3 months, 23 cities, and 29 hotels. What a whirlwind. A crazy, beautiful whirlwind. As I sit here taking it all in and enjoying the Florida sunshine with my pup back on my lap, I can’t help but get lost...

3 months, 23 cities, and 29 hotels. What a whirlwind. A crazy, beautiful whirlwind. As I sit here taking it all in and enjoying the Florida sunshine with my pup back on my lap, I can’t help but get lost in my memories. Sean and I have gotten many questions specifically around our travel route and where we stayed in Southeast Asia. The biggest question we’ve gotten is: “Is it really that cheap?” and the answer is a lot of YES and a bit of NO. It depends on what you want to do, how safe you want to feel while doing it, and where you want to stay. I will dive into each country individually in future posts, but I figured I would start my virtual diary (in essence) explaining our travel route in hopes that it will inspire you to get out there, and step outside of your comfort zone! Although I had a preconceived notion of our timeline and cities we wanted to visit, we generally flew by the seat of our pants. The only accommodations we pre-booked were the flights into Singapore and our hotel upon arrival. This was the BEST decision we could have made, as our “plan” uncontrollably and drastically changed 5 days into our trip.

Gili Air, Indonesia

Prior to leaving, I searched and searched for a travel route that showed me what hotels (not hostels) people stayed in, in which cities, and the route they chose, and I never found one that truly helped me out. My purpose for writing this post is to help other travelers like myself, find their way. Sean and I tried to stay in the budget range of $30-50 USD a night, and we generally succeeded.  In certain islands, we had to spend a bit more to be comfortable, and a couple of times, we decided to treat ourselves and splurge. When we did splurge, we were always treated with 5 star service, and you’d think we were staying at the Four Seasons; however, it was (of course) wayyyy cheaper than the Four Seasons. We mainly did this when we craved a “western retreat.” Sometimes you crave home when you’re long term traveling, and that’s okay! Yes, I ate tons of rice and noodles, but I am not ashamed in my game of ordering chicken tenders, french fries, and ice cream at times as well. Below you will find the chronological order of our travel route, and the accommodations we stayed in. 

Price Key: 

-$: Under 30 USD $: 30-50 USD $$: 50-75 USD $$$: 75+ USD

SINGAPORE: Hotel Boss, ($$) :We absolutely loved Singapore as mentioned in prior posts. It is a great city; however, it is not the most backpacker friendly city. It is very expensive, and unless you shell out more than $70+ a night, you are stuck in a hostel, which from our research, all nice, clean hostels start around the $50 mark. Hotel Boss was a great alternative for us because it was conveniently located next to the Lavender MRT stop, and it was very clean and budget friendly! This is the only hotel we pre-booked from the United States.

Hotel Boss: Our smallest, yet most expensive room for the square footage [Please excuse the mess! This is the only photo we took of our humble welcome to Southeast Asia]KUALA LUMPUR: Hotel Capitol , ($): Would I ever visit Kuala Lumpur or stay in this hotel again? No, thank you! We left KL after two nights because we weren’t huge fans of the city. It was a bit sketchy, overpopulated, and to be honest, completely out of our taste. In order to locate the hotel, we had to walk through a construction zone, back alleys, and pass by many homeless beggars. The staff at Hotel Capitol was unfriendly, and we did not feel comfortable walking around the city at night. We also found squatty potty’s in the lobby. We did however have western toilets in our hotel room, thank goodness!

Our view of the city at Hotel Capitol, Kuala Lumpur

PENANG, MALAYSIA (aka Malaysia’s foodie capital), ($) : The Wembley- St. Giles Hotel  Penang is the first city we decided to extend our stay in. We absolutely loved taking the gypsy approach to our trip because it gave us the freedom to ditch a city we didn’t particularly care for (ie. KL), or stay longer in cities we absolutely loved, like beautiful Penang. The St. Giles was probably the nicest hotel at the cheapest rate we found throughout our entire 3-month tenure in SEAsia. This amazing hotel cost us a whooping $35 a night for a wonderfully updated, modern, suite style room and bathroom with bay views. The hotel also had amazing amenities including a roof top bar, infinity pool, and expansive lobby restaurant/bar. The staff was also top notch, and gave the best recommendations!

The Wembley’s Guest Suite with Bay Views The Wembley’s Sunset view from our room The Wembley’s rooftop bar

LANGKAWI, MALAYSIA: Langkawi is a HUGE island with very different scenery. We decided to stay in Langkawi for a week and a half, and we stayed in 3 different locations with Datai being our favorite. In Datai, we splurged and stayed at The Adaman, a Luxury Collection Resort ($$$) where the jungle meets the crystal clear blue sea. The only way to access this part of the island is to stay on the pricier, more luxurious side with many resorts to choose from, which to be honest, was fine by us! This portion of the island was drop dead gorgeous. We saw wild monkeys, colorful coral, and kayaked the beautiful Andaman sea. After Datai, we made the one-hour drive to the residential, and very Chinese populated, town of Kedah, where we stayed at the: Bayview Hotel (-$). We did not spend much time here, as we figured out very quickly it was more residential. We did however enjoy the BEST traditional Chinese food, and I am SO thankful for that. After leaving Kedah, we made it to our final stop in Cenang Beach, where we stayed at the Cenang Plaza Beach Hotel (-$), another cheapie but goodie. This hotel cost us a wonderful $18 flat!

The Andaman’s Spa Tub Bathroom  The Andaman’s Spa Tub Bathroom The Andaman’s Amsara Suite Our own private Jacuzzi deck at the Andman The Andaman’s jacuzzi deck “Please Keep Doors Locked, Monkeys in Search of Food” – The Andaman My very own sunset swing at the Andaman

BUKIT LAWANG, INDONESIA: Sam’s Bungalow, (-$): Sam’s Bungalow goes down in history for one of the COOLEST places we’ve ever stayed. It was exactly what it sounds like, a bungalow, owned by a cool guy named Sam, in the Indonesian jungle. We could hear the sound of the river flowing through our room, and it was so relaxing. Sam’s Bungalow was the first of only two places without air conditioning that we stayed at throughout our 3-month SEAsian adventure. I am not going to lie, it was rough! Thank God for mosquito nets and fans. We had a two story “town home” type set up, with the bathroom on the first floor and the bedroom and outdoor hammock on the second floor. Eating meals was served family style with the other guests. Our journey into the Indonesian Jungle was inspired by my love of nature. We spent our time hiking through the jungle and observing Orangutans in their natural habitat.

Hammock on our balcony at Sam’s Bungalow Entrance to our Bungalow at Sam’s Bungalow Beautifully decorated with fresh flowers picked off the property at Sam’s Bungalow Sam’s Bungalow Bathroom at Sam’s Bungalow Open Air Dining at Sam’s Bungalow

YOGYAKARTA, INDONESIA: Gallery Prawirotaman, ( $): We really loved Yogyakarta. To this day, I can confidently say the BEST MASSAGE I received in all of Southeast Asia was at the Gallery Prawirotaman hotel. This modernized, colonial hotel is located walking distance to Prawotiman I and II, where all of the bars and restaurants are located. We loved walking around, and taking in all Yogyakarta or “Jogja” had to offer. I unfortunately did not take any photos of the hotel myself, but the one below is taken from their website, alongside my favorite picture of Sean and our Gojek driver. I would absolutely return back to Yoga, as there is so much to see and do there. We barely scratched the surface during our 5-day stay.

Gallery Prawirotaman Hotel – Photo taken from their website Yogyakarta: Sean and our Gojek driver

BROMO, INDONESIA: Cafe Lava Hostel, ($): Cafe Lava Hostel is the only hostel  we stayed at during our time in Southeast Asia. It was also one of our pricier stays with the worst accommodations. This is all attributed to location, which was at the base of the Mount Bromo volcano. We paid $45 US Dollars a night to stay here, and we could not believe how much of a rip off it was! Especially after paying no more than $35 a night for high-end accommodations in other parts of Indonesia. Unfortunately, Bromo does not offer mid-level accommodations unless you book extremely far in advance. Sean and I were stuck at Cafe Lava Hostel for 2 nights, unless we wanted to shell out over $150 on high-end accommodations. We both figured we’d enjoy spending the $$ in warmer locations, so Cafe Lava Hostel it was. At the end of the day, it was worth it. The views we witnessed were priceless, and our sunrise hike felt like we were hiking through a post card.

Cafe Lava Hostel: Private Double Room Cafe Lava Hostel: Not my favorite bathroom The Gorgeous Mount Bromo: The reason for our pilgrimage. Sunrise Hike to Mount Bromo

BANYUWANGI, INDONESIA: Ketapang Indah Hotel, ($): After Bromo, we made our way to Banyuwangi in search of the Ijen Crater. Unfortunately upon arrival, 2 of the 3 volcanoes in the Indonesian Ring of Fire (Bromo & Mount Batur) erupted, sending seismic waves and volcanic activity towards us. The volcanic activity made it unsafe to explore the blue flame of Mount Ijen, so we spent a few days in the beach town of Banyuwangi, which reminded us of Hawaii. Banyuwangi is a 30-minute ferry ride from Bali, and you can see Bali in the horizon. The Ketapang Indah Hotel was a wonderful resort style hotel in which we only paid $35 a night. The only downfall to the Ketapang Indah Hotel besides the average food, was this awful sour stench that filled the air every single day. After dealing with it intermittently for two days straight, we finally asked what the smell was, and were told the hotel neighbored a bird seed factory, and the odor seeped through the air from the factory. I wish I could describe the smell, but I’ll let your imagination handle it.

Ketapng Indah Hotel Grounds Looking at Bali in the distance at Ketapang Indah Hotel

BALI, INDONESIA; We stayed at 3 hotels during our time in Seminyak and Ubud. While in Seminyak, we stayed at the wonderful Tijili  ($) (which was one of our favorite hotels throughout our stay). It was in a perfect location, walking distance to the beach, with tons of bars/restaurants around. While in Ubud, we stayed amongst the rice fields at the peacefully zen Plataran ($$$), and then close to Monkey Forest at the Ubud Village Hotel  ($$$), to get a taste of the culture in town.

Tijili Hotel, Seminyak – Photo taken from their website Rice Fields at the Plataran, Ubud Peacefully Zen at the Plataran The beautiful pool and hotel at the Plataran, Ubud

NUSA & GILI ISLANDS: After Bali, we made our way to Nusa Lembongan and the Gili Islands by ferry. In Nusa Lembongan we stayed at the Sammada Hotel and Beach Club ($). In Gili Air, we stayed at the Gili Lumpung Hotel, ($) and we then ended our stay in Gili T at the Luce de Alma Resort ($$). When I began researching Bali, I knew we had to venture out to the surrounding islands and stay in a traditional “lumpung” bungalow, and although it was very simple, it did NOT disappoint.

Infinity Pool at the beautiful Sammada Beach Resort & Club in Nusa Lembongan Our traditional Lumpung Bungalow in Gili Air, relaxing hammock and all. The inside view of our little Lumpung Bungalow in Gili Air Outdoor, yet very private bathroom outside of our Bungalow in Gili Air Our HUGE bedroom at the Luce de Alma Resort in Gili T Our luxurious bathroom at the Luce de Alma Resort. Unfortunately, [REAL disclaimer here] the bathtub water came out yellow! ICK! Beautiful pool with swim-up rooms at the Luce de Alma Beach Resort in Gili T

KOH SAMUI, THAILAND: Impiana Resort Chaweng Noi, ($$$) Koh Samui was our first taste of Thailand after flying into Bangkok and learning about the King’s death. After finding out 98% of Thailand closed down, we splurged for a beach-front resort style option where we could eat, drink, and enjoy alcoholic beverages on the beach while waiting for the 72-hour ban on entertainment to end. Impiana did not disappoint! We were able to get tons of sunshine, and luckily for us, the hotel had the BEST traditional THAI food on property. 

Our Deluxe Room – Photo taken from Impiana’s Website Infinity Pool at Impiana Chaweng Noi View Entire Post