Every now and again you come across a little gem and that is what the Smile Society Boutique Hostel is, we really landed lucky when David came across it on a booking site and this place made our visit to Bangkok extra special. That is why I would like to share it more with you.
For a start we only planned to stay in Bangkok for a couple of days, do what we needed to do and then head out, cities are not really our type of thing with all the hustle and bustle. In the end we stayed for 6 days and only left because we had other things planned that needed to be done to fit in with our schedule.
As soon as we booked the place we got easy to follow directions on how to find the hostel, so easy we didn't get lost, everything was done step by step. This helped to keep my stress levels down, and made carting my rucksack around Bangkok so much easier, as I wasn't wandering around aimlessly with it on my back.
The hostel is in the Silom area very close to the railway and sky trains so made travelling around thereafter very easy and very cheap. David liked that and it meant no bargaining with tuktuk drivers or worrying if taxi drivers were fiddling you. Although taxi drivers are better regulated now in Thailand and need to use a meter.
Although the hostel is off a busy street which is excellent for street food, restaurants, market stalls, shops and pubs you wouldn't know it from the hostel which is quiet, serene and a little oasis in a concrete jungle. The outside has been planted up with beautiful flowers and has fish bowls on the porch, this area also doubles up as an area to chill out or to smoke.
On entering the building we were met by Bee, who runs the hostel with her sister Nid. Bee was lovely and welcoming and soon had our room organised, she was to become a great friend and asset over the following days. Bee helped us to become orientated with the city and gave us ideas on where to visit and how to get there. There is also an area in the foyer where ideas, events are displayed, such as the Saturday street market. There is also information in the foyer telling you what to be aware of, such as local scams, pricing of tuktuks etc.
Our hostel room was lovely, I could have cried at how nice it was especially after some of the rooms I have been in and they were hotel rooms! The rooms were tidied everyday and there was a very good wifi service, which you got in your room. Breakfast every day was more than enough and I couldn't eat it all, an added bonus was you got a decent cup of tea, something I have really missed on my travels.
Bee and Nid were lovely to chat to and were always willing to help or to answer questions, through them I learnt so much more about Thailand, it's people and it's culture. They even put up with my daft questions such as " Why are the cat's tails so short?" They were very accommodating and really made us feel at home.
There is also a lovely park about five minutes walk away, Lumpini Park, where we visited several times and took a picnic, it has a lot of varied wildlife to see but also a lot of activity and things to watch. There is a running track with people of all ages running around it, a cycling track, people practising dancing and martial arts and even Zumba type classes that you can join in for free. There is also tai chi for free in the mornings.
There is a communal area upstairs in which a lot of the younger residents hung out, chatting, eating,
using the computers and making new friends. Security in the place is excellent there is a key card to get in the front door, another security door at the bottom of the stairs leading up to the communal area and rooms, and we also had a lock on our room door.
Bee also helped us to organise other things we wanted to do in Bangkok, she sorted out our trip to the River Kwai and Hellfire Pass and arranged our overnight train and ferry to Koh Tao. Things that we needed to do but she phoned up the right people and did it all, saving us time and stress. She even talked us through the procedure of the night train something I was particularly worried about after my Indian experience.
We thoroughly enjoyed our stay here and would like to go back even just for a chat with Bee, she was a good laugh and so nice to talk to, she even taught us a bit of Thai, I would recommend Smile Society to anybody who is thinking about visiting, their email is
SmileDThailand@gmail.com
www.SMILESOCIETYHOSTEL.COM
Kob koon kha To Bee and Nid and all the staff of Smile Society
Keep smiling!
For a start we only planned to stay in Bangkok for a couple of days, do what we needed to do and then head out, cities are not really our type of thing with all the hustle and bustle. In the end we stayed for 6 days and only left because we had other things planned that needed to be done to fit in with our schedule.
As soon as we booked the place we got easy to follow directions on how to find the hostel, so easy we didn't get lost, everything was done step by step. This helped to keep my stress levels down, and made carting my rucksack around Bangkok so much easier, as I wasn't wandering around aimlessly with it on my back.
The hostel is in the Silom area very close to the railway and sky trains so made travelling around thereafter very easy and very cheap. David liked that and it meant no bargaining with tuktuk drivers or worrying if taxi drivers were fiddling you. Although taxi drivers are better regulated now in Thailand and need to use a meter.
Although the hostel is off a busy street which is excellent for street food, restaurants, market stalls, shops and pubs you wouldn't know it from the hostel which is quiet, serene and a little oasis in a concrete jungle. The outside has been planted up with beautiful flowers and has fish bowls on the porch, this area also doubles up as an area to chill out or to smoke.
On entering the building we were met by Bee, who runs the hostel with her sister Nid. Bee was lovely and welcoming and soon had our room organised, she was to become a great friend and asset over the following days. Bee helped us to become orientated with the city and gave us ideas on where to visit and how to get there. There is also an area in the foyer where ideas, events are displayed, such as the Saturday street market. There is also information in the foyer telling you what to be aware of, such as local scams, pricing of tuktuks etc.
Our hostel room was lovely, I could have cried at how nice it was especially after some of the rooms I have been in and they were hotel rooms! The rooms were tidied everyday and there was a very good wifi service, which you got in your room. Breakfast every day was more than enough and I couldn't eat it all, an added bonus was you got a decent cup of tea, something I have really missed on my travels.
Bee and Nid were lovely to chat to and were always willing to help or to answer questions, through them I learnt so much more about Thailand, it's people and it's culture. They even put up with my daft questions such as " Why are the cat's tails so short?" They were very accommodating and really made us feel at home.
There is also a lovely park about five minutes walk away, Lumpini Park, where we visited several times and took a picnic, it has a lot of varied wildlife to see but also a lot of activity and things to watch. There is a running track with people of all ages running around it, a cycling track, people practising dancing and martial arts and even Zumba type classes that you can join in for free. There is also tai chi for free in the mornings.
There is a communal area upstairs in which a lot of the younger residents hung out, chatting, eating,
using the computers and making new friends. Security in the place is excellent there is a key card to get in the front door, another security door at the bottom of the stairs leading up to the communal area and rooms, and we also had a lock on our room door.
Bee also helped us to organise other things we wanted to do in Bangkok, she sorted out our trip to the River Kwai and Hellfire Pass and arranged our overnight train and ferry to Koh Tao. Things that we needed to do but she phoned up the right people and did it all, saving us time and stress. She even talked us through the procedure of the night train something I was particularly worried about after my Indian experience.
We thoroughly enjoyed our stay here and would like to go back even just for a chat with Bee, she was a good laugh and so nice to talk to, she even taught us a bit of Thai, I would recommend Smile Society to anybody who is thinking about visiting, their email is
SmileDThailand@gmail.com
www.SMILESOCIETYHOSTEL.COM
Kob koon kha To Bee and Nid and all the staff of Smile Society
Keep smiling!
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