I really wanted my bangkok post titles to be called "Jaystin goes to Bangkok" but I like organising my posts so the boring title of 'guide' it is.
OH YES PLEASE CLICK the TELSTRA AD on the right hand side column! I just topped up my TELSTRA pre-paid mobile! I wish you had Telstra pre-paid so I can call you. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Accommodation
First things was to look for a hotel. Staying at lebua at State tower was out of the question unless I happen to be the illegitimate love child of my boss. Luckily "Bangkok also offers a number of smaller boutique hotels for discerning travelers seeking uniquely designed lodgings and personalized service" - Wikipedia. "Boutique hotels are usually intimate, luxurious or quirky hotel environments and differentiate themselves from larger chain/branded hotels and motels by providing personalized accommodation and services/facilities" - Wikipedia.
After many many and again many hours researching google, the following boutique hotels were the most appealing to me. Remember I am a discerning traveler and all discerning travelers will tell you that your budget should be about AUD50 +/-10 per night at a bangkok boutique hotel.
Strictly speaking paying more than AUD70 per night is too much but paying less than AUD40 per night is unhealthy as I've come across horror stories about these cheap hotels and most of it involved a lot of cockroaches and one naked old man.
So after much researching, here's my top four boutique hotels. Remember these prices were quoted to me during the month of January/February 2010 so the prices may be more competitive now and you may get a better deal at other hotels. These are the hotels that I think are great and so am recommending them. If you think otherwise, stop reading!
Baiyoke boutique hotel
- expensive but highly recommended and rated
- Furthest walking distance from the Bangkok Mass Transit System (BTS) and in this case the ASOK BTS
Citichic boutique suites
- Close to the Baiyoke so about the same walking distance to the ASOK BTS
- just as expensive
P2 hotel
- the cheapest among the four hotels I selected
- unfortunately a bit to walk to the CHIT LOM BTS
Salil hotel
- Rates is in between P2 and Baiyoke/Citichic
- The closest walking distance to the THONG LO BTS
So as you can see for me, walking distance was the main factor and room rates was second priority. So Salil hotel @ Thong Lo was my choice. CAUTION: There are TWO Salil hotels (One at SUKHUMVIT SOI 8 and the other is at SUKHUMVIT SOI THONG LO) so book carefully.
To be honest, I thought I booked to stay at Sukhumvit Soi 8 but I realised soon after receiving the confirmation email from the hotel that I would be staying at Thong Lo. So I cannot stress enough to book carefully. But it turns out Thong Lo is the newer of the two and its nice, quiet and safe area. The private residences around the Thong Lo area are very $$$, its like HUGE and NICE. Let me put it this way, if I was Thai, I'd live in Thong Lo and all the Thai ladies would say, "He's pretty fly for a Thai guy".
In my initially itinerary, I had planned to stay at one of the islands of Bangkok, Koh Samui. The hotels that I selected after much research:
or
As you can tell from the website, Nora Chaweng looks quite exquisite and Baan Samui Resort looks like a prison camp. However, I cannot remember for the life of me why I went with ahead and got a quote from Baan Samui Resort. It might have been the hotel's good location and despite looking like a prison camp it is actually a nice place to stay. And oh, Nora Chaweng was plenty more expensive. Remember are you a di$cerning traveler or my boss's child?
I didn't end up going to Koh Samui because I had booked too late and the flights to the island were very expensive and I, being a discerning traveller couldn't justify paying so much Thai baht just to stay 1-2 days on the island. So my advise to you is to book your flights to the island as well as the hotels REALLY REALLY EARLY (if your itinerary includes a trip to one of the islands).
There are several ways to get to Koh Samui when you are in Bangkok but the least painful way is to just get a taxi (for 400 THB) from Bangkok city to the airport and fly out to the islands. Bangkok Airways flies out from Suvarnabhumi International Airport to Koh Samui. So book on their website and select Suvarnabhumi to Samui. Alternatively, you can fly from Suvarnabhumi to Surat Thani and take a boat ferry to Koh Samui, and the discerning traveler will ask you, "why?". We only have xx days to spend in a foreign city so wasting half a day or more to get to your destination isn't very discerning now is it?
I think I've covered hotels so its stay tuned for more Jaystin goes to Bangkok adventures!
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