Korean Job Discussion Forums

[eac02]

After my contract is up I'm going to travel SE Asia for 3 1/2 months. I plan on going to Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia but if I don't make it to all them then I'll do it next time. I'm trying to figure out a realistic daily budget to help me plan for the trip.

After talking with a few people who have been to some of those countries and after spending 3 weeks in Thailand and Cambodia myself, I'm thinking of a budget of about $30/day. With a monthly budget of $1000 to cover extras or unexpected expenses. I'd rather over budget than under budget.

I'm a pretty laid back traveler and usually stay in cheap guest houses/ hostels.

For people who have traveled around those countries is that a realistic budget? Should I budget more?

[ttompatz]

[BBBrown]

I just recently returned from a short trip to Cambodia and it was really cheap.

I was in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap. If your looking at temples and things in Siem Reap, then you must get either a single day pass or a three day pass. My friends and I got the 3-day pass for $40USD. With the pass you can visit all the sites for free (a tourism fee). The tuk tuks (passenger motor taxis) cost any about $2-$7 depending on the distance. We paid a guy $12 to take us from site to site for the entire day. Meals are anywhere from $2-$10. Most of my meals were about $ and it was a good (about average) sized portion meal. water and drinks cost $1-$2 with beer being $1.5 to $3. My hostel portion was about $6/night. I would say you can get around for about ~$30/day. I don't buy souvenirs but things are cheap too. Just expect to pay for the VISA upon arriving and LEAVING Cambodia.

[Schneepat]

I did two months through SE Asia several years ago, and at the end of it all, I averaged close to $50/day. Granted, that included my travel expenses... two flights within SE Asia, lots of long bus rides, and a couple of train trips. You could probably do this on $30/day, but that would be the lowest I'd go. As mentioned above, why not budget a bit more and then bank the savings.

[jvalmer]

$50-$75 a day to be really comfortable and buy a few trinkets. On just $30 you'll be penny pinching and not making any friends negotiating with some poor guy over a few cents.

[bucheon bum]

$30/day in certain parts of Thailand is stretching it (such as Bangkok, many beach areas, etc). On the other hand, it should be ok in the other 3 countries.

Personally, I'd go with $40/day to be on the safe side.

[DeMayonnaise]

If you're traveling by yourself, try finding other single travelers to share rooms with. It's not that hard...just chat up some raggedy looking mid 20s guy (which I'm assuming you are too) you meet on buses, trains and ferries and split a room. Easy way to cut your costs. You can find rooms in most places for around $10 a night if you can share them with people. That will go a long way towards sticking to $30 a day, which you CAN do if you split rooms with people.

Of course, it depends on how much you drink too. Even at $2 a beer, it can get expensive if you're pounding 10 beers a day.

[ttompatz]

Oh, and depending on YOUR nationality, the visa, entry and exit costs can run as much as US$100 per country.

Thailand is tight on $30 per day, as would be places like the cities of Malaysia, developed parts of Indonesia and city destinations in Vietnam and Cambodia.

It's not like a tourist is going to be able to "go native". Transportation, accommodation, meals, and drinks all add up. Toss in a few tourist activities (or else why are you going) and you can easily go way over budget if you are limited to $30.

Heck, people who LIVE in Bangkok and the beach locales have trouble living on $1000 per month and they aren't spending 30% of that on rooms like a tourist would.

.

[DrugstoreCowgirl]

If you haven't already, check out hostels.com or hostelworld.com. They have a lot of rooms for under $10 a night, including private rooms.

I'll be traveling in Thailand and Malaysia this fall, so I'm hoping to be able to spend $30 a day as well. I'm just hanging by the beach a lot of the time so it shouldn't be too hard.

[v15ben]

I wouldn't even look at Hostelworld if you want to be flexible. I literally turned up and found somewhere in many places and it ended up even cheaper than Hostelworld.

[ttompatz]

$10 per night is 30% of your budget....
toss in 5 beers a day at a but apiece and you are 50% gone.
3 meals for $5 and you have less than $10 left for EVERYTHING else including tourist activities, travel expenses and unexpected surprises. Add a G/F to the mix and you are doomed to blow your budget long before your time is up.

$30 per day is OK IF you are staying long term in one place - a long stay room in most of Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia, Philippines, or Indonesia is $100 per MONTH or less.

You can live on it but the luxuries are few and far between. Going native is not much fun as a tourist.

.

[Italy37612]

[Kaypea]

[red_devil]