The Travelling Feet

Have you ever wondered what might happen if you lose all the money you brought with you when you travel? Travellers get caught off guard when unfortunate things like this happen. Sometimes, even the most OC and prepared traveller ends up losing stuff, worse their travel funds. Others would probably fail to bring their ATMs or choose to leave their credit cards behind because of the fees that are associated with using it abroad. And when the worse thing happens, they end up regretting not considering the chance to compare credit cards to use for travel emergencies before leaving for a trip. Which is why it is important to have a backup plan on where to get your source of funds before travelling.

How to Prevent Being Flat Broke When Travelling?

Sometimes, we just have this tendency to either lose our money or spend it all and end up going penniless. So here are a few things to consider on how to avoid going broke abroad.

1. Plan your trip ahead

Whether you are travelling on a budget or not, it’s best that you create a travel itinerary before going on a trip. Research the destination and the cost of living in the area. Set a budget (e.g. $50 a day) for your daily expenses and multiply that by the number of days you’ll be travelling so you’ll get a realistic figure on how much money you need to bring for your trip.

2. Stash your cash in secret places

Split your cash. Think of it as your emergency money. Place some in your wallet, backpack, hip pack or wherever secret place you can think of. That way, when worse things happen, you’d still have access to your emergency funds.

3. Avoid being robbed

Flashing all your money to show it off to the world will likely attract thieves. Before you know it, you’ll wind up too drunk and sleeping on a sidewalk while those crooks happily run away with your money. So be on your guard all the time.

Ed getting robbed by Den at the entrance of Angkor  Wat

4. Bring an ATM card or a debit card

Don’t bring a lot of cash with you. Just bring enough and once you run out of money, replenish it by using your ATM card or a debit card. Make the necessary arrangements with your bank for you to access your plastics across the globe. But be sure to safe keep them too. When your ATM runs out of money, you could always contact your folks and transfer more money into your bank account. Just make sure you leave the needed information on where and how to send you money. They can also wire you money through online money transfers.

5. Bring 1-2 credit cards

Although travellers might have concerns with fees related to using credit cards, you can find the best credit card online that offers the best rates. Just make sure you let the credit card company know where you’re headed as they have a tendency to block your card once used outside your country. They do this for your own security.

6. Find a part-time job

In case you really run out of money, you could always find a part time job to replenish your travel funds. My travel buddy worked as a host in a restaurant of a 5-star resort in Malaysia to continue his backpacking trip. There are online sites that provide information on where you can look for temporary jobs while travelling in Southeast Asia or the rest of the world. Doing this will add more to your ailing funds.

* * *

A traveller from Canada (let’s secretly call him Vinny ), whom I met through a friend, decided to travel to the Philippines a month ago to visit Cebu and Albay. It was his first time to travel out of his homeland and though he was excited about the trip, his lack of experience in travelling outside of his comfort zone presented unpleasant surprises along the way. After getting back to the city from our trip to Kawasan Falls in Badian, he had to withdraw cash from his ATM. But because of lack of sleep, the ATM slipped away from his hand while still inside the taxi. He only realized that he must have dropped it on the taxi floor after getting out of the cab and guess what? The taxi was nowhere to be found by the time he discovered the missing card. It was a good thing that he brought a credit card with him. Although the fees associated with getting cash from the card might be too much, bringing those extra plastics became a life-saver for him. Otherwise, his vacation would have been cut short.

So when you travel for a long period of time, bringing a debit card, ATM card or a credit card might just save you the trouble when you run low on cash. Consider those simple tips mentioned on top and it’s a guarantee you won’t have to worry about going broke when travelling.

Someone asked me a few weeks ago how many countries I’ve been to during my 5-month backpacking stint in Southeast Asia. My response was just two – Thailand and Cambodia. The person who asked the question couldn’t believe it. She went on a 6-month backpacking trip across Southeast Asia and visited a lot of countries. It seemed that a similar figure was expected of me given that I was only one month short.

However, that didn’t happen. As much as I wanted to spend time to get to know each SEA country, I never got the chance to. My original plan was simple. I was supposed to roam around each country every time my visa stamp runs out.

instead of going to Laos, I headed to Chiang Mai instead

I almost made it to Laos though. I would have enjoyed the thought of visiting the French-inspired architectures in Vientiane or perhaps figure out a way to cross the busy streets of Vietnam. Heck, I didn’t even get the chance to visit Bali, roam around Malacca, and experience the rest of the amazing holidays to Borneo not to mention walking the streets of the highly developed and organized city of Singapore. There were a lot of things I could have seen on those 5 months. But due to the lack of funds, I decided to stay put on 2 countries – Thailand and Cambodia – because of the cheap cost of living.

When I realized that I could not afford to move around as often as I wanted to, I decided to change my goal and focused on living abroad at my own pace. Although living in Vietnam, Laos, Malaysia and Indonesia are not that expensive, I’ve considered Thailand and Cambodia as my comfort zone countries on my backpacking trip. I don’t want to mess up my finances knowing that I only had a few to spend. I was afraid I’d ran out of funds had I pursued my main goal without any decent job to keep me afloat. So I ended up going back and forth those two countries, which I love dearly.

After the turn of events last month, I decided to go home and postpone my dream. I’ve been wanting to do so, to tell you honestly. I was just holding on to the last straw before I finally pulled the plug. There were so many things I learned during those 5 months which I will share with you in the next coming days.

Currently, I’m home now and still trying to figure out the next move I’ll make to satisfy my itchy feet. When I travel again, I need to make sure I visit new places this time, whether here or abroad. I know I can’t easily give up on my dream. I know I’ll get there someday. When that day comes, I know I’ll be prepared.

One of the things I considered before my backpacking trip in Southeast Asia was getting a travel insurance. But because of the lack of funds, I simply decided to let go of this necessity when I travelled out of the country. I told myself I just need to be extra careful and will pray that luck will always be with me to help avoid accidents on my journey to SEA.

However, when you are gifted with an adventurous spirit, it seems that nothing can stop you from scratching off items in your bucket list.

So on the second month of my backpacking trip, I made the most out of my stay in Siem Reap by deciding to learn how to ride a bike.

me starting to learn how to ride a bike on Siem Reap’s gardens
photo credits: Edcel of soloflighted.com

You see, Siem Reap’s laid back setting is the perfect place for anyone to learn how to ride a bike. And with the help of my biking guru and travel buddy, Edcel of soloflighted.com, I biked around Siem Reap’s gardens.

Learning how to ride a bike is not really that difficult. You just have to let go of your fear and be one with the vehicle. Some people may find it difficult at first and I’m one of those few. With two left feet, I had a hard time finding my balance. And the next thing I knew, I was already on the ground with an almost twisted knee and ankle, my bike on top of me.

At first, I thought everything was ok. I continued to ride the bike after my fall but soon noticed pain on my left knee. When we went back to our guesthouse, the pain got worse. I had no insurance and I refused to go to any cilnic or hospital. It was a good thing that my friend, who is a doctor, was online at that time and gave me instructions on what must be done.

falling is inevitable when you learn how to ride a bike
photo credits: Edcel of soloflighted.com

Luck didn’t ride with me and the bike that day.

It was almost 2 months since that incident happened and the pain on my left knee still haunted me from time to time. That accident didn’t stop me from riding a bike though.

On my latest trip to Pai, I could no longer recall how many times I fell on my bike and hurt myself. Although I had a few cuts and bruises in my arms and legs, I’m just thankful that nothing serious happened to me on my biking adventures in Pai.

And now that winter is coming, it makes me think that getting a winter sports insurance is the best thing to do if my plans of going to Nepal will push through. Having lived in a tropical country all my life, I should not heavily rely on luck anymore when I suddenly feel the urge to go biking or get myself involved in extraneous activities. I need to seriously consider getting a travel insurance as a back up plan should my health fail on me once I decide to travel to the colder regions of Asia. But now that I am still stuck in Cambodia and Thailand, I’ll continue to be very careful with the kind of activities I involve myself with like biking.

Learning how to ride a bike in Siem Reap was one of the best things I did in this backpacking trip. But the past two trips to Pai in Northern Thailand made me realize I want to live there. Pai’s uphill and downhill roads with the town’s laid back country side for a background is the perfect place to master my biking skills.

biking in the rain on one of the uphill roads in Pai, Thailand

To those of you who do not know how to ride a bike, don’t fret. It’s never too late. You can never be too old to learn how. All it takes is a small step of courage and will power.

And when you do decide to learn how to ride a bike, you only have to remember this…

You will fall.

Your body will scream with pain and falling will become a habit if you can’t take the fatigue anymore.

You will have bruises and cuts or maybe even worse.

Know that those are normal. As the saying goes “No Pain, No Gain”.

What’s important is that you rise again every time you fall.

If learning to ride a bike is that important to you, you need to endure all the pain. Mend your wounds too. It’s a must.

And lastly, NEVER GIVE UP!

photo credits to Den Ramonal

With my depleting funds, I decided to do this crazy backpacking extra challenge where I need to survive the next 4 days in Siem Reap eating healthy meals on a budget of $6. And that amount should cover my backpacking food expenses for the next 4 days.

My travel buddy had to exit Siem Reap. Since we will be travelling north in a couple of days to meet up with his gf, he decided he’ll just wait for me in Bangkok. I decided to stay behind due to financial reasons. Spending a night in Bangkok would cost me a minimum of 150 THB (~5USD) whereas staying in our guesthouse in Siem Reap will only cost me 4 dollars. Staying in Bangkok would also tempt me to splurge on Thai food. I am running low on funds and I may not resist the call of my teasing tummy and echuserang eyes once I see those yummy foods that ruined my budget last month. hehehe

My balance sheet tells me that I only have 124.50 USD left. $10 will cover for my extended stay and $8.50 will cover my fare from Siem Reap to Bangkok. As much as possible, I don’t want to spend my 100-dollar bill since the exchange rate of big bills in Bangkok are higher compared to small bills. So with only $6 left in my wallet, I had to do this extra challenge.

The great thing is our guesthouse has a shared kitchen and fridge. Still limping from a bike accident, I went to the Siem Reap Old Market to buy food that will last me for 4 days.

Oatmeal – $2.20, pineapple – 3000R, 1/2 kilo pork – 75000R, baguette – 700R, egg – 500R, garlic – 300R*

*1 USD = 4000 Cambodian Riel (R)

Cooking on a budget, I decided to buy oatmeal and pineapple for snacks, a half kilo pork and garlic that should take care of the next three days; and egg & baguette, which will cover Day 1 of the challenge. We still have a half kilo of rice and other spices so cooking won’t be a problem.

I went home happy knowing I still got change from the $6 and I am confident that I could survive eating budget meals in the next coming days. I hope.

Extra Challenge: Day 1

When I arrived in Siem Reap [a month ago], I bought this bacon for $7.50. It had 44 bacon strips and it was my tummy-saver food when I felt lazy going out to eat. I never thought I would see the day that I’d consume all of those bacon! I cooked the last strips of bacon yesterday and paired it with a sunny-side-up egg and baguette.

I also divided the pork into 3 meals. I plan to cook adobo (pork cooked in soy sauce, vinegar and garlic) as this will not require many ingredients. I also marinated a portion of the pork for frying. The third dish I intend to cook would be an experiment with potato and tomato, 2 vegies I need to get rid of before I leave Siem Reap.

note: always pay attention to what you’re toasting. hehehe

I survived Day 1 by eating this meal for lunch and dinner. I tore the bread in 2 pieces and divided the bacon and eggs. I had dinner before 6 and by 9, my tummy grumbled. I was so tempted to go out and buy biko (rice cake) or noodles but I was glad I resisted the urge. Instead, I prepared oatmeal.

Some may react negatively to this challenge. Who wouldn’t? To survive with less than $1.50 worth of food per day on this backpacking trip and spread that out for 3 meals for the next four days is not something one would dream of. Then I remember a friend who told me that I’d need to budget $5 per day for food. I said I can do $2. Now I’m stretching it to $1.50 and I know I’m going to eat almost healthy meals on a budget

I realized that anything is possible, especially to one with an almost empty wallet. It’s really a wonder how your mind works to come up with budget meals when placed in a tight situation. hehe

For those who are planning to go on a backpacking trip with a very tight budget, consider getting a guesthouse which offers a kitchen, shared or not. Also, better start learning how to cook your own backpacking meals if you don’t know how. Be familiar with the basics of cooking on a budget. That’s all you need. Preparing your own food will be one great budget-saver for your journey.

When I started with this backpacking trip almost 2 months ago, Flip of flipnomad.com insisted we get a guesthouse with a kitchen. I now fully understand the importance of his tip. Thanks for the great advice Flip!

Today is Day 2 of the challenge. I already had oatmeal for breakfast. I will now experiment on the pork, potato and tomato. Wish me luck!

I suddenly woke up since my right arm was getting cold. I started wearing my cardigan and looked at the sea of clouds outside my window. The Caucasian guy wearing shorts and sleeveless shirt on seat 8C called my attention and picked the immigration card sitting on 8B and gave it to me. I said “Thanks!” and started filling out the form.

I still could not believe I’m a thousand miles up in the air fulfilling my delusions!

Looking Back

Four years ago, a friend and I discussed how we’d want to live in Siem Reap as we fell in love with this buzzling city in Cambodia. Though Bangkok was highly similar to Manila, I was also open to the idea of living there for I can always do whatever I want without anyone knowing me and without getting a weird foreigner-on-the-loose look as I can always pass off as a Thai.

Then a year and a half ago, I quit my job. I got tired of the rat race and told myself I’d be better off working freelance jobs. With lots of debts to pay, no savings and no real plan in life, I decided it’s time for me to start doing the things I wanted to do – travelling, blogging, owning my time. I shared with another friend my plans of going on a backpacking trip across Southeast Asia. As for work, I can always bring it with me.

As a freelancer, I can be wherever I want to be while continuing to earn a living. The plan never pushed through because I didn’t have the necessary funds. I also thought it best to test this delusional dream if I’m with a travel buddy as it would be cost-effective travelling in twos or threes. At that moment, no one crazy enough was available so I continued working on my online jobs while getting busy building my websites.

Since I have an out-of-this-world, mind-boggling, heart-pounding, curse-provoking habit to procrastinate from work, I decided to go back to working in the corporate world a year after I quit my job. I decided I have to settle with weekend trips ‘till I could save up for my delusional idea. So I travelled solo to Davao, Surigao, Cagayan, Boracay, Iloilo and Naga on weekends.

Quitting Work…Again!

On the 6th month of doing my ideal corporate job, I was haunted with wrong decisions I made in the past. That’s why I decided to quit again. Still without any savings and concrete plans, I also moved out of our house. The timing was just right since I recently landed a promising career online which made it easier for me to keep up with my expenses.

Luckily, a good friend of mine and her family adopted me. I realized how different my life was away from home. As an individual, I was more responsible and cautious with what I was doing. I did things that I would never have done while in the comforts of our home.

My parents kept pleading for me to go back to our house as they also missed me but I told them “Not yet”. I knew it crushed their hearts every time I said NO but I had to stick with my decision. I wanted to find myself. I wanted to be more responsible. I needed to grow up and I couldn’t do that knowing they’re just around, willing to catch me when I fell and always cleaned up the mess I created with my life.

Then Came That Skype Conversation…

I had everything figured out, or so I thought until one Skype conference call with two crazy travel junkies. One was about to quit his job to pursue his delusions of grandeur while the other one was on the beta phase on his self-discovery to possibly leading the life he never thought was possible not until he met people like “us” – travel junkies who’d do anything in order to enjoy working while travelling. One already had a round trip promo ticket and the other one just booked a flight. Since their travel dates were not far apart and their paths will eventually cross during their trip, they were like cheerleaders chanting for me to join. I had no funds for crying out loud! Tempting as it seemed but I couldn’t! But still tempting…Too tempting that light bulbs started lighting on my head.

I had no money and my life’s too screwed up at that point and agreeing to go on an international trip to meet up with two crazy travellers was the last thing I should be thinking of.

But wait a minute! I’ve led a crazy life for the last couple of days. Surely one over-the-edge crazy decision wouldn’t hurt, right? Oh yeah!

That Skype conversation ended with me shaking my head. I booked a flight even if my debts were piling up. I said YES to my dream without thinking where I was going to get funds. Way to go Doi!

At Present

Right now, I’m writing this entry on my travel notebook while looking out the window. It’s almost 3pm. A sea of fluffy clouds are scattered all over the horizon. The pilot’s voice echoed through the entire aircraft.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we are now descending into Bangkok cruising at 30,000 feet. We are expected to be in the runway in 40 minutes, therefore, we will be landing on time. We expect clear skies and good weather at 23 degrees centigrade. Once again, thank you for choosing SEAIR partnered with TigerAirways. Have a good day and enjoy your stay in Bangkok! Cabin crew, prepare for landing.”

A few days before this flight, I still had second thoughts whether I would push through or not.

I only have $450 in my pocket and 120Baht from last year’s trip. I still have no concrete plans but I’m confident that everything will just fall into place.

I’ll take my chances…

I’m already 31 and I need to grow up. Leaving home is the only way I know how.

This post has been updated to be submitted as my entry to the Pinoy Travel Bloggers’ Blog Carnival themed Take a Leap of Faith: When Travelling Changed My Life which is hosted by Reiza Dejito of Wander If You Must. Fore more life-changing stories because of one’s passion for travelling, click here!

Click on the Blog Carnival Logo on the left to access a list of interesting topics about the Philippines through the eyes of each Pinoy Travel Blogger.