5 Classically Indian Things We All Do to Save Money on Travel

Paise Bachao – Chutti Manao. Isn’t that the ultimate mind-melt when you are going on a trip but need to conserve cash. We’re a savings focused society but we want to have a good time at the same time.
This is where the typical Indian jugaad-mind kicks in and we make common travel excuses that arise from the thin air. Our mothers and fathers have taught us well, and we’re only just finding out the benefits of a huge savings account. Thanks, Zomato – because of you we have no savings as a millennial. 
Anyways, here are 5 cool ways to save money on travel and recurrently plan travel on a budget to satiate our wanderlust.

1. Rishtedaar Kaha Rehete hai?

The best way to figure out your next vacation plan was to think about which relative you haven’t visited in a long time. This was a great way to judge what experience you were going to have as a kid. It still is applicable now, and we think it’s the only reason why people stay in touch with relatives from all over.
We have traveled around the country, but only to the parts where our relatives stay. It’s one of the coolest networks of AirBnB ever invented and it started from our families. You could literally be in a new city and have some form of connection to that place from another family member.

2. Backpack full of homecooked meals

source: https://bit.ly/2OX3YsT

Who remembers those days where we would have packed our entire meal for the day in one backpack? Our moms would carefully foil-wrap 3 meals for 4 people, and still manage to stuff it all inside one bag-pack. Whether that be roti & jam or dried-fruits and Frooti, we wouldn’t eat out ever. We would claim that it's bad for health to have outside food, but it was probably because we didn’t have the added finances to cover it.
We would also avoid anything that cost more than 200 INR, anytime we went to a restaurant. It was all about trying the basics of food and then going to our hotel rooms to save our energy. The mini-bar has yet to be opened by an Indian family vacationing to a new city.

3. Bargaining everything

source: https://bit.ly/34ASPVd

Spot something on MRP? You can bargain that as well. That’s one trick that still hasn’t died off over the years. You can bargain on everything on the planet if you play your cards right. First, you should start by not being too interested in the thing that you won't – play it cool. This could include a hotel room, a shopping area or even a restaurant serving snacks. You wonder why shopkeepers put up that sign that says “MRP is final”. That’s a guiding light and not a final statement. You should use that to your advantage and get a better deal.
Bargaining is in our DNA and we can hide from it all we want but never truly delete it from our system.

4. Breakfast is the king of all meals

source: https://bit.ly/2q3Vw2n

In hopes that you can consume 2500 calories in one sitting, Indian families would often overeat on breakfast. This is funny as you’re so sleepy after a full meal that you can barely do anything afterward. That’s also why buffets have a strict cut-off time, as families would be forced to wake up early. When you can enjoy everything from Aaloo paratha to Waffles at 10 am, why wouldn’t you take advantage of this great deal? Breakfast is where it's at for all Indian families who look for a great deal and aren’t afraid of passing out by eating too much.

5. Let’s travel in Jan…2022

source: https://bit.ly/37RaSID

Every Indian family loved traveling, but ticket prices would shoot up if you didn’t plan. That’s why everyone predicted their travels years in advance to get the best seats and deals on transportation. It was an amazing thing to look forward to. When you knew that you were going to visit a new country or a new city at the end of the school year, you could go through it like a breeze. Traveling in the future was more fun than the actual plan itself. Since all Indians want to travel during peak times, it was important to get the best deal possible in that scenario.
Aren’t these the common travel excuses that we all make? And we, as proud Indians should not shy away from accepting the fact that we love to travel on a budget.

Cheers to our nomadic travel spirit guys! Save money on travel and keep wandering!!!