Dan, I fixed your post for you.

Ooooohh, I say!!!!!!

Dan, please make your posts a bit "wider" in future.

No, you see our Dan gets paid by the word, so "short sleeves, long arms", as my Dad used to say. As for wit, well that's what Sarcasm is; Mancunian wit.

__________________
How much does a man live, after all?
Does he live a thousand days, or one only?
For a week, or several centuries?
How long does a man spend dying?
What does it mean to say “forever”? - Pablo Neruda

'I have a five thousand dollar watch'. That's all the original gauche post said. 'I have a five thousand dollar watch'. Do you really? How lovely. Of course, everyone should wear what they want, travel how they like, ride their own ride. But when the golfers in the first-class lounge start complaining that the leather chairs chafe their thighs, and the air-conditioner irritates
their eyes, then they can expect (and surely laugh-off) a little bit of late-night ball-breaking from the chippy, juvenile wankers in coach, no?

As the Good Gonzo Docktor said 'We are motorcycle people - we laugh at whatever's funny and we shit on the chests of the weird'.

Suerte, Dan

__________________
Que el cielo exista, aunque mi lugar sea el infierno...

Without wishing to offend anyone (or sh*t on their chests!). You Brietling owners gotta admit it, it is kinda funny that you are paying $600 dollars to have a new battery put in your watch! I recently bought a watch (that tells the time, no less!) for about $25 (about $10 more than I normally pay for a watch). You could have bought...um, 24 watches like mine for the price of a battery in one of your!

And mine glows in the dark! (which is why I paid $10 more for it!)

Matt

__________________
http://adventure-writing.blogspot.com

http://scotlandnepal.blogspot.com/

*Disclaimer* - I am not saying my bike is better than your bike. I am not saying my way is better than your way. I am not mocking your religion/politics/other belief system. When reading my post imagine me sitting behind a frothing pint of ale, smiling and offering you a bag of peanuts. This is the sentiment in which my post is made. Please accept it as such!

I think you're being kinda harsh. Actually, I see lots of people ask questions on this forum that I think could be better addressed on different fora--so why do they ask them here? Cuz the responses on this forum are generally civil, if not helpful.

I would just hate to lose that, because then where would I post questions about my Lamborghini, Lear jet, condo at Vail, and where to find good servants?


Just kidding.

Actually, I DON'T think it's very funny--it makes me mad as hell. I wouldn't have bought it if I knew the maintenance cost; wonder if other luxury brands are the same--maybe we can get the Rolex, Patek Phillippe, etc. owners to chip in with their opinions?

What makes it even better is that I actually need to send the fooking thing back at least every 3-4 years because it loses time or otherwise doesn't work. That said, I've had mine for a long time so have some kind of sentimental attachment to it.

I've worn my Breitling all over the world (kayaking, biking, hiking) and never worried about it being stolen, although I am afraid that the bracelet will break and I will lose it (it's broken a couple of times, but I've caught it in time). Moreover, it's got two fatal flaws (IMHO) for a travel watch: poor night-time visibility (no light!) and an alarm that wouldn't wake a mouse. Finally, when I'm riding I don't need a watch at all.

So...this thread got me thinking about why I where the damn thing when traveling, and last night I ordered a G-Shock as a more suitable timepiece.

Dan23
If that is Salford / Manchester I should keep quiet about your watch, I used to work for Renault in Salford and know the area well for the unsavoury elements that live there.
You might want to check your right of ownership.

I reserve the right to buy and wear what I want so I bought a Brietling for 150 Saudi Riyals, about £22

Travelbug, hope you get yours fixed OK without too much cost.
Cheers
Ian

Sorry, come again?

I thought £500 was for the frikkin' watch! But what's that you say? $5000!!!!! ???. The battery costs what? $600!!! ???

I've got a mate who spends this kind of money on watches and other useless stuff. He used to browse the internet for unfeasibly expensive hotel rooms, and ocasionally book them. It's an illness, a panacea for his erstwhile cocaine habit and childhood insecurities.

__________________
How much does a man live, after all?
Does he live a thousand days, or one only?
For a week, or several centuries?
How long does a man spend dying?
What does it mean to say “forever”? - Pablo Neruda

i only wish i could afford to buy an expensive watch like a gshock, that cash would probably take me 100miles, if i coast the downhill bits in my unimog

that particular breitling i would say is more discreet and more likely to be on you than a sat phone that some people like as a back up. apart from it being redundant in that respect soon of course )

depends what trip scenarios you prepare for, and how far you can afford or want to go down that road.

most people have plenty of nickable stuff with them, how much difference does a posh watch make???
:confused1:

Monkey, you're not paying attention! The $600 is not how much the battery costs, but for a full "service" which includes changing the battery, changing gaskets, and changing a bunch of other cosmetic stuff which doesn't have to be changed. At least on a basic Breitling (w/o satellite stuff) you can get a battery changed for "only" $40 or so IIRC.

A G-Shock is "expensive"?! $38 on Amazon...I mean c'mon, man...it's much less than an airline would charge you for changing a flight because you overslept.

Sorry, I have an Attention Defecit Disorder.

__________________
How much does a man live, after all?
Does he live a thousand days, or one only?
For a week, or several centuries?
How long does a man spend dying?
What does it mean to say “forever”? - Pablo Neruda

Before anyone jumps down my throat I'd like to point out I have no issues with anyone actually wearing one of these if that is their cup of tea: each to their own.

I would say this however, to think that wearing a watch of that nature and value is not going to attract potential thieves would be incorrect, IMO. It is the same as opening a wallet full of cash to pay for coffee; to those who know where and when to look, and it is these undesirables that make a living from preying on foreign tourists. They are no doubt far more savvy and observant than you or I....

On an aside do not I feel that "bold and confident" and "rich" are inexorably linked. If anything I think it could put a barrier between me and the very peoples I am trying to meet on my travels. I have felt entirely "bold and confident" on my travels without succeeding in, or indeed, trying to look "rich".

When I travel I wear a £20 digital casio with a 200m WR rating. Inoccuous to look at, yet I can knock it about, and go diving if the opportunity arises! For me I just feel that $5000 would pay for a lot of hotel rooms, a lot of fuel, a lot of food and a lot of bike/tyres/spares. If it is safety that makes you buy it, then save $3000 and buy a $2000 satellite phone... That is probably what I would buy...

I genuinely think that a satellite phone would give you a greater degree of security in the event of an accident (directions, commnunicating injuries, etc) than a simply homing beacon.

__________________
Adventure: it's an experience, not a style!
(so ride what you like, but ride it somewhere new!)

On the note of sarcasm, according your philosophy, an extremely expensive watch does not attract thieves but a cheap one does? I don't get that.

When I go travelling I always leave the flashy stuff home, tape of the makes on the camera's, exchange my extremely expensive Seiko for a plastic watch etc. Never ever had anything stolen, travelling the whole of Central America, most of South America, 30 countries in Africa, Australia, etc.

I agree with Warthog. For a bit of extra money you can buy an Iridium sat phone. A lot easier I would think and on the long run (2 years) a lot cheaper too because eventhough you wear a $5000 watch, you seem to find $600,-for a battery too much! That I don't understand either.

Cheers,
Noel
exploreafrica.web-log.nl

I've also travelled to Africa, Asia, Central America, etc., and I've never had anything stolen either, and I don't do things like put tape over the brand of my camera.

I just don't bring anything I can't afford to lose, am careful with my stuff, and keep my situational awareness cranked up. It's not any more complicated than that...

i know a sat phone is now "cheap" to buy, and you can chat to your mum however remote you may be, but its a baggage item not an on you the whole time item.
as a minimal emergency tool theres not many alternatives imho