How much did all of this cost? My travel summary.

Now when I’m back, I can finally summarise my trip.

I went travelling for almost 3 months (from 4^th of September - 22^nd November) and there were few reasons behind this particular length of time and dates:

1. The contract for our place in Newcastle run out on the 4^th of September that’s why I decided to begin my journey on that day

2. Since I graduated around May this year, I told myself that I will work full time for the next three months and whatever I earn within this time I will spend on travelling (I didn’t want to touch my savings). From my calculations that would let me to go travelling for around 3 months.

3. I planned to be back before December to still be able to catch the Christmas hospitality employment madness and get hired quickly for the Christmas period and a little bit beyond to repair my traveller’s budget as quick as I can after coming back (before I start to look for some more serious occupation)

4. From my experience of being in Australia for a year, I knew that long time away from home just doesn’t work for me and that I quickly reach the limit of excitement and new experiences absorption. After too long travelling, I get overwhelmed, permanently tired and I just want to go to home, to my own bed, familiarity and ‘normality’. Three month time of South East Asia was just perfect.

How much was the total bill?

My budget for travelling was £3000 (including flight tickets) and I spend probably around £2900. Which means I did fantastic!

-          The most expensive were the return flights to the UK (£640)

-          Right after that was transport around SEA, all the buses, train tickets, taxis, tuk tuks, ferries, and internal flights. Moving around didn’t happen every day, but every few days I had to spend on average £10-£20 on transport. I have been on 8 flight in SEA and apart from flights to UK the most expensive flight I booked was from Bali to Bangkok and it was around £110.

-          The next ‘expensive’ thing was accommodation. I say ‘expensive’ because for Western prices it wasn’t expensive at all. I made a rule for myself that I find the best looking place with the best location for around £5 (no more than £6/night), the best if its below that (and most of the time it was). Great majority of the time for that price I was getting a single room (often ensuite) and maximum number of beds I would accept to stay in was 4 bed dorm (females only if possible).

-          The cheapest thing of all times in SEA was the food and drinks. Everywhere and all the time (apart from North Vietnam...) there was wide availability of the most delicious and real Asian food for next to nothing. The best Pad Thais and Watermelon Smoothies I have ever tried were on food stalls on a streets of Asia for £0.40-£0.75. Phenomenal.

Overall I was spending around £20/day including everything in South East Asia.

The most useful things I had with me:

-          Iphone (Google Maps saved my life so many times! And personal hotspot kept me connected to the world where there was no wifi)

-          The plug extension (I bought my 3 socket extension in Cambodia and it was one of the best purchase I did. Once you arrive to the hostel you have at least three things to charge: phone, camera and laptop/netbook and you too often find only 1 socket in your room, very often at the opposite wall than where your bed is, and for some reason very often the socket is as high as the light switch)

-          My boyfriends hoodie (multipurpose – as a pillow, blanket, pillow cover (if the one you have looks dodgy), rain cover, towel if necessarily, its sleeves and pockets as an extra storage to bring your stuff to the airplane, etc)

-          Netbook (its just so good to have your own computer with you, I could transfer my photos and update the blog as I go. I alsoended up helping lots of people around who needed access to the computer and if not mine, there would be non around.)

-          DEET (although pure chemical and not very healthy for you, it was irreplaceable and worked wonders when it came to protection from mosquito bites)

The most not useful things I took:

-          Books (any kind that you don’t want to leave behind and end up carrying for 3 months in the packpack)

-          2 pairs of Nikes I thought I would need (WRONG! I only used flipflops for my whole stay in Asia)

-          Socks

-          Long sleeve tops (I was told they are necessarily for protecting you from mosquitoes. In reality it was so hot that even the thought of putting it on was making me dizzy.)

Things I wish I took with me from UK:

-          The shampoo (if you have any particular cosmetic needs and you are not familiar with Asian brands, you will NOT find what you are looking for or even a close equivalent of it in Asia)

-          A nice swimming suit (my boyfriend told me that I can buy anything I can imagine in Asia. Well, not the kind of swimming suit that I needed so much but could not find anywhere in SEA)

-          Nail varnish and nail colour remover (I ended up buying a ridiculously expensive ones in Vietnam - more expensive than in UK! Because the DEET + the varnish I had on me till then = big big mess)

-          Linseeds (my body is very grateful when I regularly eat them)

Things I missed the most while travelling:

-          My boyfriend

-          Evian water

-          The fact that you can open a window and the cold air comes in

-          Mosquito free life

-          Not needing to apply heavy sunscreen on my face every day

Things I will miss the most from SEA:

-          My relaxed and ‘I can afford EVERYTHING’ mood

-          Delicious and cheap cheap food

-          Fruit smoothies

-          Extensive contact with nature

-          Not being surrounded by TV, newspapers and people blindly repeating news and opinions and meeting very helpful and smiley people all the time and every moment being reminded that 99% of humans on this planet are genuinely of good nature.

During the last two months of my stay in South East Asia, the most frequent question I have been asked was ‘Are you travelling on your own? Are you not scared?’

‘Yes. No.’ – I would answer 

-          During 2 months of travelling on my ‘own’ (first month I was with Darwin) I never felt alone or lonely; you always meet people. In fact I found myself looking for a time on my own sometimes cause I was constantly surrounded by people and wanted some space.

-          What is it to be scared about? Do you take basic precautions like not walking on your own in the middle of the night on the back streets? Do you know how to buy a train/flight/bus ticket and travel in your own country? The same idea applies in Asia. You don’t know something? Ask. Something goes not according to the plan? Change your plan - you have no deadlines and no obligations. In the worst case you will loose few pounds by booking other hostel or another bus ticket.

-          When I was on my own, I found everybody twice as willing to help as when I was with Darwin or somebody else. I learned to use this fact for my advantage.

-          I learned to be (even more) assertive. Asians, especially in touristy areas are great at selling you things. Sometimes they convince you to buy things you don’t really want and often (too often) they make you feel sorry for them (e.g. 10 year old girl selling you postcards) and that’s why you end up buying things you don’t need. While it’s important to stay sensitive and recognize people in real needs, I learned not to spend my money where I felt pushed to do so and walk away not feeling bad about it.

-          I realised how much of a bad ass I really am. I actually believe that especially a girl has to have some balls to go travelling on her own in a first place! I love it and I think it a huge skill and advantage that helps and will help in many situations in life :)