Years of haphazard travelling have made me think I’ve picked up a few travel hacks along the way — or, as my genius cousin likes to call them, “anti-mainstream travel hacks.”
Some of these are practical, some questionable, and some probably only make sense to me. Also, yes, I stole the title for this post from him. Thanks, Ken.
13 Anti-mainstream Travel Hacks:
1. Pack Half a Suitcase
I pack half a suitcase. Seriously.
Either I end up buying things and needing the extra space, or I move constantly between cities and appreciate travelling lighter. There has never been a single trip where I regretted having extra luggage space.
Never.
A small caveat to this travel hack: if I’m travelling somewhere cold, I always bring Heattech or thermal layers. They take up almost no space and somehow save the entire trip.
2. Wash Clothes While Travelling
Yes, washing clothes while travelling sounds incredibly daggy. If I were writing this for my younger self, this is probably where she would stop reading.
But hear me out.
Luggage restrictions keep getting smaller while my travel periods keep getting longer. Add the fact that I love buying souvenirs and filling my house with random things from every place I visit, and suddenly luggage space becomes a real issue.
The solution? I wash my clothes during the trip.
Even if I don’t wash everything, I at least wash my PJs, basics, and innerwear. The real trick is booking accommodation with a washing machine. If that’s not possible, I use a laundromat. And if things get truly desperate, I wash clothes in the bathroom sink and air-dry them overnight.
It saves an absurd amount of luggage space.
I also bring my most reliable outfit combinations — the ones that suit the weather and make me feel the most confident — and simply repeat them. Nobody cares. Everyone is too busy surviving their own itinerary.
Read more: Not So Essential Japan Travel Tips for First Time and Returning Visitors
3. Grocery Stores Souvenirs
This habit started unintentionally because of a rule at work: anyone who travelled overseas had to bring back local snacks for the team.
Over time, I realised grocery stores are elite souvenir spots.
I love wandering through foreign supermarkets and buying random things I’ve never seen before just to try them. I usually go during the first few days of the trip to scout what I want instead of waiting until the last day.
Some of my favourite travel memories involve eating food I couldn’t pronounce.
I also think grocery stores are one of the best ways to understand a place. They’re basically tourist attractions to me and often the first places I visit in a new country. The snacks, instant noodles, frozen food, fruits, drinks, and strange local products tell me so much about daily life there.
I could spend hours in one.
4. Local Brands & Toiletries
One of my favourite parts of travelling is trying local products — not just food, but skincare, makeup, spices, drinks, stationery, random convenience store snacks, and everyday essentials I accidentally discover while wandering around.
This is also why I rarely pack full-sized toiletries anymore.
Unless I’m particularly attached to a specific brand, I buy my toiletries after arriving. Grocery stores and convenience stores overseas are part of my travel experience anyway. I usually grab the smallest available sizes and use them throughout the trip, and if I end up loving something, I bring home a bigger version later.
Some of my favourite travel finds happened completely by accident this way.
And more often than not, scents become attached to places in my memory. A shampoo from Japan. A body wash from Korea. A frangipani body oil from Bali. Somehow, they become part of the trip itself.
5. Cookbooks
This one is less a souvenir for other people and more for myself.
If I love the food somewhere I’ve travelled, I buy a local cookbook and bring it home. And if my luggage doesn’t allow it, I will order one online later.
Because the true souvenir isn’t the book itself — it’s the meals I’ll make from it years later.
A Pad Thai recipe that reminds me of a tiny stall in Phi Phi. A bigoli all’anatra recipe that brings me back to Venice. Somehow, the food becomes a way to revisit a place long after the trip ends.
6. Christmas Ornaments Around The World
If I’m lucky enough to find them, Christmas ornaments are one of my favourite travel souvenirs. They’re small, depict the place I travel to, easy to pack, and every festive season, they become tiny travel memory capsules hanging on my tree.
7. “1% Better”
If something can make travelling 1% better with very little effort, I do it.
For example, one of my biggest travel frustrations is bland aeroplane food.
And if you know me, you know I mean spice. My cousin travels with full bottles of chilli sauce, but that feels like too much effort for me. Recently, I discovered Japanese shichimi togarashi packets. Tiny. Convenient. No leaking. Long shelf life. Now I permanently keep them in my travel pouch.
Problem solved.
Skipping meals on flights makes me grumpy and somehow worsens jet lag, so this tiny travel hack significantly improves my mood.
Read more: 17 Europe Train Travel Tips.
8. Phone Wrist Strap
I’m usually the photographer in the group and, unfortunately, also very clumsy.
A phone wrist strap changed my life.
I used to almost drop my phone constantly while juggling my camera, journal, tickets, bags, and everything else. Now my hand stays mostly free, and I can quickly grab my camera whenever I want to take a shot.
I also learned another related travel hack: if I carry a camera, I make sure it has a camera strap. And yes, I learned both lessons the hard way.
9. Record Now, Google Later
This is one of my favourite travel habits.
I don’t try to perfectly journal every detail while travelling because I’m there to experience things, not become a full-time archivist. Instead, I quickly document things in ways that feel natural to me — photos, voice notes, or small bullet points throughout the day.
Things I did. Strange food I tried. Conversations. Emotions. Small memorable moments.
Another thing I do constantly: if I’m curious about something but don’t have time to read about it properly, I simply take a photo and Google it later.
I do this all the time in grocery stores, museums, and galleries. I photograph labels, packaging, explanation plaques, or artwork names, then properly experience the moment first and read about everything later while resting.
Best of both worlds.
Read more: Basic B Journaling Tips for Newbies and check out some of the Travel Memoirs That Shaped My Mind and Life.
I also love writing letters to myself while travelling. Not for Instagram. Not for content. Just for me. Future me always appreciates it more than I think she will.
Speaking of which:
10. Leave the ‘Gram for Later
Unless I’m being paid to create content, I try not to spend my travels editing Instagram stories.
Travelling already comes with limited time. I’d rather explore more, wander more, sit in cafés longer, eat random things, and occasionally do absolutely nothing.
I’ve been doing this for a few years now, and while it does mean I currently have years of unposted travel photos sitting in my camera roll… strangely, I’m okay with that.
The memories still happened even if Instagram — and even this blog — never saw them.
Along the same lines, I try to limit social media while travelling in general. I didn’t cross countries just to stare at the same apps I use at home.
Read more: Onsen Tips from Someone Slightly Obsessed with Onsening.
11. If Something Truly Calls to Me, I Buy It
I’d take this advice with a pinch of salt.
But if I’m somewhere I’ll probably never return to, and I find something that speaks to me — not impulse-buy-everything energy, but something truly special — I usually buy it.
Otherwise, I’ll think about it for years.
Ps. I also make sure it’s not possessed (I’ve watched enough horror movies to stay cautious).
12. Know Your Seat
Window seat for views. Aisle seat if I know I’ll pee a lot. Simple. I also immediately take off my shoes during long flights and put on fluffy socks. Tiny comfort upgrades matter.
Read more: One-liner Travel Tips, Treats, and Tricks.
13. Schedule “Me Time”
Travelling can become overstimulating very quickly, especially in groups. Sometimes I need one quiet morning, one solo coffee, one slow walk, or one afternoon doing absolutely nothing.
Not every moment of travel needs to be productive. Some of my favourite travel memories are moments where absolutely nothing happened.
I think that’s okay too.
Read more: How To Carve Out Me Time While Travelling and How To Not Go Crazy When You Travel With Family.
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