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amandabarrick
Joined: 30 Dec 2004
Posts: 391
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 Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2005 3:22 am Post subject: Best place on Khao San Road... |
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Husband and I are coming to Thailand in a few weeks, staying for 10 days. What is the best place to stay on Khao San Road with A/C, private bathroom, hot shower, clean, etc... Is there a place on Khao San Rd. That has all of these for less than 400 baht per Night?
Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
AB |
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sigmoid
Joined: 21 Jan 2003
Posts: 1276
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| Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2005 3:42 am Post subject: |
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First off, let me say that it is NOT required that first time tourists to Bangkok stay on Khao San Road. 
Actually it's advisable to maybe stay near there in the Banglampoo area. Of course there are numerous other areas in Bangkok where inexpensive accommodation is available. Anyway, have a look at the website. They seem to have what you're looking for under the 'guesthouses' section. You can even book some places online. 
http://www.khaosanroad.com/ |
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Kent F. Kruhoeffer
Joined: 22 Jan 2003
Posts: 2129
Location: 中国
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| Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2005 4:55 am Post subject: Big John's Guesthouse |
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Hi amanda:
The main problem with Khao San Rd is that there's no Skytrain or Metro station nearby, making it a bit more inconvenient to come and go as you wish. Taxis and tuk-tuks in this area are also known to overcharge unaware tourists, and/or to not turn on their metres.
If you're looking for a nice place that is also cheap and centrally located (near Thong Lor Skytrain Station / E6) I'd recommend Big John's. They are managed by an Australian, and have very good food as well as ADSL internet; guests get 30 minutes of free internet per day.
If you decide to stay there, make an advance reservation; they are often full:
http://www.bigjohnsworld.com/ (Big John's Guesthouse :: Sukhumvit 55 Rd)
http://www.bts.co.th/en/map.asp (BTS Skytrain & Metro Station Map)
Don't get me wrong; Khao San Road is a fun place to visit; in fact it's legendary.
I go there quite often at the weekend to ogle the dreadlocks, tattoos and lip piercings.
It's just not a very convenient place to spend the night, imho!
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kenkannif
Joined: 07 Apr 2004
Posts: 550
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| Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2005 7:15 am Post subject: |
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Had a lot of friends stay at Big John's, and they all loved it there.
He's a really nice and helpful chap! |
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Sheep-Goats
Joined: 16 Apr 2004
Posts: 527
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| Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2005 7:46 am Post subject: |
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Khao San is a pretty inconvenient location to try to see Bangkok from, to be honest. Not horrible, but not great either. The only reason to stay there, really, is if you're absolutely skint and have to stay in a small-bed fan cell at 80B a day.
For the amenities you mentioned I'd expect more in the 600 to 800B range, even on Khao San.
Big John is a nice guy, but I've never stayed at his hostel. However, if I were to travel to Bangkok again (I'm looking for work in Taiwan now) I'd likely stay there. |
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Volodiya
Joined: 03 May 2004
Posts: 1025
Location: Somewhere, out there
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| Posted: Thu Jun 09, 2005 10:16 am Post subject: |
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As one who has been in Bangkok about twenty times and has my preferences, let me weigh in on this. I like to stay at the New Siam II, in Banglumphoo. It's just off Phra Athit Road, near Khao San Road. They have a website. It costs just a little more than you had in mind, but it's better. If you like to arise early, there is a city park right on the river where you can breath the fresh air, watch the river traffic and get in your exercise. The restaurant opens at 6 AM where you can enjoy a hearty breakfast afterwards while reading the Bangkok Post, or The Nation.
In the immediate vicinity of Banglumphoo, walking distance, you can see Wat Po, the Royal Palace, Mahakan Fort, the Golden Mount, the Iron Pagoda Complex, and a number of significant, but less well known, wats. A short taxi ride north will get you to the Dusit area with its attractions.
As far as seeing the rest of Bangkok, by river taxi from Phra Athit pier, you can connect to the BTS (30 minutes, scenic ride down river to get to the BTS station, about 11 Baht/person). Coming back, you can take a taxi from one of the BTS stations, like Ratchatewi to get back to Banglumphoo(15 minutes, about 45 Baht).
I agree without reservation, you should avoid the tuk-tuk drivers. You should use the taxis, never negotiate, insist on their using the meters. If you do so, travelling by taxi is incredibly cheap. If one driver refuses to use the meter, just get out and get another taxi. Most of them will use the meter without hesitation. If they do not, they are ripping you off! (Why would they ever charge you less than the meter rate, after all?)
Banglumphoo has another attraction for me. It is the start-end point of express bus service, twice a day, to Ko Chang. This represents the fastest and most convenient way to get to Ko Chang, with the bus delivering you directly to the ferry pier (about four hours, a/c bus, cost around 180 Baht O/W). Ko Chang is a large island with lots of beaches to choose from and a wide range of prices for lodging to fit any budget.
Last edited by Volodiya on Sat Jun 11, 2005 3:11 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Sheep-Goats
Joined: 16 Apr 2004
Posts: 527
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| Posted: Sat Jun 11, 2005 1:49 am Post subject: |
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| Volodiya wrote: |
| As one who has been in Bangkok about twenty times and has my preferences, let me weigh in on this. I like to stay at the New Siam II, in Banglumphoo. It's just off Phra Athit Road, near Khao San Road. |
Volodiya's right, that's one of the better places in Bunglumpoo. But you'll spend at least 600B on a room there, and unfortunatly the place is currently bookended by construction project that include jackhammers at 8am. Try them again in a year or so.
If I stay in Bunglumpoo I always stay at the Sawadee Hello, because it's the only place in the area that let my Thai friends come and go as they please. Other guesthouses forbid Thais, usually citing theft problems.
| Quote: |
| In the immediate vicinity of Banglumphoo, walking distance, you can see Wat Po, the Royal Palace, Mahakan Fort, the Golden Mount, the Iron Pagoda Complex, and a number of significant, but less well known, wats. |
I gotta disagree with this one. While it would be walking distance back home, in the Bangkok heat you'll defintely not want to be walking from KSR to even the Grand Palace. You'll show up sweat soaked and uncomfortable, especially if you're a new arrival and not used to the heat. Also, the Banglumpoo area isn't at all friendly to pedestrians -- you'll have to cross at least 12 lanes of pretty much non-stoplighted traffic at one point to get from KSR to the bus circle that lies adjacent to the Grand Palace.
| Quote: |
| As far as seeing the rest of Bangkok, by river taxi from Phra Athit pier, you can connect to the BTS (30 minutes, scenic ride down river to get to the BTS station, about 11 Baht/person). Coming back, you can take a taxi from one of the BTS stations, like Ratchatewi to get back to Banglumphoo(15 minutes, about 45 Baht). |
Waiting 15 minutes for the boat to show up isn't uncommon. The boat trip takes 30 minutes where even during rush hour a taxi would take the same. And those 45 mintues are spent outside in the heat. I tried and tried to see my way to using the boat when I lived in Bangkok, but always preferred to take a bus or taxi as they were faster and cooler (or a motorcycle taxi if I knew I'd really be dealing with bad traffic). The nearest BTS station to KSR is National Stadium. The problem with National Stadium BTS, though, is that taxis aren't allowed to stop anywhere near it (flagging one down from traffic is often suprisingly difficult) and if you do get into a taxi and say Khao San the driver is likely to hassel you for upwards of 200B. If you say no and get out, you're left standing in the heat trying desprately to flag another taxi out of the forbidden zone. Oh, and fare from National Stadium to KSR is about 60B, not 45.
| Quote: |
| If one driver refuses to use the meter, just get out and get another taxi. Most of them will use the meter without hesitation. If they do not, they are ripping you off! (Why would they ever charge you less than the meter rate, after all?) |
Sometimes, such as at bar closing times and if you're trying to go from MBK to KSR (as mentioned above) it can actually be quite difficult and hot to get a taxi driver to switch on his meter -- even if you can have that argument totally in Thai. It helps to get taxis that are moving and physically look new -- though these are the ones that the Thais prefer so you might find that they snipe them out of the traffic while you're waiting down the road for one. Never get into what I call a Taxi Vulture -- that being a guy who stops to pick you up even though you didn't flag him down. Gonna be a bucktoothed crook.
Tuk-tuks are okay for short trips once you know the city. They're also happier to transport cargo than taxi drivers -- though taxi drivers don't mind it that much.
| Quote: |
| Banglumphoo has another attraction for me. It is the start-end point of express bus service, twice a day, to Ko Chang. This represents the fastest and most convenient way to get to Ko Chang, with the bus delivering you directly to the ferry pier (about four hours, a/c bus, cost around 180 Baht O/W). Ko Chang is a large island with lots of beaches to choose from and a wide range of prices for lodging to fit any budget. |
Banglumpoo does offer convenient specialized transportation deals to tourist spots in Thailand (and Laos and Cambodia). For newcomers there are often good deals, but long term residents of the city often find they can get it done faster and cheaper by using goverment busses and buying ferry tickets themselves. I personally have no reservations about using KSR to book land travel in Thailand. I'd avoid the air ticket agents around there, though, as 95% of the ones I sampled recently gave me conflicting and freqently dishonest answers to my questions, were hesitant to produce receipts, etc. Same story for KSR tailors. |
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Volodiya
Joined: 03 May 2004
Posts: 1025
Location: Somewhere, out there
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| Posted: Sat Jun 11, 2005 2:57 am Post subject: |
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Problems, problems....
S.G. your posts are often insightful and informative, but this time, in response to my post, you've posed situations which raise unnecessary problems, then proceeded to amplify on the problems you, yourself, posed.
Examples:
| Quote: |
| Also, the Banglumpoo area isn't at all friendly to pedestrians -- you'll have to cross at least 12 lanes of pretty much non-stoplighted traffic at one point to get from KSR to the bus circle that lies adjacent to the Grand Palace. |
I suggest you not go that way. (The road he's referring to climbs to a bridge crossing the river beyond that point, where you may take a sidewalk and go under it, instead of crossing it. This is also a point at which one of the boats offering dinner cruises in the evenings ties up, giving you a chance to book your cruise yourself, on your way to Wat Po.)
| Quote: |
| The nearest BTS station to KSR is National Stadium. The problem with National Stadium BTS, though, is that taxis aren't allowed to stop anywhere near it (flagging one down from traffic is often suprisingly difficult) and if you do get into a taxi and say Khao San the driver is likely to hassel you for upwards of 200B. If you say no and get out, you're left standing in the heat trying desprately to flag another taxi out of the forbidden zone. Oh, and fare from National Stadium to KSR is about 60B, not 45. |
The reader will notice I did not suggest taking a taxi from National Stadium. As for taxis, I often use a/c taxis as an economical way to get across town, and to escape the pollution. Paying a taxi driver more than the meter rate has never been necessary, in my experience. My age and manner may help. Importantly, I've never tried to get a taxi to stop for me in a forbidden zone, such as S.G. is describing. [Insisting on the use of the meter becomes particularly important coming from the airport to Bunglumphoo: drivers often ask me for 400 Baht for this run, but the metered rate is under 170 Baht, so I insist.]
| Quote: |
| I tried and tried to see my way to using the boat when I lived in Bangkok, but always preferred to take a bus or taxi as they were faster and cooler (or a motorcycle taxi if I knew I'd really be dealing with bad traffic). |
The reader will notice I suggested use of the boat downriver so the tourist could get a nice, scenic view of the city on the way to the BTS station. A river taxi is not particularly hot: you're on the water, there is a breeze because you're moving, the seats are under a canopy; alternatively, you can link up with the BTS line, by a/c taxi from Bunglumphoo, at a convenient point, such as the one I suggested, Ratchatewi Station.
| Quote: |
| ...in the Bangkok heat you'll defintely not want to be walking from KSR to even the Grand Palace. You'll show up sweat soaked and uncomfortable, especially if you're a new arrival and not used to the heat. |
The heat in Bangkok seems to have been a major preoccupation for S.G. He refers to it a lot, even when catching a taxi at closing hours for bars. Bangkok IS hot. You have to take that into account, to some degree, even if you're more than a generation younger than I am, like S.G. Do your touring in the AM and late afternoon and evening, if possible. Rest in your room, or see a movie in the afternoon, rather than finding yourself out in the sun at 2 P.M. If you don't want to walk, even during the cooler times of day, you can always take an a/c taxi, where the rides start at 35 Baht. However, most of the sites you'll want to see will be outdoors, so sweating is something you may find you have to live with, if you're going to see Bangkok. |
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Kent F. Kruhoeffer
Joined: 22 Jan 2003
Posts: 2129
Location: 中国
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| Posted: Sat Jun 11, 2005 1:31 pm Post subject: |
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I have good news!
There's plenty 'o room in this town for both of ya. 
Sweating like a pig or not.
Now where was I?
Oh yeah - it's Saturday night in the Big Mango
and I hear  calling me.  |
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wix
Joined: 21 Apr 2003
Posts: 250
Location: Earth
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| Posted: Sun Jun 12, 2005 4:18 am Post subject: |
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Best hotels in the upper price range in KSR area are Buddy Lodge, Viengtai Hotel and D&D Inn.
Travelfish is a good source of independent information about accommodation and other things. |
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amandabarrick
Joined: 30 Dec 2004
Posts: 391
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| Posted: Thu Jun 16, 2005 9:00 am Post subject: |
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Thanks to all of you for your posts. I found a hotel that has everything were are looking for but is not on Khao San Road. It is only 470 baht per night and has A/C, private bath, hot shower, etc... located downtown on Charoen Krung Road. Thanks for your advice, I am looking forward to my vacation!
AB |
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Sheep-Goats
Joined: 16 Apr 2004
Posts: 527
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| Posted: Thu Jun 16, 2005 8:45 pm Post subject: |
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About walking around Banglumpoo: I know that route under the bridge very well. But a 10 day stayer in Banglumpoo will never find it, and to be honest, it's quite out of the way for those actually staying on KSR (instead of pn Phra Atit) -- as the OP intended.
About taxi drivers: I can belive that you've never paid an above meter flat fee to take a taxi. I only did it once on new year. But I hardly believe that you've never been hasseld for that fee. Asking to go to KSR just compounds some taxi driver's instinct to rip you off that way, and as the OP was planning to stay there its something I wanted to point out. Getting in and out of taxis isn't fun, and depending on the time of day and your destination many drivers simply will not go where you want them to for the meter rate. Sure, you'll find one that will -- eventually. But when it's either paying an extra twenty baht or waiting another twenty minutes, I know what a lot of folks would choose.
About the boat being a delightfully cool and scenic trip down the river: Are you joking? Standing next to the engine block is much more likely from Pra Atit pier -- and unless you're Thai heigth its hard to see anything other than the boards that frame the top of the boat. The only sight to see on your way down the river is Wat Arun, but you'll see that from Wat Po anyway, and a peek down any klong in Banglumpoo will give you a better look at river houses if thats the big reward to taking the boat.
About the heat: Seeing Bangkok also invovles seeing its nightlife. This means waking up in the early AM to visit a couple of temples is pretty impractical for a lot of tourists -- especially KSR types. The heat honestly wasn't much of a problem for me, but that's because I didn't do silly things like walk from KSR to the Grand Palace, or take the boat. |
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