A Typical Guesthouse In Southeast Asia — What’s It Like?

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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!

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5 thoughts on “A Typical Guesthouse In Southeast Asia — What’s It Like?”

  1. This is cool, Kate. I mean $10 is very cheap and the accommodations look comfortable/rustic as far as they go. As long as safety is not an issue, I don’t mind staying pretty much anywhere and you picked a good spot.

  2. I love accommodation in South East Asia its great quality friendly and so cheap.

    I love the look of Siti Hawa guesthouse. I try to avoid nice flashy hotels now even when Im in the US and Europe whilst guesthouse are no where near as cheap as they are in Asia. I definitely prefer the whole guesthouse b&b experience

    Hope your’e enjoying the UK by the way 🙂

  3. I think Thailand has value and an abundance of guest-houses unlike anywhere else. It would be a great country to be a professional blogger in.

  4. when i was in asia 6 years ago the prices were lower … any way it is a pleasure to see these views again! i highly recommend of a QUIET simple vacation there.

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