mardhi

Last time I went to Hua Hin I stayed here:-
 
http://www.verandalodge.com/rates.html
 
The hotel is spitting distance from the Marriott and sort of across the street from the new mall. It is absolute beachfront and sits on probably the best part of Hua Hin beach. No vendors, no people, no donkeys. Just sand, sea. The hotel is small, maybe just 30 rooms and it's family owned. I would assume it is LB friendly, most Thai places are in my experience.
 
I travelled with a GG so its going back maybe 4 years. We had a deluxe room which is basically a small block of rooms toward but not on the main road and it was about 2,500b night through one of the booking sites, forget which. You are so far down the small lane, you do not hear any traffic noise. Small balcony and no view. Room was very clean but simply kitted out. Nice bathroom, good bed, good linen. No complaints and air con effective.
 
They have a small pool which is where the garden bungalows are situated. Seafront villas have stunning views. Garden villas have no view. The restaurant/bar is kind cool in the style of a beachfront casual eaterie you'd expect to find on Bondi Beach with large wood windows all opened up and getting the sea breeze (plus the sand) coming through. Service is not to the same style though but the food was good. Great almost and cheap.
 
I'd go back in a heartbeat just for its position on the quiet beach. It is about 100m walk along the sand to what was the Marriott and now called something else. We often ate in their beachfront steak house which while pricey was also excellent. Just steer clear of wine unless you fancy a heart attack when the bill arrives. You can walk it into town, but its a good 10 minute walk, longer if the lb's are heeled up. At the end of the lane (on main road, about 150m) you can hail a tuk tuk to save your legs.
 
I researched a lot for that trip and took a punt on this as it was pretty cheap for absolute beachfront. It's not a 'polished' resort, service can be quirky but as I say, I'd stay there again.

Last time I went to Hua Hin I stayed here:-
 
http://www.verandalodge.com/rates.html
 
The hotel is spitting distance from the Marriott and sort of across the street from the new mall. It is absolute beachfront and sits on probably the best part of Hua Hin beach. No vendors, no people, no donkeys. Just sand, sea. The hotel is small, maybe just 30 rooms and it's family owned. I would assume it is LB friendly, most Thai places are in my experience.
 
I travelled with a GG so its going back maybe 4 years. We had a deluxe room which is basically a small block of rooms toward but not on the main road and it was about 2,500b night through one of the booking sites, forget which. You are so far down the small lane, you do not hear any traffic noise. Small balcony and no view. Room was very clean but simply kitted out. Nice bathroom, good bed, good linen. No complaints and air con effective.
 
They have a small pool which is where the garden bungalows are situated. Seafront villas have stunning views. Garden villas have no view. The restaurant/bar is kind cool in the style of a beachfront casual eaterie you'd expect to find on Bondi Beach with large wood windows all opened up and getting the sea breeze (plus the sand) coming through. Service is not to the same style though but the food was good. Great almost and cheap.
 
I'd go back in a heartbeat just for its position on the quiet beach. It is about 100m walk along the sand to what was the Marriott and now called something else. We often ate in their beachfront steak house which while pricey was also excellent. Just steer clear of wine unless you fancy a heart attack when the bill arrives. You can walk it into town, but its a good 10 minute walk, longer if the lb's are heeled up. At the end of the lane (on main road, about 150m) you can hail a tuk tuk to save your legs.
 
I researched a lot for that trip and took a punt on this as it was pretty cheap for absolute beachfront. It's not a 'polished' resort, service can be quirky but as I say, I'd stay there again.

Citadine's are worth a look. Studio and one bed apt's in Soi 8,11,16 from memory. The one in Soi 8 is quite far down the soi and not much around it. The one in Soi 16 is next door to a new large Foodland 24 hour supermarket. The one in Soi 11 is as I recall adjacent to the old Bed Supperclub. One bed's are frankly a waste of money - studios just as big almost and better layout. Can't remember pricing but should be around your budget.

Citadine's are worth a look. Studio and one bed apt's in Soi 8,11,16 from memory. The one in Soi 8 is quite far down the soi and not much around it. The one in Soi 16 is next door to a new large Foodland 24 hour supermarket. The one in Soi 11 is as I recall adjacent to the old Bed Supperclub. One bed's are frankly a waste of money - studios just as big almost and better layout. Can't remember pricing but should be around your budget.

Room

 
Not sure why they need a fan as the room is very small, aircon is good enough, might as well invest money for internal phone system.

 
TV

 
On wall foldable laptop table

 

 
safe is big enough to put laptop in

This is the newly refurbished hotel that sits on top of the new Check-in Bar. It is a no bells and whistles joint for sure. It is though, a) Cheap b) Central c) Clean.
 
There are 24 rooms spread over 2 floors. All the fittings are new such as beds, linen, pillows, aircon, shower heaters etc. The floor is painted with the stuff you see in car dealerships - it actually works surprisingly enough.
 
The prices seem to vary from 800b to 1100b. I have stayed twice now and paid 900b first time, then 800b second time. No idea why that was. The hotel is currently NOT BUSY - you could just walk up and get a room.
 
There are no other facilities and I do not remember seeing an in room safe. I will ask him about that when I next go to the bar, as for many it will be important. You do get noise from Country Road which is below some rooms (that is the live music bar next to Check in). If important, ask for a room over Check in bar. Last time I stayed, the room was over Country road and I had no problem - but then I was not trying to get some sleep at midnight.
 

 

 

This is the newly refurbished hotel that sits on top of the new Check-in Bar. It is a no bells and whistles joint for sure. It is though, a) Cheap b) Central c) Clean.
 
There are 24 rooms spread over 2 floors. All the fittings are new such as beds, linen, pillows, aircon, shower heaters etc. The floor is painted with the stuff you see in car dealerships - it actually works surprisingly enough.
 
The prices seem to vary from 800b to 1100b. I have stayed twice now and paid 900b first time, then 800b second time. No idea why that was. The hotel is currently NOT BUSY - you could just walk up and get a room.
 
There are no other facilities and I do not remember seeing an in room safe. I will ask him about that when I next go to the bar, as for many it will be important. You do get noise from Country Road which is below some rooms (that is the live music bar next to Check in). If important, ask for a room over Check in bar. Last time I stayed, the room was over Country road and I had no problem - but then I was not trying to get some sleep at midnight.
 

 

 

This is often an emotive subject with many complaining about huge amount of Fatality's on bus travel. This is just what I have observed over the last year of using some of the bus services.
 
The first thing to take into account is the question of all the accidents. From what I have seen, these accidents seem to be a mix of local charter buses and regional bus services. The services I am talking about are the intercity services that link the main points. There are like Qantas with a South American crop dusting plane. Basically chalk and cheese.
 
For a start, I cannot recall reading about a serious crash involving these coaches in the 13 years I have lived here.
 
There are however different levels of service/seat even within the same company/route. VIP services are considered as the best. Typically 24 or 32 seats per bus, depending upon single or double decker bus. Different brands all have different but similar offerings. Seating is normally 3 abreast in single and double seat plan. Seats are big with lot of legroom and a serious recline. Basically comparable to an airline business class long haul seat before they switched to lie flat beds.

This post is for anyone who plans on staying in BKK long term on Tourist Visas. If you have a tourist visa you are allowed 60 days in country and then can get an additional 30 by making the wonderful trip to immigration (relatively painless half day trip to the outskirts of Bangkok). After those 30 days you need to leave the country to obtain a new visa. One of my favorite places to go is Penang, Malaysia. I usually catch the overnight train to Butterworth (about $30 US). The train isn't as bad as you would think provided you bring something to keep you occupied, I usually bring a good book and a few magazines. If your going to take the train it is worth it to pay a little bit extra for a bottom rack. Penang is a wonderful little island/city that gives you a break from the hustle and bustle of the Big Mango. I always enjoy getting away from the city for a bit.
 
There is a decent but small LB scene, mostly street workers and free lancers. There are a few LB friendly bars but they are nothing like we are used to here. Prices are roughly the same as BKK for ST (never tried LT). Most of the guesthouses in Georgetown will do all the visa work for you for a small fee. My guesthouse of choice is Banana Guest House. It's cheap, clean, comfortable and at night the LB's line up right across the street. My advice is to avoid them at first and head out to the bars first, you can usually find better looking ones in the bars around Georgetown. If you can't find one you like you can always grab one of the street workers on the way back to your room.
 
I have also done visa runs to Laos and Cambodia. If anyone needs any advice of the current visa situation in BKK (or any of the surrounding countries) feel free to PM me. I do a lot of free lance work in the area so I have to stay up to date on the current visa situations.

I can guarantee that OTS would not have done it LOL.
 
Looks nice hotel and good timing as i am planning another adventure up to C/Mai and then into Lao and along and Mekong - just need to be sure there will be enough water for the boat trip.

State railway has a website that is ok, but if you want to do a bit of reading about train travel in Thailand (or even any country, Burma for example), this is the site to read:-
 
http://www.seat61.com
 
The site is vast and on the left column you can select the region and then country you want to look at.
this guy is a real railway buff and the detail on Thailand is as good as you will get anywhere. he details all the routes, the trains, the interiors by route and even the food they serve.
 
If you ever wanted info on travelling within Thailand by rail, this is heaps better than the railway's own website.

Out of interest - what layout were the seats in? I cannot stand 'theatre' style seating for more than 10 minutes so hopefully its chairs around tables style of layout.
 
I may well give this show a go soon but 300b for a lady drink is just total rip off. .