How to travel and communicate
The times we live in have made the saying 'it's a small world' become a prophecy. With the various technological advances over the last decade, no longer is it ok to be out of touch when traveling. In fact, nowadays, there are more than enough ways to stay in-touch, and prevent family and friends worrying about you.Let's start with the public phone. Once upon a time when you left your country and arrived in another, you pretty much had to rely on public telephones that used calling cards or other forms of tokens to make a call back home. A big problem you might have is currency from that country to buy cards, or worse, the telephone system might be in another language that will prevent you from understanding the instructions for using the public phone. Another issue is the dialing format from that country to call yours - if you are not aware of the various countries’ codes and number formats then there is the added possiblity of more problems. The phone charge in hotels is also an outrageous situation you might want to stay away from.
That's why we are grateful for the mobile phone. But how does your phone get to work on the other networks when you travel and have not signed a service contract with them? The answer - a wonderful feature called roaming which allows you to makes calls on other networks, and the only thing you have to worry about is the high bill that greets you when you return home. Not to worry though, nowadays service from one network is available in many countries which make roaming and other internet communication easier. To stay in touch it's just a matter of dialing the number back home and talk. Of course the new network might sound different - better or worst than what you are accustomed to. Not to mention long delays when you speak as the call travels over international circuits. There is still the issue of your phone not being compatible with the new network due to different frequency bands or the technology itself. The most popular technologies are Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) and Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) but with the opening up of the telecom industry the possibility of multiple carriers offering a service compatible with your phone is good.
Not enough credit to call? Don’t worry; there is this wonderful feature on most cellular networks available on your phone called short messaging service (SMS) or simply text messaging. No matter which service provider you have, you can text across networks to other people on different networks. Plus once the roaming agreement is in place between the telephone companies you can be sure your message will get across. And guess what! It is much cheaper than a voice call. So, start texting.
But it's not over yet. If you travel with a laptop then here comes the cream of the pie. The internet - wow! This medium is probably the most advantageous and definitely the cheapest from any corner of the earth. A good enough internet connection, let's use the term broadband to validate good, will totally solve your communication worries, especially if you are the type that likes to come back home to a long chat with your family. It is now standard for laptops to have a wireless communication capabilities call Wi-fi that connects to the internet through an access point, in our case located at airport lounges, in hotel lobbies, popular restaurants and other public places. Just make sure your battery is charged or an AC power socket is nearby and you have a headset, preferably with the microphone near the headset with you because the background noise at airports and public places can be disturbing.
How do you use the internet to your advantage? Well, if you are quite disciplined and is at the airport 3 hours before your flight then you will find yourself sitting in the airport lounge, well, lounging. You could reach for your laptop and connect to the airport's free broadband Wi-fi in minutes. If your other computer at home is online then instantly you can communicate with loved ones using instant messaging services like MSN, Yahoo!, Gtalk, Skype or the messenger of your choice. Plus the good part is most of these messengers support voice calls so you simply put on your headset, plug in your mic and start talking. For how long and what's the charge? Well, zero dollars and as long as your battery or waiting time last. Don’t miss your flight chatting away though!
Suppose you don’t have another computer at home online you can still use the internet to call regular phones for even less than what the local phone company would charge. Skype is an excellent tool for this purpose. It allows you to call any phone anywhere in the world via the internet at incredibly low rates. The only thing is you need to have available credit with Skype to call regular phones. Google's messenger, Gtalk also provides excellent PC to PC voice communication. The bottom line is you only need to selectively choose your accommodations that offer internet as an additional convenience and more and more well-known hotels, and places of interest offer this advantage free most of the times.
So, to round off your items list for how to travel and communicate here is what you need:
1 - a cellular service at your destination that is compatible with your present service so you can send and receive text messages
2 - accommodations that support wireless internet so you can use your online instant messengers for PC to PC communication
3 - available credit on a internet messenger like Skype to call any phone for less
4 - a laptop with Wi-fi functions (or you could also use an external Wi-fi card that plugs into your laptop)
5 - a microphone and an headset to plug into your computer
6 - a good seat to relax and chat.
Bon voyage!
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