Does technology detract from a holiday experience?

[ermen]

So I just got back from Vietnam. Had a great trip eating (and following Luke Nguyen's recommendations in Street Food Asia)

I relied on Uber mainly to get around. The reason being it was convenient - all I had to do was punch in the addresses in the app and voila the car arrives and drops me to exactly where I wanted to go. No need to pull out a single $$$ (dong), and didn't even need to speak a word of Vietnamese! And everything was GPS tracked so nobody was going to take you on the "scenic" route (not really relevant for Uber), but i took a cab once and just tracked its route using google maps to make sure everything was on track (having said that Vinasun and Mai Linh cabs are known to be generally safe and reliable and you should only take those in HCMC).

But that got me thinking, back in the day, if you wanted to go around, you will need to talk to the taxi driver (or motorcycle taxi) to get you to your right destination, sometimes try to negotiate a fare, and generally try not to be scammed.
Or if you wanted to visit somewhere, you would need to pull out an old fashioned map and try to navigate there (no GPS and google maps!).
And with money, you generally brought your money with you and tried to ration/protect it and you perhaps needed to find a money changer (now, you go to the Citibank ATM - I am actually thankful for this because now I don't need to bring about so much cash and risk losing it)

So I suppose technology has reduced the chance of getting scammed, and increased passenger safety. But still, it makes the holiday experience somewhat "sterile".

What do you think?

 

[RooFlyer]

Good discussion point. 100% with the tech. Taxis and the like a necessary if not evil, then chore whilst away. Not interested in meaningless chat with driver. And I also like my internet connections

 

[GDSman]

I think this is an excellent subject and I have been very aware of the enhancements and detractions that a mobile connected world brings to the travel experience.
I love my apps - maps, Uber, guides, TripAdvisor etc. I can research, book and review with ease. If the family splits up we speak to coordinate rendezvous points or advise delays. Never lost. Pick safe (both in the sense of secure and reliable) places to stay, eat and drink.
And then I remember some of the most memorable experiences in my early travel, Pre tech years. Getting lost and discovering that amazing pub/taverna/cafe, talking to locals. That filthy dive that we laughed about for weeks after. That scary moment.
Can travel become too 'safe'? I'm conscious of trying to find the right blend of connected (managed and predictable) and 'old school' (spontaneous and exciting) but I fear I'm trending towards the former...

 

[RB]

Not sure that stats support my thoughts, but it seems now that more people are booking ahead. We used to just have a rough idea of an area we would want to stay & then look for a room when we got there. Now, with heaps more info (photos, reviews etc) we seem to be booking before we go & booking further in advance to get in before others book out where we think we want to be.

 

[jastel]

Tech is sensible but does "sterilize" things as you say...I like winging it!
I do have tech and use it, mainly cameras, I prefer a paper map for somewhere I dont know and will only get the phone out as a last resort.
Back at the hotel I will wifi and research what to do tomorrow etc but I hate staring at a screen all day instead of the place I am at.

IMHO you havent "been" to a city unless you have got lost on the buses or subway...using tech can help you out to get home but lowers the fun.
Or seen a country unless you have driven around it, not necessarily by yourself but at least on a bus etc as the locals do...not just flown across it.
People say "I have done the USA", but only seen Disneyland and New York CBD...you've done squat!

Take a look up from your phone or from behind your camera once in a while and you will see a lot more.

 

[Simo]

I have used Google Maps and it has saved me especially in Jakarta...

 

[Mattg]

Technology has definitely made travel easier. Things like Google Maps and Uber are hugely convenient.

But I do think it's important to take a step back and remember that technology is not the be-all and end-all. One of the things I love doing when overseas is to go for a walk and find a restaurant that's full of locals. If the menu is not available in English (or another language that I understand), then great - I'll just choose a few dishes at random and hope for the best. I find that you get delicious, cheap food and a much more authentic experience this way.

Recently I was in a foreign city with a couple of North Americans and before we could head out to find food, they spent 30 minutes checking reviews of all the nearby restaurants on Yelp. When we finally got to a restaurant (which of course had a "recommended on Tripadvisor" sticker in the window), they were able to translate the entire menu using an App.

I'm not saying that the second experience was bad, but IMHO all of this technology does take away part of the fun of travelling.

Now, don't get me started on selfie sticks...

 

[Pushka]

Bloody. Selfie. Sticks. That is all.

 

[MickC32]

Great topic!

I too like the old school way of losing yourself in the city/region you are visiting. The majority of my most memorable travel experiences stem from getting lost or ripped off or being generally naive of everything!

But I'm glad to have Uber, Google Maps, Tripadvisor etc as a security blanket......guess I'm having a bob each way!

 

[straitman]

Bloody. Selfie. Sticks. That is all.

Absolutely :!:

Great topic!

I too like the old school way of losing yourself in the city/region you are visiting. The majority of my most memorable travel experiences stem from getting lost or ripped off or being generally naive of everything!

But I'm glad to have Uber, Google Maps, Tripadvisor etc as a security blanket......guess I'm having a bob each way!

I think I'm with you on this. It's nice to wander and work it out but it's also nice to have the technology as a safety net.

 

[cgichard]

I don't use a mobile phone at all when at home, but I did take one for the first time when travelling in France last year. I was doing some solo hotel-to-hotel walking arranged by a comapny that transported my luggage from A to B, and they required me to have a mobile phone in case of emergencies. In the event local calls were precluded on my 3 SIM without an extra top-up which I couldn't do because the UK card I had used was registered to my Australian address, and not to one in the UK.

Because of the French train strikes throughout my time in France, the ability to make calls would have been useful, but on one occasion a friendly barman made the call for me, and on another, one taxi driver was willing to contact the one from another company who had been supposed to meet me, had my train not been delayed by 3 hours. He also phoned the hotel in a town some distance away to let them know I would be arriving much later than planned.

Free wi-fi was a God-send, as train cancellations were sometimes not announced until quite late on the previous evening.

So I do plan to take a phone when I go again this year - just in case of untoward events, but not for frequent use.

 

[burmans]

The majority of my most memorable travel experiences stem from getting lost or ripped off or being generally naive of everything!

Getting lost in a city can be fun but it can reach a point where it stop being fun and in some cases becomes downright dangerous.

Why not take your phone with you, don't use when you are getting "lost" but you have a backup when you get tired of it and want to find yourself.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Not all technology works for you. Some works against you.

ie

1/ I was hiking around Wilson Prom for 4 days on over Australia Day recently and on night 3 international backpackers pull out their mini lithium battery powered boom box which they paired with their phone to produce loud club music in what is meant to be a remote and with nature campsite!

2/ At Mae Nam, Koh Samui, over Easter I was enjoying with my wife our dinner in a small local restaurant till the German Tourists arrived and gave each of their three children an iPad each to play loud games on so that they the parents could enjoy their dinner at the price of the enjoyment of our dinner.

 

[Pushka]

I used to take all my photos on the iPhone so they were easy to load on to the AFF app for trip reports. But my new compact camera takes beautifully crisp photos and it's a snap to wifi them to the phone. So the phone stays in the bag now which is a good thing. But I have this compulsion to always be contactable.

Technology - the best thing for me is having my photos always stored on my phone. They are categorized and I refer to them - all the time. My life pictures are on there. And yes they are backed up.

Second best thing for me is doing online Trip Reports. They are my travel diary and I love reading through them and what I was doing and thinking when traveling. I was never a fan of compiling handwritten ones but online I just enjoy the process.

We had one of those - let the kids play on noisy iPads at dinner to let the parents enjoy their dinner and ruin ours - last month in Singapore. We were there first. We motioned to the waiter and in typical 'no lose face' we were moved and not them. Oh well. At least it was quiet. I suspect this will be the new trend. And not a good one.

 

[JohnK]

I love being adventurous even if I do get into trouble more than most.

I love walking and exploring. I would never had found the golf bar in Soi 7 in July 2006 if I had known where I was going. The third best thing that's happened to me in Thailand. I've also come across some great people and places I would never have come across.

These days I book flights, hotels and necessary taxis using technology and research things to do if I have time. On holidays the only internet access I have is using smartphone wherever free wifi is available. The rest takes care of itself.

 

[Happy Dude]

I tried to tap into my old backpacking days in Shanghai a few years ago by staying at a hostel. Gone were the friendly travellers in the communal area exchanging tips and travel stories over a beer or three. In their place were tables of one, hunched over a screen of some sort, drinking up the free wifi, completely disconnected from like-minded folk just a few feet away yet "chatting" to their FB "friends" on other continents.

On the flipside of the solitude and narcissism created by technology-driven social media, technology has certainly created smoother paths for visas, reservations, transport etc etc and you'd be hard pressed - or foolish - to avoid it. I am very much in the "wing it" camp and to me, the OP's experience with Uber etc does sound a bit less fun but maybe opened up more eating opportunities. So not all bad.

 

[shbap]

Bloody. Selfie. Sticks. That is all.

I don't get the massive anti-selfie stick sentiment? I don't have one nor do I intend on getting one but I do indulge in selfies...otherwise I might as well use a combo of photoshop and google images. Selfie sticks have their place in the world and I think a lot of people are not very comfortable asking others to take a photo for them. But live and let live, they don't really annoy me or get in my way...

And with digital tech, I have found apps like Uber and Lyft to be awesome! Totally changed the game for getting around in India, for example. Just spent 5 days in LA and three of those we got around using Lyft and free wifi! Had some great chats with the Lyft drivers. Also, I find that "walk in" rates vs book online are vastly different these days, so I always look online when I'm winging it. I for one cannot wait until the absolutely ridiculous "roaming" mobile charges become a thing of the past...

 

[Pushka]

But selfie sticks do get in the way.

 

[Skyring]

The downside: the weight, the cost, the dongles and cords and chargers, the time. I didn't need to take three cameras (not to mention those in iPhone and iPad) to Iran. One small but good one would have been enough for the web work I mostly do. The Sony RX100, for example. Stick it in my pocket or belt pouch, add a tiny tripod for the tiny weight, I would have been covered.

Having to carry a lot of electronics takes up space and weight in the carry-on. I dare not trust these things to checked baggage. There's the need to keep them all charged, and fast-movers won't always have access to power points for long enough.

But it's a pipedream. I like having my portable gear: MacBook, iPad, iPhone, Apple Watch, all working together. At a pinch, I could ditch the laptop, I guess. I like having a good interchangeable lens camera and a backup body. And a small one for the plane.

Like it or not, we're connected to the internet nowadays. The ability of travel apps to ease passage through an unfamiliar city is incredible. Say what you like about getting lost and finding great places, I prefer not to get lost in the first place. It makes me uncomfortable and wastes time I usually don't have a lot of.

Sure, it'd be great to talk to more strangers, but they are all on their phones regardless of what I do. That's not going to change.

Coming back from Iran through Dubai, we were directed through some premium security lane. An attendant was called over to man the post as we placed our gear in trays and walked through the metal detector. I glanced over: she wasn't even looking at the screen. She was continuing her interrupted text conversation.

 

[bPeteb]

I'm with Pushka and selfie sticks. I find them intrusive even if they don't often 'affect me' directly. Saying that, if I'd had one I would have avoided sticking my hand in the minus-whatever-water in the Ross Sea in Jan when I wanted to get a shot of the ice from below the surface.

We don't roam. There's enough free wifi around that we can look up what we need to at start and end of day. GPS only to use maps. Offline translation enabled.

As many on AFF know, I do love my blogging, but it's often completed when we get home as there's too much going on while we're away.

In less than four weeks we'll be four days into a two week Brasil adventure. Cameras, phones, laptop ready to go