"I don't have the money to travel" is not a good excuse

 

TRAVELLER ID

Name: Ida

Name on Instagram: i.gluglu

Age: 23

Nationality: Slovenian

City you're currently in: Holderness, New Hampshire, Usa

Peculiarities: Into creative hairstyles - big fan of rings

Type of traveller: Backpacker 

Most beautiful place you've been  to: Tanzania

Motto: Stay wild moon child

Tell me about your last travelling experience

I was in Jordan and then I crossed the Israeli border first and the Palestine border next. It was a little bit challenging but I managed to take a bus to Ramallah, a Palestinian city. I stayed there for three weeks doing Workaway, which is volunteer work. When I'm travelling I usually do volunteer work, so I get to stay with locals and get to know the culture more. As an ethnologist, this is very important to me. It helps too that locals can tell you what is safe or unsafe to do. Also, I stayed with a Palestinian-American family and I had an amazing time there. I was basically helping them with their eco-garden, watering plants and planting trees. I was also taking care of their kids. Being involved in their lifestyle made me feel happy and trusted.

Do you have any project in mind related to travelling?

I really love documentary movies and I like to film, so when I started planning to go to Middle East, I also planned to make some short documentary movies. It's quite challenging because people usually don't want to be filmed. I managed to film a girl in Cairo. She had a very interesting story. She is a girl my age, fighting for women's rights in Egypt. She went through a lot in the past, also ending up in prison. I'm waiting for the right moment to apply for a movie festival and share the movie, but anonymously, to protect her. 

What initially motivated you to travel?

My passion for travelling started in high school, going for trips with friends in a very touristic way. Then, I started studying ethnology and cultural anthropology and I got fascinated by different cultures, the topic of immigration and nomadic people. At that point I started dreaming about going outside Europe and exploring in a not touristic way. I wanted to experience something more. Travelling to Mozambique really changed my life. There's also a woman that really inspired me. Her name was Alma Karlin. She was travelling the world by herself in the early 1920s, a time when it was considered very strange for a woman to travel by herself.

Do you usually travel by yourself?

Now I travel by myself. It's more free and it suits me better, but when I went to Mozambique at the age of 19 I volunteered in a kindergarten together with five other girls. As it was the first time for me outside Europe, it was really helpful for me to not be by myself. Two years later I went to Tanzania by myself. Since Tanzania I'm just obsessed with travelling solo and in a non touristic way. I get the feeling if you're with someone you're in a sort of bubble, and people don't want to disturb you. When I'm alone people easily reach out to me and I get more opportunities, even though it's more challenging. 

Do your family and friends support your travelling?

Luckily my family supports me. They know I always try to find the best way to travel safe. Also my friends support me and some of them admire my courage to go by myself. It's not easy, but I like to face my fears and go out of my comfort zone. It's not that I'm fearless now, but I'm aware and I push myself a little bit.

How do you support your travels?

Since I'm a student, I try to get small jobs as much as possible. This way I can save for my travels but still, I try to find the cheapest solutions to go around. To say "I don't have money to travel" is not a good excuse, because to me you can always find a way. Doing volunteer work with Workaway allows me to stay with locals, save money and have free food and accommodations. This helps me a lot. Sometimes I also use Couchsurfing. There are many ways to travel with low budget.

From your point of view, what are the advantages and disadvantages related to your way of travelling?

One of the advantages is that I'm constantly learning.  In fact, there is this whole learning-package that comes with travelling. I learn how to be independent and face problems. I also learn a lot about myself. Travelling opens my eyes and breaks my stereotypes. For example, before going to Palestine, I thought people were going to be just sad and depressed because of the constant conflict. Instead, I found very open and proud people. The disadvantage is the stress of moving around all the time. Also, being a woman travelling by herself can be tricky sometimes.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to travel but doesn't know how to get started?

First of all, I think you really need to be passionate about a certain place or culture, and then you just have to find a way to go there and not think too much about where you are going to sleep or what will happen. Just buy your ticket and go.