Ask HN: Taking a sabbatical to somewhere in Asia. How can I make the most of it?

Re:Ask HN: Taking a sabbatical to somewhere in Asia. How can... by notahacker on Tuesday June 21, 2011 @07:31AM (#2678286)

What else would I do? Move around the region. Transport here is cheap and you'll meet many other people of a similar age doing the same thing. South East Asia is reasonably compact despite the limitations of the transport system, and the subtle differences between countries (and regions within countries) are interesting.

Take a netbook with you and you'll find free wifi in cafes and hotels everywhere (except maybe rural Laos/Cambodia) but the rest of the time you'll be distracting yourself with more varied things than Hacker News.

Rule out Singapore on the budget you've mentioned, unless you plan to live in a dorm and avoid alcohol. Otherwise, it should be reasonably straightforward to live on ~$1000 per month if you're not partying or moving around all the time. You'll find more interesting and much cheaper food served from market stalls and informal roadside eateries than restaurants.

(posted from Saigon, Vietnam)

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Ask HN: Taking a sabbatical to somewhere in Asia. How can... by sabbatical13 on Tuesday June 21, 2011 @09:14PM (#2681188)

Forgive me if its a n00b question, but how easy is it to meet new people; and are there particular destinations expats frequent?

One of the things I'm slightly nervous about is not knowing anyone or the language; and thereby finding it hard to do even the most basic things like finding a nice cheap place to crash.

Thanks for the tip about Singapore, that seems to be a general consensus. I'm also planning on taking some weekend trips around the region if flights are cheap, and may relegate Singapore to that leg of the trip.

[ Parent | on HN ]