Michael Lyons
2007-12-18 until 2007-12-22 |
Thai
Bamboo Guesthouse Resort, Cha Am
This is a wonderful little hideaway that is a far cry from the craziness
of Bangkok. I still can not believe it was less than a 3 hour taxi
ride from the airport! I will admit that the concept of the place
will not appeal to everyone. It is definitely a place for people who
are highly flexible and enjoy a group oriented vacation. Those looking
for absolute privacy or a more robust nightlife are better of staying
at a resort in Hua Hin. Thai Bamboo Guesthouse is quite literally
in the middle of nowhere. Due to the location of the place, guests
are pretty much dependent upon the owners, Rutger and Net, for meals
and transportation. Yet, the approach they take towards the guests
is very laid-back and respectful. There is absolutely no pressure
whatsoever to join the daily tours they offer and they even do a daily
shuttle run to the beach for the guests. I thought the food was excellent
(for 250THB per person it is a fantastic value and beats having to
hail a taxi and go into town.) The only thing I can find anyone having
a problem with is the group oriented nature of the place. Since there
are only 4 bungalows, the owners request that all guests eat together
and depart for the daily shuttle runs at the same time. I like this
style of travel as I enjoy meeting new people, but perhaps there will
be some who need to have their own schedule for everything. Overall,
I found this place to be a fantastic value for the money. I really
appreciated how Rutger and his wife provided services at reasonable
prices. In my experience, most places like this in Thailand are highly
opportunistic and take advantage of captive guests at every opportunity
by price gouging everything imaginable. I did not find that to be
the case here though. I recall the beer at the place only costing
55THB a bottle, a very small mark-up over 7-11, and for 3 straight
days of tours which included the national park, multiple runs to the
beach, and Huahin town the total bill for my wife and myself was just
slightly above 3,000THB. I honestly thought they had miscalculated
as a private taxi for as far as we went would have been 3 times the
amount we paid. I really enjoyed this place and really want to go
back for a week next time. From what Rutger told me, he is new to
sawadee.com and is trying to market himself to a more diverse crowd.
While his place caters mostly to Germans, he and his wife both speak
excellent English and communicating with them was no problem at all.
I recommend this place to anyone who wants a personal touch during
their stay in Thailand while venturing off the beaten track. |
