How much money for one year in Asia???

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.

miguel
--
Hit The Road! Photos and tales from around the world: http://travel.u.nu

On Wed, 07 Jul 2004 17:50:06 GMT, Miguel Cruz wrote:

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


Nonsense.

* stay at the cheapest places

Nonsense. In India, say 5$ already gets you an ok place and 10$ in
Thailand for a double gets you an A/C room with hot water and
satellite tv (no, no, not in Khao San Road - do your homework before
leaving and you'll find the good value for money areas).

* no rickshaw, no taxis

Again, nonsense. A taxi from one end of Bangkok to the other will cost
you 100B tops, that's 2.5$. Share it with someone else if you're
sightseeing or going out and that's like 1$ each.

* no guides

Not really a big loss, but again nonsense. Stay long enough in the
same place and you'll make plenty of local friends who are far more
valuable and informative than the so-called 'my name is Mike' guides
who beseige you upon leaving your hotel in say India.

* no aircon bus

Nonsense. An A/C bus from Bangkok to just about anywhere in Thailand
will cost under 15$.

* no sleeper train

Same again.

* eat only street food

Nonsense. There's plenty of very nice A/C all-you-can-eat,
stuff-yourself-till-you-explode, places in Bangkok where you'll spend
5$ tops. Not in the backpacker areas obviously (there you'll get a
coffee and a muffin for that price haha).

* no beers

Nonsense. Ever seen the family-size 640 ml bottles for 1$ tops just
about anywhere in Asia (except for Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singaore)?

* do not visit famous places (Taj Mahal alone is 15 US$)

Nonsense. You won't visit Taj Mahal every day of your trip, will you?

* avoid the more popular beaches

Well, yeah, and so you should, and what a relief to get away from the
masses, greedy locals, pickpockets, touts,... Find yourself a nice
fishing village in Thailand and take it easy.

* no diving or other activities which cost money

Again, you won't dive all of your holiday now will you? That month of
trekking in Nepal where you'll spend 5$ a day tops more than makes up
for that diving trip in the Philippines.


Of course, for this budget, countries like Japan or Korea, but also
Hongkong or Singapore, are completely off limits.

Total nonsense. Hong Kong being so incredibly expensive, where do
these people get these stories? I lived in Hong Kong and I can tell
you, if you do a little research in advance, Hong Kong is very
possible under 20$ a day. Sure, forget about restaurants and lots of
beer and bars and so on, but for a week you'll survive in a hostel,
cook most of your own food, eat McDonalds, cut down on the beer, avoid
taxis and take the very convenient busses. Hong Kong being completely
off limits, total nonsense. Same goes for Singapore.

Even Turkey has to
be avoided.

Dunno about Turkey but after the comments about HK and Singapore, I'll
say 'nonsense' about this too.

And then Miguel replied:

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.

miguel

Exactly, Miguel. Costs will be higher in Hong Kong and Singapore, but
the AVERAGE will be below 20$, no problem.

* eat only street food


Haha and not to forget about the all-you-can-eat Pizza Hut used to
have in Bangkok for 2$ a person, not bad hey if you crave some Western
food (not any longer unfortuantely, but there's other deals around).

And hell, WHAT is wrong with street food in say Thailand,
Malaysia,...?? Fantastic food, dirt cheap, lots of friendly
conversation,... Some of my best eating memories in Thailand are
eating noodles on the sidewalk somewhere along Sukhumvit.

Enough if you want to spend a year on restrictions
....and be careful all the time on what you're spending
I don't think it's realistic

"magda" a écrit dans le message de
om...
Hi
How much money would I need for one-year travel in Asia (china, SEA,
India, Nepal)? Do you thing 7000USD would be enough?

Thanks a lot
mb

Enough if you want to spend a year on restrictions
....and be careful all the time on what you're spending
I don't think it's realistic

"magda" a écrit dans le message de
om...
Hi
How much money would I need for one-year travel in Asia (china, SEA,
India, Nepal)? Do you thing 7000USD would be enough?

Thanks a lot
mb

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!"

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. Food in
Sulawesi and Kalimantan tends to be a combination of palm oil, refined
starch (pasta or white rice), a little meat, and spices. Little or no
veggie matter.

--
Photos and travelogues from Africa and Southeast Asia: http://www.exile.org

Have you tried it yourself?


On Wed, 7 Jul 2004 22:56:12 +0200, "Runge" wrote:

Enough if you want to spend a year on restrictions
...and be careful all the time on what you're spending
I don't think it's realistic

"magda" a écrit dans le message de
. com...
Hi
How much money would I need for one-year travel in Asia (china, SEA,
India, Nepal)? Do you thing 7000USD would be enough?

Thanks a lot
mb

Have you tried it yourself?


On Wed, 7 Jul 2004 22:56:12 +0200, "Runge" wrote:

Enough if you want to spend a year on restrictions
...and be careful all the time on what you're spending
I don't think it's realistic

"magda" a écrit dans le message de
. com...
Hi
How much money would I need for one-year travel in Asia (china, SEA,
India, Nepal)? Do you thing 7000USD would be enough?

Thanks a lot
mb

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.