Adventure Accounting

Since I just whipped up this Isla Reta trip just a night before , I had no time to find Isla Reta’s website and contact info and reserve a room. Good thing I was able to get one! By the end of the day, all the rooms were occupied. There were a lot of campers by the beach. The beach sand has some crumbly rocks and broken shells but the real white sand can still shine through. The Talisay trees give this island its character.  Ever thought of napping under a coconut tree? Try napping under a Talisay tree. Isla Reta Rates Day trip rate: Php 75.00/pax/day; 4-10 years old Php 35.00; 3 years old and below – Free Overnight rate: Php 150.00/pax/night; Kids – Php 75.00/head Concrete room (with private CR): Php 800/night – free entrance fee for 2 pax Native room (separate CR): Php 700/night – free entrance fee for 3 pax Dormitory type room: Php 6,500 – free entrance for 22 pax Bringing your own tent: Php 100.00 More rates of the island Rules. Ahem. I got my own room...

Bangkok is pretty cheap... IF you won’t shop. Teeeeheeee. Food is glorious. Shopping is an experience, even for a non-shopper . Everybody is here to shop The table of our expenses EXCLUDING shopping.  THAILAND EXPENSES   BHT Day 9: Bus Ride from Siem Reap Food from gas station during trip          15.00 Taxi fare from Khao San to Hua Lamphong - 100          50.00 Train from Hua Lamphong to Silom           18.00 Streetfood dinner          45.00 Accomodation: Sunflower Place, twin room - 890, 4 nights     1,780.00 Hostel deposit: refundable upon check-out        200.00 Deposit refund      (200.00) ...

Choosing our accommodation for the Bangkok leg of our Indochina adventure was confusing. There are a lot of budget options, and a lot of possible locations to choose from. The cheapest ones were in Khao San Road, the backpacker’s area, but it was not accessible via BTS/MRT. For our itinerary, it would be best to stay near a metro station. In the end, I just went ahead with a suggestion from an online forum. Yun na! Good reviews in Tripadvisor. Booked!         BTS Station: Sala Daeng MRT Station: Silom We had a bit of trouble locating the place. But well, we weren’t completely ourselves after that long journey from Siem Reap . Half of my wits were already being digested by my hungry intestines. The direction of the hostel is actually quite simple, if only I was patient and alert. Eventually, we found our “diamond in the rough” place for four nights. It is the only bright place in the vicinity I got the twin room for BHT 890 per nigh...

Bangkok is shopping heaven. I’ve heard and read about this 10 million times when I was doing my Indochina research. I bought 20kg baggage allowance in anticipation of this shopping escapade.   When I was trying to save , I started an expense journal. I listed all the expenses each day and analyzed where my money went. I stopped listing when my daily expense was manageable, and even lower than what I was spending during college. Earlier this year, I put my Starbucks Planner into use and listed all my outfit. I purged my closet.I was inspired by fashion blogs to monitor my daily outfits. It allowed me to realize that I can survive for three months without repeating an outfit. I had THAT much clothes *sheepish grin* . It was excessive. I skipped buying dresses and lessened my abubot-buying escapades. I didn’t decrease nor did I spend my shopping budget during those months. So I had some shopping budget for BKK. But I was in Bangkok. So those finance and shoppi...

Bangkok food is known to be spicy. I wasn't ex actly jumping with excitement to try out Thai cuis ine. I am someone who dies with spice. If my mom cooks something spicy , I cook something else - fried egg will do . Occasionally, I can tolerate Century Tuna's Hot and Spicy , in hot rice. Gen erally, I stay away from anything with a tinge of spice. Pass the salt please.  I budgeted BHT 400 a day f or our Bangko k leg. Bet you are screaming now that it is too high. I KNOW NOW!!! I was planning o n scrimping brea kfast and lunch and splu rging on dinner . But turns out that we e njoyed exploring the BK K's streetfoods , we didn't need to eat in a posh - ness-y place every night.   "Inihaw na saging" These food carts put u p their goods late in the afternoon, in the str eets around Patpo ng. The camera pokes its way in the food: Take a picture before you take a bite. This filling dinner just costs 45 BHT.

We have four full days in Bangkok. I wanted to have two full days for sightseeing and two days for shopping. Bangkok can be a perfect base for lots of side trips around the city. Most of the side trips are one or two hours away from the city proper. My choice: Ayutthaya. Being a world UNESCO World Heritage site, the choice was easy. How to go to Ayutthaya: I wanted to do this DIY rather than join a group. According to Tripadvisor, the best way to DIY Ayutthaya is by riding a minivan. Alternative options are taking the bus and train. We went with the minivan – read: parang FX. I found this blog as a guide in DIY-ing our Ayutthaya day. We navigated our way from Sala Daeng to Victory Monument station. By reading the exit maps, we located Fashion Mall Shopping Center. In front of the mall are   these minivans that will take us to Ayutthaya. Someone collected BHT 60 when we got in. A couple of minutes later, some locals and some fellow tourists arrived. The pre...