5 essential apps for backpackers

The whole point of my little trip to Canada was that I wanted it to be almost entirely unplanned. Having worked in an office where I knew I was going to be every day and what I needed to be doing ages in advance, I wanted my travel to be a little more unpredictable. Fortunately technology makes that sort of trip both easy and economical.

The following are the apps that I find myself using on a daily basis; I have no association with any of them, I am sharing this info because I genuinely find them useful. I hope you do too!

1. Skyscanner Flights

This is hands down my favourite way of booking a flight, on a mobile or otherwise. It works like the flight comparison sites, but it far slicker than most and is optimised for mobile use.

You can create multiple tabs for specific searches to refer to later, so if you are planning a series of ‘hops’ and want to tweak the specific dates and airlines, you can do so by creating a tab for each journey and switch back and forth between them for comparison.

By far the best feature of this app is the price comparison chart (see vid above), especially if you aren’t constrained by when you have to fly. Enter the origin and destination airports, select ‘Any’ in the Depart date field and hit search. You get a horizontally scrollable chart showing dates along the bottom, and bars of different heights representing flight prices on each date.

For the ultimate in random, cheap flight searches, choose ‘Everywhere’ as your destination airport and see the cheapest place that you can fly to on any date from whichever departure location that you choose! Great for an unplanned, last minute weekend getaway.

2. TripAdvisor

TripAdvisor app gives you the same information as the website, but uses less mobile data

This is no secret really, and every hotel or hostel I’ve been to has had a sticker in the window, such is the pervasive reputation of this tool. The app is better for limited bandwidth connections, because… *geek-out alert, skip to the next app if you’re not interested*, the mobile app uses a text-based API, so it only exchanges the data that is needed to update the information that is seen in the app, whereas the website version also loads images and background JavaScript libraries required to make the site work, making the required download much larger. So if you’re on a roaming data plan, download the mobile app over WiFi before you leave, and use the app rather than the website when you’re out and about using mobile data.

You’ll save mb’s, and it’ll be a much smoother experience.

3. Evernote

Screenshot of Evernote location-based notes screen — Evernote location-based notes

Nothing beats this for keeping track of little snippets of information that you learn from people that you meet along the way. You could use a Moleskine if you’re an analogue type, but if you lose that little book, it’s gone. Evernote backs everything up, and can record where you were when you took down the note so making it easier to refer back to to later: “Which hotel did that guy in Tofino recommend again?..”

I also use it for keeping track of touristy maps and leaflets, partly so that I don’t end up with a bag full of paper, but also because it makes you look less like a tourist if you’re just checking your phone, as opposed to unfurling some A1 sized glossy map on a bench somewhere (I prefer to blend in and not look like a tourist where I can, especially when traveling solo).

Check out Bod for tea’s great crowd-sourced post on other uses if you’re blogging about your travels as you go.

4. Google Drive (desktop and mobile combo)

I use Drive for keeping hold of reservations, confirmations and electronic boarding cards for flights, which are increasingly used at airports to reduce the amount of wasted paper involved in frequent travel.

I sync my ‘Travel’ folder from my desktop, so when I make any bookings with my laptop, the PDF print-outs are synced to my phone automatically, so when I get to the baggage check I can just get the QR code on the screen scanned rather than having to dig around for a crumpled card pass jammed somewhere in a side pocket.

It’s a great feeling to check in online, from a WiFi-enabled shuttle coach en route to the airport, then walk past the check-in queues straight to the departure gate with a smartphone boarding pass, fifteen minutes before take-off. That’s how air travel should always be.

Worried about privacy? Please…you’re using the internet to book flights. Google already knows where you’re flying. 😉

5. OwnCloud

For photo-backup. This is a bit trickier to set up, but worth the effort. OwnCloud is a Dropbox-like cloud storage system that you install on your own machine; be that server or home machine that’s always-on. Once set up, you can install the app and have your phone camera photos backed up automatically when you’re in range of WiFi (or even over mobile data, if you’re really brave/have unlimited data!).

Unlike Facebook or Google+, the full-sized image file is uploaded, with all of the extra EXIF data, geolocation and original timestamps, so you don’t lose detail or resolution when it syncs. It reassures me that if my phone breaks or goes walkies, I’ll still have all of the photos that I took with it on a server back in England. It also allows me to delete all of my photos from my phone to free up space to take more!

April 26, 2014April 27, 2014

Dawson City in Pictures

Dawson City, YT at the quiet pre-tourist time is a largely empty, sleepy town. The people are friendly, and the pace of life is slow. There are no traffic signals, concrete pavements or chain-owned shops to break up the atmosphere of this century old mining town.

I chose to make most of these photos black and white because it suits the character of the place.

Severe subsidence due to melting permafrost is evident in parts of town.

With the snow melting, water pumps are running all day to drain the bides of water that collect around the town. — With the snow melting, water pumps are running all day to drain the bodies of water that collect around the town.

The clock on Front Street from the riverside.

The prominent CIBC building has been left to deteriorate for years due to an ownership dispute. It's now been settled, and restoration is underway. — The prominent CIBC building has been left to deteriorate for years due to an ownership dispute. It’s now been settled, and restoration is underway.

The SS Keno originally transported metal ore for processing. It's now a historic site, much like the SS Klondike, and was the last sternwheeler to navigate the Yukon (Whitehorse to Dawson) under its own power in 1960. — The SS Keno originally transported metal ore for processing. It’s now a historic site, much like the SS Klondike, and was the last sternwheeler to navigate the Yukon (Whitehorse to Dawson) under its own power in 1960.

The Klondike and Yukon converge just south of Dawson; ice on the former has already cleared, but the Yukon remains icy. Meltwater is collecting on the surface, but that doesn't stop locals from crossing it on foot. — The Klondike and Yukon converge just south of Dawson; ice on the former has already cleared, but the Yukon remains icy. Meltwater is collecting on the surface, but that doesn’t stop locals from crossing it on foot.

You can place a bet on the day and hour that the "Yukon breakup" of ice will occur every year, in a form of winner-takes-all lottery. Until that happens, there's no ferry so crossing on foot is the only option. — You can place a bet on the day and hour that the “Yukon breakup” of ice will occur every year, in a form of winner-takes-all lottery. Until that happens, there’s no ferry so crossing on foot is the only option.

The restored SS Keno is maintained on the dry dock beside the Yukon river as a tourist attraction.

The ice is thinning, with the river flowing fastest beneath the darker portions of ice.

This rope is attached to the yellow tripod on the ice, and is part of the annual "Break Up" event. When the tripod moves, ice on the Yukon River at Dawson has officially broken up. — This rope is attached to a yellow tripod on the ice, and is part of the annual “Break Up” event. When the tripod moves, ice on the Yukon River at Dawson has officially broken up.

Front Street from the CIBC building, with Moosehide slide up on the hill in the background.

April 23, 2014April 27, 2014

12 Long-Distance Bus Travel Tips (for car people)

I’ve been on a bus more often this past month or so than I have for the past decade. Whilst naturally traumatic for the petrol head, I’ve collected together some tips of how to make use of shared automotive transport less terrible.

(The photo below was taken from a bus, because who wants to see a picture of one?!)

There are other people on a bus, you have not been hijacked. This is normal on public transport; and takes some getting used to.

Hydrate. Constantly. You don’t want to get to your destination and feel like a sloth on a lazy day. If you need to problem solve on arrival, you can’t let your brain become a raisin en route. This applies especially to those who aren’t morning people, and always arrive at the bus last minute in a pool of sweat.

Remember what your mother told you at the services: “Go now, even if you think that you don’t need to.”. You always need to (if you followed the last step properly), you’ll be glad you did when the loo is broken on the bus…

Take healthy snacks. This seems like a given, but being so used to just traveling with a credit card (and claiming back expenses where possible), I only realised how expensive service stop food is when I was on a budget. They’re also infrequent, which leads to unhealthy choices; if you’re starving at a 15 minute rest stop, you’re getting the first take-away you see.

Take a coat or fleece onboard. “But it’s air conditioned!” I hear you cry. It’s not for that; when you want to nap (and on an 8hr+ journey, you will nap) the rapid percussion of skull on plate glass is a recipe for a nice cranial bruise. Your coat is your cushion. In addition, at layovers on the Greyhound you have to be off the bus, and sometimes the waiting areas at remote terminals aren’t that cozy. That and in Canada, you might be boarding in sunshine, and alighting in snow.

Sit glass-side. For the napping. Some buses don’t have armrests on both sides, so if you nap aisle-side, you’ll wake up as you fall out of your seat on a tight bend. I’m not saying this has ever happened to me…

Research your route, if you like a view. This is straying into the “planning not traveling” domain a little, but if you’ve got a few spare minutes at the bus depot, use it to check for potential prettiness on the way, then sit on the side of the bus that will get the best views.

Sit mid-glass. This is for two reasons: you’ll get a better view of what ever is out there to the side, and you’ll have somewhere to rest your head that doesn’t have a sharp edge on it, as the pillars often do.

Get over your fear of bus toilets. If there is one and it’s working, use it. I’ve sat with people that have refrained form conversation for hours waiting for a rest stop, trying to focus their mind through the internal damage happening to them. I find this hilarious, as fortunately I can go anywhere (#TMI..). If you are sat next to one of those people, try to make them laugh.

[Bonus tip] If you’re prone to travel sickness, sit on the rear axle. Whilst this will be noisier as you’re nearer the engine, you won’t get flung around as much on twisty mountain roads as you’re at the pivot when the bus steers. You also get a wider field of vision out of the front and sides peripherally as you look toward the front of the bus, which I’ve also heard helps. (This one’s a bonus as I can’t confirm; I don’t do travel sickness.)

[Canada-specific tip] Pre-connect your phone/tablet to fast food restaurants and cafés. If you’re on a mainland route, you might have WiFi and and a power socket. Cool! You’re sorted! If not, look out for A&W burger restaurants, Starbucks, Tim Horton’s and to a lesser extent, KFC whenever the bus stops – Greyhound depots tend to be near retail parks that have these. Some depots have free WiFi too, so that’s another option. They usually have free WiFi that spills out into the surrounding area, so if your phone already recognises the names of the hotspots you can save precious seconds syncing before the bus drives out of range again.

[Blogging-specific tip] Use the right mobile apps to remain productive whilst you’re offline. I use Pocket to buffer articles to read later (stripped out articles sync automatically for offline reading), Falcon Pro and Evernote for writing things like this blog post when there’s no signal. Instagram let’s you take photos whilst you’re offline, so if you see something cool, take a photo and just hit the spinny refresh thing later on when you’re back on the grid. If you’re a traveling smartphone addict, be sure to check out the post on my essential travel apps.

April 19, 2014May 21, 2015

Photographing the Aurora Borealis

I’ve not posted for a while (been having too much fun to stop and type!), but wanted to share my findings of my first attempt at trying to photograph the Northern Lights from Whitehorse last night, and show off some of the more successful images. It was the first time I’ve ever seen the aurora, so I was keen to capture something to remember the night.

A time-lapse image that I created with G+ autoawesome.

Preparation

Clothes

I thought that I was going to be freezing cold, so layered up with my running gear as a base layer; lugging a bag full of camera equipment up a hill, I expected to get a bit sweaty so didn’t want a soggy cotton base layer reducing my cold endurance.

I then had a cotton t-shirt, jumper, hoodie, fleece and a breathable but windproof Rab rain jacket on top – having done some night walking, it’s all about reducing potential sweat chill whilst keeping air tight. I wore running gloves as they are warm but very thin, which makes using the buttons on the camera possible without having to de-glove at any point. Thick walking socks and winter walking boots kept my feet away from the icy ground.

That combination kept me comfortable for the ~2-hours that we were out, despite the temperature being a solid single figure negative the entire time. I wasn’t even cold when we headed back (but the others had had enough!).

Camera Kit

I used my Nikon D5200 with a Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 50mm f/1.4G Lens. Whilst the focal length is longer than ideal for this type of photography, I’m only carrying that and a Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 55-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR Lens, which whilst being an excellent, versatile lens, wasn’t as fast as I thought I’d need for night shooting, and the 50mm has a marginally wider angle.

I mounted it on my Manfrotto 732CY tripod (no link as it doesn’t seem to be on Amazon any more…), which I have fitted with a Manfrotto MH293A3-RC1 293 Aluminium 3 Way Head with RC1 Quick Release. I’m glad that I opted for a lighter model, as it’s been everywhere with me in my rucksack since I left the UK.

Everything was in or strapped to my trusty Incase Photo DSLR Sling Pack Black, which has survived well so far during my travels despite being a bit of a trendy city bag rather than a rugged kit lugger.

The last crucial piece of the gadget puzzle is the Timer Remote Control/cable release, which is useful if you want to take shots without camera shake and don’t want to configure the shutter delay in-camera every time, or hold the shutter open to experiment with exposure times. This model also has an LCD display and programmable shutter timer, which makes time lapses easy; you set up the interval and duration of shutter openings, press the Start/Stop button and let it do its thing.

Disclosure: All of the above product links are via my Amazon UK referral links, so if you click through and buy something I get money from the referral to further my travels and gadget purchases. 🙂

Lastly, don’t forget to fully charge, and take spare batteries if you’re going to be out there for a while. The best time to shoot the lights is on cold, clear nights, and the cold does affect the performance of batteries. You won’t get as long out of them as you would in milder conditions, and some recommend putting your batteries in your pocket until you need them when it gets really cold.

Camera Settings

First off, remove your lens filters; you’ll get some annoying moiré on long exposures if you don’t for reasons I won’t go into here (if you’re interested look, up diffraction interference patterns).

After some playing around in full Manual mode, I used the following settings for most of the best shots:

ISO: 1000 – 3200

Aperture: wide-open at F1.4

Shutter Speed: 3″ – 6″
(only possible with fast lenses, I’ve heard that 30″+ can work for slower lenses but you’ll get star trails and the aurora won’t be as crisp over about 15″)

Enough of this, where are the pics?!

Here are a few of the best. Back indoors I can see that some are pretty noisy due to the high ISO, and it got worse throughout the night as the camera warmed up. I’m pretty pleased with the results for a first try though, let me know what you think in the comments.