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Serviced Apartments aren’t all business

Posted by Andrea on (Updated: )  |  Leave a comment

I have had this blog in my head for years and it is just now, stuck on a bus from Bangkok to Cambodia, that I am putting fingers to keyboard to get the word out. Serviced apartments are fantastic. When I was pregnant with Couper I lived in Bangkok for three months and, wanting something safe for my then one-year-old (yes, my kids are only 15 months apart and yes, I am tired a lot) and myself we rented a serviced apartment. Our original apartment was a one-bedroom at Centre Point, Silom, it had views of the river and was a two minute walk to the skytrain station. Callie and I explored the city from this safe little base and it was where Couper lived for his first few days. Subsquently when I travel back with the kids we stay in various serviced apartments and they are perfect for us, allowing us living space, a kitchen to make snacks and usually two bathrooms.

Callie and Couper enjoy a movie in 'our' apartment
Callie and Couper enjoy a movie in 'our' apartment

Here are some myths about serviced apartments debunked:

Myth 1: They are only available for long stays.

Debunking: Wrong! Service apartments are often able to be booked just like hotels for as many, or as few, nights as you want.

Myth 2: Serviced apartments are more expensive than a hotel because they offer so much more.

Debunking: Wrong! That’s the beauty of them. Usually a one bedroom serviced apartment in Bangkok has a kitchen, a living room, a bedroom and a bathroom and costs less than the Sofitel, Marriott or other hotel offering similar standards.

Myth 3: You then have to clean your own room.

Debunking: Wrong, oh so wrong. Serviced is the key word here. The rooms are cleaned daily and the sheets changed every few days so you get a clean room, but it is better for the environment.

Myth 4: You don’t get the services you do at a hotel.

Debunking: Wrong again! Room service, maid service, IT service, everything the hotels have these apartments have and often the add-ons aren’t expensive. At Siri Sathorn, my new favorite apartments, wireless is free in all rooms and they will call and make appointments for you or call you a taxi if you need to get somewhere. The only service they don’t have is a tour desk, but then again, I can take care of that for you (archive.journeys-within.com)! All the apartments we use have pools as well as gyms and because they have to keep them nice for their full-time guests the gyms are often better than those at the hotels.

Callie enjoying the pool at our serviced aparmtments
Callie enjoying the pool at our serviced aparmtments

Myth 5: We would have to go out for breakfast and there’s no room service.

Debunking: Wrong. At Siri Sathorn and at the Centre Points breakfast is included in the cost of the rooms and is often a very good buffet. They also have room service and it is delicious, some of the best Mango Sticky Rice I have ever had was at Siri Sathorn.

Dinner at Centre Point with Callie (all my friends wrote back when I sent this out and commented on the yummy looking room service. I could have cooked it in my kitchen...I didn't but I could have).
Dinner at Centre Point with Callie (all my friends wrote back when I sent this out and commented on the yummy looking room service. I could have cooked it in my kitchen...I didn't but I could have).

Myth 6: Serviced apartments are in the business district, not near where I want to stay.

Debunking: And finally, wrong! Siri Sathorn is on Sala Daeng road, walking distance to Silom Road and the skytrain. Centre Point, Silom, is next to the ferry dock and Saphan Thaksin skytrain station. Both are walking distance to shopping, restaurants, banks and malls.

The view from my Bangkok apartment
The view from my Bangkok apartment

At Journeys Within we use serviced apartments for families and often older couples as they are amazingly quiet and the staff just go above and beyond for their guests. The only thing a serviced apartment lacks is that Thai feel and can lack a bit of character. I don’t think in every city they’re the right option, but in Bangkok, when there is so much going on just out the door it is nice to have a little peace and quiet and your own space inside.

Couper's first home was two nights in our serviced apartment in Bangkok (and yes, he flew to Cambodia at four days old, but that's another story!)
Couper's first home was two nights in our serviced apartment in Bangkok (and yes, he flew to Cambodia at four days old, but that's another story!)

You can of course book an apartment through Journeys Within Tour Company or I have listed their websites below…

Siri Sathorn Serviced Apartments http://www.sirisathorn.com

Centre Point Serviced Apartments http://www.centrepoint.com… Read more »

It's Good to Be Two

Posted by April on (Updated: )  |  Leave a comment

Couper and I took the boat from Phnom Penh back to Siem Reap this weekend and while I generally think being 2-years-old looks frustrating, this was one time I was jealous of his time in life. We boarded the boat at 730am at the Phnom Penh Pier…for me this was ridiculously early, for my little friend who is up at 6am without fail, this was a fun outing. Walking down to the boat on the slippery steps my heart was in my mouth, Couper on the other hand reveled in his 2-year-old oblivion and enjoyed the extra squeeze I was giving him. Once on the boat my seat felt a bit cramped and I wasn’t convinced by the view. Couper had plenty of room and if he stood on the seat also had a great view out the window at the other boats and birds. For the first couple of hours of the trip this is what he amused himself with, bird watching and boat pointing. By the time we got the Tonle Sap Lake and the boring part of the ride commenced Couper made himself comfortable and fell fast asleep. I attempted to sleep, but the vibrations of the boat made any head-rest rather jarring!

Couper woke up as we started getting closer to Siem Reap and he and I ventured outside to watch the boats and birds in the fresh air. He loved this and, rather than worry about the harmful UV rays beating down onto his tiny, perfect nose, he waved to the birds and locals out fishing. At the dock on arrival the sea of tuk-tuk drivers that descended on us just amused Couper and, unlike me, he at no point thought we might end up in the lake…in retrospect he probably would have thought a swim was a lot of fun too.

We were running late so got to have lunch in town at a nice restaurant where the waitresses fussed over him. All in all, not a bad day of boating for a 2-year-old.

An adults perspective: When the words “death-trap” and “boring” enter your mind you know it isn’t the ideal form of transport. With that said, the views in the beginning and end are fun and the middle isn’t as bad as the bus. Most tourists sit on the roof thus arriving in Siem Reap looking like lobsters, those that stay down below suffer the consequences of mild claustrophobia and stuffiness. The ride takes about 5 hours and if you tap into your inner 2-year-old it ain’t so bad 🙂

couper-enjoying-the-boring-part-of-the-boat-ride-its-good-to-be-2… Read more »

Busted!!

Posted by April on  |  Leave a comment

In my new ‘spirit of recession’, Couper, Mom (the nanny and no, I do not miss the irony of the name) and I boarded a bus to Phnom Penh today. We took the Mekong Express bus from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh, a six hour journey with one 15 minute stop in the middle. Here were the pros and cons:

Pro: My two-year-old who is potty training did not have an accident and slept for an hour and a half of the ride.

Con: There were ridiculous amounts of mosquitoes and they seemed to multiply over the 6 hours…can they breed that fast!

Pro: It was cheap, just $11 for adults and no charge for kids

Con: Kids is defined by the parents, the guy across the aisle from me had a large eight year old in his lap, I was glad I wasn’t sitting next to them!

Pro: There is a bathroom on the bus

Con: You have to be Cambodian size to fit in it and I think it goes straight to the street

Pro: The driver was pretty good, there were only a few Hail Mary moves and no dogs were maimed or killed as far as I saw

Con: They play Khmer karaoke for most of the ride

Con expanded: It skips every time the bus bounces

Con expanded more: The road is bumpy!

Pro: The bus stops in Phnom Penh in the main tourist area so getting to your hotel is really easy.

Con: That is if you can push through the throng of people yelling…’you need moto’, ‘you need tuk tuk’, ‘you need anything’

Pro: You feel that you have done your part to be budget conscious in a recession

Con: How long do they say this recession will last!?!?

bus… Read more »

Star Light Star Bright Angkor Wat I See Tonight

Posted by April on (Updated: )  |  4 Comments

angkor-wat-night-tour1

Some kids get to go to the movies, some kids get to go to ice cream, our kids get to see a 12th Century UNESCO World Heritage site lit up with hundreds of lights.

brandon-and-the-kids-in-angkor-wat2

night-out2

This evening we were invited to a preview of the Angkor Wat Night Tour, a chance to visit Angkor Wat after the crowds have left with strategic lighting allowing for an amazing perspective. On February 9 the Angkor Wat Night Tour will officially begin, featuring dancers, performers and other ‘shows’ as you wander along a designated path through the temple. Tonight, the performers were rehearsing, but Brandon, the kids and I got an inside look at what will be on offer in February. The temple looks beautiful and it is a magical experience to see the stars above the Angkor Wat spires. It is also a nice change to be able to wander the halls of Angkor Wat without sweating profusely.

angkor-wat-hallway-at-night2

If the company arranging the night visits keeps visitors to a minimum and keeps their shows at a high quality of performance and taste then this could be a truly unique experience. We will be heading back after the 9th to see if crowds are being kept away and if the show manages to hold the magic, and not lose it in a landslide of polyester. Here’s hoping that this tour continues with class and culture and our kids can continue to have a night under the stars and spires at Angkor Wat.

Information: To book contact Journeys Within Tour Company, the show opens February 9, but preview nights are available beforehand.

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shadow-on-the-bas-relief1… Read more »

A Bumpy Start

Posted by Andrea on  |  Leave a comment

Our Vietnam guide training got off to a bumpy start this year. As Brandon pointed out, the positive side was we got to check out the response to an accident at the Siem Reap airport and we got to try out the SOS clinic in Hanoi, the negative side was why we got to try these out.

We arrived at the Siem Reap airport nice and early for our big trip. We loaded up the luggage carts and I checked us in while Narla and Brandon got ice cream with the kids. As I was paying the departure tax Callie came running up, singing her “we’re going to Vietnam” song. She grabbed the back of our luggage cart and swung. With all the luggage now out of it and only hand luggage on the top basket it was top heavy and crashed down on top of her. I was there first and pulled the cart off her, only to see blood everywhere. My heart literally stopped. I grabbed her and immediately put pressure on her eye where most of the blood seemed to be coming from. Narla, was right behind me and had a small towel in his fanny pack which he gave me. I was able to push this on the cut and slow the bleeding, but I had seen how deep the cut was, just above her left eye. In the meantime Callie was screaming, I mean really screaming, she has my low pain tolerance and that, coupled with the blood everywhere, was just too much for her. I sat down in the middle of the airport with her on my lap and held her as tight as I could. Even Brandon, who is always calm in situations like this, looked scared. We started to discuss who was going to stay and who would go, but neither of us wanted to be the one that left her. Meanwhile the airport had called their EMT crew and Narla had gone to get me some ice. The EMT crew was fantastic. They helped stop the bleeding and then put a cleaning solution on the cut (they will forever be known as the mean men with the spicy stuff). Callie had calmed down slightly and the bleeding had stopped so we were able to get a gauze bandage over the cut and Brandon and I decided that a clinic in Siem Reap and one in Hanoi were going to be about the same so we might as well just get on the plane. We were escorted through security and then taken to a private medical room while Narla (on his first trip out of Cambodia) got all our passports through immigration. Poor Callie was still pretty upset, but was pulling herself together. We were able to get on the plane and she seemed to forget about her boo boo for a while.

In Hanoi we were met by Van and Loan, our Vietnam directors and despite it being 8pm they kindly went with us to the SOS clinic. In my years here I have recommended this clinic to a couple of guests who got sick in Vietnam so this time I got to really inspect it! The doctor was great and all the nurses were really kind. They couldn’t give her stitches because the cut was too close to the eye so they said they wanted to glue it. They said she would have to hold still for 2 minutes while they held the cut closed and the glue dried. I tried to explain that under the best of circumstances Callie didn’t hold still for two minutes and that pain actually would make it the worst of circumstances. I asked if there was anything they could give her and they agreed they could give her some valium anally (forever knows as the tickly in my booty). The valium took a while to kick in, but finally she was asleep on the table. They bundled her in a sheet and the doctor leaned over to put the glue on. That first drop hit and Callie was up. It took three nurses and Brandon to hold her down and still the doctor couldn’t hold it for the full 2 minutes. At the end of it the doctor just shook his head and said, “you right, she an active one”. He told me not to get it wet or let her run around…I asked if I could take a tub of valium to go, he didn’t get it.

We went back to our hotel and Callie was like a little drunk person, trying to walk and falling down. She was having so much fun on the valium I finally had to just hold her on my knee, turn all the lights off and not let her go until she was asleep. Inevitably the glue came out, I couldn’t stop her from bouncing and it’s Asia, we all sweat, so it ended up getting wet too. The scar isn’t too bad and as everyone keeps pointing out, at least she’ll have a good story. We went to pick someone up at the airport the other day and she kept her distance from the luggage carts! All in all it was a horrendous experience, but from the EMTs in Cambodia, to SOS in Hanoi we couldn’t have asked for better help so at least I can go on with my recommendations feeling secure that I don’t just know ‘of’ the clinic, I know it well!

… Read more »