Photo: Fires along the Mekong

I recently passed the one-month mark for traveling (I left on Feb 26), and I want to do a corresponding one-month reflection. One month has passed faster than I expected. In that time, I’ve covered hundreds of miles across 4 countries. I want to start my reflection by sharing some of the more concrete products of my trip.

Budget

Over the first 32 days I spent $1909.69. This does not include the initial flight to Singapore, but otherwise includes every expense: transportation, accommodation, food, etc. Furthermore, it includes some unspent cash in my wallet at the time I calculated this, and future nights at a hotel I had booked already.

That averages to ~$59.68 a day, which I am very happy with. Before departing on my trip, I estimated an expense of between $60 and $100 a day, depending on location. So far, that estimate has been dead-on. In Singapore, that number was much closer to $100/day. Thailand and Malaysia have been relatively inexpensive (Malaysia seems very slightly cheaper). I’m still gathering data for Laos.

My budget for accommodation has been $30/night, which has been more than enough to book nice, private, hotel rooms. I’ve found that having a private bed and bath is just so much nicer than sharing a dorm room, even if it comes at the cost of a worse social life (and higher price).

I haven’t been paying close attention, but my meals in Thailand costed around 100-200 Thai Baht ($3 - $6). That includes drinks and dessert. It typically costs 50-100 THB to enter a temple as a foreigner, and 50-150 THB to book a grab ride (which is the only realistic way to get around Thailand outside of Bangkok). The prices were similar in Malaysia (but in Malaysian Ringgit, of course).

Places I’ve Missed

As I talk to other travelers and locals, I have gathered a small list of places which I have missed! Some of these I am sad to have missed (a future trip!), others are no big deal.

The coolest source of places to visit has been the UNESCO lists of world heritage sites and intangible cultural heritage. Turns out those nerds at the UN have really done their research - the UNESCO sites have been the best stops on my trip. For each site I’ve visited, I’ve passed by another. The intangible cultural heritages are a shortlist of “must experience” cultural practices!

Concretely, here are some places I made a conscious choice to skip (in no particular order):

1. Taman Negara National Park in Malaysia. It’s a famous jungle, with lots of jungle-y things to do. I skipped this because I didn’t feel prepared for a more wilderness-oriented trip, but I definitely want to visit in the future.
2. The East coast of peninsular Malaysia. Some locals recommended I visit some cities on the East coast, but I had already booked my flight to Bangkok. These could be good to pair with Taman Negara.
3. Southern Thailand. Southern Thailand is filled with beautiful islands and beaches, and I’ve received countless recommendations to visit it. But I’ve also heard that the islands are very touristy and filled with drunk westerners. So, not really my vibe.
4. Parks in Western Thailand. There are some natural parks and historical WW2 sites here I learned about too late, once I had already passed them.
5. Myanmar. The whole country. It’s apparently very beautiful, distinct from the usual suspects (Thailand, Laos, Cambodia), and has a ton of history (the Burmese invaded Thailand!). It’s also embroiled in a fierce civil war. If the war ever settles down, I’m dying to go.
6. Northern Laos. I’ve heard that the mountainous terrain of Northern Laos is beautiful, but the country has been too smoky to enjoy it.

I also want to give a quick shoutout to the islands of Sumatra and Borneo (Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei), which I have seemingly wandered away from. I’ve heard good things, and want to go eventually.

Highlight and Lowlight

This part is short.

My favorite moment so far: The hike and time crunch in the Cameron Highlands. Beautiful sights and a fun time!

My least favorite moment so far: Having to remain hyper-vigilant about the price of accommodation and transportation in Laos.

The Deep Stuff

My mood has been pretty stable, which is a good thing. Generally, the large amount of sun exposure (I’m a plant) and lack of dreadful corporate culture has done wonders for my disposition.

One of my goals was to get used to living spontaneously. I think I’ve gotten used to the day-to-day logistics of this lifestyle - booking things last moment doesn’t really stress me out anymore. However, living spontaneously has also come with lots of worries about my future. I’ve found it difficult to really live “in the moment”, and often find my thoughts wandering to what I want to do or what goals I want to set over the next couple of months or years. The good news is that I think I’m getting better at this! Lately, I have been more comfortable with the idea that I can drift aimlessly for the next year and still turn out totally fine.

Another one of my goals was to practice living each day intentionally. I think I’ve been failing at this goal. When I’m feeling fine or good, it’s very easy to forget to practice the skills that will help me when I’m not feeling so fine. Some days I look back and feel like I really got trapped into chasing the hedonistic feeling of novelty without practicing any intention. Those moments are disappointing. I’ll try to do better. Maybe set a concrete goal, that helps.

Finally, a “secret” aim of mine was to find a place that I could settle down for a longer period of time. I know that I do not want to live in the US for the foreseeable future, but I don’t have a good idea where I do want to live. So everywhere I go I ask myself “could I live here”? So far, I’ve made one salient observation: life is not all that different wherever you are. I don’t think being in a new location will solve any major philosophical, emotional, or existential issues. Instead, one should choose a location that minimizes the minor pain points of every day life: climate, accessibility, comfort, etc. In doing so, you remove the negative externalities that are so easy to latch onto and blow out of proportion when you aren’t feeling good. The same goes for the good things. If you really like the food, or the transport, or the culture of the place you are, it’s easier to pull yourself out of a bad mood - that helps you address the big problems. Of course, this only works under the assumption that you have significant socioeconomic freedom. I am grateful that I do.

What’s next?

Traveling like I have been for the last month has been pretty exhausting. I think that I need to take a moment and settle down somewhere for a little bit, to live a little slower. I’ve decided that I want to do this in Taiwan. After Songkran in Thailand, I’ll be flying to Taiwan and spending about a month there, until I have to leave for a commitment in Germany.