As a responsible citizen of the Internet I felt obliged to share some knowledge gained from my recent holiday trip.
1. For destinations you can reach with Air Asia, go with Air Asia. MAS is shitty. Comparatively the former's seats are more comfortable, the stewardesses are more friendly and look at having to buy food off the catalogue as having more choices. Instead, the latter's plane is small and smelly, stewardesses prefer to address Mat Sallehs first locals second (and with an attitude that is not at all appealing as well), and with that kind of preference you end up eating the leftovers (whatever the Mat Sallehs didn't choose, that will be your meal). So for the price you pay, MAS is totally not worth it. Just as how Singapore Airlines is so not worth it compared to the more affordable Silk Air.
2. You can survive peak season holiday just by enjoying it, instead of cramming it.
Going for a holiday to a place that is experiencing its peak season (like school holidays peak season, not World Cup peak season) without booking ground arrangements is doable. You just have to allocate time and budget cut-offs as you choose your accomodation and check on the Internet the rates if you want to book for day-tours only after arrival. Do not aim too high (like trying to go to 6, 7 places in one day), rather, target the few must-go places that you really want to see and as for the rest, take it as bonus.
3. Be friends with locals, most of them are more helpful than you can imagine.
There are a lot of scammers and nasty people anywhere you go, but in most places, there are more good people around if you care to make time to make friends. Locals might not know which is the best hotel/motel/hostel to book, but they can tell you which parts of the place is most happenning, and perhaps most importantly, safe. They can also tell you where you can find good food at good rates, or how to avoid getting into trouble with the authorities.
4. Stop converting as you shop, specially when buying stuff you'll never find at home.
While most of us who travel on a budget tend to convert to local currency before buying souvenirs, that practice might make you bring back a whole bunch of foreign currency which you'd unlikely get to change back at a good rate. So why not set a rough figure on how much you'd want to spend (and not bring back) and only convert that much for souvenir shopping. If you find something you truly like, bargain like hell if it is overpriced. In cases you do not find anything worth lugging home, then save the currency on some other cool stuff like spa treatment or room service.
5. In places where transportation options are aplenty, do survey.
Many tourist spots tend to offer multiple transportation modes to get tourists from Sightseeing Spot A to Sightseeing Spot B. Spend your first day at the place surveying your options (as you go surveying for accomodation) so that you'll end up paying not only a cheaper rate but it might also get you there quicker. Plus, compared to car rental or private tours, when you jump into a group in a public transport, it is less likely that you'll be scammed (or sent to places where they scam you into buying) or get lost.
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