Travel saving tips: 1. Don’t have a life until you have reached your goal amount. But really. Stay home and read books and watch documentaries about the places you want to see. It will keep you inspired and will help you gain knowledge of the people and land that you are about to visit. Rhys and I stopped partying for one year and we saved $30,000 NZD after paying off $15,000 of debt and paying for all of our travel equipment/vaccinations/visa to Thailand/flights to Thailand and Vietnam. 2. Don’t treat yourself (too often) and really consider each particular purchase carefully – travelling will be the best treat of your lifetime! An added bonus: you can buy anything (and I really want to emphasise ANYTHING here) in SE Asia for half the price you would pay at home. 3. Vegan cheesy but works for me: create a vision board covered in pictures of the places you want to go and the things you want to see and put it in a spot where you will see it and look at it every day. Seeing the board I created helped me to stay motivated. 4. Pay yourself first! Every single pay check I would have a certain amount that would be directly transferred into my savings account and then I would live off the rest of the money that was in my account. It became a good habit and I would get so excited to see my savings account increasing weekly, it fuelled my motivation. Avoiding theft and injury: 1. Don’t keep all of your cash in one spot. When you are walking the streets try to keep flashy jewellery to a minimum. If you do end up getting mugged or robbed you will be happy to have cash stored away in another safe spot but when leaving it in a room try to keep it well hidden if not in a safe box. 2. Keep all valuables in your ‘day’ bag when flying/bussing/training. Every flight that we have caught my check in bag has been opened and fiddled with. Every single flight! 3. (Mostly with Thai people) never raise your voice even if you are truly pissed. Stay cool, calm and collected and smile. Sabai sabai. If you point out where someone has gone wrong or tried to rip you off locals will usually pretend they don’t understand what you are saying. It is good to stand your ground. You can walk away from any situation but do not get angry and loud – this will not go down well. Locals here are very big on ‘saving face’. Apps and planning/moving around: 4. Use the sky scanner app for booking flights. The app has an ‘everywhere’ option to show you where the cheapest flights are near you. This app will also show you which day of the month is cheapest to fly to or from your desired destination. 5. In my personal experience it is easier and cheaper to organize things like over night buses face to face with a travel agent or at the bus station rather than online. Have a plan of the things you would like to see but it is super easy to plan movement when you are in the country. An added bonus is having the freedom to go and see things when locals or fellow travellers point you in the direction of a quiet, undiscovered slice of nature. 6. Do some research on where it is you want to go and discuss and agree on a price with the driver before they take you. Tuk tuks are a fun and cheap way to get around in Cambodia and Thailand if you discuss the price first. Meter taxis in Thailand will get you the best bang for buck (if you can convince them to run the meter, try asking in Thai) but in Vietnam a lot of the meters are rigged to jump from one price to a higher price very quickly (the only exception being Vina Sun company). 7. Travel like a local. Taking overnight buses will mean you can save on accommodation for a night while moving and waking up to a new town to adventure. All of the buses we have taken have aircon so take some warm clothes on-board with you. The overnight buses in Thailand are good bang for buck especially Nakhongchai Air – a bus line designed for people who don’t like airplane travel with (nearly) all the comforts of a business class flight. Plenty of leg room, a comfortable seat that folds back , blankets, bottled drinking water and a tv to watch movies or play games before you drift off. Shopping and bargaining: 8. When bartering only ask the price of an item if you actually want to buy it. Give a price that you think is fair and if they say ‘no’ walk away, you will usually get called back. On this note: don’t be a rude traveller trying to get the best price on everything. Really pay what you think is a fair price – some of these shop keepers won’t make more than a couple of dollars each day and some days they will not make any money so please be considerate of the local people. 9. Learn the basics of the language. Hi, goodbye, thank you, how much?, too expensive, vegan specifics (for foodies) etc. In my experience if you speak even a little of the local language shop owners will generally give you a discount off the bat (this does not include food, don’t bargain with food stall holders). Crossing borders: 10. If you are crossing borders by bus then make sure you have researched the company that you want to purchase a ticket with. I have heard some horror stories (from expat locals) about cheap transport across borders. It’s definitely worth it to pay a bit more and have a good company take you to where you want to go instead of getting to the border and feeling like you have been left in the dust, literally. If you are going via Thailand to Cambodia or the other way around I highly recommend Nattakan transport company who helped Rhys and I cross with ease. 11. Make sure you have thoroughly researched the visa requirements to enter a country before you are about to catch a flight to avoid any last minute emergency visa applications that will end up costing a lot of money. Unfortunately we learnt the hard way before our flight into Vietnam – you will need to apply for the visa about a week in advance online so that you can get your visa on arrival. You can not simply get a visa on arrival like we first originally thought. An emergency 4 hour visa cost us $150 USD for 2 people. Food and dining out (VEGAN ❤): 12. Rhys and I have found it incredibly easy to find delicious, flavour filled, vegetable packed food for a good price in Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia. Read my blog ‘Vegan in Vietnam’ for a more specific spread on Vietnamese cuisine. 13. Things to look out for: Fish sauce and egg noodles. 14. Download Happy Cow app (free version or paid version for adding reviews and new restaurants). This app has been a god send for us on our travels and constantly leads us to find delicious places to eat however sometimes the restaurant is not exactly where it says it is on Happy Cow. We have had a little trouble finding a couple of places from the apps directions but over all has really been incredibly helpful. The app will tell you how many $$$ the food is selling for and just how far away it is (supposedly) from your current location. 15. Be specific! Even better if you can ask in the local language. In Thai: Shan kin jair – I eat vegetarian, mai sai khai – no eat egg, mai kin nom – no eat milk, mai kin cheese – no eat cheese, aroy mak – it was delicious! Practice with locals who can speak English and then when you meet people who can’t you will be well prepared for the conversation ahead. 16. If you order a fruit smoothie always ask for no milk even if it isn’t listed with the ingredients. Same when you are ordering vegetable pizza always request no cheese even if it isn’t listed on the menu. Money and budgeting: Budgeting is not really something that we have been able to stick to with so many surprise costs popping up eg. visiting the hospital, application for an emergency visa, catching a flight out of a place you just aren’t feeling, being stuck with more expensive than usual accommodation for a night or two or going on an adventure that you hadn’t originally planned. Rhys and I have been travelling for over four and a half months and we have spent a total of $11,250 USD or $16,000 NZD – this is a lot of money but we have been on many cool adventures and done a lot of shopping for our future home (one day when we have one, somewhere, wherever that may be). We have averaged about $1400 USD each per month which is around $46 USD each per day. This covers our 2-3 meals, drinks, transport, accommodation, shopping, adventuring, donations and whatever else has popped up. We have had a lot of surprise costs come through which has meant spending more than we originally wanted to. We had budgeted to spend less than this by now but we have also paid for flights to Canada and India, 4 visas to enter countries, 4 surprise flights, three hospital visits and a whole lot of medicine, two 10kg packages sent home (around $75 each), travel adventures and tours around beautiful Islands and in hidden mountain villages, a ride on the Mekong River, an ounce of skunk, and a whole lot of cool stuff to decorate our future home (wherever, whenever that may be). Not to mention the countless bus rides we have taken cross country even though these don’t cost too much at all. Health and Medical: After being ill and visiting hospitals in all three countries we have visited I think I am well accustomed to talk about this. After suffering food poisoning for five days with a drip in my arm at the hospital in Thailand, an endoscopy which resulted in a gastritis diagnosis at an extremely busy local hospital in Vietnam and a parasite eating the tissue of my intestines in Cambodia with constant diarrhoea, vomiting and even some hallucinations my best advice is if you are feeling unwell for more than 24 hours see a dr. I will generally try to fight illness of on my own before resorting to a dr or hospital appointment. You can explain your symptoms to any pharmacist and get medicine over the counter (for very cheap). Like I said if 24 hours has passed and you are still feeling like rubbish go and see a local dr after researching the closest international or western friendly clinic near you. Food borne illness is no joke in the tropics and should be treated seriously. Stick to eating bananas and rice and drink plenty of water and electrolyte packed drinks to keep hydrated in the intense heat and avoid any foods that are spicy or fried. Be careful to avoid ice in drinks from street vendors, unpeeled fruits and salads that may be washed in unclean water. Try to eat foods that are well cooked with plenty of vegetables. If you want to eat fruit (which you definitely will in the heat) try to purchase fruits that are unpeeled and have the skin on which you can peel and wash yourself with bottled water. Make sure to brush your teeth and wash your toothbrush with bottled water. Try to always clean your hands before you eat or carry around a small bottle of hand sanitizer to use before meals. I hope these tips help at least someone who is planning to travel in SE Asia. The most important tip is to HAVE THE TIME OF YOUR LIFE, enjoy the incredible scenery and the energy of the local, bustling people who fill the cities and towns with life and take care. If you have any other questions please contact me and I will do my very best to help. You can find my email address and various other socail medias on the 'connect' page. Alana xx
1 Comment
11/1/2023 03:24:45 am
"This blog is a treasure trove of valuable insights for anyone planning to explore South East Asia. The saving and travel tips provided for Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia are not only practical but also incredibly informative. Thanks for sharing this wealth of knowledge!"
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