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From Puri, India
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Saturday, April 11, 2009 |
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Long ago ditched most of my travel gadgets. Or they broke & a replacement's impossible to find. But one gadget still love... the Steripen water purifier.  Bottled water's everywhere & usually cheap. Surprisingly, more & more locals around the world now drink bottled water. Considering the rate of illness & even death from bad water, that's great! But in the middle of the night when you wake up, drink all your water & still want more... it's good having your own purifier. And more importantly, hate the thought of littering the world with plastic bottles! Saw an entire barge overflowing with plastic bottles coming off one Thai island.
The Steripen is a simple solution. Simple, as in press one button, wait a minute & you've got a day's worth of clean water. And it's only 4" & weighs about 4oz. The bad thing is it's about $100... but travel a year & it'll pay for itself. But it only kills bugs... doesn't clean the water. So couldn't use it in Cambodia where the water was dark brown or towns where tap water was from the ocean (salty). And will stop using it here... apparently many of the wells in South Asia are contaminated with arsenic. Just read that over 25 million people in Bangladesh have arsenic poisoning. So obviously it's not the perfect purifier, but think the Steripen is still pretty great. Available from Amazon.com: SteriPEN Traveler Handheld Water Purifier
Tags: Gear |
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From Nairobi, Kenya
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Thursday, November 20, 2008 |
Nairobi is infamous for bag snatchers, many of whom use razors & cut your bag strap or slash the bottom & grab your wallet. Already talked to a dozen people who've had it happen.  But thanks to a cleverly designed bag & a few modifications, feel pretty safe.
First, a bag with compartments inside compartments is key. To get to my money, you've gotta open a top flap that locks, unzip a compartment then unzip a pocket inside the compartment. And there's two compartments both with inside zippered pockets. In one of these pockets I have a wallet with my daily spending money & inside the other pocket are larger bills, which I make sure no one sees.  And if someone cuts the side or bottom & tries to grab my wallet, I've sewn a string inside the pocket & attached the other end to my wallet. Also sewn another string for my ipod & some clips to attach my camera.
If someone tries to cut the strap of my purse, they'll need serious cutters to get thru the speaker wire I've sewn inside the strap.  And the obvious... the strap is long enough to wear across my body so no one can just grab it. If you use a backpack, you've gotta wear it around both shoulders not just one!
One final word on daypacks/backpacks...
they scream tourist. With a purse or messenger bag, you've a chance of being considered an expat. And expats (foreigners who live in a country), unlike tourists, don't carry large sums of cash & know the price of things. Thieves & con men don't target them like they do tourists.
Tags: security |
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From Administrator
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Tuesday, November 27, 2007 |
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 It's a personal alarm, a door alarm, a window alarm, & will even protect your luggage.
Weighing only 3oz (without the 9v battery), this thing has a grenade like pull with a clip you can attach to anything. The other side has both a clip & slot making it easy to attach to anything. And it's got a powerful, deafening 130 decibel scream. I love this thing! I started my trip with 2 other door alarms & this is the only one I've religiously used. Too bad I accidentally left it on a window a few hotels ago. (Christmas present someone?!? Please... :) Security Plus Personal Travel Alarm
$15 from WalkAbout Travel
http://www.walkabouttravelgear.com/safety.htm |
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From Administrator
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Thursday, November 08, 2007 |
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 The places I like to travel to don’t always have reliable electricity. Hell, even Los Angeles has had its blackouts! Try to go to bed in a new hotel with no lights after a few cocktails & you’ll never travel without a flashlight either. And how many of us have gone to get that flashlight only to find the batteries are dead... god, that always happens at home but somehow my suitcases religiously finds the ‘on’ button in flight & then when I get there - dead! So now that I’ve found the dynamos, I’m in pure flashlight heaven... never worry about batteries again!
 My Lewis & Clark dynamo flashlight lasts about 5hrs on 3 minutes of crankin’. If I could justify it at all I’d get the Hello Kitty one which also has a USB cell phone recharger, AM/FM radio, emergency alarm & compass... so many life-saving goodies wrapped up in utter pink curtness. A way less-cute one from Target also repels mosquitoes by emitting a sound that scares them off. Could be useful... but it's not Hello Kitty...
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From Administrator
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Monday, October 29, 2007 |
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 Most cheap hotel's don't have closets -- let alone hangers. No matter how travel friendly your clothes, they don't look like they've been properly hung up after they've sat in your suitcase or over a nail in the wall. Hangers are a good thing. They're especially nice if you're washing your clothes in your room... even with a clothesline, they're strange bumps in your clothes that a hanger would avoid & especially shirts with collars.
I've seen two travel hanger options...
 First is the inflatable hanger by Magellan’s. It sells for around $10 for 2. I actually bought these & when I started pulling things out of my bag because of the weight, these were one of the first things to go. A few times I've thought it'd be nice to have those.. but not that many times.
The other option is new to me. It says folding hanger made out of lightweight aluminum. It looks good... certainly easier than inflating something but just how lightweight is lightweight? $6.99 MerlinsBox.com http://www.merlinsbox.com/Aluminum-Folding-Travel-Hanger-p/11-02155.htm
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From Administrator
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Monday, October 29, 2007 |
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 What's this young lady doing? Not getting dysentery, that's what. This straw filters water between the glass and your lips, via magic. And if you want the science bit, listen up. It protects against 99.99999% of all waterborne bacteria, including Giardia and Cryptosporidium. Those are my two least favourite types of bacteria.
A bargain at £19.99, since I would pay a significant amount more not to spend my entire holiday on the loo. Product page: Millets [Via Lost Weekend]
Tags: Gear Water |
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From Administrator
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Saturday, October 06, 2007 |
 Despite all the bad press, I think tasers are a pretty great invention for non-lethal self-protection. I have even, purposely, been tasered myself! For my trip, personal protection wise, I’ve gone with pepper spray. It won’t knock out a mad man as fast as 50,000 volts can but it weighs less. But there are some small & cute tasers out there these days….
 I would think it’d be a simple case that you’d have it taken away if caught, be in some countries tasers & pepper spray are illegal. Ditto individual states in the U.S.
Black one is the Thunder Stun 200-K Stun Gun, with a built in flashlight & it retails for $13.99. The pretty pink one is the C2 Taser & goes for a whopping $295.
Tags: gear security tasers |
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Gear 
