I’ve no trips until the end of the month, so in order to have something to blog about, I’ll be writing reviews of accommodations, airlines and services that I’ve used in my travels last year. I figured now’s the time to do it, as people are making plans for their trips in the coming months. I hope you find these posts useful

This was my second stay at Shambara. I stayed there before, on my first trip to Thailand in 2006. Not a lot has changed: there are still only 9 rooms, the bathroom is still shared, footwear is still strictly not allowed inside, and it’s still always full.

Room 3

Shambara’s biggest appeal is its location: it’s in an alley off Khao San Road. If you’ve been to Bangkok or have researched about the city, you’d know that KSR is the backpacker’s hub. This is where most of the young and first time backpackers go to stay in Bangkok, because everything a traveler needs is in Khao San Road. Cheap accommodation? Check. Clothes and accessories? Check. Bootleg CDs and DVDs? Check. Foreign exchange and ATMs? Check. Pharmacy and convenience stores? Check. Travel agents offering cheap tour packages to Thailand’s islands and beaches? Check. Restaurants and bars serving Western food and cheap booze? Check. Thai street food? Check. McDonald’s, Starbucks and Apple Store? Check, check, check!
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Popularity: 3% [?]

I am *slowly* getting better at packing light. I managed to keep my backpack under 6.5 kilos during my one-month backpacking trip in Southeast Asia, but of course, that doesn’t count my heavy messenger bag and extra bag with my Bangkok dollie shopping.

So how did I manage to pack relatively light? By not bringing so much stuff. Here are the contents of my bags:

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Popularity: 5% [?]

As a follow up to my post about my packing list, here’s how my items fared in this trip.

Items in normal font are the things I have used once or twice.
Items in bold are the things I have used often.
Items underlined are the things I never had the opportunity to use.
Items in italics are the things I could have done without.
Items that are bold, underlined and italized are things I’m so glad I brought.

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Popularity: 40% [?]