Basics - The Rough Guide to Southeast Asia on a Budget - page 40

Brahma is the Creator, represented by the colour
red and often depicted riding on a bull. As the
Preserver, Vishnu is associated with life-giving
waters; he rides the garuda (half-man, half-bird) and
is honoured by the colour black. Vishnu also has
several avatars, including Buddha - a neat way of
incorporating Buddhist elements into the Hindu
faith - and Rama, hero of the Ramayana story.
Shiva , the Destroyer or, more accurately, the
Dissolver, is associated with death and rebirth, and
with the colour white. He is sometimes represented
as a phallic pillar or lingam. He is the father of
the elephant-headed deity Ganesh , generally
worshipped as the remover of obstacles.

Travellers soon get so used to the low cost of
living in Southeast Asia that they start bargaining
at every available opportunity, much as local
people do. Most buyers start their counterbid at
about 25 percent of the vendor's opening price,
and the bartering continues from there. But never
forget that the few pennies you're making such a
fuss over will go a lot further in a local person's
hands than in your own.
Price tiering exists in parts of Southeast Asia,
with foreigners paying more than locals for public
transport, hotels and entry fees to museums and
historical sites. Remember that prices vary within
individual countries, especially when you enter
more remote areas. Very few student discounts are
offered on entry prices.
Tipping isn't a Southeast Asian custom, although
some smarter restaurants expect a gratuity, and most
expensive hotels/guesthouses add service taxes.

Animism
Animism is the belief that all living things -
including plants and trees - and some non-living
natural features, such as rocks and waterfalls, have
spirits . It is practised right across Southeast Asia,
by everyone from the Dayaks of Sarawak and the
hill tribes of Laos to the city dwellers of Bangkok
and Singapore, though rituals and beliefs vary
significantly. As with Hinduism, the animistic faiths
teach that it is necessary to live in harmony with
the spirits; disturb this harmonious balance, by
upsetting a spirit for example, and you risk bringing
misfortune upon yourself, your household or your
village. For this reason, animists consult, or at least
consider, the spirits before almost everything they
do, and you'll often see small offerings of flowers
or food left by a tree or river to appease the spirits
that live within.

Crime and personal safety

Travelling in Southeast Asia is generally safe and
unthreatening, though, as in any unfamiliar environ-
ment, you should keep your wits about you. The
most common hazard is opportunistic theft, which
can easily be avoided with a few sensible precau-
tions. Occasionally, political trouble flares in the
region, so before you travel you may want to check
the o cial government advice on international
trouble spots (see box, p.44). Most experienced
travellers find this o cial advice less helpful than
that offered by other travellers - online travellers'
forums are useful (see p.48). In some countries,
there are specific year-round dangers such as
kidnapping (southern Philippines), and unexploded
ordnance (Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam); details of
these and how to avoid them are described in the
introduction to the relevant country.

Travel essentials
Costs

General precautions
As a tourist, you are an obvious target for opportu-
nistic thieves (who may include your fellow
travellers), so don't flash expensive cameras or
watches around. Carry travellers' cheques, cash and
important documents (airline tickets, credit cards
and passport) under your clothing in a money belt .
It's a good idea to keep $100 cash, photocopies of
the relevant pages of your passport, insurance
details and travellers' cheque receipts separate from
the rest of your valuables.
Ensure that luggage is lockable and keep
important documents on your person rather than
in outer pockets. A padlock and chain, or a cable

Your daily budget in Southeast Asia depends both
on where you're travelling and on how comfortable
you want to be. You can survive on £13/$20 a day in
most parts of Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia,
Thailand and Vietnam, around £14/$22 a day in the
Philippines, £15/$25 a day in Myanmar, £25/$35 in
Hong Kong, and on £18/$40 in Singapore, but for
this money you'll be sleeping in very basic accom-
modation, eating at simple food stalls, and travel-
ling on local non-a/c buses.
In some countries, prices for tourist accommo-
dation and foreigners' restaurants are quoted in
US dollars , though the local equivalent is always
acceptable.