Does it really take a lot of money to travel? Yes, and no. Here's yet another post where I try and convince people that I'm extremely blessed, but not at all rich. And that it is possible to travel a lot on a budget.
But firstly, why I'm able to do this. I've been extremely blessed: I do not have to provide for my family; I earn a decent middle-class income; I've no children to feed; no monthly installments to pay; and I have a job. So at this point in time, I'm still single and employed.
At the beginning of this year (2011), G and I signed an expensive paper that emptied a significant chunk of our bank accounts, we bought an apartment that would be ready in 2014, and I knew that that would be the end of my carefree existence. It is scary just thinking of the bills I would have to pay and the monthly installments I would have to make for the next thirty years! Public Housing is a diabolical mechanism guised as a socialist policy that ostensibly assures us that we would own "a piece of our country's wealth" while simultaneously forcing us into a 9am-5pm (and after) mould where we both have to work hard (and harder if we want to pay off our loans in less than thirty years and 'upgrade' to private housing), month in and month out and take measures to ensure that we are never laid off, and if we are, that we will still have money to pay off the monthly installment. In other words, we have to be perfect cogs in the wheel, now that we've 'democratically' bought (literally) into the system.
So I'm traveling as much as possible right now because this is what I've always enjoyed doing.
I try to spend as little as possible on each trip. How?
1. Cheap Plane Tickets - I scour the net for the cheapest plane tickets. My brother, Gabriel, can attest to the sheer number of nights and hours I spend trawling the internet for cheap air tickets. For instance, there was a return ticket to Oslo on Qatar for only 500SGD but with an extremely long layover. I'm used to spending long nights in airports, in fact, I like spending my nights in such transient spaces.
2. Couchsurfing - Why pay for accommodation? Why pay for guides? Couchsurfing provides both and it doesn't cost you a cent!
3. Hostels/Air BNB - I stay at very basic accommodations when I travel. What is a hostel but a room to return to? Besides, there are wonderful hostels throughout Europe especially, and the rates (especially off season) are mind-blowing!
4. Transport - this is by far the trickest as it can get very expensive. But as far as possible, I get from one place to the other by foot. I truly enjoy walking and I can walk from morning to evening without stopping, covering more than 20-30km in a day. My brothers may scoff and not believe me when I say this, but I relish the aches that appear in my calfs the day after.
5. Hitchhiking - I've never tried this. But my brother and his girlfriend have! It can be dangerous for a girl though, but if you are in groups and around Europe, it should be good!
6. Eating Cheap - though I love food, when I travel, I try to eat a variety of cheap food. Besides I absolutely adore canned sardines in olive oil and these are really cheap in Europe!
7. I don't travel to shop - shops bore me (do they not all sell the same thing anyway. what seems 'unique' and 'cute' is commercialization at its height) unless they give out free samples in edible forms. People I've travelled with can attest to the fact that the weight of my baggage is never much heavier when I return than when I leave.
By the end of Jan 2012, I think I would have spent close to $13000 on traveling since December 2010. While this might seem like a lot of money (and it is a lot of money), I would like to think that it is not so much considering that in this time I've slept in the sahara dessert under a moonlit sky (Morocco); seen the Northern Lights arching across the starry sky (Canada); trekked barefoot in mud for 4 hours, landing on my bum countless times (Vietnam); stuffed myself with more than 8 meals in 1 day (Hong Kong for 5 days); getting lost (I was alone and scared shitless) while hiking in one of the largest National Parks in the Laplands (Sweden); the numerous chance-meetings with strangers from all walks of life and the fantabulous conversations we shared (India). And then there is France, where I'll leaving for tomorrow and Hk/Macau/Shenzhen-trip that's coming up at the end of the month.
While I am certainly thankful for having had these opportunities, the sardonic side of me would just like to add that I know people who spend that very same amount, in a year, on pairs of ferragamo shoes, facial products, fine restaurants, branded labels, alcohol, gym memberships, expensive facial massage sessions, leather products and luxury holidays.
Just as a pretty pair of Ferragamos sends a deep thrill down its new owner's spine, a set of return air tickets makes me tingle with joy. Other well-intentioned folks like to ask me what I've learnt -- so, are Ferragamos, luxury vacations and fine restaurants an investment?
We all derive gratification from different experiences, let's leave each other's alone.
