The Hive Backpackers - Singapore

Really good place with very friendly staff, genuinely free internet access (with 4 high speed terminals as well as wireless access and no time limits), comfy beds, a homey atmosphere, good kitchen facilities, free local phone calls and free breakfast (toast and jam / peanut butter / etc).

The location isn't bad either - in the edge of little india and 3 mins walk from Boon Keng MRT station.

I think the hostel is pretty new, or maybe they have only just rennovated the second building, as there seems to be some (unobtrusive) work going on and more furniture being delivered.

If you're staying in the main building (where reception is) there is only a small communal area, but your keycard should give you access to the second building where there is a big lounge with comfy sofas, 2 more PCs with internet access, cable TV, dvd player and a big kitchen.

The staff are great and go beyond the call of duty - we put our washing on the other day before we went out and they put it in the dryer for us when it was done. They're happy for us to hang about today and use the free internet and loung whilst we wait for an evening flight.

We stayed in a different private room in different buildings each of the 2 nights as they we so fully booked we couldn't get 2 nights in the same room. Both rooms were good and share bathrooms were clean, though much spacier in the second building.

They have dorm rooms and 'cubby hole' rooms which are a step up from dorms, but still share rooms, for a few extra dollars.

I strongly recomend staying at KHAOSAN TOKYO if you are staying in Tokyo no matter if it is for one day or a couple months!

There are two places, the KHAOSAN TOKYO and the KHAOSAN TOKYO ANNEX. The oringinal Khaosan is a lot smaller and only has a set amount of people that they can fit in there. If you can, try to stay at the ANNEX, reserve ahead of time because the place is always booked. The ANNEX is about 10x bigger than the original, has better sleeping and living facilities.

It's in Asakusa right across the brigde from subway station. At only $20 a night w/ free internet and living area with plasma screen with dvd player available and cable.

There are usually 30+ people there per night and everybody is very freindly. The only catch is that there is no landry in the building (but there is a laundry mat only a minute away) and that they don't include bathroom materials (hand soap, body soap, shampoo, etc.), these can also be bought a minute away from there. This place is only about a 7-10 minute walk away from the Asakusa station which is a little inconvienentm but still worth it for the price.

The great thing about this place that seperates it from a normail youth hostel is that there is no curfew and they don't kick you out durring the day.

Check out there website.

if you like drinking beer, and let's face it, who doesn't

KL

Bangkok

Jakarta

Where are the ATMs in Phnom Penh?

NORTHERN LAOS:

After replying to someone else's post I realized how much I enjoyed Laos and how it had not yet been represented in this thread.

If you can make it to the Lao New Year (Pi Mai Lao), otherwise known as the Water Splashing Festival in mid-April, I HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend it.

If you can get up north a bit get to some of the boat races in Meung Ngoi. You need to take a river boat to get there. Here is my experience in that great town:

Meung Ngoi and

Luang NamTha.

Pi Mai Lao!

PC

Yunnan is one of the most beautifull and mysterious place in China.More than 25 minorities live here.You can see all kinds of cultures which differ from rest place of China.Shangri-la,Dali,lijiang,Xishuangbanna.... have become the most famous resort.

The numerous non-Chinese tribes that the traveler encounters in western China, form perhaps one of the most interesting features of travel in that country. It is safe to assert that in hardly any other part of the world is there such a large variety of languages and dialects, as are to be heard in the country which lies between Assam and the eastern border of Yün-nan and in the Indo-Chinese countries to the south of this region.

snail walk around Yunnan
http://www.yunnantrack.com/

Surely, you could go to some asian mountain also.
Enjoy your life and go to nature outdoor!
www.asianmount.com

you could got a little bit anwser from this :
www.asianmount.com

Go to Laos! Go up north, to any small tiny village, and get away from the hordes of people in Asia! Laos is just incredible. Also check out the Gibbon Project, coolest thing ever! Swinging by zip lines 500 meters long, 150 meters high, and staying in tree houses. I love that country.

Also forget the beaches of Thailand and go down to Malaysia. Tioman island is nice, but the Perhintians are top notch! No bars, very few lights, NO roads, just blue seas and beautiful beaches!

Borneo! Get to Sipadan and do some diving, climb Kota Kinabalu, and go to KK and eat super cheap seafood in the market while watching the most beautiful sunsets in the world.

Ahh I miss Asia

Could we have that map a little bigger, please!



My favorites in Asia are (in that order)

Pakistan
Crazy, beautiful Pakistan. Forget every thing you think you know about terrorist-harbouring, Taliban-teaching Pakistan. People in Pakistan are very welcoming (especially, but not just in the North). You can do all the hiking and trekking you do in Nepal - just a little bit more off the beaten track. You talk to Afghani refugees in Peshawar (maybe after firing a couple rounds off a AK-47), you'll sip tea in a crazy bazaar in a unknown city. And that's not all: it's freakin' cheaper than India.

Kyrgyzstan
Stay with locals on the former spa destination of Lake Issykul. Hike as many hills and mountains as you can possibly imagine. Go up on an alp, where live is as calm as you can imagine. Hitchhike into China. And everything with being surrounded by some of the nicest people you've ever met.

Kazakhstan
Hike in the mountains around Almatay (or hike from Almatay into Kyrgyzstan). See what humans can do to nature when you search for the waters of the Aral Lake. Visit 'Little Switzerland' at Lake Burabay. Enjoy day-long train rides by sharing food and drink (and too many vodkas) with the locals. Check out the salad bar at Schue train station.

Central Asia for ever!

quote:

Enjoy day-long train rides by sharing food and drink (and too many vodkas) with the locals.

With local MEN, I presume.

I am a hong kong student. I live in Beijing for two years and there are some snack streets I want to recommend to all of you. Eating out in a snack street is the dinning experience you can afford to miss in Beijing.
1. Donghuamen Night Snack Street
2. Longfusi Snack Street
3. Gui Street
and for the hotel booking
i will recommend this one:
Commune by the Great Wall Kempinski

Thailand

If you have more time than money and aren't looking for luxury, 3rd class on ordinary trains is the way to go. I just went from Lamphung (about 60 km south of Chiang Mai) to Bangkok for 118 baht. I'd guess that all the way from Chiang Mai would be about 130 baht. Buses or the hard sleeper train would probably be around 5 times as much. It does require two days to do this though from Chiang Mai to Bangkok, with an overnight layover, as there isn't one ordinary train that goes all the way through. (There is an ordinary train going all the way from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, but you would still want to break it up, as it'd be more than 24 hours!)

Just make sure it is an ordinary train, as the other ones have considerable surcharges.

If you're looking for cheap accomodation near the train station, it pays to ask the locals (rohm rahm yu ti nae?). It seems like actual hotels are usually placed a considerable distance from the train station (and in non-touristy places are more expensive), but we found one beauty parlor that offered a couple rooms in the back in one little town we stopped in. Never would have found it without asking the locals, as it was not advertised at all.

Hi,
There are so many places I ADORE in SE Asia...

Bangkok! Crazy, polluted, noisy, colourful, very bling bling, shoppers haven, you never what is around the corner... but I love it. For all those reasons.
Thailand! I especially like Kanchanaburi, it is a great antidote to Bkk. And there is lots to do and see.
Chaing mai has a great feel about it, totally different to BKK. And the islands of course... I like Ko Samet and Ko Tao in the Gulf, and i really enjoyed Krabi.

Myanmar! I can't wait to go back... Bagan is simply jaw droppingly beautiful, and makes a great contrast to Angkor. I also loved Mandalay and Yangon. All an amazing contrast to the rest of SE Asia... even with the junta in charge... go see for yourself!

Cambodia is amazing. I LOVE Siem Reap... the temples are magnificent. And the Ton Le Sap lake is pretty impressive too. I also enjoyed Phnom Penh, very different to other cities in SE Asia.

There will be more as I visit them, I haven't met a place in SE Asia I haven't liked yet!

Alison

Hotel with most character in Bangkok is the Atlanta which is just off the Sukumvhit (sp?) Road. It's one of the oldest in the city and is a beautiful art-deco building which has retained most of its original features. It's a bit like being in an agatha christie novel!

Also recommend the climb to reach 'The Pinnacles' in the the Mulu National Park in Malaysia. Incredible and not actually as bad as the book at base camp says it is and at least there aren't any leeches up there!!!