backpacker – Quarter Life Excursion

Travel Budgeting 103 — 5 Tips to Travel for Less Than $100 a Month

Grant — Thu, 14 Jul 2016 22:38:07 +0000

I’ve learned a lot of things, and I think I’ve collected 5 tips to travel for less than $100 a month.

Traveling for less than one hundred dollars per month is an absurd budget. If you think about it from a western point of view, that’s not even enough money to pay rent for a week, so how is someone suppose to live on that for a month abroad? I don’t know, it’s almost incomprehensible, but I met a few people doing just that. They weren’t dirty, grimy, or shifty westerners though. They were usually travelers from countries with a lower income level than in the West. They of course want to travel too, so they had to get creative with their budget and work as they go.

Those that have tried to meet this budget tell me that they never want to travel any other way. When you must earn money and cut corners to get by, you get to know the locals and the culture at a more intimate level and experience things in a whole new way. Learning to travel for less than rent may be the new way of traveling.

If you’re not looking to be this budget crazy, read over my post about general budgeting and saving (coming soon…)

5 Tips to Travel for Less than $100 a month budget:

Hitch hike. Use caution and know your area, but bus and air travel are one of the biggest expenses while traveling. If you can avoid it, don’t pay it. Hitch hiking is also a great way to meet locals and sometimes earn a free meal.

Couchsurfing. A great website that allows you to sleep at local houses in exchange for a little work or nothing at all. It’s a great way to meet locals and learn about the city more deeply.

Work Exchange and Volunteering. There are a lot of dumb pay-to-volunteer opportunities out there. Avoid these. Sites like HelpX.net and WorkAway.info are great ways to find real volunteer and work opportunities that allow you to exchange your time for a room and board or maybe a paycheck. You’ll be teaching English, rebuilding communities, working in hospitality, doing labor, etc, and you’ll be getting to know the area, the people, and the volunteers for longer periods of time and making longer lasting connections. This is a must on a tight budget, covering hostel costs and food is covering 90% of a tight budget.

Negotiate and Haggle. It’s so obvious, but haggle for everything. The price is almost always negotiable, and you’ll be surprised how much you can save by simply asking. Pennies turn into dollars and dollars turn into serious savings.

Don’t Drink. Alcohol is the biggest waste of money on a tight budget. A local meal in Thailand costs less than a dollar, but the national beer costs $2. Go out at night and drink some tea instead, and you’ll rally to the break of dawn.

Finding an actual job is worth noting but may be too obvious. There are jobs all over southeast Asia for travelers and expats, especially in cities. Many travelers find work teaching English or working at a hostel, but other professional jobs exist as well if you’re not picky about location. With the small earnings you make, you’ll be able to easily travel on weekend and vacations without dipping into the original budget. Australia also offers one year working visas to many countries, and this is a very popular way to travel and work simultaneously.

For more budget tips, see LINK TO COME SOON

Find more advice on budgeting and saving money, see these sites.

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Kota Bharu – Markets, BBQs, and Photoshoots

Danielle Yaconelli — Fri, 17 Jun 2016 00:03:23 +0000

We flew from KK to Kota Bharu without a problem. We finally made it to peninsular Malaysia! While trekking around Borneo, we heard that the island culture is different from the mainland, so we were interested to see the differences for ourselves. One major thing we noticed: religion is much more prevalent within the peninsula.

Kota Bharu is a little dull compared to some of the other places we had visited. Day one we attempted to walk through a few museums that we had researched in advance, only to find them completely closed. So instead, we wandered around the city to see the sights and people watch. We did find a delicious lunch restaurant and enjoyed being the only westerners at the tiny place we were eating at. Eventually, we made it back to our hostel to relax before more food!

We made a few hostel friends and ended up tagging along to the night market. The food was alright, but the appeal of the night was chatting with fellow travelers who were out as long as we had been. The guys we met had similar interests and a love for traveling that we felt as well. We would soon notice more and more how different the westerners were in Malaysia. As a Muslim country, Malaysia attracts a different sort of person than any other southeast Asian country we had visited so far. I think the way alcohol is frowned upon (or completely banned depending where you go) is one of the main factors. We hardly found the ‘partying type’ in Malaysia, which was fairly refreshing after a handful of obnoxious people we met on the trip at various points (the worst were the ones in the same dorm as you with no regard for the time of day, night, or level of noise they were making). Most traveling folks we met in Malaysia had more love for experiencing people or the culture than than a night out on the town. It was one of the appeals of the country.

The owner of the hostel were staying at was a really nice local guy and ended up inviting us to a beach barbecue with his friends the following day.

He supplied cheese-filled hotdogs (“what westerners eat”, right?) along with some Malaysian dishes made by his mom that were more to my taste. While there, we chatted with the locals and learned a lot about the Malaysian culture. Something that surprised us was the amount of racism that Chinese Malaysians felt from some of the Malay citizens as well as the government. On a lighter note, we also learned that it is illegal in the state we were in to buy or sell any sort of alcohol. Apparently, the beer they were passing around comes from Thailand because it is cheaper/easier to cross the boarder than to find it elsewhere in Malaysia. Crazy.

All in all, it was the people that made Kota Bharu special for us. The city did not have much to offer in terms of activities or sights, but the people we met were all so nice and friendly that I enjoyed my time there immensely. If you do go there, however, look up the cultural shows. They are quite cool apparently, but are only on certain days of the week (days we weren’t there unfortunately).

Onto our next volunteering opportunity: a month hanging out on a resort island. It’s gonna be rough… heh. Until then!

Regards,

Danielle and Grant

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Taking Your Phone Abroad – 9 Things to Know

Grant — Tue, 07 Jun 2016 23:24:28 +0000

There is a lot of joy and relief in leaving your phone behind as you go explore the world. There is also a lot of joy in having a basic GPS, the ability to check flights, and taking pictures on the go. Basically, there are pros and cons to taking a phone with you. I personally brought my phone but left my data plans at home and operated with whatever Wi-Fi I could find. Eventually I got a SIM card for the last month and a half as I began looking for work again. Everyone will make a different decision about their phone, but if you do decide to take your phone, here are a few notes that may be useful:

Almost all apps operate perfectly on Wi-Fi only. The exceptions being calls and text, of course. Read my other post, Best Backpacker Travel Apps for Free, for the best travel apps. They are all offline or Wi-Fi based.
GPS still works without service and without data.
Bring a plug adapter with USB ports to make your life easy, and bring an external battery for extra life in a pinch.
The camera in your Galaxy or iPhone is just as good as any point and shoot camera. Save yourself the weight and leave the little camera at home.
International plans are available from major American providers, but they are generally expensive (additional $40/month).
There are international data providers in the region you’re traveling. If your phone is unlocked, you just need to change SIM cards and pay a new company. Most are pay as you go, have no contracts, and are very cheap! Do the research and find the right company for you.
New regional data plans and SIM cards can be brought after you arrive in the country from a huge variety of stores. They are super cheap.
1. Example data plan: Malaysia, CELCOM company, XPax Magic SIM card, 2.5 Gb/month of 4GLTE service plus text and calls from a Malay number for $10/month plus $2.50 for the SIM card.
Most cell phones, especially new 4G phones, come unlocked now including all iPhone 5’s and 6’s. This means you can easily put in a SIM card from an international provider.
As of 2014 and the Unlocking Consumer Choice and Wireless Competition Act, all phones that have been paid for must be unlocked by the carrier on request. Many companies now ask you to pay for the phone in installments over time so they can get around this.

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Best Backpacker Travel Apps for Free

Grant — Sun, 05 Jun 2016 17:24:44 +0000

Whether or not you travel with a fully functional smart phone is a personal choice. Many people, including myself, want to disconnect from the constant buzzing of notifications, text messages, emails and phone calls. 50% of it is spam and clickbait anyway. Allowing yourself to permanently put your phone on silent is one of the huge perks of traveling.

Even though we don’t want to have a data and phone plan abroad, that doesn’t mean we should ditch the phone entirely. This is the 21st century and a thousand little convenient tools can all be used with the smart phone. With a proper tool kit of apps on your phone, you’ll find yourself surprisingly prepared for travel anywhere.

Below are the best apps to make traveling easier and better.

Maps.ME: [Offline Maps] #1 Must have backpackers app. This off-line map/GPS app was a godsend in every country we visited. Not only were we navigating busy cities like a local, we were following trails, finding lesser known attractions, and spotting emergency toilets like a pro. All the locations on the app are crowd-sourced, you can add locations of your own or simply add and share personal locations with their simple interface and tools.

Google Translate: [Universal Translator] There are no good offline translate apps. Google Translate at least allows you to save a list of your favorite translations for offline reference. Do the research on Wi-Fi in the hostel and you’ll be butchering the language to the local’s amusement in no time. If you want an offline app, consider a basic English to Other dictionary app.

XE Currency Exchange: [Updated exchange rates] Don’t get screwed, reference this app. Of course this app does not work offline, since rates change everyday, but it’ll keep the old data saved for reference till you do fond Wi-Fi. Set up your preferences to view the currencies you’ll be using and refresh. Easy.

Hostelworld: [Hostel and hotel booking] Comparable to Agoda, AirBnb, Hotels.com and Booking.com, but I found that Hostelworld had the best rates, the easiest interface, the most reasonable options for a backpacker, and the best and most honest rating system. Hostel with 8.0 rating and less than $10/night? Sold.

Bank and Credit Card apps: Get them, use them, love them. It’s easier and faster than the web for checking on your finances. Read our post on credit cards and banks for useful travel tips (coming soon).

Hangouts Dialer: [Free Wi-Fi dialer] Call anywhere in the United States or Canada for FREE using Wi-Fi. No mutual friendship required. I couldn’t believe it either when I heard it. This app saved me when I needed to call my banks and possible employers who didn’t have WhatsApp

WhatsApp: [$0.99 to call or text any contacts] Texting and Calling between mutual friends on WhatsApp. Super convenient and super easy.

Dropbox: [Photos and file sharing] A must have for backing up photos and videos on the go. It’s also a great way to share high res photos with friends all at once by simply sending them a link. (I’ve recently heard that Google Photos is making this even easier, more organized, and more accessible.) Dropbox is also great for sharing media files like movies and music.

AirAsia App: [Flights] It is the worst app to work with but if you’re flying around SE Asia on a dime, you’re most likely gonna be flying AirAisa. Fortunately, the app works better than the mobile site, so be glad about that. Also, always check AirAsia’s direct rates before booking through any third party for the same flight.

Kayak and Skyscanner: [Budget flight finder] Besides AirAsia itself, these are the two apps with the best deals on airfare consistently.

Google Keeps: [Notes and bucket lists] Write down names, emails, and notes in a second. Our memory is crap, but if it’s written down, it’s forever. Google keeps isn’t the best notes app in many categorizes, but its simple, online, offline, and sharable.

Facebook: [Friends and relationships] Maybe you’re trying to get away from social media, but 98% of travelers have one and it’s the easiest way to keep in touch with travel friends.

Spotify: [Music] If you can afford it, you can have all the music you need saved offline for listening on the go.

Podcast Addict: [Podcasts and music] Podcast are a great way to spend a long bus ride. Try listening to RadioLab, Hardcore History, Serial, or Dirtbag Diaries. There’s a podcast for every taste if you Google it.

Play Books: [Paperless Books] Googles basic eReader app is perfect for reading .epub or .pdf files on the go. It even includes a great internal offline dictionary. Books are heavy and phones use battery, so it’s good to have a book in both categories. Nothing is sadder than ten hours on a bus without a book.

If anyone wants to suggest more apps, post them in the comments. It’s a great feeling when you find a good app to make life so much easier.

Other sites for travel apps:

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