How Much Does It Cost to Travel in SE Asia? ($11,678.99 if you are me)

7 1/2 months, 228 days, & $11,678.99 in Asia

This post does not cover all the time I will spend in Asia, because now it will be far cheaper since I am staying in one place for the most part, but below is a cost breakdown of what I spent while traveling in 7 countries (Thailand, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Brunei, Vietnam, Indonesia, & Cambodia). I do this to illustrate to others how inexpensive (or expensive, depending on your perspective) traveling can be in this part of the world.

I averaged spending $1,460 a month, which I admit is about $460 more that I was hoping to spend! I will say that you can travel in this region and these countries for far less . . . If you don’t eat as much protein or consume as much western food & beverage as I did, if you don’t hop around all over the place and instead go from place to place in a logical order (Like Thailand to Cambodia to Vietnam to Laos, back through Northern Thailand south to Malaysia, etc), don’t do larger expensive things like get Scuba certified or hike Mt. Kinabalu, don’t go to Crossfit gyms, and stay in the cheapest non-A/C hostel beds you can find .  . . And do couch surfing.

You can easily spend far more than I did. I avoid taxis like the plague. I stay primarily in hostels where I share a room with other people. I walk or take public transport as much as possible. I don’t do a lot of the normal tourist things like visit every temple and ruin or go on tons of village tours or rent motorbikes everywhere I go. I don’t go out a lot, even if my alcohol total seems a little high at times *blush*. 

Okay, so here’s the info . . . 

TOTALS	2014 EXPENSES	DAILY AVG	MONTHLY AVG	MAR 14 - April 5 (22 days) Thailand	APR 6 - May 8 (33 days) KL & Sri Lanka	MAY 9 - June 13 (35 days) Malaysia & Brunei	JUNE 14 - July 12 (28 days) Vietnam	JULY 12 - Aug 16 (35 days) KL, Sing, & KK	AUG 16 - Sept 9 (23 days) Indonesia	SEPT 9 - Oct 1 (21 days) KK, Bali	OCT 1 - 31 (31 days) Cambodia, KL, KK, Bali
$2,873.12	FUEL                              (food & beverage)	$12.60	$359.14	$277.50	$315.69	$463.82	$322.52	$462.53	$302.08	$339.19	$389.79
$2,468.43	SHELTER                (hostels, hotels, couches)	$10.83	$308.55	$214.13	$281.82	$313.28	$336.03	$409.25	$309.98	$308.79	$295.15
$2,538.09	TRANSPORT             (trains, planes, vans, motorbikes, bicycles, taxis)	$11.13	$317.26	$542.19	$318.52	$346.32	$303.64	$217.01	$225.43	$184.36	$400.62
$1,290.33	EDIFICATION               (tours, hikes & learning)	$5.66	$161.29	$271.05	$138.08	$127.13	$244.50	$0.00	$44.92	$341.15	$123.50
$831.45	HEALTH                      (Travel & Health Insurance, laundry, spa services, personal care items, medicine, bugspray, etc)	$3.65	$103.93	$73.23	$88.55	$118.39	$84.70	$147.54	$71.79	$119.23	$128.02
$729.13	ENTERTAINMENT   (alcohol, going out, going to movies)	$3.20	$91.14	$67.58	$71.13	$120.92	$107.00	$59.89	$117.25	$105.59	$79.77
$402.92	FITNESS                       (gym, fitness implements)	$1.77	$50.37	$155.02	$0.00	$32.61	$0.00	$67.65	$52.02	$62.10	$33.52
$307.22	OTHER TRAVEL COSTS                       (visas, services, passport pages, & other fees)	$1.35	$38.40	$12.23	$30.00	$0.00	$61.81	$0.00	$56.18	$35.00	$112.00
$96.00	WANTS                (souvenirs, replacement items)	$0.42	$12.00	$24.64	$1.34	$15.47	$2.70	$0.00	$0.00	$5.20	$46.65
$86.69	COMMUNICATION          (US cell plan & local SIMs, cells, etc)	$0.38	$10.84	$2.50	$20.70	$14.43	$7.00	$16.42	$7.00	$10.11	$8.53
$55.61	GIFTS	$0.24	$6.95	$0.00	$35.63	$18.45	$0.00	$0.00	$1.53	$0.00	$0.00
$35.52	CLOTHING                     (Incl. only replacement or souvenir items)	$0.16	$4.44	$5.54	$0.00	$0.00	$17.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$12.98
$11,678.99	TOTALS	$51.22	$1,459.87	$1,640.07	$1,301.46	$1,570.82	$1,469.90	$1,380.29	$1,188.18	$1,510.72	$1,617.55

For openness sake, I will list below the (sometimes embarrassing) totals of what I removed from this spreadsheet that I felt were definitely not relevant to most people or potential travelers:

(1) $154.93: TV series, movies, & books (iTunes & Amazon)

(2) $697: Art (Batik Painting: $130, Leather Carving $17, Commissioned pieces (2): $550)

(3) $186.42: Travel Guitar

(4) $9/month: Spotify Subscription

(5) $237.46: Workout Clothing (I really cringe at this.)

That totals $1,343.31 for a total of $13,022.30

I have been tracking my expenses for a few years now. It is a habit a lot of people scoff at, but I could give you so many examples of habits I quit (smoking, for example) or unnecessary purchases I removed from my life without much or any pain due to the information I was able to gather from this fairly simple but freeing behavior. It truly enables freedom; particularly financial freedom, and gives you a much better sense of where your life capital is being spent. 

When I see, for example, that I spent $237.46 on workout clothing this year so far, it turns my stomach. I am certain I could’ve found more inexpensive solutions or options that would do the job just as well. I am so grateful for my ability to evaluate expenses and then ask myself whether or not it was a purchase or service that was worth that amount to me. Many times I can say yes, because I’ve gotten better and better at doing this evaluation before making the financial decision, but I still make dumb or lazy choices that later on I don’t fully agree with, but that’s all part of the process of getting better at life, right?

Now, the question remains . . . is traveling and/or living in Asia cheaper than the States? I argue in some ways yes and in some ways no. It all depends on how you live in the States and what kind of life you want in Asia. 

For example, if we carry this average through 12 months, it would total $17,520, which is about $5k less than I spent last year living in Silicon Valley ($22,362.66) and traveling internationally several times, taking several university classes, getting EMR certified, and my best friend got married . . . But I was also living in a van at the time. And I had a lot of things subsidized by my workplace.
I recognize that I live(d) on far less than most of my friends do, and that most people will think I am crazy and/or lying, but seriously I could've easily lived just as happily on less. I have plenty of luxury in my life and am very healthy. Most importantly, I feel more free than ever, and to me freedom is far more important than pretty much anything else outside of survival. It's all about understanding your priorities and learning to resist unnecessary consumption (finding fulfillment spending less).
I do plan on doing some cost of living comparisons in the future with regard to living in Indonesia, so look out for that in perhaps 6 months. 

I hope this was helpful. Let me know if you have questions!

"Can" (Climbing Mount Kinabalu, Malaysia)

It was several months in the making . . . My first visit to Kota Kinabalu (KK), which was in June, I had excitedly agreed to come back in September to climb Mount Kinabalu with Kevin, Sarah, & Laura Chang and two of their friends. This time, I brought my friend Greg, who stayed in town to explore, go on a date (!!!), and workout at X45.

Mount Kinabalu is the highest peak in SE Asia (13,435 feet (4,095 meters)). 

It takes two days to hike normally and is way too expensive. WAY too expensive. Here’s the cost breakdown not including snacks or food or transportation for my Non-Malaysian self (it’s cheaper for locals):

$259 For basic Accommodation & Via Ferrata  

$4.66: park fee

$31.09: permit

$2.18: insurance (required)

$7.77: guide (required)

$0.77: poncho 

$15.39: shoes 

Total = $320.86

Honestly, if I had stopped and really calculated the full cost from the beginning and really thought about it, I probably wouldn’t have done it, even having anticipated everything to have gone perfectly, which it didn’t. This activity cost me more than any other activity I have done including getting Open Water scuba certified, doing a several night cruise in Ha Long Bay, and going on several amazing caving tours in Mulu, Borneo. It’s almost the cost of my flight from San Francisco to Bangkok! 

But before we go any further, I do need to call out my favorite bit of gear, which was free to borrow and very fashionable . . . The Chang’s Looney Tunes jacket:

So here’s what happened: After a yummy breakfast . . . 

And after getting our permits and picking up our guide, we started on the trail around 10am I think. We pretty much split up right after starting. Kevin and I were going much faster than the rest. Being our Crossfit-crazy selves, we probably wanted to make sure we were pushing ourselves! 

It wasn’t long before Kevin left me in the dust, which was better for me mentally anyway, as I don’t actually push myself as well when in a competitive environment. Competition often demotivates me. I am a self-motivator or something. Additionally, I was craving some alone time, since I had been traveling with Sam and/or Greg for weeks, and that was beginning to cramp my introverted-and-hermit-like style.

So I persevered up and up and up, sweating and breathing heavy for hours . . . Through heat, through rain, through pain, through exhaustion, until I finally reached the base camp and found our cabin. It took me about 4 - 4.5 hours. I think Kevin made it 30 - 45 minutes faster than me. 

It was freezing and there was no heat or hot water. We paid quite a bit of money to have almost no facilities, but that’s the nature of the evil monopoly going on up there! People aren’t even allowed to hike the thing in a day without super-special permission because it means far less money for the company. As a side note for those that are interested, privatization of natural parks or sites is common in Asia and from what I’ve seen, it isn’t often a good thing for the tourists or the nature. I appreciate the US National Park system sooooooo much more now!

I searched out Kevin in the canteen, but couldn’t find him. Apparently he had fallen asleep at the table after eating a mountain of food and I just didn’t recognize him. Sarah arrived a little while later, and that’s when we found out that there was a briefing and training for our Via Ferrata tour and if the others missed it, they would not be allowed to go. We had paid extra for this, apparently . . . (I didn’t really know all the details of what I had signed up for, which is totally on me of course.) The Via Ferrata tour is where, on your way back down from the summit, you branch off and get to scale the mountain in real mountaineering-style with all the equipment, ropes, caribiners, etc. It looks like it would be fun for sure!

Kevin tried to negotiate with the guides to allow us to video the training so that Laura and the others could still do it if they didn’t make it. It wasn’t looking good. We were getting calls from the guide every so often with updates and they were still quite far away and it was getting dark!

Laura did end up making it to the training, and the boys didn’t get there until 10 or 11pm that night. I have a strong suspicion they were experiencing some kind of altitude sickness, but our guide, who traveled with them the whole time, didn’t seem to have considered this or worried about it much! I am glad that they made it, though, and were able to get some food in them and sleep.

I was not able to sleep. I laid there the entire night, angry. I hadn’t been sleeping much for days, actually. I had been experiencing insomnia and anxiety, most likely because of my lack of alone-time and personal space. It had really been wearing on me big time. This is a theme in my life (and more particularly in my romantic relationships) that I keep bumping up against, but have not been able to figure out or beat: finding the right amount or balance of alone time . . . Real, quality alone time. And it’s all me; I don’t recognize the need until it is too late sometimes, and I don’t set the right boundaries for myself. I give up the freedom I need to be happy without it ever having been asked of me. I still have a lot to learn about this part of myself. 

Anyways, I was pretty certain it would be a terrible idea for me to go to the summit that morning. I knew it was dangerous, and the Via Ferrata was going to make it infinitely more dangerous for me to have that much of a deficit on sleep. When it was time to get ready to go, I expressed my desire not to go. Kevin, the undying motivator and coach, had none of it and basically made all three of us girls get out of bed and get breakfast. (“Can, can, can!”)

Toast and coffee and maybe some bananas were our breakfast as we waited to hear about the status of the trail. It had been raining all night and was still raining. This didn’t bode well for our Via Ferrata for sure, and the trail had not opened yet, so we waited for a while until our guide said it was okay to go.

It was dark and puddly, and there were many places where we were climbing up granite waterfalls of rain water. We pulled ourself up with near-frozen ropes and wires, scrambled and fell, helping one another up and encouraging one another along. Poor Sarah was struggling a lot with her shoes. They did not have near enough traction, and she was slipping and falling constantly. This was not safe in even the best of circumstances, but Kevin stayed with her and helped keep her safe as we soldiered on.

It was so cold and my feet were completely soaked, but it didn’t take long until I was in a meditative rhythm. 

“At this pace I think I could go on forever,” I remember saying to Kevin when he called up to me to ask how I was doing. It was true. I really felt like I could’ve gone on forever. I think my brain was so mentally exhausted that it had pretty much given up on complaining anymore, and just sent my body that wired energy many people call a second, third, or fourth wind. It may’ve been closer to a tenth wind at that point, but I was enjoying the discomfort insomuch as I was overcoming it with each step; not allowing myself to be discouraged from continuing. I was beating the weakness.

Then, we started getting passed by tons of other climbers going back the other direction. We moved out of their way as we continued to climb, and the rain increasing in intensity as it beat against us at the most annoying and inconvenient angles possible. It was soon after that when Kevin told me we had to go back because the weather was getting too dangerous. 

I thought they had closed the trail. To this day I’m still confused whether or not the trail was closed. Some people said it was, some people said it wasn’t. I don’t know, but the instant we stopped and Kevin was helping me adjust my poncho and put on another layer beneath, I felt the full extent of the cold and it was like my body decided in that instant it was going to let me feel what had really been going on around me that entire time. I’m not sure I’ve ever been so cold in my life.

As soon as I was adjusted, we hurried down the mountain as fast as we could. I was certain that if I didn’t hustle, I would get frostbite. I couldn’t feel my feet for a long time and then when I did, it wasn’t a natural feeling going on down there. I was seriously scared. I passed so many people on the way down it’s crazy. I was so nimble and quick (like Saint Nick) and the traction of my $15 dollar shoes which had been falling apart since minute 10 ended up providing the value I required of them. 

I literally jumped over some people that had fallen and were being helped up by their friends. People were sliding all over the place all down the mountain and there I was, hurdling their misfortunes, too worried about my own feet to help them steady theirs. 

Survival-mode is my excuse. *Shrug*

I returned to the cabin to find Laura, who had turned back earlier. We both shivered in our sleeping bags pretending that it was possible to fall asleep until the real breakfast of eggs, beans, sausages, and more toast was laid out. I ate as much as I could and drank as much hot coffee as possible and anxiously waited for our return to the trail to get started on our way back down the mountain.

After covering our dry-stocking’d feet with ripped up rain poncho, we slipped them into our sopping-wet shoes again and headed back down the trail. Kevin and I once again raced ahead, this time sticking together. We met a cool Canadian girl on the way down who had previously been a professional cross-country skier. We enjoyed getting to know her, talking weight-training, fitness, nutrition, and project management (well, only I enjoyed that conversation). By the time we reached the end of the trail, we decided to share in some celebratory beers, courtesy of Kevin, with her and her friends.

The shower in my hotel room that evening was heavenly, and that night I believe I slept very well. Finally. Though things didn’t go our way on the mountain, I know that I gained some good insight and experience in climbing it. Climbing a mountain literally or figuratively can teach you at least one valuable lesson, so Mount K, I withdraw my fist from shaking in your general direction and thank you instead.