Travel Tips

Before jumping into my trip suggestions, I figured I'd begin with travel tips! 

This could either be very boring or very useful, hopefully the latter of the two. I traveled by myself on a 3 month trek to 4 different countries when I was 20 years old. People thought I was so brave and wondered how I had the money for it. Needless to say, I was scared as hell, but I knew the trip would work out and it would be a trip of a lifetime. Financially I set aside $3,500 and came back with $2.37. Not gonna lie, this trip gave me have a little more faith in my financial skills. Here I'll explain how to travel on the cheap, things you need, and tips that helped me through my travels.

Savings

People think saving money is common sense but it's not something people do too often. I save my money by adding up my rent, gas, food, miscellaneous bills, and give myself $100 extra of spending money each month. Then I figure out how much I make each month. I would substract my monthly income by my monthly finances. Anything leftover would go into savings each month. Little by little it would add up. I made it easy on myself by having two bank accounts. One was my responsible bank account and the other was a savings account. We all know how easy it is to spend money when you feel like you have money, I know I sure do! That's why having it in a separate spot where you don't see the money and pretend it's untouchable is helpful.

Flights

An expensive portion of the trip will be the flight. Its important to find the cheapest flight and try to book ahead as much as possible. I always suggest going during off season because the plane tickets will be cheaper and there will be less tourists ruining your views/activities while traveling. One reliable and easy to use site for cheap flights is Skyscanner. Another good way to get your future flight covered is by using the CapitalOne Venture Card. You build up points by using it and eventually can use those points to cover flights and hotels. I didn't use this for my first trip because I wasn't financially secure enough to own one but now I have one and it's great. I'd say if you are on top of paying bills on time then this is a perfect travel credit card. It also works for covering hotels also which is useful for smaller scale trips.

Backpack

If you plan on hopping around to different places then I would suggest only going with a carry on backpack. I borrowed my dads when I first started traveling but now I own this one and absolutely love it! I bought it on Amazon Day for cheaper (always looking out for those deals). There's a men's version as well. It's smart to travel with a carry on because most of the cheap airlines you choose wont allow check on or you'll be charged extra. Also, keep in mind that you are only allowed 50lbs which I know sounds like a lot but it isn't that much if you're traveling for a while. I brought a small collapsible backpack as well to use for walking around and daily activities. 

Clothes/Packing

Everything I had heard about Asia ahead of time was that they were conservative so I packed a bunch of leggings and neck high shirts. Upon arriving, I was disappointed to find that everyone was dressed super cute and stylish. Further into the trip I realized it worked in my favor. I started packing my bag full of fun market finds and buying new clothes. I would discard old items for new items. So take my advice when I tell you to pack 2 cute outfits and the rest of the outfits are ones you wouldn't mind getting rid of. It's important to pack light and easy. Pack clothes that all go together and don't wrinkle. My dad told me to buy this toiletries bag for my toiletries because you can hang it up in the bathroom. I thought it was lame at first to need it but I soon realized it was very helpful.

Hostels

If you are wanting to travel for cheap and make awesome friends then hostels are the way to go! I used the app Hostelworld but it's a website also. It was perfect for booking places to stay. I traveled during off season so I would travel wherever and whenever I wanted and always had different hostel options available. Fun fact, when I was at the end of my trip in Vietnam, I was lower in money and gave myself a budget of $10 a day. This included hostel and food!! I booked a $4 hostel that had breakfast included (it was yummy too) and had $6 to spend on food. 

Food

EAT LOTS OF FUN FOOD! One of the highlights to traveling for me is trying new foods and being a part of the culture. People are always weary abput eating the market food but that was some of the cheapest and best food I tried. I feel like for the most part it's common sense what to avoid. For instance, if they're serving fish but you are no where near an ocean.. might be best to get something else. The tourist looking places are always going to cost more because they know they can rip you off. I would go to the places the locals ate at because it was always more authentic, cheaper, and fun to be part of their culture. If I didn't know what to order then I would just tell them to make me their favorite on the menu. Sometimes I wouldn't know what I was eating until after the meal. I would find out after that I had fish bladder soup, pigs blood, and other interesting foods that don't sound appealing but truly were. That's why it's always best to stay open minded. I would never think that my favorite meal would be pigs brain but it sure is.. but more on that later. 

Extra tips

• I have locks to use for my trips and find them useful in mulitple ways. I lock together the zippers on my back pack. It keeps people from pocketing valuables, useful for locking your items at a hostel, and to use for lockers during activities. Not all hostels charge extra for a lock, but some do. 
• I had gotten Cipro from my doctor ahead of time. It's pills that help with food poisoning. It's great for having peace of mind when eating market foods and will help so much if food poisoning arises. I got food poisoning along my trip and rather than the week sick, I was only sick for 8 miserable hours. 
•  I buy my plane ticket ahead of time but instead of doing the digital tickets, I usually wait until getting to the airport to get my physical plane ticket. This works in my favor most of the time because I ask to be seated far in the back of the plane with a window seat. 99% of the time I would be seated alone in the back with all 3 seats myself. This makes life so much more comfortable when it's a 10+ hour flight. Then I can lay down and sleep throughout the flight
• To add to the last point, bring a jacket or small packable blanket! The flights get sooo cold, especially during the night time. Rather than freezing to death, you'll want something to keep warm.
•  I cannot stress this enough.. if you are traveling to a third world country such as Asia, bring baby wipes because they don't always have toilet paper. I learned that the hard way! lol

I can imagine I will add to this as time goes on but these are the main thoughts I have right now. Tune in next week when I start giving suggestions on trip activites, foods to eat, and fun stories!