Here's how it came about:  the last trip to Canada and the US was successful on many fronts but cost a fortune.  When my wife and I decided we were going ahead with this, the plane tickets alone were the killer.  The pandemic was not quite over in China, so this meant very limited supply.  There were still covid test requirements and quarantines at the time of booking.  Despite all that, the trip was too important that it couldn't be put off any longer.

Back then I hadn't learned how to budget yet and we all got hosed big time.  Once back in Shanghai, the reality of the trip hit hard.  The good news is that really motivated me to start the budgeting journey.  I finally applied the advice that friends had been telling me for years.  

One thing led to another, and I searched for budgeting apps.  There were quite a few available online, each with their pros and cons.  The winner seemed to be 'Every Dollar' by Ramsey Solutions.  I got familiar with that app and his resources and then got rolling. 

I was blown away by what was going to happen next.  The budgeting was not restrictive in the least, it was actually freedom and creativity.  It revealed a big picture where of all my money was coming and going.  Once I got a handle on it, things didn't take long at all to start making changes.  I actually began planning for future expenses, including this upcoming summer trip.  On top of that, I built a fully funded emergency fund to cover 6 months of repatration expenses if that ever happened.  

Originally this trip was going to kick off in Hawaii.  That is now off the table once the budget kicked in.  It's pretty simple actually:  there is no available cash for the expensive plane tickets and credit cards are no longer an option.  

So I made peace with that and got on with life.  As I was then pacing around the apartment, I saw a vast amount of coins that had accumulated.  In the spirit of getting rid of clutter I began to sort them out and think of a way to spend them.   The vast majority of coins were Thai baht.  I also found Chinese RMB, Malaysian ringgit, Singapore dollars, and various small paper notes of Laos Kip and Cambodian Reals.   All of a sudden it hit me:  these coins could all be spent on a bike trip through various SE Asian countries.  Not only that, it would be cheap as chips and far better value.

That was it!  Many problems would be solved at once:  decluttering, spending coins, having a blast, saving money, and working on my minimalism philosophy.  Even better it would all be done during the rainy season or low season with fantastic deals and fewer tourists.  At that point, I began to appreciate again the expat life I am fortunate enough to live and the ability to travel within the SE Asia region at budget rates while collecting a salary at the same time.

I got the ball rolling on this by spending what could be spent right away:  the RMB coins.  What amazed me was there was enough value in those alone to get a coffee, water, and snacks every day for the course of two months.  

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Coin clutter accomulates in exactly the same way as other clutter.  We don't know what to do with all that "loose change" in the moment which adds up fast over time.  One of the few good things that came out of covid was digital payment.  It is now part of my budgeting tool.  However, these old coins from various countries would need to be spent and never accumulated again.  The trip would aim to accomplish this.

As a rough draft this is what it will look like:

Country #1:  China.  The pandemic showed that there are still decent bike tours to be found in China if you put in the effort.  So it's a great starting point.  Depending on how much time I have at the beginning, there may be a warm up tour around Guangzhou or Shenzhen

Country #1A / #1B:  Hong Kong and Macau.  This is going to be the locus of the pre-trip where a lot of groundbreaking stuff is likely to happen.

Country #2:   Laos.  I managed to find a great deal on a flight from Guangzhou to Vientiane and can spend all the Lao kip there.  The vague plan is to bike from Vientiane to Vang Vieng and the Kasi hotsprings, then veer south towards the Thai border near Dan Sai.

Country #3:  Thailand.  This will probably be the highlight as Thailand has been my favorite country for years.   I also own a condo in Pattaya which has been nothing but a headache since I bought it.  More on this as the trip goes on.  The attempt will be to sell it.

Country #4:  Cambodia.  Most likely I'll bike from Pattaya to the border then to Siem Reap.

After this point I'm not really sure.  Malaysia and Singapore might happen as I have coins I want to spend there but it's a long bike ride south and it's doubtful I'll get that far.  But who knows.