Travel Tips

I've never really considered myself qualified to passing out travel tips - I don't think I'm that good at it - but on this work trip in Thailand, instead of kids and family, it seems I have picked up a few things worth passing on.

• Pack a power board - that way you only need one local adaptor plug to charge all the electronics we seems unable to live without
• Ladies, forget the hair dryer. Most hotels have one even if it is a bit crappy - but do pack your hair straightener. Especially essential is Asia in the wet season. Hair spray will also help keep the frizz away - just buy a small can at your destination if you need to look slick

My power board to accommodate my iPod, iPhone, laptop, 2 x iPads, hair straightener, etc

• Pack some wet wipes, disinfectant gel, a couple of band aids, sunscreen, paw paw ointment and antiseptic cream - ideal if anyone stubs their toe at the pool or on wonky footpaths
• When travelling in developing nations, grab the shower cap from the hotel bathroom, toss in your wipes, the spare roll of loo paper from the bathroom and if you're travelling with little kids, spare undies. A cheap cloth washer (that you can throw out) is also not a bad idea. You can deal with a runny-bottom incident in the pants with ease!!! Throw the whole pack in your tote and you're ready for anything
• I don't bother with a handbag - just a tote for the above reason and also for your book, iPad, sunglasses, passport, etc - much easier. A handbag is just another bag to carry
• For grown ups, I just pack the essentials below - not many temples and wats have loo paper so you have to BYO - or drip dry...

Before.....

....after!

• Portable DVDs or tablets loaded with entertainment for each kid are ideal. Even if you are flying a fancy airline with individual screens, there are often long van rides to see sites and sometimes even between town, not to mention hanging around at airports and train stations
• If you have a DVD player or laptop, you can also check the quality of any discs you purchase
• My brother-in-law packs cables to hook the portable DVD to the hotel TV - so the kids can have some down time in comfort
• Throw in an in-car charger - also very handy for van trips to charge iThings

• We prefer to buy a local SIM and you can text your local number to anyone who needs it - it's much cheaper than travel SIMs from home (here in Thailand, the SIM cost about $10 and the credit goes a long way) 
• I've been using Skype to talk to Sass, but just pick what you like - some are using Viber, or FaceTime - but they're all free
• Try and keep toiletries to the minimum - they weigh a tonne and you can usually buy what you need at your destination if you run out
• We don't usually take much cash - just use ATMs (better to use an ATM card and not a credit card as it may come out of that account and you'll be paying the brutal cash interest rate. Alternatively, top up your credit card before you go). ATMs charge a fee up to about $6 depending on where you are so get a reasonable amount out when you do
• Don't use the hotel laundry - it's outrageously expensive. Walk out of your hotel and chances are there'll be a laundry service with a block. Here in Chiang Mai, the restaurant over the hotel does laundry for less than $3 a kilo

Do you have any tips? I'd love you to share them...

They're baaaack.....

Lice. I am absolutely feed up with the little blighters. Bad enough that Sass has them - but now so do I! I have been itching and scratching for days.

I've been working on a charity event with girlfriends over the weekend and after a quick kiss hello - if I've forgotten - I did announce that I in fact, have lice, so maybe keep your distance.

Saturday night; pizza, a couple of glasses of red, relaxed, so I slipped into the bathroom and lather my head up with olive and tea tree oil before sliding it all into a plastic shower cap. Boy, Geoff was in for a treat!!! (In fact he was in bed and snoring by the time I got there - perhaps just as well!)

Sunday morning and Sass is also still scratching despite a treatment on Friday. I do her hair with the oil 'blend' and comb out more of the little suckers. I have a crack at combing mine - and lose two of my purple hair extensions!!!! Not happy. I only had them adjusted about three weeks ago - how very - bloody - annoying!! Still, I did manage to scrape out a few lice as well, so not a total loss. I then hair dried to the point my scalp was burning and straightened to kill any eggs.

And within a couple of hours.... yep, scratching. Bugger.

Two, sad, oily purple extensions that slipped out of my hair :(

The Plague

Me - looking for bugs on Sass

When we arrived in the States, we were required to fill out the above form. Can you make out question 11.(a)?
11. I am (We are) bringing 
(a) fruits, vegetables, plants, seeds, food, insects. 

Yep - bugs. Now you don't mess with US customs....and I was pretty darned sure we were bringing in insects as I looked closely at Sass's head. Hmmm. What to do, what to do...  In the end, I declared nothing.

And the little blighters are back - AGAIN! Elle was scratching too so we Googled the safety of filling a shower cap with Mortein and slapping in on her head. However, I read on the can that contact with skin should be avoided so was forced to abandon that brilliant idea.

What Elle's Google search of 'Is it bad to spray Morteen on hair for hed lice' (sic) revealed though, was Sydney Morning Herald article and forum that said 10% of all school aged kids have lice at any given point in time. In my experience, the concentration is heavily skewed to primary school.

The good news was, hair drying kills 55% of bugs and 98% eggs. They hate heat. A hair straightener fries eggs and bugs alike. The cheap conditioner and comb through does work. And finally, many contributors agree that the chemicals just don't work (perhaps Mortein does, sadly, we'll never know) - wondering if the lice have become immune.

Sass has been crawling into bed with Elle lately so she too has been itching. We tried a new remedy from the forum- olive oil and a few drops of tea tree oil mixed in. Apparently it smothers lice and eggs alike. She has hair as thick as a horses tail - and it seem to have worked a treat!

Meanwhile, Sass went off to school this morning with the straightest pony tail ever!

Any other ideas of ridding ourselves of this scourge will be gratefully received.