Travel Bugdeting and The Saghetti
from a Kettle and Waffle Maker
While Santorini is renowned for its relaxing atmosphere, I actually found myself stuck with looking for accommodation. Hostel World didn’t quite cut it for a stay on this breathtaking island. I found myself teetering on the brink of homelessness for the second time (the first one was in Edinburgh). As my flight landed in Santorini, I actually still hadn’t secured a place to let my hair down.
One of the biggest challenges of traveling to Santorini at the age of 17 is the lack of viable options for securing a place to rest. You are not allowed to have an airbnb account at this age, actually, you can still have your mom’s account but it will be associated with many inconvenient stuff. I even tried enlisting the help of Ngoc, my Vietnamese friend who was over 18, to communicate with an Airbnb host. Unfortunately, our efforts fell flat.
Arriving in Santorini, I found myself stranded near a trash bin at a bus stop, waiting for the next ride, as I didn’t have any cash for the previous one. Eventually, after lugging my 15-kilogram bag through Oia with a suitcase, I was dropped off at the wrong stop, hơi đen. I could feel the damn scorching of Santorini as I trudged along concrete roads at midday on this land, carrying a nylon grocery bag that can be punctured at any time, a suitcase missing a wheel, and a mountain of belongings on my back. In the flimsy nylon bag, I got a meager dinner of spaghetti, a jar of Barilla sauce (a surprising steal, given it was Santorini), and a pack of sausages.
That seemingly short one-hour “trek” to Foinikia felt more arduous than any 30-kilometer hike I’d undertaken in other countries (I actually enjoyed tho). Climbing the beautiful but exhausting marble stairs with all my suitcase, just to reach an Airbnb I couldn’t even book, was a challenge in itself. Despite the language barrier with the owner, I was offered a 50% discount due to the lack of prior cleaning by the previous guests, and he actually liked me (love him af). I then happily waited until 2 am for the host to tidy up that room.
Survive through the first day with the cheap spaghetti from the kettle and the waffle maker
That’s my crazy idea of prepping a meal using the limited amenities, as the place lacked a proper kitchen. It dawned on me that this was a traditional cave dwelling in Santorini that everyone wanted to stay in, and I even got it at a bargain price. Alright, securing an affordable stay with the quest for a unique experience landed me in a cave with bare minimum amenities – a kettle, a waffle maker (and maybe 2 forks). Actually, why do they think about the coffeemaker there but not any of “nồi”, “chảo”, “bếp mini”, etc?
They say hunger knows no bounds, and after 12 hours without food, I had nothing to wait without having to utilize all of these. That spaghetti, under Santorini’s stunning sunset, was the most satisfying meal I’d ever had. Not just because of the picturesque setting, but also due to the ingenious use of that so-called kitchen’s amenities I found. With the kettle as a pasta boiler (yes, I dropped the pasta into the kettle) and the waffle maker serving as both a stirrer and a makeshift stovetop for the sausages, I could have my cheapest barilla spaghetti. And all with a dash of olive oil spray from, originally intended as a Greek gift for my mom (sorry, Mom! idk this cave doesn’t offer it).
Somehow, I savored not only the flavors but also the resourcefulness that traveling often demands. I tried it for the night of my last day there, and It still worked without burning the cave. Try it if you think your mom won’t scream out.