Southeast Asia is a popular destination for backpackers, also for those who want to stay longer on the road. Especially Thailand and Bali are hot destinations at the moment. And while Southeast Asia is still a cheap destination for backpackers, not all backpackers have that kind of money on the side to fund a long-term trip through Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and co. This often leads to the question if you can do Work and Travel in South East Asia.
Every now and then I get mails in which my blog readers ask me questions about Work and Travel. But also at the youth fair Hin& Way in Ulm, where I have already twice held a lecture on the subject of work and travel, many questions are asked. Besides the question if you can work and travel in the USA, another popular question is if you can work and travel in Southeast Asia.
To finance a long term trip as a backpacker, nothing is more obvious than to do work and travel. However, it is not possible to finance the trip in any country with Work and Travel, because Germany does not have a Working Holiday agreement with all countries in the world. To be precise, you can actually only do work and travel in a handful of countries on the working holiday visa. Countries in Southeast Asia, such as Thailand or Indonesia do not belong to the countries where you can do classic Work and Travel as a German.
But don't panic, there are still a few possibilities to travel long and extensively through Southeast Asia and to finance this trip on the way.
My tip for Work and Travel in Southeast Asia
My direct answer to the question if you want to do Work and Travel in Southeast Asia, i.e. Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia etc. is to get a Working Holiday Visa. can make, always means no. Nevertheless I have a tip and that is
If you want to do classic work and travel in Southeast Asia, then get the Working Holiday Visa for Hong Kong. Since the Working Holiday Visa allows you to enter and exit the country multiple times, you can work in Hong Kong and then use the money you earn to travel through countries like Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, etc. to travel.
Hong Kong is the work and travel country that is closer than any other to the busy backpacker countries of Southeast Asia. By land, Vietnam is accessible from Hong Kong e.g. only about 700 km away. This corresponds approximately to the distance from Munich to Hamburg. The Philippines is also just a stone's throw away from Hong Kong.
Other options for work and travel in Southeast Asia
There are, of course, a few more creative alternatives for a work and travel trip through Southeast Asia. I have listed a few ideas and suggestions for you here.
Work independent of location
Location independent work is actually the answer to all work and travel questions. With a job that doesn't tie you to a certain place, you can easily travel through Southeast Asia and work on the road. The question is, what exactly are location independent jobs and how do you get them?. You can find the answers in this blogpost about location independent work.
Wwoofing and Workaway
Wwoofing and Workaway I would like to mention here, but only in private. With Wwoofing and Workaway you don't earn any money, but you usually get the accommodation and food provided. As a backpacker, this kind of job is a great option, because you save your travel budget, since you don't have to spend any money. You also get to meet locals, which is an incredible travel experience. Still, wwoofing and workaway counts as work in many countries and a work visa is required. Nevertheless, wwoofing and workaway is very popular among backpackers especially in Southeast Asia.
Southeast Asia as a stopover
As an alternative to Work and Travel in Southeast Asia, you can also simply choose Work and Travel in New Zealand or Australia. On the way there or. on the way back or both you can make a stopover in Southeast Asia. Flights from Germany to New Zealand or Australia include a stopover anyway, mostly in Asia. Therefore, it is a good idea to use this right away as a longer stopover, e.g. to use in Thailand.
Have you ever been to Southeast Asia for a longer period of time and how did you finance your trip?? Do you have more tips for Work and Travel in Southeast Asia?