Globetrotting: Smart travels

A few smart decisions can help you travel the world without burning a hole in your pocket

Once upon a time, the world outside was an unfamiliar daunting place. Seeing it for yourself required money and courage and very few had what it takes to venture to unknown lands. But those who did, came back with stories and that is how the rest of us experienced exotic cultures and faraway locations.

As technology, however, brought the world to our doorstep, the stories were no longer enough. A vast majority, including myself, wanted to see and experience these places on our own. Increased access and awareness - that enabled the average Joe to take the dream vacation, or several ones, without spending an arm and a leg — made me realise that the right planning and research could help one save enough money on everything from lodging to airfare to food. Here is a list of travel tips that allowed me to travel to 14 countries and 45 cities and can help you do the same.

Lodging

Accommodation one of the biggest expenses during travelling can be eliminated with the help of websites such as www.couchsurfing.org and www.globalfreeloaders.com. Couchsurfing, for example is a forum for travellers to connect to people in over 100,000 cities who are willing to host them free of cost. The tenants have personal profiles with pictures, which allows you to choose people on the basis of personality traits and living preferences. The site is primarily designed to encourage people from different cultures to interact with each other and foster international friendships and can even be used to just meet new people or hang out at the most happening places in the city. Globalfreeloaders allows you to do the same but the site is run on a smaller scale and on a voluntary basis. It also has testimonials by people who have used the service in the past, which can help you decide the most feasible option.

For certain destinations, however, such as Russia or ex-Soviet states such as Uzbekistan, you will need registered accommodation in the form of a hotel or youth hostels, with the latter being the cheaper option.

Transport

When it comes to moving around, public transport, such as buses, trains, metros and taxis is the best way to go. Often, you can pay a little extra for your regular bus fare and extend your single journey to a return journey or get a ‘day trip’ ticket that allows you to make as many bus trips as you want within the next 24 hours. Weekly tickets are also available. Depending on the city you are in, taxis are not a bad option either. However, compare prices between different public transport options before buying tickets as the differences can be significant in some cases. For example, in Turkey, a taxi from Istanbul airport to Taksim Square costs 40 liras (approximately Rs1,900) whereas, a bus costs 10 liras (approximately Rs500).

Food

Apart from cooking yourself, the best way to satiate your hunger is with street food, which is not only economical but also gives you an authentic taste of the country’s culinary pattern. Street food is relatively cheap almost everywhere but in some developed countries such as the Netherlands — where a donor kebab costs 3.50 EUR (approximately Rs450), while a whole chicken costs only 2.5 EUR (approximately Rs330) — you might end up saving more if you decide to fix yourself a meal at home.

Air Fare

Take advantage of airlines’ loyalty programmes, which allow you to earn flyer’s miles every time you fly with the same airline once you register and become a member. In fact, you can earn additional miles if you shop from partners affiliated with the airline and when family members fly. If you are using a credit card that is affiliated with the airline, that can help you avail your free miles as well. Some of the options available in the market are Pakistan International Airline’s Awards Plus programme and Emirates’ Skywards, to name a few.

Hitchhiking

Hitchhiking can be dangerous but it is commonly used worldwide to travel across cites and country sides. Hitchwiki, an online community and hitchhiking guide, suggests the following tips for a safe and productive hitchhiking experience:

• Wear walking shoes.

• Place yourself in a visible location where a car can stop easily without blocking traffic.

• Stick your thumb up — the universal hitchhiking sign.

• Proceed to the gas station to ask for a ride.

• Dress neatly as you have to look the part of a young backpacker who is tired but friendly and harmless.

• Approach people you feel can relate to you, such as young people or kind older people, families, couples or women.

• Always make sure the driver appears decent and no smoke rolls out of the windows or any other sign of inebriation or drugs are present.

• You never need to feel pressured to get into someone’s car just because they have stopped for you.

• Ask politely about the direction they are headed in.

• Put your backpack or luggage at the back and sit in the front with your hands on your lap so that they are comfortable knowing you do not have a weapon.

• Don’t lose hope if people don’t stop.

Mateen Asad is a business student in the Netherlands who loves travelling. He tweets at @mmasad91 and blogs at teen-ta.com 

Published in The Express Tribune, Sunday Magazine, November 2^nd, 2014.