Love and Se* and Backpacking London

Let’s face it, we are all animals at our core, and as Osho once said “the worst thing you can say to someone is don’t be an animal”. Men want it, women obviously hunger for it – so what’s the problem? Societal norms, our parents, inner critics/superego’s and all that other garbage.

Which is why backpacking is so awesome – going to some foreign city where no one knows you and you don’t know anyone, you can be and do whatever you like!! London counts!

Your away from your parents, your co-workers, even some of your judgmental friends.
Now its time to let your inner instincts go nuts. Time to let the animal out of its cage.

5 – TOKYO & SEOUL

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How to have a cheap holiday or backpacking experience in Bali

In this post I will cover:

- How to get to Bali for cheap

- Cheap and free accomodation in Bali

- Eating Cheaply in Bali and cheap tourist memorabilia

- Seeing Bali Cheaply

- How to stay long term in Bali or Indonesia

- More ways to save money whilst travelling : )

Bali, as most Australians know, is one huge, cheap party.

Follow my tips below and have an awesome, memorable, and importantly, affordable experience : )

Getting there cheaply

There are several options you may want to consider for getting to Bali. Each has their pros and cons, depending on where you are planning on getting there from.

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How to have a Cheap Holiday or Backpacking Experience in Athens

The first thing you should know about Athens is that everyone has an opinion about everything – that is, everyone’s a philosopher in Athens (or thinks they are )

In this post I will cover:
- How to get to Athens for cheap
- Cheap and free accomodation in Athens
- Eating Cheaply in Athens and cheap tourist memorabilia
- Seeing Athens Cheaply or FREE
- How to stay long term in Greece
- More ways to save money whilst travelling

Athens, as most people know, is the cradle of Western Civilisation. Unfortunately, this is not still the case today. Ever since the Christian Church ordered the destruction of Plato’s Academy (the World’s first University) and tried and executed those who preached freedom of thought, Greece has experienced a severe decline.

Even so, Greece still has a magical feeling about it . I’ve been travelling for a year now, and there’s a certain almost magical feeling I get when I’m in Greece. By that I don’t just mean the beautiful islands, I mean Athens as well. There’s something unique in the atmosphere of sitting in an outdoor restaurant on a warm day, enjoying an ouzo with a souvlaki, whilst listening to the laughter and street music of people walking by . There’s a strong feeling of connection there I have not got in any other city.

Follow my tips below and have an awesome, memorable, and importantly, affordable experience

Getting there cheaply

There are several options you may want to consider for getting to Athens. Each has their pros and cons, depending on what your circumstances are – ie are you travelling alone, where are you coming from, are you only interested in Athens or other parts of Greece? You should compare all options below and see which has the best bottom line for you.

Train
This can be cheap, depending on where you are coming from. If you are coming from Sofia in Bulgaria (a country definitely worth visiting) the train ticket for Athens is 50 euros when you first ask, because it includes a sleeper. However, if you are really looking for a cheap experience and are willing to rough it abit like a true backpacker, book a ticket to the Greek city of Thessaloniki instead – this will cost you only 15 euros and is about half way to Athens. Once at Thessaloniki train station, ask for the 15 euro ticket to Athens. You may be waiting a few hours or you may not have to wait at all, either way, it only costs another 15 euros. This means a total of 30 euros instead of 50.

If you are a student, or under 21, be sure to ask for a discount, especially EU students.

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Part 2 How to have a Cheap Holiday or Backpacking Experience in Sofia

Yummy lunch for under 1 Euro? hell yess!!

Having spent quiet some time living with locals in Sofia, I know a thing or too about bargains – in this post I will cover:

- Cheap travel inside Bulgaria: pay what the locals do (how flying can be cheaper than a bus
- Free Unlimited Booze (no joke, no exageration)
- Cheap food, shop where the locals do
- Cheap clothes, laptops
- Free wifi
- Staying and teaching in Bulgaria
- Getting to Greece for only 15 Euros
- The unique way to get truly cheap flights (requires a bit of effort, but is worth it)
- Top 10 unique tips for a cheap holiday or backpacking experience

Cheap Travel Inside Bulgaria
Most real backpackers fly by the seat of their pants – well here’s one time when it’s worth not doing that.

There are two main destinations in Bulgaria – Sofia and the extremely popular seaside city of Varna on the black sea coast.If you try catching a bus to Varna, expect to pay 14 Euros and be stuck in an uncomfortable bus for 5 hours. A train is somewhat cheaper, but again, slow.

If you fly however, and you book two weeks in advance with wizzair (which you find through http://www.whichvudget.com) you can enjoy a short 1 hour flight for just 10 euros! If you leave it till last minute expect to pay through the nose. Only catch is the carbon emissions and impact on our earth are much worse than a train/bus.

Also, when using public transport, usually you have to pay 50 euro cents for each trip. However if you go to a ticket booth and ask for a ‘talon’ a pack of ten, you only pay 3.25 euros for ten. If you stay long term you can get an electronic pass which is even cheaper.

Free Unlimited Booze (no joke, no exageration)
I’m not joking. Get a membership at any casino in Sofia (passport required at sign up) and you have access to free unlimited booze. Why? because they want you to get drunk and spend your money of course! Doesn’t mean you have to tho. Mingle with the crowd and don’t be noticed!!

Cheap food, shop where the locals do
If you really want to save on costs – cook in the hostel kitchen. If you want cheap vegetables, you can’t beat the ‘lady’s market’ (Corner Stephan Stambolov and Tsar Samuel), where if you shop around, you can buy 1 kilo of green peppers for .20 euro cents, a kilo of apples for .35 euro cents and so on.

Only the fresh produce is cheap there tho. If you want cheap eggs, bread, milk, juice and everything else, there is a cheap supermarket called Billa (part of underground crossing/metro station where Tsar Osvoboditel Blvd meets Vasil Levski Blvd – look for the huge rotating yellow shopping bag) you need to look for the brand called ‘Clever’. Bring your own bags tho otherwise you pay a fee.

Cheap clothes, laptops
Get some good, reliable warm or otherwise clothes at the Lady’s markets – at least 40% cheaper than the stores. For the laptops – you may want one to take advantage of free wifi – you can pick up small portable notebooks for about 150 euros second hand in a shop (on Tsar Simeon street, near Stephan Stombolov Street – near ladies market)

Free wifi
The main national parks all have free wifi take your laptop or phone there and psonge legally.

Staying and teaching in Bulgaria- The unique way to get truly cheap flights (requires a bit of effort, but is worth it)
If you enjoy a country so much that you want to stay a bit longer, get yourself an Online TEFL course Teaching English as a Foreign Language Certificate, and make it happen. I have

Getting to Greece for only 15 Euros
Catch the train from Sofia to Thessalonikia and book two weeks in advance and that’s the price you’ll pay!
If you want to go to Athens they will quote you 50 leuros however – you don’t have to pay that. Get to Thessaloniki for 15 euros and then if you book your ticket from there to go on to Athens its only 15 euros a saving of 20 euros!

The unique way to get truly cheap flights (requires a bit of effort, but is worth it)
Visit my other posting of how I reduced my 25 hour flight ticket drastically.

Top 10 unique tips for a cheap holiday or backpacking experience
More of my tips on doing what you love best.

Lewis is an Aussie who has been backpacking and living overseas continuously since January 2009. He covers cheap backpacking tips for every city he goes to. You can find more of unique tips at http://backpackingonthecheap.blogspot.com

How to have a cheap Holiday or Backpacking Experience in New York

New York really is a wild and insane city!!! HUGE, in your face, full of fun and attitude!. They don’t call it the Big Apple for nothing. In this post I will cover:
– How to get to New York for cheap
– Cheap and free accomodation in New York
– Eating Cheaply in New York
– Seeing New York Cheaply
– How to stay long term in the US
– More ways to save money whilst travelling

New York is the most intense city I’ve been to (in the US at least). So many things you can experience, simply from just walking along the street. This city is an absolutely phenomenal experience.

Follow my tips below and have an awesome, memorable, and importantly, affordable experience

Getting there cheaply

There are several options you may want to consider for getting to New York. Each has their pros and cons, depending on what your circumstances are – ie are you travelling alone, where are you coming from, are you only interested in New York or other parts of the US? You should compare all options below and see which has the best bottom line for you.

Flying
The first and most obvious option is through flying.

There are 3 airports for New York. The only one that the budget airlines fly to internationally however is New York JFK.

Unfortunately not many budget airlines fly directly New York JFK, but you can catch an indirect flight by using routes like London – Aruba and then Aruba to New York.

Using a decent website that has all the budget airlines,just write where you are, and where you want to go to, and it will tell you all the possible combinations of budget airlines to take you there.

PROS:
Fast, can be cheap, easy.

CONS:
The cost to our earth in terms of carbon emissions.

By Car

If you are already in the US, you may want to take the scenic tour (which can also be cheaper if there is more than one of you) and stop by real country towns and meet the people, and get to see the vastly different cultures that exist in the US outside of the big cities.

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How to have a cheap Holiday or Backpacking Experience in New York

New York really is a wild and insane city!!! HUGE, in your face, full of fun and attitude!. They don’t call it the Big Apple for nothing. In this post I will cover:
– How to get to New York for cheap
– Cheap and free accomodation in New York
– Eating Cheaply in New York
– Seeing New York Cheaply
– How to stay long term in the US
– More ways to save money whilst travelling

New York is the most intense city I’ve been to (in the US at least). So many things you can experience, simply from just walking along the street. This city is an absolutely phenomenal experience.

Follow my tips below and have an awesome, memorable, and importantly, affordable experience

Getting there cheaply

There are several options you may want to consider for getting to New York. Each has their pros and cons, depending on what your circumstances are – ie are you travelling alone, where are you coming from, are you only interested in New York or other parts of the US? You should compare all options below and see which has the best bottom line for you.

Flying
The first and most obvious option is through flying.

There are 3 airports for New York. The only one that the budget airlines fly to internationally however is New York JFK.

Unfortunately not many budget airlines fly directly New York JFK, but you can catch an indirect flight by using routes like London – Aruba and then Aruba to New York.

Using a decent website that has all the budget airlines,just write where you are, and where you want to go to, and it will tell you all the possible combinations of budget airlines to take you there.

PROS:
Fast, can be cheap, easy.

CONS:
The cost to our earth in terms of carbon emissions.

By Car

If you are already in the US, you may want to take the scenic tour (which can also be cheaper if there is more than one of you) and stop by real country towns and meet the people, and get to see the vastly different cultures that exist in the US outside of the big cities.

PROS: I’ve found a company with 15% discount…
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How to have a Cheap Holiday or Backpacking Experience in Rome

Travelling is so exciting! and in the case of Rome, as Asterix used to say, “these Romans are crazy”. Well they sure know how to party that’s for sure. Either way that won’t stop you from having a fun and cheap holiday in Rome – the Grandest city in the Universe.

In this post I will cover:
– How to get to Rome for cheap
– Cheap and free accomodation in Rome
– Eating Cheaply in Rome
– Seeing Rome Cheaply
– How to stay long term in Italy
– More ways to save money whilst travelling

Rome is the most Grand city in at least Europe if not the world. This amazing city is an absolutely phenomenal experience, whether it be for the history or the awesome nightlife. As an Aussie I’m jealous that we don’t have anything like this back home.

Anyhow, follow the tips below and have an awesome, memorable, and importantly, affordable experience

Getting there cheaply

There are several options you may want to consider for getting to Rome. Each has their pros and cons, depending on what your circumstances are – ie are you travelling alone, where are you coming from, are you only interested in Rome or other parts of Italy? You should compare all options below and see which has the best bottom line for you.

Flying
The first and most obvious option is through flying.

There are two airports for Rome. The Rome Fiumicino (26 km from city) and the Rome Ciampino (15 km from city).

Ciampino is the one that most budget airlines fly into, and is also a lot cheaper to get into town from as compared to the Fiumicino.

The cheapest way to get into the city from Ciampino is using the public bus service for 1 euro. Be aware tho that there are other more comfortable options but this is the cheapest. You’ll find the stop just next to the taxi rank outside the terminal building.

PROS:
With a decent website that has all the budget airlines,these days you can often get a cheap flight easily.

CONS:
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How to have a Cheap Holiday or Backpacking Experience in Paris

The French are quiet possibly the rudest people in Europe. Or maybe it’s just the Parisians. Either way that won’t stop you from having a fun and cheap holiday in Paris.

In this post I will cover:

- How to get to Paris for cheap

- Cheap and free accomodation in Paris

- Eating Cheaply in Paris – Seeing Paris Cheaply

- How to stay long term in France

- More ways to save money whilst travelling

 Paris is possibly the most beautiful city in Europe. Unfortunately the people know it and often treat English speaking foreigners as lesser beings. Thankfully, there are plenty of nice Parisians as well (tho usually they have grown up in the South of France!)

Anyhow, follow the tips below and have an awesome, memorable, and importantly, affordable experience

Getting there cheaply

There are several options you may want to consider for getting to Paris. Each has their pros and cons, depending on what your circumstances are – ie are you travelling alone, where are you coming from, are you only interested in Paris or other parts of France? You should compare all options below and see which has the best bottom line for you.

Flying

The first and most obvious option is through flying.

PROS: With a decent website that has all the budget airlines,these days you can often get a cheap flight easily.

CONS: The cost to our earth.

 IMPORTANT: Paris has several airports including:

>>Orly (9 miles) >>Charles De Guille (12 miles from Paris)

>>Beauvais – May seem the cheapest at first due to the three budget airline carriers, however, be aware that it is 40 miles out of Paris and you will have additional costs associated with getting into Paris itself.

By Train

PROS: Can be very cheap with discounts for groups, the young, and in some cases kids under 16 travel free. Also very earth friendly.

CONS: Takes longer than a flight.

Cheap and Free Accomodation

Prices keep going up and down depending on demand, so it is difficult/ pointless for me to list them. You will more likely benefit if you look at Hostelbookers.com and compare the prices for yourself. The good thing about this booking site is that unlike its main competitor hostelworld, it doesn’t charge a US$2 booking fee on top of the 10% deposit. A nice saving in itself.

Otherwise, the free option for staying in France

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How to have a Cheap Holiday or Backpacking experience in London

London’s prices are as mad as their cabbies! In this post I will cover how to have a cheap holiday or backpacking experience without going bonkers in the process.

 In this post I will cover:

- How to get to London for cheap

 - Cheap and ree accomodation in London

- Eating Cheaply in London

- Seeing London Cheap and Free

 - How to stay long term in London

- More ways to save money whilst travelling

After travelling for 9 months through Europe and the Middle East, I can tell you that London is much more than I expected! I thought it would just be another Australia with bad weather and grumpy white people. To my delight I was wrong – it did have bad weather and grumpy white people, but it was also an incredibly multicultural experience.

 Getting there cheaply

Before we get into the cheap flights, you should first be decided on which of the 4 airports you want to fly to because a flight may be cheap, but the additional cost of getting into London itself from the airport can be quiet hefty and you should include it in the total flight cost. There are a few flight travel websites you can use, but they mostly seem to feature the main expensive airlines. This site on the other hand only focuses on the discount airlines, you tell it where you want to go and it tells you which discount airlines go there: http://www.whichbudget.com

Cheap and Free Accomodation

Prices keep going up and down depending on demand, so it is difficult/ pointless for me to list them. You will more likely benefit if you book through Hostelbookers.com and compare the prices for yourself. The good thing about this booking site is that unlike its main competitor hostelworld, it doesn’t charge a US$2 booking fee on top of the 10% deposit. A nice saving in itself.

The other option of course is to join http://couchsurfing.org – a worldwide network for making connections between travellers and the communites they visit. People offering their couches for free! A worldwide phenomenon. At last check their were over 1000 people in the UK willing to spare a couch  give it a go, but remember to read what people have already said about someone whose couch you are planning on staying on.  

Cheap Food

 I would usually recommend trying the local food in every country you go to, but in the case of the UK, besides Fish ‘n’ Chips, what local food??? If you are looking for a seriously cheap backpacking experience, most serious backpackers know already to cook in the hostel kitchen. Why not use a cheap supermarket in the UK like the locals do (I recommend Sainsburys) . Save the money for your drinking habbit, you’ll need it. Or, if you’ve done the AO thing and your over your problem and still want to try some local food, why not check out Time Out’s reviews of budget food in London – starting from 8.55 pounds.

 

Seeing London Cheap and Free

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How to have a cheap backpacking or holiday in Berlin

Cheap backpacking / cheap holiday: the bar inside one of the hostels I was in, in Berlin

I this post I will cover:
- How to get to Berlin for cheap
- Cheap and free accomodation
- Eating cheaply
- Free tour of Berlin
- Making some quick cash legally
- How to stay longterm
- More ways to save money whilst travelling

After travelling for 9 months through Europe and the Middle East, I can tell you that Berlin is easily my favourite city. Not just because of the strong, unashamed, non conformist mentality and uniqueness of the people, but also because you can experience it all at bargain prices!

Getting there cheaply

There are a few flight travel websites you can use, but they mostly seem to feature the main expensive airlines.
This site on the other hand only focuses on the discount airlines, you tell it where you want to go and it tells
you which airlines go there: http://www.whichbudget.com

Cheap and free accomodation

Prices keep going up and down depending on demand, so it is difficult/pointless for me to list them. You will more likely benefit from visiting hostelbookers.com and comparing for yourself. The good thing about this booking site is that unlike its main competitor hostelworld.com, it doesn’t charge a US$2 booking fee on top of the 10% deposit. A nice saving in itself.

I can say however that I have stayed at Generator hostel and I enjoyed it. Only problem is it is a bit out of town, but there is a nice bar in the hostel
which generally means it is not a problem.

The other option of course is to join http://couchsurfing.org Berlin group and get free accomodation!

Cheap food
If you are looking for a seriously cheap backpacking experience, most
serious backpackers know already to cook in the hostel kitchen. Berlin
is easily the discount capital of Western Europe with incredibly cheap
supermarkets like Aldi, Lidl, and my favourite – Penny Market. I
bought a loaf of bread, 2 bananas, and a 1.5 litre bottle of water,
for guess how much? Try 1.4 euros! With prices like that, why would
you eat out?

Speaking of eating out, there are plenty of stands in East Berlin with
good sized pizzas for 2 euros.

Or if you want a true cultural experience, why not try eating at a Vokus?
These are located inside artist squats and offer meals for 1-2 euros. The locations are here stressfaktor.squat.net/vokue.php?day=all.

Free tour of Berlin
There is a company called New Europe tours which offer free 3 hour
tours of Berlin everyday twice a day and also in all the major cities
of Europe. How can they be free? you ask, what is the catch?

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How to have a cheap holiday and backpacking experience in Sofia Bulgaria

Cheap holiday and backpacking experience in Sofia of Bulgaria

CHEAP HOLIDAYING:Random photo
from my trip: Melons, anyone?(Bulgaria)

In this post I will cover:
- the cheapest and best value for money accomodation in Sofia
- the cheapest and tastiest food in Sofia
- the cheapest taxis/transport means in Sofia

The first thing you should know about Sofia is that its beauty is not immediately apparent. When you first get here, it is likely that amongst the first things you will notice are the ugly footpaths and pilling rubbish on the street.

Don’t worry, it gets much better.

Starting with your accomodation.

I’ve been to 3 of the hostels here, including Art Hostel, Vitosha Hostel, and Hostel Mostel.

Without a doubt Hostel Mostel was the best value and most comfortable.

Let me break down into further detail:

Art Hostel:
Very groovy, artistic hub, with awesome breakfast and excellent location. Unfortunately their prices are a bit steep.

Vitosha Hostel:
Don’t expect any atmosphere here or to meet people. This place is more of a guest house. Good to stay here if you just want a bed for 1 night on your way to another city.

Hostel Mostel:
My favourite for the following reasons – free internet with 3 terminals (includes wifi etc), heated dorms (except for the attic, dont stay up there!!)very clean toilets and bathrooms, friendly knowledgable staff who know how to show you around, free buffet breakfast – AND – free dinner – spaghetti with tomato sauce, chilli falvouring and a beer. Not to mention the hostel itself used to be an art gallery so looks pretty groovy on inside as well! It also had a heap of other stuff but you should look at their website for that info.

Cheap and tasty food:
For cheap and tasty food you can’t beat the local Chinese place (after you’ve tried Bulgarian food obviously), which is down a street called Stambolijski blvd (refer to free map from Hostel Mostel). You can get vegetarian noodle stir fry for like 4 leva (2 euros – bargain!) which is enough to feed two very hungry people.

There are also very filling pizza slice stands – which you can pick up for about 1-1.7 leva, don’t pay more than that!

Also if you plan on cooking, you should consider buying your vegetables from the “lady’s market” on the corner of Tsar Samuel and Tsar Simeon roads. Cheaper than your supermarket.

For your general needs like cheap booze, etc etc, visit the biggest super market in the center – which is in the basement of the grand Mall of Sofia (corner of Stambolijski and Opalchenska roads) – much cheaper than the corner stores and the other supermarkets in the centre.

Taxis/ transport

Although bad for the earth due to emissions, taxis are sometimes nearly the same price as catching a bus/train in Sofia. If you know the right ones to catch!

Buses/trains/trams all cost 1 leva per ride, every ride, regardless of where you are going. Problem is, if you have a big backpack on a tram, you have to buy it a ticket as well! so you end up paying 2 leva.

Don’t try and ride without a ticket, the inspectors are around all the time!! If you get busted its 10 leva fine which is nothing, but its the embarrasment you may want to avoid!!

You can get a ticket froma stand near the bus stop (ticket = billet) or from the driver on the bus. Be sure you have exact amoutn if you want to do this. Trams have machines at front of tram.

There are only two taxi companies you should consider using whilst in Sofia – the rest have rigged meters!!

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Cheap holiday and backpacking experience in Copenhagen of Denmark

The Danes are very bike happy

First thing you should know about this city money wise is that it’s one of the most expensive cities in Europe!! Certainly the most expensive I’ve ever been to in my 9 months of travelling!

 

If you follow the tips below you can do it on the cheap!

I will cover:

- Getting there for cheap

- Staying there for cheap (couchsurfing, HW)

- Eating for cheap (nettle, 28 crowns for burger, bring your own!)

- Free transport

- Cheaper public transport

- Cheap phone calls

Getting there on the cheap:

Have you seen the prices for flying direct to Copenhagen these days? they are insane!! In my case I needed to get from Athens to Copenhagen, and the price I was offered SAS airlines was the ridiculous price of 280 Euros!! No thanks.

So I split the journey into two parts. I used Aegean Air to fly from Athens to Berlin (pretty much next door to Copenhagen) for which I only paid 80 Euros, and then I used Eurolines for 38 Euros. A total of 118 Euros, saving me over 100 Euros (http://www.eurolines.com/).

The other option you have to get their quickly and cheaply is hitchhiking, through well known hitchhiking spots listed on this site http://www.hitchbase.com/index.php?LANG=eng . Obviously be very careful if you are going to use this option.

The other option you may want to try if you are dead set on getting the absolute cheapest deal possible for cheap flights can be found here.

Staying in Copenhagen for cheap:

The cheapest way to stay in Copenhagen, if you have not already considered it is through http://couchsurfing.org . The Danes are the friendliest people I’ve ever met (them and the Dutch), so feel free to stay a night or two.

Otherwise, the two cheapest hostels can be found on http://hostelbookers.com – A note on this – hostelworld.com is the most popular booking site and because of this, it decides to take advantage of its client base by charging them an extra US$2 booking fee on top of the 10% booking fee which they keep. If you want to avoid it, use hostelz.com or hostelbookers.com.

A note on one of the hostels: avoid the one located near the airport! It may be cheap but its dirty!!!

Eating for cheap in Copenhagen

Here is a tip for eating cheaply in Copenhagen: Don’t eat!!

Just kidding, it is possible but difficult. Here are my tips:

The cheapest eat out place you can find will often be the Arabian burger shops. Satisfy your hunger pangs with a mouthwatering burger for about 26 crowns.

The other option is to cater for yourself, and the cheapest way to do that is through shopping from the two discount supermarkets – Nettle, and Aldi. Nettle is cheap by DK standards, but not incredibly cheap. Buy yourself some bacon and eggs and have a tasty fry up back in the hostel kitchen.

The other option is to bu food from the country you were in before hand as I did, because I guarantee that unless it is another Scandinavian country, it’ll be cheaper!!

Free transport

Back in its happy camping everybody loves each other days, (ie pre- the Conservative government) the Danes decided they wanted to set up a system that could get people around their beautiful city without polluting our earth, and for free.

So they created citybike

The way it works is this: there are stands all over the city with these bikes, just

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