Thailand (Lonely Planet, 13th Edition) - China Williams [623]
Rates vary according to facilities, from a rock-bottom 150B for a room with shared bathroom and a rickety fan to over 600B for a room with private facilities, air-con and a TV. Many guesthouses make their bread and butter from their onsite restaurants that serve the classic backpacker fare (banana pancakes and fruit shakes). Although these restaurants are convenient and a good way to meet other travellers, don’t measure Thai food based on dishes you’ve eaten in famously mediocre guesthouses.
Most guesthouses cultivate a travellers’ ambience with friendly knowledgeable staff and minor amenities like tourist information and book exchanges. But there are also plenty of guesthouses with grumpy, often disgruntled, clerks who let customers know that they dislike their jobs.
Increasingly guesthouses can handle advance reservations, but due to inconsistent cleanliness and quality it is advisable to always look at a room in person before committing. In tourist centres, if your preferred place is full, there are usually a dozen alternatives nearby. Guesthouses typically only accept cash payments.
A subset of the traditional guesthouse is the beach bungalow, which occupies the backpacker destinations along the Thai coastline. Increasingly rare are the simple palm thatch and bamboo huts, which have been replaced by sturdier wooden or concrete bungalows. Regardless of quality, many bungalows are usually smack dab on the beach or built on a hillside overlooking the ocean.
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PRACTICALITIES
Bangkok Post and the Nation publish national and international news daily.
There are more than 400 AM and FM radio stations; short-wave radios can pick up BBC, VOA, Radio Australia, Deutsche Welle and Radio France International.
Six VHF TV networks carry Thai programming, plus TrueVision UBC cable with international programming.
The main video format is PAL.
Thailand uses 220V AC electricity; power outlets most commonly feature two-prong round or flat sockets.
Thailand follows the international metric system. Gold and silver are weighed in bàat (15g).
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Hotels & Resorts
In provincial capitals and small towns, the only options are often older Thai-Chinese hotels, once the standard in all of Thailand. Most cater to Thai guests and English is usually limited.
These hotels are multistorey buildings and might offer a range of rooms from midrange options like private bathrooms, air-con and TV to cheaper ones with shared bath facilities and a fan. In some of the older hotels, the toilets are squats and the ‘shower’ is a klong jar (a large terracotta basin from which you scoop out water for bathing). Although the Thai-Chinese hotels have got tons of accidental retro charm, unless the establishment has been recently refurbished, we’ve found that they are too old and worn to represent good value compared to the guesthouses.
In recent years, there has been a push to fill the budget gap for ageing backpackers or young affluent travellers who want the ambience of a guesthouse with the comforts of a hotel. Now in major tourist towns, new ‘flashpacker’ hotels have dressed up the utilitarian options of the past with stylish decor and creature comforts.
International chain hotels can be found in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket and other high-end beach resorts. Many of these upscale resorts incorporate traditional Thai architecture with modern minimalism.
Most top-end hotels and some midrange hotels add a 7% government tax (VAT) and an additional 10% service charge. The additional charges are often referred to as ‘plus plus’. A buffet breakfast will often be included in the room rate. If the hotel offers Western breakfast, it is usually referred to as ‘ABF’, a strange shorthand meaning American