35. Traveling by Sleeper Van (Part 11) Another Way to Take a Shower

My current goal was to drive around the northeastern part of the North Island, planning to stop at various interesting spots. There's one place I really wanted to visit. To be honest, I don't usually have such fixed goals. However, I noticed a place that piqued my curiosity a lot, which is the location of a tree over 2,000 years old. I don't know why, but I feel that this is a living being that we can imagine being older than the historical years we use. How many human lifetimes have interacted with that tree? This thought made me feel that this was truly amazing, and I really wanted to see it.

          However, I didn't want it to be a destination that I had to head straight for. I wanted to reach it indirectly. I started driving along the western side of the country. Some nights, I stayed in the city center, and the pattern and method were quite similar: finding a parking spot where I could use the bathroom in the morning, because that is necessary and important. But for urination, sometimes I might find a dark corner by a tree.

          But sometimes when I felt like taking a shower, it's not because I feel sticky or anything. Actually, I just felt like washing my hair. Since this was my main need, I thought that just using the restroom in a public bathroom would be enough. However, I must say that the method I'm about to describe is not suitable for everyone. It's just a method that works well for me while I was traveling by the car.

                    The equipment needed includes a 1.5-liter plastic bottle filled with water, shampoo, and a portable towel. The method is that I will use the water in the bottle as if it were a faucet, and I will wash my hair by bending over. Of course, while I am washing my hair, I will have to take off my shirt as well. Even though some shampoo might splash onto my back, it's a very small amount. I will wash my hair gently to avoid splashing too much. Then, I will gradually pour water to rinse it off and finally use the towel to dry.

          For the torso, just rubbing water on the body and using a towel to dry off normally will make you feel refreshed as if you had taken a real shower. For the lower part, a similar method is used: standing over the toilet and pouring water over yourself. Normally, I don't wash my whole body at once; usually, just washing my hair makes me feel very good. However, this method might only work in situations where the weather is quite cool and there is no sweat. Because in our country's weather, doing this probably won't feel like taking a proper shower.

          I passed through the city of Hamilton and stayed near the public library there for one night. Then I continued westward, passing through Coromandel, and stayed another night in a parking lot near a park. After finding a suitable parking spot, I went for a walk. I always enjoy the cool and pleasant atmosphere and seeing people and lifestyles different from what I've seen before. This may not seem exciting, but it makes me feel good.

          That night, I camped in the parking lot next to the playground. Around 8 PM, I noticed a man lying alone on a nearby pavilion. I felt sympathy and wanted to bring him a blanket if he needed it, because even though I was sleeping in the car, I still had to rely on a sleeping bag.

As soon as I greeted him, he immediately got up. We chatted back and forth. Even though I couldn't understand everything because my ears were still untrained to the local accent, at least he understood everything I said. I realized that he was just lying around to sober up and was about to head home. I chatted with him about various random things for a while, then excused myself and went back to the car. He continued walking down the road into the village. I secretly watched him and saw him jump over a low wooden fence of someone's house to do something, then quickly jumped back onto the path. Thinking about it, it was quite funny.