Vacation Like It's The Noughties 📴

Far away from screens and laptops, an adventure awaits. Deep in the Balkans, in the border triangle between Albania, Montenegro and Kosovo. The Accursed Mountains brought me there and a hiking adventure kept me.

If you're out vacationing, you don't have to leave your phone at home. But it's paramount to remind yourself of the times when a potential emergency was the only justification to own one. Put yourself in this noughties mindset, when a phone was simply that - an actual phone (you know, one that wasn't "smart").

Now, ask yourself this: do you need to check the news? You are in this remote place, and all you really wanted was to escape everyday life. So why did you bring the news with you?

Do you need your messaging app? Sure, your friends and family keep on texting you, even if or particularly because of your vacation. But now, you're here (reminder: far away). Why did you bring your mum, your dad and your friend Manu and everyone from this group chat along that goes on about organising your other friend's stag do? It's people you have never met in your life, and you might not even care about. What the hell are they doing on your trip?

Do you need social media? Do I even have to explain why opening Instagram 20 times a day on your vacation probably won't benefit but spoil it instead?

When I was travelling in the Balkans a few weeks ago, the best thing I did was to bring my phone without using it the way that people use phones today. No news, no messages, no social media, no nothing. I did use it to read my ebook before going to bed (my e-reader was left at home as I had to drastically reduce the weight of my backpack). Some insomnia podcasting also occurred in those nights when I really couldn't manage to fall sleep. And then, of course, I occasionally used my notes app when the moment for a great idea presented itself and I just couldn't resist writing it down.

Altogether, looking up what "hello" means in Albanian probably was the best use case for bringing my phone along (a warm "përshëndetje" to all the nice people hosting us in the Albanian Alps 👋🏼)

If you're out vacationing, then vacation away. You've deserved it. But do it the right way: vacation like it's the noughties.