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Like many on here, I travel a fair amount, often to remote places, for work. Not being a gadget person, or that in-touch with latest tech entertainment developments, what apps or gadgets or online resources (that won’t get me sacked/arrested) can you recommend to make life away (usually a camp with internet) less tedious and maybe more pleasant?
Currently, pretty much all I have are: an aeropress, cereal bars, a few bbc podcasts a subscription to Singletrack magazine and Imodium!
Cheers all.
For me it’s audiobooks and podcasts while doing either cardio, bodyweight workout stuff or yoga. Get tired, read an actual book for a bit then Netflix or something like that
I enjoy it and at the end of it I feel I’ve done something positive for mind and body, and as cringy as that sounds it makes you feel good!
That’s if I don’t get in from work and pass out, or am somewhere interesting to explore our eat out of course! I’m not too remote too often
But the big thing for me was discovering audiobooks, great for driving, travelling through airports etc
1. Decent compact Bluetooth speaker.
2. Probably lethal but extremely useful heater-element-on-a-plug to boil water in a mug, unless you like homeopathic American coffee.
Bluetooth noise cancelling headphones and a decent sized tablet/laptop to watch Netflix etc on
I use and like Dext for expense receipts.
Er TV mucho so you can easily watch eastenders and coronation st.
(Or a vpn a little farf).
Other interesting telly thing is that any film/tv series that were English language and dubbed may have the original English track available by pressing the audio track selection option.
I do love audiobooks or comics in digital format.
Git long in-depth podcasts. Dan Carlin’s stuff I reckon is awesome. Also like the bugle and John Richardson & the Futurenauts.
I’ve a Halifax clarity credit card and a revolut business account in 4 currencies. Makes paying for things a doddle and cheap.
You won’t get this now, but I’ve an old Vodafone contract that gives me unlimited roaming voice & text worldwide and 25gb roaming data per month with no additional charges. A German t-mobile account (even a payg one) can get you free-ish Wi-Fi in loads of places.
Wouldn’t be without my Crumpler Considerable Embarrassment. It’s been all over the planet. Run through airports. Strapped to motorcycles in the pouring rain. It just keeps going. The multitude of zipped and velcroed pockets keeps my passports, documents, passes and keys all neatly in Ordnung.
Little Anker 10000mah battery is invaluable. Will keep my phone topped up for 3 or 4 days.
Quadlock case and kickstand let me stand my phone up on or clip it to aircraft table latches.
Disney+, Netflix and prime video along with iPlayer and All4 downloads for visual entertainment.
A kindle and some good earplugs are my main go to items, the former as a single charge will go a long way plus I have a mix of stuff on there so there's generally something I'll be in the mood for. Depending where I am, some shoes for walking or running to see the area, potentially something to learn a bit of the language form if abroad, and most importantly where are the local sources of good coffee & cake.
Synth app on your phone. Hours of fun
Some beauties here. Ta.
I’m Googling crumpler, quadlock kickstands, audiobooks, digital comics and Dext. Keep ‘em coming please.
Forgot my Bose QuietComfort ear buds. Proper noise cancelling so can you just turn the aeroplane “off”. Pass through mode allows you not be a completely isolated tool as you wander around the terminal or leave the aircraft.
Still searching for my holy grail big wheeled wheelie bag. Why they insist on putting tiny hard-wheeled castors on these things is beyond me. Best I’ve found so far is a thule they appear to have stopped making. I want to be able to drag its arse along arctic, gravel-and-snow covered streets without the wheels clogging up every 20m.
I am usually in a city so for me it's running shoes so I can get out and explore. A running watch with mapping or at least navigation on it helps this.
Regarding entertainment, I used to bring a Fire TV stick to plug into a hotel telly. It connects directly to wifi rather than needing to talk to your phone or laptop like a Chromecast, and at least before Brexit you could watch whatever you would at home within the EU.
Oh and a Kindle. Essential item above all else.
Trail forks, a bike bag and silver status is what you need.
at least before Brexit you could watch whatever you would at home within the EU.
That train has sailed firmly into the firewall of idiocy. Can’t even get around it with a VPN now. If I tether to my phone I can sometimes stream things as Vodafone’s network makes stuff think you’re in Bracknell.
Oh yeah. Irish passport. Makes connections viable.
I fly to the US a reasonable amount. Normally take a bike. Even if I can only get a half-days ride in at the weekend, going for a spin at 4am whist jetlagged-as-f is a nice way to kill time
A Tinder account?
😉
Could you sign up to a language learning app like Duolingo to spend some time usefully?
Or do something like learn to program an Arduino and take a project kit with you?
Yoga
One of those resistance band weight things?
Photo a day challenge
Sketch book and some pencils
Bluetooth speaker and find podcasts you like
Tedtalks
Pen and paper to write down all those great ideas you see on YouTube bet never find again. Also useful for sketched of what you have planned for when you get home.
I am sure there are computer apps available that allow you to write notes or draw things, perhap[s Notes and Draw might be a starting point if you are one of those techie types
Arduidino/raspbrian programming is a good one. Perhaps don’t go for one with an LED display and a pile of random wires poking out of it though.
Speaking of the TSA: Arcade belts - plastic buckle, funky design, indestructible, don’t need to be removed at security. A recent welcome find for me, along with Helly Hanson’s superb TSA-compliant soap bags.
I always stick a pair of swim shorts and goggles in. Not always possible to get to swim properly, but I kick myself when I forget and the opportunity arises (they take sodall space). (I'm up for open water providing there's no crocs, gators, bilhzaria or those small barbed amazonian fish that swim up your pee pee😱)
I find an eye mask useful to help get to sleep and onto local time if there's any light coming into the room (even just from street lights or the hallway of the hotel).
I also travel wearing run shoes so if the chance arises, again I'll go for a little trot.
Obvs depends where you are though. I've been a few dodgy places in my time where a swim with the crocs and hippos in the river was a safer option than a run through the local neighbourhood.
VPN so you can watch UK Netflix/BBC iplayer etc.
Noise cancelling headphones.
Earplugs for sleeping.
Running kit - outdoor run for safe countries, gym for unsafe.
Work AMEX card.
Depending where you are, personally I swear by a little MP3 player. It's got all my tunes, plus a bunch of podcasts, offline so can be listened to even if you have no internet/ mobile signal or battery life.
Kindle is a great idea too of course; and a good VPN for TV viewing (As above)
Here We Go Mapping app, allowing you to download local maps and get turn-by-turn directions when driving without using expensive roaming data.