Cost of living comparisons. BK versus LA.
It's strange when you look at your budget, and it was cheaper to be on vacation than to have stayed at home in LA. Generally, food and operational costs are very high in LA. You can pretty much guarantee that you will at least blow about 60 dollars on food related purchases per week, if you are frugal. With gas, it is minimally 45 dollars a shot. If you eat out, one McD meal now is close to 8 dollars a shot. If you eat at least twice at a fast food joint, you pretty much lost 20 US Dollars. Although I spent about 400 dollars on a service apartment in BK, my total out of pocket costs have been substantially cheaper living out here. And I'm living like a local. I wash clothes in a sink. Take the subway, skytrain, and taxis. I have to get my Thai better, as I want to take taxis, but not all of the drivers speak English too well.
Some things are expensive. If you eat at the malls, the meal goes for about 200 baht. Street food can be as low as 10 baht, but my tummy took a hit, and I've resorted to mall food for the duration. It's 30 baht per dollar roughly. Still, a ramen combo meal in a mall costs about 5 dollars, and that includes the Coca Cola.
Technically, I was never on vacation, as I was teaching a class online. The Internet is spotty in Thailand, as wifi isn't as easy to get as in Vietnam. I've pretty much used 3g in BK, but unlimited. That is about the same as the US, at around 30 dollars. On the other hand, Vietnam can be expensive. But the hotels are still about 40 dollars a night. My Vietnamese sucks. Another agenda item for me to improve upon.
