2 Months And A Half Off (Part 2)

This series of posts is a day by day account of my two-month-and-a-half trip that begins with a stay in Bangkok, followed by a train and bike trip in India and a yoga teacher training.

Day 2: Dodgy Chicken

The morning began with a morning swim and a few nibbles from the Trang Palace's breakfast buffet which came with the room. They had a nice selection of dishes but most of them were too salty for my taste. After typing my first blog post by the pool and reading my book, I packed my bags and checked out of the hotel.

Checking out took longer than I thought it would. I called up the receptionist who told me that she'll send a porter to get my things. I waited for around half an hour but the porter never came. Seeing through their ruse of making me wait so that I'll miss the check out time and end up paying half a night's rate, I lugged my bags to the reception area (which is in the adjoining building) to officially check out, leave my things in their storage room and thank them for wasting my time.

I got on a taxi and headed to Rambuttri where I met my boyfriend and his nephew. From there, we headed for a walk around the backpacker area and feasted on amazing curry and tom yum goong in The Macaroni Room and huge servings of ice cream in Swensen's before we headed to the airport hotel where we will be spending two nights before our flight to India.

Unfortunately, the red curry in the Macaroni Room wasn't so amazing and my boyfriend's nephew ended up with food poisoning two hours before his flight. Instead of seeing him off, we ended up going to the airport clinic which is on the second floor of Suvarnabhumi Airport. From there, we had a nice ambulance ride to the Samitev Srinakarin Hospital where we ended up staying for two nights.

Fortunately, World Nomads and my aunt in Thailand did a brilliant job in making sure that we didn't have to pay a single cent during our stay in the hospital which was rather posh and expensive. A night in their cheapest room costs around $200. And, before you can be admitted, a deposit of 20,000 baht (around $600) needs to be paid. 

The hospital room we got was like a hotel room with a flat screen TV, a refrigerator, a microwave oven and a really plush couch for us to sleep in. The bathroom came with lavander scented shampoo, conditioner, body wash and lotion as well as a dental kit and other things you usually find in a hotel. It even had room service! It was a whole lot better than the room we booked for the two nights.

Day 3: Hotels And Other Things

The Cottage Suvharnabhumi (Lat Krabang Road, Bangkok)

Since we knew that our flight for Kolkata would be cancelled and would need a couple of extra nights in Bangkok to sort out our flights as well as my boyfriend's newphew's flight home, we decided to extend our stay in The Cottage Suvharnabhumi. The hotel's policies made it impossible for us to do that.

Because of a promotion on Agoda, I got a nice room with a private terrace in The Cottage Suvharnabhmi for $25. But, when I asked if we could stay two more nights, we were asked to pay the full amount per night which was $50. So, that day, with the hospital's complimentary wi-fi, we sorted out our new rooms and flights.

Day 4: Check In, Check Out And Back To The Airport Again

After spending the night at the hospital, I headed back to the hotel to pack our stuff and check out. And, to make the most of our stay in The Cottage, I spent a couple of hours by the pool before I checked out. I thought the red bean bags were a nice addition to the pool area.

The Cottage (Pool Area)

The Cottage

The Cottage (Lounge Area)

The hotel staff in The Cottage were very helpful when I checked out. They even wrote down our new hotel's address in Thai so that the cab driver would know where to go. 

The Great Residence Suvharnabhumi Hotel (Lat Krabang Road, Bangkok)

I thought it was really lucky to book a triple room in this hotel for only $21. It's a bit old and the wi-fi wasn't very reliable but it had a pool and a private terrace. 

Since my boyfriend in formed me that they would leave the hospital that day, I decided to spend the day exploring the area. At first, I thought I've made a huge mistake booking a place in the middle of nowhere and we would be dependent on the hotel's restaurant which was only serving around six unappealing dishes. The waitress was also quite surly and unapproachable. 

When I approached the counter, I noticed a poster that had some English sentences with Thai translations. This was the pleasant spill she was supposed to give when a customer approached her. Instead, she skipped all the lines, gave me a grunt and handed me the menu. I just shook my head and took a walk to look for a place to eat.

It was lunch time and all the bar restaurants near the hotel were closed. Luckily, at the end of the road, I spotted a 7/11 and a noodle stand. There, I had a huge brunch which consisted of a prawn wanton soup from 7/11 and a beef noodle soup from a cheerful old man's noodle stand. 

After the huge meal, I decided to go for a walk and discovered an arcade filled with restaurants. And, at the very end of that arcade, I found heaven -- The Thai Senses Spa which had a really comfy chair. I had a foot spa and a foot massage and dozed off. That chair claimed me and it took some time before I was able to get up and head back to the hotel.

The Most Amazing Chair Ever!

I got back to the hotel in time to let my boyfriend and his nephew into the room. I found out that he got a booking to fly home that night. So, we had dinner at a nearby bar restaurant which had three Vietnamese waiters. Fortunately, the last meal didn't bring about another case of food poisoning. A few hours later, we took a cab back to the airport to see his nephew off.

Day 5: A Day For Chilling

Since our flight to Delhi was booked for the next day, we had a day all to ourselves. We spent it eating, chilling by the pool and indulging in massages in the nearby spa with the comfortable seats. It was a nice rest day before a long trip.

2 Months And A Half Off

This series of posts is a day by day account of my two-month-and-a-half trip that begins with a stay in Bangkok, followed by a train ride Amritsar, a bike trip from Leh to Manali and a yoga teacher training in Kullu Valley, the end of the habitable world.

Day 1: The Beginning

Trang Palace (Wisut Kasat, Bangkok)

The Trang Palace Hallway

The Trang Palace Superior Room

The Trang Palace Swimming Pool

Knowing that waiting for a shuttle can take a long time, I got myself a taxi to get to my hotel from the airport since it's not near any of the stops of the railway system. This is actually one of the downsides in staying in this hotel.

Although it's far from any of the railway systems, it's quite near some tourist attractions. Wat Indraviharn, which contains a huge Buddha relic, is practically next door. Other tourist spots are ten to fifteen minutes away from Trang Palace, that is if you don't mind walking in the heat. From here, you can also take a walk to Khao San Road or Rambuttri Street. Although the hotel staff said that it's only a fifteen-minute walk, it took me about 25 to 30 minutes to get there.

The rooms in this hotel are very pleasing to the eyes. And, as long as the faucet doesn't leak and the sink doesn't overflow, I suppose that it's alright to have a sink in your bedroom. The hallway that leads to the rooms, however, is an eyesore. It's a very plain looking area in white and gray.

The indoor pool and the lounge chairs make up a very relaxing space for swimming, reading, writing and lounging. In fact, I'm writing this entry here right now.

They also have a beautiful outdoor dining area with a fountain in the background. The tables are lit with candles, making it quite a nice place to have dinner in. Unfortunately, you'll have to pay a huge sum for average food. The shrimp wanton soup, beef Masaman curry and bottle of water I had cost me almost 400 baht because of the added vat and service charge. The waitress was very smiley and friendly, however.

Another downside of staying here would be the staff. As friendly as they try to be, communicating with them can be very difficult. They're level of English isn't very good and asking for special requests like late check outs can often lead to major discussions. When I was there, I witnessed two heated discussions between the receptionist and the hotel guests. One of them was about an Australian family who were being asked to pay an extra amount despite having paid the full amount through Agoda. The other one was a guest who was harassed to eat in the hotel restaurant.

I booked the Trang Palace Hotel through Agoda. I requested to be in a room with a shared balcony overlooking the pool. I also requested to be picked up from the airport. Both requests were ignored. They didn't bother responding by e-mail.

So, adding up the pros and cons of staying here. I can say that despite the beautiful pool area that closes at 9 PM, the hotel is mediocre.


Samsen@samsen3 (Samsen Road, Bangkok)

Tom Yum With Seafood and Mushrooms

I found this place as I was walking towards Rambuttri. It's a small restaurant that serves traditional style Thai Noodles.

I ordered the Seafood Tom Yum for 60 baht. It was tasty and creamy and filled with huge portions of seafood - around two prawns, 4 calamari rings and a huge mussel. And, it wasn't too spicy. I also ordered a lemongrass juice which only cost me 15 baht. With their delicious good value meals, I thought that the place was A Plus!


The Butterfly Bookshop (Rambuttri, Bangkok)
Of course, that's not the real name of the bookshop. I don't really know what it's called but its one trademark is the butterfly stamp at the bottom of each book they sell. If you walk along Rambuttri Street from the yellow bank at the beginning of the street, this is the first book shop that sells real books.


I often return to this shop whenever I'm in Bangkok because of their reasonable prices and their offer to buy back the book they sold you for half the price as long as it's still in good condition. Also, they have an outstanding collection of books and the staff is super friendly.