Be Prepared For With Boots, Hats, Sticks And More For Walking In Bulgaria and Worldwide

Be Prepared - Shopping for Sticks & Hats

In Bulgaria and the ski and walking village of Baorovets, the shops up and down the two main streets beside the hotels and behind them, you can buy the basic items you are likely to need if you don't already have everything. 

1 Choose a rucksack to carry your water bottle. If you don't have a pocket outside the rucksack, consider a wast belt or trousers with a large pocket.

2 Pick a pair of expanding walking sticks. I like the ones with a t shape top, rather than a simple circle.. A fellow walked suggested holding the stick under the t bar when strolling along. She said that was less pressure on one's wrists.

3 Look for a protective hat.

I saw an Australian wearing a whole brim hat. It also had a neck protection at the back. He bought it in Australia.

In Borovets, Bulgaria, where people go skiing in winter, walking in summer, I saw hats with neck protection

4 Choose hiking boots or trainers. If you have restricted luggage size and weight, for example if travelling on a budget airline such as Ryan Air, you may wish to wear your heavy and bulky boots or trainers while travelling to your destination country. Another system, adopted by a friend of mine who is over six foot tall and has large feet, is to to back your shoes in a soft sided bag you sling over your shoulder, leaving more room for clothes in your suitcase.

Pack socks to match. Take socks of different thicknesses. 

At the end of a day's hiking I remove bits of gravel lodged in the soles and wash the trainers. Some people say that trainers can be washed in a washing machine. Check the manufacturer's instructions.

5 Convertible trousers and jackets. Some trousers (Americans say pants) zip off at the knee to make shorts. Check outdoor clothes shops, sports shops, camping shops, second hand and sales on Ebay. 

6 Keep gloves in pockets. Even if you don't need them, they might keep off the flies and mosquitoes.

7 Buy maps or photograph route maps at destination from sign boards.

8 Keep phones powered up with a spare charger and a linking lead plus plugs for the country you are visiting. We travel with an extension board so we can always have extra sockets in case we have two laptops and two phones and two toothbrushes.

9 Photograph safety instructions so you can read them at leisure later. 

When others say, 'It doesn't matter',  show the official advice or email it to convince everyone.

10 Choose jackets and trousers with large pockets for all your gear. Pockets need fastning to be sure of safety. Protect yourself from items dropping out, or pickpockets.

11 Take an umbrella. 

a) Against rain.

b) Against sun.

c) To hide when going to the toilet.

12 Sunblock.

Take it with you. I did my hands. Then I folded up my sleeves and my arms were not protected.

13 Anti insect protection. Insect bite balm or soother. Note natural remedies, such as dock leaves for stinging nettles.

14 Carry a sticking plaster in case you get a blister.

Useful Websites

ryanair.com

skyscanner.com

traveloka.com

About the Author

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

Sarees, sarongs and co-ordianting clothes add glamour and hats add height

Co-ordinating Clothes

I saw a woman in a lovely black and red skirt. Unfortunately her blouse was yellow (very attractive) and her shoes were blue. 

She looked lovely, but ill-assorted, as if she had been dressed by three different people, or rushed out of the house in a hurry, grabbing from a cupboard of mis-matched items.

I wanted to take her into a shop and buy a two tops , simple tee-shirts would do, in red and black to match the skirt, and a black or navy skirt to make the yellow and navy match.

Nearly all the Indian women wear sarees of completely matching outfits. The dress matches the bolero, leggings and long scarf. 

The gold edging adds class and glamour. The gold co-ordinates with the bangles and hoop ear-rings and shoes. The neatness and co-ordination from head to toe with no waistbelt cutting the body in two, adds height. 

Hats For Height

Add a hat for height, on imortant occasions such as weddings or to show who is the boss.

Romania - what is where? Dracula, bears, Wiesel and the Merry Cemetery

Flag of Romania

Problem
Dracula's castle is cut off by brown bears, says the BBC news report on Jun 11, 2017. What's the alternative to visit? What is where in Romania?

Answer
If you fly into Bucharest, that is towards the south, slightly east. You can drive north and come to the wine region.

Continuing north west into the middle of the country you reach the Carpathian mountains (which form an anticlockwise arc to the border in the north with Ukraine). Here in the middle of Romania, on the top of a mountain, is Dracula's castle, based on bloodthirsty Vlad the Impaler.

Romania Brown Bears
Romania is just one rather large country, but has more than half of Europe's brown bears. On this occasion it is thought that the brown bears were attracted by tourists' food. Dangerous?

Yes. Brown bears are dangerous any time. A mother bear and three cubs are especially dangerous. Oh, dear. Mother bears are like human mothers. They can get very angry if they think anybody might endanger their previous babies.

Singapore Monkeys
Bears can be attracted by kind-hearted souls or photography enthusiasts who deliberately feed them. Deliberate feeding of wild animals is discouraged in many places. The feeding of monkeys in discouraged in Singapore. Why?

Because in Singapore monkeys wreak havoc. They start to expect food when they see tourists with plastic bags. Monkeys grab tourists' food, cameras, and hats. If there's no food in the plastic bags, the monkeys are disappointed, hungry, because they are out of the habit of catching their own food and think it's a trick, they they've been cheated, so they get aggressive. Having got comfortable with humans, knowing humans are not dangerous, monkeys swing up balconies and go into apartments, frightening residents, and causing damage from droppings and breakages.

Canada Bears
In Canada bears are a danger. You have to be careful, not even leaving sandwiches in a car because a bear can bash the car or break a window trying to reach food which it sees or smells.

Romanian Picnics
In Romania, they think its was not deliberate feeding of animals, like in Singapore, more like food left behind after picnics. Puts you off picnics and eating in the car doesn't it!

If you can't get to Dracula's castle, the two other attractions on my itinerary (mentioned in my previous posts) are the house museum of the birthplace of Nobel prize winner Elie Wiesel, of Holocaust fame, and on a lighter note the Merry Cemetery.Both of these are on the northern border of Romania where it adjoins Ukraine. Looking at the map, you might think it's easier to reach these attractions from Lvov in Western Ukraine (Lvov, home of Masoch, whose prolific writings including the book which inspired the idea of Masochism). Unfortunately there seems to be a big barrier of mountains in between.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Please share links to posts.

Recycling and Reviving Warm Winter Clothes

Problems

A traditional deerstalker hat worn by Sherlock Holmes and sold in Scotland and England protects your ears from the cold and your eyes from light on snowy days. I had just given up hope of finding one when I saw it half price in the children's section of Primark in London, England.

1 HATS
Light hats blow off.

2 CLOTHES
Clothes are not warm enough.

3 SHOES AND SOCKS
Sensible summer sandals are too lightweight for winter walking and let in water and frost.

4 FEELING CHILLED

Answers
1 HATS
Sew a ribbon to secure your hat. To tie a bow under your chin, you need two pieces of ribbon. Allow a long enough piece to tie a bow. If your ribbon is too short. Use one piece of ribbon extended with a piece of elastic. Alternatively have a pice of ribbon or Velcro which links at the back of the neck under your hair. (Like the join in a baseball cap which fits different sizes.)

2 CLOTHES
Check the temperature at your destination. Pack accordingly.
Jumpers with worn sleeves can be cut down to make neck warmers. If you have old jumpers which you no longer like, or the body is too small or old but the arms still fit, cut out the arms to use as a warm lining for your jacket or coat.
Add a warm hat, matching gloves and a matching scarf. You could also cut arms off to make two mittens, a pair of fingerless gloves, or one muff.

3 SHOES ANS SOCKS
Travel with spare socks. If the pair you are wearing get wet in rain or snow, remove them and store them. The wet pair can be washed and dried later. Use a hair dryer in a hotel bedroom or gym, or a hand dryer in a public toilet. Meanwhile, wash your feet in warm water in a bathroom or toilet, dry your feet with paper towels, and put on the dry spare socks.

4 CHILLED?
INSIDE YOUR BODY
DRINKS
Coffee and hot chocolate and tea. If you don't like calories, drink lemon tea. If you like joy, drink mulled wine.
Warm your hands on the cup of hot drink.
Carry a thermos flask or hip flask to save leftover long drinks.

GLOVES, MUFFS AND HAND WARMERS
Gloves can be lined, waterproof, padded, mittens, fingerless gloves for typing, or fingertip sensitive so you can operate a mobile phone without removing gloves.
You can buy a muff. Or make a muff from an oblong of material made into a cylinder large enough to insert your hands and sleeves. Use fake fur, discarded teddy bears and soft toys, or from a cushion, or an old ski jacket, the back or the sleeves.

HANDWARMERS
You can buy gloves for ski resorts with built in hand warmers. (Might only last a few hours. But good for a special occasion such as New Year's Eve.)
Hand warmers are various types. Some use batteries. Look for rechargeable hand warmers.

In my late father's childhood, children went to school carrying a hot potato in their pocket for their lunch. You warmed your hands on the hot potato.

OUTSIDE YOUR BODY
Book a hotel with a Jacuzzi or Sauna. Warm up in a sauna in a hotel or gym.
Warm your hands in the drier in a public toilet.
Warm up in the hot shower in a hotel bedroom, a hotel gym, or by a swimming pool.

Story from Angela
One year I was planning to do a winter walk around the East End of London. Even in the house before setting off I felt cold. I thought, I can't go out in such cold weather.
I reflected that the previous year I had been in the USA, in a ski resort, and had walked around in much colder weather, with snow on the ground. What was the secret? Padded ski clothes.
I looked in my cupboards and suitcases and the attic for my ski clothes. Off I marched, in aki wear. When I arrived and we gathered to meet the tour guide, everybody stared at my ski resort, neon, day-glo colours. I don't know whether they are simply a fashion, or have a practical use in locating you lying horizontal amid the snow and if you fall over or leave an arm out when stuck in a snowfall.
I felt distinctly foolish.
However, as the hour long walk progressed, everybody else got colder, and colder, shivering, blowing on their hands.
At the end of the walk, an American woman said to me, "What a great outfit you are wearing. You were the only one dressed suitably for the occasion!"

SKI CLOTHES
Advantages of most ski jackets
1 Jolly colours; reflective - so you can be seen at night crossing roads.
2 Inside pockets give added security.
3 Strong zips and secure fastenings.
4 Sealed seams and no fiddly buttons leaving gaps.
5 Raglan or wide sleeves and armholes and shoulders so they cover thick jumpers underneath.

Tips
HATS AND HOODS
In previous years I have had to wear a brimmed hat covering the neck bought in a ski resort in cold winter weather.
This year you can buy brimmed woolly hats which cover your ears and neck, with a secure tie-ribbon from markets and pound shops.

When buying a hat or coat I always look for one with a hood to keep my head and neck warm in winter and cold weather.
I have also added detachable hoods from one black coat or jacket to another. All you need is a button on the back of the jacket or coat and a loop of ribbon sewn onto the hood the right length to hold the button. If you have time, add two more buttons at the corner of the hood. This gives a neater effect, more warmth, and added security against losing the hood.

Scarves which are too long and get in your food can be sewn together at the ends to make a snood which keeps your chest warm.


Websites for further research:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hand_warmer
http://www.xxl-sale.co.uk/search/?q=Hand%20Warming%20Gloves
Poundshop.com (Beanie hats, thermal gloves, thermal socks, £1.)
Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.
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Pumpkins in Morrisons for Halloween

Pumpkins in Morrisons for Halloween. Everything in orange. You can get paper plates and serviettes and paper cups to match.

I love pumpkin pie. In America we would drive through the countryside and see signs everywhere offering pumpkins for sale at restaurants and supermarkets and farms.

In Singapore we used to enjoy pumpkin soup starters, and pumpkin pie dessert for lunch when members of the American Women's Association which met in the American Club for a seasonal lunch.

In Morrisons and other supermarkets you can buy costumes, hats and more.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

Happy Hallowe-en

Hallowe'en has arrived in the shops. The month of October. Here's a window in John Lewis, Watford with a display.

I remember when Hallowe'en was almost unknown in England but the Americans made a big thing of it. Now all the supermarkets in England are full of Hallowe'en costumes.

Here's a cake in the window of Genuine Cakes, who have a shop in Hatch End and a stand in the centre of the mall in Intu in Watford.

If you bought Hallowe'en hats or fingers or face paints in previous years, you have time to get them out, ready for your home or away parties. As you travel your trip will be enhanced by the hallowe'en window displays and decorations.

If you are on a budget, try poundshop.com
If you need to stock up on hats or outfits for any other occasion, they will be cheaper the day after Hallowe'en.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

Health and Insects Home and Abroad: Precaution and Prevention

In Singapore the cases of Zika have caused recommendations for preventive measures. The current main concern is about mosquitos which can cause pika and dengue fever.


Precautions and Prevention
Methods include:

Protective Clothing
Wearing long sleeves.
Wearing socks and closed shoes and long trousers (USA pants).

Door and Window Barriers
Doors and windows to cover:

Front door
Front door into house or hotel bedroom. Notice the double doors in many bedrooms in hotels (Thailand and Indonesia) with outdoor corridors, not just providing privacy and a place to leave your breakfast tray so it can be collected without disturbing inhabitants of bedroom, not tripping up passers by in corridor.

Side and Back doors
No point blocking the front door if the flies are coming in from the garden or patio windows or sliding doors. Shutters outside and inside can provide barriers whilst letting in fresh air or cool air. In France you often have outside wooden shutters for cooling and therefore windows open into the room.

In the UK we have windows opening outwards.

Side windows. Bathroom windows. Skylights. (These have the advantage that often flies go upwards and can be let out.)

Covering Choices
Covering windows with insect-proof nets which seal at edges.
Covering doors with nets. Or bead curtains.
Fixing self-casing hinges so doors are not left open.
Double barriers - double doors, as are a legal requirement in the UK and UK territories since
Victorian times between toilets and kitchens, so flies can't go from the toilet to the kitchen each time you open the door.

When I was in the USA I noticed that in the hot southern states in was common to have fabric or metal insect proof barriers on windows and doors. If your windows don't already have these, as a landlord or tenant or even somebody staying temporarily for short stay abroad you can do this. How to you fix the covering? Just look at the work surfaces and google the possibilities or photograph the surface and take the picture into a DIY store.

Choices include:

1 Touch and close loops (known in the UK by the brand name Velcro);
2 Blue tac or white tac,
3 Washable glue
4 Hammer in nails

(For old property or somewhere about to be demolished where you don't mind damaging the walls when you leave or change decor)
Or drill holes and when you need to leave then fill in holes afterwards with filler and if necessary cover with paint or varnish or decorative gold stars or curtain hooks or stickers.

Hong Kong
In Hong Kong I have stayed with two families. Windows are often overlooked. Some windows have no outlook. Others allow the neighbours in the same block or adjoining block to look in at you, or you are distracted by them. Solutions used by my friends include inside horizontal slatted blinds, or paper pasted onto a closed window.

Australia
In Australia flies can be a great nuisance, quite apart from any danger, especially near beaches and even tourist landmarks such as the multiple rocks in the sea.

In Australia camping shops and outdoor shops and clothing shops sell hats with front brims like baseball caps with side and back covering over the neck.

You can also buy amusing hats with corks around them. However, I find corks bobbing across my sunglasses and vision are a nuisance. Wasted money? I found a different use for these hats as a novelty for wearing on stage in England talking about Australia.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer.

What you see at Orthodox weddings on travel trips

One of the joys of travel is to see weddings in other countries. I have been to peek at the bride and offer my congratulations and good wishes at many wedding receptions, mostly in hotels, sometimes in restaurants, or outside churches in Europe, or in streets.

I usually take a picture from a distance, then am emboldened to get closer and ask permission to take the bride alone, then the bride and groom together. At this point they sometimes ask me to join them for a picture.

I have been to two orthodox weddings like this, once as a friend of the groom from university.  I had not realised how orthodox he was - he used to come to my home and refuse food on the grounds that he had just eaten an apple.

Another time I was a guest as a friend of the bride's mother (who was also my travel agent at that time).

I researched Orthodox communities when researching for a novel including Orthodox Jews and Irish people in the East End of London, England in the 1880s. It soon became clear that those long coats and hats were ideal in the freezing winter weather, especially where the Orthodox Jews had come from, in northern Europe, from Russia or Poland or Ukraine which was part of Poland/Russia/Austro-Hungarian empire, as I discovered in knee-deep snow visiting Poland in winter.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3495234/Ultra-Orthodox-Jewish-wedding-Israel-sees-THOUSANDS-guests-gather-celebrate-grandchildren-two-famous-rabbis-wed.html#reader-comments

Angela Lansbury, travel writer

Buying Football Clothes: Manchester United Hats and More

Manchester United, Arsenal and other football teams, English, Scottish and Irish, are available in shops for you to buy for yourself or as Christmas presents for friends. In London's Oxford Street you can visit a shop with two floors of souvenirs of football, to buy for yourself or friends and acquaintances, as a gift, a thank you, or a favour if they are willing to pay but want you to buy for them whilst you are in England and they are not.

The prices can be quite high. You may be surprised or not surprised to learn that some clubs earn more from selling their tee-shirt, hats, scarves and other souvenirs, than they do from matches. The selling goes on day after day worldwide.

We went looking in London for Manchester United and Arsenal clothes for somebody else who does not have a large, unlimited budget. First the assistant showed us the most expensive t-shirts. We hummed and hated and started to walk out. Then he found us the less expensive tee-shirts. We selected the cheaper of the two tee-shirts.

The Arsenal tee-shirts had the name of the sponsor Emirates dominating the tee-shirt. We decided that it was safer to stick to our brief exactly and opt for a tee-shirt where the name of the football team was the focus.

I wandered over to the sale rail in hope. I found tee-shirts for Ireland, Scotland (didn't they lose - or was that rugby?) and other teams I did not know. Nothing for Arsenal nor Manchester United.

However, right next to the sale rail was the hats and scarves display. Hey! Hats with Manchester United. The first one I looked at was £5. The second one was three times as much, £15. So the first one seemed a bargain.

The hats were warm, as might be expected needed when watching football which is a cold weather sport. (Unlike cricket which is a summer sport, very slow, lots of players standing around, in hot countries, lighter white clothes).

Would a warm hat be unsuitable for a supporter in a hot country? Such as Singapore. Never mind. It was a good price. You could hang it on a hook in your bedroom. You could wear it indoors in a breezy flat or top floor balcony at night or to a fancy dress party or in an air conditioned sports bar when watching a match.

Job done. We went off very satisfied with our purchases. I hope our friend will be equally pleased to get them. If not, he won't be short of friends who would be glad to receive or buy a tee shirt or hat with Manchester United.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.