secretbunnyboy

Thus illustrating that cheapness doesn't always translate into value!

Malaysia scores highly on the value scale imho/imhe.

cj001f

No higher rates for Westerners? Interesting. That's always the Achilles heel for cheap countries. In places like Sri Lanka the local admission may be free or pennies but the Westerner price is $10 or $25.

I'd rate India and Sri Lanka as the cheapest total package because of Indian Railways and the multitude of cheap travel within the country that allows.

Indonesia and Laos are also cheap; navigating the transport system at local prices is a bit more difficult I've found.

D1andonlyDman

Indonesia is certainly pretty inexpensive for a relatively developed country. last year, I typically paid $60-70 per night for hotels that would legitimately be considered to be 4-4.5 star resorts (such as the Sheraton Sengigi in Lombok), and around $50 for a couple of pretty luxurious boutique places. And other than Siem Reap, Cambodia is also quite inexpensive.

And other than hotels, Argentina is quite cheap - once I determined to rent Apartments for $330 a week in nice neighborhoods, rather than spend $200 a night for hotel rooms in the same neighborhoods, my trip cost me a pittance - and I enjoyed several delicious steak dinners for $12-15. Public transit in Buenos Aires typically costs around 30 cents for anywhere you are going in the city.

seoulmanjr

Not in my experience. And I'm certainly unmistakable as a Westerner. I think that this is because Bangladesh simply gets an incredibly small number of tourists. You'll of course be asked for more than the going rate sometimes, but there is nothing institutionalized in that regard like in India.

peace,
~Ben~

chewy3

Places that see very few tourists do not usually think to raise prices for westerners.

EasternTraveler

Is this a boat launch or a rocket launch?

budgetsyria

I think Idonesia is the cheapest one

hiyo

Thailand.

I think it's possible to get by very cheaply in Laos or Cambodia, but somehow I always come away spending less in Thailand. Not necessarily Bangkok or the beaches, but up north. More competition in the basic tourist categories of lodging, food and transportation. A wider range of options, too.

Vietnam may get cheaper as the tourist infrastructure builds up, but for now, although it's a good value, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia are less expensive. Malaysia seemed to be about the same as VN, but with Air Asia as a transportation option it's super cheap to travel around in, or out of. Both Malaysia and Vietnam have really good food at great prices.

Just like finding the absolute cheapest airfare doesn't have much attraction for me, finding the absolute cheapest possible country doesn't appeal either. I am all about great value, and everything considered, I will take Thailand, specifically Maehongson Province.

lmeh

Most countries in SE Asia will be good value for money.If you stay away from bigger cities then it will be very inexpansive to stay,eat or travel.Thailand Indonesia Malyasia Cambodia Laos Vietnam all have good value for money.

meester69

I think Indonesia is cheaper. Food is definitely cheaper, a bowl of noodle soup is about $0.50, I believe you'd pay more in Malaysia.

Transport is cheap because of the fuel subsidies. Air Asia is now pretty established as well as domestic competitors.

Hotels, well the brand new JW Marriott in Medan, which is a very nice 5* property, the best in the city, is priced at only $50/night, including breakfast, on marriott.com.

The JW Marriott in Shenzen, China, is $150/night, no breakfast.

In fact, I searched by cheapest price, to find the world's cheapest Marriotts

1. Medan, Indonesia $50
2. Surabaya, Indonesia $72.30
3. New Orleans, USA $94
4. Dubai $108
5. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia $114

The food is cheap, the transport is cheap, travellers necessities are cheap, there is little 'tourist pricing', outside Bali, and it's generally speaking safe and civilised.

secretbunnyboy

It's certainly cheaper, just not better value imho .

meester69

How do you measure value?

I assume you are essentially talking about infrastructure (roads, mainly, but also perhaps air con, etc.), which generally comes 'free' wherever you go?

Certainly Indonesia can be grueling, but I'm not sure that it's poor 'value', as much as 'not quite as developed'. Some people like it, some don't.

globetrots

OK, I wrote this book, so I'm biased, but this really is the definitive guide to where you will get the most bang for your buck:

The World's Cheapest Destinations - 3rd Edition

Covers the best deals in Asia, Europe, Indian sub-continent, Middle East, and the Americas.

PT22064

That's absolutely true. It's the "tourist trap" locations that really try to gouge the non-locals. If you are willing to trek to areas not normally visited by tourists, the likelihood of being gouged goes down tremendously.

PT22064

Well, part of every negotiation is determining what the other party might be willing to pay. This not only happens in foreign countries where tourists are charged more than locals because of the perception that tourists have more money and are less price sensitve, it also happens in the US when various contractors charge more to people living in more upscale neighborhoods. For example, I live in an upper middle class neighborhood, and a plumber will charge $75 just to stop by to diagnose a problem, whereas the same plumber would charge much less for the same work for someone in a working class neighborhood.

Many years ago, a friend wanted to finish her basement. Her friend (who lived in a working class neighborhood) had recently finished her basement and the contractor charged her about $10,000. My friend was impressed by the quality of the work and the cost, which was low compared to the quotes she had gotten from other contractors. So she called the contractor who had finished her friend's basement and asked for a quote for her basement. Of course, my friend lived in a much more up-scale neighborhood, and the contractor sensed an opportunity to make a bigger profit, and gave her a quote of $25,000. My friend was outraged and pointed out that that the contractor had done the same job for her friend (on a comparablly sized space) and charged less than half of his quote. His response was that he would do a much better job on her basement, which justified the higher cost. She replied, tongue firmly in cheek, "No, I want you to do the same sh*tty job that you did for Mrs. [blank]."