Travels with my laptop

Photo by BigGolf

Unless you’ve been freelancing for a while, chances are that at some point you’ll need to tell your boss and the people you work with that you’re leaving. Your colleagues may be surprised at your decision to travel - some may think you’re mad to be throwing away the security of a regular pay check, but most will probably admit that you’re doing what they always wish they had. You may even inspire a few to follow your example and leave on an adventure of their own.

When preparing to leave your job it’s important to plan for the least disruption to the people around you as possible. If you hate your job and can’t wait to throw the towel in, it may be very tempting to disappear overnight or tell your boss exactly what you think of him before you leave but you never know when you might need that reference. Being sensitive to the needs of the company you work for may open doors for you in the future - you may even be offered the chance to work remotely or come back to your job if things don’t work out. It pays to be professional, however excited about your trip and fed up with your current situation you may be.

Ensure you give your manager plenty of warning that you’ll be leaving. You may only have a 4 week notice period or less, but giving a longer notice period will allow them more time to find a replacement for you, start planning to distribute your workload to other members of the team and generally prepare for your departure.

Explain your reasons for leaving. Your boss may be shocked that you’re giving up your job for such a frivolous reason or they may be pleased that you’re leaving in order to ‘live the dream’ rather than because you can’t stand working there and can’t wait to leave. If your decision to leave was prompted by other reasons that made you unhappy in your job then you should take the chance to explain this in a fair and balanced way. It may be hard to remain objective but getting angry and leaving on a bad note will only burn bridges and possibly make things difficult for you in the future. Choose your phrasing carefully - “Recently I’ve not been finding my work challenging and feel it’s time for me to make a change” sounds better than “I’ve been getting really bored and I can’t take it any more!”

Be professional. It may be tempting to start winding down once everyone knows you’re leaving but if there’s work to be done, make sure you finish it properly before you leave. Do a proper handover with your colleagues or replacement before you finish working and consider writing up a handover manual that can be referred to when you’re gone.

Be flexible. You need to be prepared for the possibility that you may be offered an incentive to stay. Don’t be too suprised if you’re offered a payrise or a sabbatical. Take time to consider these offers before you turn them down or snap them up - will a payrise really make your job bearable enough to stay for a year? Will you be content with travelling for six months and then returning to your job? On the other hand if your travel plans aren’t set in stone, it may be worth staying a little longer if this will enable you to save a lot of money - it will come in handy when you have no regular income!

And finally… try not to gloat too much. your colleagues will soon get sick of hearing how you’ll be sitting on a tropical beach in a few months time!

If you’re still lacking courage, try reading Penelope Dullaghan’s story of how she resigned from her day job to become a freelance illustrator - very inspiring for those of us still chained to a desk!

Photo by Novecentino

I am currently on the verge of buying the laptop I’ll be taking with me on my travels. I currently work from a shuttle desktop pc which, compact as it is, is obviously not suitable for taking backpacking. I also have an old battered ibook which I dropped and broke the hinges on - it’s not in a fit state to take out of the house, let alone on a round the world trip. So this brings me to the task of choosing a laptop with travel-friendly attributes.

These include:

Light - possibly the most important factor in your decision-making. You really don’t want to be carting around a lead weight. Once you’ve had a backpack on your back for a couple of hours you’ll be glad of every possible ounce of weight you can save. It’s now possible to get fully-functional laptops that weigh under 1kg. Remember to add in the weight of power adapters and accessories. The lightest laptop around is purported to be the Toshiba Portégé R500, weighing in at 779g and there are several more around the 1kg mark, including the new breed of ultra portable notebooks - the Asus Eee pc the Acer Aspire One and the MSI Wind.

Cheap - expensive equipment will up your travel insurance and you’ll be constantly worrying about it being stolen or broken. Spend as little as you can to get the technology you require. Luckily laptops are constantly coming down in price and it’s easy to get a decent spec machine for under £300 ($600 or probably less in the US). Go second-hand if you can and you’ll be less paranoid about scratching it or dropping it.

Tough - changes are you’ll be throwing your laptop around in your bag a lot, operating it in extreme temperatures or humid conditions, getting sand and insects in it, using it as a pillow, bashing it off the table when you can’t get wireless to work etc etc… Some of the new thin and light laptops look sexy but I doubt their durability. You’re much better off getting something ugly and tough. Panasonic’s ToughBook range are designed to be thrown around/stamped on/blown up but there’ll be a model from most of the major company’s lines that will be suitable for general travel and not mind being bashed around a bit. Check reviews and message boards for the models you’re interested in to see how they fare after a few months of abuse.

Long battery-life - you’ll probably be separated from a power source at many points during your travels. There’s nothing more frustrating than carrying round the dead weight of a powerless laptop that you can’t use. Look at battery life when you’re comparing different models and weigh this up against the cost and weight factors mentioned above. Probably a good idea to bring along a spare battery too.

As I’m leaning towards one of the new linux-based ultra-portables, I thought it would be useful to draw up a comparison chart of the higher spec versions of the 3 main contenders:

	Eee PC 901	Acer Aspire One	MSI Wind
Screen resolution	1024 x 600	1024 x 600	1024 x 600
Weight	1140g	995g	1100g
Size	226 × 22.9 × 175.3 mm	249 x 29 x 170 mm	260 x 19 x 180 mm
Storage	20 GB	120 GB	80 GB
Battery life	4.2 - 7.8 hours	3 hours	3 hours
Price (dependent on RAM and other specs)	£300	£250	£330

To me, it’s looking like the Acer Aspire One is the best value for specs against price but take some time to do the research and decide what laptop is the best for your budget and requirements. Happy hunting!

Photo by MC MasterChef

What you pack for your trip will depend on where you’re going, the type of places you’ll be staying (hotels/hostels/camping) and the activities you plan on undertaking. A packing list for a trekking trip through the Amazon rain-forest will look very different to a list for a beach holiday in Thailand.

In any case, the most important thing to remember when packing for any trip where you’ll be doing a fair amount of travelling is to keep it light and minimal. You may have heard the rule to lay out everything you plan to take and then ditch half of it - nice idea but I’ve never found this to be possible in reality. Much better to start out realistically, pack light and if you’re not sure whether or not to bring a particular item, it’s probably best to leave it. You can pick most things up on the road anyway.

Write down everything you want to take and then cross it off your list. This stops you from packing unnecessary items that you might unconsciously sneak in at the last minute and prevents you from forgetting anything. I loathe packing and am renowned for leaving it until the very last minute - this has resulted in some rather disappointing oversights, such as forgetting my camera when I went to China. An extra half hour or so making a definitive list is well worth the effort.

Following is a generic packing list for a backpacking trip that you can use to base your own list on. Tailor it to your own requirements and try to resist the temptation to put three times as much clothing in - you’ll only regret it later!

• Backpack - try on several and find the one that is most comfortable for you when it’s full. Decent backpacks are expensive and it’s really not worth skimping here if you want to save your back and your sanity. The smaller the better really (so you’re not tempted to pack more to fill it!) - somewhere in the region of 40 - 60 litres, depending on your personal requirements, is probably about right.
• Clothing - if you can afford it, go for the specialist travel or outdoor activity clothing that is made from tech fabrics. They are quick drying, wick sweat away from your body, wrinkle-resistant and some even provide UV and mosquito protection. In general, stay away from cotton (jeans in particular) as it takes forever to dry and once it gets sweaty it stays sweaty and smells. Not really what you want in a tropical climate. Your clothing list might looks something like this:
  • 2 x t-shirt, or 1 t-shirt and one short sleeved travel shirt
  • 1 x tank/vest top
  • 1 x shorts
  • 1 x long trousers
  • 1 x skirt (for girls)
  • 1 x long-sleeved top
  • 1 x micro-fleece
  • 1 x light waterproof jacket
  • 1 x pair socks
  • underwear
  • swimsuit
  • sarong (can be used as a towel, to sit on, as a skirt, shoulder-wrap and multitude of other uses)
  • 1 x pair walking sandals
  • 1 x hat or bandanna.
• Toiletries - bring small bottles and replace them as you go along. Lush make several varieties of shampoo and shampoo/conditioner bars which are great for travel as they are lighter than bottles and last for ages. Don’t forget sunscreen and use a high factor - don’t underestimate the sun when you’re near the equator. Baby wipes are useful on plane journeys and when you don’t have access to a shower. Don’t bring your entire makeup kit, whatever you do - I guarantee you won’t use it. Put everything in ziploc bags and find a decent toiletries bag with a hook. Bring tweezers and a small pair of scissors. Vaseline works as lip balm and to prevent blisters.
• First aid kit - band-aids, bandage, antiseptic cream, antihistamines, paracetamol, bite-relief cream, diarrhoea medicine, water purification tablets, malaria pills, tiger balm.
• Essential documents - money, tickets, passport! Also visas, insurance information, useful and emergency phone numbers and a copy of your itinerary. Take photocopies of everything and leave them with a friend or relative or keep a virtual copy in your email inbox.
• Daypack - bring a small pack that you can fit a water bottle, guide book and a few other items in and use as hand luggage on planes.
• Travel towel - specialist travel towels are light, fold down small and dry quickly.
• Silk sheet sleeping bag - light, comfortable and protect you from dodgy-looking hotel beds. You can get them cheap on ebay.
• Torch - for finding your way in the dark and reading in hostel dorms.
• Pocket knife - you don’t need one with a million different tools - a small blade, bottle opener, corkscrew and can opener should cover most eventualities.
• Clothes line - you can buy special travel clothes lines with hooks or suckers to attach to the wall and twisted cord so it’ll hold your clothes without pegs. Or just bring a lenght of nylon cord.
• Lighter and candle - for power-cuts and setting fire to things.
• Mosquito net and coils - needed if you’re camping or staying in basic accommodation in rural areas.
• Plug adaptor - essential for items below…
• Gadgets - camera, mp3 player and laptop if you plan to work from one while you’re travelling. You may also want to bring a mobile phone but get a local sim or use it only in emergencies unless you have money to throw away on huge phone bills.
• Books - travel guide for the first country you’re visiting. Ditch it or swap it when you leave. Do the same with a reading book.
• Travel journal - write about your travels, sketch, collect tickets, jot down email addresses of people you meet. Get artistic - a physical journal is much nicer to look back at than a blog. Have a look at the moleskinerie flickr group or read Everyday Matters for some inspiration.
• Miscellaneous items - superglue, duct tape and sewing kit for fixing things, Ziploc and supermarket plastic bags, ear plugs, cheap watch with alarm, money belt.