Arrival
As a complete newbie to South East Asia, somewhere in the green countryside with the chance of seeing lush, vivid jungle plants and animals seemed like a change from the urban life I usually experience so I booked a place that offered this.
It was part of a complex of a large villa with a small cabin at one end (where I was to be.) The risk, (I thought) was a large rowdy group booking the villa and dominating the three weeks I was there – but I still booked, ignoring the slight misgiving which I couldn’t quite pin down.
As it was my first time in that part of the world, I wanted the smoothest landing possible. Given some of the reviews complained about taxis not being able to find the place and the hosts being unavailable to late arrivals, when they offered the opportunity to book a private transfer from the airport, I accepted. But the cost was more than the commercial rate and given it was partly to facilitate a smooth transfer for their benefit …
Nonetheless I enjoyed being whisked along my first heady sight of Thailand, marvelling at the night-time sights, sounds and perfumed smells. Out into the countryside and to the waiting hosts – who were rather terse because I was about an hour later than planned, but showed me around anyway. I noted the router was attached to a wire that was threaded through an open window. There was a tiny kitchen space and an odd-shaped room which was completely empty, like a triangular isolation cell. But I was tired and it could all wait until the morning, so I just shut the door and turned the lock and nothing happened. I would have to leave the door unlocked all night.
Three weeks without a sink
Morning came and thoughts turned to breakfast. I’d bought a sandwich at the airport and looked for a plate to eat it from. The one I found wasn’t too clean, so to the sink with it … except there wasn’t one. I had one of those bizarre ‘what am I missing?’ moments where I looked around for something that obviously wasn’t there. Three weeks without a sink.
I messaged the hosts. ‘This isn’t a hotel; few people cook here and most eat off paper plates.’ They did say they would come and help me lock the door from the inside. Except they couldn’t. “We’ll get a technician to come out and fix it. You can lock it from the outside so you can go out for the day.” So I did. Previous reviews which said that the property didn’t appear on the Grab ride-hailing app were correct, so I walked down the lane to another property and waited there. In town I bought more supplies including some of the listed ‘essentials’ of pepper, oil and vinegar. They were not in the flat, but there was salt … a whole cupboard of salt.
A small bowl of cereal to settle my stomach a bit, but I will have to use the bathroom sink and there’s no hot water, no washing up liquid, not even a proper spoon. Well it’s Thailand, maybe this is the norm.
The YouTube Locksmith
It took a couple of days for the technician to come out. I watched as he balanced his tool of choice in one hand, his phone in the other. A YouTube video on how to repair doors. Feeling safer (I’m not sure why as I still had an open window,) I settled into day-to-day life. Grab taxis got me to Ao Nang beach and Krabi town (only one couldn’t find me) and life settled into a routine as gradually it became apparent that this place wasn’t the norm.
The door broke again, this time it wouldn’t lock inside or out. The technician came quickly, but unannounced, which gave me a scare, meanwhile I went off to look for the listed washing machine. ‘There is one but only the cleaners operate it. Hand us your washing and it will be done in 24 hours.’ That was a step up from the advertised hot tub that didn’t exist.
The washing came back – with a bill attached, so much for the free washer. I was worn down. I paid. On one of my walks I passed a family laundry and enquired – they would do it for half the price. Decision made.
I felt quite proud of the three weeks I stomached here. The last few days with mild food poisoning. A family did book the villa for a weekend, but were reasonably quiet and I lay in my sick-bed and heard the laughter coming from their pool and hot-tub. Whilst there I looked again at the Airbnb page for the accommodation. The person who had stayed in front of me had just left a 1* review, mentioning most of the things lacking that I’d noted. If only she’d been here earlier. I wouldn’t have booked.
The Final Sting
On my leaving day I checked the bedding I’d been using and there was a small stain on the sheet, probably from the Oral Rehydration Salts I’d been taking … bright orange ones. I thought no more of it and worked at getting my stuff together. Doing my final checks, I noticed the cable coming through the window wasn’t connected to the router. The window could have been shut for the duration. I booked a Grab to Krabi bus station and moved on to horrors anew (you can see my next stay by clicking here.)
A few days later I got the stinger – a bill for a new mattress. Airbnb asked me if I thought they had a case, I said no and the case was closed. When I came to write my 1* review – they responded by saying that the smell from the stain was so bad that the next person after me also left a 1* review. Except the review had been posted before I’d even checked out. I moved on a little warier, and with more ideas of what questions to ask before booking in South East Asia again.
Additional notes
The featured image is of the view from the apartment. After my 1* review – Airbnb removed the property from its books – but the hosts are still listing other places on the site, including the villa, to mixed reviews.
