• posted by Chris Buckley on Monday, 3 August 2009 21:10
Evening all! I’ve just returned from four days in London, where I experienced the delights of the underground, the lack of Travelodge Wi-Fi (or rather the lack of free Wi-Fi), and the rigours of competing in a Triathlon.
I travelled down on a Virgin train which was pleasant enough, and due to the T-Mobile broadband I was able to spend most of my time on the internet, checking a few emails and putting together a couple of new website quotes. The speed wasn’t amazingly fast, but fine for general browsing and email, however the reception wasn’t constant – it cut out a few times when the train passed underneath a bridge (which I suppose is to be expected, however when it comes to using the internet, I want blazing speeds ALL of the time! - I’m very picky that way).
On arrival in London, we checked into a Travelodge Hotel which was a right dodgy old place. The hotel staff weren’t very good nor able to speak much English, the corridors smelled musty and stale, and the rooms were basic, but then again we did pay rock bottom prices to stay in central London.
Firing up my laptop I checked for Wi-Fi networks, and found the hotel ones, however the prices were extortionate! £5 minimum for an hour, or £20 for a few days access. Looking back now I suppose some may find that acceptable, but I doubt the hotels make much profit from it, so in my opinion I think they should make it free. Is it too much to expect free Wi-Fi in today’s hotels?
The next couple of days were spent doing the typical London thing – Changing of the Guard, Tower of London, The London Eye etc, before we got down to the whole point of the trip, my participation in the Mazda London Triathlon on Saturday morning.
Now before you start looking all shocked and think I’m some sort of super human ironman competitor I’ll stop you there. I entered the Super Sprint, which is basically a beginners Triathlon. Still swim, cycle and run, but much shorter distances. This was my second of such events, and I finished 45th out of 177 which isn’t too bad, but I was hoping to do better. I didn’t help matters by knocking my own goggles off right at the start of the swim and then proceeding to swallow a huge gulp of the docklands water. Nice.
Should be doing the same event next year, and after a few quick calculations and “guesstimates”, I reckon I can push for top ten. My first transition from swim to bike was terrible, however I somehow put in the 17th fastest run out of everyone despite having sprained my ankle 10 days before.
Onto Sunday night then, and our last meal before coming home on the Monday - we stumbled across a fine Persian/Iranian restaurant in Leicester Square called Apogee. Anyone who’s ever been out in Rusholme, Manchester might have heard of the legendary Rusholme Chippy Kobeda, which to those unbeknown is a fantastic lamb kebab, and to my huge surprise it was on the menu in Apogee!!! Amazing. And yes I did get one.
Seriously, if you’ve never tried one, go order yourself a Double Kobeda from Rusholme Chippy if you’re in the vicinity.
So it’s now Monday, and we get back on the train to come home to lovely Manchester. Again I spend the next 2 hours back on the laptop, checking more emails, triathlon results and browsing a few photos on Facebook to see if I could spot myself, which I couldn’t, however my Dad sneaked himself onto some! (Big up here for Dad, he did the Triathlon with me at the grand old age of 61!) And no he didn’t beat me before you ask :)
The Wi-Fi seemed a bit inconsistent on the way back, and I wasn’t that impressed, so there’s plenty of room for improvement here Virgin. Is 50Mb too much to ask? Go on Branson, you can do anything!
I travelled down on a Virgin train which was pleasant enough, and due to the T-Mobile broadband I was able to spend most of my time on the internet, checking a few emails and putting together a couple of new website quotes. The speed wasn’t amazingly fast, but fine for general browsing and email, however the reception wasn’t constant – it cut out a few times when the train passed underneath a bridge (which I suppose is to be expected, however when it comes to using the internet, I want blazing speeds ALL of the time! - I’m very picky that way).
On arrival in London, we checked into a Travelodge Hotel which was a right dodgy old place. The hotel staff weren’t very good nor able to speak much English, the corridors smelled musty and stale, and the rooms were basic, but then again we did pay rock bottom prices to stay in central London.
Firing up my laptop I checked for Wi-Fi networks, and found the hotel ones, however the prices were extortionate! £5 minimum for an hour, or £20 for a few days access. Looking back now I suppose some may find that acceptable, but I doubt the hotels make much profit from it, so in my opinion I think they should make it free. Is it too much to expect free Wi-Fi in today’s hotels?
The next couple of days were spent doing the typical London thing – Changing of the Guard, Tower of London, The London Eye etc, before we got down to the whole point of the trip, my participation in the Mazda London Triathlon on Saturday morning.
Now before you start looking all shocked and think I’m some sort of super human ironman competitor I’ll stop you there. I entered the Super Sprint, which is basically a beginners Triathlon. Still swim, cycle and run, but much shorter distances. This was my second of such events, and I finished 45th out of 177 which isn’t too bad, but I was hoping to do better. I didn’t help matters by knocking my own goggles off right at the start of the swim and then proceeding to swallow a huge gulp of the docklands water. Nice.
Should be doing the same event next year, and after a few quick calculations and “guesstimates”, I reckon I can push for top ten. My first transition from swim to bike was terrible, however I somehow put in the 17th fastest run out of everyone despite having sprained my ankle 10 days before.
Onto Sunday night then, and our last meal before coming home on the Monday - we stumbled across a fine Persian/Iranian restaurant in Leicester Square called Apogee. Anyone who’s ever been out in Rusholme, Manchester might have heard of the legendary Rusholme Chippy Kobeda, which to those unbeknown is a fantastic lamb kebab, and to my huge surprise it was on the menu in Apogee!!! Amazing. And yes I did get one.
Seriously, if you’ve never tried one, go order yourself a Double Kobeda from Rusholme Chippy if you’re in the vicinity.
So it’s now Monday, and we get back on the train to come home to lovely Manchester. Again I spend the next 2 hours back on the laptop, checking more emails, triathlon results and browsing a few photos on Facebook to see if I could spot myself, which I couldn’t, however my Dad sneaked himself onto some! (Big up here for Dad, he did the Triathlon with me at the grand old age of 61!) And no he didn’t beat me before you ask :)
The Wi-Fi seemed a bit inconsistent on the way back, and I wasn’t that impressed, so there’s plenty of room for improvement here Virgin. Is 50Mb too much to ask? Go on Branson, you can do anything!
Labels: kobeda, london triathlon, rusholme chippy, rusholme manchester, travelodge wi-fi, virgin trains wi-fi
2 Comments:
"Firing up my laptop I checked for Wi-Fi networks, and found the hotel ones, however the prices were extortionate! £5 minimum for an hour, or £20 for a few days access. Looking back now I suppose some may find that acceptable, but I doubt the hotels make much profit from it, so in my opinion I think they should make it free. Is it too much to expect free Wi-Fi in today’s hotels?"
You would be surprised.........their profit is almost 100% from this. Most companies can set up a couple of different systems, there is one system where by the hotel can put 50 pence extra on the price of a room they could cover their expenses and make a profit while giving the net away for free.
Ah thanks for putting me right. Perhaps in a few years we'll see the second option in place. I don't think anyone would mind paying an extra 50p for free Wi-Fi.
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