Who is a Traveler?

A traveler is, well, someone who travels... as opposed to a vacationer, who vacations, or a tourists who gawks. A traveler who is traveling is not on holiday from regular life; traveling is a traveler's life. We live to wander. You won't find a traveler in a four-star hotel, lugging six heavy bags, or on some expensive, pre-paid sight-seeing tour. A traveler won't be wearing bermuda shorts or a hawaiian shirt, snapping photos of the tacky tourista zones. You won't find the traveler blowing wads of cash on expensive over-rated meals. Your traveler will be everywear camped out in the cheaper hostels, hotels, campgrounds, farmyards, backyards, and sometimes even your couch. She will have a smartly packed pack on her back, walking around the village road, country lane, or city streets with a look of contentment and wonder. Your experienced traveler will measure his road time not days or weeks, but in months or years. The traveler sees what he sees, the tourist sees what he has come to see.  Gilbert K. Chesterton
Perhaps the point of being a traveler is to experience many different cultures, to get to know the local inhabitants. Perhaps the point is to make friends all over the world, and to expand global understanding and our consciousness by doing so. Maybe we want to see a wild, chaotic, thriving and beautiful Nature before She disappears. Maybe we just got itchy feet.

What do you mean by Budget Travel?

Budget Travel is a way of surviving on as little as possible for as long as possible. There may be a varity of reasons for opting for budget travel, rather than a more excessive route. Budget travelers are often students without a whole lot of finances, but also include those of us fully employed that don't make a whole lot of money (more common than otherwise!). Some folks just find it hard to justify a lavish budget for a trip that may be primarily recreation or education. A budget traveler may be headed half-way across her home country - or half-way around the world. In any case, she is always interested in the cheapest eats, the cheapest transport, and the cheapest shelter.
Most folks I have met have found budget travel a highly satisfying adventure; in fact, there is often an inverse relation to the amount of money you spend and the amount of direct contact you have with the culture you are exploring. Buses, hostels, and food markets put you far more in contact with people than do airplanes, hotels, and room service.

What is a vagabond traveler?

Vagabond travelers go by many names: vagabond globetrotter, modern nomad, gypsie wanderer. All these names mean basically the same thing: you don't have a whole lot of money, and you are out to see the world. Another phrase often heard is perpetual traveler. This malady is basically self-explanitory; you've been bit by the travel bug, and you do not want to stop! The main distiction between a budget traveler and a perpetual travel is that the later's aim is to never stop; or, at least to spend as little time as possible not traveling. To this end, they look (and find!) ways to eliminate expenses at home (if they even bother to maintain a home), and to earn money or barter services while traveling.