Let me share the complete economics of budget travel in Southeast Asia over a 90-day trip, aggregated from my own records.

Flights (NYC → Bangkok → NYC, open jaw through KL): $720 on Korean Air using Scott's Cheap Flights alert.

Countries covered and days: Thailand 25 days, Vietnam 28 days, Cambodia 14 days, Laos 10 days, Malaysia 8 days, travel days 5 days.

Accommodation total: $480. Average $5.33/night. This includes 45 hostel dorm nights ($5-9/night), 22 private guesthouse nights ($8-15/night), 3 splurge nights ($25-35/night including one in Luang Prabang that had a pool and I don't regret it), and 2 nights on overnight buses (counted as $0 since the bus fare covered them).

Food total: $810. Average $9/day. I ate street food for approximately 70% of meals, local restaurants for 25%, and the occasional tourist restaurant or nice dinner for 5%.

Transport within Southeast Asia: $380. This includes 6 budget airline flights averaging $35 each ($210), bus/sleeper bus journeys totaling $80, local taxis/tuk-tuks/motorbike taxis $60, boat transport $30.

Activities: $290. Angkor Wat pass ($62), Halong Bay budget cruise ($60), various cooking classes and temple entrance fees.

SIM cards and communications: $45 total across 4 countries.

Miscellaneous (laundry, pharmacy, the occasional lost item): $95.

Total for 90 days: $2,820. Daily average: $31.33 including the flights, $23.44 excluding flights.

Note: this was 2023 data. Costs have increased 15-20% in some categories since then.