Tag Archives traveltips

One of the first questions that pops up in almost everyone’s head when you want to travel it how to get the finances together. I know that was a major issue in my case and also the reason I started saving for a year before I wanted to take off. I’ll just come out and say it, I kind of suck at saving money. Even though this is not my best quality, I was still able to save quite a bit of money by applying a few simple rules. So now, without further ado, here are my top tips to save money for travel!

Arriving in India I waited for the famous Indian culture shock for quite a while. Visiting Kerala, the most southern province of India, was a bit overwhelming, but there was nothing that was too much for our senses. My first true culture shock came while visiting the Calcutta flower market also known as the Mallik Ghat market. It was a very powerful experience and still is one of the activities I’ll recommend when visiting Calcutta or Kolkata in West Bengal, India. Just as I’m putting it on your to-do list, it was praised to us as a true local experience by a friend of a friend and, he was right. This flower market is, just as most things in India, unlike any other flower market you have visited before. I went thinking of Columbia flower market in London or the local foreigners market (aka vreemdelingenmarkt) in Antwerp and quickly had to adjust my expectations. First of all they don’t sell flowers to put in vases and you will most certainly not find any plants. What you will find is fresh flower petals, flower heads, flower decorations and garlands in all colors and shapes. Most of these flowers will be used for ceremonial purposes and only a small fraction of the flowers will be used to decorate a home, unless there is a ceremony held within. The most important flowers are yellow and orange marigolds, roses, orchids and several other flowers that all serve a different religious and/or medicinal purpose in daily Indian life.

Contrary to what the title of this article might suggest I’m the last one to encourage you to behave like a stereotypical tourist or backpacker but stay with me here. I actually like to see us more as visitors of a country, observers of a new culture or just passers-by. I believe in having respect for the culture that you are visiting and for nature in which the country resides. Even if the locals don’t have that same respect.