On money—the unanswerable question

Cheap eats. A grilled fish for for next to nothing.

Lots of people ask how much money they’ll need on an overland trip. Let’s get one thing straight right now—I DON’T KNOW. Honestly. It’s going to depend on you.

Will you go to all the attractions? Will lunch be at Macca’s or from a street stall? Are you a clothes horse, shopper or souvenir junkie? Will you buy a bottle of wine at any price? Do you smoke? Will you want to upgrade from dorm to room, or tent to hotel? Do you take taxis, a bus or walk?

Even if you can answer all these questions, I still can’t tell you how much money you’ll need.

I can, however, tell you about how much Poor John and I have spent on this trip. This is based on the fact that I know how much cash we brought and how much we still have left. We used the credit card a lot in May and June in Germany, Belgium and Czech (before the trip began), so I’m not counting any of that. But we haven’t really used the card since then, so the cash trail is reasonably accurate.

Now before I reveal the amount, I’ll tell more about us and how we spend.

Poor John and I go on trips like this because it takes us back to basics. He did an overland in Africa in 1973. I did one in 1977. We always said we’d ‘do’ Africa again—together. We did in 2009.

So we’re comfortable in a tent. We love to eat local food. We walk most places. We’ve spent quite a few years living in the developing world and already have souvenirs coming out our ears. We don’t smoke and only I drink (local beer for me, thanks very much). The last bottle of whiskey I bought, in Kyrgyzstan, cost me an astonishing A$3.

We go to almost all the attractions/side trips—heck, if you come this far, you can’t miss out on these. In fact, we go to attractions not listed on the trip itinerary. We upgrade accommodation occasionally when the price is right. We’ve bought two pairs of shoes to replace ones that broke or wore out, and I replaced the jacket Poor John left on the train from Czech to Austria.

We don’t need a lot. Our main indulgence has been paper—we buy books and cookbooks everywhere and Poor John loves his newspapers.

Night markets—pick and choose and fill a plate for a couple of dollars.

Some countries have been dirt cheap, others dearer. When we camp, breakfast and dinner are provided, and we buy our lunches. When we’re in hotels or hostels (basic accommodation is included in the package), we buy all our own meals. Visa costs vary from country to country, and we got nine visas before starting the trip.

So without visas, what’s the bottom line? Is the suspense too much?

Okay. We’ve spent US$3900 in 20 weeks (still four weeks of the trip left—with two cheap weeks in Indonesia and two pricey weeks in Australia). That works out to $195 per week for two people, or just under $100 a week per person.

I don’t know for sure, but I suspect we have spent the least of anyone on the trip. Some have bought lots of souvenirs and clothes, others have upgraded accommodation regularly, some love fast-food or fine dining. Our biggest ticket item was probably that thieving hair cut Poor John had in Kashgar.

So good luck figuring it all out for yourself.