I Funded 8 Months of South East Asia Travel at 24 and Broke

After quitting my job as a flight attendant, I knew that I wanted to leave home and start my South East Asia travel. But I had one big problem: I was broke and jobless. 

If my recollection is correct, I left home with 5000 PHP or $100 of liquid cash in my bank account. I had some investments in crypto which I could liquidate easily. But that time was not the best time for crypto – Terra Luna just crashed and the digital asset community went bonkers.

Still, I left and it was the best decision I made.

South East Asia Travel: Finding a Freelance Gig

It was 2022, I was 24 and barely had money to whip a decent travel bag but somehow managed to find the cheapest 50-liter backpack from a brand called Rhinox for 3,000 PHP ($60). Getting the bag was the best travel investment I made at the beginning of my journey. It made me feel like a real backpacker and I thought there’s no other use for getting the bag than to travel.

Still on my lucky side, I used the travel perks from my former airline to fly to a town in the Philippines called Albay. Whew, I am really doing this. My final destination was a small surf island called Puraran, Catanduanes. Electricity was quite unstable in Puraran, and my pocket WiFi only works from 1 am to 3 am when the rest of the world sleeps.

Despite these initial challenges, I found freelance writing jobs that helped me sustain my digital nomad lifestyle. I was earning peanuts but it was enough to sustain my simple living on the island. From my original plan of staying on the island for a week when the money runs out, I ended up living there for four months!   

My First International Trip

I was not earning a huge amount from my freelance writing gigs, yet I managed to have a bit of savings from a humble lifestyle. Referrals also started coming in, and I found myself leading my first independent project as a contractor for a short-term project. 

I saved most of my earnings from there to finance my first-ever international travel to Singapore. You might be wondering two things here. Yes, I was a flight attendant but only for local operations and thus I never set foot in other countries. Also, why the expensive Singapore as the first country to visit, right?

Well, I had free flight perks left as part of my severance pay from my former airline and Changi is one of the places that’s included. That opportunity is hard to miss. In addition, Singapore is a strategic starting point for my Southeast Asia backpacking trip and you’ll see why.

How I Made Singapore Affordable

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As expected, Singapore was expensive, at least for someone like me who was broke and only relies on an unstable freelance gig for funds. On the other hand, it’s a country where you can lower the cost if you know where to go. Here are some of the things I did to travel around on a tight budget:

Activities 

• Only stayed three days and synched every activity I could fit on that timeline
• I did not buy a sim card because I thought I couldn’t amortize the cost for such a short stay. I utilized free WiFi on restaurants and public spaces (even a handful metro stations in Singapore offer free WiFi), and asked around for directions when needed
• Focused on free activities like walking around the Merlion Statue and Marina Bay Sands
• Visited museums on Sundays (some of them waive entrance fee and give out free tours on this day)

Transportation

• Used free travel perks from my former airline for the flight ticket
• Maximized the Singapore Tourist Pass for unlimited train rides. Interestingly, I did not buy a sim card but bought a train pass. Well, it’s my first out-of-the-country trip and my third time using the metro. I got lost so many times and was happy I bought the pass

Food 

• Scanned the neighborhood to see where locals eat and went there for affordable local food

Accommodation

• I stayed in a well-located hostel that’s walking distance from restaurants, malls, and shops.

How I Made Malaysia Affordable 

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After spending three days in Singapore, the Southeast Asia backpacking trip is in full swing. I took the bus to cross to Kuala Lumpur (KL) which lasted six hours and was surprisingly comfortable. I got to see a tiny bit of Malacca for the stopover and could still remember seeing a tiny squirrel during the bus stop for the first time in my life. It is then that it finally hit me that yeah, I am out of the Philippines!

Malaysia is surprisingly affordable. A Grab ride is cheaper there compared to the cost per kilometer in the Philippines and there are a lot of street food stalls you can choose for an affordable meal. Here is everything I did to make Malaysia even more affordable:

Activities 

• Bought a local sim card from 7/11 which was cheap and had amazing coverage
• Instead of withdrawing money from ATM machines, I converted some of my US Dollar bills because of good exchange rates
• Traveled slowly. Unlike Singapore, I took my time in Malaysia and only visited two places. I spent a week in Kuala Lumpur and another week in Penang

Transportation

• Utilized free public buses to travel around Kuala Lumpur. Some of them go to famous spots like the famous Petronas Twin Towers
• Used a bus to travel between Kuala Lumpur to Penang. This was an 8-hour uncomfortable ride but it was also the cheapest option and I had time to spare.

Food

• I ate at street food stalls 80% of the time. I remember having a REALLY GOOD chicken rice meal along the streets for lunch for only 100 pesos or $2
• Never not skipping eating shawarma wraps and french fries in the streets of Kuala Lumpur (Bukit Bintang area) – the serving size is always HUGE 
• Penang is a haven for AMAZING street food scene. There’s also restaurant called “Wheelers” where I dined for brunch everyday. They have delicious pancakes, waffles, and combination meals with big portions. Wheelers is a little on the pricier side but it made me full the whole day and ended up saving more

Accommodation

• I stayed in a well-located place called Sunshine Bedz hostel for $4 right in the middle of Bukit Bintang, KL. Here I met my first hostel group-turned-good friends and we traveled together for some days. We split the bill for transportation cost which was a great cost saving method

How I Made Thailand Affordable 

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From Penang, I crossed to Southern Thailand in a van and took the bus all the way to Krabi. By now I have been sleeping on little beds of hostels for weeks on end, and thought that if I were to splurge a bit on accommodation, I might as well do that in Thailand. I spent two nights in a decent hotel in Ao Nang, Krabi, for only 1500 pesos ($30) a night. It was a steal since the place was spacious — I would be paying a minimum $60/night for the same type if I were back home.

In total, I spent a month in Thailand going from South (Krabi and Phuket) to North (Chiang Mai), then to the capital Bangkok and back to Phuket again. By the end of the trip, I have seen much of the popular spots and here is everything I did to make the trip affordable:

Activities 

• I withdrew as much money as possible in a single transaction to avoid the hefty cash withdrawal fees in Thailand
• Booked a sunset tour in Krabi which includes seeing some planktons at night. Instead of booking it through an app, I called the organizer directly and asked if they could give me a discount and they did. Krabi tourism was just coming out of the pandemic era during that time and I was in a good position to haggle 
• DIY-ed our Loi Krathong experience in Chiang Mai instead of paying for an organized tour. However, we went to the celebration in the mountains instead of staying in the city which I heard was so much better
• I downloaded CouchSurfing for meet-ups and met some people who toured me around for free
• Tried different activities like surfing, aerial yoga, cooking class, and creating mandala art in Thailand and all are on the lower side of the cost if I were to get them back home

Transportation

• Utilized Grab to book motorbike rides to get from point A to point B
• I booked my flight from Phuket to Bangkok through a third-party platform called Airpaz, which offered me a great discount
• Figured out how to use the metro and used it to get from the airport to my hostel in Pratunam

Food

• As per the usual, I ate a lot on small food stalls along the streets
• Thai convenience stores like Mini Big C, 7-Eleven, and Family Mart have become my ultimate best friend! I consider them as one the best tourist attractions in Thailand! From fruits and salads to different flavored potato chips and tamarind candies, I bought them all here

Accommodation

• I splurged a bit on having my private room whilst traveling in Thailand because we are talking about 600 pesos or $12 per night for a room of your own. If I would be paying half of that for a hostel, might as well have my little privacy while I can

How I Made Vietnam Affordable 

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Vietnam is known as one of the cheapest countries to travel in. True enough, I only spent 25,000 php or $450 for my 21-day trip from South to North. This means that my daily spending averaged at just a little over 1000 php or $20. 

With this budget, I already crossed six major towns namely Ho Chi Minh, Nha Trang, Hoi An, Phong Nha, Ninh Binh, and Hanoi. I also tried different activities like mud bath experience in Nha Trang, cooking classes and bamboo boat tour in Hoi An, a tour to the caves in Phong Nha, and a boat excursion in Ninh Binh. Here’s what I did to keep everything on a budget:

Activities

• Vietnam, in my experience, was full of petty scams. I saw this first-hand even when I booked the bamboo boat activity through my hostel host who appeared to be very nice and honest. 
• Learning from my mistake, I did DIY most of my tours instead of joining organized ones

Transportation

• Biking. I did not have a driver’s license when I traveled in Vietnam and the only way I could get around is by using a manual bike. Most of the hostels have them and you can rent them for a day for a very cheap price. Some hosts also offer them for free.

Food 

• Vietnam is a haven for really good food! Somehow, I found some restaurants that I dined in to be quite on the higher price scale comparing to the fact that everything else is cheaper in the country, maybe because I only stayed near tourist spots 
• On the upside, serving size always SERVES, and I found myself eating only twice a day because of how healthy and fulfilling the food is 
• That being said, street food stalls are the way to go. I found a Banh Mi place near my hostel in Ho Chi Minh for $1 a piece with large portions. I ended up spending only $2 for food for two banh mi daily for three days

Accommodation

• Average cost of hostel beds in Vietnam is $2 to $5. I remember that I was paying 127 pesos or roughly $2 a night for my bed at a guesthouse in Phong Nha which already includes a simple breakfast of a fried egg and banana! However, I also advise to be vigilant when the offer is too-good-to-be-true as the owner ended up charging 5x on his tours and for booking inter-city buses.

How I Made Laos Affordable 

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Accommodation price not taken into account, Laos is probably the cheapest to travel in among the countries I visited in Southeast Asia. Vietnam has cheaper accommodation cost baseline, but food in laos is SO AFFORDABLE! 

And because the food cost was lower than my average budget, I found myself splurging a bit on food by visiting nicer restaurants while in Laos. For my two-week stay, I went to Vientiane, Vang Vieng, Luang Prabang, and Nhong Khiaw and my total spending is at 20,000 pesos or a little less than $400. 

I also met Marie, a solo traveler from France, while in Vang Vieng. We traveled together for the remainder of our stay in the country and shared the cost of accommodation. Here is how I lowered the cost of my Laos getaway:

Activities 

• In Vang Vieng, I and Marie rented our mountain bikes to travel to the three famous lagoons in the town. Although my bike broke because roads in Laos are on a different level of rugged and I ended up having a sore ass the next day, I enjoyed doing it like this because we moved at our own pace and visited only places that we liked to visit + it’s significantly cheaper than renting a motorbike
• I did not do any popular tourist activity like the tipsy tubing  
• We did a lot of free activities like watching the sunset in a popular sunset spot in Luang Prabang

Transportation

• Booked a van to get from Vientiane to Vang Vieng, and Vang Vieng to Luang Prabang. It was a challenge traveling the infamous Lao roads but we saved on cost and got to experience how locals travel

Food

• Laos is a food haven. Food is always affordable and good! I ended up eating pad thai with their famous Lao sticky rice everyday
• I ate a lot of cheap street food including exotic ones! 
• Lao mangoes are the best in the world and I eat three of them everyday whilst in Vientiane for an average cost of 50 pesos or $1! You’ll randomly see a cart of fruit vendors along the streets and make sure to buy — they surely have a lot of good stuff in there.

Accommodation

• I split the cost for a room with Marie while traveling in Vang Vieng. I also stayed in the cheapest hostels while in Luang Prabang and Nong Khiaw, with the latter at just $3 a night

Hitchhiking and Others

After Laos, I wanted to get back to Thailand to visit Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai, and Sukhothai. But I had one problem: I didn’t have much money left and there were no ATM machines in this remote place in the North of Laos.

So I tried hitchhiking for the first time. In a pig truck. But the pigs weren’t there. I asked the truck drivers if they can take me into Pak Mong station where I will board the bus that goes near the border of Thailand. With little English, they told me that they aren’t going exactly to Pak Mong but will be halfway to there. I placed my 50-liter bag into the truck and off we went. 

How I Funded My South East Asia Travel in a Nutshell

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Now that I have visited close to 20 countries, in hindsight, Southeast Asia is the most affordable destination I have been. You could spend months on end while on a little budget and splurge on private accommodation and good food here and there. 

In a nutshell, here is how I funded my South East Asia travel as a broke 24-year-old:

• I looked for a side hustle online that can finance my expenses while giving me the freedom of time and movement to be where I want to be
• I maximized public transportation and made use of free rides if they are available 
• Eating along the streets. It’s a huge advantage that I am from the Philippines and my system is used to this kind and never experienced food poisoning 
• Staying on hostels and affordable guesthouses 
• Intertown buses, although they increase your travel time, save cost. And if you’re someone who has the time to sit in a 12-hour bus ride or so, then you’re in for an adventure 
• One thing I haven’t done at this time and I absolutely advise you to do is volunteering. A Southeast Asia travel is never complete without this. Use my code “MIRJ” or click this link to get a 10% discount on your membership with WorldPackers.

Enjoy!