Passport case on Etsy

Etsy is a craft site that allows anyone who makes things–whether it be hand-knit scarves, custom stationary, one-of-a-kind jewelry, or homemade vegan treats–to sell them online. It connects these crafty folks with consumers seeking unique goods. Some items have already been made, while some of these goodies are custom-made for the person ordering it.

I’ve known for years that Etsy is a great place to look for crafty items, and I have used it to buy jewelry and other items in the past. Many of the items on the site make amazing gifts. After recently searching “travel” on Etsy on a whim, I discovered is that it is actually a good place to find totally original travel gear that you won’t see in retail stores.

Laptop case from Etsy made of recycled suits

Here are some of the gems I found:

• Handmade passport cover with pocket (there are tons of these on Etsy)
• Silk eye sleep mask
• Travel tote bag (this one can be customized and made with any fabric)
• 16-pocket jewelry travel pouch
• Custom embroidered luggage handle wraps
• Laptop travel case (made out of recycled suits!)
• Ouch Pouch first aid travel organizer (made for kids but great for anyone)
• Handmade travel journal
• Tea bag travel pouch
• Curling iron/flat iron travel case

Some merchants on Etsy also sell vintage items, such as this vintage Samsonite suitcase and carry-on.

Have you ever used Etsy? Would you ever use it to buy travel gear?

When folded up, it's smaller than my 15" laptop

When I read a press release for the PakSmarte packing organizer, I knew I wanted to try one. I have a tendency to be unorganized. I try to be orderly when I pack, and sometimes it works, but other times I end up with a jumbled mess of wrinkled clothes, especially if I have to remove things at airport security. I wanted to see if PakSmarte can help someone like me. The company kindly sent me a complimentary one so I could try it for myself.

When I first received the product, I was amazed by how small the packaging was. When new and folded up, it’s only as thick as a magazine, and the dimensions are just 7.5″x8.5.” Smaller than the surface of my laptop. Once opened up, PakSmarte is 19″ wide x 13″ high x 1.5″ deep.

It makes clothing very compact. Even my little dog likes it!

This vinyl suitcase organizer has three pockets, and it is intended to keep your clothes clean and wrinkle-free. When unfolded and used for packing, fits in any size luggage, including carry-ons. It’s only $9.95, which is cheap compared to other packing organizers, like Eagle Creek’s packing cubes.

At first, I thought it looked like a huge plastic Ziploc bag without a zipper, but I took some time to experiment with it.

Here is what I packed in there:

• 6 pairs of underwear
• 1 pair of jeans
• 1 pair of black yoga pants
• 1 tank top
• 2 long-sleeved T-shirts (one thick, one thin)
• 2 short-sleeved T-shirts (one thick, one thin)

It's like a big envelope for your clothes!

It was a little bit of a challenge keeping clothes folded perfectly while slipping in other folded clothes on top of them, but I managed to squeeze in far more than I expected. It is divided in three sections, so you can separate like clothes (I put my two pants in one, the underwear and a shirt in one, and the other shirts in one pocket).

Once everything was in, I squeezed the bag down to push any air out, and much to my surprise, it became very thin and compact. It reminded me of the commercials I’ve seen for those bags where you vacuum any air out. This requires no vacuuming, but it allows you to push the air out and keep it out since everything stays enclosed.

Once you have everything inside the PakSmarte, you close the flap–it was like an oversized envelope. You could easily toss several of these in one suitcase, and it would certainly make it easier find other things in your bag (my problem is that cameras, toiletries, shoes, and other items sometimes get mixed up with clothes). This definitely would make it easier to grab what you need at airport security. Another cool feature is that you can use the small plastic zipper bag that the PakSmarte came in to store your TSA-compliant toiletries.

Once air is pressed out, the clothes take up little space

After my clothes sat in the PakSmarte for a while, I took everything out, and it had all stayed perfectly folded. The product definitely has the ability to keep clothes clean and wrinkle-free, especially when sharing a bag with shoes and other items.

I’m a petite person, and I live in Texas, so my clothes aren’t very large or bulky. If I was packing warm winter gear, less would have fit in. But as a small woman packing clothes for warm to cool weather, it fit in a large amount of items and made them far more compact and organized than if they were just laid out in a suitcase.

PakSmarte doesn’t work miracles, but if you have a tendency to overpack or be unorganized and have wrinkled clothes, I think this product is a great and affordable solution!

Disclaimer: I was given a PakSmarte product for free for review purposes. However, I was not paid to write this review.

The following is a guest post from Alex Papa.

Ballycastle, a town on Ireland's North Coast

Last year my mum and dad visited us in Ireland. Of course, a driving tour around the countryside was on the agenda. Back then, it was maps and Google print-outs of routes! I think we spent as much time in turn offs shuffling papers to figure out where we were as we did actually looking at the scenery.

How much things change in a year. You don’t even need a laptop anymore. For this summer’s tour of Ireland, I used an iPad and apps.

The trouble for most tourists, and I admit it, the trouble even we natives have – the roads don’t make any sense. Roads in Ireland have a habit of changing names between markers and signs tend to drift a bit, pointing every way but where they should. They seem to be heading the right way and the next thing you know, you are in the middle of a pasture with one tire slowly sinking into a bog. The first time is funny. The sheep and cows give you a puzzled stare and wander over to see if your car is edible. The next few times aren’t so pleasant.

Confusing road signs in Ireland

Added to this is the possibility of rain, nightfall, and the wonderful signs we have in the country. The landscape has changed–pun intended. But seriously, with the apps I have on my iPad, I finally look like I actually know my way around. The best, in my opinion, of all the route guides in the UK and Ireland is the RAC Planner App. They keep it updated, which is nice, but even better is the type of directions you get. Most apps give you north, south, turn right and so on… RAC tells you what to look for–much more human-friendly: “…take the Broughshane road, at the Cullybackey roundabout take the first exit, drive four hundred yards, take left turn signposted Aghohill…”

You touch the screen and you can change the display to search by town, street, or Irish guesthouse! We made Ballycastle at noon for a hearty lunch, a sit down and a pint. We looked over the selection from the National Trust App. If you visit Ireland, you must download this–it shows parks, nature reserves and historic places. We ended up at the Carrick-a-rede rope bridge. This is a historic foot bridge that connects the mainland with an island. After that success, I started using other apps just for getting around.

Our tour with iPad apps
We headed out from Ballycastle along the North Antrim Coast where the Irish Sea battles the Atlantic Ocean. We had beautiful weather, even with the cool mists off the rocks. My parents got some great shots between wiping mist off their camera lens.
In Ireland, you plan your day based on the weather. “There’s an app for that.” The Met Office App. A look at the weather to see when (not if!) the rain might hit.

Bushmill's Inn in Ireland

Dinner was at the Bushmills Inn, one of the most famous Irish distilleries in the same town. The inn used to be a mill and they’ve kept the old look – huge beams and antiques everywhere you turn. This is a pub worth the drive if you are anywhere close. The live music and singing add to a great meal. We had a traditional stew, thick enough to stand your spoon upright in.

One app I didn’t use with the parents, but will next time is the Petrol Prices App. While petrol isn’t hard to find in most places, you have no idea where to find a good price unless you drive past every one and check. With this app, you get the current prices in any area. That way, you can decide whether to fill up now or drive on to the next village! The Irish need one of these apps for Guinness on tap at the pubs!

Alex Papa is a business and IT graduate and currently works for Business Opportunities Expo. He sponsors his travel from his blog where he offers the latest Norton 360 coupon code.

Amazon Kindle

Over the last few years, my Amazon.com Kindle eBook reader has become my favorite travel gadget, accompanying me across the world. I love to read, so I used to lug several books along with me. Now I carry one thin, portable device that can store thousands of books. Not only that, but the books are cheaper since they don’t use real paper. A book I had been dying to read came out only in hardback and cost $30. I got it on the Kindle instead for half the price.

The Kindle has traditionally come with a free wireless 3G network that allows you to download your books without having to plug in to a computer. It used to only work within the US, but expanded to international coverage. Amazon just released a new version of the Kindle (Kindle 3G Wireless Reading Device, Free 3G + Wi-Fi — affiliate link) that is less expensive because it doesn’t have 3G, but is instead only WiFi enabled. This means you can only download books by being on a WiFi network or plugging in to your computer.

Regardless of your connection, you can read the books on your Kindle at any time–you don’t need to be on WiFi or 3G to use it. You only need one of those connections to download books. You actually save battery power by shutting the connections off when you’re just reading.

Here are the pros and cons of the Kindle in my eyes:

Pros

• Cheaper than paper books–sometimes significantly less. You get the most savings with major books that initially only come out in hard cover, but you still save money on paperbacks.
• Extremely portable. Kindles, especially the current generations, are incredibly slim. Sometimes I leave it in my purse in a hard case, so I can read whenever I’m stuck somewhere, like a doctor waiting room or car wash.
• Easy on the eyes. I don’t know about you, but my eyes start to ache after spending too many hours reading on a computer. The Kindle uses electronic ink, which has no backlight, giving it no glare (this means you do need a light to read it at night). It reads like paper.
• Major storage. Kindles come with loads of storage, allowing you to fit thousands of books on one device (should you somehow manage to exceed the limit, the purchases will still be saved in your Amazon account–they just won’t be on the device).
• Lighter backpack. I love reading, so when I traveled in the past, I would always bring more than one book. It got heavy! The Kindle reduces your load by only requiring you to take one thin device rather than a bag full of books.
• You can change the text size. This makes it easy to use for all generations. I prefer it to be on a smaller size, while my dad uses a size or two larger than me.
• It has an iPhone app. You can download a few iPhone app and read any of your Kindle books on your iPhone. It’s painful to read on the small screen for long stretches, but it’s perfect for when you are stuck somewhere and have some time to kill.
• Saves you space. My bookshelves at home are overflowing, and there is hardly room for more. My Kindle allows me to amass a book collection without cluttering my house.
• Free books. There are several websites out there, such as ManyBooks.net, where you can get free copies of books in Kindle format that are now in the public domain. This includes many of the classics.

The Kindle is great for travel

Cons

• The device is delicate. The first generation was sturdier, but the latest version is very thin. When you take it from place to place, you need to keep it in a hard case. When I upgraded from the original one to the newer one, it got smushed in my travel bag and the screen became all wacky and striped. It had been in a soft case, but it wasn’t protective enough. I called to tell them it stopped working, and because I had just bought it, they shipped me a new one the next day (I had to send my old one back). I also immediately got a firmer case, and it has worked well.
• You can’t use it during the whole plane ride. This is my biggest complaint. Airlines still consider it an electronic device that needs to be turned off during takeoff and landing, so I am stuck reading SkyMall until we’re in the air.
• Sometimes there are technical problems. After all, it is technology. My first Kindle died after about two years of unknown causes (it just started to get glitchy and wouldn’t hold a charge). I called customer support a few times and we were never able to get it back to normal. Fortunately, a techie bought it from me for $40 on eBay and was able to restore it, but I didn’t have the ability to do that (plus, I wanted the new generation!).

Do you have a Kindle? If not, would you consider getting one?

Photos by goXunuReviews

Selecting your itinerary preferences

I love my iPhone, and it seems that every week I learn about a new app that makes my life easier or more entertaining. I recently learned about a new travel app called mTrip, and the company that makes it gave me a promo code so I could play with it for free. I’m not getting paid to write this–I just think it’s an extremely cool and useful product that eliminates the need for a guidebook while you’re out and about. I also am impressed that you don’t need Internet or a cell phone signal to use it, which saves you from expensive roaming fees. Plus, the app’s information is updated daily.

The mTrip app takes travelers through the three main steps of traveling: planning, exploring/navigating, and sharing. The app has five main functions to do this: automated itinerary planner, expert content/directory, navigation, augmented reality, and trip sharing.

mTrip guides are currently available for London, Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin, Rome, Barcelona, Madrid, Venice, New York, San Francisco and Chicago. More are coming soon in other cities, including Moscow and some in Asia. All of the guides come in English, Spanish, German, and French, and the European guides also come in Italian.

mTrip app: personalized itineraries

When you get started, you enter the dates of your travel and what hotel/hostel you are staying in. You can then either manually map out your itinerary, or opt to use the “mTrip Genius” feature. If you go with the latter, it will plan your itinerary for you using a special algorithm based on your interests. It asks you to indicate your interest in museums, parks, monuments, religion, and intensity/pace, and then it assembles an itinerary based on your preferences, best-rated points of interest, and geographic location. Once your itinerary is created, it lets you choose to have it displayed in list form or on a map. You can change or re-generate your itinerary at any time.

The mTrip app then helps you get to where you want to go. It automatically locates you on a map and shows the best route to any location in your itinerary by foot or subway (if subway, it tells you which station and line to take). It also can show you the points of interest in the area where you are.

mTrip also contains travel guide content in a directory-like format, with information on bars and clubs, restaurants, tourist attractions, and hotels. It has information on hundreds to thousands of points of interest depending on the destination. There is also some user-generated content provided by other travelers (you can add your own reviews, too). All of this content is updated daily for free. You can sort these points of interest by distance, popularity, or neighborhood.

mTrip app: travel guide content

The thing I really like about this guide feature is that once you click on a certain point of interest, it gives you a description, one or more photos, traveler ratings and reviews, opening hours, prices, and contact information–the full shabang. You can also add your own comments, get directions to the point of interest, or add it to your itinerary.

The app also comes with an augmented reality feature that I’ve never seen elsewhere (mTrip is one of the first travel apps to offer it).  The app displays the area you are in with a real video, and as you move your iPhone, the image moves along with it (sort of like the 360-degree video tours you can do of properties online). As you scroll across the area, the app superimposes icons to let you know when you’re looking at monuments, restaurants, and other attractions. When this happens, a pop-up appears at the top of the screen that tells you how close you are to the attraction in real time, in addition to ratings, prices, and if it is open or closed.

mTrip app: augmented reality

There are a few ways to share your travels through mTrip, and how much you can share is unlimited. You can send postcards with an image and message via email and Facebook to your friends and family back home. You can also save the postcard and wait to send it until you have a WiFi connection. As mentioned above, you can also share your reviews and ratings with other travelers who will be using mTrip. .

While I’ve had an iPhone for some time, I’ve never used an app like this before because I’ve always been petrified of incurring outrageous roaming fees. I had no idea there were apps like this that were so full of real-time data without needing to be online or using a cell phone signal. While mTrip isn’t free, it’s very low-cost (pricing below), and I would definitely use it for my next vacation. We’ve all had moments while traveling when we can’t decide where to eat–it would be so nice to have an app like this that displays nearby restaurants along with reviews. It would make it a lot easier to avoid gross tourist restaurants! The navigation feature is also very impressive to me. Anyone who knows me knows that I get lost often and sometimes have trouble with paper maps. I had no idea I could use a map on my iPhone without needing a connection.

The app is normally $9.99  (or £5.99), though right now it is on sale at $5.99 (or £3.49). You can download the mTrip app for iPhone and iPod Touch here.

Have you ever used a travel app for your iPhone? Would you ever use an app like mTrip?

Why another blog carnival?

I have been blogging for CreditCards.com for close to three years, and one of the best methods I have found for connecting with other bloggers in the field is blog carnivals. It’s also an incredible way to show off your best posts and get new readers and subscribers. The Carnival of Personal Finance has become massive over the past few years and has helped the personal finance blogosphere become very tight.

I have been searching for carnivals in the travel blog space like this, but nearly everything I have found is inactive, extremely niche, or very small. I wanted to start a robust travel carnival that anyone in the 20something/30something travel set can participate in, so I am launching the Gen Y Travel Carnival.

Instructions and guidelines

The basics

The carnival celebrates travel for 20somethings and 30somethings, and will be published once a month. It is most often hosted by my blog, but other travel blogs will host it some months in the same way that a different personal finance blog hosts the Carnival of Personal Finance each week.

Submission guidelines

• Submit your entry here each month. Entries are due on the last day of each month. It will be published within the first few days of the following month.
• Please only submit one entry each month. Pick your very best! Any travel-related topic is fine.
• The post you submit must have been published within the past month.
• Important: If your post is accepted in the carnival, you must let your readers know by linking back to it or tweeting about it (this is a huge part of what helped the Carnival of PF grow).

The host (me for now) decides which submissions will be included. If your entry was not selected, please don’t be offended and try again the next time!

Skype application for iPhone

I thought most people knew about this trick, but I’ve been sharing this with several travelers lately who didn’t know about it. Nobody likes paying exorbitant cell phone bills, so here is my best trick for making free calls abroad with an iPhone.

Before you go abroad, be sure to go into your settings and turn Fetch and Data Roaming off. If you accidentally leave these features on, you may end up paying AT&T a small fortune.

First, before you leave town, download the free Skype app for the iPhone.

Second, make sure you stay somewhere with free WiFi. Many hotels, hostels, and vacation rentals now offer free WiFi to guests, so it shouldn’t be hard to find.

Making Skype to Skype calls is free, regardless of whether it’s via computer, headset, or app on a cell phone. Here’s one way I made a call for free. I was at a hostel in Florence and my dad was at his home in Houston. We had a prior email conversation in which we determined a set time to talk. I connected to the hostel’s free WiFi with my iPhone, opened up my Skype app, and signed in. My dad was on Skype on his home computer, which has a built-in microphone. I Skype called him through the app, and we were able to have a full conversation—me speaking directly into my iPhone like a telephone, and him listening to me and talking to me through Skype on his computer. The quality was incredible.

You can also use Skype to call land lines and mobile numbers for just 2.1¢/minute, plus a connection fee that is just a fraction of a cent. I have also done this with great success. Several months ago, I was in London on a business trip, staying at a hotel with free WiFi. My boyfriend isn’t a big computer person and doesn’t have Skype. Each night I either called his mobile phone via Skype from my iPhone (one time I actually did it from the computer because my phone batteries were low). Again, the quality was fantastic, and I was paying just around 2 cents a minute. It saved me loads of money.

If you want to see the face of your loved one, you can both get on your computers and have video-to-video Skype calls, as well.

You should be aware that Skype does not make emergency calls and should not be fully substituted for phones that have emergency call capability.

Have you ever used Skype to make free or cheap calls while traveling?

Photo by ThomCochrane

The Ladybag package before opening

Ladies, have you ever been camping or on a long road trip and had the urge to pee, but are nowhere near a bathroom? Or worse, have you found a bathroom but don’t think you can use it do to squalid conditions? A German company has invented new “pocket urinal” called the Ladybag that gives us a hygienic way to pee when there is nowhere else to go.

I have been in these situations too many times, so I was intrigued and asked them if I could have a sample to try. The Ladybag comes in a small plastic package around 6 inches tall and 3 inches across, and it’s nearly flat. There are directions in English on one side and German on the other.

When you open the package, you will find three items: the green Ladybag, a wet wipe packet, and a folded up white sack that can be used to throw away the first two items.

The Ladybag unfolds into a long, green bag made of thick plastic. When you look inside, you can see that a few inches below the opening is a piece of mesh. Hanging below it at the bottom of the sack (which you can’t see, but you can feel) are polymer granules that absorb the liquid. The shape of the bag is odd and I can’t figure out why, but it doesn’t make a difference. The oval opening is wide and made of sturdy plastic, so you don’t have to worry about trying to keep it open. It also has a long and textured plastic handle that you use to hold the bag under you.

To use it, unfold the bag, get into a comfortable position (there are three possible positions illustrated on the bag), hold it directly beneath you with the handle, and pee. I found it hard to go at first since I’m not used to peeing into a bag and was worried it would go everywhere, but once you get over the weird factor, it’s easy. The rim really is wide enough and I had no spills — it was very clean. The wet wipe is a nice touch if you are somewhere with no toilet paper.

The urine goes through the mesh section and onto the polymer granules at the bottom of the sack. I read that they would absorb the liquid and odor; I didn’t quite believe it, so I bravely took a big whiff. I really couldn’t smell urine; it was completely absorbed.  The bag is warm afterward, which feels a little gross, but you can toss it in the white sack and tie it up. If you are in a place with a trashcan, you can toss it out right away. If not, it’s not the end of the world, but the bag is a little heavy once it has the pee in it, and there’s still the slight ick factor. However, it’s still better than using a squat toilet!

I think this is a very handy product and I really like the idea of always having one of these in my travel pack just in case. The bad news is that the company hasn’t yet found a distributor, so you can only buy Ladybags online and in euros (it currently costs 8.65 euro for three, 20.16 euro for seven, and 57.40 euro for 20). You can buy them here.

The Ladybag when unfolded

Pros

• Very small and portable
• The bag is made of very solid plastic, so it won’t leak
• The oval rim is solid and wide, so there’s no spilling
• You can use it sitting, standing, or squatting
• The long handle makes it easy to hold while using it
• The odor of urine is totally absorbed
• The bag is huge so it can hold plenty of pee
• The package comes with a wet wipe so you don’t need toilet paper
• The package has a white trash bag that you can use to discard the Ladybag or to hang onto it until you’re near a trash can.

Cons

• The white garbage bag is handy, but it’s heavy with the used Ladybag in it, and you still have to find a place to throw it away
• You can currently only buy in euros and online
• It takes some getting used to

The company also makes the Roadbag, which is a similar product but for males. It costs 5.99 euros for a set of three.

Would you ever use a Ladybag? Do you think this would be handy or is it too gross?

Have you ever awoken to irritated skin with red welts? Chances are, it was due to bed bugs.

Bed bugs cause red welts and irritated skin

About 30 years ago, people thought they were a thing of the past in the United States, but it’s not so. In a recent study of 700 mid-priced hotels, 25% were found to have bed bugs.

In comes Rest Easy, a new product created to exterminate bed bugs (and bed mites). According to a press release, the presence of bed bugs has nothing to do with cleanliness; it’s about how large the population is. While they were nearly extinct from the country in the past, the chemical used to exterminate them is no longer permitted, and they have come back to the U.S. with a vengeance via global travelers.

Bed bugs can hide out in box springs, furniture seams, dresser drawers, and small floor cracks. Oh, and they can live a year without eating.

Rest Easy is organic and made from essential oils, so it environmentally safe and won’t hurt kids or pets. It comes in a variety of sizes (including a 2-ounce spray bottle for travel, of course).

According to the instructions, you spray Rest Easy all around the hotel room when you get there, which will kill some of the bugs already out and about and keep those hiding in their place. They also remind travelers to spray their luggage, since that’s how the bugs make their way back to your house. It says while you can spray it in your bed, it’s more important to create a barrier by spraying Rest Easy around the bed (and they note that  if bed bugs are in the bed, you should contact a professional for extermination).

The release also mentions that in 2006, there were more than 4,500 bed bug complaints in New York City. I’m going there in two weeks. Normally I would never think to buy a product like this, but I’m starting to have second thoughts…

Have you ever encountered bed bugs? Would you ever use a product like this?

Pocket Laundry Wash container and a soap leaf

Before leaving for a backpacking trip to Europe this summer, I went to REI in search of handy travel tools. One item I bought was Pocket Laundry Wash made by Summit to Sea. Its small yellow container closely resembles those Listerine breath-freshener strips. It snaps open and closed, and inside are 50 thin sheets of dry soap, called “leaves.” This product is ideal for backpackers or campers who must pack light and need a simple way to wash clothes in a sink or bathtub. It sounded ideal, as I wasn’t in a position to spend time or money in a laundromat.

I found this tiny soap product to be very handy for backpacking, but they were slightly cumbersome and didn’t get my clothes quite as clean as I would have hoped.

Here are some of the perks and misfires of the Pocket Laundry Wash:

Pros:

• This soap is not liquid and it is TSA carry-on compliant, so it is easy to bring with you to the airport if you are using carry-on luggage (and you don’t have to worry about nasty leaks).
• It is very affordable; it only cost around $4 for the whole pack.
• It is extremely lightweight and small (around 2 inches by 3 inches), making it very portable and great for people traveling light.
• The leaves are made of pure soap and are biodegradable, so you don’t have to worry about the environment.
• The soap dissolves well and doesn’t leave any residue, as promised.

Cons:

• The box says to remove the soap leaves with dry hands. However, several times when I was washing clothes in the sink, I realized I needed more leaves once my hands were already wet. There were several times when I tried to grab additional leaves with slightly wet hands, and the leaves clumped and got stuck together, making it impossible to grab just one or two leaves. You really have to make sure your hands are totally dry – even slightly damp hands will make them stick.
• The leaves did not get very sudsy. The box recommends using “4-5 leaves as required,” but I found that I often needed more to feel like my clothes were really getting clean.
• The soap doesn’t work perfectly. While my clothes felt and smelled clean enough to wear again, some items still looked slightly dirty, like my white socks. My travel partner, who has higher standards than I do when it comes to clean clothes, felt like it didn’t work well enough to really clean her clothes. She used antibacterial hand soap instead, which was much sudsier and made the clothes smell and look a little more fresh.

I love that this product is compact and eco-friendly and that it didn’t take up any space in my precious liquids bag for my carry-on backpack. However, they didn’t have as much cleaning power as I would have liked, and the clump factor was frustrating. These were fine for a short trip of just a few weeks, but if I was going on a longer trip in which my clothes had a chance to get really dirtied, I would buy a small tube of laundry soap at one of my destinations to get the clothes fully clean.

I looked online, and Sea to Summit makes several products in the same style and same type of container, such as body wash, shampoo, hand wash and shaving soap. I may be willing to give one of these a try in the future, but unless the airlines get really crazy about carry-on liquids, I will probably stick to liquids for now. These dry products seem to be best if you are in a situation in which liquids are out of the question or when you are camping and perfect cleanliness isn’t as much of a concern.

Have you ever used this product or something like it? What did you think?

I know some people wear earplugs on airplanes or at rock concerts, but I never bothered to use them. When flying to Italy in May, our airline gave us a handy little pouch that contained some earplugs. I didn’t think I would need them on my trip, but I saved them just in case. I quickly learned that they are one of the best tools you can have when traveling to a warm urban place, especially for light sleepers like me.

Our first destination was Rome. We stayed at a beautiful bed and breakfast, but our windows opened into a large outdoor atrium surrounded by other peoples’ windows. It was in the dead of summer and the B&B had no air conditioning, so keeping the windows closed at night was out of the question.  Everyone in the surrounding buildings had their windows open as well, and the high walls of the atrium caused loud echoes. We heard people talking, singing, watching TV, and cooking until all hours of the night.

I quickly remembered I had earplugs in my bag. I stuffed them in my ears and was able to ignore the noise and get a good night’s sleep. They didn’t help on the night that someone cooked some foul-smelling seafood dish, but the noise was manageable.

Our next stop was Perugia, a quaint college town about halfway between Rome and Florence. It is a very small town, but it is loaded with college students. Unfortunately, our quiet, family-run hotel, which also had no air conditioning, was just down the street from a popular college bar. Our nightly soundtrack was thumping music and shouting coeds. Even with the earplugs in, I could still hear some noise, but they certainly took a huge edge off and allowed me to sleep.

It was no surprise to find the same thing in Florence. We were staying in a hostel with a window facing an atrium, and the next-door neighbor kept his Italian television on full blast very late every evening. No A.C. here either, so we had to keep the window open. For those two nights, the earplugs were my salvation from bad Italian sitcoms.

I wish I had been wise enough to take some with me to Paris the year before; I had the same exact situation happen when staying at a hotel with no air conditioning (my window faced an indoor atrium, too), but didn’t have any earplugs then. I slept horribly; it didn’t help that they were having a heat wave. I later learned that you can buy earplugs at just about any pharmacy abroad.

If you are going to be in a warm and urban locale in the summer, check and see if your accommodations have air conditioning. If not, stock up on earplugs! You may look nerdy, but you will sleep like a rock.