Jetsetting with … Evernote’s Troy Malone

SINGAPORE — Never forget anything when you travel. Even if you do, you can always be reminded if you use a programme or app such as Evernote.

“I was in Korea last August and I found myself in the city of Pohang. The name of the city rang a bell,” recalled the General Manager of Evernote Asia-Pacific, who travels twice a month. “I searched my Evernote. In my ‘Someday’ notebook, I found that in September 2012, I had flagged a really neat sculpture of a hand coming out of the sea in Pohang as a place I wanted to visit.

“I made the necessary arrangements and turned that ‘Someday’ event into a ‘Done that’ event.”

Sounds like a good reason to always keep notes on the go even for the boring stuff. “I use Evernote to remember where I park my car when I travel.”

Q: How do you recommend travellers use Evernote for smoother travelling?

A: I recommend creating a “Travel” notebook and keeping all your travel information in Evernote. Whenever I need my passport, itinerary, insurance cards, frequent flyer numbers, hotel information, or articles about the places I visit, I can just look it up on my phone, tablet or computer.

Q: How does Evernote compare to apps such as TripCase and WorldMate?

A: Travel apps are great for their intended purpose, but don’t necessarily do the same thing. I use Evernote to capture all my receipts for expense purposes. You can’t do that with a travel app. When I was in Singapore with my wife, she fell and broke her arm. It was chaotic. While at the hospital, I needed to find our insurance information quickly to get her admitted. Luckily, I had entered our insurance cards into Evernote and I was able to make the necessary arrangements.

Q: What are some gadgets/apps you require wherever you go?

A: My required apps are Evernote, Google Translator, Juice Defender, Gmail, Sol Calendar, Line, Instagram and Twitter. I have also figured out how to configure my phone for optimal battery use by going into each app configuration and disabling notifications unless I truly need them. If you are on Android, go to your calendar or flashlight app and you will see that notifications are turned on. That wastes a tonne of battery life when your phone’s screen is off. I always get more than a full day’s worth in every country I travel in.

Q: What are some of your favourite destinations and why?

A: I love Korea because I speak the language and love the food. I’m planning a family trip to Korea in the fall. The country is very easy to cover in a couple of weeks and it’s very fun, to boot. It’s absolutely safe, no worries about food, really a kid-friendly environment for young children.