Travel without technology?
 

The must-have gadget thread made me wonder if people here would ever go to places which didn't have reliable connectivity or even electricity.

Or would be inclined to consider other destinations where there were no such restrictions.

I guess we can't do polls here. Comedians used to joke about how people couldn't go camping because they wouldn't be able to plug in their TVs or other electric conveniences.

Maybe even 15-20 years ago, there would still be a lot of places in developed countries which didn't offer any connectivity, even as the dot com boom was gaining all kinds of momentum.

Even today, you'll see hotel reviews with complaints about Wifi signals being weak or absent in the rooms.

Not only that, more and more people are seeking mobile roaming (either through local SIMs or international data roaming deals) in various countries so that they'll always be connected.


How many here would rule out destinations where there wasn't going to be connectivity (or reliable electricity)?

Say cruises or climbing some peaks somewhere or safaris? Or maybe some areas in the developing world?

My fiance leaves his phone in airplane mode the entire time we're in a different country. I start to itch if I don't get a data plan right away. He will use it sporadically, when there's wifi around, but that's it.

Though, if I had no choice, I think it might be fun. I just don't have the discipline to be internet-less for an extended period.

I would rule out a destination that would have me out of touch with the internet for more than 48 continuous hours.

I'd make do with battery/solar power and no grid electricity, and even no showers for those two days if needed.

Let's clarify that we're talking about not wanting to be offline for personal reasons, not professional reasons like your job or business has to be able to reach you or you have to be able to monitor work email or other communications.

Yes. I routinely go to Mexico, specifically because I cannot take my PC, phone, iPad, or RSI token out of the country.
For 15 years I had to be reachable 24/365, I am enjoying being able to unplug.

You would need to leave earth for that to happen.

Satellite has the whole earth covered at a cost.

Just join T-Mobile. Job done. :)

Nada!
T-Mob intl plan does not have coverage in Outer Mongolia, Siberia, Parts of Canadian Arctic, Alaska, Greenland and Antarctica.

I might have misses a few more.

I have only been to one place without some level of connectivity and that is while on a safari in Zambia. They had a generator so that people could charge their cameras but that was about it. You gave them what you wanted charged at night and you would get it back charged the next morning. We brought a satellite phone as well for emergencies but were basically offline.

The reverse of that was calling work to read them something; once from the built in phone on a plane over the Atlantic and once from the deck of boat in Halong Bay off the coast of Vietnam, using my cell phone.

I am a big believer in the importance of disconnecting, but I have a hard time doing it. I found it quite refreshing in Zambia to know that I didn't even need to bother, I wasn't going to have any email.

I think the premise of the question is highly flawed. I understand the OP's point, but consider where we are - a forum specifically dedicated to travel technology. That the OP CHOSE to visit.

Asking whether we could consider disconnecting is going to get extremely different responses in different corners of the internet.

Go to a Christian message board and ask if anyone ever 'takes a break' and is atheist on the weekends. Or go to a skydiving forum and ask if they ever "just want to keep their feet on the ground."

Different strokes for different folks. I suspect the vast majority of the posters here rely on technology in order a) to be functional while traveling or in different countries, and b) as an aside, because they WANT to be online or functional. But that has next to nothing to do with whether or not we want to or choose to unplug.

I do cruises as a vacation. While theoretically internet is available, it can be a) expensive and b) not terribly reliable depending on where the ship is. For me, this makes for a perfect time to disconnect, and while I give the people I work with information on contacting me in an emergency, I also point out that calling the ship costs them $9/minute. Other than that, the cell phone goes into the safe. I do tend to have a tablet with me, but that's only to be used as a book reading device.

Last year, I went for a week long hike in the Sierras near Truckee, California. For 6 days, we had no cell signal though we tried hard to get one!

We were not far from civilization but we might as well have been in remote Africa from a connectivity perspective :D

How was it to catch up on a week or more worth of emails, messages, RSS feeds, etc?

Or do you figure that period was dark and you will just pick up from when you return?

Some times when I was on vacation and had connectivity but didn't use it, I did not check email at all. My assistant has access to my email and scanned for important/time critical messages and contacted me if need be by other channels. Everything else she either sorted to "look at these when you get back" and these came while you were away. I still haven't looked at the latter folder for one trip from more than a year ago. I may have even deleted the entire folder.

You must use that token a lot if it's giving you RSI... :)

(I used to work for RSA, and I'm Australian so most Americans confuse my "A"'s for "I"'s - so I'm very used to correcting that particular mistake!)