The Lord Shall Provide

04/08/2013

I am probably going to get arrested for this...

When I arrived in Bermuda yesterday evening I did not have an onward flight booked nor did I have accommodation. I had planned to book a flight later in a the week as prices dropped and airlines tried to fill seats and my couchsurfing requests fell on mostly deaf ears aside for a few that weren't able to host. So when I got the border control, I knew it might be an interesting conversation. I could have avoided it, I guess, by lying on my immigration form and just filling in a random hotel address and number of nights I intended to stay, but I wanted to see if honestly is really the best policy.

It is not. After a brief chuckle the immigration officer referred me, which means sent me to the little room where they try and figure out what to do with you. There I was given two options:
a) I get back on the plane I arrived on and head back to London - not something I really wanted but wouldn't have been the end of the world.
b) I book an onward flight and accommodation and they would let me in to the airport - sounded like an okay option.

Having explained to immigration that I wanted the cheapest flight to the States in the next few weeks and didn't care were it was to, he decided that I was going to New York and that I was booking it at the airport in front of him. So he marched me to the American Airline office and a few discussions and $300 later I had a flight to New York leaving Thursday. Next up was the accommodation, which after a number of phone calls it was settled that I was going to stay at some guest house which was going to cost me $150 a night, he booked me in for one night (I said I would find somewhere else today), stamped my passport and about an hour after I landed, I stepped out into the sticky tropical air. I left in such a hurry that I forgot my recently booked airline tickets on his desk and had to return a second time to collect them, I could see the look on the immigration officers faces said, "This guy certainly ain't all there upstairs."

I got on the bus towards Hamilton after a lovely lady gave me her last two bus tokens, I was meant to change in Hamilton and get on another bus to find the accommodation I had "booked", maybe it was the lack of sleep or just the unknown of a new country, but I missed the stop and only approached the bus driver about an hour into the bus ride. By this time we were well passed the stop I needed so I was to get off and wait for the bus in the opposite direction. It was late and by this time I was extremely tired having only slept 3hrs the night before, I couldn't face searching for the accommodation, nor did I want to pay the $150 to stay there. I got off the bus and found what looked like a church, here I found a little grassy patch and lay down for the night.

View of the church this morning

My little green patch

I can't say it was the best night's sleep, but it was free. I don't know where I shall sleep tonight, but apparently there is a camp-site nearby which should suffice provided it does not rain. 

Maybe where I sleep tonight. 

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Goodbye Stockholm

Sometimes the things we want most in life come along when we aren't ready to embrace them.  As was the case for Stockholm and me.

I wanted to move here ever since I started working in the region a few years ago, so when the opportunity arose I seized it.

The time spent here has been turbulent and testing, as is always the case when one moves to a new country. This difficulty finding one self in a new place is one of the reasons I like to move from place to place so much. It causes you to reflect on where you have been and you are, to take stock of the place you have reached and where you want to be. While I wanted to be where I was, I realised with certainty that I did not want to be doing what I was doing.

Thus it is with incomplete experience that I leave this beautiful city just as it rises out of its winter slumber. I leave to continue to navigate down a path others have traveled in order to discover their place in this world. Though I am a firm believer of not having a reason for being and prefer to just be, so I won't be seeking a definitive place or purpose. Thank you Stockholm for your part in my journey so far and to all those inhabitants who made the experiences all that more special. It was a time filled with glitter and openness, you helped me find my inner child once more and I needed that.

When I first wanted to move here I could not see how I was going to make that happen. Now, having done it, I can see that that there are always ways to make what want happen, if nothing else, just ask. I have an inkling that I will be back someday, perhaps to stay a little longer.

Until then farewell Stockholm.

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Choosing a bag

When I left South Africa almost a decade ago for Dubai I travelled with one suitcase and a hockey stick bag.  At 21 I did not have many belongings and those that did not fit could be left at my parents' house.

A year later I moved to London. I shipped a 45kg box ahead of me and somehow I still travelled with a large suitcase, a backpack and the hockey stick bag. 

Upon leaving London for Stockholm 3 months ago I did some shedding. The charity shop across the road from my flat thought Christmas had come early. At least 5 trips, countless boxes and bags later I thought I had cut the clutter.  I moved to Stockholm with a 125ltr suitcase, 2x 75ltr duffel bags, a snowboard bag, a triple tennis racket bag, my Dakine Mission Photo and my trusty travelzone expander.

I am leaving Stockholm in two months to travel destinations unknown for an undefined period.  I am going to have to be ruthless with my culling, but given the right bag I have no doubt that I can do it.  The question is, what is the right bag? There are so many choices:

What size? I am thinking around 75-80ltrs.
What style?  A backpack? Even then there are so many options.
What price? Is a £300 backpack really that much better than a £120 one?
To wheel or not? I’m thinking that is just extra weight.  
How do you ensure it is secure? Lockable zips?  It will contain all my belongs after all. 

Keeping in mind I will be taking my Dakine Mission Photo with me, which will serve as cabin luggage and daypack. I ask all those out there who have embarked on similar journeys and packed their lives into a single bag, what would you suggest?

Dakine Mission Photo will act as cabin luggage and daypack.

So far I have seen two options that may fit the bill. 

Caribee Grand Air 80 Travel Pack

Deuter Traveller 80+10 Litre Rucksack

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