In 2007, I became a fully initiated Australian by taking a gap year during my undergraduate degree and moving to Europe. I had $400, a credit card and the sort of confidence that you can only fake by being a middle-class 21-year-old who believes that these are the best days of her life. In 2017, I travelled the world as a digital nomad while working as Sales Director for memobottle. I had a regular income, a smartphone and a laptop and the sort of doubt you can only experience by being a thirty-something single woman who avoids logging on to social media lest another friend be celebrating an engagement, marriage or birth.Although I had travelled – solo and with partners and friends – during those 10 years, the differences between the bookends were stark. A list was in order. So here I bring you, the 11 Differences Between Travelling in 2007 and 2017, A List:
Mobile Phones
Then
Although I had one in 2007, I rarely used it, as despite purchasing local sims it was cheaper to call from payphones. Social media as we know it was only in its infancy, and Instagram didn’t even exist. I did however pass many long bus rides by beating my high score on snake.
Now?
I am dependent upon my iphone that connects me to the world from my pocket and is paid for by my company through a reasonable Vodafone International Roaming plan. There is no excuse to not stay in contact with family, friends and the latest hilarious buzzfeed animals post.
Google Maps
Then
Google Maps didn’t exist. Walking around cities would result in serendipitous wrong turns after pulling a soggy folded map out of your pocket. Lonely Planets would be turned around and around while trying to work out which way was north. Fitbits were not necessary because we were all walking 10k steps a day in the wrong direction.
Now?
I obsessively check my google maps every few blocks to check how many minutes away my destination is. I carry a portable charger on me so that I won’t have to look like a lost tourist and gasp! Ask for directions!
Phone Camera
Then
I had a state of the art point and shoot that cost over $500 and would see me spending hours at an internet café slowly uploading images over dial up for no one but my mum to ever look at.
Now?
Although I travel with a mirrorless camera, I use my smartphone camera everyday – and the quality is better than my point and shoot from 10 years ago. Need to remember an address? Snap. Need to keep a receipt? Snap. Want to make everyone at home jealous? Snap.
Social Media
Then
I had a facebook account that I used to post wordy and, if I’m being honest, arduous updates of my travels. There was no Instagram, I didn’t use twitter, and selfie sticks were not yet a thing. There was no demand for, or pressure to ‘create content’, and best of all, there was no anxiety about what everyone else was doing with their lives.
Now?
If you don’t put it on social media, did it really happen? Social media is, unfortunately, not for reality, but for our dream life – whether we’re travelling or not. It sets unrealistic expectations about what are lives should be, rather than enjoying them for what they are.
Constant Connectivity
Then
I could go days without connecting to my concerned mum and envious friends. I didn’t have constant updates about Trump’s latest gaffe or Married at First Sight. I was independent and alone and discovering the big wide world.
Now?
I receive Slack and email notifications almost constantly, no matter the time zone. My mum sends me more emojis and articles about politics than I knew could exist 10 years ago. I receive terror alerts directly to my phone in at least the UK, US and Australia. There is no escaping. There is no alone time.
The author (left) in a rare moment of disconnectivity while in the Sierra Nevada mountain range in California in 2017.
No money vs Money
Then
I was on a shoestring budget, meaning that day-to-day living included:
Eating rice with curry powder for days on end
Drinking the cheapest alcohol possible despite the certain horrific hangover
Hearing people have sex in crowded hostels
Sleeping on airport floors for 24-hour layovers
Sleeping rough for a night or two in a train station because you had no bank card
Fresh bread and laughing cow cheese around most of France
Now?
Oh man, this is one change that I love. Receiving fortnightly pay, even on start-up wages, is a luxury. I can afford to eat 3 meals a day, stay in safe accommodation, drink booze that won’t leave me in bed the next day and splurge on entertainment and tours.
The author in 2007 surviving on a (probably not $ induced) liquid only diet
Uber / Lyft / GoJek
Then
Did I ever hail a cab? I’m not sure that I did. I walked an awful long way with a huge backpack on the back of me, a small backpack on the front of me, and a Lonely Planet held up the wrong way. When the destination wasn’t within walking distance, it was sure to be within public transport distance. There was no reason to spend money on a taxi just to save an hour or two.
Now?
No matter which part of the world, ridesharing companies are the easiest, usually cheapest and almost definitely safest way to travel. I still marvel at the ease of arriving in a foreign country, hailing an Uber / Lyft / GoJek and sitting in comfort while I’m being taken to my destination. It removes a lot of the ‘travel romance’, but when was catching a 2-hour long crowded bus ride while carefully guarding all your possessions ever truly romantic?
Airbnb
Then
Hostels full of smelly clothes, loud snoring, indelicate sex and questionable people. I never had anything stolen from a hostel room, but plenty of my friends did. Yes, I met some amazing people from around the world because we shared a kitchen, bathroom sink or bedroom, but sleepless nights were a way of life and wearing thongs (flip-flops) in the shower was a must.
Now?
It’s Airbnb all the way. For little more than a dorm room I can share with a house full of locals. Depending on the country, I can spend the same amount and have my own place with a study to work from. I always make sure that I have wifi for work, and a kitchen so that I can prepare my own food if need be, but having your own space never gets old and there are plenty of other ways to meet people.
Tinder
Then
No such thing existed. Although it probably wasn’t necessary because hostels were the way to meet people.
Now?
When travelling tinder is more than just a hookup app – it’s a great way to meet people and see a local side of the city. It’s also great for hook-ups too.
English Everywhere. (Or at least google translate…)
Then
I spoke broken German to a woman in Poland with the hope that she’d point me in the right direction. She gave me a loaf of bread and a knife.
I told an elderly Spanish woman My Life Story in the middle of the night somewhere between Nice and Valencia while we were waiting for a local bus to pick us up after we arrived at the stop 8 hours late due to a breakdown. She didn’t understand a word, but I think she also told me hers. When we had to part hours later after spooning on a bus seat we hugged and cried and laughed.
I learnt basic phrases for most continental European language.
Now?
Everyone speaks English. Everyone! I still try to learn the local language, as you can’t beat that connection, but at a push, English is fine. When that doesn’t work, just hold your phone up to street signs or nearby someone speaking and it will instantly translate for you.
The elderly Spanish woman who heard my life story. heart emoji.
Disconnecting and enjoying travel
Then
It was the best part about travelling
Now?
It is the best part about travelling
Although there are certainly some improvements in travel in the last 10 years, and I definitely enjoy travelling with some money and not sharing noisy hostel rooms, travelling ten years ago was simpler and more romantic. It was easier to disconnect and just enjoy the moment – wherever you were. Now, there are drones and selfie sticks and incoming texts and constant connectivity.If I am to be honest, I don't think that I would go back to the days pre mobile phone/maps in your pocket/endless cat videos for long train rides BUT sometimes it is nice to turn off, be somewhere where noone speaks your language and just enjoy the moment.In two weeks I am off on my next trip, and have some leave booked - my first real leave since starting at memobottle. I cannot wait to escape! (And then share all my photos and stories all over social media when I am back online!)
