I never really thought I was the type for camping. In the UK I always find it pretty grim. I’m not much of a princess, it’s just that even in summer it gets so bloody cold at night that I have to cosy up in my skiing jacket to sleep!
But it turns out I just love sleeping under the stars without a tent when the weather is warm!
Here’s why it’s awesome.
Campfires
I’m a Brit. Typically we insist on building a proper fire for our BBQs (and normally stand under an umbrella in the rain to cook on it!). None of those gas powered thingies for us thanks! So there’s a place in my heart for food cooked on an open flame.
Camping normally involves cooking on a campfire. Then eating around the campfire. Then drinking around the campfire, with some good story-telling thrown in.
And that’s before you even get to toast the marshmallows!
You can see the Milky Way
Have you ever seen the Milky Way? No, not the chocolate bar… the galaxy. No, not that chocolate bar either!
And I don’t just mean “have you seen stars?” – I mean, have you seen the galaxy actually looking milky in the night sky? Like it does on TV?
Because it really does, y’know! Just probably not from whatever town or city you live in. There’s too much light to really see the magic up there in the night sky.
But sleeping under the stars without a tent, in the middle of nowhere far away from the light polluting towns and cities, the night sky looks absolutely incredible.
The stars are so bright. There’s a milky white haze. There’s colour. You see that the sky isn’t black, but navy and purple and green. And it is just beautiful. A wonder of the world, or rather, the universe!
Who wouldn’t want to fall asleep gazing up at such an awe-inspiring view?
You can get a good night’s sleep
Wait! I’m not mad, I promise! Some of the best night’s sleep I’ve had whilst travelling have been sleeping under the stars without a tent.
If you’re travelling on a budget you often have to share a room. And sometimes you have to share with people you wouldn’t choose to share with.
Sometimes they talk. Sometimes they snore. Sometimes they turn the light on in the middle of the night. Sometimes they toss and turn on the bunk beneath you. And, aside from curling up on the sofa in the lobby, there’s not a whole lot you can do about it.
But what if you weren’t restricted by beds, or walls? What if you could just drag your bed right out of earshot? Beats sharing a room with snorey lady, that’s for sure!
Tents actually aren’t that great
Ok, sometimes you need a tent. Sometimes it’s windy and rainy. Sometimes there are mosquitoes.
But tents have a downside too.
For a start, you can’t see the stars. Second, you can’t feel the fresh air. Plus, you don’t get the freedom of space.
I once had to share a tent with two other girls I had met just that day. They were really nice… until they were asleep.
The girl in the middle seemed to prefer my side of the tent. I ended up sleeping with her arm round my neck and my nose squashed up against the side of the tent. AND she snored in my ear!
Given the option, I’d much rather be sleeping under the stars without a tent!
What about bugs? Spiders? SNAKES?!
Well… I guess I’d be lying if I said there will definitely be none of those things. But I’ve slept outside quite a few times and I’ve never had to contend with any creepy crawlies.
The best thing to do is put it out of your mind. (Depending on where you are and provided you are with a guide) it’s unlikely that anything bad will happen.
And… if you need the bathroom?
If you’re sleeping under the stars without a tent in the Australian Outback, or in a desert in India, there probably won’t be a proper bathroom.
But!
When there are bathrooms in those places they are normally long-drops – i.e. a deep hole in the ground. And they stink. Like, really stink!
Given the choice I much prefer the other option: peeing behind a random bush.
If it’s dark you get extra privacy. Use your torch to wander off and find a spot, turn off your light and no-one will ever know you’re there!
What’s an adventure without a story to tell?
The best part about all adventures is the collection of great stories you get to tell.
It’s really rare for it to rain at Uluru, in the middle of the Australian outback, but it did the night I slept out there without a tent! Lucky me!
Camping out in the Rajasthan desert in India I was serenaded to sleep by wild dogs howling at the moon. One later woke me up licking my hand…
And I once wandered off for a midnight wee in the pitch black night. Imagine my shock when a cow mooed less that two feet away from my ear! (Turns out I wasn’t quite the middle of nowhere that time!)
Sleeping under the stars without a tent
The great thing about camping, with or without a tent, is that you can try it pretty much anywhere. If you fancy somewhere more adventurous than your own back yard, G Adventures have some awesome camping trips.
Or, I can thoroughly recommend the Rajasthan and Varanasi on a Shoestring trip that I went on last year, which includes just one night camping in the desert (tent optional).
And the best night sleep I had whilst backpacking in Australia was sleeping in a swag at Uluru.
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