South East Asia in Six Weeks

Despite storm signal no. 2 and the Swine Flu frenzy (it was not called AH1N1 yet), we set off 7th of May last year for our first Southeast Asia backpacking trip together (Shervin and I). A trip that took us to six countries (in order): Malaysia, Brunei, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia.

Our SE Asia route. Edited by Shervin, map taken from here.
I mentioned Malaysia too many, I know. I wanted it to be chronologically precise. We went through the Malaysian immigration four times in various borders, you should see the darn crowded stamps on my passport.

Those who have been following this blog may be aware that I have already posted articles regarding this epic trip several months ago. Upon readers' requests and suggestions, I will be re-posting a more detailed version of each article so as it can be more helpful to fellow backpackers.

Under a shoestring budget, we spent P49,773.425 ($1,000) each. Yes, it's prodigiously accurate. I've listed down all our expenses which included four plane tickets, my Philippine travel tax, terminal fees, bus and ferry rides, admission fees to national parks/temples/museums, numerous bowls of nasi/mee goreng, my (expensive) cigarettes, cans of soya milk, unfamiliar tea drinks, fridge magnets, Indonesian krupuk (kropek in Philippines), SIM cards, entrance fees to toilets, bottles of beer and so forth. We could have cut down on other costs, but we were way under our estimated budget anyway so we splurged a few times.

If you're willing to rough it a bit, of course this is doable for you too! Bear in mind that our expenses depend on the sacrifices, uhm, choices we make - like entering a famous national park (which might just be similar to other Asian jungles you've already visited) or not, eating dessert after your main course or not, buying a fridge magnet in every country you visit (which I did) or not, drinking a bottle of local beer after a long humid day or not.

Whether you intend to do the same route or visit these countries on separate trips, you might want to check out the upcoming posts. And I really hope that you gain useful tips from what we did right, and steer away from what we did wrong.

So let us begin. Our first stop, Malaysian Borneo.

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