We’re continuing to post our spending numbers as a resource for other travelers. Here is a breakdown of what we spent for two people over 17 days in Malaysia, traveling from Kuala Lumpur north to the Cameron Highlands and George Town, and then south to Melaka. The currency in Malaysia is the Malaysian Ringgit (RM), whose exchange rate was about 3.1 RM to $1 US as of April 2013.
Spending Breakdown:
| Activity | $84.84 |
| Food/Drink | $304.02 |
| Lodging | $380.22 |
| Misc. | $38.56 |
| Transportation | $100.65 |
| Immigration | $0.00 |
| Grand Total | $908.28 |
This works out to about $53/day for two people.
A few notes on our spending habits:
- Activities included a half-day tea plantation tour and guided hike around the Cameron Highlands, a tour of a spice plantation and fruit farm in Penang, and a few small entrance fees to sites or museums.
- For an average of $22.37/night, we had private, air conditioned rooms (except in the Cameron Highlands, where God provides the AC). Only one of our guesthouses offered breakfast and all of them featured shared bathrooms/showers.
- For food and drink, we ate at hawker stalls, coffee shops, and curry houses, averaging just under $18/day. The food in Malaysia was so good and so cheap, and the hawker stalls so prevalent, it was hard to stop eating! This figure would have been much higher had we indulged in alcoholic drinks while in Malaysia. The government imposes huge taxes on alcohol, making even the cheapest beers at the local convenience store $3-5 US a can, so we decided to save some money and stick to iced Chinese teas.
- The transportation figure includes bus tickets from KL to the Cameron Highlands, from the Highlands to George Town, and from George Town to Melaka. It also includes a few metro rides in KL and local buses and taxis in George Town. On a side note, the inter-city buses in Malaysia are the nicest we’ve seen in all of SE Asia!
- The miscellaneous category includes a load of laundry, new toiletries, and a much needed haircut/beard trim for Jordan.
- Visas are not required to enter Malaysia for US residents, and there are no related immigration fees.
- This includes only our spending in the country. It excludes our airfare here and upfront costs like immunizations, travel insurance, etc.
Malaysia, like the rest of SE Asia, was extremely budget friendly. Seventeen days wasn’t nearly enough, and we cannot wait to come back.