Singapore to London Overland in 75 Days!!

arfness

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Thanks coolhead for the trip report and the effort you put into it, my mornings won't be the same :( It was great to start the day with some coffee and read up on your days report :D

Anyway, good job and congrats on your trip !!
 

coolhead

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Thanks coolhead for the trip report and the effort you put into it, my mornings won't be the same :( It was great to start the day with some coffee and read up on your days report :D

Anyway, good job and congrats on your trip !!

You are very much welcome!
 

coolhead

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I wonder if Tanya Ong asked Coolhead permission before posting the article.

Will Coolhead get compensated with all the views / traffic Mothership get?

End of the day Coolhead still own the copyright of the story of his journey and all the photos he took.

Well unfortunately no permission was given... Oh well..
 

klavier

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Thank you coolhead for posting your report. An epic trip indeed!
How I wish I have the chance to take something similar (less the areas I have been before) hopefully before 50 but with a family to support I am not sure if that would be possible.

I did a few backpacking trips in Asia when I was younger but the 2 things I would not do again is 1) no more staying at hostels and 2) taking cheap but long overnight bus rides if possible. I still remember the discomfort and the sense of helplessness I felt even though its almost 20 years ago lol...

Just wondering, what do you do now in your free time since you gave up gaming?
 

coolhead

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Thank you coolhead for posting your report. An epic trip indeed!
How I wish I have the chance to take something similar (less the areas I have been before) hopefully before 50 but with a family to support I am not sure if that would be possible.

I did a few backpacking trips in Asia when I was younger but the 2 things I would not do again is 1) no more staying at hostels and 2) taking cheap but long overnight bus rides if possible. I still remember the discomfort and the sense of helplessness I felt even though its almost 20 years ago lol...

Just wondering, what do you do now in your free time since you gave up gaming?

I will say that reviews are important when picking out a hostel. In fact, cleanliness and flexibility in hostels can beat budget hotels. Only reason why I pick budget hotels in Asian cities is to gain nights and rewards points.

After I returned from my trip, went for my reservist and currently in Bangkok making my business clothes. Was quite fortunate to have a job recommendation by a past competitor but I am still seriously considering as I am not sure if it's a job fit. In the meantime, the stock market rout in Asian market is quite interesting and ripe for the picking imo. This is especially since the Singapore index had been rangebound in 2600-3200 past 5-8years and only broke out to hit 3600 but fallen back to 3100 level.
 

rottingapple

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Hi TS, i bookmarked your thread cos im am getting interested in this. Will refer to your thread!
 

Duncallmebro

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Had not read the whole thread yet (will be doing it soon) so apologies if this is already asked, how do you plan to get access to money along to the way? Atm?
 

coolhead

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Hi TS, i bookmarked your thread cos im am getting interested in this. Will refer to your thread!
You are welcome! Glad you caught the travel bug. I do reminisce this trip from time to time. Don't mind doing roughly the same trip with some variation if I got the time again.
In fact, if you intend to do in 2020, 1 possibility is to start from UK in Apr/May, then go overland to Japan just in time for the olympics in Jun/Jul. Just nice! But you got to plan start now.
What an amazing trip! I wish I had the time to
Do such a trip .... :(
If your finances and time allow, it's good to consider.
Had not read the whole thread yet (will be doing it soon) so apologies if this is already asked, how do you plan to get access to money along to the way? Atm?

I tot of dis question oso
Allow me to list the countries with their respective currencies and how I got it. I will skip the obvious ones like Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, China, Europe (Euros), UK.
I tried buying some currency in Singapore from online sellers privately. In this manner, I got some Mongolian togrog, Russian rubbles and Yuan currency.
1 strategy is to change all your previous used currency at the border to the currency of your visiting country. Another is to keep reserve US currency. In terms of spending, most of it is done before the trip buying tickets, airfare, accommodation mostly by E-commerce purchase.

I realised that in this link https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1FrrjJCMXz9UCBCSXtQsU5b9ju-2jwHPu1jlVovjDnDw/edit?usp=sharing, I shared the breakdown of the currencies I brought along at the start of the trip.

USD 560
GBP 225
EUROS 150
MYR 100
THB 1000
Yuan 1000
Rub 3500
Tugrik 30000

Laos (Kip)
A very illiquid currency outside Laos, so what starts in Laos ends in Laos. I didn't have Laos currency before entering Laos and changed from Vietnam Dong to Laos at the immigration border. The exchange rate is quite a rip-off but Laos is a very illiquid currency so you don't have much choice. If I remember, the spread was like 15%. However, banks in Laos(Vientiane) provide very competitive exchange rates using USD, Euro and SGD. USD was about 0.3% spread, Euro about 0.6%, SGD about 1%.

Mongolia (Togrog)
Could be exchanged at the border. The exchange rate was quite reasonable, about 2-3% spread from USD to Togrog. forex exchange can also be done in the capital, Ulan Bator. Pls do most of your exchange in the capital because you most likely can't get any at the countryside/wild/rural areas.

Russia (Rubbles)
I only had about 30SGD worth of Russian currency when I entered the border. Honestly, I can't remember where I changed my currency in Russia... I remembered watching world cup going thru the border and stopped at Irkutsk. I most likely changed at money changers at Irkutsk from Togrog to Rubbles and then in other cities from USD to rubbles. From Russia onwards, i spent most of my purchases at cafes/restaurants and supermarkets which accept credit cards.

Poland (Zloty)
I changed using both Rubbles and USD to Zloty at Warsaw.
 
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Duncallmebro

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So does that mean that you carried all the cash from the start of the trip? i.e no withdrawal at banks/atms along the way

I have been looking at such a trip for a long time, but tentative about carrying all cash and the lack of options of topping up along the way
 

coolhead

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So does that mean that you carried all the cash from the start of the trip? i.e no withdrawal at banks/atms along the way

I have been looking at such a trip for a long time, but tentative about carrying all cash and the lack of options of topping up along the way

well, as long as you don't flaunt any jewellery and wear normal clothing, you will be a less visible target for pickpocketing. also it's advisable to stay in private rooms in hostels for better security. there was a case of a taiwanese male who stayed in the same hostel as me in lithuania but chose a dorm. he forgot to lock his locker before going to bathroom and reported that he lost 1700euros in his locker.

yep, i carried all those currency listed. i do not recalling withdrawing from banks/atms along the way as i try to use credit card whenever possible, it minimises loss if you are pickpocketed imo. also you can lower your credit limit with the bank.

frankly, i dont think you need to be worried about lack of topping up in cities, even rural ones like irkutsk or vientiane. there are always money changers near immigration points or major transit areas, just a matter of forex spread.
 

dilphinus

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Gonna do the Trans Siberia again next year. This time will do the Trans Manchurian instead of the Trans Mongolian.
 
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