We have spent the past eight months in countries where we’re getting a lot for our bucks: Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.
Singapore wasn’t particularly cheap, but reasonable and in Indonesia, supply wasn’t great. On the other hand, prices in Thailand and especially Malaysia are out of this world, and you can find almost any item you might need.
Let me give you a few every-day examples. A local sim-card for your mobile phone costs €1.83, a subscription for mobile broadband (3G) for one week is €4.16 and a taxi ride starts at €1.28. A meal at the food stalls and street markets is around €1 and even in the restaurants you can have a several course lunch or diner for less than €4.
The prices are so good, we use to joke, that you can’t afford to eat at home.
A case of beer (Skool) can be found below €6, which is an incredible 25 cents per can, while the bests price I have seen on a bottle of Gordons gin is €5.42. Even in the bars a beer is usually around 75 cents.
We haven’t experienced prices like these since the four months we spent in Ecuador and the availability of goods wasn’t as good there as here.
Even boating gear and services, which usually get a “reverse discount” on the price tag are relatively affordable in Langkawi, which is a tax free area. From Nongsa Point, our last stop in Indonesia, through Singapore to Malaysia we visited five star marinas and paid less than €10 per day for our 43ft ketch (and much less if you stay longer). More than 10 years ago we usually had to pay €40-50 in Spain and the same in the USA. The major exception concerning prices is the cost for storage on land, which I will comment in a later post.
Malaysia also knows how to make it easy for us yachties. There’s no restriction for importing your vessel, it can remain here for ever. Travelers get a 90 days visa when entering and you can briefly walk over the border and re-enter with a new 90 days visa when the previous has expired. Thailand is more difficult, you only get 30 days for yourself (60 if you have a visa acquired abroad) and 6 months for the boat. In addition, you cannot leave the boat in Thailand if you want to leave the country for a re-entry (without paying a bond).
Last but not least, the weather is perfect (some say too hot, but I guess they haven’t heard of shades and fans) and everybody is incredibly friendly.
We are planning to leave the boat here in Langkawi for 5 months while we take a vacation back home in Finland. I’m afraid that it is going to be an incredibly expensive trip.
Helsinki is 7th on the list of the world’s most expensive capitals compared to Kuala Lumpur, which is 70th, last on the list at level with Delhi and Mumbai (although it really is a first world city). Hope that at least the snow is gone before we get there;)