What kind of traveler are you? Do you prefer to stay more than five hours in the station to save 10\u20ac? Or do you prefer to get a cab and go straight to your city instead of waiting, waitiiinnnggggg for a train, that will take you to a bus, that will drop you at the subway, where you\u2019re going to run with your heavy bags like a maniac to finally arrive at your shared, noisy and freezing hostel room?!<\/p>\n
Well, mostly of the time, it\u2019s not you, but your wallet that chooses. Going on luxury doesn\u2019t mean that you are going to have a less authentic culture experience. Same way that going on budget doesn\u2019t mean that you\u2019re going to sleep in a stinky room and eat nasty food. Lets think a little bit\u2026 what\u2019s the point of staying in a fancy expensive hotel during your trip when you spend almost all of your waking hours outside exploring? Walking around the lobby of your trendy boutique hotel will not help you to experience the city. For me a clean room with a toilet and a window is good enough.<\/p>\n
One of the most foolish ways of traveling is on cruise ships \u2013 Yep, I did it too. You spend most of your time walking in circles around the ship, watching the<\/p>\n
same \u2018tourists\u2019, stop in some seaports for a few hours of shopping for tacky souvenirs, and get fat on the \u201ceat like there\u2019s no tomorrow\u201d buffet. This is not travel\u2026this is an expensive TV. The other thing that I\u2019ve learned is that expensive restaurants rarely have the best food. In fact, most of the time you are not paying for the quality of the ingredients or the excellent service, you are paying for the lamps, the Swarovski divan at the hall\u2026 cheap local restaurants frequently specialize in doing one dish extremely well, they do it all day, it is fresh, and locals run to them because the food is good. Besides that, while eating you\u2019re more likely to sit next to a local and get some tips of what to do and what to see, not another tourist looking for a burger and french-fries in Bangkok. Of course we all love to spoil ourselves now and again. Although, spoiling ourselves all the time can destroy the purpose of the visit: experiencing, learn and having fun in that destination.<\/p>\n
I usually travel three weeks when visiting a country. First two on a budget, sleeping in simple hostels and eating at markets where I can really meet the locals, observe their culture and get the adventure. In the last days, I usually go to the best hotel in town, get some coconuts and books and relax in the swimming pool like a vegetable. This is how it works for me\u2026 I always try to get both ways. At the end it is all about yourself. What are YOU comfortable with? The only and most important thing is that you go home knowing that you had the best experience ever and that there\u2019s no money in the world that can pay for that.<\/p>\n