Travelling Cheap

I got invited to give a talk about budget travelling in one of the local colleges in Roxas City, Capiz. It was the first time I spoke to an audience -- not counting reportings and presentations during college -- and I want to think it wasn't a disaster. I felt surprisingly calm and composed despite trying hard to look poised amidst the sweat trickling all over my face and body. And I think I said more than what I planned to and expected to.

The audience were 18-19 y/o Accountancy students. I don't know what their experience in travel is but I hope they were able to relate with me and pick up something from all my blabber.

Anyway, since I worked hard on my presentation, I'll share it here also.

Hi, I’m Lorraine Aplasca. I’m 24 years old and I’m someone who constantly finds herself in isolated beaches and little-known cities. Sometimes I call myself a traveler, a backpacker, a bakasyonista, a lakwatsera. But really, I just want to go on mini-adventures and experience what life has to offer.

Most of my friends think that I’m really lucky, and really rich, because I can do what I do. I’ve been to Siquijor.

I’ve taken a freediving course in Moalboal, Cebu.

 I’ve seen the Banaue Rice Terraces.

 And sometimes I even go abroad. But in reality, you don’t need a lot of money to be able to travel. All you need, really, is time, creativity, and a sense of adventure – and maybe sound enough budgeting skills.

Okay, a little background about me. First of all, I am not rich. I came from a middle class family who worked their way up to be able to send their children to good schools. I went to De La Salle Lipa in Batangas for high school and to Ateneo de Manila for college, where I took up a degree in BS Management. Like most people, I also ventured into the corporate world after graduation. I have worked with three different companies in three years with the last one being an international market research company. Each company provided different challenges but none seemed to hold my interest long enough. So I resigned and decided to pursue a life of travel.

However, since I don’t have an overflowing well of money at home, I still needed some way of earning and that’s when I started to work online as a freelance market researcher. By online, I can work anywhere with an internet connection. And by freelance, I am not permanently employed with any company. This gives me the freedom to go anywhere because I don’t have an office that I need to go to every day.

One major misconception that people have about travelling is that it is expensive. This is not true. But why is it that every time people go out for a trip, they end up with an empty wallet? Why? I can give you a number of reasons. But I think we can start with these two: dependence and lack of awareness

People tend to depend on whatever information is fed to them instead of looking for information on their own. They limit themselves to what is easily available and no longer puts in a bit more effort for validation. Although travel packages and travel suggestions are okay, people shouldn't depend on just one source but take an extra step to look around.

Comparing a packaged tour with a DIY tour in Coron in terms of inclusions and total cost. The packaged tour doesn't cover dinner meals and scuba diving while the DIY tour already covers everything.

Because people are dependent on just one source, they do not become aware of alternatives that might be more suitable and cheaper. For example, people always stay in hotel rooms without knowing that pension houses, dormitory rooms and hostels are also an option.

Also, without prior knowledge of the area, people won't know whether they are being over-charged or not. They won't have a comparison. And sometimes, opportunists take advantage of this.

People are also not aware of what their real needs are and tend to spend a big extra on upgrades or comforts that wouldn't actually make a difference. For example, hotel rooms always charge a premium because they have super soft beds and nice linens. However, a traveller doesn't really need this because he/she would be out most of the day anyway and could definitely have a good night's sleep regardless of what kind of bed they are offered. And also, it's just a short-term arrangement that should be tolerable enough.

Another are tour guides. Not all tours need tour guides because sometimes the path is straight-forward enough or sign posts are informative enough. I think tour guides are mostly meant for entertainment and companionship purposes instead of guidance.

If you remove all of the extra expenses above, travel really can be cheap!

The large chunk of a travel budget usually goes to accommodation and meals and this is what I usually minimize. I visit a place not for the accommodation or for the restaurants but for the tours so I sacrifice on the first two.