Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Summer Wine]

I am curious as to whether anyone on here has spent 2-3 months travelling around, Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and what their experiences were.

What was the average cost to do it?
What were some issues they felt were overlooked prior to travel.
What would they do differently?
What did they take and what was superfluous?

And any other tips they might think of. I am considering doing a trip when my contract ends and am trying to get some personal info, rather than just google as if someone that is in Korea has done it, I may be able to meet up to chat with them and really discuss it.

[Kurtz]

Costs--> Such a hard question to answer. Depends on your style of travel; these days I go for upper budget or lower mid-range which puts me on about $40-50 day. Remember though, there are trips, guided tours which are hard to resist sometimes and these add up, as do the things you buy which you didn't expect to. In a nutshell, work out a budget and then double it, as that's what you'll probably spend if you aren't too careful.

Questions 2 and 3. The internet is full of blogs and travel forums like LP's TT, or trip advisor. Do some research first and have a rough plan of what you want to do but be flexible! Don't just mindlessly follow your LP guidebook, you'll be disappointed most likely as some places just don't live up to the hype. Meet people on the road and listen to what they have to say, where to stay, what activities are good etc.,

Going back to planning. The weather will have a huge impact on your trip. The wet season can make traveling difficult, impossible or very dangerous. I just missed out on being stranded up in north Vietnam due to floodong one year.

Again, be flexible. If you like a place, stay there for a while; don't feel the need to run around to as many places as possible like it's a competiton.

Pack as light as possible. Don't take a sleeping bad unless you're really going to need it. Just about everything you can imagine can be bought in SE Asia; it might not be the best quality, but it's damn cheap!

See you on the road, I'm due for a hit out soon too.

[ttompatz]

Seriously, unless you plan to do the bottom end pack-packer routine (gets real old real fast) you had better budget about US$100 per day of your travel.

"That is so expensive, I thought SE Asia was cheap!"

Well, yes and no. Excess cash does not go bad on you, It doesn't rot without refrigeration and will keep just fine for months or years if you ignore it.

You can always bring it home again when you are done your travels.

If you get caught short it really will ruin your vacation in a hurry. Nothing like being somewhere and NOT being able to do anything other than sit in the hostel/hotel cause you are short of cash and begging other backpackers to front you a beer.

Another thing to remember is that people who are staying long term someplace get the same prices as locals (you can rent a house for a month for about the same price as renting a room for 3-4 nights in a hotel), they shop at the local market instead of eating everything in the hotel or a restaurant and they don't blow 1/3 of the budget on evenings in the bar.

If you think you might add a lady friend to the mix (g/f or just entertainment) you can easily double your expenses without even trying.

.

[Summer Wine]

Thanks for that info.

I have already spent 3 weeks in Cambodia, mostly just staying in one city. I prefer to find a place I like and just relax,did the same in the Philippines, picked one place and stayed there for 1 month.

This time, I thought it might be nice to be a traveller and just go where the road takes me.

[northway]

I think $100 per day is pretty high if you're doing it alone and really, really high if you're doing it with a buddy. Excluding shopping, I probably spent about $900 on the whole month. In Laos you can get perfectly decent rooms, not the disgusting crap you see in Khaosan or in Kuta, for about $12 a night, including hot water and all that jazz. In Vietnam that same $12 can get you a room with a balcony and satellite TV. $100 per day is if you want to be living like a king, I would say, which is certainly nice, but you can pick your spots as to when you want to do that. Thailand is a bit more expensive in my experience, but Indochina is still dirt cheap. Even if you don't want to eat local food you can get steak frites all over the place for like $6, or banh mi for a dollar.

Staying in a really nice room in Louang Phrabang, one of the most expensive areas in Laos, shouldn't cost you more than $30 a night (and I'm talking a room that my always picky mother would stay in) which you could split if you found a travel buddy. If you want to eat non-local food three meals in the day, you're probably talking $15 for the day. We were able to rent a boat for $5 an hour when we were there and go out on the Mekong on our own. Even travelling on your own, I have a hard time seeing anyone spending more than $75 a day there unless you're buying a ton of handicrafts and eating at the most expensive restaurants in town all the time.

I know ttompatz has a bit more experience in the region than I do, I'm just saying, $100 a day seems way, way more than you need to spend if you pick your spots. In Laos and Vietnam (can't speak to Cambodia) I would say you can definitely live quite well on $50-60 a day if you're down with a lot of outdoors activities. The tourist buses are pretty cheap and the local buses cost almost nothing. Once you're there $2,000 should get you through a couple months without issue if you budget right, $3,000 should be more than enough if you want to act a bit of a fool.

[zhanknight]

[DeMayonnaise]

Pack light. I see people walking around with a huge backpack on the back and a smaller day pack on the front. Get yourself some good travel clothes (exoficio travel underwear, merino wool stuff, pants that cut off into shorts) and pick up a few crummy t-shirts on the way. Who cares what you look like, the less crap you have to carry around the better.

[zhanknight]

[northway]

[zhanknight]

[strongpowerfight]

I am also planning on taking about 10 weeks to travel se Asia after my contract is up this March. I was hoping to spend around $30-$50 a day. I don't mind staying at the cheaper places. I also don't drink very much. However, I do enjoy things like whitewater rafting, jungle treks, and other adventure activities.

What are your favorite locations in se Asia? What are your favorite activites to do there? Did you need any shots prior to your trip? Which places would you avoid and why? Any advice would be appreciated.

[DeMayonnaise]

[zhanknight]

[interestedinhanguk]

[DeMayonnaise]