• Thursday, June 21, 2007

    The comfort of technology and another trip...

    Having one of those moments when everything just seems to fit into place. Perched comfortably on the sofa with laptop in hand and connected through wifi to the internet I'm busily planning an entire trip online whilst sipping a cold beer and watching an excellent film, Layer Cake. Sometimes I just love technology.

    I'm taking the daughter to Germany for the weekend to visit one of her old mates from school in Bangkok who is back home for a month. The temptation of the budget airline was strong but I managed to resist and keep my new found environmental credentials intact, well almost. I guess train would have been the better option but more expensive, so we're driving.

    From the comfort of the sofa with one eye on a great movie I can book and pay for the ferry crossing, get an exact route and map and print it all off, calculate the fuel and mileage, arrange and pay for European breakdown coverage, arrange and pay for European insurance, and sip an ice-cold Stella. Now all that's left is to battle through Friday afternoon traffic around London getting down to the ferry port, and that will be a challenge.

    The comfort of technology and another trip...

    3 Comments:

    Blogger Unknown said...

    Forget technology. I think you enjoyed the Setlla more than anything.

    What I'd give for a cold Stella served in a frosty glass in a bar in Belgium. Hmm. Europe's a great place. Enjoy Deutschland.

    8:55 pm  
    Anonymous Anonymous said...

    I think you are mistaken about saving the environment by driving instead of flying to Germany. That budget airplane is going to fly with or without you on it. There will be a small incremental addition of fuel consumed if you are aboard the plane due to the additional weight of you and your daughter. However, the incremental additional fuel usage will be *less* than the fuel expended by driving.

    11:32 am  
    Blogger Life Out East said...

    Yes, cold Stella! Say no more!

    Anon: Point taken about the plane going anyway but the more people who boycott these "new" routes the quicker they will cease to exist. Stanstead to Weeze is not a route that is either totally necessary or old, it was created by Ryanair to make $$$. Budget airlines have created a demand. Whereas before no one would consider flying to Ibiza for a night in a club or to Paris for lunch no they do because people like Ryanair have made it possible. Some flight is always necessary but surely this is not. I think that we have to be a bit more caring when it comes to choosing modes of transport.
    Incidentally, the ferry was also going to be sailing with or without me. But, point taken.

    5:08 am  

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