First aid kit for travellers to pack

For daily trips: toothbrush and paste, comb, make-up, tissue paper or wet wipes.

Make a packing list including what you might need for a minor urgency or emergency.

1 Oops - how about spare underclothes. 

2 Or the opposite, panty liners, so you can wear clothes longer.

3 When travelling I like to have in my pocket or bag at least one plaster (Elastoplast is the UK brand name).

Other items which could be useful are:

For long trips or living overseas:
4 A proper first aid kit containing bandages.

Also
5 burn relief
6 sting relief
7 insect repellent

8 Micropore waterproof tape to put over bandages and plasters.Essential if you have an accident on holiday but want to carry on swimming every day.

Tip
A friend of mine who is a doctor advised: when you cover your finger tip with a belt of elaastoplast, put a second one over the top to seal it and protect the open wound from dust.

First Aid For Clothes
First aid for clothes:
9 A small sewing kit - the kind you get from hotels, but with the addition of a needle threader.

10 A combined nail kit of tweezers, nail file and mini scissors.

11 Toe nail clippers.

11 For longer trips:a tiny screw driver for putting together spectacles which have a screw which unscrews so a lens falls out. (Maybe in a Swiss army knife.)

12 Dental repair kit. From any chemist (in the USA, called a Drugstore).

13 Deodorant or perfume - but not a floral one which attracts insects as well as the opposite sex. Insect repellent cosmetics include those containing lemon or lavender.

14 Local emergency numbers. For example, in Romania, ambulance is 112.

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Useful Websites
From St John's Ambulance, Australia on snakebites
https://stjohn.org.au/assets/uploads/fact%20sheets/english/FS_snakebite.pdf

Author
Angela Lansbury
Travel writer

What to do in cold weather - how to turn a scarf into a hood as I did in Hanoi, Vietnam

Flag of Vietnam.

Problem
In Hanoi in the north of Vietnam they have four seasons. In December 2018 the temperature dropped from one day to the next, from 6o degrees f to fifty. The local Vietnamese people had donned padded jackets with imitation fur edge hoods.

We were still wearing two or three layers of summer clothes. We did not want to spend on another, heavy jacket which would not fit in our suitcases and would be too hot to wear in tropical Singapore.

Cold Neck
Standing at a bus stop, we had a cold wind on our necks. Those sunhats which cover the neck are also handy against breezes.

Silk Scarf
I had with me a silky scarf. ('Thai silk' which is a good imitation of real silk). Unfortunately, the silky scarf kept slipping off my head and neck.

Hooded Scarf design
I remembered how I had turned a scarf into a hooded scarf a few months previously in London, England. I had looked at a hooded scarf and realised it was hardly more than a scarf doubled over, seamed from the middle a few inches.

One version had the point cut or folded in diagonally, secured with just a couple of stitches. Another had stitching rounded to fit the head. If you don't mind having a point, you can just leave it oblong on top.

Scarf - Sew
You could buy a cheap scarf, or do as I did and sew up the scarf you already have. In an emergency, when cold, just sew one line of stitching quickly up the straight seam and never mind about shaping it.

Sewing Kit
How? Where do you get a sewing kit?

With luck, and planning, you or your partner will always carry a sewing kit. If not, sewing kits are cheap from cheap shops, sold in lots of supermarkets UK and worldwide, and novelty shops in Hanoi, Vietnam.


Hotel Sewing Kit from Sunline Paon Hotel, Hanoi, Vietnam. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Our hotel the Sunline Paon supplied a small sewing kit in the room. The needle was so tiny that two of us struggled for ten minutes and could not get the thread through the tiny hole. We tried widening the hole with the end of a safety pin. Still no luck.

I went downstairs to reception. The girl on reception struggled for a few times. Eventually she did it!

Now, what do you do?

Seam from top right of picture. Scarf folded down on right to show where seam ends.


How To Seam
Fold the scarf in half horizontally. Sew a simple seam a few inches down from the fold, long enough to cover your head.

Scarf sewn into hood. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Success
That will keep you warm until you can find a beanie hat to buy or fly back to a warm country. The part which covers your neck can also secure a second scarf as a neck warmer.

I now appreciate an upright mandarin collar. you could do lots of other things. For example, sew the scarf hood to a jacket collar, or even a blouse collar. Add a pom-pom.

Or sew another scarf inside for extra warmth and contrast lining. Tie the lining scarf under your chin whilst leaving the long tasseled end hanging.

But, back home, you are now without your favourite scarf. You have a winter item and you are back in summer weather.

Unpick
In theory you can unpick the thread again for summer or warmer weather. How securely should you sew it? Double thread would be more secure. I sewed a simple running stitch, but back-stitched every inch or so to prevent it tearing open.

The sign outside St Joseph's cathedral says no baseball hats. However, I imagine my scarf would be allowed.

Travel information
For hotels
booking.com
Comparison site:
https://www.clicktripz.com/rates/search/index
For airlines
travelok.com
vietJetair.com (Comprehensive list of budget airlines in Wikivoyage.)
For transport
https://www.grab.com/vn/en/

Language
Duolingo.com 
(Remember to click on the sound symbol to hear how words are pronounced.) 

Author

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer. Please share links to your favourite posts.

Lost a button? How to find and sew matching / contrasting buttons on holiday and order spare designer buttons

Repairing Clothes Quickly When Travelling

Problems
The elastic goes in your knickers, slip, pants, pyjama bottoms? What do you do?

Answers
Carry a sewing kit with a safety pin in it. Use the safety pin to make the waist smaller.

Alternatively use the safety pin to attach the lower garment to an upper garment.

Sew a dart in the loose waist. If the cotton colour does not match, turn the garment inside out and sew a pleat so the wrong colour cotton does not show. Have the shortest stitch showing at the front, the longer side of the cotton at the back.

Spare Buttons
Many sewing kits contain a spare button and / or a press stud. If you add a short piece of ribbon, in an emergency, you can quickly sew on a loop for the button, Chinese style.

You can also buy press on buttons.

A spare tie pin can also be used as a temporary fix for fallen or torn garments.

If you have a stain, it can be hidden  but a button, or a pin on corsage - a real or silk flower.

Spare Elastic
If you need elastic in a hurry, a hair band from your pony tail, a set of elastic hair bands from the nearest accessory and souvenir shop or supermarket, even one dropped on the ground, abandoned and dirty, can be picked up, washed and dried.

The plastic 'rubber' bands which people drop everywhere - Singapore and London, can be used in an emergency to hoist or tighten clothes. They won't last long, but will probably last for an evening. You can either cut them into strips or press the circle into a double line. Make sure to sew down the ends of your long loop.

Sewing Service
In a three, four or five star hotel you can get help from, the valet service, the room cleaner, the attendant at the club lounge, the concierge, porter or receptionist, or phone housekeeping. Even in a little guest house, the owner or a fellow guest may be able to help you. Somebody might lend you a safety pin, needle or cotton.

If you are in a restaurant or at a conference in a hotel, even if you are not staying at the hotel, somebody might be able to help.

Appeal For Help
At any kind of conference where they make announcements, a joking announcement can fill a boring gap and wait between speakers. You or somebody else can say, jokingly, "Does anybody have a needle and cotton? A guest's underwear is falling down. Wait, she's frantically waving. I'm not to say that. It's her skirt. No, I'm not to say that, I'm just to ask for a needle and cotton. Hands up if you have a needle and cotton. Hands up if you wish you had! Does anybody have another solution. Ah - our saviour!  A guest has been saved from embarrassment. We've all been saved from embarrassment. A Mrs Sewing Kit. A warm round of applause for save the day Sally / Sarah / Dolly."

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.  If you are working and want to come back and read more later, you also follow and email a link to yourself. Please share links to posts.

Romanian Everyday Phrases - and handy Flashcards

Problem
You are in a restaurant and keep hearing the same phrases. What do they mean?

Answers

Romanian - English
0 - a
buna - good
d i m i n e a t a - morning
ea - she
el - he
l i m b a - language (both words start with letter l and contain the letter a; m and n are adjacent letters, and b looks like a g upside down)
n o a p t e - night
p o f t a - stomach , appetite (think of it as pigging yourself out - be a happy pig - enjoy your meal)
z i - day
z i u i a - afternoon (The word z i u i a looks like a longer word than day which is zi in Romanian. Similarly the word afternoon is longer than day in English. The last letter of ziuia and first letter of afternoon are the same; afternoon has two letter o vowels and ziuia has two i letters.)

English - Romanian
a - o
day - z i
evening - s e a r a
good - bona
he - el
she - ea

Flashcards For Languages
I keep getting messages that Duolingo is developing flash cards. Sounds good. You can create flashcards for any language, or indeed any subject. But I have not yet managed to access and create my flash cards.

In theory I could make flashcards to carry in my pocket of all new words. Just cut up old white envelopes to a certain size. How to get them all the same size? Use an out of date cards of credit card size.

Make a hole through one corner and thread them together with a piece of cotton (from a hotel sewing kit), a piece of wool, or a rubber band. Tie a slip knot so you can untie and reorganise the cards.

Alternatively use one of those key rings which open easily.

You can write both words on the same side as a simple memory aid. Keep them in alphabetical order. Alternatively arrange by subject.
If you want to test yourself, write the word on opposite sides, such as Romanian on the front and english on the back. If possible use different colours.

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

How to make an emergency swimming hat?

Problems
You arrive at a hotel or holiday home and need a swimming hat. You have forgotten yours, or it has split. Eventually in a hot country the plastery ones go sticky and stick together. The elastic edged ones go loose.

Your hair is long. It's dangerous to have loose long hair in a Jacuzzi (spa bath) because the underwater suction holes could reverse in the interval and drag your hair underwater.

A girl in the UK nearly drowned and was only saved because a handy life guard was able to give her under water berths until somebody came to the rescue with a knife or scissor.

For safety, and health many swimming pools require hats. Sometimes they say for everybody (females mostly). Sometimes they specify if your hair is longer than ear length. It's obviously easier for them to check everybody has a hat which you can see from a distance on a monitor. They don't have time and energy to get out a tape measure, measuring everybody's hair. Nor would they want to get into an argument about whose hair is longer, shorter, too long. Easier for them to see if somebody is wearing a swimming hat.

Why else are hats needed? To stop you losing your hair grips. To keep in your set.

To stop hair spray making grease on the water. To keep out nits (head lice) of schoolchildren and others.

To stop the chlorine or other substances cleansing the water from damaging your hair.

To keep hair dry so it looks better and does not wet your clothes. So you don't have to spend hours drying your hair keeping others waiting.

Sometimes in a big swimming pool there's a shop selling swimming hats. They might be the wrong size, feel plastic and uncomfortable.

Answers
Your options:
1 Buy Spares / Bulk
Stock up with two or three spare black hats which go with all costumes for all members of the family. (Stock up for a group of friends or school outing or club. Buy in bulk and get a discount.) Stock up with assorted colours so you have one to match every costume.

2 Take a hotel shower cap. Use it as a base. Cover it with spare material from:
An old swimming costume (one you never wear because it is las year's fashion or too small).
A cheap any size swimsuit sold off cheaply out of season in a charity shop.
Material bought from the fabric department of a major department store or craft store such as Spotlight in Singapore and Australasia.
Ideally you want waterproof material. But if you just want to fulfil requirements and not look like you are wearing a shower cap, any fabric covering will do if you are keeping your head out of the water.

3 Use the hotel shower cap as a template.

Repairing Swimhats
If your swim hat is the shower cap shape with elastic around the edge, when it goes loose, tighten it by folding it over into a small pleat at the back and sew with a few inconspicuous cotton stitches.

How To Find Sewing Implements
Use your hotel sewing kit. If they don't have one, ask the receptionist if you can borrow a needle and white cotton. In a five star hotel the staff can call housekeeping or valet service to sew on a button or do a small repair. They might make a charge or you might leave a tip, or even just a thank you and a good review on TripAdvisor which managements seem to value more.

In a large group, probably another member has a sewing kit. They might not want to part with a sewing kit. But they might wait while you sew, to reclaim their needle, even do the sewing for you.

Short of cotton? Pull a thread from another garment. Use your hair if you have long hair. Use a piece of dental floss. Ask hotel reception for a piece of cotton.

On one occasion when I needed cotton I had the chutzpah to ask a hotel reception for a sewing kit and I wasn't staying at that hotel, just visiting for lunch with a friend. If you have a friend staying at a hotel, they might have a sewing kit they don't need. It might be sitting undiscovered in the drawer.

At one hotel I went without sewing for several days and was considering complaint on the hotel feedback form and on TripAdvisor. I wondered whether people in the grander suites had sewing kits. (Sometimes you can see from the trolley of the people who make up the room which items are given to the expansive suites.)

When I went down to the reception desk, they told me that the room had a sewing kit. It was in the plastic box in the wardrobe (Americans call that a closet).

Bye, bye. I'm off to sew a swimming hat.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.
Author of How to get out of the mess you're in. Please share my posts.

Asking For Freebies

Asking For Items
I never take things from hotels. I wouldn't want to spoil my day with the worry and guilt nor upset the staff with the feeling that somebody had stolen something. They might even get blamed for theft or expected to pay for the missing item.

I ask housekeeping by phone or or room cleaner in the bedroom or corridor if I like something. Sometimes if you want something such as a sewing kit, they bring you one, even if its only for the suites and you are in an ordinary room.

They or you may think they deserve a tip. If you are in America, where the room cleaners are tipped and leave a note with their name, you may feel that any gift deserves an extra tip or that you deserve a gift in exchange for the tip.

If none of this happens, at check out, with my cases packed, I can go to reception holding the item I want, whether it's a pen or pair of towelling slippers or whatever. I can ask them to check with housekeeping whether they throw the items away or wash them or have spares. I can say if they don't mind replacing it from stock but want to make a charge I'd like to know what the price to me would be it is.

Even if two times out of three they say that they need the item, that's ok, you are saved the embarrassment of being caught. The one time they laugh and say, 'Take it!', you can go off happily with your free gift with profuse thanks and smiles all around.

Angela Lansbury, author and travel writer and English language teacher.