Brook has finished his latest film, “One Day in Africa“, which premiers later this month at the Cleveland film festival.  Unfortunately I will not be there, but judging by the trailer it promises to be another hit.  As always Brook brings a very insightful, moving documentary about the lives of ordinary folks in everyday Africa, in HD this time.

I’ve been a huge fan of Brook, and one of the best purchases I ever made was his first film, “A Map For Saturday“.  I continue to see references to how this movie has changed not only my life but numerous lives around the world.  His approach to telling a story is inspirational in a way that I find hard to explain.  If you are reading this, I encourage you to check out his movies.   He has done some other good things since A Map For Saturday was released, like the Interview Point.  I can not wait to see his latest work.

From my room on the Seventeenth floor, I can see Hyde Park off to the north… but not much else recognizable.  First order of business… touching base with Home.  Now if you’ve been to Europe, you’ll know cell phones are so prolific - everyone is on their phone, so calling home would seem to be a simple task, right?  But take a look around the internet… there is a lot of information for Americans out there on how to get this done in a cost efficient manner.  Let me tell you how I did it, I’m sure it wasn’t the cheapest method, but it worked and worked well.  I brought along Two phones, my Iphone & an older GSM- tri band Razor phone (unlocked).

My goal was to use the Iphone as a wifi device - a way to check emails and look things up, since I decided not to bring along a laptop.  This is a wise decision considering how lite I was traveling.  I read numerous tales of Americans who returned home to thousand dollar phone bills because of the Roaming schemes overseas.  So I had the cellular turned off and data roaming turned off, I was paranoid about this.  It seems there is a lost opportunity here for AT&T to make a deal and capitalize on this market.  In fairness AT&T does have an option for Americans to turn on International roaming… but it is a monthly option and the rates are not really that competitive.  As far as using the Wifi, I found it challenging, I was able to find plenty of hotspots - but most of them required a user account or password to connect to the Internet.   When I did manage to find an open hotspot, I could connect to the access point, but it would not connect to the Internet.  It was only on my second to last day that I talked to a guy, who used to work for Apple, and he told me how to set it up.  It took popping out the sim card and that did the trick.

So in the meantime, plan B - finding a local cell phone dealer where I could buy a prepaid sim card with good international rates back to the States.  So I headed out into the Streets of London, I decided to just check out the area around the hotel that might have such a business.  I quickly found a little shop and asked the shop keeper what he had, and he said he Had O2 cards, but there was a 5 £ charge just for the sim card, and then I would have to topup, instead he offered another option for about 30 £’s (about $45) where the sim card was free with 30 £’s of credit on it, and only 5 pence per minute back to the States.  In the Past I have used O2 in Ireland, and I knew it was reliable option, but I was buggered by the 5 lb charge.  In the End I know I paid too much - since I ended up only using about 5-10 £’s of the 30.  I’m sure his commission was higher for this card as well.  But it didn’t matter because it worked - and it worked well.  I was able to pop the card in, activate it, and call home and talk to the wife and kids right there in the store.  The only issue I had was all my phone numbers for my buddies in Europe where stored away in my Iphone or Email… Technology, isn’t it amazing?

My flights went well, the first flight was a short hop from Austin (AUS) to Houston (IAH).  The Great Bargin that I had found was on British Airways - leaving from one of their departure cities, and Houston was the closest.  Originally I thought I could just drive, but after a few quick checks, I found a 90$ roundtrip on Continental.  This seemed like a better deal.  If I had tried to book it all through BA, the flights from AUS->IAH would have been a couple hundred bucks…  In this case it was much better for me to book separately, especially since I didn’t plan to check any baggage.

One thing I always marvel at is International Travel, I love walking thru the International departures and seeing all the people waiting for flights, it is usually one of the best people watching spots on the Planet.  On this particular night, the Houston International Concourse was deserted.  Except for one flight departing to Dubai, or Saudi Arabia - which was boarding when I walked by,  there were no other Foreign carriers and no one waiting around.   I think all the US based carriers just depart out of what ever gate they end up at.  I still had about two hours for my BA flight and the plane had not arrived yet,  so seeing nothing going on, I headed over to the Continental concourse, and grabbed a bite to eat.

Sleeping on a plane is always impossible for me, but I managed about 30 minutes here and there.  The flight was practically empty, which was nice.  When food was served it didn’t take long, I sampled it, but since it was mostly un-edible I also quickly gave it back…  I tend to catch up on my Movies during flights.

Arriving at Heathrow, I breezed thru immigration - and into the main Terminal, the place was buzzing, I found the tube ticket counter and confirmed the best option for me was a 7 day travel card plus about 10lbs credit, all on an Oystercard.   After getting some cash, I was off on the TUBE… it didn’t take long to fill up, it was about 12 noon, and everyone seemed to be headed into London.  The ride actually takes a while, initially I had chosen a seat, there ended up being so many folks packed onto the carriage, that I didn’t bother to get off at my intended stop, instead I waited till it cleared out a little, and doubled back.  Lesson learned… if carrying the pack, don’t sit down where you can’t get off.

Gloucester Road was my goal, and coming out of the Tube Station, I had lost all bearing on North/South, East/West even though I had studied maps and google earth before the trip.  It’s hard to miss the Holiday Inn Kensington, as it seems to be one of the tallest buildings in West London.  After checking into my Free Room, I quickly reduced to my carry along backpack and set off to explore.  Look out London, here I come.