Why Communication is a Vital Element in Travel

Travel And Communication – A Brief History

Travel and Communication as we know it today were not the same years ago. If one were to enter a time machine today and travel back to say the early 19th century, one would be astonished at how we lived in those times. Traveling from one place to another usually was on horseback and the fastest horses could take you up to a maximum distance of about 100 kilometers in a day. If you wanted to send a message there was no option of reaching out for the phone, you needed to write a letter which again would be delivered by horseback only or maybe on a ship. However, this scenario changed dramatically with the occurrence of two events, the development of the railways and the emergence of the telegraph system. Now distances that earlier used to take a day to traverse could be covered in a couple of hours and the telegraph system ensured that your messages reached remote corners within hours.

And then the ring from Alexander Graham Bell and the take off by the Wright brothers changed the very face of travel and communication. The rest, as they say, is history. The surge of technology has ensured that the world has never looked back since then.

Contemporary Travel And Communication

The world has shrunk today. The remotest corners of the world are just a flight or two away or just a call away. Air travel and state-of-the-art communication ensure that one is always accessible even on the go. New technology and the opening up of the spectrum has resulted in improving the quality of communication.

Smartphones and mobile networks have spawned an entirely new realm of social media. Today your colorful selfie in front of the Eiffel Tower or in front of a temple in Siem Reap can be shared almost instantly with your friends through the power of social media, fueled of course by a good communications network.

Network – The Holy Grail Of Travelers

We, as regular travelers for whom travel, is not only a passion but also a profession rely heavily on the availability of good networks wherever we travel. Our preferred network has always remained Airtel because of its robust connectivity in most places. We are also impressed by the power of Airtel speed in most places too.

Yes, there are moments when we crave for detox from all kinds of media and want to spend some time in a remote place in the lap of nature undisturbed by the ring of a phone or the beeps of WhatsApp messages. We do find these moments from time to time and sometimes we steal from the Bank of time. Many times these moments come on their own. But when we are traveling on work, the importance of a good network assumes vital significance.

On a recent trip to Arunachal Pradesh, the absence of a strong network in some areas served as a blessing in disguise as it gave us an opportunity to have an immersive experience of the local culture without distraction. However, the nature of our work makes it absolutely necessary for us to be always connected.

Moments of disconnect as we would like to call these experiences though enjoyable till they last, cannot of course last forever. A good communication network is necessary and most times vital for us when we travel and though there are multiple reasons why this is so important, here are three that we consider are important.

Good Network – A Professional Requirement

As travel bloggers and social media influencers, we need to be able to access our various social media platforms and site for us to be able to document and share our travel stories with our audiences. This needs to be done on the go, as after all there are not many takers for yesterday’s newspaper! We in most cases have committed deliverables to our clients’ deadlines of which have to be met, and if there is poor or no network we are in a soup. We need a network with good internet speed. Some of our travel articles for publications too are written on the go for which we need to do online research and this again calls for good network connectivity. An instance of how a good network helped us is the coverage of the Naropa Festival in Ladakh where we were able to do live updates on social media channels like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, thanks to the connectivity that Airtel network provided even in the remote reaches of Ladakh.

Good Network – A Personal Requirement

Being on the go for us means that we are away from home for long stretches of time. In such a scenario we need to be in touch with family and friends at home. This is normally done through phone calls or WhatsApp messages. But an absence of network throws a spanner in the works and things can become a little uncomfortable. Recently in Mechuka, Arunachal Pradesh, damage to the telecommunication tower had ensured the complete absence of network in the area. There was only one lone old fashioned STD PCO booth that functioned and had long queues before it. We braved the queue just to call back home, using a landline and let people know that we were safe and had not disappeared from the face of the earth. It was a sigh of relief as we left the place and hear our phones spring into life with connectivity from the nearest Airtel tower.

Good Network – An Addictive Convenience 

The advent of smartphones and smart apps have revolutionized the world and travel is no exception. Though many of these may be offline apps, a good network connection is needed for most. In most cases, we plan our own itineraries and use the power of google maps not only for finding our way but also for hunting out local eateries and hotels. We depend on our smartphone backed by a good network for many of our essential activities from money transfer to paying our utility bills on the go to checking out basic phrases of a foreign language in a foreign land.  A good network is needed when we are racing against time and want to check in before the cut-off time at the airport. The Airtel network has always stood by us in ensuring that we are able to conveniently complete all these tasks and experience has made us believe that it is indeed one of the best network available.

To summarize,  our travel would be disastrous without the support of a good communication network for the most part if not all. How would be able to share that rare moment of a Mountain Gorilla thumping its chest or find the hotel that we had booked in Florence which seemed to be non-existent or search for a vegetarian restaurant in Sihanoukville, Cambodia without harnessing the power of a good network.?

Travel and communication are inextricably linked and the lines between them seem to be blurring every moment. With the latest technology, one can only expect exciting innovations which are going to further transform travel and communication as we see them today, however, nothing can happen in the absence of a good network.

How important is a good network connection when you travel? What is the most important reason that you need a good network when you travel? Do let us know your thoughts about this and the future of travel and communication through our comments section.

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