There was no skype. No cheap phone cards. Not everyone had cellphones. When you flew halfway around the world, you might email if you could find an internet cafe, but you couldn't instantly text message your boyfriend/parents/friends to say you'd arrived safely, or look up the cheapest taxi company on your phone, or get recommendations from a website about where to stay.
Here are my top five things we take for granted now that we have internet - while travelling:
1. Being helped by a stranger.
2. Getting lost and discovering something unexpected and exciting.
3. Going to a bad restaurant or a bad hotel - at least it makes a better story when you go home!
4. Missing people from home, so you don't take them for granted when you return.
5. Being immersed in the moment, and in the place you are and the people you're with.
Ah the good old days...
