After a few weeks in Thailand, I've come to miss a few things dearly:
1. Washing machine!! Laundry by hand all the time sucks! It's impossible to wash anything thick cleanly, so no more denim after this trip. Will have to make do for the rest of the year without it, suck big time.
2. Living alone, maybe it'd be different if I knew the flatmates better, but I bet it won't make a huge difference.
3. Being able to cook, I really hate eating out for every meal. Even when I saw food at the market that I'd like to try to cook with, I couldn't.
4. A good book, games on the iPod could only keep me occupied for so long before battery went dead.
And here are things I used so often that I could not live without:
1. Tea tree oil, this stuff rocks. I've used it as a cleaning solution before (dilute a few drops in water), now I also use it to stop mosquito bites from itching and to keep them from swelling. I also happen to like the smell; it's potent but at least it's natural, unlike "lemon scented bleach".
2. Head torch, I used it every night to walk to my flat from the village. Some parts of the road to get home could be quite dark, and people in their motorcycle seemed crazier in the dark!
3. Clothesline, since I do a little bit of laundry daily, I have stuff to dry everyday.
4. Sarong, I had one for years and never used it, but now I wore it daily. I learned to tie it multiple ways: strapless, halter, one-shoulder, it's so versatile and functional.
5. A hat, sunblock and bug repellent, for obvious reasons, although I still got about 20 shades darker and was brutally attacked by mosquitoes.
6. Pencil and notebook, remember those, before the days of gadgets? I liked being able to jot things down as ideas popped in my head or if I saw something that I wanted to look up later. One day when it was quiet at the restaurant, I chatted with the waiter and we taught each other words in our own language: Chinese from me to him, and Burmese from him to me. I asked him to write some Burmese words in my notebook, they are so intricate and interesting!
