Thailand forum

I have spent a several days in Chumphon recently and would like to pass on the following advice about the accommodation in town.

I stayed at two places - the Fame guesthouse and the Farang bar.

Both have made their position in town through contacts with the travel agency business. They used to be drop off points for trips to Koh Tao and still are - but not on the same scale. And both are still trying to cling to this success in a transient town without actually doing anything to work at their business in a successful way.

1. Fame Guesthouse.
Chinese owned and run. The owner seems to keep his staff in a constant state of hard work and unrest. They try hard but their is an uneasiness to the place. Having his children pretend to work there but lazing about and ordering around the Thais is also disconcerting in a big way. The rooms themselves are spartan. At the lower end they remind me of a crackhouse. A room with a mattress on the floor and not much else. The more pricey rooms are actual beds, but one shower shared between 10 rooms is a bit of a stretch.
Foodwise, they are good and cook their own bread (which is some of the bast inThailand, and they are renowned for, and actually sell to a lot of the shops in the town). Portions are small, but tasty.

2. Farang Bar
Run by a farang, who is trying to live off the past glories of the bar. It is a nice enough place, the rooms are adequate but hot, and again the Thai staff are nice, but the owner does nothing to promote his business and at best I would describe his attitude as brusque and at worst - rude. People warned me about the place but I thought I would try myself and see. However when I queried something on my bill written in Thai he said "Well I dont know it is in Thai isn't it?" Not good enough. Stay away.