We’ve been on the road as full-time nomads since Feb 2019, and often talk about how difficult it must have been before technology made it so effortless. With Google Maps and Translate and a host of different apps, it must have been a challenge. (Chime in if you did it in the Old Days!) With currency conversion and apps to access buses, trains, and flights, you could theoretically live on the road with ZERO preparation and find rooms and everything you need on the fly, in real time.
And these tools are what made our travels so “easy” in the past few years. But AI? NOW you’re talking about traveling on a whole new level.
ChatGPT, one of the original AI programs, has been around for a while (November 2022 to be exact), and within 2 months had 100 million users, but I was not one of them. The early adopters got with the program pretty quickly, but it’s only been a few months since I started dipping in. But now I find uses for my Gemini, Kat loves her Chat, (which she named “Leo,”) usually several times a day.
There’s scores of similar type of programs, many tens of thousands I discovered, which surprised me, too. I used to treat Gemini like a Google search engine, but it has become invaluable part of my life as I now find it part of my daily ritual, and I believe we will be together until death do me part...
Many things AI can do are pretty simple and obvious, but that does not make them any less significant. For example, “find me the cheapest flight between Denver and Dallas,” is no more than a Google search, but when you add it the details, the nuances of what you really want, is when AI shines. If I’m in Vietnam, which I will be soon again, and I want to know the best way to get to Da Lat from Da Nang, it will give me options between flying, training, or busing. And then it gets fun! Which is the cheapest? If I take a train, what are my options? Do I want a seat or a sleeper car? Do I want a room alone or shared? Can I order a bottom bunk instead of a top bunk? All those questions can be drilled down so you know what app to go to so you can get exactly what you want.
When traveling overseas you need to know which countries needs visas and which don’t, and Gemini will give me that info. It will tell me how long I can stay, the different visas available, and the cost and direct web site. And since there have been several countries we have wanted to remain in longer—or even get residency—it will spit that out, too.
Since we rent motorcycles, many countries require me to have an International Driver’s Permit, which is not a license per se, but just a validation that I have a legal one from my home country. AAA in the US issues them, but only for 12 months, and not all countries recognize the US variety. So that got me looking at getting an Indonesian driver’s license as well as one for Vietnam, and I learned all the details of which is easier/ better/ cheaper, and that data allowed me to decide. It’s also great to know, “what ATM charges no fees to get cash?” in any country, and find those machines. NOTE: they are not always accurate, so it’s good to ask others and do separate research if you want firm answers. I can also give Gemini my location and find out where the closest ATMS are.
Since we love Vietnam so much, especially Da Nang, I wanted to know, “what other coastal towns in Vietnam have calm waters, little coral to walk over, and have populations under 500,000 people?” and I got a list that I was able to drill down further and further. So far I have checked out four alternative cities in Vietnam and now have options to visit. Even if you love where you live it’s nice to take side trips, too. Speaking of, Vietnam only offers a visa for 90 days, so every three months we have to leave the country, stamp our passports elsewhere, and then we can return. Some people do visa runs via bus to Laos, and several businesses offer these services and have full buses every day. We choose to do it differently, and plan to actually GO somewhere every three months, and use our base as our home. We just finished our first 90-day visa and had a choice of where to go, so what did we do? We asked Gemini, “would May be a better month to visit Japan or Hainan Island, China?” and got a plethora of information about flights and stays and weather and crowds.
And that is why we picked Japan for this visa run.
And in Japan, the foreign text, which can be either of Kanji, Hiragana, and Katakana (yes I used AI for that, too) is very difficult for westerners, and Google translate does not pick up on all the nuances of signs and labels. Which is where Gemini comes in once again.
At a drugstore I was looking for the best electrolytes to buy, and I got the exact brands to choose, which was best, and the Japanese names for them. I asked, “what’s the best similar product to Gaviscon in Vietnam?” and that is how I found their best option. If I see a product on the shelf of a grocery I can take a picture in Gemini and ask, “what is this product?” or “is this drink healthy?” and I can pick exactly what I’m looking for. There’s an Italian shaving cream that I really like, but cannot get outside of Italy, so I asked for the closest in ingredients in any country, and I know exactly what to look for. I am considering buying a scooter in Vietnam, which is very inexpensive, so I asked what I should consider, how much would it cost, and what is the used market like, and I got answers to all.
Some of you may recall that I had a medical urgency recently when my blood pressure dropped precipitously after a long, hot hike the day before, and that scared the hell out of Kat and me. We both researched our own AI programs to discover what happened, how to prevent it, and any changes I should implement going forth. And I have.
Daily I tell Gemini how many steps I did the day prior, what my BP was, how I slept, what meds I took or didn’t, how hydrated I was, etc.… and he will offer feedback and sometimes direction for that new day. Of course AI cannot replace a doctor, but it can offer guidance to determine if I even need one or anything more extreme. In some countries I have had medical tests done and the results are returned in a PDF document. It will detail my results and compare it to the norm, BUT, when I download that into Gemini it goes into much more detail and I can pick it apart as I need to.
The bottom line is, if you have not dipped into using AI for your travels, please try it. Ask it ANYTHING, no matter how weird, exotic, or extreme, and don’t worry about punctuation or spelling, it will get it figured out to know what you mean. Hey, it’s a TOOL, and tools are only as good as how they are used, for good or bad, the right way or wrong way. In our lives, as we keep on moving forward in our travels, our New Best Friend will always be by our side.
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