What 200Baht Buys

Bangkok, Thailand, 6/12/11

As I am on a budget and two months of accommodation adds up fast, I will be staying in cheap hostels, guest houses, motels, and bungalows for more of my trip. Actually, my plan is to take as many overnight buses and trains as possible so that I kill two birds with one stone.

Thailand has some of the world's most luxurious hotels including the Four Seasons in Chang Mai and the Mandarin Oriental in Bangkok, both of which are consistently voted among the world's best. However, the country of pad thai also has boundless less-expensive options for backpackers, many of which start at $2 in rural areas of the country.

I arrive into the country late on Thursday night and first check out hostels for around 100 - 180Baht ($3 - $5), rejecting my father's offer to pre-book and pay for my first night in Bangkok. That would take away from the game. These rooms, though private, have no windows, chipping paint, barely working old fans, shared bathrooms, and an overall pleasant vibe that brings to mind solitary confinement. I've settled on "My Guest House" for several nights. It's a short walk from Khao San Road, the main backpackers drag in East Bangkok, where one can easily pick up some salty squid jerky, or perhaps a fake college diploma. Both are ready in minutes.

Squid jerky

At My Guest, I splurge for the extra dollar, paying 200B ($6) for a private room, with a large fan, big window (overlooking a grimy alley), a towel and sheet. Toilet paper and soap are extra. Flushing anything foreign down the toilet (including toilet paper) is prohibited. The shower is no more than a cold faucet, conveniently place over the toilet so one can, presumably, have the thrill of dual cleansing action. Although my shower was only five minutes, the bathroom is still flooded when I return ten hours later.

For some reason, despite being in the thrilling city of Bangkok, which offers tourists a near-endless array of thrills, tastes, and sights, dozens of American and British travelers pack My Guest House's lobby nightly to watch Western movies like "127 Hours". I find this foolish and silly. Moreover, there's nothing better than kick starting one's Southeast Asian backpacking trip than ten minutes of gruesome torture porn depicting what happens when backpacking trips go horribly wrong.