One thing I always bring along when I travel is a walking stick (mine is also a monopod for my camera.

I used to be too proud to use a walking stick, but that was a very long time ago. I had a bout of plantar fascistic almost 20 years ago. I got that fixed up but while my feet were hurting I started bringing along a walking stick.

It is very useful for things like crossing streams, climbing up and down slopes, area with uneven ground and the sometimes infinite, usually uneven and sometimes very tall stairs at temples and other monuments.

It is also useful for photography. I learned that using a monopod and setting ISO to 400 on my little Canon A510 camera allowed me to take nice night photos in many circumstances by experimentation at the Mantoro (Lantern Festival) we happened onto visiting Nara, Japan one August. Since then I’ve never traveled without a walking stick, even if I don’t always use it I always want it available.