NationStates Jolt Archive

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Adventures in lands "where all men are not brothers and the luggage is in danger" (V.S. Naipaul), but the necklaces cost only $6.00



So, I am starting to really plan my summer trip, which, due to airfare, has been cut from a 40 day, multi-continental event to a 2-week southeast Asian journey.

Incidentally, my professor recently gave me a sheet with the same title as this thread. So, what are your tips for cheap travel? I'll throw on her ideas in the next post.

1. Leave Bermuda and the Caribbean for your dotage--the developing world remains the most magnificent destination for budget travel.
2. Travel trade routes.
3. Make every trip a circle.
4. Unless you are skiing, avoid winter/cold weather. Our [Boston] winter is a great time to travel in Asia.
5. Consider "bucket shops' for plane fares. Cf. Edward Hasbrouck, http://hasbrouck.org/, The Practical Nomad
6. Book everything, except your first nght if you're feeling frail, in the country. USE THE INTERNET, USE THE INTERNET, USE THE INTERNET. Cf. Edward Hasbroucke
7. Stay in cheap hotels, then abandon them immediately to lurk about at exotic, luxurious hotels...hotels are for sleeping only.
8. Remember that a well-timed splurge can revive the spirit.
9. Travel light--3-4 changes are all you need--vanity is inefficient.
10. Develop the fine art of chatting up travellers who have just bee were you are going.
11. Bring books to read that will transport you from the crowded 3rd class train you are on. Jane Austen and Tolstoy are goodies; War and Peace could help you endure an 11-day deck class voyage. Books about the lands you're travelling in are also good. Book trading while travelling is common and can provide entrees to conversations.
12. Be bold, adventurous, and resolute when approaching bathrooms.
13. ALWAYS carry toilet paper. Other potential keys to life are baggies, gum, hygenic gel in a bottle. Sun screen and moisturizer should not be underrated.
14. Time saves you money, money saves you time.
15. Money is cash, travellers checks, and plastic. Become aware of currencites and exchange rates. Always carry some of your money in US dollars--$100 bills. ATMs
16. Research your trip obsessively; cross-check travel books; use travel agents realistically (they've rarely been to the third world, but can tell you the plane routes and fares in the third world); OAGS in your town library. Internet.
17. Establish your purpose: escape, adventure, relaxation, education, culture, markets, archeology, etc.
18. Acknowledge your biases (we hate sea and surf, but we love ruins and market places).
19. Keep a journal and a ledger. Collect paper memorabilia and construct a scrapbook when you get home; take pictures or buy postcards. Think about a digital camera.
20. Develop the following skills: ability to sleep in any position, ability to enter a bathroom without breathing, batience and humor in the face of bureacracy and incompetence, entering into conversations with fellow travellers.
21. Get an international student identity card and ask for student discounts everywhere.

AAll from Jeanie Goddard

Walk.

Steal a car?

Will give you tips when I was younger and had much less money. I still do some of these things to this day.
I always searched for the best tickets. If I had to endure one more lay over to make it $50-$150 cheaper I would. I also have made excellent use of the Internet over the years. I research a lot on the place I plan to go to get the best tips and search for clues on doing things on the cheap.

I never booked a hotel before I went almost anywhere. I found that when I flew into a place I could find much cheaper hotels than searching on the web. Of course when I started traveling there was no web.... ! Three star hotels were my friend. After all you basically just sleep there, right?

I would also at times travel alone. Sounds a bit scary but I met girls every single time. Sometimes multiple due to the fact they had to work or go back to uni. I have even been passed onto her friends for a few days. Lots of fun. In fact this is how I ended up living in the UK and meeting my wife in Morocco. Doing that can be a lot of fun and you have a personal tour guide more often than not with a vehicle to drive your butt around.

Haggle about prices. Even do this at the three star hotels. Also offer cash to the clerk at half the rate they are quoting you. This has worked so many times for me I can't even tell you. Some tourists just settle and that is not how it works in most countries. You have to search for the best deals. Also try and not dress like you have a lot of money. Look like a backpacker and they will give you better deals. I still do this bit to this day.

Stick to cheap places, like Thailand, Vietnam, China, Indo, India. You can live well off a few dollars a day in those places.

Make money while you're there by smuggling a couple hundred people over the border in your carry-on luggage.

Or see if there's any volunteer work going in any of the charities operating there. You could get free board from doing that, and it would look good on your CV. Teaching English is also a possibility. Unless you're qualified, you'd get paid sod-all (though still more than the locals) but main point is you'd get some cash whil you're there.

Well, the first thing is to go to cheaper places.

Go local, local restaurants, local accommodation, local transport - avoid tours like the plague.

Here's one example of how to be cheap - in Delhi, a rickshaw driver will take you around for free if you stop off at a department store between tourist sites, they collect baksheesh from the stores for bringing a customer. This kind of thinking really cuts down costs and can be applied in many countries, bargain yourself.

Be a guy - I swear, it takes traveling with a girl to realise how much basic stuff they need a day, I'm not being disparaging but it's simply easier to travel as a guy.

Aside from planning ahead for airline tickets, I'd say don't take any plans at all, remain flexible and open for opportunity.

Don't get sick - hard to plan for I guess but medical costs overseas, killer.

Travel by Catapult

Well, the first thing is to go to cheaper places.

Go local, local restaurants, local accommodation, local transport - avoid tours like the plague.

Here's one example of how to be cheap - in Delhi, a rickshaw driver will take you around for free if you stop off at a department store between tourist sites, they collect baksheesh from the stores for bringing a customer. This kind of thinking really cuts down costs and can be applied in many countries, bargain yourself.

Be a guy - I swear, it takes traveling with a girl to realise how much basic stuff they need a day, I'm not being disparaging but it's simply easier to travel as a guy.

Aside from planning ahead for airline tickets, I'd say don't take any plans at all, remain flexible and open for opportunity.

Don't get sick - hard to plan for I guess but medical costs overseas, killer.


I have to agree and endorse this above post. However the upside to getting sick in the third world is that doctors are cheap and just about any drug you need is available at the local pharmacy.

I would also at times travel alone. Sounds a bit scary but I met girls every single time. Sometimes multiple due to the fact they had to work or go back to uni. I have even been passed onto her friends for a few days. Lots of fun. In fact this is how I ended up living in the UK and meeting my wife in Morocco. Doing that can be a lot of fun and you have a personal tour guide more often than not with a vehicle to drive your butt around.
I'm glad to hear that you had a good experience going alone...I had been looking for people to go with me, but no one I wanted to travel with would go, so that is what I will be doing. I'm mostly excited, but a little scared

Stick to cheap places, like Thailand, Vietnam, China, Indo, India. You can live well off a few dollars a day in those places.
Exactly where I'm going. Thailand and Cambodia, maybe Vietnam

Watch the discovery channel.
Take notes.
Order Chinese.

I'm glad to hear that you had a good experience going alone...I had been looking for people to go with me, but no one I wanted to travel with would go, so that is what I will be doing. I'm mostly excited, but a little scared


Exactly where I'm going. Thailand and Cambodia, maybe Vietnam

You may want to pal up with some Europeans, Canadians or Americans too while you are there. That can be interesting for a few days.

One other thing that may not work where you are going this particular time. With the advent of the net I always wondered how those international dating sites would work out for trips. The thought was to cultivate a few friendships before you took off by yourself to a foreign nation. That way you had someone getting you at the airport and showing you the way. Just a thought I had.

You may want to pal up with some Europeans, Canadians or Americans too while you are there. That can be interesting for a few days.

One other thing that may not work where you are going this particular time. With the advent of the net I always wondered how those international dating sites would work out for trips. The thought was to cultivate a few friendships before you took off by yourself to a foreign nation. That way you had someone getting you at the airport and showing you the way. Just a thought I had.

Not a bad idea...as it stands, I had been planning to rely mostly on dorm-style hostles, and a bit of couch surfing where that fails...but I'm sure there are some sites to accomplish just what you say...

I was told by some friends who went last year that there are tons of aussies to meet up with all over the region

Not a bad idea...as it stands, I had been planning to rely mostly on dorm-style hostles, and a bit of couch surfing where that fails...but I'm sure there are some sites to accomplish just what you say...

I was told by some friends who went last year that there are tons of aussies to meet up with all over the region

You can try www.wayn.com (Where Are You Now) - it's a kind of community travel site, people cross-offer couches to sleep on, share tips and find potential friends in countries they're visiting. I've never used it as I don't travel much on holiday anymore but I sure would have back in the day.

I spent $100 on a two-week trip once. Amtrak + a backpack. Pretty kickass, actually. :)

Travel by Catapult

Remember, Elbonian Airlines will only intentionally aim at mud puddles if you go for first class. Ask for coach, and wear a jacket that can be unzipped to steer yourself to the mud puddle.

Alternatively, wait until I finish up on project #31. I'm figuring a way to create organelles that actually take up entropy and use it to fuel miniaturized Big Bangs, which are then funneled into modified mitochondria to produce a limitless source of energy. Other organelles that will work in tandem will be able to use this energy in various ways, including aeronautical self-propulsion. It might be a while, though.

Make sure you know where your towel is. *nods*