Travelling Asia?

[leon-b]

First up, I'm back for your advice Haven't been here for ages as I'm busy but thought this would be the best place to come for this question!

I want to travell Asia for a month, staying in hostels and exploring the bars!

Anybody done it?

How much money would I need (not including flights)
What size backpack would be best?
What kit to take? (want to travell light)

And just any general advice would be awesome!

Cheers, Leon.

 

[TomBartlett]

Are you concentrating your trip anywhere in particular in Asia? The subcontinent is very different to the South East, which is also very different from the far East.

 

[sxmolloy]

I want to travell Asia for a month, staying in hostels and exploring the bars!

What size backpack would be best?

The best size would be one that fits all your gear in.

 

[Allie]

The best size would be one that fits all your gear in.

I actually disagree when it comes to travelling/backpacking. Just got back from 7 months travelling through Australasia/Asia with a 70 litre backpack, which fit all my gear. After 5 months I got fed up, shipped everything home except the bare essentials that could fit in a 25 litre rucksack. I really recommend travelling as light as you can; it makes life so much more easy and pleasant. It also means you never have to abandon your bag in luggage racks etc.
As for the rest, depends on which part of Asia!

 

[sandbender]

I actually disagree when it comes to travelling/backpacking. Just got back from 7 months travelling through Australasia/Asia with a 70 litre backpack, which fit all my gear. After 5 months I got fed up, shipped everything home except the bare essentials that could fit in a 25 litre rucksack. I really recommend travelling as light as you can; it makes life so much more easy and pleasant. It also means you never have to abandon your bag in luggage racks etc.
As for the rest, depends on which part of Asia!

What he said, you really don't need much, anything you don't have you can buy or have made.

 

[leon-b]

I'm thinking of starting in Thailand, Bangkok. Looking at Karrimor Sabre 45's..

 

[Paradiddle]

I've travelled around Indochina (Thailand, Cambodia, Laos) and other parts of South East Asia (Singapore, Indonesia). Mozzy repelent, water purification tablets, tummyache meds are basic provisions. Around south-east asia, you can get a very good meal for £1-3 on the streets to small restaurants. Basic guesthouse accommodation may be around £4-7 per night but don't quote me on that. I remember that the trains on the main routes (e.g. between cities) are usually quite good. The other ones, not so nice. Overnight trains from Bangkok to Laotian border, as well as from Singapore to Thailand should have beds on them.

Bus and coach rides can be very very long especially if there is no motorway and you're going through the mountains. Always check out what the buses are like before you go on them for 10 hours (from a terrible personal experience). Snacks and biscuits are usually easy to get and you can buy them at villages. There's also usually the trusted brands of bottled water vs the 'untrusted' brands.

Always stay safe! Keep your belongings secured. Have photocopies of passports stashed away.

Quite a random collection of advice there..but it's 1.38am

 

[Bigfoot]

I travelled around SE Asia for about 5 weeks some years ago (Thailand, Malaya, Hong Kong & Singapore) and all I took was a grip bag with a shoulder strap. Large rucksacks are not really needed (and they make you look more like a tourist with potentially more kit to nick) as you can buy spare clothes (if required) very cheaply indeed. Accommodation is also very cheap if you don't mind slumming it a bit. The only kit I took over and above my clothing was a small torch, some mozzie protection (including a net, some of the ones you will find in hostels etc often have holes) and a very compact FAK, compact camera and of course sunscreen.

 

[Graham_S]

don't take anything you can't afford to lose.

 

[leon-b]

I'm in talks with a bloke about going over to Zanzibar, Tanzania to work for 4 months! Work in exchange for accomodation which could be good
So it's either that or Thailand etc..

Butch

 

[sandbender]

I'm thinking of starting in Thailand, Bangkok. Looking at Karrimor Sabre 45's..

I'm in talks with a bloke about going over to Zanzibar, Tanzania to work for 4 months! Work in exchange for accomodation which could be good

Given a choice between working in Zanzibar or bar hopping in Bangkok, Tanzania would win every time.

Many people will tell you not to carry or wear military looking gear in Africa (possibly Thailand too) they are probably correct to do so. However I used a 30 litre Karrimor hydro and wore a 5.11 shirt for most of my African adventures, nobody gave me a second glance (maybe it was the flip flops that suggested I wasn't a threat).

 

[TomBartlett]

I spent three months travelling Thailand at the end of 2009. It's a great place to travel around. Personally I wouldn't spend too much time in Bangkok. The bars aren't any better than elsewhere in Thailand. I'd see the sights then move on to Phuket and/or Chiang Mai, stopping off along the way at anywhere that tickles your fancy. I spent a few nights in a floating hut in the middle of Chiao Lan lake. Getting to wake up to the sound of hooting gibbons was a memory that I'll treasure forever. While I'm a little fuzzy on the exact numbers, I'm pretty sure my time in Thailand didn't cost much more than a grand. I whole heartedly agree with the earlier comments of only taking the bare minimum. A 45l rucksack would be the biggest I'd consider taking. I was travelling with a heck load of stuff cos I was also looking for teaching jobs at the time (ended up going back to South Korea!). If I were to do it again I'd take:
1 Long sleeve shirt
1 t-shirt
1 shorts
1 lightweight trousers
1 pair of closed toed shoes (can get flip flops there)
3 underwear
travel towel
sun hat
sun glasses
travel book
camera
FAK
I'd also take:
laptop
journal
kindle
leatherman

Any extras can be picked up there, probably cheaper than they're available at home.

 

[johnboy]

Given a choice between working in Zanzibar or bar hopping in Bangkok, Tanzania would win every time.

I don't know Bangkok has it's charms. Patpong being one....

If it's any help I've spent a good deal of time in SE Asia about 100++ trips to Vietnam, Thailand, the PRC etc for a few differing reasons.
A 'backpacking' Lonely Planet style trip is good fun.

It doesn't take much to spend a while wandering through Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and then back home via KL for example you see a lot of cool stuff and inevitably some wierd stuff and some very sad stuff...

If you're just doing the Lonely planet stuff and spending most of your time on the well trodden path then you dont need a huge bergen full of kit. The more stuff you have the more there is to nick. While folk in SE Asia are for the most part great fun and really nice. You are a magnet for folk wanting to pinch stuff. Even the poorest western backpacker is wealthy compared to some of the locals.

Teva's a selection of locally procured T shirts, underwear and shorts along with FAK with a good supply of Anti diarrhea meds and perhaps a water purifier and a good camera + recording media + Ipod ( for the bus journeys) and a sarong and a wash kit would see you right I reckon. As an American aquaintance said in there's nothing I cannot get for 10 bucks..( allow 15 for inflation).

There used to be a really great shop on Pah Nu Lao in HCMC that sold really good Backpacks and other outdoor kit... A lot branded of stuff is made in Vietnam.

SE Asia is inexpensive to travel around and if you act prudently your dollar goes a long way. If you stay off the Heinken and on the local brew Qui beer springs to mind as does Tsing Tao, life is even cheaper.

If you go have fun...

HTH

John

 

[BOD]

I've done this part of the world many ways over 25 years - as business traveller, 5 start tourist, budget tourist and as resident. And also as bush traveller

Listen to sandbender, Bigfoot and johnboy.

arrive with a cheap sausage bag or daypack with a change of cloths and money in a belt. Buy a phone second hand on arrival with disposable SIM card. Do that for each country you go to Buy your electronics locally. No laptop use internet cafes

Pick up what you need on arrival

 

[sandbender]

"...I'd also take:
laptop
journal
kindle..."

"...Buy your electronics locally..."

If I was a writer and I expected to ensconce myself on houseboat on some remote lake to create my next opus then perhaps I'd think about taking a laptop. Otherwise no, it and its accessories are more heavy items in your pack, and they will weigh on you mind as well as your body, you will worry about them being damaged or stolen, easier to use a cybercafe.

A kindle and an iPod are nice to travel with I suppose, but there is a never ending market in used English language books abandoned or traded by other travelers. An iPod, well music to drown out the blethering backpackers on the bus is always nice I suppose and those things can be tiny.

A journal, definitely, take something to write and draw in.

Listen to what Bod says, he knows the area well.

"... arrive with a cheap sausage bag or daypack with a change of cloths and money in a belt..."

If I was to add anything to that, perhaps a small FAK (one you put together yourself) and maybe a tiny sewing kit, anything else you can pick up there.

 

[Tengu]

whats wrong with the bars here?

 

[treadlightly]

My son is out there now, he has been travelling around India and Thailand since March.

1. Money. he says things are pretty cheap, especially in India. Food and acommodation can be had for very little money.

2. Kit. He decided to go very light. I lent him an old 45 litre sack of mine and when he left it looked as if he was going out for a night not five months. It was far from full. His reasoning was travel very light and anything you find you need can be picked up very cheaply out there. Much better than lugging a heavy bag around. I think he took a pair of shorts, couple of tshirts, pair of trousers and a warmer top.

A good thing to take is a silk sleeping bag liner - handy if the bedding hums a bit.

 

[TomBartlett]

Yeah, the laptop was a bit of a concern, but I'm a photo junkie, so I consider it a necessary evil. Plus in Thailand, most second hand books were sold, as there are lots of places willing to buy them and some weren't all that cheap to buy back.

 

[BOD]

My son is out there now, ...

2. Kit. He decided to go very light. I lent him an old 45 litre sack of mine and when he left it looked as if he was going out for a night not five months. It was far from full. His reasoning was travel very light and anything you find you need can be picked up very cheaply out there. Much better than lugging a heavy bag around. I think he took a pair of shorts, couple of tshirts, pair of trousers and a warmer top.

A good thing to take is a silk sleeping bag liner - handy if the bedding hums a bit.

Smart lad you have there. Took me a while to bring a liner everywhere I go. Essential kit. Saves money in the long run as you can stay confidently in the cheapest accomodation.

 

[bmartin1uk]

I think i mentioned before on another thread - lay everything out you think you need and then lose half of it. My first 12 month trip i over did it, even though i still had room in my 60 litre rucksack - 6 months in i had filled it with crap i picked up on the way. The most recent trip i took a 55 litre, but that included the removable day pack (Osprey Farpoint 55 - if youre looking for a pack, i'd recommend this one). In SE Asia, everything is so cheap you can buy anything you need. For example, a decent pair of walking boots if you're going for a trek, which you can then give away/donate when you head back to the cities/beach. Dont carry everything on the off chance. The only thing i found hard to find in SE Asia, was decent mozzy spray (something with DEET in it).
In 2006 i had a budget of £10 which was easy in India, but not in Thailand - but it all balanced out. This year i needed twice that in Thailand. And that was BUDGET! The pound isnt doing too well. its picked up a bit as Asia have been forced to slow their economies, but it was really noticeable.
Whatever you do dont miss out Laos, but i would miss out India with only a month.
Good luck and have a great time. very jealous!