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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.

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.

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.

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.

Sometime last year, I watched “A Map for Saturday” with a few other travellers. A true story that involves a guy who left his job to travel the world for almost a year. He recorded his backpacking journey and interviewed other backpackers along the way. After his trip, he worked on his tapes and made it into a documentary. Most travellers I know have seen the movie and were left inspired.

Synposis: A MAP FOR SATURDAY is the product of a year’s travel through 26 countries on four continents. Emmy winning producer Brook Silva-Braga left his cushy gig with American TV network HBO to travel the world with five pounds of clothes and 30 pounds of video equipment. – source

During the third month of my backpacking adventure, I made a side trip to Singapore and Boracay. I was supposed to be in Chiang Mai or Laos but there were sudden changes of plans that I had to reroute the destinations and go home earlier than expected.

I told myself that I’d be gone for at least six months; however, it wasn’t really something I wanted to carve in stone. The point of this whole digital nomad lifestyle gig is to show to others that it is possible to bring your work with you and travel at the same time. I think I’ve done fairly enough to say that it can be done.

leaving Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok

Singapore

Singapore was not set until the first week of August. I was going to visit the country when I had more money in my bank. I knew that this was going to be an expensive place given that this is a First World country so I wanted more time to save before I check out its attractions. Due to circumstances, I arrived here too soon.

Merlion Singapore

I didn’t realize it’s been a month since I took a flight from Manila to Vietnam to start my backpacking journey in Southeast Asia and become location-independent. I travelled to Ho Chi Minh City and Mui Ne in Vietnam, Siem Reap in Cambodia, and Bangkok in Thailand.

I didn’t maximize the number of days before my passport expired for each country as this month was more of a vacation than anything else. Despite the sudden change of locations, I came across a few realizations and learned some lessons along the way.

1. Stay healthy!

I overdosed on spicy food in Thailand but I still kept eating them. I also didn’t watch what I ate that I ended up having diarrhea for a couple of days.

I can’t afford to get sick. Aside from the cost of medicines, I also wasted time trying to recover my health. I could’ve used the opportunity to work on other jobs that would allow me to generate more income. Or I could’ve used the time to explore other areas in Bangkok.

Thai Food – spicy!

Note: This post was written prior to my departure, I didn’t have the opportunity to publish it right away.

It’s 9pm and I’m waiting for my flight at 10:50. A flight that marks the beginning of my journey which according to my friend, is my biggest adventure so far. The initial plan was to stay for two weeks and go through the Indochina route. But with the recent turn of events, I’ve decided to stay longer and travel to more countries.

Everything is falling into place yet I’m having mixed emotions. Should I push through with the trip or am I just carried away?

typing thoughts

I wake up, take a bath, go to the office, work, clock out, go home, work online, and sleep. On weekends, I travel to let loose and stay sane. This routine has been going on for a couple of years and I’ve grown comfortable with my surroundings that I feel the need for change. Somehow, … Read more

Beyond Comfort

2012 will be a year where I’ll go out of my comfort zone and test the waters. I’ll be travelling to different countries in Southeast Asia and if all goes well, I’ll be able to live like a nomad. I know a few people who have already done this backpacking journey and I’m inspired to take the same route since I’ve been prolonging this travel adventure for quite some time.

But I couldn’t just pack my things with me and go on a trip until I’ve settled a couple of financial setbacks. Even up to now, I’m still working on a few items that I should’ve completed a long time ago. Mapping out the locations, figuring out the itineraries, computing the budget, and basically coming up with a plan – all of which I haven’t really done yet and I’m ready to hit the panic button. I’ll probably just throw caution to the wind and make those decisions when I’m out there.

This is scary sh*t but ever since I was able to go out of the country, I’ve also been taking a step higher to see how far I can go in staying out of my comfort zone and travelling beyond boundaries. I’m an adrenaline junkie and I plan to go for those moments that get me all pumped up.

Backpacking Southeast Asia for 9 Months

Digital Nomad Life: One Month Plus in Bangkok, Thailand

Accommodation

Six Months on the Road

Transit

Travel Movie: A Map for Saturday

Side Trip to Singapore and Boracay

Singapore

7 Lessons from My First Month on the Road

1. Stay healthy!

Let the Delusions Begin

Delusions of Grandeur: Taking the Step to Location Independence

Beyond Comfort