Andrew Kay: Travelling light
With my diary filling up with trips abroad to film International Chef Exchange and life in my new home starting to take shape I have once again started to question my love of clutter.
In truth I don’t much like clutter – but I do love the things that I have gathered around me. Moving into a more bijou residence than before has made me more aware than ever that my life is littered with stuff.
This became more apparent on my recent trip to The Hague. After my recent filming trip to Rotterdam I was very wary of doing such a trip without first doing some on site research. Rotterdam was amazing and the episode of International Chef Exchange looks great and is packed with hilarious disasters. Good telly maybe but not without the consequence of frayed nerves, tired feet and general exhaustion.
For The Hague I wanted a first hand look at what I was in for. It would have been possible to go there and back in a day as the transport links are so good, well once on the flight and in the Netherlands that is, our return leg was blighted by the recent floods.
But after a two-day trip last year to Lyon, where the generosity of the local restaurateurs left me with chronic belly ache, I pushed for an overnight stop. It turned out to be a very good idea.
I packed at home, rummaging through boxes and drawers to find the appropriate documentation and travel accoutrements, plug, washbag etc… It was no mean feat in the midst of a move, but I eventually got it together and found my smallest travel bag. Into this went the passport and plugs, the miniature toiletries that can be legally taken on as hand luggage and a simple change of clothes, three items only. Simplicity itself.
In The Hague we walked to our hotel which my colleague Mr M had booked. Now Mr M is a lover of luxury, so when he said that he had booked us into an Easyhotel I was rather surprised. Not that I minded, after all we have to be budget conscious these days.
It turned out to be a superb option. Checking in was easy and once at my room I fell in love with the truly stripped down minimalism of the deal. It was basically a white cube into which they had put a plain but very comfortable double bed and a further frosted glass cube to house the simple but very good bathroom. On the wall was a clothes hanging device and a TV – and that was it. No mess, no clutter, nowhere to lose anything and no distractions. Even the WiFi was simple, no code, just log on and go. I lowered the blind, hung up my shirt, answered a few emails, Facetimed my mother and then went off to find food and beer, for research purposes you understand.
Later that night I brushed my teeth and fell into the bed for a very comfortable night’s sleep. The following morning I showered, dressed, picked up my bag and went to the cafe next door for an excellent discounted breakfast. Unlike most continentals the Dutch do understand the value of a good brekkie.
The day was pretty full on and the journey home was long due to airline delays and floods.
“Moving into a more bijou residence than before has made me more aware than ever that my life is littered with stuff”
I got back to my new place at around midnight and sat heavily on the bit of sofa not covered in boxes and unpacking still to be homed. Looking around I realised that I had throughly enjoyed my uncluttered night in a white cube. There was a peaceful air to it that was both calming and attractive. Here I was surrounded by stuff that was making my head spin. I dug my way into the bed, again covered in boxes, and fell into an exhausted sleep.
So have I resolved to embrace a new minimal lifestyle? What do you think? Yup, it only took a few hours of sorting through my much loved possessions to remind me how much I love the things that surround me. I sort of envy those people who have a wardrobe of monochrome clothes and live in a clinical living environment, I can see that ona business trip it works, but give me my homely home any day.
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