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    Lonely Planet Across Asia on the Cheap
    Lonely Planet Across Asia on the Cheap
    Lonely Planet Across Asia on the Cheap
    Ebook193 pages2 hours

    Lonely Planet Across Asia on the Cheap

    By Tony Wheeler

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    About this ebook

    Lonely Planet Across Asia on the Cheap is a reprint of the very first Lonely Planet guide, originally published in 1973. It gives anyone interested in travel a unique insight into how Lonely Planet began and an idea of what it was like to travel overland from Europe to Asia, 40 years ago.

    Inside Lonely Planet Across Asia on the Cheap

    • Introduction to the Lonely Planet story
    • Latest eBooks Discover how far Lonely Planet's books have changed over the last 40 years
    • Country by country get an understanding of what it was like to travel overland in the 70s... ideal for the armchair traveller

    eBook Features

    • Seamlessly flip between pages
    • Quickly find what you are looking for with search capabilities
    • Use bookmarks to quickly return to a page
    • Add notes by touching a word to personalize your guidebook
    • Inbuilt dictionary allows you to quickly look up the meaning of any word

    Authors

    Written and researched by Lonely Planet, Tony and Maureen Wheeler.

    About Lonely Planet

    Lonely Planet is the world's leading travel content provider. Started in 1973, we enable curious travelers to experience the world and get to the heart of a place via guidebooks to every destination on the planet, an award-winning website, a suite of mobile and digital travel products, and a dedicated traveler community.

    "Lonely Planet... It's on everyone's bookshelves; it's in every traveller's hands. It's on mobile phones. It's on the internet. It's everywhere, and it's telling entire generations of people how to travel the world." - Fairfax Media (Australia)

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherLonely Planet
    Release dateFeb 1, 2013
    ISBN9781743219447
    Lonely Planet Across Asia on the Cheap

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      Book preview

      Lonely Planet Across Asia on the Cheap - Tony Wheeler

      CELEBRATING 40 YEARS OF LONELY PLANET...

      It was 40 years ago that the first Lonely Planet guide was launched, revolutionising the way independent travellers saw the world. Tony and Maureen Wheeler had travelled overland from Britain, driving a beat-up old car across Europe and Asia and hitching a lift on a yacht for the final leg to Australia.

      ‘Every time we went to a party, questions would come up about our trip to Australia,’ explains Tony. ‘How did we do it? How much did it cost? What’s Bali like? Can you really hitch through Thailand? Are trains in India as bad as they say? Is Afghanistan dangerous? Can you really get all the way to Europe by land?’

      Urged on by their friends, they spent nights at their kitchen table writing, typing and stapling together their very first travel guide, Across Asia on the Cheap.

      Within a week they’d sold 1500 copies and Lonely Planet was born. Two years later, their second journey led to South-East Asia on a Shoestring, which led to books on Nepal, Australia, Africa, and India, which led to… you get the picture. In 2010 Lonely Planet celebrated the publication of its 100 millionth guidebook, the 15th edition of Australia.

      This eBook version of Lonely Planet’s first travel guide will give you a taste of just how much travel has changed in the last 40 years. But one thing hasn’t changed: Lonely Planet continues to inspire and inform travellers, helping make amazing travel experiences happen. Turn the page to discover a world of Lonely Planet eBooks, plus digital and online services to make your travels even easier and more exciting.

      across ASIA on the cheap

      WHY?

      The Asian overland trip has become so popular in the past five years that there’s almost a groove worn in the face of the map. Few people realise that for about the same cost as jumping on a plane in Sydney today and off in London tomorrow they could spend several highly enjoyable months, see a whole cross section of cultures and get to London! The Afghanistan government has quoted some incredible statistics about the number of people crossing their borders by land, yet somehow the trip maintains an adventurous mystique and many of the countries it passes through are still very untouristed.

      Of course being adventurous is no longer a pre-requisite of the trip. If you want to avoid all hassles you can hitch onto one of the many organized overland expeditions and travel in secure comfort all the way. On the other hand if you don’t mind roughing it a little you can join the thousands of people who really have dropped out of the 9 to 5 rat race. A years hard work in Australia will easily finance two years wandering in Asia.

      All you’ve got to do is decide to go and the hardest part is over. So go.

      CONTENTS

      HOW?

      Organized Travel

      Own Vehicle

      Trains and Boats and Buses and Hitching

      PAPER WORK?

      Documents

      Student Cards

      Visas

      Photographs

      Embassies

      HEALTH?

      Vaccinations

      Medicine

      Food

      Dope

      WHEN AND WITH?

      When and How Long

      Money

      What to Take and How to Take it

      Films and Camera

      Travel Agents

      ON THE ROAD?

      People

      Theft

      Buying and Selling

      Mail

      Up Tight

      UNDERSTAND?

      Books

      Maps

      Religion

      GO?

      Leaving Australia

      Portuguese Timor

      Indonesia

      Singapore

      Malaysia

      Thailand

      Burma

      Other Asian Countries

      Nepal

      India

      Pakistan

      Afghanistan

      Iran

      Alternative Routes from Iran

      Turkey

      Into Europe

      COSTS

      To give you an idea of total transportation costs here is a straightforward Australia to Europe trip with approximate ticket costs. If you can ‘prove’ you’re a student you can chop this cost quite considerably in places.

      As far as possible prices are quoted in Australian dollars, but prices will go up and down with exchange rates - 5% cheaper already. Airlines often use unfavourable rates when converting their prices from US dollars to other currencies.

      From Istanbul to London there are a number of freak bus services for about $30. Notice that most of the above cost is tied up with those two flights; from Calcutta all the way to Europe only costs about $30 in faresl Of course there are all sorts of other ways of getting there - which are described in the rest of the book. On top of your travelling costs will be accommodation, food and spending money. Singapore and Bangkok are probably the only places between Australia and Europe where a couple would have to spend more than a dollar a night for a reasonable hotel room. Sounds impossible? It isn’t.

      HOW?

      ORGANIZED TRAVEL

      A variety of overland travel companies operate and with these you can organise your trip right the way through before you start off. Cheapest cost from Kathmandu to London will be about $A300 exclusive of food and some of the accommodations cost. So you can do it much cheaper by yourself - the advantages of organized travel come in other directions.

      Travelling this way you avoid hassles, you face none of the train or bus problems that come from depending on public transport. Nor do you have the hassles of your own transport - insurance, carnets and the danger of breakdowns in unhappy places. In that respect you have the best of both worlds. Your drivers are usually pretty together types who have crossed Asia more often than you have been to the corner store, they will know what goes on and where it goes down. So you won’t miss anything that is happening and probably get a look at the more out of the way things that solo travellers may miss.

      Group travel has its hangs too - it is hardly like a package tour, but nevertheless you are somewhat constrained. If you find Herat is a place that really grabs you and you would like to spend a few days (or weeks or months) there - well too bad, it is only an overnight stop. A less foreseen problem is your other travellers - you will be stuck in close proximity with them for two or more months and if there is someone you can’t stand you have plenty of opportunity to not stand him/her.

      One of the catches of the overland travel game is when you have been once, you will sure as fate want to go again. So you can always go one way in a tour and come back solo. If you decide to hitch up to a tour then there are a few pointers to follow. Check out just what the cost includes - how much accommodation and food is covered for example? Some of the tours camp from Turkey on, saving you hotel costs, and operate a food system where you chip in for communally cooked meals. Find out what type of vehicles they will use on your trip - fifty people on a bus can hardly wander unobtrusively round some tiny village, apart from being an unmanageably large group. Ten or twelve people in a minibus is a rather more suitable set-up.

      If you decide to do the trip with a less well known company - beware. A fantastic number of buses just never seem to make it. Just two examples we met last year - In Turkey two bus loads of people were crammed into one bus. The other bus had broken down and the company had no money to fix it, even getting the one bus to India was financially touch and go. In Tehran there were three busloads, mainly Australians, who had been hanging loose for three weeks while one of their buses was repaired. Quite apart from the fact that Tehran is not the most exciting place to sit for three weeks from there on their trip would be hurried and people with firm on-going connections would have them shot to pieces. So be careful, once you have paid your money you are pretty helpless, if the bus expires half way there that is your look out with some of the smaller concerns. Going west you are probably safer as the vehicle has to get back home hasn’t it? In fact you will probably find the cheapest way of joining an overland tour is just waiting in Kathmandu for a returning trip that is not full up. The small time people can’t afford an Australian office to fill them up for return trips so they are open to bargaining. Some of the small operators are very interesting people but in the long run it is probably safer to go with an established company with a reputation to uphold and vehicles that are well maintained.

      Typical Overland Trips Are:

      SUNDOWNERS: Their trips take 72 days from Kathmandu to London or 8 days longer on the trips that go via Russia after leaving Turkey. From Kathmandu costs are $A345 or $A385 depending on season or $A425 with the Russian diversion. Vehicles are large buses with stretch room provided for by only carrying 36 passengers. From Sydney add $A360 to the tour cost for the transportation up to Kathmandu.

      HUGHES OVERLAND: Using Ford Transits or Land Rovers Hughes take a rather interesting route. Their costs include sea travel from Penang in Malaysia to Madras in India and then north through India to Nepal. You see rather more of India and South East Asia during their 120 day tours from Sydney but the actual duration from Kathmandu is similar to other companies. Costs from Singapore are $A700 to 750 depending on the time of the year, about $A200 more from the east coast of Australia.

      FRONTIER INTERNATIONAL: A familiar overland sight with their distinctive orange Transits. Frontier run 60 day trips from Kathmandu costing $A310.

      OVERTREK: Also using smaller vehicles Overtrek trips last 90 days from Kathmandu and cost $A375 to 400. They also do a 120 day trip costing $A500, the extra 30 days are spent travelling extensively in India.

      PENN OVERLAND: One of the most experienced overland companies Penn also do trips in Africa and South America. From Kathmandu their trip lasts the usual 72 days and cost $A400, $A500 or even $1300 depending on the luxury or lack of it in accommodation. Most trips include no accommodation except for camping from Turkey onwards but Penn’s super-expensive trip includes everything and in good hotels. They also do similar trips from Delhi of only 33 day duration - costs are $A300, $A400, and $A900.

      Extra costs of the trips from Sydney to Kathmandu are simply the travel fares, differences between companies are just the type of transport used. Flying from Sydney to Kathmandu with possible stop-overs in Singapore and Bangkok costs about $A420. From Darwin or Perth subtract about $A60. If you wanted to economise, taking a ship from Perth to Singapore, the excellent train up to Bangkok and then flying to Kathmandu would knock about $A 100 off the cost from the east coast. A similar sort of cost would take you through Indonesia - flying Darwin to Bali, train to Djakarta and ship to Singapore. If you did not want to face the problems of getting your own tickets along the way, any of the Australian travel agencies specialising in Indonesian travel can arrange all ticketing before departure for approximately $A 150 from Darwin to Singapore. This is approximately the same as the Perth to Singapore shipping service but on top must be added visas, accommodation and food.

      OWN VEHICLE

      Taking your own vehicle has a number of advantages and, of course, an equal number of drawbacks. With your own wheels, I mean motorised wheels not an ox cart, you’re free to go when and where you wish. You’re not tied to train and bus schedules and you can get to places they don’t go. You'll also be far more comfortable and avoid all the hassles of carrying your world on your back. The drawbacks are the paperwork and red tape involved, plus the stone around your neck danger of serious breakdown or an accident.

      You can of course take a vehicle all the way from Australia to Europe, but it costs as much to ship a car to South East Asia

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