What we’ve Learned about Travelling, Part 2: Technology.
Did you remember to grab your noise-cancelling headphones before heading out on your next adventure? No? Bummer. This is probably the single most important thing we take with us on the plane, and it was never something we anticipated wanting (or needing). As it turns out, planes are loud. Really loud. That makes intuitive sense, but it wasn’t something we’d ever really thought about. We read a few web opinions saying how much of a game-changer noise cancelling headphones were and didn’t really give it much thought: but how good are they, really? They’re expensive, at least the good ones, and they do pretty much the same thing as regular headphones, right? Wrong. To say we were amazed the first time we turned them on is an understatement. All that ambient noise of the engines, people talking, air vents blasting magically goes away and you hear…nothing. That person sitting next to you who gets a little too excited to chat about stuff you aren’t really interested in? Mute! The first time this happened I’d swear I could almost hear angels singing. We splurged to get the Bose Quiet Comfort Noise-Cancelling earbuds a few years ago. Yes, earbuds. Are they as good as headphones? Probably not. Do they still work amazingly well? Yep. And they’re much more compact, which is important when you’re travelling with limited space and/or trying to sleep. There are newer versions of these that have been recently released with bluetooth rather than wired connectivity, but we haven’t tried them yet. Our wired earbuds have roughly an 8 hour charge while the wireless earbuds are advertised to have about 3 hours – that isn’t going to make it to Europe or through multiple movies, so we haven’t made the upgrade yet.
Also remember that RFID-blocking technology is your friend while travelling. The last thing you want while travelling is for someone to steal your credit card information and have the bank cancel your card(s) or lose your identity, so it’s important to protect yourself. There’s an increasing number of brands that build this into their accessories like purses, wallets, and backpacks. Or, if you already have a bag you like, you can buy RFID-blocking cards or card sleeves at major retailers. Then you just put them in your wallet or purse or slide your regular card into the sleeve and you’re good-to-go. Tasha has these RFID blocking cards in her Kate Spade purse to run around at home but will also carry a bigger purse to fit her Kindle for longer trips like this one from Arden Cove that has RFID built into the card and passport slots. Jason carries a slim RFID blocking wallet from PacSafe but will also put the RFID blocking cards in his backpack.
We all need a little entertainment to get from point A to B these days. Tasha used to be one of those people who hauled a pile of books along to keep her entertained in the airport, on planes, in hotels, in the car, etc. In the interest of conserving space and lowering weight to lug around, this has morphed into a Kindle that weighs almost nothing, can hold a nearly unlimited number of books to keep her busy and fits in her purse or backpack. There are a wide variety of e-readers out there from Kindle to Nook to an app on your phone, so finding one that works great for you is as easy as it’s ever been. Tasha is a fan of Kindle because of the way it integrates with Amazon to send you reminders about new books, deals on authors you’re following and also integrates with the Libby app to let you borrow library books for free with your library card and the Goodreads app to keep track of what you’ve read and to share recommendations with your friends. If you haven’t figured it out already, she’s a bit of a book nerd with a wide variety of quirky interests. You can follower her on Goodreads for an interesting variety of book recommendations: Tasha DeBode. Jason on the other hand is happy playing brain games on his phone. His current favorite is solitaire.
On the same book note, we also make great use of the Audible app, the Libby app and various podcasts to just listen to books, news (shout-out to our favorite, The Daily!) and stories with our noise cancelling headphones instead of reading a physical book when you need to close your eyes. If you’re one of those people who struggles with motion and light sickness like Tasha, you will highly appreciate this option. It keeps your mind busy, your eyes closed and your anxiety a bit lower so you can get through the hardest parts of your journey with someone purring sweet nothings into your ear. I imagine this would also be a great time for a meditation app…something to try.
