Friday, July 09, 2010

The Magic Backpack

There is a phenomenon, when travelling for any length of time, that enables you to continually re-wear items of clothing without the need for laundering them. This phenomenon is known as the ‘magic backpack’.
Essentially how it works is this – you wear a piece of clothing, put it back in the ‘magic backpack’, and voila! A few days later you take it out and it is ready to be worn again – clean!
Of course I’m being sarcastic, although I do know many backpackers work on this theory – that of relative cleanliness – and I myself have been trying to do the same thing for the past few days, but I have literally got to the point where there is no more denying it, the clothes have to get washed. I just can’t recycle them anymore.
Luckily at the backpackers at Devonport they have a washing machine – but unluckily, I need to wash everything – which means what do I wear whilst waiting for it all to wash? So there I was, sitting in front of the TV in the common room in my pyjamas – no mean feat considering that all the other clients at this hostel are male – and with my waterproof as a dressing gown. What a sight I must’ve been!
Can I just say though, there is nothing quite like the smell of freshly laundered clothes when you have been forced to recycle them for several days? I tell you, it’s the simple things that give the most pleasure…!

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