Traveling with a white guy sticks out more in Asia than in Europe. (Though I was yelled at a few times and called a puttana in Bologna while I was traveling with a white male friend.) Unfortunately, it’s still a (white) man’s world, especially in Asia.
Here is a compiled list of our favourite budget places we stayed throughout Asia. We paid less than 20USD/night, and a majority of them under $15. (Though a lot of the time we negotiated the price/ it was low season/ we were staying a few nights.) None of these places we booked – we just found them while walking or motorbiking, looking for accommodation. I know you can definitely get much cheaper (and we have stayed much cheaper but then cleanliness also goes down), but we these places are the ones that stand out when I think about all the places we have stayed on this trip. They were clean, comfortable and had a nice vibe.