Over watermelon margaritas, Dom inducts me into the tribe of the female traveler. I’m planning to spend six months in Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos but I’ve never done serious solo travel before and let’s face it, I’m clueless. She leans over, a conspirator:
‘So, you know about The Keeper, right?’
‘Ummmm…should I?’
Oh boy. No, I hadn’t given any thought to the problem of carrying several months worth of Western tampons through the Mekong Delta. Up to now, one of my main skills has been persuading others to carry my stuff—groceries, laundry bags, lipstick, books. I’m more smitten by the romance of Dervala the Intrepid Traveler than by the realities of mosquito netting and ugly shoes.
Following her advice, I searched for the mysterious Keeper on the Lonely Planet message boards and turned up this charming post:
Why can’t women travellers roll their own tampons when travelling or use what the locals use. It wastes valuable travel money buying Western brands. This money could be put to better use like World debt, famine, purchasing local artefacts etc etc
Thanks for the sympathy, RogerMORE (and for your firm grasp on economic priniciples). Turns out The Keeper Menstrual Cup answers your plea. It’s a weird little plunger cup, like a diaphragm. The makers promise it can hold ‘up to 1 full ounce of menstrual flow’.
You rinse it.
And it’s $32.
But Dom swears it’s essential so I punch in my credit card details. The screaming confirmation message proves that I’m now part of a cult:
You Will LOVE Your KEEPER !!!
Dervala.com 