*Disclaimer*
All-in means every single bit I spent in this trip: travel tax, airfares, bus fares, etc. I also included the flight tickets for my parents since it’s sort of part of our deal (mother pays for food in Singapore which explains zero expense on those days). Though, there might be small discrepancies due to my memory gaps or some toilet usage fees.
Note: I’ve written a comprehensive itinerary for the whole trip in the post 3 Asian Countries, 28 Days, and a P48K Budget All In.
I’ll divide this into parts. Click on the link if you want to skip ahead to the posts, continue scrolling to read Part 1. If you’re just here for the detailed list of expenses, click this link: Lykee’s EPL Expenses.
- EAT With My Sis, Yoel, at Malaysia
- #PAMILYAgoals at Singapore
- LOVE (char lang), LIVE in Bali, Indonesia
Eat, Pray, Love isn’t really an inspiration of this trip. It just so happened I did eat a lot in Malaysia, couldn’t relate pray with my Singapore trip but it’s with my family, and that I found a cheap flight to Bali where I travelled solo.
Warning!
Between EXPECTATION vs REALITY, my photos lean more towards reality. Walang paasa.
MALAYSIA
SIM Card
Digi, RM20 2gb for 5 days. We bought one at the airport and just tether hotspot to another since most of the places in KL have WiFi anyway.
Kuala Lumpur International Airport
We arrived at KL around 2 AM and the first bus was not until 5 AM so we slept at the airport. We found carpeted areas where the massage chairs are with charging stations.
But we slept at the waiting area for the buses. I think taking the bus is the cheapest option (RM 12) going out of the airport.
The airport is big but I love that there were signs which were big enough just every few steps which indicate the estimated walking time so you won’t worry getting lost.
Senai Airport (JOHOR BAHRU)
There were shops and restaurants in the airport. Public buses were also accessible. Our way out of the airport is through the Causeway Link Bus to JB Sentral for RM8. And we owned the bus!
TERMINAL BERSEPADU SELATAN
Bus terminal with airport feels. This was where we took the bus to Melaka and where I got off when I went back to Kuala Lumpur from Singapore.
Immigration NAIA going to Kuala Lumpur
I presented basic documents, passport, hotel bookings and return flight. I was asked two questions and I answered as is. I was already unemployed at that moment.
Immigration KLIA2 Entry
I was asked for hotel bookings and return flight. We had a Singapore-Iloilo flight home but the IO asked for a Kuala Lumpur-Manila flight ticket. I explained that we plan to take the bus to Singapore and that we’re from Iloilo, not Manila. I was asked who was I with. My sister came after me so she wasn’t interrogated that much.
Border exit to Singapore
No questions.
Border entry from Singapore
Probably seeing I have previous stamps from Malaysia and Singapore, I was asked if I work in Singapore. I said I was just on vacation. I told the IO I have a flight to Bali the next day from KLIA and showed my flight details.
ACCOMMODATION
Initially, we wanted to try Couchsurfing. I received offers but all from male members. My sister and I would have liked a female host but we didn’t find one so we let it go and settled with hostels.
I did all of my bookings through Booking.com. Days before our trip, I received an e-mail informing me that Malaysia has implemented a tourism tax of RM10 per night for providers of accommodation. These accommodation providers may or may not charge it as an additional on top of the price in booking sites.
Dorms KL2
Price: P 740/room/one night + tourism tax
What we got: room for ourselves, two bunk beds, air-conditioned room with keycard, a cabinet and our own locker but no padlock
Amenities: WiFi, shared bathroom, shared kitchen where you can cook and store food in the fridge, common area with TV, printing for a fee
What I like: They have a box where guests can leave something they don’t need instead of throwing them in the trash and get something from the box they thought they might need.
Socialization: Yes, about 90% Westerners when we stayed there. There were tables outside where guests hang out and drink at night. They have a lot of guests, we know, because outside were a heap of shoes. They also help you with tours, airport transfers, and different activities like pubcrawl, Heli Lounge trip, etc.
Breakfast: No.
Location: Near Pudu Sentral Bus Terminal serving northbound buses, walking distance to Chinatown, nearest station is Masjid Jamek, 7-11 nearby
How we got there: From the airport, we took the bus to Pudu Sentral (Pudu Raya) for RM 12, landmarks were the Maybank building and Mydin; we walked from there
Swan Cottage Hotel
Price: P 740/room/one night
What we got: a good deal for a hotel room, one queen-sized bed, air-condition, TV, toilet with toiletries provided, hot and cold shower, hair dryer, towels
Amenities: Vending machine; massage chair for a fee
Breakfast: No.
Socialization: No common area
Location: walking distance to Sunway but you have to cross the street; couple of local eateries, fast food chains and hotels/hostels nearby
How we got there: From Dorms KL2, we took the train from Masjid Jamek to Subang Jaya station then took a Grab to the hotel for RM 5
What I didn’t like: Bed bugs
Would rather recommend (based on location alone): Mixx Hotel, more convenient as it is located beside Sunway Pyramid, you don’t need to cross the street anymore
Serenity Hostel
Price: P 308/bed/night, no tourism tax
What we got: bed at a 6-bed female dorm, aircon
Amenities: WiFi, shared bathroom
Socialization: Yes. There’s a common room but we didn’t hang out there. We stayed in an 8-bed dorm room and guests kind of come and go.
Breakfast: Yes. We had bread and butter.
Location: Right at the Changkat Bukit Bintang Pub Street near Havana Bar and Grill, the street went crazy that Saturday night as there was a Halloween street party; walking distance to Jalan Alor Night Food Market and Pavilion shopping center where you can take the city walk (pedestrian bridge) to KLCC park
How we got there: Grab from Sunway Pyramid, we’re too tired to think about which train to ride but nearest stations were Masjid Jamek and Hang Tuah
Double K Hostel
Price: P 715/room/one night
What we got: room for ourselves, queen-sized bed, air-conditioner, towels
Amenities: WiFi, shared toilet, separate for shower
What I like: Our room had doodles that I like.
Socialization: Yes, there’s a common room which is a good place to chill.
Breakfast: Yes, we had bread and our choice of butter, jam or kaya. Utensils are also free to use as long as you wash them and put them back.
Location: Perfect location near Larkin Bus Terminal
How we got there: From Senai Airport, rode the Causeway Link bus to JB Sentral (RM 8), took a bus to Larkin Bus Terminal (RM 2) then walked to the hostel
Central Lodge
Price: P 280/room/night
What I got: bunk bed in a 4-bed mixed dorm, aircon and fan
Amenities: WiFi, shared bathroom
How I got there: walked from KL Sentral to the hostel
Socialization: Maybe. There’s a common area and a small dining table.
Breakfast: Yes, but I haven’t had mine ‘cause I went to the airport early in the morning.
Location: Little India, walking distance from KL Sentral, NU Sentral. I had a difficulty finding it though because the sign wasn’t really visible and the people I asked weren’t familiar of the hostel.
FOOD
This is pretty much what defined Malaysia for us. When we ordered food, it’s all about what’s appealing in our eyes, or if the name of it sounds delicious. Since I can’t give you any food history, food origin, a lengthy description of how scrumptious it is or the cooking process, I’ll make it up to you with the price and our thoughts on it.
Coffee with milk in a plastic with a kind of built in straw lace. I was too afraid it wasn’t sturdy so I just hold it like the way we hold softdrinks in a plastic. This one, RM 3.
PLACES TO VISIT
Chinatown
Our trips to Chinatown were either too early or too late. We just discovered Chinatown because we walked from our hostel to Masjid Jamek station on our way to Batu Caves. The stores were still closed.
We resolved to go back that night only to find that they are already settling for the night. So we just walked around and found these wall art:
We found souvenir items to be cheaper here than in other places. Also, we noticed a pre-nup photoshoot at a dark alleyway with the bride in a black Muslim wedding gown which I think was cool.
Batu Caves
How we got there: From Dorms KL, walked to Masjid Jamek Station, rode to KL Sentral (RM 1.6), then changed to Komuter straight to Batu Caves (RM 5.2, return)
Entrance fee: Free, except for some caves; the one with the flight of stairs definitely free
Sunway Lagoon Theme Park
How we got there: From Dorms KL, we took the rail from Masjid Jamek to Subang Jaya (RM3.8). Then, we got Grab to Swan Cottage Hotel (RM5). The theme park is walking distance from the hotel.
Entrance fee: We booked our ticket via Klook for P1,597. Make sure that when you buy your ticket online, you purchase the foreign national ticket and not the Malaysian ticket. It cost a bit than the local ticket but it’ll cost more to convert for-locals ticket to a foreign one.
The Gist: The theme park is divided into 6 sub-theme park: Water Park, Amusement Park, Wildlife Park, Extreme Park, Scream Park and the Nickelodeon Lost Lagoon. I first knew about the theme park when I was searching for places to visit in Malaysia. Originally, we planned to go to Legoland, thus our Johor Bahru ticket, but we settled with this because we think we’d enjoy more here (and we did!).
And then we saw the AsNTM episode where they catwalked on the suspended bridge and being super fans of the reality show, we agreed to visit places where they had their photo shoots. You’ll kind of notice the spots later on.
Our initial plan was to first ride the extreme rides. We found the Tomahawk which was a smaller version of the Pirate’s Revenge and good thing we were able to cross the suspended bridge before the rain started to pour. They close it when it rains. We figured they close the extreme rides and even the water slides. They also didn’t allow people in the lagoon.
We noticed some people going around in their swimming attires walking bare foot so since we were drenched wet anyway, we changed as well. We got a locker for RM22. It’s a bit costly but it’s really convenient especially with the changing and all.
Good thing the rain stopped right after we had eaten brunch. The park resumed operations and we went straight to the water slides! We had a couple of videos with Yoel’s action cam and forgot to take photos because we were so thrilled!
Well, anyway, here are my top 3 water slides:
Number 3: Jungle Fury and Kubarango
Number 2: Vuvuzela
Number 1: Monsoon 360
After these slides, all the others were pretty much boring, lol, so we decided to chill-swim at the lagoon, then dried up and rode the Pirate’s Revenge and the roller coaster.
Sunway Pyramid Mall
How we got there: Walked from Sunway Lagoon; walked from our hotel
Ice skating fee: For RM25 you get to rent ice skating shoes; they require you to have socks and gloves and they sell if you don’t have; we bought our gloves at Daiso for RM 5.90 a pair; lockers were also available for your personal belongings, sorry I forgot how much
This is yet another AsNTM photo shoot location. Aside from that, we just really wanted to try ice skating. This was our first ever ice skating experience so we steered clear of the center part of the rink. For a good few minutes we were just walking around, holding on to the wall. Eventually, we learned to let go and it felt incredible to be able to keep our balance. No level 999 skating skill, but yeah, we managed.
Pavilion Mall, KLCC, Petronas Twin Towers, Symphony Lake
How we got there: From Serenity Hostel right at the Changkat Bukit Bintang party street, we relied on Google Maps to show us the way to KLCC since we thought we’d just walk. In the end, instead of turning to the side where Google Maps told us to, we took the opposite road thus we discovered the Pavilion Mall which I remembered reading that there’s a walkway from a mall all the way to KLCC. Minsan si Google Maps, paasa.
Entrance: Free, we literally didn’t spend anything going to these places not until we arrived at the next destination (see next attraction)
We were not aware that there is a vantage point from where the usual Petronas shots were taken. But we’re pretty satisfied with our shots.
Somehow in this leg of our trip, I took the better shots *evil laugh* ’cause Yoel usually scolds me for not taking good photos of her.
Jalan Alor Food Street
How we got there: Walked from KLCC to Pavilion Mall, somewhere along the way, we made the wrong turn again but eventually discovered we were already at the place we were going for; you’ll know you’re near if you reach this high-end street with Tokyo/NY street feels:
We went there twice because no matter how we swore not to spend more on food because we already exceeded the food budget for the day, food is just really our kryptonite and this place is just heaven!
Changkat Bukit Bintang Pub Street
How we got there: Well, right at our doorstep… Kinda.
We didn’t have a decent photo but we sort of picked the right time to stay at our hostel there because that weekend, apart from the usual busyness of the bars and clubs, it was the Halloween party night! The street was closed off and many were wearing costumes.
Melaka/Malacca
How we got there: From Hang Tuah station, took the rail to Bandar Tasik Selatan (RM 3.2) then walked to Terminal Bersepadu Selatan. We bought the bus ticket right there (RM 10.40). From Melaka Bus Terminal, we took the bus to Dutch Square (RM 2). Going back to KL, the same, only that the bus we took from Malacca to KL cost RM 12.5.
Getting lost in Melaka streets made us discover these street art, and there were not a lot of tourists in this area.
Johor Bahru
We didn’t go around Johor Bahru that much because we realized when we got there that places to visit were far from each other and we found commuting difficult. We just considered that day a staycation before we head to Singapore. As I mentioned above, we had planned to visit Legoland initially, the reason why we had the plane ticket.
How we got there: Fly to Johor Bahru (P 220+), took the Causeway Link bus from Senai Airport to JB Sentral (RM 8), then another bus to Larkin Terminal (RM 2)
Booking.com
The choice of going to Malaysia was mainly because it was the cheapest piso-fare by the time we booked so we didn’t have high hopes. We were proven wrong because we were instantly smitten by surprisingly great architecture that never loses touch of their culture and most especially, FOOD!
P.S.
I would love to know if in any way this post had been helpful, informative or at the very least entertaining. You got my social media links below or you can drop a message before you go.