rants, travel

I seem to be unable to travel without electronics to keep me entertained during trips. A what? A 'book', you say? Is it something I can download on my phone?

So when I book seats I try and get one that's got a power outlet for laptops and phones.

Not if you book online, you can't. You can only choose airline, front or back. And even then, you are warned your choice might not be available, and even if it is, you might have to travel the opposite way because the train switched directions.

They might as well write 'Enter the big seat lottery – click here!'.

I booked a front seat, non-airline, and once again I was allocated a non-table backwards-travelling one in an otherwise empty and mostly unreserved carriage.

I have of course scattered my belongings on four available seats around a table, phone plugged in and happily surfing the power-hungry 3G network, my originally reserved seat unoccupied behind me.

It's not as if the data is not there: a few minutes ago I changed my return reservation at the ticket office, explained I needed a power outlet, and was given a 'table – window' seat.

All this data, and still a long way from seamelessly accessing it from anywhere.