Of Such Small Pleasures

~ So there I was walking back from Largs Bay late in the afternoon, when I looked out to sea and saw this spectacular rain cloud just off the coast.

The sun is directly behind the cloud which accounts for the ‘backlighting’ effect. The jetty on the right is the Largs Bay Jetty.

This image was taken with the camera on my ageing Nokia 6280 phone!

If I had taken my digital camera with me, it would look as truly magnificent as it actually was. As always, when I don’t have my digital with me, I always seem to miss great photographic opportunities. You’d think I’d learn – but no, I never seem to.

I am grateful at least, for having my phone cam with me.

Of such small pleasures as these are my days made whole!

The Obsessive Traveller

~ I recently finished reading, The Obsessive Traveller by the Australian author David Dale.

Despite the fact that it was first published in 1991, I like the book for the way Dale combines many experiences into each chapter. Rather than write in a linear fashion, that is, start at the beginning of a journey and document his travels from start to finish, he divides the book into sections with each chapter looking at different aspects of the travel experience.

That way he can write about, and compare luxury hotels he has stayed at in America, France, Italy, and elsewhere. Or he can do the same for meals he has eating in various countries; famous burial grounds he has visited – one of his obsessions; and a host of other experiences.

I particularly liked his fondness for choosing an item from menus when he has no idea of what the item or meal might be. It was the danger and excitement of knowing he might discover an amazing gastronomic delight, or find himself eating something plain and bland, or worse still, disgusting and inedible that made his dining out experiences just that much more interesting.

Dale also made a point of using public transport as much as possible wherever he travelled. As he rightly noted, and as I myself found, there is so much more to observe and discover about a city and its inhabitants when you share their buses, subway trains, and other means of public transportation.

I also like how he indulges himself at least once on every trip he takes. He does this by spending at least three nights in some of the most expensive and exclusive hotels he can afford. One of these cost him $400 a night (and this was during the 1990s), but he built this indulgence into his budget. It was Dale’s way of rewarding himself for tightening his ‘purse strings’ throughout the rest of the trip. It also gave him an opportunity to try out the top end of the travel experience, if only for a brief few days.

While on a much more modest level, I too enjoyed my stay at the Lake Placid EconoLodge hotel, in upstate New York when I stayed there during May 2008. At US$60 a night, it was twice the price of my YMCA accommodations in New York City, but the luxury of having my own room with two double beds, en suite, TV, tea and coffee making facilities, and free WiFi internet connection was worth the expense.

As far as accommodations are concerned, it was in fact, my only major indulgence in seven months. The hotels I used in London, while more expensive than the Lake Placid EconoLodge, were far more modest.

The book is informative, easy to read, full of humorous anecdotes and observations, and makes me want to travel again – sooner rather than later.

I’m delighted to find that David Dale is alive and well and still writing.

You can read his bio here…
He also has a blog, Who We Are, here at the Sun-Herald here…
And his own Essential Ideas website is here…

Image courtesy of Wall Media website

10 Multipurpose Travel Essentials

~ Rachel Turner has written an excellent article for Matador Goods which I highly recommend you read if you are travelling.

She lists 10 multipurpose items that should be in everybody's luggage, all of which are compact and lightweight.

Among Rachel's suggestions are: Dental Floss (for cleaning teeth; for use as a clothesline; emergency thread; and as a cheese and bread slicer!); various all in one survival tools like a Swiss Army Knife or Leatherman tool; Safety Pins for use as emergency buttons/clasps, or clothespins; a Poncho for use as a tarpaulin, picnic blanket, bag liner, and of course, to keep the rain off your head.

Women will want to pack a couple of Sarongs since, as Rachel suggests, these can be used as towels, curtains, beach mats or picnic blankets, and even as sheets when staying in hostels.

Rachel also recommends taking a good Shampoo. Ok, no surprises about the shampoo, but Rachel suggests you also use shampoo as a laundry detergent, body soap, and even for dishwashing.

Finally, there is the Credit Card Survival Tool (see image illustrating this entry). I've never heard of, or seen one of these, but as the name suggests, the Credit Card Survival Tool is the size of a credit card, made of stainless steel, cheap, and has 11 different uses including Can opener, Knife edge, Screwdriver, Ruler, 4 position wrench, Butterfly screw wrench, Saw blade, Bottle opener and more.

Now why didn’t I think of that?