Tips from a Third World Traveller

Ma Patricia Yulo is a young woman who has travelled widely from her home base in the Phillipines, and has now written a book on how to travel cheaply.
Not many of her tips will be new to readers of this blog, but they are worth repeating. Her first suggestion is to travel without checked luggage, with just a small backpack. In order to reduce her luggage to this level, she advises taking only the shoes you are wearing and, if heading to warm weather destinations, skipping the jacket. Also. leave the computer at home.
I'm not sure this would be practical for many poeple, but it is an interesting idea.
She also recommends staying in dorms or hostels rather than hotels, and using public transit even if taxis are cheap.
Perhaps the key to her low budget travel style is a lot of advance planning. Study maps of the place you are going to visit, and plot out your itinerary. Sometimes you can save money by buying tickets to events in advance. Also, have a definite goal in mind, such as visiting Japan (or Washington DC) in cherry blossom time, and work and save toward that.
Safety comes before all else, she says, recounting handing over her money when confronted by an armed bandit in Southeast Asia.
Finally, consider travelling alone, she advises.
The reference is www.rappler.com/life-and-style/travel/50004-tips-budget-trips-backpacking-travel-light.