Pulling into my driveway last night, the lights didn’t welcome me as they should. I already had a bad feeling about this only to be confirmed when I saw a downed wire in my front yard and tangled in a tree. Which wire was the issue – electric, phone or cable? Each with their own set of headaches, I was hoping phone would be the winner given that the temperatures were quickly falling into the teens and I really like heat and electricity. But in the back of my mind, I knew better. I knew it was the cable/internet wire and that a saga would ensue as I tried to get this fixed. Doesn’t Comcast know that Downton Abbey is waiting for me in my DVR? This is serious stuff, folks! (joking as I listen to music at night and watch maybe an hour of tv). I won’t bore you with the absurdity of dealing with Comcast (multiple calls, reps, they disconnected me twice, was no-show today, etc.) but this is more about the unplanned and forced digital detox I’m going through which seems harder at home than on the road. So while I have my Comcast issues to work out, I figured I’d share some fun connected/disconnected stories instead from the road.
When I travel I bring my iPod Touch (for social media and personal stuff relying on free wi-fi) and my work blackberry (email, phone, text only). T-Mobile is my blackberry service provider and in my experience generally have good international coverage, their issue with me? I’m not quite so sure but they have made my travels memorable both in a good and bad way.
Better Reception on Easter Island
On my Easter Island vacation, I expected to be out of range given that I was in the navel of the world and so far away from land. Imagine my surprise when hiking to the top of the hill off of the dirt road to see this view, my work blackberry phone rings! Thinking it’s an emergency (you should only call me on vacation in an emergency) only to have a telemarketer try to sell me something! So thank you TMobile for proving that you have a strong signal on Easter Island, Chile than you do in my own home in Philadelphia. Even the inn had free wifi for guests – I actually need to jump on my internet network at home to get any coverage in my dead zone of a house.
Excuse me, can I use your phone to call my driver?
There are no pay phones in Heathrow’s T5 (that I could find anyway – you’d think they’d add a cheesy red box phone for the tourists!). I landed in London and turned on my blackberry as I have many times with my work trips and had no service. My phone has international coverage given my travel patterns so should have easily worked. On this trip I was being met by my taxi driver friend and needed to text him that I had my bags and was ready. I was really stuck on this one so I went outside hoping to see him at the curb (but knowing he’s having a coffee near the airport as usual waiting on my text). So I approached the really cute younger guy (why not? ok he was the only guy outside at the time) and said “excuse me my phone is dead, can you text my driver for me?” Yes, I know it sounds bad but he was really nice and just handed me his phone to call instead. Thank you kind, cute, stranger!
My 10 Day Record
Traveling in Africa for 27 days, I thought that it would be hard to stay connected at different points of the trip. Being out in the Okavango Delta of Botswana, I was thrilled to have no service, it was a magical place being on the water in the mokoro boat and exploring by walking safari. When I landed in Chobe, Botswana, my emails and text messages quickly updated and I was shocked back into the world. Being disconnected for three days was just wonderful. Well, the universe must have sensed my happiness and conspired with TMobile to throw me back into the world of the disconnected for the next 10 days!!! When I left Chobe with plans to meet new friends for dinner in Victoria Falls, my blackberry betrayed me, good only for the time. I missed dinner but met Helen instead which was awesome.
After Zimbabwe, I traveled to Inyati Lodge inside the Sabi Sands section of Kruger National Park. Who has time to email, text, etc. when there are game drives to go on and people to meet at the dinner in the boma? I didn’t miss the outside world, didn’t care what was happening at home, forgot what day it was and what chat and hashtag I needed to use. Life was good, travel was good, the sunrise and sunsets were amazing.
Welcome Back to the World
When I landed in Capetown, I expected my blackberry to explode with 10 days of emails, text messages, phone messages, etc. It was silent. I pulled the battery to reset, it remained silent – no beeps, alarms or red blinking lights. With the harsh reality of Capetown so far away from the Delta and the Safari camp, I now was freaking out (and having a meltdown too due to other issues at the same time). There was free wi-fi in the room but it wasn’t strong enough (I requested an in-room router for my stay) to catch up and contact my work IT guy to contact T-Mobile for me (they gave an odd reason for the disconnection). I was back in city mode, back into the world of the connected and being disconnected made me feel left out. I got that text about dinner in Victoria Falls from the Australian sisters, sadly, it was ten days too late!
Connect or Disconnect?
When I mention my 10 day unplanned disconnect from the world on twitter chats or in conversation, people freak out and say they couldn’t do it, they don’t know how to be away for a weekend without checking their devices. Heck, my friend was live tweeting/facebooking his ER visit and emergency surgery last weekend (how much is too much?). A friend said, if he could “he would have asked the nurse to disconnect the heart monitor to charge his iPhone to tweet some more”. When I’m on vacation, I’m happy to be disconnected as I really can enjoy the trip without the interruption of my daily life at home. For the most part, I think the universe was sending me a message to slow down and savor the experience in front of me – talk to new people, making new connections with the world and capture the memories in my mind along the way.
But now, here at home, my daily life is being interrupted by this unplanned outage and it doesn’t make me happy. How long can you go without being connected – without a text or call or status update – no likes, no comments, no tweets, no YouTube videos, no music to stream – how long can you be silent in the world at home and abroad?
(note: I borrowed a friends mobile hot spot to write this post)