Hey everyone,

I am thinking of getting a cheap MP3 player to keep me occupied when I go to Europe on Friday. I want to meet people etc, but if the train is full of people that are old/don't speaking English/Spanish/Norwegian or maybe even emptyish, it might be good to have.

On the other hand, headphones tend to be offputting.

Not sure, what should I do? Also do most cyber cafes let you refresh your song list? I am leaving my laptop back in the states, so what should I expect in terms of getting photos off my camera to send back home?

--Joey

i would definetly bring the mp3 player if you can. im sure there will be times where you will want some quiet time or youll have nobody to talk 2. if not i'm sure you'll get by but sometimes listening to music can help me fall asleep when theres other people in the room *maybe for those hostels*...

I don't go anywhere without my iPod - I generally don't use it on public transport - it's much more fun to strike up a conversation with strangers - but I'll use it for the plane/train/bus rides where I have no one to talk to or don't want to talk to the people around me :)

In terms of reloading it - I've found some intenret cafes that are more than happy to let you hook up and add tracks to your player... Usually all you have to do is ask.

For photos, the easiest route is walking into an internet cafe, handing them your memory card/stick, and asking them to burn you a CD. This can cost anywhere from 2-10€ depending where you are...

Take the MP3 player, i would die without mine when i'm travelling. It proves particularly handy when there are snorers in the hostel.

i didnt have any music with me for a month when i was interrailing and it didnt really bother me. i usually listen to a lot of music

Couldn't live without mine... Plus MP3 players are great when someone is snoring in your dorm room. :insane: javascript:emoticon(':insane:')
smilie

I think its just great to have your own music with you, especially if you're on your own. Its keeps you sane when times aren't so good.

i would advise buying a larger card for your photos... i have a 512 that i took last summer with me. i actually thought i would come close to filling it being that i love to take pictures. no.... nowhere near it. with fairly generous size pictures, my card was able to hold over 700 pics. you wont take that many. i would advise investing in a larger memory card.

Yeah, I didn't take any music with me on my trip and I was okay. It was a little weird because I'm used to going to sleep with music on, but I was okay. The general lack of sleep allowed me to sleep any time of the day. Sometimes I thought it would be nice to have my own brand of music & not have to listen to all the generic dance music they seemed to think was popular from CAN/US in Europe, but overall I was okay. On trains I mostly slept, or wrote in my journal, or if I was situated next to english speaking people I'd talk to them. I found I didn't really need the music at all, it was much more interesting to go without...not to mention I probably would have gotten distracted and missed my stop or something....

How long did you go for? In 8 weeks I managed to take over 800 pics...and there were lots of places/people I didn't even photograph! When I went out I relied on other people taking pics b/c I didn't want to lose my camera, and some places I just sort of forgot to...or didn't have enough time such as Lagos, which, coincidentally was one of my favourite places....

oops...sorry for the two posts in a row thing....I forgot I was in the same topic and didn't read till the bottom till after haha.... :doh:

I am back in the states now, and I got the mp3 player. I was glad I had it because a few rides were really long and having Phil Hendrie shows let me keep up with the news and get a couple of chuckles.

Anyway, w/r/t the photographs, I had a stick of 512 and took 1300 photos and movies. Movies are what are killer, so I dumped the pics and movies to two cds: one I kept on me in a wooden case, the other I sent home, and my third backup was not to delete the photos I really liked (I also posted them on my blog) but I am a little paranoid.

Turns out I may have a chance to go back next week using Dad's miles when he visits Germany...sweet!

--Joey

cool thing about listening to songs on vacation is that when you listen to them back home, it brings back alot of memories of the trip.


happened to me in vietnam 2 years ago. whenever i listen to those songs, i get all emotional remembering the amazing time i had. but thats just me.

That is an excellent point. Everytime I hear "With a wonder and a wild desire" by Flogging Molly, I always think of beautiful Marbella, Spain.

I, unfortunately, have a similar deal with Southside by Moby (they played that song 20 times for GradNite at Disney)

--Joey

Yep you need your music man, on those long rail trips and bus trips it keeps you occupied. And it's just good to have when your bored or sumn :smoke:

I just got my ipod and I'm still learning the ropes. This sucker isn't the most user friendly thing I've ever used! :greenguy: But...I love it anyway. So...if I log into itunes..authorize the cafe's puter, I can buy more songs to refresh??

You will not always be around people, and sometimes some "alone time" is good for you. MP3 players are so small now, that its worth taking it if even just for the plane ride. But you are right, headphones will give the impression that you want to be left alone. Be selective when you were them.