Despite being employed as a ‘technology expert’ for the last decade or so, I still pinch myself at certain vital moments. This week I’m writing to you from Red Square in Moscow – with my words and photo being sent back to Wiltshire almost instantaneously, thanks to the internet.

The world of near instant communication seemed almost inconceivable when I was a child, so there are occasions where I look upon the internet in wonder. On my first trip abroad in 1996, I visited Greece on holiday with friends and I remember carrying a stack of the now defunct Drachma to a badly vandalised phone box. The call to my parents lasted all of three minutes and cost me something approaching a fiver.

Having to contact a good friend to wish them Happy Birthday, I decided to video call them from outside the Kremlin through the free voice and video call app Skype – the resulting video, with me clowning around in a ridiculous looking Cossack hat lasted for 15 minutes, and in real terms, cost absolutely nothing. You can speak with a fellow Skype user like you are on the telephone, or use your phone, tablet or computer to broadcast video images. Apps like Skype are making the world smaller – making it easier to speak to friends and family in the far-flung reaches without having to keep one eye on the clock to avoid spending all of your hard earned money. The internet has also made it easy to keep up to date with news back home – when I’m abroad, I visit the WT online – (www.wiltshiretimes.co. uk).

Since my first flight abroad, it’s also become far easier to enhance your travel with technology. Rather than carrying multiple gadgets like a games console, music player, camera and portable translator, all of those devices now fit into one device – the modern smartphone that tucks nicely in your pocket. Mobile data can be expensive, so always call your provider before travelling, but I find myself being able to use Google Maps and the taxi app Hailocab to travel around a foreign country with surprising efficiency.

It’s a shame the internet was able to tell me what to expect from tonight’s restaurant and its “authentic Georgian cuisine”. Give me The Longs Arms in Steeple Ashton any day.