From coin tricks to hardcore haggling: your poundstretching tips

Simon Calder’s Travel Week [SUBSCRIBE]( [SUBSCRIBE]( December 02, 2022 [View in browser](   [The Independent]( [The Independent]( Rampant inflation, a puny pound and more strikes than you can shake a placard at: that describes the UK in December 2022. Exactly the same was true in 1972. Yet then as now, travellers still ventured abroad. Funny money: Don’t be tempted to improve the exchange rate in your favour by currency subterfuge Half a century ago, the backpacking revolution was getting under way, fuelled by a new wave of guidebooks. In 1972 Tony and Maureen Wheeler, founders of Lonely Planet, made their formative journey across Asia on the cheap, as their seminal travel guide would be titled when it appeared the following year. The autobahns and autoroutes of Europe were filling with people thumbing with the help of the Hitchhiker’s Guide to Europe. And in the UK, a writer-activist named Nicholas Saunders self-published a quirky book called Alternative London. Mostly it described what would now be called “hacks” to save cash in the capital – recommending, for example, that you threaten to use a new-fangled credit card to settle a restaurant bill unless the hapless proprietor gave you a discount. But the advice manual also strayed into international travel by recommending coin tricks abroad. “English 2p pieces work in most French Space Invaders machines,” impecunious travellers were advised. I bet the bar owners who discovered the cash boxes of their video games contained British small change rather than French francs were thrilled. Even better, across the eastern border: “5p pieces work as 1DM in German vending machines.” The exchange rate instantly quadrupled from around five Deutschmarks to £1 to exactly 20. I was reminded of such subterfuge this week when [I asked readers for their tales of extreme travel meanness](. Many told of hardcore-haggling to save a few pence on a taxi or a souvenir. Tipping below the accepted 18 per cent minimum in the US is evidently a popular moneysaving technique among transatlantic travellers; Isabella and her friends reduced the cost of a night out in Hannover still further by simply doing a runner from a bar in the main square. “In our defence, we had asked for the bill three times,” she says. (Read Tip of the Week, below, to see how generous the Germans are to visitors celebrating their birthdays, with free travel treats galore.) Any parent knows that when children are involved in a journey, the cost soars – and therefore the incentive to save increases. Fliss asks: “Does bribing your five-year-old to tell the theme park entrance staff they are only four so they get in free count?” The practice cannot be condoned, but it sounds safer and less illegal than Tim’s confession: “When the kids were little we used to holiday in the Lake District, and we would always spend a day at Lowther Park. I would pull up just before entering and one of the kids would go in the boot to avoid the entrance fee. They loved it and would fight for who went in there.” However intense the cost-of-living crisis, don’t try this at home. Or away.   [Get inspired...]( Winter city breaks]( From Bruges to Budapest, Turin to Tallinn, here's where to head in Europe when the temperature drops [I'm an image]( ['Tis the season]( The best UK Christmas markets to check out this December [I'm an image]( [City + Sea]( Why Tampa, Florida is the blazing beach-and-city break you’ve never thought of   Enjoying this newsletter? Unlock unlimited, ad-free reading on the website and in The Independent app when you subscribe – plus, benefit from our [welcome offer when you join today](.   Tip of the week: Spend your birthday in Germany The travel industry in Germany offers many rewards to those celebrating their birthdays. If yours is any time up to 27 April 2023, you get free public transport on the day anywhere in Munich; book in advance on [this link](. Use the gift to reach the [Olympic Tower](, where admission is also free on your birthday. At the [Belantis theme park]( in Leipzig, everyone gets in free on their birthday – and if the park happens to be closed that particular day, exercise your right to free fun on the next day it’s open. Across in Stuttgart, not one but two car museums are keen to help you celebrate: at the [Mercedes Museum]( it’s kids only, but at the [Porsche Museum]( anyone is allowed in free on their birthday, regardless of age. [The German plan for train, tram and bus travel for £1.40 per day in 2023]( PICK OF THE WEEK: MALAYSIA AIRLINES Book your sunny holiday away with 15% off flight fares! Extra 3% off when you book via the Malaysia Airlines App. Sales Period: Until 5 Dec 2022 Travel Period: Until 31 Aug 2023 [Book now]( Deal of the week: Doha during the World Cup Football fans who spent thousands of pounds on hotel rooms during the World Cup 2022 in Qatar may be annoyed to learn that [accommodation prices are tumbling as disappointed teams and supporters leave the host nation](. Tomorrow night the three-star Villa Palace (no, not named after two Premier League teams) is available through the [official accommodation portal]( for under £125 for a double room. A week today, the cheapest properties are below £70. Air fares, mainly on [Turkish Airlines]( via Istanbul, are typically £750 return from London or Manchester. [Our comprehensive guide to travel, tickets and ethics involved in a trip to Qatar](   Question of the week: Dining out in Singapore Q I am following in your footsteps and going to Singapore next week. Any particular restaurant recommendations? A In the south east Asian city-state, eating is a constant joy. Flavours from across Asia and beyond have been imported, often with an added Singapore twist. Sharpen the appetite with a drink on Haji Lane, home to cutting edge street art. My dining default is the hawker centre – where dozens of vendors, each with their own culinary specialism, compete for custom. Choose what takes your fancy and then take a seat; drinks from tropical fruit smoothies to craft beer are also available. Dozens of hawker centres are dotted around the nation, but my favourite is right in the city centre: Lau Pa Sat. The venue is a former Victorian market built in Glasgow in 1894 and shipped across to be assembled locally. All manner of Chinese regional dishes are on offer. If you prefer Malay satay, just outside the meat skewers are grilling along what has become known as Satay Street. Choose the provider with the longest queue. [Read our full travel guide to visiting Singapore]( STAT OF THE WEEK 20 Time saving, in minutes, from locations in South West Wales by rail to and from London, [when a new train operator starts running in 2024](. [Our comprehensive guide to Christmas rail engineering work]( What you might have missed... - Missed connection: [19-year-old loses £500 after flight transfer failure at Heathrow]( - Flying high: [easyJet is cashing in on strong demand, with some February ski flights over £1,100 return]( - Biometric bother: [Face and fingerprint checks on Brits going to the EU could take four times longer than current procedures]( SIMON'S DIARY       Every day from Monday to Friday I tackle a top travel story, or explore a topic in more detail than usual in ‘Simon Calder's Independent Travel Podcast’ – available free on [Spotify](, [Apple Podcasts](, [Pocket Casts]( or [Acast](.         Every day from Monday to Friday I tackle a top travel story, or explore a topic in more detail than usual in ‘Simon Calder's Independent Travel Podcast’ – available free on [Spotify](, [Apple Podcasts](, [Pocket Casts]( or [Acast](.         I find the easiest way to rush out stories is to tweet them. It’s also an easy way to contact me. My direct messages are open and I read all DMs, though regrettably I can’t respond to every one. Let me know your thoughts [@SimonCalder](         I find the easiest way to rush out stories is to tweet them. It’s also an easy way to contact me. My direct messages are open and I read all DMs, though regrettably I can’t respond to every one. Let me know your thoughts [@SimonCalder](         Each Saturday and Sunday I take questions live at 5.30pm British time on Instagram Live – from wherever I happen to be in the world – so please do come and say hello. Follow me on [@Simon_Calder](         Each Saturday and Sunday I take questions live at 5.30pm British time on Instagram Live – from wherever I happen to be in the world – so please do come and say hello. Follow me on [@Simon_Calder](         Or you can find me on TikTok. Come and have a look at what I have been up to as I bring you top travel topics and report on the latest changes in a minute or less via [@caldertravel](         Or you can find me on TikTok. Come and have a look at what I have been up to as I bring you top travel topics and report on the latest changes in a minute or less via [@caldertravel](   INDYBEST / [TRAVEL BEST BUY]( [10 best sleeping bags for camping, festivals and trekking adventures]( From kids’ options to cocoons for two, these will ensure the happiest of campers. 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