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10 Travel Differences After 10 Years On The Road

Updated: August 18, 2019 by

10 Travel Differences After 10 Years On The Road

Darren and Shelly of Finding Beyond share their observations from 10 years on the road. What has changed in travel? Find out below

We've been travelling for 10 years (on and off) and during that time have seen some significant changes. From big changes in technology to the changes in the way we personally travel now we're 10 years older. There are certainly many travel differences from when we boarded our first plane together in 2005!

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Travel Differences

At that time we were in our early to mid-twenties and just graduated from university. We'd somehow saved up enough cash to buy us flights to Brisbane in Australia. We spent the next 12 months travelling through the country and were well and truly bitten by the travel bug.

Fast forward to 2016 and we're still on the road. We're living life to the max by choosing to indulge in our shared passion of travel. Over the past 10 years we've visited South America, India, Sri Lanka, North Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, parts of Europe and all over South East Asia.

We like to think we're pretty experienced backpackers and through these 10 years have seen many travel-related shifts along the way.

travel differences sri lanka

1 – We Had To Pack Our Music Collection

10 years ago there was no Spotify, no iTunes, no Pandora or any other kind of music streaming/storage service. It wasn't possible to listen to an unlimited choice of music by simply plugging headphones into our mobile phones.

10 years ago we had to pack and carry huge CD wallets the size of most people's carry ons! We each carried a double height CD wallet containing around 150 CDs between us! And don't forget the bulky Discman that had to be upright on your lap or table to play them on.

If you were into your music then this was the only way to listen to your favourite artists on the move.

Check out our list of the Best Road Trip Songs

travel differences peru

2 – Social Media Wasn't A Thing

Social Media wasn't something we'd even heard of 10 years ago. The only way to meet and socialise with fellow travellers was in person, most often in the hostel bar. Facebook, Twitter and Instagram weren't around to easily make contact with these people.

To stay in touch, emails were exchanged but you'd most likely never see or hear from them again. On rare occasions you'd could bump into each other in another location which was always fun, but organising it without social media was almost impossible.

Learn more about how to build a successful brand online.

travel differences brazil

3 – Communication With Home Wasn't Easy

Communication with friends and family back home is now so simple and cheap compared to 10 years ago. With no instant messaging, Skype or Google Hangouts etc., the only cost effective way to communicate with home was via email or long distance phone card.

We remember purchasing phone cards from local convenient stores and queuing up with other travellers at public phone booths. These phone booths could be in hostels, internet cafes or on the streets.

Today we use Whatsapp, so providing we have a good internet connection we can message and call home for free, anywhere and at anytime! It certainly makes being away from loved ones much easier.

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4 – There Were No Travel Blogs!

Travel blogging was not a thing 10 years ago. If there were travel blogs online then we didn't know about them, and even if we did we probably wouldn't have trusted them as a reliable source of travel information.

Instead, we carried around with us multiple copies of heavy Lonely Planet guide books. On most long trips we'd haul at least 5 of them and once finished, send them home to lighten our load.

Most of our research today is done using the vast amount of trust worthy travel blogs online. Travel blogging is one of the most saturated blogging niches and we're stupid enough to be a part of it!

Read more here about how to start a travel blog.

travel differences india

5 – Internet Access Was A Challenge

If you told us 10 years ago that a few years later we'd be able to travel the world with the internet in our pockets, we wouldn't have believed you. 10 years ago the only way to access the internet while travelling was to pay by the hour for desktop computers available at hostels and internet cafes.

These internet cafes were like call centres, with large numbers of desktop computers lined up in a row. They'd all be full of travellers trying to finish their emails before their booked hour is up. If you were lucky you could find somewhere that offers 15 minutes for free but you'd have to type quickly!

These days most travellers carry smart phones, tablets and laptops. To access the internet we simply turn them on and connect to the nearest free wifi. Magic!

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6 – Booking Accommodation Online Was A Luxury

Today we try to book accommodation online at least a day before arriving to a destination. We're able to compare hundreds of options in just a few minutes using sites like booking.com and Trip Advisor. Most of the time we can ensure we get the best quality for our budget. It's the norm!

It wasn't that easy 10 years ago because there simply weren't the travel site options. Instead we'd have to turn up to every destination with no booking. We'd walk the streets with our backpacks for an hour or more until we found somewhere we liked for our budget. Or worse we'd go with a recommendation from a dodgy taxi driver.

There are occasions when we still turn up without a booking but with today's well-travelled population we're often left with a limited sub par supply of accommodation options. Especially in high seasons!

Learn how to find free accommodation around the world.

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7 – We No Longer Sleep In Dorm Rooms

Even hearing the word ‘dorm' sends a shiver down our spines. We've had so many bad dorm experiences over the past 10 years; the snorers, the talkers, the drunks and the unwashed.

We're thankful we can now afford our own private rooms so we don't have to share with at least half a dozen other noisy backpackers in a room of the same size.

We're too old for dorms. We now appreciate our own space and getting a good night sleep is more important to us than it was 10 years ago. Despite this, we still love staying in hostels and will always be our first choice of accommodation.

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8 – Our Old Beer Budget is Now Called the Coffee Budget

10 years ago we'd allow ourselves a daily alcohol budget which would mostly be spent on beers shared with other travellers. We don't know how or when this happened but that beer budget is now spent on coffee. No longer can we not get through a day without the taste of an ice cold beer. We can now go weeks without one.

Instead, coffee is our new addiction. We can't function without a latte, cappuccino or iced coffee at least once or twice a day. A few years ago we didn't even like coffee! Good coffee is easier to find that it was 10 years ago. The world has gone mad for coffee!

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9 – We Now Travel Hangover Free (Most Of The Time)

With all our travel beer money spent on coffee we now don't drink alcohol like we used to. We actually don't want to. Sure we still like a drink, we're not that boring, but buying alcohol is now a treat instead of a daily occurrence.

Long gone are the regular late nights at the hostel bar, the full moon parties and the spontaneous binge drinking sessions. They were fun at the time but we always regretted it the next morning.

There's nothing worse than having to board a long distance bus journey with a monster hangover or visit an amazing site while all you can think about is getting back into bed. We now travel the world hangover free which is the way it should be.

Check out these 10 beer cities to taste the perfect brew.

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10 – We Now Travel Slower

Travelling long term can be really tiring. The constant change of location, the uncomfortable over night buses, the noisy hostels and carrying heavy possessions. This is all part of doing what we love but after 10 years we have made the conscious decision to start travelling slower.

We want to give the destinations we like more of our time by staying longer. If we miss out on seeing other areas of a country then so be it, we can always go back.

We also at times want to experience what it's like to live in a country rather than just travel through it quickly. We're currently living in Chiang Mai, Thailand, for 3 months and have enjoyed it immensely. This is something we would not have even considered 10 years ago.

Read about 8 lessons learned as slow traveling nomads.

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Have you been travelling for a long time? What other changes have you noticed as the years have passed? We'd love to hear them so please share by commenting below.

travel differences authorsAuthor bio: Hi! We’re Darren and Shelley, a travel obsessed couple from London, England. We’ve been travelling on and off for the past 11 years. We regularly leave our comfortable British lives behind to live the nomadic lifestyle for a year at a time. There’s nothing we love more than quitting our jobs, packing our bags and flying to the other side of the world without much of a plan. Not having a plan allows us to travel more freely, slowly and without commitments.

We’re now on our new and epic one way ticket adventure to Asia but it won’t stop there. The only plan we have that’s different to previous trips is to try and make some money along the way so our travels can last as long as we wish them to. We’d love you to join us at FINDING BEYOND to see how in pans out and maybe give us some suggestions on where to go next! Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.

Read More 

27 Best Travel Tips after 7 Years Traveling the World

How to be a Travel Blogger – From Dream to Reality and How We Make Money

How Travel Changed our Lives and Turned Us into Adventurers

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About Dave And Deb

Dave and Deb are the owners and founders of The Planet D. Since launching in 2008 they have continued to inspire "Adventure in Everyone" and show that you don't have to be an uber athlete or super-rich in order to be an adventurer.

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Comments

  1. Alison says

    YES!!! I loved reading these, remembering so many times in the (long ago) past and how much has changed…and how much is the same (smelly, loud dorm rooms).

    In so many ways it was sooo much easier then. No planning needed, show up and get a room. Now so many places are totally booked out even weeks in advance.

    I remember the first time I used VOIP internet calling to call home. The calling cards were $3 per minute to Canada (from Africa) but at a few internet cafes they let you call but were super careful as it was illegal!!! And somehow ( I didn’t get how) the government actually watched for any calls over international lines.

    Amazing that now we all facebook messenger call with video from nearly anywhere. I can be in some pretty darned remote places and just call, no problem.

    But also then things don’t feel quite so…. I dunno…. ADVENTUROUS anymore, either. And even then, I thought of how really truly adventurous it would have been before even internet cafes!

    ~ Adventuress_Ali

    Reply

  12. Saudável says

    Traveling is life, I am backpacking to 8 months and I began to consult the travel blogs, of course they are indispensable. I’ll be doing mine soon! Thanks for the post.

    Reply

  13. Natural says

    With every trip I make, I consult a travel blog on the internet. I do not live without, of course, it’s much more practical nowadays! Hug.

    Reply

  19. comovivertranquilo.com says

    Great article, I really liked it and will always come back here … Thanks so much for sharing! Congrats on the job!

    Reply

  23. Catarina Barcellos says

    Hi Darren and Shelley!

    My dream its travel as the same way you both do.. Its looks absolutely amazing living the this stylelife!

    Thanks for sharing this with us!

    Reply

  30. Flores says

    It is really helpful and informative that people like you do these blogs, my goal is to go around the world next year… Thanks Darren and Shelley!

    Reply

  41. Ricardo says

    Life must be wonderful traveling. Today I have a daughter and I believe it is difficult to have a life like this. But you’re to be congratulated, they built so many stories to tell. I imagine the weight it was formerly carrying all these cds in a kkk backpack. Thank you for sharing your experiences with us.

    Reply

  42. treino intervalado para emagrecer says

    It is really helpful and informative that people like you do these blogs,as we can get rid of the tiresomeness of carrying those guide books throughout the trips. Really informative!

    Reply

  44. Viver says

    Hello Darren and Shelley! How good to share your travels with us, congratulations, and in fact, 4 years ago it was all more complicated, and the internet has improved a lot!
    Beautiful pictures and history of you are very beautiful, thank you for sharing your life story traveling together.

    Reply

  54. Gemma says

    Such a good idea for a post! I’ve thought about this a little myself as I started travelling in 2008 when the average backpacker didn’t travel with a smartphone or laptop. I remember having to wait to use the shared computer at the hostel or go out in search for a cyber cafe!

    Reply

  58. Jithin Samuel says

    Hey Darren and Shelley, Really to happy to see your travels memories and all these awesome pics. Yes, very true that things have a changed a lot in these past 10 years and everything have become more easier for people who are really crazy about travels and trips. It is really helpful and informative that people like you do these blogs,as we can get rid of the tiresomeness of carrying those guide books throughout the trips. Really informative!

    Reply

  59. John Cloe says

    It’s really cool to look back at those old posts. We started traveling 2000 and I remember we didn’t even send an email.

    Reply

  60. ChuckB says

    For me, it’s also about the changes that happened within. Travel changes you – overwhelmingly for the better.

    Cheers!

    Reply

  62. Anderson says

    Great post. I agree with you. There was no social media or traveling blogs in the past and the travelers had to either ask people or they had to buy the books to know about the famous places that they should visit. But now we can get all the information from different blogs. We can easily plan the places that we do not want to skip and we can even plan the food that we want to taste. All the travelling information have made the adventures and trips more exciting and wonderful.

    Reply

  63. Finding Beyond says

    Thanks so much for the lovely comments. When you say it out loud 10 years does sound a long time but it really has flown. ? We are writing this in a coffee shop on our computers with free Wi-Fi. It is crazy how things have changed and how technology has made a lot of stuff so much easier.

    Reply

  64. Mary Varghese says

    Interesting stuff. We’ve been travelling but never thought of blogging. We are around 45 now and think it’s time that we capture all that in a blog of ours. So, essentially, we are new in the blogging arena but not the travelling part 🙂 In case you would like to come visiting Delhi, do let us know. We’d be very happy to help! All the best for the next 10 years!!!

    Reply

  65. Kate and Kris says

    Very true. I just reread a blog of ours from 2007 where I start it with ‘sorry for not posting for a while but we haven’t got much access to internet’. I remember that we were teaching and living near Samut Prakarn and the only internet access was in the school library, or at Khoa San Road at the weekends. Now if people aren’t attached to their phone 24/7 they start getting jittery. I remember when we got the first Facebook friend requests in the same year.

    Reply

    • Dave and Deb says

      It’s really cool to look back at those old posts. We started traveling 2000 and I remember we didn’t even send an email. Everything was done with phone cards, or international phone booths. I remember meeting other more internet savvy travelers on that trip who booked their flights from Bangkok to Krabi online and I was blown away. “You can do that?” I said. Every trip after that we saw changes.

      Reply

  67. Viva says

    Hello Darren and Shelley! How good to share your travels with us, congratulations, and in fact, 10 years ago it was all more complicated, and the internet has improved a lot!
    Beautiful pictures and history of you are very beautiful, thank you for sharing your life story traveling together.

    Reply

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