Sure, anyone can travel around the world if they had enough time and money. But here at TripTie, we salute those that try to do so on a budget. We believe that not only is it possible to travel inexpensively, but that doing so adds a bit to the fun and adventure of your travels (don’t get me wrong, traveling with a big budget is fun too!). The New York Times is running a weekly column called “The Frugal Traveller on the Road,” which we think is excellent. It chronicles a guy traveling around the world in 90 days, inexpensively. And apparently, lots of people are cheering him on: be sure to check out the user-submitted comments for many great, additional tips.

They say that the key to success for any start-up venture is passion and coffee (when they say “coffee” they probably mean “late nights” but I’m taking it literal here). In the past, I’ve had good results by making coffee in an old french press machine but that coffee is just, well, coffee; much like the brew coming out of a drip maker. What I am after here is a café au lait: that one I had a year ago while sitting in that patisserie in Paris. Of course, there are many expensive ways to go about getting one of these (going to Paris, for one). You can also buy an expensive espresso machine (I’ve had my eye on the FrancisFrancis! X1 for many years now). But I am in bootstrapping startup mode: I don’t have money for excess (let alone rent). So what is an entrepreneur like me to do? Svante came to the rescue with my birthday gift: a Bialetti Moka Express, the most popular moka pot in Italy (they produce 16,000 of these per day and 9 in 10 families in Italy have one). They are relatively inexpensive (about $25), come in different sizes, and equipped with a milk frother and some good espresso, can produce a café au lait that will knock the socks off any barista in Starbucks. Oh, and the Moka Express is perfect for traveling since it’s small and sturdy. Here’s my method for making a café au lait with the Bialetti:
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I found this very interesting article in the New York Times the other day about how the next influx of tourism is Chinese. Entitled “Next Wave of Camera-Wielding Tourists is from China,” go read it now before they make you pay for an archived article. I’ll do my best to summarize it here:
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Being an entrepreneur hasn’t been easy. I didn’t realize it at the beginning, but it’s quite a change from the 9-to-5 job. At first, being an entrepreneur meant to me that instead of working days and burning late-night oil on the projects I loved, I could devote all my time to those projects. And largely, it’s the same then as it is now. However, what I’m just beginning to feel as the months go by, is a loss of purpose. The reason I’m writing this blog post is to try to help myself figure it all out; so please bear with me.
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A while ago, I saw a headline for an article in the New York Times called “Why We Travel”. Well, at least I thought it was an article. It really turned out to be a slideshow of pictures, none of which really explained to me why exactly people travel. I guess the answer to that question is really too varied, too complicated to be answered in a slideshow or a magazine article (if there was such a thing); perhaps even too complex to be answered comprehensively in a book. After all, people travel for many reasons: leisure, work, escape, and exploration just to name a few. Maybe a question like “Why do we travel?” could only be answered by psychologists, or maybe its sociologists, cognitive scientists, philosophers or even archeologists.
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Some of the most fun I’ve had while taking road trips around the East Coast is stopping in small towns and shopping for antiques. Probably my best find was in upper New Jersey (on my way camping near the Delaware Water Gap). We were a bit lost so we stopped at a garage to ask for directions. Out front was a sign saying “estate sale” so I decided to take a peak. It took a while to rummage through a bunch of the junk, but then I saw something shiny and metallic. In an old dusty box I found two stainless steel Nikkor darkroom canisters, complete with intact stainless steel reels (you use these to develop film in a darkroom). I’m a photo geek so this was a find - Nikon doesn’t make these things anymore. Anyways, the guy had no idea what they were so he sold them to me for five bucks each. In a store (if they still sold them), they would run you about 40 dollars each, without the reels. I still use the canisters to develop my film to this day.
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Don’t worry, everyone gets caught in a tourist money trap. Case-and-point: I live in Manhattan and I’m sometimes forced to eat in Times Square. The National Geographic article, “51 Ways to Cut Vacation Costs,” has a good dose of preventative measure. My favorite tip is the last one:

“Be wary of hors d’oeuvres you didn’t order—they’re not always complimentary. In some parts of the world (think Portugal and France) these appetizers come with a price, and no matter how much you eat, you’ll be billed for the lot.”