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,

TGIF: London

I love it when plans finally see the light of day. There is a sense of achievement, of satisfaction, as if the months of fantasising and meticulous planning were worth it all. There were many nights where I spent lying awake thinking about going to London with Adam* and on Friday, we finally went.

It had been some time since I had last visited London and to behave as a tourist. My family and I normally go up there with a set purpose and get caught up with the busy flow of London life. Additionally, when we used to live in London, there was no 'need' to visit the sites as we were surrounded by them all the time. It would seem unnecessary to spend a vast amount of money on tours and tickets when I saw the famous landmarks on a daily basis. Unfortunately, this meant that I never acted as a tourist - by which I mean just getting an underground day pass and going wherever my heart desired.

My love of art and culture is what identifies me as a person. I was fortunate enough to visit the Saatchi Gallery at the time when the Rolling Stones' exhibition was being held. It had only recently been opened (we visited London on Friday the 8th and it opened its doors on Tuesday the 5th) and I believe that the iEC (who put on the exhibition) did a fantastic job at capturing the feel of who the Rolling Stones really were.  For those who are interested, the exhibition is shown up until early September, so I'd think that it would be a great place to visit in the summer holidays. The nine show rooms were filled with the band's original instruments, exclusive video footages, and even personal diary entries. What interested me the most was definitely the flamboyancy of the costumes that each band member wore. It made me realise that when creating a business (which, essentially, is what a band is), everything to do with that business must be congruant with the band's image. The Stones were outrageous and appealed to those who wanted to rebel and I could sense the rebellion through their lyrics, their clothes, and their general attitudes towards authority. 

After walking along the Thames in search of food, Adam, his father and I finally found a cute little vegan restaurant in the middle of Covent Garden called Le Pain Quotidien. Although it was extremely busy, the waiter managed to sit the three of us down in a corner. My first impression of the place was that it looked very 'Instagram Worthy'. I declined to bring this up in conversation with the other two, as, no doubt, they may have judged me, but the overall feel of the café was that it was very modern and simplistic. The tables were wooden and the simple table decoration included the salt and pepper in two lovely glass jars. The menu itself was overall very health orientated. From a quick glance, I could see that their food was all dairy and gluten free, something that has become fairly fashionable of late. Personally, I think it's just marketing and people jumping on a bandwagon, but who am I to speak? Whenever I get McDonalds' vouchers I can't resist the carbs and the grease and don't even question whether it's doing my body any good. It's cheap food and keeps me going. Anyway, I digress.
Above, I attach a photo of what I had to eat. I don't think the photo does it justice - my Avocado and Toast was topped with super seeds, citrus cumin salt, lemon juice and olive oil. It was delicious. Since the bread gave its name to the restaurant, I thought the bread would be a must-try and it did not fail me. It was quite heavy, understandably so for a dish on the 'main meal' section. If I were lucky enough to go again, I would probably try one of their soups of the day as I saw that it was a popular choice amongst the other customers. Adam's father also had a drink which was a mixture of milk and cinnamon which was absolutely gorgeous, but I can't find its name on the menu. Does anyone know what it's called? 

Our next adventure was to explore Regent Street. It was around late afternoon so the crowds were dwindeling down by this point, so we were able to visit most of the shops that we wanted to. When people say that everything is bigger and better in London, they're not wrong. When we visited Topshop, there were about 5 different floors and one could easily get lost (if one didn't have someone like Adam to follow, who is 6"3 and whose head towers over everyone and everything). Each floor contained a different attraction. These ranged from a barber's shop, a beauty salon, and even a cupcake store! I felt that everything was overpriced but I loved browsing through it all. I could have spent hours just exploring the shop, but I was keen to get going since Adam said he had a 'surprise' for me... 
If you know me IRL, you'll know my obsession with cuddlies. I'm 18 years old yet I am as excitable as a 5 year old when it comes to stuffed animals. Adam knows this and lead me by the hand, rushing me slightly until we were outside one of the biggest toy shops that I have ever been to: Hamley's. I felt like a little child again when I walked through the doors to be faced with sooooo many toys! I rushed around hugging giant teddy bears, screaming with joy and trying to pop all the bubbles that were constantly being blown in my direction (it's more likely that I was running towards the bubbles rather than them coming towards me, but that's a minor point). 

Our shopping spree lasted the majority of the afternoon, and as our little luncheon of healthy stuff was a good five hours ago, we all decided to go to the Yo! Sushi as it was conveniently situated at Waterloo Station, where we were due to catch the train back to Bournemouth. Again, this restaurant was another first time for me. I have only recently started to like sushi (surprisingly, since I'm Asian and ought to have 'embraced' my culture before now), but now that I am living healthier (slightly contradicting what I said earlier about McDonalds), I love the fresh and clean taste that the sushi leaves on my palette. At Yo! Sushi, the food arrives on a conveyor belt and one can simply pick out what one fancies. There is also the option to order food, where one has to press a little button which lights up a post at your table to beckon the waiter/ess over. I loved the novelty of it all and would certainly go back again.

Unfortunately, our day was drawing to an end and the journey back on the train gave my feet time to recover after the long day of walking everywhere. As I lay my head on Adam's shoulder, we started to plan the next trip we were going to go on together. I can guarantee that this summer will be filled with a lot more adventures! in futurum expectat.

* 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

TEDxTeen

For as long as I can remember, every night before going to bed, I will watch a Ted Talk. It's my way of relaxing and winding down for the night. I normally favour this to reading, especially when my eyes are tired after a full day at sixthform.

I am very thankful to my NCS group for letting me come with them on the trip to London. Early Saturday morning, we met in the BCHA center at 4am (it had been a long time since I've seen such time), hopped in the minibus, and set the O2 Arena as our destination. We arrived just in time for the first talk at 10am, which in all fairness was in good time as we stopped for a McBreakfast along the way.

As we scurried onto the balcony, I observed my surroundings. My heart was racing as I saw the TED sign on stage - it was all like a dream come true. I took my seat next to Kassety*, and sat mesmerised for the next 1h30. The talks, hosted by a very enthusiastic presenter, ranged from Mukunda's 'How Imagination Set Me Free' to Rob Greenfield's 'How To End the Food Waste Fiasco'. During the hour break, whilst my friends mingled with the speakers in the Purple lounge, I went to a seperate room where I learnt all about Adobe Voice. After being pleasantly surprised by a brown bag filled with all types of snacks, I met two young boys who were just as interested in Ted Talks as I was. We sat and spoke for a while, and it was a feeling of relief to find people who share common interests with you. In a way, I feel that that is what Ted Talks is all about: the sharing of common interests and the spreading of new ideas.

There were two other 'sessions' of talks which lasted 1h30 each, and the whole day ended with Rudimental playing live for us. I found that a really great experience and it ended the day on a high note. I regret not auditioning to become a TEDxTeen speaker, but hopefully I'll be given the opportunity to in a few years' time.

Before heading back to Bournemouth, the NCS team grabbed a quick go-to meal. I opted for Five Guys since there isn't one where I live, and spent a whooping five pounds on a milkshake. If you think Shakeways were expensive, then think again. All my friends thought I was crazy, but they quickly changed their minds once they tasted it. I asked the guy behind the counter what he'd recommend, as, he worked there, and I would assume they would try everything on offer, and so he recommended the Vanilla and Oreo Milkshake. I posted a picture above, which gives it no credit to the fluffiness of the cream, nor the freshness of the vanilla, nor the crunchy Oreo bits found at the bottom. I could not recommend a drink more, even if you'll be poor after buying it!





* 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