Sunday, December 11, 2005
Moving out
My hotel booking is up to the 11th. My flight out of Bangkok is on the 14th. My visa expires 12th. Half my baggage is with Klaikong, who returns from Chiang Mai 11th.
So I called Air Asia to reschedule the flight, paid three times as much for the new fare (original was a mere 499 baht plus taxes), then went down to the manager to tell him I was going to stay one more day. How much did it cost?
“1200 baht.”
But I went to a travel agent and paid only 600 baht, I protested.
“So you go back to T.A.T. tomorrow and get voucher,” he smiled.
T.A.T.? I recalled noticing that travel agents had a ‘TAT Authorized’ statement on their shop fronts. Tourism Authority of Thailand?
This didn’t make sense. If I went back to the travel agent, he would take a commission, so the hotel gets lesser than 600 baht. Why not just take that amount from me? The manager didn’t speak enough English to get this point across.
This morning as I prepared to leave, it dawned on me it was a Sunday. Most of the Pranakorn neighbourhood is closed on Sunday. I called the agent. No answer. Phone’s switched off. Shop’s shut too, likely.
I’m going to have to pay the manager what he wants.
I went to the lobby again to ask about laundry. I have a Cambodia-trip worth of clothes needing washing. The rate card said 50 baht per shirt. If I submit before 12pm, I’ll get my clothes back tomorrow at 6pm. If I want my clothes today, there’s a 100% surcharge. I leave at 4 in the morning. At 238 Guesthouse, Ton charged 100 baht to wash all my clothes and returned them dry in under two hours.
If there’s a clear message in this, it’s that guest houses are far more economical than hotels, even if the hotel is offering a substantial discount. I think I’m carrying my laundry to Kuala Lumpur.
So I called Air Asia to reschedule the flight, paid three times as much for the new fare (original was a mere 499 baht plus taxes), then went down to the manager to tell him I was going to stay one more day. How much did it cost?
“1200 baht.”
But I went to a travel agent and paid only 600 baht, I protested.
“So you go back to T.A.T. tomorrow and get voucher,” he smiled.
T.A.T.? I recalled noticing that travel agents had a ‘TAT Authorized’ statement on their shop fronts. Tourism Authority of Thailand?
This didn’t make sense. If I went back to the travel agent, he would take a commission, so the hotel gets lesser than 600 baht. Why not just take that amount from me? The manager didn’t speak enough English to get this point across.
This morning as I prepared to leave, it dawned on me it was a Sunday. Most of the Pranakorn neighbourhood is closed on Sunday. I called the agent. No answer. Phone’s switched off. Shop’s shut too, likely.
I’m going to have to pay the manager what he wants.
I went to the lobby again to ask about laundry. I have a Cambodia-trip worth of clothes needing washing. The rate card said 50 baht per shirt. If I submit before 12pm, I’ll get my clothes back tomorrow at 6pm. If I want my clothes today, there’s a 100% surcharge. I leave at 4 in the morning. At 238 Guesthouse, Ton charged 100 baht to wash all my clothes and returned them dry in under two hours.
If there’s a clear message in this, it’s that guest houses are far more economical than hotels, even if the hotel is offering a substantial discount. I think I’m carrying my laundry to Kuala Lumpur.