My family didn’t travel when I was growing up. At 16, my parents took my siblings and me on a cruise vacation in the Caribbean. It took my parents years to save for the trip. Travelling, for the sake of seeing the world, wasn’t high on the lists of things to accomplish given their financial circumstances in their twenties and thirties.
During my last year of university, Daniel’s parents invited me to visit them in the Middle East.I began saving diligently for a post-graduation trip. I spent as little as possible and even passed on my grad Sci-Formal, the culmination of achievement for engineering students at my university. A couple weeks after the last final exam, Daniel and I flew to Lebanon.
In Lebanon, traffic signs are merely decorations, roads are shared with animals, mopeds carry families of five, and drivers weave in and out of oncoming traffic. I thought I just might die.
I thought I would die within minutes of leaving the airport in Beirut. It was the first time I experienced driving outside the western world: traffic signs are merely decorations, roads are shared with animals, mopeds carry families of five, and drivers weave in and out of oncoming traffic. After surviving Middle Eastern driving, the experience was worth the daily diet of buttered bagels for two semesters.
That trip to Lebanon shifted my perspective on travel and opened the door to a whole new world. The proverbial lightbulb turned on over my head; travel wasn’t only accessible by the wealthy. I, a new university graduate, was not considered rich and had gone on a trip! After that, I traveled as much as I could. I viewed travel as a necessity in my life, working hard to save for multiple trips every year and learning secrets to stretch my dollar.
“You have come to my country; I really hope I can one day go to yours.” Travel for the sake of seeing the world is experienced by relatively small group of people.
Budget travel. That is the term I use to describe the way I travel as if it gives me street cred. Please don’t lump me in with the type of traveler who taxis to the Marriott or Four Seasons— don’t you know, I sleep in rented apartments and hostels?!
Daniel and I backpacked through Southeast Asia a few years ago on a budget of $10k, $5000 per person. Our flights around Asia alone cost over 20% of the budget. In order to keep costs down, we chose to forgo some comforts as backpackers tend to do. In Thailand, we stayed in hut by the beach for $7 a night. The most basic of accommodations, the hut contained a bed with a sheet and nothing else. It also included a private washroom, though I did share with geckos and giant cockroaches.
We traveled through northern India by rail. We shared a berth with six others and pull down bunk beds. Despite 12+ hour trips through the night, I barely slept, horror stricken at the rats and cockroaches roaming freely in the dark beneath my bed. I survived 3 overnight train rides. Though I am a bit scarred and have vowed never to ride an overnight train through India ever again, I patted myself for seeing the world on a dime.
On a bus in Brazil, I met a man eager to practice his English. His dream was to one day visit Canada- Saskatchewan, of all places. “You have come to my country; I really hope I can one day go to yours.” he told me with excitement. The average monthly wage in Brazil is barely $800; the cost of a round trip ticket to Canada from Brazil is $1600. The average Brazilian would have to fork over more than two months income for just the flight. That’s nearly 20% of their annual income- for endless cornfields!
That’s when I had a moment of clarity- nothing profound or novel- just a moment where I grasped a concept that escaped my attention thus far. Travel- any travel– is a luxury. When using the word luxury to describe travel, it conjures images of beautiful and clean resorts like in Bora Bora or something. Luxury travel is for gorgeous people who enjoy sunsets from their balcony while sipping champagne and hors d’oeuvres. Luxurious indeed, but so is riding a cockroach infested train with a backpack. Every opportunity to leave home is should be considered as luxury travel. Travel for the sake of seeing the world is experienced by relatively small group of people.
I wrote this while sitting on the patio of a hotel in Cebu. The $33/night hotel was like a shining beacon, relatively clean and well-maintained, in the middle of a grey and dirty street The kids sat across from me eating breakfast and people watching; Big Brother exclaimed every time he saw a tricycle pass by.. I was overwhelmed by gratitude, at the opportunity to see the Philippines, to bring my children—one of whom won’t even remember a single thing—to a foreign across the world for leisure, to travel for the sake of seeing the world. Yes, I budget travel but it is a luxury I am extremely grateful for.
In the next few weeks, Daniel and I will be sharing our experience here in the Philippines and tips for travelling with young ones here. Hope you enjoy!
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That’s awesome that you are visiting my wife’s homeland in the Philippines. How do you like it so far? What made you decide to go there and how long are you / did you stay for?
Internet in the Philippines kind of stinks eh? It’s slowly getting better, but still not that great. They have decent cell phone coverage though so that’s something.
I’m going to have to check out your new cheap flight guide – sounds interesting. Looking to post more articles about cheap travel and travel hacking on HTS soon too.
It could be a combination of me getting older and my already being a light sleeper to begin with, but I’ve done the backpacking and staying in hostels in rooms with 5 other people . It was an amazing experience that I will never forget and encourage every person to try it at least once, but I really like sleep. If you’ve barely slept, you’re immune system is weak and you can’t really enjoy the sights and smells around you in your travels. Last trip we went on was a bit of a luxury, but next trip I go on I plan on making it more of a budget one.
I traveled to the US, the Philippines and Quebec when I was a kid, but I didn’t really think that counted. And then you meet people who have never left the country or even province and then you realize how much of a luxury that travel can be.
I’m looking forward to your posts and pictures of the Philippines! Especially the chocolate hills in Bohol! 🙂
We didn’t travel growing up, either. I can’t really resent them for it; travel is expensive, especially with two kids!
Excellent article. I am 30 years old and definitely have the travel bug. I really want to see the world. But I always keep things in perspective and realize that I am extremely fortunate to have even travelled to a few countries. Travel is a luxury we take for granted in developed countries. The majority of the world’s people will never sit on a plane, not even once.