As a twenty-something living in New York City and lacking any sort of bottomless trust fund, travel used to seem like an unattainable luxury. While visions of balmy nights in Buenos Aires or volunteering with elephants in Thailand would dance across my mind, the reality of airfare kept me grounded (literally) and stuck day-dreaming. While I would happily have swapped hotels for hostels and guided tours for serendipitous encounters to save on money, my wallet cringed when it came to the purchasing …