The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
I have to warn you up front: you might not like this column. Not that IÕll offend you or anything, but I have to tell you that IÕm writing this from the balcony of the Outrigger Hotel in Waikiki in Honolulu, Hawaii. ItÕs about 28 degrees Celsius today and as the sun came up this morning, I watched the first surfers of the day go out. IÕve never been here before, but it is an amazing place. My family and I have been down in a submarine to see coral reefs, weÕve been out whale watching, and tomorrow weÕre going across the island to see the waterfalls and spend some time in the rainforest. IÕm lucky enough that I get to travel a fair amount. I go to different places quite regularly and IÕve got a lot more travel coming up in the future. But what I find is that the Internet is playing a larger role in what I do before I travel and even when I get there. It often even begins with the booking. I like booking things online simply because of the choice I get and how it fits my schedule. I can compare dozens of different flights and their prices. I can see the airlines on time rates (which I have to tell you are falling dramatically in the US compared to Canada) and choose what fits my schedule best. I can also do all of this at 4 a.m. if this is when I find IÕve got time to do it. The same is true for tours. When I book something online, the websites are of course helpful enough to suggest a few things I might want to do while IÕm in that city. I often pay attention to these things. Even if you donÕt book them online, you can at least see what is available to do while you are in a new city. Another thing IÕve learned to do before I travel anywhere is look for a hotel and then stick its name into Google to see what kinds of reviews I find, good or bad. While angry customers can be nasty online, if you read all the reviews carefully, youÕll get a good idea of what a place is like. Having to spend a fair amount of time down in the US, there are also a few special things to remember to help speed you through security. The first is that I always keep my camera, laptop, Nintendo DS and mp3 player with me in my carry-on when I travel (although I know a guy who recently put his laptop in his luggage because he didnÕt want to carry it and when his luggage showed up, his computer was gone). On the other hand, I also make sure that all of my charge cords, battery rechargers, extra batteries, etc. go into my luggage. Carrying this stuff with you just fills up your carry-on, and all of those wires and batteries must look awfully bad on the x-ray machine (in the past IÕve had my bag completely gone through at security several times). Everything needs to be checked by the people in security, but they are getting better and better at it. Just make sure you are prepared to pull it all out and show them that everything works. Another interesting thing IÕve learned traveling is that more often than not, the more expensive a hotel is, the more expensive and slower their Internet service will be. While a lot of good, mid-range hotels provide excellent Internet service, often for free, it seems that in larger cities the fast Internet service IÕve come to expect even at my own house in the bush canÕt be found. The same is true for airports. It seems smaller airports are beginning to provide Internet service as a service at no charge, while large places insist on taking people for another $5 to $10 per hour on top of all of the airport improvement taxes and security fees they already add to the cost of your ticket. So plan ahead, travel lightly, and make sure you have every cord and charger imaginable when you go or you are liable to be looking at a steep bill for a new laptop cord when you find youÕve forgotten yours at home. ([email protected]) Tech Notes runs Mondays.
