While daydreaming about traveling can be nice, sometimes you just want to get down to the nitty gritty of it all. Travel Tip Tuesdays is our way of exploring some of the "How To" questions. It's a place where we impart some lessons learned. And, above all, we hope it's a resource for other travelers daring to live their dreams too.

Comparing an 18-hour bus ride through Peru to a 5-hour bus ride in Cambodia is like comparing jalapeños to tarantulas. Both have their positives, both have their drawbacks, both say a lot about where you're traveling, and both are delicious if you're in the right frame of mind.

There is not one piece of equipment more integral to the backpacker than the eponymous backpack itself. Given this fact, it seemed only right to ruminate briefly on what makes a good backpack, a well-packed backpack, and a backpack likely to confer happiness onto its wearer.

Especially when you're just starting out on your trip, you can sometimes find yourself wanting someone to tell you what to do. You want black and white answers to gray-area questions. If I can't drink the local water, can I brush my teeth with it? Should I give money to street beggars? Is it safe for them to shove my beloved backpack up onto the roof of the bus?