Most of the people who get informed about my trip, wish to had time and money, like me. They think that I have time and money on a magic way. No, my father is neither a ship-owner nor I got any legacy from a rich relative. I am actually poorer than the average Greek.

   First of all, I think someone must achieve his dream on his own power in order to appreciate it. So, when he enjoys the positives of the trip, he knows that he worked hard and that enjoyment is his reward. I do not think I would appreciate it so much, if everything was ready for me by other people. This time, during my second long trip, there were many companies that supported me. However, it should be clear that we are not talking about a financial support. Companies almost never offer money. They offer the products or services that they provide, either for free or with a big discount. Of course, this was already a great help to us, since we reduced a lot the expenses we had to do, mostly for the preparation of our expedition. That is why we thank a lot those companies that trusted and supported us.

The expenses during my trip.

Total expenses : 13,292 € (408 € per month)

   We saved all the money we needed for this trip by working hard for years. We did various jobs, as it is described on our profiles. I was also working during my trip for two and a half months as a waiter at the restaurant of the Greek community in Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo. On top of that, I should not live like the average Greek, if I wanted to save some money. I was never living by myself in a house. When I was living in the city where my parents are living, I was staying with them. I was living with my girlfriend elsewhere. I was going to clubs, cafeterias or restaurants very rarely, not because I wanted to save money, but because that way of life makes me unhappy.

   During the trip, I was keeping in mind that my wallet does not generate any money. When I was not sleeping in my tent or being hosted, I was sleeping in the cheapest hostels which cost me 3.50 euros on average. Some of those hostels, however, were so dirty that most people would not like even to take a look. I was doing the same with food and water. I was not eating in the luxurious restaurants for tourists. When I was not cooking for myself, I was eating in the simple restaurants where the local people eat or I was buying street food. The average expenses for a day’s food during my trip was 2.90 euros. I was drinking water from taps, springs or streams, after asking the locals if the water is potable. If they were drinking it, I was drinking it too. We had a filter for the non-potable water but we used it very few times. We bought very few bottles of water during the trip. We do that, not only to save money, but also because we do not want to contribute to the extreme pollution of our planet by plastics.

   My total expenses during those three years that I was traveling were 13,292 euros. That equals 408 euros per month, after having excluded the period I was working in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, since my expenses there were covered. This amount, of course, represents all the expenses that I had during those three years of my life. So, you can easily realise that I actually spend less money than what an average Greek spends at home!

   The expenses I had in Greece for the preparation of our expedition were reduced by 50% approximately, in comparison with what I spent before heading to Asia. That was because some equipment or services were offered to us by the companies that were supporting our mission. So, for a realistic number for somebody who starts from scratch, I would suggest you to have a look at my expenses for my trip to Asia.

   I was receiving the money from towns or cities through ATMs and I was keeping an adequate amount of dollars and euros as a backup. In a few countries, like Sudan for example, the ATMs were not connected to the foreign banks, so I could not use them. Constrainedly, I withdrew all the money I would need through an ATM in the country where I was before I entered Sudan and I carried them in cash.

   So, I live my life in a wonderful way, for sure, but everything has its price… Otherwise, everyone would live the way I live. However, most people consider it a degradation to sleep on the floor in dirty hotels with mice and lizards around or to eat by hand between dirty locals while they have to remove bugs from their food. I live this way because I simply do not care at all about all those things. They do not annoy me and I never had any health problems due to them.

   I am happy when I enslave my soul (working, as we are used to say) for as short time as possible. I usually work so hard that most people would not like even to think about it. That is not an issue for me. What I want is to lose the least possible time in a job (in the Greek language we use the same word for job and slavery. Only the accent is changing.). Of course, some people do a job which makes them happy. They do not just sell their time and their soul. Happily, I can say nowadays that I achieve to make a living by doing this kind of jobs mostly.