My old boss in Tulsa laughed at me for packing a $9 rice cooker in my carry on, 15 hostels later I owe him a beer
I used to think my old boss Mike in Tulsa was just messing with me when he told me to buy a tiny rice cooker at the thrift store before my trip to Southeast Asia in 2016. He said it was the one thing he never traveled without, and I honestly thought he was joking because who packs a kitchen appliance in a backpack. I found one for $9 at a Goodwill and crammed it in anyway, mostly just to prove him wrong. Turns out he was dead on. I used that thing almost every day for four months in Thailand and Vietnam, cooking rice, oats, and noodles in hostel kitchens or even just next to a window outlet. I probably saved $500 on food alone compared to eating out three times a day. The hostel crowd always gave me weird looks at first, but by week two people were asking to borrow it. Now I see people buying $200 travel gadgets that do less. Anyone else got an old boss or family member who gave you weird cheap gear advice that actually panned out?