There are hundreds of travel tips out there; we have benefitted from some of them and have come up with a few new ones of our own. Perhaps these simple tips will come in handy to some of you one day. (In random order.)

Bubbles
We've seen people hand out candies, t-shirts, and pens to children. We've also seen kids fight and get beat up by bullies over them. Instead of ruining their teeth and creating a habit of begging from tourists, try entertaining them by blowing bubbles. We found that sullen kids suddenly turned joyous, which makes for wonderful pictures. There is no negative residual effect either. (Thanks to Rochelle for this fabulous tip!)

Shower With Clothes
Yes, it does feel a bit weird. But if you are in a place where you have unlimited water, why not do a 2 for 1 with the soap and your time and shower with your clothes? When you do laundry you're clothing will get just as wet.

Laundry
If you don't like doing laundry (either in or out of the shower), then rest easy: we discovered that there are cheap laundry shops nearly everywhere around the world, most of whom charge a pittance for their services. Unlike a coin laundry at home, local laundry services often fold and press your clothing and return it in a neat tidy bundle. Warning: one laundry place in Cambodia burned a hole in Winston's shirt while trying to iron it; these things do happen!

Foot Through Strap
We got into the habit of sticking a foot through a strap of our backpack or dayback whenever we put the bags down, especially in high-traffic areas like train and bus stations. Eventually it became completely routine and we could tune out without having to worry about becoming victims of a snatch-and-run. When the guy in the Madrid internet cafe tried to steal my bag, it was easy to foil him.

Shirt Security Pocket
Here's a plug for a piece of equipment: REI (and probably other retailers) sell a long-sleeved travel shirt that has a large pocket that not only zips closed but has a velcro flap over the zipper. Practically impossible to pickpocket anything from there. It was perfect for holding documents, tickets, and passports, and much easier to access than the money belt that was tucked under the shirt.

Bring a Knife
We didn't bring a Swiss Army knife or Leatherman thinking that we weren't checking in bags at the airport. There were countless numbers of times that we wished we had either.

Plastic fork/spoon
Sometimes food was served without utensils. If you didn't have access to water to clean your hands with, having a fork or spoon available was very useful. We just used the ones they gave you on the airplane. Light and portable.

Notepad and Pen
Simple, yet powerful, probably the most useful thing we brought on the whole trip. It was almost more valuable than our wallets. It held e-mails, contact info, addresses, translations, tips, recommendations, catch phrases, you name it. Spiral bound works best.

ATM's
Most larger towns around the world will have an ATM in it, which saves the hassle of having to exchange money or cash in traveller's cheques. It also allows you to walk around with less cash on you (although there were a few towns way off the beaten path that we struggled in cashless from time to time).

Toiletries
Pack a toothbrush and other daily toiletries with you in your daypack. There were many instances where we would go on jaunts with just our daypacks, sometimes ending up overnight in a location away from our main backpacks. Always useful to have basic toiletries with us all the time.

Grimy Plane Tickets
For those traveling for a long time, carrying your plane tickets can be a pain. What's even more disturbing is watching drit and mold appear on your tickets as you keep it in your sweaty moneybelt for months. (Gross, we know.) Try slipping your tickets into a plastic bag before putting it in your money belt... your money belt might not breath as well as it used to, but that's better than wearing our your return ticket home!

No Cotton
Another common travel tip, we just wanted to chime in with everyone else to say "No Cotton" in your travel gear. The quick dry material of most of our clothing was fantastic, making laundry a much simpler task in terms of time and ease.

Water Bottle Holder
We often went on dayhikes without packs, just a bottle of water and a camera. In these cases, carrying a water bottle holder strap was very convenient... usually they are a series of straps that allow you to carry your water slung over your shoulder. There's no real need to carry your own water bottles, we just bought water in plastic bottles wherever we were. *Note: some countries are experiencing issues with the multitude of non-degradable plastic bottles that are accumulating everywhere.*

Insulated Water Bottle
For your trekking trip to Nepal or anywhere else cold, consider (in this case) bringing along an insulated water bottle. At night before bed, fill it with boiling water and bring it with you into your sleeping bag. It will help keep you warm in the tent and you will have fresh water to drink in the morning.

Bus Drivers Know Best
We have had some incredible recommendations from bus drivers. People don't seem to talk to them much; they know their town as well as any other and have often had great advice to share.

Hello and Thank You
Just like it says in all the guidebooks, learning a few key phrases like Hello, Thank You, and Excuse me, in the local language makes all the difference in the world. People really do appreciate you making the effort, even though you are really bastardizing their language.

Sleep Sheet
Another very useful piece of equipment, we used the sleep sheet in less-than-desireable accomodations. In other cases, we used it to give us an additional layer of warmth. The two cases that Jen was bitten by bed bugs? You got it, she wasn't using her sleep sheet.

Take Two Pictures
A well-known photography trick: when you're shooting someone who is a little stiff, take two pictures. When you take the first one, their expression may tend to be a little unnatural; after they see you've taken a picture, they will usually relax a bit. That's when you take the second picture, and sometimes a third, if you want to catch them laughing at you for tricking them.

Share a Table
In a crowded restaurant, don't be afraid to offer to share a larger table with another person or a couple. Chances are, the meal will be even better with the enhanced conversation, and if the person isn't a talker, at least you get to eat sooner.