Europe trip preparation: Entertainment while travelling
So, apart from making calls and using the internet, how do I pass the time during the long monotonous wait while travelling? Well, perhaps the plane taking off and landing, or train departing and arriving, and when on board meals are being served when I don't really feel bored.
But what do you do when on a 2 hour train ride, or a 9 hour stopover at an international airport that doesn't have much facilities that I could access without paying too much? You can't expect me to just stare into blank space like a zombie or walking around aimlessly forever. (Walking around for that long is tiring.)
Well, apart from going online, I could just play games, music or do some work, but I'm not bringing my iPod or gaming console, or my laptop. I could just stare at each individual stamp in my passport of the different countries that I had been to, but that's no fun when you have so many hours to kill.
Well, it turns out that I have the kindle with me. The one I bought in December, which was certainly not planned. Since I had it, I have finished reading more books than I ever had than as a physical copy. This includes some volumes of Harry Potter and Haruhi Suzumiya novels, the Steve Jobs biography, along with many tens (possibly in the hundreds) of volumes of manga. One thing I should have done is to get one with front-lit (not back-lit) display that has twice the memory space. But hey, I never seen an e-ink display before getting this kindle and it's the cheapest anyway. Good quality for the price too. Remains very readable even under bright sunlight. Compare that with a back-lit LCD screen: you can't see anything!
The battery could last for about a month (with airplane mode) of regular use.
What else is there? Surely I can't be reading or doing the same thing for long periods of time.
But what do you do when on a 2 hour train ride, or a 9 hour stopover at an international airport that doesn't have much facilities that I could access without paying too much? You can't expect me to just stare into blank space like a zombie or walking around aimlessly forever. (Walking around for that long is tiring.)
Well, apart from going online, I could just play games, music or do some work, but I'm not bringing my iPod or gaming console, or my laptop. I could just stare at each individual stamp in my passport of the different countries that I had been to, but that's no fun when you have so many hours to kill.
Well, it turns out that I have the kindle with me. The one I bought in December, which was certainly not planned. Since I had it, I have finished reading more books than I ever had than as a physical copy. This includes some volumes of Harry Potter and Haruhi Suzumiya novels, the Steve Jobs biography, along with many tens (possibly in the hundreds) of volumes of manga. One thing I should have done is to get one with front-lit (not back-lit) display that has twice the memory space. But hey, I never seen an e-ink display before getting this kindle and it's the cheapest anyway. Good quality for the price too. Remains very readable even under bright sunlight. Compare that with a back-lit LCD screen: you can't see anything!
The battery could last for about a month (with airplane mode) of regular use.
What else is there? Surely I can't be reading or doing the same thing for long periods of time.
Talking to people... maybe.
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