On a recent trip to Thailand I was lucky to find a home exchange in Bangkok. There aren’t many homes in Bangkok on swap sites. But LoveHomeSwap has the largest percentage of listings in Asia and that’s where I found this place. It’s a vacation home and Airbnb rental for the owner so I traded points for my stay.
view from the living room
Overall it was an incredible place for our home base. The only complaint I had was the location, which in truth was both good and bad. On the bad side, it was pretty far north in the city, and not super close to public transit. Traffic is awful in Bangkok so although taxis are cheap, it could easily take and hour or more to get downtown. The best option was the public river ferry, which is remarkably fast and efficient. The stop was a short taxi ride, or a 20 minute walk, from the apartment. The other option was a 30 minute taxi ride to the skytram station which then ran quickly into the city.
The good thing about the location was the quiet and calm retreat it provided. Bangkok is crazy busy and loud and active. And our apartment was calm and quiet with sweeping views of the river and the city. It was also next to a giant Tesco so we had an easy time stocking up on breakfast foods, snacks and drinks.
Bedroom with a view
The restaurants nearby were definitely not for tourists. At the suggestion of our host, we tried one just a few minutes away, sitting right next to the water. I think that was one of the best seafood meals I’ve had anywhere. For a very cheap price.
Other assets of this apartment, in addition to a huge living room with sweeping river and city views, included a gym, a swimming pool and some very nice tennis courts. The gym had pretty good cardio and weight equipment, and it was almost always empty. The building had staff downstairs at all times, and they would call a taxi whenever needed. Although we mostly used Uber to get around Bangkok because that eliminated the need to communicate destinations in a language I can’t speak. And it also avoided the frequent problem of Bangkok taxis refusing to use the meter.
Overall a win in the home exchange experiences: free lodging in a super nice apartment.