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The Jolly Frog, Kanchanaburi, Thailand
Sometimes when travelling a place is made better or worse by the random decision on where to spend the night. For us, Kanchanaburi became our destination of choice when we wanted somewhere to relax away from Bangkok’s buzz and bustle. Most people would probably head to the islands but we chose to hang out by the river almost solely because of our fondness for the Jolly Frog.
On Travelfish, the Frog is described as an old-school backpacker institution. It’s closed now and will be sadly missed, perhaps even influencing our decision on whether to head west to Kanchanaburi next time we are in the region. Though we loved the Frog, we were not blind to its faults. Other critters tested our fondness for the place. Having stayed here three times in 14 years we knew what we liked and what we hated about this place. And I mean hate.
I hated its main problem with a visceral loathing but still came down in favour of staying here whenever we were in Kanchanaburi. Having said that, last time here, we did cast a glad eye at other potentials to see what else we could have won.
The good stuff
First off though the good stuff. At 230thb the Jolly Frog may well have been the cheapest place we stayed in Thailand, though a couple of the other options we investigated nearby were priced similarly.
Located down a small road, guests entered the Jolly Frog via a shadowed opening to the restaurant, but after walking through the gloom, made so as eyes adjusted from the outside sun, we heard more than one new guest express a wow on first surveying the serene scene that would front their room in the following days.
Because of The Frog, for us, Kanchanaburi had the feel of one of the islands to the south. I’ve always thought of the Jolly Frog as a backpacker resort – though older travellers and budget minded families also got their jollies there too – and it is outside of the rooms where the place really excelled.
While it would be too much to have expected a pool, a patch of green shaded by trees served the same function. Instead of the sea, there is the river, right beside which sat the Frog. Scatterings of deckchairs and hammocks lended to the chilled vibe and we spent a happy one or two weeks at a time mostly just loafing about on our veranda, working sporadically and eating in the restaurant.
This is another plus. When we first stayed here in 2003 I loved the German steak and wasn’t disappointed when we next ate here in 2013. Last time around it wasn’t as good but the Thai dishes were numerous and great value. I can’t recall another guesthouse restaurant where we have eaten so often and the place seemed to attract plenty of local Thais and expats too.
The bad stuff
It was inside the rooms however where things started to fall down. The Jolly Frog had been around a while and it showed. Though our room the last time was bigger than some of the others we have stayed in here, with a comfortable bed, it was still on the dark and poky side.
In the bathrooms, toilets were self flushing and the showers cold but you had to get lucky to be alone in one.
I’ve lost count of the cockroaches I stomped on here. I literally interrupted the first draft of this post to answer a call from Deirdre to kill yet another. Little ants were a minor issue while the bigger ones largely kept to themselves about the sink. Our room on this occasion was nearest the restaurant so this might account for higher numbers of bugs, and for the cats that liked to wail outside. The birds and butterflies that flew and fluttered past our veranda were far more pleasant visitors, adding rather than detracting from the overall scene.
We could also hear music from the restaurant from 7am and general chatter – though it rarely went on too late. Rooms further away were not so affected, though wifi addicts needed to drag their deckchairs closer to reception and the restaurant to reach the signal and tolerate the patchy service.
Despite these considerable drawbacks, the Jolly Frog remained one of our favourite places to stay in Thailand and we still think of it with great fondness. Providing it is remembered you get what you pay for, somewhere like this may become one of your favourites too.
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