Hey guys and girls
I'm a 19 years of age Male from Australia. I'm about to set of on my first overseas adventure ever on my own in October! South East Asia! I will be gone for a total of six months backpacking by myself hopefully having the time of my life! I will be going to the Philippines first to volunteer in an orphanage and live with the locals. My accommodation and food are free which I am very grateful for so the only expense's would be transport, odd clothes and the odd activities. After 3 months in the Philippines I will be flying to Bangkok and exploring the south and north of Thailand before heading over the friendship bridge to Laos, than after a few weeks there I plan to head over to Vietnam than eventually return to Bangkok to fly back to Melbourne, so 3 months stretched out between 3 country's. I have a rough plan of what I want to do but more so I just want to go where ever i'm feeling on the day/week. I plan to stay in backpacker hostels and live cheap. I roughly calculated $1,722 accommodation for six months ( A $10.25 a night) $1,150 for 1 cheap restaurant meal a day for six months ( A $6.85 a meal) A bottle of 1L water a day $58.8 for six months (A $0.35) Street Snack roughly $168 for six months and roughly 3 beers a week, $493.2 for six months. So all in all that's roughly $3,500, not sure how much for transport and activities so I just added an extra $1,000 bringing it to $4,000, after that i figured another $1,000 be safe.
I think you need what we call a security cushion, because there's no way in hell anyone can give you exact help here. You might think you can survive on 3 beers a week, but the reality is something totally different! At 19, you're still a little wet behind the ears as they say, but it's somewhat true - you will just have to learn the hard way when it comes to the "real" world of SEA. The security cushion could be your parents in AU or some other source, but you just might need some help when your wallet is stolen or you get robbed on the streets of Saigon.
The truth is that any 19 year old from Australia who can afford a plane ticket to SEA is looked on by locals as the rich kid, and you will be scammed accordingly, and more than once. Don't be alarmed, it happens to us old guys too, except that we were expecting this sort of thing all along. Welcome to the real world.
Completely agree with Daawgon. The turbulence is set to come but hope you wont give up and over come from the setback if you come across... Try to maintain the low profile is what going to help you out, also what is said above, anyone flying in to SE is a Farang and is considered to be rich. Hope you would be able to survive but its advisable to keep some money buffer and be careful for your luggage, wallets and belongings.
Thanks for the advice guys. Was just curious as what you thought of the budget (was only a rough calculation with some stats i found). It will be a real eye opener i know and its going to be tough but i'll keep chugging. Been working hard for a year + to save for this trip. I'll let you know how it pans out.
happy adventures
I think the budget to travel in Vietnam is so cheap. With few weeks you can discover a lot of sceneries from north to south. The transport fee between differents places by train or bus, the hostels for backpackers, and the food,… are really cheap. I recommend you some places you should travel that’re Saigon, Mekong Delta, Da Lat, Nha Trang, Da Nang, Hue, Hoi An, Paradise Cave, Ha Noi, Ha Long Bay, Sapa.
I don't do 19 year old party stuff, so I lived easy on a budget similar to yours in Vietnam, Laos, an Cambodia. You wil have no problem with 10$ rooms, even spot on the beach or close . I did lots of 5$ nothing rooms. Streetfood is around 2$
If you go Vitnam, do buy a local motorbike. I got one for 200$, 300$ is normal. lots of bikes on sale in Hanoi and HCM, no problem going without drivers licens. You can bring the cros border in Laos and Cambodia, or sell it in Hanoi/HCM. Repairs are cheap everywhere. Do it! You will have an easy rider tour with freedom an all for nothing.
Nothing bad happens in Vietnm, Laos, an Ca,mbodia. I would go down a dark street at night anywhere. They don't pull knives at you, they will trick you for a few dollors from time to time (poor locals pay less) and who cares!? No worries!
Fogot to mention: Vietnam bikes can't go cross border to Thailand (or Burma or China).
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