Making Of...
And hey, look,
there's an RV. So why do we hate RVs so much? Basically,
they're pointless, while still being a nuisance to everyone else on the road.
Kyle and I put a lot of thought into this, and really, an RV is just an alternative to either a tent or a
hotel, so what you have is two scenarios: RV vs.
hotel, and RV vs. tent; and RVs lose in both
comparisons.
Start with RV vs.
hotel. What's the point? Well, the justification is that an RV would save you money on a
hotel... that's really the only justification. There's no comparison to how much better the amenities, and the beds, in a hotel are. So do the math:
the RV (whether you buy or rent)
+ the insurance
+ the gas (or diesel) that you burn getting like 9 mpg
+ the gas you put in your generator that you will run in the middle of the night like an a-hole
+ the cost of your campsite with plumbing hookups
__________________________________________________________________________
= you might as well have stayed in a hotel for nearly the same price
Now what about RV vs. tent? As far as the cost goes, there's no comparison. Transport your tent in a car that gets 20+ mpg and find some National Forrest of BLM land to camp for free, and voila. Even if you camp somewhere that costs money, it's
cheaper than what they charge to park an RV there, and those $ sights will have running water and toilets anyway. So this one can't be a cost issue... it's an "experience" issue. Again, there's no comparison; tents win out for having that camping experience by a mile. Sleeping in an RV is NOT camping. No, it's not.
What's that? You say you want a bit more comfort than a tent can provide? You don't need to be that gung-ho? Well then stop pretending like you want to go camping, and accept the fact that what you really want is a hotel. Then refer to "RV vs hotel" above. It's a cycle of "ruggedness vs. luxury" and the real battle is just between a tent or a hotel based on what you want, and RVs don't win in either respect. AND they're @#$*ing annoying to get stuck behind on the road, so in case they weren't pointless enough, there's that additional suck-factor of being that person driving the RV to consider. Nobody wants to be that person. Nobody either of us would be friends with, anyway
For our few days in Malaysia, Yayoi and I stayed at the Hotel Istana. A nice hotel, but nothing too amazing. However, it's noteworthy because it was across from this little
cheap hotel, "The Lodge", which was ridiculously
cheap and not so nice when Katie and I stayed there when we were backpacking through Asia in 2002. By comparison, the Hotel Istana is an amazingly classy place. Katie and I stayed at The Lodge multiple times, as we kept stopping in KL during our trip, and I thought to myself, "If I come back to Kuala Lumpur after this, I'm going to stay in the hotel across the street instead." (The location of the two hotels is great!)