Vietnam Wrap Up

Hey loyal fans and followers...

We've been seriously lagging on updating our blog. Internet has become a bit more scarce and, to tell the truth. a bit less interesting than the real-life stuff we've been getting to do! SO-- Vietnam summary:

Yes, the HaLong Bay tour is one we won't go into details on, except to say it was so terribly run that there was nothing to do but laugh at how ripped off we got. A 24 hour boat ride with an overnight stay somehow became a 4 hour boat ride and accommodations in the worst hotel we've been in all trip (and we have low standards, let me tell you!) Besides NOT being on a quiet, beautiful boat in the middle of Ha Long, we stayed in the kind of dive that was in the middle of the city, with bedsheets that had been signed by previous guests and electricity went out 5 minutes after we checked in. Oops, there I go with the details....I'll just wrap it up and say 30 very very angry people spent most of the tour cussing out the guide who, on the last day, pulled a disappearing act.

Cuc Phuong National Park was an incredible. Ditto to everything Mar said. Even though he gave my glasses away, I'd like to think I got a more authentic experience without the barrier of polarized glass to separate me from nature. On our mountain bike ride, even my eyeballs got in close personal touch with dirt specks and leaves. Plus langurs and lorises and gibbons, oh my! An unforgettable place.

We spent one last day in Hanoi and saw the cold, lifeless body of Ho Chi Min. He looked rather uncomfortable propped up in the super air-conditioned room in his glass enclosure. We stood in a line that was probably at least a mile and a half long (I am NOT taking creative license!). Although it was the longest line of my life, it was also the most efficient, as guests are only allowed 30 seconds in the room with His Pickled Greatness and are quickly escorted along. I think this has to count for the most bizarre tourist thing we've ever done.

What else to do after seeing Ho Chi Min but to go to Ho Chi Min City? We hopped a plane (We'll pass on that 40 hour bus ride thankyouverymuch.) and suddenly found ourselves in the South. A very different feeling than Northern Vietnam. I can't quite explain it, but it wasn't quite as hard to cross the streets. That evening we checked out the night scene and saw a pretty swingin' band play at a cafe. Marshall had to defend his racial background to a particularly drunk Vietnamese man who insisted that Mar was Mexican. Very entertaining to watch. We also had the following conversation with him that I must document here: (Note: Marshall and I don't actually talk at the same time, but I can't remember who said what...)

MAN: Where you from?
T/M: California
MAN: Ohhhh California! Ahnold Swwarrseeeenger!
T/M: Haha, yeah...well, he's not governor anymore...
MAN: Pooor ahnold. Poor, poor.
T/M: ...
MAN: Brian Wilson!
T/M: Yeah!! A giants fan!! Isn't he the greatest? [Brian Wilson is a pitcher for the SF Giants who just had surgery on his arm.]
MAN: ...(looks confused)...such a shame.
T/M: Oh, about his surgery? It went well! It's okay!
MAN: So so sad.
T/M: No, no! It's okay! He'll be back!
MAN: WHAT? How can he be back?! He's DEAD!
T/M: WHAT?!
MAN: ...
T/M: ...
MAN: ...
T/M: Ohh wait...do you mean....
MAN: Brian Wilson! Beach Boy! Dead! [starts singing] T bird, T bird, mommy took the keys away!

An interesting night.

We spent the next day at the War Remnants Museum, which covered all the horribleness of the Vietnam War. A very heavy afternoon, and with that, wrapped up our Vietnam experience.

T

Here, take my girlfriends glasses

After a comically bad tour of Halong Bay we regrouped and headed down to Cuc Phuong National park. From the bus station and after about an hour of intense haggling that filled up 2 pieces of paper with maps, global oil prices and conversion rates, we hired 2 moto drivers to take us to the park entrance (point B on the map) or the top of some mountain 25 km away (point A on the map) or somewhere completely passed all that (point C on the map), we weren't entirely sure. As we hopped on the back of our bikes, my driver, seeing me put on my sunglasses, asked if he could wear Tina's which he saw in the bag. And me, being the brilliant person that I am, handed them right over. Let's just say I remembered that I had given him these right about when Tina and I were looking through pictures of the motobike ride in our room later that afternoon. Brilliant.

Cuc Phuong though did not lose any of its brilliance however, even if viewed through squinting eyes. Tina fell in love with the swinging fellas at the primate rescue center and I helped build a hanging ladder toy for the gibbons. The next day we trudged up on bikes through the jungle out to some pretty expansive and completely empty caves and a thousand year old tree. Ours were the only pedal powered bikes in the lineup of motos at the top of the hill, and everybody we passed on the road (or rather, who passed us) either looked at us like we were crazy or just laughed.

If you're ever in Vietnam and see a moto driver with a new pair of Electric sunglasses, ask him about the kind American traveler who gave them to him.

M

Motorbike 101

Hanoi has been quite an experience. What stands out most to me is the millions--MILLIONS-- of motorbikes. The traffic here is mesmerising--how is nobody crashing? Fender benders? How do pedestrians cross the street alive?? We did a lot of observations on our walking tour and in subsequent bus rides out/into town. I've compiled a little Q&A of Hanoi motorbikes for you at home...

The main question I had was, "Is there ever NOT a good time for motorbiking?" (Answer: No. Motorbikes go everywhere, with everyone, for everything. See below for details.)

Q: What if I need to be super fancy dressed up?

A: Go for it. At least 70% of women drivers here are wearing stilletos and skirts.

Q: What if I want to take my girlfriend out on a date?

A: Hop on the back, sweetheart.

Q: What if I want to take my whole family out to dinner?

A: Squeeze in tight. They'll all fit.

Q: What if I have a newborn baby?

A: They'll learn quickly to like it. Just squish between mom and pop. Or if only one parent is aboard, squeeze them between your knees.

Q: What if I need to transport 500 coke bottles?

A: They'll fit. Get a bungee cord.

Q: What if I need to transport a refridgerator?

A: It'll fit. Get a bungee cord.

Q: What if my friend's motorbike breaks down?

A: It'll fit. Get a bungee cord. (Seriously--just strap it to the back of your motorbike.)

Q: What if I'm not sure how to drive in traffic?

A: Use your horn early and often. If you're ever unsure about a manuever, just gun it. You'll probably make it between those two buses coming from opposite directions. Probably.

Note: Even though I have thoroughly observed and researched these answers, I did not, and will not, EVER drive a motorbike here. Holy cow. 11,000 people die in Vietnam from traffic accidents each year, and 30,000 more are injured. Taxi, please?

--

T

The DeathBus

Yes, Mar's account was accurate--our accents failed miserably. The next morning we talked our way onto a bus that was headed for Vietnam (we hoped!). Bus schedules are a very strange thing here. We got to the bus station at 7am, boarded the bus...and then the bus driver and his attendant drove us to a restaurant where they parked, left us on the bus, and ate a leisurely breakfast of lettuce soup and we watched out the window. Hmm.

They proceeded to pack the bus to the gills with local travelers and their multitudes of luggage to the point where we had to sit on our chairs with our knees to our chins to make room for bags of rice, mysterious yellow plastic cases, hardware, and the like. Not the most comfortable ride for 10 hours to say the least, but the scenery was pretty incredible. Every small village we passed through, the local kids would run out and wave, laughing hysterically if I waved back.

We crossed the the Vietnam border with no problem. Mar had his bag thoroughly searched (his Old Spice was carefully inspected), and mine was given a cursory glance after they opened my bag of lady-things. We cruised into our first Vietnamese town to a local welcome--at least for Mar-- when, at a lunch stop, a group at another table took a liking to him and began pouring him some welcome drinks. I was largely ignored, I imagine because of my lower status as a woman, but I have to say I was rather grateful not to have to partake in that welcome session.

Onward the bus went, getting more and more packed as we flew down the bumpy roads picking up anyone with a suitcase or a birdcage (yes, a birdcage. we were treated to singing for a good long while). Once we got closer to the city, we got our first taste of REAL Viet Nam driving. And it will scare your hair white. Pedal to the metal, horns blaring, no regard for road divisions, motorbikes, or head-on semi trucks. It was terrifying, but Mar and I kept our good "neutral" faces on as the rest of the people on the bus looked as if they were watching a particularly boring episode of C-span or something. I tried to keep myself busy by coming up with the words to describe this deathbus on the blog....he drove like a bat out of hell? No. Even a bat on his way out of hell would have guano'd his pants on this bus.

We have never been so happy to arrive in Hanoi --a huge, busy city-- as we were when we stepped off this bus alive.

T

I can't quite place that accent

On we moved, ever east winding through the jungles of Lao until we came to Sam Neua (we never did quite figure out how to pronounce it, each time we said it to somebody leading to a blank stare). Walking into town from the bus station felt like we stepped through a portal into a different world. The red communist flags lining the streets and large block monument at the city entrance gave us the feeling that we must have accidentally crossed the border already into Vietnam.

Exploring Sam Neua was fun. We found the most interesting market I;ve seen so far. The smells we mesmarizing (we had to walk down the pork aisle twice to get the full effect, and try to identify the different parts of the pigs, the head was obvious). At the clothes market Tina set her sights on a shirt with Lao writing on it, not know what it meant. Our failed attempts to find out only led to hysterical laughing and teasing by the ladies running the stalls, to the point where they didnt even try to sell her the shirt. We got it anyways, and later found out it says something along the lines of "Happy Songkran, please don't dump water on me". Something that would have been useful a week ago.

By dinner Tina had the brilliant scheme to don our best worst accents, seeing as nobody in the entire town could understand us. She went Australian, while I went with a cross between German and Bostonian. Needless to say, it lasted until the first person we actually had to communicate something to, our waiter at dinner, who stood there unfazed and uncomprehending, and we had to go back to the tried and true method of pointing we had been using before.

The Magic (Mini)Bus

Onward! After spending a brilliant two days in Nong Kiew, it was time to soldier on. Locals told us the bus left at 10 or 11...The bus station told us the bus left at 12:30....and the bus actually left a 2. So....needless to say, we spend a lot of time waiting at the bus station, not sure whether we actually were going anywhere! To pass the time, we borrowed some bocce balls and played at the bus station courts...until I broke a ball! Yes folks, I somehow managed to split a giant, heavy metal ball clean in half. Don't ask me how. Don't ask Marshall, either. He was more suprised than me! So, game over there.

We finally climbed aboard a minibus (no pickup trucks here!) and readied ourselves for the 5 hour ride to Vien Thong. It was wild. Twisty, turny, bumpy, cliff-y, rainy, lightening-y...but Marshall and I have agreed it was our favorite bus ride so far. We saw incredible scenery...mountains, rivers, rice paddies, little villages...4 year olds leading giant cows by ropes, packs of pigs and piglets sqealing across the road.... When it got dark and the lightening started, and the bus windows started to leak, it only added to the adventure. We pulled into Vien Thong fairly late, so we didn't get a good chance to explore, but found a comfy guesthouse and some great noodle soup before we crawled into our bug nets (matching pink twin beds with matching pink bug nets was the only option at this guesthouse) and slept.


--
T

On the Road Again -- Nong Kiew

After luxuriating in Luang Prabang, we decided to get back on the road and explore the town of Nong Kiew. We arrived at the bus station preparing to settle into some sort of minibus for the 4+ hour journey, and were a bit surprised to be shuttled into the back of a pickup truck. We had flashbacks of the slowboat as more and more and more passengers and their giant bags (of rice? of bricks? what is so heavy?!) were loaded on. We ended up sandwiched between 15 others as we bumped along the road. We could only laugh as it began to rain halfway through. We made friends by sharing cookies and besides the pain of cramping legs, it was a pretty fun trip.

We disembarked in Nong Kiew, which is GORGEOUS. Huge rock karsts stick into the sky out of nowhere...green everywhere you look, and a beautiful river running right through the thick of it. We found an awesome riverside bungalow (with hammock! score!!) and explored the riverside, watching the local kids swim and fish.

The next day, we rented mountainbikes and set off towards some local caves we'd heard about. Terrible mistake number 1: Starting your activities at the beginning of the heat of the day.
Terrible mistake number 2: Doing the most strenous possible activity at the hottest time possible.

By the time we made it out to the start of the cave trail (where we had to leave the bikes behind), we looked like we'd just been swimming, drenched in sweat. Unfortunately, our fitness level was only just being put to the test: It was quite a hike out to the caves! Through rice paddies, over fences, and into the jungle...and then straight UP the mountainside. When we finally found the cave, which was used as a hiding spot during the Secret War bombings, we were almost too tired to climb into the vast darkness. Almost. But it was so cool in there...bit creepy, no signs or anything...just...explore at your own risk! It was awesome. Worth the trip, I think. Marshall might tell you differently.

Once we dragged ourselves back into town and had a cold drink, we debated about biking more. Apparently there were more caves down the road in the other direction. We finally decided to buck up and go-- and I'm glad we did. These were enormous caves, only 100m away from the main road--and had also been used as a place to hide the entire village during the second Indochina war. The caves were impressive, and certain caverns were labeled (security section, art section, section where bullets were hidden in the sand...). Our legs could barely carry us back to town, but we definitley earned our BeerLao and hammock time for the evening.

Next up: more bus rides!

--T

Dry Land: Luang Prabang!

Yes, it's true. I evidently was tipping the boat over with my big American butt. Not sure why they didn't switch the sturdy 6 foot tall German couple next to me...but I'm over it. Kind of...

Mar put it perfectly, the slow boat was definitely a majestic experience. Equally as exciting was stepping off the boat onto dry land and regaining my personal space! Luang Prabang, besides being the most fun city to pronounce, is a really neat town with an interesting cultural mix of French and Lao culture. The colonial influence is seen by western-style villas and buildings, contrasted by the colorful Lao street markets and Buddhist temples right across the street. We stayed here two nights--no ghosts here, by the way--and rented bikes to explore the city. We saw breathtaking temples, enormous spiders, and ate excellent Lao food. Our exploring energy was a bit dampered by the heat, so we allowed some good rest time in there, too. (I treated myself to a $4 pedicure. Now my toes are monk's-robe orange!)

-T

Slow boat, go boat, whoa boat

The slow boat ride down the Mekong was one of those majestic, unforgettable experiences that can only truly be enjoyed quile squatting on the floor wedged between a Lao mother who's baby keeps hitting her and a group of Lao men playing careds on a suitcase. Waking up early after a ghost-ridden night we headed down to the dock to ensure we got a seat on the boat, which proved to be a good idea, as group after group of tourist and locals alike came marching down the stairs to cram into the vessel. After 3 hours of playing the "this has to be the last group they can't possibly fit any more" game, we were off on our journey.

The trip was fantastic, with every bend in the river offering a new and interesting glimpse into local lao life, as kids swam, villagers of all ages fished, farmed and congregated by the beaches and jutting rocks of the river. That night we stayed in Pakbeng and got our first taste of local buffalo Lap (ground up with mint), along with instructions from the locals on how to eat it with our hands and the sticky rice. The next morning we strolled down to the boat dock, only to find the boat already crowded with everybody who hadn't gotten a good seat the day before. We nestled into our little corners in the front of the boat with the before mentioned locals. This seating arrangement worked out great, as I joined in the card game with the lao men (a loa version of asshole, which I got dominated at and had to excuse myself before they started playing for money), shared food and drink with the family, and got to practice a little lao.

Things learned on the Mekong:
- When you think the boat is full, it can always fit at least 6 more people and 12 more bags of rice.
- When the boat lists port side, the captain will have Tina switch seats with a tiny old lao woman across from her to correct the problem (this actually happened).

Laost in Translation

Hi! Found internet again, and this time I'm not paying 250 kip per minute!

A few good stories from our first night in Laos:

Marshall and I were warned that Lao people were not very friendly and wouldn't look us in the eye...and found the exact opposite. After checking into a nice guesthouse (for a whopping $10), we walked around the neighborhood and were immediately invited to a local Lao party! They sat us down, fed us dried fish, and poured us BeerLao (the beer of choice here) and LaoLao (local whisky)...and lots of it. They sang kareoke and we tried to communicate with our limited Lao and their limited English...mostly it was just them smiling, nodding, and pushin a laolao cup to our lips. As much as we wanted to participate in local culture, we had to escape or we would have never been able to find our way home.

I'll tell the second story from this night, but you all must promise you won't think I've lost it over here. That night, in our guesthouse, we were visited by a ghost. I woke up at 1am and our doorknob was rattling and shaking. I could hear a faint jingle of keys too. I woke up Marshall and he went over to the door to make sure it was double-latched, and called out that we were in the room. The rattling continued, and he said it was probably the wind. I almost threw up I was so scared...the light shining from under the door showed no feet or anyone standing there...When it quieted down, Mar opened the door to see if anyone was around. There was nobody around at all...but it wasn't windy at all either.

Updates!

So much to catch up on folks, sorry we haven't been internetting recently.

First, a clarification on my 'panic' in the cave (thanks Mar): SOME people (ahem, Mar and Cody) were too busy having deep conversation to notice our guide took a turn on the path to go to the caves. Everybody went in (I thought they were behind me) and started deep into the dark. I realized my headlamp didn't work, so I waited a minute for MAr and Cody to catch up (Mar is always bragging about his 70-lumen headlamp) but they never showed! So I was stranded in the dark cave, couldn't go back out or deeper in! Had to yell out to the group, who was already deep away into another cave room. So, anyway. If you call yelling to the group to avoid being lost forever in a dark cave, then yes. I had some panic. (Also, Mar and Cody never got to see the cave. So there.)

Anyway... a quick update on our location currently: (Details and stories to follow later)

We celebrated Songkran in Chaing Mai which was incredible. Kind of overwhelming. Escaped the next day to Chiang Rai with Cody, but we had to leave our travel buddies Apoi and Marche behind. From Chiang Rai, Cody went back South to find the Perfect Island. Mar and I went on and crossed the border into Lao and spent a night there. From Huay Xai (I think this is the name of the town?) We hopped on the Slow Boat, stayed overnight at Pak Beng, and ended up in Luang Probang. Spent 2 nights there, very awesome place. Today we took a 4 hour bus ride (in the back of a pickup truck with 15 other people....not the most comfortable...) to a town called Nong Kiew (not sure on spelling there). We're staying here for 2 nights and then the adventure continues!!

Will update more soon!

Love to all,

T and M

Songkran has begun. Happy new year everybody. We're in Chiang Mai for what must be the worlds biggest water fight. Just remember, the wetter you get, the more luck you have for the new year. So I plan to get drenched.

The last few days have been incredible. After a brutal overnight bus trip up to Chiang Mai, we spent one night then were off again to Pai, where we found a delightful mix of hippie, Thai and tourist culture. We immediately ventured out to explore the surrounding hills on 2 scooters, one of which was a finely tuned machine and one a struggling piece of junk that left Cody all but pushing with his feet up hills. We found a refreshing waterfall, great views at Pai canyon and a smoking hotspring where the tradition was to boil eggs right in the water that was bubbling up. We sat for a while and boiled ourselves a little downstream.

The next day we ventured out on a trek. Guided by the all knowledgable Mr. Day (the self described Brad Pitt of Thailand) we marched for a good 5 hours to a hill tribe of the Karen people who immigrated from China 70 years ago. The entire experience was surreal, as we explored caves (where Tina had a brief panic attack due to a malfunctioning headlamp), played a pickup soccer game with the local kids (who proceeded to quickly score 2 goals on me in the 3 minutes I stepped in goal), ate a delicious home cooked meal, drank home brewed whiskey and slept in the house of one of the families. After a 3 am wake up call thanks to an eager rooster, we set off to find a great waterfall swimming hole. The drive back to Pai was highlighted by a 5 foot Cobra sunning itself in the middle of the road. We all agreed it was a good thing we saw that fella after the hike and not before.

And now we find ourselves in the heart of Chiang Mai, with the entire town, young and old, tourist and local, sporting a water gun or bucket and ready to soak their nearest neighbor in the name of cleansing for the new year. Wish us luck.

Much love,

Mar

We're Okay

For anyone who saw the news of the earthquake in the Indian Ocean and heard reports that the 8.6 was felt in Bangkok, we're okay! We were way far north in the town of Pai when it happened, and now we're in Chiang Mai--far from being in danger from the Tsunami warnings.

Bangkok

Ughhh just spent 20 minutes writing super-detailed account of our first day adventures and it got deleted. Cliff notes version:

- Figured out subway and skytrain

-Got visas at the Vietnamese consulate (have to get them far in advance)

-Got textbook conned into a wild tuk tuk ride ending at super high pressure travel agency. Figured it out, made no friends there. Only out 40 baht (a dollar fifty?)

-Found awesome public park with lake, almost got eaten by man-size swimming lizard that hauled up on land right where I was sitting (obviously I had climbed a nearby tree by that time, but Marshall and Cody were manly and stayed to take pictures).

-Took amazing canal boat ride with the locals (got a lot of funny looks...this was not for tourists)

-Saw the KING drive by (all traffic, even pedestrians, were stopped. Lot of people bowed to his rolls-royce).

-Found Buddhist festival with 3 stages of music, Thai dancing, singing. Incredible place to spend the sunset stretched out on the grass with a lit-up golden temple behind us.

-Ate incredible street food for dinner.

Heading up to Chiang Mai today. Wish us luck!

T

One Day in Bangkok ...

I found the lost post!!!! Hooray 30 baht was not wasted.

Here it is, now kinda redundant. Sorry.

Our first day in Bangkok was super successful. To be honest, I had really low expectations-- we had been told to get out of here as fast as possible, but after 20+ hours of traveling the day before, we wanted to take a breather.





First, it's hot. Really hot. As in, it's 7:46am and I'm sweating already. Phew. I feel like I'm doing Bikram yoga when I move in any direction.





Anyway--Cody, Marshall and I wandered down the streets of Bangkok in search of food-- and found a backpacker eating something that looked good at a stall. We just pointed at his plate and told the lady 3 of those--turns out it was chicken and rice--and it was good (and 30 baht, which is about a dollar)! We navigated the subway AND the skytrain to get to the Vietnamese consulate to apply for visas (you have to get it well in advance). It takes a few hours, so we set out on the streets again...and got super hussled. When we re-read our guidebooks later, it was classic--well-dressed guy approaches, asks where you're from, says he's a policeman and the site we were looking to visit was closed due to a Buddhist holiday and gets us a tuk-tuk to the travel agency to book our trip to Chiang Mai. It wasn't a total waste--the tuk tuk ride was pretty interesting--but once we got to the travel agencey (It was supposed to be government run and it was clearly not), we saw through it pretty quick. The lady there hates us now cuz we got out of there so quick (especially Cody, haha!)





Knowing that we must exude a smell of fresh "hussle us" that clearly everyone we passed smelled, we learned not to talk to anyone else who promised us anything and decided just to walk. We found an awesome lunch cart and a really pretty public park to hang out in. We hung out on the bank of the lake there and I drew. Very relaxing, until we noticed a gigantic crocodile-looking thing swimming towards us. It was the biggest lizard I've ever seen in my life. Seriously alligator-sized, with a long, black tongue. And he smelled me. I swear he made a beeline right for where I was sitting, and hauled out of the water. Of course, by this time I had climbed a nearby tree. Marshall and Cody had to be all manly and stand their ground, but I guess somebody had to take pictures. Turns out I was sitting almost directly above his little tunnel hole that he crawled into. Yikes. Will post pics of him soon.





After almost getting eaten, we returned to the consulate, collected our visas, and set off wandering again. We decided to travel down a canal by boat, which was kinda a local thing, I guess-- we got a lot of funny looks. It was awesome. We even had to do a boat transfer at one point. At the end of the line, (We were headed to "Old Bangkok" area...) we got out and started crossing the street-- a huge intersection-- but got stopped by a guy with a walkie-talkie. All traffic was being held, even the pedestrians. Turns out, we timed it perfectly-- the KING was about to drive by! The city completely stopped as his 30-car/motorcylce motorcade drove by. A lot of people bowed to his Rolls-Royce. It was really exciting!





I've got 3 minutes left of my 10-baht internet session, so I've got to wrap up this post--





We then found a huge buddhist festival with 3 stages of Thai dancing, singing, and music. It was incredible. We took a seat in the middle of the field as the sun set and it was magical. Behind us, a huge golden temple/palace lit up.


We ate great street food and went to bed.

All in all, one night in bangkok...the world was our oyster. The bars were temples, but the pearls weren't free.

Plus, we woke up this morning without Mike Tyson tattoos on our faces. That counts as success, my friends.

Love,


T

We're THERE.

Hello, adoring fans at home (hi Mom...)
2 looong flights and a surprisingly easy taxi ride from SFO, we're in Bangkok. The travel was not bad...although our SFO-Tokyo flight was kinda crowded on an old-school plane (we watched Mission Impossible 27 (or whatever number they're on now) from a screen 16 rows up that somebody had written on (so there was red scrawling letters across Tom Cruise's face the whole time...improvement?) From Tokyo to Bangkok, the flight was awesome-- really empty, so we could switch into empty rows to stretch out and sleep. Perrrfect.

We're staying at the Cozy Bangkok Place hostel, and it's awesome. We met up with Cody (friend from Santa Cruz) who flew in earlier. This place is great-- super comfortable, super clean, super nice. If you're headed in our direction, we highly recommend it.