2 . Tips for Cutting the Cost of Travel

Whether for pleasure or business reasons, it is normal for us to sometimes want to pack our bags, hit the road, and head to a new destination.     1    , it is not without its expenses and those expenses are capable of drilling a hole in one’s pocket if not properly planned out beforehand. Below are several tips to ensure you don’t end up too much out of pocket by the end of your travels.

•     2    . More often than not, people go directly to the airline websites to book their tickets. But did you know that there are so many websites, like Traveligo, which specialize in finding cheap flights for travelers? This is a great go-to website whenever you want to book your flight.

• Choose a cheaper means of transportation. While everyone likes to fly to their travel destination for ease and speed, flying isn’t the only transport option available. Depending on where you’re living and where you’re headed, you can always select public transport.     3    .

• Don’t use hotels.     4    . By using Airbnb or any of its popular competitors, travelers have the opportunity to not only live like locals but also spend far less.

• Use a travel credit card. When you apply for these cards, you can control opportunities like signing-up bonuses (红利), most of which are offered by airline credit cards.     5    . You can save yourself a lot of money by means of extra miles whenever you’re ready to hit the road.

3 . I’m a hiker — “born to hike”. It does my heart and soul good to take a pack and head out on a trail (小路), especially when I’m alone and can let my mind wander where it will.     1    .

Hiking keeps your brain sharper than many other forms of exercise. As a professional writer, although I am busy with my work, I often spare some time to hike.    2    .

    3    . Exercise in general can be a good way to decrease stress. But what sets hiking apart from other forms of exercise is that hiking can happen almost anywhere and give you the happiness that you can take from nature.

Hiking can increase our creativity. I’m sure I’m not alone in finding that walks in nature let my mind wander freely in creative directions.    4    Sometimes, ideas relevant to music come up from unconscious places when I’m not deliberately thinking.

Hiking helps strengthen a positive relationship with the natural world. Besides being good for us, hiking may also help the world around us. After all, if we stick to walking and covering longer distances, we could use cars less and reduce our carbon footprint.     5    . For example, it increases our connection to nature. As one study suggests, when we have a personal connection to nature, we are more likely to want to protect it. That means experiences in nature — like hiking — can be mutually (相互地) beneficial, helping people and the earth.

So, grab a water bottle, a backpack... and head out on the trail.You won’t be sorry you did.

5 . Here’s an imaginary question for you：would you rather leave your home country and never be allowed to return，or never leave your home country ever again?

It’s a difficult one!Let’s consider the beauty of being at home and the thrill of travelling. I left my home country，Germany，when I was seven to move to England with my family. Now at the age of 21，I’ve left my second home country，England，to work as an English language assistant in Switzerland.     1    

I don’t know about you，but I love getting to know new people. Moving abroad is the perfect opportunity to extend your friendship circle and make it global.     2     They’11 also be able to give you a new perspective on life as they share their view of the world—which is likely to be very different from your own!Time to open your mind and see the world.

You may learn a language in the classroom environment and learn it well，but nothing compares to fully burying yourself into a foreign language，participating in real-life conversations and picking up authentic slang and sayings from the locals.     4    

The world has so much to offer when it comes to food，so make the most of this new cultural experience and let your stomach guide you. Why not try something completely new?Tingle those taste buds.     5     Perhaps you can surprise your friends back home you’re your new-found cooking skills when you see them next.

6 . It seems that everyone is travelling on holidays these days. During the travel season, roads, buses, trains and airports are packed.     1    , and getting a seat at a restaurant may be impossible. You can fight these troubles alone, or you can travel, as I do, in a group led by a tour guide.

If you travel in a group, the guide will arrange everything for you.     2    . Prices are often cheaper as well, because a tour group can often get group prices and the best deals for nearly everything.

    3    . Most people do not know much about the history of an attraction and interesting stories related to it. The guide’s expert knowledge will help make the trip more interesting.

If you travel in a group, you can also make more friends.     4    . Often, friendships make the trip more interesting.

    5    . Your trip will be cheaper, more comfortable, more interesting and more rewarding if you travel this way rather than by travelling alone.

We often carry a lot of things when we’re traveling.    1    On long ones we carry things like passports, visas, etc. Though traveling can be fun, we’re likely to misplace these things and even lose them because of the excitement of the journey or being too busy or tired. So how can we carry valuable things safely while traveling?    2    Place most of it in a wallet and put the wallet in your main suitcase or bag with a lock-and-key system. Don’t open it until you reach your destination (目的地). Guess how much money you’ll need on the journey, and place this money in a different wallet and carry this in your pocket.    3    Next, instead of wearing your jewelry, you can carry your jewelry at the bottom of your suitcase or bag.    4    Many people think that since the purse is always going to be in their hands, it’ll remain safe. But other things like tickets, phone numbers, keys, etc., are all going to go in there. So you’re often going to open your purse for something or the other. What if you just drop it?Then remember to hook (钩住) the keys. You get those really nice key chains these days that come with a big dog-hook.    5    Use one of these to carry your keys. This way, you won’t leave the keys in a restaurant or any other place.Hope all the above tips for traveling will help you.

8 . A warm car and a long journey means that staying hydrated(有水的)is essential for all the family, so keep your drinks within easy reach with a holder.    1    That is, you can keep everything in one place, rather than having to search through endless pockets and bags.

One of the keys to a successful road trip is having enough space to be comfortable.    2    A roof box means there’s plenty of safe, dry storage for bags and cases, without a tower of belongings piled on the knees of everyone on the back seat.

Kids are messy and adults aren’t always much better.    3    Keep it clean and tidy when you’re on the move.

Sunshades(遮阳蓬)are a must for long journeys with children.    4    Many are transparent (透明的)enough for your children to still be able to see the world outside.

If tiredness hits, help little passengers to catch 40 winks and wake up refreshed with a supportive travel pillow.         5    .

Make sure journeys aren’t any longer (or more stressful) than they need to be. It’ll get you where you want to go without any needless routes or arguing over directions.