How To Travel on a Students' Budget

Greece

Countless are the times that my friends and followers have messaged asking me how and why I travel so much. I take it as a compliment and truth be told it’s one that I enjoy receiving. I am constantly challenging myself on a daily basis to try new things and seek out new experiences; travelling just happens t fall under this category. Truth be told, I don’t exactly hide the fact that I travel extensively. Just like the average millennial, I am always posting my whereabouts online. However, I don’t do this to show off or to flex on the haters. Instead, I do it to inspire others to travel the globe and discover what this beautiful world has to offer.

Travelling is often made out to be a complex palace involving a ton of expenses, logistics and time to plan the perfect holiday. However, it doesn’t have to be any of the above. In first year, in the midst of my final exams, my boyfriend and I broke up. My friend and I decided to plan a holiday, and a week later, we were on a flight to Tenerife. The travel cost us 20€ return each, our AirBnB came to 30€ for both nights and food was cheap when we avoided the tourist traps. All in all, the three-day trip cost me around 80€ which I think is relatively cheap, especially considering that some people can spend 80€ on three nights out clubbing. This brings me to my first tip.

Barcelona

#1 Tip: Budget mindfully

In other words, think about compromises. Maybe one night you’ll have one pint instead of two. Put that money aside into your savings towards your holiday. I personally use this online banking app called Monzo. I too of showing me where my spending goes each month, it also automatically rounds up my pennies to the nearest pound and puts that money aside into my savings that I’ll use on my next holiday.

#2 Sign Up to Marketing Emails

I know that there is massive controversy about how much Google really knows about us. I, personally, adore my customised adverts as it always shows me what I want to see, but this is a story for another time. The reason why I always get the best deals in terms of prices is because I sign up to marketing emails. Ryanair is great for them as they often have very cheap flights from £5. The only catch is that they’re often from Stansted (an awkward airport if there ever was one) and at inconvenient times. I remember having to catch at 8AM flight to Berlin with one of my friends and having to sleep on the floor just so that we could make it on time. 

#3 Don’t expect luxury

Something to bear in mind when travelling in budget ; your life isn’t always going to be luxury. Sometimes you’ll have to go out of your comfort zone and so-called “rough it”, and that should be fine. We’re going, we’re penniless, and we have a passion for studying. 

Dubai

Just on a side note: although I am telling you all how to save money when travelling, never risk your safety. If you’re walking home late at night, it’s best to get a taxi back, rather than walking some unfamiliar streets. This is especially relevant for people in a foreign country and if you don’t speak the local language. If you ever feel in any kind of danger, ask for help and stay in areas where it is well lit with people around you. Always have emergency phone numbers for the local area that you can access easily, too. 

Berlin

Now that I have covered the basics, I want to discuss my personal journey, starting from October 2017. This was my trip to Berlin, where I found dirt cheap tickets from Stansted. The three-day trip cost no more than £120, including eating out and going out money. 

My next trip was for my 20th birthday to Barcelona with my boyfriend. We chose an AirBnB slightly out of the centre which saved a lot of money in terms of accommodation. We got a travel pass to travel around, which we would have done anyway even if we lived in the centre. 

Over Easter, I went to Bordeaux to check out the university that I would be attending the following year. 

Over Summer, I grabbed a lifetime opportunity. I became one of the five student ambassadors chosen to travel around the UK in order to advertise the #StudentArtPass. All my expenses were covered and I was paid on top of this. It was one of the most insightful trips of my life, and I again received a lot of messages about this. If it weren’t for me seeking out the opportunity and applying, I’d never had had this experience. Therefore, another tip would be to keep an eye out for job offers and opportunity that involve travelling. Personally, after I graduate I hope to work abroad so that I can travel and still earn money. I did this over summer when I moved to London for an internship. I consider my hometown to be Bournemouth, so loving in the capital was great fun for me.

London

Last but not least, it was actually compulsory as part of my degree to take a year out to study abroad. If you haven’t read or watched my blog on this, do follow this link here. But I’d highly recommend choosing a course whereby you take a year to live and study in a foreign country. I’ve personally loved and learnt a lot about myself during this time. I was even able to travel whilst abroad, taking trips around France and across the border to Spain. Remember, as always, to budget, find cheap deals and stay safe.

Thank you for reading and safe travels.

Yours,

Being Alone

Currently, I am sat on the top deck of a cruise liner. There are many young Spanish students my age all around me, either splashing about in the pool, or at the bar ordering cocktails. As for me, however, I am sat alone, at a five-seater table, surrounded by nothing but my Spanish exercise books. Sounds lonely, right? Incorrect. I am perfectly content, and let me tell you why.

I have always felt that there is a stigma about being seen alone, especially in a public place such as this. Onlookers may assume that I may have no friends, or something along those lines. This is a perfectly natural thought to have, as I myself have often found myself conuring up some similar extravagant theories when I see an old man sat by himself in a bar. All of my imagined stories have the common theme that this poor, lonely guy must be heartbroken and left alone. But am I right in assuming that his wife left him and that he now spends his long days drinking his problems away? Fo course not. He is perhaps having a celebratory drink because she left him. Ha. Anyway, my point is, one should avoid assuming that a person who is alone is obviously lonely.

Indeed, someone may voluntarily choose to be alone. I recall discussing with some friends of mine their activities that one might enjoy doing alone. Watching Netflix alone in one's room? Of course, this isn't anything out of the ordinary. Reading a book in a local coffee shop all day long? Yes! How mysterious and intriguing. Going to the cinema alone?... I personally disagreed with this one, as I felt cinemas were solely for awkward first dates when a couple didn't know what to say to each other, but my friend argued that when she went to the cinema alone, she thoroughly enjoyed herself as she was able to laugh as loudly as she wanted to without the fear of being judged by anyone but strangers she would never see again.

Being content in our own company appears to be the way to true happiness. I can place my hand on my heart and say that I am my own best friend. I do not feel the need for constant interaction, as I am perfectly content in my own company. It also takes a degree of confidence to go out and be seen enjoying oneself alone, such as queuing up for the cinema (a level of confidence I have not yet achieved).

So as I sit here, getting pitying looks from the passersby, I just smile. Yes, I am happy. Although I am alone, in no way am I lonely. 

My First Football Match - Derby x Wolves

I was never really that interested in football. Not that I didn't enjoy the sport, or watching 22 sweaty men run around a ball, but my family were never really into it so neither was I. However, I love to try out new things, and on Saturday, I went to the football for the first time.

My friend Steve* is an avid Derby fan. I think that he's supported the Rams since he was four, and from spending time with him I got enthralled by his enthusiasm and passion for the sport. One day, he noticed that Derby was playing an away game against Wolverhampton, and as it is relatively close to our university, we thought it a good idea to go!

After a, let's say, "heavy" night out in Leamington Spa, we pulled ourselves out of our (separate) beds and got the bus, then train, to Wolverhampton. The journey was cheap for the both of us - £4 on the bus return, and £4 for the train. What shocked me the most when we got off the train was how cold it was. In my stupidity, I thought it would be best to dress fashionably rather than sensibility, and I ended up shivering all the way to the stadium. Steve gave me his Derby scarf which did help considerably, as well as make me look a little more integrated into the crowd in which we became part of. 

We got tickets for the front bench and were therefore able to see the action up close. I feel like we both appreciated this since we're both kinda blind anyway (especially me, whose eyesight is so terrible nowadays...anyway, I digress). Before the game started, I flipped through the program Steve kindly bought for me. It was apparently the best design he'd ever seen and it now holds a position within my memory box. The game soon began, and it was off.

To begin with, I didn't really understand what was going on. Steve and the men behind us started chanting and I bobbed along to try and not seem too out of place. However, after the first goal from Derby (they ended up scoring two goals in the first half - something of a rarity for this season) I became really into it. Well, as into it as I could have been when my toes were glacials. I started recognising the songs that the crowd were singing and bobbed along in time, and cheered my favourite Derby player - Will Hughes, obviously. 

All in all, I really enjoyed myself. Derby won 3-2 against Wolves and Steve and I returned to Uni in good spirits. I would love to see another game one day, but next time I'll be sure to wear a few more layers.

* All names in this blog are fake in order to ensure the privacy of my friends and conceal their identities. However, the characters are all real people and the events actually happened

A Series of Unfortunate Events

For Everly*

Not sure why but Everly has never really come out partying with us. It's either been the excuse of Volleyball or the fact that she's overwhelmed with work. Both of which are lies, because why would one ever spend £9,000 to get active and work towards a first? Nevertheless, this Friday, Everly decided it was time to finally push the boat out and come to Everly for Steve's pre, pre-birthday celebrations.

For these pre, pre birthday celebrations, one of Steve's friends came up. By car.

This is a big thing because since coming to uni, I've had to struggle with the use of public transport and walking everywhere. Therefore, having someone who not only had a car but was willing to drive us places was a massive bonus.

Before going out to Steve's pre, pre-birthday celebrations, we decided to top up on alcohol. To do so, Steve's friend drove us to the local Tescos. When we arrived, Everly and I automatically got a cart and started food shopping. After all, why not take advantage of the fact we could finally do a big food shop without needing to carry it back?

We spent a solid hour and or so going through each and every aisle picking up whatever took our fancy. I mean, Everly went and got a sick pack of Coke cans - c'mon. After what seemed like a mere five minutes (which, by the way, was probably an hour), the three boys who were sharing the car with us came and stared in utter shock at what we were pushing in front of us.

"NO WAY ARE YOU COMING IN THE CAR WITH ALL THAT".

And with these damning words, the snakes left us to walk home with our cartload full of shopping.

But rest assured, this was only the first of our unfortunate events.

After a bit more shopping and a lot more impulse buying, we arrived at the tills. Everly went first, and beep beep beep. Sorry! No alcohol allowed since EVERLY WENT AND FORGOT HER ID! What was worse was that the cashier girl was younger than us and she had the audacity to tell us that Everly couldn't buy her alcohol, despite having adequate University ID.

This was the second unfortunate event, but there is more to come.

We obviously tried to fight the case but we soon gave up, due to pure lack of effort in fighting with a bloody minor. It was now my turn to go through with my copious amounts of food and alcohol. But alas!! Because I was seen as more than an acquaintance with Everly I wasn't allowed to buy my alcohol even though I had my ID with me.

WOE WOE WOE.

For the fourth unfortunate event in the series of unfortunate events, we had to carry about 10kg of food in our bags for more than 10 mins in the freezing cold. I was only wearing a t-shirt, which wasn't the wisest of my ideas, and one of Everly's bags broke on the way back, so we ended up on the floor sobbing surrounded by food and no alcohol.

What a way to start a Friday night out.




* All names in this blog are fake in order to ensure the privacy of my friends and conceal their identities. However, the characters are all real people and the events actually happened

Trump vs Hilary Debate

Okay so my parents and I were really pumped for the first debate and we decided to stay up until 2am to watch it live. To keep myself up, I drunk some coffee, and watched a film called 'L'auberge Espagnole' which was recommended to me by Stephen*. It's really engaging and I'd recommend it to anyone studying or interested in both French and Spanish.

Anyway, midnight approaches. I hear some embarrassed shuffling in the hallway and what do I see but my parents both getting ready for bed! Apparently they couldn't handle the late night - fair enough since they normally go to bed at 10pm and not a minute later.

So it ended up just being me staying up! After scrolling through my social media feeds a thousand and one times, the clock dragged its arms to a whooping 1:30am. I was ready to get up and go downstairs to watch the show on television but thank the Lord amen I had the bright idea of seeing if I could stream the debate on my laptop, and I could! Success!

This meant that I was able to lie on my side, on my laptop, watching the debate whilst cuddled up in bed. I saw Lester Holt from NBC Nightly News give a warm welcome to the crowd, and after a few house keeping rules, the camera only filmed the audience getting ready. By this time, it was about five minutes to two. My eyelids were awfully heavy, and I thought, 'why not take a quick five minute power nap?'. AND I FELL ASLEEP. I WAS SO STRONG FOR SO LONG BUT THEN I WAS WEAK AND GAVE INTO THE POWER OF SLEEP. I'M SO ANGRY AT MYSELF.

Anyway, I'm pretty upset and since I stayed up so late I wasn't able to wake up in time to catch it again when it was broadcast at 8am the next day. All I have to satisfy myself are some pretty dench memes circulating at the moment on Facebook. Not the best compromise, but that'll do, Donkey. That'll do.





* All names in this blog are fake in order to ensure the privacy of my friends and conceal their identities. However, the characters are all real people and the events actually happened

Edinburgh Trip

Somehow I managed to get my parents to fly me up to Edinburgh for a couple of days. God only knows how I managed to persuade them, but on Tuesday, Mother and I flew up to get absolutely #rekt in Scotland.

Obviously, that was sarcasm. We went up to visit the University, which, I can finally confirm, I put as my insurance! It was a long and arduous decision to make, but hopefully it was the right one. If anyone here is hoping to study at Edinburgh or has done in the past, please don't hesitate to send a quick message!

What first took me by surprise when getting off the aeroplane in Edinburgh was the weather. Being in Scotland, I assumed that it would have been colder, especially in contrast to 'Sunny Sunny Bournemouth', where I had flown from. The skies were blue, and the city looked gorgeous.

Along Princes Street

The Castle I didn't get to visit !!!

We were quick to dump our luggage off at our hotel. We had booked into a Travelodge on Rose Street, which was located conveniently close to Princes Street. For those who haven't heard, this is Scotland's equivalent of Oxford Street in London. In my opinion, it's also much nicer, as if you turn away from the shops, Edinburgh Castle is up on the hill towering down over you. Edinburgh feels much greener, much cleaner than the busy streets of London. On the third and final day of our visit, Mother and I went on the SightSeeing tour bus which was £15 each. It enabled us to hop on and off for the whole day, and pick it up again only 15 minutes later. The tour guides also offered us the opportunity to buy discounted tickets for different places (such as fast-passes to Edinburgh castle), but unfortunately we didn't have enough time. Maybe if I go to Edinburgh again I'll write a blog post describing my adventures then.

Great for the elder. Childhood memories were brought back to Mum and she exclaimed 'Ohh I had one of those!' every five seconds.

Scottish Parliament. Eye sore. Looks like guns are on the side of the building.

Mother and I

Please can someone tell me what this is

I can't remember, sorry. Looks cool though.

Moving on to the University - wow! Well, the day wasn't very well organised, but they had a cool app available on AppStore and GooglePlay which enabled you to schedule your day. My main lectures would be in St George Square, and it all seemed very modern and clean. After getting lost several times around the city, I came to realise that I was getting to know the city by doing so. As someone once said, "The best way to find yourself, is by losing yourself in a new city".

The Truth About Concerts

If you already hate me, let me give you another reason to: I've grown to hate concerts.

Yeah, this is fairly controversial, especially for a teenage girl who's surrounded by people constantly asking her whether she's seen the latest announcements for Reading 2016. It's a hard life having an unpopular opinion.

My very first concert was when I was 14 years old. I went to see All Time Low with my friend Louise*. As to slowly immerse myself into the 'concert life', I went on the balcony. As you can imagine, it wasn't the greatest of times. It's a great view, but the vibe doesn't really spread there, and at the end of the day you're just sat there, watching your favourite musician(s) play, knowing that you could have been watching the exact same thing on LiveStream from the comfort of your bedroom. And have saved yourself 35 quid or so.

Onto my second concert: You Me At Six. This time, I was standing, and went with a group of friends. I love the band, and I know all of their songs, singing along to each and every one of them. Seems great, doesn't it? Ahh well I didn't expect to get bloody dehydrated! Just as a bit of Liquid Confidence comes on (Josh baby, I don't need a drink up to convince myself that you're cute), I collapsed onto my friend. As she drags me semi-unconsciously out of the crowd, I'm rushed to the A&E and given something to drink. Obviously, we were unable to get back to our original places, and I got teased for the next fortnight for fainting.

This leads me nicely on to stuff I find annoying about concerts.

1. What to wear. Now, this isn't just a question of a girl's wardrobe dilemma, this is more of a question whether you want to be warm outside, and boiling inside, or freezing outside, and only covered in a light sweat inside. My standard compromise is jeans, t-shirt, and a hoodie - it keeps you warm when standing outside queuing, and when you're inside the hall you're able to take the hoodie off and wrap it around your waist. Also, don't even consider bringing a coat with you. With O2 charging £3 an item, I'd rather freeze, thanks.
2. The support acts. I feel that these are either moderately ok, or they make your ears bleed. For the latter, I do feel bad for them, as it must be awful having to perform for a crowd that don't give a flip about you and are standing there, motionless, on their phones, occasionally shouting out 'next please!'
3. The sweaty tall people. Then again, this is just a problem for a 5 foot 3 hobbit like me (please can all Ringers abstain from shouting at me, yes I know hobbits are meant to be about 3 foot six). Then again, maybe others know the pain. The good thing about being small, is that you can squeeze through people or scream, in your highest pitch and most dramatic voice, 'I'VE LOST MY FRIENDS!!!!! THERE THEY ARE!!!' and point somewhere vaguely towards the front. People will let you pass, 100% guarantee or.. yeah. On the other hand, when you're stuck behind a 6 foot giant (again, yes giants are meant to be between 7-9 foot), it kind of sucks. Especially when you can't see the band/artist because you're stuck behind them and they are right in front of you. It's 2016, can't we invent some system to make all tall people go at the back? 

Okay, rant over. Or, should I say, I can't remember what else I was miffed about because I wrote this a few weeks ago. Oh well. To be honest, I'm starting to prefer the theatre than concert halls. I'm already a tired old granny before my time. This is what adulthood, responsibilities, and coursework deadlines do to you. Don't grow up, it's a trap.