Keeping in touch with your family and friends at home is now one of the easiest aspects of daily life, and this is something that shouldn’t change when you’re away. Whether this be for work or travel purposes, it’s highly likely that one day you may be out of reach in an entirely different city, or country. Luckily, today’s world is more connected than ever before. A range of innovations have been designed with people in mind, and these can even be used from the other side of the world to connect with someone as if they were standing right in front of you.
Make the most of local SIM cards
Calling internationally is usually what prohibits people from being able to talk to loved ones on the road. It can cause lots of unwanted expenses if you simply use your usual SIM for contacting another country. Even using one megabyte of data on international rates is sometimes too much. This is why it’s a good idea to buy a local SIM to avoid paying data roaming charges, especially if you’re there for a long time, and especially if you’re not going to be near Wi-Fi for a while. By doing this, you can tap into available data at a local rate, rather than paying extortionate charges. If you’re a regular traveler, sometimes you can arrange an international bundle with your phone provider, where you can have cheaper international calls than normal.
Alternatively, you can install an app, which allows you to call India and other countries for cheap. For those who have an android phone or tablet, or for those who aren’t able to maintain a strong Wi-Fi connection, there are other apps you can install which will help you just as much, if not more. You could go one step up from this if you call India using Viber. This way, you don’t even require Wi-Fi, and the rate is extremely cheap compared to international calling.
Download a video calling application
Video calling using data will cost you a lot of money, which is why using an app that solely relies on a Wi-Fi connection is a better way of touching base. If you have an Apple device, you don’t need to worry about doing this, as apps like Facetime are already downloaded when you first buy it. You could also consider downloading Skype.
Update social media regularly
Social media is a great way of reaching out to lots of people at the same time for free. At some point in your trip, you’ll likely come across a Wi-Fi hotspot. When this happens, it’s a good idea to make the most of it by contacting everyone you need to in one go, before it disappears again. If you’re staying somewhere that has Wi-Fi available at all hours, you can go about messaging your friends and family exactly as you would at home. Providing them with regular updates will help them feel like they’re not missing out on important events from your trip; if you’re an avid traveler, starting up a blog is one way to give more detail about experiences you’re enjoying.
