I stayed in their Premier Room (Barrier-Free) for four nights. Le Prabelle Hotel's Premier Room (Barrier-Free) room came with a bathtub, which is extremely rare for hotels in Hong Kong, and a king-sized bed. I paid HKD 3,317.60 (approx. SGD $592 in March 2016) for the room.


Because Le Prabelle Hotel's Premier Room (Barrier-Free) room is meant to be wheelchair-accessible, its bathroom is spacious. Although the bathtub is a little shallow, it's good enough. The bathtub would be marvellous during Hong Kong's colder months; I had a good time soaking in the bathtub in March and didn't want to get out!


Le Prabelle Hotel provides free breakfast of a small snack and a packet drink every morning till 11am. They have free coffee, tea and some cookies in the room for your enjoyment too.

The room came with hairdryer, kettle, towels etc. For more facilities, you may to go Le Prabelle's website.


I doubt I'll go back to Le Prabelle Hotel, and strongly advised my friends against booking a room with Le Prabelle Hotel despite their excellent location.

I haven't been to Hong Kong enough to know if all hotels are like that, but Le Prabelle Hotel was inflexible with changing of booking dates, and check-in check-out timings. All of which I understand since I booked my room with the early bird price.

But I cannot accept Le Prabelle Hotel's insistence that we leave HKD1000 as deposit at the front desk. That messed with our budget quite a bit, especially since we were on a short trip and didn't bring a lot of cash. I travel a lot but I have never stayed at a hotel that requires a cash deposit, especially when it wasn't stated in their website.

For that very reason, I will not recommend Le Prabelle Hotel to my friends travelling to Hong Kong.

Le Prabelle

Address

372 Portland St, Mong Kok, Hong Kong
 

Email

booknow@leprabelle.com

Phone Number

 +852 2263 1263

Nearest MTR Station

Prince Edward Station Exit C2

Website

http://www.leprabelle.com/


Note: I paid for the hotel room with my own money. This post is neither sponsored nor paid for by Le Prabelle Hotel. I wrote the review based on my own experience with the hotel.

I stayed in Plan A Hostel in Taichung, located a convenient 15-minute walk from Taichung Train Station. Since I was heavily reliant on public transport in Taichung, staying near the train station — thus, also the bus interchange — made it easier to get around Taichung. Plan A Hostel is near lots of suncake (taiyangbing) shops, a Taiwanese specialty that originated from Taichung, making it easy to stock up on souvenirs!

Room

I stayed in Plan A Hostel's 'Standard 12 Bed Female Dorm' for two nights. Upon entering, I was immediately impressed by how clean the rooms were. Because it was Taiwan's low travel season, I was allowed to pick any bed I like.


Each bed comes with its own nightlight (in the shape of a macaron, how adorable!), mini platform for you to put your belongings, 2 USB cable points, a Type B power socket, and a Type G power socket.


Guests are requested to keep quiet and off the lights from 11pm onwards, which made the hostel a condusive place for resting after exploring Taichung for a day.

I had to go through the 'Standard 8 Bed Female Dorm' to get to my room. While slightly inconvenient, I prefer my 12-bed to the 8-bed dorm — I can only imagine how annoying it must be for doors to swing open every now and then, and having random people walk through your room. The 12-bed dorm was also more spacious.

Toilet

A peek at the male bathroom

Of all the hostels I've been to around Taiwan, Plan A Hostel has the cleanest toilet.


Not to mention, they have a stash of toiletries for all ladies, ranging from oil-based make up removal to facial cleanser. They even have nail polish removals, different sizes of pads and tampons, and cotton wool. Talk about impressive hospitality!


Toilet cover sheets if you're that anal about hygiene. As someone who's extremely icky about using public toilets, I love it! Plus, look at their puns :')


There are four shower cubicals, and Plan A Hostel provides different scented shower gel and shampoos for each cubical. What?! It made showering so fun!

Common Area

Plan A Hostel plastered directions to popular Taichung tourist spots around the walls. They even included a short description and opening hours! Should you need further information, Plan A Hostel also had two desk tops for guests to utlitise during their stay.


I did my laundry here for NT50 (SGD $2.30). Plan A Hostel has two washing machines but there weren't anyone else using the washing machines.


However, Plan A Hostel doesn't have a dryer so I had to hang my laundry to dry. It wasn't an issue for me but if there were others doing their laundry, the laundry line might get filled up pretty quickly.


Plan A Hostel provides free breakfast every morning up to 11am. Yay, who doesn't love free breakfasts?

Atmosphere

I shared the room with one other female traveller my first night there; the second night, we have around five girls in the room, and it was quite entertaining trying to communicate in our different languages and accents! Times like this I realise how important bilingualism is.


The first night I was there, Plan A Hostel was had a gathering. Guests and staff were mingling over some games and drinks, and I later learned that it's a common occurence.

Service

A lot of staff were on working holidays when I was there. Meaning, you'll enjoy exchanging travel stories and they probably have a lot to share. But they weren't that knowledgable when it comes to best places to buy souvenirs or getting around Taichung. Nonetheless, it didn't hinder me much because the information is easily Googleable.

The boss, upon seeing that I was checking out Taichung guidebooks one night, offered me some tourist spots he thought I might enjoy. Most of the staff could speak English.

Will I return to Plan A Hostel?

I don't see why not.

Plan A Hostel

Address

No. 201, Section 1, Taiwan Boulevard, Central District, Taichung City, Taiwan 400

Phone Number

+886-933728625

Email

aforangeltw@gmail.com

Price

SGD $21.15 per night on average

Booking

I made my booking through Hostelworld.

Disclaimer
I paid for my stay in Plan A Hostel and none of the staff knew I was a blogger so I didn't receive any preferential treatment. Everything written in this review is based on my own opinions and expectations after staying in different hostels in Taiwan.

My plan for Tainan was easy — find a hostel near the train station. Since I was arriving in Tainan at night, I didn't want to get lost in a foreign city after dark. Old Man Captain Hostel happens to be the old office of Tainan Train Station so naturally, it was located within walking distance of the train station.


Note: if you key 'Old Man Captain Hostel' into Google Maps, it'll lead you somewhere 10 minutes away, which is NOT where the hostel is.


The hostel, identifiable by its bright orange doors, is at the doorstep of Tainan Train Station.

Knowing how inconvenient the public transport in Taitung is, I decided to book a room in Summer Guest House, a hostel nearby the attractions I wanted to visit, namely Tiehua Rural Village, Taitung Railway Art Village and Liyushan Park. Summer Guest House was the cheapest option available so I went ahead with my booking despite the hostel not being near Taitung Train Station.

I found Free & Slow Hostel at the very last minute — before leaving for Hualien — and made my booking right away because of the hostel's unique concept. I mean, Free & Slow Hostel allows you to go camping on a trip in an air-conditioned room? Yes, please! To make things better, Free & Slow Hostel is just five to ten minutes away from Hualien Railway Station, where you alight after taking the train from or to Taipei.

Taipei Main Inn is located conveniently at Taipei Main Station — the very reason I chose to stay this hostel. Upon arrival, I was delighted to find out that the hostel is literally opposite Taipei Main Station's Y13 exit and a stone's throw away (5-minute walk) from Taipei Railway Station. Although not as fancy as some other hostels in Taipei, Taipei Main Inn prime location paired with its affordable price made it a perfect choice for my four nights in Taipei.

Literally 50 meters away from Taipei Main Station's Y13 exit

I'm a solo budget traveller and hostels are my go-to whenever I need cheap accommodation. But my terrible experience with a mixed room with shared bathroom in a hostel in Taipei is where I draw the line. I could pay a little more for comfort and safety.

After checking in, I was uncomfortable upon learning that the bathroom is in the room — I had expected a gender segregated bathroom — but I could live with it. I thought. My experience was mortifying. Shavers, with hair from god knows where, left on the toilet bowl. Toilet paper stained with you-know-what left in plain sight. Hygiene standards? Sorry, what hygiene?

With the walls paper thin, I could hear every movement in the bathroom. Yeah, go figure. They also knew my every move, which made things awkward when I had to rip off my pad.

Additionally, males are, I'm sorry, less considerate. They often switch off and on the lights as they wish and make loud noises. If you're unlucky, you get a group of male friends travelling together. You know how males are around their friends — obnoxious. Loud chatters can be heard throughout the night as they nudge each other on doing stupid things.

Because most hostels have the option of females only or mixed dormitories, the mixed dormitories are dominated by males. I was a single female with five males in that room. It was slightly intimidating and my mom would have screamed bloody murder if she knew. Granted most of the males I spoke to were polite and merely wanted a cheaper accommodation alternative but I had better experiences with females-only room during my hostel stays.

Thankfully, as I continued travelling around Taiwan, I had better experiences in other mixed hostel rooms, thus slightly changing my initial stance about never booking a mixed room ever again. Will I stay in mixed room in the future? Yes, only if the bathrooms are gender segregated or at the very least, located outside of the mixed rooms.

(Read my full review of the hostel here.)

During my recent holiday to Kaohsiung with Joanna (yes my third time travelling to Taiwan in half a year!), we stayed at Hotel R14 Kaohsiung. We were lucky to chance upon this hotel, aptly named after the train station it's located at, because it was so convenient! For one, we never had to remember what station was our hotel located at — R14 is the number of Kaohsiung Arena Station, on the red line, and Hotel R14 Kaohsiung was right across the road of Kaohsiung Areana Station.

We were initially worried about locating Hotel R14 Kaohsiung since neither of us have travelled to Kaohsiung before, but our worries were completely unfounded. When you exited from Kaohsiung Areana Station Exit 2, you'll spot a playground and Hotel R14 Kaohsiung is opposite the playground, across a road.

Because we landed at 10am, we had plenty of time to spare before the hotel's check-in time of 3pm but the hotel staff's impeccable hospitality warmed our hearts from the very beginning of our trip. From taking care of our luggage before check in to guiding us to the toilets (so we vain girls can apply our make up), the staff of Hotel R14 Kaohsiung went out of their way making sure we had everything we need for a pleasant stay.


After a day of exploring Kaohsiung, we finally returned to Hotel R14 Kaohsiung to check in to our Tree Sea Family room that comes with two queen size beds. I love that their pillows are anti-bacterial and anti-mite because hygiene is a huge deciding factor when I travel!


When we entered our room, I was blown awed by... Hotel R14 Kaohsiung's toilet. Pardon me for sounding like an old lady, I was blown away by Hotel R14 Kaohsiung's high tech toilet bowl with smart washlet (the kind that is usually found in Japan).

From anti-smell technology to warm seat cover perfect for winter — there was absolutely nothing more I need. My favourite function has still got to be the bidet function, adjustable right down to water temperature and water pressure Like what I told Joanna, I'd find it hard to adapt to peasant toilets again in Singapore.

9 Hours Narita Capsule Hotel Review

It's as if heavens answered my prayers for cheap and convenient accommodation in Japan with capsules hotels, which have been steadily gaining popularity with Japan tourists. For my budget Japan solo travel, I stayed in 9 Hours Narita Capsule Hotel — the airport's answer to my hatred for early morning flights.

9 Hours Capsule Hotel is named after Japan's belief that you only need nine hours to recharge yourself after a busy day: one hour to shower, seven hours of sleep, one hour of preparation. Popular with tourists for its unique concept, 9 Hours Capsule Hotel has four capsule hotels around Japan — in Kyoto, Narita, Sendai and Shinjuku-North.

Similar to my stay at Imano Tokyo Hostel, I booked 9 Hours Capsule Hotel via Booking.com, and checking in was super convenient! A few taps on the iPad and confirmation with my passport was all it took. The staff at 9 Hours Capsule Hotel then passed me a key to my locker, and a bag with a body towel, face towel, a bathrobe and bedroom slippers.

God, I was already impressed by the service provided by 9 Hours Capsule Hotel — I didn't expect much because a capsule hotel is meant for guests to just check in, sleep, check out but I guess Japan has its way of surprising everyone with its hospitality.

Imano Tokyo Hostel Review

If there's one thing Japan's infamous for, it's their high cost of living — especially in Tokyo, the capital of Japan. After scouring the internet for hostels in Tokyo, I finally found Imano Tokyo Hostel through booking.com, and paid SGD $83 for two nights there. Other than being within my budget, Imano Tokyo Hostel fit all three strict criteria I set for any accommodation during my Japan solo travel — safe, convenient, and clean.

1) Safety

This one's a no brainer. It was my first time travelling solo, and I'm a petite girl too, so I had to exercise extreme caution even on a budget in Tokyo and my safety is my utmost priority. I read through thousands of reviews online — I went from booking.com to tripadvisor, and even googled for blog reviews. So long as I spotted one bad review concerning safety, the hostel, no matter how cheap, is immediately out of my list.

Unbeknownst to many, other than being a popular shopping district, Shinjuku is also Tokyo's red light district. I almost made a deathly mistake by booking a cheap hostel located right smack in Tokyo's red light district just because the address stated Shinjuku. Thank god I caught one of the reviews expressing concerns for female solo travellers.

I first discovered Couchsurfing while editing an article on budget accommodation for my company's travel blog. Since Japan is infamous for its expensive accommodation and I'm travelling solo this time, I decided to try Couchsurfing for the first time in my first Japan destination, Osaka. After I tried Couchsurfing, a lot of my peers, most of whom are fellow avid budget travellers, asked me about my experience and I thought I could share my Couchsurfing experience on my blog.

What is Couchsurfing?

Screenshot from Couchsurfing dashboard

Couchsurfing is a website that connects travellers to locals. You can get an authentic experience in a local's home while on your travels, host travellers who are coming to your country or meet up with travellers in the city you are/will be in.

Couchsurfing is completely free, although you may wish to bring a souvenir or two from your country as a gift, and people are doing it because they love travelling, meeting new people from around the world or hearing stories from different travellers. Think: hitchhiking, but for accommodation. You can find out more on Couchsurfing's About Us page.

Is Couchsurfing Safe?

It's the same with Airbnb — there are risks involved have an discerning eye when choosing your hosts or the people you're meeting and you'll do fine. Check out their Couchsurfing profiles, read their reviews, get to know them more before meeting them, and don't ever exchange personal information.

My Couchsurfing Experience (in Osaka, Japan)

About two weeks after putting up the date I'll be in Osaka, I had 4 hosts offering to host me in their city, all of which could speak English and had decent amount of reviews on their Couchsurfing profile.

1. A couple in their mid-fifties
2. A small family of three
3. A man in his twenties
4. A man in his thirties

Now I would prefer staying with the couple or the small family — pretty self explanatory — unfortunately their houses were out of central Osaka. As someone setting foot in Osaka for the first time, I didn't want to deviate too far from the city, especially when I only had a day in Osaka.

My second choice was the guy in his twenties because, I presume, we would have more conversation topics since we don't have much of an age gap. Unfortunately, he didn't have an extra room to offer me and I wasn't too comfortable with sharing a room with a guy I don't know.

I went with the man in his thirties in the end because he had the most amount of positive reviews on his Couchsurfing profile (50+ of them) and his place was 10 minutes away from Nishi-Umeda, which was pretty near to transfer stations like Hommachi, Shinsaibashi and Namba Station.

Messages sent on Couchsurfing's website

After a few message exchanges on Couchsurfing, we exchanged numbers to continue the conversation on WhatsApp, where we set a meeting time and place. That was pretty much the end of our communication till the day of my flight where my Couchsurfing host sent me a message to confirm our meeting.

The journey from Kansai International Airport (KIX) to our meeting place near his apartment at Nishi-Umeda Station took a little longer than expected because I was confused about getting out of Osaka's airport, had to purchase my Osaka Municipal Subway card, figure out the stations and lug my >20kg up and down Osaka's merciless stairs.

My Couchsurfing host was forgiving about my tardiness even though I was thoroughly embarrassed because I was already asking for a huge favour by staying in his place! He brought me to his apartment, gave me instructions how to get in, showed me my room and his place, taught me what every button is for and which buttons to avoid because we know Japanese toilets and bathrooms are insanely complicated.

What not to do before a 7am flight: drink till 3am

After I was done unpacking / repacking my luggage, it was about 2pm. My Couchsurfing host sent me to the door and we agreed on a meeting time at night. I started exploring Osaka, and returned to my Couchsurfing host's apartment at our agreed timing, about 9pm.

I actually went to the wrong apartment because a lot of Osaka's buildings look similar and had to trouble my Couchsurfing host to put on his winter wear so he could look for me outside *face palms*

I didn't have the opportunity to interact much with my Couchsurfing host because I only had one night in Osaka and I spent the most of my day out exploring Osaka but I'm glad my first experience with Couchsurfing was a positive one. I have to admit I was a little scared given my petite frame and the fact that I was travelling solo for the first time but my host was funny, warm, polite and accommodating.

After wandering through Osaka for a day

Couchsurfing Tips

• Always have a backup plan in case your host decides to back out because they are not obligated to be responsible for your accommodation plans.
• Some female solo travellers choose to only meet up / host / stay with other female couchsurfers
• Don't be afraid to reject someone you're not comfortable with meeting / hosting
• I felt really bad that I didn't have time to talk to my Couchsurfing host, so I think it'll be great if you can buy a gift for your host in case you don't have time to chit-chat. At least your Couchsurfing host has a piece of your country to remember you by!
• Take photos of your Couchsurfing host's apartment in case you get lost like me

  Lastly and most importantly,

• Be alert at all times and listen to your sixth sense.

All in all, Couchsurfing is definitely a great alternative for budget travellers as long as you're careful and selective of who you meet :) Here's to staying safe while travelling solo!

(This blog post is based on my true opinion from my personal experience, and is in no way sponsored.)

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Japan Solo Travel (January 2017)

Tokyo Summary and Getting Around Tokyo | Tokyo Imano Hostel Review | Tokyo Pokemon Centre & Shibuya Crossing | Tokyo Lockers and Shinjuku Gyoen Garden | Tokyo Harajuku (Shopping, Food, Daiso) | Tokyo bills Omotesando (Tokyu Plaza)

Hakone One Day Itinerary | Hakone Tozan Railway and Cable Car | Seeing Mt Fuji at Owakudani | Hakone Ropeway and Sightseeing Cruise | Trekking to see Hakone Shrine and Mt Fuji

9 Hours Narita Capsule Hotel Review | Tokyo Narita Airport