Family vacation on a budget

Vacationing in a recession

Even in an economic downturn, as long as you have an income of some kind, you may still be able to take some pretty nice vacations. Depending on what you do, this economy may have placed enough stress on you that a vacation is needed. A little research and/or some phone calls or emails can yield you some pretty nice results.

How you plan for a vacation of course is entirely up to you. Some people make impulse decisions and just decide when they leave work for their weekend that they are going to go away. Those types of short trips can be a lot of fun but they can also be far more expensive than they need to be.

If you take the time to decide where you want to go and the research the options that you have for getting there and for lodging and food you can save a lot of money. If you are flying, working things out and booking in advance can sometimes save you hundreds of dollars on the flight. If you are driving, research ahead of of time is equally as valuable as buying plane tickets early. I took a trip by car during the height of the gas prices this past summer that was necessitated by someone traveling with me that really hates to fly. The trip was a total of approximately 2500 miles round trip and by researching on-line before I left I saved approximately 65 dollars in gas prices and about 150 dollars in food and lodging costs because I had a list of the places in each state along our route that had the best gas prices and another list of low cost lodging and local diners.

When you are researching your trip, start with the vacation that you would most like to take and see if it can be done within the budget you have. If not, then work your way down the list of places you want to see until you find one that works.

If you are traveling overseas, Make sure you research the average prices at the location you want to go to. In many cases you will find that you do not need to spend a lot locally. The Philippines is a good example. The vast majority of your expenses will come in the form of the flight to get there. While the resort areas are far more expensive than regular hotels and indigenous eateries, they are still far less expensive than you might imagine. In Manila for example, you can get a very filling and quite tasty meal from a street vendor for the equivalent of a one or two dollars. Unless you have a very exacting diet regimen that you must follow, try to stay with locally produced items. If you go looking for something that needs to be imported then the price will be substantially higher.

Hopefully I have helped you a bit in making it easier to decide on taking a vacation despite the economy. Make sure you do all of the research needed and happy traveling.

Why stir

I love stir-fried meals. Whenever I’m in a Chinese restaurant, I ask to go back to the kitchen and watch an expert chef prepare the meal. In some restaurants, the cooking is done on stoves or open charcoal pits right out front in sight of delighted diners. It is like seeing a carefully-orchestrated ballet performance, followed by a delicious encore.

With all the meats and veggies pre-cut, usually accompanied by great flourishes, chopping and tossing, he (or she) heats up the round-bottomed wok. After adding the very small amount of oil … peanut or corn or sesame or whatever … and when it starts to smoke a bit, all the ingredients are ceremoniously combined with more style and precise moves. After a minute of furious stirring, and never more than two minutes, the al dente cooked meal is poured onto the diner’s plate in a cloud of steam and more dance moves.

This Chinese cooking method preserves all the healthy vitamins and other ingredients of the food, unlike Western methods that boil or fry them away. I now have my own wok and prepare my Chinese meals for friends and family whenever the occasion arises for friendly and enjoyable meals. I’ve tried outdoor barbeques and have attended many, but they are the exact opposite of wok cooking, which is infinitely more healthy for attaining low-fat food styles.

How did I get started in wok cooking? You won’t believe it, but it’s true. As World War II was winding down, I was on Navy shore duty in the newly-recaptured Manila, capital city of the Philippines. Our group of sailors was invited to attend an Army USO performance. The star was Danny Kaye, at the time a big movie and Broadway star. Although mostly forgotten today, his fantastic singing, dancing and comedy talent were very popular.

His show was very entertaining to the war-weary GIs. Of course, the chorus girls who danced on stage with Danny had a bit to do with the thunderous applause and cheers. As the show wound down, Danny jumped into the audience and invited a dozen GIs and sailors to join him for dinner that night at his Manila Hotel suite, just below the penthouse floor occupied by General MacArthur.

I was one of the fortunate guys invited, and looked forward to my first elegant, non-K ration food dinner in many months. When I arrived with the other sailors, I saw Danny himself in an apron preparing the meal. On closer inspection, I could see he was using a strange, circular fry pan and tossing ingredients around like the dervish dancer he was. Disappointed that I wouldn’t get a good American steak, I took his invitation and sat down to Danny’s personally cooked Chinese wok dinner.

I don’t know where he got all the fresh ingredients, meats and shell fish in war-devastated Manila, but his meal was absolutely fabulous. That was the moment my love for stir-fried Chinese food began. Thanks, Danny!