Is it possible for two people to visit 8 countries in 32 days? Many would surely say: Yes, it’s possible.
　　But what if they visited 8 countries in 32 days and only spent 2,000 US dollars (over 12,000 yuan)? Many might answer: Impossible.
　　If your answer is “impossible,” then you’re wrong. Because a 28-year-old Mr. Huang from Nanping and his 60-year-old mother did just that.
　　Mr. Huang spent a little over a month traveling with his mother through 8 countries in Southeast and South Asia. They passed through Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, Myanmar, India, Pakistan, and Nepal, and the total cost per person was just 1,000 US dollars.
　　He wanted to take his 60-year-old mother to 8 countries
　　Mr. Huang, 28, from Nanping, works at a coal and power company.
　　Mr. Huang’s mother is 60 years old this year and is in very good health. She had previously traveled to Russia with her son. Now retired, she doesn’t have much to do at home, so naturally, she didn’t want to miss this trip to 8 countries in Southeast and South Asia. Mr. Huang said that he almost always takes his mother along when he travels, but his father is 65 and not as physically fit as his mother, and also isn’t fond of traveling, so the task of “guarding the house” fell to him.
　　After the travel dates were confirmed, Mr. Huang’s mother was very excited and prepared the clothes and backpack needed for the trip well in advance. She even brought along the family’s electric cooker, thinking that if she didn’t like the local food, she could cook for herself and save some money.
　　While mom busied herself with the preparations, Mr. Huang started working on the travel plan. First, he had to decide which countries to visit, which cities in each country, and which attractions in those cities. Then, he had to calculate how many days to spend in each city, which routes were the shortest, and how to get to the next destination.
　　The most troublesome part of the preparation was the visa issue. Among the 8 countries—Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, Myanmar, India, Pakistan, and Nepal—only Vietnam and India did not offer visa-on-arrival. Moreover, Thailand’s visa-on-arrival was only valid for 14 days, which Mr. Huang felt wasn’t enough time to enjoy the trip, so he went to the Chengdu consulate in advance to apply for a two-month visa. Since there is no Vietnamese consulate in Chongqing, Mr. Huang applied for the Vietnamese visa in the nearest Nanning, and the Indian visa in Bangkok.
　　Saving holiday strategies
　　Giving up holidays to save up 32 days
　　How did the 32-day holiday come about?
　　Mr. Huang saved it up like this: 5 days of annual leave, 7 days for Spring Festival, 7 days for National Day, 3 days for Labor Day, plus other holidays such as Mid-Autumn Festival and Tomb-Sweeping Day, totaling 32 days.
　　Mr. Huang said that work is especially busy normally, and he gave up holiday rest in order to work overtime and save up leave, because the company offers compensatory leave for overtime. He said that during the 2012 statutory holidays such as Spring Festival, Labor Day, and National Day, he didn’t take any days off, and later gave himself a big 32-day holiday.
　　Route strategy
　　Visiting 8 countries in 32 days
　　How to visit 8 countries in 32 days?
　　Here’s how Mr. Huang planned it:
　　The first stop was taking a train from Chongqing to Nanning, then a train from Nanning to Vietnam, passing through Hanoi, Hue, and Ho Chi Minh City. From Ho Chi Minh City, they took a bus to the second stop, Cambodia, passing through Phnom Penh and Siem Reap. Vietnam and Cambodia took one week.
　　From Cambodia, they took a bus to Bangkok, passing through Hua Hin and Chiang Rai. From Chiang Rai, they took a boat tour around the Golden Triangle and the border areas of Laos and Myanmar. After spending two weeks, they returned to Bangkok and flew to the third stop, Kolkata.
　　In India, they traveled from Kolkata to Agra, Jaipur, Delhi, Amritsar, Gorakhpur, and the India-Pakistan border, which took one week. Then they took a bus from India to Nepal, visited the sacred garden, and took a bus back to Lhasa, China from Nepal.
　　From November 25 to December 27 of last year, the entire trip took 32 days.
　　Money-saving strategy
　　The boss’s quote? He talked them down by half
　　Visiting 8 countries naturally required careful budgeting. Mr. Huang believed that transportation costs made up the largest portion, so saving money had to start with transportation. He said that the only flight they took was from Bangkok, Thailand to Kolkata, India; everything else was done by train or bus.
　　Vietnam was Mr. Huang’s first stop. He and his mother took a train from Chongqing to Nanning, then a train from Nanning to Hanoi. In Vietnam, they also visited Hue and Ho Chi Minh City, all by bus. Then they traveled from Vietnam to Cambodia, visiting the cities of Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, and took a bus to Bangkok. On the day Mr. Huang visited the Grand Palace in Bangkok, it happened to be the birthday of the King of Thailand, and the Grand Palace invited all visitors to lunch, with staff handing out boxed meals and drinks to each visitor.
　　After that, Mr. Huang visited Hua Hin and Chiang Rai, and took a boat trip around the Golden Triangle from Chiang Rai, passing through Laos and Myanmar. Then they returned to Bangkok and flew from there to India.
　　Regarding accommodation, Mr. Huang said their daily lodging cost was around $6 to $10. They would always look for a hotel after arriving in a city, as they could bargain in person. Mr. Huang had a trick: he would cut the owner’s asking price in half, and it almost always worked.
　　In addition, they tried to buy bus or train tickets for nighttime travel, which saved on accommodation costs and didn’t interfere with daytime sightseeing—saving both time and money.
　　Since his mother brought an electric cooker, Mr. Huang mostly bought noodles and cereal from local supermarkets to cook himself. In addition, some local specialty dishes were also very cheap. In Nepal, they found a restaurant called “New Chongqing Flavor,” where their meal cost only 13 RMB.
　　Mr. Huang also mentioned that apart from Angkor Wat and the Taj Mahal, which charge admission fees, all other attractions were free.
　　We did the conversion: India’s Taj Mahal charges 750 rupees for foreigners, which isn’t actually expensive—it’s only about 85 RMB. Meanwhile, entrance fees to China’s famous attractions during Golden Week are jaw-dropping. Last year during the “National Day” Golden Week, ticket prices at various renowned sites were raised. For example, Huangshan Scenic Area increased its ticket price from 200 RMB to 230 RMB; Jiuzhaigou’s off-season ticket is 80 RMB, the environmentally friendly bus fare is 80 RMB, insurance is 10 RMB, totaling 170 RMB; during peak season, the ticket is 220 RMB, the bus is 90 RMB, and insurance is 10 RMB, adding up to 320 RMB.
　　Mr. Huang wrote in “V缤尽奔/STRONG>
　　The train had no attendants and no announcements for stops.
　　In India, Mr. Huang and his mother experienced several “V缤尽笔录?Ｋ?谴拥吕镒?鸪等グ⒛防?颍?鸪低淼懔顺个半小时, due to the fact that Indian trains have no attendants and never make stop announcements, Mr. Huang could only determine whether they had arrived based on the time and the signs on the platform. Due to delays, he misjudged the time and missed his stop. They quickly got off at a small station called “BATALA,” where a kind stationmaster helped them buy return tickets.
　　Mr. Huang said that during this period, India was experiencing many demonstrations due to the influence of the “black bus incident.” While visiting India’s Presidential Palace, they encountered one and almost got trapped in the crowd. As soon as he and his mother stepped out of the main gate of the Presidential Palace, they saw a protest march surging toward them from across the street. A police officer, fearing for their safety, stopped them and only let them leave after the procession had passed.
　　After visiting attractions such as the Taj Mahal, St. Paul’s Cathedral, India Gate, and the India-Pakistan border, they traveled to Nepal, visited the sacred garden where Siddhartha Gautama was born, and finally took a bus from Nepal to Lhasa, concluding their 32-day journey.