For anyone keeping tabs on my whereabouts — I'm looking at you, mother — I will be in Bangladesh for a few weeks from August 1. I don't know exactly how long I'll stay. I have eight stories to write, so I guess I'll stay until I get those done. If any of you happen to be in Bangladesh, or know anyone who is, drop me a line as I'm keen to meet as many people as possible while I'm there.

I don't really have a reason for going to Bangladesh, but an opportunity came up and I decided it would be fun and also a good way to add another string to my bow, journalism wise. All in all, I can't wait. I have absolutely no idea how it's going to go, but suffice to say, it will go somewhere, somehow.

Going to the movies should be a fun experience, especially in Siam Paragon, supposedly the best mall in the entire universe. But there's a dark force at work in the lounge area where people buy their cinema tickets. That dark force is the bizarre choice of music someone made to play for the masses all day, every day.

Do you see anybody dancing?

I've already written about my dislike for Bali airport. I can now safely say I like the airport even less. I was in Bali for a few days having just finished up a month in Bangkok. As I’ve mentioned, I’ve been to Bali so many times that I just don’t enjoy traveling there all that these days. For this reason, I decided to hotfoot it to Penang for the George Town Festival.

Being the cheapskate I am and facing the prospect of a 6 am flight, I checked out of my hotel in favour of spending one night sleeping at the airport. For whatever reason, I arrived at the airport at about 6 pm and had something to eat and wondered around for a bit.

My first gripe was that to get into the airport, you have to show a ticket. Of course I knew this already, but I hadn’t been able to print a ticket. Given that most tickets are E-tickets, all of this makes no sense. To get into the airport, I therefore had to get out my computer, turn it on and find the PDF download. I ended up going in and out three times. Other travelers also had this problem.

Inside the airport, it got to about midnight and I decided to sleep on the sorry excuses for seats. Ten minutes later, half-a-dozen security guards came and kicked me out. I protested, but it was no use. Outside, I realized that all the large, wooden benches had been removed since the last time I slept at the airport. People would sleep on those benches, which seemed acceptable for folks with early flights.

I then went to the bathroom and it dawned on me that I was no longer wearing a belt. I’d forgotten to pick it up after passing through the metal detector on my way into the airport, of course. I couldn’t get back into the airport at this point, so I skulked around, beltless, and bought two cans of beer from the store.

Half a pack of cigarettes later, I curled up on the concrete floor next to a wall and tried to sleep. I woke up feeling as if I’d been hit with a spade. It was most unpleasant. Back in the airport, I explained to the security people that I had lost my belt, much to their amusement. It then took them an hour to locate the missing belt, which had apparently made its way to the other side of the airport.

All in all, I have no positive feelings left for Bali airport.

I'm selling all my websites and blogs in an attempt to lessen the dent in my savings that doing my master's will make. If you're interested in any of these, contact me. Quick sales.

While I’ve been in Southeast Asia, I’ve spent a fair amount of time on arguably the region’s top two island resorts: Bali and Phuket. They’re like the Mecca of Southeast Asian islands for Western travellers, and it’s easy enough to see why: beaches, cheap booze, parties, sunshine – the whole shebang. The fact that these two islands are so popular should be enough to alert tourists of the negatives of each, but still, people flock to Bali and Phuket.

If I’m honest, I’m over Bali. I’ve been all over the island, from north to south, and the last time I was there – a week ago – I wasn’t overly excited about the whole prospect. Traffic is continuously getting worse and the main hotspots around Kuta are all seemingly being demolished and rebuilt at the same time.

You also come across far too many idiots in Bali’s busiest areas, especially from July when the high season kicks in and the price hikes come into effect. Drunk, shirtless, shouting tourists love Bali, and they skulk around Kuta like there’s no tomorrow.

That being said, Kuta and the surrounding parts are my favourite places for people-watching. There’s always a fight or someone running a motorbike into a lamppost. Hilarity often ensues.

I am a pure cheapskate when it comes to hotel accommodation. I hate spending money on hotels. I don’t know why, but I’ve always been like this. I spend the absolute minimum, no matter where I go. The cheapest place I’ve found in Bali is about $8 a night.

There are plenty of places like this in Kuta in the area fanning out fro the Sky Garden nightclub. Last time in Bali I had to pay $20 to stay somewhere, which I grumbled about somewhere. Most places around Kuta and Legian were full to the brim. Usually, if I can, I try and find a “penginapan”. These places aren’t hotels, per se. They’re more like guesthouses in compound format, but they do the job.

For all my moaning about Bali, it is easy enough to escape the crowds most of the time, but even during high season, places like Ubud are still relatively busy. I’ve been all over Bali on a motorbike. It’s the best way to get around and you can hire bikes for as little as $2 a day. I never pay more than $3, but I’ve seen people in Kuta paying upwards of $7.

As for Phuket, I love the island as I used to live there, but I would never, ever live there again, if only because it can be such a bitchy, backstabbing place where everybody knows your business and everyone pretends to be best friends with each other while secretly harbouring bad feelings.

If you’re travelling to Phuket and you are looking for somewhere to stay, you could book with Agoda, Hotels Combined, Hotel Travel or one of the many other hotel-booking sites, or you could do like I do and stay in a serviced apartment.

The rates are usually cheaper than hotels — from 500 baht a day – and you get an apartment, which is always a winner in my eyes. It beats a sweaty backpacker guesthouse any day of the week. The last place I stayed was Baan Fuang Fah near Phuket Rajabhat University (086-9410008, 076-525684-87).

As for getting around Phuket, a motorbike is still the best way. The going rate is 200 baht a day, which works out at about $6.

If I had to choose between Bali and Phuket, a year ago I’d have said Bali, but now, I’d recommend people go to Phuket instead. Or better still, just go somewhere else, like Koh Lanta.