JOIN USThe year 2014 was definitely for the frugal traveller. Here is Gustasp & Jeroo Irani’s list of destinations to discover on a budget.
Decades ago, on a backpacking trip to Sikkim, we were looked upon as an oddity. At the time, the concept of an Indian tourist hitting the road without an itinerary was almost unheard of. Such wayfarers were few and far between, and we were clubbed with foreign tourists on a shoe-string budget who were in search of instant nirvana in India.
Today, as the Indian traveller matures, he or she has become more adventurous. The tribe of frugal travellers has grown, and in many ways, 2014 has been the year of the budget traveller. Young and young-at-heart Marco Polos are out to discover new lands and experiences not just in India, but across the globe.
What these smart travellers are looking for is value for money and not to short-change a destination by missing out on what it has to offer. The advantage of travelling without the shackles of an itinerary is that there are no guides herding you around and telling you when to move on, or dragging you off to see sights that don’t interest you.
The internet and social media have become important tools for the budget traveller. Information is available at the click of a mouse or on one’s smartphone. Popular destinations like New York and Bath (UK), for instance, have downloadable apps that help visitors track deals and offers... like the timing of a free philharmonic orchestra in Central Park.
Intercity bus companies often post bargains and early-bird offers. Booking accommodation on the internet has become simpler and has opened up a variety of options such as camping sites, hostels, dormitories and capsule hotels (in the case of Japan). Booking engines like Expedia and Bookinghotels offer attractive deals and even free nights in certain cases. The site Trip Advisor, which features travellers’ reviews, helps you to make an informed choice.
Another rule of thumb for booking airline tickets: if your dates are flexible, opt to fly in the middle of the week as air fares on these days are often lower than those on weekends. Hardcore budget travellers also subscribe to many airlines’ digital newsletters.
The idea is to snap up slash-priced offers and flash sales. They, of course, are willing to compromise for in the normal course of events, one would plan a holiday and then look at travel options, whereas in this case, the travel dates dictate when one takes a vacation.
Budget travellers are not being cheap or compromising on a fun vacation; they are smart adventurers. Their vacations are well-thought-out escapades spiked with the thrill of uncertainty. While there is an element of winging it and embracing the unknown, there is an equal amount of planning that goes into getting the best out of a holiday without burning holes in shallow pockets.
Below is a selection of popular destinations from across the globe that can be explored on a budget.
New York, New York! We pulled the rope of the heavy-duty rath of Lord Jagannath, walking amid a sea of saffron as devotees sang Hare Rama Hare Krishna with heartfelt abandon. We were not in Puri, Orissa, but in New York!
Yes, life happens in the Big Apple and it’s all for free! That spectacle was what New York is all about, and it hands these out with casual élan and it’s part of the city’s inimitable buzz. Indeed New York, the ultimate gateway to the United States, is all about theatre — not just the magic of a Broadway musical, but also life that plays out in theatrical fashion.
We have strolled around the city for hours, absorbing the eye-engorging sights: Broadway — with its twinkling lights and giant billboards spilling into lively Times Square with its marquees and giant advertising screens that blink messages 24/7. Here you will meet the ‘naked cowboy’ clad in glittering briefs, who poses with pretty young things for pictures; or the grim man who carries a placard proclaiming that the end of the world is near... Listen to street musicians strum away on guitars and gaze at acrobats performing stunts... life is a stage in this city.
Tips: Buy a New York Pass or a New York City pass. Both offer savings on individual price tickets for museums and attractions. Many museums in New York are free, while some are free on certain days of the week.
Avail of free walking tours where urban historians share rare insights. Explore Central Park that often has free events, Battery Park and the High Line, a former freight line converted into a breezy park that has free walking tours and star-gazing nights on Tuesdays.
Don’t leave New York without catching a Broadway show. Check out the TKTS booths for discounts. The cheapest option is to buy Standing Room Only and Rush discount tickets. Try New York’s street food — stalls hawk yummy bagels and hot dogs while food trucks sell more substantial fare.
As for accommodation, New York can be expensive. Pssst! If you have relatives in New Jersey, stay with them and commute to New York!
Bath on a budget
One of the most photogenic cities in the UK is also one of its most haunted. Bath is a gem of a city with its honey-coloured limestone buildings where ghost hunting comes for free. A holly tree in the Royal Victoria Park is reportedly the most spooky spot at night for it was once a duelling ground where cuckolded husbands and lovers duelled for the hand of their lady love.
By day, Bath has the fresh scrubbed look of the innocent. In the 18th and 19th centuries, this city had become a social and fashionable hub where the likes of author Jane Austen vacationed and many a dalliance blossomed into romance. And that era left behind a marvellous architectural legacy such as the Royal Crescent, a set of 30 Georgian buildings in a half-moon shape; the Circus is another group of 18th-century buildings wrapped around a green space.
Tips: Bath is the place for romantic riverside strolls, ambling down Pulteney Weir, picnics in Royal Victoria Park; gazing at the Roman Baths and the Bath Abbey, and stopping by vintage markets. A nominally priced Bath Visitor Card gives access to great deals while the Official Bath App has many cost-saving vouchers too.
There are free walking tours while access to the Victoria Art Gallery and Holburne Museum is free. Feel like splurging a little? Buy a discounted ticket and check out the Roman Baths and the Fashion Museum. Start your day with breakfast at a quaint tea shop; savour fish & chips for lunch and burritos & tacos for dinner.
In terms of accommodation, Bath has some lovely B&Bs that are value for money, while youth hostels and the university campus are great budget options too.
Lucerne by the Lake
We felt like we had walked into a picture postcard. Sitting pretty at the foot of the Swiss Alps and on a mirror-smooth lake, the lovely city of Lucerne in Central Switzerland has become a Swiss cliché. The medieval town is like a radiant painting of majestic churches, wood bridges and a charming Old Town.
Check out its 14th-century bridge, the oldest wooden bridge in Europe and the Old Town, often the venue of blossoming fruits, flowers and a vegetable market. Explore the inviting little alleys that sport murals on the walls of old-world homes.
Enveloped by so much natural beauty, we meditated in the 17th-century baroque Jesuit Church, stopped by the iconic Lion Monument, and hiked up some of the surrounding mountain trails.
Tips: The Swiss Pass gives visitors a great deal of mobility in terms of train travel and other modes of public transport, including buses, boats and trams in the cities. Lucerne is a short train ride from Zürich.
This is a compact city and the best way to get under its skin is to walk. In terms of accommodation, there are deals aplenty in August, when the Swiss like to go on vacation. There are camping sites where you can sleep in a camper or a caravan, or even a dormitory. For larger groups and families, booking an apartment makes sense as there is an option for self-catering.
Budget travellers in Lucerne can get affordable pub grub, indulge in a filling fondue in a cafe, or buy cheap eats at Coop or Migros at the railway station.
Ladakh, a canvas of many colours The share-an-SUV cruised through the barren landscape, past hilltop monasteries and little settlements before negotiating the snow-covered Chang La Pass (which, at 5,362 metres, is the third-highest motorable road in the world). Further down the road, in the middle of the canvas of monochrome mountains, there was a dab of startling blue — Pangong Lake.
Ladakh is a land of bland statements that are profound. The high-altitude desert was full of surprises no matter where we went: be it while monastery-hopping around Leh, the district capital, or the six-hour drive to lush Nubra Valley, or the shorter one past the confluence of the Indus and Zanskar rivers to Alchi. Wherever we travelled, we passed bikers, reminding us that Ladakh is one of the favourite destinations of adventurers — especially those on motorbikes — from around the world.
Tips: Motorcycles are available on hire in Leh for getting around Ladakh. It is also possible to hire motorcycles in Manali for one-way and round trips to Leh. Most tour operators located in and around the marketplace in Leh display signboards advertising availability of seats on share-an-SUV to popular destinations: Pangong Lake, Nubra Valley, Alchi. There is an option to join groups for river rafting and trekking.
Leh has a wide selection of lodges and budget hotels, most of them clean and functional. Those located away from the centre of the town are cheaper and have a better view of the mountains around.
There are budget lodges, hotels, tented camps and homestays at Pangong Lake, Nubra Valley, Alchi. Eat like the locals do: momos (dumplings) and thukpa (noodle soup). Pizzas and western-style comfort food are also available at eateries in Leh bazaar.
Kuala Lumpur on the cheap
Kuala Lumpur (KL) does not sweep tourists off their feet like a swashbuckling lover — it woos them slowly but surely so that they have a long-standing affair with the city. With its steel and glass towers, cavernous malls, parks and colonial gems, Malaysia’s federal capital is a happy mix of its colonial past and modern present. Yet the city manages to cling to its Islamic roots, underscored by its lovely mosques with swirling domes and pencil-thin minarets.
However, KL’s ultimate icon is the 88-storey Petronas Towers, soaring 452 metres into the sky, which proclaim in no uncertain terms that this South-East Asian country is up there with the Asian tigers.
Tips: To sightsee, walk or use public transport wherever possible. Start at the city’s heart, Merdeka Square, a vast open space with heritage buildings, where the country declared its independence from Britain in 1957.
Click a selfie in front of the awesome Petronas Towers. Stop by the Galeri Petronas, a lively art gallery with free entry. Just outside the towers are the Suria KLCC Mall and the KLCC Park, ideal for window shopping and gazing at the multi-ethnic ebb and flow of the city.
KL’s houses of worship are fascinating. So, enter the historic Masjid Jamek, the Thean Hou Buddhist Temple with stunning views from its upper levels; the Sri Mahamariamman, the oldest Hindu temple in Malaysia.
For retail therapy and slurp-worthy Chinese food, plunge into Chinatown at Jalan Petaling. Later, catch your breath at a park that’s 10 minutes away — Taman Tasik Perdana. Bring on the night at Bukit Bintang where bars, discos and karaoke lounges throb into the wee hours. At the north end of this strip is Jalan Alor, studded with hawker stalls that serve inexpensive mouth-watering fare.
If retail therapy had a capital, it would be KL, with its mega malls and mega sales where excellent bargains can be snapped up.
In terms of accommodation, there are guest houses in Bukit Bintang and Chinatown with rather cramped rooms. However, Kuala Lumpur has as many as 1,000 hosts as part of the CouchSurfing network, which seeks to internationally connect travellers and hosts (who house travellers for free.)