Trying to log on at a remote lodge, Pakbeng, northern Laos
On my early solo travels around Europe, I would phone home once a week. I would have to find a telephone exchange, hand in my home phone number, pay for the minutes I wanted (always the minimum) and then go into my assigned booth and wait for the phone to ring. And that was it. In between those calls, my parents didn’t know if I was in Berlin or Belgrade, or whether I was climbing mountains or lying sick in a hostel bed.
Nowadays it’s so very different. We can communicate with friends and family by email, via text messages and by much cheaper phone calls. We can update our Facebook pages and Twitter accounts so that everyone knows where we are, what we’re doing and who we’re doing it with. We can even send them pictures of our food from our dimly lit dinner table, so that by the time we’ve taken the first bite, our friends on the other side of the world have already had a better look at the contents of our plate than we have.
Technological progress is invariably designed to improve: improve efficiency, improve capability, improve productivity. But if we ponder from an individual travel perspective what has really changed as a result of our seamlessly connected world: are they really improvements, or do they have a hidden cost that we choose to ignore?
There is clearly a safety benefit in having a mobile phone to hand. If we are caught up in a disaster or in civil unrest, it’s easier than ever to let people know that we are safe. That has to be a good thing. Similarly, if something truly dramatic happens at home we can be contacted immediately.
But what about our ‘need’ to get online wherever we are? The internet has transformed the way we stay in touch while away from home. We can receive the latest updates from home and stay in touch with local news, sports results and friends’ gossip. And we can keep them informed of our whereabouts, via email, Facebook or through our blogs, whether they want to know or not. Most of us have embraced these changes, and I am certainly one of this majority, having taken three appliances complete with chargers to SE Asia (phone, netbook and camera).
But what if we didn’t feel compelled to log on? What if I had resisted the urge to check the football scores, to update this blog and to keep up to date with friends’ activities on Facebook? Would my holiday be worse as a result? I doubt it. Would anyone have suffered from my lack of updates? I doubt that either. A text to my parents in the middle of the trip to let them know we’re ok, and that would have been enough.
So why do we do it? Speaking for myself, I spend so much of my normal day on the internet at home that it’s second nature to check the latest updates, whether on Facebook, Twitter or my emails. If I see a PC at an airport or I pass an internet cafe and I’m not in a rush, it’s too easy to ‘just check my messages’. With a netbook and free wi-fi in my room it’s even more convenient. It only takes a minute, after all.
But maybe we should take a look at the effect that the universal availability of the internet is having on the very essence of our travels. Is it a good thing that we are hardly ever more than a few moments from an internet connection? Does it matter if we don’t pick up an email for a few weeks, or if we stay off Facebook for a while? Surely it’s good for us to be able to step away from these connections while we take a break; a break that should be mental as well as physical?
There’s two clear advantages that I can see from internet abstinence while travelling. One, I will have more time to enjoy the place in which I am staying, even if it’s just time spent sitting in a park enjoying the sun. And secondly, I’ll have a lot more material to write up when I get home! So will I stay off the internet next time we go away? My wife will shake her head in total disbelief; she calls me an internet addict. Let’s see. I’ll certainly give it a try…
The true problem about internet connection is, ironically, the communication. Nowadays is very difficult to find a culture not “americanized” which is closer to south-east asia. I think the traditions and essence of cultures is being lost cause of this world communication, and is making the travel less authentic.
Hi,
The real vacation is taking time off from what usually keeps you busy the most…
As I’m leaving for my RTW in nine days I’ve been contemplating how I will handle staying connected. Leading up to this trip I’ve been incredibly connected as I research destinations, tweet with the #rtwsoon group and create my blog.
I do think there is something to gain from being less connected, not necessarily to the internet, but to home. I’m going to try to limit my blogging/tweeting/facebooking to an hour a day so I can spend more time actually connecting with the place I’m in.
I find it refreshing when I can’t get an internet connection. On a trip through Malawi and Zambia a few years ago, there were so few places to connect that at most we could get online 1X/week. It was wonderful because you’d spend time interacting with people, relaxing, reading….
I try and get away for weeks every year to remote spots where if I’m lucky cell phones don’t even work. I think I’m a happier person for it.
Thanks for the comments.
Leigh, it seems Africa is probably the last continent where extensive internet coverage is still not a reality. I agree, it is a good feeling when you know you’re far away from any possibility of being disturbed by a phone, and far from the temptation of being able to check messages.
Ayngelina, your plan sounds very sensible – good luck with big trip.
“Would my holiday be worse as a result? I doubt it. Would anyone have suffered from my lack of updates? I doubt that either”.
I resent feeling compelled to keep in touch so keep it to a very low mininum. re your quote above . i think about the converse questions “would my holiday be better as a result of low/ no communication” yes! is my answer/experience.
when i am ‘keeping in touch’ I am not ‘present’ in the place I’ve traveleed to .. to paraphrase a buddhist saying ” if, when you are doing the dishes you are thinking about the cup of tea at the end of it . you are not alive while doing the dishes” so I want to be ALIVE where-ever I am , not connecting to where others are or i used to be. guess i am the ultimate selfish traveller – i want it all, not diluting it.
When we first arrived in Australia 18 mo’s ago I was frustrated by the lack and cost of internet service. As we began to venture further and further into the bush, it became non-existent. I have come to love that fact that when we travel, whether its for a weekend or a longer vacation, I pretty much have to disconnect. I find that I am really able to focus on where we are at, rather than running off into the cyber world. The only downside has been that I didn’t immediately find out about my Grandmother’s passing, but a couple of days didn’t make a whole lot of difference.
I’ve been wrestling with this idea since I started planning my round-the-world trip. As I’m leaving in just over a month and haven’t quite figured out how to stay connected cheaply, I’m leaning towards disconnecting for long periods of time (long… being a few days?).
I used to turn my computer off every Sunday for a few months. It was a pretty cathartic experiment, though I ended up not sticking with it. Maybe I’ll start it up again while on the road!
Andy,
Alessandra has it. Oh, to be bored once more. I think I’ve forgotten how to do nothing. I yearn for the luxury of returning to a cool villa in the Med, after yet another day of navel-gazing and sea swimming.
As for using your computer when travelling: If you find yourself looking online for inspiration, you should shut down, and look around!
Keep your connectivity for safety. Keep it like a credit card – tucked away, but useful everywhere.
…a few days… long? Wow, we really have become stuck to the hip with this guy called Internet. Usually, I just get frustrated with slow connections and dodgy computers, limiting myself to much coveted internet time once a week, twice if I’m feeling antsy. Though, last year, whilst in Asia I realized I hadn’t called/emailed/tweeted/updated anyone from home for at least 3 weeks – perhaps a smidge too long. But, at least I had some interesting stories to tell, and sweet, though delayed pictures of my dinner.
Thanks for the great comments. It seems like there are many internet addicts out there, and also many who had extricated themselves from the clutches of this vice. Mark, your advice about thinking of the internet as a safety system (much like the phone) is excellent.
3 weeks without connection Sarah!! I’m impressed. That’s what I must aim for
I cannot for the life of my understand why ANYONE would want to stay connected while traveling. Put down the laptop, the cell phone, etc and ENJOY the moment, as it will go by soooo quickly. You can’t fully appreciate a trip if you stay connected. Resist getting on the internet at the airport and instead talk to a stranger!
I am sooooooooooooooo with you Andi .. thats why i travel
This is an internal debate that I seem to have with myself all of the time…since I work from the road to keep paying for my travel, I justify finding internet every single day…and yet, when I was *not* in Cuba, internet was scarce and I fasted for the week – it was a pretty amazing experience – I like Adam’s thoughts, perhaps I’ll take Sunday’s off every week!
As a full time traveler who is combining wanderlust with a location independent career – keeping connected while I travel is what makes it all possible. Then again, I don’t look at my travel as ‘vacation’ – it’s part of my every day experience.
I think one of the defining things that makes vacation mode different from my every day travels is that I tend not be nearly as connected and go into a digital fast
But all and all.. I love that technology and digital connection is allowing for more choices in combining career and travel.
Wow, I really seem to be in a minority here. I hate trying to find internet connections when I travel – and I only seek them out for work or to let my family know that I am still alive (about once a fortnight.) I just don’t want to miss a minute of a new place that I’m in and I’m easily deterred by the cost of airport connections and the (admittedly minor) hassle of working out a keyboard layout in a different language. Perhaps it seems as though I should set myself the challenge of spending more time online…
No, Abi I’m increasingly convinced you’re right. Why waste time being online when you only have a limited time in a place while travelling? In fact, I am leaving my laptop at home for the next few days when I’m in northern France, and will be tweet-free too!
Dont set yourself the challenge of spending more time on line……. when you are on holiday you are on holiday.
perhaps real travelers just travel and dont need to be elsewhere – via cyba space – when they could be experiencing new places and people.
Andy – have a great time in France laptop free
Have a great time in France, Andy. We look forward to hearing about it AFTER you get back
I’m terrible at making the effort to use the internet when I travel and even more terrible at phoning home which has got me told off on many occasions! When I’m traveling I just don’t feel the need to update twitter ever 20 mins or even everyday and check my emails. I think it’s kinda sad all those ppl that spend their time tweeting from their iphone “I’m sitting at this bar in this city” or “I’m getting a tan on this beach” just sit back and enjoy it I say!!! I let everyone know that hell don’t count on me replying to your emails for at least a week! I think for me travel has always been a great excuse to escape a technologically driven life. So maybe I’m not such a reliable blogger on the road but at least I’m having a more enriched experience (makes for better writing anyway) and not wasting all my time using the wifi!
Good for you Sasha. I agree that even if switching off from technology while travelling might not be the way of a hard-core blogger, it does make for a better time away, and probably gives you more material and ideas for stories once you’re home.
Andy… interesting dilemma – so to speak. Nowadays communication is almost free (if Wi-Fi, wireless Internet access is included in the room’s price). This way one can communicate through free services like skype, call computer using messenger etc. So the telephone is used only for emergency phone calls and other situations like that.
Connecting while traveling? I think that may vary from a person to another one. Personally I choose vacations that involve visiting many important buildings, sights etc. – so at night I only have time to get back to the hotel, check up on my dear ones left home (if case) and than sleep. But I sometimes take notes (if I found out something special) and take pictures for stories written after the vacation.
I guess however that some like to write when traveling so…
In the end it’s important to make the choice perfect for you – regardless of what others do or say.
Like you say Lori, people need to find THEIR balance, and it’s different for each of us. I do sit back myself and think I really could carry less and it wouldn’t detract from my trip – in fact quite the opposite. I guess I have to admit I’m just too used to having my techy gear around…
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.