Rambuttri St Bangkok 22nd March 2012

Not much floor space for 3.50 GBP per night

The Khao San...Rambuttri Street

Tell the taxi driver ' Khao San road' and they may well drop you off at Rambuttri, quite some distance away for those not acquainted or orientated with the Khao San area. This happened to me back in January and thus began my first Bangkok experience. As it turns out, Rambuttri wins over Khao San road, being the quieter area and the better chance of getting a good nights sleep! The street is long, about 3 times longer than KS road, intersected halfway by a main through route.

The whole Khao San area, which includes Rambuttri , is famed for having the biggest concentration of budget accommodation in one relatively small area, thus gaining a reputation as being a backpackers paradise. Alcoholoic backpackers like it because the booze is relatively cheap whilst those here for the cultural experience find Khao San an ideal launch pad for those tourist trips and experiences offered in abundance.

Shared facilities..

 Accommodation standards vary considerably, ranging from 100 baht for a dorm bed upto 1890 baht for a hotel room. The whole place is really geared for backpackers, people on the move, staying short term therefore little attention is given over to home comforts in most places, not all though. As a guide then based on my experiences January then March 2012: single rooms are generally priced at 150 baht, doubles at 280, 250 then 350-400 baht. For this, it's a fan room ( no air con). Probably won't be a TV either and the decor might be a little on the neglected side. Floor space will be at a premium and showers generally located towards the end of a corridor but do have lockable doors! Hot water is a hit and  miss affair, mostly cold, but it's easily gotten used to in this climate. I did find a 400 baht room that came with air-con and TV (television, not transvestites) when I was in Bangkok January, The Green House was the place, on the left, about 1/3 third way along. Personally, I haven't needed air con or hot water. A cold shower last thing with a bottle of chilled water to drink, has been sufficient to cool my body temp for a good nights sleep. When comparing baht prices with the British Pound, I use a rate of 45 b to £1. Although not the official rate, this takes into account associated ATM charges (150 b flat)' UK conversion charges and other UK card use charges.

New arrivals at night tend to pick on the closest bed, then search around and make comparisons in the morning. But for the lower end of the scale, it's going to be pretty much same as the last place. Visitors looking for all the home comforts in a nicely decorated room can find a few hotels in the Khao San area, not many though, most being located well into the Southern part  of the city centre area. Others are dotted around different districts - Sukhumivit has some smart places, but it's way out of the central area, so pick on somewhere close to a sky train station, and make sure all credit cards are enabled and valid in Bangkok.