Originally posted on Travel Asia - Travel Europe| Bangkok to Krakow.com
Khao San Road from Flickr by rbrands
Southeast Asia is unlike any other backpacker trail – incredibly beautiful, but well trodden to the point of being worn out by travellers looking for an authentic experience at the bottom of a whisky bucket.
It’s also different from Europe or Australia/NZ where there are plenty of party hostels bursting with backpackers in every town. In Asia, hostels don’t really exist and dorms are few and far between. When you’re new in town, you have to choose some kind of guesthouse on the spectrum from rundown rat-hole to 5-star luxury. If you’re travelling alone, you’ll have to put in a bit more effort to meet people – on buses, out and about, in bars and the usual.
More than anything else, it’s the kind of accommodation you choose to stay in that will determine what kinds of travellers you meet and the experiences you have.
Nearly all Southeast Asia trips will start in Bangkok due to the amount of great flight deals available, provided you know where and how to look. It’s a hard city to get to grips with at first; if you don’t want to stay in the backpacker’s ghetto that is Khao San Road then you have to explore the city to find the nicer areas. Renting an apartment in Bangkok, even for a short time, will give you a real taste for life in the capital away from the overpriced pad thais and neon sunglasses of the backpacker area. A popular area for rentals is the pleasant yet affordable Th. Sukhumvit, a long road that runs through heart of the city.
Moving on from Bangkok, Hong Kong is an essential pit stop if you’re lucky to have more than a bare-bones budget. Unlike Bangkok, there’s a feeling that Hong Kong just gets on and does its own thing; if you like it, you like it, if not then… so what. It’s huge, unapologetic and stunning. If you’ve got the urge to splurge, then here’s the place to do it, as you can actually get a lot of bang for your buck. In example, accommodation in Hong Kong includes hundreds of excellent mid-range options. At the top end is The Mira, the city’s most impressive contemporary design hotel in the urban district of Tsim Sha Tsui.
If Hong Kong’s the place to live the high life, then Singapore is the opposite. Notoriously deadly to the traveller’s budget, this city is like quicksand, sucking cash from your pockets quicker than you can put it in. Luckily, there’s been a move in recent years towards building a handful of low-budget options. Today, there are some really interesting places in Singapore that are clean and cheerful yet within the budget. As an expensive destination, these places attract a good mix of travellers of all ages.
If you simply like your own space, then it’s easy to find holiday apartments across the continent. A lot of people would agree that it’s only when you stay in one place for a long time that you really begin to understand that country’s culture. Long walks, getting to know the local street sellers and learning a bit of the lingo will make your time in Southeast Asia incredibly special.
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