Things we found useful while travelling so far

maps.me

This is google maps but without the need for data on your phone. It doesn't even need wifi, just your location tracker turned on, so you can use it wherever you are abroad. Only once did it let us down, that was in Bagan when it made up a road. Apart from that it was reliable, fast and even showed us a few good restaurants that we wouldn't have otherwise found. It was particularly handy on local buses, where it allowed us to see when to get off.

Filter water bottle (AquaPure Traveller)

This was kindly given to Matt as a leaving gift by the awesome people at Learner Adams Bones. The bottle comes with a filter that removes harmful bugs from the water, enabling you to drink tap water. It hasn't let us down so far and is good for the environment because it removes the need for purchasing endless plastic bottles of water, which in Asia are discarded everywhere. The only negative is that the water comes out the bottle quite slowly so it takes a bit longer to drink what you would normally gulp down in seconds. They're available on Amazon.

Revolut card

This is a MasterCard designed for travellers who want to side step all the expensive fees and exchange rates that banks love to charge. Using their tablet or phone app, you top up the card with a set amount of money which you then spend like a normal credit card. When you pay there are no fees (except what the actual cash machine charges) and Revolut promise that the exchange rate will be the best available at the moment of purchase. If someone wants paying in US dollars you can see the conversion rate before the transfer. If it's stolen the card can be cancelled instantly using the app, presuming you have data or wifi. Overall it's been great and saved us quite a bit in fees. Two things to take note of: On two occasions the card was rejected for no apparent reason and while you can also use it to withdraw cash from the cash machine with no fees, this is only true up to £500, then they charge 2% (still less than the 3% our bank charges).