I’ve previously shared my New Zealand and Australia budgets with you, and now it’s time to finally get to the cheap travel – SE Asia. First up, Thailand.
As always, thanks again to @ShannonRTW at A Little Adrift for her super duper budget worksheet.
I’ve been lucky enough to visit Thailand three times on my journey, but, since this was my first time in the country, I did spend a bit more than needed. My total for 27 days in Thailand was 31,655.50 Baht. When I visited, the US dollar was equal to 30.73 Baht so my USD total was $1,030.12. I averaged $38.15 a day. If I had done the same trip today, the US dollar equals 30.30 so it would have cost me $1,044.45. I don’t think that’s too bad for my first time in a SE Asian country.
My budget is divided into seven categories: lodging, food, entertainment, activities, transportation, misc. and internet.
LODGING
Total spent was 5,600 Baht or $182.23. Not bad, but still not as cheap as it could have been. My time in Thailand was spent in Bangkok and Chiang Mai. Since I wasn’t familiar with the super budget accommodation in Bangkok, I stayed at a little pricier hostel at 400 Baht a night. Once I realized how cheap accommodation could be, I moved to a 100 Baht hostel in Chiang Mai. While the 400 Baht hostel was awesome, I would recommend searching around for some cheaper hostels.
FOOD
Total spent was 6,053 Baht or $197.01. Food is cheap in Thailand. Really cheap. Somehow I spent way more than I should have, I still hadn’t grasped the incredible cheapness of street food, so this could easily be lower. Eat the street food. Trust me.
ENTERTAINMENT
Total 700 Baht or $22.78. In my quest to see a movie in every country, I splurged in Bangkok to see what their super VIP theater was like and it was definitely worth it. However, you don’t need to do this. Movie tickets are general 100-300 Baht.
ACTIVITIES
Total spent was 10,210 Baht or $332.25. I went a little crazy on the sightseeing and it adds up quickly. Still, it was was an awesome value for what I was able to see and do and was around 80% less than Australia. A few things that $332.25 included were visiting the Grand Palace, seeing a Muy Thai match, walking over the Bridge on the River Kwai, playing with baby tigers, bathing and feeding elephants, visiting the White Temple and bungy jumping.
Kissed by an Elephant
TRANSPORTATION
Total spent was 3874 Baht or $127.07. The bulk of this was my boat to Laos and the rest was random cabs and tuk tuks and my train ride to Chiang Mai. Getting around in Thailand is easy and pretty cheap. I know now that I spent more than I should have during my first few days of taking taxis and tuk tuks but that’s ok. It was a learning experience.
MISC.
Total spent was 5217.5 Baht or $169.79. This truly was a mixed section. Expenses included laundry, massages, guide books, fixing a broken camera, mailing stuff back home, tshirt, book and other random stuff.
INTERNET
Total spent was 0 Baht or $0.00. After paying for internet all through NZ and Australia, this was a welcome relief. Wi-fi is free and abundant throughout SE Asia.
Overall, my first month in Thailand was fairly easy on my budget. It was wonderful to discover just how cheap travel is outside of the US. I spent less than my monthly household expenses during this month and was able to experience so many amazing things.
