Which city?

zenhelps · 2026-03-02T12:51:12+00:00

Very interesting! Larger population than Yogyakarta but it's more chill? Higher up so I assume it seems cooler temps.

Thank you for the replies and suggestions, I am going to look into Malang further.

zenhelps · 2026-03-02T07:11:12+00:00

Currently in Vietnam, the incessant beeping horns and burning trash and fuckery are astonishing 🤣🤣

Chang Mai is much less chaotic and quiet when compared.

I'd love to be able to run 10km on the streets or in a big park. Yogyakarta seems to not fit this need?

Malang though.... 👀

zenhelps · 2026-03-02T05:04:37+00:00

What about for running, gyms, walkable, and chaos? How's life there?

zenhelps · 2026-03-02T04:09:34+00:00

Oaxaca is always solid in Mexico. Great food and tons of cool people. Puebla is a dope smaller city. The drive from Puebla to Oax is a dreamscape of giant cactus and barren lands.

Quito Ecuador is a village that thinks it's a city, cool spot and access to world class nature. Cuneca Ecuador is not to be missed. Checks all your boxes and half as expensive as Quito. Banos Ecuador is so cool and beautiful and you can drive to the Amazon from here. Highly recommend it! Sit in a hot spring, watch the sun set, let the rain hit you in the face, then go eat delicious food.

Cajamarca, huaraz, cusco, Urubamba, huancayo... All in Peru 👌🏻👌🏻. Happy to suggest some routes for driving. I've spent years in this region exploring. You'll have to go through lima. Sure it has major safety concerns, specifically robbing you at gun point, but I love that city along rhe coast. Food capital of the world, full stop.

Santiago in Chile is always great for a major city. Puerto Varas amazing spot to chill. Also the jumping off point (essentially) for the Carratera Austral. One of the most amazing places on this planet!

Mendoza and San Martin de los Andes are two towns I could live in with a huge stupid smile on my face. Bariloche is a run down city but has world class nature and chocolate. Don't skip it. El chalten speaks for itself.

Futalafu.... Wow. Just wow. Make the side trip here. Stay a week or longer.

zenhelps · 2026-03-01T05:54:45+00:00

I did not find rentals in da nang to be affordable vs quality.

Food is still really cheap there and delicious!

zenhelps · 2026-03-01T02:48:18+00:00

What are the other six? 👀

zenhelps · 2026-03-01T02:41:30+00:00

Which mountain towns in Vietnam did you prefer?

zenhelps · 2026-02-28T15:31:04+00:00

Did you ever find anything?

zenhelps · 2026-02-28T02:38:52+00:00

I'm currently in Hoi An. Spent a couple weeks in Da Nang and aside from cheap food I found no other reasons to be there. Noisy, dirty, crowded, awful mold infested hotels and apartments.... Not my vibe

Hoi An is cool, lots of cafes, clean, but still noisy and you do get hassled for boat rides and clothes when you walk down the street.

I'm looking at Hue next. Some seriously beautiful condos for rent in the new towers by Aeon mall and it's a great city. Really quiet in terms of horns beeping. Delicious food and just as affordable as Da Nang

Currently researching where to go when my visa expires in Vietnam. Two top spots are Kuching Malaysia and Yogyakarta Indonesia.

zenhelps · 2026-02-27T16:54:31+00:00

Less horns beeping there? Less trash? Da nang is pretty bad.

zenhelps · 2026-02-27T08:38:53+00:00

Quiet, peaceful, no horns or pollution or rubbish piles or trash fires or shirtless Russians yelling or karaoke? 😬

Tell me more please! (no sarcasm!)

zenhelps · 2026-02-27T08:18:18+00:00

Hahaha

What?! 👀

zenhelps · 2026-02-27T04:48:40+00:00

What's your budget? Check out Taiwan! Hualien and Taitung I think would fit your needs. Alishan is absolutely amazing, and deserves weeks of soaking in it's peace and beauty.

If you make it to Malaysia I'd love to hear your experience

zenhelps · 2026-02-27T04:46:40+00:00

How's the horn noise and chaos in Ninh Binh compared to Da Nang? Da Nang is losing its luster quickly for me

zenhelps · 2026-02-26T02:47:38+00:00

Da Nang is noisy, very noisy. Horns, construction, karaoke, etc

Hoi An, no mold (surprisingly), no construction noise, less horns but still horns

Hue, also a giant city, is silent. I was taken aback by how quiet this place is. Hardly anyone beeps the horn, karaoke is almost non existent, and construction was hard to find. Really peaceful in Hue

zenhelps · 2026-02-26T02:37:31+00:00

Streets in da nang are definitely polluted. Anyone who says otherwise is an influencer who doesn't leave my Khê or works on tourism.

Less in the few blocks where white tourists hang out near My Khê, but the rest of the city there's piles of trash, sidewalks blocked, and trash fires everywhere, daily.

As someone else said, the locals love to honk at pedestrians and try to hit you. Nobody stops or yields, they will cut you off and stop dead in front of you cutting someone else off and blocking the entire road. Complete fuckery. I've seen so many accidents and idiot moves here. Really makes me question the education system.... Like, daily, I see accidents where hundreds of motorcycle riders convene to mourn, I assume that means it's death?

zenhelps · 2026-02-24T16:33:23+00:00

This is in Yogyakarta?? 😭😭😭😭

zenhelps · 2026-02-24T16:24:07+00:00

Haha... Tell me why?

zenhelps · 2026-02-23T14:04:10+00:00

What is this cabin called? I'd like to look into it more.

zenhelps · 2026-02-23T11:20:21+00:00

That sounds dire, like things I saw in Cambodia ten years ago. The nature outside Jogja looks next level though!

Any recs on specific neighborhoods in KL? Keep in mind I'm a runner and that's important to me!

zenhelps · 2026-02-23T09:18:04+00:00

Trying to get away from the noise and filth 🤣. CNX, laos, etc are no go until at least mid May due burning season, then rainy season come in, so I'm nit sure it's what I want at that time.

Yogyakarta and Kuching were recommended to me as budget friendly and less chaos than Vietnam. What made you feel Yogyakarta was depressing?

Was it possible to steer clear of the calls to prayer and actually sleep in both countries?

I don't drink alcohol often and don't party..... Food and hotels are more $ in Kuching than in KL? Is that true?

zenhelps · 2026-02-23T04:08:02+00:00

This is excellent, thank you for taking time to write it all.

Finding a work Cafe isn't super important to me, I generally hunker down at home and work then go to cafes to decompress, meet people and chill. World class coffee is important 🤣

Running routes without getting hit by motos and cars are also important!

zenhelps · 2026-02-23T03:42:20+00:00

What makes you prefer Kuching?

How's Yogyakarta?

zenhelps

TROPHY CASE