Travel / Travel Tips

Bridging Distances

Posted on August 8th, 2007. 9 Crumbs

Ten years ago, I left for the US to do my masters - with no cheap way of keeping in touch with family. Having just about got an email address and with the new computer at home being some DOS type thing where no pictures came up, the vsnl internet connection had speeds that rivalled Rip Van Winkle’s aging process. Dad’s email address was soooo long - ending in bgl.vsnl.net.in. Really!!! Calling cards from the US charged 53 cents a minute to India and that was considered a good deal and calling from India to the US was Rs.60 a minute. Seriously!

Now one of my dearest and nearest has left for sunny California to do his MS. And I am amazed at how easy it is to keep in touch. Skype, Gtalk, what have you! And calling cards from Reliance and Big Zoo that cost 15 cents a minute. And it is so cheap for me to call as well. In addition, you can add gtalk to your blackberry and be online all times of the day. So all he has to do is ping and I am there with the answers. Amazing!!!!

Being in a city, it really is quite easy to bridge the distance. And at the end of the day that’s what matters - keeping in touch with your loved ones and being part of their lives and transformations. Bidding adieu just got so much easier!

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Crumbs [9]

Add Vonage to your list. For $15 a month you get 1000 mins and the nights have free talk time.

Candy August 8th, 2007

vonage is amazing.
but be aware, if your Indian ISP learns you are using it they will block it
they want you to use their own VOIP products and get the money….;

smallsquirrel August 8th, 2007

hey guys, thanks for the info. Will try out Vonage … with due care

meenakshi August 8th, 2007

I used to keep in touch with my family in India, using various calling cards (about 11-20 cents/minute) and Yahoo Messenger. It worked surprisingly well over the dialup connection at home in India with my cable connection in the US. We used to enable voice chat and then turn on the trusty Logitech webcam.

The quality was so good that we could show the new clothes we bought using the camera and then talk about it :-).

This was about 4-5 years ago. These days services like Vonage (or any other VOIP), Skype, Flickr, Yahoo messenger etc bridges the distances beautifully.

Anand August 8th, 2007

GTalk rules!

And I got everyone in the family hooked on it..so now the aunts talk to my grandparents(yes my ajji-thatha!) through GTalk!

And none of them bothered to thank me for it…to date!

Smitha August 8th, 2007

those were the days when hotmail offering 2MB mailboxes were a sensation and internet just an unknown quantity
thngs have improved and got cheaper, hope the things go on like this…:)
I did a story with one of my frnds for my company’s mag highlighting wht VOIP has done, it really is awesome.

desh August 9th, 2007

Anand, faint memories of webcams and yahoo messenger are coming to back to me now. I think by that time I was packing my bags to come back here

Smitha, Smitha - you are collecting good karma for your ticket to heaven, girl. “Thank yous” may take away some points!!

desh - 2 MB really was a big deal then I know hard to imagine!

meenakshi August 9th, 2007

Oh I remember a long distance relationship during those times, it was only slightly better than the postman times!!!

Shirsha August 9th, 2007

I see what you are saying. In 1992, it was $1.69 and it was considered cheap. People coming in now not only have it cheaper but have many options. I don’t recall calling cards etc. Internet was not even an option to then and yes, I there was a DOS machine at the other end in India. Anyway, I found your story very interesting and something I can relate to. Thanks.

IseeWhatYouAreSaying February 19th, 2008