Ok, not being in a position to want to spend the money on an iPod, I bought an IITronics Flash Drive mp3 player for £40. It plugs into the usb port, there's no software for it, it just appears as an extra drive on my pc and you drag music files to it, that's it. It also uses AAA batteries so no need to look for a socket to recharge if your on a long trip.
The only thing about it is that because it's so small the display is tiny and has limited use and a backlight would be nice. You do see what is playing though, unlike the iPod shuffle. Best bit about it is if you use internet cafes or hotel computers whilst down route you can install browsers and email software that run off it and never leave a trace behind on the host computer.
Free downloads of portable applications are here
http://portableapps.com