And don’t dress like that. When backpacking we don’t usually stay in the kind of hotels that provide luxurious extras like towels. Our hotels are basic. The kind where you see something brown on your pillow its not a chocolate. Which  means we have to bring our own towels .

As backpackers we try to keep our bags small so rather than carry towels we use multi-purpose wraps (sarongs). These double (triple?) as towels, beachwear and dressing gowns. While they make excellent dressing gowns they lack the absorbency of proper fleecy bath sheets. Basically you use them to wipe off the excess water but not much more. This is fine in warmer climates where the hot air can finish the job but in colder places they tend to leave you clammy in your clefts and moist between your toes. Not how you want to be.

Another consideration is drying them after use. Again not a problem when its warm, infinitely harder when its cold. Traveling with wet towels is unpleasant. After a couple of days everything in your pack smells horribly of damp and there is mildew on your knickers. Our immediate solution to cold weather drying problems is not to shower.

Being British, and Northern, I can go for days on one quick wipe round with a flannel. Village Boy has higher standards and soon starts winging. Eventually we have to book a couple of days in a reasonably nice hotel that supplies hot water, towels and ideally a laundry service.

The North of Iran has been wet and cold so shivering and whiffy we have been searching out decent places to clean up. For reasons I cannot begin to imagine some hotels in Iran have started heat sealing their towels in plastic bags. Yes plastic wrapped towels. We asked for unwrapped towels but apparently they return from the laundry like that.

We opened them and used the towels but it quite spoilt our shower.

We have taken the plastic bags with us to reuse.

Want to find more travel related plastic free tips? Check out the plastic- free backpack