Traveling In This Political Climate

I've been talking to a lot of people lately about how they plan on traveling in the near future while everything is so up in the air and uncertain. People are being detained at the border, even if they are US citizens, recession is probably coming and there are wars in a lot of places as well. 

So, how do we navigate these new, unprecedented times? Do we stick close to home or do we pretend that nothing is different and plan all our trips like we have just been going about life and work like everything is normal. It's not normal. 

The answer isn't simple, unfortunately. It depends on who you are and how you usually travel. A white-presenting person is going to have a lot fewer problems than someone with black or brown skin. The same goes for U.S. citizens versus those with Green Cards or naturalization. And still someone who is trans or non-binary is going to have different concerns traveling right now than traditionally gender-conforming cis people.

I look white, but also have a popular middle eastern name, so at the moment, I don't really feel comfortable going to Egypt, which is one of the places I thought about traveling this year. Luckily, I have Global Entry and PreCheck, so coming back to the country from mostly anywhere shouldn't be that big of a deal for me. I never changed my last name when I got married and I don't look threatening in any way.

Over the next month or so, I will be doing a series on traveling while the world is so uncertain and the US government kind of wants to ruin everyone's life. I hoped that the Covid pandemic was our only tumultuous once-in-a-lifetime event, but it looks like this may be another one for Americans. Luckily, most other countries know that many of us didn't vote for this administration and are still welcoming to us. 

My face when the cherry blossoms weren't blossoming, but possibly your face reading this

Also, don't worry. If this doesn't sound interesting to you, I'll still be writing about where you could be traveling on a budget, where to travel for Asian American culture/history (for AAPI History Month), packing light, Portland coffee, and I still have a bunch of reviews to get to. 

So, I want to know how you are traveling, struggling, staying home, or planning for the future right now. Tell me in the comments.

Top 10 Ways to Save On Food When You Travel

Food isn’t like souvenirs—you can’t just skip it while you’re on vacation! Eating is a must, but that doesn’t mean it has to blow your budget. The good news? There are plenty of easy ways to cut down on food costs without missing out on amazing meals. Just because you're trying to save a bit doesn’t mean you're stuck with fast food or boring sandwiches the whole trip. 

Here are my top 10 tips for making your food money go further while still enjoying some of the best bites your destination has to offer.

Ask the locals where they eat

Odds are, people who live where you’re traveling don’t eat at the fanciest restaurant in town. You know who eats there? Tourists and people celebrating their anniversaries. The “normal” people eat at affordable dining establishments that are also delicious and serve food from the local area. They are going to want to point you towards some of the city’s gems and impress you because, unlike hotel staff, they don’t get paid for recommending the crazy expensive steakhouse down the street.

Look forward to lunch

You probably aren’t always frugal. While on vacation, it’s okay to splurge sometimes. If that includes going to a top-rated restaurant that you know is spendy, make reservations for lunch instead of dinner. The food will be just as tasty, but cheaper than at dinnertime.

Split an entrée

Most restaurants serve you at least twice as much food as you can eat. Don’t be weighted down having to carry around leftovers or feel bad about food left on your plate. Share a main dish with your travel companion. Most hotels will split an entrée for no fee, but even if you have to pay for an extra plate, it only costs a few dollars, which is cheaper than paying for a whole other meal. 

Order an appetizer for a meal

Most appetizers can be plenty to fill you up and can be as little as a third of the price of an entrée. This is also a great option for you if you like to try many different dishes. Order two to three for the same price as a meal.

Hit up the food carts

Food carts can offer a huge variety of different local and international foods, but can be half the price of (or less) than dining at a sit-down restaurant. With this kind of savings, you can try fare from several carts with no regrets.

Shop the farmers market

There’s no better way to experience local cuisine and interacting with residents than a visit to the closest farmers market. You will find a variety of food, including meats, fruits, vegetables and cheeses. Purchase enough for lunch and enjoy the afternoon having a picnic in a nearby park.

Rent a vacation home or stay in a hotel with a kitchen(ette)

This is my favorite way to stretch my food budget, because there are so many options. Renting can be a great value over hotel stays if you’ll be visiting for a week or more, plus it gives you the chance to check out the local grocery store. Make many of your own meals and save considerably. I don’t often like to spend money on eating breakfast out, so I love to buy new cereals and pastries I can enjoy in my room.

Stay at a hotel that offers free breakfast

You don’t realize how much dining out can cost until you go on vacation. A reasonable breakfast can cost between $8-15 per person. If you multiply that by the number of people you’re traveling with and the number of days you’ll be staying, that number can be huge. If you find a hotel in your price range that offers free breakfast, you’ve hit a jackpot of savings.

Sign up for Groupon

If you haven't been using Groupon, what are you even waiting for? Save 40-90% off food and more, meaning you can eat for way less than you originally planned, meaning you can splurge on a fancy meal, spend that money elsewhere, or actually just stay on budget. Sign up at Groupon for the destination of your next vacation (they cover many international locations as well as the United States) and eat for less!

Don’t order off the kids’ menu

If you travel with children, you’ll notice that most kids’ menus seem to have the same small rotation of foods. Obviously, little ones don’t just live on hot dogs, pizza, chicken nuggets and PB&J sandwiches. Not only do they charge an outrageous amount for these “staples” that cost hardly anything to make, but they offer hardly any nutritional value and your kids are likely to eat only half of it before declaring they’re full. Instead, order a meal that you both will eat and share. This saves you money and might get them to eat a vegetable or two.

While there are other ways to save on dining, these have proven to be the most useful for my travels and are my first suggestions to anyone asking how to cut costs on their trip. They are easy to do and will enable you to try a bigger variety of foods, too. You’ll experience more of the city and its people, giving you a greater vacation experience.

How do you save money on dining out when you travel?

Free Things To Do In Vegas

Las Vegas is a city that is forever changing, but one thing doesn't change: as much as there is that costs a lot of money, there is still a long list of free things to do while you're there. I visit Vegas multiple times a year and I do a lot of these things, because they are fun and also a great way to fill my day in between eating and other activities. 

If you're in Vegas for 1 day or a lot more, here are things I absolutely recommend and do myself on my own visits.

Flamingo Habitat

The Flamingo is really trying to reinvent itself. I tried the new Vanderpump lounge for dinner one night and it is stunning. But that's not the only awesome thing there, besides new food and drink, amazing shows, and the easiest access to the Monorail, you can go outside on the way to the pools and view flamingos and other birds, turtles, and fish at the flamingo habitat, which is always free. There are fountains and a waterfall back there and nice sidewalks to take a little stroll around. 

Bellagio Conservatory and Botanical Garden

5 times a year (once for each season and once for Lunar New Year), the master gardeners reinvent the botanical garden into something wonderous and different. Every time I go, I have to see what's going on there and it's always spectacular. I don't know how they keep coming up with new ideas, but they do and it's always gorgeous. This is what it looked like on my last visit.

This is the best picture I have of the fountains (that I took from the Eiffel Tower)

Bellagio Fountains

People love the fountains in front of the Bellagio. It can get really crowded, but sometimes you get lucky and can see them from inside (where it's air conditioned) or from the covered walkway off to the side. The music is pretty chill and the show is pretty cool, but again, the crowds, especially on Las Vegas Blvd, are crazy.

Dancing Fountains between the Wynn and Encore

While everyone else is waiting for nighttime to watch the fountains at the Bellagio, I much prefer to come down to these smaller ones that have more upbeat music and run 24/7. Are they as fantastic? No. Will you have to throw elbows to see any of it? Absolutely not. There's also a waterfall across the walkway that makes for other fantastic pictures. I always see couples trying to get a good shot (tip: be kind and ask if they would like you to take the picture and make someone's. They often want to return the favor.)

Welcome to Las Vegas sign

I've done this, approximately, once, but I'm also not a person who wants to stand in line for a photo. There is a parking lot for this, as it's at the end of the Strip and also very popular. It also helps if you bring a tripod or a friend with you to take said photo. My suggestion is to do this early in the day, before it gets too hot or too crowded. We did it at nighttime and still had to wait for our turn. If you want that one iconic photo though, it's definitely worth it.

City Hall

I just learned about this before my last trip while I was looking for museums and other things in Vegas to do on my one full day on my own. While City Hall may sound really boring, it's not. They have rotating exhibits in their lobby and in their small gallery upstairs. It won't take you very long to look at everything, but it's a fun way to see some things that you wouldn't otherwise. I was the only one in there and was able to take my time looking at Cirque du Soleil costumes and makeup and then check out the gallery of Black artist works upstairs. 

You'll have to pass through security, but they seemed really happy that I wanted to come look at art. And it's two blocks away from Fremont Street Experience, so you're not making the trip for an activity that takes maybe 45 mins. 

Fremont Street Experience

While we're on the subject, Fremont Street is 3 full covered blocks of...a lot. A lot of stimulation. A lot of casinos. A lot of lights. A lot of entertainment. A lot of people (sometimes). A lot of street performers. If you can handle what might be overstimulation to some people, you might really love Fremont Street. They have three stages for free concerts, you can watch the people fly by on the zipline overhead, and on a schedule you can watch video/light shows on the canopy screens above you. Fremont street is a whole different vibe at night, so I always suggest people come down in the late afternoon, wander through and see what it's like during the day, go check out the art around (see below), get something to eat, and then come back when it's dark. 

Downtown Arts District

Las Vegas does quite a bit with artists and each year they do Life Is Beautiful, where they bring in artists from everywhere to beautify their city with new murals and other pieces. You will find so much within 3 blocks of Fremont Street Experience. It's one of my favorite things to do. Not only will you see wall murals, but there are large pieces brought in from past Burning Man festivals, including one made of two semi trucks and a giant preying mantis that shoots fire to rad music at night. You'll find the mantis at the Container Park, which is just one block away from Fremont Street Experience. There's shopping and dining during the day and bars and snacks at night.

Area 15 art

If you're cool with going a bit further off the Strip, you for sure want to check out Area 15. They have a whole art/sculpture garden in front that is free. You can also go in and see free things inside and just really enjoy the vibes. Again, it can be a lot, but it's also really cool. Book free tickets online through their website (sometimes there is a person checking your QR codes and sometimes they don't care and just let you in, I assume during less busy times). You can even do a virtual scavenger hunt in there with your admission, and that's also free.

Ethel M Chocolate Factory and Cactus Garden

Even though I'm not a huge fan of their chocolate, I really enjoy visiting Ethel M. You can go in and watch them make candies in the factory and then go outside and wander their cactus garden, which has little walkways and alcoves to sit. It's a great place to take pictures and if you go at night, it's lit up. I have yet to do that, but it looks really pretty.

Silverton Casino Aquarium & mermaid show

Usually when I visit Vegas in the summer, I have a car, so I can go a little further out than most people. Silverton isn't that far away, but it is if you don't have transportation, and unless you are spending a good chunk of time there, I wouldn't waste money on rideshare. You could dedicate a good portion of a day there though, and if you do, there's a large aquarium at the entrance with lovely tropical fish. 

On certain days they have mermaids in it for kids (and adults) and I've also been there when there have been divers in there answering questions about cleaning the tank or the sting rays that they're feeding. It's really cool. There's also a Bass Pro Shops inside the hotel, in case you want to see some more outdoorsy stuff. 

Sam's Town Sunset Stampede

This is a drive, but also it gets you away from Vegas proper and is really interesting. Inside of Sam's Town is a whole indoor park, under an atrium roof, so it feels like you're outside. The hotel rooms look down into it and are made to look like buildings. They call this Mystic Falls Park, because there is a beautiful waterfall at one end. There are also a lot of animatronic animals dotted around. Each evening, there are several showings of Sunset Stampede, a laser light and water show at the waterfall. I booked a table for my mom and I at the Angry Butcher, because I figured if it was lame, at least we'd have good food to eat, but both were excellent and the show was quite long and immersive. 

Here I am, in Las VGas :D

More free things that I wouldn't go out of my way for, but would do it if I were there:

Fall of Atlantis at the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace

This is a multi-daily animatronic show with fire and fog and projections, but it is pretty run down. On the backside is a big aquarium, which is pretty neat though.

Circus Acts at Circus Circus

I don't know how much longer this will be around, since Circus Circus has been sold and nobody has any idea if they new owners will keep the theming or not. For now, you can go inside and watch an array of circus performers throughout the day for absolutely free. You can also go walk around the Adventuredome, their indoor theme park, for no cost. 

The large cola taster tray at Coca-Cola World

Hershey World, Coca-Cola World, and M&M World

If you like any of these things, great. Check them out. I've done them all at least once. They basically all occupy one area of the Strip down by The Park at MGM, which is actually between Park MGM (yes, they really put "The Park" next to a place called "Park") and New York New York. The Park itself is cute and often has live entertainers and artists in the evenings. 

Hershey World is multiple floors of, you guessed it, Hershey products. There's nothing amazing here, except for the giant chocolate Statue of Liberty. 

M&M World is massive and sells pretty much anything you want that has M&Ms on it or is an M&M you can eat. You can create a blend of any colors you want and you can even personalize your own candies. The selling point, for me, is that there is a movie starring all your favorite M&M characters. There's also a racing car in there somewhere that is wrapped in 100% M&M's branding.

Coca-Cola World is sort of a mix between M&M and Hershey. They are huge. They have merch and soda (they make floats and mocktails). The coolest thing here is that you can go upstairs and try all the different sodas they make around the world. This part isn't free, but it's not that expensive and it's fun to do with others. You can get up to 14 flavors. Some are delicious and some are disgusting, but you won't know which ones until you try them! 

These aren't the only free things to do, but they are some of the easiest to get to, and also ones that I've personally done and enjoyed in some way. If you're looking for free things further out, I suggest Seven Magic Mountains, an art exhibit in the desert, and visiting Boulder, where you can go to the history museum (for free), go see Lake Havasu before it dries up from the overlook, and see all the free sculptures and murals all over town. 

If you've been to Vegas and found a fun free thing not on my list, please add it in the comments, so we can all check it out on our next visits!