My Travelling Tips - The $100 Rule

I am not exactly a frequent traveller...not in the recent time that is...i used to travel quite frequently before for the sake of travelling...but since 3 years ago all my travels were rendered to business trips...not that i am complaining...but there's not much exploration and assimilation that can be done in those circumstances...

I started up this blog just to keep track of my own travels...as some sort of journal...i never meant it to be a profit making blog which explains why i never bothered to fill it with any of those *click me* attached anywhere in the blog...i don't expect it to hit high traffic either...for the same reason that i stated above...however...it seems like some do enjoyed my writings and so-called tips...hahaha...i am totally amateur at this...but it is good to know that my writings in some way did help some others in planning their trips as well...

Hence i am thinking of writing down my travelling tips...maybe its not much and non-original...but it is what i had experienced and exercised in all my trips...the personal trips...so let starts with the monetary thingie...as it is the most important part of travelling...to come up with the proposed budget...

The $100 rule...

I use $ symbol as it meant to be a denomination value of 100 according to which part of the world are you visiting...if it using Euros then it is EUR100...if it is using Pounds so it it GBP100...and so on...this would be translated into RM100 for the countries which has the less exchange currency value as compared to RM and USD100 for the countries which values are comparable to USD and so on...

This is the tip that i had shared with my friends before...whenever you start up preparing a budget for your trip...always keep it 100 per day...let me cite Indonesia as an example...since IDR is lower in exchange value as compared to RM...so the budget should be set at RM100 per day...inclusive of travelling days...keep this in mind as the budget only for the essential...which are meals, lodging and transports...additional add ons such as fees to any sights are added to the remaining values of the budget after deduction...SHOPPING is NOT included!!! hahaha...

For instance...3 days 2 nights to Bandung...since i never travel alone...so all my budgets are set to be in the minimum of 2 pax...the more the better as it can scale down the expenditure hence allow myself and my travelbuddies to experience other things...lets get started...

3 days spelt out as RM300...so split it into 3 days...which stands for 2 nights of accommodation...3 days of meals...1 full and 2 half days of transports (this is according to the flight times)...my plans are always budget travels...don't expect me to stay in Hilton or any major hotel chain groups that is...so the hotel bill should not exceed RM100 per nite if you can...which is kinda possible given the fact with the exchanging rates of IDR100,000~RM28 nowadays...let say that the hotel stay is IDR300,000~RM94/2-RM46 per person per nite...that means RM94 per person is done with the budget...RM206 left...the first day should be left for walking and free and easy kind of thing...don't tie yourself down to a Supir...the airport transfer should not cost more than IDR30,000~RM9/2-RM4.50 per person one way...make it both ways...so its RM9 per person...RM197 left...we have now taken down two most important aspects of travel...the airport transfer and lodging...so the 2nd day could be spend by hiring Supir which cost IDR400,000~RM120/2-RM60 per person...this price is as of what i had check as of end of last year...not sure if they have raise it though...to get the best rate what you can go is just go to the Stasiun Bandung and ask around...never ask from the hotel...you will end up paying more than you should (which is another travelling tips which i will share in another entry)...RM137 left...when i am in any part of Indonesia...i try to match the price of the meal to max of what i will be paying if we are in Malaysia...same goes to souvenirs...so the meal should not exceed RM10 per meal...let say arrived in the afternoon and depart in the evening...that makes 3 lunches...2 breakfasts...and 2 dinners...7 meals...RM70...RM67 left...this is where it is crucial to decide of which place of interest we should pay for...one can choose to just roam around the city or headed to the mountains of Tangkuban Perahu per say...that easily RM30 off the bill...RM37 is left to just decide what else to do...as i said...non of the budget is inclusive Shopping...so for Shopping...do a separate budget...according to your own discretion...or needs...or intended or whatever adjective you wish to call...

Here you go...my $100 rule...in europe i have to change it a bit to EUR100 per day...which is much easier because of the superb public transportation link and thanks to the EUR10 grocery can fill your stomach for 3 days...hahaha...no joking...with less than EUR100 per days i believe i had enjoyed exploring the cities in Europe almost to the max that within means...my travelbuddies too...

If you want to maximise the $100 rule experience...do a couchsurfing on top of it...my owh my...you can save a lot from it...totally maximising the expenditure with the same rule...i had never done it per say but kinda experienced it in the sense of staying at my friends' and relatives' house during my eurotrip the other day...it is worth it...

This is my first entry on my travelling trips...more to follow...but it all started with the $100 rule...

T.Y.S