Posted by Christopher Wink on Nov 21, 2008 in
Travel Tips 
Sean standing in front of an interesting "Hell" advertisement in East London Oct. 4, 2008. He is a pathetic victim of situational poverty, but he likes to travel. What does he and others like him do?We set out to blog about cheap travel.
I fell madly in love with Couch Surfing, which can save you some money and give you some real cultural lessons. In Brussels, we spoke to Ian, a New Zealander who had taken to hitchhiking - which can get one of your biggest expenses, transportation.
There are about a million and five ways to travel cheaply. Sometimes it’s a mentality. Sometimes it’s knowing a local. But, more often, it’s meeting a local with the right mentality.
Here are a handful of the best ways to travel for cheap - or free - that we didn’t even get to on this trip.
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Tags: couchsurfing, hitchhiking, Jetsetting
Posted by Christopher Wink on Nov 19, 2008 in
Travel Tips 
Stuffing my face with a delicious Belgian waffle in Brussels.
So you’re backpacking to train-traveling for a couple weeks, a month or lots longer.
You end up with the same problem. Trying to eat healthy while keeping costs down.
I spent almost half a grand on eating during a month of backpacking - less than my train-travel and housing costs - which I think is pretty darn good, considering I had to eat every local delicacy we could find.
Let me throw some suggestions at you.
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Tags: Budget, currency, Food, Jetsetting
Posted by Christopher Wink on Nov 18, 2008 in
Education 
I was very caught up in the idea of a single language for a single nation, at least in the developed world.
English. Spanish. German. French. Japanese. Chinese.
A monolithic people speaking a single language in a single place. Of course it gets more complicated, but I didn’t think I would come across those complexities in Western Europe - the mother of much of mainstream American culture.
These damn multilanguage countries confused me.
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Tags: Jetsetting, Language
Posted by Christopher Wink on Nov 17, 2008 in
Travel Tips 
It becomes a question of quality of stay or quantity of stops.
Do you want to join the Peace Corps or study abroad or use any of the other of wonderful ways that give you a chance at an extended stay in a single place. That’s how you come to know a foreign place intimately.
Or, do you want to see as many of the world’s great sights as you can in the time and with the money you have? That’s how come to visit the thousands of famous spots and locations we know.
Much goes into the decision, what kind of traveler you want to be, what you want to learn, and what you’re willing to sacrifice.
After this trip I have even more thoughts on the matter.
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Tags: Jetsetting
Posted by Christopher Wink on Nov 8, 2008 in
Education 
I am dodgy. I can accept it. So, I didn't go into this London bar on Brick Lane Oct. 3, 2008.
I am hot tempered.
I cringe over costs. Accept them. You are in an unfamiliar place. You will be short 30 pence for a bus ride home in London and get stuck putting 3 pounds on your Oyster card, with an additional $3 charge for using your credit card abroad.
What do you want out of your travel? How do you want to represent yourself and your country. Traveling will make you learn plenty about yourself, which is good because it is rarely as important as when you’re seeing the world.
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Tags: Budget, couchsurfing, currency, Jetsetting
