First night in Thailand - Terry-Jo. Date of travel: Nov 2005
I'd never been to Thailand before, and after being overwhelmed by my first hour in Bangkok, we were happy to be greeted by the friendly faces at the Sawasdee Khaosan Inn. It took some time to find, but it really is well-located right next to Khaosan road, on a busy street, and though the rooms are basic, it is an excellent budget facility. We were really surprised at how cheap it was. Our first stay there was in a double room with my partner, which came with a basic (and tiny) shower-room, and a fully-stocked (and cheap) mini-bar. Not sure about air-con, but I do remember a fan. They have their own restaurant downstairs with an inclusive breakfast, but it is quite basic, and the meals are cheap, so it may be best to opt out of the buffet breakfast and order something that has not been out in the heat all morning. The restaurant opens onto the busy street, so you're always part of the activity - and less than a block away, the market-street is open all night with typical Thai fare. Clothes, souvenirs, food, and more clothes! It's great that it's not RIGHT on Khaosan road because it's a bit less busy, but still just a few steps away. I felt quite safe walking around, despite the heavy pedestrian traffic and constant activity. We rented space in the luggage storage facility very cheaply when we left town for a few days, and while it was all in fine condition when we returned, it didn't seem like a very well-structured system, as the bags were just labelled with pieces of paper, and at first we received the wrong bag. So a word of advice would be to do the obvious and not leave anything you would really miss behind, in case of the odd dishonest fellow traveller. There were also unfortunately an insane number of cockroaches running around in the luggage room, but I presume that is a problem of the area, as opposed to hotel hygiene. We returned there later for another few nights, and were once again treated wonderfully by the staff. The room windows were awkwardly placed and some just overlooked the stairwell, but the rooms were cool enough, and pretty large, considering. There were 3 of us this time, and the shower-room was much bigger. Don't expect luxury or absolute perfection, but go with a fun, open mind, and just enjoy the Thai people and the fantastic environment.