Nong Khai is a little town in northeastern Thailand right on the Mekong River across from Laos. We only planned on staying one night, but fell in love with the place and ended up staying 5. I think we feel in love with the hotel more than the town though. For the first time in weeks we had a hot shower and it was still only $15 a night. They had this cool community vibe. We took whatever beverages we wanted from the refrigerator and ordered whatever food and just enter everything into this book. At the end of our stay, we paid whatever was in our book.

Plus, they had this great little computer area. We got free internet (and power) while sitting under thatched roofs looking out onto the Mekong. We decided to stay a while and get some good solid work done.