Allow room in your schedules for deviations.

Speaking of deviations, which we can also call perversions, let's talk about what you look like, ugly. Don't be afraid to be gross. It's okay to be a tad nasty when you travel. Some would even say preferable. Plan knowing that you will wear your favorite brown cords every day for ten days (twenty, if you're anything like me). Yes, you need nice shoes to get into clubs in Europe. But for everything else, your doc's are okay, or sneakers or whatever you can comfortably live in.Forget what your mom told you about hygiene: you do not need showers everyday (or even week, really). Especially in the developing world, where many budget travelling acquaintances of mine have been known to eschew the whole bathing process for weeks, you should be prepared to get a little funky. Not out of disrespect for the places you're visiting, but because travelling on the (really) cheap is more like camping than anything else. Don't waste your precious backpack room taking extra changes of clothes and excessive toiletries that spill out of your Toiletry Bag. Be simple; be smelly. Say it with me: I stink, therefore I am. It's life-affirming stuff, stinkiness. You will be so much happier toting light stuff that your gradually growing stench will scarcely matter.That said, be conscious of your image wherever you go. Go in dirt, but know whereof you are dirty. Recognize that at a border crossing, you should take the extra step to clean yourself up. You should also be aware of what others see when they look at you. Identify yourself: Do you look like what you are- a longhaired prepster in stony Jamaica over Spring Break on official "business"? Are you a duckbilled fratboy from Long Island with the beginnings of a beer belly and a t-shirt that says Villanova Spring Fest? A severally pierced rocker with torn clothing and skanky green dreads? Or else: Are you a woman? Are you alone? Are you struggling with bags that seem heavy and unwieldy? Do you seem like a likely target? Whatever calls attention to you will probably work against you. These things should help you assess what sorts of risks you should take, and how likely you are to run into trouble in certain situations.