The story starts with three broke Vietnamese girls and a broke American boy, still wanting to wanderlust in Palestine. Read until the end if you want me to reveal the secret sauce for our unbelievably frugal adventure.

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1. Find Couchsurfing hosts

We did not pay any penny for hotel rooms during our five days in Palestine. Not only will Couchsurfing save your money, it can also connect you to extremely interesting people in the area. Here is the link to this magical website: https://www.couchsurfing.com/

Since day one, we were welcomed by the two friendliest Scandinavians in Bethlehem, and the fun began from there. Sitting on the balcony to enjoy the spectacular view of Bethlehem at night, staying up till early morning to discuss philosophy, sipping cocktail while listening to Sparab music,…. Those are just a few things we did together. Well, we could never find a better host.

2. Make friends with locals

We were overwhelmed by the friendliness and generosity of Palestinians anywhere we visited. Probably attracted by our exotic Asian look, they always approached us to ask about our origins and our thoughts on Palestine. In local markets, they sometimes gave us free fruits, usually after a 15-minute conversation when we called each other “sadiq” (friend in Arabic).

The highlight of the trip comes to Sebastia town, where we relive the Roman empire. The city was destroyed by earthquake but the ruins remained until today. It now belongs to UNESCO heritage: https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/5718/

On our way to Sebastia, we made friend with a local on the bus who was born and lived there all his life. He surprisingly accepted to give us a free tour around that town for the whole afternoon. Passionate about promoting his hometown as a historical wonder rather than a conflict zone, he impressed us with his rich historical, religious and cultural knowledge of Sebastia. He even introduced us his sister who worked in Sebastia museum. How on Earth can we ever find a better tour guide than him?