THE HIT (AND MISS) LIST - Asia Edition

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This is a brief guide for would-be travellers to South East Asia: the things we loved, the things we loathed, the things we would do again and the things we wouldn’t.
Please note however that the below descriptions are only reflection on our own experiences and may not necessarily reflect the experiences or opinions of other travellers nor the establishments in question.

Best Hospitality
Lien Hiep Thanh Resort, Phu Quoc Island, Vietnam (has the feel of a ‘homestay’ - you’re treated like family, cheers to Yinh who is very polite and always helpful)
Green Tulip House, Chiang Mai, Thailand (Stella, Nine & Douglas are friendly, honest & welcoming)
Madam Cuc’s Hotel 127, Saigon, Vietnam (for a busy city mini hotel, it has a very ‘guesthouse’ feel)
Traders Hotel, Penang, Malaysia (nothing is too difficult or too much trouble for Ramlee)

Worst Hospitality
Sea Dragon Dive Centre, Khao Lak, Thailand running MV Mariner One diving live-aboard Their dodgy gear fails, we get rescued when they lose us and we get yelled at!

Dishonourable mention:
Ben Don Hotel, Surat Thani, Thailand (we stayed there for about 2 hours only then we left - they lied about prices, their dodgy dealings with fake taxi drivers & despite recommendation from Lonely Planet, we felt we generally couldn’t trust them)

Best Value Accommodation (low price, good facilities, good services)
Green Tulip House, Chiang Mai, Thailand ($13USD per double/twin room per night - facilities are immaculate)
Hanoi Backpackers, Hanoi, Vietnam ($7.50USD per dorm bed per night incl breakfast)
Betelbox Backpackers, Singapore ($20USD per dorm per night but good price in a generally expensive city and also provides free daily tours, breakfast & good advice for onward travel)

Worst Value Accommodation
Anywhere on Railay Beach (east or west), Krabi (Thailand) or Koh Chang (Thailand) during peak season (Christmas & New Year)
Hong Kong, and Macau (accommodation only intended for business travellers and casino high-rollers).

Cleanest Hotel
Green Tulip House, Chiang Mai, Thailand (they have definitely won the war against dirt)

Honourable mention:
Cozy Bangkok Place, Bangkok, Thailand
Jolly Frog Backpackers, Kanchanaburi, Thailand

Dirtiest Hotel
We’ve been lucky - and picky - the rooms have generally been very clean but the bathroom at Viewpoint Resort, Railay, Thailand was a bit mouldy and smelled of sewage.

Best Safety Standards
Public transport in Hong Kong & Macau (including seatbelts in taxis and boats). Note that this entry was written before the ferry crash! Though, we think that they are generally sfe and his may have just been a one-off.

Honourable mention:
Rainbow Divers, Phu Quoc Island, Vietnam (also operating in Hoi An & Nha Trang & catering for snorkellers also)
Climbing Schools in Krabi province, Thailand (operating out of Krabi town, Ao Nang & Railay)

Worst Safety Standards
Hands down winner:
Express Ferry Boat running between Siem Reap & Phnom Penh, Cambodia - it almost sank and would have if we didn’t have people bucketing water for 4.5 hours.

Dishonourable mentions:
Snorkel boat (long-tail) in Sihanoukville, Cambodia (constant battles to get enough life jackets on the boat & Barbara sustained a 15cm gash on her leg from a broken boat ladder)
Kayaking in Ha Long Bay, Vietnam with South Pacific Tours (broken life jackets - aka death jackets, sent off individually in busy harbour with no guide and no headcounts done before or after)

Best Driver
Mr Supiah, tuk-tuk driver in Siem Reap, Cambodia knows the Angkor Temples like the back of his hands, which ones to go and when, safe driver, honest, friendly, fair price

Worst Driver
Taxi driver from Hanoi city to Hanoi airport, Vietnam (road rage, tried to kill a motorcyclist for cutting him off)
Blind taxi driver to Bangkok city from the airport.
Some tuk-tuk drivers in Bangkok, Thailand (the ones who are in cahoots with the suit shops and similar tourist rorts)

Best Tour Guide
Tony from Betelbox Backpackers, Singapore takes great pride and enjoyment in showing you the ‘real’ Singapore, its history, its people and its food.
Delta Tours, Saigon, Vietnam - tour to Cu Chi Tunnels (guide is friendly, clear English, very organised and very charismatic)
Em from Panda Tours, Chiang Mai - trek to hilltribe villages, elephant riding & white water rafting (guide is friendly, funny, speaks clear English, and is reasonably organised)
Eddie from Greyline Tours, Hong Kong - nature tour to New Territories (guide is friendly, speaks clear English and responsive to issues that occur - we had a bus crash and he was very prompt and immediately organised a new bus)

Worst Tour Guide
Tony - aka Dancing Tony - from South Pacific Tours, Ha Long Bay, Vietnam - operates out of Hanoi (sleazy & unprofessional)
Vinh from South Pacific Tours, Ban Ho/Lao Cai/Sa Pa, Vietnam - operates out of Hanoi (rude & inhumane)

Best Public Toilet
Changi International Airport, Singapore - modern & clean (although almost any airport is bound to be a good bet and almost any toilet in Singapore for that matter)
Toilets on Hong Kong Island & Macau, though the further north you get, the ‘squattier’ they get.

Worst Public Toilet
Bia Hoi bar near Apocalypse Now Bar, Saigon, Vietnam - mens’ consisted of a rat-infested trough (be careful not to get your bits bitten while you pee) and womens’ consisted of a dirty old shower cubicle at the back of the kitchen (just a drain to pee in - no #2s, but there was a curtain) plus to get there you had to walk through a crowded bar with men offering to purchase your ‘services’.

Best Food
Singapore
Popiah (spring rolls - the non-deep-fried kind) from Joo Chiat Road
Haianese chicken rice - from Vet Con on Pervis Street
Chilli sting ray from hawker market at The Esplanade
The ‘big burger’ from Black Angus across from the Orchard Towers
Butter Crab from Jumbo Restaurant at East Coast Road
Curry Puffs from hawker market at East Coast Lagoon Market

Malaysia
Hot Wok Restaurant in Penang near Gurney Plaza serving Nonya (Straits) cuisine

Vietnam
Coconut ice cream cones VND4000 ($0.25USD) from Trang Tien Rd, Hanoi
Same Same Curry from Lien Hiep Thanh resort, Phu Quoc Island (curried fish with vermicelli noodles and fresh vegetables)

Cambodia
Amok (national curry dish) from The Temple restaurant at The Alley, Siem Reap
Anything on the menu from Khmer Borane Restaurant, at the riverfront in Phnom Penh
Grilled barracuda & fruit shakes on Bamboo Island, Sihanoukville

Thailand
Squid pad thai (fried noodles) from Aroi restaurant, Koh Tao
Apple & cinnamon pancakes from street vendor, Koh Tao (post-dive munchies)
Chicken coconut curry from Sunshine Dive Resort, Koh Tao
Curry noodles (traditional northern Thai cuisine) from Huen Phen, Chiang Mai
Anything on the menu from Green Tulip House, Chiang Mai (Stella cooks with a passion that is unrivalled)

Honourable mentions:
Hemlock, Bangkok
Mom’s Kitchen, Railay
Wiffy Waffles, Bangkok

Hong Kong & Macau
Ox tail Portuguese style from ‘Traditional Portuguese-Macanese Cuisine’ restaurant in Peninsular Macau
Dragon signature soup from Dragon Ma Ma Cuisine in Peninsular Macau
Peking Duck from Peking Garden Restaurant in Hong Kong
Crispy mutton at Szechuan restaurant, next to Craft Steak on Elgin St, Hong Kong Island

Worst Food

Curry puffs from Chinatown, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (food poisoning for 3 days after). We also met some other travellers who got sick from eating there too. We really shouldn’t have eaten from there, it was pretty grotty... but we were starving.

Best Beer

Bia Hoi - this is the generic name given to Vietnamese random brew, about $0.50USD per litre served in 2 litre plastic flagons (looks like old bleach bottles). Cheap, tastes great, induces much merriment and - the best bit - not a hangover to be had!

Honourable mention:
Lao Cai brand beer from Vietnam

Some of the beers surveyed:
Tiger, Carlsberg, Bia Hoi, Bia Ha Noi, Lao Cai, Halida, Angkor, Anchor, Singha, Chang, Macau, Old Speckled Hen

Worst Beer
Singha beer from Thailand (hangovers and tummy upsets)

Best Diving / Snorkelling / Swimming
Similan Islands, Thailand (probably more enjoyable when not with Sea Dragon Dive Centre)

Worst Diving / Snorkelling / Swimming
Pulau Ubin, Singapore - brochures recommend swimming & snorkelling, we do not - its filthy.
Ha Long Bay, Vietnam - you emerge from the water with a nice diesel sheen

Best Activity
Elephant riding & white water rafting in Chiang Mai, Thailand
Shopping in Hong Kong

Worst Activity
Tuk-tuk tout tours, Bangkok (Thailand) - tuk-tuk drver takes you on a ‘cheap’ tour which ends up going past a bunch of nothing-to-see ‘attractions’ and ending up at an over-priced market where he gets commissions for everything you buy.
Tiger temple, Kanchanaburi (Thailand) - Wait in queue in hot sun for an hour (or pay 1000 Baht extra ‘donation’ for special service) only to be roughly thrown around by ‘temple volunteers’ to take fake-looking photos with a bunch of sedated and very sad looking tigers.

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