Travelling in a post-pandemic world? Tech tips to keep in mind

It was a vivid and sunny day after I stepped off the aircraft in Lisbon, Portugal. With an 8-hour layover till my subsequent flight, I made a decision to go out into town. There was a chill within the early morning air, however the sky was clear with nearly zero air pollution. It was mid-September, and I used to be planning a three-week journey to Washington DC with London as a stopover on my journey again to India. I shortly went by three-to-four journey web sites and zeroed in on Air India because it was one of many least expensive and most handy flights.

Having been again in New Delhi for over two weeks now, I had a while to mull over the varied discoveries I made throughout my journey. Listed below are some suggestions and observations on methods to navigate post-pandemic journey.

Procurring a SIM within the USA could also be painless nevertheless it weighs in your pockets

I used to be going to be in Washington DC for simply over two weeks, and it appeared like a good suggestion to get a SIM card. Whether or not or not to take action (the opposite possibility being getting worldwide roaming in your India quantity) has all the time been a degree of rivalry amongst travellers, and evidently nothing has modified post-pandemic. The method of getting a SIM could also be pretty simple, however holding it for a number of journeys is a pressure in your pockets. Simply stroll right into a retailer that provides pay as you go SIMs (like T-Cellular or AT&T), choose a plan and voila, you’re executed. Or so I believed. 

I went to T-Cellular (one of many largest nationwide carriers in North America). An enormous chunk of the “plan” I obtained was the price of the SIM card. I paid $38 (roughly ₹3,000) for 6GB of knowledge for a month (there have been no weekly plans). The plan itself was $25 with the remainder of the fee being the SIM card ($10 or roughly ₹800). I may now speak, textual content and browse the web wherever within the nation! Nice, proper? However wait. The T-Cellular plan has some quirks that’ll shock you if you happen to’ve ever used a pay as you go SIM in India. Sure, you need to use your cellphone as a hotspot, however the speeds are severely throttled. If you wish to use full speeds on the hotspot, it’s a must to get a “larger costing” plan and “extra hotspot information”. In India, it comes with no matter plan you decide and at no additional cost.

You’ve exhausted your information. Now what, you ask? Properly, you’re out of luck. The speeds aren’t simply throttled to 3G like they’re in India, however you get zero cell information after you’ve used up all of your allowance. Worse, you may’t purchase extra information till the month is over! At the least with T-Cellular, that was the case. 

Say you might have this SIM card with you and also you’re returning to the USA in a few months. The most suitable choice can be to securely preserve the SIM card and apply it to your subsequent journey, proper? Properly, that’s what you’ll assume. To maintain the SIM lively, and make use of the SIM card in your subsequent journey, it’s a must to pay a month-to-month charge (round $15 per 30 days)! In any other case, the SIM shall be deactivated, and also you’ll have to begin the method from scratch in your subsequent journey! Even when it isn’t concerning the cash, what concerning the e-waste then?

Final however not least, even if you happen to do pay the $15 per 30 days to maintain the cellphone quantity alive, you may’t do something with it except you’re bodily within the USA. You may’t even obtain incoming textual content messages like you may with an Indian SIM card wherever on the earth.

No marvel some persons are starting to complain that every thing within the US is damaged and {that a} third-world nation like India is instantly showing to be extra environment friendly and efficient in managing every day life! Possibly it’s our every day jugaad follow that will get issues executed quicker and extra cheaply.

5G: It’s there but additionally not there

It was in 2020 when Apple made an enormous deal about 5G connectivity on their smartphones through the launch of the iPhone 12 collection. Throughout my time within the US, whereas utilizing a T-Cellular SIM in 2022, I seen a constant 5G connection however very inconsistent speeds. The store the place I purchased my SIM card nonetheless couldn’t obtain a 5G sign. 

Even at its quickest, it was nowhere close to what was being marketed by the telecom firms. I did many 5G pace checks and generally discovered the pace to be manner slower than a 4G LTE sign. I used to be additionally in Washington DC in 2021, for 5 months, and barely obtained any 5G sign, so I suppose that is considerably of an enchancment.

India could also be late to the 5G recreation, however from what I’ve seen, they’re doing fairly a great job of the rollout, not like American telecom firms, that are nonetheless struggling two years later. 

The place are the Chinese language smartphones?

A few of the most modern, thrilling and value-for-money smartphones (learn Vivo and Xiaomi) come from Chinese language producers. Their presence within the USA is nonexistent and it is a nation that’s presupposed to high in alternative in every thing It’s a disgrace, actually, because the American public has to stay to the standard (and costlier) choices from Samsung, Apple and Google relating to Android units. I noticed manner too many iPhones, Galaxy units and Pixel smartphones whereas I used to be there. We Indians are spoilt for alternative, methinks.  

Onward to Europe

Having booked a one-way ticket to the USA, I now wanted to determine my choices for attending to London. After the arduous activity of looking for low cost tickets, I lastly managed to pay for a flight to London’s Gatwick Airport by way of an eight-hour layover in Lisbon, Portugal. I used to be selecting between TAP Portugal and Icelandair, two of the most cost effective choices, and I ended up selecting the previous. Lastly, a great determination, as I used to be to find.

Free messaging plans onboard!

Indians don’t have the posh of texting their expensive pals whereas 35,000 ft up within the air they usually’re lacking out huge time. I boarded my aircraft from Dulles Worldwide Airport in Washington DC, on my solution to London’s Gatwick Airport by way of an extended layover in Lisbon, Portugal and seen one thing I hadn’t earlier than. Everybody thinks Wi-Fi plans onboard worldwide flights are costly, however there’s a ‘free’ plan that has since modified the sport. It’s a ‘messaging solely’ plan. This implies which you could ship a message to anybody on WhatsApp, Telegram, Sign or another comparable app freed from cost and free for your entire length of the flight. You could not have the ability to stream the most recent season of The Crown, however you may ask your finest good friend concerning the Indian cricket group’s rating the subsequent time you’re 35,000 ft within the air on a TAP Portugal flight.

And so they aren’t the one ones. Alaska Air and lots of different airways have began providing this plan to their clients. Actually a game-changer. Vistara (a three way partnership of Tata Sons Personal Restricted and Singapore Airways Restricted (SIA)) is the one airline in India to supply in-flight Wi-Fi. They provide it solely on a choose variety of worldwide flights although.

Portugal: Wired earphones reside on!

The flight landed manner too early within the morning however I used to be decided to make full use of my layover and I made my solution to town centre. As I obtained out of the airport and boarded the primary metro of the day, I used to be reminded of the Delhi metro. On-time and environment friendly. It was round 6:30 AM, however because the day progressed, and the crowds began pouring onto the streets and within the cafes, I seen one thing peculiar. 

Wired earphones/headphones nonetheless lived on within the coastal capital metropolis of Portugal. I counted, not one, not two, however at the very least a dozen individuals carrying earphones with a wire (and, in fact, getting entangled on a couple of event). Some related them with an adapter (that means that their smartphone had no 3.5mm headphone jack anymore) however a few of them carried older smartphones with a headphone jack. 

Smartphones sans a case

What I seen throughout my metro/bus rides in Lisbon, London, and to an extent within the USA, was that no one spent cash on any protecting instances for his or her smartphones. They had been all able to trip their luck and showcase their smartphones bare-naked. I talked to a couple individuals my age, they usually all stated that they needed to indicate off the product in the easiest way attainable. They didn’t need to cowl up their “attractive” or “eye-catching” smartphones. I suppose they believed within the adverts from these smartphone firms about how “sturdy” their smartphones are.

Most of them had an iPhone however some had been flaunting the most recent foldable units from Samsung. The one of us that had a case on had been both gifted them or had been utilizing a kind of clear plastic instances that got here within the field.

I used to be sitting at a restaurant in London with an architect good friend of mine whom I first met whereas being stranded on a aircraft again to India a number of years in the past, and we had been discussing how everybody in London (ages 35 and underneath) had no cash to save lots of. But, they go to cafes, effortlessly spend 5 kilos on a espresso and flaunt the most recent smartphones. It’s exactly the explanation these smartphones lie bare. They don’t care about defending their costly purchases as they simply transfer on to the subsequent one inside 12-15 months. Any marvel they don’t have cash to save lots of!

Need to make a WhatsApp name in London? No bueno!

I used to be in London for slightly below per week and therefore I didn’t need to spend cash on a SIM card (regardless that it was cheaper than within the USA). I used to be staying with a good friend, whom I largely frolicked with throughout my time in London, and I’d be related to Wi-Fi for essentially the most half. I didn’t assume a SIM card was mandatory. I used to be sort of confirmed unsuitable.

Each cafe and even plenty of the retail outlets had Wi-Fi networks (both public, with a password, or the place you simply needed to settle for the phrases and circumstances to signal on) that had been fairly speedy. This, in itself, is a big soar from a few years in the past. 

All of us reside on WhatsApp (or comparable apps) today for speaking every day and therefore I believed I may get by. Two out of the 5 cafes I visited and all three of the retail outlets the place I used the Wi-Fi peculiarly blocked WhatsApp calls from being made! I attempted researching why however got here up empty. Messages went by completely fantastic. Solely calls couldn’t be made. I related to the hotspot by way of my good friend’s cellphone and made WhatsApp calls with relative ease. Unusual, ain’t it? You assume it’s a authorities order blocking WhatsApp calls. It may very well be any variety of causes.

The Nice British Pound

Everyone knows by now that the forex notes had to get replaced as soon as the Queen handed away and King Charles III took over. With the method taking a few years, I needed to see banknotes (and doubtlessly preserve one as a memento) with the Queen’s face on it one final time (who is aware of after I’ll subsequent be in London). To my dismay, I didn’t see even one such banknote throughout my total London keep.

Most individuals dwelling in London don’t have any banknotes on them. They merely simply faucet and pay. ‘Faucet and Go’ as they name it’s a great idea that hasn’t been absolutely carried out in India as of now. Whether or not it’s from their smartphone, smartwatch or by pulling out a debit or bank card. Every little thing is simply so easy and the transactions occur in mere seconds. The one time I used any bodily forex was after I took a couple of cash subsequent door to purchase some milk.

In India, in fact, we’ve got UPI. In Delhi, at the very least, I hardly carry money today. From eating places to cabs and from supermarkets to entry for monuments, one pays for every thing with only a easy faucet on their cellphone today.

Bahrain and its community of Wi-Fi hotspots

But once more, in my quest to save cash, I booked what was one of many least expensive flights from London to New Delhi. It was on Gulf Air and had a nine-hour layover. My layover was in Muharraq Island, adjoining to the capital of Manama. Having no SIM card (and therefore no information), however assured of discovering my manner again, I paid the visa-on-arrival truthful and headed off to go to some roasteries and simply stroll round and see what was close to the airport.

The airport had a speedy and dependable Wi-Fi connection and so I used to be in a position to lookup the place I needed to go. As soon as I obtained on the bus, I realised that it additionally had free Wi-Fi connectivity. This made it a lot simpler to trace my route, get off on the proper cease, and have strolling instructions prepared upon disembarking.

The cafes and plenty of public buildings had public Wi-Fi networks the place you possibly can textual content, name and even stream 4K YouTube movies with out it buffering. Oh, the enjoyment!

The worldwide airport in New Delhi nonetheless isn’t 5G-ready

To my dismay, as I entered the immigration zone of Delhi airport, I noticed that my cellphone may solely connect with a 4G LTE community and never 5G because it ought to have. The airport nonetheless isn’t 5G prepared it appears. Earlier than leaving for my to the US, I had written a chunk titled, “Chasing 5G throughout the nationwide capital” and located that 5G was restricted within the protection space.

Let me reassure you that it’s not the case anymore. Whereas the airport could not nonetheless have a 5G sign, I obtained a relentless 5G connection proper after exiting the airport up till my home in South Delhi. And the speeds had been fairly quick as nicely. Within the days since getting again to smog-filled New Delhi, I’ve seen the 5G sign popping up much more (props to Airtel for a great rollout) and speeds have been quicker than what all of us anticipated. With Reliance Jio having opened up its beta enrollment in Delhi, possibly the airport can be now 5G enabled.

It was three weeks nicely spent in Washington DC, Lisbon, London and Bahrain and although my findings are simply from what I seen, and never with any intensive analysis, I believe they may curiosity some readers inquisitive about all issues journey and tech.