{"id":4528,"date":"2018-11-24T18:32:18","date_gmt":"2018-11-24T10:32:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/keiyt.com\/?p=4528"},"modified":"2020-02-11T00:12:01","modified_gmt":"2020-02-10T16:12:01","slug":"backpacked-southeast-asia-in-2015-hostels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/keiyt.com\/index.php\/2018\/11\/24\/backpacked-southeast-asia-in-2015-hostels\/","title":{"rendered":"Backpacked Southeast Asia in 2015: Hostels"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\tThis blog post is 3 long years overdue but I hear people say, it’s better late than never.<\/p>\n

25 is the age most humans refer to as the quarter life. Yea me, too. It was a crisis. I began to question many things like my life’s purpose. In short, I was quite immature then to leave everything behind.<\/p>\n

(Fast forward today, I have no regrets.)<\/p>\n

Youth, Celebrating Moon Festival<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

One of the best decisions I made was to take a break<\/strong> from everything (work, studies, etc). Just to clear though, none of those decisions were planned except for the 21 days backpacking trip.<\/p>\n

21 days.
\n$900 pocket money.
\n4 countries.
\n7 cities.<\/h3>\n

Airfares <\/b>(Php 17,682.73)<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Manila – Siem Reap – Phnom Penh – Ho Chi Minh – Hanoi -Luang Prabang – Vientiane – Bangkok – (Kuala Lumpur – Singapore – Kuala Lumpur – Manila)<\/i><\/p>\n

I booked my Manila – Siem Reap – Ho Chi Minh – Manila in late 2014 during one of Cebu Pacific’s seat sale for only Php4,450.38<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Additionally, I availed AirAsia’s Asean Pass for Php 7,200<\/strong>. I first used my credits to travel from Udon Thani (the closest city from Vientiane, Laos) to Bangkok, Thailand. Taxes and other fees such as airport fees weren’t included (+ Php 3,991.57<\/strong>). I flew 4 more flights (Bangkok – Kuala Lumpur – Singapore – Kuala Lumpur – Manila) and I’d say it was worth it.<\/p>\n

Jetstar \u2605<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Since I wanted to maximize the Asean Pass on the last legs of my travel, I had to separately book a Jetstar flight from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi for Php<\/strong> 2,040.78<\/b>. This was to save time and this option was cheaper than the train.<\/p>\n

Accommodation <\/strong>(US$170 or Php 7,820 in 2015)<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n

All my hostels were prebooked prior to my flight. Meaning, I paid 15% deposit online and the rest I paid directly to the hostels. Each bed costs roughly around $6 – $8 a night. In Bangkok, my sister and I booked a private room en suite with a bathroom so it cost me a little over $11 a night.<\/p>\n

I spent my remaining hours in Siem Reap reading this book<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For both cities in Cambodia, I booked beds in One Stop Hostel<\/a>. Their location in Siem Reap ($24 for 3 nights<\/strong>) was close to Pub Street and a minibus station. Siem Reap rooms were spacious and same with the common areas. However, the water in the ladies restroom smelled rusty! While the Phnom Penh<\/a> ($21 for 3 nights<\/strong>) location was also close to the bus station, there’s nothing exciting around the area. Maybe KFC? But I really like their common area. I think I watched 2 – 3 movies on a day I didn’t feel like leaving the hostel. Despite the proximity to city proper to-go places, I’d say one can still survive strolling without the help of a tuktuk. I was able to walk from hostel to the national museum to the central market and back to the hostel.<\/p>\n

Mezzanine in One Stop Hoste, Phnom Penh, Cambodia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Roommates in Eco Backpackers Hostel, HCMC, Vietnam<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, I stayed at Eco Backpackers Hostel<\/a> ($24 for 4 nights<\/strong>) which was also close to the bus stop. I didn’t like how their top bunks are too high though it gave so much privacy. It was 2 blocks away from my favorite pork and broken rice meal vendor (grilled meat matched with their special sauce!!!). While Vietnam Backpackers hostel (The Original)<\/a> ($15 for 2 nights)<\/strong> in Hanoi was a bit far from the van drop (shuttle service from the airport) and location was a bit sketchy. I wasn’t able to sleep on my last night because I was scared. The room was very spacious and I was all alone lol<\/p>\n

Hiring bulletin in Vietnam Backpackers Hostel, Hanoi, Vietnam<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Backpackers Garden Hostel, Vientiane, Laos<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Wall in Backpackers Garden Hostel, Vientiane, Laos<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Hostels in Luang Prabang seemed like residential houses converted to hostels to accommodate the influx of tourists. The dorm room for 4 mixed individuals is too small (for me to smell travelers who totally disregarded hygiene or some sort) in Kounsavan Guest House<\/a> ($27.60 for 4 nights<\/strong>). The shower area and restrooms were also open to both sexes. Glad to have picked this guest house because if not I wouldn’t be able to see the Canadians who I loaned some US$$$$ for their Laos visa (more of that in a different entry). In Vientiane, I stayed in Backpackers Garden Hostel<\/a> ($14 for 2 nights<\/strong>). The hostel was easy to miss so when Google Maps showed we passed the hostel already, I panicked. Had to walk back for 5 minutes and look for the hostel on my own at around 7 – 8 in the evening. They only had mix dorm rooms which was fine because there were two female Thais in the same room. What I didn’t like was the shower and restrooms were on the ground floor while the dorm rooms were on the second floor.<\/p>\n

Bathroom in Au Bon Hostel, Bangkok, Thailand<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In Bangkok, my sister and I stayed in Au Bon Hostel<\/a> ($88.80 for 4 nights<\/strong>). Their location wasn’t far from Khao San Road. We also walked to\/from the Grand Palace (or did we???). Finally on this trip, an en suite bath and a larger bed!!!! Since it was few blocks from the infamous backpackers’ area, it was quiet and peaceful. I got to walk to\/from Thipsamai Pad Thai.<\/p>\n

To be continued (I need to face my school requirements lol)…<\/i>\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This blog post is 3 long years overdue but I hear people say, it’s better late than never. 25 is the age most humans refer to as the quarter life. Yea me, too. It was a crisis. I began to question many things like my life’s purpose. In short, I was quite immature then toRead more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[25,26,37,46,49,50,63,65,69,70,71,79,135,150,151,174,198,251,343,352,356,364,372,373,405,422,427,453,518,548,550,575,653,654,678,706,752,802,812,813,814],"class_list":["post-4528","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-travel","tag-25","tag-2015-trip","tag-accommodation","tag-agoda","tag-airasia","tag-airfare","tag-asian","tag-au-bon-hostel","tag-backpacker","tag-backpackers-garden-hostel","tag-backpacking","tag-bangkok","tag-cambodia","tag-cebu-pacific","tag-cebupacific","tag-cities","tag-countries","tag-eco-backpackers-hostel","tag-guest-house","tag-hanoi","tag-hcmc","tag-ho-chi-minh-city","tag-hostels","tag-hostelworld","tag-jetstar","tag-kounsavan-guest-house","tag-laos","tag-luang-prabang","tag-one-stop-hostel","tag-philippine-peso","tag-phnom-penh","tag-pocket-money","tag-sea-2015","tag-sea-backpacking","tag-siem-reap","tag-southeast-asia","tag-thailand","tag-us","tag-vientiane","tag-vietnam","tag-vietnam-backpackers-hostel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/keiyt.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4528","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/keiyt.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/keiyt.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/keiyt.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/keiyt.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4528"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/keiyt.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4528\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4599,"href":"https:\/\/keiyt.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4528\/revisions\/4599"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/keiyt.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4528"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/keiyt.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4528"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/keiyt.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4528"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}