Travel Buddies

Free WiFi Finder: For most of your smart apps you want to use the nearest and easiest available WiFi connection. McDonald’s and Starbucks will give you free WiFi,but the world (thankfully) doesn’t revolve around these two chains. The Free WiFi Finder locates you on the GPS and tracks the closest free WiFi spots that let you send that important email,check local directions or just make sure that you are connected to Facebook.

Couchsurfing: If you haven’t already joined Couchsurfing,stop reading right now. Go to the website and get yourself an account. Then,come back to read this and marvel at how wonderful it is to find a community of people who are looking to host you for free in their houses if you are travelling to their cities. All they want in exchange is trust,friendship and cultural interaction. I once stayed with somebody in New York for five days,and they just wanted me to teach them how to make an Indian meal. Couchsurfing is an example of how generosity and human affection know no boundaries. It is a way of finding free accommodation in expensive cities,but more than that,it is a chance to find friends,and explore their cities and lives; not as a tourist but as a bonafide native. It is a community of give-and-take and you will always get more than you give.

DishTip: One of the biggest joys of being a tourist is to not only get your Instagram pictures taken next to your favourite monument but also to penetrate the culinary zeitgeist of the countries you visit. DishTip finds for you the best places to eat and also the best things to eat at those places. Sure,you can always check Yelp to see what is hot,but what you should eat when you get to the restaurant is where DishTip comes. Avoid that falafel sandwich or the trip to a 7-11 for a cold salad and packed food. Here is a website that will tell you the coolest things to eat in your neighbourhood.

Toshl: If,like me,you spend a significant amount of time converting currencies in your head to figure out whether that coveted souvenir fits in your budget,then Toshl is for you. Set up a home currency. Set up a travel budget. When you key in expenses in different currencies,the app will automatically convert it to your home currency (even while you’re offline). Toshl allows you to customise your expenses with personal tags and its Web interface syncs budgets to make sure that you always know what you’re splurging on.

Jibbigo: Travelling in China and want to order vegetarian food? Need to figure out the way to a train station in Bravaria? Want to say hello to a stranger at the pub in Rio? No matter what your language skills are,Jibbigo by Lonely Planet is your go-to guide for all translation needs. It supports scripts,inputs and even audio pronunciations of key phrases and words. It also has a voice input so you can get a stranger to speak in it and it will translate for you. The fact that it works offline too is worth the Rs 272 it costs on iTunes and Android stores. This is the best solution to being lost in translation in a new country.

While these apps will make sure that your travels are comfortable,there is no denying that a sense of adventure and humour are invaluable companions. I have found that these apps are good to have on my phone,but the thing that works the best is patience,good humour,a lot of smiling and making flexible plans. In any place. In any language.