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PREFACE
IN PRAISE OF BUDGET TRAVEL AND THE INTERNET

Budget travel and the Internet is a marriage made in heaven.  The Internet can
provide the booster rockets that help propel you to all the fabulous places you have
always dreamed of going.   With this book as your Guide and the Internet at your
command, you will have access to a whole new world of travel.

There are many types and ways of traveling. From the most expensive “all inclusive,
everything-done-for-you” escorted tour, that only stops in five star hotels and leads
you by the hand to each tourist attraction: to the “lets jump in the van, stock it with
pork and beans and go camping” kind of traveling.  Somewhere in between is my
kind of traveling.  I call it “be your own travel agent/tour guide, save yourself a ton
of money, without sacrificing the quality or the fun,” budget travel.

I know there are lots of us out there, who feel the same way, because I meet them all
over the world and on the Internet. They do their own homework/travel planning,
then take off armed with information to travel the roads less traveled, as well as the
roads well traveled, with a fresh eye.

I challenge myself to find good value.  Value for money and for time spent. What is
more valuable than mingling with people, learning new cultures, experiencing the
wonder of getting lost and finding yourself? The delicious anticipation of not
knowing what is just around the corner and then the thrill of finding it to be better
than you could have ever imagined.  My goal is to really live in a new place, even if it
is only for one day. There is great satisfaction in knowing you have met challenges
and have grown by having been there.  All this would happen much less often or
maybe not at all, if you had to pay top dollar everywhere you traveled.

I know I am on the right track, when even traditional tour operators say in their
brochures, “at each stop you will have plenty of time to wander, time to get to know
the culture and the people”.  That’s nice, they are finally realizing why we travel.
Not just to say, “if it’s Tuesday it must be Rome”.

I have been formulating my travel philosophy for many years. It all began at the
tender age of 24 when I took my two month old child, to live in one of the most
bizarre and beautiful parts of the world, the Philippines.  Even the people of the
Philippines will tell you how strange it is.   I lived there for two years and traveled
throughout the main Island of Luzon, walked on an active volcano, got lost in a rain
forest, slept in a log cabin in the Bagio mountains, rode in a bonka boat (outrigger
canoe) on the South China Sea, where the rarest of seashells carried on their lives,
without even the slightest hint that they might know that we were watching.  It was
magical!

Even the time we found a person near death, covered in mud, in a rice paddy,
became a memorable experience.  Especially when I ended up in the back seat of our
ancient Lilliputian Morris Minor, with a half dressed man wielding a machete, as we sped
off to get help. Whatever happened, I decided would always be a challenge for my
mind and spirit, why else be there, why else be alive?

Outlaws would come down from their mountain hideouts, on a regular basis and
shoot-up my subdivision’s guard shack with machine guns.  Knowing I could live
through that, gave me confidence that I could live and travel almost anywhere.
Some years later, that confidence gave me the courage to move half way around the
world again, to live in Hawaii for seven wonderful years. During those two periods
and all the years in between, traveling to Canada, Europe or Asia, I realized that
travel was about really seeing a place.  Not the ability to tell someone what the inside
of the Tokyo Hilton looks like or where you can buy the best steak in town, but
about really knowing how it feels to live there.

Walking at dusk through a Japanese residential neighborhood, I stopped to admire
a great silver saucer moon rising above an ancient shrine, and heard bells ringing.
It was the soup truck’s bell  announcing its arrival.  People with empty soup bowls
came running from their houses, in anticipation. Then reverently approached the
truck as people might approach a church alter, to take communion.   Mystically in
the moonlight, steam rose from the hot soup, as massive tangles of noodles filled
their bowls. Other times, while riding on trains in Japan, little children would come
up to me wanting to touch my hair, as if I were some strange creature from another
planet, or a “Movie Star”.  I prefer the movie star scenario.  I am always happy
traveling in Japan.  I feel very fortunate to have traveled as much as I have.  All
these enriching experiences and thousands more would not have been mine, if I had
either chosen to travel "first class", or had not been able to Fly for FREE.

I am very much a product of living in and visiting many parts of the world.  These
experiences have taught me priceless lessons and filled my life with great beauty. I
still strive to go further, stay longer and see more. The key to all this traveling is
doing it for as little as possible.  The less you spend on one trip, the more trips can
be taken. When you fly for FREE, then you definitely can go farther.  In fact, the
farther you go, the more value you get for your money and your bonus miles. For
example, a round-trip ticket to Australia/New Zealand, which is worth anywhere
from $1200 to $1700, only costs 10,000 frequent flyer miles more than a round-trip
ticket to England, which may be worth anywhere from $400 to $600, depending on
the time of year you are flying. Another thing that is important to remember is that
since you use bonus miles for FREE airline tickets they represent money.  If you are
not gaining bonus miles and using them, then you are throwing your money away.

But, even with the FREE Airline tickets, travel is not cheap, so I work hard to find
more ways to make it affordable, especially when I travel for three or four weeks,
at a time.  This is where the Internet can be a helpful tool and passport to
productive “budget travel” planning.  There are hundreds of Travel Web sites, some
feature fellow travelers stories, allowing you to share and therefore gain from their
experiences. From Web sites offering lowest fare finders, to ones that will track your
choice of destinations and e-mail you, you have many resources for finding deals, if
you still insist on paying for Airline tickets. Various Airlines Web sites will give you
up-to-date information on cheap flights and last minute “specials” that might be too
good to pass up. One person says she loves to receive e-mail about the best deals, so
she can take a few minutes, out of her day, each week to dream about jetting off to
some romantic spot.

Another way to really take advantage of what the World Wide Web has to offer is to
visit the Web site of each country, before you go. It could enhance your travel
tremendously.  You can take advantage of our extensive research by going to our
Links Page with over 100 fabulous Web sites to assist you.

You are only a click away from fabulous Travel Web sites offering
invaluable information about your favorite destinations.  Some even have local
news, weather, events calendars, family activities, exciting attractions, links to other
related sites and travel tips.  I enjoyed the FREE Tram in Melbourne Australia so
much that, I rode it two days in a row. Learning about it on their Web site gave me
an opportunity I might not otherwise have had.  Some are so complete, you can visit
so much of the country on-line, that you don’t even have to go.  Now, that’s really
cheap travel!  You can check out attractions, learn of any “freebies” or help  for
travelers. For instance, France will send you coupons to use all over their country.  I
have enjoyed FREE glasses of wine in various vineyards, a wonderful FREE, very
chic shopping bag, from a major department store in Paris, which I used for years,
until it fell apart and many other little gifts. While you are following the FREE
coupon trail, you never know what delightful little village might be just around the
bend in the road and that’s the best gift!

Many countries have elaborate tourism organizations, that will mail you tons of
great FREE travel planning materials. Some will even send you an interactive CD
ROM.  Suggested itineraries help you plan how long you will stay in an area.  You
can print maps, mini guide books, events calendars, and much more helpful
information, right from the Web site.  Some Web sites are set up to book events,
tours and accommodations on-line. Many of the top newspapers and “search
engines” offer online “Travel Sections” and “Travel Channels”, with experts to
answer your travel questions and helpful columns to enlighten. (examples:
www.usatoday.com, www.nytimes.com and www.washingtonpost.com) (infoseek)

Using the strategies from this FLY FREE, STAY CHEAP! Guide, you will want to
know all the latest Frequent Flyer Promotions.  Each Airline has its own Web site to
bring to your attention those promotions.  We have chosen the best sites to get you
started.  Don’t underestimate the “Power” of the Internet.
--And the best is yet to come, as the Web keeps evolving!
 

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