I spent last week in the company of 26 amazing travellers (plus a bunch of really awesome staff) in a Chalet in Chamonix, France, under the shadow of the great peaks of the Mont Blanc range. I had never met any of the people before, and the same was true of most of them. We were all there as independent skiers or snowboarders to meet and ride with new people. It’s a great alternative to the traditional Chalet holiday where you may well be staying with lots of people who have no desire to know you whereas at Coldfusion everyone is in the same boat, so you are sure to find people to hang out with until 3 AM in the hot tub, and more to ride the vallee blanch with you the following morning.
There are actually two Coldfusion Chalets in Chamonix (and a third in Mornize), but they are located next door each other, just about close enough to make a mad dash in a bikini and not much else through the snow back to your own bed shower. Seriously though, the Coldfusion experience is not a single’s holiday. Whilst it’s true that most the participants (guests doesn’t seem quite right, it’s much more big-brother-esque, but without the cameras, diary room or Davina McCall) are single it’s aimed at the “Independent Traveller”, with some guests have partners who simply don’t like the cold. It doesn’t really matter which chalet you are in, I was in the smaller, 9 person one. But spent much of my time in the 18 person one. The only time you really have separate is for meals (though I did take the odd cheeky breakfast across the way).
Everyone’s personal experience will, of course, be different. Mine was truly epic. Some of the people I met will be friends for life, others I hope to ski / drink with again, other’s still I didn’t really have a chance to meet. I really was in the hot tub until 3 AM one day, followed by a mad dash back to to my chalet (I was in the other’s). Another night I was found brining a hotel doorman to book a minibus for 6 of us to make our way back after a night of clubbing in Le Garage. I really did ski the vallee blanche with harness and transceiver, and despite the fact I cried almost every day (for a multitude of reasons, including being stuck in some deep powder, watching “Music and Lyrics”, and knowing that the week had to end), I had one of the most amazing holidays of my life. Thank you Coldfusion.
If you haven’t had a “Philadelphia Cheesesteak” then you’re doing it wrong! Actually, I’m doing it wrong. It’s not a Philadelphia Cheesesteak at all, it’s a Cheesesteak from Philadelphia. The subtle, but essential, difference is all about where you enjoy this tasty snack.
It’s offered on many a late night menu all over the Eastern seaboard and in numerous places world wide. But no where on earth can quite compete with the locals in Philadelphia and the reason is almost religious.
The pomp and ceremony surrounding the purchase and consumption of a cheese will astound you. I will attempt to guide you through some of this here, although for a fully canonical experience you will need to bag yourself a local and convince them to take you for a ’steak at an authentic Steakchurch.
Turning up at a random food outlet in Philadelphia and simply asking for a cheesesteak would be sacrilegious. You must first cross the threshold of a true Steakchuch (such as Sonny’s Famous Steaks) and begin the incantation “Wizz Wit”. Repeat it again “Wizz Wit”. Pronounce it exactly as it is written.
If the Gods are feeling kind and you proffer an appropriate cash donation you will be afforded a glimpse into the world of tasty drunken snacks from which you can never return. A sub filled with fresh steak, coated in creamy Cheez Wizz and topped with onions will be coming your way. You will be a convert instantly and will forever more be finding a way to return to the holy city of Philadelphia.
… go through Heathrow. Despite the misery of flying with them you will at least get to experience Terminal 5.
As you may know I’m an avid fan of Virgin Atlantic and so whenever I fly I’m either on their or one one of the flying club partner’s planes which has precluded me from experiencing Heathrow’s Terminal 5. So I was quite excited to find that the only viable way for me to get to Stockholm the other week was with BA through Terminal 5.
I was quite impressed with the terminal, it certainly outdoes Terminal 3 without question. BAA really have turned the airport into a destination itself - there are shops there that I would (almost) consider taking a flight just to go to.
The layout isn’t quite as intuitive as I would like, the multi floor layout doesn’t help and the walk to the lounge took us back and forth across multiple levels.
It’s security features are world class with an ingenious x-ray system that uses mechanised rollers to advance your bag / box only close to the next one instead of careering into it. It continues to move your items along when there is space, preventing the queue that is often formed by the one person who is not only slow but doesn’t have the courtesy to move their bags along to the end. And it doesn’t stop there. At the end of the rollers the trays are automagically returned to the front of the queue through a hatch which opens only when the tray is empty. This beautiful piece of aeroperiphery engineering is awesome.
Lufthansa have launched a new service recently, MySkyStatus which will update your twitter or facebook feed with your world air travels as you make them, including departure, landing and during your flight. Whilst this has the potential to be really awesome it’s not yet clear how often the “during flight” option will be. Hopefully not *too* often.
What I would really like is either an API for the system or an integration to TripIt so I don’t automatically have to add all the flights I have planned. You could go even further and have it auto DM various people when you land (I’m thinking my Mum, who frantically checks Teletext for flight arrivals to make sure I’ve landed).
Or perhaps tying MySkyStatus users together, allowing them to publish what flights I’m on in the hope of an amusing in flight coincidence.
It’s really great to see airlines themselves innovating on the web, but I hope they don’t go the traditional large company route and build yet more information silos - hope your listening Lufthansa, and remember to keep it all open!
Having been dropped off in Salt Lake City we managed to start Winnie’s engine and make our way to the various places we needed to visit like BetaLoft and the KOA RV Park. Everything was running fine, and we felt reassured that it was a heat issue that was causing the engine to seize up, and whilst Salt Lake was hot, it was nothing like the blistering heat of the Nevada Desert. We all showered and cleaned for the show which was wonderful having been stuck in the desert and then in the tow truck for about 6 hours in total, and we headed back into downtown to get the party started.
The Final Countdown Breakdown
The ride was fine, not a murmur from the engine, we pulled up a few blocks from the venue and met up with our ambassadors who were going to guide us to the final location. We pulled off and within a few seconds the engine started to sound a little funky. We tried to give her enough gas to make it the last 2 blocks, but alas she stopped in the middle of the street.
Photo by libel_vox, from flickr
We quickly mobilized and with me in the driving seat the other crew and a bunch of locals started pushing Winne through the streets of Salt Lake City to the amusement of puzzled onlookers. After stopping at the first lights and then pushing our way through on green we had to negotiate a bend in our route to take us to the sidewalk where our performance space was. A local cop was on hand to make sure we weren’t too rowdy and for ‘heath and safety’, but nonetheless we managed to plug in set up and start the party.
Biblical Sandstorm
Dry Karaoke is interesting, we did have anergy drinks, but it’s not quite the same. We did, however, rock the park and whacked out some awesome tunes. Apart from a busted Winnie we thought we were home free, and that nothing else could go belly up. How wrong we were. After about an hour of Karaoke the winds really started to pick up. Wind, I hear you say, surely a little wind never hurt anybody. Well, no, unless that wind is part of a Biblical Sandstorm (what an appropriate location) which insisted on whipping every exposed part of my body with thousands of tiny sharp sand particles.
We were forced to pack up and head for the wonderful BetaLoft space a few blocks away where we were rewarded with beer, sushi and rockband. The space is beautiful, and apart from being accused of breaking in by the landlord (he recinded his accusationw when he came to take a look at us) after accidentally setting of the alarm the night went smoothly.
We were all shattered but Tara and Tony managed to get Winnie to the mechanics where we were booked into the following day at crazy o’clock. We followed suit in Drew’s car and were soon snuggled up in bed dreaming of a day when we could go places without fear of being stranded in the swealtering desert.
Repair
After a morning of work and planning at BetaLoft, and our first vaguely serious bust up (emotions running high with winnie being fixed as we spoke) we were rewarded with a call from the mechanics to tell us that Winnie was fixed and ready for pick up. What was wrong? The fuel pump which, unsurprisingly pumps fuel from the tank to the engine was operating sub-optimally. And when I say sub-optimally I mean not at all. It was bust. Were were surviving on fuel making its way into the engine of it’s own accord! New pump fitted we set out for our next stop in Omaha (Denver was cancelled because of the repair) with a lay over in Cheyenne. Before we would get there we would stop for dinner in Laramie, Wyoming, an apparent Twilight zone… more on that later
Our Whuffaoke or Bust road trip is becoming more and more like an epic Top Gear adventure every day, and we are only on day 6 of 17. Whilst not everything that could have gone wrong has, we’ve had our fair share of drama and adventure.
The great thing about our proclivities thus far are that not only are fantastic for the TV Cameras (or justin.tv streams), they are not the kind of drama we actually don’t want (crashes, dismemberment, explosions, etc.)
After a successful run from Los Angeles to Las Vegas during the night we thought we could tackle the journey to Salt Lake City in a similar way. Everything was fine until we snuck through the corner of Arizona which the I-15 takes you through. Whilst the surroundings of the narrow canyons, stunning peaks, and winding river bed are breathtaking, driving through it at sunrise proved to much for Winnie and she gave out half way through. After a short wait and an attempt to dump all of her water and waster to save weight we managed to start her again and carry on with our way. It was decided that once she was started to give her as much gas as possible, all the time. No coasting. This worked great until we stopped for petrol.
We were then finally unable to restart the her at this petrol station somewhere in the middle Utah. On a sunday. We waited 10 minutes, then 20, then 30 and still, nothing. All of the local mechanics were closed and so whilst some of us tried to work out how we could get towed to Salt Lake City where we has a mechanic waiting, others, including myself, decided to see if we could set up some real car cameras, Top Gear style which we could live stream and hope that a mechanic would go to our Justin.tv stream and help us diagnose / fix remotely.
If I might say so myself, the rig whilst simple, was awesome. I taped our camera and a directional microphone to the underside of the open bonnet with Gaffer / Duck tape. Simple, but incredibly effective, apart from the fact that no mechanics on twitter came to our rescue! Because we were worried about fuel levels, the further effect of heat on the engine and, err, the environment, we plugged our RV into a wall socket in the side of the gas station for power.
We were eventually rescued by a tow truck that took us the 160 miles to Salt Lake City with us sat on the drivers bed behind the cab in temperatures exceeding 40 Celsius because, apparently, his air conditioning was broken. Great. We did make it, though not without people passing out and suffering from fairly extreme heat stroke and dehydration. It wasn’t until we were taken for dinner at The Counter that we realized how badly this had affected us. Nonetheless we were determined to make Salt Lake City a success… keep your eyes peeled for a wrap up!
Until this trip, Whuffaoke or Bust, the longest trip I had taken with friends for a very long time (read about 5 years) was just a few days. A short hop to Europe for a BarCamp or a long weekend in the states. Why? I love to travel alone. I love the freedom it gives me to be wild and do those crazy things that give me the stories I have to tell. I am at liberty to change my plans on a whim, or better still make no plans at all and just see what happens. I needn’t consult with anyone about anything. I want steak, I go to a steakhouse. I want to drive another 3 hours, I just do it.
There is also the social aspect. Meeting people when you travel alone is not only much easier, and it’s those connections that often lead to the aforementioned stories. Traveling with others gives you far too much of an excuse (which you use subconciously) to not meet new people. Some of these fleeting connections made at 4:30AM when climbing into the wrong hostel bed to be met with someone already asleep there really can be the beginnings of lifetime friendships.
On the flip side it’s a phenominal way to get to know people. Before this trip I I’d hung out with Tara a bunch of times in the last year or so, and I do count her as a friend, but it’s one thing seeing each other occasionally and spending 23 days together. Tony and Alex I had met briefly earlier this year and Karen I met for the first time a few days ago! We all shared one thing (being friends with Tara) so I knew that we would probably all get along.
The trip has been going great, and all of the complaints I might have about traveling in a group are negated by the greater goal of what we are doing, Karaokeing across America. The decisions we collectively make are simplified and guided by our goal, which removes much of the tension over decisions experienced in other group trips, even the short ones.
This was crystalized when we were in Las Vegas going out after our show. We had 4 hours to kill, and no plan. Everything fell apart. We didn’t argue or fight but we suffered an inability to make a collective decision over things like where to eat and drink, what casino to go to and so on. Why? Because we had lost that communal goal which bound our decisions. We experience this in every day life too, not just on holiday, though when away from our comfort zones this seems to be heightened.
I think I will continue to travel alone when travel itself is the goal, but where experiences like the Whuffaoke come up, I think I can make an exception
Even though we pulled into Los Angeles many many hours late we still had an amazing night. After jumping around on the roof to a few songs and getting generally quite trashed I found myself running around in the Pacific Ocean posing for photographs with a girl called Kate for quite possibly the most amazing photographer I know, Wm. Marc Salsberry! We’ve met a few times at various tech events around the US, but I never really had a chance to pose properly until tonight. It’s always been in crowded rooms or busy bars. It’s quite different when you are all but alone on a beach, in the dark!
Anyway, I’m sure you will agree, the photo is stunning, and hopefully there will be a few more to come as we took loads!
I recoreded you a video last night, but iMovie ate the audio you can still see it here if you want. It’s quite disturbing, i was drunk, ready to pass out and almost naked… maybe it’s a good thing it didn’t have audio otherwise I may have posted it last night! Anyway, off we go today!
Wow, day three already, time is just flying by. Before you know it i’ll be back in the UK!
Today, was, as the video says, wild and very long. Had a great meeting with Ziv from Eye-Fi who are sorting us out with some of their cool kit so we can auto upload photos to flickr, more on that when we’re all ready to go. Also got to check out Winne (our Winnebago) for the first time. She is stunning and I can’t wait to see her all finished and pimped out.
Anyway, Its almost 8am in London and midnight here in San Francisco, and I’m still up to see if I can get hold of Heathrow Lost Property…
you can still see it here if you want. It’s quite disturbing, i was drunk, ready to pass out and almost naked… maybe it’s a good thing it didn’t have audio otherwise I may have posted it last night! Anyway, off we go today!
storyteller, geek, believer, etc.