Kuching Expense Recap: 3 Stays 3 Neighborhoods
You may be curious as to what my month in Kuching, Malaysia cost. Accommodation was by far the biggest expense and I booked three different properties in three different neighborhoods to get a sense of the city.
I stayed in two bedroom units twice as units with a separate bedroom rather than a studio were difficult to find. I used AirBnB and Booking.com to book my stays.
Getting To Kuching: One Way Airfare $240 (€214)
There’s no direct flight from Lombok, Indonesia to Kuching, Malaysia. I flew from Lombok to Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia before doubling back to Kuching.
The flight between Lombok and Kuala Lumpur was a bit over 3 hours. After a 90 minute layover, the Kuala Lumpur – Kuching leg was another 2 hours.
Upland Service Suites 2 BR/1 BA $53 (€47) per night
This unit was across from a large upscale shopping mall, making it easy to grab groceries or sit at in an air conditioned restaurant. The dining table was big enough to spread out and work on my 1,000 piece jigsaw puzzle when the haze kept me inside.
WOULD I STAY THERE AGAIN? No. Beyond the mall, there are few local kopitiams or food courts within walking distance and road construction makes getting around on foot challenging.
Riverine Diamond 1 BR/ 1 BA $52 (€46) per night
Riverine Diamond is on the Sarawak River with better access to cafes, restaurants, and the historic waterfront. It’s a more appealing neighborhood to explore on foot.
Unfortunately, I stayed here during the height of the haze so much of my time was spent visiting people I met at a lunch earlier in the month who also live in the building, knitting, watching Netflix and working on my jigsaw puzzles. The haze also kept me out of the riverfront infinity pool as management closed the facility. 😕
WOULD I STAY THERE AGAIN? Maybe. I enjoyed socializing with the people in the building but I never saw the area on a clear day. The downside is it’s an older area and farther away from pickleball venues and the aquatic center.
Gala City Residences 2 BR/ 1 BA $44 (€39) per night
My final stay was my favorite. The building sits in a bustling commercial neighborhood with lots of stores and restaurants within a 3 block area. It’s pedestrian friendly and relatively quiet.
The attached 20 meter pool let me swim if I didn’t feel like taking a rideshare to the aquatic center. It’s also a 10 minute drive to a large shopping mall, pickleball venues and the airport.
WOULD I STAY THERE AGAIN? Yes. The two bedrooms was more than I needed but the mix of convenience,quiet and location made this my favorite of the three neighborhoods.
Other Expenses
My three accommodations cost US$1,491 (€1330) for 30 nights or roughly $50 (€45)/ night.
My other expenses were approximately:
- Rideshares / local transportation: $50
- Groceries : $50
- Dining out / coffee: $180 (I ate out about once a day)
- Alcohol: $100
- Other (pickleball, haircut, tour tickets, etc): $100
Special mention: Alcohold is heavily taxed in Malaysia (along with Indonesia).😯 A “cheap bottle” of wine costs US$20-25 and supermarket beers run US$2 -3 each.
The Total
If you exclude airfare, my Kuching month including accommodation and living expenses were about US$1,960 (€1,750) or roughly US$65 (€58)/day
This is well above my Nusa Lembongan life. But the extra cost gives me access to solid infrastructure, reliable wifi, urban conveniences, and sports facilities.
Next stop: Sipadan, for a very different kind of adventure. I’ll stay on a converted oil rig in the middle of the ocean for a week of diving.
See you underwater!
Love,
Jingles & Mimi
