BootsnAll Travel Community

So, my boyfriend and I are about to embark on our first around the world trip, spending 6 months in third & fourth world countries (i.e. India, SE Asia, etc.). Given the length of our trip, I am going to need to access online bank and credit card statements, etc. We would like to avoid bringing a laptop computer, but how safe is it to use public computers when you are inputing personal information, especially information that is linked to your money?

Along the same lines... I am a big camera person and would like to upload pics to my blog and flickr accounts while on the road. My camera requires and cdrom install to upload photos onto a computer. Are you able to install programs on public computers at cafes? Should they already have a device that will work? Dont know if it makes a difference, but I have a canon g9.

If it is difficult to accomplish the above via internet cafe, is it necessarily worth taking a laptop?

Thanks for the help!

You could get a U3 compatible flash drive. You can load these nifty things with form fillers so you never have to type your information into a computer and lock it down so that if you lose it, it will be worthless.

You can also load a special version of firefox onto it that runs directly from the drive so you can keep all your bookmarks and stuff with you on the road.

As far as the camera is concerned... I cant believe that you would need special software to get the pictures off the camera but if that is the case, you should just buy a small USB flash memory card reader.

A lot of people here will tell you not to bring the laptop unless you need it for work or something along those lines.

I usually carry my laptop with me when I travel. After lugging around a 15" for a couple of years I decided to downsize and bought a 12". The smaller machine is much more pleasant to live with in my backpack for weeks at a time.

Thanks for the info! Obviously Im not technologically savvy... But I should be able to figure this out

I'll second the suggestion of using a card reader. I tend to use mine to copy photos on to my mp3 player (it has more room on the hard drive than my laptop anyway!). The reader cost me less than $10 and is tiny.

Bringing a laptop does not necessarily mean your backpack will weigh a ton. I think in the long run you may find it convenient to be able to empty your camera every night and name/organize pictures while your memory is still fresh.
That said, it can be a burden to always have to worry about this valuable item that you are bringing along.
You may be able to pick up open wireless networks (although the legality of using these may be questionable) with a wifi-enabled laptop (though I don´t think I would recommend to do your online banking this way)
If buying a laptop for traveling, I recommend one with a small screen and lightweight (like the Asus S5A, which I am writing this sentence on right now and posting using a wireless network)