\n(so far…)<\/em><\/h1>\n
There are a few caveats to this list:<\/strong><\/p>\n First.<\/strong> Second.<\/strong> Finally.<\/strong> The List…<\/strong><\/p>\n Koh Lanta, Thailand \u2013 This is the Thailand experience we expected. Cute, cheap, and clean, bungalows right off the beach with a hammock to lounge in while the sunsets. We only got a couple of nights there because they were completely booked with repeat customers. Neels Gap, Georgia \u2013 The hostel that started it all for us. Way back when Liz worked for Arby\u2019s we went on a backpacking trip up Blood Mountain and at the end found Pirate and his the Hostel on the AT. It was the first hostel experience for either of us. We found a warm place to sleep, a cool vibe and great people. This is the first place we got our trail names. For various reasons at lot of people that through hike the AT (or any other long trek) use trail names, basically nicknames, only cooler. Pirate ran the hostel, we meet Virgin at a waterfall and Cool Breeze gave us a ride back to our car in the hippy shuttle.<\/p>\n Moshi, Tanzania \u2013 We stumbled onto this one after the place we found online (but didn\u2019t book) was full when we arrived. It\u2019s run by some awesome Spaniards and proceeds from the hostel go to a local school they started. They\u2019re hard working and focused on the environment; while we were there Sam, the owner, was building a swimming pool by hand to soak the locally sourced bamboo they were going to use for another building project. Industrious to say the least. Sam was extremely helpful in booking our Kilimanjaro trek and very transparent about the whole guiding industry in Tanzania. If you\u2019re ever in Moshi, this is the place to stay.<\/p>\n Bangkok, Thailand \u2013 This is the only one on the list that may no longer be in operation as a hostel. Lub d has a number of hostels in Bangkok and we had a great time our first time in Bangkok staying at Lub d and hand a great time on Halloween there. So the next time we were moving through Bangkok we cashed in the free night at Lub d Surf we had and it was pretty cool. It wouldn\u2019t call it homey or particularly friendly, but it did have a giant artificial wave, It\u2019s located at FlowRide in Bangkok and it was pretty cool to have a pool and wave for entertainment.<\/p>\n
\nIt couldn\u2019t be someone\u2019s actual home, we\u2019ve stayed at a number of peoples houses and they are all the best, and would easily trump anything on this list, so if we\u2019ve spent time in you\u2019re home, know that it was better than anything on this list and thus wasn\u2019t allowed to compete. It just wouldn\u2019t be far.<\/em><\/p>\n
\nIn the same vain of \u201cplaying fair\u201d major hotel brands\/resorts or anything paid for with \u201cpoints\u201d or gift cards wasn\u2019t allowed to be included either. It had to be a hostel, small hotel, rental property, AirBNB<\/a>, etc.. i.e. something we\u2019d normally consider as a backpacker\/traveler. Again level playing field.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n
\nWe decided to open it up beyond our current big voyage. We\u2019ve stayed at a lot of backpacker places over the years and some are part of the reason we decided take the big plunge and travel extensively for a while.<\/em><\/p>\n11.\u00a0Bluesky Bungalows<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n![\"Koh](\"http:\/\/theagostins.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/P1100301-1024x768.jpg\")
<\/a>
\n<\/a><\/p>\n10.\u00a0Mountain Crossings<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n
9.\u00a0Karibu Hostel<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n
8. Lub d Surf<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\n<\/a><\/p>\n10.\u00a0Mountain Crossings<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\nNeels Gap, Georgia \u2013 The hostel that started it all for us. Way back when Liz worked for Arby\u2019s we went on a backpacking trip up Blood Mountain and at the end found Pirate and his the Hostel on the AT. It was the first hostel experience for either of us. We found a warm place to sleep, a cool vibe and great people. This is the first place we got our trail names. For various reasons at lot of people that through hike the AT (or any other long trek) use trail names, basically nicknames, only cooler. Pirate ran the hostel, we meet Virgin at a waterfall and Cool Breeze gave us a ride back to our car in the hippy shuttle.<\/p>\n9.\u00a0Karibu Hostel<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\nMoshi, Tanzania \u2013 We stumbled onto this one after the place we found online (but didn\u2019t book) was full when we arrived. It\u2019s run by some awesome Spaniards and proceeds from the hostel go to a local school they started. They\u2019re hard working and focused on the environment; while we were there Sam, the owner, was building a swimming pool by hand to soak the locally sourced bamboo they were going to use for another building project. Industrious to say the least. Sam was extremely helpful in booking our Kilimanjaro trek and very transparent about the whole guiding industry in Tanzania. If you\u2019re ever in Moshi, this is the place to stay.<\/p>\n8. Lub d Surf<\/strong><\/h3>\nBangkok, Thailand \u2013 This is the only one on the list that may no longer be in operation as a hostel. Lub d has a number of hostels in Bangkok and we had a great time our first time in Bangkok staying at Lub d and hand a great time on Halloween there. So the next time we were moving through Bangkok we cashed in the free night at Lub d Surf we had and it was pretty cool. It wouldn\u2019t call it homey or particularly friendly, but it did have a giant artificial wave, It\u2019s located at FlowRide in Bangkok and it was pretty cool to have a pool and wave for entertainment.<\/p>\n](\"http:\/\/theagostins.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/P1100301.jpg\"){kind=link}