asia vs. south america

[Courtney]

ok so i am aiming for next may and i need to decided which would be cheaper...i will be going for 3-4 months
any past experiences would be helpful
sooo stoked to travel, im thinking asia is cheaper??

[Chewy]

both would be an experience in its own.

revolver should be able to help you with this one. he has been to both areas

[AGROculture]

As far as Asia goes.

Places like Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia. Laos, Burma etc are dirt cheap
I had an all you can eat meal in Burma for 20 cents

India & Nepal even cheaper. Same with "the stans"

$15 - $20 a day needed for these countries
$25 a day is what I budgeted and came back home with a lot of extra cash.

China, Malaysia etc are midrange

Places like Tokyo, Soth Korea, Singapore are expensive.

Places like North Korea and Bhutan are only available on a group tour so it's minimum $200 per day.

As far as South America goes.
It's more than most of Asia that's for sure but still affordable compared to North American standards

Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, Uruguay, Paraguay, Guayana budget for about $25 - $35 per day.

Chile, Argentina, Surinam and Brazil are a bit more

French Guiana is pretty much the same price as France. Budget $80 per day minimum

[esoter1c]

The question you should be asking yourself is....

Do I wanna sleep with this guy....



Or Gisele Bundchen....



S.America>Anywhere.;)

[Revolver]

{forgive spelling and grammar}

south east asia:

cheap, beautiful, cheap,wonderful,magestic,cheap...and wonderful. no where have i met such a peacful people. you see, buddhusim runs VERY deep in the population. They are always friendly and theft is of litle worry...(BUT SHOULD ALWAYS BE ANYWAY).

there is no place on earth where you can log 3 months of AMAZING travel for so little money( i did it for only 1400 cnd for 3.5) and see and eat so much.

the dharmic religions and philoshophy is spectacular as well.

the only downfall to southeast asia is how well traveld it is.

because it is sooo cheap, it attracts a "first time" backpacker clientel. think 18 year old girlys on there first time from home or packs of 22 year old punters looking to get drunk and fuck thai bar girls non stop....

southeast asia has its ups and downs...but for a first timer looking to really get out of the northamerican day to day program there is simply no other destination.
....and the shopping....MY GOD.....the shopping is...welll....amazing.

SOUTHAMERICA!!!!!....well, southamerica is alot more challenging. ive been down there on 3-4 month stints the last two years in a row and right away i noticed that it attracts a more seasoned, experienced, backpacker. South america is NOT for the faint of heart but its re-wards are PARAMOUNT!. think of the most spectacular archeological sites you have ever seen, the most deep rooted culture of day to day life of locals you will see anywhere. The amazon rainforest on its own is simply the "EARTHS LUNG"...there is NO PLACE ON THE FACE OF THE GLOBE that has as much life as the amazon rainforest. 75 percent of our western pharmaceutical "medicines"(pfft!) come from the amazon rainforest

ive noticed that in the last couple of years PERU Has become a super hotspot of new age and counterculture travel. it has become what india has meant to our parents generation.....some extremely cool and switched on people go down to peru.

and when i mean "switched on" think hollywood.ive met producers,actors and media people....peru is really on fire right now.

in southamerica you can easily get by on 25-40 usd a day. but it really helps to have some travel legs beneath you. and it also really helps to be of adventurous spirit. sure you can go down there and backpack the "gringo trail" and take all the pkg tours, but to really go deep...you definatly need to have a little salt on your passport....

if you know how to travel and dont mind some adventure and uncertanty my vote is for southamerica...

if you want amazing beaches,no-hassel travel ,and cheap designer knock offs go to southeast asia.


*courtney, ive spent alot of time in both regions and know them pretty well...if you want any advice just pm me and ask..*

[Gunter S]

Originally Posted by esoter1c

The question you should be asking yourself is....

Do I wanna sleep with this guy....

what guy