For budget travelers: Is this decent for 3 cities in Asia?
by admin on Sunday, November 20th, 2011 | 5 Comments
I’m trying to take 3 weeks off and visit 3 cities in Asia: Bkk, HK, and Singapore. I’ve been reading a lot of guides and taking serious tips from Matt Gross of the New York Times. The total (over)estimated cost of my trip amounts to 3800$ however, I still feel that is a lot of money for someone wanting to do this on a shoestring. I once knew a woman who managed to go spend 3 months in S. America on 1800$-all inclusive. She went independently and camped. I’m not planning on camping but relative to the time she spent there and the time I want to stay in Asia, it seems off to me. Any advice/suggestions from people with experience?
I have been to Thailand and while the flight cost me an arm and a leg (1600 dollars but I went in the peak season and bought my ticket with 5 days in advance)once when I got there it was pretty cheap. On average I spent 11 dollars american a night on lodging in hotels and about 2 dollars per meal. You can rent out small apartments for about 50 dollars a month in towns and cities outside of bangkok I am not too sure about lodging in the city. Thailand is a wonderful country, loved it the things I liked the most where the beaches and the temples. I am not sure if I would reccomend camping, I never did it though.
Hong Kong can be a little tricky, depends where you’ll stay, Kowloon side or HK side. Since Disneyland, prices went like crazy. Traffic is really bad, especially during weekends. People are rude and most of them spoke limited English. Food is great and price would depend where you ate. A friend’s bag got stolen by the cab driver, he ran off with it. Cab drivers take advantage of tourists, so beware. There are lots of pickpockets and you may even risk getting your passport stolen so be alert at ALL times.
Singapore is OK, 50 dollars a night for a decent hotel in Changi Road. Hotels in Orchard can are expensive, cheapest at $100 to $150 a night. There are cheaper hotels in the Geylang area (around 20-30 dollars) but I wont advise it because it is the red district there. Hawker food in Singapore is cheap and great. $2-3 and you’ll be ok for the day, enjoy the variety of food since this is a multi-cultural country. You wouldn’t have problems going around the city, Singapore is very small, and every majot point in town is accessible by MRT. Buses are also everywhere. Taxi fare is also reasonable. People are polite and they speak English. Just be advised that this is a very clean country and even the slightest offense such as chewing bubble gums are subjected to fines.
I f you’re talking about spending $3,800.00 including food and expenses other than airfares and hotels, I think you’re doing pretty well. If you figure airfare alone should be between $1,000-$1,400, you’re looking at spending about $2,600 for around 21 days, which is about $123.00 a day. You can get decent hotels in BKK for around $40-$50 a day, Singapore a bit more and Hong Kong a lot more. Spending wisely, you could eat in BKK (as a tourist) for as little as $10 a day, maybe twice that in Singapore, and if you watch yourself, maybe $20-$30 a day in HK, you wont be eating any of the best reastaurants, by far, but good bargain type places. If I was you, I would book a flight to BKK, with a stopover in Hong Kong, from BKK you can always find a cheap flight to Singapore (check out airasia.com for one). I think if you shop around for airfares to BKK, you can find R-T fares from the West coast for around $800, Cathay Pacific, China Airlines and Singapore to name a few, have flights through Hong Kong to Bangkok, and may permit a free stopover. Airasia has flights to Singapore, from BKK at sometimes ridiculously low fares. I sure wouldn’t compare a camping trip in South America to three of the world great cities as to the price. Although Hong Kong is a wonderful city, it is now one the most expensive cities in the world, and you might want to limit your time there and spend more time in Bangkok where your dollar will go a lot farther. I’ve never regretted spending money traveling, the things you see and learn are priceless, and even for $3800, money well spent. You could probably do a little better, money wise, but $3,800 ain’t bad. Have a good trip!
BKK and HKG, Bangkok especially, I find it hard to communicate because very few people speaks English. Your 3 weeks vacation might be a nightmare instead of a leisure.
Singapore is too expensive.
Philippines is the best your money can afford. Indulge yourself to the hospitality of the Filipinos and the natural beauty of the Islands. Check http://www.wowphilippines.com for more information.
Good luck!
Pay for your airfares and then do everything yourself… It is much cheaper this way… Get yourself a lonely planet for each place and I will guarantee it is the cheapest you will find and very easy to get around. You will meet alot of other travellers along the way that will also give you invaluable tips..