Sarongs - More Than Just a Sunwrap

Sarongs are a very popular article of clothing these days. Sarongs are not just a sun wrap, and sarongs are not just clothing. Sarongs are many things to many people! A simple piece of fabric, batiked or painted, plain or fancy, bright and bold or subdued and subtle, sarongs can be an entire wardrobe (and more)!

Sarongs are called many different names by different cultures. The peoples of Southeast Asia often call sarongs 'surongs', in India, sarongs are called 'sris', and Tahitians, Hawaiians and even Brazilians call them 'pareos'. In many cultures of Africa, a large piece of cloth similar to a sarong is called a 'kanga'.

There are as many different names for sarongs as there are ways to use them. I call it my favorite thing to take on a trip, whether across town or across the world. Whatever name you call a sarong, call it useful!

Tablecloth - keeps the bugs away from your food and makes a nice clean cloth cover for dirty or dusty tables, and my colorful sarong sure came in handy on the Alaska Highway trip I took! Eagles had left their signs all over the rustic wooden table at the rest stop!

Sunshade - Tie the fringes to tree branches or even to surfboards on the beach and you have a great sarong sunscreen, both pretty and useful, even necessary sometimes, as it was when I was having a snack along a dusty Outback Highway in Australia in 104 degree temperatures!

Shrine Scarf - When visiting temples and monasteries in Thailand and Cambodia, I wore a dark color batiked sarong as a head covering, out of respect for the religious culture. Simply drape the sarong over your head and let it drape around your shoulders. (Personally, I thought I looked a bit like the Virgin Mary)

Emergency Clothing - When in predominately Muslim countries especially, I always made sure that no bare skin showed, as even a bare shoulder or upper arm can be seen as a sign of disrespect in a religious setting; a sarong head covering, a sarong shoulder drape, and a sarong skirt that went nearly to my toes seemed to appease even the strictest Muslim men in Indonesia, and I had a lovely trip.

Grocery Cart - Often, when traveling in other cultures, I like to live like a local. One of the things I did NOT enjoy was lugging a bunch of heavy grocery bags to my apartment or lodgings, and the sarong took care of that very well. Make your sarong into a somewhat triangular piece by folding it, then slip it over your shoulder or across your body to carry the weight of your groceries comfortably.

Baby Carrier - Who needs a Snugli? After making friends in Chiang Ri, Thailand, one of my new women friends asked me to carry her little girl home from the market, while she carried our meal and other groceries. I felt honored that she would trust me with her child, but the squirmy little thing was not happy until I put her safely in my sarong. When you sit a baby in a folded and tied sarong, with their bottom resting on your hip, a lot of the weight is distributed quite nicely. Easy.

Bathing Suit - This one actually takes two sarongs, but if you don't want to skinny dip, and you don't have a swimsuit, it works. I forgot my suit in Cairns, and really wanted a dip in the ocean. I would have gone 'nakie', except for the family 50 yards down the beach. So, off into the bush to fashion a perfectly good swimsuit, simply by pulling it through my legs and tying it off with the second sarong. Worked great!

Bedspread - When staying in hostels across Asia, I liked to lay my favorite sarong across my bunk to give my bed a sense of personality. I also used my purple batiked sarong when staying a month in Bundaberg at a tourist flat, to give me a taste of 'home'.

Sheet or Sleeping Bag - This probably wouldn't work in colder climates, but across most of Asia and Oceania, one sarong under me and one sarong as a covering kept me cool, cozy and covered. I was surprised how sand flea free sleeping in my sarong bed was on the beach at Tulum, Mexico.

Emergency Distress Flag - Waving my brightly colored (orange) batik sarong got the attention of a wonderful man with a first aid kit, the day I thought I had been bitten by a poisonous snake (actually, at the time I was positive it was a cobra!) in the hills east of Rangoon. He came running, and he tried very hard not to laugh at me for being freaked out by a teensy tiny baby garden snake!

So, buy a sarong or 17 (at last count) and enjoy your best ever travel purchase. They are inexpensive, colorful and charming, and can be used for more than a sun wrap.