Popular Chinese blogger captures trend of 'iron butt' travel, spending just $3,700 across 42 cities around the world

What happens if one doesn't have the means to travel luxuriously?

Be prepared to get on board the 'iron butt' travel bus then.

For those unfamiliar with the colloquial Chinese term, it was first used in reference to ultra long-haul bus journeys.

In recent times, however, it has become an exaggerated expression which describes people's endurance for budget long-distance travels.

Douyin user Xinxin recently went viral for her content where she documented her gap year going on "more than 10 holidays" across 42 cities at home and abroad, spending just 20,000 yuan (S$3,666) in total on transport.

It has now also earned her the reputation as an 'iron butt' traveller, with the corresponding hashtag of her story trending on Weibo.

According to Beijing Daily, the 25-year-old Chinese student had taken the gap year in 2023, journeying around the world across 42 cities, which included those in her homeland as well as overseas.

Incredibly, her travel expenses amounted to less than $3,700 for her multiple journeys which took her to Russia, Thailand as well as Bali, Indonesia.

In one Douyin clip, she shared how she'd spent close to 4,000 yuan (S$733) travelling from her hometown of Jiangxi to Murmansk, Russia, to catch the northern lights at the Arctic Circle.

This included a connecting flight from Wuhan, in central Hubei province, to Beijing and then to Moscow. She'd also managed to score a free train ride from her hometown to Wuhan through a points exchange programme on a ticket sales website, South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported.

At the Arctic Circle, she made nine detours just to try and capture the famous, albeit notoriously fickle, aurora borealis and went whale-spotting, which cost her 266 yuan (S$48.75).

And when she was in Bali, she'd managed to find a hotel which cost her just 80 yuan (S$14.70) a night.

Sharing her experiences on all the food she'd tried on her travels, she stated that "the place with the worst-tasting food is in Russia", while the best food she tasted was in the regions of Sichuan and Chongqing.

To her doubters, Xinxin expressed how many tourists overestimate the cost of travel.

In order to maximise her savings, Xinxin would diligently search travel websites for air and train fares, reported SCMP via The Cover.

She'd also research on hotel rates as well as read up on benefits of using certain platforms for travel.

"Traveling on a budget does not equate to a poor experience. With thorough preparation, you can accomplish a lot with a minimal outlay," she emphasised.

Dishing out tips for budget travellers, she spoke of some booking platforms that have "hidden benefits". In Chengdu and Chongqing for example, there are complimentary shuttle services within a five-kilometre radius for travellers who book their high-speed rail tickets online, she said.

"Budget travellers are usually held back by the lack of information [to have a good experience]," said Xinxin.

Her story has sparked a flurry of discussion online, with some warning that her style of travel is not for everyone.

"Don't be fooled... Everyone dreams of travelling the world but not everyone is suited for it and there are dangers everywhere. It may look good on the surface but anything can happen," wrote one.

Others, however, were more encouraging. 

"Budget travel or not, the most important thing is the traveller's mindset and experience. As long as one is in a good frame of mind, any trip can be a good experience."

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