CONCERNING LENGTHY VOYAGES
By Isolene B. Guilbride
The Girl's Own Annual (1926)
There is so much running to and fro in these restless days that we find people, who a generation back would have looked upon the journey of a few hundred miles as an undertaking of some magnitutde, now setting forth to the uttermost ends of the earth with the greatest sangfroid.
This seems due, about equally, to two causes. The rich are urged to adventure into the unknown places by the eternal craving for something new; the poor by the necessity of obtaining their living in countries less congested than their mother land.
Africa, and especially East Africa, is receiving its full share of these adventurers, and to those about to sample its sunny shores the following hints are offered.
The actual setting forth presents no difficulty. A shipping agency or Cook's will supply all necessary information about embarking and transportation of luggage. Also what weight of luggage one is allowed to take free of charge on the boat and the obtaining of a passport.
The real difficulty lies in knowing what, and what not, to pack in one's trunks!
Choosing a cabin, too, is important when choice is possible. For this reason it is wise to book passages two or even three months ahead. The boats leaving England in the autumn are natrually more crowded than those that sail in the spring.
The "port" is the cooler side of the ship, so if you can, engage a port cabin. A single berth cabin can also be obtained by payment of about £5 extra, and this, if you are a bad sailor or are travelling with an infant, may be viewed in the light of a necessity rather than of a luxury. Half the hardship of a voyage, I have found, is due to one's efforts to accommodate one's fellow-passengers, or to keeping one's children from being a nuisance to those around them. Single cabins are, I believe, only supplied to those travelling first class.
The Question Of Luggage
Pack all the things you do not actually need on the voyage into stout boxes (wooden cases, especially if zinc lined, are excellent), and let them be put in the hold. Cabin accommodation is limited. A cabin-trunk, sufficiently shallow to push beneath a berth, and a smaller case is about all you will find room for - especially if sharing the cabin with others. Pack all you need for the first week into these, and the rest of your clothes for the voyage put into another trunk, which will be placed in the baggage-room, and to which you can have access weekly.
When choosing your luggage, don't forget to buy one of those bolster shaped canvas bags with which we became so familiar during the war. They are simply invaluable for carrying shoes and rugs and cushions, and cost only fifteen shillings, or thereabouts. An expanding suit case, too, is worth considering.
Don't Forget There Will Be Customs Dues To Pay
It must be remembered that customs duty will be charged on all new (that is unworn) clothes, unused household goods, silver, and medicines at the rate of about 30 per cent. It is well to keep a rough list of the contents of your boxes. This may help you at the Customs office.
Your Outfits
Clothes, of course, depend very greatly on where you are going to live - whether on a farm or shamba, or in a large station. But wherever you are you will need a supply of cotton frocks, and these - unless you wish to be continually renewing your wardrobe - must be of white or "fadeless" material. "Tobralco" is splendid, and so are the "Duro" fabrics. Don't take delicate or elaborate dresses that will need dry cleaning when they are soiled.
Felt hats sound hot but are a protection against the sun. Your sun helmet or double terai you can either buy in London, or later at the famous shop of Simon Artz at Port Said. It will be necessary to wear either one or the other as soon as the tropics are reached. A good sun umbrella and possibly mosquito boots will be necessary items of your equipment.
Evening frocks will depend greatly on where you live. One or two will be necessary for the boat. Simple frocks are always best for ship-board, and especially frocks which do not crush or soil easily.
If you have underclothing that is wearing thin and not worth repair, in fact, almost ready to be converted into dusting rags, put your pride in your pocket and wear them on the voyage. Then when a garment is soiled - and they soil very quickly in the Red Sea - roll it into a nice little ball and pop it through your porthole some dark night. Thus you can go gaily on your way unhampered by the unpleasant burden of soiled linen. Most ships do carry a laundry, but I have found these expensive, and not always satisfactory.
If Taking Children
If you are a mother taking out a child or children, have all their clothes as simple as possible. Frilly frocks and petticoats are very unsuitable for shipboard. Ginghams and cotton crêpe that can be washed through and dried in the cabin are the best wear when the weather is too warm for knitted garments, while khaki drill for older boys is most serviceable.
Have plenty of patent food for the baby. A thermos, two, in case one meets with an accident, are a necessity, for it is not permitted to use a spirit lamp in your cabin. With a thermos, which the steward will fill with boiling water, and a tin of Glaxo, the mother is independent. Biscuits and Bovril are most helpful for older children.
Let the children take toys with them. Quiet toys, as you value your popularity! Life on board becomes very boring to children of active temperament. Take plenty of boracic powder with which to allay the irritation of prickly heat, and don't forget a bottle of Eno's and castor oil in case of emergencies!
Many of the ships carry a barber's shop, which is a very Woolworth's for variety, and also a well-stocked library.
And now, if you will be pleased to get yourself a comfortable deck-chair in which to doze during the sunny somnolent days, there remains but to wish you good weather, good health, and so a bon voyage.