2021 has come with a ray of hope for all the travel lovers. Restrictions seem to have eased out, and all the travel junkies are all ready to pack their backpacks to explore the world again. These are your incessant travellers who you can spot from a mile away. Always on point with their travel game, with
a sleek bag on their shoulders and an international plug adapter and portable charger handy, they know all there is to travel.
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But did you know even an adroit traveller has gone through a whole slew of tech-related travel mistakes? Though a small mistake, this can create a massive hindrance in your travel itinerary because the time you ideally dedicated to visiting your favourite Place will now go to searching for the correct multi adaptor plug, eating up all your precious time.
These silly slip ups can cost one a waste of expensive trips and an experience gone sour. The good news is, we are here to help you avoid tech-related travel gaffes so you can have the most unforgettable and hassle-free trips of your life.
Blunder #1
Never Go Out of Power
The mantra for a happy traveller is no amount of backup power is too much. Pack at least two phone chargers for safety purposes, along with a set of plug adaptors and a portable charger. Carrying along a car charger is an added accessory you can opt for if, by chance, your portable charger falls short of battery while hopping from one destination to another.
It's best to label your chargers and outlet converters and keep them separately, so all your gadget charging accessories are just an arm's length away.
Blunder #2
Packing a Wrong Travel Plug
Did you know every country has its different types of travel adapters? When it comes to travel plugs, it's not one size fits all. Like in the USA, there are two types of plug adaptors, Plug Type A and Type B. In plug type A, you'll find two flat parallel pins, while in the case of plug type B, there are two flat parallel pins and a grounding pin.
In all of Europe except for the UK and Ireland, the type of the plug adaptors are different from the USA. In an EU adapter (European), the people operate on the 2 round prong outlets.
Now, casually carrying along a plug adaptor that's not well-suited with your destination country is not an option you can opt for. The solution here is to understand what adaptors work perfectly with your travel destination and purchase one or preferably two before flying.
Blunder #3
Voltage Is the Game-Changer That You Don't Want to Mess With
Voltage is an important aspect you can't afford to miss out on. Imagine, after checking into the hotel, you plug in your cell phone to your current wall plug adapter, and boom, your phone is fried due to the wrong voltage. Or, even worse, a spark is created in the hotel room due to your unintentional mistake, and power to the whole hotel goes out.
Countries around the globe use different voltages in their electronic devices. For example, in the USA, the electricity delivery standard is 100V-120V while the whole of Europe is at 220V-240V, as is the UK, Australia, and Singapore. So, it's best to check what voltage your gadget is currently working on. You can easily find the plug types and voltage of your electrical device mentioned on the plug adaptor itself.
If you can get an adapter that has a transformer built-in, there's nothing better than that.
Blunder #4
Relying On Your Good Old USB Charging Can Turn Out to Be
You are doomed to face dire consequences if you pin all hopes on a USB cable charging. Not all countries provide a source of USB charging. And, if you are stuck with such a situation on the foreign land, get ready to waste away your trip in search of an electric adapter plug.
USB-based charging is definitely on the rise in recent times as this practice avoids the voltage conversion hassle entirely. But the fundamental problem with USB charging is that it's not a global practice. Our advice is, always be on the side of a win-win scenario.
Blunder #5
Compact Is the Key
Carrying along a plug adapter that’s huge in size can create quite a hindrance. There are many hotels where outlets are in the most unusual locations. So, your bulky travel voltage converter might be too large or heavy to fit into the sunken sockets.
A slim adaptor further helps your purpose of traveling, whether you're taking a short trip across the pond or hopping on a worldwide adventure. You definitely don't want to carry a heavy load all day
long on your shoulders.
