Communication

Communication is somewhat of a luxury on the road, if you choose it, but modern technological advances have helped us out tremendously in this area. Though the ease of communication around the world is growing, there will be times when you just can't get in touch. Make sure your loved ones back home know this, so that not hearing from you for while will not induce panic. Never promise phone calls or e-mails on specific dates - let them know you'll contact them whenever you can.

e-mail

What a fabulous result of modern technology for those of us who wish to economically be in touch with the familiarity of home. Some areas of the world are better than others for prolific access to computers, internet connections, and good, reliable and speedy connections at that. Guidebooks are starting to be good sources of information for where you can find access - the industry is catching on. Internet cafés vary greatly in comfort, reliability, service and price the world over. Your best bets are in university areas, but otherwise cafés have sprung up in tourist and backpacker hubs all over. Cafés generally sign you in and out and keep track of the time you use. You will generally be charged per minute, quarter hour, half hour or full hour of computer use, not exclusively internet connection time. If your café quotes you a price per chunk of time greater than a minute, find out if you will be charged for that full chunk of time even if you only use part of it. Some of the more sophisticated cafés offer access to printers and scanners for additional fees. Costs generally run upward from pennies per minute depending on how remote your locale. Remote locales also might just offer painfully slow services.

As internet access generally only guarantees you world wide web access, your best bet for e-mail service is to hook yourself up ahead of time with an account from a site which offers a free e-mail service such as www.mail.yahoo.com or www.gmail.com. Do your preparation ahead of time to avoid setting up your account on paid air time. See Prepare to Keep in Touch for more info on how to get the most bang for your buck out of the world wide web on the road.

Phone

Phones and phone technology vary widely around the world. In cities, tourist and backpacker hubs you will find phoning both locally and internationally fairly straightforward. Be aware that local, not just long distance calls from private phones may very well show up on the owner's phone bill by either a flat rate or a rate per minute - offer compensation to those allowing you to make calls from their personal phones. Local calls from public phones may require a prepaid phone card for use in a phone, or simply coin. Rates can be per call or per unit time, so be prepared with a proliferation of coins. Be aware also that sometimes charges will apply simply for your call attempt, regardless of whether your call was answered or not, or with a busy signal or not. Local long distance calls generally work similarly. International calls may work in the same way but your best bet is to use the so-called 'Direct' services (Canada Direct, AT&T Direct for the U.S., BT Direct for Britain, Ireland Direct, Australia Direct, Telecom New Zealand and Telkom South Africa) in conjunction with your own personal calling card.

These 'Direct' services allow you to dial a local number that will connect you with an operator in your home country who will connect you either electronically or personally in your home language. In addition to this convenience, you will be charged rates on par with your home countries' charges, so there shouldn't be any surprises. Not all countries will have service under your home countries' 'Direct' umbrella, and those that do vary in the extent of the service and access protocols. In some cases you can connect only to your home country, and in other cases, you can make international country to country calls too. Depending on what type of phone you use and in what country, you may need to insert coins or local prepaid cards just to connect. Equip yourself with a listing of country access numbers and service details from your local provider before you leave home. In some locales, you may need to employ the services of a phone dedicated, or at least capable of making international connections; i.e. the average joe telephone may only be on a local network. Use of these international specific phones may cost you a small fee for the service - try post offices or advertised international phoning services - available most often in tourist hubs.

In terms of what digits you need to dial and what tones you need to hear when placing non-local calls, refer to your guidebook as the best source of info. Try not to be discouraged when inevitably you find a phone that just will not connect you to the voice you want to hear. Exercise caution when dialling locally or long distance out of hotels - near and afar there is a good chance they will gouge you with exorbitant per call and per minute charges, even if you use outside resources like a calling card. Finally, consider your security when making calls. Protect your local phone cards and personal calling cards like cash and keep your PIN numbers hidden when entering them into telephone keypads.

Snail mail

Sending mail from the far reaches of the world is not necessarily reliable but it can be fun to see just how long it takes for your post card to reach home, or for a friend or family member to receive a memento from your strange and far off destinations. If you want your mail to reach its endpoint in a more timely manner, send it from the central post office in a larger city. In fact, post offices are generally your best bet to buy stamps and to determine the exact cost of your postage - prices can vary depending on the size, weight and nature (post card, envelope or parcel) of your mail. In sketchier locales, you can have your stamps 'cancelled' at the post office so that they are valueless if removed thus avoiding stamp thievery. You may also wish to protect addresses or the writing on a post card from dampness with a layer of clear plastic tape.

Sending parcels home is a great way to avoid having to carry things that extra distance. Charges for doing so will depend on the weight and size of your parcel, how far afield you are sending it and by what method (i.e. how quickly you want it to arrive). Post offices can generally provide you with a chart of costs for different parcel weights for different service speeds by air, land or sea. The choice is yours and your pocketbooks. If you choose to send a parcel, ensure it is well wrapped and taped up - it could very well pass through what is equivalent to a war enroute home. A paper bag can provide an extra layer of protection but a properly sealed cardboard box is likely your best bet. Post offices can provide you with the necessary materials for a nominal fee, and they will likely instruct you on how to wrap - or at least let you know if you efforts in wrapping are inadequate. You can choose to insure or not, but take this precaution with a grain of salt. Enclose your mailing address and phone number in case the packaging is damaged, and be prepared for the possibility that your package may be inspected at some point.

If you want to receive snail mail on the road, provide your mail savvy friends with your address. If you have an idea of when and where you might be on your travels, you can use the internationally recognized 'Post Restante' system in various cities. Your address will be First Name LAST NAME, Poste Restante, City, Country, Country Code. Have them mark the mail 'HOLD'. When retrieving your mail, check the cities' main post office first, then satellite offices if necessary or recommended by the main office. Post offices may charge you a small fee for the service or may require identification upon pick up. They may also have a time limit on how long they will hold mail for - check your guidebook. Note that missing mail may be misfiled. If you are expecting an item, have them check under your first and last names, any initials, or M for Mr., Mrs., Ms., Miss, etc. You may also want to have them check for similar letters that may just have been misread, such as I and L, or N and M.

Back to top