Before you leave home, in fact when you are in the planning stages of your trip you should get comprehensive backpacker-specific insurance. Many of the countries you will visit think health and safety is optional so you the responsibility of dealing with any accidents, illness or losses will fall heavily on your shoulders, so make sure you are prepared.

In the event of an injury or illness, make sure you have a first aid kit, preferably in your hand luggage. You may only ever need the plasters and painkillers, but it’s essential that you take too many precautions when it comes to your health. You will probably get ‘Delhi-belly’ and not just on trips to India, so keep re-hydration sachets and Imodium tablets handy.

No doubt you’ll take a vast number of photos whilst you’re away; probably more than you can deal with and definitely more than you need. So instead of cropping and deleting on the move, periodically download them on to memory sticks and keep copies for yourself and send copies back home in the post.

You will avoid losing your image library and spending costly hours in Internet cafes painstakingly choosing which ones to save and which to discard. Save this job for the comfort of your bedroom back home.

Your passport is arguably the most valuable item you will take with you on your travels so guard it with your life. However, just in case something does happen to it, keep a photocopy in your hand luggage, stored separately from the original. It’s also worth keeping details of your flight connections and numbers to call if you lose or have you bankcards stolen.

You may feel a head torch unnecessary and it is most definitely a ticket to loserville, right? Well you’re wrong. This small, inexpensive piece of kit can come in mighty handy in a variety of situations. From reading on a dark night bus to finding a safe route to the toilet on the campsite, you will be surprised just how useful a head torch can be.

You will probably walking long distances, hiking through rainforest, and climbing mountains so a rucksack is far more practical than a handbag or shoulder bag. Although it may look a little geeky, you can carry a rucksack safely on your front whilst still carrying your main bag on your back.