This is such a fabulous thread! Doggy Palaces!

Dogster, that could be a very interesting arrangement. It would put you right in the middle of everyday Indian life.

I could write to them: "Dear family, on or about xxx date a Mr. Dogster will present himself at your front gate. Kindly receive him and extend to him your most gracious hospitality.

Furthermore, I should add that I don't actually know this gentleman, but am confident that both he and you will have a most enjoyable and memorable visit.

P.S. If you have any questions, just ask Mr. Dogster!

Love your letter to your family, Jaya!

Doggie-style. My favorite! lol

Yes, Jaya, I do concede there may be some minor problems... heh. Hey! Maybe you could send them one or two of my stories to ease their minds. I'm sure they'd be fine then. We might have to delete a few bits...

Ahhh, Mang: glad you're following along. heh.

Mary, I'm going thru your list. I love this little gem from the Hotel Atlantic in BKK.

"This is the place you are looking for, if you know it.
If you don't, you'll never find it".

The Atlanta is interesting - in all the time I've been going to Bangkok I'd never known about it. We met up with someone at the Sala Impeng in Vientiane who was staying there and then met up with him at the Atlanta. Very interesting place - nearly always booked out. Tucked away where you would just never see it but still very central.

Another in Southern Lao on Done Daeng Island near Wat Phou is http://www.lafolie-laos.com/index.htm

I think I'll aim for this area again in June. This place looks interesting.

That's an absolutely FANTASTIC list of venues providing priceless information!

Thank you Dogster for that service! Very much appreciated!

Happy Travels!

SV

i have not been there yet but we have a reservation in penang malaysia at 11 clove hall in georgetown...

Dogster, love this list, but how about some help regarding your native land for a memory challenged traveller? Years ago, we spent a couple of wonderful days on a camping tour to the Tiwi Islands off Darwin's coast. The accommodation was advertised as "rough" - turned out to be more like a "diamond in the rough". After touring Melville, we were delivered to a beach location with comfortable tent cabins and ended our first day there sipping chilled white wine in the open air jacuzzi watching the sun set over the sea. Know the name of the place or tour company? If it still exists, it would certainly qualify for your list.

p.s. the food and tours were equally fantastic.

Too sad. Emailed Aussie Adventures who claim to have exclusive access to Melville Island, and they no longer run overnight tours.

I'm just going to bring this back up to the top for 520.

LOL - I found my comment from 2008!
Happy Cinco de Mayo everyone.

Great thread! Don't know how I missed it before. And, yes, happy Cinco de Mayo everyone.

Oh Dogster you are about 5 months too late. I have just comeback. See Gertie in Asia.

It's fun to read this again. And it's fun to discover that some of the places I found for our proposed trip to Assam are on the list, as well as places we're looking at for our Sikkim Darjeeling trip. It shows the power of convergent thinking (or convergent searching).

And I love your Slow Rural travel idea. Perhaps something to explore for next year.

If only the website had a sound track...

Mmmm... it's turning into a whole other beast isn't it? Slideshows, widgets... now music... mmmm. Now how to do that...?

Slideshows slows the site down a bit, I've discovered. Music may do the same. I'll explore.

And Kathie: I've done a lot more research on Slow Rural trips thru Rajasthan, M.P. and Gujarat. Basically shleps thru the heritage/homestay/odd host circuit.

Now I have a way of adding maps and visuals, I'll bung them on the site. They may be exactly what you're looking for once you get the India bug. I want to tempt you into Gujarat in the fullness of time. I'll tell you when they're up. It'll be a few days. I'm busy.

Marija - did you find the single photograph of me? lol.

Yes! but since you rearrange stuff hourly I had to search from the top again. Note that I was teasing about the music. I don't know if your site can hold much more without toppling. You've done an incredible job of stuffing an elephant into a microwave.

Oh, I think it toppled a coupla days ago. I'm just rearranging the deck chairs. lol. The elephant and the microwave is a very usefel analogy to keep in mind. Still, it's a rapid learning curve, with all the attendant pitfalls and enthusiasms.

Yup, I do change it hourly. lol. Sorry. Now the long pieces are broken into chapters. Dunno if that works or not, but I like the shape much more. This is a very interesting media indeed... you can see how I've grasped hold of it, albeit a decade late.

for those who have NO idea what we're talking about, go here:
thedogster.wordpress.com