It’s true that while you’re travelling and having a wonderful time fulfiling your dreams and ticking items off your bucket list, you might not be thinking of those left at home all the time. That’s only natural. But it’s a good idea to keep in touch with them so that they know you’re safe, you know they’re well, because you love them (and vice versa), and so you can ground yourself once in a while. Exciting adventures are great, but remembering (literally) where you came from is important too.
Depending on where you are and what your budget is, there are a variety of different ways to stay in touch with loved ones when you’re travelling. Read on to find out what they are so you can be prepared before you even set off, safe in the knowledge that you’ll be able to keep up with the goings-on at home even if you’re not there.
Send Postcards
One of the simplest and possibly cheapest ways to stay in touch with the people you left at home when you set off on your adventures is to send postcards. Although this might seem somewhat old-fashioned compared to today’s impressive communication technology, the truth is that there is nothing quite like the anticipation of waiting for the post to be delivered to see where the next postcard has been sent from. You don’t have to write lots of information – just a quick summary of what you’ve been doing is fine, so it won’t even take you very long.
These postcards can be collected by the person you’re sending them to, giving them a unique overview of your travels. Or you might even ask if you can pick them all up once you have arrived back home to add to your collection!
Make Phone Calls
Another very simple method of staying in touch with your friends and family is phoning them. It’s not something we do that much of at home, but a phone call once a week or so just to check in and let everyone know you’re well and having an amazing time can be enough to put everyone’s mind at ease and to enable you to continue on your way without feeling guilty about keeping in touch.
The only problem with this option is that it can prove to be a fairly expensive one, depending on where you have travelled to. Assuming you have mobile phone reception, the cost of a phone call from wherever you are to home can be pricey, using up a big chunk of your travelling budget.
To cope with this, you can use various apps such as WhatsApp that will give you free calls (again, you will need a signal or to be connected to wifi) or you can invest in a local SIM card. By doing this, you’ll have a local number, and it won’t cost you quite as much to call home.
Use Video Calling
Many people have video called one another more in 2020 than ever before, and this can be the perfect way to stay in touch when you’re travelling as well. Not only can your friends and family see you (proving that you’re well), but they can see wherever you are too. If you want to show them the Taj Mahal or the Leaning Tower of Pisa or the Eiffel Tower or any other exciting landmark, you can do so quickly and easily.
Conversely, video calling means you don’t have to miss out on important events back home; by having a Zoom invitation or calling someone using Google Hangouts (amongst many other options) you can be there for weddings, christenings, birthdays, graduations, and more. You can even help with planning a gender reveal party, or watch your loved ones opening Christmas presents and have a virtual Christmas lunch with them.
Since we have this new and always improving technology it makes sense to use it as much as possible, and when you’re travelling it means that you can easily stay included in everyone’s lives while still having the most amazing time away from home.
Start A Blog
It may not be possible or cost-effective to contact everyone who wants to hear from you on a regular basis while you’re away. If you did this, by the time you were done phoning or video calling all the interested parties, you’d have no time left to explore or do the things you want to do while you’re on your trip, and then you’d have nothing to tell them anyway (not to mention it would be a big waste of time and money).
Therefore, writing a blog might be a useful alternative. You can speak directly to those who really do need to hear from you – parents, partner, children, perhaps a best friend – and then everyone else can read about your adventures through your blog. You can add photos, links to specific events or places, and you can even publish it publicly so that lots of people can read about your travels.
In some instances, blogging can even bring you an income (this will depend on a variety of factors, including advertising) which might be enough to prolong your travels. Even if this doesn’t happen for you, you can collate your words into a book and publish it on your return as a marvellous keepsake of the fun you had while you were away.
Social Media
The final idea we have for you is social media. It’s likely that you’ll already be using at least one platform, and whether it’s Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or anything else, you can use it while you’re away to keep everyone at home up to date on your progress and the things you’re doing.
Since this may well be something you would have done anyway, it’s no extra hardship, and you can even use the private messaging functions that most social media sites have to send special messages to those you really want to connect with.
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