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Long-term travel is a dream we’ve had for years, but were only able to make happen this year. One of our biggest concerns was how we were going to afford long-term travel without an income. We had to get creative when it came to stretching our budget and making each dollar last longer. That’s why we were so happy to find a Workaway in Asia, an easy way to afford long-term travel!

We’ve been away from home for over nine months now, and are still hoping to be gone for the next five to six months. To keep the dream alive, we’ve had to come up with ways to make our money last us a little longer. We have discovered a multitude of ways to do this along our travels, from Couchsurfing, to pet sitting, to camper van relocations.

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How we found out about doing a workaway in Asia

So when we meet other travelers like ourselves, we are keen to talk about how we all manage to afford long-term travel. When we went for dinner in Singapore with Charlie and Lauren (better known on Instagram to their 120k+ followers as @wanderersandwarriors) during an Instagram meet-up, it’s no wonder that this topic was broached.

This is when we were introduced to the concept that is Workaway. It was described to us by Charlie and Lauren as a way for them to stay in Sri Lanka for roughly a month with free food and accommodations in exchange for working five hours a day, five days a week, at the hostel they stayed in.

Whether it was checking in guests, helping to prepare breakfast in the morning, or giving people recommendations on where to go and what to see, for a mere 25 hours a week, most of their living expenses were covered. We made a mental note of Workaway and kept the trip going. 

Why we chose to do a workaway in Asia

One day in late April, while we were in Thailand, we were looking at our bank account, and thought to ourselves, that it may be time to put our money-saving knowledge to use! After all, part of how to afford long-term travel is getting creative with the money you have!

We had also been moving around quite a lot in those last months, and were looking to stay put for a little bit. Knowing that we were planing on visiting the Philippines in early June, we figured we should make our journey that way. So we decided to check out the site and see what we could find in Malaysia.

What did we want out of this? Well, obviously we wanted to save some money to afford long-term traveling, so having our accommodations taken care for was our #1 priority. Even though living expenses in Asia are cheap, the bills do add up at the end of the day, and nothing is better than free!

We wanted to be by a beach, for sure. But, I mean, who doesn’t want that? If we were going to take time away from traveling to work, why not make sure it was in a beautiful setting!

And lastly, we wanted to do work in hospitality. We figured that since we love meeting new people and hearing their stories, this would be a great fit for us. Also, we have a dream of getting into the hospitality business ourselves, so this was a natural fit for us.

This is where Odin, Nurul and Langkawi came into our lives.

How we found our first Workaway in Asia

It’s weird how some things come together naturally. When we tried petsitting for the first time, it was our first request that came to fruition. Well, just like that, it was the same with our Workaway in Asia. After reading Odin and Nurul’s listing, and checking out Langkawi, we sent them our information, and they got back to us right away.

A little Whatsapp conversation later, and that was it! We were on our way to Langkawi to work for 3 weeks! We also later found out that it was their first Workaway experience too.

Odin and Nurul were a soon-to-be-married couple who are a tad younger than we are. Their story is actually quite similar to ours. Nurul has roots in Malaysia, but like Odin, grew up in Sweden. In their 20’s, they decided to move to Singapore for work.

Before you knew it though, they decided to make a change. Tired of corporate work, the proverbial 9-to-5, they wanted something else (ya, that sounds familiar). Having her roots, and family in Langkawi, they made the decision to move “back home”, so to speak.

They decided to open an Airbnb. Odin actually stayed in Singapore for a little bit, while Nurul set things up in Langkawi, just in case their dream of island living didn’t go as expected.

Well, hard work and dedication paid off, because it wasn’t long before Odin was headed to Langkawi as well.  One year later, they now boast nine units, seven of which are for rent on Airbnb, and two to house Workawayers like us. No small feat for such a short timeframe!

Now back to us. We arrived in Langkawi pretty late, around 10 pm, and Odin and Nurul came to pick us up at the airport. They showed us the unit we would be staying in and told us they would come by the next day to go over our responsibilities.

What we did during our workaway in Asia

The next day, they filled us in. Our main duties would consist of:

• Checking in and out guests in their 3 units (as 4 of them were not ready to be rented just yet)
• Bringing the linens and towels to the cleaners after guests checked out, and picking them up the next day
• Helping them put the final touches on the 4 new places, including some handy work and gardening
• Being the main point of contact for guests in case they had any questions or needed anything
• Showing the guests around, in case they booked any activities
• Gardening and maintaining the three existing units
• Insuring that cleaning supplies and required inventory were stocked at all times

Seeing as though we had to run around doing errands most days, they provided us with a scooter to get around. Derek had driven a scooter twice before, and quickly fell in love with getting around on two motorized wheels!

We spent the first two weeks taking care of guests and putting the finishing touches on Rama Rama. That was the toughest part, physically. It was so hot the whole time (easily 35 degrees Celsius), and the work was either outside gardening, or inside drilling into ceramic and concrete, without AC!

If you do a workaway in Asia, just know that outdoor work is made tougher by the heat and humidity. All outdoors work should be done super early i the morning, or later in the afternoon, when the sun is not at its strongest!

The perks of doing a workaway in Asia

Even though we were working most of the time, we still managed to do a ton of island exploring (take a look at our blog on what to do in Langkawi), and hanging out at one of the many great beaches on the island. We discovered great food at the local night markets, experienced controversial Malaysian elections and lived through Ramadan for the first time.

The work was different for sure, considering we haven’t really worked since we left in September (though Carine has done some freelance marketing work). It was a balance of getting our tasks done, staying on top of things, doing our own thing; including still getting great pics for our Instagram, keeping up on the blogging, and enjoying life. We are on one long vacation after all!

Do we even have to mention that having a month off of paying accommodations was a great way to afford long-term travel?! Yes, traveling in Asia is not cheap, but considering the unit we stayed in would usually rent for $30 USD a night, it was a welcome treat to not have to pay it!

There were some frustrations that came along with our Workaway. Most of which was attributable to two things: communication and expectations.

The issues we encountered during our workaway in Asia

Communication was an issue at times. Often things would change last minute, like we would be heading out to do some exploring after asking for permission, and then halfway there, we would be told that we had to return back to the units because a delivery was being made in five minutes…  This has a bit to do with the way islanders live as well, where nothing is done when expected.

As for expectations, it was little things. When you think you’re committing to working five hours a day, we thought that would be five straight hours, then we would have the rest of the day to do what we want. And when you think we work five days a week, we thought it would be two days off in a row. And lastly are these days off… we did have a few days where we didn’t have anything to do, but most of our days off still consisted of taking care of a check-in, or a check-out, or dropping off / picking up laundry.

These small things didn’t take up much time on our days off, but they did sometimes make it harder for us to plan doing what we wanted to do.

Don’t get us wrong, we enjoyed our workaway in Asia! We even extended it to a full month. We got along well with Odin and Nurul, and even hung out with them for supper and games on certain nights. We will likely be doing some more workaways once we get to Europe and cost of living rises dramatically. But sometimes, those little things can be irritating.

For sure, the fact that it was both of our first times doing this contributed to some of these little issues, but it was still a great experience. We learned a lot on how to run Airbnb units, how things work in Langkawi, we got to make some new friends, got into our little life routine, and best of all, we got to cook homemade meals.

So I guess the thing to take away from our experience for the future is to clarify things from the get-go.

We loved our time in Langkawi and doing a workaway was a big part of why we loved it. It let us get a glimpse into the hospitality world, one we may one day also like to get into. It also let us stay put like we hadn’t done since leaving our home. We will fondly remember our time with Odin and Nurul, and always appreciate the opportunity they gave us.

Tips for a successful Workaway experience to afford long-term travel

Here are a few tips to know to find a great workaway in Asia for you. This will also help you have a successful time with your workawayhosts.

1. Know your strengths and your weaknesses as a workaway worker

This is the most important thing when looking for a workaway in Asia, or anywhere, really!

Know what you like and don’t, and know where you excel. If you aren’t a people-person, maybe don’t apply to work in a hostel. If you love to cook, try to find something that will let you use this passion. You’re working, so why not make it as enjoyable as you can, especially since you’re not getting paid.

2. Read your potential workaway hosts’ reviews

You do this when looking for a restaurant, so why not do it to find out who your new “boss” is going to be. Check out what others are saying about the hosts, what the tasks they did were and how they liked their experience.

After all, the list of tasks and responsibilities are chosen from a predetermined list, so sometimes it doesn’t accurately depict what you will be doing from day to day. The reviews are a much better way to see what the experience will likely be.

3. Just be yourself

When writing to hosts or filling out your profile, just be yourself. Don’t try to make yourself into someone you’re not, with skills you don’t have. Lying about having a certain skill could land you a workaway that you really want (based on timing or where it is), but in the end you will be the one who will probably regret this.

4. Don’t dismiss the value you bring

You will probably feel like the accommodations you’re being freely provided are worth a lot, and they likely are. But never forget that you are freeing up time for the hosts, and time is the most valuable commodity there is! What each party provides has value, but don’t feel as though you are in their debt.

5. Clarify the expectations

As we mentioned earlier, make sure you talk with your hosts to clarify what you’re both expecting from your experience from the get-go. Ask questions, as many as you can think of. Ask them what your schedule is, how the time off works, if the food is provided, what your tasks are, what your limits are. Make sure that you’re both seeing eye-to-eye on the major points.

6. Make compromises and be flexible

This one is pretty simple, you have to be willing to make compromises, and to be flexible. Of course, we’re traveling, and we want to do whatever we want, whenever we want. This is the ultimate freedom after all. But know that you will not be able to do that while on a Workaway in Asia, or anywhere else. Go into the experience knowing this, and you will have a better chance at having a positive time.

Overall, we had a great time in Malaysia and doing our workaway in Asia. We learned a lot from the experience, met some amazing people and enjoyed the best of the working travel life. We would highly recommend this to anyone who want to afford long-term travel. It’s a great way to stay put for a little bit, save some money and chill out.

Let us know if you have any questions in the comments! We’ll be sure to update the blog to help others make the best of their workaway in Asia.

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