Eat, Pray, Shop: Malaysia

I know the blog's been quiet for a while so here's some new content for you. :)

There was another seat sale earlier this year...and you know what happened next, right? ;) I was able to book round trip tickets to Malaysia for August for only Php3,400 (about USD81). 

On another note, I landed a new job last May so I was still uncertain if a week's worth vacation leave would be possible. Well, I guess I had lady luck on my side when I filed for the VL last July and it immediately got approved. :D

So, with just a little over a month to plan for this trip, I feel like this is my most haphazardly done itinerary ever. Anyway, the plan was really simple as it just revolved around three activities as the title says: to eat, pray, and shop! 

The itinerary below is the actual route we took and different from the first draft I did. 

Philippine travel tax	Php1,620.00
Terminal fee	Php550.00
	PHP	RM
DAY 0 - August 20, 2012 (Monday) Kuala Lumpur
Arrival in KL LCCT
Aerobus to KL Sentral	Php112.00	RM8.00
Taxi to Berjaya Times Square (Classic Inn)	Php136.50	RM9.75
Check-in at Classic Inn (2 nights)	Php1,827.84	RM130.56
DAY 1 - August 20, 2012 (Monday) Kuala Lumpur
Hotel breakfast
Imbi Monorail [MR5] to KL Sentral [MR1]	Php22.40	RM1.60
KTM to and from KL Sentral and Batu Caves	Php42.00	RM3.00
KL Sentral [KJ15] to KLCC [KJ10]	Php22.40	RM1.60
Lunch at KLCC	Php147.00	RM10.50
Petronas Twin Towers, Beryl's Choco Kingdom
Taxi to Berjaya Times Square (Classic Inn)	Php119.00	RM8.50
Dinner	Php140.70	RM10.05
DAY 2 - August 21, 2012 (Tuesday) KL to Penang
Hotel breakfast
Taxi from Berjaya to Puduraya Bus Terminal	Php98.00	RM7.00
Bus to Butterworth	Php485.10	RM34.65
Ferry to Georgetown	Php16.80	RM1.20
Taxi to Hutton Lodge	Php84.00	RM6.00
Check in at Hutton Lodge	Php700.00	RM50.00
Late lunch/early dinner	Php98.00	RM7.00
Bus to and from Toy Museum*	Php63.00	RM4.50
DAY 3 - August 22, 2012 (Wednesday) Penang to Melaka
Brunch	Php133.00	RM9.50
Penang Peranakan Mansion	Php140.00	RM10.00
Bus to Penang Hill/Kek Lok Si Temple	Php42.00	RM3.00
Inclined lift to Statue of Kuan Yin at Kek Lok Si	Php56.00	RM4.00
Bus to Penang Road	Php28.00	RM2.00
Dinner	Php93.80	RM6.70
Bus to Melaka (with taxi pickup from Hutton Lodge)	Php658.00	RM47.00
DAY 4 - August 23, 2012 (Thursday) Melaka
Breakfast	Php112.00	RM8.00
Taxi from Melaka Sentral Bus Station to guesthouse	Php168.00	RM12.00
Check-in at Oriental Riverside Residence Guesthouse	Php488.04	RM34.86
Lunch at Jonker Street	Php147.00	RM10.50
Christ Church, Stadthuys, St. Paul Ruins
Trishaw to Maritime Museum / Melaka River Cruise	Php140.00	RM10.00
Melaka River Cruise	Php210.00	RM15.00
Dinner	Php194.60	RM13.90
DAY 5 - August 24, 2012 (Friday) Melaka to Singapore
Taxi to Melaka Sentral Bus Station	Php105.00	RM7.50
	PHP	SGD
DAY 5 - August 24, 2012 (Friday) Singapore
Bus from Melaka to Bugis (Singapore)	Php330.00	SGD 10.00
Taxi from Bugis to Sengkang	Php198.00	SGD 6.00
MRT: Sengkang to Orchard	Php69.30	SGD 2.10
Lunch*
MRT: Bugis to Sengkang	Php69.30	SGD 2.10
DAY 6 - August 25, 2012 (Saturday) Singapore
MRT: Bedok to Orchard	Php62.70	SGD 1.90
Lunch	Php280.50	SGD 8.50
MRT: Orchard to Sengkang	Php69.30	SGD 2.10
Taxi to Changi Budget Terminal	Php231.00	SGD 7.00
Changi Budget Terminal to LCCT via Tiger Airways with 15kg baggage	Php2,475.00	SGD 75.00
DAY 6 - August 25, 2012 (Saturday) Singapore to Malaysia
Inflight snacks	Php99.00	SGD 3.00
Dinner at LCCT	Php126.00	RM9.00
DAY 7 - August 26, 2012 (Sunday) Arrival in Manila
TOTAL	Php13,010.28

*Cost of accommodation and taxi ride is per head based on two persons splitting the expenses.

Some notes on how we were able to keep the cost down (well, obviously I didn't include the cost for shopping but that's another story):

• We didn't visit any amusement/theme parks for two reasons:
• My friend and I are not big fans of amusement rides, and
• We skipped Universal Studios Singapore because we're both coming back (on separate occasions) with our respective families.
• In relation to the first bullet point, most of the attractions we went to has minimal entrance fee; if not free of charge.
• Food and public transportation in Malaysia is very cheap. Could have brought the cost down further if not for the taxi rides to and from bus terminals, and the plane fare (with baggage allowance. Ouch!) from Singapore back to KL (just because we ended up adding kilos of stuff per destination!)
• When in Penang, take advantage of the free CAT (Central Area Transit) bus - which we should have taken from the port to our accommodation instead of the taxi.
• We stayed at my friend's cousin's flat in Singapore so accommodation is free. We also met up with my uncle on our first day that's why our late lunch was also free.

***

By the way, I got rashes on my arms and legs two days before my flight! Turns out I had Roseola or 'baby measles' (more commonly known in Filipino as tigdas-hangin).  I was really worried that I might not be able to fly out of the country, and the tickets and reservations would all go to waste but here I am blogging about it - the power of the law of attraction. ;)

K

Up next: guesthouse reviews