Exploring the World on a Budget: Will Hatton's Broke Backpacker Adventures
Will Hatton travelling the world
Episode 148 - Travelling w/ Will Hatton (The Broke Backpacker) - A $3K Budget For 2 Years In India, A Serial Entrepreneur + Snapchat Tours
My latest Winging It Travel Podcast episode is with Will Hatton, for what is more commonly known as The Broke Backpacker.
It was an absolute pleasure talking with Will, as we covered a wide range of subjects in our chat of just over an hour.
We are pretty much the same age, with the same type of upbringing and similar thoughts about joining the military when we were younger, so we talk about how different our lives would have been had we gone down that path.
We obviously delved into some of Will’s travels, so we discussed his first foray into international travel in India on $3000 for two years—yes, you read that right!
Will enlightens us about his idea to hitchhike from London to Papua New Guinea, only to have this trip cut short in Pakistan so that he could embark on a new life as an entrepreneur with his new wife from Iran.
What happens when Will casually offers a tour of Pakistan? He wakes up to twelve paid-for slots over a night’s sleep.
You may know Will as the Broke Backpacker from his blog. We talk about how that began, its success, how it survived COVID-19, and where we are today.
We chat about being creative, running a business while on the road, his new hostel adventure in Bali with Tribal Hostels, and so much more!
This episode is really a goldmine of funny stories, lessons learned, valuable business advice, travel advice, and hard-hitting truths.
Listen below if you would like, and let’s delve into some topics that piqued my interest.
No, really. You should get booking those flights to India like Will! If you scan the QR code below or click the QR, a link will open a new tab on Skyscanner! Book those flights with that link and help the Winging It Travel Podcast make a tiny commission.
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Visiting the Taj Mahal in 2016
A $3000 budget lasting two years in India? Sounds crazy, right? Will Hatton did it!
India is cheap for Western travellers, but spending $10 daily for two years is pretty impressive. From what I learnt from my trip there in 2016, it is possible!
To give you an idea, you can buy bananas on the street for 5p and stay in hostels in non-tourist parts of town for a few dollars a night.
But what impresses me the most about Will’s story here is the passion and love to travel.
Alongside the impressive budgeting skills, you must love what you are doing because it will get tough.
Will carried a tent with him and slept on the street, in train stations, and anywhere else that would help his budget.
We all know my podcast's name is Winging It, and Will was right on brand when he discussed his plans for India.
Nothing bar a few places to see like Hampi.
This is also in those bygone eras when social media wasn’t a thing, iPhones didn't exist, and you needed a physical map to work out where you were.
You needed to speak to people.
A skill that is possibly diminishing amongst the younger travellers.
Will use services such as Couchsurfing and HelpEx to get free digs in exchange for voluntary work. These are fantastic techniques to make your trip last longer, as accommodation is the most significant cost when travelling outside of flights.
Within this story in India, Will explains how to use what he learnt, which are now invaluable skills well into his thirties.
He learnt how to haggle, which is important for entrepreneurs. This is a key trait needed in India.
I will learn how to average the cost over the two years, bringing excellent budget nouse.
Will travel on public transport, which is much cheaper than tourist transport. This gets you out of your comfort zone as you navigate traipsing the country with locals.
This can be intense in a place like India, given that there are over a billion people and that there will always be people at any given time on any given day.
One of the most important aspects of this story is Will’s ability to see as much of India as possible.
He loves travel, he loves India (and hates it too), he loves meeting people, he loves budgeting, and he loves to make his trip last so he doesn’t have to go home sooner.
How much do you love travel?
Will you sacrifice some hardships to make your dream a reality?
Thirty businesses later, Will has learnt some valuable lessons!
Have you ever dreamt of starting your own business?
This episode will provide some key nuggets of advice for your journey.
Will explains through his anecdotes how he started Broke Backpacker in the early 2010s when people are waiting for his next updates on his travels.
This turned into a small newsletter list of thirty people, which led to the start of the Broke Backpacker website.
How will we update the website and enhance SEO? He used the $6000 he accumulated overnight when he promoted a tour in Pakistan to see the country. He couldn’t believe people booked it!
How many quality hours a week can you do on your business when travelling the world?
Should you set up a business at the same time as travelling?
Will is very candid in his answers to these questions. He believes that you should have your business up and running if you want to enjoy travel. This way, you can maintain your business rather than hustle while trying to see Machu Picchu.
What I love about this aspect of the chat is that he was brutally honest about when you stayed in Pakistan to work on his business.
Too many people on social media and YouTube think everything is possible. Last year, I learned that assuming my business will flourish when travelling without a business mindset is absurd.
How can I put in quality hours to make this work? Where is my cash flow?
I honestly don’t think you can do both simultaneously to a good level, there has to be a touch of realims in there.
It was a relief to have Will affirm that. You need to have that mindset of staying still for a while, putting a plan together, and getting your online business up and running so you can maintain it while on the road.
This is my future state, and Will provided some invaluable advice.
Will admitted in this interview that he has made mistakes and lost money but also had some good wins along the way.
The Broke Backpacker currently gets between one to two million views a month!
What did Will do in lockdown when COVID stopped travel altogether?
He doubled down on the content, kept the site alive, bided his time and waited for the fruits at the end, which is now!
I love this as it shows dedication, determination, strong will and belief in what he is doing!
We all need these to succeed in whatever we try to accomplish.
I am very early in my entrepreneur journey, and it feels daunting, but interviews like this really provided me with some crucial nuggets of information to take forward.
Will hitchhiking in Iran - photo credit Will Hatton
How different would our lives have turned out if we joined the military?
This small part of the conversation early on hit me quite hard, both in terms of the interview and the edit.
Will had planned to join the Marines in the UK and me, the RAF, but both had unique quirks of fete.
Will had a nasty knee injury, which rendered him discharged and unable to join the Marines, which ultimately led him to his epic trip to India.
Growing up, I was a keen musician. Being from a relatively poor background, I could not make it to music college financially, so I was reliant on the music school receiving government funding for their music programs—a bit like Student Loans.
At the very last second, they called me to confirm that they had the go-ahead for funding and that I could enroll in their course.
I immediately sacked off the idea of joining the RAF and headed for London.
The years in question are 2006-2009, and we both would have been deployed to the Middle East without a doubt.
Think of our journeys right now.
Both have travelled extensively and love meeting local people, understanding local cultures, and striving to get people to do the same.
The thought that I could have been dropping bombs on the same people I had met only last year or on someone like Will, who would have been on missions on the ground, is almost unthinkable.
The thought horrifies me!
With Will hitchhiking into places like Iran, India and others, he got to know the local people and relied on them.
The lesson here is that in a seemingly polarised world, people on the ground will help you and are not enemies. They are like us, and they are us.
We all share the same dream of progressing, helping each other and respecting all cultures.
We don’t solve problems with guns or violence; we learn by talking, understanding, being empathetic, and being positive human beings.
Some may see this as being quite hippy, but the other way isn’t working either. Is it because of the number of wars going on?
We have to do better, and this conversation will aid that mode of thinking!
Check out my latest YouTube episode in Seoul, South Korea.
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Who is Will Hatton?
I’m Will Hatton, adventurer, entrepreneur and the original Broke Backpacker.
For as long as I can remember, I have been passionate about real adventures in far-flung lands. I like raw, challenging travel that pushes me out of my comfort zone and teaches me life lessons.
For many moons, I traveled the world on $10 a day, living rough, picking up random jobs, hitchhiking, Couchsurfing… It was an incredible experience. Today, I live in Bali where I am the co-founder of Tribal Bali – a very special hostel aimed at backpackers seeking to make travel a lifestyle through online entrepreneurship.
I still travel often – usually to places with no phone signal and no distractions. For me, travel is about resetting, reconnecting and spending time in the raw beauty of nature.
The goal of The Broke Backpacker is to show budding adventurers how to ditch their desks, hit the road and discover the intoxicating levels of freedom that can only be found while traveling the world.
We are passionate about real adventures in far flung lands. We live for raw, challenging travel that pushes you out of your comfort zone and helps truly change your life…
For many moons, The Broke Backpacker was a one man band traveling the world on $10 a day, living rough, picking up random jobs, hitchhiking, Couchsurfing… It was an incredible experience yet alas; our lonely solo warrior found there was very little information on the art of true budget backpacking available online and so, a decade ago, The Broke Backpacker was born…
We believe that travel is the ultimate learning experience and that when you are out of your comfort zone, this is when you learn the most.
I had my first taste of backpacking when I was eighteen and was instantly hooked by the chance for a fresh start, the chance to be somebody new whilst hitching, camping and Couchsurfing my way around Europe.
Since then, I have trekked deep into the Venezuelan jungle, worked on bars in Laos, herded goats in the Holy Land and conquered the highest navigable pass in the world armed with a poorly drawn map and some beef jerky.
I have experienced and survived knife-point robberies in Nepal, guerrilla encounters in Myanmar, motorbike crashes in Vietnam, marriage proposals in Iran, arrests in India, love triangles in Colombia and numerous other misadventures. Check out this post to find out about some of the lessons I learnt on the road.
When I was nineteen, I became seriously injured whilst trekking in Costa Rica and spent two weeks in a hospital before being shipped back to the UK. I spent a year recovering from a truly unpleasant ordeal. It was not a good time.
I had always wanted to be a Royal Marine but on account of my injury that dream was abruptly over.
Unsure where my life was headed, I made my way to India and traveled around Asia on a budget of fifty bucks a week, I traveled for two years before returning to the UK to visit my family.
Being in India alone at such a young age was one hell of a culture shock but it ignited my passion for adventure and pushing myself out of my comfort zone.
Crucially, spending time with myself while exploring nature gave me the tools and insight I needed to recover from some traumatic events, and I realized fairly quickly that raw travel gives you a chance to heal and grow. The opportunities for personal development on the road are truly endless.
This episode is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Spreaker, Audible and YouTube., and anywhere else you get your podcasts!
Be sure to follow me on Instagram too!
Finally, check out Will’s blog on the best travel podcasts to listen to here. Thanks for the inclusion, Will!