Tips and ticks for Traveling Asia. Best country’s, best spots. Price of living in different Asian country’s. Best activity’s in the region.
I knew you all sick off kapiti Island pic’s, so here is one a ray I snapped at Poor Knights in Northland the other week. Great diving fully recommend it, head to Tutukaka and use Dive Tutukaka, great outfit.
Have a look at my blog Best way to do Aisa long term for some great tropical dive options.
ENJOY THE JOURNEY
As you all know I spend many months living on a ship followed by a couple of months, not on a ship. So, where and what do I do. Well, my home country is far too expensive for me on my low ship wage to live so I tend to live in an Asian country for a few months. Why well rent, food, and activities are a lot cheaper. As they say, make your money in the 1st world and spend it in the 3rd.
I have normally just 2 months off, although have had up to 3 or 4 sometimes. I have been known to travel from country to country. Sometimes it’s just around a single country. But mostly I pick a spot and stay there. Staying in one spot saves a lot of money.
I tend to think of it as I am living there, not on holiday there. If I go out every day and every night doing every tourist activity there is, well by the end of 2 months I have very little money left.
When I start booking my vacation time, I take a lot into account. Accommodation, flights, general living expenses, visas, activities and Time of year. Let’s look at some of these.
Moving around costs more, not only do you have to pay for flights everywhere. Your hotel stays are shorter so you get casual rates and not monthly rate and do not forget every flight is two more transfers. When you need to find somewhere to live for 2 or more months at a time, accommodation is your biggest expense.
Finding accommodation I use either booking.com or Airbnb. Booking.com tends to be more hotel rooms and Airbnb is more apartments. Me there are a few comforts I like to have on my months off.
• Being Asia it’s hot so air con is a must. I prefer a fan at night while sleeping, keeps the raspy throat away. But getting back after a few hours out in that heat of the day, there is nothing better than turning on the air con and cooling down
• A jug and a toaster at least. I don’t need a full kitchen I will not be cooking, but in the morning I like to wake up and make myself a coffee and have a couple of bits of toast. Lunch and dinner will be eating out; it’s so dirt cheap to do so.
• Cable TV. Yes, I like to watch TV at night and prefer if it’s in English. Remember I am there for 2 months I don’t want to be going out partying every night, am too old for that. Plus a sure fire way to burn through all your cash. I entertain myself at night with TV.
• High-speed Internet connection. When on the ship internet is slow and expensive (even for crew) so when I am off I want a good connection. Get back up-to-date with music, movies, and Facebook.
• Pool. Yes, I like to have a pool where I am staying and it must get sun. So many times I have booked places to only get there and find the pictures were taken at the 30 minutes of the day it got sun. Also, I like lots of space and chairs around the pool, nothing worse than a 300 room hotel and 3 sun lounges at the pool.
• Position. There is no point in getting a hotel too far away from everything, it just cost you more in taxis. I like to be in an area I can walk to everything I need. You can hire a scooter, and that’s an added expense plus the chance of a crash.
When I pick a spot I will search both booking.com and Airbnb for the best deal, I add the option I want in both and search. Booking.com you can only book a maximum of 30 days so I email the hotel directly and ask for a better rate for 2 months. Airbnb gives great discounts the longer you stay.
You would think flights are the biggest expense, these days flights are cheap if you shop around and book ahead. I use webjet.com.au to search by time and price, and then book through the airline itself. Trust me if something goes wrong with your flight you want to be dealing with the airline and not some online website, speaking from experience there.
Most of these places are seasonal if you go in the offseason it’s always cheaper, in peak season you sometimes have to look further afield for better deals. I know places in Asia that even in peak season you will still get a good deal. Some spots have had a huge drop off in demand and now they have an overs supply of accommodation.
Food in Asia is cheap if you eat locally; rice or noodle local dishes will not come close to breaking the bank. If you want to eat western food it’s not so cheap. A coffee at Starbucks in Bangkok is not much less than a coffee at Starbucks in LA. Some country’s eating from a roadside kart is perfectly safe, but some are not. Rule of thumb is it’s made fresh in front of you, it’s generally ok. If they pull it out from a draw that’s been out in the sun all day, I would pass.
Most of these countries offer a free visa for less than 30 days. Me I am away for 60+ days. You can apply for a 2, 3 month or more visa before you leave. But the last thing I want to be doing is hanging around in a cold old home in mid-winter. I tend to get to the country and use an agent to extend when needed. Be mindful each Asian country has different rules on this so study up before you go. Some just land and extend, some you must buy a special entry visa if you wish to extend. Study up.
I go to places where I can surf or dive (or both). Surfing is a great way to entertain yourself for very little, it’s pretty much free. You have to pay extra to fly a surfboard over or else it’s a rental. Diving, however, is a bit more of an expense. You must use a local dive shop to dive through, you must have a guide and normally a boat ride, plus local fees, it all adds up. Some countries are cheaper than others for diving, but you will generally find the diving is not so exciting, but as I say at least you are in the water.
Getting around can add up. Airport transfers can stack up when you have to do more than the flight in and out, Visa runs etc. It’s good to be in a spot where there is a cheap fast reliable airport transfer. Going out. A 20-minute walk in that heat is going to make you look like you just had a shower when you get to your destination. It’s great to be in a spot where there is a cheap local transport system or even an abundance of taxis. Scooter rental is an option in most of these spots. But remember road rules (or lack of) differ in these areas compared to home. It would be a good idea to start your scooter experience in a less crowded area before driving in the heart of any Asian city. And off course, it goes without saying Travel insurance (see my page on travel insurance), make sure you have it and it covers all activity’s if it states you need a motorbike license in your home country and that has to be shown on your international license then have it. If you don’t, you are not covered!!
There you go those are my tips for living long term in Asia. Do your research before you go, take everything into account, accommodation, flights, visa’s, transport, food, and activities. Weigh all the options up for each. I have lived in a few Asian countries for a few months at a time and I have my favorites depending on the season and what it is I want to do, surf or dive, or both. For the first few years, I did travel around most countries, hunting the best spots that suit me. Now it’s just automatic for me. I know where I want to go depending on the time of the year. I know what area I want to stay, which hotel, where to eat, where to shop.
If you wish to know of some my favorite spots, best deals, best times of the year for different countries, drop me an email on my contact page and I will be happy to reply
ENJOY THE JOURNEY
