GaiaGeek

If you’re backpacking through foreign countries where restaurants aren’t cheap, then getting your meals from the grocery store is pretty much a requirement if you’re on a budget. You can fill yourself cheaply with spaghetti and tomato sauce (I’ve actually seen backpackers use ketchup as a replacement) – yet while you might be saving money on your meal, nutritionists would argue you’ll be paying for it in other ways. Adding some of the foods on this list might save you more than just pocket change.

The 20 Healthiest Foods for Under $1

Some of the foods on this list are obvious, and others will be nearly impossible to find in other parts of the world. Regardless, even if you’re traveling somewhere that you can afford to eat like a king (i.e. Thailand), it doesn’t hurt to supplement with some of the foods on this list when it comes to those mid-afternoon or late-night snacks. I always like to keep bananas in my room when I’m traveling for just this reason, as they’re healthy, cheap, and available just about anywhere.

As for the foods on this list which may only be available when you’re back home, keep in mind that this list doesn’t just apply to when you’re traveling, since before you can go anywhere, you first have to save money for the trip.

If you’re headed to a country where the electricity runs at a different voltage (i.e. if you’re in the US and going to Europe) you probably know that you need a plug adapter in order to plug your laptop or other device in for power. If you have a few devices that need power and are tempted to bring a power strip so that you only need one plug adapter, you may want to reconsider. First, if the power strip has any kind of surge protection built in, it’s probably designed to work only on your country’s voltage and probably won’t work properly (and may even get fried) on a different voltage. Even if it’s just a basic power strip without surge protection, that’s still overkill in terms of size and weight for the kinds of small devices you’re probably traveling with, such as your laptop, mobile phone, etc. You can accomplish the same thing with much less size and weight by using a simple plug splitter, which usually split one outlet into three. Better yet, pick up a basic extension cord that has three outlets on the end, which can be found for under $2. Having a six-foot extension cord can be handy in developing countries where electrical outlets aren’t placed as frequently. In guest houses, hostels and small hotels, sometimes there’s only one outlet, right next to the door, which is an inconvenient place if you want to plug your laptop in and sit in bed.

Note that these cords are only for the two-pronged variety of plugs, so if you have a cord with a 3-pronged, grounded plug, you’ll need the appropriate plug adapter – or a grounded plug splitter and grounded extension cord.

If you want a surge protector specifically for your laptop, there are small, in-line surge protectors available which can give you that protection without weighing down your bag and which work on 120V (U.S.), 220V (Europe) and 240V (Australia and New Zealand). I’ve personally used the Tripp Lite TRAVELERC8 and it saved my laptop from a monster power surge in India, sacrificing it’s own life to save my laptop. Unfortunately, my laptop’s power adapter was killed as well, but given that the laptop was left plugged in during the entire surge (it wasn’t a brief spike) this isn’t such a surprise – especially when you look at what the surge did to Tripp Lite’s surge protector (below). I can’t imagine that my laptop would have survived without it.

This Tripp Lite surge protector saved my laptop.

If you’ve come across a great travel-sized surge protector you’d like to tell us about, feel free to leave a note in the comments below.

(Updated with new codes.)

AirTran, American Airlines, Delta Airlines and Virgin America have started offering WiFi internet on select flights through Gogo Inflight Internet. According to this thread on SlickDeals.net, you can try it out for free if you’re on a flight where it’s offered by following these instructions:

• On the flight, connect to the ‘gogoinflight’ wireless network.
• Open any webpage.
• Create a new Gogo account.
• On the payment info page, enter promo code 1669da59g1.

The above code expires September 30, 2009. For American Airlines, try code 1815rft3321 which expires October 31, 2009.

While a rural Australian town may be the first to ban the sale of bottled water, whichever side of the great bottled water debate you fall on, there is an undeniable fact about drinking bottled water when traveling in developing countries: your empty bottles are almost certainly not being recycled, and instead destroying the beauty of the very country you traveled thousands of miles to see.

I once bought some bananas from a street-side fruit vendor in India and decided to eat one right away. Just near the fruit vendor stood one of India’s many (estimated at 200 million) roaming cows. After finishing my banana, I held the remaining peel out for the cow, which promptly devoured it, and in that moment I realized how that banana had been a perfect zero-waste food: I got mine, the cow got hers, and nothing was left for the landfill. I can only imagine that India looked much cleaner years ago when the majority of garbage was either food waste or paper, both of which India’s many cows will happily digest. But with the introduction of plastic-packaged food products, suddenly there was waste with no consumer – and to make matters worse, most places in India have no municipal waste facility: no garbage truck that takes your bags of garbage away to a landfill where you’ll never see them again (something most of us take very much for granted).

While glass bottles do get recycled in India (probably because of deposits), plastic bottles get thrown out with all the other trash – meaning they go on the side of the road, in the local stream, or to the heap of garbage just outside the village, which will eventually be burned to make room for the next pile of garbage. If you’re lucky, you might even see Indians burning the day’s collection of garbage at the beach. Foreigners look at them like they’re crazy (“Don’t you know that burning plastic creates toxic fumes?”) but they are simply dealing with the situation that they have to deal with: getting rid of the garbage (and often times it’s your garbage).

While it’s possible (and quite preferable) to avoid buying pre-packaged foods in favor of eating at a local restaurant, water is one thing we can’t go without. Of course, if you’re in a developing country where one of the standard rules is “don’t drink the water,” how do you get around this problem of staying hydrated without leaving behind a huge pile of plastic water bottles?

Technology to the rescue: a small, wand-like device called the SteriPEN promises “safe drinking water anywhere” by using ultraviolet light to sterilize water from lakes, streams and questionable taps in developing countries. You simply insert the device into your water container and stir (or shake) for about 90 seconds. When used properly, the UV light kills “99.9999% of bacteria, 99.99% of viruses and 99.9% of protozoa (i.e. Giardia and Cryptosporidium).” It’s smaller than pump-based purification systems and a better solution for long-term stays than water purification tablets (which can also add a chemical taste to your water).

I personally used the SteriPEN Classic almost every day for my 5 month journey through India, so I can attest that it works. My daily water purification ritual was to couple my SteriPEN to a Nalgene water bottle using the SteriPEN Prefilter and shake the bottle gently for the required 90 seconds, usually while enjoying the view from my room. If you don’t already have a wide-mouth Nalgene-type water bottle, you may want to get the System Pack which includes the SteriPEN Classic, the Prefilter and a 32 ounce water bottle. If you want the most portable version of the SteriPEN, there is the SteriPEN Adventurer and the SteriPEN Traveler which are half the size and weight of the Classic (3.4 ounces vs. 8 ounces). However, the shape of these models (they only differ in color) doesn’t allow them to work with the Prefilter, which means you’ll have to stir your water rather than shake it. This may be fine if you’re only spending a week abroad, but for the long-term, I think the “shake” method is far less tedious than having to sit and stir water every day. Fortunately there’s now a new, middle-ground option called the SteriPEN Journey which will work with the Prefilter, but is smaller and lighter than the Classic. It also features the addition of an LCD screen which tells you which dose you’ve selected (.5 liter / 16 ounces or 1 liter / 32 ounces), the battery status and the time remaining during a purification treatment.

The Classic runs on four AA batteries, which should either be rechargeable NiMH batteries or lithium AA batteries (regular AA alkaline batteries are not recommended). I recommend using high quality rechargeable NiMH batteries such as Sanyo Eneloops, as I’ve had experience with my SteriPEN not working due to a low battery error with old and lesser quality rechargeable batteries even after they’ve been freshly charged. Using either rechargeable or disposable lithium batteries should get you about 200 purification treatments of 16 ounces of water, or 100 treatments of 32 ounces. The other versions of SteriPEN, including the Adventurer, Traveler and Journey, all use two CR123 lithium batteries, which are smaller and more powerful than AA batteries, though also more expensive. These models will get you about 100 treatments of 16 ounces or 50 treatments of 32 ounces per set of batteries. Note: lithium batteries must be disposed of properly, so if your lithium batteries die on you while traveling, please take them home with you to ensure proper disposal rather than throwing them out in a developing country, where they could end up somewhere that would contaminate the local groundwater.

Keep in mind that using the SteriPEN or any water purification device does not guarantee that you won’t get sick while traveling. If you’re staying in an area where the water is questionable, there’s a good chance that you’ll be exposed to something through the food you eat (an inevitability that comes with traveling to exotic places). If you do get sick, I speak from experience in saying that you may find the SteriPEN to be your holy savior, as even if it’s the middle of the night, all you have to do to get drinkable water is turn the tap, fill the bottle and shake for 90 seconds.

Pickpockets can often be a concern when traveling, and some major cities have even started posting “beware of pickpockets” signs in heavily touristed areas because it’s such a frequent problem. You can safe-guard your cash and passport by using a money belt, but they aren’t always practical – or even necessary. Here are a few tips to help you keep your wallet in your own pocket.

- Keep your wallet in your front pocket. Never wear it in your back pocket. In a crowded area, it’s much easier for someone to “bump” into you and remove your wallet without you noticing. If your wallet is too thick, take out the things you don’t need regularly and get a different wallet if necessary.

- Use a chain wallet. PacSafe makes a wallet called the WalletSafe which keeps your wallet attached to your belt or belt loop by a low-profile chain which should stop any pickpocket dead in their tracks. The WalletSafe also has zippered pockets and is made of fabric, which is lighter than leather and better in humid climates, where leather can develop mold problems. However, if you don’t need the extra features, you can always go with a standard chain wallet instead.

- If a chain wallet isn’t appropriate because of the style of clothes you’ll be wearing (i.e. if you’re a business traveler), wrap a thick rubberband around your wallet and leave a couple twists in it. If someone does try to pull your wallet out, you’ll be much more likely to notice it.

- In a pinch, use a pin. If you discover that you’re in an area where pickpocketing is a known problem and you or someone in your party isn’t prepared, you can use a safety pin to seal a pocket shut. Obviously it’s not the most fashionable solution, but it will keep a stray hand from getting into your pocket and it only takes a few seconds to undo it when you need to get your wallet out.

- If you’re concerned about muggings or any situation where you might be forced to hand your wallet over, carry an extra “handover” wallet. Keep a small portion of your cash in that wallet (a believeable amount) as well as some expired credit cards (best if they are from accounts you have closed, so the number is no longer in use) or some of the fake credit cards that came with credit card offers in the mail. An old driver’s license is good as well if you have one, and maybe throw in a couple scraps of paper with phone numbers or other notes on them to make it seem real. The idea is to make the thief believe they got your wallet and run off with that.

- Be aware of your surroundings and look like you know what’s coming. This advice extends far beyond the safety of your wallet. Criminals often prey on the unsuspecting, such as tourists who are distracted by the “sights” around them or who have had a few drinks and are caught up in conversation with one another. Be conscious of where you are and the people around you. If you feel you’re in a high risk area, look at each person (especially those who don’t stand out) for about a second: long enough for it to at least appear as if you are “registering” their face and might recognize them if you saw them later. If a thief knows you’ve seen them and might recognize them, they’ll be much less likely to try anything.

The scam works like this: A nice looking girl or some other innocent looking person walks up to you at the airport or train station and points out that you have mustard on your clothing. They get you some napkins and try to help you get the mustard off your clothes. While you’re busy wiping away the mustard, their partner has walked off with your bag or purse which you’ve set down in order to take care of the stain. Then the helpful stranger offers to get some more napkins, only to disappear as well and leave you wondering where your belongings are.