Is Saving Two Euro Really Worth It?
Western Europe
A lot of backpackers are on a really tight budget. I met one girl trying to travel on a mere 26 Euros a day. She had a tent, a Eurail pass, and probably an ulcer but insisted she was having a great time. Another guy had a “loaf of bread and jar of peanut butter per week” strategy. I actually met a recently-graduated high schooler surviving a long-weekend in Amsterdam eating nothing but goldfish. “But it’s cool,” he said, “Because all the mushrooms I plan on eating will take care of the whole vegetable category.” Cute.
All these people were trying to save money, but the question is whether it is worth it. Life is never so grand as when you are in good health, and I have to admit I am a little alarmed at the extreme measures some people will take to save a few euros. After two months of traveling I came to the conclusion that saving the two euro is NOT always worth it. This is never more true then when it comes to choosing hostels and food. Sleep and nourishment, two of life’s most basic necessities. I personally experimented on myself and found that if you aren’t sleeping well and eating worse, the human body is designed to inform you of your poor decisions in viscous revenge. I won’t go into detail but the words Pepto Bismal and Excedrin Migraine should be all I need to say. There are better ways to save money than by picking the cheapest bed and meal: walk instead of taking the subway (hello excersize, have we met?), pick up fresh fruit at outdoor markets, or stay a little outside the city.
If you are still skeptical and insist on staying at the cheapest hostel possible and living on McDonald’s don’t read any further.
On a recent hostel search, while trying to find cheap accommodation in Paris, I came across a rather alarming warning. It read, “It has been reported that this hostel and several others in Paris are infested with bed bugs. If you have stayed in this hostel recently please wash all clothing and freeze all unwashable items to prevent further infestations.” Gross! And where, exactly, is a backpacker going to find an extra freezer to stick their pack for the day? The hypochondriac in me read this and immediately started jumping up and down shouting, “I told you so, I told you so!” (I have always secretly feared getting some awful disease at a hostel, and am still shocked I haven’t picked up lice) This intriguing message pushed me to investigate further. What I discovered, however; is almost as disturbing as bed bugs.
There are many websites for booking hostels, and a lot of them allow for past sleepers to post comments. This is great, but the opinions often vary so drastically that it’s hard to tell who to believe. For one rather famous hostel in Paris the comments ranged from, “Ew, nasty nasty nasty! Do NOT stay here.” to, “Four stars! Incredible!” So did hosteller #1 see a cockroach and #2 a cute receptionist? It’s hard to tell, and you can’t email the comment-posters either. I know, I tried. The most guaranteed way to insure you aren’t staying in a bug-infested hovel is to use the law of averages: if the majority of comments are good then it should be OK. It would also be wise to go one step above the cheapest hostels and to avoid the ones that proudly proclaim things like, “Best party hostel in the world!” and “Cheap but still hasn’t been foreclosed yet!” Pay the extra two euros and for God’s sake get some sleep, you will feel so much better.
As for the backpacker diet, it is often shockingly inadequate and completely lacking in nutritional value. Living like a scavenger can only take you so far. I’ve even sunk so low as to visit the occasional fast food paradise, which after watching “Supersize Me” I swore I would never do again. After the first few weeks of eating street food and an alarming amount of bread I became convinced that I was suffering from the beginning stages of scurvy and resolved to change my ways. Suprisingly, I discovered that eating fruits and veggies from outdoor markets was cheaper than even the foulest of street vendor kebab. After a few days of fast food detox and forced consumption of as many green things as possible I felt like a new person. My energy was up and I just felt generally better. Sure, I was spending more on hostels, but I was spending less on food so I was breaking even and sticking to my budget. I couldn’t help but allow myself a good gloat. I have also learned an important lesson: being flexible within your budget is essential to your overall happiness and satisfaction as a backpacker.
