Contributed by ashshian
I have always loved making itineraries, whether it’s for a day trip or a long trip somewhere. It gives me a sense of excitement and imagination of what would happen. Now making the itinerary for this trip is a very special one for me since it will be the first out of town, out of the country trip with my college besties.
Who would have thought it was possible for me and my friends to gather up and pack our bags? What started out as a plan on paper became a reality last April 2017 when we took on the challenge to visit 3 countries in a 5-day itinerary. Later, you’ll see how we were able to visit Singapore, Vietnam and Malaysia and spent only less than ₱10, 000, excluding airfare (I didn’t include airfare in this write up since prices tend to vary). Impossible? Nope. Definitely not.
Also read: A Three Day Singapore Itinerary for First-Time Visitors
Itinerary
Day 1: Singapore
Little India (Breakfast)
Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple
Masjid Abdul Gaffoor Mosque
Arab Street and Haji Lane
Masjid Sultan Mosque and Kampong Glam
National Library of Singapore
Took a break here since it rained
Singapore National Gallery
Chinatown (Lunch and souvenir shopping)
Anderson Bridge/ Merlion Park
Marina Bay Sands/ Gardens by the Bay
VivoCity Mall (Dinner)
Day 2: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
This unexpected experience to start off the day. Special Thanks to fellow Filipino and Captain of Jetstar Airlines!
Also read: Vietnam One-Week Itinerary: Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City & More
Saigon Pearl
Ho Chi Minh City Hall
Saigon Opera House
Saigon Post Office
Notre Dame Basilica
Park near Notre Dame Basilica
Coffee shop visits
Nguyen Hue Walking Street
District 2/ Saigon River Tunnel
Food trips
With our guides from Saigon Free Walking Tours
Vietnamese Coffee – must try!
VND10,000 (₱22) Milk tea! Unforgettable find indeed!
Legit Pho!
Ben Thanh Market (souvenir shopping)
Accommodation (3-floor Airbnb apartment)
Day 3-5: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam & Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Quill City Mall
Batu Caves
Petronas Tower/ KLCC Suria Mall
Merdeka Square
Kuala Lumpur City Gallery
Pasar Seni- Central Market (souvenir shopping)
Lake Gardens
The Face Suites (where we stayed)
33rd floor
Infinity Pool at the 51st floor
Expenses
| Expense | Amount | Currency | |
| Day 0: Cebu Airport | Cebu Airport Terminal Fee | 750.00 | PHP |
| Philippine Travel Tax | 1,620.00 | PHP | |
| Dinner (Noodles) at the airport | 90.00 | PHP | |
| Day 1: Singapore | MRT Card Reload | 10.00 | SGD |
| Breakfast at Little India (shared) | 3.00 | SGD | |
| Inncrowd Hostel backpack storage | 2.00 | SGD | |
| Lunch at Chinatown + Watermelon Slush | 7.50 | SGD | |
| Snacks | 2.50 | SGD | |
| Dinner (free c/o our friend) | – | ||
| Day 2: Vietnam | Sim Card (200,000/4) | 50,000.00 | VND |
| Uber from Airport to Airbnb Apartment (94,000/4) | 23,500.00 | VND | |
| Lunch at Saigon Pearl | 35,000.00 | VND | |
| Uber from Saigon Pearl to City Hall (48000/4) | 12,000.00 | VND | |
| Bottled Water | 5,000.00 | VND | |
| Uber from Notre Dame Church to Hao Sen University (9,000/4) | 2,250.00 | VND | |
| Light up the Night Tour (Free!) | |||
| Motorcycle Surcharge + Tip | 100,000.00 | VND | |
| Dinner: Phat Pho | 64,000.00 | VND | |
| Milk Tea (4pax) | 40,000.00 | VND | |
| Coconut Ice cream dessert | 40,000.00 | VND | |
| Souvenirs | 381,000.00 | VND | |
| Uber from Ben Thanh Night Market to Apartment (38,000/4) | 9,500.00 | VND | |
| Midnight Snack and Breakfast Food | 22,000.00 | VND | |
| Day 3: Vietnam/ Malaysia | Uber from Apartment to Airport (115,000/4) | 28,750.00 | VND |
| Uber from KLIA2 to The Face Suites (80/4) | 20.00 | MYR | |
| Uber from The Face Suites to Quill City Mall (2/4) | 0.50 | MYR | |
| Dinner | 9.90 | MYR | |
| Dessert | 11.00 | MYR | |
| Groceries (snacks and breakfast) | 12.00 | MYR | |
| Day 4: Malaysia | Uber from the Face Suites to Batu Caves (13.41/4) | 3.35 | MYR |
| Sim Card (30/4) | 7.50 | MYR | |
| Water | 1.00 | MYR | |
| Regular taxi – Batu Caves to Merdeka Square (30/4) | 7.50 | MYR | |
| Drinks at 7/11 | 1.50 | MYR | |
| Uber from Merdeka Square to Petronas Towers (5.76/4) | 1.44 | MYR | |
| Lunch/Dinner at KLCC Mall (Chicken Rice + Drinks) | 13.00 | MYR | |
| Uber from KLCC Mall to Lake Gardens (8.81/4) | 2.20 | MYR | |
| Uber from Lake Gardens to Central Market (11.24/4) | 2.81 | MYR | |
| Drinks at Central Market | 1.50 | MYR | |
| Uber from Central Market to The Face Suites (9.61/4) | 2.40 | MYR | |
| GrabCar: The Face Suites to Petronas Towers (7/4) | 1.75 | MYR | |
| Uber: Petronas to Face Suites (6.29/4) | 1.57 | MYR | |
| Midnight Snacks | 6.00 | MYR | |
| Souvenirs | 103.00 | MYR | |
| Day 5: Malaysia | Uber: The Face Suites to KLIA2 (80/4) | 20.00 | MYR |
| Breakfast @ Mcdo KLIA2 | 15.00 | MYR | |
| Uber: Cebu Airport to SM City (120/4) | 30.00 | PHP | |
| Vhire to Home | 50.00 | PHP | |
| Accommodation | |||
| Vietnam (via Airbnb) | 460.75 | ||
| Kuala Lumpur (via Airbnb) | 1,469.74 | ||
| TOTAL | 9,956 | PHP |
Also read: Backpacking Southeast Asia: 10 Days in 5 Countries with Just ₱25k (All-In)
Some tips before the trip
- If you’re a citizen of any ASEAN nation, then travelling to Singapore, Vietnam and Malaysia will not require you any Visa. So all you need is your passport, extra valid IDs, pocket money and itineraries.
- Before our trip, we exchanged our money to Singapore Dollar and Malaysian Ringgit. We bought US Dollars to buy Vietnamese Dong since no local foreign exchange offers the money. We exchanged our US dollars to Vietnamese Dong upon arrival at the airport in Ho Chi Minh.
- Buy a travel adapter. Do some research on the power sockets of the country you’re visiting. To be honest, we forgot about this and we’re just thankful we had our power banks with us and the airports have USB charging stations.
- Plan your entry and exits points ahead. For us, we flew to Singapore from the Philippines and took a midnight flight that saved us a night in a hotel. Our exit point was our last stop, Malaysia.
- Pack lightly and bring a good backpack. All of us brought only 1 huge backpack plus a small bag to carry with us while going around. We wore mostly dresses during the trip to save on space and weight. We were able to save hundreds from baggage allowance.
- Instead of buying a new Singapore EZ link Card, borrow from your friends/relatives who went to Singapore. The EZ link Card will get you around Singapore through train, buses and even allows you to use it in some stores like 7/11. Since there’s a non-refundable fee of SGD5 when you’ll buy a new card, borrowing will save you money. The cards have a lifespan of 5 years.
- If you want to save money on accommodation, consider sleeping at the airport. Aside from trying to save money, we did this out of curiosity, experience and practicality (our flight to Vietnam was early morning the next day). We did so at Changi Airport and we didn’t feel ashamed or what since there were lots of travellers doing the same thing. Plus, what better airport to do this than in the world’s best airport, right?
Last month, we embarked on a journey we never thought would happen. After months of planning, budgeting and finding ways to earn extra (haha) we finally got to check one thing off our bucketlist before turning 30: travel with mammiez 👯Here's a short vid of our exhausting, exciting and ecstatic visit to SG-VIET-KL. Enjoy!
Sheena Belleza Fernanさんの投稿 2017年5月7日日曜日
Last month, we embarked on a journey we never thought would happen. After months of planning, budgeting and finding ways to earn extra (haha) we finally got to check one thing off our bucketlist before turning 30: travel with mammiez 👯Here’s a short vid of our exhausting, exciting and ecstatic visit to SG-VIET-KL. Enjoy!
Nai-post ni Sheena Belleza Fernan noong Linggo, Mayo 7, 2017
Hope you somehow find this article helpful. And I hope I somehow inspired you to book that flight and take that trip. ☺
