Priest in the Church of England. Father, husband, son. Keen biker.

Category: travel (Page 3 of 6)

5 Things I Always Pack

Stolen totally from the Practical Travel Gear blog I’m doing a quick post on the 5 things I never leave behind when I travel.

I travel a lot. I mean a lot. On the motorbike to Russia and Morocco, on a plane to pretty much every corner of the world, I’ve spent a great deal of time crushed in economy, a little time in business and a whole heap of time perched on top of my motorbike – but there are 5 things I always take with me.

1. Power Monkey & Mini Gorilla. Seriously, power is my biggest concern when I’m on the road. It doesn’t matter if your phone needs a boost or your laptop needs some juice at a crucial moment, between these (technically) two items I’m never far away from power. My phone, camera, laptop thank Power Traveller for their products.

2. Compact Camera. My Casio Exilm has been my trusty side arm for some time. I’ve always got the larger Panasonic G1 near to hand, but the Casio is small and tough and goes where it’s larger brother can’t. Grabs good-enough video with sound and slips in my pocket. It’s due an upgrade so that may be my next purchase.

Credit Card3. Fair-FX back-up credit card (pre-pay). I always have one of these to hand, they work all over the world, give you a pretty good exchange rate and are easy to top-up using a mobile or even a direct bank transfer or debit card. It means people at home can get cash to me really easily in an emergency and means I’m spending in the local currency (in Europe & US). Another tip – keep out of date cards in your ‘day wallet’ and only carry what you need that day.

Screen shot 2010-05-07 at 10.19.44

4. MacBook (13 inch – now ‘pro’). I did travel for a while with the more compact Asus EeePC – a machine I absolutely adored – but ultimately started to feel the limitations even when I wanted to do very basic photo clean-up, and don’t even suggest video editing. As my requirements increased I bought the MacBook and haven’t looked back. It’s solid (it already has dents from drops), fast and does everything out of the box.

5. Dirty clothes sack. Simple. If I’m in a hotel for a week, a B&B for a night or the tent I need somewhere to stash the smelly dirty stuff I’ve been wearing during the day. Look for something that’s airy but will keep the smell to itself rather than sharing it with your clean stuff. Sealed bags are not great, but perfect if there’s a chance you’ll have wet stuff. Make sure it’s big enough. I got mine from a random store in San Francisco last time I was in town – but google is full of suggestions.

You can read more tips from me and others at Lonely Planet in the new book ‘Lonely Planet’s Best Ever Travel Tips‘. </end plug>

London – you have to love it

I’ve been back for nearly two months. It’s time to sit back and decide if it was right to leave the great weather and the great people of Melbourne.

In the time I’ve been back I’ve moved house, rented out my own place, arranged for a motorbike to be shipped from one side of the planet to the other, re-aquainted myself with some dear friends, and more importantly re-discovered the love affair I obviously have with London.

Part of that love is the fact I don’t live in town, I think that helps a lot. I did live at one point in Muswell Hill, the nice quiet part of London that is home to Alexandra Palace. It was busy, noisy, dirty, alive. It was everything I love about London, and everything I’m very happy to leave behind at 6pm. It turns out I’m a much bigger fan of the bucolic lifestyle than I previously imagined.

That realisation has resulted in getting the best out of London town – enjoy the vibrancy, enjoy the energy and noise, enjoy the fact you can do anything you want, can find anything you want and can change the world from your office towards the east end of town. Unlike Melbourne, where I lived in the CBD for six months and loved every moment of it, London requires you to take a breath every now and again, some people swim these waters without ever needing to see the outside world – London isn’t England, but for some, you’d be excused for thinking it was.

Marylebone StationMy new gateway to the capital is Marylebone Station, that’s started a whole new love affair – both with the station and with the company that runs it, and the associated railway line all the way up to Birmingham – Chiltern Railways. There’s another post on the way about Chiltern so I’ll not wax lyrical right now about their punctuality, how nice the staff are, how clean the stations are, how well priced the tickets are, how pleasant a journey is from Buckinghamshire into the city is…. mmm I should stop now. They’re nice people, I’ll leave it there until the next post.

Back to the question at hand. Moving back to London – right or wrong? Right in every sense. I weighed in on a debate some time ago about England Vs Australia on lonelyplanet.com. I said then that I thought England won by a nose… I still hold that view and 16 months away has only re-enforced the fact that I love the green green grass of home – no matter if that’s Wales, or my adopted England. Let’s not mention the rugby.

Moules Marinières

We’re onto the fourth video in my cooking on the road series and this week I take a look at mussels. They’re cheap and when you’re near the coast you can’t beat them for a quick and easy meal. An excellent source of Selenium, and vitamin B12, and a good source of Zinc, and folate, they also have a high calorific value – making them the perfect food for on the go.

The really simple recipe for this video comes from Alexlebrit, again on Horizonsunlimited.com


(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-Mg_66ulk4)

Ingredients:

  • 0.8kg/2lb mussels,
  • 1 garlic clove, finely chopped,
  • 1 shallots (or a small onion), finely chopped,
  • 8g/¼oz butter,
  • Parsley, thyme and bay leaves,
  • 50ml/ 1½fl oz dry white wine or cider,
  • 60ml/2fl oz double cream or crême fraiche,
  • Crusty bread, to serve,

Method:

1. Wash the mussels under plenty of cold, running water. Discard any open ones that won’t close when lightly squeezed.
2. Pull out the tough, fibrous beards protruding from between the tightly closed shells and then knock off any barnacles with a large knife. Give the mussels another quick rinse to remove any little pieces of shell.
3. Soften the garlic and shallots in the butter with the herbs, in a large pan big enough to take all the mussels – it should only be half full.
4. Add the mussels and wine or cider, turn up the heat, then cover and steam them open in their own juices for 3-4 minutes. Give the pan a good shake every now and then.
5. Add the cream and more chopped parsley and remove from the heat.
6. Spoon into two large warmed bowls and serve with lots of crusty bread.

Alex, from Brittany, France.

Chicken and Bean-curd Stir-fry

Next in the series of cooking on the road videos is Chicken and Bean-curd Stir-fry – a recipe by Peter from Oslo in Norway via horizonsunlimited.com


(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jI7M9dWSIIs)

Ingredients:

  • sunflower oil
  • 2 chickenbreast
  • garlic
  • green paprika
  • sugar peas
  • spring onion
  • cabbage
  • beancurd/light miso
  • unsalted cashew nuts

Method:

Cut everything into thin slices,except the sugar peas and nuts. Stir fry in above order. I usually precut all ingredients at home,so this meal is best eaten on a weekend trip, also, buying so little quantity ingredients in the local market may be more trouble than it’s worth in our part of the world.

Is it worth the hassle? Yes, it is so much better than expensive dehydrated packets, though they have their time, and with a good pilsner beer you are satisfaction guaranteed.

Peter, in Oslo (GSPeter)

Sweet & Sour Chicken

Keeping up the series of on-the-road recipes today I had a crack at a meal suggested by Flyingdoctor (Allan from Staffordshire in the UK) from horizonsunlimited.com


(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4c5uk-fNUoo)

Ingredients:

  • Chicken Breast
  • Red / Green Pepper
  • Packet Chinese Sauce

Method:

I brown off the cubed chicken an onion and some green or red peppers then chuck in one of those little packets of chinese sauce. If you can’t find fresh chicken then I’ve used frankfurters (Norway of course!), which are lovely. I’ve made a sauce from tomato puree when nothing else was available. Throw some rice in there and you’ve got a decent meal.
(Flyingdoctor)

One Pot Camping Cooking – Salami & Rice

One of the simplest things to carry when traveling is rice – it’s light, packed full of energy and provides a hot filling meal when you need it most. My favorite traveling recipe is really simple. In this video I show you how to make it.

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2qD0n4a8H0)

Ingredients

  • Rice
  • 3 times as much water as rice
  • cup-a-soup

if available

  • meat (salami works really well)
  • vegetables (my favorite is peas)

Method:

Boil the rice for about 3/4 of the required time before adding your meat, at this stage also add your herbs and spices and your vegetables – mix well before adding the cup-a-soup straight from the packet. Stir in the powder for a few minutes and you’re done – simplicity itself and a hot, filling, energy packed meal in a little over 10 mins.

Your turn

Do you have a one pot recipe you wouldn’t be without on the road? Email me (or leave a comment below) and tell me how you make it and I’ll turn it into a video… credited to you of course.

Top 5 tips on buying a new tent

Buying a new tent can be incredibly difficult. There are so many choices out there that it can be very confusing if you don’t know what to look for.  As the northern hemisphere heads into spring, and camping becomes a comfortable alternative to the B&B again I wanted to share some tips on how to chose a good tent.

If you enjoy this review, I have some others you may like

I made a little video about choosing a tent which you can watch at the bottom of this post, or over on YouTube.

1. How far from help are you?

Before you decide how much you want to spend, work out why you’re buying the tent and how far away from shelter you are. If for example you’re travelling in a Land Rover, then your tent – whilst being your primary shelter – is not as important as it is if you’re camping 10 miles from anything else on your own. Ask yourself, how near shelter am I if the tent fails? The further from help, the more you want to spend, and the more consideration needs to be taken.


2 . Materials

Simple enough, do some research on what materials work best in which senario. Are you going to be spending time in the desert? What about rain? A good tent for northern Europe, may not be the best bet for the hot climbs of central Afrrica. A swag bag works wonderfully in the dry conditions of Australia, but is simply not suited to a wet trip in Canada.

3. Size, weight and dimensions

Are you carrying the tent on your back, on the back of a motorcycle or in a car? If you’re carrying a tent you’ll need to explore high-tech options with suppliers like Exped and Tatonka. Both companies offer options with light-weight short poles and highly compressible materials – ideal for hiking and the motorbike.

If you’re in the car you have a greater range of options – consider a tent that goes up in seconds from Quecha or something designed to fold out from your vehicle in a few simple steps from people like Oz Tent.

4. Accessories

You’ll be amazed how many tents don’t come with the essentials. Make sure you have:

  • Ground sheet / footprint
  • Good quality pegs
  • Strong poles / pole repair kit
  • Material repair kit (for fixing holes)

The ground sheet will really help with keeping condensation to a minimum – they also act as a barrier between the cold ground and your butt, but most importantly they protect the material of your tents bottom from sharp stones on rough ground. A good ground sheet means you can keep your ventilation vents open in most weathers.

Pegs are so important – many tents ship with really weak simple pegs that will not drive into hard ground and have no grip in soft ground. Try a v shaped titanium peg from people like Alpine Kit – they don’t have to be expensive! Make sure you drive the peg in at a 45 degree angle.

5. Design

There are really three major tent designs. Geodysic, dome and tunnel. Depending on what type of camping your doing you’ll need to consider the different types.

Tunnel tents generally pack up very small, they also tend to have very short poles and are quite often very easy to erect. They do however require some thought when pitching – they can be badly affected by wind and you should try to pitch with the front or back facing into the wind – if you get caught side on in a gale it can not only end in a very noisy night- but can also bend the shape of the tent inwards, affecting it’s thermal capabilities and how much rain it can deal with. This is the type of tent that it is really important to buy the best of – money really does have an impact here and the more you spend generally gives you a very sturdy, tough option with all of the benefits.

Dome tents tend to be the cheapest option. You’ll see them in the supermarket for very little cash and for many applications are the ideal option. Their pack size is small, they generally only have two poles and can be purchased as an inside up first option or a fly up first option. In wetter climates the outer (fly) up first option is ideal, but in dryer hoter climbs you’ll find the option of being able to pitch the inner tent without the outer ideal – it keeps the bugs off, and lets the heat escape more efficiently.

Geodesic tents can be rather complicated to erect – but once you’ve worked out the knack they are without doubt the most stable shelters around. They tend to be more expensive and they’re what you’ll see the professional expeditions using as they head out into the great wilderness. They deal with very bad weather well, will see a gale through with hardly a twitter, these are the best options to ensure you’re safe and snug inside.

Finally I’ll  come back to that first tip when choosing your tent – remember that it’s your primary shelter – if you can sleep somewhere else if it flys away or gets soaked through then don’t stress it – if you HAVE to get a good, warm, dry nights sleep then spend some money.

The best place to start is with a reputable supplier – I recommend Travel Dri-Plus – call and ask for Les – he’s the most knowledgeable person I have ever talked to about tents – if he doesn’t know it – it’s not worth knowing about.

If you enjoy this review, I have some others you may like

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Help find me a new camera

Since I’ve been bombing around the world my Casio Exilm Z850 has been a constant companion. I rate it really highly (must write a review soon) – it’s constantly dropped from the height of my motorcycle tank bag, it’s been soaked by sea-water on at least two occasions and still it ‘just gets on with it’ and takes photographs that when I got the camera I thought were awesome and now, think are pretty good.

The time has come to replace this stalwart of my gadget armoury and I need your help. I’m totally stunned every month when Lonely Planet Images release the photos that have been added to the library over the past few weeks – and I want to take photos that make people go wow.

Some background – when I was in school I desperately wanted to be a Photo Journalist – I worked for the local paper for free and I badgered my Dad until he bought me an Olympus OM-10 from the local second hand stor

e – complete with ‘manual adaptor’. It had a light metre inside but other than that I was totally on my own. After months of paper-rounds and being paid to take my friends band photos I managed to scrape enough money to ‘upgrade’ the the Olympus OM-2n .

It made a big difference to my shots, as did the purchase of a 2x adaptor and, at great expense, a 75mm Olympus lens.  I held onto the dream of becoming a Photo Journalist right through my engineering apprenticeship (where the camera managed to earn me some money on the side in Caerphilly town centre of a Saturday morning) and right into University in Swansea, where finally, the dream died and I sold the camera for much needed rent money.

Since then I’ve had a succession of crap compact cameras that just didn’t cut the mustard. The Casio has rather re-ignited that old desire to take wonderful photographs and I find myself slipping it into manual as much as the fully automatic settings – I’ve even bought an old Konica Minolta 35mm SLR to mess around with (it’s been out of the bag once).

My composition needs a little work , I need to get my head out of snapshot mode, but I feel the old juices still flow and can’t wait to get back into thinking through a shot properly before I take it. So now the tough part – I need a new camera.

Requirements:

  • Tough
  • Light
  • Compact
  • Decent video mode
  • Solid lens support
  • Easy to charge (I’m running this from the motorbike / powermonkey)
  • Easy to transfer images (no propritary connectors – worst case – SD cards are good)

Let’s ignore the money side of things for the moment and work the ‘perfect world senario’.

What do you suggest? I have a totally open mind and no legacy kit to support.

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Bliss is a cold shower and a naked old chap

A380 from the Plazza Lounge Kuala LumpurI can hardly begin to describe to you the utter bliss of any kind of shower after eight hours on a 777. Those of you that do the long-haul flying thing will understand that eight hours is about the limit, to then consider doing another 11 hours immediately afterwards fills most people with the heeby-jeebies.

So I find myself in Kuala Lumpur for the second time in as many months, doing 28 hour jaunts to Australia and back. It’s worth it – but only if you can find some way to pass the time in KL.

First time here I discovered a bad cafe with bad beer, bad coffee, and even worse service. I wasn’t looking forward to my second visit. The comparason however is difficult to describe. I’ve discovered that they have an airport lounge (normally reserved for those lucky enough to be flying business class) that you can simply pay to use.

It’s called the Plaza Premium Lounge and costs just 120RM for five hours use. That’s about 20 GBP. Amazing. For this sum I got a cold shower (which here, just over the equator, was rather nice) free food, free diet coke, and most importantly one of the best massages I have ever had.

But unfortunately I’ve aslo had an experience with an aging British chap, who didn’t have anything on. Poor old love thought that the wash-room / shower complex thing was an exlusive deal. He was under the impression that he had paid his 20 quid for full use of both showers, the two toilets, and the two basins. How do you explain to a someone most definately your senior, that perhaps it’s not exclusive, and perhaps, if it’s okay with him, he could maybe put something on his bottom half.

All embarasment was saved however, when he walked out into the reception area (towel now drapped around his mid-rift) demanding to speak to the manager whilst I quickly tried to have a wee before I was thrown out. I’ve never been good at having a wee under pressure, and this was definately pressure. Never mind. I managed to squeeze out a small one, retire back to the lounge and hide behind one of the free PCs to write this.

I don’t think he can see me.

Back in the USS… um K?

I’m back in blighty – not only that but I’m back in London as it all seems to be kicking off. Grabbed a copy of MCN on the way out of the country a few weeks ago and caught a large article proclaiming to be organising a ride through Central London to let the government know what we think about road pricing.

londonbikers.com have a great article explaining why RiderConnect and MCN have teamed up to deal with this issue – it’s worth a quick read – but what gets me, and what worries me is why MCN are involved. I have a horrible feeling it’s only to increase their circulation rather than do any good. It’s that dreadful double edged sword of getting into bed with any red top… you get wonderful publicity, but you’re also sleeping with the Devil.

It’s a great cause, and I’ll be there with the others ready to have my voice, or engine, heard outside No. 10.

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