Project one, making a money belt

Back in 1986 after leaving school, I decided I would go to Israel and work on a Kibbutz. I saved up the fare for the magic bus (not an apt description, but hey the fare was magic, and the fact the bus stayed on the road was magic) and travelled, after the channel crossing, to Athens by bus, which took three days. I then stayed a week in Athens, boarded the boat deck class, that took me three days to get across to Haifa. Now travelling on my own I felt a little wary, although as a teenager you believe you are indestructable. I decided that although I had a money belt to wear over my clothes that this was just too obvious and likely to get stolen. I decided to take my favourite leather belt and sew through the stiching holes to attach a zip on the other side. Once I had done this I folded up a ten pound note and wrote all my travellers checks numbers, my passport number and emergency phone numbers, on little bits of paper and placed them in the zip. I am so glad I did this, in Athens all money and travellers cheques were stolen, luckily not my passport or boat ticket, but happily in my little belt I had the magic numbers and they were replaced the same day.

A few years ago I put a picture of my belt in a well known magazine and next thing I saw were material versions of these belts in the travel shops, oh well another thing I could have made money out of, but I just have this love of giving things away as you might have noticed by now.

Oh such an idylic setting by the Red Sea. I did all my travels with virtually no money. I was hitchhiking around Israel and slept on the beach. I was in my sleeping bag and in the morning I woke up and looked down at my feet, I thought my foot is sticking out of my sleeping bag, funny, then I saw it move and realised it was a rat. Oh not one of my best moments. I used another little trick that backfired one day. I used to bury my passport and money before I went to sleep, never bury your money when you are drunk, always do it before hand, I spent hours digging up the beach one day to find it. It was there where I had left it.

If you have any comments email Alyssa at alyssa@alyssamaryrose.com