Planning atrip? Make sure you have the essentials inyour wallet. YourID, bank cards, acrayon, foreign currency... Wait, acrayon? Yup, you heard right. Some avid travelers swear byalways keeping acrayon inside their wallets. Here’s why.
Crayons can always write. Ifyou need awriting utensil, they don’t need tobesharpened, and they never run out ofink. Ifyou drop apencil, the lead inside usually breaks, making itimpossible toget that satisfying sharp point ever again. Traveling with one could jostle italot, meaning you’ll need tobesharpening, and sharpening, and sharpening.
Pens and planes... not agreat match. The rapidly changing air pressure inthe cabin can cause your pen toburst, oozing ink onto all your belongings.
But why keep acrayon inyour wallet specifically? For two reasons. One isthat nomatter where you goonyour travels, you’re probably bringing your wallet along. Sokeeping anything that might come inhandy inside means you’ll always have whatever you need athand.
The second reason isthat acrayon issaid tomake sure your cards remain intact. Abent orsnapped card could beahuge deal while abroad. So, keeping something straight and solid inside your wallet can protect your cards from such accidents. And while pencils and pens are too long tofit inausual wallet, acrayon isthe perfect length.
So, you’re out and about onvacation inabeautiful city abroad. You’ve explored the sights and culture, and now you’re tuckered out. You would really love awarm drink and acozy place torelax. But you don’t speak the local language. You planned tostudy abit onthe plane, but well... that onboard movie was too entertaining.
Sohow can you ask where the nearest coffee shopis? Here’s where the crayon comes inhandy. Get apiece ofpaper and draw common symbols, such asWi-Fi, acoffee cup, abathroom symbol, and aquestion mark. Now, you can point ateach symbol toask afriendly local almost all ofthe common questions you might need toask. Warm coffee, here you come.
Flying with afriend? Here’s aclever tip for when you’re picking out your seats. Never select the middle seat. Ofcourse, weall want tosit next toour friends. But try picking the aisle and window seats, with agap inbetween. Noone likes sitting between two people they don’t know. So, others will beunlikely topick the seat between you two. You’ll have abigger chance ofgetting the whole row toyourselves.
But what ifsomeone does pick the middle seat? It’s noproblem. Ask them politely ifthey would like toswitch, soyou can sit next toyour friend. Most people will behappyto. Win-win.
Want tomake sure noone tries toswipe your valuables? Ifyou’re carrying fancy electronics like acamera orthe latest laptop, itmight help tomake them look abit less appealing tosneaky onlookers. Abit ofduct tape can dowonders. Place some tape over acorner ofyour device. Nowhere that the tape can doany harm, ofcourse. Now, ifanyone eyes your expensive item, itwill look broken tothem. Acamera held together bytape isn’t worth stealing, soyou’ll have extra peace ofmind while you travel.
Whether you’re staying inahostel, orhotel, orroughing itinthe woods, you might want tomake sure your toothbrush iswell-guarded from touching anything. After all, bathrooms can benotoriously germy. Making sure your brush stays away from suspicious surfaces isn’t hard, though. Just pack aclothes peg, and you’ll beprepared. Clip the peg onyour brush, right under its head. Then prop ituponthe prongs ofthe peg. Safe and sound from any muck.
Here’s another trick you can use that clothes peg for. Ifyou’re ever inanairport ortrain station bathroom and look atthe door only torealize there’s nolock, don’t worry. Push the peg into the gap between the door and the ground. Ifthe gap istoo small ortoo large, try the space between the door and its frame. The wedge shape ofthe peg will stop the door from opening. Soyou can make sure your privacy issecure.
Who’s upfor aroad trip? Ifyou’re taking your friends onacross-country adventure, there are sure tobelots ofstops for snacks and sweet drinks along the way. Alittle mess istobeexpected, but you can atleast avoid some annoying crumbs inside your car’s cup holders. Pop cupcake liners inside the cupholders before your journey starts. Later, you can slip them out, and voilà, still clean!
Craving anice, cool treat while onthe road? What’s better than anice cream bar onasunny day? But asitmelts, your treat can quickly become anooey-gooey mess all over your car. Well, grab some more cupcake liners. This time, take one and poke ahole inits center. Slide the popsicle stick through and hold onto your treat from below. The liner will catch any sticky drops.
Ifyou need topass some time onaflight ortrain, playing agame isgreat. Cards, riddles, charades. But ifyou want toplay your favorite board game, you might run into anissue when you try toroll the dice. One bad roll, and your dice are flying into the abyss under the seat. Good luck reaching them there. And who knows what gross discoveries you might make down there inthe dark zone.
But there’s abetter way. Pack your dice inasmall, clear container. Make sure it’s completely transparent. Now, just shake the container when it’s your turn. Now there’s nochance ofany rogue dice. Roll away! Uh-oh.
Turns out you’re heading somewhere very wet, but you didn’t pack any waterproof shoes. Don’t miss out onthe opportunity for white water rafting just because ofyour footwear. Try turning your regular shoes into water-resistant ones with just acandle. Rub the wax all over the surface ofyour shoes— especially inthe spots you know will get wet. The wax will seal inthe fabric, repelling water. Nosoakers for you.
Onalong day oftraveling, why not stop for apicnic lunch? Nature isbeautiful! Well, most ofthe nature. The ants that are climbing all over your food... not somuch. Even ifyou eat atatable, they can quickly crawl upthe table legs.
Agood way tostop them istoput alittle tray ofwater under each table leg. The ants won’t beable tonavigate the water and will leave you and your picnic alone. Now, all you’ll have toworry about isbees. You try notto, but sometimes, while you’re enjoying the scenery, you can wander away from your travel companions.
Don’t worry. Ifyou’re innature, you might beable tomake aclever whistle from anacorn cap. This isatrick that iseasy tolearn and very effective atgetting attention. Plus, your friends will definitely beimpressed with your creative thinking. First, you obviously need tofind anacorn cap. Make sure itisnot cracked ordeformed. Also, the bigger the acorn capis, the lower the pitch ofthe sound will turn out tobe.
Take the acorn cap inboth ofyour hands. Place itbetween your thumbs and index fingers with the inside ofthe cap facing toward you like abowl. Put your thumbs onthe lip ofthe bowl closest toyou. The sides ofyour thumbs’ knuckles should belightly touching each other. Atriangle ofthe cap should beshowing inthe gap between your thumbs. Put your upper lip onthe top ofyour thumbs.
Then pucker your lips sothat when you blow, noair will escape out ofyour bottom lip. This isthe trickiest part. But with abit ofpractice, you’ll beable togetit. Now, blow! The loud whistle will alert your friends ofyour location and maybe scare off animals you don’t want sticking too closeby. While you’re atit, why not try whistling some show tunes?
Ifyou’re going out onthe water, here’s atrick that can help you make sure your keys are safe and sound. Grab abottle cork and poke asmall hole inits center. Now, uncurl apaper clip and thread itthrough your key ring. Then use ittoattach your key tothe cork bypushing itdeep into the hole you created. Make sure it’s secure.
Ifyour key slips out ofyour pocket and lands inthe water, itwon’t sink tothe bottom. The cork will keep itfloating, soall you’ll need todoisreach down and grabit. Emergency scuba diving avoided!
