I would probably agree that a laptop can be worth while in many developed countries. I know Hong Kong was especially difficult when trying to find an internet cafe.

Although taking one can restrict the freedom of your trip some what if you are a backpacking roughing it in developing countries.

Thanks for your comment,

Paul @
TravMonkey.com

Thanks for your comments. I think you really have to weigh it up for yourself and it can depend on many factors.

If you are staying in hotels as you say you are then you are more likely to have access to safe places to leave your laptop. As if you are very serious about your photography then it also could be worth taking a small laptop.

Also, where you are travelling to can also be important. For example carrying around a laptop in Cambodia, Laos, Bolivia, Brazil could put yourself in a position as a potential target for mugging. But in most places in Europe it is pretty safe to carry such items.

My article was originally aimed at backpackers who could possibly be staying in Hostels travelling to poverty stricken countries.

I think if you can handle carrying the laptop around and finding places to store it, you should be fine.

Thanks,

Paul @
TravMonkey.com

I have just planned and booked a 5-6 week trip around europe. Somewhat backpacking, but we will be staying in hotels, and hiring a car too.

I was going to purchase a little 8 or 10 inch note book. I have been considering getting one of these before anyways, but my main purpose was to back up my photos. After reading your article im unsure.

My main reason is that i will be taking thousands of photos. My camera is 12mp, with a 4GB card, going into a place that can burn them on to a cd, which can only hold about 700MB, im going to need about 5 CD’s for each card i fill. I could fill a card every few days. I dont have the patience to go through the photos and select the ones i want. id rather check at a later stage.

At the end of a 5-6 week holiday i would end up with a stack load of CD’s. I would find that more annoying that carrying around a tiny notebook.

The person i am travelling with also has a camera, and one that takes movies in High Definition. He’ll need some place to back these up – they wont fit on a 700MB cd!

And to back up photos onto a cd, can cost $6- $10 depending on wher eyou are, even more…after many many cd’s, it can be quite a bit. I dont want to find when i get home that some of the cd’s are damaged or didn’t ‘burn’ corectly.

Not everyone needs one, no, but internet cafés do not all allow what you are saying they allow, and that can leave a traveler stuck when something urgent comes up.

- I can use it to warm my feet when it’s cold
- you can teach people you meet how to do things with a computer that would otherwise not have access to one
- if you run out of money you can trade it
- processing photos as you go before the collection becomes unmanageable (particulary for diving) but then again I am a camera geek
- it’s cheaper to write a blog on the laptop then head to a InterNet Cafe and post it (creative writing particulary rather than a simple account)
- you can make money on the road copying peoples photos, image processing, promo work, fixing ipods, sharing music, making videos etc

that said, use it it for a purpose. If you’re playing games or watching dvds on the damn thing I think you’ve missed the point of going away. Its tempting to lean on your crutches and if you can’t say no to that temptation leave it at home and go see the world you came to visit.

You can live without them.

TravMonkey