Time and motion

Here is my approximate route and schedule.  Expect both to change – this is not an itinerary, merely an indication for my own purposes of planning and budgeting.  Note that the "Enter" date doesn't necessarily align with the  number of days I expect to be in the country as I may take a side trip into a second country from the first country.

 

Country	Days	Enter
Australia	N/A	21 Apr
Turkey	18	22 Apr
Georgia	19	10 May
Armenia	12	22 May
Azerbaijan	10	10 Jun
Kazakhstan	21	20 Jun
Uzbekistan	19	11 Jul
Turkmenistan	4	30 Jul
Afghanistan	21	3 Aug
Tajikistan	12	24 Aug
Kyrgyzstan	13	5 Sep
China	28	18 Sep
Mongolia	7	29 Sep
Vietnam	18	23 Oct
Cambodia	18	10 Nov
Laos	19	28 Nov
Thailand	18	17 Dec
Myanmar	19	29 Dec
Malaysia	14	23 Jan
Singapore	3	26 Jan
Indonesia	34	9 Feb
East Timor	6	15 Mar
End		21 Mar

If I look like going significantly over my budget I may shorten the trip.  If I'm significantly under budget I will probably extend the South East Asian or Chinese sections.  The trip as shown above is 11 months but I'm hoping to be gone 12 months.

Budget by country, in Australian dollars.  This table omits both pre-trip expenses and the cost of visas and other documentation.  The total shown is about $16,100 out of a total trip budget of $18,600.  $1500 has already been spent (on fares, Anzac, and insurance) and I'm expecting visas and documents to swallow another $1000.

Country	Days	Budget	Per Day
Turkey	18	1250	AUD 69
Georgia	19	1010	AUD 53
Armenia	12	680	AUD 57
Azerbaijan	10	580	AUD 58
Kazakhstan	21	1280	AUD 61
Uzbekistan	19	970	AUD 51
Turkmenistan	4	180	AUD 45
Afghanistan	21	940	AUD 45
Tajikistan	12	690	AUD 58
Kyrgyzstan	13	650	AUD 50
China	28	1480	AUD 53
Mongolia	7	450	AUD 64
Vietnam	18	770	AUD 43
Cambodia	18	620	AUD 34
Laos	19	690	AUD 36
Thailand	18	730	AUD 41
Myanmar	19	670	AUD 35
Malaysia	14	550	AUD 39
Singapore	3	190	AUD 63
Indonesia	34	1180	AUD 35
East Timor	6	510	AUD 85

The inflated East Timor figure is because it includes the air fare from Dili to Darwin, which I will buy in Dili.  I should take that out of the East Timor budget and set it in the pre/post-trip expenses, but as it's the last stop I just can't be bothered!

Although the budget is $18,600, $1500 has already been spent, leaving $17,100 to go; but I actually have nearly $30,000 in hand.  The excess looks big but is earmarked for emergencies and setting up house once I get back to Australia.  However, having that cash cushion means I can let the on-the-road costs blow out to $20,000 before I'll start worrying too much.  I'm actually hoping to come in under budget, but I'm not going to pinch pennies and have a miserable time just to beat my budget.