I've never seen myself as a travelling person from years ago. But when i experienced and learned a lot of things through travelling, it made me decide to choose this life. So count me in as one of your DIY travel backpacking buddy!

So we went to Malaysia and Singapore months ago, The original plan was just to go to Malaysia but since Singapore is just a ride away, we have decided to give it a go. 

I am the person in charge planning all about this trip. From itinerary, travelling time, places to stay and all. Perks about this are you get to go to places you like to see, you will learn so much about geography, commuting in foreign land and wonders of each country as you do your research.

It was my first overseas travel and my first plane ride alone as well, so i was kinda excited and scared at the same time. But still I've learned a lot from this travel, and i really wanna share what I learned and experienced in this trip esp, how to reduce cost yet still getting the most in your 5 day travel.

We were able to book the Cebu Pacific Piso fare for only Php 800! Total of Php 1600 round tip from Manila to Kuala Lumpur and vice versa.

Tips:

1. Always scout for cheap flights and plan your trips months ahead to our travelling time.

For first time travelers, here are the things you need to know for international flight:

2. Be at the airport 3-4 hours before your flight - expect the worst so allocate a lot of time. You don’t want your dream trip to be ruined just because of the traffic, immigration issues or you unable to navigate the airport.

3. Bring all the possible IDs you can have – Just to make sure you can make it, always bring your identification for security purposes as well.

4. Bring your pen, departure and arrival in Manila – Oh yes, prepared for this as my friends told me to bring this because you have to fill out stuffs in the immigration and NAIA don’t have pens. I had experience borrowing pen when I arrived back, pretty embarrassing because you will delay yourself and the person lending you their pen with.

5. Bring snacks/stuff you can kill your hours waiting – Since there’s a chance you’ll be waiting especially in boarding the plane, you’ll surely get bored. Good thing that NAIA 3 is equipped with fast wifi now. Also if you are really serious about  travelling in a budget, airport foods are costly.

6. Read your Itinerary and all important stuffs – Preparedness is always the key, research, ask, read and educate yourself esp if you are travelling alone. Understanding flight's do’s and don’t’s and all the things about flying so you’ll surely get your feet on the plane. 

7. Don't pay for excess baggage, always bring things that are only important! Less clothes and bring wearable that can last for days. You can do your laundry in your hotel or in the local place. 

0022. MNL - KLIA2: 

I went to the NAIA2 4 hours before my travel time. Since I’ve estimated all the worst things that could happen to me during that day, I made sure to be early as soon as possible.'

Day 01

0001: KLIA2

My classmate works in KL so I have no worries about getting around the city. He fetched me up from the airport and we stayed and roamed around KL sentral station in ML and Brickfields little India at night.

0007: Brickfields Little India - Breakfast.
My classmate went home to prep and get his stuff for our visit in Singapore. There are three of us travelling and my schoolmate who checked in in a hotel in brick fields took care of me for bathe and to also prep for our noon travel to Singapore. We had breakfast around Little India and roam around until 10 am.

Indian breakfast in Brickfields little India

An Indian neighborhood near in our hotel in Brickfields

Tip: You can get faster to JB Sentral in just 3 hours from KL by riding a bus. I suggest you do that instead of train since you better lessen the time of travelling in roads. If you are rich, you can book a flight straight to SG!

0012: KL Sentral - Johor Bahru - Singapore City.
A 7-hour ride all the way to Gemas – Johor Bahru. Remember that KL and JB sentral no longer connect the same rail. So you have to transfer from train to train in order to get to Johor Bahru, the border of ML and SG.

0019: Arrived in JB sentral.
No worries because you can ask question or even just go to the flow of people and you’ll know where’s the immigration in SG. When we’re there, the line for stamping is long  Unlike the Malaysian immigration where you can get a stamp immediately, for travelers going in Singapore, there will be an interview, show money and surrendering of passports. It’s part of the process so don’t be scared.

Yes! That took us almost the other day travelling. We arrived late in our hostel in Travellers @ SG. Good thing that they have a self service reception so you can easily see your name, keys and room number allocation. We also have a free food and bathroom stuffs – good place to stay!

Firts breakfast in Singapore in our hostel. All you see in the table are free and included in what we have paid. Bonus: Our receptionist is a Filipina so it's easy to ask questions about SG. We also got our Universal Studios ticket here in our hostel that's less than SGD 50.00 rather than buying it in the park/upon park entry.

Related:
2D2N: Singapore City | DIY budget Travel Guide
10 Free Things to do in Singapore: DIY Travel Guide.
10 Instagrammable sites to visit in Kuala Lumpur
Ilham Gallery: Malaysia