2023 Week 11: I am a gearhead

I have gone completely crazy and ordered special travel underwear. That's how you know you've crossed a line. I even had the following thought this week: "perhaps the point of travelling is to test and review gear."

The underwear that caused my downfall are Marks & Spencer's 5pk No VPL Microfibre High Leg Knickers, which I'm hoping are my Holy Grail.

Travel undies, of course, have to be made of synthetic material in order to dry rapidly - crotch plus damp is, at least for me, a recipe for infection. Previously I travelled with the Decathlon running undies, and they're all right, but my gripe is the lack of cotton gusset, which isn't exactly comfortable. I have also tried Uniqlo's Airism undies, but they give me a wedgie after about a minute of wear. 

The M&S multi-pack appears to tick the boxes: quick-dry material, not too flimsy, 100% cotton gusset. I sized up for extra comfort and just hope they'll sit well on. Full review when they arrive.

I also got M&S 3pk Cotton & Lace Non Wired Full Cup Bra, which seem like the ideal travelling bra. They meet all my bra desiderata (no underwire, lace, excessive padding, removable pads, patterns, cross-back straps, pull-on-overhead style, etc.) for one thing. 

They're also very lightly padded - just enough to avoid headlights, but thin enough to still wash without a special boob-shaped wash bag and look like they'll survive being squashed in my bag.

And that's just underwear... 

I have also thought a lot about What Bag to Bring. A backpack is out of the question as the weight would just trigger my plantar fasciitis, but Jon gave me a conventional clamshell spinner suitcase and now I have to agonise over whether to use that or my Decathlon wheeled duffle bag...

Although the duffle is cooler, it's not water-resistant and I think the very practical desire to not have soaking wet belongings might win out in the end.

I have been reading a lot of OneBag, plus the offshoots r/onebag and r/HerOneBag, and have been developing my own OneBag philosophy. If only I could perform such intellectual exertions on things with actual value, like... learning to trade CFDs just like Kiefer Sutherland.

Other things that happened this week. Well this little guy came to stay! It's our second time hosting Mocha and he was pure joy as usual.

We went to eat at Nandhana's. I really liked the food here. I brought my own salad (which no one even noticed) and we shared butter chicken, egg bhurji, and naan.

Also I read this stupid book which was v. frustrating and upsetting. I officially hate all dystopian novels. I don't care if it's low brow - I want stories where mysteries get solved and everyone lives happily ever after, thank you very much.