My friend Justin from Las Vegas recently called me from Burma and said, "Ernesto, my boss wants to speak to me, and he doesn't know I'm in Burma. How do I know when he calls, and how do I call him without getting into trouble?"
Set up your home telephone and cell phone with voicemails and passwords so you can access them remotely. Keep in mind that most people never set up passwords on their cell phones because they’ve never had to reach their cell phone remotely from a third-party phone. Also, set up a Skype account, Line, WhatsApp, Google Talk, etc. I use Skype, and it's a penny to call from anywhere in the world to the USA.
Set up your phone with an autoresponder to respond to text messages and phone calls. The message can say whatever it is you want people to know about you. I usually say I'm out of town working and to please email me so I can respond much faster. I also use voice to text services such as www.phonetag.com, that’ll send you a text of your voice messages when they come in. You can also set up temporary or long-term secondary phone lines for people to call you on using Google Talk or Burner App to set up multiple phone lines if needed.
Smartphones
Smartphones are possibly the greatest invention ever. I remember reading an issue of Time Magazine that had an article on the greatest invention of the decade and maybe ever: "The Apple iPhone." I agree it’s amazing for travel. You can use it to do hundreds of thousands of different things, literally. You can shop around in the App Store for millions of apps that you may find beneficial for your trip.
The basics I use it to include internet access as most places have free Wi-Fi. I use it to pay my bills, to conduct business, to write this book, as a flashlight, for maps, for GPS, to buy flights, to book hotels, to create PDFs, to e-sign documents, to take pictures, for translation, for scanning, for faxing, or for just about everything else.
It saves you from having to haul around a laptop or pay for the use of an Internet café. You can also store information on it as well. Just make sure you install or activate an application for finding your phone in case you ever lose it, or so you can wipe it clean remotely in case you can't retrieve it, protecting all of your personal info. You can even plug it in occasionally and transfer your information, pictures, etc. into your online account as a backup.
This backing up also saves you from having to print items. At airports and venues, you can often show them your digital ticket on your phone. The barcodes on these digital tickets can be directly scanned, and then you’re in. If you're going somewhere you've never been before, use digital travel guides such as Lonely Planet, Frommer’s, Barefoot, or Let's Go. These guides are full of everything you'll need to travel such as maps, where to stay, where to eat, sites to visit, history, customs, etc. These books will transform anyone into a professional traveler in an instant.
Expect to be on boats, planes, trains, and automobiles while on your vacation. Why not sharpen your skills, learn a language, or read those books you've been putting off reading? By downloading them into your phone, this will save you space and items to carry along. Get yourself a library card, and you can check out thousands of books for free with your smartphone to read while you're on your trip.
I use an app called Overdrive that allows me to check out eight books at a time for three weeks. You can renew if you need more time. You can also download and pay for subscription services such as Audible, Epic, or Amazon Kindle which give you more book options and options to buy and own a copy of a digital book.
I recommend a good smartphone cover such as an Otter Box and some extra cell phone battery banks to use in case you can get a charge. This allows you to go up to a week without a charge depending on your usage. I don’t use the covers that have built-in batteries as they drain and damage your phone’s battery. They also have waterproof covers if you're going somewhere where there's water. Almost all electronic devices now use USB cords, so you can bring one along for your electronics should you choose to bring more with you.
Smartphones also have extra zoom lenses that can be purchased in case you’re going on a safari in Africa or trekking in the jungles of South America and need an extra zoom for your camera.
One of the biggest downfalls of smartphones, which can easily be overcome, is downloading your personal info onto a shared computer.
I have also recently started buying a SIM card in the countries I travel to, as this allows me to use my phone and access my info without the roaming charges. Generally, you still can’t call internationally unless you have an international calling plan. However, you can use Google Maps to find walking and driving directions on your trip, WhatsApp/ messenger/skype to call people, and translation apps to communicate with locals.
Wi-Fi
McDonald’s, libraries, Starbucks, malls, and most cafés have free Wi-Fi. More and more public spaces such as parks and transportation areas are also offering free public Wi-Fi around the world.
I talk more in-depth of travel issues in my Amazon Book. Check it out here.