Originally Posted by jesus4jets

I've been studying in Africa and China for the last 5 years for stays of 2-3 months each. Africa is so much more expensive than china and for some travelers the US & Europe. I try to stay in a guesthouse type accommodation that at least has intermittent water and electricity. In rural kenya, this was generally around $10 including 2 meals. How much was it worth if it was in the US or Canada? Definitely less than $10. Its not that the cultural and social experience isn't great overall - its just that it terms of facilities and security it wouldn't be worth $10. When I have friends or family visiting - the equivalent costs come to light: if you need something halfway decent in Nairobi or Kampala you pay upwards of $70 - and all in all this is still significantly lower quality than a motel 6. When traveling around on leisure I thought south africa was less expensive if sticking to a basic standard of quality.

Rural China is the cheapest place I've ever encountered - cheaper than laos, thailand, malaysia or india. A guesthouse with actual running water and electricity is around 75 cents - add three filling meals and you are at $1.75 all-inclusive. There are showers, refrigeration, well-stocked markets, and if not A/C at least big fans to keep cool. Beers are about 15 cents, transportation less than 5 US cents/km on decent roads or non-express trains. Its not that your average joe would want to go to rural china, but if someone was forced to live off of $1000 for a year I think rural china is where it could be done while maintaining the best standard of living.

This is just my experience - if someone has encountered somewhere cheaper, I'm interested in reading about it.