I've seen people at intersections with signs reading "travelling across Canada - ran out of money, please help me get home". Although I feel sorry for the guy, I also think that people should be able to fund their own travels.

Maybe I'm just a snob or something, but I don't see why you should have to fund someone else's trips. It's their responsibility to ensure that they have enough money to get home, or to have a credit card they can charge a bus ticket to in an emergency.

I want to do a working holiday or something, using basically enough money to get there and the bare minimum of funds required by the country I plan to visit. It might be a stupid idea... but I have faith!

"Never for me the lowered banner, never the last endeavour." -- Sir Ernest Shackleton

personally, i kind of feel like, if you aren't competant enough to keep going or return on your own, you shouldn't go. running out of money while travelling should mean that you rran out of spending money and now only have enough left for the ride/flight/walk home. if you leave with a small enough amount of cash that you could run out, you should be able and prepared to work. its the difference between being a hobo and a bum.

On that whole, "begging tourist" thing.....
I had alot of money stolen from me in Central America. I made the best out of it by hitchiking home to the U.S. I didn't complain, and I did what I had to do. I managed to get myself all the way from the Southern part of Belize to the Mexico/Yucatan pennisula.....where I was confronted with a "departure fee" Belize wanted which was the equivalent of 10 USD. That is a very small amount of money, of which I didn't have.

I saw a fellow American and decided to ask him if he could lend/give me the 10 dollars so I could cross. The man had the nerve to turn to me and hand me a "Jesus will Save Me tract" and said...."He will help you"....... I was soooo hurt and embarrassed. I didn't ask anyone else for help.

Instead, I found the "local" crossing path which was a swampy, mosquito sucking jungle path to a river where I SWAM across the border. All because some guy wouldn't help out a fellow traveler........and give me the 10 bucks!

Think twice when someone abroad asks for some money. You don't know their cicumstances or what they have or are going through. They could be having a difficult time and just need the 2 bucks to get on the bus to get somewhere. Ask first before turning them away, but always give something! What comes around, goes around people! t

Murdog

I think part of the problem is that we (at least in the US) get jaded to people asking for money, because we've all run into so many scammers. I was a lot more likely to give to people before moving to LA, where I felt that everyone and their dog just needed $1.87 to get on the bus, or whatever. After awhile you have a hard time believing anyone. Isn't that sad?

I was very humbled, though, by how Hondurans deal with that situation. I was sitting outside waiting for a bus in the capital one day when a man came up and gave me an elaborate story about needing to get someone to a clinic and needing bus fare, etc. etc. At this point I had been there long enough to be tired of people equating gringos with cash, so I said no. Long story short, after he moved on from me, EVERY SINGLE HONDURAN at the bus station gave him something, even people who obviously had almost nothing to give. I just about cried realizing how our generosity seems to atrophy as we become more capable of using it.

--Jessie

"Whenever I have to choose between two evils, I always like to choose the one I haven't tried before." --Mae West, I believe

Jessie's Honduras story shames and upsets me. I'm a naturally generous person and felt that I had to be hard with myself when travelling as I know there are so many beggars and scam artists waiting to clip a mug like me.

Hell, I wish there was some easy way to tell the difference between genuine need and scams. The girl on the train would lose out with me though. I agree with enginebad. Why should we scrimp and save for a world trip and feel obliged to pay out for someone who did NOT go through the same process or prepare for what is obviously an expensive indulgence?

Cheers from Oz,
Yamba

It is a nightmare trying to tell the genuine from the scam artists. My method for deciding if someone is genuine or not is to ask them to help me out in return. So now, when I arrive in a new place and get accosted by someone asking for money, I say "Ok, i'll give you some money, but in exchange you've got to spend ten minutes or so showing me round the area" The way I see it, if someone genuinly needs the money then spending ten minutes showing somebody the area isn't going to bother them, but if they're just a scam artist they'll say no and move off onto the next person. Also at least this way i'm getting something in return for my money.

Mark,
Flew Air India a couple of years ago and while the aircraft was a little old and dirty, the food was very excellent (Indian food, funnily enough), the cabin staff was oh so friendly and the people on the flight were interesting, to say the least.
Not like what you may be used to but definitely recommended. (no blame if they crash, ok


--
Hit my current RTW travelblog.

I just flew Air India and loved em! It was cheap, they were polite, I met interesting people (one of which asked me what caste I'm from even though I'm whiter than a vampire), AND I got upgraded to 1st class even though I looked like a tired backpacker.

I'd give em a thumbs up.

PC

Check out my new RTW blog:
http://blogs.bootsnall.com/claudia

When I got expelled from my 3rd and final school (), my Dad gave me £500 and kicked me out the house.

I got a boat to France and worked at a vineyard for a season, saving enough money to sign up for a trip to a Kibutz. After 3 months on the Kibutz, where I spent hardly any cash, I got a bus to Tel Aviv and got some work in a bar. This gave me enough money to get a bus to Cairo, once there, I found a hotel for 2p a night (lol was a flee pit), I stayed in Eygpt for 2 weeks, visiting Luxor and the cheaper parts of Cairo.

Whilst at the Valley of the Kings, I met a bunch of lads who were travelling down to Austrailia, in their converted bus. We got on really well, and after a few hours, they offered to give me a lift in return for sharing costs and driving.

Whilst we were travelling down, I managed to arrange some work in Australia on a farm for 6 months, right out in the middle of Western Austrailia.

Any way to cut a very long story short, 2.5 years later I arrived back home, after only having £500 to start with.

Dad askked where the hell I had been, he was shocked, amazed and proud of what I had done, so was I

This is my biggest achievment whilst travelling, most of which was unplanned; funny how some carefully planned trips have gone horribly wrong and ended up with me busking at a train station for a fare.

Things to be aware of while skint and in need:

- dirty old men
- emloyers that just want your labour for as long as it takes for you to relise you are not going to get paid.
- offers that are too good to be true.
- "special price for you my friend" (that shoud set alarm bells ringing)
- hotels that cost 2p a night (lol)


Oh yeah, and the woman on the train - NO QUARTER from me
i live in a place where there are far too many manipulative women around, but after reading some of the other posts, I realise I must try not to be so hard hearted. The guy who had to swim accross the boarder - although it would of been nice for someone to give you the cash to get across, wasn't it kind of a cool adventure to have to get back on your own? (now you can look back, of course )

Br1mSt0nE

"Trust no one, love few and always paddle your own canoe..."

hi im planning to go around the world for a year in april. im hoping to have about £3000 saved but am willing to work as much as possible, do any of u think this is possible.

check out my website geocities.com/moonwindstarsky/travel

anything is possible

Your budget is very low, but it can be done.

With such an ultra-low budget, stick to cheapo countries like India, Thailand, and Indonesia. Avoid expensive places like Japan, North America and Europe unless you intend to camp, hitchhike and stay at friends' residences for free.

Travel slowly and go overland. If you travel quickly, transportation costs add up, and you usually don't find the cheapest places to stay or eat until after your first night in a new town. Use local transportation. Find out what the cheapest modes of transport are. If you must take a cab, share a cab ride with others. Walking is the cheapest form of transportation - walk a lot. In some places, renting a bike is cheaper than any other transportation method (such as in Siem Reap, Cambodia).

Research what sights/museums/activities have cheap or free admission. Ask the advice of fellow budget travelers - learn from them what things are rip-offs, what things are great bargains. Go to less touristed areas - touristy places are often overpriced.

Keep a notebook in which to record all expenses so you know where your money goes and can develop a pattern. Negotiation is a useful skill to have: haggle, haggle, haggle.

Try getting part-time work while on the road; for example, teaching English.

Stay in dorms, cheap guesthouses. Double- or triple-up with people to share a room if it means you can save a buck.

Buy your food at grocery stores and/or from street vendors. Stick to a vegetarian diet - it's cheapest (and healthiest). If you decide to go to a real sit-down restaurant, go at lunchtime instead of suppertime. And, sorry to say, avoid beer - it's often highly taxes and pricey!

work, transport, volunteer, apprentice, study, entertain, write, arts, music, self-sufficient, breatharianism, teaching, selling, buying, food, tourism, programs, pilgrimage, camping, wilderness, fasting... etc....

anything is possible

[This message was edited by fay on 09 March 2004 at 14:46.]