All Along
Destinations Get in gear Going Strong Outbound Real deals Sensible traveler Taking Off Where they went
'Cheap' destinations can offer sights, sensations of rare value
By Bruce Mohl, Globe Staff, 03/16/03
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All Along Destinations Get in gear Going Strong Outbound Real deals Sensible traveler Taking Off Where they went
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It had been an exhilarating day hiking in the shadow of the Matterhorn, but as I looked at diners happily eating fondue, I suddenly became envious and bitter. I was tired, hungry, and heading for a campground where I would have to wear all the clothes I was carrying just to stay warm that night.
Backpacking through Europe on the cheap is a rite of passage for many young people without much money, but veteran travel writer Tim Leffel suggests another approach in his new book, "The World's Cheapest Destinations" (available through Booklocker.com).
Instead of cutting corners on food, lodging, and transportation to ease the cost of visiting an expensive destination like Europe, the Caribbean, or Florida, Leffel urges adventurous travelers to go to those parts of the world where their dollars go further.
"The key to living well abroad is not airline specials, discount hotel vouchers, or finding the cheapest restaurant in Rome or Paris," Leffel writes. "The way to really travel well without spending your life savings is to go where your first-world dollars are worth a fortune."
Leffel's book is not a conventional travel guide. There are no lists of must-see tourist sites, no recommended travel itineraries, and few suggestions about where to stay. Instead, Leffel uses colorful and sometimes blunt language to describe 21 countries worth visiting where travel is cheap.
Cheap does not mean easy or for the faint of heart. Leffel warns travelers to expect corrupt government officials, undrinkable tap water, scary bathrooms, and dire poverty. And that's in the 21 countries he selected. Many countries were excluded from the book because he contends they have nothing worth seeing (Philippines), are too dangerous, or are too tough to get to or navigate through.
As Leffel said of much of Africa: "Trying to navigate through a region of famine, civil war, disease, dictators, and a pitiful infrastructure is not my idea of fun. Not to mention you'll eat a lot of lousy meals."
The cheapest destination in the world varies with exchange rates, but Leffel says it's usually either Indonesia, India, or Nepal. All three offer breathtaking scenery and fascinating cultural attractions.
India, for example, has the Himalayas, the Taj Mahal, the desert castles of Rajasthan, and the teeming cities of Bombay and New Delhi.
"The poverty, poor sanitation, animal-filled streets, and a populace composed of blatant liars can be difficult for some people to stomach," Leffel writes. "It takes at least two weeks to get your bearings and tune out some of the assaults on your senses. But if you can handle it, you'll be treated to fanatstic sights, colorful characters, and some of the cheapest prices on the planet."
Three meals a day in India costs less than what you spend on one sub sandwich in the United States. Outside of Bombay, where lodging is more expensive, cheap rooms run $2 to $5 a day, with $10 garnering a room with a private bath, Western toilet, and TV. For $60, a traveler can enjoy one of the best rooms in town. White-water rafting trips through the Himalayas cost $15 to $30 a day, including guide, lodging, and equipment.
Thailand sounded interesting, with its beautiful beaches, great food, and fairly sophisticated transportation network. Some of the country's more appealing bargains were massages for $4 an hour and custom-made suits starting at around $80.
Turkey is described as a "screaming bargain" where it's easy to have a good time with few worries. "If you subtract the carpet dealers, you'll probably find the Turkish people to be some of the most honest people in the world; the only place I've felt safer is in Japan," Leffel writes.
Leffel ends every country chapter with a list of items that can be purchased for $1 or less. The lists not only reinforce his cheap theme, but they convey just how otherworldly many parts of the world can seem to a wealthy American.
A dollar will get you two pineapples already chopped up in Thailand, and a haircut and shave in Indonesia. It will purchase four loaves of French bread in Vietnam, a wooden backgammon or chess set in Nepal, three falafels in Egypt, a stack of warm pita bread in Jordan, three pints of beer in Bulgaria, two pints in the Czech Republic, breakfast in Honduras, a three-course lunch in Ecuador, a bottle of cheap wine in Peru, and two gallons of gas in Venezuela.
Smoking at Logan
The last bar in Boston to offer smokers a safe haven is under contruction at Logan International Airport's international terminal and is scheduled to open in May.
Houlihan's cleared its final hurdle recently when the Massachusetts Port Authority's legal department concluded that the City of Boston's workplace smoking ban would not apply at an airport operated by a state authority.
Massport decided in 2001 to open a single smoking lounge to accommodate foreign travelers, who had repeatedly requested it in comment cards. Massport officials say the lounge should help keep smoking travelers inside the terminal instead of outside on the curb. That should help retailers inside the terminal and ease pressure on security screeners who often have to recheck passengers who go outside to smoke.
Bruce Mohl can be reached by e-mail at mohl@globe.com.