We had promised the boys a big breakfast and swimming in our Holiday Inn hotel. That was because for some reason I thought we weren't flying until the afternoon. We discovered our flight was at 9:45 am and we were advised to take the 7:30 am shuttle. Only enough time to check out and throw a bowl of cornflakes down our throat. Quite a disappointment to all I'm afraid. My fault. Well it had to be didn't it!
We traveled to Bangkok via Hong Kong which meant we spent 9 hours flying and another 4 hours travelling. We arrived at about 4:00 pm local time. I had taken the plunge and set off from Tokyo without having booked an hotel. I was sure that there would be an hotel booking desk at the airport in Thailand. I had tried to get a booking over the internet in Tokyo but had no joy at all. I was working on a phone modem connection. None of the hotels seem to allow bookings for less than a week away and the connection was so slow I gave up.
So we arrived with no place to stay. I found an hotel booking desk and asked the hospitable Thai lady to book me into a downtown (tourist district area) hotel that was suitable for children. In other words one that had a swimming pool and other child friendly things to do. After several calls to various place she came up with an hotel and offered it to us at the cost of $260 for 4 nights including the taxi ride into town and a free city or river tour the next day thrown in. I already had a good idea that hotels could be had in Bangkok for about $30 to $40 per night so I was a bit put off by the price and not knowing what sort of place I was booking into, was even more hesitant. The only alternative was to pile into a taxi and scoot around the hotels on our own. I didn't fancy this is a strange city and dusk was approaching. I was also concerned by the fact that the lady had tried several hotels and they had appeared to be fully booked.
So I accepted the deal but only on the provision that if I didn't like the hotel I could get my money back. We paid by credit card and set off with the arranged taxi driver.
The ride downtown was about 45 minutes. The temperature was 32 deg C with humidity right up there. It was sticky and dark by the time we reached our downtown hotel. We unloaded all our baggage into the hotel lobby, struggling with all our cases right in front of hotel bellhops who couldn't lift a finger even to open the door for us. Such a difference from the culture we had just come from. They were hospitable but not helpful.
We were immediately not impressed by the hotel. It seemed to be on the seedy side. There was lots of too-ing and fro-ing in the foyer. The most distressing thing to see was the fat slobbering europeans (and I'm sure other nationalities that I could not recognise) openly groping their little thai "girlfriends" on the lobby couches. Now we have all heard of the reason that many westerners find Thailand so attractive but I was not prepared to have it literally thrust upon me or the family.
I asked the hotel receptionist, when she finally got around to dealing with me, if this hotel was suitable for children. At the same time kind of nodding and glancing in the direction of the lobby couches. She either really did not understand what I was saying or didn't want to but eventually, after a few other words and gesticulations, she agreed that I could view the room if that would help me decide if we were to stay at this hotel.
I understood from the lady at the airport hotel booking office that 2 children families were not catered for in Thai hotels. She had started out by insisting that I take 2 rooms. But I could see why when we looked at this hotel bedroom. It had 3 single beds in it and absolutely no room for a 4th. We found this to be the case in all the hotels when I checked later. The US scenario of 2 double beds in a room was just non existent. It was either 2 singles or one double and a single or in this case, three singles.
The room was pittsville. All the windows were open, it was noisy, hot and the view out of them was appalling. We could have squeezed the four of us into 3 single beds but with the fact that I thought we were over paying in the first place, I was beginning to go off this hotel big time. I had my doubts about the air conditioning too and with the number of Thai "girlies" around the place we really didn't want to stay. So OK we could get our money back but where should we stay tonight? Perhaps we should stay one night and move out tomorrow. But would we get our money back then?
Julie and I had a "conference" amongst the backpackers and the slurping and groping worse half of the human race. (Do you suppose women would travel half the way around the world to find willing and wily partners and then slober all over them in a state of drunken debauchery?). I really didn't have enough information to make a decision on our stay.
I've developed this scenario ("not enough information") and used it quite successfully during our trip. If we really don't know (or can't decide) what to do next, get more information to help the decision making process. In this case to get more information, I couldn't face the prospect of trying to use the phone, having no change and no idea of the language. So I did 2 things. First, I started to ask other "respectable" western looking people in the hotel (such as (what looked like) a mother and daughter backpacking from UK) what they had paid to stay there and what it was like. Mostly I got that the place was OK ish but that other people had paid anywhere from $18 to $30 for a room. So we were definitely paying way over the odds. Second thing I did was to set off around Bangkok on foot to check out other hotels.
I looked at the skyline and saw 3 high rise hotels that looked to be within 5 or 6 blocks and headed out. By now it was dark outside and the whole of Bangkok seemed to be on the streets for what we later learned was some kind of religious festival. The pavements are about 6 feet wide and 3 feet of this is taken up with market type stalls. The remaining 3 feet is taken up with people looking, eating, chatting and generally milling around. So in order to make any progress at all it is necessary to wade through a sea of people.
Not knowing the honestly level of these people (if this had happened in Nigeria say, all my pockets would have been picked within 20 feet of leaving the hotel - yes it happened to me there) I was very conscious of my money and my personal security. Yes, it was a little bit scary. Not really knowing where I was going. Not knowing if it was safe to be on these streets after dark or indeed at any time. Being split up from the family.
Julie had felt the same concern about me leaving and she prayed non-stop.
I finally made it to all three of the high rise hotels and found one that was able to accommodate us. The charge here was $60 per night with a room that had a massive double bed (sleeps 3) and one single. It was on the 65th floor of the highest building in Thailand and the highest hotel in Asia. It was 5 star luxury all the way. Simply the swankiest place we had ever stayed in ever. I immediately booked in on the basis that it was no more than I had already agreed to pay for the other hotel and this promised to be an experience not to be missed. It had a swimming pool (on the 20th floor) and the breakfast room was on the 79th floor. Imagine that? Lets go.
After about an hour or so trailing around the city on my own, I found my way back to the family with the good news. We were going to ship out, cancel the booking at the old hotel, stay in the new place and get our money back in the morning. Shortly after I got back the hotel porter caught me and told me I had a phone call. It was the woman from the hotel reservation desk at the ariport. Why hadn't we checked in here? I told her it was just not suitable and that I had got us into this swanky place for the same price (check out the hotel web site: Baiyoke Sky Hotel). She really didn't know what to say other than she agreed that it would be OK to return tomorrow and to get a refund in cash (suits me as I paid by credit card and needed some cash) except they would deduct the taxi fare which was about $10. I could sleep well tonight but how to get all the gear and the family over to this new hotel? We wouldn't fit into one cab.
We pulled all our luggage into the street and saw that there were 3 taxis lined up outside waiting for punters. Perfect ready to roll. We told the first taxi driver that we needed 2 taxis to take us and all this luggage to the Baiyoke Sky Hotel, perhaps not more that 5 minutes from here. This was what the problem was. They had been lined up outside the hotel waiting for the big fare to the airport or where ever. A five minute drive around the corner was not worth the effort (have you ever asked a cabbie at Heathrow to drive you to Ealing?). So he goes out into the middle of the street and hails 2 more cabs. This means we have to man handle all the luggage through the 2 inches between the bumpers of taxi one and taxi two to get it into taxi 3 that has brought all the traffic to a standstill in the middle of Bangkok. Not good fun when it's 32 degrees and you are dripping with sweat and the kids are about to expire with hunger and exhaustion.
Now all the taxis and "put put" rickshaws run on (and this is brilliant - why can't we do this in europe) natural gas. It cuts down the pollution immensely. However, one of the side effects is that half the trunk or boot of any car is filled with a massive gas tank and would only accommodate one of our suitcases. We had to shove the others into the passenger seats and on our laps to prevent us from having to hire a 3rd taxi.
I showed both drivers (I was in one cab with Sammy and Julie in the other with Julian) the name of the hotel I wanted to go to. Not a word of english was spoken between them but with the help of taxi driver one they looked like they understood where we wanted to go. So off we went. Again being split up but at least the consolation of a good hotel to stay in at the end of this final journey of the day. We were knackered.
I sort of knew which direction the hotel was in although I guessed you would have to travel to it differently in a car. What I didn't know was that there were 2 Baiyoke hotels in Bangkok and that I was heading for one and Julie was heading for the other .
(to be continued)
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