Boozing for Cheap: What To Drink Where

by Martha Edwards on

The average backpacker is typically always looking for ways to entertain themselves inexpensively. And whether we agree with it or not, the fact is that most of the time, drinking=fun. But also, drinking=expensive, in many cases. Unless, of course, you know what to get. Based on my experiences, here are the cheapest things you can get wasted on, depending on where you are:

  • When in Australia, drink the boxed wine. A box of wine will run you about $10 AUD for 4L. And 4L is alot when you’re talking wine. That’s enough for you and you close travel buddies to have a few really good nights on, not to mention a few really bad of days battling hangovers. Not that I have any … um … experience with that or anything …
  • When in Thailand, drink Thai Whiskey. Sure, Chang Beer is a favourite among many travellers and locals alike, and it’s fairly cheap, but if you’re going for the best value, Thai whiskey is where it’s at. Especially if it’s of the home-brewed variety and you pick it up from some random dude in a remote village. But … um … be careful ….
  • When in Greece, drink Ouzo. A couple of my travel buddies bought a 4L bottle of Ouzo for about 3 €. It wasn’t the best Ouzo I ever had, but it wasn’t bad when mixed with something, and it did the trick. We travelled together for a month and it seemed like every night was an ouzo night. Still, I don’t think we finished it …
  • When in Mexico, drink the tequila — from Wal-Mart!: I felt a wave of shame when I entered the Wal-Mart in Puerto Vallarta, but that passed when I got to the alcohol section. There was at least half a dozen aisles of just tequila, and it was so, sooooooo cheap. Did I mention so cheap? Now, if I could only stomach the stuff ….
  • When in Canada, drink … water? Seriously, I love my country, but based on my travels, I think we must have to most expensive alcohol in the world. It’s always a shock coming back from a trip and realizing that 4L of anything will cost me 10 times as much as that Ouzo … unless it’s homemade moonshine. What do you think — is Canada an expensive place to drink, or is it just in my head?

Off the Beaten Foodie Path in Paris

by Grant Martin on

Believe it or not, there are other places to eat in the city than in your guide book. In cultural and gastronomic hot spots such as Paris and Barcelona, you barely have to stumble out your front door and down the block before you find a half dozen places to eat — multiply that by the ten thousand blocks in any given city and you get roughly seventy zillion available restaurants, many within walking distance. How many of those can you fit in your guidebook?


Check out our list of 500+ excellent restaurants in Paris or our list of 340+ restaurants in Barcelona.

Sure, you run the risk of docking into a complete disaster, getting horrible service and Montezuma’s Revenge. But that risk is low, and the chance of you discovering something new — a restaurant and experience nothing like the other Lonely Planet mongers have encountered — is actually quite reasonable. Travel shouldn’t be legal if you’re being led around the city on a leash by your guidebook the entire time; one should open oneself up to risk, failure and the possibility of really great things to happen.

Take Comptoir De La Gastronomie, a specialty epicerie in Paris. This cozy restaurant off Rue Montmartre hosts a spectacular menu of duck and foie gras based dishes, from baked traditional cassoulet to carpaccio, all at reasonable (although European) prices. Next door in their attached boutique you can pick up enormous jars of foie gras, cheeses, wines and a variety of deli delights, all packaged up and ready to take home to mom.

So next time you find yourself leafing through your favorite Frommers or AOL destination guide searching for that “authentic meal”, take some time to consider the risk and benefit of finding some place on your own. My guess is you’ll be glad you did.

Celebrity Chefs Make Airline Food Palatable

by Catherine Bodry on

Blogger Grant just posted about American Airlines’ introduction of Hawaiian cuisine on the airline’s mainland-Hawaii flights.

Serving gourmet food on flights is becoming a real trend as airlines try to make flying more enjoyable while also hoping to part passengers from their dollars. I think it’s a bit sneaky to take away in-flight meals only to reintroduce them as items to be purchased, but I can’t help but get excited about the idea of eating genuinely yummy food while flying.

Airline food has been typically always on the unflattering side of food comparisons (along with prison food), but its reputation is changing. Airlines are employing well-known chefs and sommeliers to create menus and wine lists; celebrity chef Todd English will be designing meals for Delta. As soon as November you’ll be able to order a Mediterranean salad with grilled shrimp or a roast beef Cobb sandwich on Delta flights over 750 miles. Meals will run between $2 and $10 dollars.

Air France and Continental Airlines have also used big-name chefs to entice you to fly with them.

[via USA Today]

Traveller’s Must: The Go-To Safety Food

by Martha Edwards on

When I travelled through Thailand, I saw a western-style restaurant that had a big sign saying, ‘Tired of chili ring sting? Eat here!‘ While a bit crude (but true), it was an effective draw for tourists who aren’t used to eating spicy Asian curries every day and simply wanted something bland; something from home.

After talking about eating pizza in Thailand, I got to thinking — I’ve had pizza in a lot of places. Every country I’ve been to, in fact. Except Korea and Cambodia, but even then I had spaghetti and meatballs, which is somewhat similar in it’s Western-ness. Pizza, for me, is my go-to food, what I eat when I don’t want to be adventurous and am simply craving a taste from home.

I think everyone has a ‘safe’ food that makes them feel a little bit less homesick when travelling. An overseas comfort food, if you will. For my mom, when she was trekking through the middle of Africa in the 70s, it was mashed potatoes. For my friend Jenny, it’s plain rice with a bit of butter. For Cheryl, it’s McDonald’s chicken nuggets. So, indulge me, and let me know what your’s is — that way, I won’t feel so silly for eating pizza when surrounded by Pad Thai and ancient Buddhist temples.

American Airlines Introduces Hawaiian Cuisine on Island Bound Flights.

by Grant Martin on

This Monday, American Airlines introduced Hawaiian Cuisine on their mainland-Hawaii flights, inspired and created by famous chef Sam Choy. That’s right, no longer are you stuck with the standard “chicken or pasta”, now you have a variety of choices including: Macadamia Nut Pancakes, Wasabi Salmon and Island Braised Short Ribs.

Of course this only applies of you’re traveling in first class; you’ll notice that all of the meals on the PR page show nice flatware and table settings. Passengers in peasant class are still stuck paying for snacks on the long flight over the Pacific.

What’s nice about American’s change in menu for the Hawaii bound flights is reemergence of some quality in air travel. With all the cutbacks to service across the board recently, airlines are now slowly starting to reinvest in the quality of service at 30,000 feet. Be this new snack baskets on Northwest, extra perks on United or Hawaiian meals on AA, these small improvements upstairs are hopefully an indication of good times ahead in the industry.