Money and time are adamant harnesses for many people’s brilliant ideas that drag them back down to reality at its conception stage. That enormous look on bank statement never allows the “perfect season” to arrive for budget conscious travelers.
Photographs from Barcelona, Spain (Winter 2011)
If you look at it though, time and money is only a temporary expenditure that you can eventually earn back if you work hard enough, whereas missed opportunity to be in the moment of traveling is something that you can never take back. You simply have no one but yourself to blame for not doing it.
Photograph from Zaragoza, Spain (Winter 2011)
Let me tell you this — traveling the world is soulful investment of your time to enrich your life that not only teaches you how far you can go physically but also lead you closer to the definition of “who you are”.
So don’t fret yet, there is a way to make awesome travel itinerary without spending too much and within short time frame.
I am writing this post today to share some of my suggestion that hopefully encourage you to realize the dream.
Photograph from Madrid, Spain (Winter 2011)
Preparing for your travel of lifetime.
There is something you can start today to save money for traveling.
For example, when I was planning for travel to Spain three years ago I cancelled all the unused subscriptions like expensive gym membership, cable that I never used, sold stuffs on eBay and Craigslist, and switched my mobile plan to something cheaper. It was the best way to start saving bucks for travel.
When you start to think about saving for travel, your focus should really be on eliminating the excess. Learn to live only with your need is good starting point. The toughest part in modern life is to recognize excess and work against them. Think twice before you proceed to the register — that extra dollar saving may be able to put you on nice cruise around Mont Saint-Michel!
Photograph from Edinburgh, Scotland (Spring 2013)
Let me tell you some stories.
In last 18 months, I’ve moved from Los Angeles to London then to San Francisco. This involved many new encounters and separation which certainly was both bitter and sweet at times. Essentially, I’ve made many friends at every short stop and parted my way to the next stop; and through each person I started to learn more about myself. Direction of my life was constantly shifting during this 18 months, and transition from city to city helped to develop my traveler mindset. Now here I am, an agile-ready suitcase tripper that can fly around the world with minimal belongings (my current possession can easily be packed into 3 suitcases and ready to go!).
When I moved from LA to London, selling my record collection was the hardest thing to do. After contemplating for few weeks whether I should buy another big box to ship to London, I finally decided to drop off my boxes of LPs to Record Surplus.
I had many awesome records in my collection and $100 in return was like shit, but it had to happen. Hopefully some cool audiophile picked up that Tom Waits “Rain Dog” LP and My Bloody Valentine “Isn’t Anything” LP for good price. After all, selling art is a positive cause to keep the circulation going. Also this decision saved me much money and space in my luggage.
Personal items like journals and photo albums are obviously something that you don’t want to throw away because they are the records of your life. These are the ones that I always struggle to get rid of. I sent 3 boxes worth of personal works such as writings, film reels, and photo negatives to my parents’ house in Guam prior to departure from the US. If you are planning to travel abroad for long time and come back to the country eventually, the personal storage is also legitimate option for temporary holding. Do whatever you can to cut down your possession to minimal before leaving the country.
This is what I’ve learned.
Photographs from London, England (Fall 2012)
Once the most personal items are kept at safe place everything else like clothes, car, books, DVDs, furniture, and other items are relatively easy to get rid of. Try not to think too hard about it and just take your stuffs to Good Will and post on Craigslist and do yard sale.
Well, these suggestions are tied to my unique travel condition so it’s not 100% applicable for short term traveling, but you get the point.
If you have it and don’t need it why not sell it to make extra bucks?
Photographs from Venice Beach, CA (Fall 2011)
Setting aside little amount of money to account for your travel fund is smartest way to pace yourself to goal. For example, most traveling from California region in USA to Europe costs around $1000 for round-trip flight throughout the year. Skyscanner is great source for finding cheapest air fare.
If you are smart about choosing inexpensive accommodation (I will touch on this later), it is possible to have amazing time in Spain in three different cities Madrid, Barcelona, and Zaragoza with just little over $1000. When I went to Spain for Christmas three years ago, I had budget of $2000 for 7-10 days (including flight and accommodation). So this is definitely do-able.
If you are planning to travel about 6-months from now, go start calculating your budget starting TODAY and search for flights. Generally, the flight fare locks about 46 days before the departure so keep your eyes out for great deal around that time.
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As I have been emphasizing throughout my travel postings, short term travel can cost more than long term one.
Why? Because with short term travel you will have to compromise some of the following:
1. Transportation – Plane (faster, expensive) vs. Train (slower, cheaper)
2. Food (fine dining to taste the best of the city…might as well)
3. Accommodation (comfortable private room vs. shitty 2-star dorm where you can hardly catch good night sleep)
4. Admission to major tourist attractions (expedited service which can cost additional fee)
In this post, I will highlight some basic tips that can help you build pretty awesome itinerary regardless of your travel time frame.
Photograph from Regent Hostel in Paris, France.
Find affordable option for your stay.
Affordable, but also comfortable. You will burn lots of energy in short term traveling especially if you are active traveler like myself and wanting to see as much as possible in available time. You have to keep your feet moving! So some comfortable bedding with less distraction from sleep is preferable to rest up your tired body.
Search for hostel/guesthouses on Hostelworld.com or Hostel.com. Wherever your destination will be, there is definitely affordable housing option for low budget traveling. You just need to look at the right place 🙂
For peaceful and comfortable hostel experience (unlike how it’s been stigmatized by Eli Roth’s film of the same title) make sure to read all the reviews and pay particular attention to considerable noise-level of the facility. I generally avoid choosing hostels with negative reviews on loudness and dismiss it from my list if I see remark as “party hostel”. These hostels exist in almost every backpacker destination.
Obviously, if party is your scene, go for it and book it by all means; but remember there are always fascinating adventures waiting in the city. So you don’t need to party at the hostel 🙂
For beginners, Hostel International is probably the most reliable option. This company hosts numerous travelers every day all around the world. I stayed at their hostels in Chicago, Monterey, and San Francisco and the facilities and bedding was all perfect. Definitely recommended as alternative to rather expensive hotel stays.
Hands down. Best thing to do food wise in Spain is tapas. With €5 caña (half pint beer) you can enjoy complimentary tapas plates like tortilla!
Had pint of pilsner and brat wurst with locals at pub that I stumbled upon in Frankfurt, Germany.
Eat wisely.
Same goes with eating and drinking. Since you are in different country you might as well try something new at every destination.
While guidebook is easiest answer to find what to eat in the city, it is also complacent and you can end up spending so much.
Meet the locals and seek their recommendation. Asking workers at local produce or meat market is actually good way to find the restaurants that are less commercialized than guidebooks.
Yelp is another good way to quickly search for cafe and indie bars although it kind of takes away that excitement to discover cool dig by yourself.
Free walking tour operated by staffs at Way Hostel Madrid. This tour is designed to see many landmarks in Madrid by foot and also mingle with fellow travelers.
I got hooked up with free Ceine river cruise tour by a friend that I made in Paris. Be who you are and connect with people! That’s the number 1 rule on traveling solo.
Free walking tour in London. In conjunction of local organization and Meetup.com
You don’t have to spend dime for AWESOME tours.
There are many tour that you can participate for completely free.
It’s good idea to choose hostel based on availability of staff operated tours. These tours are usually free, and designed to give you glances of what the city has to offer and also connect with fellow travelers.
Although free tours may not be as thorough as the ones you can join for more money, it gives you good perspective of the city. I usually join these free tours as soon as I arrive the hostel to get used to the geography and grasp the knowledge of neighborhood before starting the adventure. Meeting other travelers is obviously another perks of these free tours as I’ve been continuously insisting on my other posts. If you are planning to stay in the city for while, Meetup.com is also good resource to join the events organized by locals.
Cotswolds hike in England.
Meetup event that was independently organized by hikers group and open to anyone with very small organization fee (20 pounds).
One full day spent active and I made some friends!
Pinnacles National Park in California.
Another Meetup hike that was completely free and group members also actively helped the car-less participants with transportation.
So why are you still contemplating whether should or should not do that big dream travel of yours? Freedom is non-tameable beast and you will loose it before you know it. Hopefully, some of the tips above can help you make up your mind. After all, traveling is opportunity to cultivate your soul. As many have said it before, you will NEVER regret for traveling and it will enrich your life after you return.
You might as well do it while it’s on your mind 🙂
Photographs from Santa Monica, CA (Fall 2011)
Please leave a comment if you liked my post and share it with your friends going on big travel.
Chiang Mai is clearly the elephant kingdom. So many elephants!
Ayutthaya has many temple ruins. It is often referred to as “Venice of the East”. Take a look at this view by the lake in historical park.
Tuk-tuk is preferred method of transportation in the city. However, be adamant about fare negotiation as higher “tourist” fare is very much the standard everywhere. Taking the ride for >100 baht is reasonable to navigate this small city.
Mackenzie and Natalia, two backpackers that I’ve met on the train.
A young dancer in traditional dress waiting for her cue to perform.
Street vendor making coconut pancake with quail eggs. Oh, man. This stuff was incredibly yummy!
Typical sight of souvenir shops in Thailand. Many Buddhas!
Wat Phra That Doi Suthep is temple with very conspicuous golden architectures. Here’s the first sight of the temple from the gate.
There is a pathway built around the temple structure and golden Buddhas stand by it.
Emerald Buddha.
People’s prayers are written on the bells and hang high in the sky.
Beautiful Wat Phra That Doi Suthep.
Mr. Big and me in front of Chiang Mai train station. Yeah!