Staying in Touch
- Should I bring a mobile phone?
- Should I bring a laptop?
- How common are internet cafes?
- Can I receive mail on the road?
Should I bring a mobile phone?
This is a bit of a controversial subject. For most people the idea of going on a RTW involves leaving their world behind, at least to some degree. Many of us use our mobile phones for conversations and texting all day so the thought of being completely without this device is a bit frightening. But most experienced travelers cringe at the notion of staying that wired on a RTW trip.
If you must, it is possible to stay in touch with special multi-band phones and new SIM cards every time you cross a border. But it won't be cheap or easy so you should really think hard about this before deciding to give it a try. The technology and costs involved in this are fast-moving targets and this will get a little cheaper and easier as time goes on, but even so you might try to resist the temptation anyway.
For keeping in touch with loved-ones back home, e-mail is far easier and cheaper, and of course you don't have to worry about time zones and personal schedules. And even if you do prefer phone calls, a much cheaper option is buying calling cards and using calling centers (storefronts where the main business is long distance calling booths and internet stations, particularly popular in Latin America) along the way. You can also e-mail someone with the number of your hotel or hostel, and a time for them to call you there. Calls like this cost next to nothing these days while any international roaming call will be far more expensive regardless of who did the dialing.
Internet phone services like Skype are really catching on quickly and are also a far cheaper option of talking to people than bringing a mobile phone. Many, if not most, internet cafes are now set up so you can call people through Skype for the price of using the internet.
If you are traveling with one or more people you could make a case that having mobile phones would be worthwhile for keeping track of each other, but this is a lot of cost and hassle for something that is pretty easy to do without phones. If you are supposed to meet someone and you can't make it on time, sending e-mail is fairly easy from everywhere, and hopefully you won't be putting yourself in too many desperate time-crunches on a RTW trip anyway.
In general the advice for a trip like this is to bring as little gear as possible rather than as much gear as you can somehow justify. Particularly when it comes to chargers, plugs, converters, SIM cards and the like, this is a hassle you should try to avoid if you can.
Should I bring a laptop?
This is another controversial subject for some of the same reasons as the mobile phone issue. There are far greater upsides to bringing a laptop with you than a mobile phone, but there are also greater risks and hassles involved as well. Many seasoned travelers wouldn't think of traveling without their laptop, while others wouldn't consider bringing theirs even once. This is a very personal choice so we'll just mention some of the advantages and disadvantages of bringing a laptop and you can make up your own mind.
But if you've not done too much international traveling yet you might not be aware that things like digital photo management, personal blogging, and of course e-mailing are all quite easy to do just using the various hostel/hotel computers and internet cafes you'll find along the way. There are, however, some other more complicated things that are very difficult to do on public computers so we will cover some of them below.
Advantages of bringing a laptop
- Free wifi is common in most places and getting more common every day. This obviously cuts down daily internet costs and any computer availability issues.
- Advanced photo editing and video editing can be great fun during your inevitable resting and waiting times.
- For those who like to keep extensive travel journals and/or maintain a custom site, a laptop is nearly compulsory. And working in private on your bed or in your room is almost always more pleasant than working on a public computer.
- Music - including managing your library, burning CDs for others, ripping CDs from others, downloading new songs you hear along the way, and so forth.
- Other entertainment - You'll have lots of slow time spent waiting, relaxing, in transit, or dealing with jet lag. And there will be days when the last thing you want to do is tour another cathedral or temple. With a laptop you can always play games or watch DVDs, which are available for rent almost everywhere and also available for cheap bootleg purchase in many places if you are into that sort of thing.
Disadvantages of bringing a laptop
Security - This is major. By bringing a laptop on a RTW you increase the value (and replacement cost) of your possessions by many times. Having to replace missing sandals or sunglasses is something you can get over in a day. Having to replace your laptop (and likely all of your data and programs) could drag you down for weeks. And unless you happen to be visiting the US or Canada, buying a replacement laptop will probably cost you a lot more than the original.
So with this in mind you have to change the way you travel. You have to assume that everyone who sees that flat and rigid bag you are carrying knows it's a laptop. You can't leave it on the seat when you use the toilet on the train (although you probably can on airplanes or buses). You can't put it under your dorm bed in a hostel and expect that it will definitely be waiting for you when you return. Even in a private hotel room you have to keep it out of sight since room cleaners usually leave the door wide open while they are working. Nearly everyone who starts their trip with their laptop makes it home with their laptop, and the vast majority of people you'll come across are honest, but you get the idea.
Bulk and weight - If you do bring a laptop and you have a choice you should definitely take the smallest one you can manage with. Every ounce of weight you are dragging around gets multiplied when you are literally hauling every possession on your back for months on end.
Another idea - If you like the idea of bringing a laptop there is another idea to consider. Since it's unlikely that you'll need the fastest and most advanced laptop while traveling you might think about buying a cheap used one for a few hundred dollars just for this purpose. A basic used laptop will do fine for all of these things you'll need, and if you back your data up frequently on a keychain data stick, getting this cheapo laptop stolen is a very minor problem. And if it does happen, your personal data and other files will remain safe with your main computer at home. Also, you can sell this one for almost what you bought it for when you return as well.
How common are internet cafes?
Very common, and pretty much everywhere. Obviously this situation changes and improves every month, but you'll usually have no problem finding computers with fast connections to use while traveling. The hourly cost of using public machines tends to equate more to the cost of labor and rent in that area than what you might think the cost of high tech equipment in that country might be. In other words, using a computer in the south of France is usually going to be much more expensive than using one in a small city in India, even if it's surprising that little city even has high-speed internet access at all.
Another development is making this situation better all the time as well. With broadband connections becoming more and more common, and older used computers getting cheaper, many hostels and even hotels have areas with free internet for their guests. This can range anywhere from one lumbering machine in a corner for the whole place, all the way up to a room full of fast and modern machines.
Hostels tend to do better at this than hotels, but the situation everywhere is improving all the time since this has become a major selling point for both hostels and hotels. Many places will have a 15 to 30-minute limit on usage if other guests are waiting, but this usually doesn't become a problem if you are just planning on a bit of e-mail or travel research.
There will be times when you want a longer session with no one looking over your shoulder so you'll just block out an hour or two at a proper internet place. If you have some blogging or photo managing that will take a good chunk of time it's advisable to do it in, or save it for, your cheaper destinations. The hourly rate in Marrakech might be one third of the hourly rate in Madrid, for example.
Can I receive mail on the road?
Yes, you can, but it's a pain in the arse and there is usually a better option. If you are sure you are going to a certain hotel or hostel, they will usually be happy enough to hold envelopes or small packages for you as long as you have an approaching reservation. But again, there is almost always a way to avoid actually receiving physical mail while traveling. If you must, here is a well-written article that tells you how to go about it: Receiving Mail Abroad.
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