Travelling is one of the most amazing experiences you will ever have, and one that is highly recommended by anyone who has ever tried it. Whether you’re backpacking your way across continents, or travelling the back roads of one country, whether you’re gone for a year or a month, it’s phenomenal and the lessons you learn out there are ones that you won’t get anywhere else. You get the chance to meet thousands of different people from hundreds of different cultures, to try new things that you would never think of doing before, and will immerse yourself in a world so different from the one you know. Check out these amazing travel routes at http://myfunkytravel.com/backpackingroutes.html for inspiration for your next travelling trip.
But as amazing as travelling is, there is one downfall; it is so easy to become disconnected from your life at home. For some people that’s not a problem; the reason they are travelling is to distance themselves from home, but for many travelling is just something they feel like they need to do but home is still a vital part of their lives. So how do you stay connected with home while you’re halfway across the world?
Family
Your friends and family are the most important thing you’re leaving behind, and there are so many things that can happen to them while you’re gone. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t still be involved and in contact with everyone. For starters you should look into https://secure.skype.com/calling-rates so that you can easily video chat with everyone regardless of your location. It’s also an idea to set up your phone to automatically update you on time zones – that way you know whether you’re two hours ahead or twelve. You should also make sure that you have added or activated data roaming on your phone policy – otherwise it might flag up as suspicious behaviour and incur extra changes or result in your phone being blocked altogether. Set up group chats with all your friends and family and make sure you extract promises of regular updates from everyone before you leave.
Unless you’re happy with a family member or friend picking up your mail for you, and possible missing an important letter or notice, it’s definitely worth looking into setting up a https://physicaladdress.com/ where you can have your mail redirected, scanned and emailed to you. The employees are thoroughly checked and the whole area is covered by CCTV cameras so you don’t have to worry about any security issues – plus you can have the mail shredded once they have been scanned, or stored for when you get home.
Blogging
One great way to stay connected with home is to help home to stay connected with you. Yes you can easily message and chat, but you are experiencing so many amazing things on the other side of the world, and everyone will have a nervous parent or two at the prospect of you being so far away. So make sure you update them on your travels. One of the best ways to this is to blog about it. Blogging will also give you a great chance to document your experiences so that you remember everything and can look back on everything once your travels are over. You can write a travel blog easily – you don’t have to be an amazing writer, and you don’t have to aim it at anyone other than your family. Or, if photography is more your forte, then document your travels by uploading pictures instead of written blogs. Or you might try both and mix it up. There is no right or wrong way to blog, so just give it ago and you’ll find the way that works best for you.
WiFi
To blog and to stay in regular contact with everyone back home while backpacking around the world does require wifi of some sort. A lot of hostels will have hotspots, and in a lot of cities you will find cafes and restaurants with wifi – find a starbucks and you’ll be set. However, most places off the beaten track won’t have wifi, which is where you have to rely on your data. But adding more data onto your phone plan will cost you more each month until you can renew your phone contract. The happy alternative is a data block. A lot of phone companies have started to roll them out – the idea is that you pay a certain amount each month for what is, essentially, a wireless router or hotspot that you can connect to. The catch is that it only has a set amount of data, just like your phone, so the more data you want, the more it costs.
