Yep, I ended up spending a month there ![:slight_smile: :slight_smile:]()
I started in a guest house through Airbnb which wasn’t super cheap and could’ve gotten a hotel room for around the same price, with access to a swimming pool etc. But definitely a cheap place to hang out especially if you avoid places aimed at Westerners esp the wealthier expat crowd.
I’m not sure of the name of the district where I stayed, it was near the Aeon Mall. I only went to the riverside/backpacker area once and that was pretty seedy but around my area was pretty nice. You still have to take common sense precautions of course. People say everyone gets robbed there eventually but I wasn’t there long enough for that to happen, thankfully. I thought my hosts were being really paranoid about house break-ins but apparently it is a huge issue too.
Even in Feb when I was there, the heat was too much for me. Long termers thought it was on the cold side though
You pretty much can’t walk anywhere. Even without the heat, the footpaths are pretty much non-existent.
I didn’t do much touristing when I was there because I was working to a deadline and didn’t get out much but there are some nice cafes and bars. Booze is really cheap. People are generally friendly and easy going although the tuk tuk drivers seem to have no idea where to go! I did head out of town to the bear sanctuary which was a cool day trip. From my experience, it’s much more of an expat crowd than a DM scene (or maybe I just didn’t find it) and it’s easy to meet people.