But at a conference in Frankfurt a couple of years ago, one of the keynote speakers was Dr Robert Ballard who is a oceanographer and devotes his life to exploring the depths of our oceans . His big claim to fame is that it was he who discovered the wreck of the Titanic.

He talked about how technology now enabled him to explore deeper and for longer than ever before. By using robots backed up with high speed data communications, instead of flying out to a ship somewhere in the Pacific Ocean and then spending 2 hours slowly descending in a submarine to spend just 2 hours exploring before spending 2 more hours trying to get back to the surface without getting the bends, he can now do his exploration from the comfort of a university campus on the mainland.

Not only is this safer, but it means where as before he was limited to just 2 hours per day of exploration, he can now spend days and weeks at the bottom of the sea bed discovering new life forms as he goes.

But he had taken this one stage further.

Not only did he have a control centre for the remote sub in his office, he had actually managed to roll out a number of these control centres to a number of other universities, colleges and schools. We were shown a video of a group of 10 year olds not only watching live images from the bottom of the Pacific but they were actually in control of the submarine. Controlling the sub in much the same way as a PlayStation they were able to tell it where to look and where to go.

As you can imagine, the kids were hooked from that point on.

But the point made was that if you can virtually place a 10 year old at the bottom of the Pacific, then you could probably place them anywhere and thus the conversation around Virtual Tourism.

Scale this back a bit and whilst you have Dr Ballard exploring the depths, there are a number of commercial organisations who have been mapping and scanning the surface for a number of years. The most obvious example of this is Google with their StreetView project.

There are now a number of free services that really do enable you to be virtually there. To walk around, change your point of view and explore the world.

Earlier in the year, Google launched their 3D Photo Tours for more than 15,000 landmarks which takes the existing StreetView imagery and adds photos submitted via Panoramio and Picasa Web users taking the detail and quality to a whole new level.

And they haven’t stopped there.

As well as their StreetView camera cars, Google have also mounted their cameras on the backs of bikes and been cycling around places that were previously inaccessible from Stonehenge to Disneyland

Likewise Microsoft have introduced a similar idea into Bing Maps where you are once again able to walk along a street.

Indeed on some of these services you are not only able to walk along a street but actually enter the stores and look around there as well.

But what really caught my attention today was the launch of Googles World Wonders Project where they have collected a number of historical sites together for you to explore and discover all from the comfort of your arm chair.

So for my son Sam who is 9 years old, virtual tourism is here. Before we went to Budapest in the Spring I found him exploring the city using StreetView. He doesn’t have to wait for us to jump on a plane to discover what a new place looks like. He can do that today.

But it’s not the same is it?

These are still static images. You don’t get a feel for the place, the sounds, the smells the people. Sure I can visit a beach on StreetView but I can’t feel the sun on my face or hear the waves crashing on the sand.

But for a 9 year old, he is still able to experience and discover places I could only dream about when I was that age or had to read about in a book.

But there is something new on the horizon.

Project Glass. Again from Google.

These are a pair of glasses that recognise where you are and allow you to overlay computer generated information on the world in front of you

But remember that this is Google. And whilst a lot of what we see about Google is the content they give us, most of their business is built on the information they gather from us.

Here we suddenly have the concept of a roaming camera walking the streets and feeding data back to them. Suddenly StreetView can actually get right into your living room or kitchen and that whole virtual model they have of the world gets even more detailed. I am not sure however I would like to have my bedroom featured on the Internet.

But all of this technology allows you to roam around a virtual world that happened at some point in the past.

Thinking back to Robert Ballard, what he was doing was in real time. Using robots.

This technology is often referred to as TelePresence and there are a number of variations on this.

I have already mentioned how we can transport a 10 year old to the bottom of the Pacific but there are more down to earth applications.

Anybots is a company that can sell you a virtual you. A robot that roams around your workplace whilst you sit in your home office. It allows you to virtually walk around your workplace and actually see in real time what is going on. It has a screen on it so people can see you as well so in theory, you could virtually walk up to somebodies desk and have a face to face conversation with them

Applying this to tourism, maybe I could rent one of these online and then use it to explore a city from the comfort of my armchair. This way I could see the location in real time and see moving images and hear the sounds. You could even interact with the locals as they could see and hear you as well.

If however you think tourists on Segways are bad enough, wait until you see a herd of these coming down the pavement towards you when you are out buying a newspaper on a Sunday morning.

And then there are the Google self driving cars (yes really)

We now have a car that can drive itself on public roads so perhaps we could be all virtual tourists inside that car and go on a virtual road trip?

Personally I don’t see how this differs much from a coach tour where you pass through town after town and can only stare out of the windows as the real world passes you by. Maybe I could use it to transport my Anybot to the beach?

But the important point here is that all this technology exists right now. This is not science fiction. It is also not virtual reality where you have computer simulations of the real world.

This is reality it’s just that you are looking into it remotely.

So with the cost of travel rising and time becoming a precious commodity, is virtual tourism the answer?

I would like to say no but really can see where the technology plays it’s part.

For Sam who is learning about Egypt for a school project, what better way to learn that to spend a few hours walking around Cairo and the Pyramids?

And for those for who travel is just a dream due to age, ability or just a fear of flying it gives them a taste and gets them closer than they have ever been able to get before.

And of course as the political map constantly changes, there are countries today I would not travel to that only a couple of years ago were considered prime holiday destinations. For now this is the only way I can get to experience them.

So I think virtual tourism is real and to some people is the only option but until the technology allows me to see, hear, smell, touch and interact, my preference will still be to travel and actually be there.

So after last years family trip to Prague this year we wanted the same but different!

Looking to the south and east of Prague threw up a few options but ultimately we settled on the Hungarian capital city of Budapest.

Looking through the guidebook, in a lot of respects it looks very similar to Prague straddling a large river (in this case the Danube) with the newer town on one side and the older town (complete with castle on the hill) on the other and lots of pretty bridges.

We stayed at the Intercontinental Budapest and I mention this only because our hotel room had the finest view I have ever seen out of a hotel room window.

With our hotel right in the middle of everything we had 3 days to explore and discover so the following morning we were up and away not knowing quite what we would find because after weeks of planning, I left the guide book on the sofa back home.

Whilst we did do a lot of walking we eventually figured out the public transport which is a mixture of an underground metro system, a tram system, a funicular railway and a cog railway and as I always like to do, we used the funicular to get up high to the castle area to enjoy some amazing views

Over the 3 days we did visit a few museums and sights. Most noticeable were the transport museum which is next to the city park (itself worth a visit) and the House of Terror.

Sam also got to tuck into gallons and gallons of his favourite dish…. Goulash!

But it was after dark that the city really took on a very different feel. This really is a very pretty city.

So after 4 days, we are now back home. Fully of beer and goulash and with very tired feet.

Budapest is a very pretty city and has an interesting culture and a long and variable history however we won’t be hurrying back. We found the city to be too spread out. Everything seemed to require a couple of changes on the trams or metro and lots of walking and whilst the weather was great and the city was clean, you spent far too much time in transit and to be honest, the city between the sights is nothing special

We also felt that the city was not as welcoming to tourists as say Prague is but on the flip side we also found that the street sellers and homeless people were not in your face and kept their distance. On top of this, we always felt safe. This is after all a modern city.

If you get the chance to go, then do so. It one of those places that does need to be visited but once is probably enough.

So here is a selection of images from the trip however all my photos (and there are a lot more than just these here) are available HERE on my photo album as usual.

Thanks for looking.

So where as last year I was dispatched to Amsterdam with just my camera and this year so shoot to my hearts content, this year I managed to get a few days in Paris.

Here are a small selection of images from the trip and my full album (all 130 images) can be found HERE as usual

Thanks for looking

So now we are into 2012 and it’s time to look ahead and set some goals.

Travel

We did a lot of this in 2011 and want to carry this on as much as possible. Exploring a new city with a different culture as a family has been fun for all of us.

So far this year we have a trip to Budapest in Hungary booked and our summer holiday is going to take us into Europe once again although this year it might not be France.

In addition I am looking to get away with my camera for a couple of days although haven’t quite worked out where yet and we should be able to sneak a couple of weekends away.

As for business travel, it’s all a bit early and there isn’t anything in my diary but I am sure something will come along

Work

To be honest, work is frustrating me at the moment so 2012 is the year I have to fix it. I have been in my current role for the last 11 years and had thought I had seen it all but over the last 24 months, things have really turned for the worse.

The good news is that we have a new CEO (fresh blood) with a new vision. We get to find out what that is in February.

In the meantime I am looking at some of the companies out there that are way ahead of us both with vision and strategy and wondering if this is the time to move. Certainly this is not something I intend to rush into and I have to be mindful that 11 years service is significant but I have to look to the future for both me and my family so watch this space.

Either I am able to fix some of the things that are frustrating me where I am or I need to move which in turn (I hope) will address that whole work/life balance thing that has eluded me over the last few years.

Health & Lifestyle

2011 wasn’t good health wise. At times I wondered what was going to stop working or start hurting next and due to all the medication I was on, I always felt tired.

So the doctor has now halved the medication that was making me tired and I am already feeling a lot more alive and better about myself. In addition the diet I started last year is working. I gave it a rest over Christmas but am now fully committed again. Over the next few weeks, I will be picking up the exercise piece as well.

Finally I am trying to change from being a night time person to a morning person. Easier said than done and I am well on the way but those early Friday mornings still hurt.

Fun

Last year Sam and I had some great days out including the Reliant Robin and Caravan racing (yes really) at the Norfolk Arena and also the BTCC at Silverstone. We also had a number of days out and trips abroad so as a family I think we managed to do a lot more fun things with less trips to Ikea.

This year I already have the 2012 motorsport calendar on my desk so hopefully I will get to have some fun with Sam again and with some decent trips lined up and plenty of ideas for days out, I think we are looking good for 2012.

Changes

I have spent a lot of my adult life worrying about how my actions impact those of others and trying to put other peoples feelings in front of my own.

Nowhere is this more apparent that with our summer family holidays over the lest 3 years.

On 3 separate occasions, I have planned and booked our family break to accommodate friends and family and on 2 of those 3, we have been dumped upon from a great height causing upset and expense and on at least one of those occasions putting me and my family in a very serious danger.

Those people are no longer part of my life but it has taught me to start thinking about me and my family more and getting my priorities right. If you want to join in, you fit in with us not the other way around.

Wish me luck

So 2011 was great. I am looking to 2012 to be even better.

I will keep you posted throughout the year but in the meantime wish me luck.

I wanted to travel more

I said as a family but also just on my own. I think it is fair to say this was a resounding success.

In April as a family we had Four amazing days in Prague

In May work took me to a convention centre in Madrid

In July I was able to grab a few days in Amsterdam

Then in August we took off for 2 weeks in France as a family again

In October we managed a family night away in Bruges

And then to end the year, at the end of November, I headed off to Vienna for a few days again on business

So I think it is fair to say we got away quite a bit this year. To be fair, some of these trips were brief to say the least with Vienna being done in under 30 minutes but none the less, we had some really great trips.

I wanted to use my camera more

And I did. As you can see from the photos above and from other posts here on my blog, I have been snapping my way around Europe like there was no tomorrow.

Indeed my photos taken in Amsterdam even got me a WordPress Freshly Pressed recognition. That really blew me away so thank you.

Something else that I did in both Bruges and Vienna was that I left my DSLR camera at home and relied on my mobile phone camera instead. I think it is fair to say that cameras on phones are now getting seriously good and whilst not a DSLR replacement are easily a substitute for carrying a small point & shoot camera.

I needed to get more active

Didn’t do so well on this due to a combination of things but 12 months on, whilst I weigh in at less than where I started, my health isn’t great with more things going wrong or falling off.

So I need to double down and fix this otherwise I may not be following this post up in 12 months time.

I would work less

Hmmm.

I am not sure on that one. The year started off well with less travel and certainly less nights away from home however as we have moved towards the end of the year I have seen the travel start to increase again and my workload is now as high as it has ever been.

The good news is that my company has just imposed what amounts to a travel ban in order to cut costs so at least for the next quarter, the work life balance may be redressed.

I will have more fun

I think we are heading in the right direction here.

What with the travel as a family already mentioned together with a number of other days out and weekends away (including the British Touring Car Championships at Silverstone), I think we are doing better as a family than before

I think we can do better but we are spending less time in shopping centres and Ikea so we are doing OK.

Well?

So looking back on what I said I wanted to do in January and what I have actually done, I think 2011 has been a pretty good year.

For 2012 my goals are pretty much the same but I will post about them early in the new year once I have set my mind on what I want to be doing.

True it wasn’t all fun with some dear friendships coming to an end and the odd mishap but on the flip side we have made new friends and as they say, as one door closes, another one opens.

So Happy New Year to all of you and see you in 2012