Take me to your washing machine

You know in books and movies how they never cover the mundane parts of the day that we all deal with? Spiderman never has to pop into a public toilet and deal with geting that suit off. James Bond’s seduction is never interrupted while he and his partner discuss contraception. That sort of thing. Well there’s a certain undeniable similarity with travel blogging.

After seven months of travel I’ve come to one firm conclusion. If aliens ever did manage to steer their tiny craft across the unimaginable distances separating the stars, they would not, upon arriving on Earth, say ‘Take me to your leader’. They would immediately track down a local and say “Do you have a washing machine?”.

We basically carry enough clothes for a four-day cycle in warm or cold weather. After four days we’re either wearing something again, or swapping to unseasonable clothing, or both. That makes finding a washing machine a priority in any destination.

So to it was today. After a horror eight-hour drive south to Bristol down an accident-ridden motorway we arrived at our wonderful friends John and Margaret’s place only to immediately throw ourselves on their practical mercy.

Join the world of international travellers. See strange new places. Meet interesting people. Ask if you can borrow their internet connection.