It does seem rather ironic that an Asian would want to travel around Asia. Then again, for a guy who has spent most of his life in tiny Singapore, the rest of vast and exotic Asia seems extremely appealing – and certainly holds experiences that cannot be found here.
So begins a new chapter in my life. As graduation looms (May 2013), so does the big question that all graduates inevitably face: What now? As I mentioned earlier, I fully intend to head out into the world and embrace the wildness of life outside my safe haven here in Singapore (yes, putting passion into action, finally). And what better place to start with than the incredibly popular Thailand? After reading several popular travel blogs and travel guides (as well as the not-so-popular ones), I was utterly convinced that Thailand was the place to start off my journey.
Thus far, I’ve had a few offers on Workaway, but nothing really concrete within Thailand (unfortunately). I might start out in Malaysia, as I have gotten a couple of fantastic offers from the most amazing people. Fortunately, cheap traveling around Thailand is certainly still a possibility. In any case, I decided to go ahead and book a flight out to Bangkok in faith (and also partly because Scoot was having an INCREDIBLE discounted rate of S$77 for a flight there – it ended yesterday). My friend, Darren, and I fully intend to live the backpacker’s life there – slowly trawling across Thailand, staying at the cheapest accommodation around, and absorbing the culture around us.
The second leg of this trip will be to the Philippines. I was inspired by this marvelous post on Migrationology . A private beach, abundant seafood, crystal clear waters, fine white sand at Buasanga, Palawan – for the cost of US$36? A traveler’s paradise, a must-visit destination, and best of all, only one of the many island beaches around the Philippines. It certainly stirs up the wanderlust in me!
A very useful tool I have been using to plan my flights is Kayak. All I have had to do was punch in my start and end points, the dates I would like to fly there and back, and it aggregates the cheapest alternatives for me within seconds. This tool has saved me a tremendous amount of research and time. One thing to note of, though: Kayak does not take into account any promotions that are ongoing. Hence, you should definitely subscribe to updates from your favorite few airlines – you never know what offers will come up. I was extremely fortunate to spot Scoot’s offer in a promotional email they sent out.
I have made it my goal to keep overall costs to an absolutely minimum. As of now, only S$77 has gone into the airfare towards Bangkok. I will continue to keep a log of my preparations as they unfold, and I hope they will serve as a useful guide for those who intend to travel cheaply around Thailand and Philippines – stay tuned!