Sometimes flashpacking isn’t an option. Perhaps the economy’s got you down and you can only afford budget accommodations for this year’s vacation. Maybe you’re planning on going far off the beaten track and there’re slim pickings. The question du jour is can you fake flashpacking?
In my line of work you often have to stay in some pretty wretched places, including where I was last week - a $7 a night guest house, away from the usual tourist haunts somewhere in Laos. The general idea with faking flashpacking is to trick your brain into thinking you’re “in the wild” à la Meryl Streep in Out of Africa . As opposed to “in the wild” à la Lord of the Flies. Speaking of flies…
Meet the Mombasa Defender - Mosquito nets are good for more than just mosquitos. Roaches, lizards, and even rats are deterred by them, which means sounder sleep for you. So try to forget the roaches and pretend you’re actually in Mombasa…
Linens and things - Ditch the sure-to-be-disgusting bed sheets (if there are any) and bring along your own. Up the luxury with a nice, compact, silk sleeping bag. You can find these quite cheap all over Asia, but if you’re headed elsewhere, try making your own or score one online.
Avoid that mildew smell - The best way to trick your brain is through scent. You will not be able to pretend you are anywhere but a dingy, dirty place if that’s what it smells like. Even decent dwellings can smell damp and dank during the rainy season, so I always try to pack scented travel candles. Now crawl under your net in your silk sheets, light some candles, and grab a good book. Pretend it’s luxury and a relief to be staying in a place without internet…
Avoid a gross shower and cold water - Dr. Bronner’s is a fantastic organic/fair trade line of soaps and shampoos. At some eco retreats you might even be asked only use Dr. Bronner’s since it’s completely biodegradable and only vegetable based. The downside? You’ll need substantial waterflow for a good 
lather and rinse. I tend to travel with wet wipes because you can avoid gross guesthouse showers (or freezing cold water) for a few days and stay perfectly clean. And now I’ve found this ezine article, which explains how to make your own Dr. Bronner’s wet wipes with tea tree and lavender oils! You can make the disposable kind or put the solution in a spray bottle and use it with a quick-dry travel towel. If it’s warm where you’re traveling and there’s some privacy, try washing your hair outside and pretend it’s Robert Redford lathering up your hair with those minty suds on your very own high-altitude coffee plantation in Kenya…
Keep your daily buzz -I love these small french press solutions! Death to Nescafe! There’s no reason to drink that horror or do without your daily fix just because you’re far from café culture. Pick your roast, grind your beans, and pack your tiny caffeine savior. Pretend you’re Meryl Streep’s next door neighbor in Out of Africa and that waking up to a rooster crowing before dawn is worth it because you live right next to a high-altitude coffee plantation in Kenya….
I.
— It might be a tad bulky to stash in your pack (11″x6″x4″, including handles and knobs), but this is one gadget you’d want to have in your arsenal in an emergency. Like an electronic Leatherman, the FR1000 is a two-way and AM/FM radio, clock, flashlight, siren, beacon light, and cell phone charger. If the batteries die you can recharge them with the manual crank on the side. I, for one, like the old-fashioned/modern compromise of being able to charge my cell phone by hand. It retails for $150.
II. 
III. 
then fill with water. The conical shape focuses sunlight into its center, heating the water and whatever you’ve chosen to cook in it up to 90°C (194°F). It requires no fuel other than sunlight, so there is virtually no environmental impact. However, you do need direct sunlight for it to work optimally; at night and on cloudy days, may I suggest canned Vienna sausages?
IV. 
— Unless you’re already sporting a state-supplied ankle monitor, you might want to look into buying this gadget before your next outdoor adventure. Little bigger than a computer mouse, Spot is a GPS-enabled device (not a GPS navigation system) that can trigger text messages to be sent to your friends and family with your exact location coordinates, so that they may track your progress as you travel. In case of emergency, Spot also has a 9-1-1 mode that will send a distress signal to an international monitoring station every five minutes until the emergency is resolved. The downside: Spot doesn’t yet work in parts of South America, most of Africa, and southern Asia. While it will knock your balance down a bit with a retail price of $169.99, think of all the money you’ll be saving on postcards.
V. 
— These have become standard issue for military personnel around the world, and campers swear by them. Slowly sliding the flat, magnesium striker down the FireSteel key creates a 3,000°C spark that will ignite dry kindling (like companion-product Mayadust, $4.50 a tin) in a flash! The bright spark can also be used as an emergency signal. The lifetime of the Army model ($16) is 12,000 strikes, with which you can start more fires than your average dragon.
VI. 
— This one’s such a cheapie (anywhere from $1.50 to $13, depending where you look) that I couldn’t resist throwing it in the list. Mylar is said to reflect up to 90% of your body heat back to you and it’s waterproof, so in case of emergency you can slide into one of these bags and pass the night without freezing. Or you can line your sleeping bag with one to effectively lower its temperature rating. Their weight is negligible and they fold up small enough to fit in your pocket, so tossing one in your pack is a no-brainer.
VII. I’d like to add a low-tech but highly useful item I brought with me on my current trip: 
. An extremely durable yet easy-to-tear tape, it’s come in handy on several occasions in the past week alone. I’ve used it to secure lids and store food, to patch tears in ziplock bags (which are infinitely useful themselves — here are some 
VIII. Finally, it’s not a survival gadget but a 
, by Steven Callahan. Think Alive, but on a life raft and without the cannibalism. According to the mental floss reviewer, after the author’s sailboat sank, stranding him alone in the raft, he devised ways “to collect fresh water, spear and otherwise trap fish, gather barnacles, plot his position using a sextant made from pencils, and much more…” in order to survive. I figure if I read this book and watch all seven seasons of MacGyver, I’ll be ready for anything.
Lonely Planet Encounters
— Doing double duty as an actual belt, a small zipper on the inside allows you to stash cash (and maybe a key) but not much else. Eagle creek actually has as range of styles to choose from priced around $15. (the above model is more like $40)
2. Fake hair spray, soda cans, shaving cream or any other “
4. The 
— Nice for convenience at the beach, my guess is any thief that stalks the dunes for quick cash could spot this distinct brand. But I think it could work in a hotel.
” — Use the empty PC card slot in your laptop to hide some extra cash. No word on how to keep the computer from getting stolen…
6. Make a 
— A mugger would probably find this one, but it would prevent pickpockets and bag snatchers from getting the good stuff. Try carrying a diversion, a cheap wallet with a few bucks in it while putting your real stuff elsewhere.
— It’s actually called The Fake Book. So much for subtlety.
— This one is kind of cool. It’s a slightly thicker version of a coat 
hanger that can be opened at the ends. Put a jacket over the hanger and it looks pretty inconspicuous.
The Lifestraw® Personal resembles a hand-held bike pump and works very simply — you just suck water directly from a source into the straw, and blow back into it to clean the filters. Plus, at a foot long, an inch in diameter, and weighing only 5 oz., it’s small enough to hang around your neck on a string.
The Lifestraw® Family is less compact than the Personal, but it’s designed to filter more than 15,000 liters (4,000 gallons) of water and should last for about two years. Also, it’s a more effective filter, killing and removing 99.9% of bacteria, viruses, and parasites from source water.
That said, there are times that circumstances really force you to pack light and lugging too much will put a serious damper on your travel high jinks. So here are some tips to prevent your contemplating the purchase of some hideous reversible shirt or an unfortunate item from Rick Steves’s light travel line…
4. Trade in your gear — If someone travels with it, then an entrepreneur somewhere out there has made a lightweight version, guaranteed. How cool is this thing? 
or a 
always find myself here. It’s not really too big a deal since I’ll use any excuse to live in flip-flops, but it’s easier to cheat and buy lighter-weight footwear than to actually figure out which strappy sandals I want to leave behind.
Unless you want to party with warlords, get the heck out!
