In the not-too-distant-past when someone went away to travel the world it meant the best you could expect was the occasional long-distance phone call waking you up in the middle of the night or a scruffy-looking generic postcard about places visited.

These days, with the internet becoming widely available even in the most remote of areas, there are really no excuses not to keep in touch with – and update – those back home with how you are getting on and what interesting stories you have to tell.

You could write a blog using free blogging software so people will be alerted whenever there are any updates to your blog. You can also write emails to a wide range of people all in one go, or, if you are feeling a little more adventurous, you could send an online text which has the same effect, but sends your message direct to your recipients’ phone. Research has suggested that people ignore texts far less than they check their emails, so this may be worth considering.

Whatever method you decide, you can now go away, knowing you will be able to make use of many internet cafes, libraries and hotel lobbies and keep in touch with those eagerly waiting to hear from you back home.