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It might have nothing to with being "in touch" and more about convenience.
A tablet or can replace a bookshelf full of guide books and novels/magazines to read on the plane. A phone can be a camera, currency converter, rideshare dialer, detailed maps of every city on the route, and a folio of every train, airline, bus ticket, and hotel reservation they have.
I'm baffled as to how taking advantage of modern conveniences precludes enjoyment.
It might have nothing to with being "in touch" and more about convenience.
A tablet or can replace a bookshelf full of guide books and novels/magazines to read on the plane. A phone can be a camera, currency converter, rideshare dialer, detailed maps of every city on the route, and a folio of every train, airline, bus ticket, and hotel reservation they have.
I'm baffled as to how taking advantage of modern conveniences precludes enjoyment.
Not to mention games and movies when I'm tired of reading on the plane, ticket/boarding pass management for planes/trains/attractions, etc. (not just folio of reservations, but actual passes!), translator when necessary, white noise machine when the hotel is noisy, and specific to me -- low blood sugar alerts.
That's a whole lot of stuff that I'm glad I don't have to schlep around! LOL
It might have nothing to with being "in touch" and more about convenience.
A tablet or can replace a bookshelf full of guide books and novels/magazines to read on the plane. A phone can be a camera, currency converter, rideshare dialer, detailed maps of every city on the route, and a folio of every train, airline, bus ticket, and hotel reservation they have.
I'm baffled as to how taking advantage of modern conveniences precludes enjoyment.
I'm in total agreement. When Overseas, we turn off the ability to make or receive phone calls. We've NEVER purchased a cruise line internet package - and never will. We religiously pack lightly - my kindle has 100% eliminated the need for bring X number of heavy, bulky paperback books. My husband amuses himself on long plane rides playing games on his tablet and listening to audio books.
For us, There is one BIG problem caused by being connected. People with bad news can reach us. We decided years ago that there's no benefit to finding out about bad things when we're out of the country. 25+ years ago my father told me, "If I croak while you're gone, I'll be just as dead when you get back. There's no reason to ruin your trip and **** away all that money."
He is gone now, but we still believe and follow that rule. And tell our (very small) family, friends and pet sitters to absolutely, positively not send us texts, emails, etc about deaths, pet problems, a fire or flood in our home, somebody being arrested, illnesses (unless they require an immediate organ transplant from a family member), car being stolen, etc etc etc.
After hearing our rule, you might be surprised how many of our friends have adopted the same philosophy.
This is an observation, not a complaint, but seeing how Europeans have all the same devices we have,it's perplexing the lack of outlets. We ordered several before we left but still had to buy many more splitters, power strips and extension cords to function in our vacation rentals. There is generally one outlet in each room and already in use with a lamp or TV. So we have cords snaking all across the rooms....hello trip hazard...and outlets almost overloaded.
Traveling with 2 phones, one tablet and a Roku.
Seasonal predicament is space heaters provided...no central heat, so it's like a minefield on the floor.
Anyone else deal with this? Probably our 10th rental and all the same, including some upscale hotels.
I know the reasons, just wonder what you all do about it.
Bring less devices on vacation and concentrate on devices that can pull double duty. A smartphone, laptop and maybe dedicated camera should fulfill all of your needs. Might make an extra allowance for either
1. a spare smartphone or WAN/internet uplink device, but that function could be built in to a smart phone or laptop.
2. A portable rechargeable battery
Leave the Roku at home. If you absolutely need to watch USA TV then invest in a streaming account and/or VPN or download your stuff before you depart. Watch the programs on your laptop, or get a laptop that can plug into the HDMI port of the TV at the hotel.
Regarding charging: laptops equipped with multiple USB ports can act as a multi-port charger, which leaves one less device to be plugged in to the power outlet.
When I helped build in Europe the locals thought I was eccentric...
Why you ask?
Several reasons with the most often being too many outlets, walk in closet, bathroom on every floor with one just for the master bedroom and horror of horror a two car garage.
You see back in the states the electric code has evolved to minimize extension cord use... every wall of 24 inches wide requires and outlet... outlets to be spaced so a 6 foot cord will always reach along a wall, extra outlets in the kitchen... etc...
My Euro colleagues just said it was a blatant example of American Excess... but that is OK... really having multiple outlets in every room with nothing to plug in was seen as wasteful overconsumption... the whole idea of a convenience outlet was foreign to them.
I had been in enough Euro Kitchens back in the 80's were the only kitchen outlet was part of the drop in electric range...
The ensuite master bath was also over the top... how could others use the bathroom if they had to go through the bedroom... bingo ;-)
Of it all I still like what the locals call my Monster Garage... two car with room to open all your car doors... imagine that.
Last edited by Ultrarunner; 01-26-2020 at 07:39 PM..
Bring less devices on vacation and concentrate on devices that can pull double duty. A smartphone, laptop and maybe dedicated camera should fulfill all of your needs. Might make an extra allowance for either
1. a spare smartphone or WAN/internet uplink device, but that function could be built in to a smart phone or laptop.
2. A portable rechargeable battery
Leave the Roku at home. If you absolutely need to watch USA TV then invest in a streaming account and/or VPN or download your stuff before you depart. Watch the programs on your laptop, or get a laptop that can plug into the HDMI port of the TV at the hotel.
Regarding charging: laptops equipped with multiple USB ports can act as a multi-port charger, which leaves one less device to be plugged in to the power outlet.
We stopped lugging the laptop when I retired. . . Tablet and smartphone replace it entirely. Agree with the portable rechargeable battery. I carry one in my purse all the time - slightly larger than a lipstick.
I'm in total agreement. When Overseas, we turn off the ability to make or receive phone calls. We've NEVER purchased a cruise line internet package - and never will. We religiously pack lightly - my kindle has 100% eliminated the need for bring X number of heavy, bulky paperback books. My husband amuses himself on long plane rides playing games on his tablet and listening to audio books.
For us, There is one BIG problem caused by being connected. People with bad news can reach us. We decided years ago that there's no benefit to finding out about bad things when we're out of the country. 25+ years ago my father told me, "If I croak while you're gone, I'll be just as dead when you get back. There's no reason to ruin your trip and **** away all that money."
He is gone now, but we still believe and follow that rule. And tell our (very small) family, friends and pet sitters to absolutely, positively not send us texts, emails, etc about deaths, pet problems, a fire or flood in our home, somebody being arrested, illnesses (unless they require an immediate organ transplant from a family member), car being stolen, etc etc etc.
After hearing our rule, you might be surprised how many of our friends have adopted the same philosophy.
This is what I meant. After we call for transportation to the airport our phone is shut off. We turn it on when we get back to the home airport to call for a cab. Whatever has happened while we were gone we'll find out about when we're home. The idea of a vacation is to get away from the daily routine and enjoy a new culture and relax.
For us, There is one BIG problem caused by being connected. People with bad news can reach us. We decided years ago that there's no benefit to finding out about bad things when we're out of the country. 25+ years ago my father told me, "If I croak while you're gone, I'll be just as dead when you get back. There's no reason to ruin your trip and **** away all that money."
He is gone now, but we still believe and follow that rule. And tell our (very small) family, friends and pet sitters to absolutely, positively not send us texts, emails, etc about deaths, pet problems, a fire or flood in our home, somebody being arrested, illnesses (unless they require an immediate organ transplant from a family member), car being stolen, etc etc etc.
After hearing our rule, you might be surprised how many of our friends have adopted the same philosophy.
What if it's someone who becomes suddenly critically ill, and there's time for you to get home to see them again before they pass? You wouldn't want to know?
Personally, I don't need to completely sever contact with people I love in order to enjoy my vacations.
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