"You Travel, So You Must Be Rich!" Really?

Yeah..Really?? *sigh*

Friends and colleagues have always remarked that I am so rich to be able to travel often.

Well, the fact is, their remarks are simply based on how they define "rich" and their perception of "travel". I think most of them who gave that remark will take back what they've said if they were to be on my itinerary.

I wouldn't say that I am a budget traveler. Neither would I say that I travel in luxury. If it helps, from a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being budget and 10 being luxury, I would give myself a 4. 

To put on record, I am nowhere near rich (the definition being, loaded with money). I travel simply because of a love for it. A love to see another country, another culture, different people, different places, new experiences, and of course to see the amazing sights the world has to offer. You can see winter on the internet and television, but its totally a different thing experiencing it.

At the end of the day, traveling helps a person grow. Of course, how you travel determines how much you grow. Which is why I almost always choose to backpack and travel free and easy, instead of following tour groups. Planning your own trip will make you understand the city better from all the research and readings. You also get to decide how long you get to be at certain places and at which time of the day. You get to decide if you want to sleep in on one of the days and only start your day in the afternoon. You get to decide where you want to stay and where you want to go, giving you a good control of your budget.

Which brings me back to the point that just because I travel at least once a year, I am rich. My friends get a rude shock when I told them that my first trip to Tokyo (6 days) costed me S$1,600.00 (on a side note, I realised that I have grossly overpaid for accommodation on my first trip. I manage to find cheaper accommodation on my subsequent trips to Tokyo) Naturally, others will want to replicate that. But what people fail to realise is that how I travel may not be how they want to travel. The places I go, the prices I pay for the type of accommodation, the flight I took or the food I eat may not be to their comfort or liking. The experience they want may not be those that I want. Simply put, what may work for me, may not work for others.

So it irks me when I get that kind of remark. It is almost an insult to the work I put in

a) to constantly save money so I can go on a trip anytime I want, without having to "save money for a trip" or wait for the next pay day;

b) to find the best price and value for flights and hotels

Should the definition of rich be that of being in possession of a huge amount of something (other than money), I'd say that I am rich. Rich in experience. I have definitely become richer in experience from all my travels. 

PS: This post was originally supposed to touch on Travel Budget, but I have rambled too much off-track, that I decided this topic gets its own post. I'll write on Travel Budget another day.