Wai Wai Place / Wai Wai Bed and Breakfast

I just wanted to show some quick love towards this property as this was one place that I will never forget. Wai Wai, the owner, is incredibly hospitable, generous and absolutely lovely. She has recently opened up another house to accommodate all the extra people that are lining up wanting to stay at her house. She is also an incredible chef and will happily host dinners for her guests without wanting anything in return just because she loves cooking! She makes sure your stay in her city is comfortable, exciting and fun. She gives great recommendations on what to see and where to eat. I wish we could have stayed here longer as she made our stay in Myanmar so special.

I truly recommend anyone going to Yangon to stay at Wai Wai Place. You will never want to leave!

Wai Wai's Place- website

Wai Wai and us

Shwedagon Pagoda

East coast travel- Busan to Gangneung

If you have a week free and want to see the best of the East coast of South Korea, here is a small itinerary you can follow.

1) Busan
- Haeundae Beach
- Gwangalli Beach (Gwangalli Bridge, Beached bar for those New Zealanders)
- Haedong Yonggungsa Temple
- Beomosa Temple

Accommodation: Ice Motel (Haeundae), Friends Guesthouse (Gwangalli), Pobi Guesthosue (Haeundae).



Busan to Gyeongju: there are two options. You can get a train from Haeundae Station to Gyeongju Central station for about 5,600 won. Otherwise, from Nopo Bus Terminal (end of the orange line,Line 1) you can take a bus that costs about 4,800 won and the drive takes about an hour and 20 minutes.



2) Gyeongju
- Seokguram Grotto and Bulguksa Temple (Entrance fee 4,000 each. From the bus terminal take bus 10 or 11 to Bulguksa, comes roughly every 30 minutess. Across from this bus stop take bus 12 to the Grotto, comes roughly every hour.)
- Daerungwon burial mounds (1,500 won entrance fee)
- Anapji Pond (1,500 won entrance fee)

Accommodation: Homo-Nomad Guesthouse. Close to Daerungwon and Anapji, about 10 - 20 min walk away but further away from downtown Gyeongju. Owner speaks good English and is very helpful.



Gyeongju to Gangneung: There is only one 'direct' train a day that leaves 11:06 and arrives 17:17 into Gangneung. The cost for this is 21,700 won. Otherwise there are 3 buses a day and is coastal. However, the cost for this is about 35,000 won and takes about 7 hours, 20 minutes give or take.

Gangneung to Jukdo Beach (Yangyang):  Take a bus from Gangneung to Jumunjin (2,100 won) and then from the station look for a green intercity bus number 322. This will take you towards Jukdo and costs about 1,650 won. Get off when you hear Inguri Elementary (잉구초등학교: Ingu Chodeung Hakgyo) or you can get off at the night 1 or 2 stops.

Accommodation:  Blue Coast (one of the few surf shops and hostels in this area).

The waves here are seasonal and are usually more often during Autumn and Winter.

Little Hanoi Hostels/Hotels..HIGHLY RECOMMEND

I wanted to do a separate post just for this accommodation chain as I was extremely impressed by the service and standard of quality of this place. Not only were they highly accommodating and helpful but the quality of the rooms and the overall property was very clean, quite new and the decor had a homely feel to it, which is nice to come back to especially when you've been living a nomadic lifestyle for a while.

There are three Little Hanoi’s situated around the city of Hanoi; two hostels and one more boutique-style hotel or flashpacker closer to the heart of the city. We had just arrived into the city having spent two nights on a train travelling from Ho Chi Minh (Saigon). It was about 6am and all we wanted was a room to relax in for a little bit and a nice, hot shower. We had found Little Hanoi Hostel 2 via online search and after seeing some good reviews we decided we would try our luck here. Things didn’t look too promising when we turned up and the reception was closed and two of the staff members were sleeping on make-shift beds out of couch pillows on the floor of the restaurant adjoining the reception.

Entrance. Former name was Lucky Star Hotel.

Luckily internet was free so we managed to pass our time catching up with friends online until someone woke up. The reception staff didn’t officially start until about 7am but once they did it was all uphill from here onwards. We hadn’t made any reservations and were hoping dorm rooms were free. Unfortunately the lady at reception informed us that all dorm rooms were full for the night (cost of a dorm bed is about USD$7). She did mention that a private room for three cost only $27 but we had to wait until 9.30am to see if it was available. Due to our inconvenience (which there was none as we were the ones who had not made any bookings) she offered us and the other girls that had just arrived free cooked breakfast. After a delicious meal of bacon, eggs and a fresh baguette she informs us that the private room at this hostel was already booked however they had another property, Little Hanoi Diamond, about 10 minutes away that had a room free. This was a slight grade higher than Little Hanoi Hostel 2 so rooms are generally more expensive so not only did she offer us the same price of USD$27 per night at the new place but they also paid for our taxi to get us to the other hostel. She then proceeded to help us with booking our trip to Halong Bay and our train tickets to Sapa, which can sometimes be confusing to book if you don’t have anyone to help you.

Staff at the second hostel greeted us warmly upon arrival and was very knowledgeable about the area and where the best hot-spots were for anything you asked for. One of the receptionists who worked during the day managed to remember our names as well which I thought added a nice little touch to their service. We were never let down by this hostel chain. Staff was amazing, professional and reliable. They also use good providers for any activities you book through them and are at a decent price.

Our 3 person private room.

This is hands-down one of the best places I’ve stayed in so far in my travels. It's hard to explain just how smooth and easy-to-deal with this place was, you just have to experience it for yourself. I cannot rate this place highly enough.

If you are ever looking for a place to stay in Hanoi, I highly recommend staying at one of the Little Hanoi properties as I guarantee you will not be disappointed. 

Websites:

Little Hanoi Diamond

Little Hanoi Hostel

Jjimjilbang (찜질방)- South Korea's public bathhouse

If you want the quickest way to break the ice between new-found friends, I would suggest visiting a jjimjilbang. I guarantee having to be totally naked with someone you have just recently met will definitely allow you to pass into the other person's comfort zone in a very short amount of time!

I've been living in South Korea for nearly nine months now and it was only a month ago that  I finally managed to pluck up the courage to visit a jjimjilbang. I knew I would have to at some point if I really wanted to experience one of the aspects that makes the Korean culture unique.

A jjimjilbang is basicly a public bathhouse. It is often visited by those late night party-ers that just need a shower and a floor to sleep on, or travelers on a budget, or even by families as a bonding trip. They are open 24 hours and have hot tubs, showers, Finnish-style saunas and massage tables. Depending on the size and popularity of the jjimjilbang, as well as if you are just using the shower area or want to stay the night, the prices range from 4,000won to 10,000won per night (approximately $4 - $10 NZD).

My first experience was at Riverside Spa Land in Seoul. This is quite a big and well-known jjimjilbang, so I'm glad this was where I had my first taste at this sort of thing. Upon entry, you are given two Korean-sized towels (meaning the size of what we use as hand towels in western countries) and gym clothes to change into to sleep in for the night. As I had a hiking back-pack they allowed me to store this behind the desk overnight, but for smaller bags you can store these in your locker they provide for you in the changing area. Also, if you forgot any toiletries there is a mini convenience store in the changing areas for you to buy and they sell everything from underwear, clothes to shampoo and soap.

As soon as I enter the woman's area I am faced with ladies in their birthday suits casually walking around either getting ready to enter the sauna or having finished, and some even just sitting around socialising or watching a K-Drama on the TV that the little convenience store had playing. I found my locker number and after standing there awkwardly trying not to make eye contact, I decided that I stood out more being clothed so I took a deep breath and disrobed. Being a foreigner I immediately expected the not-so-subtle stares to come my way, but fortunately and surprisingly no one really paid any attention.

As the ladies at the entrance counter didn't really do any run down on what the rules or procedures were, I ended up aimlessly walking around the lockers, nude, for a few minutes trying to figure out what the next step was and hoping I wasn't infringing on the social etiquette of this place. After observing for a little bit and feeling anxious to do something else other than walk around in a bright lit place naked, I finally entered the sauna area. Straight to the left and the right are the showers with standing or sitting options. Ladies of all ages are sitting there with their traditional Korean hand scrubs giving themselves a full rub down before entering a sauna. The number one rule of the sauna is that you MUST  shower before you enter a spa. If anyone catches you not doing so, be ready to suffer the wrath of an ajumma (middle-aged or older Korean woman).

There are different baths to choose with differing temperatures. There is also a sauna and if you want, a massage table where an ajumma is waiting to give you a full body scrub. This is not for woman who are feint of heart or shy about their body because they will get into nearly every nook and cranny! I opted to sit in the mid-temperature spa.Though, after about 10 minutes I almost forgot I was completely naked and just began to relax and enjoy the moment.

Hot baths

Once you have finished with the hot baths, sauna and showers you go back into the lockers and change into the shorts and t-shirt they provided for you. You go up one level and this is the unisex area where there is a variety of facilities to enjoy: aeorbics room, fitness room, movie room, arcarde, comic book room, eating and restaurant area and more. There are also themed rooms which you can either relax in or sleep in. For example they have the oxygen room, cold room, hot room, salt room, iron room etc.  In terms of sleeping, it ranges with each jjimjilbang. Some may have some bunk beds, some will have mats that you can take and put on the floor and some will just have pillow-like blocks and you just pick a spot on the floor and this is your area for the night. For this particular jjimjilbang, it was more a first in first served for the good, dark areas and sleeping mats and just pick an area to lay down
.

Sleeping caves

To be honest, unless you can sleep easy or are a deep sleeper don't expect a good night sleep here as most lights are on during the whole night and you will hear some loud snorers you can't block out. Although, it is definitely a great experience, one you have to do when you are in Korea. I would definitely go back again if there is ever a night I just need a quick and cheap place to sleep. Also, as much as I dread being naked infront of complete strangers I must say that I found it to be very invigorating and refreshing. It definitely makes you appreciate your body more.

Common area / sleeping area

So if you ever head this way and want to do something a lil different, how about staying at a jjimjilbang for a night.

Thailand Tips

Just some things I would advise for Thailand:

- Accommodation: There are many, many different hostels/hotels you can book with. Don't be afraid to shop around if you aren't planning on pre-booking and don't be afraid to ask to see the room before paying.

- TukTuks: They will try to rip you off! Don't be afraid to barter and if you can, somehow try find out how far away your destination is. Jump on a computer and try google map it. I stupidly paid nearly 200 THB to just go around the corner. It is only $7NZD equivalent but when you can get it for only half the price or less, it's worth it!

Also, they'll try take you on a 'tour' of Bangkok and will take you to visit their friends jewellery shops etc, where they get a commission if you purchase something. So if you don't want to go, you can say no. Don't be afraid to stand your ground even though some can get quite pushy.

- Airport shuttle bus: Most accommodation will offer taxi or coach services to and from the airport. You can do this, or for a cheaper option (from memory only 100THB) you can take the airport shuttle bus. I took one by Khao Sann Road and took about an hour or hour half  to get to the airport from there, depending on traffic. They leave pretty frequently and is the most convenient and cheapest way to get to and from the airport.

- DIY vs Packaged tours: There are many tour companies that run through out Thailand, either locally or bigger companies like G Adventures or Intrepid. While these are good if you are on a limited time frame or want the ease and security of having an itinerary already, but if you are planning on doing this yourself Thailand makes it very easy to do so. Buses and trains go to nearly every town in Thailand and are very affordable. From what I saw, train and bus stations do have an English speaking guard or helper that will pick out tourists and ask if they need help so it is quite easy to book as you go.


Enjoy your Thai adventure ;)