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

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

#11

Post by toumhi »

I'm currently for 1 month in Hanoi, Vietnam (after 4 months in Indonesia/Philippines/Vietnam). Life is dirt cheap here - you can find an apartment for $400 (or much less if you get some local contacts or go to some smaller city), food $3/day (eating out). Vietnam is also booming at the moment and many companies are looking to get a foot there. Laos and Cambodia are other exotic destinations in the region. You should not go to Singapore except if you like big westernized cities. I've been several times in Indonesia and lived 2 months in Jakarta, but would not recommend it. Meditation and yoga are big in Bali though, check it out. to answer your questions:

- I made sure somebody would take care of my incoming mail at home. Also make sure your financial situation,tax etc is handled.

- learning the local language + spending time on your own stuff sounds awesome

- 3 months for $5000 should be definitely doable. Renting an apartment beats moving around from hotel to hotel, however you might be interested in checking the country too :-) Mostly, avoid restaurants that serve western food and touristy neighborhoods, as your money will not go far there.

- doing web dev work would help you keep up to date. You can also see whether locals need help with their website/design needs (for example hotels, travel agencies etc.)

Relax. I know it sounds daunting when you're at home, but it's really not as dangerous or complex as people say. Don't forget to pack light. I have a 35-liter backpack and that's been enough for 5 months traveling/living in SE Asia, including laptop for work :-)

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

#12

Post by jimmyjim »

olalonde wrote: post #8

Feel free to come to Shenzhen, China. I'm the only HNer there as far as I know but the rent is low and the women love foreigners :) I'm about your age and working on a startup here.I can help set you up, find an apartment and maybe we can collaborate on some stuff as well. I swear you won't want to come back home! Contact in profile.

> I know but the rent is low

The rent is low in Shenzhen? That comes as a surprise to me, I'd been led to believe that it was in fact the most expensive city in China. Can you please expand on this? Perhaps share some numbers relating to rent, food, etc.? I'm considering moving there right after my graduation.

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

#13

Post by notahacker »

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)

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

#14

Post by olalonde »

jimmyjim wrote: post #12
olalonde wrote: post #8

Feel free to come to Shenzhen, China. I'm the only HNer there as far as I know but the rent is low and the women love foreigners :) I'm about your age and working on a startup here.I can help set you up, find an apartment and maybe we can collaborate on some stuff as well. I swear you won't want to come back home! Contact in profile.

> I know but the rent is low The rent is low in Shenzhen ? That comes as a surprise to me, I'd been led to believe that it was in fact the most expensive city in China. Can you please expand on this? Perhaps share some numbers relating to rent, food, etc.? I'm considering moving there right after my graduation.

Well, I was comparing to Hong Kong and North American cities. That being said, you can easily get a nice 300$/month apartment here. Food can be as low as 1$/meal. Taxis are very cheap. For 10$, you get a SIM card with a phone number and 50 minutes of calling time. Of course, if you have a lot of cash to spend, you can also be served. There are luxury apartments, luxury shopping malls, expensive nightclubs, etc. But if you live as a regular middle class Chinese, you can get by with quite low expenses.

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

#15

Post by sabbatical13 »

toumhi wrote: post #11

I'm currently for 1 month in Hanoi, Vietnam (after 4 months in Indonesia/Philippines/Vietnam). Life is dirt cheap here - you can find an apartment for $400 (or much less if you get some local contacts or go to some smaller city), food $3/day (eating out). Vietnam is also booming at the moment and many companies are looking to get a foot there. Laos and Cambodia are other exotic destinations in the region. You should…

Thanks for the tips toumhi, it seems like a general consensus that Signapore will probably be too expensive.

Thanks also for that last part, its been weird discussing it with friends/family cause they think its crazy taking the trip without a plan of what I'm going to do after; but that's just something I'll have to live with.

Besides housing and food, do you have any other big expenses? Also, you mentioned you've moved between Indonesia, Philippines and Vietnam, how easy and expensive is it to move around? I'm considering being in Thailand and taking a few weekly trips to visit the surrounding regions.

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

#16

Post by sabbatical13 »

notahacker wrote: post #13

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 ru…

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.

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

#17

Post by sabbatical13 »

jimmyjim wrote: post #6
gbog wrote: post #2

Hi, why not going to China? It is the place where you will have the most interesting experience IMHO. Better go to inner China (i.e. not Shanghai or Beijing), to see the real thing. I think a fair part of the planet's future is played in places like Chongqing or in China's countryside, it is worth having a look. Disc: if you are hygienist (can't bear dirty toilets), better drop my advice.

If the future is played in such places, that isn't a great reason for him to visiting them now -- not to mention the huge language barriers in undeveloped or rural areas. I think his time will be more beneficially spent in Shenzhen, if it's to be spent in China. I do agree though that China will be a better option than Thailand or Indonesia (with some assumptions made of what will be attractive to those with a hacker…

I'm still considering China too; definitely not out of the question. Curious to know more about why you think it will be more attractive than Thailand or Indonesia?

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

#18

Post by sabbatical13 »

olalonde wrote: post #8

Feel free to come to Shenzhen, China. I'm the only HNer there as far as I know but the rent is low and the women love foreigners :) I'm about your age and working on a startup here.I can help set you up, find an apartment and maybe we can collaborate on some stuff as well. I swear you won't want to come back home! Contact in profile.

  the rent is low and the women love foreigners :)
Love that part ;) and thanks so much for the kind offer olalonde. I'll look more into Shenzen as you're not the first person to suggest that. Are there a lot of hacker types around? And how about the night life?

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

#19

Post by sabbatical13 »

olalonde wrote: post #14
jimmyjim wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I know but the rent is low The rent is low in Shenzhen ? That comes as a surprise to me, I'd been led to believe that it was in fact the most expensive city in China. Can you please expand on this? Perhaps share some numbers relating to rent, food, etc.? I'm considering moving there right after my graduation.

Well, I was comparing to Hong Kong and North American cities. That being said, you can easily get a nice 300$/month apartment here. Food can be as low as 1$/meal. Taxis are very cheap. For 10$, you get a SIM card with a phone number and 50 minutes of calling time. Of course, if you have a lot of cash to spend, you can also be served. There are luxury apartments, luxury shopping malls, expensive nightclubs, etc. But i…

Thanks for the cost information, definitely within my budget.
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