Hairy Knees

Time and Place: Summer 1999, India House Backpackers Hostel, New Orleans

I was sitting at a table out on the patio of India House in New Orleans chatting to some other backpackers. I looked down at my knees and said, "do you know what I've noticed since I started travelling?"
At exactly the same time, an Ozzie and a Brit replied: "Hairy knees."

It wasn't just me that had noticed this. All of us had developed hairy knees while travelling. Prior to starting a world tour at the begging of 1999 I had been working in an office in London and had worn a suit every day. The trousers of the suit had, presumably, rubbed or caught and pulled the hairs off my knees. I had noticed that there was short stubble on my knees but had never questioned why.

After I'd been travelling for a few months, and had only been wearing shorts because it was summer, the hair had had a chance to grow back and for the first time ever I had hairy knees.