How To Un-Shrink Clothes Editor’s note: I updated this post because so many readers added in their ideas. Read and become enlightened…and…unshrunk. I do laundry with a certain level of ferocity. If I can’t bleach something into submission, I’ll stick it in the dryer on high heat until it screams “Uncle!” While I recognize this is probably foolish, I didn’t really care until I shrunk my Juicy Couture velour pants. The most comfortable item I own! Here’s the HOW-TO: Fill a sink with lukewarm water and add a capful of baby shampoo into the water. Let the item soak in the baby shampoo water and gently work it through. Remove the garment from the shampoo water and gently squeeze it out. Take a large towel and lay the clothing flat on it. Roll the towel up with the clothing inside it. Your goal is to absorb the extra moisture, so your clothing is damp but not wet. Then, get another dry towel and put the piece of clothing out on the dry towel. Gently stretch the clothing item as it lays out to dry. Michelle Gowersays:
Top tips for first-time travellers | Backpacking guide | Gap year Big adventure ... backpackers heading off on their travels. Photo: Alamy With a daughter at the end of her own gap year and a shared credit card nearing meltdown, Michael "Tripologist" Gebicki passes on to graduates a few lessons from foreign roads. Your last year of high school now fading in the rear-vision mirror, the nightmare wait for results finished, soggy school lunches, uniforms - never again. Maybe you're thinking of spreading your wings and heading offshore, and what's not to like about a few months or even a whole year on the road? But travelling well is a skill and it doesn't necessarily come packaged in your DNA. Off on a scooter ride without a helmet. Money Advertisement The ATM is your best friend. One card that many professional travellers swear by is the 28 Degrees MasterCard, which has no annual fees, no reload fees and no international transaction fees. Taking a risky river plunge. Yet another option is the prepaid foreign currency card. Travel insurance Health Safety
Couchsurfing Alternatives | Two Go Round-The-World Today’s post picks up and expands on some of the resources mentioned in Monday’s article, “How To Burst The Tourist Bubble“. The theory that almost everyone on Earth is connected to anyone else via a small number of acquaintances seems to hold true for backpackers, too. The rapid uptake and access to the world wide web has helped people become better acquainted with their world—and with one another. As the technology has evolved, it has brought ordinary people with common interests together from different parts of the world to make it a smaller place. Backpackers and independet travelers have proved to be quick to adopt new means of communicating and meeting with one another. Photo by Luc Legay (Creative Commons) In the years following our time spent abroad (we worked in Asia in the period 2002–04), a number of online services sprung up to illustrate this interconnectedness and help fellow travelers escape the tourist bubble. Chief among them was the CouchSurfing project. Related Posts
7 Most Inspirational Travel Books Sharebar I love books. Always have. I trace my passion for them to two separate, yet equally formative, experiences in my childhood: 1) My childhood insomnia that drove my mom to near insanity trying to get me to sleep, but also resulted in her pushing me enthusiastically towards using books as a means to cope… 2)The release of Jurassic Park in theaters during 1993. Being only 9 and barely allowed by my parents to watch a PG movie… I had a lot of convincing to do before I ever got into the theater. After much pleading and cajoling, my dad finally said that he would take me to see the movie if I read the entire book first. He most likely thought I would either never get through it or it would take me until I was 13 to complete it… at which point I would have been old enough to see it anyways. But ohhhhh was he wrong. Even at my limited 9 yr old reading abilities, I finished Jurassic Park in a week and was rewarded with an in-theater viewing of that epic flick. The Travel Catalysts
101+ Real Life Cheats & Hacks! 100 little things that travel has taught me Travel has been one of my most valuable teachers. Rather than sit in a classroom and learn about the world through a someone else’s eyes, I did it through adventures and misadventures, tears and laughter. I know I still have so much to discover, but here are some lessons that sometimes I had to learn the hard way. Some of them I already kinda knew, some I are silly, some are serious, some are obvious, and some are embarrassing. Maybe this collection will help open up new doors in your own life and own travels, and although we will all learn our own lessons, I hope maybe I will help someone avoid some of my mistakes (example: #14). Happy travels! 1. 21. 28. 43. 60. 80. 95. What are some lessons you have learned from travel? photo credits: katja hentschel: polaroid, laptop, insects, waterfall girl; mrsdkrebs: tattoo map, littlelakes: coconut, fmgbains: flowers, all others: author’s own * post written by Kyra Bramble.
No Cost Volunteering - Volunteer In Cambodia First things first: We never charge volunteers to participate in our program. Compared to other volunteer programs, both in Cambodia and elsewhere which require thousands in fees per week or month just to participate, you’ll find this is a pretty good deal. Our mission is to raise funds for CRDT, not make a profit off our volunteers. Are you sure I don’t have to pay anything to you? If you volunteer with us and live independently, you don’t pay us a cent. What will it cost me to come to Cambodia? You will need to pay for airfares, travel and health insurance, Business (E-Type) visa and renewals, day to day expenses, travel, and personal expenses. So what should I budget for? Everyone has different needs, so we can’t give everyone a precise amount they should budget. Visas & Orientation Upon acceptance, we will send you a confirmation letter that will assist you to obtain a Cambodian Business (E-Type) visa. Our Volunteer House This covers your basic living needs while volunteering with us.
40 before 30 | 40 countries before I'm 30 It was late 2009 and I was sitting in the Hard Rock Café in Kuala Lumpur (don’t judge me, I fancied a burger.) I had just turned 25 and was trying to work out how many countries I had been to by scribbling them down on a napkin. I wondered out loud if I could explore another 40 before my 30th birthday and that became the catchy (I hoped) title of my soon-to-be-launched travel blog. With a propensity for over-sharing and addiction to storytelling this blog has been recording my adventures and mishaps through different destinations over the last 5 years. Now 29, and with only a few more countries to go, I’m certain I’m going to complete my challenge and I’ve learnt a lot along the way. To find out where I’ve been and blogged click any of the destination links below. To find out where I’ll end up next – watch this space. Thanks for following the challenge. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36.
Why You Should Stop Eating Out So Much We’re not telling you anything new when we say we all eat out too much. The bill is always higher than estimated, and we feel stuffed to death after. We’ll prove to you it’s a bad deal, and give you 4 easy ways to wean you off the restaurant. The rise of the sit-down, mid-priced chain restaurant happened too long ago for most Primer readers to take notice. But anyone who balances their budget or steps on the scale with any degree of conscientiousness knows that this isn’t true. Okay, not really, but eating out at chain restaurants is certainly among the biggest money wasting opportunities available in the 21st century. Restaurant Markup The markup between what a restaurateur pays for food and what you pay for food is astonishing. Some highlights from a deconstruction of restaurant markups by SFGate.com: Fountain drinks – 2,000% markupCanned soda – 800% markupWine by the glass – 300% to 400% markupPasta dishes – 600% to 1,000% markupMixed green salad – 800% markupEggs – 500% markup 1. 2. 3.