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Life.Culture.Discovery.

Inside Bangkok’s prison-themed hotel: get a taste of ‘life behind bars’

The Shawshank Redemption-inspired Sook Station offers spartan ‘cells’ as rooms and guests get a mug shot at check-in in all their striped pyjama glory

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Sook Station, in Bangkok, is a prison-themed hotel opened by two fans of The Shawshank Redemption. Picture: Courtesy of Sook Station

What is it? You’ll have heard of the Bangkok Hilton, which is not a chain hotel, of course, but pop-culture slang for the Thai capital’s Bang Kwang Central Prison. That notorious, high-security facility accommo­dates murderers, drug smugglers and long-serving prisoners, including foreigners.

Shorter-stay visitors to Bangkok (those, at least, with a quirky taste for the nefarious) are increasingly escaping to Sook Station. The jail-themed budget property sprang from husband-and-wife owners Sittichai Chaivoraprug and Piyanat Teekavanich’s love of affecting Hollywood prison drama The Shawshank Redemption (1994). Their surprisingly popular four-floor hotel, which opened this summer, is enclosed in a perimeter fence topped with razor wire. “People love it or hate it,” Sittichai has said.

How do you check-in? Each new “inmate” is processed on arrival. The procedure involves the taking of a photographic mugshot against a height chart, assignment of a prisoner number (used instead of a key to access a guest’s “cell”; top), allocation of black-and-white striped prison pyjamas and a lighthearted but environmentally friendly instruction to meet a lights-out curfew (guests have access to the hotel around the clock, of course).

How bleak are the cells? Spartan and poky, covering only about eight square metres. No-nonsense decor features clanging metal doors, barred windows, unfinished concrete floors and walls, and fuss-free lighting, often with bare hanging bulbs. Bunk beds grace cheaper rooms, and some guests must share a dimly lit communal bathroom (above). More privileged prisoners hunker down in double or family rooms with private bath­rooms. There are no televisions and no wardrobes; clothes can be hung on wall hooks fashioned from rock hammers (if you don’t know what a rock hammer is, take a look at what Tim Robbins’ character hides in his Bible in Shawshank).

Gary Jones is a freelance writer and editor. Based in Asia since 1991, his work has appeared in publications worldwide, including Time magazine, The Times and The Sunday Times, the Observer, USA Today, Wallpaper, British GQ, Sydney Morning Herald, Globe & Mail and LA Weekly, among others.
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