How much money for one year in Asia???

Miguel Cruz wrote:

Thomas F. Unke wrote:
You can do it on 20$ a day if you

* stay at the cheapest places
* no rickshaw, no taxis
* no guides
* no aircon bus
* no sleeper train
* eat only street food
* no beers
* do not visit famous places (Taj Mahal alone is 15 US$)
* avoid the more popular beaches
* no diving or other activities which cost money

Of course, for this budget, countries like Japan or Korea, but also
Hongkong or Singapore, are completely off limits. Even Turkey has to
be avoided.

That's not fair; he just has to keep his AVERAGE cost below $20. He can see
the Taj Mahal and ride the sleeper train and visit Turkey. He just can't do
those things every day of his trip; they have to be balanced against days
spent on the beach in Indonesia at $5/day including food and lodging.


I agree that you can easily travel for $20 a day (or less) in many parts of
Asia, and many people have done just that. If that's all he can afford, go for
it; it'll be a good experience that he'll talk about for years. Unless
something goes wrong, and many things can go wrong. You could get ill, for
example, and if you doesn't have any reserves you're screwed. Or maybe you meet
someone that told you of a really cool place that you'd like to go visit; too
bad if you've already gone over your weekly budget of $140US. Also, what
happens if the exchange rates dramatically shift, meaning that wonderful $20 a
day in country X is now only $10?

Thomas has it right. Save up for two or three extra months, work an extra job
or two, just to have a small (and even $50 is a small amount) cushion. And if
you have money left over at the end of the trip, throw one hell of a party and
tell me where it is!

John W.

On Thu, 8 Jul 2004 00:44:06 +0000 (UTC), (Eric
Edwards) wrote:

On Wed, 07 Jul 2004 18:07:23 -0400, Madonna wrote:
Asian food is known as a health choice.

*Some* Asian food is healthy. Thai food is pretty good.

It can be deceptive. A lot of sugar goes into many Thai dishes.

On Thu, 8 Jul 2004 00:44:06 +0000 (UTC), (Eric
Edwards) wrote:

On Wed, 07 Jul 2004 18:07:23 -0400, Madonna wrote:
Asian food is known as a health choice.

*Some* Asian food is healthy. Thai food is pretty good.

It can be deceptive. A lot of sugar goes into many Thai dishes.

Guess you've never seen the HUGE hen batteries in Thailand, and Bali. Just
behind the tourist gloss in many Asian destinations are some pretty ordinary
farms and food processors!!


"Madonna" wrote in message
...
me wrote:

I recommend everyone to eat as regularly as possible.

Too true. Never ever skimp on food.

Oh yeah and when in Malaysia, eat, eat, eat, eat, best food on the
planet.

Asian food is known as a health choice.
Also people lose weight in Asia is because they eat more fresh and less
processed food at the local restaurants. E.G. Chicken is bought at the
morning market alive, later it's killed and cooked, then it's served in
the evening. No need for sulfites and other chemicals that the US FDA
marked as safe without testing it. Chicken are free range, not stuck in
cages.
Also more rice, less white bread. More spices, less sugar.

But I see all the tourists in KL spend their time in McDonald's, saying
"Besar size it!"

Guess you've never seen the HUGE hen batteries in Thailand, and Bali. Just
behind the tourist gloss in many Asian destinations are some pretty ordinary
farms and food processors!!


"Madonna" wrote in message
...
me wrote:

I recommend everyone to eat as regularly as possible.

Too true. Never ever skimp on food.

Oh yeah and when in Malaysia, eat, eat, eat, eat, best food on the
planet.

Asian food is known as a health choice.
Also people lose weight in Asia is because they eat more fresh and less
processed food at the local restaurants. E.G. Chicken is bought at the
morning market alive, later it's killed and cooked, then it's served in
the evening. No need for sulfites and other chemicals that the US FDA
marked as safe without testing it. Chicken are free range, not stuck in
cages.
Also more rice, less white bread. More spices, less sugar.

But I see all the tourists in KL spend their time in McDonald's, saying
"Besar size it!"

Thomas F. Unke wrote:

[..]
But I have to admit: During my travels I met quite a few people like
you who are proud to do it on the lowest budget possible. Mostly, they
are not the most pleasant fellow travellers.

Whats your problem Thomas?? I really hate this agressive attitude!

There are some people out there having a lot of time available but no
money. Why shouldn't they spend their time travelling around on low
budget? If you don't want to meet this people, then just go to upper
class restaurants and places and stay there ...

I did both, travelling on low budget with plenty of time and in the last
year with more money but limited time:
My experience:
.) diving is definitely possible for less than $20 a day (Manado),
Bali), in case that you stay a while at the spot and meet somebody who
has equipment and so on..
.) transportation is really cheap when you have time available and you
can wait for a good deal,
.) food quality has from my experience nothing to do with the price you
pay for it(you _can_ get very nice food on foodstalls and you also can
get really awful stuff in a upper class restaurant)...
.) I was disturbed mainly by turists having money (and beeing proud of
it) ... isn't this a "typical" german attitude?
.) the money you spend has nothing to do with the quality of the journey
.) ...

Beeing on low budget requires different plans and you have to be aware
that you will not be able to do everything at the time you want ...
20$/day (that is $600/month) is still much more than the average income
in most of the countries the original poster will visit, so why
shouldn't it be possible to live and travel there?

Manfred

Thomas F. Unke wrote:

[..]
But I have to admit: During my travels I met quite a few people like
you who are proud to do it on the lowest budget possible. Mostly, they
are not the most pleasant fellow travellers.

Whats your problem Thomas?? I really hate this agressive attitude!

There are some people out there having a lot of time available but no
money. Why shouldn't they spend their time travelling around on low
budget? If you don't want to meet this people, then just go to upper
class restaurants and places and stay there ...

I did both, travelling on low budget with plenty of time and in the last
year with more money but limited time:
My experience:
.) diving is definitely possible for less than $20 a day (Manado),
Bali), in case that you stay a while at the spot and meet somebody who
has equipment and so on..
.) transportation is really cheap when you have time available and you
can wait for a good deal,
.) food quality has from my experience nothing to do with the price you
pay for it(you _can_ get very nice food on foodstalls and you also can
get really awful stuff in a upper class restaurant)...
.) I was disturbed mainly by turists having money (and beeing proud of
it) ... isn't this a "typical" german attitude?
.) the money you spend has nothing to do with the quality of the journey
.) ...

Beeing on low budget requires different plans and you have to be aware
that you will not be able to do everything at the time you want ...
20$/day (that is $600/month) is still much more than the average income
in most of the countries the original poster will visit, so why
shouldn't it be possible to live and travel there?

Manfred

.) I was disturbed mainly by turists having money (and beeing proud of
it) ... isn't this a "typical" german attitude?

That's true, but its not only a German behavior.

.) the money you spend has nothing to do with the quality of the journey
.) ...

Here I must disagree. A bigger amount makes a lot of things easier.
But, of course you can have a fantastic time even on a low budget. Depends
on yourself, the people you meet, weather, and a lot of other things.

Back to the discussion. Its possible to live in Thailand for 20 $ a day, i
did it before.
But with 10 $ more its much more enjoyable. 1.000 Baht is fair enough if you
stay away from the main tourist tracks sometimes.

Chris

.) I was disturbed mainly by turists having money (and beeing proud of
it) ... isn't this a "typical" german attitude?

That's true, but its not only a German behavior.

.) the money you spend has nothing to do with the quality of the journey
.) ...

Here I must disagree. A bigger amount makes a lot of things easier.
But, of course you can have a fantastic time even on a low budget. Depends
on yourself, the people you meet, weather, and a lot of other things.

Back to the discussion. Its possible to live in Thailand for 20 $ a day, i
did it before.
But with 10 $ more its much more enjoyable. 1.000 Baht is fair enough if you
stay away from the main tourist tracks sometimes.

Chris

Madonna kirjoitti:

Also more rice, less white bread. More spices, less sugar.

Rice is very energetic.