How to Travel on a Budget in Asia (2/2)

Food and Drinks:

Eat at food stalls or buy food from food vendors. There are basically food stalls everywhere in Thailand, Laos and Cambodia. And in India, you will have no problems in finding cheap restaurants. But be careful when choosing a place to eat -- the hygiene and the way they prepare the food is not always good for your stomach. Check the food before buying. Like, if there are flies swarming around the food -- that should ring a bell.

When it comes to alcoholic beverage, choose local beer (Singha, Chang beer, Lao beer, Angkor beer etc). Like in Thailand, Western-produced beers, like Corona, Budweiser or Guinness cost more because Thailand imports with expensive duty.

Transport:

To save time and money, you should consider asking the staff at the guesthouse or hostel about where you can find cheap transport and how much it should cost. This way you will avoid locals from tricking you. If you avoid scams, you save money!

Instead of using arranged transport with minibuses and VIP buses, I recommend that you take the local transport, like the bus and train. If you plane on moving around in a city you should also consider using a bike. Bicycle rental is usually cheaper than taking the Rickshaws.

Shopping:

Looking for cheap shopping? Where you shop is as important as bargaining. Shopping at the local markets is often cheaper than the huge malls. But have in mind that most of the markets are popular tourist spots, so they're usually crowded. It's usually harder to bargain at these places because the sellers know that if YOU don't buy their products - someone else will.

Bargaining is the key to cheap shopping. But before you do that, I recommend that you stroll around to compare prices. If it's your first time in a foreign country, it's sometimes hard to know what things should cost. You can't bargain for something when you even don't know if it's cheap/expensive.

Another tip is to sell things you don't need any more at street shops, like on Khao San Road or Soi Rambuttri in Bangkok in Thailand.

Money:

Avoid exchanging money at the airports. If you do this, you will get the lowest rate of exchange. Go to a bank instead as they can give you the best exchange rates available.

If you're planning on traveling to several neighboring countries, avoid exchange too much money if you're leaving the country in just a few days. You may not have enough time to spend it.

Communication:

Instead of using your mobile phone for international calls, you should track down a payphone or use Skype at an internet café. To save money on domestic calls, don't use your mobile phone with your original SIM-card. I suggest you buy a local SIM-card. Have the owner from where you bought the card from help you activate the SIM-card.

Tours:

Visiting some attractions? If I were you, I would skip the package tours and rent a bike or a Rickshaw for a day. If you decide to rent a bike, it's cheaper and you get to see the things you want to see in your own pace.

For free information on history and sights, ask the local staff at the guesthouse or a fellow traveler. Otherwise, you can print it out from the internet. A couple of print-outs are cheaper and lightweight than a book. Practical when you're on-the-go!