E.T. phone home!Now it’s a little easier to keep in touch with your mates and the folksby Chris Conway

Jetting off around the world is a fantastic escape but what about keeping in touch with your friends and family back home? Although there is nothing stopping you sticking a few coins into a phone box, it’s the 21st century and there are a whole host of modern and cheap ways to make contact, as well as some pretty fancy technology out there.

Blogging, Facebook and TwitterThese are great online ways to keep in touch, especially as they’re free and can be accessed nearly everywhere in the world. Often hostels and hotels will have facilities where you can use the internet and if not there is likely to be an internet cafe nearby

Blogging is very popular. It gives you a platform to tell the rest of the world a detailed account of what you are up to. It’s a contemporary way of writing a letter. Your nearest and dearest simply go to the blog address to read all about your latest adventures. This not only saves time, as you can update everyone at once, it also doubles as an electronic travel journal. Those memories will be kept safe as this diary can’t get left on a bus or soaked in the rain!

Most blogs handle photos and video as well as text. You don’t need to design a blog as there are loads of formats already set-up, some of which are free and others which aren’t. A few examples are blogspot, www.blogspot.com; WordPress, www.wordpress.org; STA blogs, www.blogs.statravel.co.uk; Blogger, www.blogger.com

Facebook is another option. Hundreds of millions of people have an account on this established social website.

Facebook is a good place to upload photographs and allows you to keep in touch with a wider circle of friends than your blog, as those who don’t want to read all of your ramblings can just flick through your pictures.

Twitter is a micro-blogging website, allowing you to post updates about your trip in just 140 characters. This isn’t a place to write insightful accounts about cultural differences like a blog; simply tweet – ‘Arrived safety in Vietnam’. Twitter also allows you to tell everyone what you’re doing in ‘real time’ i.e. literally as it happens. Twitter is often used as a way to keep in touch with people you may not know well called ‘your followers’, sometimes people use this facility more for work travel purposes than to keep in touch with friends.

But what if I can’t get to a computer or access wifi?

This problem has been solved by a new form of technology which uses text messaging to update your blog, Facebook and Twitter accounts. It isn’t like a Blackberry or iPhone which uses an internet network, in this case it literally just costs the price of a message. Likewise you can also post photos of your trip through picture messaging.

eKit, www.ekit.com is a provider of this. You buy an international

Sim card and you get access to a feature called ‘The Online Travel Journal.’ This allows you to keep in constant contact with home whilst you’re away (as long as you have signal). eKit has the basic use of traditional texting as well as all the extra features.

Here’s the clever bit, eKit also tracks your location so that every time you use your phone whilst away, a little marker will appear on a map on your travel journal page, allowing people to see exactly where you are in the world. Gives new meaning to the phrase ‘Big Brother is watching’, doesn’t it?

If you’re stuck for credit on your phone, never fear. Those that are following your travel journal page can see your credit amount and top up your account for you.

Um I just want to use a normal phone

If eKit is a bit too jazzy for you then opt for making standard mobile contact but instead of clocking up a huge bill with your usual provider, take a few steps to keep costs down. The Money Saving Expert website has Five Top Tips for phone use abroad:

“1. It's free to receive texts, so that beats calls.2. Using mobile internet costs a fortune – switch it off!3. Lots of networks have 'don't ask, don't get' deals – cheaper

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476The Gap Travel Guide 2011

packages from your present provider for international use (so ask).4. Got access to wi-fi? Call for free or for pennies by downloading Skype.5. Heavy callers should switch Sim cards – either get an international Sim or buy a local Sim.”

International Sim cards are specifically designed to keep call charges low when calling or texting, to or from, your mobile when abroad. This can save you a huge amount of money as a ten minute mobile conversation can cost about £20, which is a waste of precious travel funds!

This option is easy as it means you keep the same number as you travel. The even cheaper option is to have an unlocked phone and buy Sim cards locally. This way you top up credit as you go so there really are no hidden charges but of course it is a bit of a hassle and you have to keep updating your friends and family with your new number. Money Saving Expert suggests using the website One Compare, www.onecompare.com to check out global Sim prices and networks' roaming costs.

The international Sim cards they specifically recommend are:“Story telecom, www.storytelecom.com wins as its £35 (inc £5 postage) TravelTalk card gives £25 call credit, and has good service

feedback to boot. The credit lasts for 12 months after purchase.

Tru phone local anywhere, www.localanywhere.truphone.com costs £19.99 and gives £10 call credit. Every 90 days of inactivity costs £2, but receiving one text counts as activity, so this is easily avoided.”

I want to upload video easilyMany people love making and posting videos as this format allows friends and family to really experience the places as well as. Videos also serve as a great keepsake later on.

Rather than taking a bulky video camera which reminds you of childhood parties and school plays, we recommend getting a ‘Flip’ camera. These retail anywhere between £85 and £124 but are well worth it. Why? Because there are one of the easiest to use, point-and-shoot cameras on the market today. Also everything you shoot will be in HD so that beautiful beach you’re standing on will look even better.How hard are they to use? They’re not, that’s the best thing. You literally turn it on, point the camera where you want to record and press the big red button.

How can you then get your video online? Dead easy, each camera

comes with a built in USB port that you just pop out, plug into a PC and you’re good to go. Pick the videos you want to upload and click copy to upload to a variety of sites such as YouTube, Facebook and even your eKit.com travel journal page.

Phone applications

A company called Vopium, www.vopium.com has an application you download to your phone which can save you up to 90% on your international calls. It works as they cleverly transfer your call through a local line before forwarding it on. This means you pay a much cheaper local rate, rather than the expensive international rate. You must either download the app to a Sim card from the country you are travelling in or alternatively you can use the app downloaded on your UK Sim when you can access a wireless network. Otherwise you’ll be paying the usual expensive rate. This application may be most useful for friends and family calling you from the UK.

These are just a few suggestions as to ways you can keep in touch. Ultimately you’ll find the best way for you, but don’t worry if you’re a bit of a technophobe... you could always send a postcard.

The Flip MinoHD One hour, Silver£149.99

The Flip MinoHD Two hour, Black£179.99

The Flip UltraHD Two hours, Black£159.99

477The Gap Travel Guide 2011