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Over my six months in Southeast Asia, I stayed in lots of interesting places:
Crazy party hostels, like Monkey Republic in Sihanoukville and Hanoi Backpackers Hostel in Hanoi.
Super-basic bungalows on stilts on the islands of Don Det and Koh Chang.
Hotels with swans made out of towels in Ao Nang.
But most of the time, it was a guesthouse. Guesthouses are a staple in Southeast Asia — they’re family homes with rooms for rent. But that’s where the similarities end, because they vary QUITE a bit beyond that!
One of the more unique ones where I stayed was the Siti Hawa Guesthouse in Senggigi on the island of Lombok in Indonesia, just east of Bali.
It was a bit isolated, being quite far south of town (not to mention far from WiFi!), but it was on a gorgeous, mostly deserted stretch of beach, and the rooms were pretty nice. There was a private bathroom, but only a basin for showering.
Honestly, I only ended up there in the first place because Lonely Planet said they had a pet monkey. (They didn’t.)
But it was worth it — because of the location, on the beautiful beach, and the lovely grounds, which were like a botanical garden.
I usually paid around $10 USD per night for lodging in Southeast Asia — much less in Laos and Cambodia. At Siti Hawa, I paid 100,000 rupiah (about $12 USD), which is about how cheap most decent places in Senggigi are, but that included breakfast.
Come join me on a tour of a typical Southeast Asia guesthouse!
