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Three Gadgets I Will Not Travel Without……
By Erich Berndt
After traveling Down Under with the family and carrying a
laptop so that my wife could teach her online University of Calgary Course and
we could stay in touch with our eldest son back home, I am often asked if I take
my laptop with me on all my travels. The answer is a resounding “No!!” The
discussion of taking laptops on long trips deserves to be discussed another
time, However, there are several pieces of technology that I will never travel
without again.
In a World of My Own - When traveling by plane there
is nothing more annoying then having to listen to someone talking loudly,
coughing, or even a toddler whining for prolonged periods. Sleep seems almost
impossible especially when some airlines’ employees think that it is their duty
to interrupt sleep with periodic announcements. The answer to these destroyers
of privacy and sleep is the Noise Cancelling Headset (ear phones). Although
there are many different ones on the market, the ones I prefer is the Bose
Quiet Comfort 2 ™ headset. Albeit that this set is pricey, it offers comfort
and effectively screens out exterior noise including the droning of airplane
engines. Couple this with your own music (although they effectively cancel out
noise when turned on without being plugged into anything) and you are in a world
of your own. Sleep - here I come. The Bose headset can be bought at the Bose
store in Edmonton or online – sorry Calgary - no Bose store yet in Cowtown.
Keeping in Touch the Frugal Way & A Telephone in
Emergencies – If you want friends or family to stay in touch by telephone
and if you are tired of exorbitant long distance rates when calling from abroad
(often with shoddy connections), then a GSM World Cell Phone with an
International SIM Card is the answer. Although unlocked cell telephones are
uncommon in North America, most Europeans and Asians carry only unlocked ones.
By going to the following website,
http://www.telestial.com/srlink/?P=1005407&A=56089240 you can
select and purchase an unlocked GSM World Phone on line from Telestial.com
located in San Diego. There are a number of International SIM cards to choose
from but the one I have found to be most cost effective and useful is the Global
Passport ™ card. In most countries all incoming calls are free to you and
friends or family calling you from home just pay their normal long distance
tariffs to call you. You will receive an UK (country code 44) cell phone number
which can be used in over 80 countries. Your Global Passport Number stays with
you and you can leave the number with friends/family before you go on your trip.
Most countries have reasonable rates for calling locally – except in North
America. Prepaid air time can be bought by either dialing a toll free number on
your cell phone or going online and paying through the internet using your
credit cards. So when you are lost in Amsterdam or Oslo or Melbourne, just dial
the number of your hotel/pension and get directions – or call for help in an
emergency almost from anywhere. By the way, you can use this phone as your main
cell phone in Canada also if you buy a Fido or Rogers SIM card and either go on
a prepaid or long term contract with them. Rogers/Fido will provide you with a
local telephone number when you activate the telephone in Canada. .
Keeping Sane While Driving Overseas – On several
previous driving trips in Europe, the family ties were severally tested
especially when the navigator could not read Czech script or other foreign road
signs. Last year while traveling with my oldest son, I lucked out to get a cheap
rental car with a GPS. Without it, I am sure it would have taken us hours to
leave the centre of Brussels on our way to Bruges. When two lanes became one
without warning and streetcars appeared driving straight at us, a quick turn off
on to a side street with the cheerful GPS voice chirping “recalculating” and we
were back on track – in the rain, during rush hour traffic and well on our way
to the lovely Flemish city of Bruges where our B&B host awaited us with some
great Belgian beer. There are several portable GPS available here in Canada with
both North American and European maps preloaded. For other countries, there are
often maps that can be purchased and downloaded on line. I am looking forward to
driving in Europe soon with my TomTom 930 GPS and hopefully harmony will be
maintained between driver and navigator (the human type). Of course you could
always spend $10 per day or more extra to rent a vehicle equipped with its own
GPS.
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