How would your travel plans change if you won the lottery?

An Aussie backpacker won US$830,000 in a lottery after he impulsively decided to buy a ticket when he arrived to New Zealand. Before becoming a millionaire in Kiwi-land, the plan was to travel around the country for a few months, fruit picking on the way. “However, we will now be able to travel in a bit more style,” he says.

This story made me wonder: if I won the lottery, how would that change my plans?

Honestly, I’d still backpack. I repel 5-star hotels. Other than a luxurious bath, they really have nothing to offer and they make me feel like I am living in a posh, protected bubble that hides everything real the place I’m visiting has to offer. Paying a fortune for a clean bed makes no sense to me and often makes me feel sick.

This feeling was reemphasized lately when I went to Barcelona for work and I was put up in the Arts Hotel — the most expensive hotel in the city. Everyone spoke English, I was surrounded by every nationality except Spaniards, a measly and tasteless coffee cost me €5(!!), and there was no place in my vicinity (other than a grubby Chinese restaurant) where I could eat for less than €20. I would much rather have stayed in a cheap little hostel in the city center where I would meet cool people (who don’t have a pole up their backside or a $ sign on their forehead) and have access to cheap local food and bars where the Catalans hang.

So if I won the jackpot, I would invest some of the money in assets that would generate consistent revenue so I could spend more time more often on the road; the rest I would give to some cause. What would you do?