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.
| Birthday Trip | |||
| November 24 – December 2 | |||
| S$1 = PHP33 | MYR1 = PHP13.48 | ||
| In local currency | In Peso | ||
| Air Transfers | |||
| Philippine Airlines | |||
| Manila – Singapore – Manila | PHP 7,216.00 | PHP 7,216.00 | 1 |
| Terminal Fee (NAIA) | PHP 750.00 | PHP 750.00 | |
| Taxi to and from Airport | PHP 720.00 | PHP 720.00 | |
| Land Transfers | |||
| Singapore to Malacca | SGD 22.00 | PHP 796.91 | 2 |
| Malacca to Singapore | MYR 22.00 | PHP 296.56 | 3 |
| Accommodation | |||
| Twenty Guesthouse | |||
| 2 nights, double room | MYR 200.00 | PHP 2,696.00 | 4 |
| Food Expense | |||
| Singapore | SGD 114.05 | PHP 3,763.65 | 5 |
| Malaysia | MYR 77.44 | PHP 1,043.89 | 6 |
| Transport Expense | |||
| Singapore | SGD 36.00 | PHP 1,188.00 | 7 |
| Malaysia | MYR 30.00 | PHP 404.40 | 8 |
| Miscellaneous | |||
| Travel Insurance | PHP 420.00 | PHP 420.00 | |
| Roaming | PHP 856.75 | PHP 856.75 | |
| Singapore Mobile Credit | SGD 15.00 | PHP 495.00 | |
| Admission Fees | MYR 25.00 | PHP 337.00 | 9 |
| Miscellaneous | SGD 29.80 | PHP 983.40 | 10 |
| Total | PHP 21,967.56 | ||
| 1 This was one of PAL’s promo, which in hindsight, is now their current Econolight. You get the (relatively) cheap fare, no-seat restrictions, full meals, but allowed only 15kl check-in baggage. | |||
| 2 Citi Express bus from the Kovan Hub. Ticket was purchased online, and amount in peso is based on my credit card bill. | |||
| 3 Same bus line, but I bought the ticket at Malacca Sentral. Good thing I did, because it’s more than 50% cheaper than the fare from Singapore. | |||
| 4 The guesthouse is right in the middle of Jonker Street. Pretty pricey, specially considering that it doesn’t have ensuite toilet and bath, but since it’s my birthday I decided to splurge. | |||
| 5 I didn’t eat out as much in Singapore, but the couple of times I was out, I decided to try out some restaurants. Pricey~~~~ | |||
| 6 This could definitely be cheaper, but I just had to do the touristy thing and try out those chicken rice restaurants. | |||
| 7 This includes two taxi rides and a $10 top up on my brother’s EZ-link card. I definitely used more than SG$10 on that card. About $5.00 of the total amount I used on his EZ-link card was the ride on SBS bus 170 from Johor to Sengkang. | |||
| 8 This was just two taxi rides: to and from Melaka Sentral. | |||
| 9 Malacca river cruise, Tortura 2 exhibit, and photography pass for the exhibit. You’re allowed to take photos of the exhibit using your camera phone, but take out a DSLR and you have to pay a fee. | |||
| 10 These are items which are neither food, transport or shopping/souvenir item. These are the things I used, like the travel adaptor I had to buy since I forgot to bring my adaptor. | |||
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?
| Southeast Asia 2009 | |
| May 30 – July 6 | |
| Cost | |
| in Philippine Peso | |
| Per city/country | |
| Cambodia | PHP 10,664.16 |
| Bangkok, Thailand | PHP 7,449.00 |
| Luang Prabang, Laos | PHP 12,526.00 |
| Vientiane, Laos | PHP 4,184.47 |
| Bangkok, Thailand | PHP 8,573.18 |
| Malaysia | PHP 13,300.31 |
| Singapore | PHP 14,313.23 |
| Other expenses | |
| Airport transfers (Manila) | PHP 570.00 |
| Travel tax (Manila) | PHP 1,620.00 |
| Airport tax (Manila) | PHP 750.00 |
| Travel insurance | PHP 3,790.00 |
| Roaming charges | PHP 1,500.00 |
| Total | PHP 79,240.35 |
Download:
SEA 2009.xls (89k) – Spreadsheet includes the detailed travel budget for each city/country
I am consoling myself with 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.
]]>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.
| Cambodia 2009 | |||
| June 2 – 5, 2009 | |||
| Exchange Rate: | US$1 = Php 48 | ||
| In US$ | In PhP | ||
| Air transfer | |||
| Singapore – Siem Reap | $ 61.97 | PHP 2,974.56 | |
| Jetstar Airways | |||
| Accommodation | |||
| Madalay Inn | $ 21.00 | PHP 1,008.00 | |
| Single fan room – US$7/night | |||
| Transportation | |||
| Tuktuk – US$13 per day | $ 19.00 | PHP 912.00 | 1 |
| Taxi to border | $ 30.00 | PHP 1,440.00 | |
| Food | |||
| Meals and snacks | $ 30.45 | PHP 1,461.60 | 2 |
| Miscellaneous | |||
| Angkor admission fee | $ 20.00 | PHP 960.00 | 3 |
| Angkor tour guide | $ 25.00 | PHP 1,200.00 | 4 |
| Souvenirs | $ 8.75 | PHP 420.00 | 5 |
| Tip | $ 6.00 | PHP 288.00 | |
| Total | $ 222.17 | PHP 10,664.16 | |
| 1 The rate is $13 per day, but since I only used the tuktuk for half a day during my first day, I only got charged $6 for that. | |||
| 2 Food in Siem Reap is quite expensive. A plate of fried rice with meat and veggies usually cost US$ 3. Drinks start at US$ 1. | |||
| 3 If you just want to see the temples in the Angkor complex, one day is enough. If you’d like to see the other temples, better get the 3-day pass for $40. If you’re hardcore, get the 1-week pass for $60, but you might get templed-out. | |||
| 4 Getting a tour guide is optional, but it’s worth the money. | |||
| 5 Souvenirs I bought include different spices, postcards, keychain and magnets. | |||
But as I, along with thousands of Filipinos who’s been bitten by the travel bug, it is possible, even on a third-world salary. Here’s some tips that I personally practiced to keep me traveling:
1. Get a job.
Having a steady source of income really helps a lot. The five nights of the week that I work until the wee hours of the morning might be tedious, but I still love it because it means that I’m getting a paycheck at the end of the month. Half of the money I make each month goes towards my bills, with the other half for my personal expenses throughout the whole month. Whatever extra goes toward my travel fund. Of course, the better practice is to set aside an amount for your travel budget and control your personal expenses.
You can also aim for a job that gives you opportunities to travel. That way, you get the company to pay for your ticket and accommodation. Of course, you’ll be working most of the time, but see if you can file a leave and change your return date so you can spend at least a day exploring the city.
2. Go on a working holiday
Traveling in first world countries is really expensive. That’s why in most countries, they encourage hiring travelers who wants to earn additional money to fund their travel. Unfortunately, you might be required to have a working holiday visa, and most of the time, this visa class isn’t open for Filipinos. But if you’re holding a passport of qualified countries, this is one thing you can look into.
Here’s what I did that let me stay three months in Australia: my sister, who is raising two toddlers asked me to visit them in Australia. She paid for my visa application, my round-trip ticket, and since I was staying at their house, I get free accommodation and food. I even got a weekly allowance (since I was unemployed the whole three months that I was there). In return, I babysit the kids, do the laundry, do the grocery shopping and cook the meals. In between the chores, I had plenty of time to wander around Melbourne.
Most Filipinos have family and relatives overseas, so this is an option you can take. Though of course, they may not be open to shouldering all your travel expenses. But hey, if you can get free lodging and meals, that’s a big help already.
3. Sell your possessions on e-Bay
Well, not really. For extra moolah (or even just extra room in your bulging closet), sell some of the things you’re not using anymore. Have a garage sale. You can do it in your own garage, or do it online. As they say, one man’s junk is another man’s treasure.
When Pinky Street dolls became an obsession of mine three years ago, I went crazy and hoarded as much of these cute dolls as I can. Since I have plenty of extras and a number of localcollectors don’t have a credit card or a Paypal account, I sell my extras to them, receiving payments via bank deposit. I was also able to sell some to collectors from all over the world, through the marketplace over the Pinky Street forums, e-bay and my own Pinky St online store.
4. Start blogging
As I mentioned before, I started Just Wandering with plans on monetizing it to augment my travel funds. I’m not making millions off this travel blog, but I get enough to let me buy dolls and doll clothes that I really should stop buying, and pocket money for my trips. Contrary to what people might tell you, earning from blogging is not as easy as signing up for a free blog and putting in Google Ads and waiting for the money to come rolling in. It does entail a lot of work and lots of learning along the way. After three years of travel blogging, I’m just getting the hang of it, though I’m still lightyears away from making my first million.
Here’s a couple more ideas you can do with a travel blog. You can do what (then) newlywed couple, Gabby and Mench. Instead of accepting gifts for their Moroccan-themed wedding, they set up an online Wedding registry where their friends and family can pledge for a certain portion of their honeymoon in Morocco. By the looks of it, I think the pledges were able to cover around 70% of the Morocco travel budget.
On a more traditional approach, Dave of GoBackpacking.com started a travel blog to chronicle his preparation for an around the world trip, and the actual trip itself. Monetizing the blog comes later on, and to further get additional funds for his trip, he got his readers to dare him to a challenge at any point during his RTW trip. If he manage to complete the dare, the reader who dared him would have to fork over the amount he pledged for Dave to do the dare.
Last note on blogging: always remember that content is king
These four are the ways I save and earn money to travel. Saving up for a trip often means sacrificing something (a friend of mine gave up Starbucks and movies for a year to help him save for his trip to Europe), but in the end, it’s all worth it.
I’d love to hear from you! What are your ways of saving up for your trip?
]]>This Hong Kong trip was certainly one of the cheapest trip I’ve had lately, specially since it was an international trip (coming close to Batanes and Boracay in terms of value). I’m quite proud that I was able to stay below my budget. I even have extra money! I guess the perk about being so exhausted is that I’m not in the mood to buy anything.
I was so used to seeing prices in US, Australian and Singapore dollars that when I see the prices in Hong Kong, it all seemed expensive to me. The average rate for US$1 is Php 48, AU$1 is Php 30.84, and SG$1 is Php 31.42, while HK$1 is only Php 6.3.
Another thing about this trip was that we avoided the usual tourist hotspots. We did go to the Temple Street night market, but that’s about it. Our major activity was watching the local festival, and hiking on the Wilson Trail in eastern Hong Kong.
| Hong Kong | |||||
| February 2009 | |||||
| Assumption: HK$ 1 = Php 7 | HK$ 1 = Php 6.32 | ||||
| Cost | In Philippine | Actual | In Philippine | ||
| (Estimate) | Peso | Peso | |||
| (Estimate) | |||||
| Air Transfers | |||||
| Philippine Airlines | PHP 5,896.00 | PHP 5,896.00 | PHP 5,896.00 | PHP 5,896.00 | 1 |
| Manila International Terminal Fee | PHP 750.00 | PHP 750.00 | PHP 750.00 | PHP 750.00 | |
| Airport/Ferry Port Transfers | |||||
| Manila (Two way) | PHP 600.00 | PHP 600.00 | PHP 420.00 | PHP 420.00 | 2 |
| Hong Kong (Two way) | HKD 200.00 | PHP 1,400.00 | HKD 110.00 | PHP 695.20 | 3 |
| Transportation | |||||
| Octopus Card | HKD 150.00 | PHP 1,050.00 | HKD 52.80 | PHP 333.70 | 4 |
| Accommodation | |||||
| Couch Surfing with Vincent | PHP 0.00 | PHP 0.00 | PHP 0.00 | PHP 0.00 | 5 |
| Food Expenses | |||||
| HKD 70 per meal (6 meals) | HKD 420.00 | PHP 2,940.00 | HKD 310.90 | PHP 1,964.89 | 6 |
| Miscellaneous | |||||
| Travel Insurance | PHP 400.00 | PHP 400.00 | PHP 400.00 | PHP 400.00 | |
| Token/gift for host | PHP 400.00 | PHP 400.00 | PHP 304.50 | PHP 304.50 | 7 |
| Souvenir magnet | HKD 30.00 | PHP 210.00 | HKD 12.00 | PHP 75.84 | |
| Pasalubong | HKD 150.00 | PHP 1,050.00 | HKD 110.00 | PHP 695.20 | |
| Total | Php 14,696.00 | Php 11,535.32 | |||
| 1 Mabuhay Miles had a Great Miles Giveaway promo, where miles needed for redemption are cut by 50%. I was able to redeem a round trip ticket to Hong Kong for only 7,500 miles! I had to pay taxes, which includes the Philippine Travel Tax already. | |||||
| 2 My taxi cost is lower than usual because I came from Megamall in Ortigas, and from the airport, I just took a regular metered cab from the departure level. | |||||
| 3 The HK Airport Express train has three stops: Tsung Yi, Kowloon and Hong Kong. I was supposed to go to Olympic station, which is just one station away from Kowloon. Both Vincent (my CS host) and the guy at the Octopus card booth advised me to buy the ticket up to Tsung Yi and transfer to the MTR line to save on cost. | |||||
| 4 I was supposed to buy an Octopus Card for HK$ 150, but Kaoko lent me hers, saving me HK$ 50. I just loaded it up with HK$ 100 at the airport. I used this for the MTR, buses, mini buses, and paying for food at the convenience store and McDonald’s. | |||||
| 5 Accommodation in Hong Kong can be quite expensive, even the hostels. I decided it was high time for me to try Couch Surfing. | |||||
| 6 I had considerably less meals than I anticipated. What kept this high though was a Japanese all you can eat buffet lunch. | |||||
| 7 One of Vincent’s requests for couch surfing with him is to bring a token from your home country. I gave him an Ifugao idol and a pack of dried mangoes. | |||||
Download:
Hong Kong 2009.xls (66k)
I’m not quite sure I’d have the same numbers when I go back to HK though… I’m itching to shop!
]]>The cheapest part about this Coron trip was the food. Coron town is pretty small, and there’s plenty of cheap dining options. If you’re not to picky, there’s plenty of carinderia near the market that serves pretty good food at affordable prices. If you love fresh seafood, head on to the market to buy shrimp for as low as Php 180 for a kilo, and a huge lapu-lapu for Php 140. We treated ourselves to a fancy dinner at La Sirenetta after a long day of island hopping. While the food was great, the service was disappointingly slow. This dinner was our most expensive at Php 380 per person.
All in all, Coron was worth every peso. If you’re in a tight budget, it’s best that you travel with a group who can share your expenses. There are places in the island hopping circuit that doesn’t charge for admission: I hear the CYC island is free, and the Twin Lagoons is included in the Kayangan Lake entrance (there are probably more, but I’m too tired to Google. Go research in Owen’s Coron site). My personal favorites among the places we visited were Banol Beach and Kayangan Lake. To further lessen your costs, pitch a tent instead of staying at hotels and resorts.
For the most amazing three days with such a fabulous group of people (not to mention the most spectacular photos), Php 4,593.00 is a bargain.
Coron Weekend
June 7 – 9, 2008
| Cost | Actual | |||
| Air Tranfers | (for one person) | |||
| Seair | Php 0.00 | Php 0.00 | 1 | |
| Manila Domestic Terminal Fee | Php 200.00 | Php 200.00 | ||
| Busuanga Terminal Fee | Php 20.00 | Php 20.00 | ||
| Accomodation | ||||
| Krystal Lodge | ||||
| Php 1,500/night/room | Php 3,000.00 | Php 1,000.00 | 2 | |
| Fan room for 3pax | ||||
| Ensuite toilet and bath | ||||
| Transportation | ||||
| Manila – To and from Airport | Php 423.00 | Php 423.00 | ||
| Busuanga – To and from Airport | Php 300.00 | Php 300.00 | 3 | |
| Tricycle rides in Coron Town | Php 151.00 | Php 151.00 | 4 | |
| Food | ||||
| Lunch, snacks, dinner, drinks | Php 934.00 | Php 934.00 | 5 | |
| Miscellaneous | ||||
| Boat Rental | Php 2,000.00 | Php 400.00 | 6 | |
| Skeleton Wreck | Php 100.00 | Php 100.00 | ||
| Banol Beach | Php 100.00 | Php 100.00 | ||
| Kayangan Lake | Php 200.00 | Php 200.00 | ||
| Barracuda Lake | Php 75.00 | Php 75.00 | ||
| Siete Pecados | Php 75.00 | Php 40.00 | 7 | |
| Maquinit Hot Springs | Php 100.00 | Php 100.00 | ||
| Snorkel Mask | Php 200.00 | Php 200.00 | ||
| Souvenirs | Php 350.00 | Php 350.00 | 8 | |
| Total | Php 4,593.00 | |||
1 Because Seair loves us. Hehe.
2 Three of us shared a room, so it comes out to Php1,000 per person for two nights
3 There’s pretty much no choice but to take the jeep from the airport to Coron town.
4 Coron town in small and everything’s within walking distance. However, you have to take the tricycle to go to Maquinit hot springs or to the Mabintangin pool. Or when your legs have turned into jelly after climbing Mt. Tapyas.
5 Food includes carideria meals, fresh seafood from the market, rice, paper plates and plastic utensils, water and an expensive but delicious dinner at La Sirenetta
6 The price quoted by our local fixer was Php1,800 per day, while the price listed in the boat was only Php1,500. We paid Php2,000 because we were supposed to go island hopping again the following day, but the boat sustained some damaged.
7 The fee for Siete Pecados was Php75.00, but the caretaker ran out of ticket stubs, so he only charged us Php200.
8 Souvenirs include 2 bags of cashew and some keychains.
Download:
Coron.xls (14k)
A big thanks goes to Seair for helping make this trip possible, and to Ferdz for keeping tabs of our expenses!
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