Why Spring Break Sucks

1. Poor Excuse for a Break

First off, while I open a week off from my studies with open arms annually, I hate how it’s become hardly a break at all for me. Between getting taxes done, trying to figure out summer plans, and working on projects due immediately after Spring Break, it’s really not too relaxing. I’ve always found it nearly impossible to take a week off due to my academic and extracurricular workload, but I evidently this could just be me.

2. Too Damn Expensive

Spring Break is more often than not, not a good deal. Airlines know spring break, and if you follow the fares, the difference between February ‘deals’ and March ‘deals’ is stark. If you DIY spring break with “cheap tickets“ and find lodging independently, get ready to fork over too much money. Same goes for the spring break packages from places like StudentCity.com or STSTravel.com. Maybe my cost expectations are too high being use to Asian travel prices, but $500 seems like it should go a longer way than 5 nights in a hotel.

3. Duration, People! Duration.

As a finance student, I have the privilege of studying bonds. While studying bonds, duration is important. Think of traveling like you think of bonds (the similarities are striking!… right?). Traveling for 5 days is just not that much, people. I understand that we have busy lives, but why not save some dough for a real, longer trip that you can enjoy for more than just 5 days!

For as much money as you spend on a flight, or agony that you spend driving 2,875 miles, take some time to enjoy your destination for more than 5 days. (sidenote: I would support the idea of skipping the subsequent week of class)

4. Spring Break Weather?

The weather around spring break is questionable for most destinations. Florida and Texas have hit or miss weather, and spending but loads of money to lay on a rainy cloudy beach is counterintuitive. I wouldn’t shell out for anything farther north than Cancun to be honest.

5. General Health and Being a Real Person

Spring break is meant  to be relaxing and to recover physically and emotionally. After attending a standard American spring break, I would require at least 10 days of R&R immediately following my SB. Alcohol fueled everything, parties every night, drama, repeat doesnt sound too relaxing to be honest. Fun, possibly, if my liver doesnt die and I avoid diseases. But it comes down to being a real person, and i kind of want to always be a real person, even while traveling. You Should Too. So go read a real travel guide and find a real trip with cheap airline tickets and cheap hostel lodging (see: go abroad).

My experience, Flying Bangkok - Minnesota:

Leaving Bangkok: United personnel acted as security agents during checking asking ridiculous questions that I did little more than prolong the already painfully slow process at 4:00 am.

Arriving in Tokyo: After a full security check in Bangkok and leaving the plane in Tokyo, travelers continuing on must go through another security check. Not sure where during the flight I found a bomb, but whatever. An hour later of standing in snaking lines, I cleared. Who’da guessed?

Boarding in Tokyo: Before boarding my flight Tokyo-Seattle, you guessed it. Another security check, mandated by the US Government due to heightened terror threats. So not only might have I found a bomb on the Bangkok-Tokyo plane, but also in the waiting area for my flight to the US. Interesting.

After the flight was already delayed 30 minutes, before boarding the plan a 18 second pat down and bag search, serious questioning ensued:

United agent: “Do you have a knife?”

Me: um, no (trying to think of somewhere i could’ve got a knife)

United agent: Okay that’s all.

While I realize my experience was nothing excessive, time consuming, or annoying as many travelers face in the US, it is a ridiculous process that really questions the greater underlying purpose and need for everything.

A recent Wall Street Journal article Undressing the Terror Threat addresses the issue best. In short, he shows the irrationality of our overreaction to the threat of terrorism (especially in travel) when compared to the homicide and traffic fatalities rates, amongst others.

Is our constant beefing up of travel and airport security necessary? Is it justified? Are we wasting funds? Should we be concerned about other more likely threats?

Travelers - ask yourself:

Okay world globetrotters and tax paying travelers. What do you think?

• Do we need full body scans?
• Are you okay with a more cumbersome airport security process?
• Do you feel safe traveling now or is more security needed?
• Would $100 billion more for tighter security be needed or justified?

Do you Need travel insurance?

Good question. As a skeptic by nature, i’m not certain. However, the overwhelming consensus online is that travel insurance is necessary. Highly regarded Matador Travel Network property the Traveler’s Notebook says:

Travel insurance is a necessity. You need travel insurance. If you get sick or injured, if your things are stolen, if you need to cancel your trip or if you need an evacuation, it’s essential to have an insurance company backing you up.

Travel insurance is cheap and easy to get. There’s no excuse not to buy a policy. If you’re traveling and don’t have insurance, you should get coverage right now – it takes less than 15 minutes.

So if you want to take their word for it, yes, Traveler’s insurance is important.

Fortunately, I haven’t been in a position to purchase my own traveler’s insurance. My university assigned me mandatory travel insurance for my current studies abroad, and I’m fortunate enough to have a comprehensive health insurance plan at home that would cover everything anyways. Out of curiosity and relevance to the readers though, here are the best authoritative and reliable resources to scour before buying travel insurance. So atleast I’ll attempt to point you in the right direction.

Resources on How to Choose Travel Insurance

• The Guardian
• CNN
• Times Online
• REI
• TravelFish
• TheBackpacker.net

Sponsored Mention - CheapTravelInsurance.com

With that said, CheapTravelInsurance.com is an insurance seller that caters to the Backpacker’s needs. This provider offers packages tailored for backpackers, gap years, etc. The site has a pretty comprehensive set of offerings that give you a variety of options that will probably suit your needs - as long as you know what they are.

As far as its legitimacy goes, its been in operation since 2001 and more can be read about its faffiliations and underwriters on its about page. Overall, with its variety of policy options comparable to industry leaders, a quick online search for quotes using their engine is may make CheapTravelInsurance.com a good first stop in your hunt for cheap, affordable travel insurance.

Where I have been

So far I’ve had an amazing experience. I’ve tried to balance my traveling with assimilation into Bangkok since I love the Thai people, city, and culture. If that wasn’t a case, leaving every weekend would happen because everything is so cheap, available, and easy.

• Hong Kong
• Myanmar (Burma)
• Gulf of Thailand Islands - Samui, Tao, etc
• Southern Thailand Phuket area, Phi Phi
• Malaysia

Where I will be going

• Nakhon Si Thammarrat, Thailand (off the tourist trail, finally/hopefully)
• Cambodia
• India

A pretty good list now that I look at it which I’m pretty satisfied with, except for the exclusion of Laos which I will have to travel to on a later trip due to the amazing stories my friends have relayed back to me.

India

I just recently booked my flight to India. I’m going to be making an 18 day journey from Dehli to Mumbai, easily the most ambitious travel venture in my life. I’ll be going alone and zig zagging quite a bit with trains. I’m super super excited, but anxious a the same time.

Overall, I’m so so impressed with Southeast Asia and urge everyone to travel here. While many young aspiring budget travelers opt for Europe out of fear of the unknown, I urge you to reconsider using Bangkok as your hub to Asia. It really is really really easy. I would argue moreso than Europe even.

But if anyone has any great resources or tips for traveling to India, please share!

And finally, get ready for some kickass articles and content when I start to settle down after all of this.

So, obviously, I’m going to give you the solution to the problem and tell you how to find low bus fares (and even compare prices!)

BusJunction.com

BusJunction is a bus fare aggregator that’s a self explanatory bus fare search brought to my attention by its founder in a buried email half a year ago which I just rediscovered. Like Kayak, it’s an aggregator, which is an important clarification because this means it is independent of the bus operators, thus offering you unbiased fares and information.

So, naturally, I’m partial to BusJunction (not even having used the service) and would recommend it. If my word doesn’t mean anything, Frommer himself hearts BusJunction in the HuffingtonPost, one of several high profile coverages the site received. The final kicker of BusJunction is its integration of Yelp, another site i’m a fan of.

GoToBus.com

GoToBus.com is the other, bigger and older bus fare search tool. The site features just Chinatown bus routes zig zagging across the US. While also super helpful, it engages in ticket partnerships with the bus companies for profit, thus potentially resulting in worse bus route and fare searches.

As a capitalist at heart, I love to see BusJunction’s emergence on the scene to give GoToBus a run for its money and help out the lowly bus travelers out there. Let’s hope that this increased bus travel trend continues so budget travelers aren’t left out to dry when attempting to travel on the cheap, and so I can feature fewer rants in posts on US budget travel.

Avoid the Noise
There are a million travelogues and guidebooks on the internet quoting great restaurants, guesthouses, specific train cabins, and giving literal directions to the train station’s men’s toilet. Well, great, but this is all noise that you don’t need to know quite yet.. = NOISE. Just like that clever test from the economics professor that gives you 10 unnecessary variables when calculating RGDP Growth, ignore the noise for now.

There’s no use in worrying about how to do exactly everything quite yet, and trying to keep everything straight beforehand will just lead to anxiety. There’s plenty of time to figure this out later when the time arrives.

Be Efficient and Resourceful
When planning a trip, plan it. When it comes time to do something, figure it out. There’s a lot of time in the day, and there’s internet almost everywhere. So when the time comes (night before), figure it out quickly and move on to enjoying what you came to see.

Furthermore, don’t forget to ask. There are tons and tons of budget travelers around that you’ll meet who would love to tell you their story and share tips. Guesthouse staff will always assist you doing anything. Better yet, ask locals. Most (in Asia for sure) will love to help out however possible.

Be flexible
Don’t prebook all your accommodations if you don’t have to, and definitely do not get pressured into prebooking bus, train, or ferry transit for side trips. There’s always transit options, and always places to stay.

Slow down, be rational, and remember Worst Case Scenario
There will surely be bumps at times, but it’s critical to slow down, take a breath, and think of the worst case scenario rationally. You’re not going to die. Worst case scenario is most often being tired and out some dollars which is frustrating, but being flexible as mentioned above minimizes the worst case scenario in almost every instance.

Forget those sunken costs
You’re probably going to overpay for something, get scammed, or miss a connecting train ride. As a frugal bastard, this is annoying. But these are sunk costs = they cannot be changed. Like accounting, they must be ignored and forgotten. Always easier said than done, but grab a beer, laugh at yourself, and move on.

Be sure to follow and check out the next posts in my budget travel is easy series

1. Stop Worrying. Backpacking is easy. Seriously
2. All you Really Need for Easy Budget Travel
3. Complete, Easy Guide to start planning a Backpacking Trip
4. The Budget Traveler and Backpacking Commandments

Budget travel and backpacking is easy. Seriously.

I repeat, the process of traveling is not hard and is not something to stress over. There are more important personal and career things to worry about than to worry about vacationing. After getting off my ass and taking a few leaps of faith I’ve come to this verdict as I’m sure many other travelers have as well after their first great travel experiences. I’ve developed a series of posts to show how easy backpacking travel is. The series really should give you all you need to get started on your own, leaving you with no excuses to get off your ass as well.

1. Stop Worrying. Backpacking is easy. Seriously
2. All you Really Need for Easy Budget Travel
3. Complete, Easy Guide to start planning a Backpacking Trip
4. The Budget Traveler and Backpacking Commandments

But here’s the question I’ve been exploring:
Assume you’ve never traveled anywhere (really not far from reality for many Americans really), and all of a sudden you’ve had the opportunity to travel free to any 10 destinations. What do you choose? International, or abroad?

Well readers here based on the blog’s topic would choose international, but remember – you haven’t been anywhere in the USA. Your homeland and country.

Curious observation
This is just a curious observation I’ve been making note of and am thinking about. It’s a good thing to travel domestically through your own country, but I’d bet 80% of the time atleast most would opt to go internationally rather than stay at home. Personally, I’ve had countless travel convos with many Thai students.

“have you been to the US before?”
“yeah just a couple times. LA, Las Vegas, Seattle, Denver, Chicago, New York, Boston, and Florida of course…..”

In most cases, their own travel experiences in the US are more vast than my own.

When the question is reciprocated to my Thai friends and I regarding travels in Southeast Asia and Thailand, the same pattern re-emerges. They’ve been to Koh Samui once, Singapore, and Hong Kong once. Personally I’ve just concluded that most people do not want to travel domestically.

Why would we prefer international travel?

Mass Media
We are bombarded with news, images, cultural references, stereotypes of everywhere in the US. We study US more than other places. I already know it, and I don’t want to waste my time and resources seeing myself.

Sensitivity
My sensitivity to changes in life, in general, have diminished. Flashy ads, provocative images, and ‘crazy’ stories become dull faster. I have a desire for new experiences, and the more novel stimuli I’m exposed to, the better. Most novel stimuli are easier to find in foreign countries with unfamiliar cultures, ways of life, and language.

High Cost
Feel zero need to waste precious resources on expensive US domestic travel. Reconsider with cheap railways or buses, but not practical and may never be. Hostels? Guesthouses? Bed and Breakfasts and cheap motels exist, but not quite the same atmosphere as a good guesthouse or hostel.

I’d love to hear others’ comments on the topic and to see if I’m way off base with my observations, since my anecdotal evidence really is the worst way to back any argument. Input is appreciated.

In the meantime, I’ve learned tons about culture, traveling, Thailand, and Europe (via my fellow European exchange students and friends). Both alone and with others I’ve explored Bangkok fairly extensively for the short time I’ve been here so far, and this past weekend some friends and I went to the islands and beach at Koh Samui to relax and see the sun for five days.

It’s been a wild journey so far and I expect it to continue. I’ll surely be maximizing my time here the next couple weeks which will definitely be reflected into the posts that will follow later on.  In the short term, I apologize for infrequent updates, but I hope to return to regular helpful updates once I find a routine and get settled in here in BKK. In the meantime, you can follow my more personal blog for the Thailand trip specifically at Bangkoking.com.

Hong Kong’s a very expensive city relative to its Asian epicenter counterparts, so traveling on a shoestring in Hong Kong might be a challenge. However, I’ll be documenting every expense meticulously and reporting it here. In the end, every future explorer to Hong Kong should be able to laugh at and learn from my mistakes, and I’ll end up with a fairly comprehensive budget and expense model that any other future budget travelers will hopefully find pretty valuable.

For my personal exact itinerary, I’ll be flying United from Chicago O’Hare for way too many hours on July 27, and I’ll arrive July 28 at 4:45 PM.

I’ll be staying in the ever bustling Tsim Sha Tsui districtin Kowloon for 4 nights, and departing the night of Saturday, August 1st for Bangkok  via Air Asia. Tsim Sha Tsui is evidently one of the most hectic/anti-boring centers of Hong Kong from what I’ve heard which will be overwhelming, but more on this later.

I’ll have more on Hong Kong budget accommodation options and the more obscure, affordable guesthouses in a future post soon. For now, if you’re in Hong Kong or have been there I’d love some recommendation.