Going to S/E Asia with £3500 how long do you think I can live out there on a shoe string?
I'm heading out to Asia in July. I've paid for my flights there and back (And also a flight from Bali to Phuket) and also a months Muay Thai training and accomodation in Phuket. I'm looking to take about £3.5k and am more than happy to stay in cheap digs. Realisticly how long do you think I will last? I'm also more than happy to work out there for some of the trip.
Places I fancy visiting are, Bali (Gili T), Burma, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand. I'm tempted to put the trip off a couple of months and save longer but i'm also thinking going on a budget and trying to make money out there may also be fun.
Thanks in advance for any help.
Reply to this Hi There
As a rough guide we spent around £1,000 per month for 2 of us when we were in SE Asia so based on that you should last around 7 months!
I'm not sure how easy it will be to find work when you are out there. Anything you do will be illegal but I suppose you might get something in the more touristy places like Thailand handing out flyers etc.. others may be able to help more on this than us because we didn't explore this option.
Hope this helps.. have a great time.
Sophie 😊
Reply to this Yep. Agree with Sophie.
Same here. In our first three months in SE Asia we spent 3,000 pounds between two of us. Of course, we were sharing a hotel room so those prices won't be lower for you unless you find someone to share with (probably not that hard).
Things are more expensive here now than they were (this was in 2006 and exchange rates have changed a lot lately), but that money should still last you quite a long time, particularly if you try to limit the drinking that you do! That's where a lot of our money goes.
What sort of job were you thinking of?
Reply to this Thanks for the advice guys.
Well I wont be doing any drinking in Thailand the first month I’m there as the Muay Thai training is going to be very intensive and 6 days a week so since the accommodation etc is paid for all I will have to worry about it a scooter and food.
Work wise I was hoping for Bar work (A family member has contacts in Thailand who own Bars). I am also going to be making films of my adventures so have editing software and camera’s so was going to offer to make films or websites of various accommodation’s in exchange for a couple of nights stay and or food etc. Anything I can do to lighten the monetary load for me and hopefully help the place bring in more business when people see my work on the Internet.
I’m changing my plans slightly and am going out a month later rather than going to Bali first as I’m training hard now in preparation for Thailand so don’t want to lose it all chilling on the beach and I get the bonus of another months wages to help inflate my savings.
Here is my daily budget for food/drink accommodation would you agree on this guestimate?
Singapore £35.00
Bali £19.00
Muay Thai Phuket £10.00
Vietnam (North) £17.00
Vietnam (South) £17.00
Laos £15.00
Cambodia £16.00
Thailand £27.00
Reply to this I think your budget looks pretty good. I personally found Cambodia cheaper than Laos. Travel is much cheaper in Cambodia - can get pricey in Laos (relatively) due to lack of competition. I struggled to spend £10 a day in Cambodia, but spent £25 a day in Thailand (booze). Booze is the big budget killer in SE Asia, so is western food. Local food is best and cheapest by far. You could eat like a king for a couple of quid in most of these countries (maybe not Singapore lol). As long as you keep an eye on what you're spending you should be fine. Do think about travel costs though, they can rack up. We set ourselves a £15 a day (each) budget for food/accommodation, but we really had £20 to spend. The rest went on travel and other extras that popped up. So maybe set a slightly lower budget for non-travel days.
But, don't worry too much. I think you could last 5-6 months comfortably. Even longer if you really go cheap. It all depends on your travel style. Have a great time.
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