Values on the road

Posted On 03/06/2014

People around me always complain about spending too much every time they travel. Well, may be yes for me during vacation, but I didn't have this problem during my year-long trip.

Back at home, I'm not living a luxurious life. I bought my clothes from cheap outlets, but from time to time I would splurge a little bit on dining out, buying nice cup of coffee, and taking a cab home after a long day work.

But on the road, the cup of coffee worths a night in a nice hostel. I sew up my broken trousers and shoes not just to save money but also the hassle of shopping. Instead of taking cab, I woke up at the break of dawn to take the local chicken bus. Dining out is cheaper than home but still I chose to cook. When meat is a luxury in mountains, I cope well as a temporary vegetarian. After a few months on the road, I've almost forgotten what Sushi tastes like.

How to define "expensive"?

Back at home, I work long hours and life is stressful. Splurging a little bit on clothes, coffee, Sushi, and taking cab makes me feel better. Although I'm never fan of coffee, nor could I tell the difference between expensive and cheap sushi. Taking a cab home only means spending an extral hour on Facebook before getting my never enough sleep. Basically I'm just spent money on something I don't really need.

On the road, I keep enjoying beautiful scenery, nice people, interesting new stuff. My mood is relaxed and happy most of the time. Getting random cheap eats or squeezing on a chicken bus didn't sounds as harsh. Unlike vacation, extra clothing and souvenir means an extra kilo on my shoulders for the coming year, or more. So shopping is automatically avoided. Further, saving another ten bucks could extend my happy life on the road for another day. Therefore, my line for "expensive" is drawn much lower whilst on the road.