“A towel,
[The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy] says, is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have. Partly it has great practical value. You can wrap it around you for warmth as you bound across the cold moons of Jaglan Beta; you can lie on it on the brilliant marble-sanded beaches of Santraginus V, inhaling the heady sea vapors; you can sleep under it beneath the stars which shine so redly on the desert world of Kakrafoon; use it to sail a miniraft down the slow heavy River Moth; wet it for use in hand-to-hand-combat; wrap it round your head to ward off noxious fumes or avoid the gaze of the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal (such a mind-boggingly stupid animal, it assumes that if you can’t see it, it can’t see you); you can wave your towel in emergencies as a distress signal, and of course dry yourself off with it if it still seems to be clean enough.”More importantly, a towel has immense psychological value. For some reason, if a strag (strag: non-hitch hiker) discovers that a hitchhiker has his towel with him, he will automatically assume that he is also in possession of a toothbrush, face flannel, soap, tin of biscuits, flask, compass, map, ball of string, gnat spray, wet weather gear, space suit etc., etc. Furthermore, the strag will then happily lend the hitch hiker any of these or a dozen other items that the hitch hiker might accidentally have “lost.” What the strag will think is that any man who can hitch the length and breadth of the galaxy, rough it, slum it, struggle against terrible odds, win through, and still knows where his towel is, is clearly a man to be reckoned with.
Today is International Towel Day (also known as International Geek Pride Day) in honor of Douglas Adams. And while the above quote might seem too-sci-fi, it actually is great advice. There are some simple things that one can take on their travels that are multi-purpose or critical for travel. Here are my “Must Haves”:
- Eye Mask – I use to hate Eye Masks because I only ever had the cheap ones. But upon finding an eye mask that has an contour to match the eyes everything changed. It allows for rapid eye movement that is critical during during natural sleep patterns. While I still haven’t mastered the skill of sleeping in public or strange places, this at least allows me to rest a bit by blocking out the light.
- Sarong – I bring an extra large Sarong as my “Towel”. Use it as a blanket, a towel, a pillow, or even packing material for souvenirs.
- Bone Chiropractic Pillow – I struggled with those annoying U-shaped pillows and never found one that was comfortable. Someone suggested a “Bone” style pillow and I’ve brought one on every trip since. It works sitting up, leaning up against it and a window, and even works in bed.
- Carabiners – I love Carabiners! I hate having to carry multiple bags so being able to clip on extra bags, hats, water bottles and go hands free is incredibly helpful.
What are you must haves on every trip?
Leave a Reply