travel advice beyond snoring

I've been having a good time reading the snoring and hostel stories. I tried the StudentUniverse advice and found a cheaper flight to Rome than what I was going to spend on Travelocity, so I'm kind of psyched. I've got my earplugs packed for dorm living, but what else do I need for a successful budget trip? My one friend said reading Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and packing a towel were a must.

Towel, yes. Sleep sheet, usually. Good lock (pacsafes get varied reviews), definitely. Innoculations if you're going to some places (not Rome AFAIK), sometimes several months in advance.

And an open mind.

If you're staying in hostels, you need something like a towel. However, an actual towel takes a long time to dry. I suggest using large squares of kitchen gauze, which you can find in most hardware

My one friend said reading Hitchhiker's Guide to

Taking along the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is an excellent travel choice!

Good-bye and thanks for all the fish,

That's one of the very few books that I was never able to finish.

I think you have to be in the right mood to read it. I first became familiar with it in the 70's in the UK where it was presented on the radio. I found it was absolutely hilarious and when I read the book, the radio voices remained in my head.

Check out www.bugeurope.com (they also have a site for Aus and NZ) for excellent tips and a wicked reader-reviewed database of hostels. I didn't use my lonely planet once for a place to stay thanks to that site.

Bloke I met at a hostel once didn't bring a towel to his Europe sojourn and just used hostel sheets to dry himself the whole time. Was too poor (or too tight) to buy a towel. And obviously didn't think of stealing one from the hostel, which is very common...

I like the large thin Turkish towels they use in Turkish baths - these dry fast and are useful for other things as well as drying yourself. A Palestinian-type scarf can do the same job.

The most impressive bit of traveller's towelmanship I have ever seen was when I was hitching from Thessaloniki to Istanbul in 1981. The guy just ahead of me in the queue for a lift was an Austrian going the same way who had come all the way from home wearing nothing but a pair of very brief denim shorts and flip-flops. His entire baggage was in a rolled-up towel that he carried in one hand in a bundle about the size of a large loaf of bread.

Taking a moment's reflection, st mused: Bloke I met at a hostel once didn't bring a towel to his Europe sojourn and just used hostel sheets to dry himself the whole time. Was too poor (or too tight) to buy a towel. And obviously didn't think of stealing one from the hostel, which is very common...

At least he was honest.