Perth

When most people hear that Perth was our first stop in Oz, we always get asked why? But we have to say that Perth is an awesome little town...laid back with lots of friendly folk.

- King's Park
- Art Gallery of WA
- Earth from Above Exhibit (www.earthfromabove.com.au) - check it out!
- Rottnest Island (full of cute quokkas)
- Swann Valley Wine tour (Garbin wine was our favorite and Water's Edge was a piece of crap)
- Subiaco (trendy suburb where Celina lived)
- Leederville

We met up with our second cousins Angie and Celeste and their families...their sons are cutie pies. We also met up with P's friends from Contiki and B's friends from Beijing.

Our host, Celina, was incredibly gracious and showed us all the sights in Perth. Thanks Celina!!

SE Asia Hotels

Thailand

Emb@ssy Guesthouse in Ko Samui - 7 cheap one room (400BHT or $12.50 per night with shared bathrooms). Lobby was trendy and modern with a full stocked bar. Cheap food and friendly reception. Internet was fast. Only minus was the huge cockroach in bathroom and the somewhat rotten egg stench. Overall, we were pretty happy with our stay.

Sanctuary in Koh Phangnan - 9
Cheap dorms at 120BHT ($4.50) with excellent food. Free nightly meditation classes. Yoga and pilates offered three times daily for 250BHT. Internet was slow and a bit pricey.

Parami Guesthouse in Chiang Mai - 8
Again, another excellent small guesthouse with cheap rooms (350BHT/room) with an ok clean bathroom. Reception was friendly and will go above and beyond with requests and questions. Tour prices were fair. Salon next door offers decent massages. Ask for Irene and Pom.

New Siam II in Bangkok - 7
Basic rooms and hotel near Khao San Road. Swimming pool is a plus. Food is decent. Offers internet and laundry service. We liked how the hotel was close to Khao San but lacked the noisy rowdiness of Khao San hotels.

Vietnam

(Name to be filled in), Hanoi - 3
In a narrow alley and recommended by Lonely Planet. Cost $15/night for a triple plus $2 for a/c. Room was prob one of the worst in SE Asia. Bathroom was a bit small and musty with a rusty sink. Amazed there was even hot water.

Phoenix Hotel,Hanoi
Good decent room with clean bathroom for $22/night for triple. Free internet and breakfast. We stayed on 5th floor and was a trek with our heavy backpacks.

Thanh Binh II Hotel, Hoi An - 8
Rooms were clean and nice and we paid $15/night for a triple. Hotel was sister hotel to xxxxxx which provided free internet and swimming pool. You can also add buffet bfast for $1.

Halong Bay through Kangaroo Cafe - 6
Not all that impressed with the one day Halong Bay tour. Staff wasn't very friendly and the $105 we paid was def not worth it. Boat ride was a bit cheesy as we were surrounded by 20 other junks in the bay. Rooms prob had more character than the hotels we've been staying at but not sure price was worth it. Most of the other tourists on the boat felt the same way.

Cambodia
L'Borann in Siem Reap - 7
The hotel was advertised as a splurge at $25/night/pp. Rooms were nice but not sure worth the splurge. Swimming pool looked nice. Bathroom included showers and traditional cambodian baths. Food was great and P's favorite summer rolls were found there.

Pacific Hotel, In Phenom Penh - 6
Basic rooms with not a whole lot of character. Free breakfast and cheap internet usage.

Singapore

P and I spent such pampered days in Singapore with excellent food and shopping. We stayed at Jerm's lovely home with his mom. We had delicious prawns and spaghetti with minced pork at her home. Jerm's mom also took us to a yakitori place with her relatives. The yakitori was better than St. Marks!!!
Thanks again jerms!!

We also met some second cousins for the first time. My grandma's sister's relatives live in Singapore. We were taken around Little India during Deepali (festival of lights), C-Town, and Sentosa. We tried out Malaysian food and Ding Tai Fung as well. Yum!!

We enjoyed the local's view of Singapore! Food and shopping!!