As we prepare to start our third year/season of splitting our time between Birmingham and the Isle of Wight, I thought it was about time I blogged about my current travel setup. In this context, “travel” mostly refers to what I use on the island, but also partly to what I use when I am somewhere that isn’t one of the usual paces I live or work.
Things I store here
Apart from the table and chair, I think I have had most of this stuff over a decade. But it still serves me well for 9 weeks of the year.
Desk riser – this is one of those adjustable ones that can convert any desk into a standing desk, but can also raise a laptop or monitor to the correct eye height
Folding table – slatted, so that it will break down into a small enough package that it can be easily stored
24″ Monitor and cables – an old one that I’ve had over 10 years and that was replaced at home by something newer
Desk mat – because of the slats I need something to provide a surface that my laptop, keyboard and pointing device can sit on without moving around
Speakers – old Logitech ones that I used to use at home before I wired up my home computer with an amplifier and dedicated speakers
Extension lead – to power everything
Webcam – I do also travel with one, but if I am working here it’s really important to have one, and the webcam in my laptop is not good enough for work. This is a really old Microsoft one that we have quite a few of in various places
Folding chair – from B&M, and small enough to be storable. I used to use a patio chair, but I needed something that would be better for my posture
USB mouse – in case I forget my trackball
Amazon Basics USB hub, that I use to connect my keyboard, trackball and camera to whatever laptop I am using. It’s like a docking station, but cheap and old.
Things I carry with me
Personal and work laptops (both ThinkPads). For longer trips I may bring my very small desktop PC.
I posted quite a lot about my trip to Japan on Facebook, but never got around to posting it here (that’s what not having a day off since September does). The following is what I wrote at the time (with light editing where required), and there are also more pictures from the cycle tour of the Japanese islands on my cycling blog.
Monday 9th September
Its the early hours of Monday morning, and I’m sitting in a beautifully air conditioned room in Tokyo. It is nearly 6am, and jet lag has been banished by three hours of sleep on the plane and then an early night last night. In fact I think we’re about 2 hours ahead of ourselves now, which fits quite nicely with the dark nights and light mornings of Japan.
The only problem is the storm. It’s sitting right over us and doesn’t show much sign of moving for at least the next hour or so. But we have coffee, hotel breakfast, and all the delights that the hotel vending machines have to offer, and we stocked up on food in between the initial downpour of yesterday evening and the overnight storm that is raging directly above us.
Apart from that all is well. The flight was great, I saw two movies I’d missed at the cinema (The Girl in the Spider’s Web and Murder on the Orient Express), and whilst the Tokyo subway resembles one of Dante’s circles of hell it is no worse than what we have back home.
The first hotel we stayed in
(a few hours later)
I’m back in the hotel room after a few hours of adventures. We have eaten breakfast and lunch, rescued several bikes from the storm (by putting them upright again – I don’t like to see bikes that look unloved or otherwise out of place), visited a woodland shrine, and wandered around the shops in the sort of blistering heart that makes me very thankful that most shops have air conditioning. We also had a much better experience of the subway today, which may have a lot to do with having slept and not carrying 2 weeks of luggage around.
A bike that required rescuing
Wednesday 11th September
Another day another part of Tokyo, and this morning saw us lugging our bags from Asakusa to Disneyland during what seemed too early to be rush hour, so was probably just a series of busy trains.
The capsule hotel we stayed in
I’ve been known to be negative about all things Disney in the past, but I did have a lot of fun today, and went on a few rides that very much tapped into things I hold dear (Star Wars and Indiana Jones) rather than the aspects that I feel no cultural resonance with.
It was a hard day though. I don’t think we really stopped for about 15 hours, and that is probably going to come back to bite us tomorrow. We did manage to eat properly, but as with a lot of Japan the vegetarian options are limited, so I didn’t really get to experience much in the way of Japanese cuisine today (although pizza for breakfast and curry for dinner were ok).
Mickey Mouse
On the bright side, tonight is one of our luxury hotel nights, and both the hotel and the room are outstanding. I’ve enjoyed the budget hotels and hostels, but sometimes it’s nice to relax with a hot bath and a cold beer before bed.
Talking of which, it’s nearly midnight here…
Thursday 12th September
Day two of the Disney adventure is now over. We didn’t get quite as much done as yesterday, but did take many more photographs and have now started to plan the next phase of the holiday which will see us bid farewell to Tokyo and head to Osaka for most of the rest of our time in Japan (although there will be several exciting day trips to other places, including a cycling adventure).
I could (and probably will) write much more about what I liked and didn’t like about Disney, but that will be a story for another day.
Saturday 14th September
Our last full day in Tokyo involved a short trip from Disney to a capsule hotel in Tokyo city centre. It wasn’t quite as good as the one we stayed in a few nights ago, but it was good enough to grab a shower, catch up on sleep, and be up bright and early for the epic journey to Osaka via a very impressive and speedy train service. We also grabbed the best meal of the holiday so far at the vegan ramen restaurant in Tokyo station, which made a nice change after several days of not being sure exactly what I was going to be able to eat (Japan can be hard for vegetarians, as can Disney). I’m less worried about food now, as our hotel in the Yodoyabashi District of Osaka is right next door to a great restaurant that does the full range of Japanese modular food, so tonight I feasted on edamame, plum rice, tofu and mushrooms (with food already chosen for at least one more trip there). It’s also next door to a convenience store that sells noodles, snacks and drinks. The hotel itself is great, the mountain of washing is now done, and it’s nice to be sleeping in the same place for 5 nights in a row after a week of being in a different place most nights. If nothing else it will make for much lighter bags for the 4 days of adventures we have planned (including cycling between the Japanese islands on Tuesday and visiting Kobe and Kyoto over the next couple of days.
Osaka
After a week of backpacking it’s clear that most of the kit we bought with us was chosen well. The bags are holding up well, the two universal chargers that will handle 10 devices between them are getting a lot of use, and the portable wifi hotspot we have hired has proved invaluable for navigating between places. I’m finding using an iPad as my only computer to be fine, and I’ve also started using my old iPhone (which I bought here as a music player) because it’s a lot smaller than my current phone and has a really good camera. It’s interesting that a phone I had as part of a contract nearly 5 years ago is still serving me well on a trip like this, and I’ve very much been plugged into it during the capsule hotel evenings, largely listening to the excellent new records by Pixies and Belle & Sebastian.
Wednesday 18th September
The last few days have been a blur of activity. We have visited the world’s largest aquarium and seen the world’s largest suspension bridge. We have seen modern skyscrapers juxtaposed with ancient temples, cycled the length of three Japanese islands (and the bridges that connect them) and encountered the horror that is the Universal Studios theme park. I do feel that we have done Osaka justice during these 5 days though, and I’ll be very sad to leave.
A bridge connecting 2 Japanese islands
But leave we must. The rest of the trip largely involves travel. Firstly a long train journey to get us back to Narita, and then (after a night in a capsule hotel at the airport) the plane home. It’s been a great adventure, and I’ll be very sorry to leave, but at the same time it will be good to be home.
I’ve just cycled 500 miles to raise money for Good Hope hospital in Birmingham. I did it over a few weeks, interspersed with all the other things I usually do, which made it a lot more feasible than trying to do it over a weekend (which I also think would have killed me). 500 miles might not seem like a lot, but I had only been cycling for just over a month when I started (after 10+ years without a bike), and I knew that I would likely have to do most of that distance as part of commutes, hospital visits, shopping trips, and other scenarios that would require me to carry a lot of luggage.
The first few days were very hard. I did a lot of road cycling and quickly remembered why I had stopped cycling in the first place. I then talked to other people who cycled in Birmingham and found a couple of canal routes I wasn’t aware of. I also explored the bit of north Birmingham between Good Hope hospital and my house and found a few miles of parks that meant I could avoid the nightmare that is Sutton town centre during rush hour. This made things easier, and I did the first bit of my challenge in and around Sutton and other parts of north Birmingham, with the occasional canal adventure in the south.
I also started cycling home from work some days. It’s a 9 mile ride (8 miles of which is canal towpaths), and I initially thought it might be too far to do every day. Towards the end I did do it every day, and also cycled to work the same way a couple of days a week. Most of my last 200 miles was done this way, and I’ve found it a much more pleasant experience than cycling on the roads.
I did manage a few trips where I got to cycle for pleasure, rather than to move between two places I had to be. I’ve been to Sandwell Valley Country Park, done some of the Rea Valley route, and done a 25 mile exploration of the Grand Union Canal in blistering sunshine. I certainly plan on doing more of that sort of cycling in the near future.
When I started cycling I was carrying everything in a rucksack (largely because the first bike I used didn’t have any other storage). I’ve since switched to panniers for most trips, which reduces the strain on my back significantly, although does add width that can be a problem in some tunnels. It means I can carry a lot now though, and a weekly shop is now very much a possibility (including wine, jars of curry sauce, and other heavy/bulky things). I’m also still refining what I carry with me on a daily basis, although I have found a use for most of the tools in my bag (especially puncture repair tools), and there is probably not much I would want to discard at this point.
I’ve completed 500 miles, but I’m not stopping there. The challenge continues until September, so I’m going to keep on cycling and see how far I get (I’m hoping for at least 700 miles). I’ll be tracking my progress on the website, and am still very much interested in further sponsorship.
The NHS have helped us a lot over the last few weeks. Without the NHS we would probably have remortgaged our house by now (or tried to), and we have met lots of skilled, dedicated, and above all nice people.
They are struggling though. From old computers, to inefficient processes, to an IT system that doesn’t seem to be fully joined up, there is so much that is crying out for more funding, more fixing, and a little love.
That’s why I’m cycling 500 miles and asking for £500 in sponsorship I generally hate asking for things, but it turns out when it’s not for me then I don’t mind. I in no way believe that doing this will change lives (apart from perhaps mine), but it’s one of those small things that might at least contribute to something bigger, and should at least give something back.
At the moment I’m juggling hospital visits, work, being a responsible pet owner, and all the other things I do. This has lead to a few logistical challenges, but since I was kindly loaned a bike a couple of weeks ago I have found new ways to do everything I need to do and still manage to see new parts of my local environment.
I’m not a fan of cycling on busy roads, and although I’ve done it a few times recently, it’s very much a means to and end, and not an enjoyable journey. The ones I’ve enjoyed are where I can use parks, cycle paths and canals to get around – and Birmingham is surprisingly good for those kind of routes if you know where to look.
The journeys I’ve particularly enjoyed (with links to routes) are:
The park near my house to Good Hope Hospital via Sutton Park – I’ve done this one 3 times now, and it doesn’t go anywhere near a main road until Sutton Town centre. One day I will explore the top part of Sutton Park too, but that’s a trip for another day.
An alternate morning commute – This takes me to my local train station, but via two parks rather than a busy main road. It’s quite short (I walk most of this with the dog a couple of times a week), but it’s a really pleasant cycle when the weather is nice.
Good Hope Hospital to the park near my house via lots of parks and cycle paths – After cycling back from hospital twice on the roads, I vowed never to do it again (especially during rush hour). This route got my home more quickly, despite being longer, and is at least 2/3 off road. It’s also a really lovely ride through leafy cycle paths and past meandering streams.
Witton Lakes to the City Centre, via the canals – I’ve dubbed this one the canal graffiti tour, but it’s not quite as bad as it sounds, and it ends up at the Mailbox with only one tiny bit of road cycling on the way. I like graffiti quite a lot, so I suspect I’ll be coming back to this one with a proper camera at some point.
All of this has been really enjoyable, so I guess I’ll be buying a bike (or two?) soon.
Yesterday we visited the town of La Laguna, home of two museums, but also a lot of other impressive things to look at (architecture, graffiti, churches etc.). For me this was the highlight of the week so far, and it allowed me to see how the area I’ve been staying in developed over the centuries, and how history touched it and shaped it to be what it is today.
The first museum was a museum of history, which reminded me a little of the Museum of London in that it laid out the history of Tenerife chronologically so as to take visitors through the same journey the island has undertaken over the centuries. Thankfully there was commentary in English (I don’t normally bother with these, but my Spanish is bad enough that it was worth it). I saw a lot of impressive paintings and old books, and also took around 100 photographs which I’ll do something with when I get home.
After lunch we took a short tram ride to the science museum, which was basically a large concrete bunker full of all the usual sorts of things you see in a science museum. It wasn’t particularly innovative, but it was fun, and we ended up staying there a couple of hours and interacting with pretty much everything. Again, I photographed everything, and between the two museums and the town itself I probably have close to 300 pictures.
It’s our last day here today, and we leave very early tomorrow, so I suspect we will be having a lazy day today. It’s been a good holiday though, and this is a place I will definitely come back to at some point in the future.
I woke up yesterday feeling less than well, but soon made the decision that it was not going to stop me from interacting fully in the activities of the day. After breakfast we caught a tram, and then a bus, which took us through some fairly impressive scenery including cloud-shrouded mountains and the bluest of seas. The journey did not take too long (nothing does here – it’s just over an hour from one end of the island to the other), and we soon found ourselves in Puerto de la Cruz, which is in the north of Tenerife and is significantly more tourist focused than Santa Cruz. The differences could not have been more obvious – from the English translations on menus and street signs, to the amount of merchandise for sale in the shops and stalls that are everywhere. The day largely consisted of walking around and taking photographs (mainly of lizards– there were many lizards), and also getting coffee and snacks in a couple of places (where again the slightly inflated prices suggested a focus towards temporary visitors).
Last night’s film was Moana. I may have interacted with my iPad a fair bit during that one.
At some point I’m sure I’ll manage a week away from work without coming down with some sort of illness – this is not that week though. Yesterday started with a visit to see the festivities associated with the local holiday to celebrate the Canary Islands. There were stalls, singing and dancing, and far more people than I’m usually comfortable with. It was OK, but by the end I was starting to feel like I was coming down with some sort of head cold (although I did manage to wander around and take some photographs). This feeling continued throughout the day, and the evening ended up involving little more than watching a film (Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children – which I actually found quite entertaining) and then going to bed fairly early. I then woke up in the middle of the night with a really sore throat, and this morning I’ve got most of the symptoms of a heavy cold, although my energy levels suggest I’ll be fine to do something today so I’m not going to let it stop me.
I’ve been here a few days now, and I’m really enjoying the weather, the pace of life, and the fact that it’s possible to spend a whole day moving between different cafes and bars, drinking reasonably priced coffee and wine in a visually impressive environment. I don’t think I could live like this, but I certainly plan on coming back here in the future to see all the things I’m not going to get round to on this trip (not least the volcano, which I really would like to stand at the top of at some point). It looks like we’re going to have family here for the foreseeable future, so I don’t mind too much if illness or the relatively short duration of the trip leads me to not doing everything that there is to do. There will be time, and I do not plan on knocking myself out on this trip as I’ve got another week of (business) travel straight afterwards.
The second day in any new place is generally when I start to settle in. Yesterday was no exception, and included a trip to two supermarkets and several shops, an evening in a lovely outside bar, and then the first film of the holiday (Dr Strange, which I actually enjoyed a lot more than I thought I would). Everything here seems reasonably priced, with even quite decent wine significantly cheaper than the U.K.
I also did a little research into some of the interesting sights from yesterday, and found that the odd juxtaposition of iconography I noted in yesterday’s blog was actually due to the monument being created long after any of the historical periods it referenced. There are a lot of older things here (including churches and a ruined castle), but there certainly don’t seem to be any historical or mythological treasure maps that I can find at present.
It’s a holiday here today (Día de Canarias), so shops will be shut and the streets will be full of celebrations. I suspect we may go and join them at some point later, before planning further excursions for the rest of the week.
Getting up at 3am was a bit of a culture shock. I usually get up at 6, so early mornings are a thing I’m used to, but even so I found it quite hard. We got to the airport just after 4, and grabbed breakfast at the airport. The food was slow to arrive, and slightly cold by the time it did, but was still very welcome. Coffee was also achieved, following which there was a painfully slow crawl from the gate to the plane, which ended up taking off about 20 minutes late due to what was described as “carnage” at the airport, but which just looked like mild disorganisation.
I’ve never flown with Monarch before, and I was pleasantly surprised. the seats were comfortable, there was a handy slot for my iPad in the back of the seat in front, and I largely managed to escape into four hours of familiar music (Belle & Sebastian and Cardiacs), as well as taking a few photographs through the window as we were landing. The landing was quite bumpy, but it wasn’t long before we were out of the plane, had collected our baggage, and were standing in the Tenerife sunshine waiting to get a bus to Santa Cruz.
We drove along a coastal road for around 50 minutes, with the sea to our right and a series of impressive looking scenery to our left. One day I will come back to this island for a waking and climbing holiday, but this is not that trip. As we headed north the scenery changed from arid and water starved earth to something lush and greener, and soon we were pulling into Santa Cruz, which I later learned was the capital of Tenerife.
Staying with family always makes for a different sort of holiday, with the differences in this case being reliable internet, a large black cat, and having people around who can show us the sights from the perspective of a local. That quite useful for me, as I usually treat holidays as an opportunity to try and live in a new place for a week, and to make a judgement as to whether it is a place I would want to live for a longer period of time at some point in the future. The jury is still out on Tenerife, but it’s good to know I’m getting better quality data than I manage in a lot of places.
Our first wander around Santa Cruz involved looking at a couple of interesting old buildings, and some statues and sculptures that seemed to combine standard Catholic iconography with something more nautical (as I would expect for an island). There is more history on display here that I had expected, and plenty of things I want to read up on either while I am here or once I get back home. There are also plenty of small cafes and bars to grab a relatively inexpensive coffee or glass of wine, and we grabbed one of each before calling it a night relatively early (getting up at 3am will do that).
I was awake before dawn, and have in fact learned that dawn happens much later than in the U.K. at this time of year. if this is the pattern the week is going to follow then I should have chance to sit and write for an hour or so before the hustle and bustle of the day begins, which should be plenty of time to keep my blog up to date rather than posting a big long essay at the end of the holiday as I’ve done on previous trips abroad.
