The Device-Free Vacation Challenge

How many devices do you travel with? Myself, I carry a Surface computer, a Kindle and an iPhone. Over the years my laptop has gotten smaller to try to lighten the load in my backpack. Bob carries with him an iPad, a Kindle and an iPhone. Between us that is six devices that require recharging throughout our travel. Too many?

I've always carried the laptop/tablet computer so that I can post on my blog or, should the inspiration arise, do some writing. The Kindle takes the place of six or seven books that I might read on our trip depending upon the length of flights, waits in the airport or just down time and relaxing. Not unreasonable, is it?

Now comes the possibility that travel restrictions may change at any time when we are traveling and not allow for us to carry the Surface computer with my carry on. There is no way I would ever pack it in checked luggage for so many obvious reasons--theft, damage, loss, etc. For that reason, I will be traveling without my computer when we travel to Europe this fall. Better safe than sorry. I will rely on my phone for my email. If I really was brave, I'd also leave the Kindle at home and just rely on the Kindle app on my phone as well but that's a pretty small screen to read from. [It appears that the problem is soon to be solved with updated security scanners in the European airports.]

Then again if we really wanted to live on the edge, we'd leave all the devices at home and unplug from the electronic world to see the real world. But alas, a child who still needs us needs to be able to call even if it is in the middle of the night wherever we are. And then there was that time that our house watcher called to say the furnace went out in the middle of a week of subzero temps while we were half way around the world and we needed to make arrangements for replacement. Sometimes it does pay to stay in touch.

Traveling With Tech

It used to be that the most important gadget to take on a trip was an adapter for foreign outlets but now with all the tech gadgets we take along power sources become a little more challenging. We still need those adapters for international travel and they have become a little easier to handle. I remember the bag of plugs each labeled for the country or area of the world where it could be used. Add to that, an adapter if you were going to use it for a hair dryer. I have been known to fry a few because I forgot that little detail. There are some simpler answers today to those problems and with a little research you can find a one-size-fits-all adapter like the one offered by Conair on TravelSmart's website. 

Many hotels and even cruise ships lack enough outlets for all the tech charging that needs to go on especially if you are traveling with family. To solve some of that, take along a small power strip. We have been on some cruise ships that actually had a mini power strip in the room so the cruise industry is catching up.

Have you ever wondered where all the spam and junk mail comes from after you've traveled? A lot of it is because you use public WiFi which may not be entirely secure. One way around it I found was to make my iPhone a hot spot. I feel a lot more secure and I use it sparingly to save my data usage. Of course that's not always possible so just be wary of sharing your credit card number over a public WiFi that is not secure.

I remember several trips where we either took a zodiac (small inflatable boat) or a water taxi where we waded out through waist deep water to get on in order to get to our destination. I didn't have as many tech gadgets then as I do now but one way to protect them if you find yourself in that situation or traveling through a rainy period is to use a sealable plastic baggie. Pack some in your suitcase. They come in all sizes and you can protect a tablet/laptop, smart phone, e-reader, camera, etc. from damage.

Do you take lots of pictures? Uploading them to the cloud (whichever one you choose) can be a way of saving space on your laptop/tablet. Of course that's not always practical if you have a lot of pictures and a really slow internet connection. I carry a USB flash drive as a backup. I upload when possible, backup always, and keep the flash drive in a separate place from my camera and laptop so that if, horrors, one or both should be stolen, the flash drive is not with it and at least I still have my pictures.

All of this tech stuff can really make travel so much easier. Boarding passes are now stored on our smart phones and information for filling out the immigration forms is also stored there so we don't have to dig for our passports in flight. But would you believe that the one thing most people forget to take along on a trip is a pen? Just watch people scramble on an international flight as the immigration forms are handed out when they suddenly realize that even with all their technology, a simple ballpoint pen is probably the best tool to have around.