went on a trip to Taipei. not one bag, brought multiple bags because I planned to buy a lot of food to bring back to family. Taipei in July is very hot and humid, had to change my shirt around mid afternoon. i havent tried the towel drying method yet, figured it was a great time to test it. hand washed the 2 shirts I used, then rolled them up one by one. by the time i hung them up, they were no longer dripping. after ~8 hrs, they were completely dry and wrinkle-free. steps I took:
- skipped the stepping on the towel part. instead, i wrung the shirt to remove excess water.
- rolled the shirt-towel into a burrito and made sure that the roll is very tight then wrung it again.
- flipped the towel and also flipped the shirt. made sure that the opposite side of the shirt now makes contact with the fresh side of the towel.
- repeat the rolling and wringing.
- flicked each shirt with a strong wrist movement (snapped to reduce wrinkles).
- hung them on the backs of plastic chairs.
these were ordinary cotton shirts (Hanes, to be specific), i did not use travel shirts with specialized blends.
A6 notebook + mechanical pencil are an indispensable part of my travel kit. i always worry that i will lose my phone at some point so important addresses are written there.
pen and paper can be very useful in places with a different language/writing system. there was a time i looked for a specific product that i had a difficulty describing. fortunately, i met a local who can speak english and asked him to write down the local name of the said product. it can be done on the phone but i find that older people are more comfortable writing with a pen and paper.
for everyday, i use my phone s native notes app for quick jots but still carry with me a notebook and pencil.