hermespan Posted September 29, 2014 Share Posted September 29, 2014 I have lived and worked as well as holidayed and sojourned (long stay holidaying) in all Southeast Asian countries except Brunei. Plus I have travelled extensively in India and somewhat in China. I am inviting opinions based on experience as to relative costs of renting apartments or hotel rooms in order to see where are the best deals. This can be expressed in two related but separate measurements: best *value* and cheapest. Why? I am looking for somewhere cheap to hole up for three months. Here I am choosing value over price. I suggest that this poll consider only capital cities in order to compare apples with apples. I use SEA in the broadest sense - to me this includes tropical regions of China (Xishuangbanna) and perhaps some would to include South Asia and Himalayas as well. I am considering travellers' circuit more than climate and culture. My ballpark estimates (feel free to disagree if you know better) From best value to poorest... Great value 01. Thailand 02. Malaysia 03. Laos Good value 04. Cambodia 05. China Medium value 06. Philippines 07. Taiwan 08. Brunei Poor value 09. Myanmar 10. Hong Kong If South Asia is included... 01. Thailand 02. Malaysia 03. Laos 04. Cambodia 05. Sri Lanka 06. China 07. Philippines 08. Brunei 09. Myanmar 10. India 11. Bangladesh 12. Pakistan 13. Nepal India one would think would be cheap, but in my experience major metropolises such as Mumbai and Kolkata are very poor value for hotels rental accommodation (and I expect that renting an apartment is a hassle) But far upcountry, last time I travelled, in mid-1990s it was great value. I have not included East Timor because I am ignorant of realities there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigt3365 Posted September 30, 2014 Share Posted September 30, 2014 Are you living in Thailand now? I doubt you'd find an "acceptable" room for much less than you can get here. Again, acceptable being the key term! LOL Do you have a budget? What are you going to do for 3 months? Whatever you choose, it will be a great adventure! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KittenKong Posted September 30, 2014 Share Posted September 30, 2014 It seems pointless to class each country as a whole. At the very least you should distinguish between the capital cities and some of the more popular tourist destinations. For example, I think that Bangkok is expensive for accommodation but Pattaya can be very good value for a 3-month stay especially if those 3 months are not in the December - March season. And, as mentioned, one man's "acceptable" would be another man's palace and a third man's slum. There is also the question of all the other costs one might need to consider for three months (food, entertainment, internet connection, beer etc etc). 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldthaihand99 Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 The top rated budget hotels in Hanoi on TripAdvisor offer the best value for hotels in the region if not the world. Look for something around 20 USD a day & see what discount they can offer you for longstay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phuketrichard Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 i have always found Nepal ( KTM and Pokhara) very affordable, good local food and cheaper than here in Thailand Malaysia i have found everywhere i have been ( mostly north an west of Penang) to be poor value for hotels but good cheap food. Hotels in most of Laos and Cambodia are on an average 10-20% cheaper than Thailand,( those in the $15-20 range) food in laos same price and very good value, food in Cambodia can be cheaper but not great value for what you get. Burma was about the same as Thailand in the low season but lots more in the high season. These are all places I have traveled in the last 18 months . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KED Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 Interesting that you don't list Indonesia on your list - or did I miss it? Jakarta is mostly a miss - too much traffic and not much to do there - but in Java - Bandung / Solo / Malang and even Bali have some great places in the budget range with good inexpensive food. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dddave Posted November 2, 2014 Share Posted November 2, 2014 It seems pointless to class each country as a whole. At the very least you should distinguish between the capital cities and some of the more popular tourist destinations. For example, I think that Bangkok is expensive for accommodation but Pattaya can be very good value for a 3-month stay especially if those 3 months are not in the December - March season. And, as mentioned, one man's "acceptable" would be another man's palace and a third man's slum. There is also the question of all the other costs one might need to consider for three months (food, entertainment, internet connection, beer etc etc). The OP did specify capital cities as the basis for the comparisons. While the core Sukhumvit/Silom areas of Bangkok are pricy, especially during high season, there are still many decent but economical rooms available in less central areas though still serviced by the BTS/MRT/ARL. I can think of at least 10 decent hotels in the Ekkamai-Phra Khanong-On Nut area for less than B1000/p.n. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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