We know it goes against the well rehearsed mantra of many travel boards, but we're just back in Malaysia after travelling through Thailand and are finding it is much easier to spend less in Malaysia than in Thailand.

Now I know that isn't exactly the same as it being cheaper - I am sure we could have found accomodation for rock bottom prices in Thailand if we'd wanted - but finding budget options in Thailand wasn't easy. And, when we did find them, the quality was generally quite a bit lower than the standard in Malaysia.

Of course, this could be to do with the areas we chose to stay in in Thailand. We chose no to stay in Khao San Road in Bangkok where accomodation would probably be cheaper. We also stayed on popular islands like Samui and Pha Ngan. The tourist business in these areas is booming and it's not easy to find good hostel accomodation amidst all the developments.

Also - an NZ couple we met said that they paid 150-200 bhat more this year for a basic bungalow on Koh Pha Ngan than last year, a big hike in prices.

We like quiet but sociable, well maintained hostels and when we were here a month ago, and again now, it's just easier to find these at low prices in good locations in Malaysia.

Where eating and doing day to day stuff like shopping is concerned we're finding it's just easier to spend less in Malaysia too. Because tourism is booming in many of the Thai places it can be difficult (outside of the cities) to find good 'local' options which are, invariably, cheaper. In heavily touristed places it is pretty much impossible.

Where as back here in Malaysia I have 5 or 6 really good local restaurants just round the corner from the hostel and it was just 3US$ for lunch for 2 of us today (yummy roti too) our average spend on lunch in Thailand was about 3 times this. We've just put a load of washing on here too at about half the cheapest price we could find in Thailand.

So anyway - we've been feeling this for the last month in Thialand and just wanted to check out what other people's impressions are.

Are we lone voices?

KG

US$3 = RM24 = RM12 per person roughly for lunch? You can get SO MUCH CHEAPER. Like, RM5 per person or less for a good meal. (Roti at RM12 is waaaay overpriced. Unless you had other stuff too, then it's somewhat justified.)

Thailand's becomemore touristy; Malaysia can be a lot cheaper in many ways, especially if you go to where the locals hang out (as opposed to all the obviously tourist areas). But of course, I'm Malaysian, so I'm slightly biased

B*B, Tiara

I don't know if you're lone voices, but is it really "established wisdom" that Malaysia is more expensive than Thailand? I've been to both and while I don't remember how much I spent in either place, I think more tourists = more expensive is a pretty accurate general rule, and Thailand has a lot more tourists than Malaysia. But maybe that's just me.

You're not alone. My wife and I spent less daily in Malaysia than in Thailand (49 vs 62 USD/day for 2 people, one year ago).

I think part of it is that there was just more to spend money on in Thailand -- bars, massages, scuba diving, cooking classes, more bars, more massages, etc . . . While in Malaysia we didn't indulge in any "luxury" activities, and mostly just did (free or cheap) sightseeing, walking/hiking, and eating cheap food! Thailand's independent tourist infrastructure is much more developed, and thus much more effective at getting you to spend money!

js put it quiet correctly I think! There is less tourism in Malaysia at every level of the country than Thailand. Of cource it is easier to find cheaper meals and accomadation in Malaysia. The Malaysian that thought KPG spent waaay too much for something KPG thought was a bargain certainly is a natural at finding cheaper meals - easier done when a local! But the point is that you don't have to be a local in Malaysia to benefit from the lower prices that a less touristic place can offer. This is interesting in another way and that is that Thailand is a little less developed than Malaysia. One might expect equal or higher prices in Malaysia.

quote:

Originally posted by Chrisman:
]The Malaysian that thought KPG spent waaay too much for something KPG thought was a bargain certainly is a natural at finding cheaper meals - easier done when a local!

It has nothing to do with "finding cheaper meals" - I'm actually rather bad at bargains. It's just that KPG's price is UNUSUALLY high; lower prices are far common, which makes me think that he fell into a tourist trap (especially since he said the restaurants are near hostels).

I told my friend about this and she told me "he got ripped off".

quote:

Originally posted by Tiara:

quote:

Originally posted by Chrisman:
]The Malaysian that thought KPG spent waaay too much for something KPG thought was a bargain certainly is a natural at finding cheaper meals - easier done when a local!

It has nothing to do with "finding cheaper meals" - I'm actually rather bad at bargains. It's just that KPG's price is UNUSUALLY high; lower prices are far common, which makes me think that he fell into a tourist trap (especially since he said the restaurants are near hostels).

I told my friend about this and she told me "he got ripped off".

I'm a 'she' actually, but we'll let that one pass...

Especially as I appear to have got my sums wrong somewhere down the line. (I am from the UK but translated the price into US$ for this board as I thought it would make it easier for the global audience...).

quote:

US$3 = RM24 = RM12 per person roughly for lunch? You can get SO MUCH CHEAPER. Like, RM5 per person or less for a good meal. (Roti at RM12 is waaaay overpriced. Unless you had other stuff too, then it's somewhat justified.)

We actually paid a total of 9RM for the meal and drinks - total for both of us (4.50 RM each). And roti was only part of the meal, but I had to mention them as they were so damned tasty!

That's 1.50 GBP total or 75p each (and we always work on there being about 2US$ to the pound as a very very very rough guide).

There are tourist trap places here, but we like to figure out where locals are eating (better food and lower prices) and in our expereince it's easier to do this in Malaysia.

(I also prefer Malaysian food... )

KG

oh whoops. LOL.

and that sounds a heckof a lot more reasonable.