Gadget for the Digital Nomad

Technologies are moving fast, and coupled with today's access to mass market funding, innovative products and solutions are gaining momentum in reaching consumers like us. Sites like kickstarter and indiegogo have helped pushed products out faster than before. Needless to say for digital nomads, there's bound to be plenty of stuff out there to capture this market.

It was not long ago when I tried out virtual SIM solution for my travels. Before that, I've also had mobile portable routers for my travels. Of course, many of us still bring powerbanks during our travels. Plenty of gadgets for the digital nomad indeed. Now, check out Nommi at Indiegogo.

Nommi is slated to be a 4G hotpot portable router with virtual SIM technology, provide dual wifi, act as a powerbank, as well as a Qi wireless charger! Talk about convergence and squeezing everything into one! (There is another version without the powerbank/charger ability). Aside from making the gadget a all-in-one thingy, there are two features inside that I found intriguing.

Squeezing multi-functionality into a portable device

One is their dual wifi feature. Essentially, the Nommi has a database of wifi passwords around the world. This database of wifi passwords is not a new thing, but what Nommi does is to seamlessly integrate it so that when such wifi is available, it will use the wifi network instead of your mobile data. This will help conserve your expensive data. Actually for me, I have been doing this manually on my own, and this device is supposed to just do everything for you seamlessly (according to specs lah). Oh, it can also act as a wifi extender...

The other feature that caught my eye is that VPN is inbuilt into Nommi! So, a VPN client is already installed/configured within to connect to preconfigured servers around the world. This works nicely when connecting to public Wifis, and is in fact the default behavior for the dual wifi feature. If you have your own VPN already, you can configure it in too. I think that's an awesome addition to such a gadget because well, VPN in today's world seemed to be a necessity!

Anyway, the good thing about Nommi is that, as a multi-function device, you can choose to utilize the necessary part of its feature only. The global data is relatively expensive, and so if you are going only one country for a length of time, it is probably cheaper to buy a local SIM card. However, you can insert this local SIM into Nommi too, and then use it like a normal mifi device with VPN support. For iPhone users who have only one SIM slot, this is a nice device to have around! As for multi-country travelers, many in Singapore are using M1 and Starhub's excellent data roaming plans. However, if you are going to countries not in their roaming country list, then the Nommi can help too with its 140+ roaming countries in its virtual SIM. So do read up on the details of their capability and prices to determine what works for you, when it works for you, or even whether it works for you! :). Go to their Nommi Indiegogo project page to find out.

Portable

Looks to be a great device for a digital nomad

I've joined their affiliate program, and when you back/order their product using this link, you and I will get 500Mb of free global data. Nommi has actually reached its target funding and has in fact, hit almost 200% over its goal. I guess there are really many people who really needs their internet when they travel... :O The end of the campaign is just few weeks left, though you can still get the product after that, it's just that you do not enjoy the discount of the early backers. However, the 500Mb free global data would still be valid when you get it through my affiliate link.

It is scheduled to be shipped in June 2018. So obviously the reviews of the actual product will only be available then. But their solution is certainly sound, and for the hungry digital nomads, certainly worth a look!

Hoping for more travels in 2018!

Salmon Run

Seward (and Alaska) is shutting down. I know things would be slowing down, but I didn't expect things to be literally shutting down.

I had rushed from Fairbanks to Anchorage so that I could catch the last Alaskan Railroad train of the season from Anchorage to Seward on 17 Sep. It is reputed to be one of the most scenic train rides, and I am very glad I managed to catch it. I was impressed.

But on reaching Seward, I found that the train was not the only thing that is "last". The free city shuttle was also running its last day, and of course, more than half of the train passengers on the train were catching the last cruise ship sailing out of Seward. A lot of the tourist facilities were also not operating, like the shuttle to the Exit Glacier, one of the main attractions of Seward!

In any case, Seward is a great place to chill in. I enjoy the walks along the waterfront, with the mountains right in front, and the otters cruising lazily in the waters. And I saw a number of the locals whisking their fishing rods on an inlet from the sea into the streams. What a strange way of fishing! I ventured closer.

Local "fishermen"

After looking at the scene for a while, I finally realized that there were salmon wriggling upstream from the sea into the inlet. The fishing rods had a 3-pronged hook with  no bait, and the "fishermen" were literally whisking the rods and lines to hook up the salmon! September is the last of the Silver Salmon (one of the species of salmon here in Alaska) run where they are returning back to Seward to spawn.

Next day, I again took my walk along the waterfront. I went near the harbour where hundreds of empty boats lay anchored. On the dock, rows of water hoses hung loosely from a rack like some forsaken manufacturing plant. I would imagine just a few months ago, this would be filled with people washing and filleting the salmon brought in by the boats. And breaking the silence and monotony of the harbour, a man was systematically washing and filleting a salmon.

Water hoses on the dock for washing/filleting fish

Local resident Dwayne, like most Alaskans, was really friendly and I quickly got into a conversation with him even as he continued his washing and filleting. He has a boat which he brings out to do his fishing, and the morning catch saw him net just four salmon. It was really the tail end of the salmon run, and he actually had to throw away one of his salmon because the fish meat was "white and not good" already. The salmon was actually already dying even before being caught. Every resident is entitled to catch only 6 fish a day, and for foreigners, a permit/license is needed for fishing. It costs us$25 for the permit which would be valid for 24 hours and entitled the same quota of 6 fish.
It was quite an interesting and educational talk. I do not know if these numbers are for Seward only or Alaska-wide, but it is a form of sustainable fishing and food policy. And as many may already know, the salmon spawns in inland rivers, and they would swim out to the open seas to spend their adulthood. Then, when reaching maturity, they would uncannily swim back to the exact river(bed) where they were born, and lay their eggs, and thus the cycle continues. This order of Mother Nature have been cleverly used by humans, as they would harvest salmon eggs and milt, and "plant" them in rivers of Alaskan communities. The resulting spawn would get their "imprint" of their birthing riverbed and thus began their biological cycle. And when they return, the communities would be ready to harvest them, and with proper policies to ensure enough salmon get back in to spawn, it is a wonderfully sustainable practise.

Dwayne with his filleted salmon

And then Dwayne asked,

"How long are you staying in Seward? Do you have access to a kitchen?"

My eyes lit up.

"Oh yes, I am staying in a hostel for a few days and they have a kitchen!" I said somewhat pensively, not daring to get my hopes too high.

"I could give you a fillet if you want." The magical words came out.

"That would be awesome! Thanks!" I exclaimed!

The delight didn't stop. Imagining what a fillet of salmon would be in Singapore, I was hoping for a generous cut. Instead, he just handed me one-half side of the entire salmon!!

"I don't have an extra bag though" He said.

I didn't mind one bit. And it was not long after when one can see a figure in bright red jacket scurrying along the road with a bright pink piece of meat on his hand...

My gift of wild-caught salmon that will last me 3-4 meals :)

Travel in Alaska is expensive - transport, accommodation and food are expensive. But these little experiences not just add colour to my travels, but saved me quite a bit of money too! Wild caught salmon is not cheap, even in Alaska!!
                                                  
And with my 25c instant noodle (cooked dry) with soy sauce, super-sweet cherry tomatoes, and my wild-caught, homecooked, pan-seared salmon, it was one of my tastiest meals in Alaska!! :) :)

I am happy! :)

Pan-seared salmon with "instant noodle"

More glorious salmon - pan-fried with crispy skin..

Salmon easily caught

Many of the locals throw away the roe!!

Quest of the Ice Cave II

The day was beautiful as forecasted. I started on the West Glacier Trail. The trail would bring you to a mountain ridge on the west side of the Mendenhall glacier, which would provide a wonderful top-down view of the glacier. Somewhere one-third on the trail, there is a split, which heads down towards the Mendenhall lake. This is the "unofficial" trail that would bring you right to the glacier itself, and is the trail to the icecave.

When I reached the split in the trail, there was a group of tourists led by a guide who was briefing them. She was apparently leading them to a glacier hike, which means they would be heading down the trail. I asked the guide if it's safe or difficult on the trail, and she replied convincing

"You'll be fine".

Boosted by that, I plunged headlong onto the trail. The icecave may have collapsed, but at least I can stand right beside a glacier. And I guess I wanted to just "complete" my planned trek to the "icecave" since I had researched on it for a while. Armed with the GPS tracks on my mobile, and reaffirmed by the trail markers, the trek was easier then I had expected even though there were quite a few climbs over rocky terrain. But one thing was certain - if it had been rainy, the trail would have been a different beast, and possibly too dangerous to attempt.

Up-close - Glacial Hiking

Instead, the trail had surprising amount of traffic, no doubt due to the excellent weather. Online information put the trek as a 7-8 hour round-trip trek, so I upped my pace to make sure I had enough time as I knew I'm a slow hiker. But I reached the base of the glacier in 2 hours.

Entrance of cave

And I found a group of people in front of a cave entrance. I hastened forward, heart beating fast (hey, I was hiking fast). And round the corner, there was this surreal weird-greenish "wall" that greeted me.

I was ecstatically mind-blown.

I suspected I had a maniacal look on my face when I entered the cave. My camera and my iPhone went into overdrive, and I wished I had more hands. It was difficult though. The whole "cave' was dripping. Icy glacier water was dripping all over. And I realized, it was not exactly a "cave" (anymore). Further in, there was another opening, but littered with huge chunks of ice. It dawned on me that, that must had been the "back" of the cave when it "collapse", essentially opening up the cave. So now the cave had 2 openings! (so is this still considered a cave?)

Cave wiith two openings

This changed the entire look of the icecave. With 2 light sources, the photographic compositions, mood etc also changed. But I cannot complain. Ice caves come and go, and after all that had happened, I am SO glad that I still had the chance to see it in person.

It was cold beneath the glacier. It was completely wet with water dripping overhead, and flowing on the ground.

But now, I am very happy. :)

Surreal blue and colours

Surreal blue and colours

Surreal

Even with the "excessive" light, the colour vaariation is surreal

Quest of the Ice Cave

I don't remember exactly when it was when I first came across the surreal image on the internet, but it was around 2012 after I came back from my big trip. A man inside a bizarre-shaped-icy-walled blue cavern of some sort. Naturally, I didn't think it was real. But I dug abit, and was intrigued that this was possibly a real thing. The image(s) of the ice cave were taken in Kamchatka Russia. These caves are essentially found beneath glaciers, and so it was really a cave within solid blocks of ice!

I told myself that I needed to see this in person. And then, out of the blue (pun unintended), a friend seemed to be arranging a trip to Kamchatka! What a coincidence I thought! But the trip was arranged through a Russian agent on a pre-arranged itinerary. It was difficult to liaise in Russian on a customised itinerary. So I gave up the thought of seeing the icecave in Kamchatka.

And then I discovered that icecaves are one of the attractions in Iceland! And Iceland had always been in my radar for travel. So in Sep 2015, I finally went on a drive trip with friends to Iceland. I had not researched it detailed enough though. As it turned out, the agencies and guides only start bringing clients to icecaves only in late Oct, where it's safer to visit. I was deeply disappointed that yet another chance to visit an icecave had gone up in smoke.

So 2017 is the year. The year that I visit Alaska, where yes, there is also a well-known icecave in Juneau in Southeast Alaska. It was confusing though. I contacted some agencies, and generally, most tours seemed to operate only in summer. I thought about going in winter but logistics and travel in winter in Alaska is frustrating. So again, I decided to go in Sep where the tours to the icecave are still running, and more importantly, I found that one can visit the icecave on our own! I found GPS tracks that people had shared online, and in the worst case scenario, I would trek to the icecave on my own.

I arrived in Juneau on a wet dismal evening on the Alaska Marine Highway ferry. It had not been the best start of a trip. In the short 5 days prior to Juneau, I discovered that Southeast Alaska had one of the wettest seasons in recent years. I caught a flu and cough during my 25-hour ferry ride. I spent half of my 3 days in Haines recovering in my cabin. And I also realized that travel has a new dynamic for me nowadays. I lost my progressive lens, and I felt so handicapped!! :{. Reading maps, brochures and supermarket labels posed new challenges....

Cloudy days on the ferry, but you get glimpses of the scenery

The weekend signaled a turning point. My couchsurfing host advised that according to forecast, Saturday would be mostly sunny, and Sunday a full sunny day! This was after weeks of rain! I was buoyant. I arrived in the excellent Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Centre early in the morning. This is where most tourists come to to see the famous glacier. The trail to the icecave beneath the Mendenhall Glacier is in another location, which I planned to go next day.

The Mendenhall Visitor Center with direct views to the glacier

The Mendenhall Glacier

The tourists (and locals) and out in full force. I've certainly seen glaciers before, but I never get tired of seeing them. It's a great feeling seeing the ever-changing blue of the glaciers... together with the tons of tourists. The park ranger was having small-talk with a tour-leader, and I couldn't help hearing part of their conversation......

"..yeah, yesterday, the icecave collapsed, and there were a couple of people inside. Yeah, they came out ok, but shaken. I would be too you know...." the park ranger went on...

I froze, and something in my chest collapsed too. I was not being unsympathetic, but the only thing that resounded in my head was "...the icecave collapsed..."

I stood stunned for a while, still grasping with what I heard.

"...the icecave collapsed.." continued to reveberate around my mind.

I went back to the visitor center and casually asked about the icecave from another park official.

"Oh yes, yesterday, part of the icecave collapsed. You know, the icecaves are unpredictable, and sometimes new caves formed. The guys are badly shaken up, that's why we always warn people who wants to go there...."

The voice slowly faded away, like a closing music piece on the radio....

The weather that day was great, as forecasted. I hiked a couple of beautiful trails. The glacier glowed blue.

But I was depressed. Am I destined not to be in an icecave under a glacier?

Beautiful hiking trail within the Mendenhall visitor center area.

Old forest and streams in the East Glacier Trail

Roving Light Travel Photography Image of the Day

Hi Everyone!
I've finally created and launched my Roving Light Travel Photography Facebook Page!
I know it should have been started earlier, but well, better late than never.

I will be posting images daily, and sharing the settings, story and my views on the Page, so if you like my travel images, please

Thanks in advance and see you there!

Online Printing Services at Gogoprint

One of the things I've dabbled in the past from my travel and photography interests is online printing services. For many years, I've used various online printing services to print calendars (using my images of course!) for my year-end Christmas gifts. I designed my own name cards and print them using online printing services instead of going to the shops. I've printed a couple of photobooks for my own keepsake. So when I was given the opportunity to review Gogoprint, it was game-on.

Gogoprint markets itself as the biggest Online Printing company in Southeast-Asia. It is currently active in Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand, and from its website, I gather that for Singapore market, most of its products are printed in Malaysia and shipped to Singapore. Whatever the case, the important practical point is - it provides free shipping for all its products!

The Website

Simple & straightforward - just how I liked it

For an online printing service, its website is naturally an important aspect of its business - it is the interface to its clients and customers. The design is modern and straightforward - a ticker-scrolling-banner welcomes the visitors, followed by its products available and a graphical menu of instructions on how to use the website. Simple and effective and a good start as I hate messy and cluttered websites!

It is also mobile friendly, and consistent in its layout.

Looking at the 4 simple steps in using their service though, the first thing I noted was the difference in the payment step. In all my other online printing (and all online shopping for the matter) experiences, the payment is usually the final stage of the process. In Gogoprint's case, after choosing and configuring the product, you will be brought straight to the payment page (others I tried usually will be the upload files stage). Only after the payment, then you would be given a time frame to upload your artwork and files (the time frame is for Gogoprint to meet its production timelines). It is no biggie, just that its somewhat different from any of my other experiences. 

My main disappointment though, is its product list. As mentioned earlier, I had past experiences printing calendars, photobooks etc since I am a travel photographer and those are typical print jobs I needed. Sadly, those are not in Gogoprint's product lineup. For most businesses though, theirs seemed quite comprehensive. In any case, I decided to try the business cards, as well as postcards so that I could see its print quality on 2 different products.

The Process

Now, the entire process on how to utilize their service is in their Help Center, and in today's media-rich internet, they have wisely provided a nice set of videos.

They have also provided a very useful section on how to do up your artwork in order to get the best quality out of the print job, although I'm not sure why it's called "How to Close Artwork". From choosing the correct color mode, to setting bleed and margins, I thought it was a fantastic inclusion. Unfortunately, it seemed to be still work in progress, as the information is for Illustrator only (while I use Photoshop). Both Photoshop and InDesign sections are available but greyed out, so I guess it will eventually be there.

Only Illustrator Help is available while Photoshop and InDesign are greyed out

Really, the whole ordering process is so intuitive and straightforward, there's nothing much else to elaborate further. A thing I wanted to highlight was that a day after I submitted my artwork, I received a call from Gogoprint's staff. They actually called to verify some margin/bleed details in my artwork. It's great to know that my stuff are done by professional and responsible people!

The Product(s)

Gogoprint provides 1-day delivery for all its products, and indeed, I received my order promptly. It came in a SF Express plastic envelope.

My products arrived in a "SF Express" envelope

My business cards and postcards are lumped together inside the plastic envelope. While there was not much issue of my stuff being damaged while in transit with the 2 products "knocking" into each other, I wonder if a better padded envelope would be used for more fragile products (if any). In any case, I proceeded to check my order.

Since I have ordered business cards from elsewhere before, I have some frame of reference. I have ordered the cards using 310g Art Card with no finishing and the finished product is excellent!

There is a slight sheen over the cards even though I have chosen no finishing. I wonder if they have wrongly given me a free lamination "upgrade" or perhaps this is normal for the Art Card. Also, the colours and the black are richer than my previous business cards and I wonder if it was due to the information and tips in the "How to Close Artwork" section I mentioned earlier. I had followed some of the tips on how to handle my artfiles (like converting fonts and using CMYK etc, but applied using Photoshop), and things seemed to work out great! Whatever the case, I loved the end product :)

Gogoprint's printed business card on the right

As for the postcards, I was also happy with the end result. While I have not printed any postcards in the past, I obviously have seen many postcards, and mine seemed as professional as any of them. I've selected the 260g Art Card for this, and it does have that slight sheen as well.

Excellent quality postcards

Conclusion

I am overall quite pleased and impressed with both the finished products from Gogoprint. The whole process from start to finish was rather pleasant - A well-designed website to start off the experience, simple and effective ordering process, and excellent end products, inclusive of fast free shipping. I think their market focus is on corporate businesses, so they will not be doing products like photobooks, but I do hope they would offer printing of calendars one day. I would certainly use them!

They have a blog too that posts some useful articles and videos and I think occasionally they provide discounts too (currently, they have a 20% off first purchase). Their prices are quite competitive already, since the business cards I ordered was actually the same price as the one I printed locally. So, do check out Gogoprint when you have any printing needs!

FlexiroamX Giveaway!

If you have read my previous blog post about traveling with data SIM, you'll know that I was using Flexiroam X, which had been a godsend for me when traveling through multiple countries. Well, they will be updating and launching their new Flexiroam X App tomorrow (1 March 2017), and as part of the launch, they will be giving away two microchips FREE!

The new revamped App comes with new design and features, and the highlights include :

1. Login with one-click via Facebook, Google or Email

• Link account with Facebook to earn additional 400Mb data!

2. Referral link and Challenge

• You no longer need to key in referral code when you refer your family and friends to sign up - use a special referral link just for you
• Refer 5 friends in 24 hours and receive 1Gb of data! 

3. Internet Calls

• Make local or international calls to any mobile or landline over the internet using your data balance (available on 25 March 2017)

So, how do you win one of the Flexiroam X microchip SIM? And oh, BTW, it comes with 1Gb of data!! :) :)

Just answer the below question and send the answer to my email address by 15 Mar 2017 (SGT). Put the subject as "Flexiroamx contest" so that it's easier for me to administer. Thanks.

Question : Name one new/updated feature of the FlexiroamX App.


Only winners will be notified. Winners will have to provide their shipping address to receive the product.

Good luck!

PS. For those who are getting the microchip SIM and signing up, you can use my referral link to get an extra 100Mb of data free! Thanks!

Starry Starry Winter's Night

The trip is coming to an end.

I would be heading down the mountains and towards Lyon for my flight home, and I know these two nights in the Swiss Alps would be my final chance to have a go at some star trail shots.

I began my 3-month trip with some hope for taking some shots of the stars and even the Milky Way. The Peruvian Andes and Patagonia were prime targets. And I brought along a camera and lens specifically for it! Sadly, it was to be severely under-utilized. I did have a good clear night (on my final night!) during my trek in Peru that I managed to convince my worn-out body to stay up for the shoot.

Alas for Patagonia, the weather was rather unkind. The only night of perfect clear sky was also the supermoon night, which lit up both earth and sky. But at least for that, I have some supermoon shots.

The Galapagos Islands were supposedly great for night skywatching too. But even as I wandered off to the outskirts of town to less light-polluted areas, the showing was disappointing. And of course, throughout the trip, there were plenty of cloudy nights.

But tonight at the village of Gimmelwald, the stars twinkled seductively. Even though the moon was also out, and there were some wispy clouds, the stars were clearly out to entice me! There was just one tiny problem. It was a frosty -12 deg C.

Still, with my tripod and camera, I trudged half an hour out to a higher point, and after quite a few test and trial shots, I began my shoot. As I paced around a one-metre circle trying to keep warm, the cold winter's night silently takes its toll. It seemed like eternity, but actually worked out to be barely 20 minutes, when I finally caved-in. The clouds are coming in, I told myself, and sped-walk back to my guesthouse where I quickly bundled myself to bed.

In the past, taking star trail shots essentially entails opening the shutter until your desired duration. Nowadays though, most people use the image-stacking method, which basically merges a bunch sequentially-shot images. I am also still learning and exploring this, and as I was processing the images, I was cursing myself for not "enduring" longer. Easier said than done :|

So here's a first cut of the short star trail and my last "stars" shot of the trip. Definitely hope there will be opportunities for more in the future!

Star Trails over Gimmelwald and the Swiss Alps