Honestly, what do you think a single ringgit is worth? Would you bother picking it up from the sidewalk?
Maxis wants to prove that our simple RM1 can actually go a very long way with their new plan, so we’ve partnered with them to take a look at some of our neighbouring ASEAN countries to see what RM1 can do over there.
1. Wake Yourself Up With a Cup Of Coffee In Indonesia
Valued at around 3000 Indonesian Rupiah, RM 1 is more than enough to get you an eye-opening Kopi Tubruk (Black Coffee). If you need a little dairy in your cup of joe, a Kopi Susu (White Coffee) is also available for less than RM1 from your local warung (street-side store).
2. Live On The Wild Side In Thailand
8 Thai Baht is what you’d get for RM1, and you might be wondering what the heading means. No, it has nothing to do with the infamous shows that go on there in Thailand.
Here’s what you can get for 5 to 7 Baht: Streetside Sushi.
These are available in some of the night markets around and about Thailand. A warning though: many locals recommend eating these with caution, but there are also many rave reviews about how good the sushi are (and real value for money).
For those with even more exotic tastes, top up to about 20 Baht to get a bag of bamboo worms or crickets, if you’re not squeamish of course.
3. Take A Ride Around Philippines
RM1 is the equivalent to roughly 11.35 Pesos.
For 8 Pesos, you can go for the ride of your life in one of Manila’s iconic Jeepneys.
Fun fact about Jeepneys: They have routes but often don’t have specific places to stop. You get to hop on and off and opportune moments when the driver slows down, BUT they’re one of the most wallet-friendly ways to travel around the city.
If this is a bit too exciting for you, Metro or bus fares start at 10 pesos, still well within our RM1 budget.
Save some of your pesos to get a balut instead. Served almost everywhere in Phillipines (from streetside hawkers to upscale restaurants), a balut is a developing bird embryo that is boiled and eaten from the shell.
4. Visit The Day AND Evening Markets In Laos
RM 1 hovers around 1900 Lao Kip. You’ve probably guessed it by now, and yes, our RM1 recommendation for Laos also involves food.
We’re Malaysian, you can’t stray too far from the munchies.
We’ll be upfront and say that we couldn’t confirm exact prices for food in the Laos markets, so we don’t actually know if RM1 is enough to buy any snacks there.
But what we can guarantee is an experience, and that’s worth a lot more than just RM1.
The Laos markets are known to feature traditional handcrafted goods, which you can admire, even if you don’t make any purchases. Locals reportedly also do not haggle here, a rarity for an Asian market.
5. Meet Some Aquatic Mammalians In Cambodia
900 Cambodian Riel can buy you a bunch of bananas in Cambodia, but we’re not going to show you that picture, because—let’s face it—bananas all look somewhat similar anyway.
Instead, stand on the banks of the Mekong River in Kratie and maybe you’ll catch a glimpse of the rare Irrawaddy dolphins. Unlike their bottle-nosed cousins, Irrawaddy dolphins don’t have a long beak but still have the affable dolphin grin.
6. See The Sights Of Myanmar
You can get 310 Myanmar Kyat for RM1, and that’s enough to buy you the fare for Myanmar’s intra-city rail system (priced at 300 Kyat).
Looping around the Yangon metropolitan area, the entire circular trip takes around 3 hours. If you wanted to experience both the city and country views of Myanmar, this is one of the most affordable ways to do it.
The Central Railway Station itself is also worth a visit. Designed by the famous architect U Tin, the building is an iconic structure that combines both Western and Burmese elements.
7. Sorry About Brunei And Singapore
Look guys, we really tried. But you know what the exchange rates are like, and as much as we love our Ringgit, it can’t do very much all alone at these two places.
It’s not us, it’s them.
But our very helpful colleagues across the Strait told us that our RM1 would save us a space in a food court, using Singapore’s time honoured tradition of chope-ing a seat with, yes you’ve guessed it, a packet of tissue (worth 30 Singaporean cents).
But before you feel all down thinking about what RM1 is worth in these countries, there’s actually a lot more that RM1 can get you.
That’s if you take up the RM1 roaming with the MaxisONE Plan. RM1 gives you 365 days of unlimited calls, data, and SMS in 8 ASEAN countries (even in “expensive” Singapore and Brunei!).
Not only is this value for money, it’s a great way to save when you’re overseas so that you’ll have a lot more than just RM1 to spend on other things when travelling.
For travellers whose fancies have been stirred, read more on how to get RM1 roaming here.
*This article was brought to you by Maxis. RM1 for 365 days roaming is available for Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Laos, Brunei, Cambodia, and Myanmar.
