By A Review, Really?
I know, I know. You don’t come to my site to read reviews of products.
But Daddy’s got to put bread on the table, and sometimes that means a little compromise.
The good news is, I promise this won’t be a dry product review.
My Murtaugh List for Travel
If you’ve ever seen the classic Lethal Weapon movies (or the How I Met Your Mother episode that references it), you’ve probably heard the phrase:
I’m too old for this shit.
Murtaugh, a long-suffering cop on the verge of retirement, continually points out the many things he is too old to be doing.
There comes a point in every traveller’s life that they must ‘retire’ certain things that were more acceptable when they were younger and poorer.
Really, it doesn’t just apply to travellers. I’m sure there are plenty of 30 somethings out there who no longer see the appeal in all night drinking, sleeping until 1 pm, or eating microwave meals from a convenience store.
Not me, I love that stuff. Forever young.
What I’m saying is that, as I’ve matured as a human being and a traveller, I’ve found some things I just don’t need in my life anymore.
1. Crowded Dorm Rooms
I’ve always been somebody who puts a lot of value on personal space, which is weird when you consider I’m the eldest of five and spend most of my time living in China.
To me, a good night’s sleep needs a comfortable bed and some quiet – neither of which you’re likely to get in a ten-bed dorm full of early rising Norwegians and night owl Koreans.
There was undoubtedly a time where my budget didn’t allow me the luxury of private rooms, but now that I’m in a relationship and making grown-up money, the idea of ‘slumming it’ in a dorm fills me with something akin to mild anxiety.
Do you hate all dorms?
This isn’t to say all dorms are created equal. I’ve had the pleasure of staying in some fantastic dorm accommodation in my travels.
Space Inn in Taipei, YHA City Center in San Francisco, MNL Boracay, and Pineapple Guesthouse in Phuket are all fantastic properties in which I’d be glad to spend a night in the future.
But run of the mill, $5 a night, dog-eared novels in the common room, ‘free Continental breakfast’ joints with one tired looking backpacker manning the front desk? Pass.
Hard. Pass.
2. ‘Backpacker’ Party Destinations
I’ve made my feelings about Boracay clear in no uncertain terms, and that general disdain extends to other crowded, touristic, party destinations such as Bali, Phuket, Koh Phangnan, and certain parts of Fiji.
If I’m being honest, I’m not sure the shy, generally unattractive person writing this post would ever have liked that scene, but he’s certainly too old for it now that he can afford a good craft beer and a private villa someplace prettier.
3. Long Haul Buses
There’s something romantic about the idea of packing everything into a backpack and making your way through off the beaten path destinations in a battered public bus.
There’s also something romantic about living in another historical era, but that doesn’t mean I want tuberculosis.
I’m past the days in which I’ll endure twelve hours on an over-crowded bus just so I can save $50.
I’ll cover that expense if it means reaching my destination at a sane hour and without having to have a stranger rub up against me for the entirety of my trip.
4. Lonely Planet
When I first got into this travel blogging gig, I had this vague aspiration of someday writing for Lonely Planet.
Then I realized that the vast majority of the ‘writing’ is just stringing together a sentence or two about each destination using information that is already out of date by the time they go to print.
Wait. You hate Lonely Planet!?
Not at all! Lonely Planet as a brand has a lot of merits.
I’m a big fan of their site and of their other publications, but their guidebooks that act as gospel to so many first time travelers are just beyond a joke now.
The problem with Lonely Planet
In a digital age in which information can be updated at a moment’s notice, it seems the height of lunacy to plan your trip based on a book that might already be a year out of date by the time you hit the road.
And don’t get me started on some of their laughable recommendations in cities I know well.
Their ‘journalists’ are afforded precious little time and money to do their research, so you’re rarely going to find anything in their books that you couldn’t find yourself.
Okay, we get it
Okay, you’ve got a lot of anger, Chris. We get it. You hate ‘the backpacker thing’. What’s the point of this post?
Ah, you’ve caught me mid-tirade again! My apologies.
I promise this all has a point.
You see, there’s a fifth thing that I’m too old for: cheap, shitty headphones.
5. Cheap, shitty headphones
It may seem like a weird thing to be hung up on, but your headphones are likely to be one of your closest companions on an extended trip.
They’re how you listen to music, audiobooks, or podcasts during a long layover.
They’re how you drown out the tortured wailing of that toddler three seats over on a red-eye flight.
They’re the prop you use to avoid awkward conversations with the no-doubt lovely old lady next to you on the train.
For something so integral to one’s sanity when traveling, it seems crazy to leave it in the hands of a cheap pair of ear-buds that hurt, reduce audio quality, and constantly tangle like mating eels.
A flawless segue a PXC 550 Headphones Review
Yes, dear reader, this is where the PXC 550 Travel Headphones come in.
As I sit here in a trendy Beijing cafe typing this post, I do so without having to hear a single bar of the awful K-Pop blaring over the speakers.
I can’t hear the chattering of the expat couple behind me or the clattering of hapless kitchen staff struggling to meet orders.
In fact, I can’t even hear Richelle. She has to wave her hands at me from across the table like a frantic mime.
There’s no cord to tangle up, the audio quality is tremendous, and I’m in my own little cone of Christopher Tin’s heavenly Mado Kara Mieru.
Bliss.
Why I Love My Sennheiser PXC 500 Travel Headphones
Let me count the ways!
1. Noise-Canceling
Noise-canceling headphones are a godsend when you’re on a long flight surrounded by coughing, snoring, shouting, crying, and random loud conversations.
The comfortable headset comes with adaptive NoiseGard noise cancellation that turns a dull roar into a muffled hiss, making it super easy to just zone out and enjoy a bit of My Dad Wrote a Porno.
Don’t take my word for it, Richelle of Adventures Around Asia loves them too!
“I love that they don’t hurt your ears. They are ear-shaped!” – Richelle, Adventures Around Asia
2. Flawless Sound Quality
Like transitioning from a cassette tape to vinyl, you notice an immediate difference in audio quality when you switch to a decent set of headphones.
The sound is crisper, clearer, and (dare I say it?) sweeter than anything I’ve had from a $15 pair of earbuds.
3. Cordless
It seems like the very definition of a First World Problem, but headphone cords have become my nemesis.
Whether they’re tangling with my other cables in my backpack or randomly getting caught on something and tearing out of my ears, cords are just the worst.
They’re the opposite of Batman.
The Sennheiser PXC 550 Travel Headset does away with all of that nonsense. While you can plug into your laptop, phone, or PC using the included headphone jack, their Bluetooth functionality means you can tuck your phone away and just enjoy the tunes.
No snags, no Chinese air hostess telling you to turn your phone off, nothing!
4. Hands-Free
You’ll no longer need to fish out your phone to switch tracks or pause. A simple swipe or tap on your headset flawlessly switches to the next track or pauses.
The headset is also ready to go for phone functionality, with a built-in microphone that filters out unwanted background noise to ensure you’re always heard.
No longer do I have to look like a nerdy gamer with my fold-out microphone!
5. Easy to pack
A headset is obviously a bit larger than a little set of earbuds that you can cram into your pocket.
My Sennheiser headset does, however, fold up neatly into a carry case that easily slips into my backpack.
Able to hold 30 hours of charge, you can charge it overnight and then let it sit in your pack until it’s time to tune the world out.
A Little Bit in Love
As you can see, I’m absolutely rapt with my PXC 550 headphones.
It was one of those things I didn’t even realize I needed until I had it.
Like the first time I realized my Kindle meant I’d never need to lug 5-6 paperbacks on the road again.
Or when I got glasses and realized people weren’t naturally blurry.
They’re an investment, no doubt, but one I’d be glad to make all over again.
In fact, Adventures Around Asia found a pair of them in her Christmas stocking in 2017. I’m a good boyfriend!
Your Say
- What is the one travel item you didn’t realize you needed until you had it?
- What makes your “I’m too old for this shit” list?