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Kris Locker Travels the Globe

Tian Tan Buddha. Photo provided by Kris Locker.
Tian Tan Buddha. Photo provided by Kris Locker.

What’s up, Eagles?! My name is Kris Locker and I’m a senior at FGCU. This past year I found my passion for travel, and since February I have been to five countries. My last destination was to Southeast Asia. At the end of March 2019, I left home for what would be an entire month in three beautiful countries. I did this with the help of GIVE Volunteers, a global volunteer group.
I started my journey in Hong Kong, China. My group and I visited the village of Tai O and saw an entire city built on stilts. Tai O is on the Western side of the Lantau Island, the largest island of Hong Kong. The city was built on the water to allow fisherman easier access to their revenue.
After leaving Tai O I visited the Tian Tan Buddha (the Big Buddha) statue. The Big Buddha is part of the Po Lin Monastery, a Buddhist community. The statue stands 112 feet and takes only 268 stairs to see. Sadly, it was foggy the day I went, but I was still able to see an outline of the statue.
How can you save up and plan for bigger trips?
The first thing I tell new travelers, and even myself, is to start with baby steps. It isn’t every day I get to travel across the world, but I can find affordable ways to plan for them. Now is the perfect time to plan for a winter or summer break vacation.
First, decide on a destination and then browse flights. I chose London for winter break and my personal favorite site to book flights on is Google Flights. You’ll find cheaper flights around Tuesday afternoon. Airline deals happen late Monday or early Tuesday, and competing airlines end up matching their prices later in the afternoon.
Now that you have a destination, what’s the best time to fly out? Go on a weekday, and no, not a Friday. Air travel is the heaviest during the weekends, so cheaper flights are more readily available between Monday and Thursday. Another bonus: red-eye flights, or overnight flights, are even cheaper.
The Hopper app lets you see flight and hotel prices right from your phone. Like Google Flights, the Hopper app can track flights and send you alerts when prices drop. Another tool is Scott’s Cheap Flights, which is an email subscription that sends you the cheapest flights in different locations. This is perfect if you don’t have a specific destination in mind.
Happy Travels,
Kris

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