Backpacking On A Budget
Backpacking around the world, Sri Lanka
Many people seem to think that to backpack around the world you need to save cash for years before you can actually take the first steps onto the plane that will change your life forever. But all you need is a complete set of balls and that overwhelming burning desire to travel the world. At one point someone made reference to travelling the world and made people believe that they needed 10 grand and a gap year to do so! Or is that just a sheer myth and an idea most people hide behind because if truth be told they have no balls at all, just simply excuses? The fact is, if you really want to, then you will backpack around the world. Leave the excuses were they belong because backpacking on a budget is possible
The Handcuffs Of Society
Most of us live in a world where our lives revolve around what we have, what kind of car we drive, how much money we earn and what type of house we live in. A routine that has made life become robotic. Even so, that the advances of technology have taken over our lives to the point that social media represents Kanye West and Kim Kardashian as good roles models. Irritatingly the saying “eyebrows on fleet” dominates news feeds daily. The most heartbreaking realization of all, is that your children spend more time being brainwashed via the latest Apple product instead of using their own imagination. The days of spending the summers outdoors, playing games such as hide and seek, or wearing trainers because they were comfortable is fast something of the past.
The world should progress with time. However, it is becoming more apparent to me that this future living we have created is simply caging us. It is training us all to do the same and be the same. Like a hamsters wheel you can not get off. Well that’s what I thought. I thought the world was caging me. Then I realized that it wasn’t the world caging me, it was the society that I had somehow got myself involved in. A society that can be described as some club that i ended up joining. And the world….well the world is actually the place that can give me more, give me freedom.
Breaking Free
Becca and I decided that something needed changed and backpacking around the world was going to be that change. Before we met, Becca had already experienced a bit of backpacking. She had taken on parts of the world that I had only dreamed about. But instead of curbing her thirst, her travels ignited a fire that made her want to explore more.
We left home with 3 grand each and gave up our careers. I was a nurse for the NHS. A career many would judge as one you should be in forever, a security. But that security thing didn’t do it for me. Yes it would guarantee me making enough money for a few hired cars during my life. Give me the odd two week holiday each year, and certainly give me that mortgage that I would be paying off until my pension kicked in at least! Mortgages are funny things. They are designed to make you believe you own a house when in fact you don’t, the bank does. None of this seemed exciting, sexy, or even worth keeping. Decision made! Backpacking. After dreary days and paying the taxman nearly half my salary I was ready to go. We booked a one way ticket to Goa India and then let fate decide the rest. The only purchases we made prior to leaving home was loads of vaccinations and our flight to Goa. Our Rucksacks were borrowed and the rest was stuff we already had. We didn’t need anymore. A concept at that time I couldn’t get my head around, but a concept that would soon prove to be true.
The Ultimate Question
After visiting 2 continents, 6 different countries, some amazing cities, a number of villages and loads of beaches in the space of 7 months with the journey still continuing. The question that still needs to be answered is, how do you do that on 3 grand? A budget that had to pay for accommodation, travel, food , whilst still ensuring you have an amazing time? Its simple really, you choose what’s more important to you.
Choosing Accommodation
coffee on the balcony of our £8.00 a night beach hut, Goa, India
Five star accommodation was the least of of our priorities. We weren’t too fussed as long as we had a roof over our head and somewhere to shower. Don’t get me wrong, choosing 6 quid a night rooms compared to 50 quid a night rooms had its draw backs. But it also had something worth more than money could ever buy, and that was real experiences. For example, staying in a place that is 6 quid a night with decor that the 1980s would rather forget gives you backpackers. It allows you to meet interesting people from all over the world. Some who become friends and some who can teach you more! We would never have found out about the Gili islands if we hadn’t stayed in budget accommodation in Fort Kochi in India. A paradise which became the backdrop for our beautiful marriage proposal. There have been some accommodations that test you to your limits, but even the less popular accommodation had us coming away with memorable experiences. Experiences that only backpacking on a budget can deliver. To make a small budget last as long as possible then something has to be cutback, that’s inevitable. But the important thing is to know what cuts backs will be suitable for you.
Where To Eat
street food, Gili Trawangan, Indonesia
The choices you make to allow your cash to last a bit longer when taking on the world is important. After a just a few days in Goa our dinning choices even seemed to save us cash. We quickly realized that restaurant style meals were not going to be a daily occurrence for us because we wanted to experience so much of the hustle and bustle of the cultures we were visiting and instead opted for street food.
At Home you walk into a burger place with virtually no atmosphere and are served gut wrenching food by a robotic human. When backpacking on a budget you find street stalls with happy locals preparing fresh cuisine that smells absolutely amazing in the most magical backdrop. There is no comparison! Some of the best food we have ever tasted was from street vendors and I don’t think we ever paid more than 5 quid for both of us to eat. We still experienced many restaurants and many beautiful ones at that. But when you realize you are travelling and are not just on holiday you somehow want more from your dinning experiences.
Its The Journey Not The Destination
Half way through our journey I learned that backpacking wasn’t just about the destination. It was about the whole journey. Backpacking on a budget gave us an experience that we most likely would not have had if we started off with serious cash. Which is funny because prior to leaving I worried that our experience might have been dampened by the fact we had a small amount of funds. Yet that turned out to be so far from the truth.
Don’t Have A Set In Stone Itinerary
One thing that really worried me prior to leaving was how on earth would we be able to afford to travel to each place. Somehow it happened. We travelled via 7 flights, 6 trains, 3 sleeper buses, 9 other bus journeys, 7 boat rides, tuk tuks, and taxis with our initial 3 grand. For some magical reason it was working. Not having a set in stone itinerary is what likely made it possible. Being adaptable to our plans saved us money.
Examples
In India, we could travel on a 12 hour sleeper bus cheaply instead of having to travel to an itinerary with an expensive private driver. An amazing fact about sleeper buses is that its cheap travel and a place to stay for the night. Perfect if you are backpacking on a budget. In India, sleeper buses proved to be our most comfortable accommodation choice. Even when we were booking our Bali flight we had time to pick the cheapest day to fly as we weren’t stuck to a certain day or date. We even travelled in style with Qatar Airways from Bali to Paris, Via the UAE. The flights took 17 hours in total, but was cheaper than we could ever have imagined. Having no plans and being able to catch a flight within 6 hours of booking it has serious advantages to your wallet, and your adrenaline levels.
Qatar Airways flight
The Expensive Part
When sampling the wonders of the world, many of you will also want to sample various refreshments along the way. As did we. But alcohol in Asia is expensive. Cocktails in the Gili Islands cost about 5 – 6 pounds for a glass (expensive for Asia). In the supermarket, a standard size bottle of Jagermeister was nearly 60 pounds. We didn’t give in to expensive alcohol and instead found ways to do it cheaply. We are true Scots after all. Rum became our drink of choice instead of Jagermeister as it was so much cheaper. In Sri Lanka local rum was only 8 pounds for a litre. Instead of buying imported beer we would drink the local beer at half the price. To be quite honest they tasted better. Bingtang in Bali being a favorite. Basically, we found the cheapest options and went with it. Of course we still had a good few cocktail nights throughout Asia, but just learned some other tricks along the way.
The Desire
3 thousand pounds wont last forever. In fact if I had that in my pocket back home I would have blown that in a few weeks easily. But just because the current funds run out, it doesn’t mean your time travelling has to as well. Instead you look at your options. For us we knew home was definitely not an option. We still haven’t fulfilled our total thirst for backpacking and we will continue to explore for as long as we can.
Our plan was to head to mainland Europe and get some work. Coming from an EU country meant we could work without having the hassle of applying for a work visa. We had arranged a job before we even left Indonesia. One day in Gili T we sat with a couple of beers, our laptop and good old google. By the end of the day we had applied for a couple of jobs. Within a few days we were on a flight to France to manage a part of a campsite. Neither of us had worked on a campsite before never mind being left to manage a part of it. Clearly our dapper personalities dominated our short Skype interview. Either that or the recruitment woman who was interviewing us from her office in Amsterdam was stoned. Whatever the reason, we found ourselves in the South of France, camping and getting paid to do so.
Fairy Tale Ending?
Don’t get ahead of yourselves, its not a fairy tale ending just yet. We resigned 3 weeks in as the company ended up being utter garbage to work for. The fairy tale part comes next.
We received a call from another company within an hour of quitting our jobs, offering us a similar role in Italy. It was a complete moment of magic. Within 48 hours we were in a campsite near Venice. We worked there for 3 months using the time to also build our blogging platform, and to save up some cash for our next chapter of our crazy backpacking life….The Netherlands. After that, who knows, but that’s the beauty of being a backpacker.
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Possibilities Can Be Endless
If you had told me all of that a year ago I wouldn’t have believed that we could travel on such a small budget. My logic head wouldn’t be able to comprehend it. But the will and the want to change our life, experience our life, and experience this world grew and took over any thoughts of it couldn’t happen. Before I knew it I was on a beach on a small island in the middle of Indonesia proposing to Becca. My point is that if you want it bad enough, excuses aside, then you will make it happen. You can make it work, whatever your budget is. And yes eventually the money will run out. But when it does you get creative and find a way to make more whilst travelling. Or you go home after an amazing trip that could change your out look on life forever. Either way the ending isn’t the important thing, its everything else before that.
Written by Our World Our Life Our Way on a flight to The Netherlands
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