanation really necessary. Get one.
 

9. Journal and Pens

You don’t need a fancy journal; a 50cent notepad from the dollar store will do just fine. Really, all you need is something to write on and something to write with. When you’re constantly on the move, it can be hard to remember everything, so even if you only write a sentence a day, you’ll still have something to remind you of all the fun you had when you go back home.
 

10. Quick Dry Clothing

Always pack at least one quick dry t-shirt and pair of pants. They always come in handy and cleaning is easy as they only take seconds to dry in order to become wearable again.