Keyboard issues and keeping in touch

Hi All!

As I continue to plan a semi RTW trip for later this year I've run into an issue, I plan on keeping in touch with home (Canada) mostly via email and I was hoping to use internet cafés. In the Middle East and Eastern Europe will I be able to EASILY find a Roman alphabet keyboard? Or will there only be Arabic/Cyrillic keyboards widely available?

Depending on how easy it will be to keep in touch with home I may consider bringing a netbook for typing, but I'm leery about the wait, if I could avoid it I certainly would. I've also considered getting an iPhone, but I can't imagine how easy the keyboard on that will be for long emails...

If anyone has any thoughts please post!

-Cass

For such a long trip, I think you need to bring as little as possible with you (I would). I had keyboard character issues at the Seoul Airport last year, but it was easily fixed. English is the international language, and even in countries using a different alphabet, you will be able to find Roman keyboards. You could also consider taking just a small flash disk drive so you'd have all your essentials with you. I'm one of those people who doesn't travel with valuables.

I've used keyboards in countries that use Cyrillic, Arabic, Greek, Chinese and Korean characters- but there's ALWAYS a function that lets you switch to the Roman alphabet. It's essential, since Internet addresses are still exclusively in the Roman alphabet. Look at the bottom right hand corner of the screen- on the toolbar you'll see an icon that you can click to change to English. If that doesn't work, just ask the internet cafe/hotel manager for help.

agreed with above. All pc makers are engilsh market goaled so there should always be way to figure it out.

the other idea, is there is a company named Palm (goolge it if you don't know what a palm pilot is) the make a tiny flip open near full size keyboard. You could type docs in a word pad then just open form a sd or chip and send. easy, small and cheaper than a laptop ...

ice

I love travelling with my own laptop - it means I can draft emails even if I don't have internet access, and it is also somewhere to store photos (those memory cards fill up too quickly!)

It also means that I am comfortable accessing my private details (banks, etc) without worrying about someone tapping into my account while I'm away.

Yes, it's another thing to worry about carrying, but I think it's a useful one!

Good luck and happy travels!

I love travelling with my own laptop - it means I can draft emails even if I don't have internet access, and it is also somewhere to store photos (those memory cards fill up too quickly!)

It also means that I am comfortable accessing my private details (banks, etc) without worrying about someone tapping into my account while I'm away.

Yes, it's another thing to worry about carrying, but I think it's a useful one and you can get some which are really lightweight now!

Good luck and happy travels!