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.

Download:
Vietnam 2010.xls (24k)
Vietnam 2010.pdf (92k)

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.

Download: Baguio.xls (10k)

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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.

Download:
Calaguas.xls (10kb)
Calaguas.pdf (48kb)

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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.

Download:
El Nido.xls (10k)
El Nido.pdf (62k)

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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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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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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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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?

Download:
SEA 2009.xls (89k) – Spreadsheet includes the detailed travel budget for each city/country

I am consoling the fact that compared to how much I spent in 2006 (including the shopping, which wasn’t included in the budget that I posted online), this was actually pretty decent. It’s not cheap; I’m sure many are able to do this same trip for half the cost, but hey, that’s them and this is me. And this time, my budget includes my shopping (well, not the doll shopping part 2 in Bangkok and the things I bought in Singapore). This is actually below my estimated sum, actually. So I guess I still did pretty well?

At the end of the day, it’s the trip that matters, not the costs (many would argue with this statement, I know). Do I regret spending this much? Hell no.

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Malaysia 2009
June 19 – 25, 2009
	Exchange Rate:	MYR 1 = PhP13.60
	In MYR	In PhP
Land Transfer
International Express Train
Bangkok to Butterworth	MYR 150.23	PHP 2,043.14	1
Mutiara Bus
Penang to Jerteh	MYR 45.60	PHP 620.16
Mahligai Bus
Kuala Besut to Kuala Lumpur	MYR 40.00	PHP 544.00
Accommodation
Tune Hotel Penang
Standard room, a/c, Wi-fi	MYR 176.44	PHP 2,487.21	2
Yaudinn Guest House
Single room, shared bathroom	MYR 20.00	PHP 272.00
Watercolours Paradise Resort
Single room, ensuite bathroom	MYR 60.00	PHP 816.00
Matahari Lodge
Single room, shared bathroom	MYR 37.00	PHP 503.20
Transportation
Taxi	MYR 90.00	PHP 1,224.00	3
LRT	MYR 12.00	PHP 163.20
Ferry to and from Perhentian Besar	MYR 70.00	PHP 952.00
Food
Meals, snacks and drinks	MYR 226.75	PHP 3,083.80	4
Miscellaneous
Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion Tour	MYR 12.00	PHP 163.20	5
Fort Cornwallis	MYR 6.00	PHP 81.60
Perhentian Marine Park Fee	MYR 5.00	PHP 68.00
Parking fees	MYR 3.00	PHP 40.80
Toilet	MYR 0.50	PHP 6.80
Laundry	MYR 8.00	PHP 108.80
Printing	MYR 9.00	PHP 122.40
Total	MYR 971.52	PHP 13,300.31
1 The price for the tickets was actually THB 1,460, including the travel agent’s THB 250 fee. I just converted from the amount reflected in my credit card statement
2 Pretty expensive because I booked in the last minute. Still, this was a pretty good splurge. You’d have to pay extra for the air conditioning and wi-fi access.
3 I only took the taxi FOUR times the entire time I was in Malaysia
4 Food in Perhentian Besar and Kuala Besut is expensive! It’s pretty cheap anywhere else though.
5 It’s a really nice tour, and for MYR12, it’s a steal.

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For five days and four nights in a major city, this is a pretty cheap trip.

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First up is my travel expenses in Vientiane, Laos. I planned on staying in the capital for four days, but I left for Bangkok early, taking the bus instead of the train. Vientiane can be easily done in one day, two days if you plan on going to places in the outskirts of town.

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Still, it was a weekend well spent. I spent Friday night going to where the locals go, thanks to Ming, and Sunday, I discovered where to buy dollie clothes and accessories in Bangkok’s Chinatown. Damnit, it’s hard not to shop in Bangkok!

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I managed to keep my expenses lower than my estimate, but it’s still quite high, in my opinion. But in the end it’s a pretty good investment, as the Angkor Wat is really worth the visit.

All the costs listed in here are those that I inccured within Cambodian borders, including the plane fare.

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Still, it was great to discover and explore a new city. This is my second trip to Mindanao, and I’m hoping it wouldn’t be the last. I’ve yet to explore Bukidnon and try white water rafting in CDO.

Cagayan de Oro and Bukidnon are fairly inexpensive cities. Getting around is no problem, as there are plenty of cheap transportation options available (except at the airport, where cabbies will charge a flat rate to get to the city). There’s the motorela, their version of the tricycle/tuk-tuk; the multicabs and jeepneys; airconditioned and non-airconditioned buses for inter-city travel, and; airconditioned taxis. The food is likewise affordable, as is accommodations in the city center.

Download:
Cagayan de Oro 2009.xls (79kb)
Cagayan de Oro 2009.pdf (70kb)

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