Traveling on a Shoe String Budget

I've always prided myself on being a frugal traveler. When studying abroad in 2007 I learned to appreciate the value of a discount airlines ticket price. At that time a round trip ticket from the South of France to just about anywhere could be found for about €10 round trip. Those days are mostly gone, but not completely; and while that base value has gone up over the years, I've never stopped looking for those amazing deals. My mother came to visit me in London a few months ago and gave me a challenge. She wanted to pay for the two of us to have a long weekend away together on a budget of $500 US. 

Now, I could break down my trip line item by line item, but let's be honest - the deals I found would be hard to recreate for that exact trip. However, I'll explain how I did it! 

1) Be flexible about the destination. Limit your expectations, but have a set amount to spend, then make the trip fit those limits. 

2) "Window" shop first. In this day and age it is more like webpage troll, but you get the idea. Search for cheap flights, check to get an idea of accommodation prices, see how much activities would cost, what's the average price of food, airport transfers, etc. It’s no good to find a really cheap flight to Norway if eating there breaks the bank.

3) Find Cheap Flights. I mostly use Skyscanner for their "Everywhere" location and flexible "whole month" date options. This provides a view of everywhere to go for cheap! This always helps if flexibility about the location is possible. We only payed $29 each for our round trip flights to Copenhagen. 

4) Pick a place to stay. There are so many different ways to find cheap accommodations these days. Airbnb is affordable for group travel. It is often much cheaper than a budget hotel or hostel. Additionally, there will most likely be access to a kitchen – great for cutting costs by eating in for a few meals. Couch-surfing can also be a good way to stay somewhere for free and live like the locals. Google searches can often bring up hidden gems. I once was planning a trip to Wales but couldn't find a place to stay for a group of 8. I called the places I was most interested in and they were able to recommend me to their friends who did have rooms available. 

5) Understand the public transit systems in advance. It's often cheaper to get a weekend travel pass from the airport. Time and money can be wasted by waiting until the first day of sightseeing to figure that out. Additionally, a pass might not be needed at all if the accommodations are within walking distance to everything on the to-see list. So, do the research and have a transport plan.

6) Don't pay for roaming charges. It's so easy and cheap to get new SIM cards in the local area. Grab one at the airport and be set for the trip. 

So, this is how I planned our trip to Denmark for two with less than $500 dollars. It might take a bit of time with the planning but it's well worth it in the end. 

Drop me a line on this blog if you have questions about a trip you're planning! 

Hello 30!

Anyone who knows me knows that I've been dreading aging since I turned 21. I had a great 21st birthday. I was living in the south of France after spending a month backpacking through the United Kingdom. I had new friends, a carefree non-committal attitude and the weather was still warm outside! On the night of my birthday we returned home from an evening out on the town, I entered my roommate's bedroom crying. When she asked "what's up?" I sobbed "I don't want to turn 22!" 

I somehow toughened up and fell in love with my twenties. So much so that I didn't want to leave them. Yet, I've been negatively anticipating 30 since I turned 28 and I've been actively dreading it since my 29th birthday. As the "big" day drew closer the dread grew. I made myself miserable! I didn't sleep at all the night before my birthday. 

And then all of a sudden I was 30. Just like that. The birthday messages and texts started at 2am and carried on throughout the day. I was showered with gifts and cards and so much love - to the point that I was shaken by how much life I'd overlooked, masked by my dread. I started to reminisce about my twenties. I thought I was fat, looking older, getting grey hairs (that is actually a fact), not successful enough, "behind" my peers. Let's just say I beat myself up. Then I realized my biggest fear with turning 30 wasn't the age, it was the realization that life is speeding up and time is moving faster. I began to think about my twenties differently. I wasn't old or fat or failing. I was a twenty-something figuring it out as I went along. And now I'm a thirty-something figuring it out as I go along.  So, what's the difference between 20s and 30s to me? This time, I don't want to rush, push myself to be something I'm not, or find any other excuse in the book to not love every single day as it comes. 

I want to live my 30s and never take one day for granted. I want to know that I'm not old, 'cause I'm not. And I'm not wrinkled or fat or "behind." I'm just a person in her 30s still figuring it out and I'm okay with that. 

Am I Still Free?

And I'm proud to be an American

Where at least I know I'm Free 

And I won't forget the men who died

To give that right to me 

When I was nine years old we studied American history in the public schools. We talked about how we were formed, how people migrated from all parts of the world, that we fought for our freedom and how our founding fathers wanted this land to be the place people could come to be free from persecution. The text book described America as a "melting pot" and that was a good thing. It said that because we had so many different types of people we were full of many perceptions and opinions and that was what helped us succeed. I remember reading that chapter and feeling proud. I was proud to come from such a remarkable place. I was proud that people wanted to live in this country. I was proud to be American. 

Today I've turned off CNN. I've stopped looking at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. I can't watch. I can't stand all the hate. There's discrimination against Muslims, gays, black people, brown people and on and on the list grows. The hate is so strong we feel we are "right" to kill to protect our views. We've stopped  listening to the other sides of the argument. We've stopped caring for others. It breaks my heart. 

So I have to ask. What is it going to take to let all the pain, fear and hate go? Each time we belittle each other, voice a hateful or discriminatory remark, feel like violence is the only answer and stop listening to others opinions we are forgetting all the men who died to give us the voice that makes us free. 

My mother taught me that I might not always like someone but I have to respect them. When are we going to start teaching how great it is to be a melting pot again? 

Let's stop making excuses, put down the guns, stop pushing our own opinions and start treating people like humans again! You might be surprised who you end up liking. 

The Language of Love

“Hey guys, I want you all to take this test. It’s called The Five Love Languages” my friend announced on a road trip with a few other friends. I’d heard of the test before and even remember begrudgingly taking it for my step-mom during my teenage years. I thought it was one of those cheesy parent things, but as my friend rattled on about all the benefits of understanding how each of us shows and receives love, I started to get curious about my love language.

We all pulled out our phones and started on the 50 or so choices of how we would prefer a friend or partner act. The questions made us choose from different actions. For example, “I would rather spend time with someone doing an activity” or “I love it when someone surprises me with a gift”. Another friend commented “these are hard” which seemed a bit ironic as we were just answering simple questions about our own selves, but in truth, it wasn’t easy.

Unsurprisingly we all score high on the “Quality Time” category. Which we determined is why we must be friends. I actually tied with “Quality Time” with “Acts of Service”. The older I get the more I realize being an adult isn’t all it was once cut out to be. It’s not easy learning to deal with the consequences of your own actions, choices, wishes and desires. It can be even harder to accept the choices of others. It’s these little simple expressions of love that make each day a little easier and even on the hardest days there can be a brief moment where that love can even make the day enjoyable. Sometimes it’s a text from someone you least expect saying they are thinking about you, maybe some random surprise flowers from a lady you work for or a group of friends loading you up on a spontaneous road trip to the country to cheer you up. We all speak the language of love every day, but I think sometimes we just need to be able to hear it and know when we’re being loved.

If you’re curious about how you liked to be loved, then take the test. Check it out here : http://www.5lovelanguages.com/

Oh, Cuba!

Cuba, your landscape is remarkable, your music is full of soul and your people are lovely. You’re complex on so many levels and in all my travels this is the first time I’ve left somewhere completely speechless. It’s actually taken me almost two weeks from leaving to be able to verbalize what I experienced during our almost three weeks on the Cuban shores.

I’ve always wanted to visit Cuba, but being American I always wondered if it would ever be a possibility. This year, with the restrictions softening and the relations improving I decided to take the gamble. Thankfully, the dice rolled in my favour and we boarded a plane the first of June for the North American hemisphere.

We were hit with a humid hot gust of air as we embarked from the plane and walked through the very simple airport. It was clear it hadn’t been updated since it was built and we couldn’t help but comment on how relaxed the security seemed. There were people everywhere and in our dazed state we couldn’t help but be a little overwhelmed. We found our way to the cash exchange which was crowded by at least 50 people, but luckily were able to skip the queue with the decision to take cash from the ATM instead. We later discovered that the cash exchange also served as a bank point for locals, which must have been the cause of the masses. We met our tour guides and were guided to a black and white vintage car. Once inside it we could tell this was no normal 1950s car, as it was fully pimped out with speaker, a bass and very cold air conditioning. We drove through the streets of Havana, seeing a range of different levels of luxury, poverty and general neglect. It was clear the years have taken a toll on what was once a beautiful city. However, that is not to say that it’s not still beautiful; yet the only word I can think to describe so much of Cuba is raw.

We spent the next two weeks exploring it all. We drove approximately 1000 miles in 14 days. We got lost and found our way back on the correct path, we got sick of our music and found the silence of the car to be quite comfortable. We visited cities that remained basically unchanged since the 1800s and drove through the most amazing hills of Vinales. We spent our days on white, sandy beaches with turquoise water and our nights drinking mojitos and watching salsa dancing. We ate some amazing food, rode horses, explored caves, saw more crabs than I thought could be in one place. We stayed in host homes and resorts and on the last day found ourselves in a debate about whether or not we could be Cuban and stay forever. I’d relive every day of it again and not change a thing.

So much is changing in Cuba within the current political climate, which undoubtedly will change the Cuba that we left at the end of June. The thing that strikes me most about the Cuban people was their resourcefulness. There are no grocery stores (as we know them), the ration stores all seemed empty, the cars are all old but still our casa hosts always had a full table of food for us and somehow despite lack of parts and tools the cars are still running! Raul Castro has made many strides to improve the way of life for the Cuban people. There feels to be a new-found freedom within the country as more and more people are starting small businesses and making a better life for themselves. This was my first time to a communist country and I struggle to believe it’s all bad. I also struggle to see how it would ever work effectively. I left Cuban with a deep sense of encouragement that they are embarking on a whole new adventure and I hope that with an open market and exposure to a materialistic world they don’t lose those core values which make them stand out to me. But most of all, I am happy I was able to experience even the smallest part of their new journey. 

Before I Kick the Bucket - Part 2

Five years ago tomorrow I posted my “bucket list” blog. Today I was composing a “Top Priority Trips” list and was reminded of the post. I started this blog about six years ago. I was 23 years old and heading off to graduate school in London, England. I’d lived internationally before and knew what I was getting myself into but I never imagine London would become my home. At 23, I was full of dreams (not that I am not still a dreamer, but I think my dreams are a bit more realistic now), and convinced that I could tackle the world with one quick swoop!

I find myself five years later updating my plans, goals and ambitions. So, dear blog, here’s what is important in the world of travel to 29 year old me.

Europe

Visit Moscow & St. Petersburg, Russia.

Hop on the Tran Serbian railway if the opportunity presents itself

See the Tulip Field in The Netherlands

Visit Chernobyl in the Ukraine

See the Northern Lights

Complete a bike tour of the Cotswolds

Hike the Lake District

Do as many hikes as possible all over the UK!

Visit Isle of Skye in Scotland

The Rest of the World

This list is still being formulated, but here’s the beginning of the short list!

Climb Kilimanjaro. I no longer care how long it takes!

Trek the desert on camel back

Salt Fields

Take a picture with Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Ride through the Panama Canal

Road trip the USA & Canada!

Asia, Australia, South America – yup there too! 

For me, travel is where I determine value. I compare every expenditure to the cost of a trip. To me, I don't see a new iPhone; I see two weekends away, new countries visited, more friends made. And, judging from this list above, it might be a while before I have new clothes hanging in my closet or a new phone in my purse, but this life brings me joy and life is too short not to be lived!    

What I Learned in Egypt

I've always thought I was more opened minded, worked hard not to put people in stereotypical boxes and tried to understand how the other side might think. However coming to Egypt shook a lot of my preconceived perceptions up a little. Even boarding the plane I was suspicious of the Egyptians sitting around me. I found myself wondering if they knew someone in ISIS or maybe we're part of the organisation themselves. I assumed they were speaking about me, the lone "westerner", in hatred tones. While I didn't understand the language I could tell everyone was talking to everyone; strangers and friends. It unnerved me.

I landed and disembarked to find a smiling face holding a sign for me. "You are welcome" he blurted and proceeded to talk and walk me through the visa process with no issues at all. Each Egyptian greeting me with a smile and a big "You are welcome".

As the first few days past we began to relax a bit and it didn't take long before we felt very comfortable and safe in this country. I had gotten it wrong. The general population wants the same thing we do, to stop the people hurting innocent people. They don't understand the motives and don't desire the same goals. They want their country to be successful and prosper. They want to show off their fabulous history to willing intrigued tourists. They mean it when they say "you are welcome".

Even more than that I began to observe how they treated and interacted with each other. Each interaction is full of respect. Class levels appear to be void and while some have more than others there's a sense of genuine care and love for their people and mankind. Overall I found Egyptians to be fun loving and rather chill.

There are always ups and downs to travelling with a tour over figuring it out for yourself. While we chose a tour this time we did lose a bit of exploring the culture in the process, so my perceptions and experiences need to be offered with a disclaimer. I still stand by, we did the right thing in this case to go by tour. We have seen and done more than I ever imagined possible on a nine day trip. We've seen Cairo and the Pyramids, lower Egypt and upper Egypt, and even jumped on a police convey to Abu Simbel near the Sudanese boarder. We received more history and explanation than I ever expected and I wouldn't change a day of it. We still experienced intense bartering in the markets, continuous references to the Western colour of our skin and even a few requests for pictures with us.  Yet we always had our Egyptian guardian angel (aka tour guide) near by to step in if needed. I never once felt threatened or in potential danger. Even in the mist of the chaos I felt the Egyptians would protect me and anyone else from unnecessary evils.

So what's the main take away from my short time in Egypt? The Egyptian people are lovely and deserve no stereotyping. If you're worried about travelling to this land rich with ancient history and culture, don't be. I believe you will find your time here as eye opening as I did.

(For travel tips or recommendations drop me a line!)