My friend from Canada is traveling around Asia, specifically Thailand, Vietnam, China, possibly Korea and Japan. I asked him how he does it on a shoestring budget?
He told me that he will camp outside of cities with his tent, but in cities he will use the website:
WarmShowers is similar to "Couch Surfing" which is a website where people host travelers and you can also host people coming through your city. Warmshowers takes this to the next level, where it is for people cycling from place to place, or in Ilya's case, through Asia and around the World!!!
Here he is in Hanoi, after having a great Vegan buffet meal here at a Buddhist restaurant.
Enjoy!!!