Yeah, I know, support the little guy. Viva negocios locales!! But until the little guy comes up with something this convenient/delicious, bring it on Starbucks! VIA instant coffee packets are a godsend when I’m on the road, in the sky, or running around a jungle. If I can make a fire or find a stove, I can enjoy my one indulgence of ‘roughing it.’ Although a bit expensive (around $1 a packet), I’ll cram these things into every square centimeter of my pack.

If you’ve ever spent more than 1 night sleeping at a Hostel, you realize that most foreigners define ‘respect’ as something different than you. An eye mask is perfect for 5 a.m. when your Australian roommates roll into the room and forget that other people in the world exist, and most of them are trying to get some sleep. Hence, the sleeping mask. If you forget yours, sneak into first class and steal one on your next flight (I did).

I’m never traveling without my Skullcandy Earbuds. Unlike those uncomfortable iPod headphones or bulky over-the-head noise-canceller that get broken the minute you cram them under your airplane seat or they end up in the bottom of your backpack, Skullcandy has made these super steezy and supremely comfy headphones that double as earplugs!  These things keep every noise out. Have you ever heard someone get their hands on a cellphone for the first time? Without fail this person can and will listen to EVERY. SINGLE. RING TONE. that come stock on the phone. They will listen to these over and over again, most likely till the phone battery is completely exhausted. And usually for me, this person is sitting right next to/under me on what is usually a very long, hot, crammed bus ride.

Thank you God Skullcandy, for letting me keep my sanity for another day.

The Too Short Tube Dress from AmAppy is by far the most amazing piece of clothing I’ve ever owned. In fact, since trying one on a few years ago in a desperate act to stay-clothed-while-doing-laundry-abroad, I’ve owned more of these things than I can count on one hand. This magical tube of cotton and spandex has not only kept me clothed in the most unforgiving conditions, but  once even helped Darcy get safely out of a country (ask her the story…).

It’s a skirt.

It’s a tank top.

It’s a dress for going to the beach.

It’s a dress for going out on the town.

It’s a towel.

It’s an excuse to not change for a week straight.

It’s the perfect object for travel. I’m pretty sure it’s what the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants actually are.

Do you own one? Maybe you should. Get yours at: American Apparel, or buy one and express ship it to me.

Traveling can be lonely. It can be hard and un-funny and more than anything else, uncomfortable. Hostels without pillows, 30 hour bus rides, and middle seats of airplanes: I’ve never not been glad to have one of these adorable stuffed monsters from Ugly Dolls with me at all times.

My first, Ice Bat, accompanied me to Samoa and helped me battle boils and bug bites galore. We slept in fields together and huts together. When I was faced with homesickness and the impossibilities of living in a culture so opposite of my own, Ice Bat was there.

As a going away present when I was leaving Colorado to head back to Oregon after college, Jessie got me Spice Cat, a weird brown creature with buck teeth and a vacant stare that never failed to amuse me. I offered Ice Bat up to Darcy, who would be traveling with me to Australia. Ice Bat held her hand while she regretfully regurgitated her airport Sushi and I cozied up with Spice Cat on that 13 hour plane ride Down Under. The four of us spent a month together, and by the end I came to realize that Darcy was adopting Ice Bat. I put them on an airplane home together, and they’ve been traveling with one another ever since.

Spice Cat was with me through Fiji, Argentina, on road with the Campus Rail Jam Tour, and half-way across the US when he found his new home, this being in the bed of my mentor and longtime bff, LB. It was fate, accidentally leaving him there, and I knew when Lesley ‘promised to mail him back’ over 15 times, Spice Cat had found a new home. I had to accept it, because I knew Lesley could provide and awesome life for him.

Christmas 2009 brings me a package from the Ugly Doll factory via Taylor, and lo and behold, my new travel companion was staring up at me out of the package. Mudd. He’s orange, 5 legged, and has hilarious chest hair.