MONEY!

Whenever traveling, I record every penny passing through my fingers. Whether finding one Quetzal, losing two Shillings, or buying an eighty Dollar train ticket, I write it down. On this trip I 'balanced' the contents of my coin purse at least once a day. In the midst of begging children, dying animals, chaotic festivals, roaming hands of roaming men, and 30 hour trains- something like this is a true constant- needless and monotonous in its simple joy. Here is a look at one of my expense book pages(I used a small gridded Moleskine)from my time in China (rough exchange rate- 8 RMB = 1 USD):




You can see a few more pages here.

All of my other trips were under three months long, and compiling at the end was easy and often accomplished on the plane ride home. Here is the post about my previous trip (one month long). This time, however, it was more difficult:

* 167 pages
* 2170 entries
* 10 currencies
   Chinese Yuan, Mongolian Tughrik, Nepali Rupee, Indian Rupee,
   Thai Baht, Cambodian Riel, Lao Kip, Singapore Dollar, Malaysian
   Ringgit and United States Dollar

Thousands of dollars, and I can account for all but $21.29 of it! Take a look below to see EXACTLY what 6.5 months in Asia cost me.

Pre-trip Expenses

Air.......................................................................... $30.00
  -taxes only; I used frequent flyer miles for my open jaw:
   Houston, TX to Newark, NJ to Beijing, China and
   Singapore to San Francisco, CA (unused leg SF, CA - Hou, TX)
Visas (China and India)............................................. $115.00
Travel Insurance...................................................... $238.00
Guidebooks............................................................... $38.26
Clothes and Shoes..................................................... $125.91
Misc.......................................................................... $95.81

Total Pre-trip Expenses: $642.98

Expenses During Trip*
  *expenses meticulously kept during trip and converted
   for this blog using date-sensitive exchange rates.

Transport............................................................... $1336.40
Air - $389.12
  -Chengdu, China to Lhasa, Tibet, China (inc. permit)
  -Calcutta, India to Bangkok, Thailand
  -Bangkok, Thailand to Singapore
Local (bus/train/rickshaw/taxi/ferry/etc) - $190.73
Long Distance (bus/train) - $390.66
  -includes 7 overnight buses and 14 overnight trains (!)
Mongolian Van, Driver and Petrol - $365.89

Accommodation.................................................... $522.69
   note: overnight train and bus fees inc. in "transport"

Food...................................................................... $863.44
Restaurants - $484.84
Street Food - $71.73
Convenience Stores - $187.09
Other (beverages/fast food/ice cream/alcohol) - $119.78

Amusement/Attractions............................................ $437.42
General Attractions - $220.90
Museums - $24.12
Monasteries and Temples - $32.36
Tours - $70.09
Other (movies/arcade/etc) - $89.95

Communication/Post............................................. $382.52
Internet/Burning CDs - $139.64
Post - $20.37
Calling Cards and Phone Calls - $59.29
Sending Packages Home - $163.22

Souvenirs and Purchases........................................ $1207.94
Toiletries - $25.37
Paper Goods etc - $57.48
Personal Souvenirs - $633.24
  -includes heavy clothing for Mongolia
DVDs/CDs/MP3cds - $117.46
Paintings (Thangka and Bengali) - $278.16
Gifts - $96.23

Other....................................................................... $398.01
Saved Local Currency - $4.81
Unknown/Lost - $21.29
Laundry - $15.22
Beggars - $20.43
Gifts for Locals - $116.44
Visas/Immigration - $136.71
Books - $39.76
Other - $43.35

Pre-trip Expenses .............. $642.98
Trip Expenses .................. $5148.42
----------------------------------
Total Expenses ...................... $5791.40

I did not have a budget, but anticipated spending $5000-$8000. Generally speaking, the countries I went to are known for inexpensive travel, though luxuries are not hard to come by! I lived and ate very cheaply, and could have spent less overall, but I'm a sucker for indigenous art and textiles (I bought 30 paintings in India), and I definitely did not want to deny myself the occassional ice-cream cone or first-class bus!

Thanks for coming by! Happy travels.

Recycled Eyeglasses

I've been back for three months- so long that I've started mourning the end of the adventure. Settling temporarily in San Francisco has been fantastic, though I do not find myself dedicated to working again and making this permanent.

You know that saying about rose-colored glasses? I think culture is like that, permeating everything in our lives. When I found myself around Westerners again there was an extended period of readjustment. I felt as if I forgot to put on my glasses, that I was a foreigner to the motivations and desires of the people around me. When I saw recognizable Punjabs in turbans I wanted to approach them and talk about curry and Amritsar. When I saw a Cambodian man at Best Buy I wanted to ask him about his family and Pol Pot.

I'm feeling a little lost now, but working on plans for the next year (which may be pretty exciting!). In the near future, there will be several updates to the site, including a breakdown of my expenses for the Asia trip next Monday, as well as more photos and Notebook updates!