It’s not the cheapest of trips (specially if you see the version where my personal shopping was included), but relative to how much I spent on previous trips, this is pretty good for a 2-week jaunt across three countries. The tickets I hoarded last year played a big part in keeping the budget low. For a total of Php 5,275.85, I was able to fly to Saigon from Manila, Saigon to Da Nang, Hanoi to Bangkok, Bangkok to Krabi, Krabi to Kuala Lumpur and Kuala Lumpur to Manila.

Vietnam was pretty cheap. Dining at the restaurants can set you back around Php 300, while dining in the streets or markets can go as low as Php 40. Accommodation is also relatively inexpensive. My rooms range from $15 to $18, all with air conditioning and a fan, with ensuite toilet & bath, cable TV, a closet and even a small fridge. While the xe om is the most popular way to getting around town, I prefer to hop on a cab. The taxis in Vietnam are well kept with good air conditioning. Meter starts at VND 9,000 for the small cars, VND 10,000 for the sedans and VND 12,000 for the vans (depends on the company). Be careful about the taxis though; there are rogue taxis that use a very fast meter! They use the same name as the big cab companies, only changing one letter and using almost identical hotline numbers.

Krabi, on the otherhand, is pretty expensive (as expected). However, in the midst of the Thai and Italian restaurants, there are small street stalls selling noodles and rice. I stayed in Ao Nang beach, and it’s small enough to walk around. You can take the tuktuk around town, but to go beyond, you’d either have to ride the government songtheow (with routes to Krabi and other places) or hire a taxi (taxis in Krabi are Toyota Fortuner. Sosyal!)

Bangkok and Kuala lumpur are only in the itinerary for transit and shopping.
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I did the unthinkable and went out of town on a long weekend. I normally don’t plan anything on long holidays as the Philippine non-working holidays don’t apply to my work. However, it applies to my friend and I was going crazy being cooped in the house for more than 2 weeks, so I threw caution to the wind and planned a weekend trip to Baguio.

Hailed as the Summer Capital of the Philippines, Baguio City is a cool respite from the sweltering heat of Metro Manila. Perched at 1,500 meters above sea level in the Cordilleras, Baguio enjoys temperature that’s 8°C lower than Manila’s. It’s perfect for a weekend getaway, since it’s just 5 hours away if you drive really fast. The city is also pretty small, so you can see most of its attractions in one day. Many also go to Baguio for the ukay-ukay shopping (thrift store or second hand clothing) as well as for the fresh fruits and vegetables.

This trip pretty much confirmed that I am not suited to be a hardcore backpacker. I do try to keep things cheap, but I also love indulging myself. The bulk of my expenses went into food and souvenirs. If I held off in the shopping, went to more budget friendly eateries and rode the jeep instead of taxis, the total cost would probably be around Php 2,000.
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I’ve been coming across blogs about Calaguas Island, but truth be told, as much as I am interested to go there, I couldn’t be bothered to plan going there because it seemed so hard. I prefer going to destinations where you just hop on a plane, ride a trike, taxi or van and you’re at the town already. As the saying go, nothing worth having comes easy. All that effort to go to the Calaguas is certainly worth it.

Calaguas’ pristine white beach

What finally got me to go there was when one of the bloggers I follow announced that Calaguas is one of her destinations this year. One comment and a seat sale later, I am booked for a flight to Naga. Naga is the closest airport served by most domestic airlines. The closest is Daet, which is served by Seair, though only seasonal. From Naga, you have to ride a van to Daet, then transfer to another van to Paracale. In Paracale, you have to find a willing boatman (and an available boat) to take you out to Calaguas, and buy supplies for your stay there, since there are no stores, no electricity and no water.

Save for the boat rental, the airfare and the van rides, this is a fairly inexpensive trip. It can be made cheaper if you take the bus instead of the plane, and just stay overnight. I think the bus schedule works well for a quick weekend getaway to a gorgeous deserted beach.
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I’m back in Manila and I’m sorely missing the beach in El Nido. I’ve prepared a series of blog posts about this trip, and I hope you guys find it useful for planning your own El Nido vacation. First up is of course, the travel budget.

The perception of many is that El Nido is a very expensive place to travel to. It actually is, considering that direct flights to El Nido from Manila can cost as much as Php 13,000 per person. The cheaper alternative is to go via Puerto Princessa, but you’d have to deal with rough roads and cramped spaces inside vans or buses (or if you’re hardcore, saddled on an off-road motorcycle). The best place to stay for budget travelers is El Nido Town. There are several resorts and lodges that offer cheap accommodation to fit every budget. The same go for restaurants and shops.

El Nido’s main attraction, of course, are the spectacular limestone formations and sparkling white sand beaches of the islands in the Bacuit Archipelago. To visit these islands, you can either hire your own boat or go with a group tour. The group tour aren’t so bad, and they’re usually limited to about 8 to 10 passengers. If you’re a fairly large group (5 and up), you can try sweet talking the tour operator to let your group have the entire boat to yourselves. Tour of the islands usually start at Php 500 per person and already includes lunch.

This is certainly not my cheapest domestic trip, but considering that it’s a 5 day, 4 nights trip in one of the most amazing places in the Philippines, it’s worth every peso.
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I honestly wasn’t looking forward to tallying up my expenses for my last trip, yet at the same time, I was eager to see just how much damage I did. And if I really spent enough to buy the 50mm f1.4 lens I wanted. I didn’t, but a couple more thousands and I could’ve bought the 35mm f1.8. I’m just consoling myself that at least I’ve finished my Christmas shopping in one go and bought some things I really wanted for myself.

Also, I realized how relatively cheap Malacca is for a daytrip from Singapore. The drive from the island to the heritage town is more than double the time it takes to drive down from Kuala Lumpur to Malacca, but it’s a better alternative to Johor Bahru, where most Filipinos go for a visa run. For about Php 2,000, you can do this day trip from Singapore. That already include the bus (public bus from Singapore to Johor Bahru, domestic bus from Larkin Terminal to Malacca), admission fees, meals and transport within Malacca. Melaka is compact enough that you can just walk to see the main attractions. I’m definitely heading back there when I go to Singapore.

Oh, I’ve omitted my personal shopping expenses from this travel budget. It’s certainly not for public consumption.
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You know I’m out of topics to blog about when I start posting my travel budget. This one is from my one-week trip to Thailand and Malaysia at the beginning of the month. The main purpose of the trip was for the tennis, but we ended up dollie shopping in Bangkok instead. I extended my trip to include a week in Penang, just because.

This trip is expensive, compared to my month-long trip back in June spanning five countries. However, it still came out cheaper than the budget I drew up when I was still planning for the trip. And this is the moment when I admit that I really cannot be a hardcore backpacker (that sounds sooo wrong). Haggling will never be my forte, and I will splurge whenever I can. And I will never stop buying doll clothes and books.

Shopping aside, the biggest expense in this trip was my 4-day stay at the Sunway Hotel in Georgetown. I needed to work during those four days, so I splurged on a hotel to ensure that I have a stable Internet connection. Ironically, the Internet at the guesthouse where I transfered to was much better. Hmp.
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I’ve been putting off posting this because it’s just too darned embarassing. For a trip that has a lot of free stuff, it has been one expensive weekend.

Then again, if you have a penchant for eating out at fancy restaurants, you’d have to pay the price in the end. That and a terrible addiction to the Internet. Bah.

So here you go, an idea of how much you’d spend in Boracay if you’re careless with your money
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A year ago, Robert Alejandro and Jetro Rafael shared their experience of traveling through Southeast Asia on a shoestring budget: 9 countries (including China, Macau and Hong Kong), 3 months, for only Php 50,000. I was amazed at this figure they presented, because I was able to easy spend roughly the same amount in just one country for 14 days back in 2006. Right at that moment, I decided to give Southeast Asia another go, and really try to stick within my budget this time.

Though my trip was only through five countries for one month, I aimed for the same amount, knowing that I do have a habit of overspending. Well, as I finished adding up the travel expenses from my June backpacking trip through Southeast Asia, I realize that traveling on a shoestring is not for me. Well, I still travel on a budget, but I do believe in indulging once in a while.

So how much did I spend for one month in Southeast Asia?
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