Wireless Use & Tech Trickery On the Road

It's never been easier to stay tethered to the grid, plugged in and logged on. The digital age has afforded the modern rambling man and woman some pretty long and dexterous electrical umbilical cords, which remain tethered to the disembodied collective intelligence of the world wide web, for better or worse. I'm sure there remains a few spots in the world yet to be connected; parts of the Amazon, the Sahara, the Himalayas, Antarctica, or aboard a sailboat drifting past the Galapagos islands, perhaps - where one might be able to get off the grid completely. But I'd venture a guess that even in these remote geographical locales you may still be able to find a signal, albeit spotty. Whatever intention or itinerary you have for your trip, whether sightseeing, run-of-the-mill vacationing, committing to a deep digital cleanse, or just a brief disciplined fast from technology or to a return to more neo-luddite primitive living for an extended period of time, away from society and electronic connection, it may behoove you to brush up on the ways in which your wireless connectivity and tech gadgets can better serve your trip; and not the other way around, i.e. enslaving you with their perpetual digital demands and distractions. Most of us have become conditioned by our devices. What was created as a useful tool has turned into an perpetual distraction and interruption. Some of us can't go more than a week or two without our smartphone pacifiers. But for those brave enough to bow out and take a leave of absence from digital living and social media broadcasting, and commit to a digital cleanse for any period of time at all, investing physically, emotionally, and spiritually into more tangible living in the here and now on the planet, I salute you. The lessons to be learned are potentially invaluable.

That being said, tech considerations are important. They can make or break a trip. So, a fair amount of thought should be put into what goes into your travel bag regarding tech gadgetry. The intention and the itinerary of the trip will dictate the wireless pragmatics, but in my estimation, there are a few must-have tech items to bring along regardless and a few wireless usage tech tricks that may serve you well while away.

First, a newer smartphone should be a no brainer. With just this single compact tech device, you'll be able to access wifi for Google maps and resources, download and use a GPS application, make emergency calls, photo/video document the trip, etc.

Second, a universal adapter for charging your device(s). Depending on where you're going, the systems may be different. I found this out the hard way in the Philippines in the summer of 2013. Minutes before boarding a flight from Manila to the island of El Nido, my friend and I realized we had no means of charging our devices (he coming from the USA and me coming from Korea), which meant that we were heading to one of the best island destinations in the world with no means to document our trip. In an almost ill-fated decision to quickly taxi from airport to a "close shop" to acquire said universal adapter, we were driven through heavy late afternoon Manila traffic to a street kiosk in the middle of a street hawkers boulevard. Barely making it back to the airport, and after hustling through the baggage check, the same adapter was for sale inside. Brilliant. Don't let this happen to you. Buy a universal charger prior to leaving. The major systems around the world and the corresponding plug and socket standard configurations can be found here: www.worldstandards.eu. And here for a complete overview of all countries of the world and their respective plugs/outlets and voltages/frequencies used for domestic appliances.

Plug Types Around the World

Courtesy of www.110220volts.com

The aforementioned considerations are less important if you just heed the advice to purchase yourself a nice universal plug adapter. So, no matter what hemisphere you're in and no matter what continent you may be on or about to travel to, you'll be covered with this small pocket-sized gadget.

Third, a nice DSLR camera (preferably with video capability) for documenting the trip properly so that 10 years from the trip's conclusion you can look back and reflect on any important lessons learned, the epic vistas viewed, and the overall significance of the journey. Pictures and videos are stand alone in this respect. (Of course, an old fashioned moleskin notebook is never a bad idea but we're on the topic of travel tech gear. One could argue that both the notebook and the pen are forms of technology but let's not get into semantics.) The camera will help you to hallmark the trip and bookend your adventures (and misadventures). Often times we need to let a good amount of time elapse before we can fully comprehend what may have transpired in the heat of the moment on a trip. Again, pictures and video will help aid the memory in remembering those key aspects and to unlocking it's nostalgic content and significance years down the road.

Now depending on the amount of pictures and/or video being taken during your trip and the storage capacity of your memory card, it may also be wise to bring a USB or two along with you. Not really a big deal considering the weight of such devices are miniscule in the scheme of overall bag weight but if it's not essential in regards to available digital storage on one's physical self, should be left at home. Every little bit of weight adds up. No need to be considerate to the point of buffoonery. So, ask yourself how long you'll be gone and to what approximate extent you'll be photo/video documenting your trip, then plan accordingly and exactingly.

Tech Gadgets to be considered:

Non-negotiables:

-smartphone

-universal adapter

-a USB for backup

-digital reader

-audio books

Negotiables:

-a pro camera set up

-a laptop or tablet PC

-an external hard drive

Tech Trickery from the Road: A Few Mishaps

When I started traveling from my new home base in Seoul, South Korea back in 2011, I had more than a few notable "Oh fuck" moments during my first few trips through Asia.

The first one came when I flew to Vietnam and my substantial checking account balance was unavailable to me because the ATM machines would not recognize my 4 digit pin, as they're on a 6 digit configuration. In my defense, I was aware of this potential difference and was advised before departing Korea by my then bank manager at Woori Bank (aka: the most foreigner unaccommodating bank in country) that I could remedy the situation if I just keyed in two zeroes as place holders before entering my 4 digit pin. This didn't work. In consequence, I was super fucked and cursing under my breath profusely the second morning after touching down in Ho Chi Minh, as I canvassed District 2 for ATMs. Luckily for me, I was meeting friends in a day or two and was able to get a bridge loan until the funds were accessible.

The valuable lesson here: relying 100% on debit/credit cards and ATMs while traveling through sketchy developing parts of the world is strongly ill-advised. I now bring a wad of cash with me into the destination country and use debit/credit cards for hotels (if they accept) and for emergency purchases that may happen along the way (e.g. plane/ bus/ train tickets, etc.). But my strategy is to be cash heavy. I know it sounds precariously dangerous - to be carrying such substantial amounts of cash on one's physical self in the sketchier parts of the globe; but I'd rather be responsible for losing it, getting mugged for it, etc. than having the shittier and more statistically probable misfortune, of having zero access to the available funds with absolutely no line of recourse. But do what you'd like. I'll risk getting taken at knife point for my shoulder bag any day of the week vs. relying on developing world ATM machines to spit out my available cash. (Note: research country immigration and customs policies regarding currency regulations before trip.)

Another consideration is contacting your phone/wifi service provider before departing your home country. You can inform them of your travel itinerary and set up either a roaming plan that is more conducive to your financial means (roaming charges can be exorbitant) or suspend service until you return to avoid the spike in charges.

If you opt to set up a roaming plan that still may be rather expensive (most are); another trick is to get into your phone's settings and diligently switch your device to airplane mode disabling all signals and then enable only while in wifi hotspots, etc. These days, I do both to insure I am not incurring extensive roaming fees while I'm traveling. I learned this the hard way in Bali, Indonesia when I was unable to switch off my 3G and came home to a huge wireless bill. Again, lesson learned... the hard way.