The best hostel we every stayed. Room & toilet is clean daily, sheets & comforter are change every 2-3days, have free local calls, have hot & cold drinking water, provides shampoo, body shampoo & toilet roll, hv hot showers, very clean toilet & just the right size as i am quite a big-sized girl and have tv in own room eventhough its a hostel! Safe & affordable place for 3 girl travelers like us, and we stayed there for 5 nights. Hostel is run by family members, Stanley, his father & his staff are very helpful. Located just opposite ladies' market, nearby langham mall, esprit shop, fa yuen street, hv the best porridge & HUGE yau char kwai just a few shops away, nearby Mc-Donald & 7-eleven, has tasty beef ball stick just below the hostel, tim-sum, pau & steamboat shops, just a short distance to mtr, just the next mtr stop to yau ma tei to eat the claypot rice & cheaper shopping stalls at temple street. Highly recommended.

When I browse through the Internet looking for an affordable yet comfortable hotel (not hostel) I was worried since most of the hotels there charged around RM500 and above, even the not so great hotel/hostel is expensive. Therefore I have opted for Dragon Hostel at around RM135 net per night. The location is great since there is easy access to Mongkok Train Station. However, if you have the stamina, you can simply walk to Temple Street, it takes maybe around 30 minutes. The shops nearby are mostly electrical items or handphones and sport wear. Not much of modern lady wears unless you are looking for branded lady clothing. The hostel is close to the famous Langham Palace.

However, do not expect much from the accommodation. It is quite noisy since it is a flat converted into hostel in a building with another hostel. However, the staff are helpful and friendly. So if you are on budget this is the best option. The picture shown in www.hostels.com shows true picture. The size of the room is hardly enough for Asian. But as I said, Hong Kong accommodation is simply too expensive. And don't forget to bring your own shampoo and soap since they are not provided. You have to get the towels from the "reception area."

Traveling on a budget, my family’s first major consideration in choosing a place to stay is the price. The rest comes next.

We did not know what a guesthouse was like at first and were quite a bit dissatisfied with how it looked. That impression was totally eradicated with the accommodating staff Dragon Hostel has. Rooms are well kept.

The best thing about Dragon Hostel is its location. It’s accessible to the MTR station and bus station and is right across from the famous ladies’ market.

You have to be ready to pay with cash though. They do not accept credit cards.

I had been living or rather existing in China for a while and was ready to head home. Converting my remaining colorful monopoly money back into US dollars seemed impossible in mainland China.

Since I would prefer to go out with a bang anyway, Hong Kong beckoned. Considering my funds, my current living conditions and the expense of accommodations in HK, guesthouses would be the obvious choice.

I began searching several websites for a place to stay and started to notice something odd. All the places listed had one of three addresses! How could that be?

With a little research, I discovered the Chunking Mansion, for example, built in 1961 was originally a 17-story apartment complex spread over 5 blocks. It now houses 90 guesthouses. Do the math. That means one floor is <_>not dedicated to a single guesthouse. What was an individual apartment is now a dorm or guest room.

Whether it was curiosity or sadistic thoughts, I decided this would be an exciting experience----until I learned more. I discovered the first two floors housed very pungent Indian restaurants with over zealous fake Rolex hawkers and known for raids on the illegal workers who lived on the floors above. Furthermore, Chunking Mansions were synonymous with prostitution, drugs, and crime.

Rooms were efficient though. You could sit on the toilet, brush your teeth, and take a shower at the same time. The beds were compact and could easily sleep anyone under 5 feet tall. You didn’t need an alarm or a cup of coffee to wake up because the neon lights shining through your window, if you had a window, and the noise from the traffic were enough to keep you going.

Apparently the Mirador Mansions, just 2 blocks away enjoyed similar features minus the Indian influence and notorious reputation.

Nonetheless, the whole idea of experiencing this still appealed to me. So at which one did I stay? I chose the Sincere House located just off Nathan Road a mile away. I would get the experience I wanted without the----options I didn’t need.

I made reservations for a single room with shared bathroom at the Dragon Hostel located on the 7th floor of the Sincere House for about $30 a night.

The location was excellent for everything. I was ½ block away from the ladies market where there is a lot more than what the name implies, 1 block from the MTR station, 3 blocks from KCR station, 2 blocks from the airport shuttle and on the same block as a 7-11. The room was small with bed, TV and some shelves, but it was quite and clean.

A dining table, refrigerator and microwave enabled me to enjoy microwave popcorn that I had been craving along with a bowl of noodles when it was just a little too late to be heading out.

Mirador Mansion 58-60 Nathan Rd
Chungking Mansion 36-44 Nathan Rd
Sincere House 83 Argyle