I’m currently on parental leave. That means I’m not tied to a single geographical location. Of course I wouldn’t dream of travelling without my lovely daughter (she kind of needs me and I definitely need her). I’ve pondered buying a condo in Florida but, unless something significant changes, I’m no longer going to do it. Perhaps it’s the wobbling Canadian housing market that makes me nervous about getting caught without cash and being unable to seize an opportunity. Maybe it’s the litany of wise advice I received from commenters on that article, many of whom recommended that I bide my time. Maybe, because of the locations of family members, I’m not as interested in heading due south. Nevertheless, I’ve chickened out.
I do like travelling, I just haven’t done much of any lately. When I was a teen, I spent a summer in Thailand. It’s an amazing country. The culture is fascinating. Luxury is affordable. I feel like I could take my daughter and my partner there for an amazing vacation (without blowing too much coin).
I would have gone back earlier, actually. But I have a policy of only visiting peaceful, fully democratic countries. Thailand had a bloodless coup in 2006. It was part of the ebb-and-flow of their Constitutional Monarchy; they returned to democracy as they’ve always seemed to do. It just made me nervous.
An example of a country I won’t go to is Cuba. I refuse to support their horrible, murderous dictatorship. Canadian tourists in Cuba are giving blood money to communists to oil their oppressive political machine (which includes brutal gulags). Tourist dollars also float Cuba’s inefficient collectivized economy, which has pushed Cuba’s people further and further into extreme poverty. Another example of a country I won’t visit is Mexico. Mexico is a free country, but it’s essentially in the midst of a civil war so, no, I don’t want to go there.
There wouldn’t be a ton of logistics to accomplish before a Thailand trip, other than buying stuff and packing. Visits to Thailand no longer require a visa if you’re a tourist who will be staying less than 30 days. I’d want to stay for a while (but obviously leave a margin of safety for the 30 day visa limit). Thus I’d schedule 20 nights, give or take. I’d research vaccinations beforehand (forgive me for failing to itemize the cost of these vaccines in the list below). We’d stick close to Bangkok – there’s more than enough to do in Bangkok to keep us busy for three weeks.
Here’s my rough list of the projected trip costs:
- Hotels - Thailand is an amazing country for many reasons. One is that it’s extremely affordable. I could get a four star hotel room for under $60 a night. Let’s say $75 per night to make this cost an even $1500 – this would get us very nice digs.
- Roundtrip airfare - because Holly is just a baby, we wouldn’t need to buy her a ticket. I was able to find a roundtrip fare, from Toronto to Bangkok, for $1199. Times 2 tickets, that’s $2398.
- Medical insurance - I got a quote through kanetix.ca. It’d cost about $75 per person ($225 total) for $5 million in coverage for a 24 day trip (assuming 2 days each way). That policy has a $0 deductible.
- Food, Local Travel, and Incidentals - I’d budget $1,000 for spending on food, intra-Bangkok travel, and incidentals. In Thailand, $50 a day is a ton of money. That’s 1500 baht to spend each day in a country where a very good daily wage is 600 baht. With 1500 baht we could buy sit-down meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, pay transit or TukTuk fares, and still have enough to see an attraction.
- Passports - I’d need to get my daughter a passport and I need to renew my own. The cost for both would be $109 total, not including passport pictures.
That’s about $5230 in total cost for the three of us to go there, live in luxury for three weeks, see the Bangkok area, and come home. When budgeting, it’s critical to consider unforeseen contingencies (“Oh shoot, we need to rent a car and hire a driver.”) so I would definitely allot $6000 for the trip.
But I’m by no means decided. It’s a lot of money and travel is a consumable. I don’t have any debt, I’m saving lots for retirement, and I could pay in cash – but I don’t yet own a home outright. That’s the ‘last stage’ before I think I’m justified using discretionary money however I want.
Instead of simply making plans and telling you that I’m going to execute them, I’ll take a humbler approach. Does anybody agree or disagree with this idea? Am I justified spending six grand? Is it an egregious waste of money at a time when I should be saving? Does anybody have tips for getting inexpensive (but not cheap) passport pictures?
A trip to Thailand sounds like a good idea! But would you want your daughter to enjoy it as well? In that case perhaps waiting a few more years would be best since at this point in her young life she won’t remember anything about the trip (unless you take lots of photos). Before you spend $6000 perhaps a million little staycations are in order? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvYpflYn9Q4
Well, because her airfare (and usually a crib for the hotel room, too) is free she wouldn’t cost much of anything extra. It’d be a very selfish vacation in that it’d be primarily for me. My partner would love Thailand I’m sure, but I miss it a lot so the specific destination is definitely for me (nostalgia is expensive). Also Max Webster is awesome. That reminds me to put Diamonds, Diamonds on my playlist.
Joe, I’m firmly of the belief that you are in the best position to judge your own financial situation best, as well as to assess whether a trip is the best way to maximize the enjoyment you get out of your discretionary income.
My comment is directly primarily at the logistics of it. I have friends who have traveled extensively with young babies, and I admire their sense of adventure. I lack their chutzpah, and waited till my son was almost 10 months before we ventured anywhere (and then, only to Vancouver). Having endured through an hour-long flight with a little person with whom one cannot communicate much less reason, I would be hesitant to try it again – or for any longer period of time. [And my son didn't even cry much; but just imagine how uncomfortable your average flight is, and multiple that by a hundred or more to account for the squirmy, bored, fussy baby on your lap.] The one thing I quickly found out once we landed is that traveling with a baby is nothing like traveling by yourself. It’s like traveling with a very demanding, needy diva – it comes with a whole separate set of luggage, headaches, crying fits, and temper tantrums. On top of which, the unexpected will always happen; we ended up in the ER on the first night of our trip, after my son decided to explore sliding out of his stroller onto the concrete pavement. [He was totally fine.] I can’t imagine dealing with these type of events in a foreign country.
But if you are the super chill, go-with-the-flow, throw-your-baby-in-a-sling-and-go type of parent, then by all means. You’re a unicorn among first-time parents, so it’s only right that you show the rest of us how it’s done
lol I’m not a very stressed traveller. I actually find I’m less stressed when I’m on the road. Duly noted that the logistics of a baby could change that significantly. Maybe I’ll try a short-haul flight beforehand (e.g. to visit my partner’s parents in Edmonton) before I commit us to a Thailand trip.
Keep in mind that, worst case scenario in Thailand is that we could literally afford to hire a nanny while there (besides buying any other reasonable luxury we wanted); it’s not like a trip to Europe where we’d be on our own and relatively poor.
PS I am wearing a sling with Holly in it while I write this lol
Hey, if you make it to Edmonton, you should meet up with your favourite style blogger
I’ll let you know! I’m sure HollyWood and Le Petit Prince would be adoreable friends
Trip to Thailand sounds wonderful. We stayed in “hostel” type places but all had our own rooms with our own baths. Sometimes we paid less than 10 dollars a night. I can be a baby sometimes, so trust me when I say that they were DECENT places to stay. We did Bangkok, Chang Mai and some islands in three weeks.. I would highly recommend spending some time away from Bangkok.
Justified? Yes. You work hard for your money, you are responsible with it and you have the money to do it. Why not? I always think that if I have to spend my money, I would prefer to spend it on experiences, not things. I have never regretted any of my travel experiences. The key is to do some planning and then you don’t have any surprises (financial one) when you get there.
As far as eating goes, you can EAT very cheaply too.. I was amazed by the low cost of everything in Thailand. Make sure you go in for a <$10 an hour massage too!
Just on another note, my husband and I are in a similar financial situation to you and your wife.. We are saving HUGE for retirement, as well as paying down our house aggressively. Sometimes you have to live a bit though, you know? We have dreams of Freedom 45- but I know we need to spend some money here and there to keep us sane until we make it there.
Thanks for your thoughts! Totally agree that you can stay in a nice place SO cheap. I remember staying in a hotel in Bangkok for about $20 a night. It was totally on par with a reasonable Canadian Holiday Inn that I’ve stayed at. People don’t believe you or understand til they actually GO there.
I loved Chiang Mai and Bangkok. I went quite a few other places, but I much prefer the bigger cities.
It’s so important to experience the local culture through food and as you note it’s super cheap in Thailand– I also enjoyed eating at a couple “Western” restaurants because their localized dishes are hillarious and delicious, e.g. the baked corn pie at McDonald’s.
I’m aiming for Freedom 45, too, although this may get pushed back by parental leave and self-funded leaves (I defer gratification but try to enjoy the moment, too!). In that case, it may be freedom 56 when my pension kicks in.
Sounds like lots of fun! Might as well go for it! You are on leave still bringing in money and have no debt so have a good time! LOL
lol thanks for the approval. You’re an overspending enabler
Per my idea based on Adina’s comment, I may try a shorter haul with Holly and my partner first to see if it’ll work.
Heck I just spent a couple grand for boat, planes, truck, boat, truck, hotels, more ferries to travel across Canada! I’d spend it in a heartbeat it seems like an interesting place to visit! Why not jump off the beaten path and live a little!
If you have your passport lemme know lol
Hey, we have a lot in common! I will be taking two months parental leave soon. I would love to take more and travel. I’m not sure we could manage it with a toddler and a newborn though. I would give renting a RV a shot in a second.
I’ve always loved traveling too. I get a bit annoyed at the airport thing, all that waiting around and line-ups drive me nuts. We’ve prioritized saving over vacations though. We saved a lot by traveling to my wife’s native country England 5 years ago and we stayed with her family and friends for three weeks. That saves a lot in that expensive country! 3 years ago we went to New York before we had child number 1 and managed about $2,000 for 5 days in the big apple.
I’ve never been anywhere tropical though, I’ve always wanted to see what the standard of living would be like in places like Malaysia.
As for passport photos, The Great Canadian Superstore(Loblaws) generally has them for $10 or less. Costco does them cheaply as well.
Congrats on your addition!
I want to buy an RV so bad. I actually want to buy a camper van to live in, when I go back to work in TO so my family can stay in Omemee. My partner has, thus far, nixed it but I’m still lobbying.
That’s a really cheap way to see England. NYC is a great city; I love travelling in the US. Worst case scenario: there’s always a Denny’s to eat at. lol.
Thanks for the tip on passport photos. The only ideas I could think of were Black’s and Sears, so a grocery store photo centre sounds a lot cheaper.