The Golden Sun Hotel represents an excellent mid-range choice in a quieter part of the Old Quarter, close to some excellent little eateries and Japanese-inspired boutique shops and a five minutes walk from Hoan Kiem Lake. We stayed in the 'family room' which offers superb views of the lake. The breakfast room on the same floor offers the same views as you tuck into a tasty and varied breakfast menu (included in price).

Views from the room aside, the outstanding feature of the hotel is the service. Ha and Thao on reception were incredibly helpful, friendly and professional. They arranged train and air travel throughout the rest of Vietnam for us and telephoned our next hotel in Hue to confirm our arrival and pick up arrangement the next day.

A great place to stay in Hanoi.

23 Hang Hanh Street, Hanoi
www.goldensun-hotel.com/

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Located in central Hoi An, you will find this chilled little restaurant serving tasty, modern Vietnamese/Asian food and, if you are in the mood, excellent cocktails. Grab yourself a spot on the raised tatami 'flooring' with a table in the middle and enjoy excellent views of the lantern-lit river at night. Superb service.

111 Nguyen Thai Hoc, Hoi An.
www.mangorooms.com

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The Orchid Hotel is a delightful mid-range option in Hue. It deservedly gets rave reviews on Trip Advisor. From $35 you can get an ensuite double room complete with flat screen TV, DVD player and a computer with free internet access in your room. Should you need to chill in your room you can borrow DVDs from reception. The staff are super friendly and they gladly picked us up from the train station free of charge (a welcome service after an overnight train from Hanoi). The price includes a decent enough buffet breakfast and you can book rooms online at the hotel's website.

30A Chu Van An Street, Hue, Vietnam.
www.orchidhotel.com.vn

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Uncle Tans run a 'jungle camp' with basic facilities and huts on the Kinabatangan river in Sabah. The camp represents a fantastic base from which to see an incredible amount of wildlife. As part of a very reasonably priced 3D/2N tour you also get to visit the Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre in Sepilok.

Other 'tour' options are becoming available. The people working at Uncle Tans are super friendly, informative and great with children. Uncle Tans can be reached easily from Kota Kinabalu or Sandakan.

Sabah is in easy and inexpensive reach from Kuala Lumpur through Air Asia for example (airasia.com).

This has to be one of the highlights of many trips to southeast Asia, a real fantastic, family-friendly opportunity to see crocodiles, wild pigs, gibbons, lizards, proboscis monkeys and if you are lucky, elephants and orang utans.

www.uncletan.com

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A lot of lower-end accommodation options in Kuala Lumpur for backpackers and people/families on a budget are quite poor (bed bugs being a common complaint). For £20-24 you can get a double room at the Swiss Inn, located right in the heart of vibrant Chinatown, close to Central Market and importantly, light rail inter-city transport links. It represents a great value option and comes with an excellent buffet breakfast. Room has TV and tea making facilities etc. Book online for some decent deals. No extra cost for children though they do not provide an extra bed.

www.kl-hotels.com/swissinn/

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This is a great value, B&B style, 19th century budget hotel. You can get rooms for less than $100, which is especially good value as it is short walking distance from Darling Harbour. Good option for families. Book in advance.

22 Allen Street
Pyrmont 2009
Sydney
Tel: (02) 9552 4773
www.woolbrokershotel.com.au/

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A wonderful, creative offering of cheese-inspired dishes in a place that defies categorisation as a vegetarian restaurant. Cheese Me serves exquisite, reasonably priced food (try the pear and ricotta fiochi in cava and mushroom sauce), amazing deserts, cocktails and a variety of 'anti-cheese' dishes. Explore the website and prepare to be hooked.

Calle De Argentería 51 (in the Born district); nearest metro: L4 Jaume 1;
www.cheeseme.org

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