Posts tagged gear

I kept a ziploc baggie of about 10 of them because I used them every night and didn’t want to use the same ones over and over. Also, they’re small and easy to lose.

I wore them pretty much every night in the Philippines. They protected me from the aural hazards of: traffic, people outside, people inside, roommates in hostels, roosters crowing all night long, early rising/late sleeping family, karaoke, snoring.

I use these Hearos ones specifically. They’re quite comfy. You compress them (like I’ve done in the photo), stick them in your ear and they expand.

The rule seems to be: if it is a material good that you can find identical in the US, you’re better off buying it in the US - don’t know how well this applies to other countries.

Not everything is cheaper here. Basically, all non-commodity material goods that you would buy in the US are either the same price or more here. Books, branded clothes, electronics, etc. Buying them here is just like buying it in retail stores in the US.

Which is problematic for me because I’m pretty good about finding deals in the US. We’ve got things like Amazon.com. So for example, this backpack is $25 there.. here at the mall, it’s $42.

You can get Amazon.com stuff shipped to you in the Philippines, but based on everything I’ve read and experienced here, it’s not worth it even if you live here permanently and pretty much impossible if you’re just short-term traveling.

Luckily! I bought most of my stuff in this category while in the US. My one major miscalculation was in having a second bag - one to tote around during the day and as an overflow bag. Also useful for when you have your big bag on the roof of a bus or checked in on a plane - keep your valuables in your smaller bag with you.

This is a simple one. It seems obvious and dumb, but I’ve never read it anywhere else, so I thought I’d share.

While traveling, I carry my own towel. Hostels and other places I stay don’t always have them or they want to charge for them. When hopping from hostel to hostel, hotel to hotel, hotel to plane, you may not want to put a soaking wet towel in your bag. You can put it in a plastic bag for keeping your things dry temporarily, but this isn’t the greatest solution. Also, if you plan to shower multiple times in a day, try this to ensure you’ll always have a dry towel:

Wipe the water off your body with your hands. Start with your head. Press the water out of your hair by flattening it against your head. Brush off your shoulders like you’re brushing off dirt.
Keep going down your body and you’ll find that, especially if you’re not super hairy, you can remove most of the water without a towel.

Also, I use a quick dry towel from MSR. Packs small, dries super quick. I’ve got the XL size because I like to wrap my towel around me.