HOSPITALS, HOSPITALS, HOSPITALS!Although I crashed many a party (which can be fun) there was a period where I ate very well and VERY cheaply in Hospitals (in quite a few countries as well)
Best tip I was ever given was by veteran Dutch Balladeer Klaas Van Graft. He told me when I was about twenty, to always collect stickers for my guitar case wherever I went. His theory was that a case covered with stickers would get you: a ride when hitchiking, a meal, a bed (often with companion) and a conversation when you were lonely. He was right. Nobody thinks you could be dangerous with all those stickers.
Rick