Ok I'll reveal to you one of my special tips. I've never read about this on another blog so this is an original. Of course, some of you will never use this, but maybe it will come in handy for a few.
I'll tell it in story form. I just got off the boat (yeah literally) from Ormoc to Cebu in the Philippines, and I learned first hand where the expression "fresh off the boat" came from.
I had researched the cab price from the pier to the Cebu airport prior to docking and knew I should pay around 300 pesos ($6) for the trip. The first solicitor who approached me quoted 350 pesos. Not wanting to quibble over a buck I accepted his offer.
We walked about 3 minutes to his vehicle only to discover he was on a bike, what? I've got luggage! A large suitcase and a backpack. Why didn't he tell me it was a bike? Well the answer was obvious, I never would have accepted. Plus the fare should have been half that for a bike!
He assured me he could keep the suitcase between his knees if I could carry my backpack. I told him no way was I going to put all this on his small bike. But, after seeing no available taxis around, and always seeking new adventures, I acquiesced after a renegotiation of terms (I still overpayed at 250 pesos). He assured me he knew the hotel and we were off!
(See my suitcase between his knees?)
However, it turns out he didn't know the hotel and he took me 15 minutes out of my way despite my protests to him he was wrong. You see I always follow the path on my iPhone map and knew where to go.
After much convincing when we arrived at the wrong hotel, he finally took me to where I needed to go. But, he asked for a tip for the extra mileage. No way Jose! You screwed the pooch on this one. I told him he was lucky to get 250 as I was still overpaying!
Anyway, back to the title story. On the boat ride over I knew I would have 5 hours before my flight. I researched lounges at Cebu airport and saw I did not have complimentary pass to any of them. The cost of lounge access was to be $32, a bit more than I was willing to pay.
But then I had an epiphany! I knew airport hotels can be very inexpensive in Cebu so I researched the prices. I found one with a decent rating for only $18! Wow, I could stay there and have a private room with shower and TV and a 40% discount. Plus I had a bed to take a nap! I jumped on that.
When I arrived at the hotel I tried to save a little more by asking if they had hourly rates (yeah I know what that sounds like!). They said no so I paid my $18 for a few hours stay. Actually I'm glad they said no because I don't think I would have wanted to stay at a hotel with hourly rates!
So what does an $18 hotel look like? I'm glad you asked!
Not bad for $18 as my expectations were already low. But it was clean and that's the main thing.
This was a great improvement over an overcrowded lounge in an airport. Sure, I gave up the free food which I didn't need anyway, but the added privacy and bed more than made up for it. Plus I kept $14 in my pocket!
That's a tip I'll keep in my back pocket in the future. I can't believe I never thought of it before!
👍👏👍👏👍👏
I know you always travel as cheap as possible. Thus was definitely a new approach to getting your best buy for your buck. The motor bike ride was a bit sketchy thinking of all you had to carry on a small bike. Just another adventure