#i know $15 usd in books might not be much to other people or not I don't relly know.

[lonely--seeker]

I spent like $5.4K on just half the study books i need this semester (that's in our currency) and i was already sad because i still need like $6K more for the rest half of this semester. So I'll probably just not buy the rest and just go with the PDF versions on my phone. But, I just checked how much that was in USD and let me tell you, OUR ECONOMY IS IN SHAMBLES! When did $15USD BECOME $5.400 What's going!!

[facets-and-rainbows]

Blue Exorcist 10th anniversary book Q&A session

The 10th anniversary book has a section where Katoh answers 100 questions submitted by fans on Twitter, so here they are translated/paraphrased! May contain manga spoilers up to the recent flashback arc, so be warned.

(Note that I’m playing it very fast and loose here because there are A HUNDRED OF THEM, so not exact wordings, but it should capture the gist. Lemme know if there are any you want elaborated on)

1. Katoh likes the feel of traditional drawing more than digital but is impressed with how far digital has come

2. Meph THOROUGHLY ABUSES spacetime to watch all his shows and ensure that he gets all the merch he wants

3. Did the girls take all of Yukio’s school uniform buttons in middle school? Yes, they did (apparently it’s like A Thing for girls to ask for a button from their crush at middle school graduation, based on some sad movie from the 60s where a guy who got drafted as a kamikaze pilot gave a girl one of his uniform buttons to remember him by)

4. Rin's tail is about a meter long

5. There are tons of servants working at Mephisto's mansion. Belial is in charge of them

6. Katoh borrows from all sorts of neat real locations when making settings

7. Katoh identifies with pretty much all the characters the most! Except Lucifer.

8. Demon designs she's proud of include the impure king and hachirou, pretty much anything that was the main one in an arc

9. Katoh lists a bunch of her favorite musical artists/music she’s listening to recently: King Gnu, Official Hige Dandism, Kenshi Yonezu, BAD HOP, Sakanaction, Keyakizaka 46, Hypnosis Mic, Aimer, B’Z, Queen Bee.

10. Awww the rabbit manga that characters are often reading isn't just Robo to Usakichi, it's an even older one that she drew as a little kid

11. She likes industrial style interior designs

12. Rin and Yukio alternated who got the top bunk growing up, because they couldn't agree on it lol

13. Katoh cares a whole lot about panel layouts and speech bubble positions, might even be her favorite part of the process (it shows!)

4. Katoh does NOT have a mashou, lol

15. Rin has probably been practicing in secret so he can learn to carry stuff with his tail

16. Izumo probably got into shojo manga around 1st grade, her mom had some around the house

17. Specialty dishes: Rin - lots of stuff but especially nabe Yuri - stuff you can throw together quickly Shiro - stuff he learned from Yuri and/or cookbooks, alongside teaching Rin Yukio - Does. Not. Cook.

18. Can't pick a favorite place she's been on research, but there's no place like Japan

19. Kinzou's band isn't currently meeting because demons, but he's probably still thinking of new songs

20. Hardest characters to draw: anyone with detailed flowing hair. Hardest to write for: Lightning and Gedouin. She had to go read books about serial killers specifically for material for Gedouin, lol 

21. Suguro actually gets a dorm room to himself, though allegedly Yukio is technically assigned as his roommate, lol. Didn't end up that way what with Yukio being a teacher and also Rin’s whole...situation

22. Shiemi makes some of her own hair accessories! Cute

23. Katoh doesn't mind if you include stuff with fan letters but check with the editor first

24. Time for making each chapter: Planning/storyboarding: 1-5 days. Sketching: 3-5 days. Drawing/inking: the rest. Just...the rest of the time

25. Neither Suguro nor Izumo have dated before and neither is currently dating. But that's probably just because things were hectic for them! It could happen

26. Yukio breaks 5 or 6 pairs of glasses a year, someone get this kid a strap or something

27. How many spare glasses does Yukio have? Check the fanbook lol it's in there (dang it Katoh)

28. The demon she wants us to pay the most attention to is Lucifer. Because plot.

29. What's under the Order's big meeting table? It's a BOTTOMLESS PIT and if you fall in it you DIE that's what makes it COOL (laughs)

30. What are the job requirements for the angelic legion? Literally just Arthur liking you and inviting you to join

31. She WANTS to do more character profiles but just hasn't gotten to it

32. Rin's tail feels like a cat tail, texture wise

33. The "red Assiah fire" is literally just actual fire nothing special

34. Rin's current hair color is light blue fading to white at the ends

35. Thoughts on Rin's growth: she likes that he stays positive in awful situations and she also thinks it's very main character of him to face the past instead of avoiding it

36. Mephisto didn't purposely surround Rin with stuffed animals when he woke up after going crispy. Mephisto's bed is just Like That

37. Kurikara was based on a cool sword she found in a sword book, but that one was technically just a ceremonial sword. The symbol on it us a Sanskrit letter kaan (sp?) associated with Fudou Myouou

38. Kuro can communicate with normal cats and hangs out with them often

39. Sometimes Shiemi's skirt is extra fancy around the hem what's up with that? Apparently it's an optional accessory that comes with the skirts help I haven't noticed this and don't know any fashion terms in any language

40. When coloring, Katoh always tries to have an overall theme in mind ("emphasis on blue" etc) so it comes together in the end

41. Yes the twins are genetically related to Shiro because of Goro (she says they're like his nephews but I say GENETICALLY at least they'd be indistinguishable from his children)

42. Strongest mom of all the strong moms around here? Yuri! Did you SEE her give birth??

43. Are you careful about your own health Katoh-sensei? Not particularly! Her mom has had to bring her food at work sometimes! Don't do this at home kids

44. At the dating events Shura goes to, does she drink cocktails in moderation? Yeah, she probably downplays her normal drinking habits at these things. But normally she's down for just about any kind of drink

45. Lucifer just really likes oysters okay

46. How many pages of manga does Katoh draw in a day? If she's being good about self-care: three. Maximum number ever: TEN

47. Mephisto is one of those folks who can eat like a garbage compactor and never gain weight. Possibly because his body resists that sort of change the same way it resists aging etc

48. First food Rin cooked: fish burger type patty. Yukio's favorite things Rin cooks: fish simmered in soy sauce, yellowtail with daikon radish. It's fish all the way down

49: Did Rin ever get more monthly allowance from Mephisto? It doubled! He gets TWO 2000 yen bills now (rip) [T/N: That's uh, that's USD $37.26 a month or 33.10 euro]

50. Why isn't Rin more popular with the girls? He gets nervous talking to them, plus he's too oblivious to notice even if he DID have some fans

51. Why change Suguro's hair? She gets bored with keeping everything the same, and she wanted a visual representation that he was getting serious and going into kind of a training arc

52. Things Katoh pays extra attention to when drawing: trying to capture the feel of whatever she's drawing (like "that looks warm and soft" or "I bet that guy stinks" cough Lightning cough)

53: Does Rin take after Yuri more? (He's got her eyes!) Katoh tried to draw Yuri so she looks like both twins. Personality, too - Yukio has her smarts and Rin has her optimism

54: Do you ever wanna be like Mephisto? Well she'd like to be able to get away with just ANYTHING EVER, but no, let's not be like Mephisto

55. Konekomaru not only carries around a cat toy in case he meets any cats, he MAKES cat toys to carry around based on what he thinks the cats would like

56. How'd you come up with Shima? Go read the fan book!

57. Do the kids have Twitter/Instagram accounts? Rin - probably not. Konekomaru might be on some social media. Paku and Izumo are totally on instagram

58. Is there something Rin makes that you wish you could try? All of it! That's the whole idea! He's good at cooking!

59. Will we ever have a (G-rated) reveal of what ALL of Mamushi and her family's tattoos look like? Maybe! She'll think about it

60. Does Arthur have a repertoire of different hairstyles? Not really, he just puts some of it up on the top. Heck he might even have people to do that for him

61. If you wrote a shojo manga what would it be about? She'd have to do a lot of research before even coming up with a story, since there are so many style differences between the genres aside from just the subject

62. The other two of Mephisto's top 3 favorite foods: Cup ramen and....f-fried bubblegum?? Is that a THING???

63. Where do you start when drawing a character? Usually the outline of their face but if it's a complex pose/composition she'll start with whatever's in the foreground (like hands)

64. If Katoh could have a familiar, what demon would she choose? Mephisto. As the all-powerful author, she might actually be able to command him as a familiar!

66. If you swapped Yukio and Rin's relationship around what would change? not much, you'd pretty much have Rin going to the Illuminati and Yukio going to the past

67. Top 3 foods/souvenirs to try in Kyushu? Well she doesn't know what’s good CURRENTLY but when she was there she always used to like burdock tempura udon, hakata torimon (a kind of manju with white bean paste inside), and Chikae style cod roe. today I learned Katoh went to high school in Kyushu

68. Katoh listens to music a lot while she's storyboarding, then when she and the assistants are all drawing and inking they put various videos/movies and stuff on in the background

69. For all his hitting on girls, is Shima actually popular with the ladies at all? He's got enough girls in his life that he probably COULD find a girlfriend if he really wanted, but the double agent thing tends to get in the way. He still wouldn't be as popular as Yukio though (side thought/translator’s note: Shima would be proud of being number 69.)

70. Katoh has the ending planned out in a big-picture way, but there are still a few details here and there that she's fretting over

71. It's cute when the boys put their ties over their shoulders when they're working on something! Where'd that come from? She just figured a tie might get in the way and that seemed like a realistic way to get it out of the way

72. Looks like Yukio is getting some facial hair! What about Rin? They're both about the age for it, but maybe Rin can't grow a beard yet. Maybe a little peach fuzz here and there

73. Katoh's favorite blue exorcist merch? There were some exorcist licenses a while back, and the exorcist pins. Basically it's really cool that these little accessories she drew ACTUALLY EXIST NOW, LIKE YOU CAN HOLD THEM IN YOUR HANDS

74. Okay realtalk how long do we have left, I don't want the series to end yet? We're solidly in the second half by now but it's not, like, ABOUT to end yet

75. Katoh would be a Knight meister, based on what characters she likes to play in games and such

76. How many people in the whole exorcism cram school? More than you think! She doesn't give a number but apparently licensed exorcists also attend classes for new meisters, etc, so there's a wide age range attending

77. How's Arthur feel about, like, studying Taming on the way to becoming Paladin? He's at least mostly accepted that you have to use demons to fight demons effectively

78. Konekomaru started wearing glasses in his first year of middle school, so like 7th grade (more recent than I thought!) He has one spare pair, in contrast to Yukio lol

79. Katoh's current obsessions? Ghost/scary stories! She's even been going to live readings of them recently

80. Media Katoh consumes for inspiration? A wide range of foreign teen drama, horror/suspense, shojo manga, light novels, anime, etc. Special focus on things where two boys are in conflict or there are brothers involved

81. If they weren't exorcists what jobs would they have? Rin - chef. Yukio - doctor. Shiemi - uh, florist?

82. Inspiration for the design of True Cross Town? Katoh and her assistants gathered up a bunch of references, picked out stuff they felt matched the tone, and mashed them all up together

83. Did you use any references etc for the school/exorcist uniforms? She says she probably should have but she just kind of made them up before publication

84. Favorite part of drawing? For color pages, picking out a color scheme. For black and white, drawing in all the little details (though she doesn't always get time to lately)

85. Once again confirms the demon kings' weird hair is a representation of their horns. ADDS THAT PEOPLE WHO CAN'T SEE DEMONS CAN'T SEE THE WEIRD HAIR

86. Now that Yukio's at the Illuminati, where's he gonna get his Jump SQ and spare glasses? Well he probably never planned to stay for long, but hey it's a big ship and they might have an optometrist and/or newsstand there

87. Do you base the demon characters on any references etc? Not really, she just gets a general idea of popular demon designs and then makes up her own in her own style

88. Merchandise Katoh personally wants to have made: stuff that an adult could just use in their day to day life. Also, it's not gonna happen, but if her favorite figure brand made AoEx figures she could die happy

89. If Beelzebub's host body was a beautiful woman, how would Shima react? Would the womanizing win out over the bug phobia? Katoh replies that Shima would probably just faint from being near a girl that pretty, before the bugs even got involved

90. Will the twins ever get to smile and eat dinner together again?? We'll just have to wait and see!

91. What do you check at a "scenario check"? what's a scenario check man I dunno They check for people being out of character or the setting feeling off. They had a lot of these checks for the anime, but they also do them for the drama CD, games, and all that other stuff where multiple authors are involved

92. Why does Shura use baldy as an insult for people who are clearly not bald? She feels like they have some kind of metaphorical, mental kind of "baldness" and she's calling them out on it. Whatever that means

93. After Blue Exorcist ends, what do you want to draw next? She has SO MANY IDEAS, SO MANY

94. Did Katoh make up the Shinto chants that, for example, Izumo used against Gedouin? They're assembled from bits of actual Shinto prayers according to what feels right in the scene

95. Yukio reads the Jump SQ, right, and, just hear me out here, he likes gag manga, right? Does this mean he reads Salaryman Yukio? It's something he would read, but let's say that in the AoEx universe there's just a very similar manga that he finds oddly relatable

96. What do Yukio and Shima do in their free time on the Dominus Liminus? oh my god you guys this ship has so many amenities.  Yukio probably spends time reading in the library, which they totally have. There's also, like, a gym, and a movie theater, and a THEATER theater, all of which are free. Shima probably hangs out at the pool (!) and goes to the movies, and hits on illuminati girls, lol

97. Easiest character to draw? The ones with boring simple hair, lol. Lightning gets an honorable mention for ALSO not having eyes in most shots, but Rin wins--he was specifically designed to be easy for Katoh to draw because that's what you want in your main character

98. How do demons understand gender? They just possess whatever feels like the best match to how they feel in Gehenna, whether that's a man, or a woman, or a rat, or whatever

99. Where do you start when you're coming up with a story? She starts with character design and how the characters relate to each other. Currently she's just continuing an existing story, so she works on splitting up the overall plot into episodes and fleshing it out with scenes and information about characters

100. When do you feel most happy? She honestly feels like she lives a very happy life overall. Mentions noticing a lot of little things, like how nice her cats' heads smell when she cuddles them or taking a nice cold refreshing drink of water. There's happiness in everything. aww.

[saltyslack-toast]

#Knock The Book 2: The Devil All the Time

WELL, I MADE IT TO THE 2nd BOOK REVIEW OF MINE, MEANS THAT I’M A PASSIONATE AND PERSISTENT BITCH, PERIODT. No actually I’m just bored and got really nothing to do, so here I am making judgmental, invalid and uncritical book review just to ease my guilt for doing nothing at home (just so my mom see me working through my laptop).

Okay The Devil All the Time is actually my first English book. The story of how I got this book as a matter of fact is quite irritating and funny at the same time. My uni friend, she saw this book in a modest book bazaar near her hometown. She was reading the title and the word ‘devil’ just remind her of me, she bought it and just gave it straight to me…... I’m sad but like thankful???

It’s a secondhand and hardcover book but I don’t really mind, considering the fact that the quality is still very nice though, except the worn spots stained all over the cover that make the book looks very old. My friend bought this only for RP 25.000, yes dude you’re not misread this shit, it was THAT CHEAP (whoever sell and own this book before me, I really appreciate it). Although if you want to buy the new one, you can get this book for USD 26.95 which converted in rupiah would be RP 407.500, yeah its cost pretty fancy for broke students like us and I don’t know if the book’s supposed to be available in your local bookstore but I think you can find it in worldwide shipping online store like amazon or any other shop perhaps. The book’s cover illustrate a dying white mutt hanging on the ‘log’ and bunch of cross everywhere, the cover is actually make sense when you read the book. It published in 2011 by doubleday in United States of America. The Author is Donald Ray Pollock, and you can find the sum information about his background written on the cover, but based form the book’s cover you can also check his website in donaldraypollock.com but when I checked, I’m not sure if it’s really his website since it just like pest control website (LMAOO I HAD NO IDEA FR). Anyway,

Let’s go breaking down the book!

“… Too much religion could be as bad as too little, maybe even worse, but moderation was just not in her husband’s nature”

The whole story in this book, basically give you portraits regarding the life of lunatics in the time after WWII. Nope, there is no sums up about the events happened in that moment so chill y’all non-historical enthusiast bitches. This book gonna give you a bizarre experience reading it, the first 10 pages of this book was already psychedelic, I assure that shit. Have you watched Games of Thrones series on HBO? It’s chilling right how Ned Stark, the protagonist of the main series died in the first season???? EXACTLY that was the vibes u got after reading the first chapter and get crazier every time u read forward. By the way, this book embodied 7 chapters and 55 sub-chapters, the chapter in odd and even numbers has 2 different main focuses on each characteristic exist, here I sum it up for you:

On the odd numbers chapters (1, 3, and so on), the central story of these chapters is circling among the family of Willard Russel, his Mom Emma and Uncle Earskell and also those 2 insane peeps Roy Laferty and Theodore. Willard Russel used to be a navy army and a bit skeptical dealing with religion issues just like his uncle, but his mom has always been a devoted worshiper. Willard married to the beautiful and kind-hearted women named Charlotte and they was given a son named Arvin Eugene Russel, everything was normal until Charlotte got sick and Willard gone crazy praying to god for his wife’s recovery and poor little Arvin has to suffer the predicament by his own self. Their stories always give me religious-fanaticism-gloomy vibes (is that even make sense??). Don’t even get me started with the life stories of the two brutes-ass man, Roy Laferty and Theodore they were used to be ‘preacher’ in Emma and young Willard’s Church. Nothing I could say further because it’s gonna be a major spoiler for you, but their stories really giving you insights of how frustration and fanaticism allow people to do something beyond their common sense.

“You remember what I told you the other day?” He asked Arvin

“About the boys on the bus?,”

“Well, that’s what I meant, you just got to pick the right time”

On the even numbers chapters (2, 4, and so on), the main tales is pertaining on the journey of Handerson couple, Carl and Sandy. They were like the Bonnie and Clyde but sad and exploitative version in this book. Carl is a ‘photographer’ and sandy working as a waitress in a café called Wooden Spoon (Which the place where Charlotte used to work as a waitress and the place she met Willard for the first time as well). During summertime they got this ‘ritual’ ((but not in a religious way)) where they drive to different states and give a ride to the hitchhikers found on the way, then Carl forcefully offer them to fuck Sandy for free (HIS OWN WIFE) while he took pictures of them fucking and after that Carl kill them and take all the money those hitchhikers got in their pocket (dude I can’t even judge anything). But to be honest, I’m not a fan of these two characters because they were all so ANNOYING to death. And then there is Bodecker Lee who’s a police and also Sandy’s brother, ok that’s it, I’m not gonna give you any spoilers.

“… He went down the street and sat on a bench in a park the rest of the day thinking about killing himself instead. Something broke in him that day. For the first time he could see that his whole life added up to absolutely nothing…”

You might be confused since there are quite a lot of keen characters in this book but there’s a point where all these bitches are relating to each other, so chill y’all impatient gripe-ass. Overall, the flow of the story is undoubtedly interesting for you to keep going throughout the whole story, because every phase gonna make you wondering about next things happened to them. But, the transitions among every chapters is quite uncomfortable for me, because sometimes when the story has reached its climax there is no resolutions coming to solve the problem immediately, and you’re faced to read the new chapter with a whole different setting and characters so it’s kind of ruining the vibes and emotions the book has made me, but again this just my personal preference so please don’t judge (while everything I did right now is judging inaccurately).

“He realized that he would never preach again, but that was all right. He’d never been much good at it anyway. Most people just wanted to hear the cripple play”

However, what I like the most from this book is the deepening of every character exists is so fascinating, even for just the side or supporting character (for god sake I’m sorry idk what to called a character that isn’t the main one), for example a bus driver in Meade, Ohio which Willard talked to when he was on the way home after the war ended, the narration wrapped and portraits the driver’s life perfectly without make us bored, and there’s still a bunch of interesting narration about the life of the side characters in this book that also as odds and intriguing as the main character’s background (jesus, everything happened and everyone in this book is just so strange and peculiar I swear to god). The story finished in a most tragic-beautiful but still gloomy way, even though it’s quite predictable but still a very good closing for me personally. To be noted, on the way to the end of the story, there will be emerge another asshole priest character named Preston Teagardin, ready to shake you up until you finish the book. But still, let’s said this particular ‘last minute character’ has proving that the author is paying so much attention of how the story ended isn’t leaving any 'rush-made' impression (this shit might confused you I’m sorry my English hasn’t got any better *sorry hand sign* *sorry hand sign* *sorry hand sign*). # hashtag attention to the detail bro.

Holy crap, that’s the first time I’m almost able to cut all the bullshit I intend to bring it up here.

This book is one of my top 5 books that you have to read once in a life time (although I haven’t discover the other four, omg im sorry y’all). Little information for you that the first time I read this book (yeah I read it for quite few times) is when the campaign of presidential election era, which in Indonesia the religious are pretty sentimental issues, some of the people in my country suddenly became those annoying fanatical preachers, man I can’t stand it. And this book is just precisely relating to that condition and I get to know at least a glance of what the heck odds things happened in their minds, since you know fanaticism and stupidity doesn’t hit only on particular group of religions, race, gender or anything, we can all be stupid and brainless (especially me because I basically have no brain). There probably quite many scenes that is pretty disturbing to read (I don’t know if people could be triggered by it???? But I guess so) so yeah a bit warning. Overall, I genuinely recommend this book for you guys because every element in this book is almost perfect, the storylines, bold characters, and the RARE AND STRANGE AND SENSITIVE topic promote by the author in this novel is totally a BOOM. Don’t worry reading this book not going to give you those agnostic and atheist vibes HAHA chill I still consider myself a devoted Muslim tho (hashtag masyaallah ukthi).

By the way before I wrapped it up, I hear that this book will be made into a netflix film. WELL, of course I’m excited because the casts are so amazing, and I love Netflix adaptation and I enjoy watch movies as much as I read books (again, unnecessary information of mine *sorry hand sign*). I found that the release date is postponed from the origin plan in 15th May (which is three days ago from I posted this on my page) due to I don’t know perhaps corona because that bitch has ruined everyone in the world’s schedule, but for real I can’t find the exact information regarding to the updated release date, so while you wait the film to launch, why don’t you just go read the book first? I assure you this one not gonna give you any disappointment.

I think that would be it for this 2nd rubbish book review of mine. Although, I think I made a little progressive from the first one (OR MAYBE NOT???? I’M SORRY Y’ALL) but of course there’s still much deficiency I served. Still, I hope my writing get better in the process of making this whole novel of reviewing book inaccurately. To be honest, I wrote this shit not for getting any engagements or audience but for my own satisfied HAHA. So yeah I’m literally comfortable writing for nothing. But bitch guess what I’m just gonna keep going, until I could professionally writing and make it for a living? Well, amen for that.

Xiao, See you in Advance!

[eva-writes]

I was tagged by @danwritestuff (a million years ago and only now I actually got to finish this thing) so here it goes:

1. How did you begin writing? Technically I started when I was like seven or eight and was working on an illustrated story about a dog and a magical bone. Yup, true story. But I think I actually started to get into writing when I was in seventh grade and a teacher told us to write a short story as homework. I don’t even want to think back on what I wrote because it probably wasn’t good, but I will never forget that my teacher told me that she enjoyed my story and that I was good at writing. There’s literally nothing better than having someone believe in you. And I initially only wrote in Spanish but funnily enough after getting into roleplaying my brain kind of made a switch and it comes more naturally to me now to write in English.

2. What was your first writing project? Tell us a little about it. Again, the story of the dog and the magical bone. But the first serious project that I still hope might see the light of day when I stop planning and actually sit my ass down to write it is a fantasy trilogy. I started it in 2008 and needless to say my mind has changed a lot in a decade, so as a result that story has changed very much from my original idea. I think that’s why I haven’t really done much writing and I’m stuck in ‘development hell’, because the thing just keeps mutating and my ideas for that world and those characters keep growing and changing.

3. What is your preferred medium for writing first drafts? I’ve always used Microsoft Word.

4. What rituals or habits do you have around writing? I always have a cup of tea next to me. And I say stuff out loud too, especially when it’s dialogue. I also sort of act out certain stuff to find words that could describe that. Definitely not rituals, just weird habits I have.

5. We all have a “type”– of character, plot, theme– what is yours? Well, I always go for fantasy or scifi stuff because it’s easier for me to make up shit than do extensive research about things that are real (also it scares me that I migh portray something in an inaccurate way). So yay, I’m lazy like that. I tend to include reserved, quiet characters (even if not the protagonists, they’re there). I don’t know, I just have a deep appreciation for introverted people that are more of the observing/listening type than the talking type.

As for plots or themes, I like to dabble into the ‘self-discovery’ paths for the protagonists and the ‘change established structures’ in the world. As for important themes, family bonds are always there in one way or another (both biological families or ‘found’ families amongst the characters). Also I have this weird thing about names. In every story I have characters that are called a certain way by most but then they are given a different nickname or are revealed to have a different name by someone that is/becomes close to them. For some reason the way other people call each other has always had such a deep meaning for me.

6. Introduce us to one (or more!) of your OC’s. I have an army of OCs, I have no self-control when it comes to creating them... my latest one is a gentle giant of a man stuck on an island where people don’t age and those stranded there can’t escape (shoutout to Mira and Ally for @timelessrpg!). And this guy is mute and deaf because I’ve learned a bit ASL and I wanted to integrate that into a character, explore different ways to have him interact with those around him without having to rely on speaking.

7. What’s your favorite genre to read? Fantasy, science fiction, historical fiction and psychological thrillers. But I’d give a shot at every book that sparks my interest regarding of genre.

8. Your favorite genre to write? Fantasy and science fiction. I like creating my own playground rather than using our lovely little world.

9. How do you conduct your authorial research? Google searches to start off. Then once I get a general overview I start to look for more specific stuff in books, videos, etc. I use YouTube a lot. That thing is a treasure chest of information and it helps with ther ‘overview’ part so then I can do more digging about specific subjects.

10. What does your editing (gasp) process look like? I’m such a jerk to myself when I edit, so I guess that’s another reason why it’ll take a while for my stories to see the light of day. If you look up the word perfectionist in the dictionary you see my picture... But I’ve been trying not to be so hard on myself lately and instead of staying stuck on that endless cycle of writing and erasing, I’ve been allowing myself to just write on. I’ve also made a deal with my roomie: I have to pay her $15 pesos (little less than $1 usd) whenever I got back to edit a chapter I had already finished. I’ve only paid her once, but it’s a good incentive not to go back an edit stuff too much and just go ahead to write.

11. What are your favorite tropes? I have too many, especially with romantic/platonic relationships. Enemies to lovers, is definitely one. Also any sort of yin yang/light and dark representations in character dynamics, I’m such a sucker for those. Any kind of trope that involves characters not seeing it coming and then just knowing they’d do anything for the other person (not just necessarily in a romantic way, I love bonds like that with people who become siblings to each other). Any sort of trope that involves a ‘partners in crime’ or ‘ride or die’ dynamic, I’M SOLD.

12. Show off your writing space. It used to be a desk when I still lived at my mom’s place. It was in it’s usual state of controlled chaos, as I like to call it (because there’s stuff everywhere but I know exactly where everything is). Now my roomie and I share a desk, and most of the times I just end up writing in bed, using a folding bed tray as my desk.

13. What is the most useful piece of writing advice you’ve ever used? Sit down and write is one. And also something that I saw in Victoria Schwab’s instagram: “I’m not writing a book, I’m writing a chapter. I’m not writing a chapter, I’m writing a page. I’m not writing a page, I’m writing a line”. That helped me feel more confident. The work put into trying to write a book always felt so overwhelming and like something I would never really get done. But thinking that even a little bit counts has made it feel like a less impossible feat.

14. What is the least useful piece of writing advice you’ve ever ignored? That it’s wrong to repeat a character’s name or identifier (the queen, the thief, etc). I used to think it was wrong to it because ‘being repetitive means you’re a bad writer’ and you’d have me do mental gymnastics to figure out different ways to refer to my characters which, honestly, end up coming off as forced. So yeah, I’ve definitely begun to ignore that now.

Another one is that writing ‘said’ is wrong. I’d rather use ‘said’ a hundred times than throw in random shit like ‘ennunciated’ just to avoid using ‘said’.

15. Your writing beverage/snack of choice? Tea, always. Either black tea or rooibos with milk.

16. How do you compile your ideas? Quick notes on my phone when I don’t have a notebook at hand. Word documents. And notebooks. Lots of notebooks. I have a specific notebook for each story. Lately I started posting stuff on my wall. I have a summary of each chapter that I’ve already written in little pieces of paper, kind of like a timeline. Above each ‘chapter’ there’s a blue post-it note with the stuff that led to the events of that chapter, and below there’s a green post-it note with the plot points that chapter will set in motion. It’s kind of to keep in order all the information I’m dealing with. And then above the timeline I have even more pieces of paper with specific events that must happen eventually and I just keep moving them around to construct the rest of the story. It might sound weird and confusing, but I swear it helps. I’m a visual person and it’s very damn helpful to see those pieces of story and ideas have some order.

17. What are your controversial opinions ™ on the craft of writing? That being a best-seller means the book is good. I don’t know if it’s controversial or not, but I don’t think quantity equals quality. Also, LET STORIES END. I get it, sometimes as readers we love a group of characters so much or a world that we want more, but that doesn’t mean there should be more. I feel that a lot of prequels, spin-offs and extended series end up taking away from the original story/saga because they were clearly not in the author’s mind from the beginning. There are exceptions to this, I’m sure, but I just feel authors should know when enough is enough rather than try to milk their series for all they’re worth. And I might get shit for writing this, but I’m also against the idea that all characters have to be woke and politically correct 24/7. I believe characters should be allowed to be ignorant and say wrong things and make mistakes, because then they get to learn and grow and become better people, and yes, possibly get called out or educated throughout the story. I don’t know, maybe it’s just me having faith in people learning and growing, but I happen to like characters that start out not so great and begin to really become better human beings during the story.

Tagging: @azianxpersuasionwrites, @briannaswriter, @allywritestuff, @proserpinewrites, @theichthyostegawrites, @montaguew, @loeswrites, @eridawrites, @roshwrites, @rjwrites, @ashlaaaywrites, @trishywishy & @dude-im-batman

[checanty]

so two questions (love your work for the record. you've become one of my primary inspirations over the years! thank you for exposing us to your talent :D ) with the issues surrounding social media at the moment - cancel culture, censorship, algorithm issues etc. How do you feel this is currently affecting current and upcoming talent? Do you think it will get better or worse and why? for my second question - how can one have a relatively humble career in freelance without the social media fame?

Thank youuu!!

Okay, okay, question one: First up regarding the censorship I can’t really say very much since I’m not doing any photography with nudity or any pornographic artwork. I know non sexual artistic nudety does sometimes get flagged, but usually those decisions get gevised if you ask. It’s annoying, but nothing career deciding. I also started sharing my artwork on a website where pornographic (and gore) content was always inaccessible to minors, so this whole thing doesn’t seem particularly outlandish to me. You’ll find your audience, but have to sell ‘under the counter’, you know? Cancel culture on the other hand … it doesn’t really affect me because I’m not usually spreading my opinions far and wide on the internet and my artwork isn’t exactly divisive. Now back in my youth on Animexx (that German website with the adult filter. Where every artwork you uploaded had to be approved by a human being by the way.) I did write and post some questionable things. Hell, I did a whole comic based on a super cringeworthy premise which was rather ableist and contained at least one rape joke. There’s a reason you won’t find it on the internet anymore. I didn’t see it as problematic when I was 15, despite people gently trying to explain to me why it was (In hindsight I understand and am grateful for those folks. But they were patient. they were adults talking to a child. You know.) There’s a lot of stuff I thought was cool and edgy at 15 or even 18 that would make me take a serious double take nowadays. I’d like to think I’ve grown since then. I’d like to think I’m still growing and I’m very aware that a lot of what I think now might have to be seriously re-evaluated a few years from now. Heck, sometimes I catch myself saying stuff and realize it’s messed up a second later.So I’m a bit afraid for young artists out there getting torn apart over stupid (and also harmful) things they say and create. Or artists getting torn apart other stuff they said or created years ago. Like, call them out, yes. but. People can grow. Especially teenagers are not exactly the product of an environment of their choice. It took some depression and alienation (it was horrible, but also, ah, character building?) from my friends to realize some of their jokes were not actually funny and being a sadist is not a cool thing to call yourself. Like the human brain isn’t done rewiring until your mid to late twenties. Let people evolve.  On the other people growing up more involved in social media and ‘cancel culture’ might be used to being smarter about what they say and maybe also a tiny bit less ignorent because they have reason and all the options to educate themselves? There are a lot of pretty amazing teens around. Maybe I was just super slow. (Sometimes I try to imagine being on Tumblr earlier in life and it’s usually a mix of ‘I would have been a better person and all those mental health resources would have helped me so much’ and ‘Nah, I was a brat and would have been eaten alive.’ It’s kind of like people are complicated.)Algorithm issues are horrible, they’re even making a difference for established artists who rely on social media to sell their stuff. BUT. If people do great work and share it, it usually still ends up getting seen.Also, it’s all already different from when I started out. If I was 18 years old today I might look at this ancient 25 year old lady and tell her to stop whining because she can’t deal with all that modern stuff. I don’t want to underestimate the young folks. They’re often underestimated. (Yes, I think teenage me was often horrible and stupid and arrogant, but in other matters pretty smart and actually funny and capable. It’s like you can be a lot of things. Like I’m still all those things and others.)I have no idea what is going to happen. I guess it can always get worse. But if it does get worse we don’t really need to bother with the social media for promotion any more and can go back to blogging on our websites again.It’s doubtful Zuckerberg is going to make Facebook or Instagram ‘better’ again. If anything there’s probably be something new. I mean Patreon and Twitch are already kind of new developments and they work great for some folks! That’s lot of income they wouldn’t have had otherwise! There’s always some good, some bad happening. You get what you get and then figure out to make it work for yourself :/I’m going to let this stand as an answer to your first question because I can already feel myself contemplating in the back of my mind if I actually agree with myself on everything said so far. It seemed right at the time! I’m not doing this ‘opinions on the internet’ game very much for a reason :DQuestion number 2: THIS IS EASY!First up, you can have a great career in freelance without social media fame. Not speaking from experience, but it’s possible. (’fame’ I consider something like 100k plus Instagram/FB or anything followers)Social media fame is important in two cases: When you make most of your money selling small products (say prints, books, but also membership stuff like Patreon) and need to reach a huge audience to sell enough to live on. (because maybe 5% of your audience actually buys things.) And when you actually want to make money being an influencer. There are times where clients hire you as an illustrator AND some sort of influencer because they want to make use of your fan base, but that’s like back in the old days when a famous artist gets hires because they’re already well known to the fans/bring their own fans to the product. That would be a nice position to be in, but it’s not exactly standard procedure.When you’re a freelance illustrator you’re not selling small things to a huge audience. You want a few hopefully high paying jobs. Most clients hire you because you’re good and reliable and fit their budget. They need the art. Not your fans. They don’t care about your fans.And you know, most social media followers will not want or be able to hire you for a 300,00-10.000,00 USD (or more. I guess if you go into advertising you can get more.) job. You need to be more selective. Do the networking thing. Be seen by the right people. How? Well, do your research! Look at who might need your work and send them nice e-mails, postcards, whatever. Have a nice portfolio website. If they’re part of a community, become part of that. Now, social media are still useful for let’s say art directors to find you. But having a small artists all working in the same genre as you do the chances that if they share your work an AD also working in the same genre might be following *them* and see your artwork like this is much higher than if folks not in the ‘business’ share your work even if there is a higher number of them. It’s quality vs quantity thing. One reason I like Twitter is because a lot of writers hang out there. Writers might not be responsible for chosing cover artists (most of the time), but self publishers are. And do like doing cover artworks for self publishers. And writers are friends with other writers and other artists and editors and publishing people and so on and so on. So no, no social media fame needed to succeed, BUT try to be known in the right circles. And be nice and reliable so people hire you again and tell their friends. It happens.  Also, yes I’m definitely procrastinating right now. I should be working on the table of contents for my mermaid book.

[thebraxiatelcollection]

This might sound a little strange but how much does it usually cost to go to Gallifrey One? I can't find the prices on the website and thought you might know.

Not at all! I can only answer from my personal experience as I’m from the UK who has travelled to Gallifrey One twice now so it may vary for you depending on your budget and where you’re from. My friend who I travelled with this year has also done a Gallifrey one guide which I will post below;

Gallifrey One tickets for next year are on sale on April 13th.  

The first step is, of course, get a ticket. Even if you don’t manage it at the point of initial sale for any reason (remember the contends to sell out in 24 to 48 hours), all is not lost; the con operates a ticket transfer policy which gets going late in the year, and ends typically about a week before the con. Sellers post in the Facebook group for the event, and buyers contact them with an expression of interest. Tickets cost about £80 dependent on the exchange rate. Both times I have been, I have operated a “buy ticket now, worry about getting there later” policy. You do not need to immediately get a flight booked as soon as you get a ticket.Full-price flights can cost as much as £600-700 economy, but there are many opportunities to as much as halve this to £350-400 in airline sales, or if you have a credit card that gives you Avios (what used to be known as Air Miles), which can be used towards your flight. Air New Zealand and Aer Lingus are often the cheapest options, and people who have flown with them report good things. If you are travelling from elsewhere in the UK than London, and are an inexperienced flyer, British Airways offers a hassle-free experience of your domestic and international flight leaving from the same Heathrow terminal (Terminal 5) Remember to apply for your ESTA from the US Department of Homeland Security in good time. This is part of the Visa Waiver scheme for non-US citizens and everyone must have one that comes from a country participating in the scheme. It costs a nominal fee of about £30, and most of the airlines prompt you to do it as part of the booking process. Be aware it takes about 20 minutes to complete. They do tend to ask you some personal questions (your social media usernames). It is better to tell them everything for a hassle-free process, but this is a matter of personal choice.Hotels. The Marriott is expensive outside of the con-block rate. When the block goes online it sells out in literally seconds. Normal price for the Marriott is 230 USD a night. I have not managed to secure a room at the Marriott either time; have a backup plan, there are many excellent options a short walk away. The Crowne Plaza is only one block from the Marriott and is reasonably priced at 900 USD for 5 nights for 2 people – around £368 each. The Hilton is highly rated by con-goers next door, the Renaissance Marriott is next to the Crowne Plaza and is more basic. Cheaper options are to be had further away. Almost all hotels offer free airport transfer buses directly outside the International Terminal. Note it is not really practical to stay downtown and travel in, the subway is on the other side of the airport. There is an extension being built on the other side of the Marriott though whether it will be ready or convenient for next year I am unsure.Eating does not come cheap and you must remember that tax is not usually included in prices shown on menus, nor is a gratuity for which a minimum of 15% is the norm. A pizza in one of the hotels will cost between 17 and 20 USD before tax. If you are on a budget and have the arms and legs for it, visit Target or CVS and stock up on essentials. Eating in hotels is most expensive (though if you want to minimise your time away from the con is often a good idea), but fast food options exist close to the Marriott, with Subway, Carl’s Jnr and Denny’s all close by. Denny’s is due to be demolished soon (everyone was surprised it was still standing this year). In-n-Out Burger has several branches less than a mile away. For breakfast at Carl’s or Denny’s, reckon on about half of hotel prices (15 USD vs 30 USD)Travel around the city is remarkably cheap. A 10 USD subway travelcard will take you a long way. Hollywood with the Chinese Theatre and Walk of Fame are almost right outside Hollywood Highlands subway. Santa Monica is well worth a visit if the weather is favourable, with its iconic pier and glorious miles of clean beach. Other con matters. Autographs and photos are slightly cheaper here than the UK, often you will pay in USD what you would normally expect to pay in pounds, and even then, the very biggest guests will charge typically no more than around 40 – 45 USD. Evening receptions, where you get to have drinks with the stars rotating around tables for a couple of hours, are 95 USD. Diamond passes are around 235 USD, but are excellent value – multiple photos and autographs, often green screen, a free gift or print, and an hour-long meet and greet. Lines are not as long as in the UK and very well organised, so those wanting an auto or photo will certainly be seen. If you buy more than one Diamond Pass, you should certainly consider a Tardis Tag which was 795 USD this year, but gets you all of the big guests, plus any others that are Showmasters, rather than con-sponsored guests. Note that there are also Kaffeeklatsch (coffee morning) sessions, which last an hour, and offer a chance of talking to one of the less popular stars for an hour as part of a group of a dozen. These are free, and were done on a ballot process this year. As Simon has pointed out, your con ticket gets you so much more than a normal con. There 5 panel rooms including Program A in the main hall, and they operate all day, every day – ever wanted to learn circular Gallifreyan in a classroom? Now’s your chance. Most rooms keep going until 7p.m. and even then there are evening events taking place with quizzes, comedy sketch shows, karaoke and more until midnight in some circumstances. And of course, there is LobbyCon. The Marriott Lobby is the main socialising and hanging out area, where friends gather throughout the day, evening and into the small hours. The guests often hang out in the Lobby with each other (and if you know them from previous events, often, you), and in the evenings, the atmosphere is wonderfully friendly. Finally, ribbons. Ribbons are humorous or sometimes just direct quotes from the show, printed on fabric, with a small adhesive strip on the top. They stick to each other so you wind up with a long roll of them as you exchange them for those other people have brought with them. They are an excellent way to socialise, make new friends, and enjoy the con – there are ribbon exchange meets throughout the con, but often people also exchange ribbons in LobbyCon too. Its huge fun and I would recommend it as part of the con experience. As a guide, I paid around 100 USD for 250 ribbons this year and traded all of them by Sunday lunchtime. Ribbons Galore and PC Nametag are two of the most popular companies. Note that they charge a design setup fee, and then a unit price per ribbon. The unit price goes down as the quantity goes up, so play with the quantities a little to see how many you can get for what money – once you get up above 250 ribbons or so, you wind up getting more of the same design for free effectively. The big “but” here is delivery, which is horrendously expensive to have them shipped to the UK. If you have a kind friend in the US who will accept delivery and bring them to the con, then great, but the other alternative, is to have them shipped to your hotel, for which the hotel will charge you a nominal fee (5 – 20 USD), and pick them up from the concierge on check-in.Ticket: 80 GBPFlights: 350-400 GBPHotels: 350-400 GBPFood and subsistence: 45 USD per day (budget) 80 per day (expensive)Autos and Photos: vary on the person, say 150 USD, plus diamond passes and evening receptions for the more extravagant.Travel: 40-50 USDRibbons: 100 – 150 USDSo yes, Gally can be done for around about a thousand pounds, but a budget of 1500 GBP will make it a much more comfortable experience where you have to worry less about running out of cash. But be warned. Once you have done it, you may never want to miss it again, and you may never look at cons the same way again!

[muddyrainstone]

Care to Lend a Helping Hand? (Emergency Donation/Commission Post)

Hello there!

Kind of reposting information from my dA Journal on this, thus I'll give the same TL;DR for this whole thing: this is a donation journal to help make ends meet due to an upcoming bill and other priorities as well as stretch goals below what's prioritized. I suggest reading down lower in the journal to get the full gist, but if you don't want to read it fully, it'd be greatly appreciated for you to spread the word in case others might want to help out. Thank you!

So, Money has been a little tight in my family lately, due to a lot of circumstances that would be too long to explain properly, but in short--I'm kind of coming up short on cash at an inopportune time, as I have a bill I need to have paid by June 30th this year, one that raised the total amount due recently. I did get a job, but since I'm still new at it and it'll take me a while to work up to a good amount due to how the job works, and it's kind of hard for me to find a second one that as easily accessible as the one I have now, due to different reasons:

I live in an area where it is a two hour walk back and forth from the nearest Gas Station and Hours more from a Grocery Store. I cannot drive and currently, I have no money to afford a Cab, so for the most part, I have to walk, in the summer heat and humidity of Florida. It takes me a total of four hours just to walk to the gas station, then back home. And while I have sent an application back to many places including said Gas Station, I have not received any response back in over two months. My current job, at the very least, has the accessibility for me to work at home.

My Family is out of Town. Since we're really having issues paying off the house we all live in at the moment, my father is looking for a job and currently trying to apply to a position in California that pays really well. As such, to attend the interview, both of my parents have went out of town, leaving me in charge of the dogs and with visiting relatives that also cannot drive, thus limiting my range of mobility in terms of job searching for a while, at least for places that are reasonably acceptable and easy to reach.

So what do I need help with and need money for?

Well, let me list off the necessities that are my top priorities:

For the Bill that's due on June 30th: currently, I'm trying to still work out an issue with the charge due, but depending on how I work it out, I need to have $60 to 120$ USD in my account in order to pay the charge that will be taken out of my account in order to pay said bill. They raised the price from normal means, and with Certain Billing issues, that is the range I'm looking at.

Monthly Bank Fee: my Bank account tends to charge $6.00 USD for holding any amount of money that is below $100 a month, normally around the 20th each month for me. This can get really annoying especially when money is tight, but the only way the fee stops is if I have at least $100 saved up in it (it may also not withdraw a fee if stay above at least $50, but I'm certain the requirements to not have the fee is at least 100)

Internet Bill: this apparently counts as my rent fee, as constituted by my parents--last time I had to cover this bill, it was $105 USD, and it's part of why I began running into money issues because they sprung this on me with no real forwarning.

Groceries: because I like to at least pay for my own food and necessities as well as pitch a hand in any grocery shopping. The grocery bill usually ranges to a total of $50 and higher. This does include necessities like personal hygiene items that I need to restock on.

And here, if anyone cares to help with these too, are personal stretch goals I'd like to meet, but don't have top priority:

Kingdom Hearts III: everyone who knows me, knows I'm looking forward to this game. In fact, it's on my Bucket List to play it. It's also coming out soon this year. Once bills and things are out out the way, it'll be my second priority next to Grocery Money. Currently, the price range i'm looking at just for the regular edition is $50-60 USD. The price for a Limited Edition may be higher, but I am going to aim for just the regular version to order/buy.

A Ticket to Incredibles 2: I'd like to catch this movie on my own soon. That, however, comes with a fair amount of fees overall: $11.33-$12.00 for the ticket, $17.00-$20.00 for a cab to the movie theatre and back (meaning I'm charged two times, pay once i'm there and pay once i'm home), and $22.00 dollars for conessions (popcorn, a drink and a box/bag of candy)

For things that catch my fancy: I'll normally stockpile whatever is left for more important things, but sometimes I won't mind picking something up if I can afford it--usually CDs, books, sweets and other things.

So, now you know the list, you want to help out, the question is how? Well, you can help me out via these methods:

Buy me Drinks: I have a Kofi account that I use to gain extra money, and even offer special rewards and certain exclusives for certain amounts and goals met (and amount of drinks bought). If you choose to give money this way, I can not only provide rewards, but can also work on things I love to do alongside with my current job comfortably and still pool in a steady income!

Paypal.me: if donating/paying through coffee isn't your thing, you can pay me through paypal. I recommend utilizing this if you're willing to just donate and help out, as well as for the best option in regards to the next two options below.

Commissions: now, I know I'm not popular enough to warrant any real payment for my commission work, and I haven't done much with the category since early 2012, but these are always open for me to do, just note me about inquiries and we can talk about it and settle on things.

Possible Item Sale: now, I've always ran into something when it came to ordering items in the past--sometimes I'd end up with duplicates I did not order for. I'm willing to put some of these items on sale, though I'd have to admit, shipping and packaging cost will come extra with the price, otherwise I'd have to pay out of my own pocket just to get it to you.

Spread the word: if you can't help by paying at all, the least you could do is spread the word about this situation through any means you can.

Now, I'm not sure anyone would want to help me out, and all i'd like to do is cover the bill and stay out of the red by not being left with just seven dollars in my account,  but if I could at least make 15 to 20 dollars each week, I can have the bill paid and get through it by the skin of my teeth, as well as continue on what I like to do alongside with the work required in my job. If people could at least contribute

3 to 5 dollars a day, that'll help loads! Even if it's one dollar, It'll all help. I thank you greatly for your help in advance.

[thesewomenrulemyworld]

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I read success stories of people starting a side hustle that allowed them to quit their job. I even knew a couple. But I couldn�t figure out what my side hustle superpower could be until I stumbled upon options trading. Trading options was something I considered for people with insane levels of intelligence. And unfortunately, that isn�t me. When I took the GMAT exams to apply for grad school, I scored in the top ten percentile for verbal (Yaaaay English Lit Class!) but the bottom ten for math. People were shocked when they found I worked in finance. Not surprisingly, I didn�t end up applying for grad school�But I said f*ck it. I�m gonna see if I can learn this options trading thing. And a year after trying it out, I�ve made $29,753. Here�s how it all went down.

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The only catch is that you cap your short-term gains. While you can�t lose money with this strategy unless the value of the underlying stock decreases (same scenario as someone who buys and holds without selling covered calls), you do cap your upside. If you set a strike price of $20 and the stock goes up to $25, you have to sell your shares at $20 each rather than at $25 each. If you bought at $15, you still get some considerable upside, but you can miss out on additional gains. There isn�t a chance of losing all of your money with a covered call strategy if you use the strategy on good stocks. That�s why I recommend starting here. Covered calls give you a deeper perspective of what can happen to the value of options. In a single day, a call or put can go down over 80%. Similarly, they can quintuple in a single day depending on what happens to the company. An index fund will never go down by 80% in a single day, but it will also never quintuple in a single day. And an option�s value can swing wildly within a few minutes depending on the price movement of the underlying stock. Nibble With Your Options BuysThe first time I bought options, I was extremely conservative. I bought a single Nikola put contract which did well. My logic for buying the put was that more evidence around Nikola�s fraudulent practices were emerging. I followed this stock for weeks before finally deciding to get started. I still buy Nikola puts to this day and will likely continue buying puts until the stock gets delisted. Due to Nikola�s premiums being higher than the average stock, I buy puts set to expire in 5�8 days. For stocks with lower premiums, I�ll buy options with further out expiration dates. The further your expiration date, the more time you have for the stock to move in your direction. There are a variety of risky options trading strategies such as buying an option on its expiration date that can quickly deplete your money. If you want to give the stock additional time to move in your direction, buy a closer to the money option with a further out expiration date. You�ll pay more for it, but the extra time is worth it. For a guide on what to not do with options, check out the article below. The Riskiest Way To Invest In StocksThis strategy is entertaining to watch but extremely stressful to implementProtect Your Portfolio From Downside With PutsOne of the best ways to buy options is through hedging. If you own shares of a company and are nervous about the short-term outlook, you can buy a put to cap your losses. This strategy is great for a few key reasons:#1: You don�t panic sell or end up selling a stock you wish you held onto.

pairs trading with options Arkansas And an option�s value can swing wildly within a few minutes depending on the price movement of the underlying stock.

If you own shares of a company and are nervous about the short-term outlook, you can buy a put to cap your losses. This strategy is great for a few key reasons:#1: You don�t panic sell or end up selling a stock you wish you held onto. This has happened to me a few times before buying options. #2: If the stock goes down, you can hold onto the shares and eventually sell the put. The put will shield you from most of your losses. #3: If the stock goes up, your put will lose value and eventually expire worthless, but it took off a lot of stress from your shoulders. You could focus on other things instead of worrying about the stock price or panic selling your shares. If the stock price isn�t likely to hit the strike price of your put, you can sell the put early to protect yourself from some of those losses. The protective put that attributed to most of my gains thus far was a protective Fastly put. I bought this put right before Fastly lowered their revenue guidance and the stock tumbled in after hours. I talked more about Fastly�s after hours tumble and explained how I�ve been playing the stock moving forward.

basics of options trading Arkansas After the two weeks, if the insurance policies all expire worthless because the Nike share price is still above $95, then I�ve made 80cents ($1 I received initially, minus the $0.

I can best illustrate this with a real trade I recently closed (obviously cherry-picked):On Feb 12th this year, a week before the market started it�s COVID-19 free fall, the SMH Vaneck Semiconductor ETF was trading at $150.

options trading advisory service reviews Arkansas Which leads me to�The Joy of Pushing Buttons For MyselfTwo years after my catch-up with Suzy, I was officially unemployed.

Bull Call SpreadA bull call spread involves the purchase of call options at one strike price and the writing of the same number of call options with the same expiration date but a moderately higher strike price. The profit from a bull call spread is maximized when the price of the security reaches slightly under the strike price of the written options, so that the written options expire worthless while the purchased options can be exercised for the maximum value within the window of the written options expiring worthless. The downside in a bull call spread is protected when both options expire worthless, but the premium gained from the written options helps to reduce the loss from the premium paid for the purchased options. Bull call spreads are used when a trader has confidence in the direction of an upcoming price change, but not in its intensity. If a trader foresees only a small increase in the price of a security, then they can capitalize on that small increase by purchasing call options while also limiting any potential downside and reducing the cost of the premiums paid by writing options at a higher strike price that is unlikely to be reached. The downside to the bull call spread is, of course, that any potential upside beyond the projected price increase is limited due to the corresponding increase in the cost to cover the written call options. Bear Put SpreadA bear put spread is the exact opposite of a bull call spread, where the trader purchases put options and also sells the same number of put options with the same expiry date but a moderately lower strike price. The profit from a bear put spread is maximized when the price of the underlying security reaches slightly above the strike price of the written put options, which means that the written options expire worthless while the value of the purchased options is maximized within the window of the written options expiring without value. The downside to a bear put spread is limited to the premium paid for the purchased options less the premium gained from the written options, which occurs when both of the options expire worthless. Traders use the bear put spread when they want to bet on a moderate decline in the price of a security. The premiums gained from the written options help to offset any potential losses if the security fails to fall in price significantly, and they are added to the profits if the price falls within the window of the written options expiring without value.

why am i forced to go to school i just want to learn more about options trading Arkansas Selling Covered Calls Is The Best Way To Get StartedFor a while, I resisted buying options because I saw it as gambling.

I read somewhere that the wealthiest individuals have seven separate streams of income.

Unique Methods:

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[passportsymphony]

How I travelled around Southeast Asia with $15 per day

Southeast Asia is an amazing region with a lot of breathtaking places and relatively cheap to explore. The travel costs are extremely low, making SE Asia one of the most popular ones among backpackers. When I first started planning this trip, most tourist guides I saw were suggesting that you should have a daily budget of at least $30 USD in all of the countries in Southeast Asia. Anyway, after comparing this number with the average living costs in some of the most expensive cities in the region, the average daily cost was much lower than $30. I actually managed to travel around Southeast Asia with $15 per day!

Here’s how I did it: 2 months, 6 countries, 34 cities and $900 USD. I got a cheap flight from Kolkata to Bangkok for only $60 USD and my flight from Kota Kinabalu to Skopje costed around $450. So the total money I spent for the trip was $1350 USD. If we count out the price of the return flight, I managed not only to survive but also have an amazing time in SE Asia with less than $15 USD per day!

You must be curious how did I manage to pull this off and survive with half of the recommended daily budget. This article will tell you all about it! If you’re planning to visit Southeast Asia soon, keep reading and I’m sure you will be able to get a lot of useful tips!

Accommodation

I managed to save a lot of money by using Couchsurfing and staying with local hosts. Now, of course, there are expensive hotels and luxurious resorts, but there are also a handful of backpacking hostels in which you can stay for 2-3$ per day! The ‘most expensive accommodation trophy’ (and everything else) will obviously go to Singapore, with Phuket and the surrounding touristy islands being the runner-up. Even the cheapest hostels around here cost $20 per day (Singapore) and $9-$12 per day (Phuket).

The cheapest place accommodation-wise was Cambodia, or how I love to call it “The land of the $2 hostels”. You will be able to get a super cheap accommodation in Vietnam and Laos as well. Malaysia, on the other hand, is a bit more expensive, but nowhere near expensive as Singapore and Phuket. I also spent some nights on the bus or train, when taking long journeys. In total, the money I spent for accommodation for those two months was around $200 USD.

Food

Southeast Asia has some amazing, mouthwatering street food delights, and it’s a real shame if you don’t taste some of those when visiting. You know, get a taste of the food local people eat every day. Do things in the way locals do. Not only you will experience the authentic lifestyle of a very different culture, but you will also save a lot of money. The living standard in these countries is pretty low, so the local way will be the cheapest way most of the time. Anyway, if you follow this approach, it’s going to be a win-win scenario for you.

Thai food is my personal favorite. There are plenty of dishes that you can get at the street markets for 20 baht (50 cents)! And fruits and sweets are also super cheap! If you’re a foodie, you are going to adore Thailand.

Laos and Vietnam are even cheaper and here you can get a whole meal for even less than a dollar (which is 25, 000 in Vietnamese Dongs and 8,500 in Laos Kip).

Cambodia is in the same price range and healthy food is super cheap here. This makes fast food restaurants like KFC and McDonald’s more expensive than having a healthy meal! That’s why Cambodia is the only place on Earth where KFC is losing money.

The food in Malaysia is a bit more expensive compared to Thailand, and Singapore is of course by far, the most expensive country in the region.

Now, don’t think that these are God-forgotten places just because you can get a meal for such a ridiculous prices. There are some really fast developing cities and of course you can also find some really expensive restaurants and luxurious rooftop bars here.

Transportation costs

Getting around the cities via public transport is really cheap and convenient, especially in the big cities like Ho Chi Minh, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur. However, renting a bike is even better. It’s very easy and cheap to rent a bike in all of these countries and that will save you some money on buying bus and train tickets. But even if you do decide for the latter option, bus and trains are pretty cheap. Going from North to South or East to West in all of these countries won’t cost you more than $10-15 USD. Travelling on the road gives you the opportunity to see more of the country you’re visiting. And, plus it’s much cheaper than booking a flight.

The nightlife

The nightlife in some cities is quite tempting, especially in cities like Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh, and there certainly are some expensive places. However, it’s the same as with the food. Just go to places where locals go. This way, you can see the real nightlife, rather than the places that are overcrowded with tourists. These places will also be cheaper most of the time. And what I always used to do before going to the club was pre-drinking. It saved a lot of money for me. And also, keep your eyes open because these places will be full of pick-pocketers and people trying to scam local people. Read more about the 13 most common scams in Southeast Asia.

Other activities

Finally, these places are probably far away from your home and this might be your one and only chance to visit them and you will want to do things that you can do only here. You will want to go elephant riding, scuba diving, paragliding, go in the jungle and see animals you never saw before… That’s completely reasonable and at the end of this article, I will tell you the cheapest places to do all these things.

For scuba diving, the best and cheapest option is the Perhentian Islands where you can go diving for only $21 USD. The two islands are a great diving spot with its variety of wildlife. These islands have no road and no traffic, making them the ultimate backpacker paradise.

The cheapest place for paragliding would be Bokor in Cambodia. Cambodia is one of the cheapest countries in the region and Bokor offers some amazing views as it lies right next to the Sihanoukville coast. Paragliding here costs around $35-$40 USD.

The cheapest place to go elephant riding is Chiang Mai in Thailand, where you can get elephant riding tours for as low as $20 USD. Chiang Mai is also the cheapest place to get a hot air balloon ride for around $150 USD per person.

Few additional tips Southeast Asia with $15 per day

Hostels are awesome! Do your research before you go, as some of the hostels are offering a lot of additional benefits. Some hostels offer cheap or free tours for near-by tourist destinations. Others have crazy parties with ridiculously cheap drinks for their guests. Hanoi Backpackers Hostel in Hanoi has free unlimited beer for an hour every evening! I also met some people that were working in the hostels for few days in exchange for accommodation, and that happens pretty often.

Additionally, staying in hostels allows you to meet a lot of people who also travel alone. Hostels are places where you can very easily find a new travel buddy, split your costs and make your trip much cheaper. Also, if you plan on using ATMs, get a fee-free credit card that you can use when abroad for a yearly fee. Finally, bargain for everything. I don’t have an official statistic, but I’m pretty sure you can save up to 20% on everything if you’re good at bargaining. And this applies to everything, from buying souvenirs to tuk-tuk rides and group tours.

How much do you usually spend on travelling? What are your saving hacks? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.

The post How I travelled around Southeast Asia with $15 per day appeared first on Passport Symphony.

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[kmclaude]

Hi Father Claude! (If it's okay to call you that?)This is going to sound silly, especially since we don't really know each other, but I've followed you for a while and you seem to be pretty versed in art-for-hire, I was wondering if you could help me out? Someone messaged me (across several accounts on different sites) about an artwork of one of my OCs asking if they could use it for a logo. I said no but I'd be happy to work on a commission for them -- how do I determine what a fair rate is?

2- I don't really do art for a living, just a hobby (I know it sounds cheap when I put it like that...) so I don't want to shoot myself in the foot, particularly since by the sounds of it this person wanted to use this for branding purposes and that's pretty major. I'm both a little flattered and a little overwhelmed, so...you know, how would you negotiate something like this? How would you determine an acceptable rate (either hourly or a flat fee? I'm not sure which is better)?- Sorry for taking up 3 asks for 1 question but you seem like you have experience with this, and I'm used to deferring to experts for matters I don't know much about! Any advice you could give would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Yeah sure and oh that is tough! So you got someone who needs a brand logo and you wanna know what rate to quote him at, yeah? First, congrats! Second, well I don’t know too too much about logos and other specifics of graphic design branding freelancing as I didn’t go that route professionally but I have done book covers, illustrations, and comic work so I guess I’ll speak from that. Please note that I don’t do this full time or even much part time (though I might soon enough if I return to school fulltime) so this is a tad laid back in nature. Someone who does this professionally might be better equipped to talk about this.

If I were in your shoes, the first thing I’d do would ask about his budget -- what’s his budget and what is he willing to work within? You ever hear the phrase “the first person who mentions price loses?” Yeah, so find out where his budget is. Next, compare that budget to both the industry standard for the product (which’ll take some googling or asking around) and to what you’d be willing to charge (which should be based on a mixture of living wage, time it will take to complete, skill, supplies, and other). For the record you can also be doing that step while you send off the “hey what’s your budget” email because it’s always good to have that in mind. If he asks your rates first a decent response is always “well that changes based on what you want and the complexity of the design; a budget would best help me figure out a logo solution that won’t break the bank” or something.

 If the budget looks doable, I’ll give him my quote for the project and my terms and if he agrees to them then I’ll write up a contract. I’ve often based my contracts off of the ones on Art Pact which offer free templates. Contract time is where all the negotiation begins and you can stipulate price, whether the client will cover Paypal fees, when you’ll get it done by, and so on and so forth. It’s always good to have a contract because if you’re not working as part of a firm or whatever the contract is a way to CYOA (hell even my boss and I signed and informal contract and when I send them invoices I always specify that such and such fee is there “as discussed in our correspondence” or somesuch just to, again, CYOA. 

So for example, if someone came up to me and wanted a logo done for let’s say their startup coding company -- nothing fancy, just a name in perhaps a decorative fashion, easily applicable to say a website or an invoice -- then first I’d write them back asking for their budget and maybe a little info on what they need it for, what their plans are, etc. You don’t wanna be charging pennies for the next Warner Bros. logo, y’know?

Then while waiting, I’d research the industry standard for logo designs -- what’s the general rate, what are people asking, what are newbie freelancers asking, what’s the range, what should I be charging? I’m lucky in that my best friend works in a print shop and does logo design so in theory I can ask her but let’s say she’s at church and I need an answer before Communion, so I’m gonna google “industry standard logo design”. Deluxe Corporation gives a few figures and an idea of what you’re paying for and why but no less than $200 seems to be the oft quoted number. So the industry standard is at least $200.00 USD. 

Now the question is what’s my standard? Well I refuse to work for under $15/hour minimum, I have over a decade of doing art in a public sphere, longer still of doing art in general, and about 7 or so years on and off of doing art for pay and in all that time I’ve become familiar enough with some programs, have a handful of resources font-wise and other, and can also work super fast. General experience and speed will up my price because its taken years to get there. The downside is I’m the least knowledgeable at a vector program like illustrator and I don’t have as many resources at my fingertips that a professional graphic designer would nor the dedicated training of one. Those drawbacks will lower my price. The professionality of the piece also matters -- this is branding for a company not someone’s Sonic OC that they’re gonna get framed but will otherwise not see much of the public sphere so it’s gonna cost more, obviously.

Side note: I mention $15/hour minimum but when I give out quotes, I never quote as $/hour but rather a roundabout flatrate. That’s because in general I know about how long it takes me here or there to complete a certain type of work because most clients like a general rate. In fact a lot of times I charge a LOT per hour because while I get a lot DONE in an hour/it doesn’t take me many hours to do, it’s taken me over a decade or so of work to get to the point where I can DO, say, a whole comic page from sketch to final word balloons in 5 hours or so if need be. So keep in mind that the length of time it takes to do something isn’t all there is to the price or value of a thing! This is a good blog post of tips for setting rates btw -- it also covers that tricky realm of $/hour versus flatrate!   Essentially, your flat rate is based off what you’d consider your hourly fee + wiggle room and managed for an assumed time of work done and correspondence and all those other experiential variables. If nothing else, there’s taking the 8 hour work day and multiplying that by an hourly fee. You may not TAKE a full 8 hour day to do it but that gives you a baseline of sorts if you’re totally lost. Again, most clients like a flat rate -- they know what the total pricetag is at the get-go -- and it can be to your benefit (though like that article mentions you can also find yourself doing hours of work that results in you having worked for less than minimum wage.)

Anyway, all those things in mind give me a price idea and help me out when the client emails me back with his budget because if he comes back nowhere NEAR either the industry standard or what I’m willing to work with, the decision’s made for me. If he comes back close to let’s say the industry standard of $200 -- let’s say $190 -- and I’m wanting closer to $250 because I’m doing this outta my free time but I recognize I have limitations and am willing to meet him halfway then I may be willing to say “hey, I understand budgets can be tight, but for what you’re asking I’d have to charge a bit more” and maybe raise him say $240, basically the haggle process. Which is its own art because you want the business but you don’t wanna screw yourself and have it be more trouble than its worth but it at least helps to have an idea of what industry-wise you deserve and also what you personally are willing to work for.

IDK I hope that doesn’t suck. If I were good at running a business as a freelancer I probably wouldn’t work my crummy exhausting dayjob and could actually afford my stupid dumb top surgery and obviously neither of those things are true SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO take everything I say with a grain of salt. That’s just how I do things and TBH it’s a flexible process.

[tamboradventure]

The Best Tour Companies in Egypt

Posted: 10/5/2019 | October 5th, 2019

Egypt is a country that tops the bucket-list country for many travelers. It’s a country filled with incredible relics of ancient history, from the Pyramids and Great Sphinx of Giza, and offers tons of incredible activities for travelers of all walks of life. Floating down the Nile River on a traditional felucca, exploring the tombs of Tutankhamen and other pharaohs in the Valley of the Kings, snorkeling and diving in the coral fantasyland of the Red Sea — there’s just so many amazing parts of Egypt to amaze and enthrall you.

These days, Egypt is a destination many travelers shy away from. Given that there have been some terrorist attacks targeting tourists over the last couple of decades and that people are still wary of the changes in government since the Arab Spring, those concerns are understandable.

However, since 2017, tourism numbers have begun to increase again. In fact, they are growing so fast they might hit an all-time record in 2019 or 2020.

Things have been changing for the better in Egypt and it’s now a safe country to visit for the intrepid traveler. That means it’s time to start planning your dream trip to this diverse and historic country.

While I am a huge fan of solo travel, distances between the most popular sights in Egypt are pretty far. You can expect to spend a full day or night traveling by road or rail between Cairo and Luxor, for example, so joining an organized tour can help you make the most of your time.

And it can also save you some money, too!

Tours in Egypt often work out to be cheaper than trying to put together your own trip as some will include domestic airfare for prices cheaper than you’ll be able to get on your own.

Taking a tour with a reputable company also ensures that you’ll have safe detours with someone who really knows the lay of the land and will keep you informed of any risks. Knowledgeable tour guides also make for a more interesting trip — which is why tours in Egypt are so popular.

Here is a list of the best tour companies in Egypt, offering everything from day trips around Cairo to multiday tours around the country:

1. Intrepid

Intrepid is one of my favorite tour companies in the world.

I’ve been on a handful of their tours over the years to destinations all around the world and have yet to be disappointed. Their local guides provide invaluable insight and they are dedicated to making environmentally friendly choices too.

And the company just hires really awesome people too.

In Egypt, Intrepid has tours that range between eight and fifteen days. To be able to see enough in just eight days, they fly you between Cairo and the south, so the cheaper trip is actually the 15-day one, which uses a mix of bus, boat, and train travel, starting around $1,200 USD. Intrepid also has some specialized offerings, with a nine-day trip for travelers aged 18–29, trips especially for families, and also one just for solo travelers.

If you’re keen to explore beyond Egypt, Intrepid also offers a range of longer tours that take in Jordan, Israel, and Palestine as well.

As a reader of this site, you also get access to exclusive deals and sales so click on over to their site and see what tours are on sale now!

2. Memphis Tours

One of the first tour companies in Egypt, Memphis Tours has been around since 1955. It offers a huge variety of tours – from half- or full-day tours in Cairo or Alexandria to snorkeling or camel-riding trips out of resort destinations like Sharm el-Sheikh, ranging between $35 and $90 USD per person.

They also offer a selection of cruises both on the Nile and on Lake Nasser. The popular Luxor-to-Aswan trip along the Nile can be made in a variety of pretty luxurious ships; prices are around $500 USD per person for a four-day trip.

Memphis Tours also offer fully organized multi-day trips that last between 3–15 days. Many of these take in the key sights, like the Pyramids, a Nile cruise, and the Luxor and Karnak Temples, and typically fly you back to Cairo. The costs vary depending on the extra activities involved but are pretty reasonable: small group tours covering the main sights from Cairo to Luxor start at $1,100 USD. They also offer some specialized tours, such as one specifically designed to accommodate wheelchair users.

3. Look at Egypt Tours

Look at Egypt Tours is another local company that offers both day and multiday tours. It specializes in having knowledgeable guides that make the history of Egypt really come alive, giving incredible insight into modern-day Egyptian life as well.

The company also has a sense of social responsibility too, using locally owned restaurants and hotels on all trips and hiring guides from communities throughout the country.

Look at Egypt Tours runs a variety of day trips out of the main centers, including Cairo, Alexandria, Luxor, and Sharm el-Sheikh, ranging in cost between $50 and $150 USD per person, depending on the destination and the group size.

Multi-day tours include lots of options too; these last around 8–10 days and cost between $1,500 and $2,000 USD. There are also some specialized trips, like a two-week archaeological tour, the perfect choice for any history buffs (or Indiana Jones fans!).

4. On the Go Tours

On the Go Tours has been running tours to a variety of countries for a couple of decades now, but it all started in Egypt, where the two founders met. The company focuses on sustainable travel and supports local communities, and it hires local guides who have studied Egyptology at a college level as well.

In Egypt, they run several great-value group tours, like an eight-day trip from Cairo to Luxor for $400 USD, which includes the Pyramids of Giza, the incredible Egyptian Museum in Cairo, the temples at Luxor, a two-night felucca cruise on the Nile, a visit to the Valley of the Kings, and more. Accommodations are more budget-oriented than many other tour companies, making this a great option for backpackers.

If your timing and budget are more flexible, you might also take a look at some of On the Go’s festival tours, timed to celebrations like the Abu Simbel Sun Festival or the King Ramses Sun Festival. These tours are typically around ten days long and range between $1,600 and $2,800 USD per person, depending on whether they include internal flights.

5. Jakada Tours Egypt

Jakada Tours is a smaller company that offers private tours as well as group trips with a focus on budget mid-range travel.

Trips covering many of Egypt’s highlights and lasting between seven and ten days range from $600 to $1,000 USD. If you’re on your second trip to Egypt or have some extra time, Jakada also offers a range of more unusual tours, like spending time at the Cairo camel market!

The company also makes sure its guides are really knowledgeable, not just about ancient history but modern Egyptian culture too, as well as all the best local tips and tricks to help you make the most out of your stay.

6. Exodus Travels

Exodus offers trips worldwide and has a reputable social conscience; they aim to give back to the local communities they are a part of. In Egypt, they support Animal Care in Egypt (ACE), and its tours often include an option to visit the charity’s facility.

Exodus offers a nine-day Nile cruise from Luxor, which is a good compromise between luxury and price (around $1,400 USD per person, all-inclusive), with a maximum of 20 passengers. The company also has a longer trip that takes in key sights like the Valley of the Kings as well as Alexandria; this two-week tour starts at $2,000 USD.

7. Beyond the Nile Tours

Beyond the Nile Tours is another Egypt-based tour company using local, highly educated guides with lots of historical and cultural knowledge. It offers three tours, ranging between eight days and two weeks in length; on all of them, you can be flexible with your budget, as some activities, like a balloon ride over the Pyramids ($100 USD), are optional.

All these tours kick off in Cairo with a full day exploring what we all dream of seeing — the Pyramids of Giza and the Sphnix — along with the Egyptian Museum to put the history into context. Then you’re flown down to Luxor and cruise from there to the Valley of the Kings, among other places. On the longer trips, you can choose to travel back north more slowly, or you can include several days relaxing at a Red Sea resort. Tour prices range from $1,200 to $1,400 USD per person, with some additional costs for extra activities.

***

As much as I love solo travel, planning a trip to Egypt is much easier with a tour company. While you probably know that you want to see the Pyramids, the Nile, and other historical sites, getting around is not that easy to organize in advance, so it’s good to have the local knowledge of Egyptian guides to make sure you’re both safe and getting the most out of your trip.

So whether you’re after a short tour hitting the highlights of Egypt in a week or have more time to explore the country a little more slowly or even spend some time relaxing at the Red Sea, you’ll find a tour company to help you out.

Book Your Trip: Logistical Tips and Tricks

Book Your Flight Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner or Momondo. They are my two favorite search engines because they search websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is left unturned.

Book Your Accommodation You can book your hostel with Hostelworld as they have the largest inventory. If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com as they consistently return the cheapest rates for guesthouses and cheap hotels. I use them all the time.

Don’t Forget Travel Insurance Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. I’ve been using World Nomads for ten years. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:

World Nomads (for everyone below 70)

Insure My Trip (for those over 70)

Looking for the best companies to save money with? Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel! I list all the ones I use to save money when I travel – and that will save you time and money too!

The post The Best Tour Companies in Egypt appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

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Opening July 2019: Precision Nutrition Coaching for Men and Women http://bit.ly/2W5dbpq

Looking for an effective way to eat better, improve your health, and finally get the body you want? You’re in the right place. At Precision Nutrition, we help men and women get in their best shape ever — and stay that way — no matter how busy and hectic life gets. And the best news? We’ll soon be opening up spots in our next nutrition coaching group. 

What’s different about Precision Nutrition Coaching? We literally wrote the book on nutrition coaching and body transformation. Watch this video to see the amazing things our clients have accomplished over the past 15 years:

Meet some of the people whose bodies — and lives — have been changed by Precision Nutrition Coaching.

  Want to learn even more? Join the Presale List Today.

Ready to become your fittest, strongest, healthiest self? The time is now.

On Wednesday, July 17th, 2019 we’re opening registration for the next Precision Nutrition Coaching program for men and women.

As a coaching client, you’ll get a personal coach from our world-class coaching team and, with their support, you’ll learn how to:

Eat better, without dieting or feeling deprived.

Get active, no matter what shape you’re in now.

Ditch the food rules, dropping the fad diets and conflicting advice.

Build fitness into your life, without it taking over.

Achieve, and maintain, your goals, even when life gets busy.

The result? You’ll:

Lose the weight/fat you haven’t been able to shed for years.

Build physical strength and confidence in your body.

Gain mental confidence, no longer hiding your gifts and talents.

Let go of food confusion, learn what to do, how to do it.

Get off the diet roller coaster once and for all, and never look back.

Seriously, imagine a life where you…

…feel physically and mentally strong, capable of taking on any challenge without worrying that your energy levels or body weight will get in the way.

…can run around with your kids, or grandkids, without feeling pain, winded, or tired; and you can do it again the next day.

…excitedly book a beach vacation without wondering how you’ll look (or feel) in a swimsuit, walking along the beach.

…look forward to having your picture taken without wondering “who’s that person, and when did they start looking like that?”

…feel like food is your friend, not your enemy, and never diet again.

And here’s some really exciting news.

For now, we’ll continue to offer the program at the lowest price ever ($97 USD per month), and we’ve committed another $250,000 USD in prize money to the clients who experience the biggest transformations — physical, mental, and more.

Will Precision Nutrition work for you?

Yes, and here’s why.

Over the past 15 years, we’ve proven that the 

Precision Nutrition Coaching method is effective — through working with over 100,000 clients and publishing several peer-reviewed research papers on our approach.

Our coaching team is made up of the top Ph.D.s, nutritionists, strength coaches, counselors, researchers, and specialists in the world. We’re veterans, so we know what works — and what doesn’t.

We don’t prescribe short-term diets, meal plans, or “food rules”. Instead, we help you build the lasting skills and habits necessary to look and feel better — for the long term. For life.

Just take a look at a few of our clients.

Like Sue, a businesswoman from the UK. She lost 61 pounds with Precision Nutrition Coaching, gaining the energy and confidence — not to mention jean size — of a much younger person.

Or Carm, an artist and designer from Canada. Through Precision Nutrition Coaching he became the ‘fit guy’ he never thought he could be. Now he takes his teenage boys hiking and camping and they struggle to keep up.

Or Simone. With help from Precision Nutrition Coaching she got off the diet roller coaster and discovered a whole new freedom in her life. Now she focuses her energy on positive things vs. worrying about her weight.

Want to know how the program works?

This short video details what you can expect from Precision Nutrition for Men.

Learn exactly how Precision Nutrition Coaching for Men works.

And this one details what you can expect from Precision Nutrition for Women.

Learn exactly how Precision Nutrition Coaching for Women works.

  Want to learn even more? Join the Presale List Today.

We do health and fitness in a way that fits your life. (Instead of the other way around).

We know: Life can get crazy.

Work, children, aging parents, running a household, and all the surprises life can throw at us. It never stops being complicated or busy.

That’s why we do something very different.

We show you how to make health and fitness a part of your life, no matter what else is going on.

At Precision Nutrition we often say that your program should be designed for your absolute worst days — not just your best days.

You know the days I’m talking about… you’re low energy, nothing goes your way, your partner (or children) aren’t pleased when you get home, and you have a million other things to do than spend 2 hours working out and cooking organic meals.

Normal fitness plans tell you to just tough it out.

You’ve gotta want it badly enough.

If you’re aren’t willing to put in the work, you don’t deserve the results.

That’s just silly, and it’s not reality. Which is why we work closely with our clients to help them eat well and exercise no matter what’s going on in their lives.

We’ll bring the accountability it takes for you to stay consistent. We’ll review your progress, answer questions, and make recommendations to help you improve. We’ll tap you on the shoulder if you start to regress. And we’ll help you get past each hurdle along the way.

The result? You’ll get into the best shape of your life within 12 months.

And you’ll have the habits, skills, and tools to stay that way for life.

This approach has worked for thousands of clients, like Lorena, who learned that she could actually get better results with less effort.

And Sean Patrick, who learned how to get past overwhelm by taking small steps everyday.

This “real life” approach is one of the main reasons our clients achieve — and sustain — jaw-dropping transformations.

What kind of awesome transformation could you get with Precision Nutrition coaching? Check out this short video to get an idea:

See what 365 days of Precision Nutrition Coaching can do.

  Want to learn even more? Join the Presale List Today.

  Now, there is a catch.

If Precision Nutrition Coaching is right for you, it can be life-changing. But because of high demand, the program usually sells out within hours.

So, if you’re interested in registering — or even if you’re just interested in learning more — your best bet is to put yourself on our

free presale list.

Once you add your name, we’ll send you more info. Plus, being on the list gives you the chance to register 24 hours before the general public.

Excited about what’s possible?

Here’s a little more inspiration from some previous clients.

  And that’s just a small sampling of the thousands of

men and women who’ve had success with Precision Nutrition Coaching.

Oh, I should also mention this…

We’re giving away over $250,000 in prize money this year!

That’s right, every year we give away big prize money to the men and women who achieve the biggest transformations in our program.

Like these folks:

Rachel lost 31 pounds in PN Coaching; we surprised her with $25,000.

Javier lost 60 pounds in PN Coaching; we surprised him with $25,000.

Consider this our antidote to the “you must suffer and feel guilty to get in shape” messages typically spewed out by the fitness industry.

We don’t need any more negativity in our lives, and we’re sure you don’t either. So, instead, we give you something cool and inspiring to shoot for.

Who knows, you might end up winning one of our grand prizes, like Spencer:

Watch as we surprise recent grand prize winner Spencer.

Or Lisa:

Watch as we surprise recent grand prize winner Lisa.

  Want to learn even more? Join the Presale List Today.

If you’re looking for help, why not work with the best in the business?

Just so you know, in addition to Precision Nutrition Coaching, we also provide nutrition advice to the most elite athletes and professionals in the world.

Companies like Nike, and Equinox; professional sports teams like the San Antonio Spurs and the Carolina Panthers; and dozens of Olympic athletes and their coaches call on us when they want next-level nutrition and performance strategies.

Precision Nutrition has been featured in dozens of media outlets…

…and has consulted with some of the world’s most innovative companies and teams.

Precision Nutrition Coaching is so uniquely successful that Fast Company named us one of the most innovative companies in fitness.

Precision Nutrition was named one of the 10 most innovative companies in fitness by Fast Company magazine.

Plus, as I’ve mentioned, the Precision Nutrition method has been tried and tested with over 100,000 clients. And several

peer-reviewed research papers have documented its safety and effectiveness.

In the end, we know what works. We have a proven system in place. And we consistently produce life-changing results for our clients, year in and year out.

Lots of people consider us the world’s leading experts in nutrition coaching. It’s a big responsibility, and we don’t take it lightly. Which is why we do everything possible to help you succeed.

This is your chance. Don’t miss out.

To give everyone the personal care and attention they deserve, we only open our doors and accept new clients twice a year. Because of that, our programs have historically sold out in a matter of hours.

However, if you put your name on our

free presale list, we’ll send you more information about the program.

Even better, you’ll get the chance to register 24 hours before everyone else, increasing your chances of getting a spot.

Plus, you’ll save up to 54% off the regular cost of the program.

Indeed, if you’re on our presale list, you’ll be able to get access to Precision Nutrition Coaching for just $97 USD per month, our lowest price ever.

I’ve been coaching for 25+ years now, and I can genuinely say this is the most affordable I’ve ever seen this caliber of coaching.

Plus, we guarantee our work. Because it’s the right thing to do.

Bring your commitment. Stick with us for a full year. Work hard.

You’ll lose the weight (and body fat) you haven’t been able to shed for years.

You’ll build physical strength and confidence. You’ll get results that last.

And if you don’t get the results you’re looking for, we’ll give you a full refund.

No risk. No joke.

Interested in Precision Nutrition Coaching? Join the

presale list; you’ll save up to 54% and secure a spot 24 hours early.

We’ll be opening up spots in our next Precision Nutrition Coaching on Wednesday, July 17th, 2019.

If you’re interested in coaching and want to find out more, I’d encourage you to join our presale list below. Being on the list gives you two special advantages.

You’ll pay less than everyone else. At Precision Nutrition we like to reward the most interested and motivated people because they always make the best clients. Join the presale list and you’ll save up to 54% off the general public price, which is the lowest price we’ve ever offered.

You’re more likely to get a spot. To give clients the personal care and attention they deserve, we only open up the program twice a year. Last time we opened registration, we sold out within minutes. By joining the presale list you’ll get the opportunity to register 24 hours before everyone else, increasing your chances of getting in.

If you’re ready to change your body, and your life, with help from the world’s best coaches, this is your chance.

[Note: If your health and fitness are already sorted out, but you’re interested in helping others, check out our

Precision Nutrition Level 1 Certification program].

The post

Opening July 2019: Precision Nutrition Coaching for Men and Women appeared first on Precision Nutrition. from Blog – Precision Nutrition http://bit.ly/2zHgwys via IFTTT http://bit.ly/2zIqY8I

[emilyzh2019-blog]

Tips For Renting A Car In Morocco

Morocco Driving Guide

Renting a car in Morocco and driving yourself is a great way to experience this beautiful country. But there are a few things you should know before you embark on a road trip.

When Anna and I were planning our first trip to Morocco together, we were initially hesitant about renting a car to explore the country by ourselves.

Morocco has a bit of a reputation for crazy driving (and drivers!).

But the more we researched, the more we realized renting a car in Morocco wouldn’t be as difficult as we thought, plus it would save us a lot of money.

We love the freedom of road trips and planning our own travel itineraries. Morocco is such a diverse country that it made sense to rent a car so we could stop anywhere exploring local villages, mountains, and deserts at our own pace.

Here are some important tips we learned from our experience renting a car in Morocco, to help you save money and stay safe while driving around the country!

What To Know Before Renting A Car In Morocco

Driving in Morocco was Awesome!

Should You Rent A Car In Morocco?

Hey, if you’re a fan of bus tours, by all means, go book one. It’s a decent way to see Morocco if you don’t have a lot of time.

No planning, no driving, just sit back and let someone else do all the work!

But if you’re like me, you prefer the challenge of independent travel.

True adventure, with no set schedule or timetable. Driving around Morocco with the freedom to stop anywhere fun you happen to find along the way.

If that’s the kind of traveler you are, renting a car in Morocco is the way to go!

Just keep in mind that driving times in Morocco can be longer then Google tells you. It helps if you have someone else to split the driving with.

Another nice thing about having a car was the ability to store things in the trunk, so you can explore cities with small daypacks rather than lugging around a giant backpack or suitcase.

Starting our Road Trip in Marrakesh

Where To Rent Your Car In Morocco

The best site to book your car is Discover Car Hire. They search both local and international car rental companies to help you find the best possible price. This is the easiest way to rent a car in Morocco.

We rented our car from the popular city of Marrakech, taking a Southern road trip route towards Ouarzazate before heading on to Merzouga and the Sahara desert.

From the desert we drove North to the blue city of Chefchaouen for a few days, finally ending in Fez where we dropped off the car and flew out of the country. However there are many different types of routes you can take.

Why Did the Camel Cross the Road?

Car Rental Insurance In Morocco

Some of the rumors about driving in Morocco are true, and people can drive crazy here. That’s why I highly recommend getting full insurance coverage.

Typically, rental cars in Morocco come with a basic Collision Damage Waiver (CDW), but this isn’t exactly insurance, and only covers the car for up to 10,000 dirhams ($1000 USD) worth of damage.

While you can often save money if you book your car with a credit card that includes car rental insurance, you REALLY need to read the fine print, because many people wrongly assume their card covers them in Morocco.

If you get in a wreck driving in Morocco, declined full coverage, and you suddenly learn your credit card doesn’t actually cover the damage — you’re screwed. I can’t tell you how many travel horror stories I’ve heard like this…

It’s why I usually pre-book full coverage online for about $9 a day. It’s cheaper than at the counter — and then you won’t have to worry about accidents at all!

Driving through the Moroccan Desert

How Much Does It Cost To Rent A Car In Morocco?

Renting a car in Morocco is going to cost you around $25-$40 USD a day, depending on the type of car you get. Our 4 door sedan was about $30 per day.

I recommend renting a car with an actual trunk (no hatchbacks) to hide your luggage from prying eyes. It helps prevent break-ins if thieves can’t see your stuff.

Gas (petrol) prices in Morocco might seem cheap to Americans, but remember that the rest of the world quotes gas in Liters, not Gallons (1 Gallon = 3.78 Liters).

Currently, gas costs about $4 per gallon in Morocco. Remember that diesel cars are often cheaper in gas consumption than regular gasoline too.

Age Requirements For Renting A Car

The minimum age for driving in Morocco is 18 years old, however most car rental companies enforce their own age limit of 21 years old to rent a car.

Stopping Anywhere is One of the Perks of Renting a Car

Moroccan Driving Laws Tourists Should Know

The speed limits in Morocco are generally 60 kph in urban areas and 120 kph on highways. Police speed traps are very common, so pay attention to your speed.

I was actually pulled over for speeding during our road trip outside Ouarzazate, but they let me go after paying a small “fine” (bribe?) of 150 dirhams (about $15 USD).

You might also encounter the occasional police roadblock, but often they just wave tourists through. Or they’ll simply ask you where you’re headed.

Moroccans drive on the right side of the road, just like in the United States. So you shouldn’t have any issues there (unless you’re British!).

International Driver’s License

No, you do not need an international driver’s license to drive in Morocco or rent a car there. Just bring your passport, credit card, and your driver’s license from your home country.

Switchbacks in the Atlas Mountains

Tips For Driving In Morocco

Learn how to navigate the roundabout! Morocco is full of roundabouts rather than stoplights, and if you’re new to them, you might piss off the locals or get in a fender-bender.

Road traffic in Morocco comes in all types, sizes, and species! Be prepared to dodge scooters, over-filled trucks, buses, bicycles, donkeys, sheep, camels, pedestrians, and more. It can be mayhem at times, especially in the cities.

Honking your horn in Morocco is a form of everyday communication. It means all sorts of things, not just “get out of my way!” Honk to thank people for letting you pass, or to encourage camels to cross the road. Don’t be afraid of your horn!

Avoid driving your rental car at night in Morocco. Street lighting is minimal, and road markings can be too. Not to mention people or animals suddenly appearing in the middle of the road.

Many Moroccans will use their turn signals to let you know when it’s safe to pass them. For example, a big slow moving truck going uphill. They’ll hit their blinkers when the road is clear ahead, so you don’t have to guess.

Driving in Morocco can be Hectic!

Advice For Renting A Car In Morocco

Don’t book a car without reading the company reviews. You’ll find plenty of bad reviews for every company (people love to complain online), but try to pick one with the LEAST bad reviews.

You may not always get the make/model/type of car you booked. If they give you a smaller car, or a manual when you asked for an automatic, be pushy and ask for an upgrade.

Beware of mysterious “cleaning fee” hidden charges. If it’s not in your contract, you don’t have to pay it.

English is not spoken widely. You’ll have an easier time if you speak some French or Arabic. Communication isn’t impossible, but be patient.

Inspect your car thoroughly and record video on your smartphone pointing out damage before you leave. This is a backup if they try to charge you for damage that was already there.

Pay special attention to the interior too. A common rental car scam is getting charged for “cigarette burns” on the seats — that they conveniently “forget” to mark on the original damage form.

Make sure your tank is full before you leave. Some car rental companies in Morocco will start you with an empty gas tank, forcing you to fill up immediately.

Use Google Maps on your smartphone for directions. Bring your own hands-free adapter and buy an Moroccan SIM card at the airport.

Enjoy Your Moroccan Road Trip!

Exploring the small villages, hidden canyons, colorful mountains, and vast deserts of Morocco in a rental car was definitely the right choice for us.

Self-drive road trips get off the beaten track to see things most people miss! ★

Check Car Rental Prices & Availability In Morocco

Packing Guide

Check out my travel gear guide to help you start packing for your trip. Pick up a travel backpack, camera gear, and other useful travel accessories.

Book Your Flight

Find cheap flights on Skyscanner. This is my favorite search engine to find deals on airlines. Also make sure to read how I find the cheapest flights.

Rent A Car

Discover Car Hire is a great site for comparing car prices to find the best deal. They search both local & international rental companies.

Book Accommodation

Booking.com is my favorite hotel search engine. Or rent apartments from locals on Airbnb. Read more about how I book cheap hotels online.

Protect Your Trip

Don’t forget travel insurance! I’m a big fan of World Nomads for short-term trips. Protect yourself from possible injury & theft abroad. Read more about why you should always carry travel insurance.

Recommended Guidebook: Lonely Planet Morocco Suggested Reading: In Arabian Nights

Enjoy This Post? Pin It!

READ MORE TRAVEL TIPS

Tips For Visiting Chefchaouen In Morocco My Favorite Travel Quotes Of All Time Travel Jobs That Let You Work Abroad How To Pick A Great Travel Backpack

Any questions about driving or renting a car in Morocco? Are you planning a road trip there? Drop me a message in the comments below!

This is a post from The Expert Vagabond adventure blog.

[sofiahoteldanang-blog]

All Things You Should Know Before Travelling to Danang

Da Nang is a city of bridges, growing rapidly with resort construction attempting redefine itself from the transit center to the destinations. The Hue Imperial City, rich in political history is two hours drive north. At the other direction, the cultural jewel of Hoi An is just forty minutes south. Both are notable travel destinations, which absolutely merit a visit.

Why Da Nang is Special?

Da Nang’s 1 million residents and hotels’ construction boom are left somewhere in an awkward middle ground. Although boasting a few temples and government buildings, some modern bridges really puts Danang on the international map.

That leaves the beaches, which, for just as far as I sound like a negative Nancy, are actually quite striking. Da Nang has 92 kilometre of coastline. There are roughly 3 separate beach regions of varying popularity and features: The North part of Da Nang includes Xuan Thieu Beach and Thanh Binh Beach facing Da Nang Bay. Both are offer incredible white sand, blue water and fewer tourists, additionally lack many facilities. It is the best beach for the picnic or a cooler for the day.

The Son Tra Peninsular includes the eastern mountainous area that divides the north and south regions of the city’s coastline. It includes smaller, nearly empty, although sometimes rocky beaches like Bai Con, Bai Nam, Bai Bac, Bai But, Bai Rang, and Tien Sa Beach. Day trips here are usually along with visits to Linh Ung Pagoda or up to the top of Monkey Mountain to take in the view over the area. If you consider yourself a bird watcher, a nature lover or fishermen, this is where you would like to be.

The South part of Da Nang encompasses Pham Van Dong Beach, My Khe Beach, Bac My An Beach and Non Nuoc Beach at the southern end. Collectively, they cover an impressive 30 kilometre, are in closest proximity to most accommodations within the city as well as beach front dining options.

Consequently, it is the busiest and the stretches of private beach in front of resorts along Non Nuoc Beach. The southern beaches are increasing a number of five star resorts. In December 2016, Four Seasons took over The Nam Hai, a 100 villa resort between Da Nang and Hoi An. The Wyndham Soleil Danang is constructing a 57 story-tower hotel with 779 rooms will open in 2018. It will be the tallest buildings within the city. And it will form a part of a four-tower complex that will also feature 3,200 apartments.

While Sheraton, Ariyana Beach Resort & Spa and a half dozen other developments are also under construction. They’ll join the existing Furama Resort Danang, Pullman Danang Beach Resort, and Hyatt Regency Danang Resort, among others, already located on Non Nuoc. Then there is the over 500 rooms Crowne Plaza Danang, InterContinental Danang and Sun Peninsula Resort.

How to understand?. This very likely represents the greatest density of high end beach resorts anywhere in Vietnam. And they have all pretty much opened in the past six years.

In the end, if you consider yourself a bit of beaches, or are looking to take a high class break out of flash packing around Vietnam, this just will be the perfect weekend getaway. The beaches all get top marks for cleanness, although the strong surf and resulting rip current of East Sea might make swimming in certain areas. Regardless if you decide on public areas of the beach or private hotel areas, a lot of sofa seat options for choice and relax. Let enjoy a cold drink from the seaside.

There are a couple choices for skiing rentals and some other activities, but in general, Da Nang is beaches, and beaches alone.

Where To Stay in Da Nang?

There is also without a doubt already an oversupply of accommodation options in Da Nang. Many tiny resorts open with introductory offers and after being busy from 3 to 6 months upfront due to vacancy. As I mentioned, the number of resorts are along the coastline. While having a decision to Da Nang city for holiday or work, simply checking Booking.com, Agoda.com or make a call to resort or travel company to book room as your wish.

We recommend staying as close the beach as possible. Because the city is large and staying at the downtown will need travel to city centre. Much 2 and 3 star hotels with a set of blocks close the beach has the price from US $15-40 per night. For luxury accommodation it is about US $50-100 each night with 4 or 5 star hotel and resort. Some are on the beach, with pools and amenities. Five star beach front room start at US $200. They move up to US $1, 000 USD each night if you truly want to make a splash in the private pool of your multi bedroom beachfront villa.

Things to do around the City?

Absolutely, most people has a question. How to get around Da Nang? Yes, Da Nang is among the relatively pedestrian friendly Vietnamese city. It has the construction with sidewalks and a boardwalk along the ocean. However, it spreads out therefore traveling on foot is not ideal. And Grab and Uber are banned in Da Nang city. That leaves vacationers with traditional taxis to pay the large distances inside the city. Besides, electric car is available at the city so that visitor can view the city easily. However its cost is more expensive than taxi. Although the roads are wide, and the traffic are not crowded, it is not ideal to ride a scooter.

What to Eat?

The foods of Da Nang is not one for the record books, however, it nevertheless has numerous gemstone in case you know where to look. That is where Da Nang Food Tour or Fantastic Da Nang Food Tour come in. Da Nang Food Tour particularly gets high marks. They aim a max of four to six individuals. And a restaurant list that changes depending upon the mood and personal preferences of the guide and guests. If you’re dedicated to do it yourself food discovery, then the author Summer Le has a 10 dish guide for local Vietnamese food at the city. She will show you everything you should know about the dishes, how to eat them plus Vietnamese food culture and local history in general.

Da Nang tours recommendations

In case you are searching for a day visit to the Marble Mountains, or require a break from the beach for almost any other reason. Looking Jeep Tours is also a should try tour in Da Nang. Run by Jeremy, an American veteran, and local Vietnamese, Tam, the extremely customizable tours are well worth the purchase price. Bring sunscreen and as the jeeps are topless.

A visit to the UNESCO World Heritage Site My Son is a comparatively easy one hour drive out of Da Nang. The site, though smaller compared to the renowned ruins of Angkor Wat in Cambodia, is older. Only 45 minutes away, Hoi An is an easy day trip. In fairness, it respects a few days of exploration by itself. And Hoi An has lots of riverside accommodations that get rid of the need to commute from Da Nang. Some tour companies will arrange pick up for travelers staying in Da Nang who go on several trips around Hoi An and Vietnam with them.

When is the best time to visit Da Nang?

The best time to travel to Da Nang is since March to September. Daytime temperature reaches 26-29 degrees Celsius with a strong ocean breeze, however, sometimes it is cool at night from 18 to 23 degree. As a result, visitor should wear a light sweater.

Lying in central Vietnam, Da Nang encounters a tropics monsoon climate. Summer time June to August have temperatures that are higher. Winter season is from November to February and the temperature is cold from 10 -18 degree. Additionally, ensures you miss the peak domestic travel months of May to August, which attracts significant audiences.

Which Beach is Best?

Mother nature graces Da Nang with several beaches of varying popularity. While all generally face East (meaning sunrise rather than sunset views). Nearby are accommodation, crowds and general beach vibes do vary considerably. The Da Nang Experience has the best comprehensive beach guide to the region here. For what it’s worth, we find the private resorts of Non Nuoc Beach offer the ideal quiet paradise.

Contact Us: Sofia Hotel Da Nang Slot I-11 Pham Van Dong, Da Nang City, Vietnam Email: info@sofiahoteldanang.com Tel: +84 2363 820 606 / +84 2363 820 505

[vidovicart]

How to Get Around Southeast Asia on the Cheap

Posted: 2/28/2019 | February 28th, 2019

Southeast Asia may be a huge region — but it’s super easy to get around.

It’s well-traveled (backpackers have been following “the banana pancake trail” since the late ’60s), and there’s an extensive network designed to ensure that you can easily get from A to B.

In Hanoi and need to get to Bangkok? In Vientiane and want to go Malaysia? Or Ko Samui? No problem. Someone can arrange that.

But what’s the best way to get around Southeast Asia on a budget?

How can you go from point A to point B in the most efficient and easiest manner?

Here’s how you can travel around Southeast Asia on the cheap, with example prices and estimated travel times.

Table of Contents

Get Around Southeast Asia By Plane

Get Around Southeast Asia By Bus

Get Around Southeast Asia By Backpacker Bus

Get Around Southeast Asia By Train

Get Around Southeast Asia By Car/Motorbike

Get Around Southeast Asia By Boat/Ferry

Getting Around Towns

Distances/Times Around Southeast Asia?

Get Around Southeast Asia By Flying

This is the quickest but most expensive way to get around Southeast Asia. There are a lot of budget airlines (like Ryanair or EasyJet in Europe) in the region: Scoot (merged with Tigerair), Jetstar, and AirAsia are the biggest. Nok Air has a lot of flights within Thailand, and VietJet Air is popular in Vietnam. Lion Air serves Indonesia, but its safety record is really spotty and I would not fly them.

Here are some sample prices for some of the biggest routes:

Bangkok to Singapore – $55 (one way), $120 (round-trip)

Phuket City to Vientiane – $95 (one way), $180 (round-trip)

Ho Chi Minh City to Bangkok – $48 (one way), $108 (round-trip)

Bali (Denpasar) to Kuala Lumpur – $75 (one way), $110 (round-trip)

Siem Reap to Hanoi – $125 (one way), $169 (round-trip)

Jakarta to Kuala Lumpur – $28 (one way), $56 (round-trip)

Manila to Ho Chi Minh City – $80 (one way), $125 (round-trip)

Yangon to Manila – $107 (one way), $226 (round-trip)

Yangon to Bangkok – $45 (one way), $82 (round-trip)

If you book early, you can save on fares, as most of the airlines offer deeply discounted fare sales all the time, especially Air Asia. The best places to find cheap flights are Momondo and Skyscanner.

Keep in mind two things, though:

First, budget airlines all fly from smaller, more out-of-the-way airports, so be prepared to take buses or taxis there (and plan for traffic).

Second, all these airlines make their money by charging fees for everything, so expect baggage fees, credit card “convenience” fees, check-in fees, fees on fees, etc., etc.! If the fees add up, it can often be cheaper to fly one of the larger, more traditional air carriers, especially when you consider the main airport might be more centrally located.

All in all, I only recommend flying if you are pressed for time or find a super cheap deal.

Get Around Southeast Asia By Local or Tourist Bus

The easiest and cheapest way to travel around Southeast Asia is by bus. Buses will take you anywhere you want to go, no matter how far.

Buses are generally run by a plethora of small operators (there is no version of Greyhound here). You simply go with the operator that services the route you want to travel or with the company the tourist agency or guesthouse set you up with.

In Southeast Asia, you don’t have to plan ahead that much either. You simply show up at the bus station and buy your ticket! They use a first-come, first-serve basis but are rarely full. You don’t need to book them in advance or online — although, if I know where I’m going, I often book my bus the day before simply as a precaution. In all my years traveling this region, I’ve never shown up and been turned away.

Here are some sample fares and travel times for bus routes in Southeast Asia (in USD):

Bangkok to Chiang Mai – $17 (10 hours)

Bangkok to Pattaya – $4.75 (3 hours)

Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai – $7.17 (3:40 hrs)

Phnom Penh to Siem Reap – $12 (5:30 hrs)

Kuala Lumpur to Singapore – $12.23 (5 hrs)

Vientiane to Luang Prabang – $27 (10 hrs)

Da Nang to Hanoi – $13.80 (14 hrs)

Sihanoukville to Phnom Penh – $11 (4 hrs)

Kuta Beach to Ubud – $6 (1 hr)

Puerto Princesa to El Nido – $12 (5 hrs)

Yangon to Bagan – $18.50 (9 hrs)

Hanoi to Halong Bay – $7.35 (4 hrs)

Moreover, the backpacker trail in Southeast Asia is so well established that there is a very well-oiled “tourist bus” system here. (Usually, when you book buses from tourist agencies or guesthouses, they put you on these tourist buses.) These buses will pick you up at your accommodation or have a set meetup point in the tourist area and take you directly to your next destination.

For example, if you need to go from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, you’d buy a ticket, meet the bus (probably on Khao San Road), and enjoy the night ride up to Chiang Mai with other travelers. No stops at other bus stations — just a straight shot to Chiang Mai.

And while tourist buses are very convenient, they are also usually about 25% more expensive than the buses locals use. They generally cost $5-8 USD for a 5-6-hour journey; overnight buses are $22 USD or more depending on distance.

Get Around Southeast Asia By Backpacker Bus

There are two organized backpacker specific bus companies that serve Asia: Bamba Experience and Stray Asia. These are hop-on-hop-off buses that travel set routes across the continent.

Bamba Experience’s flexible passes start at around $600 USD for 15 days. Stray Asia’s pass is about $1,836 for a minimum of 40 days.

Personally, I’m not a huge fan of these services. You’re paying for flexibility, but it’s easy to get around the region as well as meet people, so I would skip this method of travel. Even if you’re a first-time traveler, the tourist buses can do everything these tours can do for you.

Get Around Southeast Asia By Train

Train service in Southeast Asia is basically nonexistent other than in Thailand, the only country that has an extensive train system around the country (and onward to Singapore), and Vietnam, which has a train along the coast, though it is slow and expensive compared to the bus (1,445,445 VND/$62 USD from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City instead of 695,865 VND/$30 USD).

Train prices are determined by distance and class, so the farther you go, the more you pay. Night trains with sleeper cars are more expensive than day trains: the night train to Chiang Mai from Bangkok takes 12 hours and costs 965 THB ($29 USD) for a sleeper seat, but that same train during the day is 230 THB ($7 USD).

You can travel by train between Singapore, Johor Bahru, Kuala Lumpur, Penang, and Bangkok as well. It’s a long journey that will take you over a day to get there, but you can find fares for as little as $80 USD. If you’re a train enthusiast, it’s one of the most classic rides out there. If you have the time, I highly recommend the experience.

Myanmar has train service but it’s very limited. There is no website for Myanmar Railways, but the ministry of rail transportation has a schedule (don’t depend on this though — you’re better off finding out exact times at a station). You can also use 12go.asia to look up routes and buy tickets. There are trains every day between Yangon and Mandalay, with stops in Bago, Taungoo, Naypyitaw, and Thazi. This entire 15-hour route costs about 4,600 K ($3 USD) for an ordinary seat and 12,750 K ($8 USD) for sleeper class. There are a handful of other routes as well, like Yangon to Inglee Lake via Thazi.

In Indonesia, the main cities of Java (Jakarta, Bandung, Surabaya, Probolinggo (for Mount Bromo), and Banyuwangi (the ferry terminal for Bali)) are well linked by train, including. Economy class to Jakarta to Surabaya takes 15 hours and costs about 104,000 IDR ($7 USD), while a 9-hour executive-class trip can cost up to 1,250,000 IDR ($90 USD). Surabaya to Probolinggo (for Mount Bromo) takes 2-3 hours and costs 29,000 IDR ($2 USD) for economy or 150,000 IDR ($11 USD) for executive class. Surabaya to Banyuwangi (for Bali) takes 6-7 hours and costs as little as 56,000 IDR ($4 USD) for economy or 190,000 IDR ($13.50 USD) for executive class. You can reserve your tickets at tiket.com.

Get Around Southeast Asia By Car/Motorbike

I don’t recommend renting a car. Rental cars are expensive and the roads here are nuts. I would never drive around the region.

However, a lot of people motorbike around the area. I don’t know much about this, but Travelfish does. He’s the guru on this. Check it out here.

Get Around Southeast Asia By Boat/Ferry

While this won’t be your main way of getting around, it will definitely come into play in certain countries. If you’re exploring the islands of Thailand, for example, you’ll need to rely on boats and ferries. And if you’re backpacking around Indonesia or the Philippines, ferries will be the cheapest way to island-hop (but definitely not the fastest!).

It’s worth noting that ferries in Southeast Asia don’t often adhere to Western safety standards and lack of life jackets is an issue. Some people recommend staying on the top deck so it’s easier to quickly leave the boat if necessary.

While it’s not necessary to book in advance, it’s a good idea during peak season or on more popular routes to book your tickets the day before you plan to travel to make sure you have a spot. You can buy tickets on the ferry company’s website or via a ticket agent like 12go.asia. However, every agent or hostel or hotel can get you a ferry ticket too. It’s really simple!

Here are a few sample routes and prices to help you plan:

Bali (Padang Bai) to Lombok – $5 (one way)

Bali to the Gili Islands – $30 (one way)

Koh Tao to Koh Samui – $16 (one way)

Sihanoukville to Koh Rong – $25 (round-trip)

Manilla to Puerto Princesa – $30 (one way)

You might also consider doing a multiday cruise on popular waterways like the Mekong River or Halong Bay. On the Mekong River in Laos, slow boats from Huay-Xai will drop you off in Luang Prabang. Slow boats take 2-3 days, stopping at guesthouses for nightly accommodation. Prices will vary depending on the quality of your tour company, but a decent tour will run you around 1,000,000 LAK ($116 USD).

Halong Bay tours from Hanoi start around 850,000-1,403,377 VND ($35-60 USD) for two-day trips and increase exponentially from there.

Getting Around Towns on the Cheap

Local buses are really your best and cheapest option when you’re traveling in town as well. Fares typically cost less than $1 (and even less if you buy multi-trip passes). All of the towns you’ll visit will have reliable, affordable public bus systems.

In some of the bigger cities (Singapore, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur), you’ll even find subways and tram systems. Jakarta and Hanoi are working on building their subway systems, but buses are still the best option in those places for now.

I normally advise budget travelers to skip taxis because they are way too expensive. But in Southeast Asia, you don’t have to always stick to this rule. Taxis and tuk-tuks (small shared taxis with no meters) are options here. They require a bit of haggling and cost more than public transportation, but they are clearly more convenient when you’re in a jam or not yet accustomed to an area.

In Singapore and Indonesia, taxi drivers do put on the meter. In Bangkok, you can get taxi drivers to use the meter, but if you’re hailing one in a tourist area, he might try to avoid using it. In Vietnam, the meter is usually rigged, but if you use a reputable company like Mai Linh, you won’t have any problems.

Grab (an Uber offspring) is a household name in Southeast Asia. It, too, is convenient, but it sometimes costs even more than a taxi. Gojek in Indonesia is a similar option. Be forewarned: If you order a Grab or Gojek, you might wind up on the back of a motorbike!

How Long Does it Take to Get Around Southeast Asia?

Here is a distance and travel-time table of how long it takes to get around Southeast Asia.

Route

Distance (km/miles)

Air (hrs)

Bus (hrs)

Rail (hrs)

Phnom Penh – Sihanoukville

214/133

1

5

7

Phnom Penh – Ho Chi Minh City

230/115

1

6

N/A

Hanoi – Vientiane

800/497

1:10

22

16

Chiang Mai – Bangkok

688/428

1:20

10

14:40

Bangkok – Phuket

840/525

1:25

13

N/A

Kuala Lumpur – Singapore

350/217

1

7

7

Phuket – Kuala Lumpur

964/599

1:30

18

N/A

Bali – Lombok

75/46

0:30

4 (via ferry)

N/A

Yangon – Bagan

626/390

1:15

9

17.5

Jakarta – Bali

1,173/729

1:50

30

12 (ferry terminal)

Vang Vieng – Luang Prabang

183/114

N/A

6

N/A

Manila – El Nido

613/380

1:20

10 (ferry terminal)

N/A

Manila – Boracay

442/275

0:55

3 (ferry terminal)

N/A

***

In short, Southeast Asia is pretty easy to get around: take the train as often as you can in Thailand, take the train in Vietnam if you have the time, and take buses everywhere else. If you’re pressed for time, take the night trains or fly. And if you find a good flight deal, definitely fly!

Simple and easy.

As long as you do that you’ll be able to get around Southeast Asia on a budget and make the most efficient use of your time and money!

Book Your Trip to Southeast Asia: Logistical Tips and Tricks

Book Your Flight Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner or Momondo. They are my two favorite search engines because they search websites and airlines around the globe, so you always know no stone is being left unturned.

Book Your Accommodation You can book your hostel with Hostelworld as they have the largest inventory. If you want to stay somewher eother than a hotel, use Booking.com, as they consistently return the cheapest rates for guesthouses and cheap hotels. I use them all the time.

Don’t Forget Travel Insurance Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it, as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. I’ve been using World Nomads for ten years. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:

World Nomads (for everyone below 70)

Insure My Trip (for those over 70)

Looking for the best companies to save money with? Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel! I list all the ones I use — and I think they will help you too!

Looking for more information on visiting Southeast Asia? Check out my in-depth destination guide to Southeast Asia with more tips on what to see and do, costs, ways to save, and much, much more!

Photo credit: 4

The post How to Get Around Southeast Asia on the Cheap appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

[travelguy4444]

How to Get Around Southeast Asia on the Cheap

Posted: 2/28/2019 | February 28th, 2019

Southeast Asia may be a huge region — but it’s super easy to get around.

It’s well-traveled (backpackers have been following “the banana pancake trail” since the late ’60s), and there’s an extensive network designed to ensure that you can easily get from A to B.

In Hanoi and need to get to Bangkok? In Vientiane and want to go Malaysia? Or Ko Samui? No problem. Someone can arrange that.

But what’s the best way to get around Southeast Asia on a budget?

How can you go from point A to point B in the most efficient and easiest manner?

Here’s how you can travel around Southeast Asia on the cheap, with example prices and estimated travel times.

Table of Contents

Get Around Southeast Asia By Plane

Get Around Southeast Asia By Bus

Get Around Southeast Asia By Backpacker Bus

Get Around Southeast Asia By Train

Get Around Southeast Asia By Car/Motorbike

Get Around Southeast Asia By Boat/Ferry

Getting Around Towns

Distances/Times Around Southeast Asia?

Get Around Southeast Asia By Flying

This is the quickest but most expensive way to get around Southeast Asia. There are a lot of budget airlines (like Ryanair or EasyJet in Europe) in the region: Scoot (merged with Tigerair), Jetstar, and AirAsia are the biggest. Nok Air has a lot of flights within Thailand, and VietJet Air is popular in Vietnam. Lion Air serves Indonesia, but its safety record is really spotty and I would not fly them.

Here are some sample prices for some of the biggest routes:

Bangkok to Singapore – $55 (one way), $120 (round-trip)

Phuket City to Vientiane – $95 (one way), $180 (round-trip)

Ho Chi Minh City to Bangkok – $48 (one way), $108 (round-trip)

Bali (Denpasar) to Kuala Lumpur – $75 (one way), $110 (round-trip)

Siem Reap to Hanoi – $125 (one way), $169 (round-trip)

Jakarta to Kuala Lumpur – $28 (one way), $56 (round-trip)

Manila to Ho Chi Minh City – $80 (one way), $125 (round-trip)

Yangon to Manila – $107 (one way), $226 (round-trip)

Yangon to Bangkok – $45 (one way), $82 (round-trip)

If you book early, you can save on fares, as most of the airlines offer deeply discounted fare sales all the time, especially Air Asia. The best places to find cheap flights are Momondo and Skyscanner.

Keep in mind two things, though:

First, budget airlines all fly from smaller, more out-of-the-way airports, so be prepared to take buses or taxis there (and plan for traffic).

Second, all these airlines make their money by charging fees for everything, so expect baggage fees, credit card “convenience” fees, check-in fees, fees on fees, etc., etc.! If the fees add up, it can often be cheaper to fly one of the larger, more traditional air carriers, especially when you consider the main airport might be more centrally located.

All in all, I only recommend flying if you are pressed for time or find a super cheap deal.

Get Around Southeast Asia By Local or Tourist Bus

The easiest and cheapest way to travel around Southeast Asia is by bus. Buses will take you anywhere you want to go, no matter how far.

Buses are generally run by a plethora of small operators (there is no version of Greyhound here). You simply go with the operator that services the route you want to travel or with the company the tourist agency or guesthouse set you up with.

In Southeast Asia, you don’t have to plan ahead that much either. You simply show up at the bus station and buy your ticket! They use a first-come, first-serve basis but are rarely full. You don’t need to book them in advance or online — although, if I know where I’m going, I often book my bus the day before simply as a precaution. In all my years traveling this region, I’ve never shown up and been turned away.

Here are some sample fares and travel times for bus routes in Southeast Asia (in USD):

Bangkok to Chiang Mai – $17 (10 hours)

Bangkok to Pattaya – $4.75 (3 hours)

Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai – $7.17 (3:40 hrs)

Phnom Penh to Siem Reap – $12 (5:30 hrs)

Kuala Lumpur to Singapore – $12.23 (5 hrs)

Vientiane to Luang Prabang – $27 (10 hrs)

Da Nang to Hanoi – $13.80 (14 hrs)

Sihanoukville to Phnom Penh – $11 (4 hrs)

Kuta Beach to Ubud – $6 (1 hr)

Puerto Princesa to El Nido – $12 (5 hrs)

Yangon to Bagan – $18.50 (9 hrs)

Hanoi to Halong Bay – $7.35 (4 hrs)

Moreover, the backpacker trail in Southeast Asia is so well established that there is a very well-oiled “tourist bus” system here. (Usually, when you book buses from tourist agencies or guesthouses, they put you on these tourist buses.) These buses will pick you up at your accommodation or have a set meetup point in the tourist area and take you directly to your next destination.

For example, if you need to go from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, you’d buy a ticket, meet the bus (probably on Khao San Road), and enjoy the night ride up to Chiang Mai with other travelers. No stops at other bus stations — just a straight shot to Chiang Mai.

And while tourist buses are very convenient, they are also usually about 25% more expensive than the buses locals use. They generally cost $5-8 USD for a 5-6-hour journey; overnight buses are $22 USD or more depending on distance.

Get Around Southeast Asia By Backpacker Bus

There are two organized backpacker specific bus companies that serve Asia: Bamba Experience and Stray Asia. These are hop-on-hop-off buses that travel set routes across the continent.

Bamba Experience’s flexible passes start at around $600 USD for 15 days. Stray Asia’s pass is about $1,836 for a minimum of 40 days.

Personally, I’m not a huge fan of these services. You’re paying for flexibility, but it’s easy to get around the region as well as meet people, so I would skip this method of travel. Even if you’re a first-time traveler, the tourist buses can do everything these tours can do for you.

Get Around Southeast Asia By Train

Train service in Southeast Asia is basically nonexistent other than in Thailand, the only country that has an extensive train system around the country (and onward to Singapore), and Vietnam, which has a train along the coast, though it is slow and expensive compared to the bus (1,445,445 VND/$62 USD from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City instead of 695,865 VND/$30 USD).

Train prices are determined by distance and class, so the farther you go, the more you pay. Night trains with sleeper cars are more expensive than day trains: the night train to Chiang Mai from Bangkok takes 12 hours and costs 965 THB ($29 USD) for a sleeper seat, but that same train during the day is 230 THB ($7 USD).

You can travel by train between Singapore, Johor Bahru, Kuala Lumpur, Penang, and Bangkok as well. It’s a long journey that will take you over a day to get there, but you can find fares for as little as $80 USD. If you’re a train enthusiast, it’s one of the most classic rides out there. If you have the time, I highly recommend the experience.

Myanmar has train service but it’s very limited. There is no website for Myanmar Railways, but the ministry of rail transportation has a schedule (don’t depend on this though — you’re better off finding out exact times at a station). You can also use 12go.asia to look up routes and buy tickets. There are trains every day between Yangon and Mandalay, with stops in Bago, Taungoo, Naypyitaw, and Thazi. This entire 15-hour route costs about 4,600 K ($3 USD) for an ordinary seat and 12,750 K ($8 USD) for sleeper class. There are a handful of other routes as well, like Yangon to Inglee Lake via Thazi.

In Indonesia, the main cities of Java (Jakarta, Bandung, Surabaya, Probolinggo (for Mount Bromo), and Banyuwangi (the ferry terminal for Bali)) are well linked by train, including. Economy class to Jakarta to Surabaya takes 15 hours and costs about 104,000 IDR ($7 USD), while a 9-hour executive-class trip can cost up to 1,250,000 IDR ($90 USD). Surabaya to Probolinggo (for Mount Bromo) takes 2-3 hours and costs 29,000 IDR ($2 USD) for economy or 150,000 IDR ($11 USD) for executive class. Surabaya to Banyuwangi (for Bali) takes 6-7 hours and costs as little as 56,000 IDR ($4 USD) for economy or 190,000 IDR ($13.50 USD) for executive class. You can reserve your tickets at tiket.com.

Get Around Southeast Asia By Car/Motorbike

I don’t recommend renting a car. Rental cars are expensive and the roads here are nuts. I would never drive around the region.

However, a lot of people motorbike around the area. I don’t know much about this, but Travelfish does. He’s the guru on this. Check it out here.

Get Around Southeast Asia By Boat/Ferry

While this won’t be your main way of getting around, it will definitely come into play in certain countries. If you’re exploring the islands of Thailand, for example, you’ll need to rely on boats and ferries. And if you’re backpacking around Indonesia or the Philippines, ferries will be the cheapest way to island-hop (but definitely not the fastest!).

It’s worth noting that ferries in Southeast Asia don’t often adhere to Western safety standards and lack of life jackets is an issue. Some people recommend staying on the top deck so it’s easier to quickly leave the boat if necessary.

While it’s not necessary to book in advance, it’s a good idea during peak season or on more popular routes to book your tickets the day before you plan to travel to make sure you have a spot. You can buy tickets on the ferry company’s website or via a ticket agent like 12go.asia. However, every agent or hostel or hotel can get you a ferry ticket too. It’s really simple!

Here are a few sample routes and prices to help you plan:

Bali (Padang Bai) to Lombok – $5 (one way)

Bali to the Gili Islands – $30 (one way)

Koh Tao to Koh Samui – $16 (one way)

Sihanoukville to Koh Rong – $25 (round-trip)

Manilla to Puerto Princesa – $30 (one way)

You might also consider doing a multiday cruise on popular waterways like the Mekong River or Halong Bay. On the Mekong River in Laos, slow boats from Huay-Xai will drop you off in Luang Prabang. Slow boats take 2-3 days, stopping at guesthouses for nightly accommodation. Prices will vary depending on the quality of your tour company, but a decent tour will run you around 1,000,000 LAK ($116 USD).

Halong Bay tours from Hanoi start around 850,000-1,403,377 VND ($35-60 USD) for two-day trips and increase exponentially from there.

Getting Around Towns on the Cheap

Local buses are really your best and cheapest option when you’re traveling in town as well. Fares typically cost less than $1 (and even less if you buy multi-trip passes). All of the towns you’ll visit will have reliable, affordable public bus systems.

In some of the bigger cities (Singapore, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur), you’ll even find subways and tram systems. Jakarta and Hanoi are working on building their subway systems, but buses are still the best option in those places for now.

I normally advise budget travelers to skip taxis because they are way too expensive. But in Southeast Asia, you don’t have to always stick to this rule. Taxis and tuk-tuks (small shared taxis with no meters) are options here. They require a bit of haggling and cost more than public transportation, but they are clearly more convenient when you’re in a jam or not yet accustomed to an area.

In Singapore and Indonesia, taxi drivers do put on the meter. In Bangkok, you can get taxi drivers to use the meter, but if you’re hailing one in a tourist area, he might try to avoid using it. In Vietnam, the meter is usually rigged, but if you use a reputable company like Mai Linh, you won’t have any problems.

Grab (an Uber offspring) is a household name in Southeast Asia. It, too, is convenient, but it sometimes costs even more than a taxi. Gojek in Indonesia is a similar option. Be forewarned: If you order a Grab or Gojek, you might wind up on the back of a motorbike!

How Long Does it Take to Get Around Southeast Asia?

Here is a distance and travel-time table of how long it takes to get around Southeast Asia.

Route

Distance (km/miles)

Air (hrs)

Bus (hrs)

Rail (hrs)

Phnom Penh – Sihanoukville

214/133

1

5

7

Phnom Penh – Ho Chi Minh City

230/115

1

6

N/A

Hanoi – Vientiane

800/497

1:10

22

16

Chiang Mai – Bangkok

688/428

1:20

10

14:40

Bangkok – Phuket

840/525

1:25

13

N/A

Kuala Lumpur – Singapore

350/217

1

7

7

Phuket – Kuala Lumpur

964/599

1:30

18

N/A

Bali – Lombok

75/46

0:30

4 (via ferry)

N/A

Yangon – Bagan

626/390

1:15

9

17.5

Jakarta – Bali

1,173/729

1:50

30

12 (ferry terminal)

Vang Vieng – Luang Prabang

183/114

N/A

6

N/A

Manila – El Nido

613/380

1:20

10 (ferry terminal)

N/A

Manila – Boracay

442/275

0:55

3 (ferry terminal)

N/A

***

In short, Southeast Asia is pretty easy to get around: take the train as often as you can in Thailand, take the train in Vietnam if you have the time, and take buses everywhere else. If you’re pressed for time, take the night trains or fly. And if you find a good flight deal, definitely fly!

Simple and easy.

As long as you do that you’ll be able to get around Southeast Asia on a budget and make the most efficient use of your time and money!

Book Your Trip to Southeast Asia: Logistical Tips and Tricks

Book Your Flight Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner or Momondo. They are my two favorite search engines because they search websites and airlines around the globe, so you always know no stone is being left unturned.

Book Your Accommodation You can book your hostel with Hostelworld as they have the largest inventory. If you want to stay somewher eother than a hotel, use Booking.com, as they consistently return the cheapest rates for guesthouses and cheap hotels. I use them all the time.

Don’t Forget Travel Insurance Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it, as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. I’ve been using World Nomads for ten years. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:

World Nomads (for everyone below 70)

Insure My Trip (for those over 70)

Looking for the best companies to save money with? Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel! I list all the ones I use — and I think they will help you too!

Looking for more information on visiting Southeast Asia? Check out my in-depth destination guide to Southeast Asia with more tips on what to see and do, costs, ways to save, and much, much more!

Photo credit: 4

The post How to Get Around Southeast Asia on the Cheap appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

source https://www.nomadicmatt.com/travel-blogs/get-around-southeast-asia/