Since Bangkok is central to SE Asia, visas are easy for all nationalities to get and the airfares are REALLY CHEAP now, we would like to make Barcamp Bangkok 3 a regional Barcamp event--so we are doing everything we can to encourage our brothers and sisters from neighboring countries to attend Barcamp Bangkok 3 on May 23rd and 24, 2009.

These airfares are crazy low. There is no reason not to come join us in Bangkok and help take Barcamp the the next level by building community all across SE Asia!

If you come from a outside Thailand to join us for Barcamp Bangkok 3, we’ll either find you a cheap (but nice!) hotel or a fellow barcamper who has a spare bed / couch you can sleep on, and we’ll be happy to show you around Friday / Sunday night!

You can post to the Barcamp Thailand group thread for people who want to share their homes here if you want to stay (for free) with a Barcamper before, during or after Barcamp for a few days. We also have a page with a map of accommodations and homes of Bangkok Barcampers that are willing to share a bed / sofa / floor space.

For all cities but Manila, the best fares are from Air Asia. All prices are for flights departing Friday afternoon the 22nd and returning Monday morning the 25th and must be booked by SUNDAY April 26th to get the special Air Asia promo rates.

Hong Kong / Bangkok, round trip: HK$1,265
Phnom Penh / Bangkok, round trip: US$78
Hanoi / Bangkok, round trip:US$103
Saigon / Bangkok, round trip: US$103
Singapore / Bangkok, round trip: S$224 ** See new special fare from Tiger Air
Kuala Lumpur / Bangkok, round trip: R263
Jakarta / Bangkok, round trip: 1,123,000 IDR

http://www.airasia.com/

From Manila, you can fly Cebu Pacific direct to Bangkok, leaving Thursday the 21st evening and return Monday night (well, 10 minutes after midnight, so it’s really Tuesday morning), slightly more if you leave Sunday night / Monday morning.

Manila / Bangkok, round trip: PHP 9,020.00

http://book.cebupacificair.com/

UPDATE ON SINGAPORE FARES: Tiger Airways Special, Book Before April 29

Tiger airways just launched a new promotion for R/T fares to Bangkok; if you book before April 29th:

Singapore / Bangkok, Round trip, (Depart Thurs. evening, Return Mon. Morning) SG$ 135
Singapore / Bangkok, Round trip, (Depart Fri. evening, Return Mon. Morning) SG$ 165

See: http://www.tigerairways.com/sg/en/real_deals.php for details.

If you come we’ll either find you a cheap (but nice!) hotel or a fellow barcamper who has a spare bed / couch you can sleep on, and we’ll be happy to show you around Friday / Sunday night!

For all cities but Manila, the best fares are from Air Asia; All prices are for flights departing Friday afternoon the 22nd and returning Monday morning the 25th and must be booked by Friday April 26th to get the special Air Asia promo rates.

Hong Kong / Bangkok, round trip: HK$1,265
Phnom Penh / Bangkok, round trip: US$78
Hanoi / Bangkok, round trip:US$103
Saigon / Bangkok, round trip: US$103
Singapore / Bangkok, round trip: S$224
Kuala Lumpur / Bangkok, round trip: R263
Jakarta / Bangkok, round trip: 1,123,000 IDR

http://www.airasia.com/

From Manila, you can fly Cebu Pacific direct to Bangkok, leaving Thursday the 21st evening and return Monday night (well, 10 minutes after midnight, so it’s really Tuesday morning), slightly more if you leave Sunday night / Monday morning.

Manila / Bangkok, round trip: PHP 9,020.00

http://book.cebupacificair.com/

We will come up with a more comprehensive list of hotels near the Barcamp venue, but to give you an idea of the low prices that the hotels are offering, here are some deals that are nearby:

These look good and you can book online:

$26 - http://www.agoda.com/asia/thailand/bangkok/xen_suites_bangkok_hotel.html
$31 - http://www.agoda.com/asia/thailand/bangkok/louis_tavern_hotel.html
$41 - http://www.agoda.com/asia/thailand/bangkok/maruay_garden_hotel.html

Mike Amy suggests Erawan Place at US$ 26 a night:

There are some good, big, cheap hotel-style rooms at Don Muang where I am staying, which is about 10-15 mins and around 70-80 baht by taxi from the venue.

Map: http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&t=h&msid=114929035831...

(Sripatum is where we are having Barcamp--and Don Muang is NOT the airport you will probably land at.)

A sample room was 65 sq m and has 2 or 3 comfortable, hotel style beds, hot bath/shower, fridge, balcony etc. for 900 baht a night (about US$ 26). There are 10 rooms available.

I am pretty sure they have a lot of other rooms available since the airport at Don Muang closed. The restaurant has some excellent food and a nice atmosphere, otherwise there quite a few good options nearby, also a 7-11 (of course), there is room service, and the area is fairly quiet.

Maybe not the best if someone wants to go all the way into town partying, but taxis back from downtown cost about 200 baht, and the location at Don Muang is easier for getting to and from the venue. I'm not sure about how it might compare to places around Sripatum Uni.

Also there is free WIFI (which works well in the restaurant too) and an internet point.

Contact Erawan Place: +66-2-981-1333 or email Mike Amy (who lives there and will pass on your request) at cocoade *at* googlemail *dot* com.

Luke Hubbard suggests Sena House @ US$ 20 a night:

At the start of my Soi, Phaholyothin 30 there is a recently built condo/hotel place which has nice clean AC rooms for about 700 baht a night. We use it when people visit us and need a place to stay and have never had any complaints from people. It's 2 mins from major avenue which has cinema, lots of restaurants, and villa supermarket. It's 2 miles and 5 minutes to the Barcamp venue. Happy to show people around, give directions etc.

Phone: +66-2-512-4939
Website: http://tinyurl.com/sena-house (Filtered through Google Translator, Click the house icon for some pictures.)
Map: http://bit.ly/sena_house