For starters, various movies might have given you different perspectives on how life is, inside a jail cell. Those fenced gates, steel plates, and mugs and bunk beds surrounded by concrete walls that echo the shrieks of fear and hysteria. Despite feeling shivers down your spine, do you still feel the urge to witness it in the flesh? Well, thank your stars! Now you can spend not just one night, but much more inside a prison, without having the need to commit a crime or two.
The prison-themed hostel in Thailand, Sook Station, is a perfect spot for travelers in search of something different during their trip to the land of smiles. Known as one of the best offbeat places to visit in Bangkok, this hostel does not just give you the feel of a prison, but it is also photogenic. There you go! Ready to spam your social media feed and startle everyone?
Located in Bangkok’s Bang Na district, the Sook Station is just around 15 km from Suvarnabhumi Airport. Touted to be one of the unusual things to do in Bangkok, the Sook Station offers the prisoners aka tourists black and white pajamas, a mug shot and a serial number upon check-in. Wearing the black and white pajamas inside the hotel is fine, but make sure to not flaunt it outside. You do not want to be mistaken for an escapee and chased by a police vehicle or two and at the worst, maybe spend time inside a real prison.
The walls and surroundings of the Sook Station are painted in dreary colors of black, grey and white to evoke the bleak atmosphere of a real prison, making it one of the most offbeat places in Thailand. Moreover, the open area has grey brick walls with concrete benches to lean against. Instead of a room key, you’ll be provided with an inmate number which can be used to lock and unlock your jail cell. The rooms are narrow and are furnished with bunk beds to give you the feel of a convicted criminal.
The hotel’s furnishings definitely bear similarities to prison but it holds none of the gritty and dank conditions here. You will have to spend as much as $75 to $91 per night in order to experience one of the best offbeat places in Bangkok. The inmates are also provided with the option to choose between a two-person room and a four-person family room. Imagine spending a night in a jail cell along with your family!
Apart from exhibiting the features of a prison, Sook Station also houses an outdoor Jacuzzi, office space, restaurant, a coffee shop and a lounge for relaxation. The hotel also functions as a regular cafe and co-working space for non-guests, so it is perfectly normal for the ‘inmates’ to co-exist along with the ‘law-abiding’ citizens. There is also ample car parking space for visitors, plus they offer lip-smacking food. Considered to be one of the best offbeat places in Bangkok, Sook Station also offers free Wi-Fi to its customers.
Prisons are known to have ‘lights-out’ time and Sook Station, one of the unusual places in Thailand, is no different. Sharp at 8 pm, the lights are switched off and doors to the hotel are locked. You’ll be witnessing a pin-drop silence, which is broken by occasional whispers and coughs from your fellow inmates locked up along the corridor.
Sook Station is the brainchild of the 55-year-old Sittichai Chaivoraprug, and his wife Piyanat Teekavanich, 49. Surprisingly, the couple left their technical careers to pursue their dreams of etching their names in the hotel industry. Even today, Sittichai proudly says that the movie ‘Shawshank Redemption’ is the inspiration behind building Sook Station, which gives a heavy competition to offbeat places in Thailand.
If you plan on spending quality ‘jail time’ at this prison-themed hostel in Thailand, worry not! We’ve got you covered with cheap flight tickets to Bangkok.
