Quality pays

My rucksack was acquired in 1997 in preparation for my first round-the-world trip. I say acquired because I can’t remember if I bought it, or if it was a present from Dad (probably), but anyway, it is a simple design, not like these modern ones which lay on their side and open like a suitcase – this is access via the top only! There is a zip near the bottom but I haven’t dared open it whilst it is full as I imagine it will disrupt the order of contents within;  there are also two side pockets, and a top pocket (invariably pyjamas go in there as I forget about packing them until the last minute). It was quite pricey if I remember rightly, but I tell you what: 16 years on and it is still going strong!

Two of our routes are particularly dusty: to Tandala, and Sumbawanga. The roads accessing these towns are under construction and still not complete, and so in Mbeya before boarding the Sumbawanga bus there are hawkers everywhere trying to sell you a plastic bag (like a thin blue dustbin bag) to put your case or rucksack into, to prevent it getting too dusty, and maybe to protect the contents. Well, for a start the plastic bag is not large enough to close completely so the dust will get inside it anyway, as well as it potentially splitting when it gets shunted around the luggage compartment, so I never buy one much to the chagrin of the sellers in the bus station. And when we arrive in Sumbawanga and I open up my rucksack, everything inside is still dust-free! The rucksack itself needs a bit of a dusting-down, but it getting dusty is unavoidable all the time, so that’s more an exercise in limiting the amount of dust that is transferred elsewhere.

Totally loving my rucksack :-)