Breaking Down Barriers For Travellers
Restored from the Empower Network archive (2011–2017), lightly edited to meet our current advertising standards. Views are the original author’s.
We have come a long way over the past 10 years when it comes to what is available for the traveller to help make the journey a smoother one. Technology has played a big part in breaking down barriers for travellers. We no longer have to rely soley on pay phones for communication, we can hop onto our mobile phones or into an internet cafe and skype home anytime. Instead of carrying around various paper work, books and translation manuals we can access the right document, phrase or word instantly through a simple real-time translation app or document file on our phone or I-Pad/Pod. We can check the weather, book flights and hotels, trains and buses, see what is on at the local theatre, where the closest pub or ice cream shop is and make a quick video to post to your blog while you are at it!
Breaking Down Barriers For Travellers With Travel
The internet has made travelling 1000 times easier on so many levels. Instead of going to a travel agent or the library to get loads of books about your destination you can surf the web and read articles, ask questions in forums and seek advice from the hundreds of travel websites available, without ever leaving your home. If you like to be organised and know what you are going to be doing on your trip then you can plan the whole thing months in advance! Take a cooking course in Thailand, ride elephants through the jungle, visit temple ruins and the night markets, take a barge ride while learning Siamese before an afternoon of massage and pampering, whatever takes your fancy can be had!
Many people take the easy and safe option of guided tours but if you prefer to do things on the fly this is also a lot easier to manage now with the help of technology. Banks and money organisations are also breaking down barriers for travellers by using multiple credit/debit cards which are widely accepted and making cash readily available from the millions of ATM machines world wide, customer support is 24/7, the transfer of money from account to account is almost instantaneous and lost or stolen cards are sorted within a phone call.
Breaking Down Barriers For Travellers With Communication
Now let’s talk about cameras and video!!! Imagine ripping down a snowy slope at a fast pace, manouvering from side to side, snow flying everywhere, the wind whipping about you along with the scenery as you careen down the mountain. It is stunning! The view, the exhiliration, the sheer power of your journey and now you can capture every single step all the way down, with audio!!! Cameras and video equipment have become extremely high tech and compact. Small weather and water proof, hard knock proof and picture perfect devices can now be bought to attach to your goggles while you’re flying down the mountain or to your head while you are surfing or to your lapel while your are jumping out of an aeroplane or riding a camel in the desert. High definition experiences can be shared instantly with your friends and family and the world!
Breaking Down Barriers For Travellers With Social Interaction And Work
Another way that technology has been instumental in breaking down barriers for travellers is with social interaction. Language barriers are easily solved, cultural experiences are made richer with simple things like sharing a photo taken or a video or sharing a conversation with friends in another country. This ability to be continuously connected while travelling with everyone is invaluable.
The thing I am most grateful for with the breaking down barriers for travellers is travelling and working at the same time. Through technology and the internet you can have all your affairs organised at home and work a mobile business while seeing the wonders of the world, all at once! That is exactly what my family and I do and it is an incredible lifestyle! Click the button below to find out how we do it.