Vagabond Journey Travel Tips

Medical Care When Traveling Abroad
Travel tip #31

Apart from traditional healing arts, which are often real hit or miss endeavors, there are two modes of receiving medical care abroad: the foreigner clinic way or the local hospital/ pharmacy way. You can either fork out the dough to soak yourself in what is suppose to be first world quality, English language medical care at a foreigner/ VIP clinic or you can go to the local hospital and pay next to nothing like everybody else in the country that you are traveling in.

I do not like using public transportation anywhere in the world, and I was tired of paying a dollar each time I want travel around Istanbul. I simply do not have the temperament to sit inside of a steamy and crowded bus as it makes a zillion stops on a journey that would be quicker by foot. It is highly annoying to be sitting inside of a vehicle that utilizes the internal combustion engine while watching people walking by on the sidewalk moving quicker than me. Due the traffic in cities, the public bus is often not faster than walking.

Traveler Food: Chicken, Eggs, Rice, Vegetables
Travel Tip #29

Chicken, eggs, rice, and vegetables are among the cheapest foods to eat almost anywhere on the planet.

I try to save as much money as possible, as I know that it is far easier to save $20 than it is to make $20. So I eat chicken, eggs, rice, and vegetables.

Always ask the price Travel Tip
Travel Tip #28

In point, if you have not been in a country very long and are not absolute positive about the price of something you would like to purchase, ask. If you make a commitment to buying something without knowing the price then you are at the mercy of the vendor, who can rightfully charge you as little or as much as possible.

Small Money Better for Travel
Travel Tip #27

It is better to carry a stack of small bills in your pocket while traveling than a few large ones. For it is always easier to add together small monetary units than it is to expect a merchant, a bus conductor, or a street vendor to be able to make change for a large bill. Using small monetary denominations also allows a traveler to pay closer to exact prices, which is also a logical deterrent against being short changed or being ripped off entirely.

How to Deal with Hotel Runners, Sharks, Touts
Travel Tip #26

I do not like dealing with hotel runners. Any person who potentially stands to make money by lying or cheating me I tend not to trust. Renting a room in a hotel is an economic arrangement, an any such deal requires a certain extent of trust. I do not trust people who hunt me down. I do not trust strangers who make money by pretending to be my friend.

The Ground Score, or How to Eat for Free in Airports

Travel Tip #25

Here is a travel tip for a sort of gross way to save precious travel funds when in hard places where food is expensive and you are hungry: a place like an airport. This tip comes from the depths of the old punk rock days of living in attics without a penny to my name. This is a tip about the revered ground score.

Read more at Travel Tip# 25- How to Eat for Free in Airports

Buckle Backpack for Security- Strap up your bag when it is off your back

It is as simple as this: buckle your backpack to a solid object.

Nearly all travel backpacks have straps, and they can be used for more than just strapping yourself in. They can be used to more fully secure you bag when traveling.

Simply put, when sitting in airport terminals, on buses, trains, bus stations, on park benches . . . just buckle your bag up to a chair or another solid object. This will greatly inhibit someone from running off with the bulk of your travel gear.

Apartment in Budapest, Hungary- Temporary stay apartments are cheaper

Travel Tip#23

When paying for accommodation when traveling, look for temporary stay apartments rather than hotels or hostel beds. They are usually far cheaper, more private, and have better facilities.

Travel Cheap: Watch Global Currency Exchange Rates- Travel Tip #22

To travel the world cheaply, it helps to keep watch over global currency exchange rates. Look at the monetary denomination that you keep your travel funds in, and compare if against the currencies of the of the countries of the you propose to travel in. Watching global currency exchange rates, and traveling toward countries that have recently devalued their currency will allow you to travel the world significantly cheaper.

How to Exercise While Traveling- Travel Tip # 21

A quick photo-guide on how I do strength training while on the Road. Information on how to lift "weights," do calisthenics, and train for endurance in a domestic setting that is constantly in flux.

Use Care with Computer Plug when Traveling - Travel Tip #20

The plug insert at the back of my laptop kicked the bucket.

I noticed this occurring for the past month. Sometimes when I plugged the computer into an electrical outlet it would not take any juice. Then, a couple of days ago, I ran into my room and grabbed my laptop. I picked it up and withdrew the cord from its rear and heard a slight "crack."

I plugged it back in, it did not work. I tried a different electrical jack, it did not work.

Beware of Friendly "Gypsies " in India - Vagabond Journey Travel Tip #19

Friendly people wanting to be your "international friend" often want something more than friendship. No matter where in the world you travel, watch out for the "Hello, my friend" routine.

Be aware of the information that you enter into public computers- Travel Tip #18

I can remember the story of a couple of girls that I met in Copan Ruinas, Honduras in the spring of 2008. Their rather simple story went as follows:

One of them went to withdraw money from her ATM card to find her account wiped out. They had no idea how this happened, but a call to the bank insured them that it had occurred while they were traveling in Central America.

The girl still had her ATM card in-tact, as it was the numbers off of it that were evidently copied and used. I listened to her talk circles around herself as she told a half dozen "it could've happened when we were at. . ." stories. This seemed funny to me. It seemed funny that someone would be able to just magically copy the numbers off of her card. This was probably not done manually, but electronically.

Immigration Customs Travel Tip - How to use dirty underwear

Vagabond Journey Travel Tip #17

Dirty underwear and socks can cause a plethora of slight annoyances for a traveler: they have a tendency of disappearing, they are gross to touch, and they have the potential of fouling up an entire rucksack of otherwise nice smelling clothing.

In point, dirty underwear and socks are dirty, so what could possible be the use of them?

This tip works on the premise that NO HUMAN WANTS TO TOUCH ANOTHER HUMAN'S DIRTY UNDERWEAR.

Read more at Immigration and Customs Travel Tip- Dirty Underwear

Cheap Travel Means Speaking Foreign Languages- Travel Tip# 16

To travel the world cheaply means that you need to learn foreign languages. Luckily, the amount of words that a traveler really needs to know is not extensive. Here is a list of terms that allow for cheap travel anywhere in the world.

Drunks Drop Money- Travel Tip #15

Travel tip about how to pick up a few extra dollars by keeping your head down.

Travel Tip #14- Debit Cards for Travel

About the benefit of using Visa debit cards for international travel.

Travel Tip #13- Label Travel Funds

A quick tip on how to keep track of your money while traveling.

Travel Tip #12- Do Not Touch the Electric Shower

I was just in a Guatemalan shower that exploded due to a malfunction in the electric shower head. Luckily, I was standing outside the shower when this happened. "Simply put, electric showers can - and DO -explode, malfunction, falter, and, essentially, screw up in a plethora of various ways that can have the result of electrocuting the daylights out of an unsuspecting traveler! It really happens, and nearly did so to me as I stood naked in a Guatemalan shower earlier this week." Read this travel tip by clicking on the above link.

Travel Tip #11 - Loose the Shampoo

I have found that using bar soap rather than shampoo leaves my hair just as clean, lowers the amount of times a week that I have to wash my hair, and, most importantly, it removes the need to carry around and purchase shampoo. As any traveler knows, liquids are heavy to carry around, and, likewise, should be avoided at all costs.

Travel Tip #10-How to Turn a T-Shirt into Shorts

Read on, and you will be sure to learn how to turn a t-shirt into a pair of shorts. I cannot predict when you will need to use this tip, but, I must say, there will come a day when you look into your rucksack and realize that your articles of clothing are not appropriately diverse to fully clothe a human body. For sometimes on the Road you just have a few too many t-shirts and not enough shorts, sometimes the clothes in your bag just do not match the climate, and sometimes you just need a change. Click on the link above to read the full tip.

Travel Tip #9- How to Turn a Plastic Bag into a Cup

Instructions with photographs of how to transform a plastic bag into a drinking vessel. "Have you found yourself at a water source with the desire to carry water with you but without anything to carry it in? Are you at a stream in the middle of the woods with a water filter but without a receptacle to filter to? Do you need something to do with all of those plastic shopping bags that you have forced upon you every time you buy something? Or maybe you just need a stinking cup?" Click on the above link to read more of this travel tip.

Travel Tip #8- Travel Guidebooks, To use or not to use?

A discussion of the pros and cons of using a popular travel guidebook. "Guidebooks, guidebooks, guidebooks, a big question. Should a traveler use them? Are they really helpful? Are they worth their weight and cost? Is traveling more enjoyable without them? Can I travel without one? " All of this and more in this travel tip.

Travel Tip #7- How to Sleep Outside for Free

"In many circumstances, a traveler could find himself outside after nightfall without a place to seek shelter and, in some cases, without the monetary resources to rent a bed even if one was available. Or, if you are traveling by bicycle, hitchhiking, or walking it would be foolish to plan on entering into developed areas every night solely for the purpose of finding shelter. In point, when on the tramp, it is often necessary to sleep under the stars, and, in most instances, the formal campground is not really an option- as I think they are a waste of money. The way I see it, the entire world is one big campground ever welcoming a clever traveler to set up a camp and stay a night- for free."

Travel Tip #6- Avoid International Bus and Train Services

Click on the above link for a travel tip that focuses on saving money while crossing borders. More often than not it is far more prudent to avoid international bus and train services. Go to the above link for this travel tip.

Travel Tip #5- Not Your Friend

This travel tip is about how to avoid some of the major hassles associated with traveling- TOUTS. Simply put, these are people who will come up to you in the street and pretend to be your friend all in the great drama of separating you from your money.

For more on touts and how to avoid them you can go to:

On Moroccan Touts Travelogue Post

Travel Tip #4- Wash Your Laundry While You Shower

In this tip I offer up a rule of travel that I always follow:

Always wash your clothes every time you shower.

Just bring in a few articles of clothing into the shower with you and wash away at them with the same bar of soap that you use for your body. Click on the link above for the full version of this traveler tip!

Travel Tip #3- Saddlebags

This tip is how to construct large, belt hanging pockets that could be called "saddlebags"- because they follow the same idea as gear bags that you put on horses. But instead of putting them on a horse, you wear them on both sides of your body. Follow the link above to find out more about this travel essential.

Travel Tip #2- Onward Tickets for One-Way Travelers

This travel tip is about how to get around proof of onward travel requirements.

"It is often an apprehensive moment when checking in on a one way flight to a country that officially requires proof of onward travel to enter. Most often, I have found that I am not asked if I have a return or onward flight, and therefore everything works out fine. But on a couple occasions, I have found myself in situations that could have been potential problems while dancing around this silly restriction."

Traveler Tip from Andy the Hobotraveler.com: Fake Onward Tickets

Travel Tip #1- Write, Write, Write of Your Travels

This travel tip is about the retrospective value of writing about your travels.

"So much of what I wrote, and thought at the time I would never forget, has unexpectedly passed through the grips of memory. To read of little forgotten adventures is to relive them. It is to have them again. A traveler's pockets are empty in all aspects- when it comes down to it, all that we have is what we remember. The accumulation of impressions, experiences, and feelings that makes up the substance of our memories is what makes us the wealthiest people on the planet. To sit on a far-flung dusk time beach and day dream of past adventures is to be a king. Writing increases the boundaries of our kingdom."

Buckle Backpack for Security- Strap up your bag when it is off your back

Apartment in Budapest, Hungary- Temporary stay apartments are cheaper

Travel Tip#23 When paying for accommodation when traveling, look for temporary stay apartments rather than hotels or hostel beds. They are usually far cheaper, more private, and have better facilities.

How to Exercise While Traveling- Travel Tip # 21 A quick photo-guide on how I do strength training while on the Road. Information on how to lift "weights," do calisthenics, and train for endurance in a domestic setting that is constantly in flux.

Travel Tip#23

When paying for accommodation when traveling, look for temporary stay apartments rather than hotels or hostel beds. They are usually far cheaper, more private, and have better facilities.

How to Exercise While Traveling- Travel Tip # 21

A quick photo-guide on how I do strength training while on the Road. Information on how to lift "weights," do calisthenics, and train for endurance in a domestic setting that is constantly in flux.