Lipstic Guesthouse in Krabi, Thailand

Lipstic Guesthouse in Krabi, Thailand

I like Lipstic Guesthouse. I like the family that runs it. I see them every day.

Nok just converted the ground floor to a restaurant this year. It has a nice appearance and they have come up with a mix of Western and Thai food oriented toward farang travelers.

Although the guesthouse has been in the family for a long time, they have the anxieties of a new business. The ground floor and uppermost floor used to be a karaoke bar and VIP rooms; hence the unusual name. Karaoke works like this: Customers, mostly Thais, come in groups to the bar. Everyone participates in singing. The establishment makes its money from the large amount of food and drink served. Thais would rather finish off a night at the pubs at a karaoke bar than anywhere else.

Karaoke brought in a lot of money but also had a lot of costs, including paying all of the various music companies. In the first foreigner-oriented season, business is okay but not great. With luck it will pick up the next season. There is a six month low season of rain and heat. A couple of places closer to the pier offer similar prices, although this is about the best value you'll get for your money. (150 Baht small room, shared bath.) The rooms are simple but very clean. Other travellers I've talked to here like the place. It is on one of the side streets and you would have to have some luck to chance across it.

During the day the family runs the restaurant. When the small children are not in school they play on the sidewalk. Nok is playing movies on some nights and occasionally English Premiere matches.

You would think anything tourist-related would be a shoe-in for sure money in Thailand. But there always is those factors in the service industry: too many sellers, not quite the right location. And if the revenue is not high then the family works all day, seven days a week.

I like this place.

Lipstic Guesthouse in Krabi, Thailand