Poor in dollars, rich in spirit: the costs of a round the world trip

Many people pull out on a round the world trip because they think they don't have the necessary "dinero". Unless you are homeless or are planning to stay at 5-star resorts and eat at michelin recommended restaurants, you can do it. In fact, there are countries in Asia, for example, where you can live with US$20 a day (accommodation plus food), or even less. Of course, in that case you would have to eat street food and sleep at hostels, but that doesn't mean it won't be fun. Quite the opposite.

My average cost per day was US$150, all in (transportation, accommodation, food and entertainment). I would consider myself a mid-range spender (not a hippie, nor a fancy traveller). My strategy was to minimize spendings on human basic needs (food and sleep), so I could engage myself in unique, and very often expensive, experiences. This aggressive approach to travelling plus the fact that I stayed 3 to 4 days on average at each city (incurring in high transportation costs), explains why my daily spending may look substantial. 

Below, a few considerations on the nature of my cash outflows, which may help you establish a budget for your own round the world trip:

Transport: two months prior to departure, I bought a US$5,000 Star Alliance Round the World Ticket, which, in my case, included twelve flights (São Paulo - New York - Honolulu - Auckland - Sydney - Bangkok - Tokyo - Beijing - New Dehli - Istanbul - Amman - Cairo - Frankfurt - São Paulo). I used those cities as hubs to explore nearby countries, which I could reach by land, air or sea. For Asia, the preferred mean of transport was the plane, as everything is too far and land transportation can get you killed (unfinished roads, reckless drivers). I preffered trains to move around Europe, as it gave me lots of flexibility (tickets can be bought at the station on the day of departure) and I could sleep while I travelled (in the case of night trains, which I used for long-distance travels). I opted for maritime transportation to go from Spain to Morocco, which is about 20 km far (Algeciras - Tangier) and from Estonia to Finland, as it was cheaper than flying.

Food: you can have a decent meal at a restaurant for US$5-10 in most of Asia (ex. Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, India, Nepal and China) and Eastern Europe (ex. Poland, Romania, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania). You will struggle to find nourishment for US$15-20 in Japan, New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, Russia and Nordic Countries. As a whole, I would place the rest of Western Europe and the Middle-East in the middle of the range.

Sleep: again, you can shut your eyes cheaper in most of Asia and Eastern Europe, paying around US$7-15 for a hostel. You won't find shelter for much less than US$25-35 in Western Europe, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and Russia. In some very poor countries or where hostels are limited or inexistent (ex. Lebanon, Dubai, Egypt and India), you will have to pay a bit more for a hotel (except for India, where you can find a five-stars hotel for US$30 per person).

Entertainment & culture: as I said, I took this type of spending very seriously, facing each day as a once in a life time opportunity. Examples of this type of expenses were: bungy jump in New Zealand, US$260; a concert at Sydney's Opera House, US$150; New York Knicks game at the Madison Square Garden, US$130; bobsleigh in Latvia, US$100; shooting with an AK-47 in Vietnam, US$1 per bullet; not to mention the several excursions to deserts, temples, islands, war sites and visits to museums. Finally, nightclubs "sightseeing" was also an important part of my activities (and spendings), as it provided a profound understanding of the cultural characteristics, as well as anatomical, of the inhabitants of each visited location.

As you can conclude from the aforementioned data, you can plan your round the world trip and adjust the level of daily spending by choosing countries that are in line with your targeted budget. I met all kinds of travellers during my trip, from daddy-financed playboys who would only stay at hotels from hippie-like backpackers that would ask for rides on the road and couch-surf (sleep at a volunteer's house for free, check https://www.couchsurfing.org/). Both seemed happy. Therefore, I believe money is no excuse for not fulfilling your dream of discovering the world. It's just a matter of planning and understanding your needs.

                             
                             Picture: You will have less dollars in your account after
                             a round the world trip, but it will definitely be worth it

I'm hatin' it: feeling the power of Indian bacteria

One of my favorite movie scenes of all time is when Ben Stiller feels extremely sick after eating at a Moroccan restaurant with Jennifer Aniston in "Along came Polly". I always tought that Ben's reaction was exaggerated, until I saw a friend of mine allucinating and sweating like a barbequer on a bed in Nepal. The cause of his misfortune? Eating the Indian equivalent of a Big Mac, the only meal he had with salad during our 2-week visit to India.

India is the land of the Taj Mahal, Yoga, curry, Gandhi and several other interesting things. However, specially if you are a traveller and don't take the necessary precautions, it can also be considered "The Mecca" of food poisoning. I'm not saying you shouldn't eat Indian food, that would be unwise. The country has one of the best cuisines in the world, using plenty of spices that result in a richness of flavors unmatched by any other nation. But I think you don't need to risk your life eating at a dodgy restaurant, if you want to try the local food (in fact, the best Indian food I ever had was in London, but you can find great restaurants in India too).

It is very common to see Indians eating with their hands, instead of using fork and knife. They usually use their right hand, as the left one is dedicated to toilet related issues. For that reason, I avoided high-fiving anyone while there, afraid of slapping the left hand by mistake. It is very easy to eat with your hands, as you can use a very tasty type of bread called "naan" to help you grab food, which very often has curry (richly spiced sauce).

A big issue in India is that tap water is very often contaminated or carries substances that will let your stomach angry with you. Therefore, we had to take showers with eyes and mouth shut and we tried to brush our teeths with bottled water. We avoided salads or anything raw, as washing them with contaminated water is like curing a muscle pain with punches. Eating outside our hotel? Only if recommended by a trustworthy guidebook, like Lonely Planet. We acted like a pussy and everything went fine, until my friend suggested a last meal at Mac Donald's. It sounded fun. It's an international food chain, they have quality standards, right? Maybe not enough.

Chicken Maharaja Mac, India's Big Mac, uses chicken instead of meat (cows are considered sacred for Indians) and a curry-like condiment replaces the famous special sauce. It tastes good, but the only problem is that it has raw components, such as lettuce, onions and tomatoes. That was most likely the reason why 24 hours later, when we were already at Kathmandu, Nepal, my friend began a tough fight against a powerful type of Indian bacteria.

After watching my friend's misery, I concluded that if you visit a place where food poisoning is the norm for tourists, it is safer to stick with the basics: nothing raw (even at Mac Donald's!) and prefer well-know or recommended restaurants. I guess that old saying "when in Rome, do as the Romans", meaning when you visit a place you should act like the locals, shouldn't apply to every country. In my opinion, it doesn't for India.



Picture: Mac Donald's in India, good idea, right?



Picture: Chiken Maharaja Mac, India's Big Mac

   

          

Why altruism sometimes sucks and my flight back home

I'm afraid of heights, as already stated in previous posts. Therefore, airplanes are not one of my favorite means of transport (as you fly at freaking high altitudes), although I had to confront it at least 40 times during my round the world trip. Most of the time, nothing really special happened and I was able to control myself. But one flight in particular, the last one, it all went wrong.

My Lufthansa flight back home would departure from Frankfurt at night. I checked-in as soon as possible, choosing an aisle seat, right in the middle, far from the freightining windows. My seat was more spacious than the average and nobody was by my side. What a stylish comeback.

Prior to departure, a couple started walking around the plane looking for two empty seats. The guy had a problem in his knee and needed more space. The girl was just annoying. They asked several Germans if they could switch seats, but they all replied with their usual kindness: "no". Feeling bad for the "handicaped" man, I agreed to change seats.

I was then placed right beside a bold German guy, who looked more anxious than a prostitute waiting for the results of an HIV test. As he was afraid of heights as well (but in a level much more critical than mine), we started a conversation. It was his first flight after 7 years and, as soon as we took off, he made so many signs of the cross that I'm pretty sure that man was blessed.

After some hours chatting with him, when annoyance was my general sentiment, I put on headphones, as a "leave me alone" sign. Unfortunately, Lufthansa's in-flight entertainment lacked decent movies, so pretending was my only option. He ignored my blockage and asked "Leandro! Do you want some bread!?" screaming in dispair, wanting my attention. I gave him an acid reply "no, I'm watching a movie". He apparently felt asleep. Freedom!

A couple of minutes later, he began to convultionate, harlem shake style. Unbelievable, that man really wanted to screw me. After several body contractions, he suddenly stopped, looking like a dead man. I rushed to call for help. A flight assistant brought an oxygen mask and I had to, once again, give away my seat. We were 6 hours away from São Paulo and there was no place left for me.

Only one hour later, Lufthansa gave the victim a business class seat, he was alive, but needed more space to relax. My adrenalin level was so high and I was so enraged with the entire situation that sleeping was impossible. Asking for an emergency landing in Recife started to sound like a plausible idea, my patience was wearing thin.

The last 3 hours of my flight were more tormenting than waiting for a girlfriend's confirmation that she's on her period once again, several days after a night of unprotected love. When we finally landed, my popularity was at its high, thanks to the amount of time I've spent making friends (to alleviate my pain) and my important role on the salvation of the bold German guy. Apart from this short moment of gratitude, helping the couple ended up being a bad experience.

Altruism sometimes sucks.

Love you long time: avoiding the undesirable in Thailand

Let's not lie to each other. Several people fly every year to Thailand only with the objective of exploring the erogenous areas of one of the most beautiful women in Asia. I don't blame them. However, they should bare in mind that Thailand is also famous for its several transsexuals (or ladyboys, as they are called by foreigners), who are not always very honest to you when it comes to their sex. So there's always the risk of asking for a passion fruit and receiving a banana instead. For a comprehensive and in-depth analysis of the aforementioned issue in Thailand I recommend the movie "Hangover Part II".

Transsexuals are so common in Thailand that you can see them everywhere: restaurants, shops, beauty salons, factories and even hospitals (one of my friends was diagnosed with dengue by a Dr. Ladyboy). Several popular Thai models are ladyboys and you can easily read who was the winner of the last beauty contest on regular newspapers.

As an experienced traveller, I believe it is also my duty to inform people about potential mistakes they can avoid when visiting other countries. I saw one foreigner being severely mocked at a hostel by his friend, because he kissed a ladyboy the night before, thinking she was a hot girl. If your plan is to try something exotic in Thailand, yet feminine, you can make sure you found what you were looking for (or increase the certainty level) by following the tips below, which I came up after an extensive research on the matter:

i) Look for Adam's apple: usually only men have that pronounced "ball" in their throat. So, if you see a Thai woman with that, "she" is very likely a "he"! Unfortunately, men can reduce Adam's apple with surgery.

ii) Analyse the face: men usually have bigger heads and women a more gentle face (subjective, I know, but use common sense). This becomes specially trickier in Thailand, where men also have a "gentle" face.

iii) Voice: Men usually have lower-pitched voices than women. Does she sound like Barry White?

iv) Look at the size of the feet: males more often have longer feet and it doesn't shrink during gender transition.

v) Oh no, It's time to fell it!: if you're still not sure of your partner's sex and honesty, its time to get your hands dirty. Gently ask to put your hands down there and check it out. If hes a post-op (I mean, if he concluded a full gender transition), I'm so sorry my friend, we tried everything we could. At least, in that case, you will probably never know the truth.

Extra: Thailand is also very famous for its massage, but if I were you I would ignore the girls that shout "helloooo massaaageeee"  or "love you long timeeee" in the streets of Bangkok, unless you want to be massaged by 11 fingers, instead of the usual 10.

If you are indeed looking for ladyboys in Thailand, then just ignore everything I just said. I once warned a foreigner in Ko Pha Ngan (one of Thailand's legendary party islands) that he was dancing with a ladyboy and not a woman. He gave me a straight answer: "thanks man, I know". Fair enough.


                                  
                               

Just quit it: why travelling around the world makes sense?

1. Live many lifes in one: A great part of your preferences were influenced by where you were borned and raised. A Brazilian will most likely like football, beer and be a catholic. Because those are national preferences, just look at the statistics. On the opposite side, someone from Saudi Arabia will most likely be a muslim and will opt not to put a single drop of alcohol is his mouth. Visiting other countries makes you imagine how different your life could have been if your mom and dad were and had you at other countries. If you think and experience that way, you become much more tolerant to other cultures.

2. Acquire new tastes: Don't be surprised if you find yourself listening to Arab songs, eating Indian food and watching Iranian movies after having travelled for a while. When you visit other countries you are exposed, whether you like it or not, to new things. A taxi driver will listen to regional music on the radio, you will turn on the TV and see a local movie or program, and you will sometimes don't have other option but to taste the country's cuisine. You may discover your new favorite thing.

3. Form your own opinion about several subjects: I'm tired of hearing that China will be the next superpower, French are unpolite, Brazil is too dangerous to visit, Russia is the coldest place on earth, Italian pizza is the best, Swedish girls are gorgeous and Islamic countries are not for tourists. Is this all true? Go and find out for yourself.

4. See the big picture, make friends everywhere: You are not alone in the world, there are approximately other 7 billion people out there, living under the most different conditions. Connect and learn with them. Sometimes, there are no right or wrong, but just different points of view. Open your mind.

5. Do things you can only do out of home: See the Taj Mahal in India and the Great Wall of China, admire the Mona Lisa at the Louvre, ride an elefant and feed a tiger in Thailand, bungy jump in New Zealand, eat at a local family house in Myanmar, shoot with an AK-47 and walk through the war tunnels of Vietnam, float on a tube down a river and stop to party at one of the many bars at Vang Vieng, Laos and do many other interesting things you can only experience by travelling! Life is now, so live.

6. Earn frequent flyer miles: what? that's positive too, right?

                                          Picture: Just quit it!