Asia by Hammock

For any of you in SE Asia or planning on coming over here, here's a little info on the places we've stayed and tours we've done.

Sleeping

• Khao San Palace (Bangkok, Thailand): 325B Twin with Air Con. A nice place right in the heart of Khao San Road. They have a dirty, but incredibly wonderful, rooftop pool.
• Eagle House 2 (Chaing Mai, Thailand): 240B Twin with Fan. A relaxed place with fine rooms. No pressure to do their tours and it sounds like they had an awesome cooking course.
• Libra House (Chaing Mai, Thailand): 350B Twin with Air Con. We really like this place and they led a great 3 day trek. The people are funny but will pressure you to do their stuff.
• Thu Giang Guesthouse (Ha Noi, Vietnam): $6 Twin with Air Con. Rooms were not particularly good but the staff was incredibly friendly (gave us free internet, water, tea).
• Vinh Huy (Hoi An, Vietnam): $6 Twin with Air Con. Probably the nicest place we've stayed so far, the rooms are great and the people are friendly.
• Sao Mai 2 (Nha Trang, Vietnam): $7 Twin with Fan. An ok place with a great shower. About five minutes from the town and bars.
• The Original Bodhi Tree (HCMC, Vietnam): $8 Twin with Air Con. A fine place a block or two removed from the main backpacker street. The accomodation is above a restuarant that actually is the replical bodhi tree, the real one is next door.
• Lakeside 2 (Phonm Penh, Cambodia): $5 Triple with Fan. Really cheap during their off season. A nice place with a cool deck over the lake (though all the hostels in this area have cool decks over the lake).
• Popular Guesthouse (Siem Reep, Cambodia): $7 Twin with Fan. An ok guesthouse with a nice patio restaurant. Don't use the tuk-tuk's that are stationed here, you can get cheaper ones from the street. Good location.
• AD View (Thong Nai Pan, Koh Phangan, Thailand): 300 Baht Twin with Fan. A nice bungalow place on a really great beach. Some of the guesthouses towards the center may have more going on (and we heard Bamboo was really good) but they would lack AD's magical herbal healer. DON'T STAY IN HAT RIN
• AC Resort (Sairee Beach, Koh Tao, Thailand): 400 Baht (200 w/ diving) Twin with Fan. Nothing special about the bungalow but the pool was good and Pheonix divers was a good dive shop, as Masters Scuba Diver.
• Jungle Huts (Khoa Sak, Thailand): 150 Baht Single with Fan. Ok bungalows (no treehouses) though some others may have a slightly more scenic location. Friendly staff.
• Happy Lagoon (Khoa Lak, Thailand): 300 Baht Single with Fan. Great room, hot water, dresser, cleaning service with a good restaurant and view of the beach. A/C available.
• Mohsin Chalet (Palau Perhenthian, Malaysia): 20 RM Dorm Bed with Fan. A nice spot, bit set back from the beach. The dorm is nice, indoor flush toilets and showers. Restaurant plays movies at night.
• The Green Hut (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia): 20 RM Dorm Bed with A/C. A super hostel, right in the Golden Triangle. Bathrooms have flush toilets, toiletpaper!!!! and hot water. Really friendly and helpful staff.

Tours

• Hill Tribe Trek (Libra Guesthouse, Chaing Mai): 1800B 3D/2N. Really great tour, knowledgable English speaking guide and great food. Included Elephant riding and bamboo rafting. I thought visiting the hill tribes was a bit zooy but if you're gonna do it, do it with them.
• Perfume Pagoda (Hanoi Toserco, Hanoi): $12 1D. Perfume Pagoda is a good escape from Ha Noi and this tour was decent. The food was good and we met a bunch of really cool backpackers. We climbed to the top, it was hard but I thought it was worth it.
• Ha Long Bay (ODC Travel, Ha Noi): $53 3D/2N. Ha Long Bay was amazing and this tour was definitely worth it. The tourguides are great, food is good and they actually let you kayak. The tour is expensive but we had absolutely no problems (and other people had hoorror stories) but you get one small bed and while we met a lot of really cool people they were mostly older couples, not backpackers. Also, check out the floating fish restaurants in Cat Ba (consider eating dinner there) and there is a 2D option available.
• Nha Trang Island Tour (Mama Hahn, Nha Trang): $6 1d. A good tour, we lucked out and had a wonderful group of backpackers. Snorkeling and islands are nice but it was mainly a fun way to meet people. The floating bar is fun and the wine is terrible.
• Cu Chi Tunnels (Delta Adventure, HCMC): 1D. The tunnels themselves are pretty touristy but interesting, the live shooting range adds an interesting effect. Same as any tour there I imagine.
• Mekong Tour to Phonm Penh (Delta Adventure, HCMC): 2D, exit to Phonm Penh. The actual Mekong portion of this tour was crap, I would not recommend doing a Mekong tour unless you are interested in authentic dances to "if you're happy and you know it" or have an uncontrollable desire for coconut candy (admittedly quite good). The boat border trip from Chau Doc to Phonm Penh was amazing and this is the best way to cross from Vietnam to Cambodia. Made the previous day worth it.
• Lake Tour (Jungle Huts, Khao Sak): 1000 Baht 1D. Really awesome fun tour. Hiked up a river, went into a cave with chest high water, played in a waterfall, picked off leaches and had a good lunch. The guide was really knowledgable. They have a 2D/1N option where you stay on the lake which sounds nice and most bungalows offer a similar tour.