How I Travel for Free (Part 2)

This is a follow up on yesterday's post: https://www.kirkstravelstories.com/post/how-i-travel-for-free-or-nearly-free

There's a lot to cover here. I struggled to know where to start. I think I'll speak to the easy stuff first and save the bigger stuff for last. I think it will make more logical sense this way.

There are six main expenditures during travel (for me anyway).

1. Souvenirs

2. Attractions

3. Meals

4. Local transportation

5. Hotels

6. Airfare

Other expenses I won't cover now, because I don't usually have them, include: Shopping (really covered in souvenirs anyways), miscellaneous expenses (toiletries, prescriptions and such), travel insurance, and airport parking. I'm assuming the reader can avoid these expenses (although many take out travel insurance). I'll discuss these at the end of this series perhaps.

I'm going to address the items in the numbered order above.

Souvenirs & Gifts

Don't buy junk. The ash trays, the plates with the country's name on it, even the T-shirts. All overpriced crap. Never even go into these tourist traps. Things may look appealing at the time, but they will soon be discarded or thrown in the forgotten draw.

Displaying souvenirs in your home (now this is an opinion call) is tacky. Do you need to be reminded where you've been? Do you need to show it off to your family and friends? They don't care! This is just my opinion and hope I don't offend. My opinion is no better than yours. Yours may be different and better than mine. I'm open to different perspectives.

Now there are things worth buying in foreign countries. Look to what is unique to that area. What can you buy there that is local and is a good bargain? It has to be local though. Anything imported will likely be higher than in the USA, or probably your home country. That's because of the high import taxes they pay.

Many foreigners come to the USA to buy high quality goods and electronics. It's cheaper here! We are fortunate to have shopping tourists who do nothing but a quick shopping trip and go home. We are blessed in the USA to have access to inexpensive quality goods. Don't buy them overseas.

So what do you buy? Of course it depends what you like and what they do well in their country. For some examples of what I have done:

1. I've visited China 5 times (I think). I learned to be a tea drinker there. The benefits of tea are significant. I'm now an afternoon tea drinker. China arguably grows the best tea leaves in the world in certain regions, I buy a lot of specialty teas to bring home. They make nice gifts, too.

2. Visiting Indonesia I bought kopi luwak coffee. This is a very specialty coffee. It is made by an unusual process where a Civet cat is fed premium coffee beans. The cat then poops out the bean (yeah you heard me right). It is then cleaned and roasted for humans. Don't worry, it doesn't taste anything like poop. But it is very expensive in the USA. A cup of this coffee in New York (not sure how many places this is even sold) costs between $35 - $80!!!! One pound of the coffee can command $100 - $500. This is expensive because of the lengthy process to produce and the very high demand for this limited produced coffee. Now I've drank this coffee in Indonesia for a hefty (for Indonesians) $5 a cup and it's good but not $50 a cup good. But I did buy a pound to bring home at a more reasonable $45 per pound.

3. Argentina is known for cattle, beef, and leather. Coupled with the low cost of labor and the skills of the people in leather, this is a fantastic place to buy leather goods. I negotiated the price of a beautiful, soft leather back pack down to $40. For the quality and size I'm sure this would cost in the hundreds of dollars in the USA. I still use this as my primary bag five years later after much travel. I kick myself for not buying two.

4. In Thailand I look for clothes. Usually children's clothes I can bring back to grandkids. In the smaller villages, or even in Bangkok where village people may sell there wares, you can buy hand sewn original pieces that are very stylish. These are often one of a kind pieces of high quality. They can be bought at very low cost if you're a good negotiator. A high quality outfit should be only a few dollars per piece.

These are a few of the practical examples that come to mind. But the main point is buy local and buy what they do well. But buy what is practical and you will use.

The only exception to the tourist souvenirs I've made is to buy a coffee cup if it's good quality and unique. I have several I drink from weekly.

One last thing on gifts. Negotiate. They expect it. It's not uncommon to negotiate as much 50% or more. Now negotiating is an art. I remember buying kites for my grandchildren in Bali. I passed a couple who also bought the same kite from a street vendor. He was selling them for $10.00. A hefty price for the area. The woman told me she talked him down to $7.00 proudly, then asked what I paid. I told her $2.00. I immediately regretted telling her. She turned to her husband and chastised him for paying too much.

Negotiation takes skill in another way. Be sensitive to the people's needs. There are never price tags on the items where I travel. That's because they have a different price after they "size you up". How much do they think you'll pay? They have a local price and a foreigner price. And the foreigner price depends on where they know you're from. That is often a question a vendor will ask "where you from?"

Knowing I'm being overcharged for the area incentivizes me to negotiate a reasonable price. But don't overplay it. You can overplay it to the point you feel guilty about your great deal, at least I do at times. Be sensitive to their needs. It's ok as a foreigner with more money than they have to overpay from local prices. I have to remind myself of that. The art is to negotiate a fair price for both of you. That takes knowledge of the area pricing so if it's your first trip to the area it's more difficult.

This is my advice on gifts and souvenirs. I do not spend a lot on these things. Typically less than $100 for an average trip. But I have splurged into the several hundred dollar category if an item is worthy of the price.

I realize others have a different inclination regarding this category. Your budget and desires are different than mine. Just be careful of buyer's remorse when over spending here.

Go to part 3:

https://www.kirkstravelstories.com/post/how-i-travel-for-free-part-3