About

This blog records some of my travels, mostly around Asia. Why ‘Thrifty‘  you might ask? Does this mean I’m a stingy cheapskate? Not really. I prefer the wider definitions of ‘thrifty’ such as wisely economical, avoiding waste (mine and the planet’s) and careful and diligent in the use of resources.

With this in mind, my rules for travel are:

-walk wherever possible rather than drive.

-take the train or a boat rather than fly or travel by bus.

-when flying cannot be avoided, use low cost airlines rather than national carriers (Air Asia is my favourite).

-take advantage of promo packages and special offers.

-3 star hotels rather than 5 star (unless someone else is paying!).

-character hotels rather than cookie-cutter hotel chains.

-old rather than new (that applies to my clothes too!).

-off season and off the beaten track rather than peak travel.

-independent travel rather than tour group.

-if there’s a mountain or hill nearby, climb it. For exercise, inspiration, a sense of achievement and the view.

-break any of the above rules if I feel like it.

I hope you like the blog.

David, The Thrifty Traveller

My Other Websites

Malaysia Traveller

malaysia-traveller-preview

Over 600 pages of useful information on Malaysia’s top attractions, Malaysia’s mountains, beaches, national parks, museums, hill resorts , caves and events calendar as well as maps and information for over twenty self-guided walking tours of Malaysian towns and cities.

Great Malaysian Railway Journeys

railwaysReplicates a train journey made 100 years ago from Penang to Singapore and compares the sights of modern Malaysia with the Malaya of yesteryear.

27 thoughts on “About”

  1. Hi David,
    I never know and love so much about my country after reading your blog.
    You are real and I am very much appreciate for all your information sharing 🙂
    Sharing your blog in my facebook too.

    Its great that you are exploring so much.
    I have friend coming to visit me next Friday, and I am sure that I got lots of guide from your blog.

    🙂 wish you all the BEST in life and thanks again for sharing 🙂
    Happy travelling 🙂

  2. Hi David,
    Love your travel diaries. You have definitely traveled more extensively in Malaysia than me! Thanks to you, I will be visiting some of the less traveled places in Malaysia. However, I notice you have missed Sarawak so far. Make a trip there, you won’t regret it. Visit the longhouses during the Gawai celebration (1/6). Cheers.

    1. Hi Adeline,
      Thank you very much for your kind comments and suggestion. Yes you are right, Sarawak is missing from my diaries. I have visited Kuching and Miri but that was before I started blogging about my travels. I definitely plan to go again before too long. I guess I have missed the Gawai celebration this year.

  3. Hi David, i was googling for a photo of St Anne’s church to show a friend and I came to your blog. I love your writing to begin and it makes me want to read more. I love the way you write which is simple and easy to understand. I hope to be able to read all your journals. I live in Hong Kong and I’m going to see what you have in store here. Thanks and keep sharing. My best…Dina

    1. Hi Dina,
      Thank you so much for your nice comments. I lived in Hong Kong for many years but at that time I was not blogging so there is not much on Thrifty Traveller about HK. I shall have to write some more. David.

  4. I’ve been following your blog for a while and wanted to share a post I read on another site about saving a ton of money using local sim cards when travelling to other countries. The blog is here: http://www.yippz.com/blog/using-an-unlocked-gsm-mobile-phone-while-travelling-or-living-in-and-out-of-the-usa and there are other posts that explain more about this. Basically I can take one of these phones and buy a local sim card in the country I’m in while leaving my US sim card in the phone. I pay pennies per minute and have a local number and access wherever I’m visiting including making cheap calls back to Canada or the US and no roaming or high international fees from the US carriers. Anyway, thought I’d share it with you to give a little back to your blog. 🙂

  5. Hi David,

    My name is Aisyah and I am an editor with Marshall Cavendish, an educational publisher in Singapore. I am in the midst of publishing a series of book for Secondary 4 Malay students. In one of the books, we require photos of Mount Santubong as well as Gunung Ledang.

    I would like to seek permission from you, as the copyright holder of the above mentioned photos to allow us to reproduce the photos in our textbooks.

    I hope we can communicate via email at your earliest convenience.

    Thank you.

    Regards,
    Aisyah Razak

  6. Hi David,

    I just happen to come across your blog and I must say that you have a very good sense of humour! Many of your posts left me laughing to myself, the people around me must think I’ve gone mad. The way you write is awesome! Thank you for all the suggestions that you’ve shared in your blog. Some of which I may take into consideration for when I travel, if that’s alright with you 🙂

    1. Thank you so much Sheu Quen for your kind comments. I don’t think my writing has ever been described as awesome before. I share your liking for coffee and books and I appreciate a good photo, even though I can’t take one myself. I shall try out some of your reading recommendations.

  7. I’m a quiet admirer from afar. I’m subscribed to your posts and I just want to say THANK YOU for all this wonderfully curated, exquisite information! It’s a pleasure to read something that is entwined more with a sort of history angle that I don’t find in many travel blogs these days.

    1. Thank you so much for your lovely comments Puzzled Pilgrim. Your blog is great too. By the time you get to my age you’ll have a fascinating history of your own to write about.

  8. Keep posting, David! I’m a 19 year old on a project i named “Mengukur Jalan”. It’s a walking-based project and i am to map the city with my legs hahahaha. Looking forward for other domestic attractions as well and of course, international too. Your blogs are one big help!

  9. Hi David

    I lived in Malaysia for 8 years now based in Singapore. This blog is extremely well written with some. Really fascinating insights. A great read!

    Cheers Nick

    1. Hi David,
      I’m jurina and I’m Malaysian ,it’s nice to read about your blog ,Learn a lot from here, thank you for Sharing it and being such a thrifty worldwide traveler it’s sound smart way of seeing the world !

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