The social backpackers guide to a good time in Kuala Lumpur

The social backpackers guide to a good time in Kuala Lumpur

Saturday, 1 June 2019

Back in 2017 I embarked on my first solo trip; one which I had meticulously spend the past 3 months planning day by day. My adventure around Southeast Asia would start Kuala Lumpur (for 3 days) and then I would leave Malaysia until the end of my trip when I would have to go back to catch my return flight home. I planned to visit Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Bali, Java, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

That all changed from the day I touch down KL and met some people who later became some of my best friends.

Turns out I ended up spending 6 weeks of that trip in Malaysia and a whopping 26 days (almost a 3rd of the whole trip) just in Kuala Lumpur. I had no idea how awesome it was going to be; but as everyone says that's the great thing about travelling solo. I made my plans to suit myself and ended up leaving and flying back to Kuala Lumpur 4 times throughout.

I had such a good time that I never ended up getting around to writing about it and now, a year and a half later, I'm seeing people popping up on Twitter all the time saying that they going to Malaysia and asking questions. That is when I realised that I actually have quite a lot of knowledge on the subject.

This post is going to be a little bit different from the usual Kuala Lumpur City guide type blog posts. I had just come out of an eight year relationship, I made an awesome group of friends and all I was interested in doing was hanging out with them and meeting as many new people as possible. So whilst most of the Kuala Lumpur guides you might see online, cover the usual tourist hotspots; this one is going to be more about the social side of things.

Where to stay

I stayed between two different hostels and they were both awesome for different reasons - I would happily go back to both because I had absolutely wild time at each of them.

Sunshine Bedz

So this was the one that I booked when I did my crazy plan and considering it was the only part of that plan that I stuck do, I did a pretty good job. It lived up to its brilliant reviews and was very central with good transport links.

Although I can't really comment about how close it was to the tourist attractions because I didn't really see any of them, I can tell you it was very close the bars and restaurants, the shopping malls and had great transport links with a tube station just outside and a bus stop a bit further down.

The beds were super comfortable and every room was very clean from what I could see. I stayed in female dorms, mixed dorms, private rooms and I also stayed up chatting on the sofa till 5 a.m. most nights so I feel pretty qualified to comment. And as the 5 a.m. chats suggest the atmosphere for making friends at this place was perfect.

Step Inn Too

I ended up here as one of my friends from Sunshine bedz took on a job there. I would definitely recommend this place for the party hungry backpacker; although if that's not you, the beds are in a different part of the building so it's actually very quiet and comfortable for sleeping as well.

For me, the location for this one wasn't as good plus when you walk in, it doesn't really look much but the community and atmosphere at this hostel was so awesome that's it didn't even matter that the nightclubs were a bit of a trek (25 minute walk maybe).

What I loved about staying here was that we didn't even go to the Bar Street most nights instead we bought alcohol from 7-Eleven and got drunk and reception; and when it got late we relocated to the backstreet road just outside the front door. 19.50MR for that bottle of vodka? £3.70.

As mentioned, the beds are completely out of the way so everything was quiet. Also I stayed in the 4 bed dorms and the 20 bed dorm which was more like lots of twin rooms all joint together. I found that 20 bed dorms are the best place to meet and bond with people so don't be scared to book one.

Jalan Alor

Jalan Alor or food Street as everyone calls it is just down the road from Sunshine bedz and one of my favourite places to eat from the entirety of my trip. The food scene in Malaysia is actually pretty cool with a mix of all sorts of other Asian foods but quite a strong influence from India.

Heading to Jalan Alor was the first thing I did when I arrived in Kuala Lumpur and it was the best way to thrust myself straight into crazy Southeast Asian City life.

An incredible street buzzing with people and lights and restaurants and street food vendors. I'd go on my own or I'd go with my friends and we would all just pick up things from different places as we went. Thai, Indian, dumplings, hot pots, coconut ice cream & fresh fruit.

I'm not going to lie, as a bunch of Brits Abroad we did spend quite a lot of time at Nandos - but if it is a short, flying visit, I recommend just taking advantage of all the amazing local food.

The Malls

Malaysia has some impressive malls and I love that you can pretty much find anything you need - One of my friends was looking for a resistance band so he could do some exercise (travelling made me fat) and of course we found one - I'm not even sure I'd be able to find one of those in London.

I spent most of my time in Berjaya Times Square with my English friends, usually looking for our KFC fix, playing snooker in a sketchy underground club just outside or bowling; which is not something I imagined I'd be doing all that often but whatever. This place was literally like 10 stories tall and had a full sized roller coaster inside.

Pavilion was also in the centre of town but was a lot more classy and full of designer shops and nice restaurants so I didn't spend as much time there.

Nightlife

Or Bar Street as everyone knows it. I had to actually look up the official name of this place and according to Google it's called Changkat, Bukit Bintang. I have absolutely no idea how to get there since I only ever saw it when I was drunk and had followed the rest of the group there but I can tell you that is a very short walk from Sunshine bedz and there is a very tasty shwarma stall on the way back!

One thing that I found incredible about nightlife in Kuala Lumpur was that women drink for free on Wednesdays (ladies night) and most other nights as well actually if I'm being honest. I could not believe it when I first got there but you just go to the bar ask for the drink and then take it. I'm sure there are people who will say there's no alcohol in them but they got me drunk every single night so believe what you want.

Now I know this is not something you can just magic up but the best thing that I did in Kuala Lumpur was make friends with two locals. The boys were already friendly with my English friends when I arrived and thanks to them I got to see a lot more of KL life then I would have done otherwise. They snuck us into hotels with amazing rooftop pools, they got us half price meals at restaurants and they booked an apartment so we could celebrate a birthday away from the other guests and hostel rules with an incredible view over the city from the 22nd floor.

So that's how I spent the majority of my time in Kuala Lumpur. I did check out a few of the tourist spots like China town and the Petronas Towers (and I was actually lucky enough to see Malaysia's last Formula 1 race) but I'm sure you can find all the information you need about that on Google. If you do have any more questions about social life and meeting people in Kuala Lumpur then please don't hesitate to email me or drop me a tweet

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MINIMAL GUIDE: What to pack for a working holiday in Australia

MINIMAL GUIDE: What to pack for a working holiday in Australia

Wednesday, 20 March 2019

This infographic from Viessmann points out, that a return flight from London to Hong Kong uses 3.4 tonnes of C02 and that's a pretty big contribution to anyone's carbon footprint, let alone someone who likes to spend as much time in Asia as I do. With its hole in the Ozone and huge parts of the great barrier reef dying, Australia, where I'm heading to this time, knows more than most places, the effects of  high C02 levels and global warming. There are loads of ways for us to cut our C02 levels, be it replacing an old boiler, or in my case, trying to reduce my number of flights.

With so many places that I want to see, I'd be flying forward and backwards all the time if I did them separately but doing an extended trip, with just two long haul flights at either end (and then mostly land travel in between) is great because I still get to see lots of different places but I leave make less of an impact on the planet!

One of the problems I do encounter with a longer trip though is what and how much, to pack! My latest adventure, back to Oz will be the third time that I've had to pack a carry on suitcase for an extended trip and out of the three it was the hardest.

The first time I had no idea I was doing, I definitely didn't pack enough but that was fine because I didn't care what I looked like when I was backpacking, it was hot and I was either drunk or hungover most of the time; plus it was my first trip and I was excited to buy the singlets and elephant pants.

The second time, was three weeks after I got home from my first trip and I was so desperate to get back to the Thai sunshine, that I didn't even unpack; just pulled out the things that I didn't use and left with less that 6kgs of stuff.

This time I'm going straight to Oz and having spent 6 months there already, I have a little bit more of an idea of what I want to take back with me. Hopefully it'll be useful knowledge for anyone struggling with what to pack for their own trip!

I know it's very hot there, I know I want to work in office and I know I'll probably be quite active to; so I've decided to split my packing into 4 different options, day, night, work and gym. More basically, I'll need smart(ish) & casual.


Tops

For the day, I want tops that work for the gym and for the sunshine - both mean I'm going to get quite hot so I'm looking at light, floaty materials and cropped shapes. I'm also taking some cute cami's that will work for both the day and night depending what I pair them with. It's important to pack things that are versatile. It's kinda like a 6 month capsule wardrobe.

          - 6 t-shirts and strappy cami's - 4 day/gym and 2 night/work
          - 3 sports bras - which I wear as tops to the gym
          - 3 cropped jumpers - I only want to take 2 but I can't pick
          - 1 long cardigan - works as kaftan, covers shoulders at work, got worn loads last time
          - 2 bralet tops - clubs or bars and are great for lazing around the house as well
          - 2 oversized t-shirts - when I cant be bothered to get dressed.

 Bottoms

I'm taking mostly shorts because that's what I wore most last time with my active lifestyle in Oz. These don't really work very well for smart occassions so I'm taking a black skirt as officewear too.

          - 4 gym shorts - great for lazing around/food shopping/ will probs wear these most
          - 2 fashion shorts - going out
          - 2 leggings - mostly for going out at night (food shopping, McDonalds lol etc)
          - 1 black bodycon skirt - for work but will probably get used quite alot
          - 1 cycle shorts - in case I fancy doing some more Uber.
          - 1 tracksuit bottoms - to travel in

Dresses

This is something I really missed wearing on my last trip since I only took 2 to Thailand. I often found myself wishing I had brought more because they look like I've put a bit more effort in and they are just so easy to throw on. 

          - 3 light, floaty dresses that work for day, night and casual office work.
          - 1 heavy, denim, strappy dress that I  bought in Thailand and just cant go without

Shoes

Last time I left the UK with a pair of trainers and a pair of flip flops. I came back a year later with six pairs of shoes so I need to be prepared this time.

          - Converse x 3 (I couldn't choose ok, this is excessive for me)
          - Air Max
          - Black Pumps
          - Flip-flops

 Other Bits

        

          - 2 Bikini's - never to the beach, only to the apartment pool
          - Sunglasses - my awesome new Ray-Bans from Smartbuy Sunglasses *GIFTED
          - Underwear - one weeks worth works for me
          -  Minimal mini toiletries - just so I can brush my teeth & shower when I get there.
          -  Perfume - 30ml so I can take it if I go anywhere on a budget
          - Backpack - mostly for the plane - snacks, laptop, passport.
          - Handbag - I'm taking a black cross body and a mini backpack for the gym or days out
          - Rain coat - it rains alot in Queensland.

For me, this is overpacking and I would never have packed this much for my Asia trips - I literally went there for 3 t-shirts, but I feel like I can take a bit more if I'm looking to settle in one place for longer. Although the weight is a bit more, with the help of my packing cubes, it all literally takes up exactly the same amount of space so why not?! They do an amazing job of getting everything compressed and into your suitcase neatly. I got mine on Ebay for £5 and I wouldn't travel without them now. 

From this:

to this:

 I hope this has been useful if any of you are off to Oz!

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Things To Do In Chiang Mai

Things To Do In Chiang Mai

Thursday, 1 March 2018

After my visit to Phuket in January, I decided to bypass Bangkok and fly straight back to my favourite part of Thailand: The North. During the first part of my trip last year, before I flew home for Christmas, I spent almost three weeks exploring Chiang Mai and loved it so much that I was eager to go back just a few weeks later. The first time around, I had only planned to spend 4 or 5 nights there but as soon as I arrived, I realised that there was just so much to see and do, it very quickly became my favourite destination of the trip. In total, I must have spent over a month there and I loved every day.

Whilst most people I met moved on quiet fast, travelling so slowly meant I had time to see the place properly, between exciting day trips, exploring the city, eating absolutely everything and even taking a few days to work remotely with a banana smoothie by my side. Throw in a couple of hungover days spent monging out in the common area with my new friends and you've got yourself the ultimate backpacking destination right there. Here are some of my highlights:

Sunset at Wat Phra That Doi Suthep 
I didn't get around to visiting this famous temple the first time I was there so when one of my friends suggested that we get a group together and split a car up to see it, I was ready to go within seconds! Nine of us clambered into a red truck and drove 45 minutes up a twisty road into the mountains. We grabbed a smoothie (priorities) and made a start on the 300 steps up to the top; making it there just in time for the most incredible sunset. After the sun had gone down over the city, we wandered into the temple complex where we saw the famous golden pagoda and listened as monks prayed outside of it.

A Food Tour

The food is one of the things I loved best about Chiang Mai and whilst I liked to stick to my favourite cheap, street eats, a food tour; which I did with A Chefs Tour was the perfect way to get to know some of Chiang Mai's more hidden spots. They carted us around town in a private song-thaw (similar to a tuk tuk) showing us all sorts of local dishes that I would never have thought to try otherwise. One of my favourite new finds was the lady in the cowboy hat (that's how the locals know her) who serves slow cooked, succulent pork with rice and half a ducks egg. I also loved the deep fried sweet potato balls which we found in a local food market outside of the main town - I had had sweet potato balls the night before on the main tourist street and they weren't even half as nice! These guys know where all the best food is and having a local guide to explain to origins and correct ways to eat the food made the whole thing so authentic. Four hours later, I went to bed absolutely stuffed! 

Partying At ZOE In Yellow

Zoe turned out to be my favourite partying spot in all of Southeast Asia. We didn't go every single night but lets just say we went more often than not. It wasn't quite a club, more a bar that spilled out onto the streets, add in crazy strobe lights and some intense electric dance music and that's Zoes in a nutshell. It actually closed very early so from there most people would go on to Spicy, which was a proper club that stayed open later and just so happened to be in the same direction as my hostel. Don't forget to grab a pad Thai from just outside the bar, I may have been drunk when I ate it but I'm pretty sure the stand outside Zoes was the cheapest and best pad thai that I ate in Thailand!

Taking a Cooking Class 

With food involved, of course I chose to do the full day cooking class over just the morning session. I opted to do my class with Asia Scenic; it was rated number 3 on Trip advisor and I can 100% recommend them to you as well. They were a very reasonable 1,200 baht for a full day plus going with them meant that I had the option to do my class at a small farm outside of the main town rather than at the busy head office right in the middle of it. 

 I'm a big city girl but even I appreciated being away from the hustle and bustle and cooking in a serene, open space. The whole day was a great experience - we cooked and ate 7 different dishes - from spring rolls for starters to mango and sticky rice for dessert - and even got an hour in the middle to wander around the grounds - or take a nap, you know, whatever you want. The dropped me back to my hostel at the end of the day, totally stuffed!

Yi Peng / Loy Kratong: The Lantern Festival

I timed my first trip to Chiang Mai specifically around the annual lantern festival which happens every November and it was just a magical time to be there. With different events happening through the week, the incredible atmosphere can be felt all over the city. 

The hostel that I spent the majority of my time at, Stamps Backpackers, organised things each night so we could all get involved and experience the festival together. The festival is all about giving thanks to the goddess of water so on the first night, we made our own kratongs, (which are little flower float things) lit their candles and sent the on their way along the river (before heading to Zoes of course). 

The next evening, we got in another red truck and made our way to the Mae Jo university which is where the main event happens. There we bought paper lanterns, wrote our hopes and dreams on them and sent them up into the sky. It was pretty amazing but actually it was the night afterwards which was the most memorable for me. A few of us headed back to the river and sat on the banks as hundreds of people let off more lanterns from the bridge. It was an absolute health and safety disaster with alot of them flying strait into the trees and crashing down in flames all around us but what an incredible experience. I would count it as one of my favourite nights ever. 

Chiang Rai Day Trip

Chiang Rai is three hours away from Chiang Mai and is home to some of the regions most interesting and recognisable temples; specifically the white temple. It is a very long day, leaving at 7am and not getting back until around 10 that evening but it was worth it to see the famous temple. As well as the white temples, the tour included lunch and then on to two more temples and a stop off at a traditional long neck village. 

A Few Days In Pai

If there is one thing that you must do when you're in the north of Thailand, it's visit Pai. This little hippy town is three hours away, up in the mountains and the journey itself is an experience with 762 twists and turns in the road,  it was the craziest drive I've every been on but I loved every minute of it.

Apart from that, Pai is an incredible place surrounded by big open roads, beautiful waterfalls and hot springs - it's perfect if you want to rent a bike although still so much fun if you don't. Apart from all the natural beauty, it's home to my favourite street food market in Thailand and is absolutely avocado heaven; like you wouldn't believe. Honestly, you guys know how much I love my avo, I've never seen anything like it before. 

Again, the few days that I planned to stay turned into 6 nights because I wanted to stay for a new jungle party event which has taken the area by storm. I went to one of the first ever Electric Valley nights; a rave in the middle of nowhere; but they are happening every few weeks now as they are so popular. 

Eat Everything

 As well as all of these things, I have spent many a day just wandering around the city hoping from temple to cafe and back again - there are so many of both through the city that you can actually do this day after day and still not see them all. The food scene in Chiang Mai is utterly amazing and incredibly cheap so obviously I took full advantage of that on a daily basis. It's not unusual to find a freshly cooked meal for 35 baht, that's less than a pound. My favourite was a plate of garlic chicken with rice and a fried egg. 

 I'd recommend trying the local dishes such as Khao Soi, which is a curry noodle dish and mango with sweet sticky rice whilst you're here, it's the best you'll find in the country believe me.

Visit An Elephant Sanctuary
This is a really popular thing to do in northern Thailand and you'll find a whole array of different tour companies to book through. A lot of people booked up the day before but I actually booked online a couple of months in advance because I'd heard so much about The Elephant Nature Park beforehand and spaces on their tours fill up months in advance.

All of their elephants have been rescued from abusive pasts and it was super sad to hear some of their stories, especially when you could see how they have been affected but here the elephants have much better lives and are free to wander around as they please.

I did the whole day trip again and between walking around the ground with a guide to meet some of them, we spent the morning feeding them fruit and the afternoon washing them in the river. All in all, its quite an expensive day trip at 2500 baht but a big buffet lunch was also included as were transfers too and from my hostel so it was well worth doing!

And that brings an end to my incredible month in Chiang Mai - I hope I've inspired you to visit if you ever get the chance! 

*Thanks to A Chefs Tour for hosting me on the food tour

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Mini Guide to Phuket

Mini Guide to Phuket

Friday, 19 January 2018

I visited Phuket for the first time almost six years ago. It was my first venture to Asia and after a few days in Bangkok, we headed down south to the island to relax. My budget was a bit bigger that time since it was a holiday so we stayed in a really lovely resort up in the mountains and didn't really leave it that often. I guess that's always the way with resorts; five restaurants, a bar, a spa and a swimming pool, was all that we needed. This time around, I’m backpacking which was a whole different experience. Phuket is a very touristy part of Thailand but I enjoyed my time there all the same; it's my first destination of 2018 so to start off this years posts here’s what I’ve been up to this week!

Sleeping & Partying at Slumber Party Hostel:

I stayed at Slumber Party Hostel by Bodega and it was the perfect base for my trip. They are a well known chain around Thailand and I had big expectations after everything I'd heard about them through my travels so far; and I can confirm that they delivered.

 The Phuket hostel is in a great location near the infamous Bangla Road and also the beach. The accommodation part was perfect. It was clean, quite and comfortable and the beds were freshly made every day - I managed to get a good night’s sleep every single night. The best thing about this hostel though, is its atmosphere; if I wanted to be social (and I did) there was always the opportunity to party downstairs. They run a bar crawl three times a week and beer pong every other night which always gets everyone going. Also, like all good party hostels, there is free alcohol at the bar most days and at 6pm like clockwork you can expect a knock on your dorm door from one of the staff with a bottle of vodka.

I stayed for 8 days in total and even then I didn't want to leave. By the end of it, I had made good friends with some of the staff and it just felt like home - definitely a sign of a good hostel!

Touring in a Tuk tuk:

A couple of us from the hostel got together and hired a tuk tuk driver (we went for a pink one obvs) to take us around the southern part of the island for one of the days. We decided what things we wanted to go and see and spent an hour bartering for a reasonable price. I love how hostels bring people together. You can be complete strangers one second and the next you've spent all day having fun together.

The White Buddha:

This was one of our stops with the tuk tuk driver and is one of Phuket’s most famous attractions. Surprisingly, it was free entry to visit. The buddha itself it 45 metres tall and kinda sorta unfinished at the moment - you can give donations to buy the white tiles (White Burmese jade marble apparently) that cover the buddha and you can also buy the little bells that surround it. I loved the atmosphere these gave, the sound of bells in the wind at the top of the island was very serene.

It sits on the top of a hill so as well as going to see the iconic buddha, you get a pretty cool viewpoint as well.

 

Wat Chalong:

I’ll admit it, a lot of people, myself included get a bit templed out after a few weeks in Thailand but I really liked this one - it’s the biggest and probably the most popular temple in all of Phuket, you could tell it was very well looked after. And again, this was free entry which was actually quite surprising because otherwise, I have found Phuket to be the most expensive part of Thailand.  

We bought candles and incense which we lit outside the temple, before taking our shoes off and wandered around inside.
 

Kata Beach:

Phuket is famous for its beaches and whilst Patong beach was walking distance from the hostel, we decided to stop off at Kata beach for lunch after our morning of sight seeing; not before having a little splash around in the sea.

Phuket Bar Crawl:

This is the one I mentioned earlier and I did it again and again. It happens every Monday, Wednesday and Friday and was such a great opportunity to get everyone together, meet people and just have fun.   The price includes a free t-shirt (which honestly is all you usually need to convince me - I do love a customised tee printed for a specific event) but you also get food at the hostel before you go out which is a pretty clever idea really. As well as that, and shots at each bar, you get a bucket and that was me done for the evening; I didn’t have to buy any more drinks for the rest of the night!

Also, the staff from the hostel always make sure you get home safe which is super reassuring, especially when you're travelling solo.

Visiting Koh Phi Phi & James Bond Island 
You can do day tours that go to both Phi Phi and the famous James Bond Island and then back to your accommodation in Phuket but alot of people like myself, like to stay overnight on Phi Phi. It super expensive compared to the rest of Thailand but definitely a lot of fun - sometime too much fun! I can only handle a couple of days there at a time before I have to retreat back to normality. Saying that, the boys and I managed to get alot of rest during the day because while the beach is the home to some of the craziest parties on the island, it's pretty serene and beautiful during the day. We did one night partying on the beach and one night in a nice resort away from the madness.

After Phi Phi we headed back to Slumber party for a couple more nights of fun in Phuket before leaving for the next destination! 

*This post contains a sponsored link

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Town house 373 Hostel, Ho Chi Minh City

Town house 373 Hostel, Ho Chi Minh City

Wednesday, 26 July 2017

I  did a hell of a lot of research for my recent trip to Vietnam. I've been to Asia before but always though a travel agent so booking this trip by myself was a big thing. I knew that I was going to be a long way from home, very hot and very tired so it was pretty important that I picked places that I could come back to relax after a long day. I didn't want the stress of being unhappy with where I was staying ruining my trip. 

Whilst most of these things are a given when you book a nice hotel, it was especially important to me with my anxiety and OCD, that my accommodation was clean and safe; and good A/C was a bonus. Our hostel in Ho Chi Minh City was particularly important because it was going to be the first hostel we stayed at in Vietnam and the place we would go to having come off of a very long flight. I picked Town house 373 which was part of three town house hostels in HCMC.

With a 9.1 rating on hostel world, Town houses 373 seemed like a good choice. They helped with booking my airport transfer and we arrived at around 7.30am. Reception was bright, spacious and as soon as I entered, I felt totally at ease to leave my bags there in reception which is very odd for me. They continued to make us feel safe throughout - I was very pleased to see that they had a padlock on the door each night which they had to open for us to get in.

 

Although it is located down an alley way, a lot of places in HCMC were, it was the perfect location for me as it was close to the backpacker district but it was on a different street so it was very peaceful. Whilst at first I was a little worried about how far down the alleyway it was; after I walked down it on my own for the first time, I realised that alleys here are not like alleys in London and it was totally fine, there were other hostel and shops the whole way down.

The room was my biggest shock and that was in a good way. As we opened the door, we were hit with cool air. The photos on Hostelworld look a tad bit digitally created so I wasnt 100% sure whether to believe them but surprisingly, it looked exactly the same. Again it was very light with white walls and a blue stripe design behind the wall mounted TV. Yes, there was a TV; and a safe. Amazing. 

We paid $90 for three nights in a private twin en suite room ($15 / £11 per person per night) but were upgraded to a private triple room so there was loads of space. The beds themselves were quite hard but I actually prefer that when it's not my own bed - I'd also say that these were actually the cleanest of the trip with not a stain in sight.

The room came with a daily free bottle of water each, a complementary large and small towel and was cleaned daily - just like a hotel! The bathroom was also equipped with shower gel, shampoo and toothbrushes.

It was pretty perfect for what I wanted but I thought I better mentioned the bad points here. These things didn't bother us in the slightest but I guess it's worth mentioning. There wasn't a lift so we had to carry our stuff up two flights of stairs and the A/C was great but it was loud although that was nothing a pair of ear plugs couldn't fix - apart from that, it was actually very quiet at night time.

Lastly our shower leaked so the bathroom floor did get quite wet but as I said, it was cleaned daily and I brought shower flip flops so it didn't make a difference to me.

The wifi was fast and the breakfast was great with a selection of fruit including bananas, many of which we took out on with us for the day plus they did freshly cooked eggs. There was also a fridge with the cheapest water that we found in the whole of our stay; a small bottle there cost 5,000 VND which translates to 17p.

This hostel wasn't social at all but that was just what I was looking for. There was always someone to welcome you at reception but apart from that, there was hardly anyone around. For me, it was the perfect place to come back to after an exhausting day exploring the crazy city outside.

More Vietnam Posts: 
Two week Vietnam itinerary
Cruising Halong Bay 

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