Backpacking Southeast Asia for 9 Months

I resigned from my corporate job last January 2012 because I wanted to go on a long-term travel adventure. I was able to accomplish it by backpacking for nine months in seven countries in Southeast Asia. Vietnam-Cambodia-Thailand-Indonesia-Singapore-Malaysia-Philippines I haven’t exhausted all the places in Southeast Asia which I could’ve done simply by hopping on a … Read more

Digital Nomad Life: One Month Plus in Bangkok, Thailand

For a month and a half, I stayed in Bangkok, Thailand. I flew in from Singapore and arrived in in this urban city with a 30-day visa stamped on my passport, I decided to stay here longer instead of going back to Siem Reap, Cambodia.

Here’s a high-level overview of what to expect about life in Bangkok as a digital nomad.
Note: Expenses mentioned are based on my experiences. Prices may vary depending on your level of comfort.

night life bangkok
Khao San Road, Bangkok

Accommodation

We had a friend who was very generous to share her space for us to stay. So we grabbed the opportunity since we didn’t have much time to scour through other places in the city. If we searched hard enough, we could possibly find good deals in other places in Bangkok. But we didn’t because we wanted to save money and spend more on other important things such as food.

room bangkok
apartment in Bangkok

This meant that the hassle of searching for a place to stay was no longer a problem. My friend’s apartment costs about 5000 baht (160 USD) per month.

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A Relaxing Break after Backpacking

I’ve been carrying two bags with me that amounts to almost 20 kilos, and I’m lucky enough that I’m able to hand-carry them inside the aircraft. I don’t have to pay for luggage fees every time. The trick is not to look like you’re having a hard time with your bags and I’ve somehow perfected the act of being innocent so that the check-in counters wouldn’t mind me carrying another bag on the plane.

carry backpack
Changi Airport, Singapore

Anyway…

When I arrived in my room inside a cheap hostel in Bangkok, I suddenly felt my shoulders hurt. I took a break and tried to shrug it off. However, when I went out for a walk and brought my backpack, I could still feel pain.

Maybe it was the bad posture when I slept at the airport (to save on costs) or maybe my shoulders have grown weary because of how many hours of carrying bags in transit.

airport sleeping
Suvarnabhumi Airport, Bangkok
Slept on this bench for more than 8 hours

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Handmade Postcards Project for a Cause

I met with my friend, Den of TutuOnTheRun.com, the other day in Bangkok. I bought a few postcards from her volunteering project which was one of her assignments in VSO (Voluntary Services Overseas).

VSO is an international development charity that works through experienced volunteers living and working as equals alongside local partners. It is the largest independent (non-governmental) volunteer-sending organization in the world. – VSO | Wikipedia

vso bangkok
Volunteer and discover the world.

She applied for the organization back in 2002 but she was denied application since she was told she needed more professional experience. Ten years later and after acquiring experience as a teacher, she’s finally going to make this pending dream into a realization.

Although Bangkok has become her comfort zone for over a year, she’ll move on with her adventures for a greater cause.

bangkok art fair
Spreading the news at an art fair in Bangkok’s Model Coffee.

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Six Months on the Road

I was doing my daily routine of going online to work when it hit me. I’ve been on the road for six months. Six months! I quit my job in January and I’ve travelled to different places ever since.

Transit

Here’s a list of places I’ve been to in the past six months. Some I stayed for a few days, most I stayed longer. Duration of my stay indicated are just rough estimates.

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam – 2 days
Mui Ne, Vietnam – 2 days
Siem Reap, Cambodia – 1 month
Bangkok, Thailand – 2 weeks
Singapore City, Singapore – 6 days
Cebu, Philippines – 2 weeks
Boracay, Philippines – 5 days
Cebu, Philippines – 5 days
Manila, Philippines – 1 week
Cebu, Philippines – 2 weeks
Manila, Philippines – 3 days
Siem Reap, Cambodia – 1 week
Singapore City, Singapore – 4 days
Bangkok, Thailand – 1.5 months
Bali, Indonesia – 1 week
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – 2 days
Dungun, Malaysia – running on my 1st month

Looking back, it seems that I’ve been to so many places in the last half of the year. It’s not that I can’t go to these places if I kept my previous job working in a contact center. Heck, I travelled to 4 countries and 8 local destinations within 8 months and still kept my full-time job. I’ve also had six consecutive trips in six weekends while juggling my part-time projects online. It just came to a point that I wanted more than the weekend trips.

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5 Things I Love About the Terminal 21 Mall in Bangkok

When I stayed in Bangkok, Thailand for more than a month, aside from coffee shops, one of the places I frequently visited was the Terminal 21 mall.

I was introduced to this shopping and dining center by a fellow travel blogger and this became one of my favorite hangout places. For someone like me who’s constantly on the lookout for good internet connection to work on my online jobs, I always need a conducive place to do my tasks. Bangkok’s Terminal 21 was able to give me what this digital nomad’s lifestyle needs.

terminal 21 asok
Terminal21

To give you some highlights, here are five reasons why I love the Terminal 21 mall in Bangkok, Thailand:

1. Themed Floors

Bangkok’s Terminal 21’s floors have different themes. These themes are patterned to famous terminals around the world. They are inspired by the cities of Tokyo, London, Istanbul, etc. When I first visited the mall, I couldn’t help but admire the way they built the complex to give a unique experience every floor.

terminal 21 theme
Themed floors

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Staying in Urban Bangkok

It’s funny because even if I stayed in Bangkok, Thailand for more than a month, I didn’t really go to as many places as possible. In fact, I was just stuck in the city, frequenting coffee shops to open my laptop and work. I was focused on doing my online jobs so I could prepare for better things in the future.

However, one thing I looked forward to everyday was the food. I was always happy with the choices that were available to me. According to my friend who now lives there, best local food are found on the streets. Since they’re found on the streets, it’s expected that the costs are also budget-friendly. This is great because I don’t really eat as often as I can but when I do, I have so many options to choose from.

thai food
Street Food, Bangkok

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Leaving Bangkok

Two days. I have two more days before I travel to another destination, Indonesia. I haven’t figured what I’m going to do there. For sure, I want to hit the beach and relax!

Bangkok MRT

It’s funny because I never got to explore other areas of Bangkok when I’ve been here for more than a month already. Even the usual places such as the Grand Palace, Wat Pho (the Temple of the Reclining Buddha), the Floating Market, etc. I haven’t checked them out. I can run so many excuses like being so busy with work and all my other online commitments but that won’t do me any good. Still, these places haven’t enticed me as much and I’ll visit them some other time.

Terminal 21 Bangkok
Terminal 21 – being a mallrat

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Visa Run in Aranyaprathet-Poipet Border, New Policy?

The other day, my passport visa stamp was going to expire so I needed to go to the Aranyaprathet-Poipet border in order to re-enter Thailand. Only, I was surprised by a policy shared to me at the immigration counter in Cambodia. They asked for 200 Baht since I was going to leave the country (Cambodia) on the same day.

I have a flight next week so the most logical thing to do was have a visa run to refresh the number of days for me to stay in Bangkok.

passport cambodia
passport stamps

From Hua Lamphong station, I hopped on the same ordinary train since this was the cheapest option available. I only paid 48 baht to get to the Aranyaprathet border. I didn’t sleep the night before so the 6-hour ride went by quickly. This is usually one of my techniques whenever I hop on long bus or train rides which makes 12 or 18-hour travels a breeze. Of course, just make sure your belongings are secure. I couldn’t tell how many passengers sat beside me cause whenever I’d open my eyes, I had a different seatmate every time. But then, I’d just doze off again because of not having enough rest the previous night.

train to aranyaprathet
train ride from Bangkok to Aranyaprathet – 48 Baht for 6 hours

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Backpacking Update: Singapore and Bangkok

Pardon the lack of updates, I know I haven’t been blogging a lot lately. I’ve been pretty much busy with mostly my online job. My funds have been depleting and I need to stay in one place in order to gain more work hours to earn more money and keep this backpacking journey going.

I also got exhausted trying to keep updating this site since I have other blogs that also need attention. But all is still well and I’m still alive. 🙂

soloflighted
Singapore sidewalk

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One Vacation after Another

You just came from a long vacation and now you’re leaving again?

The expression on his face was priceless. There was no need to answer as I understood that it was a rhetorical question. I just had to smile to eliminate the moment of silence between his eyes and my smirk.

Hong Kong – Macau – Cebu – Boracay

After a trip to Hong Kong and Macau, I spent one day working at the office, and then headed to the airport to catch a flight to Boracay.

September 1-8, 2010 – Hong Kong-Macau
September 9, 2010 – Cebu (working at the office)
September 10-12, 2010 – Boracay

Thailand – Cambodia – Cebu – Davao

After a trip to Thailand and Cambodia, I spent one day working at the office, and then headed to the airport to catch a flight to Davao.

January 18-26, 2011 – Thailand-Cambodia
January 27, 2011 – Cebu (working at the office)
January 28-31, 2011 – Davao

hongkong street macau fisherman boracay beach
Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong | Fisherman’s Wharf, Macau | Station 2, Boracay

khao san road bangkok angkor thom south gate isla reta davao
Khao San Road, Bangkok | South Angkor Thom Gate, Siem Reap | Isla Reta, Samal

History repeated itself and recalling these two scenarios crack me up. It’s such a crazy situation that even my manager asked me if I was alright.

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How to Travel to Four Countries Within Four Months

…and still maintain your full-time job.

No, I didn’t take my job with me when traveling in those months but I filed for vacation leaves in between. From October of last year to January of this year, I visited four countries within four months; all of which happened in different times. It was no easy feat considering that I have a day job in a BPO industry. I was apprehensive too, if all my plans would push through considering the number of vacation leaves that I had.

Hong Kong, Macau (Ok, Macau is not a country but just a region of China along with HK, but my passport was still stamped), Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand. I visited these five places which makes me wonder if what I did was a rare opportunity to achieve or if everybody can do it as well.

Friends would ask me if I’m still working in my current company due to my constant travelling. I tell them I’m just lucky to also have a boss that understands my needs to get away from the office environment once in a while. Sure, you may not be able to choose your manager but there are other circumstances that you can control.

kuala lumpur monorail
KL Monorail, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Here are four basic tips that you can take note of so you can travel while keeping your job.

  • Book Ahead – Check out budget airline websites for dirt-cheap promotions which they hold regularly. You’ll be able to save a ton of money because of booking in advance at ridiculously low prices.

My trip to Hong Kong cost me 1200 Php and those are round trip tickets already. (Cebu to Hongkong)
My trip to Kuala Lumpur , Malaysia cost me 850 Php; and that’s riding four planes! (Cebu to Clark to Kuala Lumpur and back)
My trip to Bangkok cost me 6000 Php; actually it’s 5200 bucks more because of a huge mistake of being late at the airport but you understand the point of booking during promo fares.

Suggested websites are CebuPacificAirlines.com and AirAsia.com once in a while to what they’re offering. Better yet, subscribe to their feeds to notify you on their next big airline ticket sales.

venetian hotel macau
Venetian Hotel, Macau

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Cebu to Manila to Clark to Bangkok to Aranyaprathet to Siem Reap

I spent 36 hours travelling and waiting during our trip from Cebu to Siem Reap in Cambodia. It was the longest I spent to reach one destination. I guess that’s the challenge when you live in a region that doesn’t have a lot of options when it comes to flights to international destinations. Cebu Pacific Airlines used to have direct flights from Cebu to Bangkok but it stopped probably due to the minimal number of passengers going to that country.

In any case, we were lucky to get a discount due to promotional fares a couple of months before the schedule. Here’s a breakdown on how we got to Cambodia from Cebu.

clark airport wifi
online at Clark terminal

Cebu to Manila: We arrived 5 minutes late at the check-in counter so we had to pay the regular price and turned into chance-passengers at 5200 bucks more than the promo fare. Just mentioning it is already a pain in the buttocks since we already had a limited budget.

7000 Php (ouch) – Cebu Pacific Air Fare (original price was only 1800 Php)
200 Php – Terminal Fee

clark airport
Cebu Pacific airlines

Lesson learned, arrive 2 hours earlier than the scheduled flight! I never want to be pay extra again as these are circumstances that we can control.

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