Comments on: Tuesday Travel Tips: How to Hand Wash Clothes

By: MummyT

MummyT — Sun, 03 Oct 2010 09:07:12 +0000

we were going to go to indonesian papua, but i think we’ve decided to stay in maluku and experience more here. i think either papua or png is a two-month journey in itself to do more than scratch the surface.

maluku, too, is not somewhere you can do in a month, but beginning to get a handle on the various aspects of the place. weird things like everyone believing in magic apart from the pastors and imams. (top tip: when talking to tribes about shamans first establish whether your interpreter believes in magic…)

just found out that there is a little religious violence on the island we were heading to on tuesday, so off to see the police tomorrow to take advice on whether we can do it. (it’s only in one town, which i think we can skip out of and avoid, plus flesh wounds only).

By: MummyT

MummyT — Sun, 03 Oct 2010 08:58:44 +0000

In reply to Jenny.

Ooohhhh… having recently handwashed, from a well, six days worth of trekking mud from items including a mosquito net, a blanket a backpack, a daypack, two coats and two pairs of jeans, i would say laundromats are the way forwards. if you can find them, that is. though hauling that much water is great for toned arms…

By: forrestblogging

forrestblogging — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 05:48:51 +0000

I lived in Port Moreseby in 1996-7. The whole reason I was there was very complicated … I unfortunately missed the coup by a few days (of all the coups you wanted to be involved in, the Sandline coup was actually safe and would have made good dinner party anecdotes for later.) It has been awhile, and my time in PNG was not a good one, so it will be really interesting to read what you think of the country. Where in PNG are you going?

By: Jenny

Jenny — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 18:48:08 +0000

Great tips! I usually used laundromats when I traveled, but might try hand washing on my next trip!

By: MummyT

MummyT — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 09:33:48 +0000

In reply to Nicole.

One of Z’s T-shirts made it to the black spots stage once. Mildew… This I never knew…

By: MummyT

MummyT — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 09:31:15 +0000

In reply to forrestblogging.

Skin rashes?! Yikes…

Where in PNG were you? What were you doing there? We’re off to Papua next…

By: Nicole

Nicole — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 05:02:34 +0000

Nice tips! Also, if you’re in a humid climate, make sure clothes are completely dry before throwing them on a pile or shoving them into a bag for a couple days. No amount of nasty bleach will remove the tiny black mildew spots that’ll spread throughout them.

By: forrestblogging

forrestblogging — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 19:56:55 +0000

Great list. Also on point one – those bleaches they use, they can cause awful skin rashes, even if you don’t think you (or your kids) have sensitive skin.
Having lived for just over twelve months in PNG, I learned all about washing in the tropics, washing in countries where the power and water supplies are never dependable, and washing in countries where the washing powders are questionable when it comes to what is in them. The main thing I learned? Never take anything you value, clothing wise, to a country without ‘modern’ washing facilities unless you plan to hand-wash it as your great-grandmother’s antique lace bridal gown you inherited – because otherwise it is going to get trashed, and soon.