I have never really considered going to Thailand for my first out-of-the-country trip just as I have dreamt of visiting Japan, Italy and France. Although I enjoy a few of Thai cuisines and delicacies, I didn’t want to experience the scorching heat of Bangkok. But with a roundtrip fare for two passengers offered by Cebu Pacific last May, amounting to only PhP6144 (US$130 app.), I didn’t waste any second and booked for what I thought was a 5-day vacation. It was only several months later that my husband and I realized that the ETD from Manila was scheduled at 9 in the evening of our first day and ETD from Bangkok was set at 12 in the morning of the last day, so, technically, we only had 3 days to enjoy the city. No wonder some of my friends prefer to fly through PAL even if the fare is 6x higher just to avoid the inconveniences caused by the odd schedule. To make things worse, I never knew that Chatuchak is a weekend market so that meant for us shopping only on Saturday then running to catch our flight at midnight.
As expected, I felt groggy during the whole flight. I wasn’t able to take a nap because firstly, I was having gas pains cause by chewing Mentos. Secondly, I felt the plane shaking due to turbulence (this is the negative effect of watching NatGeo’s Air Crash Investigation and I can’t face death yet), add to that a 2-year old boy sitting next to us and certainly naive of the fact that older people usually sleep at this time of the night, hence, the hullabaloo. We arrived at the Suvarnabhumi Airport at around 11:30 pm, Bangkok time (which is an hour behind Philippine time). After the immigration check, we stopped by the 7-11 store (the first of the hundreds of 7-11 stores that we would see around the city) within the airport to buy water and stuffs that we were hesitant to put inside our hand-carried backpacks like shavers and tweezers; our main purpose however, was to have our TB1000 changed to smaller bills for the taxi. As we walked towards the exit, I was trying to recall the phrase in Thai language that I should be telling the cab driver to ensure that he will use the meter (“Buurt meter kraab?”). Good thing I didn’t have to say that in a clumsy accent because as we stepped inside the cab, the driver immediately switched on his meter.
The trip from the airport to Phra Nakhon, where our hotel is, took about 30-45 mins. Since it was night time, there was no traffic, but the travel time could have been lesser had the driver known where exactly was Soi Rong Mai, which was very near Khao San, the famous backpackers’ area. We went around circling the area until one cab driver standing by Phra Athit came to the rescue. We saw the direction to our hotel along Soi Rambuttri, a very narrow street crammed with westerners drinking at bars and eating street foods on the side. We went off from there and paid the driver TB400; though the meter registered only a cost of around TB270, we had to shoulder the toll fees and airport fees worth TB50. We anxiously walked around 50 meters from Soi Rambuttri to look for our place, Sawasdee Smile Inn… and I said anxious because days after we booked for our accommodation online, we encountered postings on the net that specified how this place turned out to be a real disappointment; that the pictures shown on the hotel’s website (http://www.sawasdeesmileinn.com/ ) do not reflect the actual condition of the facilities and the place is not safe so padlocks are a must. What worried us most was what had been described as a very small bed with bedbugs. In truth, we are not really after 5-star accommodation when we go on trips; what we only look for is an affordable place to stay with a private bathroom (my requirement) and a comfortable bed (for my husband, whose comfort level in sleeping is really high and is a male version of the royalty in the fairy tale “The Princess and the Pea.” So we told ourselves to forego the payment already charged to the credit card and look for other places nearby if the condition of the room turns out to be really horrible, after all, we only spent PhP2100 (US$44 ) for our 4-day, 3-night accommodation inclusive of breakfast.
When we reached the hotel, we were welcomed by a receptionist who seemed to have sworn over a plate of pad thai never to smile again in her lifetime. We were asked to deposit TB300 for the room key (which is anyway refundable upon check out). From the looks of the lobby, I knew that the stories I read from the net were true. The stairs leading to our floor were constricted and looked old as if it will plummet anytime soon. Our room was on the 3rd floor (technically 4th floor) and as we opened the door, I realized we got the real value for what we paid for. The room was really small with no cabinets, the toilet and bath was really cramped but the thing is, the bed wasn’t that small as we expected it to be. Also, the sheets looked clean and bedbugs were nowhere in sight (yippee!!!). So there were no talks of transferring to another hotel since the room could really well serve as our shelter for the entire getaway. However, as I lifted the toilet cover to pee for the last time before I went to sleep, I wanted to puke as I noticed disgusting debris of muck on the rear portion of the toilet seat. I wanted to tell my husband that we transfer to another hotel but he had no complains with the bed and I was reminded that this was a budget hotel; and instead of wasting our deposit and paying for another hotel room, I thought I’d rather use the money for shopping. So I just sanitized the toilet seat with hot water from the shower and lots and lots of alcohol. Good thing I fell to sleep immediately and never had another minute to think about the nauseating spectacle in the bathroom. My husband was left awake, tinkering with the TV remote control to change the settings from TV to Cable and get more channels. One of his requirements when looking for a place to stay, by the way, is to have a cable TV in the room cause he likes watching Cartoon Network to see Justice League and Batman but apparently, there were only 7 channels - 2 in English and the rest are in Thai.
For those who are on tight budget but looking for a 3-star accommodation at the least, don’t stay in this hotel. You may want to try newer Sawasdee hotels in the area or other lodges. This place is for the bona fide backpackers who aren’t fussy and are looking for no more than a refuge during their trip.
