Saturday, January 7/2016

New York Times now connected on all four tablets. Wifi remains a bit reluctant, which means that we do have access to world news, but sl-ow-ly. Mostly go through to the bedroom and download several articles to read offline. Have to say, though, that our connectedness was undreamt of when we retired in 2000. Thought then that we were very lucky to have started our travels in the days of internet cafés - grubby keyboards and teenage boys playing online games, often loudly. Sometimes strange keyboards - Turkey, Tunisia - that only approximated intended words. Backpacker haven in Earl's Court, London for £1 an hour. Pay telephones available for long distance calls. Can't remember the price in Larnaca except that it was less "for girls" and I always paid them the "girls" rate, knowing that I was not the female client type they were hoping for and that they wouldn't be able to bring themselves to explain that I would never lure in teenage boys. 

And then the first hotels with internet in the lobby. Very quickly taken for granted. Not universal in our accommodation. And here there is some irony. Yes, expensive hotels usually have good wifi, but they often charge (and indeed overcharge) for it. Some probably think that no one minds a few extra dollars on the bill. Wrongly in our case, and we can't be the only people who are enraged by nickel and diming. Charges for wifi are as annoying as they would be for tv or soap. Other classy hotels assume that most guests are on expense accounts and don't care. Interestingly, the hostels usually have free wifi, knowing that for their demographic lack of internet is often a deal breaker.