Staying as cheaply as possible is sometimes cramped, dirty and loud. You can wake up in the morning with a few more itches you just can't scatch, your bag half emptied and a stench from the leaking water source down the hall.
But when you find a ripper you are stoked and often find yourself staying longer than you first intended. (Well we seem to anyway)
Gone will be the days of sharing one squatter loo with 20 people!
From the 10th June guesthouses must have at least 15 rooms with adequate facilities. Guesthouses are being evaluated for upgrade or shutdown. Those that do not make the grade will most likely be guttered and turned into restaurants or mini markets.
The capital currently houses 5000 hotel and guesthouse rooms, by 2009 it will house
10 000.
Improvements will lift many prices outside the range of budget travellers, forcing them further from the city centre (not that it's a big city) to the outskirts, for a different Laos experience in Vientiane.
I stood in bewilderment, motorbike after motorbike pulled to the curb 2,3 sometimes 4 people with similar displays of disappointment.
I'll try again tomorrow!
From 5pm til sold out (most nights) the chicken lady has a line up past the two giant woks bubbling away and onto the street.
For 6000 kip ( 80c AUS) you get a piece of crispy southern style chicken and a handful of house cut chips. Bagged chilli and tomato sauce is your choice.
Dine in or take away.
Located on Thanon Khu Vieng (look for the line up of people, you can't miss her).
We were lucky that we weren't allocated seats together; at least with people of Asian build in between , we had a chance of keeping half a bum cheek on the seat!
Of course we sought some relief from the hard seat and the monotony, by getting up to move around. Luke spent a lot of the journey in the alcove between the train carriages - before this area became prime sleeping space. The aisles were also full of bodies stretched out on sheets of newspaper. The hawkers somehow managed to keep up their activities, in an endless parade through the train: cigarettes, newspapers, beer, tea, coffee, cold drinks...an array of food from dried squid snacks to rice and pork meals. Even Thai ice cream made an appearance.
We brought along a bottle of Thai whiskey to ease the pain, but it 's success was limited. Our location was certainly convenient - right outside the toilet facilities ( with no water to flush ). Ah, the stale stentch of urine grew to a nostril burning climax by the early hours of the morning. We were pretty drained and disorientated when we finally hit the blanket of pollution in Bangkok.
On organized jungle treks, the accommodation provided is at traditional longhouses, where you are expected to make yourself at home ( and get to meet some inspiring people ). The obvious feeling of remoteness, is balanced by the warmth of the Kelabit people. A minimum of ten families live within one longhouse and while being accommodated with one family, the others all visit to welcome you and have a chat.
You can choose to do all your trekking on foot. Some of the walks can take anything up to 12 hours to complete, some of this is through extremely muddy, mountainous terrain. We chose to break some of our days up by utilising FWD and boat trips up river. This allowed us to socialise more with the wonderful people in the longhouses.
We stayed at Pa' Mada longhouse for 2 nights and had 1 night at Pa Dalih. We were made to feel like family as the longhouse atmosphere was so friendly and laid back. Each family has a seperate kitchen set -up running off a shared area which runs the length of the longhouse. Across a verandah there are individual sleeping and lounge quarters.
( for more information about the Bario Highlands check out the Borneo Jungle Safari website )
Bariew Backpacker's Lodge is centrally located in the Bario township, close to the few shops, churches, internet and local longhouses. It has a small library, including treking maps, historical and cultural information and books and a local guide can be arranged from here. It is warm and comfortable with various lounge areas and displays interesting crafts and artwork.
Rm55 ( AUD$20 ) per person, includes meals; always local produce, including the internationally renowned Bario rice and sweet pineapple and often wild boar , the meals are substantial and satisfying. Self - serve tea and coffee is available all day and beer can be purchased. Reddish and Ness the owners, supply a pick - up and drop - off service to the airport.
We met Ricky "Ricardo" in the main carpark, opposite the riverbank in Mukah. We were looking for somewhere to stay and he was keen to help out. He cheved us around town in his clapped out Toyota - held together by rust and driven by 2 stroke. He gave us his number and told us to call anytime to go anywhere ( no charge ); although you don't have to find Ricky - he'll find you!
Qintai Inn ( at the back of the old town main carpark ), was a comfortable spot with very friendly owners. After a few days stay, they discounted the price of our stay ( actually giving money back to us! ), and offered use of a personal laptop.
When arriving at the express bus terminal, you can catch the local bus into town for RM 0.80. A short walk from the Equatorial Hotel led us to Sunny's Guesthouse which was a good choice and set us back Rm 30 ( Aus$ 11).
A popular way to get around town is via the rickshaw. This traditional mode of transport is dying out across Malaysia. The drivers of Melaka go to great lengths decorating their vehicles with flashing lights, flowers, curtains and sound systems blaring out the "latest " hits, a popular track was Michael Jackson's "Beat It".
We endured a chain-smoking, 'let's pass on a blind bend 'driver for our trip from Kota Bharu to Penang. The route passes through jungle terrain, and would be quite scenic during the day. RM 28.50 ea.(about AUD$10). The taxi into Georgetown cost RM35 (AUD$12.50).
There are some huge old Chinese Guest -houses in Georgetown for as little as RM22( AUD$8) a room, but without much security- beware of theives. Crystal is a good option at RM40 (AUD14.70) for 3, it includes hot communal showers, t-v, air-con and is very clean and secure.
