Senandung Malam ke Singapura

The day has finally come. As we mentioned on our earlier post, this weekend we’ll be away to Singapore to catch the rock legend “Sweet Charity” performing their 40th anniversary concert. Gerek sehh..!!

The backpack will start tonight as we’ll be taking the night train which take about 8-9hours to Singapore. Our choice is definitely a bunk bed coach. It’s clean, nice and relaxing especially if you need to use your 100% energy the next morning. (We’ve tried the seated coach, cheap but after the long hours, mula rasa sakit2 badan). Ticket prices are RM38 (katil atas) and RM43 (katil bawah), but starting June this year, the surcharge for this sleeper’s booth will be increased. (click here for more info). It’s ok cause for us, KTMB has improved a lot on their service. (Komuter lain cerita ya….). 

By the way, congratulations to KTMB for winning the best rail operator award after 7 years been nominated as finalist in this category.

Enjoy your weekends and stay tuned for our updates.

*Here is a Sweet Charity song taken from their Sejuta Wajah album.

How much have we spent so far...

Okay.. Part II, i think this is the most essential part of backpacking...

We have received some questions on how much to spend, how much to carry, how much to budget and etc..etc..

Before that, we actually are no expert on these but we can share on how we budget the whole trip individually. First, after you have decided where and when to go, then you have to check on the currency rates. We always keep this website handy: Wawasan MoneyChanger (you might have one on your own). Don't book your tickets yet, especially country that requires a visa.

Biasanya, kami kira dulu berapa harga tiket kapal terbang, hotel, pengangkutan domestik, admission fee tempat2 yang nak dilawati dan harga makan sehari. Contohnya: Semasa kami di USA (sebabnya ramai yang kurang percaya on how we did it on USA trip), currency rate at that time was: RM3.50

Tiket kapalterbang: RM3300 seorang (MAS Travel Fair)

Domestic Flight (New York to Orlando to Memphis to Washington DC to New York) : USD300 seorang (expedia.com), RM1050 each

Hotel/hostel: Orlando USD200, Memphis USD160, Washington DC. USD100, New York USD400, RM3010 dibahagi 2, RM1505each.(hostelworld/hostels/expedia).

So, keseluruhannya: RM5855, lebih kurang RM6000.

Admission fee, terpulang pada you guys punya plan. Macam kami, we spent on RM700 each for 2 days Disney & 2 days Universal Studios (mahal kan?! Tapi apa nak buat that's my childhood dream). We spent about USD20-USD30 per day per 2 person for makan-makan. (Itu ikat perut namanya..he..he.., lagipun bukan senang nak cari Halal food)

Duit makan, poket & shopping, we roughly counted as USD500 per state, so altogether USD2000 for 2 person.

Lagi satu, contoh di Jepun. Currency rate was 1000yen = RM30

Tiket kapalterbang: RM1900 seorang (Singapore Airlines).

Unlimited Shinkansen & train & buses: JR Rail Pass 28,600 yen per person, lebih kurang RM950 seorang.

Hotel/Hostels: Osaka(RM600), Tokyo(RM700) per 2 person(on our earlier post, I mentioned RM400 per night based on current rate) Semuanya RM1300 dibahagi 2 :RM650 per person.

Keseluruhan: RM3500 per person for 7 days.

Semua perbelanjaan kami di atas based on our trip, our own research from books/internet/reviews,(you guys should have seen how Anna scribble the plan on paper!) but if you guys can find cheaper than that, it's a bonus! Because being a backpacker, it's all about doing it yourself. So guys what are you waiting for? Feel like starting your own backpack? 

Have Fun on Globe Trekking!

How We Do It so far...

First of all, we're really appreciate with all the comments and suggestions that we have received so far.. and to answer some of the questions from the readers, here we go.

Okay, let's start by How we plan?

Normally we like to travel during low season, you guys can check it out on website from each country. For a longer backpacking (2 weeks onwards) we have to plan at least up to 6 months ahead. But for a week, normally take us 3-4 months. The reason why? because, easy to apply leave ( for those who are working) and can get the flight cheaper. Contohnya: this coming October, insyaAllah we are planning to go to Hong Kong and Macau,and also Shenzhen. We have bought the tickets for 2 (RM500 return).

After that, we start to check on hotel/hostels. Before that, we usually have to list down what are the places we wanted to go. Then we'll figure it out whether to book hotel/hostels close to airport or city or places of interest or close to train stations. All depends on you guys.. 

The tips: Cari accomodation yang senang untuk sampai dari airport dengan menaiki public transport.

Next, yang dekat dengan public transportation (MRT, subway, bus or train). Walaupun accomodation tak dekat dengan places of interest, tapi kalau ada public transport pun ok.. Sebabnya kadang-kadang, accomodation yang dengan city centre/interesting places biasanya mahal sikit... Tapi jangan cari yang jauh sangat, nanti nak balik malam maybe agak inconvenience (especially girls and kids). Beberapa contoh yang kami pernah pergi:

*J-Hoppers @ Osaka, Japan, 5mins walk to train station, close to Universal Studios Japan.

*HI-Sukhmuvit @ Bangkok, 5mins to skytrain station.

*Arcadia Hotel @ Jakarta, dekat dengan station busway, senang nak ke mana-mana dalam Jakarta.

*Hotel Serena @ Bandung, depan railway station.

*Orlando @ International Drive, close to Universal Studios (boleh jalan kaki, lebih kurang 20mins), ada free shuttle to Disneyworld.

*Memphis @ Elvis Presley Boulevard, sebelah dengan Graceland dan ada free shuttle untuk ke city centre.

Reservation hostel boleh dibuat di Hostel World atau Hostels.  

Untuk hotel biasanya kami guna, Asia Rooms, Agoda , atau Expedia.

Untuk domestic transportation, kalau ada banyak masa, boleh menaiki keretapi atau bas, jika tidak budget airline. Untuk dari satu tempat ke satu tempat, kalau ambil masa lebih dari 8 jam, biasanya kami ambil transport malam so boleh jimat satu malam di hotel. Atau kalau early departure for flight, kami bermalam di airport, pun jimat jugak! He..he...

Untuk jimatkan kos transportation, kadang2 kami beli One Day Pass, Tourist Pass dan macam-macam pakej tiket yang disediakan, biasanya lebih jimat. Ada beberapa contoh:

Bangkok: http://www.bts.co.th/en/index.asp

Japan: http://www.japanrail.com

Europe: http://www.raileurope.com

USA: http://www.expedia.com

Jawa: http://kereta-api.com

Singapore: http://www.ezlink.com.sg/index.jsp

Some of the tickets, you can purchase before you go, sometimes it's cheaper. Tapi semuanya kena buat research, dari buku, forum, blogs dan reviews. Nampak macam banyak kerja kan? Tapi once you have everything in place, you are not only enjoying the trip but also can save a few hundred.

Ada beberapa readers yang teringin untuk mengembara secara backpack, tapi tak cukup duit, susah dapat cuti dan masih belajar. Pada pendapat kami, most of us are facing the same problem. We are not lucky enough to be sent by the company to travel, or never won any contest dan macam-macam lagi la..

Tapi apa yang kita semua boleh buat ialah put aside a few RM dalam tabung khas ke, ASB ke atau apa-apa yang boleh memberi kita dividen atau extra cash. Jangan sekali-kali guna kad kredit (kecuali untuk tempahan online dan emergency semasa melancong). Takut nanti balik jalan, asyik kena bayar hutang, nanti tak dapat la nak ke tempat lain.

Actually we started pun dah lewat. Dah masuk ke 30an baru serius backpack. Tapi sesiapa yang mampu boleh start lebih awal. Untuk permulaan, boleh backpack dalam Malaysia dulu. Kami pun start kat Pantai Timur, naik bas dari KL (9 jam ke Kenyir) dan kemudian ke Kuala Terengganu dan Cherating. Pun dah adventure dan murah..

Jadi kepada sesiapa yang rasa belum cukup mampu, jangan risau, the time will come cuma kena ada displin sikit..Itu aje..Bak kata pepatah, "Di mana ada kemahuan, Di situ ada jalan", and Dare To Dream (itu yang selalu Anna telling herself).

Harap2 beberapa tip tadi boleh membantu, kalau ada sesiapa yang mempunyai tips yang lebih baik dan berkesan, bolehlah berkongsi sama...

*Akan ke Singapore hujung bulan ni, kalau tak ada aral. Dengar2 Universal Studios akan dibuka di Singapore next year, boleh lah start your backpacking story! Next, we'll let you know how much have we spent for the trips.

A BIG THANK YOU TO KOSMO!

Terima kasih tak terhingga buat Li Shian (wartawan Kosmo!) kerana memberi peluang untuk kami berkongsi pengalaman kembara kami (yang masih baru).. Dan tak lupa juga kepada pembaca2 serta followers blog kami yang terbaru. Thank you so much for the overwhelming response. Rupa-rupanya ramai juga yang berminat dan berhasrat untuk mengembara secara backpack ni.. Yes! It is fun, adventurous and HAPPENNING!!

Memang selalu kos yang menjadi halangan untuk melancong/mengembara tetapi jika kita dapat rancang dengan lebih awal, menginap di budget hotel/hostel, do some research, travel light (minimumkan barang2 bawaan), check on latest currency rates, minimumkan perbelanjaan pengangkutan domestik, bawa makanan segera (he..he..untuk emergency purposes dan jika dibenarkan oleh mana2 negara), yang paling penting sekali, get the cheapest air ticket. And the rest follow your instinct.

Jika ada yang berminat untuk mendapatkan tips atau berkongsi pengalaman, boleh email kepada kami di usblogabout@gmail.com

*For those who missed our article on KOSMO! yesterday, don't worry we have captured it for you...

*To all backpackers and FUTURE backpackers out there, keep on Globe Trekking and Have Fun!

Airmata di Kuala Lumpur

It sounds devastating to us and do you want to know why?

Untuk lebih tepat sekali, bagi kami ianya boleh dikatakan sebagai Airmata P.Ramlee di Kuala Lumpur. Ini merupakan lagu terakhir ciptaan beliau dan juga merupakan filem yang tidak sempat beliau siapkan. Mungkin ada yang tertanya-tanya, kenapa jarang sekali kita menjejaki lagenda kita sendiri? Tan Sri P.Ramlee, nama yang tidak perlu diperkenalkan lagi, malah saya pasti beliau akan terus dikenang sampai bila-bila.

Kesinambungan menjejaki P.Ramlee di Jalan Ampas awal tahun ini, membuatkan kami mengambil kesempatan untuk melawat ke rumah Allahyarham di Jalan Dedap, Taman P.Ramlee (formely known as Taman Furlong) baru-baru. Ianya dibuka setiap hari dari jam 10.00 pagi hingga ke 5.30 petang, kecuali pada hari Isnin. Tidak dikenakan sebarang bayaran, tetapi sebaik sahaja melangkah masuk hati menjadi sayu mendengarkan dendangan lagu-lagu beliau. Biarpun ruang pameran agak terhad, tetapi cukup untuk kita menyelami sedikit sebanyak perjalanan kehidupan beliau yang kebanyakannya berkisar di Kuala Lumpur.

Mungkin hakmilik beliau di Singapura tidak dapat kita perolehi tapi dengan adanya Pustaka Peringatan P.Ramlee yang dijaga oleh Arkib Negara, sekurang-kurangnya membuktikan beliau sebenarnya adalah milik rakyat Malaysia. Jika anda benar-benar peminat setia P.Ramlee dan ada kelapangan, bolehlah berkunjung ke sini. Ambillah kesempatan ini untuk lebih mengenali dan menyelami suka-duka Allahyarham sehingga tercetusnya, "Airmata di Kuala Lumpur".

Photography inside the house is prohibited, but earlier on, Faizal had a chance to capture some of it... with permission.

Besides that, for those who are movies' lovers can also visit Galeri Perfileman Finas which is located at Jalan Pahang Kecil, just before the Hospital Tawakal roundabout. Inside you can take photos as much as you want. This gallery was launched in 2007 by Dato' Seri Rais Yatim. It's all about the era of our movies, from 1940s-2000s. The interior is very well organized, and most of the exhibits are courtesy by Tan Sri Jins Shamsuddin. It's very interesting where you can see what type of camera, editing machine, audio facilities that have been used back then. And also, there is a library where you can browse for reference.

Since there was no one else beside us, so we be the STARS of the day. The manager of the gallery was kind enough to take us around. Thank you, Encik Muhammad Rayyan. And also for those who are really into making films/dramas, this is the place. You will get tons of informations on how to make a debut on your own. Hmmmmmm,...maybe it works on us too..

For more details, you can logon to FINAS website and search for Galeri Perfileman Finas.

* All photos were taken by camera phone, so the quality might not be that good.. Sorry guys, didn't bring our camera..