Continuing our series of travel budget posts, here’s the numbers from the last 3 months. We spent 2 months in Malaysia with 1 month spent in Penang and 1 month in Malaysian Borneo. Since this was the end of the Asian leg of our journey, we traveled around a lot more and took part in a few more costly activities like diving at Sipadan and a motorcycle tour near Kota Kinabalu. I also had to buy a new laptop in Kuala Lumpur to replace my busted computer. Then there’s the clothes budget. We had to prepare for upcoming Canadian weather and business meetings. Overall, it was a big hit to the wallet.
What it cost us to live for 2 months in Malaysia:
| Accommodation | |
| – 3 weeks in various hotels | $1,306.75 |
| – 1 month in a 3 bedroom apartment in Penang | $1,347.74 |
| Groceries/Meals/Drinks | |
| – Restaurants, 1 month w/a kitchen, food stalls in Penang! | $4,840.17 |
| Transportation | |
| – Flights | $1,066.72 |
| Activities | |
| – Diving Perhentians – 7 dives x2 people | $501.27 |
| – Diving Sipadan (includes room and board) 14 dives x2 people |
$1,209.58 |
| – Borneo Motorbike Tour (includes room and board) 4 nights/3 days of riding |
$1,767.59 |
| Misc. | |
| – Camera Lens | $159.09 |
| – New Laptop | $1,947.15 |
| – Computer Gear | $259.34 |
| – Clothes | $353.07 |
| TOTAL | $14,745.47 |
And this brings the grand total for our year in Southeast Asia to roughly $51,000. We didn’t travel too cheaply. We always stayed in decent accommodations. We always ate well and partied often. This also includes around 170 scuba dives (approximately $6000) for the two of us combined and about $3000 in computers, parts, and peripherals.
Back in Canada we were prepared for a costly month, running around to see family in various cities and catching up with all our friends. We had a few big nights out, and stocked up on all the clothing and travel essentials we’ll need for the coming year. We only spent 4 nights in hotels, staying with family and mooching off them where we could. ;) Also, a big thanks to Rod who let us stay in his place for a couple weeks while he was away in Amsterdam. It was much appreciated! We probably would have had to spend another $2000 on hotels or an executive apartment otherwise.
What it cost us to live for 1 month in Canada:
| Accommodation | |
| – 4 nights in hotels | $322.23 |
| Groceries/Meals/Drinks | |
| – Restaurants, a few weeks w/a kitchen | $3,952.72 |
| Transportation | |
| – Car Rental – 16 Days | $544.70 |
| – Gas | $246.85 |
| – Buses | $40.00 |
| Misc. | |
| – Contact Lenses – Mike | $390.00 |
| – Books | $80.82 |
| – Computer Gear | $771.55 |
| – Clothes | $919.57 |
| – Wireless Internet Access | $39.20 |
| – Travel Insurance | $245.70 |
| – Haircut | $50.00 |
| TOTAL | $7,603.34 |
I don’t know that our Canada budget is a realistic gauge of an average cost of traveling in Canada. We spent a lot stocking up on supplies for the next 6 months in Costa Rica. We were eating in a lot of nice restaurants when catching up with people or in meetings. A lot of time was spent in coffee shops using the WiFi. A few lattes a day is an extra $10-20 a day we’re not accustomed to anymore. But, it is the cost of doing what we do. Thankfully we were able to curb some of the costs by staying with family and friends.
Posted by: Shim
