moneymoneymoney

The problem with being in a country where everything is cheap is that there’s a risk of not being careful when spending money. So the exchange rate is about 53baht to the pound and right now we’re eating lunch for about 80baht, a beer is 50, water is 10 and taxis are 100-150. That gives you an idea of the prices and so we’re staying in hotels and hostels for at most £10 a night. It means that when things cost a bit more and the baht goes into the thousands we panic and immediately think we’re spending loads, when actually never more than £15. It also means that you tend to buy things, because they’re cheap, not because we need them and so the little things all add up.
Like the super organised travellers we are, we’re keeping tabs on our money spendage, as we know that come Australia, prices will change rapidly! But when silk shorts are 100baht, a pad Thai is 40 and alcohol buckets are 200, it’s hard to say no.

Tip to other travellers:
Book packages of lots of things together in advance from tourist offices. In Bangkok we booked all of our transport to Chiangmai, a hotel in Chaingmai, the jungle trek, trains down to the islands and our ferry, all at once and it only cost a little more that £100!
Also keep track of everything you spend, we’ve both got a money log in our journals, as it means you can then work out how much you’re going to need for a day or week, and you can also see a clear image of what you’ve spent.

Off now to Koh Phangan’s total wipeout course in the sea…
Happy spending!

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