Monday’s Money Saving Tips – staying with friends – the un-sung heroes of my travels – staying with Julio in Santa Ana Alta, Colombia
I write this post today with a huge THANK YOU to all those friends, family and acquaintances I have stayed with over the years. I have loved every moment of my nights and days staying with friends around the world and this is today’s Monday’s Money Saving Tips. It’s also a shout out to all those un-sung heroes of my travels – my friends and family. Without their intervention a lot of these experiences and stories would be a tad diluted…
Staying with (and partying with) friends – a night out in Recife, Brazil with Katia.
One thing to note is never burn your bridges with people. Just because you leave a job or a city, there is no need to break up ties. Keep your friends. Add them on twitter, add them on facebook and store their details. You never know when your buddy in Kuwait is visiting your country, or when you end up in Recife in Brazil without a bed. Keeping friends is a great tip for saving money, saving time, getting a real local experience and best of all having mates and friends all over the world. Believe me – a person you met 7 years ago can come back into your life tomorrow if you hit up their town for a few days. And I love reunions, and being nomadic, I have a lot of reunions rather than strong everyday friends.
Reunited in Gaborone, Botswana with my old university mate Allan.
If you’re heading to a place where you have friends (even friends from 10 years ago), just send them a message telling them you will be in town and even if you can’t stay with them, you can meet up and they can show you the sights and cheaper places to see in their city. I do it for friends, if I can’t host them, I take them round the city/town I’m in. I arrived in Colombia in 2010 only to be met at the airport and escorted to a house party by my Colombian mate Julio Felipe, (yes the Man who swapped his camera for a cow) I hadn’t seen him in over FIVE years!
Dodgy Facial Hair night in Brisbane! Re-united with my travel buddy Owen Millar, who I stayed with, and who has stayed at mine. That’s what mates are for.
Treat your friends like you would like them to treat you. Reply to their messages, help them see your town or city and keep touch – a useful but obvious tip for you today! I’d like to personally thank all those unsung heroes from my travels so far, those friends and family who I have stayed with over the years:
Rene, Osterweddingen and Hannover, Germany
Steve Jones, London, England and Papamoa, New Zealand
Owen Millar, Brisbane, Australia
Johnny McKee, North Lakes, Australia
Neil Macey, Dartford, Bournemouth and London, England; Shinying, Taiwan
Panny Yu and family, Hong Kong
Neil Armstrong, Hong Kong
Julio and family, Santa Ana Alta, Colombia
Katia and family, Recife, Brazil
Rodrigo, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Dan Darch, Bournemouth, England
Jimmy and family, Winnipeg, Canada
The NL family, Debrecen, Hungary
George and Elise, Coolangatta, Australia
Andrew and Tanya, Hobart, Australia
Richard and Amy Ingram, Southampton, England
John Johnson, Dartford, England
Chris Ragg, Londonderry, Northern Ireland
Mum, Dad, brother Marko, sister Cathy, brother Danny, Bangor/Belfast, Northern Ireland
Cousin Gary, Belfast, Northern Ireland
Mike, Gav and Brendan, Belfast, Northern Ireland
…and those who have been kind enough to show me round their towns and cities…
Charlotte, Paris, France
Rafal, Piotr and Artur, Warsaw, Poland
Eva, Tainan, Taiwan
Angel, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Zelinda, Potosi, Bolivia
Allan, Fingi and Louis, Gaborone, Botswana
Dudu, Soweto, South Africa
and apologies to those I’ve forgotten I’m eternally thankful and grateful – this edition of Monday’s Money Saving Tips isn’t really about a FREE bed at all! It’s about my friends and how keeping friends does actually save you money, though realistically that’s the last thing on your mind. Seeing the friends is ultimately what matters most.
This post is dedicated to the un-sung heroes of my travels. Love and peace out. Jonny