Travel Pro Tip #20 : "Pay More Get Less Countries" "Pay Less Get More Countries" and Some Things to Consider. Part Three
In part one of this four part series we discussed "pay more get less countries". In part two we went into detail about "pay less get more countries" including the advantages and differences between the two. Here in part three we talk about some of my favorite "pay less get more countries" and some advice on how to think about your travel budget.
One of my favorite "pay less get more countries" is Thailand where I currently am traveling now. With a modern infrastructure, low crime, good health care, low unemployment this is one of the best value countries on the planet. In Thailand you can have it all for very little.
A one bedroom apartment here can be as little as $100 a month with western standards. Groceries, food, and eating out are almost embarrassingly cheap. Heck you can even get an hour massage for under five dollars. They have some of the best medical practices and standards for this region of the world at a fraction of the cost of first world countries. This makes places like Bangkok a very popular medical tourism destination.
Some examples of great "pay less get more countries" are Ecuador, Peru, Mexico, Guatemala, Colombia, Nicaragua, Bolivia, Chili, Argentina, Paraguay, Brazil, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Poland, Greece, Romania, and others in Eastern Europe and around the globe. What others would you add to this list my fellow Steemit friends?
Like I touched upon in my previous article, there are many other countries that could make this list but they do not. Usually due to very low living conditions, lack of infrastructure, poor service economy, high crime, overly impoverished, and unstable governments. These are the countries that need our help.
I've been traveling for over a decade. I enjoy traveling through the "pay less get more" countries most of all, not only are they always rich in culture, they are simply a great deal. I usually budget myself to about three times that of the local income in many of these parts. This is only about $1,000 dollars a month, that's including air fare, this leaves me about 20-30 USD per day.
People new to travel are often concerned about the associated expenses. I'm often asked do I have enough money to travel here or there? I generally answer this by explaining it depends if you need to drink a $40 bottle of wine every night and stay at the Hilton. My advice is to look at your travel budget like this; if the locals can live on $300 a month, then you can live comfortably on at most three times that! if you can't live on triple what a local gets by on, then it's just not very "Travel Pro". Thee are so many tricks and strategies to save money while traveling I'll have to do some more "travel pro tips" just on that topic.
Here is a great example of being smart while traveling through these types of countries and saving money. Recently when I was in Chiang Mai Thailand, I saw traveler after traveler walking in and out of Starbucks spending at least 3-8 dollars each. When just down the road you can get freshly ground top notch lattes, espressos, cappuccinos.... at a local cafe, Hom Coffee for as little as 65 cents! Not only were they not supporting a local Thai business nor saving their money, it was so Un-Travel Pro!
Anyway my steemit friends. I love a good value for my money, there for I spend most of my time traveling through "pay less get more countries". Often rich in culture and friendly people, these are the countries I really enjoy the most. In the final part four we'll discuss both types of countries, my strategies and plans for traveling through "pay more get less countries" and other things to consider. If you enjoyed this article, check out some of my other work and don't hesitate to follow. Wishing you all the best from my excellent $9 per night hotel in Krabi Town, Thailand. -Dan "World Travel Pro!"
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I went to Thailand in 2013 and you are absolutely right in all of the things you said .. I was very careful in my Thai girls .. I always go through the pyramid hat and I go to the beach ....
Thank you
Thanks for sharing! Good post!
Thank you!
Successful and accurate presentation of the matter of travel, thank you for sharing this wonderful information. ;)
Thank you so much Margaret. You learn a few things after living out of backpack for over a decade. :)