With all the airline miles I’ve logged thru the years, there’s one souvenir that I value and enjoy more than anything.  Thanks to my limited travel budget, I usually go home a few pounds lighter.   It’s what I call my Travel Poor Diet.

I discovered this diet when I was in New York for a few months some years back.  I stayed longer than expected but had a very limited budget because the plan was to get a temp job to supplement my pocket money.  Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to find a job, so I was stuck with the money I arrived with.  So what I did was to stock up on sandwich fillings and bread and I’d have a sandwich for brunch before leaving my sister’s apartment for that day’s activities.  While I’m out, I’d inevitably get hungry.  The streets of Manhattan are dotted with hotdog and pretzel vendors, so I thought, if I buy a hotdog sandwich, I’d spend $2.00 and I’d still need a soda. The soda, on the other hand, was just $1, and it came in a resealable bottle, which meant I could have a few sips and it’d last me the whole day.  So it was decided, my snack would be Diet Coke and a few cigarettes.  Not healthy, I know.  But hey, after 3 months in New York, I had lost 30 pounds.  Whoohooo!

 

FIRST STOP: PARIS, BEFORE THE TRAVEL POOR DIET BEGAN

A few years later, I gifted myself with a trip to Europe.  I had, as usual, a very limited budget, so I had to make a choice.  Eat or see the sights.  Not knowing when I would get the chance to walk the streets of Paris again, I made the choice.  I could eat in Manila, but while I was in Europe, I would splurge on day tours and museum entrance fees.  A friend advised me to bring lots of cup noodles, which I did.  Nissin’s Yakisoba was my traveling companion.  I also brought canned paté, crackers and even disposable plastic containers (for leftovers) and plastic forks.   I knew that eventually, I’d have to actually buy food so I figured, I would just be very wise about how I spent my money.  In the hotels I stayed at that served breakfast, I’d wrap up a sandwich and have that for lunch.  When I’d have to buy food, I’d save half and eat it for dinner later on, I just had to choose dishes that would still be good even if they were cold.  When I was in Italy, I realized it was cheaper to have a scoop of gelato (1 euro) than a slice of pizza (2 euro) so I’d have one with my Diet Coke (notice a pattern here?).  But just because I was scrimping on the food didn’t mean I’d sacrifice the ambience.  In Venice, I’d enjoy my gelato and coke dinner while sitting on a bench in the piazza near my hotel, soaking in the city and the music coming from the street musician at the corner.  In Rome, I’d enjoy my ice cream at one of the benches near the Spanish Steps.  I didn’t really think much of the whole thing until I realized that my pants were getting very loose.  (Problem was I didn’t bring a belt, but pulling up the pants was worth the hassle, believe me!)  And when i got home, I realized I had lost 15 pounds in 3 weeks.  Not bad!

LAST STOP: BARCELONA, TANNED AND 15 LBS LIGHTER

Traveling poor also means doing a lot of walking.  Why pay for cab or bus fare when you had sooo much time to kill, you can just use your built-in mode of transportation? Your feet!  When I’m in New York, I’d walk at least 10 blocks a day, sometimes I’d go up to 40 blocks.  My sister’s old apartment building was at the downward slope of  a very steep hill, so walking to the subway or bus station meant climbing up that hill, every single day.  And, there only the A train would stop there, so I already memorized all the A Train stops and would take that subway everywhere (I hate transfers and I can’t read subway maps!) and just get off at the stop closest to my destination and walk the rest of the way.  But now she’s moved to nicer neighborhood with no hills! But it’s more centrally located, so maybe I will walk even more and subway less.  When we went to Washington DC, we decided to skip the tour bus and just walk around, and boy did we?

STOPPING FOR A PHOTO IN WASHINGTON DC

 In Paris, I walked up and down the Champs Elysees twice (that’s 1.18 mi!) before i found a cheap place to eat, and then i walked all the way to the Louvre.  And, after walking around looking for Mona Lisa, I tried to walk to the Metro station but I couldn’t find it so I walked and walked till I did.  When I told the hotel clerk what i had done, he couldn’t believe it.  I looked it up later and realized that I had walked at least 5 miles.  Thank God for comfy ballet flats (Jessica Simpson–winner!!!)

 

AT&T PARK, AFTER THE GIANTS LOST TO THE A’S IN THE EXHIBITION GAME

When I’m in San Francisco, I don’t get to walk as much and drive my brother’s car so I find other ways to sneak in a bit of exercise.  Thanks to my fear of my brother’s wrath if I do something to his car, I park faaaaar away from the other cars.  So this translates to a bit more walking to and from my destinations.  I am also too lazy to keep moving the car so I park at one spot and then just walk to the different stores in my favorite strip mall (Target at one end and Old Navy at the other, with a Marshall’s, Staples, Sports Authority and Bed Bath & Beyond in between).    I also try to channel my funds towards my shoe and clothing purchases so I still apply the eat at home and drink outside policy. 

PHOTO STOP IN VEGAS

So far, Dubai and Singapore were the only failures in my Travel Poor Diet.  In Dubai, it was just too hot to walk outside so I stayed in and snacked.  In Singapore, my stay was subsidized and there were other things to worry about so eating became a “hobby” shall we say? 

 

MUST STOP FOR PHOTOS BEFORE SHOPPING AT THE MALL OF EMIRATES

But now I’m back in San Francisco, and once again, the diet has paid off.  I’ve lost most of the weight I gained in Singapore, the clothes are fitting well again (smaller muffin top!) and I’ve actually lost 8 pounds and counting.  Not bad when you’re on vacation and people insist on treating you to lunch or dinner every now and then.  

It’s not the healthiest diet, I know.  And, people may say that I’m missing out on good restaurants.  But I’m not.  Thanks to my family and friends who take me to nice places (where they serve chicken, since I don’t eat beef and pork anymore), I’ve been able to enjoy the best of both worlds, just not on my own dime.  

 

WAITING FOR THE CRAB AT THANH LONG

Now I just have to figure out how to make this diet work when I’m in Manila.  Hmmm….

That’s all for now….bow.