After weeks of traveling for fight events and work, once again I’ve been glued to my bed.
As for my pure relaxation mode, I tend to get off on the thought of not having to stand and/or walk around somewhere. Some people would call it bedridden, I just call it fuck off.
Meanwhile, I have 10 days before I leave for Melbourne, Australia for UFC 234. It couldn’t be more fitting for me LAYINGGGGG in my bed watching South Park when I’m about to travel alone for the first time somewhere I’ve never been.
LOL.
JUST LIVING LIFE TO THE FULLEST James Dean style, unlocking the thought of crashing in a car.
Honestly, I need to stop talking about this as my thoughts trickle downwards away from what I really want to say. I actually blame Grand Theft Auto for all this. Can’t catch my drift? Stay tuned for another article.
But let’s keep it real, #ISSAMOOD o’ clock.
Which is... *drum roll*
I DON’T THINK I CAN LIVE MY LIFE WITHOUT TRAVEL AND THIS 5 DAY TRIP (MINUS THE TRAVEL TIME) HAS ME HAPPY!!!
I decided to get an Airbnb because I wanted to experience that homey feeling. At first, I was looking at apartments because I enjoy being bougie sometimes because I love traveling by myself. Having the freedom of doing whatever you want in your own space like walk around naked or just dance around.. naked.
I mean, who wouldn’t want that?
Also having a hot tub is needed.
I usually book places on Booking.com which I love because you are able to reserve hotels/apartments/etc and have the option to pay it once you arrive. That usually helps because you don’t have to think about not having a place to stay when the prices rise and/or the possibility of things selling out very quickly depending on what you are trying to attend.
If you are looking for a flight/hotel together you can use websites like Priceline.com and look at the combo prices.
If not you can look at things separately however, that is an option. Make sure no matter what airline you fly with to sign up for the rewards program. Being able to stack up those numbers is only going to benefit you in the long run! I believe you can do it for hotels as well.. depending on where you are staying!
In Melbourne, they had very nice hotels.
But I notice all across the board extra fees you have to pay for which the websites don’t tell you about in the price you are looking at until you get to the end. Especially if you are going to Vegas make sure you remember if you are staying on the strip you would have to pay a resort fee.
EVEN IF YOU AREN’T USING THOSE AMENITIES.
Seriously, it sucks.
And for me?
UM.
I kind of doesn't like that shit.
So with Airbnb, you look at the ratings, make sure to get a Superhost. Why? BECAUSEEEEE the communication is so key for these things. You don’t want to get in a situation where it's just going to be bad vibes whether they are staying there while you are or not, but I mean might as well avoid the awkwardness as much as possible.
When filling out the part where you talk about yourself, be real.
People are inviting you into their home and the more personable you are the better. Let them know what you’re all about. Doing small gestures like buying a bottle of wine perhaps and putting it on the table is totally cool. It's inviting for the moments when you want to be social and if you don’t that is chill too; just let them know. I don’t see a problem with other people giving you your space when you ask for it.
The benefit of having a Superhost is how they will know the area of where you are staying. If it was me in that position of hosting I would be juicingggggg on giving people recommendations things to check out, places to eat, train systems, etc. It is that point of ease you get when you are traveling somewhere new.
Because honestly, let’s keep it all the way 100. My ass has no time to get lost in that heat.
Me somewhere not knowing something like always:
I’m staying in West Melbourne which is a bit over an hour out from the Rod Laver Arena (where the fight will take place) but with all the press/media stuff going on I felt that is enough gap of space to get me where I need to go on time.
So let the journey continue.
From a previous article where I talk about not saving any money I mean that is absolutely true.
This is why paying for a flight from the Bay Area to Australia seemed expensive AF. I’m good and it is not that serious to be paying over $1000 on a flight when I was going to be there for five days without a ticket to the fight for fucks sake.
Before I got the message from MiddleEasy and the confirmation from the UFC, I wasn’t about that life of spending an insane amount of money.
In that case, I was researching some things and found out you can actually pay for flights in payment plans.
LIIIIKE, YES BITCH. PAYMENT. PLANS.
I was just as shocked because here I am spending all the money at one time not realizing I can also just fucking chill, pay a little bit, and keep it moving.
I use a travel app called Hopper mostly to keep me up to date with the sway of different flight prices. As in if certain ones get a little higher in price or lower giving you more of an idea when you should buy them for the best bang for your buck. It is a clever app, but sometimes it's just a chance game.
However, there is a way you can learn the ropes. Given that Tuesday evening is the cheapest time to buy flights. I don’t know why, but it is a real thing. Meanwhile, the craziest shopping day is Black Friday, then you have Cyber Monday. But now after that, you have Travel Tuesday. Just think a cheap ass time to buy flights basically.
So if you missed 2018’s round don’t forget to check that out this year. But do a little trial and error on prices and don’t always go for the same thing all the time on the same website right when you see it. Do some research first! There are alternatives always that work out for everyone.
A bus. Instead of a flight. I’ve gotten to Vegas roundtrip under $50...
There are ways to change your IP Address like Mr. Robot. I’m not saying I know the A to B to C but there are ways to get cheaper things.
I know. It might be a bit shocking. But stick with me here...
From what I was mentioning earlier about the flight payments it is through a website called Airfordable that I found!
This website saved my ass mostly because you put in all the details of your trip. Starting with the date, location, exact price, airline information, and then they contact you back if you qualify. From there you would have chosen your payment plan as in paying it in 2, 3, or 4 payments.
Then they add a little fee for using their services and honestly to have a piece of mind and lock in a price seemed well worth it to me.
I chose to pay it in 3 payments.
How many?
Now if you aren’t serious about paying your payments then you should stay clear from this because the consequences just aren’t worth it. You would have to pay back the same amount or even more if you fuck up so just like... don’t you?
This is a great service that could help a lot of people if they get qualified in the long run!
DON’T YOU THINK?!
From thereafter you pay your last payment they send you the confirmation number of the e-ticket where you just go on the website to find. I got mine immediately and everything is pretty spot on from there.
Even on one of the payment days, I had to contact them the day before to hold off on payment just for a few hours until something cleared with my bank. They ended up extending my payment a full day which helped me out to no end.
So even communication-wise they are great!
Definitely worth going and researching a bit more for your next international trip. And if you happen to use them in the future you can totally use my referral code here!
Now I have my flight for around $700 from the Oakland Airport where I live 10 minutes from LA to Melbourne and vice versa. The deal is great from the number of upgraded prices I’ve been seeing since.
I did well.
Life @ me:
I also have my lodging which I purchased a private room inside an amazing apartment. I figured I’m not going to be inside the house as much because I will be out and about doing my own shit. But it will be nice to see a great view every morning when I wake up and slowly make my walk to the hot tub.
The fight is covered because I’m covering it, literally. Which honestly blows my mind to this day. I can’t wait to blow this opportunity out of the water.
On that note, it is time to get more stoned and organize my brain with things before this trip. I can’t believe a little more than a week is upon me. I’ll be starting my vlog where you can see my crazy ass face during all these shenanigans I’m about to capture.
Also if you have any more questions about travel because I probably left out a lot from how much research I’ve been doing you know how to get ahold of me.