GlocalTravel

Go Glocal! See the world!

Travel makes us give a sh#!

I can’t think of a better way to make us care about the world, see how similar we all are, understand how our lives influence one another’s, and gain a better understanding of where our home fits into the world, than traveling.

You think about travel wrong

It’s not as dangerous as you think: I’ve been to 50 some countries and the worst thing that has happened to me was that my socks were stolen…in Hawaii!

It’s cheaper than you think: If you’ve got money and you’re into history go to Western Europe, by all means. Otherwise go somewhere where you can stretch a dollar and interact with a present-day culture that is vastly different than your own.

There are many parts of the world where you can live on less than $30/day. When I was in Cambodia researching my book Where Am I Wearing? I paid $11/night for an apartment with kitchen, laundry service, internet, and TV. Often the most expensive part is getting to these places, but you can offset those expenses with some smart travel planning and some travel hacking.

Become a Travel Hacker

Travel hacking, the art of wracking up frequent flyer miles, is something I should have paid attention to a long time ago. I cringe a bit when I think about all of the miles that have slipped through my hands. There are many ways to earn miles.

Credit cards provide the biggest boost often from 25,000-75,000 miles in one shot. That said, being without debt allows you to travel more than a free plane ticket. So be responsible. If you can’t handle credit cards, stay away.

Flying & Sleeping & Shopping: The most traditional way to earn miles is to spend money.

Promotions – This week I’ve earned 1,300 miles for just registering at certain websites and filling out a survey.

I’m a member of the Travel Hacking Cartel founded by Chris Guillebeau. I get regular updates on ways to pickup easy frequent flyer miles. In the past month I’ve earned several thousand frequent flyer miles and a free night in a hotel. I pay $15/month to receive updates about how to earn reward points. I highly recommend joining the Cartel, if only for a month or two to learn from the knowledgebase there and to learn the hacking fundamentals.

(full disclosure: if you join, I get 500 frequent flyer miles)

And volunteering can be a great way to interact with the world while traveling on the cheap.

Learn from fellow travelers

Checkout the BootsnAll Travel Forum or LonelyPlanet’s Thorn Tree for travel tips.

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