Had a great trip in Bangkok with the boyfriend last week but before I begin blogging about all the places and experiences I had, thought it's really important to talk about about my very first AirBnB experience in Asia! :)
For those who wonder what AirBnB is, this is a website which allows you to rent places to stay from locals of the countries at more affordable rates compared to hotels.
Anyway, months before the trip, I made the first booking via the website but unfortunately, the booking got cancelled by the host without a reason. With an experience as such, there was the good and the bad to it.
The Good: AirBnB will refund the booking fee to you as well as providing extra discount for the next booking if the booking is cancelled by the host.
The Bad: As you will be charged in USD, the refund may differ from the initial amount that you've paid. Also, there are lower chances for you to find the next listing which may be on par from what you've previously booked.
With it being cancelled, it created slight uneasiness as I thought that "hey, maybe this is not as reliable as I thought it'd be."
Nonetheless, I tried searching for another listing and came across a pretty decent looking one for a slightly higher price than the initial one. Upon agreement with the boyfriend, I clicked into the listing and made my booking.
It was all good until a few days later. Nattapon, the host of this listing messaged me and asked if I could cancel my booking as there were some issues with his apartment's management and they no longer allow the owners renting out the units on a daily/ weekly basis.
As there were no other affordable listings that were convenient and available anymore, I started panicking and discussed with Nattapon if we can still stay. He was nice enough to explain the situation and stated that he was just worried that the management will bother us during our stay, but we both agreed on the stay in the end. He even offered to share some places to go with us so that we can plan our trip well.
Prior to our trip, he emailed a long list of places to go including what they offer, some even with directions on how to get there. As the date got closer, we arranged on how we should meet one another to get the keys and how do we get to his place.
To our surprise, he offered to drive us to his place from Siam BTS Station on our day of arrival and even shared how we can get about from the moment we landed at Don Mueang Airport!
Once we touched down, we bought a SIM Card from TrueMove, one of the telcos there that offers one of the cheapest package - 299 Baht for 7 days with free 100 Baht call-time and 1.5 GB data.
After settling the SIM Card, we took a metered taxi (yes, this is really important as some taxi drivers wanted to charge us 500-600 Baht to Mo Chit BTS Station) and were charged less than 200 Baht for our ride from the airport to Mo Chit BTS Station.
At Mo Chit BTS Station, we bought the Day Pass (priced at 130 Baht per person and is available at all BTS stations), which allows you to travel via BTS line for unlimited rides for the day. Took the train to Siam Station and met Nattapon there.
He drove us to his apartment and on the way there, he even gave us a quick tour around the city centre. Upon arrival, he brought us to his apartment to leave our luggage there and even provided us with two 1.5L bottled water, while he went to settle some bills.
Some photos of the studio apartment which was cosy and comfortable enough for two:
The TV and sofa in front of the bed.
The bed with a full length mirror next to it. There was also a huge wardrobe.
The toilet.
The shower area.
The pantry area which included cutleries, bowls and plates as well.
Once everything was done, he was kind enough to send us to Central Embassy for our late lunch at Somboon Seafood Restaurant, which was one of the places he recommended to us too. :) We even offered for him to join us for lunch but I guess he was a little shy, hence, he didn't manage to. So before we bid our goodbyes, a group photo of us! :)
Nattapon and us in front of the restaurant. :)
Anyway, some tips that I've learnt this time round from the AirBnB experience:-
- Prior to making any bookings, it is best to communicate with the host to check on its accessibility and if the management has any similar issues with renting out the units on a daily/weekly basis.
- Once you've initiated the communication, you will then be able to gauge if the host is a friendly and easy-going one. The last thing you want to have is an unhelpful host who end up giving you problems (such as the one who cancelled the listing without informing me).
- From the communication, you will also be able to gauge their language proficiency, which will totally make everything easier since you can then get messages across better.
The bottom line is to really initiate that communication before you decide to make any bookings! All in all, it was truly a great experience despite the fact that we had to pretend we're Thais or we don't speak at all when we're on the way up to our studio apartment to ensure that we don't blow our cover. :p He also checked on us after to make sure that the management did not give us any issues during our stay, and we're truly thankful that our stay was a smooth one, and it was awesome to meet someone like him! :)
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