Ada, you manage to go travel alone, how do you spend money and budget them all? Tell us your secrets. I love to travel also for some time.
I made the answer a blog post instead.
Took this somewhere in Singapore.
In response to her phrase, “you manage to travel alone,” honestly, I have never traveled alone “completely” yet. I like to do so, but I prefer not doing it a lot. Traveling alone may not be for everyone, especially for girls which are common target of bad people. I admit, traveling alone scares me especially when going to a not-so-familiar place. An example of this was my trip to Iloilo for the Dinagyang 2011.
It was my first time going to a provincial airport without a travel buddy — my buddy had an earlier flight which caused me to go to the airport alone. Since I couldn’t figure out the instructions our couch host gave me, I kept asking strangers from time to time while getting to SM Iloilo where vans to airport are located. Nevertheless, I would like to dare myself to solo traveling soon maybe this year or next.
How I spend money on a budget when I travel? Here are my tips and suggestions:
Book a flight only every promo. Start bookmarking Cebu Pacific, ZestAir, Airphil, Seair, AirAsia, Tiger Airways, and PAL websites on your browser. I wish you could see my Chrome browser fronting bookmarks of airlines in the Philippines. You can subscribe to their website to get their latest promos too. You can get promos by booking online only.
Create an itinerary with cheapest places to be. Research for the must see landmarks of that place such as restaurants, churches, museums, etc. and how to get there the cheapest way. Try to research it if that landmark requires entrance fee.
Challenge yourself to spend Php 200 to Php 300 per day ($5 to $7) when traveling locally or Php 500 to Php 1,000 ($11 to $23) per day internationally. A great example of this was my trip in Iloilo, where I only spent Php 737.00 for 3D/2N in Iloilo City and a Php 6,000 budget for 4D/3N in Macau and Hong Kong inclusive of tax and terminal fees.
Leal Senado Square, Macau
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Try couch surfing. Instead of checking in for accommodation, stay in one of the locals who offers couch for travelers. Or if you have a friend in that place, ask them if you can sleep on their couch for a night or two.
Avoid taxis. Here in the Philippines, cheap mode of transport are jeepney, tricycle, and habal-habal. I consider pedicab an expensive one because they manually kick the bike off making them sweat — they will charge you according to their sweat rather than distance. If traveling abroad, ride on their trains or buses.
Travel with someone who shares the same idea of budget traveling. He/she may not be your friend but sharing the same passion in traveling will definitely make one’s travel worth it.
Do you have more tips and suggestions to share? I would be happy to read it from you and add it here, just make a comment on this post!
badet lakwatsa tayo in a few days 
Ada Reply:
March 5th, 2011 at 8:06 am
Couch surfing is safe if you will choose the right host, according to his/her feedback or have established a good reputation already in CS.
Packing tips? Sure coming soon!
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