Cheap Soi Rambuttri Guesthouse and Hotel Guide

If you are a shoestring traveler headed to Thailand you will most certainly will arrive in Bangkok. The new airport is modern and attractive, but is quite a ways away from the heart of Bangkok. What you need to next is find some transportation into the city. There are many taxis and buses available outside the arrival gate of the airport.The cheapest option is to find a bus that will take you to Khao San Rd, which is, or was rather, the budget accommodation and entertainment center for backpackers and foreign travelers.

Khao San Rd. has become somewhat of an expensive area within the last six years or so. Cheap hotels and restaurants that once lined the popular road have been converted into trendy bars and boutique hotels. Today the budget traveler must go a few blocks away from Khao San to find budget rates on hotels guesthouses hostels. By walking 2 to 3 blocks in any direction you can find cheap and clean places to stay. In fact, if you see any restaurants or bars, go in and ask if they have any rooms available. It is likely that if they don't have any room, they know someone who does. Even though you are not in the center of the action you will be really close and within a five-minute walk.

A great area to check for budget accommodation is the Banglamphu area on Soi Rambutri, to find this street you will walk all the way down to the end of Khao San Rd. to where the police station is.  Across the street is a large Temple (you will only see the white walls), cross the street (carefully, as traffic zooms down this street), turn right, and turn left down the first street you come to.  Soi Rambutri has a lot of restaurants, guesthouses, and even a 7-11 where you can buy cheap food and beer.  Near 7-11 you will likely encounter many Indian tailors in a small plaza, at the back of this plaza is a large hotel called Rambutri Village.  I have stayed there many times and it is not a bad place to stay for a couple of nights.  The front desk folks are pretty rude and the check in area can be crowded with backpackers looking for a place to stay (get there early in the morning to ensure you get a room).  If you don't find a room at Rambutri Village keep going down Rambutri Street, literally every place you see has rooms for rent, and many of those are clean and suitable for a couple of nights.  I much prefer this area to Khao San, you get a little break from the constant din of the city and traffic.

If you go too cheap on your hostel be forewarned that you may have some unsavory characters close by. I have heard of drug users, prostitutes, and gangsters coming in and out of the super cheap hostels and guesthouses, which makes it a real bummer for budget backpackers.

Since Bangkok is the central hub of Thailand you will have many travel options at your fingertips. You can fly to the most southern islands or to the north to places like Chang Mai. You will have rail options at a nearby train station, or you can go the cheapest route which is traveling by mini-bus. Mini-buses are not the most comfortable way to travel especially for taller people, but they are economical and are sometimes combined with a boat ticket that will get you to islands. Some of the ticket prices are very low, but remember that it will take a while to get there and it will probably be a very long day.

There is also an overnight train and overnight larger buses that go to nearly every city and vacation spot in the country. Be there on time because they won't wait for you (though they are commonly late and will just smile and say "Thai Time").  It is really hot and humid in Thailand and I have seen a lot of travelers loose their cool and go on tirades on innocent Thais for small things.  Try to stay cool and keep a cool head, the Thai people are generally pretty nice people and most important tolerant of rough looking backpackers looking for everything as cheap as possible. 

The food in Asia is some of the best in the world.  Thais eat many times a day and so you will see food being made and sold everywhere and every hour.  If hawker stalls or street vendors turn you off because you think it is unsanitary then stick to food that is prepared hot.  Hot food made fresh has very little chance of becoming contaminated or making you sick.  Some of the best food can be found around the streets of Khao San Rd.  The vendors are there day after day year after year and sell their delicious food for very little money.

Drinking on Khao San Rd.

I prefer to drink in smaller places that you can sit outside and watch the people go by.  Nearly every bar sells food and will have a menu for you to see.  Watching football or Soccer for those Americans is a national pastime for Thais and will most certainly be played in any bar in the whole country.  Thai Beer is very good and is generally cheap.  Again, the further away from the heart of Khao San, the cheaper the beer and food will be.  Anyway, why did you go to Thailand to eat at McDonald's or at the Hard Rock Cafe?

Thailand is fairly open about their sex trade. If you are a single man or a group of men (it does not really matter the age) you will find it uncomfortable at times due to the number of women who will approach you to come into bars, strip clubs, massages, sex shows, etc. There is really no other way to explain it other to say that if you are not interested then keep moving and say "no thanks", or "I'm married". There are of course men who go to Thailand looking for fun with the Thai ladies and I promise you, those who do find them quickly. If you are interested in finding ladies then you should take a ride from Bangkok to Pattaya. Otherwise, you might find the Thai girls a little annoying. But if you just want to sit in a bar and have a beer you should have no problem, just look for other travelers doing the same. The bars that have the Thai girls usually have a name like "Rumours" or something cheesy like that and they also have scantily clad women outside trying to round up guys for their bars.