Hammer down travel costs
I am writing a blog on travel costs while cutting cost and saving for a longer journey. Needless to say I have been traveling for nearly 3 years straight but I also have entailed the distance in times of my life. I can also say I know how to be pretty cheap and fugal but live a life of a backpacker. Most backpacker can be classified as nothing more than a party animal on search to see some history. I can say this is mostly true but many backpackers don’t accept a short vacation and almost all never want to quit their journey. So I am here to help you out rather you want to spend a week traveling or six months or even longer depending on your money, ‘right’. First mistake many traveler do is get right into the party scene. Im ok with that but if looking for a longer trip don’t fall into this yet. So many things to see and being drunk and wasted will always primarily be there anywhere in this world. The whole world pretty much stays drunk so what’s new. As too you can be looking at brighter things such as waking up early to avoid traffic and get to a famous spot but possibly two or even three. Once you fill your void of actually learning some history and seeing the culture and traditions of a country then you will defiantly have memories for a life time.
Many travelers typically travel a long distance from their country wanting to experience something really unforgettable. I must say this you must do in your lifetime to travel to a place half way around the world from your country to see an expendable difference of the world. Most come to Asia for this extravagant experience of a lifetime. Its also very cheap in Asia and has an abundance of history. Traditions and cultures vary in each country so many want to travel here. If you were interested in traveling to Asia where I predominantly have been is where I will guide you through on a budget where you will get the most out of your petro dollar.
(If you don’t know what the petro dollar is please read up on this;
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petrodollar_recycling
We first will look at flights we initially want to buy a one way or even a round trip and just let the google search engine do the job. It is good to have a plan but sometimes depending on your travels it is best just to go with the flow. Let me make an example:
If you have a lot of time on your hands such as 3 months or more do not make to big of a plan because most of the time you might regret such things as meeting people and things go so smoothly but you are heading the opposite way of them. It is a good idea to have some kind of a plan such as what you want to see but do not have an every day plan unless you are going for a week or so more or less. Then it is good to have a plan for everyday. Intentions of staying longer just go with the flow it’s so much easier at least in one country. You surely do not want to go hoping country to country in airplanes it could cost a lot unless you have a lot do that. So I suggest make a game plan of what you want to see and when you meet people see if your things to see will be checked off. Especially for woman I always advise to travel with someone but I also have seen a lot of solo travelers even in India. It can happen where things will go smooth and maybe things will not. Either way never feel left alone when you travel because on the plane before and after you can meet people. Waiting to get picked up at airport even standing in Immigration line you can always meet people, just have a conversation, and things will go from there. Do not be afraid of talking with people. If you can’t start away talking than you might not have as good of a journey than others. Anyhow you can meet some pretty awesome people, have great laughs, watch out for one another and not be alone. Meeting people is the key.
So when search for airline prices here is what I have figured out over time of reading and actual experiments. If you are spontaneous then sometimes booking last minute you can get good deals. I however have only done this a few times and even people flying that has done this comparing prices I think its still much cheaper booking anywhere from 2weeks – 2months in advance. Everything depends on such things as is it a major city or tourist spot you are going too, Is it a major airline company headquarters or main take off, is there any big events or holidays going. Usually with big events and holidays sometimes you get good rates flying maybe 4-5 days before or after since everyone is either saving their money or have spent it these days are usually quite cheap because not many people are flying. Booking ahead by 2 months is usually always cheap but do a little research and see what others have spent and also time frames on search engine sites of different days to see what the cheapest price you can find out and try and beat or same similar to this price so you know you are getting a fantastic deal. Next is looking at different sites through internet. It’s so easy and it’s so safe. I have been buying on internet now for 15 years and I’m an internet junkie buyer. I use to never leave home and always bought on internet because so cheap and save all the hassle, plus not pay any taxes but this is now changing. Anyways I have only been broke into once and PayPal and my bank gave me all my money back. Buying airlines is generally very safe especially through the companies of the airline website but generally more money. One good thing about going through the company is generally 9/10 times your credit or atm card will go through as some of the other sites it might not, but this also depends on your bank. I have one bank account and it always works and another it works about 80%. Another thing that you should not forget when looking at tickets is if you are carrying luggage or not. Sometimes its cheaper to book through the company than other sites might charge you more for your luggage but this is not always the case so be sure to do a little bit of quick searches and just see on your own. Every airline airport is different. So if flying the cheapest way is always carry your carry on and not a check in. Most of the time you can generally carry your bag and a small bag. You will see a lot of places saying you can carry only one bag but I have seen nothing of this and no one ever complaining. In fact I see probably almost 80% of people carrying overweight of the general 7KG that is so suppose to be the limit. Tip on weight is this also. If the limit is 7kg then you can have your bag at 7.9kg. As long as the first number does not change they will never mention anything to you, but also note that many scales are not set correct. So if you are this worried you might want to buy a luggage scale but I do not see this as a need. You can always wear an extra t shirt or jacket to lower your weight. If trying to be cheap this is a great way to do so also if you see them hassling the customers about weight you can always put more clothes on and even fill your pockets up. Say its cheap I say it’s smart, no need to spend all this extra money if not need to. Sometimes luggage cost as much as a check in bag. As of now they have not started to weigh people so for now you are ok. Another trick is carry anything heavy like a big camera around your neck or put battery chargers in your pocket and once leave check counter can always put back in your bag. This generally only happens when airports are not busy or small airports. Usually the bigger ones they are trying to hurry up and get all the customers through. Please also if you don’t know your weight of bag take it to an empty counter and just weight it. Generally the weigh machines are always on, so don’t hold people up when standing in line. Thanks.
These are the best search engine sites I have known;
In Asia the best sites;
(Many use google to get planes, hotels and so forth… Please do not. Google already makes enough money and all it’s doing is taking money away from these other sites. There is absolutely no price different so please choose something else besides GOOGLE)
And of course you have your main sites such as Expedia and Orbitz but I think overall the one that should always be used first is skyscanner. There of course is many but these are safe and generally always the cheapest. I have heard things as last minute deals on travelpirates and or holidaypirates but I have not used this. Most use skysanner. If flying a long destiny then looking at Expedia or Orbitz sometimes you get great deals on moving your class C (Economy) to first or business class and only spending a little more like maybe $100 at most. I highly recommend this because to me long flights sucks and you can drink as much as you want and eat better if not more and have better service such as room to breathe.
Many more tips:
Is if flying to more than one place, perhaps you want to stay in the city you are transitioning I have found out that it does not cost that much more when booking multiple cities. When booking multi cities just put in different days and you will see the price is not much different and you can get to spend some time in that city or country. Even when people book long journeys they sometimes put in multi cities and it sometimes is cheaper to fly further away than your actual place you are landing. So book this and just get off the plane. Even the plane companies where trying to sue someone in Europe over this matter but lost in court. So feel free to save that money. Here is the website you can see it on.
I say F the system and do what it takes to save your money. Thats one thing ill never forget what my grandfather had taught me “it is not how much money you make it is how much you save”…
So give that a try on the site and be sure also to want luggage or food packages, to me the insurance is a joke. Believe it or not but time has a big factor in booking flights, and depending on the server amount of people going through. Even the day of the week is a big deal with price. Generally always Mondays and Fridays are the most expensive as well as Sundays. This is the time of workers and people coming back to work. I find Tuesdays and Saturdays are the cheapest. Also booking either super later or super early can be cheaper but then you must factor in the price if the buses or train lines will be open, because taxi can be expensive. You can always ask at airport to share one to help on costs.
So I hope these tips are a great improvement for your travels. Before I go I must also let you know about your actual stay unless you plan on camping but even camping you must know that some countries are strict on it, while almost all it is illegal I have been camping in every country I have been in including Japan. You just have to know where to go and what to do but most SE Asia countries to not care. In fact I have slept almost every where imaginable at border crossings, village homes, City homes, abandoned buildings, new construction, parks, rice fields even at places where the farmers sleep during day and even at places on side of road where they sell items. Ive done it all and have never been bothered in fact if someone approaches you its generally to tell you to sleep at their home. Hammock-ing is by far the best way to travel at least to me, but every person I have every known to do it says the same. Not only will you learn more about culture and traditions and meeting more locals its free. I personally love meeting locals if I just wanted to see my race of white people I would have stayed in the usa, lol. Traveling is all about the experience so live it and don’t regret it.
The Triple H’s
Hotels, Homestays, Hostels
You can choose what your would like but I always prefer Hostels then homestays, I almost always try to avoid hotels. Yes hotels are generally much nicer but also a lot more boring. Homestays you get to generally see how the countries handles families, can also eat home cooked meals and generally always see other random travelers. Hostels are by far the cheapest and funnest. Every country is different in handling their guests but generally speaking you get to always be engaged with travelers from all different ages. Here vast amount of stories always something to do and never lonely. Hostels can have swimming pools to jacuzzi even sport courts, pool tables, bars, restaurants and much much more. They offer rooms for entertainment and quiet rooms. Most people are very respectful and yes snoring can get a little bit annoying so do not forget to bring some ear plugs and even eye masks in case of lights. Besides this and the cheap costs its so worth it especially traveling, And no America I have never heard any one talk or be afraid of a hostel like the movie. The worst possibilities are getting too drunk, becoming too friendly, and experiencing too much in a short time. The best ways to find out about these are through the websites of
If you are looking for more of a private stay or a longer stay should check out
Advice for future. If you are not signed up to any of these sites before you sign up ask some friends on social media or even in person. A lot of people do have these sites already and by signing up others you will generally both get money out of it. So work the system and do not overwork your fingers on the internet.
Even this website was cheaper in Japan than any other site. Also was cheaper in Maldives as airbnb charges on a small percent to the owner and charges the customer the rest. The other three generally pay 20%-30% to the company from the sale. Thats a lot and you would think that going to each place you might get a better price. This is not the case, not even if you show them the price online that is cheaper than their door price they will most likely never beat the price. They will tell you just to book online. Insanity right, well most of the people the owners or even managers are never around so to keep things not getting crazy or complicated these guidelines are generally as followed with booking online or pay at door. So in short just book online, so much easier.
(Don’t forget to read my blog of Maldives as I explain a lot about prices and even how maybe you can go cheaper.)
Make sure when signing up you read all the details, some say free breakfast and some you have to pay more, some fees do not show as well as check out times and so forth. Be sure to ask and read what is on walls and on paper, read all the details online.
If you are looking to save more money than a cheap hostel you can check out a website that is pretty awesome. It’s about people all over the world sharing their homes with another so everyone can get a piece of travel experience.
Another thing about hostels is they do have private rooms. So if looking for that personal time but still want to have a travel experience out of this world stay at a hostel. The reasons why I love hostels so much is you meet people, and share stories so you find out about so much. From traveling in the country to the best restaurants, to getting in ways for free, partying, always having something to do, meeting some awesome people, figuring out future events, details of countries and so much more. Never a dull moment at a hostel. The only downside of a hostel would be the sex part. But i’ll let you figure that out on your own.
I really hope these great words will provide you with an exceptional trip, one that will never be forgotten. But before I finish I just would like you also to know about some other techniques. If you are looking for food, tours, and even what some might say or think about a place or building. Check out google reviews, now a lot know about tripadvisor.com and its good but I personally think google reviews is the best answers you will get as long as you can run into a good review. Be sure to see my blog on “HOW TO SUBMIT A GOOD REVIEW”
Google reviews I find are better because most speak generally the truth and give a good star rating. As to other sites differ on matters such as location, service, cleanliness and other stuff. Let me tell you that I have eaten at places not suitable for some pets but it was surely the best foods. I have stayed at phenomenal places far away and been on tours with few ratings that will always be in my top ten things I have done in life. So comments plat a big role and google reviews to me is the best. But be sure to read and join the excitement but I will also say that online isn’t always the best ways. Some stubble for hours trying to search for some food. A great technique is drive away, outside of the city, on a bike taxi or anything, once you spot out groups of people eating then that’s your spot if you feel it, If not drive to the next one but don’t be afraid to stop. This is probably the best moments I have when I travel by getting in touch with the locals. You will be surprised how much fun you will have and experiencing something of a lifetime that you would never get back how in your Western world. Besides that is the way the old timers use to travel. They never had internet nor even phones to know where to go, where to eat, where to sleep. While listening to stories I believe the old timers have some of the best, just because true traveling involves living the experiences. Don’t abuse what we do have in front of our face as to life is about love, sharing, story telling and of course traveling.
Cheers!!!
I hope you have been given some really valid advice on traveling and do not be afraid to travel. Millions do it every year, do not be afraid to try new things and do not be afraid to Share my Blog to Others, Please also comment to contribute to my world of words.
Update; I just found this awesome video about hotels that might be interesting for you as much as for me. So enjoy and be sure to subscribe to this channel as it’s one of my favorites to watch and learn so much. Be Amazed: click on the link below from YouTube
If looking at flying around the world for really low costs, check out this blog by famous nomadic Matt.
https://www.nomadicmatt.com/travel-tips/buying-a-rtw-ticket/
More updates; I have found out about even cheaper ways to travel which is generally trains in a lot of countries. Of course buses are cheap also and sometimes planes are same price but with just your carry on bag. But if looking for more of a scenic route, trains are generally the best, slow and can move around looking out from one window to the next. So check out this great free blog of this person that has traveled so many trains and had vast amount of information around the globe of the prices, time tables and generally updated. Www.seat61.com
Categories: epic travels, knowledge & information
‘THOR’s’ Epic budget travels! 
Brain-Storming Thor