Day 140 :: Coke For A Quarter

Day 140 - Mcleod Ganj
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You never get used to the prices in the developing world. Country after country, mango after mango, it's always a pleasant surprise to find, for example, a Coke priced at .23 cents.

If you've ever contemplated how two people, under thirty, who live in LA could afford a trip like this, the answer lies in the places we're going. The truth is that money goes a lot farther when you're traveling in countries where the locals can barely afford to travel themselves. Ten months in the developing world is a summer in Western Europe. An eight bed hostel in Tokyo is three nights with a private room in SE Asia. A full American breakfast in Nepal might buy you toast and tea in Australia.

We have now spent almost five months traveling through most of Asia and have both lived easily on $50 a day, which includes everything from meals to bus tickets to books. And as we're about to trade in restaurants for supermarkets, we thought you might enjoy reading about what costs what in the developing world...

*A private room with Cable television, hot shower, AC and a double bed: $9
*A basic Indian curry with Naan and Basmati Rice: $2.50
*Ice cold bottle of Coke in a restaurant: .25 cents
*American breakfast w/ 2 fried eggs, hash browns, toast and coffee: .90 cents
*A bus ride from Thailand to Cambodia: $6
*An open bus ticket in Vietnam from North to South w/ 5 stops: $20
*An hour-long massage including tip: $10