Thailand - The Rough Guide to Southeast Asia on a Budget - page 700

the number of passengers. Even faster
and more precarious than tuk-tuks,
motorbike taxis feature both in big towns
and out-of-the-way places; prices are
lower than tuk-tuks and they can halve
journey times during rush hour.
Motorbike taxis should come with
helmets for the pillion passenger. Around
the country, these are supplemented by a
wonderful variety of jerry-built, hybrid
vehicles, including a dwindling band of
tricycle rickshaws ( samlor ).
With all types of taxi, bar Bangkok's
metered taxis, always establish the fare
before you get in.

around B150-300 for two people. For a
room with air conditioning and a hot
shower, and perhaps a TV and fridge as
well, you're looking at B350-1500.
Few hais use guesthouses, opting
instead for Chinese-hai-run budget
hotels , often located near bus stations,
with rooms in the B200-600 range.
hey're generally clean and en suite, but
usually lack any communal area. Beds are
usually large enough for a couple, and it's
quite acceptable for two people to ask
and pay for a single room ( hong diaw ).
Mid-range hotels (B600-1200) are often
much more comfortable and come
equipped with extras such as TV, fridge,
air conditioning, hot showers and pool;
they generally work out to be good value.
Electricity is supplied at 220 volts AC
and available at all but the most remote
and basic beach huts. Several plug types
are commonly in use, most usually with
two round pins, but also with two
flat-blade pins, and sometimes with
both options.

10

ACCOMMODATION
It is possible in most places to find
simple double rooms with shared
bathrooms for B150-350. If you're
travelling on your own, expect to pay
anything between sixty and one hundred
percent of the double-room price.
Checkout time is usually noon, so during
high season (roughly Nov-Feb, July &
Aug) you should try to arrive to check in
at about 11.30am.
With private rooms so cheap and just
thirty o cially registered youth hostels
in the whole country ( W tyha.org), it's
not worth becoming a YHA member
just for your trip to hailand. here's
little point in lugging a tent around
either, unless you're planning an
extensive tour of national parks (which,
in any case, often rent out fully
equipped tents). Many national parks
offer basic bungalow accommodation:
they aren't always cheap, but advance
booking is usually unnecessary except
on weekends and holidays; book online
at W thaiforestbooking.com.
Most of hailand's budget
accommodation is in traveller-friendly
guesthouses and, at the beach,
bungalows , which nearly always include
an inexpensive restaurant and often also
have internet access and a tour desk.
Many offer a spread of options: their
cheapest rooms will often be furnished
with nothing more than a double bed,
a blanket and a fan (window optional,
private bathroom extra) and might cost

FOOD AND DRINK
hai food is renowned for its fiery but
fragrant dishes, flavoured with lemongrass,
holy basil and chilli, and you can eat well
and cheaply even in the smallest provincial
towns. Hygiene is a consideration when
eating anywhere in hailand, but there's
no need to be too cautious: wean your
stomach gently by avoiding excessive
amounts of chilli and too much fresh fruit
in the first few days and always drink
bottled (or boiled) water. You can be
pretty sure that any noodle stall or curry
shop that's permanently packed with
customers is a safe bet.

WHERE TO EAT
hroughout the country most
inexpensive hai restaurants specialize
in one type of food - a “noodle shop”
might do fried noodles and noodle soups
plus a basic fried rice, but nothing else;
a restaurant displaying whole roast
chickens and ducks will offer these sliced
or with chillies and sauces served over
rice; and “curry shops” serve just that.
he best and most entertaining places to