Packing Precautions - Spare Pills

 

Spare pills packed. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

1 always travel with an extra week's supply of pills. I used to take one extra day, so that I had a spare pill the morning after a midnight flight, even if I thought I would be home before mid-day. 

Now, aftter several experiences of changed plans, I am even more cautious about having a plenntiful supply of prescription only pills.

Why? I might be unlucky and have a cancelled flight. 

I might be lucky and get inited to a weekend party, or wedding and stay on longer. 

On my last trip, my husband was invited to a conference. We briefly considered whether he should stay on and I should go home. But our car was at the airport. Besides, I was happy to extend the holiday.

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Pills which can be torn off

 

Tear off pack for Alendronic pills. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

Good news for anybody in your family who takes regular or intermittent pills.

I always wished Levothyroxine pills came in perforated packs. I thought it might be difficult to manufacture. However. Alendronic pills have issued pills in tear off packs.  I hope all other pill suppliers will do the same.

That enables you to see at a glance how many pills you have taken. And when to call your doctor or pharmacist to re-order, and collect more pills.

When travelling, even just for a few hours, you might want to tear off a pill and put it in your purse or pocket or pill container.

Meanwhile, I use a flip box for my Levothyroxine. You can buy all shapes, colours and sizes in your local pharmacy, or some supermarkets, and online.

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Checking Out Of A Hotel, Or Changing Hotel Bedrooms - How to Check For Items Left Behind

Closet in bedroom of Somerset Bencoolen serviced apartments, Singapore. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

I have several tips for you based on recent and distant experience.

1 Behind Bathroom and Bedroom Doors

 Years ago, in India, my travel partner left me to check out of a hotel room whilst he rushed off to a conference.

Left behind, he discovered in the evening, was his expensive bathrobe, which had been hanging on a hook behind the bathroom door. 

The hotel denied all knowledge of it.

Nowadays, when I check into and out of a hotel, I make a point on arrival of looking to see if there are any books behind doors. For 24 hours before checkout I make sure nothing of mine or my family is hanging behind a door. On checking out, I check behind every door.

3 Check the fridge!

Did you leave behind important pills, your packed lunch, or essential milk for coffee at a hotel or service apartment which has no supermarket for miles? This happened to us this month. 

The reception may know that you are switching rooms. However, the room cleaning girls only know that if a guest has left a room, all fridges must be cleared.

We asked reception to tell the cleaners next day. However, we lost our milk.

Here's your checklist

1 Visually check the room including behind doors

2 Open all drawers and wardrobes (closets)

3 Check under beds and sofas

4 Check inside the fridge

5 Check the bed and under the pillows

6 Check the bathroom including cabinets, shower tray and rack, bath

7 Check the room safe and any safe at reception

8 Check the boot and glove box and front and back seats and under seats of the hire car.

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Last things to pack and do before travelling? From windows to waterfalls

Allow a week or month for purchases to arrive, such as climbing clothes and boots, or a new suitcase. Check airline seat and order meal. Start or finish your language course.

SELLING UP?
Ebay and Amazon - for last minute purchases. Some places offer 24 hour delivery or express same day delivery for a premium.

Your old kit may be out of date. Selling off - use Gumtree.

SUITCASE
Check suitcases. Handles which won't push back in, missing wheels, or just needs a wash?
New tag for new destination. String or ribbon to identify bag.
Strap, in case locks fail.
Locks and keys.
You can buy a cover to protect your suitcase against scratches, prevent tampering, and identify your luggage from a distance. Covers are good for hard suitcases but might cover outside pockets on soft suitcases.

PACKING
List what you pack so that you can check when re-packing. I once came back with only one of a pair of slippers. Another time the baby's essential teddy was under the duvet in the cot.

My top ten list - write your own list on your phone and fridge door.

MEDICATION
Take your pills and pack your pills. Photograph prescrition in case you need a repear prescription or are challenged about your pills or lqiquids at customs. Note pills left behind and expiry date.

Keep all liquids separate.
If eating at airport, check the airport restaurants on line to save time and not miss out.

PRICES
Note prices of perfumes and wines at local supermarket and destination airport before buying at home airport.

Check currency exchange rates at airports of bothe coutnries and outside airports in both countries. Allow time for: to change currency and go to airport lounge and toilets and hunt for trolleys and check in queue (Americans say line up).

KEYS & PASSWORDS
Note or remember passwords.
Take keys and travel passes.
Leave behind duplicate keys and travel passes.

NUMBERS
Note your frequent flyer numbers.
Note your passport number.

WASHING
Vaccuum floors. Wash bedding and pillowcases.

FOOD & DRINK
Take water for your journey. Ideally use a small container which can be emptied to save litter and clutter.
Empty food bins and clear from fridge perishable items.

Check weather at destination. Take an umbrella and packable sunhat.

SPECTACLES
Wear a glasses chain so you can attack your spectacles when asleep on a flight or dozing whilst waiting. Note your prescription in your diary so that if your spectacles break you don't need to pay for an eye test. If you know your prescription you can order glasses on line.

Emergency - forgot or broke glasses? Many supermarkets sell glasses. If you have different eyes these will not work long term and would give you headaches. However to quickly read a map, or a restaurant menu, the cheapest off the rack glasses will get yu through, even if you have to shut one eye. you could also borrow somebody else's glasses.

We did this once at a wedding when my husband forgot his reading lgasses. He had not planned on reading any books and forgot about trying to read a restaurant menu in dim lighting. 

READING MATERIAL OR GAMES OR MUSIC
Take education or entertainment material for journeys and delays. Novel. Novel you are writing. Music. Language course for destination.

STATIONERY
Take a new notebook, and diary. Map of destination. Print alphabet or word list.

GOODBYES & HELLOS
Say goodbye to friends or colleagues and leave contact details.
Remind destination family, friends and colleagues that you are arriving.

Confirm flight check in and seat. (Meals must be booked 24 hours early.)

GOODBYES
Allow time to say goodbye to neighbours. You may wish to give them spare keys, plants to water, or pets.

Leave instructions as to which relatives or gardeners or wind cleaners are likely to visit and who should be let in and who should be prevented from entering or reported.

If you have a burglar alarm, ensure somebody nearby can turn it off.

GIFTS
Find out what your relatives want brought back from a holiday destination. You might want their size in clothes or shoes. Would they prefer clothes, stationery, ornaments or only practical items, food or drink, alcohol, no alcohol, cigarettes, no cigarettes, something with their name on, a joke item or item with a joke on it, or nothing?

ORDER CABS
Order cab at departure point.
Order cab at arrival.

COUNT BAGS
Count your suitcases, bags, umbrellas, cameras, and coats, duty free and magazines and newspapers and food bags.

KEEP EVERYTHING ATTACHED
Have several systems. Write down the number of items and/or photograph them.
This also helps when reporting a loss.

Never put anything down.

I lost a silver ring on a washbasin. Always put jewellery in your bag or around your neck on a chain with a secure fastener, not a ribbons with a knot which could slip, nor a t bar which could come undone.

Wallets and keys and bags placed on top of a car foor as you unlock the door are asking to be left bhind. A bag behind the car boot, before you drive off - or drive over it.

We did that. My husband reversed out of a driveway in London over my travel bag and brolly. He said it was my fault and I said it was his fault. Never put anything down behind a car unless you are hiding from terrorists.

PACKING LIGHT FOR A SHORT TRIP?
Pack light. Cito o-ordinate clothes. Vary with scarves and jewllery. Wear heaviest shoes. Choose reversible dress and jackets. convertisble trousers which shorten p into a tab. Check all buttons are secure. Sew down zip ends so zip pull does not pull off. Have ribbons to tie or elastic to secure hats from blowing away.
Reversible scarf.
Pack clothes which was out overnight.
Remember night dress and swimsuit and swimhat.
Take sewing kit.

TIME TO AIRPORT
Allow extra time. In Singapore after dark you can see the lights on the multi-storey atrium waterfall at Jewel shopping mall.

Photo by Matteo Morando in Wikipedia article on Jewel.

Changi Airport also has a Butterfly Garden on two levels.

Useful Websites
Several youtube videos show you how to pack light, even for a long trip.
To sell items
Gumtree is in the UK, Australia, South Africa and Singapore.
https://www.gumtree.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gumtree
https://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com/2019/08/packing-for-trek-what-weight.html

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Please bookmark and share links to yuur favourite posts.

How to remember to take or pack pills

Problem
I am in such a rush on travelling days, or any day, I often forget if I have just taken a pill.

Answers
A large seven day pill box. That is too large except for a very large pocket. You might want to buy jacket with a larg pocket, or sew a large pocket onto a garment, or wear a neck bag or cross-body bag on the plane.

I don't like pills kept in a jacket pocket next to the heat of my body or the heat of a recently used laptop, because the packet tell you to keep the pills cool.

A small four day pill box for a pocket for a weekend away or while travelling. (A pill needs to be in your pocket when your airline breakfast tray arrives, not in the bag in the overhead locker, when theaaisle is blocked by the breakfast cart.

Ordering Pills
Order pills for your entire stay away and a day or two extra becuase:
If you are travelling overnight you need another pill on the day of arrival.
You might decide to extend your holiday.
Your flight might be delayed a day, or longer.
You might want one pill packed in a bag, but a backup in your pocket in case even your backpack or wheel on cabin bag could go missing.

Records
You need a record of your pills and the prescription. Why?

You know it's medication. The people in security checking 500 people a day or a week or a year have to be sure what that white liquid or powder or pill really is.
1 To show it's required personal medication and not something you are selling (which would be illegal in another coutnry or your own if you are not a doctor nor permitted to do so).
2 To prove it's medication (and not some poison you are planning to drop in a stranger's drink!).
3 To show it's actually medication and not something else (such as gunpoweder or an explosive).

Packing
Singapore Airlines and other people tell you not to pack your medication in luggage.
Why?

Your luggage could be delayed.
Your luggage could go missing.
Rain could damage your luggage.
Impact could break your luggage and any bottles.
Your luggage might break open and things could fall out.

Thieves could take out your medicine to save themselves money or to sell it on. Who?  Passers-by in the airport.  Staff in luggage handling.

Chancers could collect luggage from the carousel at the other end.  Nobody would notice if a stranger grabbed your black bag. Easy for them to do. If challenged, they would just say it was a mistake and looked like theirs.

Noting Pill Taken
So you have packed your pills in your pocket or bag, but you are rushing to the airport. You took today's pill - or did you?

You arrive at the other end, jetlagged all week, sleeping until noon. You took this morning's pill when you got up to go to the bathroom and clean your teeth when the alarm went off. Or did you?

If your bags are still locked, or if your pills are in the fridge, you could still be confused. I have devised two systems.

1 Each time you take a pill, whilst it is still in your mouth, or before you put the box away, write the date you have taken the pill. Keep the record on the fridge secured with a magnet.

2 I used to check the bin for the mpety pill packet. However, could I be sure the one at the bottom of the bin was today's, fallen down, not yesterday's.

Alternatively keep the empty pill wrapper out visible on a work surface until after lunch or until bedtime. Write down the date on a piece of paper under the wrapper by your drinking glass on the dining table or by the kitchen sink.

I hope this helps you. If you have any other suggestion, write to me on Facebook referring to this article and teh date of the article. I have written several articles on pills, packing, destinations and other subjects. Please bookmark and, if you have a favourite post, share the link with your friends.

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and phtographer, author and speaker. I can give you an entertianing talk or workshop about travel, tailored to the interests and needs of your group. Contact me by email or through Facebook.

Hurricane and Disaster Packing and Preventing Damage

Problem
How do you prepare for a storm or hurricane.

Answer
At last, a comprehensive sensible plan in one place.

Much of it is common sense but it takes time and effort to organize and you need a list. A hurricane is not a holiday. It's bad enough on holiday to find you don't have enough money, food, or drinking water, sunglasses or underwear.

Which tips do I like the most? What do I remember.

Clothes:
Hats
Boots - waterproof boots for wading.
Socks - Quick dry synthetic fabrics. Spare socks.
Gloves - heavy duty gardening gloves for removing debris without getting hands scratched.
Clothes - layers for all weathers.

Bags
Folding carry bag in pocket. Bags for food.
Sealed boxes like Tupperware.
Insulated bags for hot or cold food or to keep food from insects and bears.
Drinking bottle.

Securing Your Property:
The fact that people die from drowning and flying objects. One of the first tips is:
1 Bring in objects such as children's toys from the garden.

Another is to:
2 Secure windows. Keep away from windows during storms to avoid flying glass.
3 Pull curtains. (So looters can't see tempting objects and flying glass is contained.

Prepare a
1 Go bag.
2 Sufficient water and food for three days for every member of the family including babies and pets.
3 Any family medicines, prescriptions and a first aid kit.
4 Torch (Americans say flashlight)
5 Originals or copies of ID, passports, credit cards, bank account numbers, birth certificate, driving license, and marriage certificate, and
6 INSURANCE DOCUMENTS - car, health, household, life, whatever.
7 Prescription for replacement varifocal glasses.
8 Binoculars. (Or use camera to take photos of distant objects and increase size.)

On a holiday you might leave documents and valuables behind. When evacuating a building which could be looted or destroyed you are more likely to need documents and valuables.

Just like a day or weekend trip:
Travel and Accommodation
1 Plan your route out.
2 Book your night's accommodation.
3 Have a backup plan if the accommodation is full. (Know the local evacuation centre.)

Communication
1 Have a family member out of state for everybody to call.
2 Have a radio.
3 Don't use landlines with wires during lightning strikes.
4 Keep pets nearby so you don't have to chase around hunting for them.
5 Fully charged phone. Adapters and plugs, and adapter plugging into car cigarette lighter to charge phone.
6 When email and phone won't work, a text message may be quicker and easier to get through.

6 Car -
1 Near house
2 Covered - in garage. So it won't get damaged, blocked in, float off, hurl itself against the house or people.
3 Garage key and car key handy. Maybe in your jacket pocket, either jacket pocket you are wearing or on hook beside front door and everybody else in house knows where.

In case you are trapped in the house:
1 Mobile phone in your pocket.
2 Ski jacket with built in wearer locator device used in avalanches.
3 Cereal bar in pocket or hiker's energy bars.
4 Phone alarm in pocket set to ring hourly or old fashioned alarm clock to ring hourly to tell dogs and searchers where you are if you are too weak to keep shouting or are unconscious.
5 Army dog tag or necklace with your name - you may have an old one in your jewellery box.

You might want to invest in:
1 Ski jacket with wearer finder.
2 Phone with printer attached. (Use it to take a selfie and print a photo for a new identity document.)
3 Window in roof to escape or wave flag to signal you need help during flooding.

Train Children
How to phone for help. Information to give: Your name. Condition of adults. Location of house. Location of your place inside house. Nearest outside door. Dangers. Help needed. Advice needed while waiting for help.
Place notices on help lines and evacuation centres by phone and front and back doors and beds.
Lock guard dogs away to prevent them from attacking or deterring rescuers entering house.

Medicines
Divide medicines into two.
You may need medicine boxes to show the hospital pharmacy which medicines you take.
On the other hand, some of my local hospitals throw away all medicines brought in by patients. Why? Costs you money. Sounds outrageous. means you have no pills when you get home. Why do they do it? Because they have previously had trouble with patients bringing in pills.
To prevent:
Patients forgetfully taking double doses by taking hospital pills plus their own.
taking pills whose contents increase the dose or counteract other ingredients in the hospital given pills
suicidal patients in pain taking the whole bottle of pills
visiting children thinking pills are sweets and eating them
pills taken at times not recorded by staff
patients with Alzheimers saying they just took the pill when they didn't.

Tips
https://www.nbcnews.com/better/health/how-prepare-stay-safe-tropical-storm-or-hurricane-ncna796676

Author
Angela Lansbury

Language Misunderstanding With Pills and Time

When I was in hospital in Corsica I was given pills at intervals. I was in pain and asked if I could take the pills myself.

They brought me the pills and told me to take them every four hours, but not every two hours, because that was dangerous. They repeated the instructions, every one very two hours, or two every four hours, but not two every two hours because that was dangerous. The instructions were in French, the second language of the nurse, who spoke Italian, and I spoke French as a second language because my first language was English. I was thinking about this, and distracted by people walking in and out of the room. I then looked at the instructions on the bottle. They did not seem to match what the nurse said.

Not only that, but when was I supposed to take the next pill? I had no clock, no watch, and did not know when I had taken the last pill. In any case I had been knocked down by a car and had multiple injuries. I could not move. My right clavicle was broken so I could not raise my head. I could not lift my right arm. So I could not look at a wrist watch or reach for the pills (on my left). So I had to call a nurse, in a dialect of Italian, discussing pills and time.

I had two broken ribs. I had bleeding from my ear which meant I had a brain injury. The nurses on the tour bus had thought that if I recovered I would be brain damaged. And I was trying to speak to nurses and make myself understood in Italian.

Time In Other Languages
I could ask the time, but times are different in different languages. A quarter to, a quarter past, a quarter after? In German it is different to English. In English six thirty means thirty minutes after six (English) but in German half sext means five thirty, six minus half an hour, thirty minutes to or before six.

Then there's the twenty four hour clock. Take the next pill at eight, eight in the morning or eight in the evening? Eight today or every day? Eight or eighteen (which means 6 pm). About five thirty or about five thirteen?

Tips
If you are going into hospital, take with you the packets for the medication you take at home.
Take a dictionary and a device for translating.

Keep not just the number of the hospital, but the number of a translator, embassy, or friend or family member who can ask for an interpreter. A translator is better. Your friend or family member may be like I was in hospital, prone to misunderstanding.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer, author, speaker, language teacher.

Update on Packing For and from Singapore, For and From UK

Tiger Balm
Marianna says on my Facebook post:
'We can now get Tiger Balm in the UK from Boots stores, but it doesn't seem as "strong" as the Far East version.'

Tiger Balm - from Singapore Tiger Balm reminds me of other products. It does seem to resemble Vicks Vapour rub. Very effective for clearing your nose when you have a cold.

Sudocrem Sudocrem - from UK From the UK I take a small pot of Sudocrem antiseptic healing ointment. The magic ingredient is zinc. You may be able to find local equivalents in countries such as India and the Philippines, but without knowing the local brand name, it's hard to make yourself understood.

Zinc Ointment You can buy zinc ointment overseas. Try photographing the label to show a pharmacist. If you encounter a language barrier, it's much quicker to show the UK label, or just take a small size pot with you.

Photograph Pill Packaging
Also take a photo of the packet of all your medications. That is easier to explain, if you need extras when you extend your stay, if your luggage is lost, if you forgot to pack your medication, or you need to explain pills when stopped at security. 

Oops - you have pills lasting until your last day, Saturday, but you arrive at your destination on Sunday. (When pharmacies in the UK are closed.) 

On one trip, I was sent to the drug store at Changi Airport. I had extended my stay an extra day for a Saturday night party. I had one extra pill but would be without a pill next morning. I did not want to arrive jet-lagged without a pill. What if the flight was delayed? 

How big is the pill?
I had carried my pills in a plastic dispenser marked with days of the week. I was asked whether I wanted 50 or 100 mg pills. I knew the pill size, but what is inside the packet? The kind pharmacist allowed me to open it, but each pill was sealed behind foil. 

A copy of your description, or the outside of your pill packet, tells you the answer.

Angela Lansbury

Medical kits for days out, weekends, travel to hotels and second homes

What do you take on a day trip or holiday or business trip? The first thing you think of is 'Don't forget your toothbrush'. And the toothpaste.

Toothbrush and Toothpaste
It's handy to keep a small or folding or head-covered toothbrush with a small toothpaste in your pocket or a zip up bag. Plus a comb in a case (so you don't pierce your fingertips).

Tweezers
I like the tweezers cum nail file bought from Tanna's chemist in London. They also stock a magnifying mirror for the bathroom at only £1.

Sometimes it's cheaper to buy the cheapest manicure kit than to buy all the items, or even one of the items.

Swiss Army Knife
A Swiss army knife has a built tweezers, scissors and nail file. When buying, invest in a model of knife which has the gadgets you need. If you lose the tweezers, you can buy spares from some shops. Phone first, to be sure the spares are in stock. You could buy a spare teeny tweezers to carry when your knife has to be checked in on an airline.

Sticking Plasters
I used to carry an Elastoplast UK (brand name for sticking plaster) in the zip up compartment of a tote bag. Plasters are useful for minor cuts as well as to protect blisters from rubbing shoes.

Pill Names
If you are on regular medication, it helps to paste the end of the cardboard tube inside your diary so that if you ever run out, you can show it to a pharmacist who cannot understand your verbal English.

(Also look for a lightweight corner of a leaflet in multiple languages.) At least you can put it through google translate.

Spare Pills
If I am travelling on a ten day trip I always carry enough pills for an extra 2-5 days. Then if the flight is delayed or I extend the stay I still have enough pills without wasting time on a shopping trip to get more.

Hair Dye Box End: Colour Name and Colour Chart
If you dye your hair and are away for a month after the last time you dyed your hair, you cannot take liquids on many planes, but the end paper of the box can be shown to a drug store to show that you are looking for hair dye, and what colour.

Insect Repellent and Sunscreen

Checklist
1 Toothbrush and paste
2 Comb and comb case (and/or small folding brush, ideally with mirror)
3 Tweezers, toothpick and nail file (Swiss Army knife)
4 Small magnifying mirror or YSL lipstick with mirror finish case
5 Sticking plaster / or bandage and zinc ointment for healing
6 Small shampoo (also serves as hand wash and clothes wash) or wet wipe
7 Moisturiser (for face, hands, feet).
8 Insect repellent and sun cream
9 'Stingose' or similar sting relief and / or antiseptic cream
10 Zip up waterproof wash bag

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

Packing tips for all occasion

The trick is to have a checklist. Most frequent travellers know they need a neck pillow. But if you have more suitcases than neck pillows you might still go off without yours. The same goes for packing any medication. Keep a checklist.


Checklist of essentials
Four wheel suitcase
Suitcase label and key and coloured label or ribbon for identifying black suitcase
Passport
Tickets
Addresses of people at destination.
Insurance.
Safe pocket for valuables.
Quick release shoes for security.
Small duplicate underwear and socks in case of lost luggage.
Small handy swimsuit and cap.
Conditioner.
Phrase book/dictionary.
Pen and paper.
Reading material.
Phone which is economical at destination.
badge for conference
pills
prescription for ordering spare or replacement spectacles and sunglasses
Evening scarf or cravat

Know-how
Route to hotel.
Method of transport to hotel.
Money for taxi and tip at both ends of journey.
Travel cards for both ends of journey.
Trip details left with family or friends at home.
Emergency details at destination. (eg nearest friend, police station, hospital, number to dial in emergency)
Packing list printed inside suitcase for re-packing at destination
Tin of sardines or similar for emergency in-flight delay or arriving late at night.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-3215352/The-ultimate-guide-surviving-long-haul-flight.html

Action For Summer: Packing; Pills; Preventing Heatstroke; Underground Malls

Top tips I picked up.

1 Wear light colour clothing.
That sends me re-packing my summer holiday suitcase. Do I need to remove all the black clothes and change them to white? The white clothes don't just look more summery. They keep you cool.

Did I wast my money buying black clothes? The black clothes such as tee-shirts with metallic palm trees are fine for indoors in icy air conditioning, in the cooler evening. But not if you are likely to be asked to go out for an afternoon walk and don't want to waste time changing clothes.

Those robes men wear in the middle east are right for outdoors in the sun. The black clothes women, and widows, often wear, are only suitable for indoors in air conditioning.

2 Drink water.
Not just for comfort. So you can perspire and cool off.

3 Recognise heatstroke.
If anybody is getting confused, cool them quickly with ice under the armpits.

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Wellness/medications-cool-summer-heat/story?id=16724277

Where is it hot? In the South of North America but also in summer you can be sweltering in New York and Washington DC. I remember when I lived in Washington DC zig-zagging down the city streets in and out of shop doorways and diverting through department stores to cool myself.

In Singapore visitors from overseas go shopping in Orchard Road and complain the country is too hot. But running from the central crossroads along Orchard Road you can descend to Basement one or Basement two and walk about half a mile along the underground shops, full of cafes and shops and even an aquarium and market stalls and food courts. If you start at Tang's, or Orchard Station, you can walk from there underground across the road to other malls and hotels.

Pills
1 Keep them in your bag (US Purse) or pocket, not in luggage which might be stored in a hold or left out on the tarmac beside the plane.
2 Carry an insulated sandwich bag.
 (Americans when they say purse mean what the Brits call a handbag. What the Brits call a purse, the Americans would call a change purse or wallet.)

Water
USA
The USA is very good at providing drinking water in hotel on every other floor and in the lobby of many buildings and and hotels and waiting areas.

UK
In London there's now a water dispenser in the Passport office at Victoria.

In a hotel, you will often find water dispensers in the gym.

Worldwide
Remember to drink water provided free at many coffee shops, before or after you drink your coffee. Collect the water when you collect your coffee and make sure you and the family all drink a glass of water each before you all leave.

Angela Lansbury B A Honours, travel writer, photographer, author, speaker.

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