Can't Buy Me Love

< Older | Newer >
Can't Buy Me Love
Lome, Togo West Africa
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Andy of HoboTraveler.com

Words from the music group the Beatles,
Lennon and McCartney

Can't Buy Me Love…
----
Money can't buy me love.

I moved into a new room and pay 4 dollars, I have a five times better room than my room for 12, if you think about the words,
- Can’t buy me love. Money can’t buy me love, -
Maybe there is a reason why this a better room, what I get for free is here...

What does a person want in a hotel, they want a hotel that cares. I have not figured out how to buy that in 10 years of travel, I am not sure I can pay enough to stop being a number in a big hotel, or ignored in most.

Since I moved into the room in two days.

The owner offered today to have water heated so I can have a hot shower.

The cleaning girl picked up my sandals and protected so the dog would not play with them.

The owner showed me two times how to use the key to the front gate.

The housekeeper washed all my clothes for 2 US Dollars.

The man came in a showed me how to turn on the lights, where the switches were located, and all the room adjustments. He apologized for water next to the toilet, and I was laughing, in my 12 dollar hotel I was using a bucket to flush.

Then, the daughter is gorgeous, bonus points.

This is the second cheapest room in Togo so far, and it for sure has the best service. I am sure, money can’t buy me love.

I see very little difference between a 2 and 20 dollar room, except for the 18 dollars, their is an expectation and the perception it was better. Because, well, I guess, well think about it, I did, I know I paid more, therefore it was better, maybe.

Can't Buy Me Love

< Older | Newer >
Reader Submitted Comments | Deleted Comments (0)

goingeverywhereslow said on Tuesday June 19th, 2007 12:16:00 PM

Andy,Sounds great. Feels good to find a sweet spot eh?To my mind, $4 USD is an ideal target price for a travelers room. For those so inclined, I think it fits within an overall $15 USD a day strategy nicely.Below are what I consider targets for per day costs of essential travel expenses (third world). Certainly cost vary from place to place, guaranteed to have lots of cross allocation, and it is over simplifying a bit. But for me it's important to have an easy way to check myself on a daily basis to stay on track.$1 ($365 yr) Internet $2 ($730 yr) Ground, Gear & Misc. $3 ($1095 yr) Food & Water $4 ($1460 yr) Room $5 ($1825 yr) Airfare (15Kmi x .12)------------------------------$15 ($5475 yr) TotalEric

Andy HoboTraveler.com said on Tuesday June 19th, 2007 09:31:00 PM

Travel BudgetVery excellent, said as I think in Spanish or French.The lows save you, there are highs and lows of a travel budget. When you stumble upon a room for 4 dollars, I tend to stick and take down the mean average cost.I dream of writing a guidebook whereby a traveler could stay on budget easy just by using the Hotels, Restaurants and advice, not having to scrutinize every single listing and reading between the lines.How can I teach a person to read between the lines, I do not see how?I can say, room 4 or X hotel is cheapest in the city, and best utility value. Then hopefully with use of the internet other travelers could attach to the same price. They go off topic so far, that only by stringint use of questions and form could I find the pivotal question.Great you had a great room also, was it also 4 dollars?

Andy HoboTraveler.com said on Wednesday June 20th, 2007 01:34:00 AM

Yes, a sweet spot is good.The big budget cost most travelers, not me, because I do not drink is alcohol.I think a person needs to add 10 dollars per day to peoples budget for drinking on average.