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Thailand and Southeast Asia is AMAZING. The first thing you need to do when you get to Bangkok is to look up Khao San Road. This is the Mekka for backpackers. All backpackers who are in that area start there. And backpackers are the nicest people in the world. Everyone wants to make friends. Be friendly, introduce yourself and have fun.

Now I don't know how your travel plans are. But given the short amount of time that you have, you can either go south or north. Unfortunately for you, you chose a poor time to travel to that area. You are going in the middle of the rain period. I've never traveled during this time but I can imagine it getting wet. I would go north because it's probably dryer in that area. It's still very hot. It just rains a lot.

I would check out Ayutthaya and Sukhotai. But the important thing is to get to Chiang Mai. Big city, loads to do. Once there sniff around in Pai and Chiang Rai.

The important thing is to ask around. Ask the people in the hostels what they are doing. What's their game plan.

Now how much money do you need? I was in that area for almost 6 months backpacking. On the days that were loaded with activities I spend between 150-200 dollars. And that is A LOT. Now I'm talking about a lot of activities. Diving, partying, buying stuff. Some days I didn't do anything and I could spend as little as 10--20 dollars. That's just for a bed and some food. But on average I would go for about 70 dollars.

Now I can imagine Australia being far more expensive. Never been there. Can't tell you much about it. Again you're traveling during their winter so if I were you I would try and get as far north as possible.

You will love Thailand . I have been twice and would go back again when ever possible. I guess you will have travel insurance. bus transport is not always the best way to go. Tut tuts are fun but you will probably not be covered by insurance if you use them also I wouldn't hire a motor bike or scooter as the roads can be kaos and some people have been stung with hiring rthem and insurance.

Thailand is cheap you can get good meals for little money. I guess you will fly into Bangkok. To stay near the river is good although last time I was there I used the train to get around . Have a look for cheap flights to Phuket. There are a few airlines that go there. One is bangkok air and possibly air asia .I have stayed there and loved it. I hired a taxi for the day very cheap and our driver took us where ever we wanted and saw all the main tourist areas and more .He stopped while we had lunch and we bought him lunch as well. He was very interesting and gave us a lot of knowledge of the area. If I remember right the day cost us less than $50 australian between two of us. We also took a day trip to Phi Phi island which was amazing and a must do. We got the trip for quarter of the price that the hotel was offering as we bought it from a travel shop down town and bargained with them. I guess you are going to Sydney If you want to go to other places such as The Gold Coast look at jetstar.com.au they put out specials 4 pm fridays australian standard time. Or look at virgin or tiger airways. In sydney you can get an all day ticket that will take you on ferries ,River Cat, buses and trains. Take a credit or debit card with you. You can use eftpos machines for more cash . Never keep all your money in the same place. I could write a lot more about australiaa but the Country is huge and I don'y know how long you are staying or where you want to travel to. Australia is expensive with the dollar being high but if you are careful you can live cheaper. Shop in the major supermarkets for food.

I would like to add a general travel tip that saved my last trip to Rome from total disaster. I lost my passport during the day but had no idea it was missing. Fortunately, I had an Okoban tracer tag on it. A waiter where I ate lunch found it and entered my tracker number on their website and I was sent a text message (and an email) before I ever even knew my passport was missing. Lucky for me because I was leaving in the morning for Germany and getting a new passport would have been impossible. I found these tags at www.mystufflostandfound.com. It saved my trip and I now have tags on almost everything that goes with me on a trip.

Most backpackers head up toward Chiang Mai or go down to the beach areas, depending upon what you might like.

Hotels can be cheap as well as food. Bring an ATM card, but check withdrawal fees w/your bank first and also notify them that you iwll be using it here.