Back to Bangkok!!

Welcome home Carol! I'll be around but after the 27th, next week, I'll have a lot of time free until the 1st November(going to Hong Kong).

I'm envious, Carol. We're three weeks away from flying to Bangkok. I can't wait to get back there!

I'm popping over to SR for the long weekend next week, but otherwise I should be around until the end of the month. Might go to KL early in November, but that will just be a for a few days.

Dag-gone, Carol. Must be nice!! Do you ever try different things on each new trip?

Btw, we almost booked at the Adelphi.. It looks very nice and spacious. We're going to stay at the Sofitel Silom this time...wife likes it there and its pretty close to everything.

Both legs of UA 881 are C9,D9,Z9, so I would wager that your upgrade will clear.

Your window opens at 12:05 on Sunday, but you might not know until 11:35 on Wednesday. I hope it clears sooner rather than later so that you have more time to look forward to it.

Do you have your preferences set to have a call made to your cell phone for upgrade notifications?

This time I would really love getting that call on my cell, mrwunrfl. Maybe I'll go in and reset my profile, as I am not set to get that phone call right now.

Mango.. "Do you ever try different things on each new trip?" Are you refering to hotels/apartments? Just wondering. I've made the rounds on many other trips to BKK before discovering the Adelphi. I'm not going to try something different as long as I'm satisfied with it. It is just sooo convenient to the skytrain and my friends in the Sukhumvit area. Plus, I don't want to return to a hotel room after having my executive apartment for about the last two years.

Michael, Hanuman, hope we can connect. I think my only out of town travel will be a day trip to CM, probably on the 27th. The rest of the time I'll be wandering the markets in BKK!!

Kathie, I know you will enjoy your return trip to BKK. I will look forward to your trip report. Make sure someone gets photos of the BKK GTG at Kinnaree. I'll be there in spirit!

Carol

Good luck on your upgrade, Carol.

Find us a good new Bangkok restaurant to try in February...

Craig,
I'm sure Brad will drag me off to his latest find, Indigo. I'll report on it after having a meal there.
Carol

Carol, you've lapped us, what?...3 times now? Needless to say, I'm supremely jealous that you're back again.

Have fun with Maeng...and always, SHOP LIKE MAD!

Maybe you and Brad will be able to try Bo Lan while you're there...would be interesting to get a first-hand report.

Chok dee!

Hi Carol- I meant in terms of new restaurants/eateries, sights, malls, daytrips, etc. I know how you feel about the Adelphi. I'm sure you'd like to purchase a unit! Maybe you could put it in Hanuman's name, lol.

Mango, I'm not a big foodie. That's why I said Brad would probably "drag me off" to his new fave. Bill, Bo Lan also sounds like a place to try. We'll see. I have my food allergies so I've found a "comfort level" with revisiting certain places. I am not very adventurous, although eating at the Happy Pig noodle place ("street food") with Maeng is FUN and DELICIOUS. I just stay away from some of the things floating in my bowl... haha

As far as markets go, I'm open to any and all new options. Markets are everywhere in Bangkok. We'll see if Maeng has any new suggestions for me. Really, if you ride the BTS, you can just about hop off at any stop and find a market of some sort within easy walking distance.

I am not much of a sight-see-er, mango... I don't think you were with fodors when I made my true confession that it was on my 11th trip to BKK that I finally went to the Grand Palace!! I think a few good folks choked on that one... one assumes that the GP, Watt Pho, Emerald Buddha, etc. would be seen on a FIRST trip!! haha (not THIS traveller)

C

Its good you have a friend like Maeng. You get to experience what many others miss. The touristy stuff is ok to do at least once, although I've never been to Jim Thompson's and several others (and probably won't!).

I may give Bo Lan a try..

Check out this BKK guide if you haven't. Some good things there:
http://www.cnngo.com/bangkok

Hey, thanks for that link, mango. I see there will be a market at Central World, with goods made (?) by college students, to help them w/college expenses. Sounds like a good cause. I'll have to have a look!

Well, mrwunrfl, the magic hour came and went (12:05) and I don't have my upgrade for Wednesday yet. I had to call UA on something else, but I asked about my upgrade chances and was told they were very good. So I'm more hopeful now!!

C

Carol, have you tried Nest yet? It's on Suk 11 so it's close to where you're staying.

BTW, the veg. festival just started. Yellow flags everywhere. It continues for the next two weeks, so you may find some of your places have changed focus temporarily.

It is still C9,D9,Z9, so still as good as it gets. Might have been a couple of GSs and 1Ks who have cleared by now and are out of your way, or not.

bon voyage... pave the road for us just one month hence...

Oh yes try Bo Lan, its on my list for when we are there early Dec.
Have a great trip.

Hi

I spoke with you few times over the past couple of years and in particular regarding my daughter's stay in BKK on her way back to Sydney.

This time my question related purely to ME!!!

I am looking for a month or so "away from home" - ONLY MOI! Health renewal, pampering ( massages, weight loss and all else),shopping ( clothes, textiles), experiences .....

Open to anything at this stage.... so would welcome any suggestions -middle of the road to totally left field ..

Michael, I've seen Nest advertised somewhere... I will maybe find it this time since it is close by. Bo Lan is on the list of "if I can get there, I will check it out" in my short 12 days on the ground. Time flies when you are in BKK, you know. When I was there in August, it was just moi. No foodie adventures. But this time Brad is also there. He will want to try new places!

No upgrade as of this morning, but I'm still hopeful. Sounds like good news for me, mrwunrfl, if those 1K-ers are out of the way. I'll be joinin' them as of my arrival in NRT!! 1K here I am!!!

Bob, will pave the way with gold (foil) and Karen's yummy dip... is that OK?

Smeagol, when will we be in the city at the same time sometime? Would love to meet another fodorite. Enjoy your December trip. I'm arriving in the city on Dec 17th, late night. You are no doubt gone by then.

Angel, you don't say just when you are travelling. Do you want to stick to one spot or move around? I could stay in just Bangkok for a month and never be bored! My apartment rents for 67,000 baht for a month... that does NOT include b'fast everyday, but it DOES include maid service. And I love having the kitchen complete with washing machine. I have no problem with no brekky included, as we stock the fridge w/yogurt, milk for cereal, fresh fruit, etc and eat in the apartment at our leisure anyway!!

I am soooo lucky (and I know that) to have my dear dear friend Maeng to show me around and help with the shopping. I know she would also treat you well, should you meet her. Having a good friend in the city makes all the difference. It means adventures, laughter, shopping, caring, listening, sharing, and all of that... and not just seeing sights and markets and malls!!!

I love the idea of a "just moi" escape. I did that, back in 1988, when I left hubby and DS and headed to Australia/Fiji by myself for five weeks. It was GREAT!!! Gave me a real sense of "I can do this" and I met so many lovely people on that adventure. I didn't go for the massages/weight loss, pampering sort of thing. I went for the adventure!! And it was just that!

Carol

Carol - Sadly we will be leaving on Dec 5th. It would be so great to meet up with you. One of these days i am going to have to make it to the BOS GTG. October is such a bad month for me though work wise....

Angel-with a month, I would pick four different locations. Bangkok, beach, Northern Thailand and Luang Prabang, laos. All can provide whatever pampering you desire.

Angel, please start a new thread with your question - I have lots of good ideas for you and I know others will too!

Carol: I would say "I am so jealous," but I have been on my feet too long today, and HURT! My knee replacement went well last Tuesday, and the Dr. assures me I will be up and going in about 3 weeks. Now, keep in mind, that I would prefer a 3 days instead of 3 weeks prognosis!

My surgeon called Saturday from Cabo San Lucas -- what a trip! -- but I was too dopey to remember exactly what he had to say. This this morning I was a little confused about some meds o I called his office and talked with the PhysAsst. Now this conversation probably requires a new thread ~ and even then, might be delected. Somehow I don't think this PA has been with him long and he told me I would need to keep my knee above my heart for 2.5 months to slow the swelling. This was a relatively new surgery ~ computerized (I even have the disk. YEAW!!!!!!) and my surgeon is a reseacher on the cutting edge of technology. HELLO ~ this is the 21st century.

Wow have I digressed! I will miss our planned breakfast this week, but hope you can arrange a meeting time in BKK in the spring. We have tried to stay at the Adelphi three times and have had to cancel all 3 times. THE NEXT TIME I WILL MAKE IT!!!!!!

It's time to quit, as I have just re-read this ramblin' about, and realize that this is't very interesting to those reading it.

Take care, and let's plan another brakfast, lunch, or dinner down the line. Tell Maeng and Dr. J that we still look forward to meeting them.

Sandra(McBeanie)

Sandra!!! How good to see your post here. I was thinking this morning that I should email you to see how you are doing. I'm so glad your replacement surgery went well. I hope your recovery is, indeed, weeks, and not months.

I will be back in Bangkok in Dec/Jan, of course, but for the spring it will be somewhere in the last two weeks of April, and/or first few days of May. DSs big birthday bash will be on Apr 23, and I don't want to miss all that fun at Tawandang. You're invited if you are in BKK at that time. I can't wait to have b'fast, lunch, dinner, whatever, when we are in the city at the same time. Looking forward to it!

I'll say hello to Maeng and Dr J for you.

Smeagol, I look forward to meeting up in BOS sometime! That would be great. I think you would enjoy meeting our friendly group of fodorites.

Carol

Carol,

Bangkok again? Haven't you found the real Thailand yet? lol

I know you will have a great time and here is another person pulling for you on your upgrade situation. Tell Brad we say Aloha and stop by SJ this time around.

Linda and I are in Hakone right now and it is knock down gorgeous this time of year. You should really plan a stop over on your way home from your home in BKK one of these trips. Hope to see you soon!

Aloha!

Oh, yeah, all of us United frequent fliers are pulling for your upgrade!

C9, D9, Z9 and economy is sold out.

I don't think I'm gonna be riding in business on the way over... drat!! The request for upgrade has disappeared from my itinerary. Well, at least I have leg room at my exit row seat. WHY is everyone going to BKK tomorrow!!!??? AAAARGH

Tonight, I'll drive up to the Hyatt at Ohare. I'm anxious to try out this place. If it is a pleasant experience, I'll book two more park/sleep/fly stays while the rate remains at $99!

DS called yesterday, from his balcony apartment at Omni Tower. He had an interesting tale about the rate he is paying. His apartment is quite lux, I guess, even tho it has not been remodeled. He was afraid he could not afford this one, so asked at the desk about the rate. Their reply was... "What do you want to pay?" and he told them. They agreed! I won't say the rate here, but let's just say, it was a steal!!! Too bad Omni isn't in a better location. For the price, I'd go back there and stay once again (although there is usually no washing machine, which I would miss).

C

Bill, I'm seeing C6, D6, Z5 now. Also, Y9, B9, M9, H6 (I paid MH fare) But my main concern is the message that upgrades are "not available" when I look at my itinerary and try to put in "upgrade" on 881. Should I still be hopeful...? You seem to know a whole more about how the system works.
C

Carol, don't give up hope. On our most recent flight to/from Hawaii, we were told no upgrades were available right up until the last day, then suddenly we had upgrades. This was in spite of not a single biz class seat being full (on the seating chart) a week before the trip. I think that United is holding on to seats as long as possible in the hope of selling them!

PS Call them. Tell them that your request for an upgrade has disappeared from your itinerary and you want to make sure you are still wait-listed for an upgrade. It never hurts, and often they can tell you where you stand.

Good idea, Kathie. I'll do that! Thanks.

My upgrade CLEARED.... yippeeeeeee!!!! Now I can rest easy that it'll be a comfortable flight to BKK. Thanks for that suggestion to give them a call, Kathie!
C

Congrats!

HOOOORAAAAAY!

That's great Carol, Enjoy!

Aloha!

Great. While you're relaxing in your upgrade, think of poor Beth and me, stuck in economy with Bob flying to BKK in November. I'm really happy. Really. Plus, Einstein has us driving from Needham to JFK, an extra four hours. I'm really happy.

Keep smilin' panda... Life is good! Lots of folks can't go to Bangkok at all, so that makes you one of the fortunate ones. Be positive... it's ONLY about 24 hours of flying time. Make sure Beth and Karen sit between you and Bob!
C

Fortunate? When is the last time you or anyone spent two weeks with Bob? Anyone? Anyone? I didn't think so. Exactly how many hotel managers and restaurant managers can one meet in two weeks? How many cab rides to the marriott? Yeah, real fortunate.

I'll bet I could find a handful of folks who would love to take your place... yes, with Bob... Shall we ask right here on fodors for a substitute gpanda? (although I doubt we'd find anyone willing to put on a speedo...)

We would love to go.......Linda would have to wear the speedo though.....

I think Jeane and I could handle Bob - we volunteer to go but only if we can sit in the front of the plane...

Nope. Speedo-clad and bust-out economy. Feel the pain. Plus, you always have to sit squished in the back of the Toyota taxis, three across. Not to mention, one must be able to perform the muscle trick on demand. Jeane has lots of tricks, but she may not have that one in her repertoire.

Nice! No, never give up hope. I don't know what you mean that it disappeared. But maybe it had already cleared: the Waitlisted line disappeared and the first line booking code was NC. Not that it matters. Am happy for you.

A couple of weeks ago I was looking for a domestic transcon upgrade and the flight was F0 six hours before the 6AM flight (with only 8 F seats). But there were 2 no shows and I was cleared when I got to the gate.

Anyway, have a great trip!

I will have to look into your choice of Bangkok lodging.

Carol,
Have a great trip. Don't worry about Bob and Andy. No doubt once they start in with their shtick on that very long flight to BKK the passengers nearby will petition the flight crew to move them up and out, to the biz class or first class cabins. Andy: I am told throwing food on board gets you special attention and an immediate upgrade.
Pls take photos at the GTG.

"passengers nearby will petition the flight crew to move them up and out" I understand that wing seating has good ventilation and lots of legroom.

Hello from the OHare Red Carpet Club, terminal one, B concourse. Time for coffee and muffin before taking my business class seat for the long haul. I'm soooo ready!!

Andy, I told you I could get volunteers to take your place. Did you see all those wonderful fodorites who would happily help you out... although maybe not Craig and Jeane since you say they have to suffer in economy.

tengo... maybe if I throw my business class food they will move me to first class???? haha Hey, I wonder if Andy's muscle trick would get one an upgrade??? (or perhaps booted completely off the plane)

Bill, I highly recommend the Adelphi Suites. I'm going to be sure to remind them, at check in tomorrow night, just how much business I personally have brought them. I'm the reason they are FULL... haha But, seriously, do give it a try sometime. It isn't lux. I've never said that. It is very clean, very comfy and spacious in a 1-bedroom apt, and very handy to the skytrain, and the staff are wonderful friendly people.

I'll post more along the way. Maybe I'll get to SJ this time. I'll have to look up the name of that other place that is really not that far from my apartment.... who knows, maybe I'll come home with some jewels this time!! It isn't something that is on my usual shopping list.

Enjoy your day... I plan to enjoy mine (by sleeping most of the way)....

Carol

Carol, have fun. Will be looking for your posts from BKK.

Carol- Yeah. No immediate check-in report = automatic 5 point deduction.

Pertinent Questions:

What food did they serve on your ANA flights? What was available in the galley to nibble on?

777 all the way or 777 and 767/747?

Do they still play that miserable ANA music after landing? Aaaarrghh!

mango, are those questions about ANA for me?? I'm on all United metal... 747s all the way. Never been on ANA.

Food and service were quite good this time. Cabin crew were going out of their way to welcome us aboard and ask if we were comfortable, needed anything... etc. I'm not used to that treatmant... haha I noted that we had a lot of 1K-ers in my business class cabin area.

I did sleep for about 7 hours. Pays to be able to lie flat. Munchies included noodle soup and some sort of cold sandwiches, but I did not have any of it. I did the standard meal after takeoff and the standard fruit plate just prior to arrival at NRT.

Time for a walk around NRT airport a bit to stretch my legs; then off to Red Carpet for some internet time.

Looking forward to being in BKK in about 9 hours from now! I'm already getting hungry for Maeng's garlic shrimp, even though I'm sure I'll eat something on the NRT to BKK flt.

NRT airport is really BUSY this time!!! Wow... who are all these people, and where is everybody going??

Carol

Carol-we can feel your excitement of your return to BKK. Narita is always a tease. The garlic is being picked as you write. The shrimp are taking their last few strokes of freedom.

I was driving by Soi 8 and I could swear that I saw Carol crossing the street. Must be my imagination since she's still flying!

Was the Red Carpet Lounge crowded? Last time we came through Narita we used the ANA Lounge (we were flying ANA) and it wasn't crowded at all.

Hanuman- She's there in spirit. You saw a farang P!!

Hi Carol- Not sure why I got the impression you take ANA regularly. If you haven't tried them you oughta just to break the monontony.

Btw, this garlic shrimp you speak of..where does one find?

Have great fun,Carol. Happy Travels!

Ah, those familiar flights, the time at Narita, all precursors to arrival in Bangkok!

Hello, or should I saw... Sawasdee kah from Bangkok!!! Just checking in to say I mnade it. I got a public taxi, which by the way is now relocated to the 1st Floor!!! You have to take the people mover (which accepts luggage carts) down one level. That was an unexpected surprise at the BKK airport. I wonder when they moved public taxis downstairs......???

I dropped bags at my apartment and went to Maeng's for garlic shrimp and conversation with a bunch of good friends were happened to be there.

Now it is time for sleep. Sounds like a thunder storm outside at just after 3am....

Carol

tomorrow for shopping

Welcome home

I completely missed breakfast this morning. I didn't wake up until about 10:30am! I guess I needed some sleep.

It isn't reining right now, but we had a storm during the night. I'm going to assume we will have our share of rain on this trip. Funny, the restaurant on the street level here at my apartment hotel has changed hands at least twice since I've been staying here. The name of the place is now MONSOON. How appropriate!

I'll report in later on, but the plan is MBK today, and then I'll be seeing DS Brad and Maeng and Dr Jack this evening at dinnertime. A stop at 7-11 (which I usually would have done last night) where I will stock up on yogurt and milk and cereal... I needed that this morning! I'll also get my laundry soap and fabric softener and paper towels, etc.

Can't believe I slept in this late! Gotta get busy. There is shopping to do! haha

Carol

Hi Carol!

sounds like you are off and running on adventure #___! I don't know the number, but it must be high!

Have fun, and happy shopping. I've been using my little bag and my bookmark all week. Thank you!

PS: what are all those C9 D9 Z9 codes? and where do you find them?

They just moved the taxis downstairs (again) this month. Their excuse is that it will make it 'safer' and easier to prevent touts! Have yet to see the logic in that.

Lucy, those codes are on the UA web site, if you register as an advanced user. When you look for flights, you are offered to see seat availability, flight details, and there is one more thing... having to do with details of the flight. If you put your mouse on that particular info icon, it will tell you how many C/W/M/H/etc. various fare code seats are left on the flight you select. But you have to be an advanced user in order to see that information. You can select "advanced" user under your UA profile. I'm still in the process of trying to see just how it works, as it takes some practice. I can at least tell which flight segment is costing me more, because the cheaper seats are all sold out.

So, Michael, they are moving taxi stands back and forth from floor to floor?? I agree, I don't see how that is going to help with safety issues of solve the problem of touts. I really don't like having to take the people mover with my baggage cart DOWN one floor...UGH. That is inconvenient, in my opinion. Wish they would switch it back to arrivals floor. Just my two cents...

I just had a really tasty salad lunch at a new place. I've seen construction of "On 8" Cafe/hotel the last few times I've been in the city. The place was open in August, but I didn't go inside. Today I decided to stop there for a quick lunch. Glad I did. It is located right at the intersection of Sukhumvit and Soi 8 (located ON Sukhumvit) and is right at the bottom of the escalator that I always take UP to the skytrain.

Anyway, my salad was very tasty, very fresh, and not too big. Some salads are huge and I end up eating about half. This one is called the "On 8 Salad" and had slices of pear, slices of avocado, cherry tomatos, parmasean cheese, on a bed of romaine, and a delicious vinaigrette dressing tossed in. Delicious!!! I decided to try a strawberry "shake" to go with my salad. The shake was not the thick type I'm used to at home, more like a smoothie, but it was also quite good. The salad was 150 baht and 85 baht for the shake. I would definitely go back to this place for lunch, or maybe for breakfast. I should take the time to look at their hotel room options, if I have time sometime.

MBK had a few bargains for me today. There were a few things, though, that I could not bargain the vendor out of! Even when I walked away, and he followed me, he would NOT take my offered price. Maybe tomorrow??? We'll see....

Meeting up with DS, Maeng, and Dr Jack tonight at the Pickled Liver. I will go with bags of gifts in tow. I brought a number of things with me... that'll take a big load out of my suitcases!!! (more room for buying new stuff)

Lucy, glad you are still liking your "girl bag" from the GTG.

I can't believe that the temperature (I don't know exactly how hot it is) does NOT feel as hot as usual. It isn't the stifling heat I had at least one or two of the days I was here in August. Lucy, I think this is trip #18 btw....

When I checked in last night, I told the staff at the desk that I brought them a lot of business. They wanted to know if I post on Trip Advisor. This place is in the top 10 or something like that, on TA. I told them I did not post on TA, that I posted instead on fodors. I will have to write it down for them, so they can check it out.

We'll chat again later....

Carol

MBK has really changed since I first went there in '03. Just 6 years ago Thailand had a much different feel and look to it, like it was still in the mid 70's to 80's.

Carol- You'll have to get Maeng to go shopping with you to MBK. Make sure you hide so the vendor doesn't see you and let her buy the item you're interested in. Works every time for me and the wife(although she looks pretty westernized now).

Carol,

You guys going to be here for Loy Kratong(Nov. 2nd)?

Hanuman, I thought Loy Kratong was later than Nov 2. Yes, we will be here. I go home on the 3rd.... hate to make it tooooo late of a night on the 2nd. What will be happening that day/evening?

mango, I do let Maeng do some of the talking, but I'm not hiding in the wings. I do note that sellers at MBK are not quite so "hungry" to make a sale as they were in August. The city seems to be pretty busy IMO. I could pretty much name my price when I shopped in August. We'll see what I end up with on this trip. Hoping for a few bargains!

We (DS) ended up at Maeng's again this evening. It was the easiest place to meet up, and Dr Jack joined us. I had gifts from home to hand out, so that was as good a place as any to do it.

Simple dinner, early evening. Even DS headed back to his apt to get some sleep before 10pm!

I am going to knock on wood that my jetlag won't be quite so bad this trip, since I was able to sleep on the flights over here; and I've been in pretty good shape today, going strong from 10am until now (it's nearly 10:30pm). Not bad! I'm usually asleep on the couch by 7 my first night in the city. But I'm not going to be awake much longer than this tonight.

Tomorrow, Chatuchak/JJ Mall with Maeng!!

Carol

Carol Loy Kratong this year falls on November 2nd so you're lucky! We, my family, normally do something on that evening so once we have a firm plan we will invite you guys along too. Don't worry we are flying to Hong Kong on the 3rd as well so not too late, late enough to watch the fireworks on the river - around 10ish.

I only "hide" because we learned that when we're both present at the vendor (when buying artistic things), prices are significantly higher that when she buys alone. Significantly! Some of the prices we were quoted in the past were ridiculous. So I learned to disappear and let her do the picking/negotiating.

Its funny how some get hammered with jetlag when in Thailand and then are OK when arriving home. During my first trip to the "Far East" (lol) I was a zombie for the first week of the trip. At 8 pm I'd be totally glazed over. Now I'm fine, but when I arrive home I feel like I'm chronically depressed!

pook, why not invite mango too for some bkk chinese food

I'd like to join Pook, but not over Chinese food. That would cancel out the whole experience.

Pook, your invitation to join you and your family for Loy Kratong sounds lovely!! We'd love to join you. Thank you so very much for the kind invitation. Let us know the plan when you can.

Mango.. trust me, the jetlag is much worse going back HOME. And this time, when I hit Chicago, I have to drive 3 hours home. No one is picking me up. I did my park/sleep/fly so I would have a car to get home in. But I should get plenty of sleep in business class on the flts home so it will be OK.

This morning I'm up at 6am. Here we go... the body has no idea what time it is! But I'll deal with it... after all, I'm back in Bangkok!

Carol

Carol- That's a good drive!

I don't know if you've ever experienced the smell of the jasmine flowers that are usually sold at various street intersections, but if you buy a small bunch on a string and put in your hotel room it makes the room smell heavenly. This is one of the great smells of Thailand! Try it if you haven't..

look at this: 2,050 baht a night + 300 tax.

http://furamaxclusive.com/sathorn/rooms.php

Dog's been sniffing around hotels in Bkk. Now, thanks to Hanuman, I know why the prices have gone up come Nov. 1, why the hotels are full [well, the ones I want] and why there's scarcely a deal to be had. It's worse in India. Those dang full moons keep attacking me.

Dog...
Come on over! We'll eat ice cream at Haagen Dazs(sp)!

Just back to my apartment from the grand opening tonight of the new street level restaurant in the Adelphi building. Quite a crowd! But then, they were offering free food (I had already eaten Via Vai pizza) and drink "as long as it lasts." The food was a selection of finger foods... looked to me like a mix of cultures was represented. I was pretty impressed that soi 8 could draw such a large crowd of people. They were not all staying here at the Adelhi. That was obvious.

DS played in a tournament today and lasted most of the day until getting beat out. I went to see how things were going, once I got back from the weekend market. Maybe I brought bad luck...?

Bargains on scarves today at the weekend market. I stocked up on several different kinds. Not silk. Not expensive!

I'm hoping to get a good nights sleep as I have two dental appts tomorrow at Bumrungrad. I arranged them ahead of time, as when I was here back in August I found out that I could not just walk in the door and get what I wanted done! Hope all goes well.

Carol

loving the updates Carol, hope you make it to Bo Lan, if not we will go and report back.

yes there's always room for the dog! C'mon over for the Loy Kratong GTG. I promise no photo taking and your secret identity will only be know to a few drunken Fodorites.

Hanuman = Pook? The Pook in Chiang Mai?

"The Pook in Chiang Mai?'... no, this will be in BKK.

Up early this morning to throw in a load of washing and get ready for two dental appts at the noon hour. I'm not sure how long it will all take. One more appt Wednesday as well.

Maeng was complaining about the heat at the weekend market yesterday. She doesn't usually say anything about weather. I have not noticed any stifling heat or humidity... am I missing something? lol

Exchange rates are running right at about 33 baht per US$. I have not needed to exchange currency yet, but hopefully Vasu gives me a good deal when I go in there. I went home with quite a bit of extra baht from August, which I got at a more favorable rate of about 34. I note that the US$ and the Swiss Franc are just about equal.. UGH.. DH and I will be going back there on T'giving Day. Switzerland is already expensive, and when the dollar and franc are equal, it is even costlier! I note the euro is also stronger against the dollar. Glad I came home with extra euros and SFs when the rate was a bit friendlier.

Enjoy your evening. My day is just getting started. Looks sunny this morning at 7am. We will probably have a shower sometime during the day though. I hope to get in a bit of shopping, maybe at Pratunam today. We shall see.

Carol

Sawasdee kah. It's Monday morning here in BKK. Yesterday was a lazy day, after my two dental appts that kept me at Bumrungrad from 11:30 to nearly 4:00. I'm glad it's done!!

Interesting... my 11:30 appt was running late (by 5 whole minutes) and the lady at the reception desk came over to me to apologize for the delay. Seems the appt before mine was running a little bit longer than planned. Wow... no way would my dentist at home have someone apologize for a delay of 5 minutes. An hour, maybe.. but five minutes.. no way.

So cleaning was slightly delayed. When that was done, I was asked to wait in the waiting area for my next appt, which should be about 45 minutes later. After I sat down, the lady at reception came over to me, yet again, and this time she apologized for a 15 minute delay for my next appt. I'm not sure why Dr Pacharee was running late, as she is a dental specialist and knows to schedule plenty of time with her patients. Anyway, the receptionist gave me a coupon for a free coffee at Starbucks since I was having to wait an extra 15 minutes!! Unbelieveable... The delay ended up being more like 30 minutes, and they also came and got me for a quick x-ray during that delay.

So, a little before 4:00 I left Bumrungrad and walked down to see DS at his favorite pool hall (where else would he be??), and then just went back to my apartment. I ate my left over pizza from Via Vai dinner the night before, watched a bit of TV, did some reading on line, and then went to bed fairly early again. I was rather tired after spending the afternoon with my mouth gaping open. One thing I note, at home, my dentist gives me plenty of "breaks" to rinse and relax my jaw. They don't really do this at Bumrungrad... I could have used some relaxing now and then... my jaw felt like it was going to be in a locked position after 2 hours! Anyway, my appts are done. Wednesday is just a follow-up, with no new work to be done. My bill for services, just under 29k baht. At home... I have no idea what the cost would be now. Last time I had this same thing done was about $800, and that was a good 12-13 years ago.

Today, Pratunam, I hope. Looks like we could get some rain during the day today. It's rather grey outside. The "belly" of Pratunam Market is pretty much covered (part of it by metal roofing) so I won't get wet if it pours down outside!

Tomorrow, Chiang Mai (yes, just for the day) and Maeng is joining DS and me. Should be fun!

Carol

~$1,000 US? Sounds like you got shafted, Carol. What did the doctor do exactly?

Mango

It was more like $850. I had the cheap alternative to "porceline fronts" (which are about 12,000 bt ++ per tooth) but it was still a lot better than the price I would have to pay back home. The 29k baht also included the cleaning and the x-ray. I'd guess the "fronts" for 6 teeth ran about 4000 baht each. They are a "painted on" amalgum (or something similar) and they really do last a long time. The last time I had it done was in the mid-90s maybe? But I bit into something too hard and chipped/cracked one of my two front teeth a few years ago. It just took me this long to get the job redone!!

I'm happy with the results. The color is a great match to my own teeth, which are not naturally white white. DS said it looked great as well. But I have a "high" spot which will need to be sanded down on Wednesday afternoon. Should only take a couple of minutes to do. Not a big problem, but something I want to get taken care of before leaving BKK. I can chew, but I keep "bumping" the high spot, so it needs to be removed.

There are other dental procedures that I could get done in the future. Nothing more right now. I'll give these new facings some time to prove they are worth the baht I paid!

Carol

Yes, dental work is so much less in Bangkok than in the US. Just a routine cleaning at Bumrungrad is between one fourth and one-fifth the price in Seattle. So we have one cleaning each year done at Bumrungrad.

Mango, you obviously haven't priced dental work in the US for a while...

Carol- You paid much more than a Thai would have been charged(Farang fee schedule..FFS). Comparing at-home prices to the quoted farang fee in BKK can easily distort your commonsense logic. Call around next time..

But Mango, she is a farang! No doubt she could find a dental clinic in Bangkok that charges less than Bumrungrad. But I'd rather go with the best - at a place where I am an established patient. Price isn't everything - especially when talking about medical/dental care.

So, Carol, are we going to get a chance to meet this week? There's a new Mexican place down by Emporium, run by a real Mexican and recommended to me by another real Mexican. I throw this out because my chances of enticing any of my Thai friends there are pretty slim.

I believe BH only has one price and make not distinction between a foreigner or Thai. Some people do get discount but nothing more than 10 - 20% or sometime 50% for a inpatient room if it is needed.

Michael, I wonder if that is the same restaurant Brad has tried (and liked) as he said it's real Mexicans that own it and do the cooking. Not sure what Brad's schedule is (he has pool league some nights) but I'll ask him. Friday may be a possibility??? Or Sunday???...

Thanks for backing me up, Kathie. I agree, I would rather pay the BH price and know that I'm getting quality dental care! There are many dental clinics, but how do you know what sort of care they give... with BH I'm sure. I've been going there for cleanings for the last 4 years or so.

I try to watch exchange rates around various places in the Sukhumvit area and other places I visit. Today I saw a rate of 33.08 at a walk-up near my apartment. Platinum Fashion Mall had an exchange rate of 32.27. I'm glad I went to VASU, where I got a rate of 33.37 this morning.

I went into the "belly" of the Pratunam market for an hour or so this morning. I was looking for a particular scarf which I had purchased before, but could not find the vendor!! That's so frustrating!! But then, I was getting really sweaty and hot (very hot/humid today) so I went to the Pratunam Center air conditioned mall for a while. I found the same scarves there, and for a better price! Needless to say, I bought a number of them.

I'm going to hopefully get a good night's sleep, as I need to be up early to fly to Chiang Mai on the 7:50 morning flight (on a 747!!) on Thai. Our CM driver has been alerted of our arrival; the frog factory will be looking for us, as will a good friend we try to visit each time we go to CM. It will be a busy day! I will need plenty of energy!

Enjoy your day!

Carol

Kathie- I highly doubt that that Bumrungrad has the best dentists. Good, probably, but far from the best. You seem strongly attached to your misbeliefs, in general.

Oh, Mang - now you'll get a smack.

Well then Mang, as you seem to be an expert in all things Thai do tell where the best dentists in Bangkok are to be found?

Mango7, you "highly doubt". You seem strongly attached to your misbeliefs. How can you characterize those beliefs as misbeliefs when all you have offered is a high doubt, another belief.

The best dentists and doctors are going to be attracted to the higher pay at Bumrungrad. You can highly doubt that too, if you want.

Mrw - LOL

Oh my.... look what my simple (but costly??) appt has caused....

Michael, I should not have said Friday night... sorry. We have dinner with Dr Jack that night. I had forgotten.

You are welcome to come to the Pickled Liver on Saturday night. It promises to be quite interesting, as there is a costume contest for Halloween! I am coming as myself.. unless I find something stunning or scary in CM today... (I leave my apt in about 15 minutes to go to the airport with Maeng and DS).

Mang... BH is in the top 10 hospitals in the world...

Carol

Carol, Just wanted to say that I'm greatly enjoying reading your report, and I enjoyed meeting you at the Boston GTG. I have a lot to learn about Asia but I'm starting! (I'll leave dental discussions to others!).

MrW- The best dentists in Thailand have their own offices and would never work in a hospital setting unless surgeons with hospital privileges. As smug as you are in your confidence here, you are as wrong as one can be. For future reference be sure to know what you're talking about to avoid looking less than intelligent.

All these fodorites that are having dental work done in BKK- I'm guessing that none of you have dental insurance where you work or are you all retired living large in BKK?

Mang - clearly not taking a bit of your own advice then....

BillT- By and large, its called the thrill of feeling that you're beating the system. I'll be damned if I'm going to spend a half day in a dental chair on my VACATION, lol..

Btw, nothing personal, Carol- You know that I like you.

Mango 7 - so many fodorites visit Bumrumgrad its now on the must see lists!

Bill- Seems so!

Carol- Sorry to divert your thread. Please continue..

Wow, I thought this thread would have been either banned or moved to about page 13 by this time!!!

Good morning from Bangkok. I'm sitting on my couch, CNN is turned on (paying NO ATTENTION to it) and I am staring at this huge huge huge sized rice bag that I brought home, stuffed pretty full, from Chiang Mai. The bag is large enough for the typical Thai sized person to set up housekeeping inside of it!!! haha

How to begin the report on yesterday's "journey"... I'll explain that term in a minute.

Yesterday (Wednesday 27th) started very early, as we (DS, Maeng and I) had a 7:50 flight to Chiang Mai, Royal Silk class on Thai, from BKK airport. Other than the fact that the plane was NOT the usual B747 at this hour, but an A300 (ugh) instead, the flight was pleasant enough. The seats on this older jet were nothing plush in first class, but the service (and breakfast) were certainly top notch.

Maeng often asks me the meanings of words in English. Her English is excellent, as she owns a British Pub style place (the Pickled Liver of which I often speak) and is always dealing with expats and farangs who speak English. Anyway, her question was about the difference between the words "travel" and "journey." I told her that "travel" is usually a word that means a nice vacation, or trip, to someplace nice, and that things are typically planned out in advance, and that there are few problems, if any, as things are very well planned.

A "journey" on the other hand, often means that there is no plan (there is time to take the fork in the road, if you get my drift) and that things "might happen" that are not in anyone's plan book! A journey often means going to places off the beaten path, exotic, exciting, where one might expect the unexpected.

Anyway, CM was a JOURNEY for sure!! But sooooooo much fun. Brad and Maeng both indicated that our day trips to CM just keep getting better, and this one was indeed the best one yet. It didn't have so much to do with the shopping aspect of the day, but also of the friends we have in the city and don't always get to see... but we were lucky in that regard yesterday.

We made our usual stops, the frog factory (DS needed another 1200 frogs! plus other items), Hangdong and Bantawai markets, and then Bosang, and of course the food market for Maeng, and the mall for ice cream and a stop at the Northern Thailand store.

We hit all of those places, plus another one or two, in our 12 hours in CM. It was a real run for the money. Wish I could post the photos here, so I could prove to you that we all shopped until we just about dropped and had a super time!!!

Jit, our driver, was asked to rent a van for the day this time, rather than just driving us around in his car, which has a decent sized trunk, but that would not be enough space for today!!! Jit paid about 800 baht (for which we paid him) for renting the van, which was like an 8-passenger mini bus that you often ride in when taking trips to the airport via shuttle.

I had two (yes, only two) specific items that I wanted to bring back from Chiang Mai markets. Without going into too much detail, I managed to find those items, plus a "few more" things.... like I said.. I'm staring at this HUGE rice bag that I need to start emptying sometime this morning. Let's just say, shopping was fantastic. But it was Maeng who out-did us all. She had the most bags at check-in at Thai airways in CM last night.

In August, I found some animal shaped bags for little girls, which I mentioned here on fodors. I had purchased them at the CM Airport Mall, since that was the ONLY place I had ever seen them, and when I saw them, I just knew they would be a HUGE hit back home. So I paid mall price. Well, I asked my CM friend Tim (who is in the export/wood products business) if she knew where I could find the source. She did not have an answer for me, so off to the mall to buy some more of them.

Well, as the day was winding down, after shopping at Hangdong and Bosang, the frog factory, the mall, and the food market, Maeng with her super eagle eyesight spotted a shop, very close to the food market, and she shouted "That shop is full of the animal bags!!! STOOOOOPPPPPP! Se we went around the block, Jit parked, and Maeng and I ventured into this little shop. And yes, indeed, it was filled with these cute little animal bags, which I now know are made in the YAO area, in the mountains above CM. Way to go, Maeng!!!! Even though I had already purchased about 30 of these animal bags, I bought a bunch more.... and at MUCH better prices than I had paid at the mall. This little shop is now very much on my radar screen, and I do plan to return in December and everytime I go to CM.... just as long as the bags are still a "hot" item. I'm seriously thinking about maybe selling on e-Bay (which I've never done before) and/or setting up another vendor space in the little shop where I "do business" back at home, just for these animal bags. These little bags are THAT GOOD.

After shopping, we stuffed two heavy bags of frogs, squirrels, etc. from the frog factory, plus a huge rice bag containing those pillow rolls that Thais have in their homes (Maeng bought them), a box of food from the market, a bag of dragons, and at least two bags of animal purses and various other purchases.... into this big van that Jit had rented for the day. The three of US barely fit after all was stuffed inside!!! Again, I've got photos to prove it!!

We headed to the airport to drop off all of our purchases at about 6:30. Our flight to Bangkok was not until 9pm, but we wanted to check in and then have dinner with our friend in the export/wood products business. We got everyone's attention along the curb as we unloaded bag after bag after bag out of this huge van. We needed three carts to push it all into the airport!!! (photos, of course) The hostess at the Thai Royal Silk counter barely batted an eyelash as we piled all 5 bags onto the conveyor belt to check for the BKK flight. "Shopping was good today," we told her.

Boarding passes in hand, we headed to dinner w/friend Tim. Tim had suggested we meet her at a place right across the road from the airport. PERFECT!!! The name of the place is written in Thai (as is the menu, but w/English descriptions of most of the items). The name is Kaew Pla, which means "fresh fish restaurant" and fresh it was. Delicious meal!! Seems to be a favorite place for Thais and farangs who have a flight to catch, since the airport is just steps away.

We laughed and laughed throughout dinner and shared photos of our shopping journey. Jit, our driver, joined us for the meal, as he almost always does. Jit isn't just a driver, he is a very good friend. Tim is also a very good friend. Everyone knows everyone, and we all had such a nice time sharing a meal, Thai style, before leaving CM. We had fish, tom yum soup, fish balls, shrimp dishes, glass noodles, fish pancakes, etc etc and several pitchers of beer!

Boarding time is 8:40, so we hop in Jit's van to go to the airport at 8:30, make it thru security, walk to the gate, and step right onto the plane for the trip home! Perfect timing! First class (Thai Royal Silk) on a B777. Lie flat seats (we all slept). Very comfortable!!!!

Interesting flight though... not bumpy or anything... but the pilot comes on and tells us that there is a very bad rain storm (monsoon) taking place at BKK and that we are being diverted to the old Don Muang airport instead! OK, that's fine. We can get a taxi back to the city from either airport, no problem. Oh, and there are about 50 planes lined up and waiting to land at the airport.... we will be circling for a short time.... "sorry for the delay" .... etc etc. Still not a bumpy ride.

Circling over Don Muang for only about 5 minutes. Pilot comes back on and informs us that the weather at BKK has become much better, so we will be going there to land, rather than at Don Muang. Great!

We landed about 40 minutes late (but that meant more sleep time, so not a problem) at the newer BKK airport. Our huge rice bags arrived among the first ones coming down the conveyor belt. (everyone waiting for bags gave us a look) We each packed our luggage cart with our own purchases (Maeng had the most....lol) and then headed to the taxi line.

Now, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that all of our stuff plus ourselves would NOT fit into any of the taxis or vans or any vehicles that were waiting to pick up passengers at BKK. We EACH took our OWN taxi into the city!!!lol

At about 10 minutes past midnight, I was back at my apartment on soi 8. I just have to assume that Maeng and DS each got their own taxi and made it safely back into the city.

What a fun day!!! I would repeat every last bit of it again today, if I could!!

Today is my final dental appt, and I will be very happy when my "high spot" is sanded or drilled down to a point where I can chew normally again!

Michael, if you are reading this, I hope you will consider coming to the Pickled Liver for quiz night (Thursday about 8)for our little GTG. And Fanny (nywoman) would also love to see YOU there as well!! I promise lots of laughs. If not quiz night, we will figure something else out, hopefully. Oh, and Fanny, your message was waiting for me at my apt. It had been slipped under the door. I'll call you!

And now, I'm starving. Time for a quick shower and then b'fast. Gotta rush.

Carol

Last night's storm was about the worst of the year, I think, at least at my place. Very windy in addition to a lot of rain in a short time.

I may be able to drop by for a short visit on Thursday. I have a function at the Panorama Bar (23rd floor, Pan Pacific hotel) to attend, but I should be able to slip away by 8:00.

BTW there's a temple fair at the Golden Mount this weekend (through next week I think). It might be interesting for you if you've never been to one.

It sounds like you had a fabulous shopping trip!

PS.... Fanny called a short time ago. We are meeting for coffee at the Monsoon restaurant on the ground floor of my apartment hotel at noon!!! Wonderful!!! Should be great to meet yet another fodorite.

Kathie, you read it right. GREAT fun and fantastic shopping in CM. Fodors needs to find a way to let us post a single picture with a thread...........


Great news, Michael. Looking forward to seeing you at the PL on Thursday night!

C

Loving the shopping details, sounds like a great trip.

Sawasdee kah from the Pickled Liver! NYwoman, DS, and I are here, having a snack and a beer. Maeng is a gracious host, as always. She fixed us a plate of finger foods, gave NYw a PL t-shirt, and we are having just a delightful time! Wish you ALL were here with us.
C

Sawasdee krub! Carol I hope you, Brad, Maeng and Fanny will watch the local TV channel tonight as the Miss Thailand contest will be telecast live. I'm the official bikini wax applicator and remover for this year so I hope you will appreciate my work!

lol, Hanuman.

hanuman.... lol!!! indeed.....

It's about 8:30 pm. I'm back in my apartment, NYwoman is at her evening function with friends, and DS is playing pool (what else). It was such a lovely day today! (and it didn't involve ANY shopping at all ...haha) It was just a "typical" day in Bangkok, hanging around soi 6 and soi 11.

FYI... Maeng knows the chef at Bo Lan so it looks like we will very likely be going there for dinner.... if not before I go home, Brad and Maeng will for sure go there before HE heads home about a week after I do. You can expect a full report, in any case, I would say.

Brad and I bid our goodbyes to NYwoman around 4:30, as she had to leave Maeng's and get ready for the events of the evening. It was great meeting yet another lovely fodorite and sharing travel experiences!!! Hope we get to meet up again sometime, NYwoman.

Brad and I chatted w/Maeng a while longer, and then headed to yet another bar (you are going to think I'm a bar fly... haha) to meet up with Danish friends and have a beer. Fun conversation... always great to catch up on life when meeting up with old friends here in Bangkok.

I don't want to pull up my old thread from April, but some of you will recall that DS and I paid the "bar fine" to take a couple of soi 4 girls out to a lovely dinner at the top of the Centara Grand one evening. One of the girls is always asking DS about me, so DS and I went to her place of employment to say hello! We visited for a while, until DS had to go to his pool league, and I decided to call it an evening early. We didn't have any fancy dinner... I'm just eating "stuff" that's in my fridge and calling it a night early!!! I am ready to relax after yesterday's busy day to Chiang Mai.

Michael, hoping we will see you at quiz night tomorrow night at the Pickled Liver. Brad says I should start a thread here that is just about quiz night... must be loads of fun!! I have been before, just once, and found that many of the questions were way beyond my field of knowledge, but then again, I know little bits of trivia that might surprise you!! Looking forward to it, in any case.

Carol

Carol,

I'll be at Bo Lan tomorrow night. Will let you know my opinion of the place.

GREAT we will now have two expert fodorites giving us their views on Bo Lan, looking forward to hearing the details.

Today I have friends (who live just down the street from me back in small town Illinois) coming into BKK for a visit. They have been teaching English for the past several weeks in one of the suburban areas. They go back home to Illinois tomorrow, so one last chance to meet up in BKK seems to be in order today. I'm not sure just what we will be doing. They have seen the city on three other trips here, also for the purpose of volunteering their time to teach English.

Tonight is quiz night at the Pickled Liver. That should be fun. "Chopper," the quiz master, has an interesting take on the questions/answers...... that's all I say for now. We (DS and I) would love to get together a fodorites team, so if anyone else is in the neighborhood, we could use your help. Michael, we're adding your name to our team. Hanuman?? I asked NYwoman, but she cannot help us out tonight. Too bad...

Carol

Carol,

Thanks for the invite but I can't make it since I will be at Bo Lan tonight with friends. Sounds like fun though!

Hello All

I feel like I am shamelessly eavesdropping on a conversation among friends. What great information, wisdom, humor and a little drama too. You guys are great!

It’s my maiden voyage to BBK. Gasp, I can hear you all the way over here in Cambodia.

We have been in Cambodia and are heading over to Laos tomorrow. Then, I go to Bangkok for a few days on my own. From there, I will join a group of volunteers going to Laos for cleft lip and palette surgeries.

So, I will ask for your wisdom. I’ll have 2 full days in BBK and on the return; I may have two more days. What is your top 5 list for BBK? I’m open to just about anything.

And after getting a 18K quote from my dentist in the US, I have to tell you that I may consider the dental work in the future.

Thanks for reading and I hope you’ll adopt the “BBK orphan.”

Regards, Andrea

Andrea, welcome to the forums. All are welcome here! Some of us really DO know each other, as we meet at get togethers (GTGs) in various places around the world. Perhaps you can join us sometime! Your work sounds very rewarding! I'm sure it will be much appreciated.

Well, michaelbkk joined us and the three of us (Michael, DS, and myself) were a team called the "fodorites"... how appropriate is that! We had a respectable score after the quiz was completed, which I was quite proud of, since we are all 3 Americans and know NOTHING about sports and TV in the UK, which was the subject of several questions!! (the P L is a British-style pub after all) We gave 'em a tough fight! Micael, hope you decide to return to quiz night again sometime. Brad will be there next Thursday, if you are in the neighborhood! I was slightly disappointed that last week's humorous quiz master didn't direct the festivities tonight... but it was still very entertaining.

Dear friends who live in my same small town in downstate Illinois are in Bangkok volunteering their time teaching English. Today was their last day in Thailland, as they return home tomorrow. They had time to come into the city from their location about 45 minutes away from my apt, by taxi. I wasn't sure what they might want to do, but we had a good time just visiting in my apartment to start, and then off to lunch at the Jim Thompson Cafe at Isetan store (Central World), which was really very tasty.

We then went over to Pratunam market area. My friends had shopping to do before going home. I suggested Pratunam, and "Dee" was very pleased with what she got, and was able to negotiate some good price as well.

It was about 4:30 when my friends left by skytrain to head in the direction of their school, and were certain they would be fine getting a taxi at the end of the skytrain line. I really thought they would save some time by taking the BTS and avoiding Sukhumvit traffic, which can be a real snarl. I'm hoping they got "home" safe and sound. They have been to BKK before, so they know the ropes. I'll see them at home in about a week, and we'll have a few laughs about our experiences in Bangkok, I'm sure.

Now, I'm pooped. I have no reason to get up early in the morning, other than I want breakfast (by 10)!!

BTW, I posted a message on the Bo Lan thread, as DS met the chef(s) at Pickled Liver, after hours, on Wednesday night! BoLan's chef likes Maeng's cooking!

Carol

Top 5:
Grand Palace
Jim Thompson House
Boat Rides on the River to various Wats (Wat Arun)
BMK
Calypso Cabaret (Lady boy show at the Asia Hotel)

Make that MBK!

childlife, I think we all have our favorites.

Wat Po (sometimes spelled Wat Pho), the Emerald Buddha and the Grand Palace are all withing a block of each other. I consider that complex the one must-see place in Bangkok.

As Bill says, take a water taxi to the area from the Skytrain.

Jim Thompson House

great food, greata spas

Tell us what else you are interested in so we can make appropriate recommendations.

The Grand Palace isn't so grand in my opinion. Save this for when you have more time in Bkk.

Go to a rooftop bar for a drink, Banyan Tree hotel or the State Tower. or a nice wine bar, V2
Suan Luum night market or Chatuchak market.
MBK, for sure..

Wat Arun, Grand Palace and Wat Po for sure. Jim Thompson and shopping in general - not sure that mbk would be anywhere near the top of the list, though. Lady boy show is for repeat visitors. Views from state tower are worth the hassle (strict regs on attire) of going there.

Childlife, for the shopping aspect, it depends entirely on what sort of things you want to buy! MBK is at the top of the list for SOME items (but the prices are more expensive than if you can find the very same thing (ie quality) in the "bowels" of one of the street market areas).

Chatuchak (the weekend market) is fabulous, even tho hot and crowded! For me, it's definitely worth the trip! As is the Pratunam Market area, which is just beyond the large mall called Central World Plaza Mall (my favorite Hagen Dazs place is in this mall).

If you want a more "normal" shopping experience, there are malls galore, offering the extremely expensive designer items (Gucci, Prada, LV, etc) and in very fancy upscale settings; but there are also more interesting malls that have Thai designer goods at prices that are easier on the pocket book... but also NOT available in "western sizes" usually, if it's clothes you want.

I agree with the idea of going to one of the rooftop places for a nightcap. I'd suggest Sky Bar, located near the river, in the State Tower building. Dress in smart casual for this place, and sip your ONE drink slowly as the price will raise an eyebrow. The view from the 64th floor is awesome!! Go at dusk so you can watch the city light up.

I know where to get the face stringing/threading (whatever you call it) so I'm going to do that today!!! So excited to try it! It's a small salon on soi 8, where I have been getting my hair shampooed recently, for 150 baht. They do the facial hair removal upstairs from the hair salon. I'm sure it will not cost much, so I'm willing to try it out! I was told I might find a place to have it done in China Town, but I would have noooo idea where. This soi 8 salon is practically right next door to my apartment building. It could not possibly be handier. Hope this technique lives up to my expectations.

Tonight we will have dinner with Dr Jack. Hopefully Maeng can join us as well. She will need an evening away from the PL for a while, since last night was so busy for quiz night.

So far I have two very full (think STUFFED) suitcases, and am looking at what there is left to pack, trying to decide what size duffel bag I might get. I don't really want to take stuff home in a huge rice bag....! Those huge rice bags are real attention getters....! Anyway, there is a luggage store on the corner of Sukhumvit and soi 4, and I know for sure I can find something there for a good price. It only needs to survive the trip home! Not looking for super sturdy or name brand or anything like that.

Brad will be busy trying to deal with a (possibly very big) problem today and in the next week. Hopefully everything works out OK and he gets what he needs. He lost his passport, perhaps in a taxi, or perhaps while playing pool... he is not sure. He re-traced his steps to see if the places he had been on Wednesday evening might have found his passport and were holding on to it for him. No luck.

So today he has to go to the Lumpini police department and file a report. Then he will go to the US Embassy and ask for a new passport. If I understand correctly, he will be given a temporary "passbook" that will be good for maybe one year (?) and then a new passport will be sent to him at home in the US. Anyway, he will be dealing with this problem for a few days. He has 1 1/2 weeks left in BKK so that should be plenty of time to get something done about it so he can get out of the country. Will try to post here to let everyone know how it goes.

He has his old passport (why would he carry that, unless it just happened to be in the pocket of his suitcase... he seems to have a collection of business cards, boarding passes, hotel bills, you name it, in this big pocket in the lid of his suitcase). Anyway, he has the old passport, and he has his plastic coated ID card which he uses when flying within Thailand. This ID card is made by copying the first two pages of your passport, so it has passport number, photo, your signature, etc. and serves as a legal ID when traveling. (and yes, Pook, he went all the way to Chiang Mai and back and never had to show his real passport... just the ID card was fine) For those of you who might want one, I guess you get it made at the places that do photo printing. The cost is probably less than 200 baht. Dr Jack has one, and uses it all the time. When Brad shows his ID to friends, they all say they are going to get one. I should get one too...

Time for breakfast. I'll check in later to let you know how my face stringing went!! (ouch???... don't know yet)

C

Carol - it's called threading and its doesn't hurt... I have my eyebrows done every month.
Hope Brad gets evertything sorted, what a pain.

Hi There

Thanks for the many great ideas. I've summarized your comments and come up with a hit list of sites.

Would you arrange them in an order that that makes sense in terms of time and locale?

Also, can I get around to these places on my own or should I hire a guide to get around quickly? The company that arranged my trip to Cambodia and Laos has a rep in BKK as well. Thanks and thanks!

Jim Thompson House

A Boat Ride on the River to various Wats (Wat Arun)

Calypso Cabaret (Lady boy show at the Asia Hotel)

Wat Po (sometimes spelled Wat Pho), the Emerald Buddha and the Grand Palace are all within a block of each other. I consider that complex the one must-see place in Bangkok.

Take a water taxi to the area from the Skytrain.

Sunset at the Sky Bar, located near the river, in the State Tower building. Dress in smart casual for this place. The view from the 64th floor is awesome!!

A few shopping options depending on the location: Suan Luum night market, Chatuchak market, Pratunam Market area or MBK. MBK sounds interesting just to see the magnitude of the place.


My suit case is bursting at the seams with my purchases in Cambodia. And I am also lugging around a 50 pound suitcase with donations for the hospital. Viet Nam air has charged us over $200 in luggage fees for a total of two flights. (ugh) So, I'd really have to LOVE something to buy it.

Regards and thanks!

CL-the Grand palace is best viewed when it opens at 8:30 a.m.. Then walk over to Wat Pho. A taxi to the Jim Thompson house and lunch at the cafe. Then walk down to Siam Square and shop til you drop. A full and woderful day.

Great advice from the panda- a perfect day in Bangkok

You do the Calypso Cabaret in the evening (skip the dinner option and just do the show- I think its abiout $25 with one drink but its worth it - you will enjoy it- we have done it twice and will do it again in January when we are in BKK.

Shopping- MBK if the heat bothers you and the weekend market if you can take the heat. Bargain a bit.

Try to do the Grand Palace early in the morning (come on Mango - its the number one attraction in BKK bar none!)- in fact most agree that early morning and late afternoon/evening is the best time to venture out and about as the mid day is pretty hot and humid. We usually hang out at the hotel/pool during the mid day to re-charge.

Also my wife likes to get a massage everyday. We have a woman who is very experienced and she comes to the hotel to give my wife a 2 hour facial and body massage - cost - $25 - now that is a pretty good bargain.

Face threading didn't hurt at all! I'll definitely do it again, if needed, in December when I come back to Bangkok. The cost at Tub Tim salon (just steps inside Suk soi 8) is 300 baht. A shampoo is 150. So I had the works for 450 baht (plus tip for each of the girls who worked me over).

Bangkoklover, if you are reading and following along with this thread, I went to Central Chitlom store today to see if Od is still there, working at the salon on the 2nd floor. You were right!! The salon is GONE!!! I can't believe it! I want OD... I want OD.... I want OD.... where did he go?

We had dinner with Dr Jack and Maeng tonight. Interesting, as always. Jack does pro bono medical work around BKK.. so he always has interesting cases to report..... He seems to get involved in some that are real puzzlers for the docs on staff. A Dr House sort of thingie... if you've ever watched that show on cable.

I got my ID card made today from my passport. It's a credit card sized ID card, laminated, and made from a photo copy of the first two pages of my real passport. The cost was 100 baht, at the photo developing shop on the ground floor at Wave Place building, Phloenchit sktrain station.

DS got his police report filed, then went to the embassy, only to find out that it is always closed the last Friday of the month!! So the new passport has to wait until Monday. I'm going to ask to go along so that I can get extra pages in my own passport. I realized today that I do not have enough room for stamps/visas as I will make my trip to Europe in November and then back to Bangkok in December! Additional pages are a must.

It's an early evening. I'm back in my apartment and just about ready to fall asleep at 10pm. Tomorrow, DS and I will go to a town south of BKK about an hour by taxi to visit friends at their new house. Should be fun!

Ho hum... nighty-night. My day is coming to a close, and many of you are just getting started with your Friday. Enjoy it!

Carol

Hi All

If this posts twice, I'll apologize.

I've arranged the sites and am looking forward to making a final plan for my 2 day BBK whirlwind tour.

Can you have a look and see if I have arranged them in order of appropriate locales and times?

Also, do you think I can do this on my own or shall I hire a guide to help whisk me around?

Day One

Wat Po (sometimes spelled Wat Pho), the Emerald Buddha and the Grand Palace are all within a block of each other The Grand palace is best viewed when it opens at 8:30 a.m.. Then walk over to Wat Pho.

A taxi to the Jim Thompson house and lunch at the cafe.

Then walk down to Siam Square and shop til you drop. OR massage.

Calypso Cabaret in the evening - (Lady boy show at the Asia Hotel)




Day Two

A Boat Ride on the River to various Wats (Wat Arun)

A few shopping options depending on the location: Suan Luum night market, Chatuchak market, Pratunam Market area or MBK.

Take a water taxi to the area from the Skytrain.

Sunset at the Sky Bar, located near the river, in the State Tower building. Dress in smart casual for this place. The view from the 64th floor is awesome!!

Thanks again. We are enjoying the final leg of our Cambodia/Laos trip in Luan Prabang. We are staying in Heaven!

Andrea

Andrea,
Just one thing. Keep in mind that Chatuchak is the weekend market, so visiting that market can only happen on a Saturday or Sunday. It's a fantastic market! I do hope you can include it in your plans.

The river boat ride to Wat Arun... This wat is right across the river from the grand palace area. You can visit it that same day, and then, save your boat ride for what is called a klong tour. This one will take you into the smaller canals where you can get a glimpse of life in Bangkok. You arrange the length of your klong tour, so you can spend anywhere from 1 to 3 hours or so. You might include a visit to the Royal Barge facility, which is interesting... although not all of the royal barges are here... but it is a glimpse at what they look like. Only takes a few minutes to walk thru.

Sounds like you are really enjoying your trip so far. I hope you fall in love with Bangkok, as so many of us here on this forum have. It's an amazing city.

Today we are off to Bang Boen (sp) and I am looking forward to it. Our Danish friend has been working on his "weekend" house for several months, getting it ready to live in full time. He has invited us to spend the night, but we will not do that until we return to BKK in December. We will spend Christmas Eve at the weekend house, and have a traditional Danish dinner.

We've not seen rain for two days now in BKK. Yippeeee! Once again the sun is shining this morning. Don't get me wrong... it'll be hot out there! But I don't think we'll have to dodge raindrops or downpours today.

The Adelphi is celebrating their 2nd anniversary at 10am in the lobby. When I came out from breakfast, I noticed they were setting up a fancy display of some sort. They invited me to come down and take part (since I "live" here...haha). We'll see. But I am curious to see how they will celebrate. Probably monks/Buddha/incense/blessings... ? Maybe I should make time to see this.

I guess you guys in the US get to set your clocks back tonight (Halloween). I don't know if BKK does daylight saving time or not. I'll have to figure out the time, if it changes or not, so I don't miss my flight on Tuesday!!

We will go to the Pickled Liver when we get back from the weekend house. There is a big costume party going on. I know it'll be lots of laughs. I'll be going as myself... now THAT's scary!!

Carol

Carol,Sounds you have had a great time.I missed you as I was in Jakarta and will be in Bangkok within two weeks. Interesting what you said about the taxis at the airport,I found the same thing not so long ago too. By the way I finally found ODD who yes has moved to a new place called Salon & Spa [Ph 02 655 0088 ]. If you go to the back of the supermarket/chemist area at Central and walk outside you will see Mos Burgers.I walked through that shop and it is located in an arcade just near there.Just took some persistence !!!!
I want 50 of those scarves, I hope you left some for me . If the Australian exchange rate keeps climbing I should be there mid Nov but will be in DPS first. Talk about heavy traffic and cheap clothes you should see CGK and Bandung. Mind blowing. Buying silk and scarves at prices starting from 69000 rupiah [ 240 bht ]. Loved Borodur and Yogyarkta, found great restaurants at Yog.Bye for now

Hey Carol

Thanks for the "white hot" tips. Can you clarify one thing? Is the klong tour near Wat Run? The klong tour does sound great. And one water tour is all I have time for.

Thanks so much, Andrea

you can geta Klong tour at any of the river side hotels just ask the chap there at the dock side to get you one, or at Sapin Thaksin pier. usually about 1 hour (its just you and the boat/driver) but if i were you i would avoid the snake farm... we just asked him to dive on

childlife, let me clarify about the water taxis and klong tours. You'll want to take a water taxi on Day 1 from the Skytrain to the area of the Grand Palace, Emerald Buddha and Wat Po. Wat Arun is right across the river and can be accessed by a small ferry. (The water taxi is efficient transport, not a tour) Alternatively, you can visit Wat Arun if/when you do a klong tour. The water taxis don't go anywhere near the shopping places you mention. You'll want to take the skytrain to the various shopping centers.

You don't really need a guide.

What kinds of things are you looking for in your shopping?

Carol & Brad,

Check your email. I have to cancel our Loy Kratong gtg due to an urgent business matter in Ubon(detail in the email). Wish I didn't have to go but hope you guys will have fun during Loy Kratong.

Sawasdee kah everyone,

It is after 8:30 this morning before I am up and about. It was a late night last night and I'm moving a bit more slowly than usual this morning.

Bkklover, thanks for the info on where to find OD. I won't be seeing him on this trip, but will look for him the next time I'm here. I'll bet he is in a temporary location until they build the new salon/spa back in the Central Chitlom dept store. What do you think? Hope we can shop together some day in BKK.

After breakfast yesterday, I decided to observe the celebration in the lobby. The hotel has been in business for exactly two years and so they wanted prayers and blessings bestowed, for more good business. Fascinating! The hotel staff prepared a large white mat on the floor, and then placed 9 much smaller rugs on top of the large mat. The 9 rugs were for the 9 monks who came to pray for, and bless, the hotel and for a good business. There was chanting, sometimes by one monk, sometimes by all nine of them.

There was a large ball of white string, which I now understand would be strung all around the lobby of the hotel, and then for the ceremony it was passed amongst the monks, one to another, in a row, as they are sitting on their small rugs. The ball of white string is then put into what looks like an alms bowl, sitting beside the last monk in the line. The monks hold the string in their praying hands as they chant. The string is intended to encircle the lobby in order to contain any spirits (if I understand this correctly).

There were participants from the lobby, who knelt or sat on the large white mat to pray with the monks. Food was given to the monks.

The ceremony lasted just over one hour. I could not stay for the entire thing as I needed to get ready for my day, but I was fascinated by the parts that I did see.

After the celebration, Brad and I took a taxi to Ban Bueng, which is along the road between BKK and Pattaya. We had a lovely day at the country house. Our Danish friend prepared a hand made pizza for dinner. He was making the sauce when we arrived at the house. The pizzas (there were 2 of them actually) were delicious!!! Move over, Via Vai.... if our friend wants to compete with you, he will take over as pizza king in BKK... lol

When we went down to Ban Bueng we arranged for a taxi to take us there and bring us back. The driver and Brad agreed on a price, the driver said he would hang around Ban Bueng area for the day, basically from noon to about 8pm, and we took off. The ride to BB is about one hour. Brad has been to the weekend house before, so he knew the way.

We had a lovely afternoon/evening, as I said, visiting and laughing, eating, sharing wine and some exotic licorice drink... a good time!! At about 8pm we started looking for our driver to take us back to BKK. No driver. Brad had paid him for the trip down to BB... in hindsight, he should not have paid the driver for anything until we were back in BKK!!!! Lesson learned. Anyway, BB is out in the middle of nowhere. There are no taxis. The shuttle to BKK makes its last trip at 6pm, and it was way past that time. Long story short, it took about 2 hours to find another driver, who then had to drive from Pattaya to BB to pick us up and take us to BKK. That driver knew he had a captive audience, and he knew he could charge pretty much "whatever" he wanted to. We were back in BKK, at the PL, at about midnight!!!

I did not stay at PL very long. Most of the people in costumes had been there and had left by that time, but I got to see some pictures that were taken. Must have been a good party. Too bad we weren't in BKK at 9pm as we had planned.

Today I will pack all my stuff and see what will have to be sent home UPS. It'll cost me... haha I'm going to send home my dirty (and clean) clothes, which are summer weight and won't be needed at home until next spring! I won't pay for 2 or 3 day service. Getting my clothes back a couple of weeks later would be fine. I'll need them in December for my return to BKK. Too bad there isn't a place to keep them all here... haha

Tonight, dinner at BoLan. Brad met and talked with Dylan at the PL the other night. Looking forward to this meal.

Enjoy your extra hour of sleep tonight!

Carol

Carol, I had a chat to ODD and the owner of the salon and it would seem that the rent is far too high in Central, hence the move. The new place is much bigger, brighter and so easy to get about in. More renovation work is expected to be undertaken in 2/3 weeks and the Salon will be closed during this time so I do feel confident when I say they are staying put and not moving. Did you leave any of those scarves for me at JJ ? Animal bags sound great but would not suit my clientele unfortunately. Am enjoying reading your mails and do hope we can catch up one day.
bkklover

bkklover, I think there are a few scarves left at JJ...

Packing today, as the shopping is done (yeah, right). I have a bag of my clothing to take to UPS for shipping tomorrow afternoon.

I'm going to hop on the BTS and ride from end to end, end to end, on both lines this afternoon. Dinner is not until 7pm, so I have some free time. There are some new stops beyond Saphan Taksin, and there are always small local markets near the BTS stations that no farangs ever seem to visit. You never know what you might find there.

C

Carol, I expect you are staying at the Adelphi next trip. If so, ask if they will store a suitcase for you. Many hotels will.

I saw on flyertalk that United has some good W fares (SWU upgradeable) to BKK. Under $900 from LAX. $1100 to $1200 (for 881/882) from ORD. Good for departure thru May 7.

I was going to make the same suggestion as Kathie. Lori was telling me that Ponheary has several "locker guests" at her guesthouse - people who come back frequently and so have a storage locker there rather than hauling stuff back and forth. I know there are some commercial storage facilities down in that area, but the Adelphi may be willing to store stuff for free, since you 'live' there.

Oh, and no, there's no daylight savings time in Thailand. It's the tropics, we don't need it. There's barely an hour's difference in sunrise and sunset between June and December.

Hi There

I haven't been to BBK and I am already in love because of your delightful commentary.

Carol, I'm especially enjoying your updates.

My plan is to pass off one of my suitcases to one of my fellow travelers. As I mentioned, I have 2 large suitcases now. One with my "life" for 6 weeks in SEA and the other supplies for the children's hospital.

So, I do think I may shop until I drop. And I will buy a duffel bag along the way.

Having said that, I am pondering what to shop for. Any ideas?
Thing I would like to have:

A new camera with removable lens and flash. My Nikon Cool pix is great. If I can get an amazing price, I may trade up.

Clothes are always fun.

The software called "Light Room." I've just heard about it today and that may be great to pick up.

A Burberry jacket.

Hmmm????

Thanks again for all of your insights. I'm SO excited about this portion of my trip.

Andrea

Andrea-when packing for your six weeks in SEA, take into account the fact that laundry services are plentiful and cheap in SEA. It will be very easy to get your dirty clothes washed regularly.

I'm just now back at my apartment after dinner at Bo.lan. (I was taking notes during dinner) Bo and Dylan both came to our table to welcome us to the restaurant. That was nice.

The location is a bit off the beaten path... taxi essential. The restaurant is done in a Thai style house and the ambience is lovely. The decor, even down to the chairs, some of which have only one arm, and the placemats, are unique. Maeng and I agreed that the presentation of each dish is exceptional, as is the service. Bo.lan would be appropriate for a special occasion meal, for sure.

DS ordered the set course meal which is like a tasting sample meal. I lost count of how many dishes were put on the table. The beginning courses and desserts were served on separate plates for each of us, but the meat dishes were served Thai style.

I admit to not being much of a foodie. I don't enjoy experimenting with new flavors so for me, this place was really not my cup of tea. DS enjoyed it, and said that the tom ka gna (coconut soup) was the best he's had in Thailand; and the green curry beef was also delicious. DS also bit into the hottest pepper he has ever had in is life, and had to wait a bit for the fire in his belly to cool down. I think this pepper (carrot sort of color) is for flavoring the food, not for eating. Live and learn.

Dylan was concerned about my allergy to lemon grass, and so he prepared a couple of dishes for me that did not contain lemon grass. He commented something to the effect that it must be difficult to dine in Thailand. It was very thoughtful of him to prepare special items... it was much appreciated. And then, at the end of the meal, he came out to see if I had had any food reactions, which I had not. But that is partly because I don't experiment with new fruits and herbs and such. If you'd been as close to death as I was, when I went into antiphylactic shock in Paris, you might also dine with extreme caution when you are not the one cooking the meal!!

Mango, Maeng is in your corner on the idea of authentic Thai food being prepared by someone other than a Thai. You really should stop by the Pickled Liver and meet her! You two could have a very lively discussion about "real" Thai food.

Re: the storing of a bag here at Adelphi, since I keep coming back, I don't wish to do that. But thank you for the suggestion anyway.

Mrwunrfl, those fares sound great. I'll have to check them out, as I'll probably be back again next April for a couple of weeks.

Andrea, glad you are enjoying my commentary. Thank you.

I'm having great difficulty keeping my eyes open right now, so I really must close for the night.

C

Andrea, if you are from the US, you can get electronics for less on the internet in the US than anywhere in Asia. And buying electronics in Asia has complications in regard to warranties, rechargers and such. Software, unless it is pirated, will be a similar price in BKK as in the US. You may save a little on designer items, unless you are content with knock-offs. Knock offs vary tremendously in price and quality.

Frankly, I never buy western goods in Bangkok. I'm much more interested in local goods - silks, crafts and such. You can buy charming hand-made purses (one of the things Carol shops for), for instance. For designer goods, I prefer to buy local designer items - lovely and unique. For mid-priced quintessentially Thai designs take a look at the items at Jim Thompson. I have a number of Jim Thompson purses that everyone comments on, and JT makes all kinds of little things with their gorgeous silk fabrics. I also have a stunning silk wrap I bought at JT years ago.

Jewelry, especially sapphires and rubies are a good deal, but only buy from a recommended Jewelry store, Anyone who tells you there is a special government sale or who will take you to a store their cousin, uncle, etc owns and get you a special price is scamming you. You'll end up paying US prices. I have been buying jewelry from the same place for over 20 years. I can get unset stones or jewelry - sapphires and rubies- for one third to one fourth the US price. If you are interested, let me know and I'll post the info.

Carol, thanks so much for your comments on Bo Lan. Tom Kha Gah is my favorite Thai soup. Maybe we'll get to try it there.

oops - I just re-read my post - that's Tom Kah Gai... I must have still been asleep.

Thanks Carol. If I'm in that area I will be sure to stop by the PL, even thought its of a British theme. From what I've read though, it sounds tasty.

Dogster- ever been before?

Kathie

Thanks, that is very helpful information. And I agree with your strategy to buy local, unique items. So, I will look at JT as well. Since I do not have a lot of time, it may workout well to start at JT this time around.

And do most Thais speak English? Is this way the forum suggested mI make my way around town without a guide?

Thanks, we are off to the airport now.

Andrea

Most of the Thais you have contact with will speak English. You have a stop at the Jim Thompson House scheduled, and there is a branch of the store there. There is also the main store - lots more stuff, and an outlet store - bargains if they happen to have things you are interested in.

I've never used a guide in Bangkok. Some people like to hire a guide to take them to places outside the city.

Learn to use the Skytrain.

Mango

When you look at the menu at the PL, you'll say... huh? Too many international sorts of items, from Brit to Aussie, to TexMex, etc.. But if you order from the Thai menu, trust me, it's REAL Thai, as Maeng and her crew fellow cook are both very much Thai. Maeng shops at the local markets almost daily, so everything is fresh and home made. Her lasagna, for example, is made fresh (home made noodles and all) everyday. Yes, the bar has a British pub name/feel/with soccer playing on the large screen TVs. But you'll still enjoy it, I'm sure.

Today is Loy Kratong. We will meet up with Hanuman and his family for the evening. Looking forward to that! I'm sure this will be a fantastic evening, as I've seen some of the candles that are being made, to float on the rivers and lakes. Beautiful!! Simply beautiful!! I'm so glad I'm not scheduled to return home until tomorrow, so that I can experience this celebration.

I see that Illinois is back on standard time... my computer is set on Illinois time. I'm wondering how the airlines make up for that hour, since I'm still scheduled to arrive at my same time at ORD, not an hour earlier... maybe we don't fly so fast??? hahaha

C

Good morning Carol,

Look forward to seeing you guys this evening. We will prepare some "kratong" for you guys so no need to bring them. I'll give Brad a call later to arrange a meeting point.

Hanuman, looking forward to it! Brad will be expecting your call. I think he will spend much of his day at the embassy trying to resolve his lost passport situation. Me, I'm headed there this morning, first thing, to get my extra pages added. Hope it doesn't take too long as I have other stops to make.

Kathie.... just to clarify... Brad liked the tom kai gna. It was not "gai" (chicken), it was beef, thus the "gna" which was Maeng's spelling, I believe.

C

Ok, thanks for the clarification, Carol.

Hello All,

I have arrived in BBK. We got my husband situated for his flight back to the States, so I'm on my own now. What an exciting city!

In 2 weeks, I will be going ot Taipei for one week and will have a lot of free time. Can anyone give input on the shopping in Taipei vs. BBK?

I've decided to look for:

Burberry down jacket,
Some decorations for the childrens hospital in Pakse, Laos,
Toy doctor kits and musical toys for the same,
A tour book for Taiwan
I'd love to get some new business cards made,but I may have more time for that in Taipei.
The black PALI sandals which I typiclaly buy in Hawaii which are made in Taiwan.

Thanks, I'm off for a late lunch and shopping at JT.

Andrea

Hello All,

I have arrived in BBK. We got my husband situated for his flight back to the States, so I'm on my own now. What an exciting city!

In 2 weeks, I will be going ot Taipei for one week and will have a lot of free time. Can anyone give input on the shopping in Taipei vs. BBK?

I've decided to look for:
New lenses for my RX eye glasses,
Burberry down jacket,
Some decorations for the childrens hospital in Pakse, Laos,
Toy doctor kits and musical toys for the same,
A tour book for Taiwan
I'd love to get some new business cards made,but I may have more time for that in Taipei.
The black PALI sandals which I typiclaly buy in Hawaii which are made in Taiwan.


Thanks, I'm off for a late lunch and shopping at JT.

Andrea

Welcome to Bangkok, Andrea. I'm on my way back to the states in the morning, otherwise I'd suggest meeting for a coffee or cold beer...

Do enjoy your time here! This city is amazing. I hope you can see a bit of the Loy Kratong festival that will be going on this evening. Do try to see some of it....

Carol

Thanks for the info, Carol. If I'm in that area I'll stop by!

Andrea, Bangkok's shopping is much better and less expensive than Taipei.

I'll be surprised if you can find a Burberry down jacket in Bangkok... this is, after all the tropics! You may have better luck with that one in Taipei.

New glasses - consider new frames as well, as you'll find designs not available in North America and prices are quite good. Wait - aren't you in Bangkok for just two days? You'll have trouble getting lenses in that time unless your correction is very simple. Get the best lenses available, Hoya. There are optical shops in all of the malls.

Asia books (in many shopping centers) will have the best selection of books.

Business cards are often printed while you wait.

Check in Bangkok for your sandals. Just because the sandals are made in Taiwan doesn't mean you can find them there.

Happy shopping!

There's a chain called [I think] BetterVision that can do lenses in an hour. Branches all over the place. Good range of stock. Perfectly decent frames will go from 6,000 - 16,000 baht ish - up to infinity. How do I know this? I bought a pair in BKK two days ago, on a 24 hour secret stopover.

BetterVision will also mend sunglasses that have been sat on.

Dogster!!! You dog.....!!! Secret stop over in BKK... for shame. I was probably sitting at Haagen Dazs when you walked by....


I have to run to catch my flight to NRT/ORD now, but will try to jump back online at NRT so I can give you an accounting of the wonderful evening w/hanuman and family and friends!!!

C

It was nice seeing you and Brad again last night. Have a safe flight home Carol and see you in Bangkok again soon.

Here's the video from last night(I had to reduce the resolution a lot so that it can be easily uploaded to YouTube): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccHdV8cVLZY

I wish we were there!

hanuman, fab video, looks like a ekachai uekrongtham production. did i miss the otoro again? lol.

We wish you guys were here too Kathie & Ken! This year the fireworks were a bit longer than usual. The total time for the Shangrila hotel alone was around 5 minutes of solid fireworks, I edited out about 1.5 minutes worth of video.

I think the special fireworks was because the king was watching from Siriraj hospital which is a short distant upriver from us.

Hanuman, your video is fantastic! Thanks for putting it on youtube. I should learn how to do that. I need to download the video I took of the fireworks to my laptop to see how it turned out.

Brad and I had a really lovely time at your condo on the river last night. Thank you so much for the invitation to join you and your lovely family and friends for the evening. I had no idea what to expect from Loy Kratong, and I was certainly impressed with every display.

First there were the military boats that were all lit up like Christmas trees. They provided quite an impressive parade, early in the evening. Of course, the kratongs we got to light and send down river were beautiful! A very special moment... hope my wish comes true. Thank you for providing such beautiful memories!

We enjoyed the lanterns, some that seemed to fly on forever! And then, the fireworks, oh my oh my! Beautiful! And especially so, from 23 floors up... right at eye level.

You and your lovely wife were the perfect host/hostess. The food was delicious, the wine and champaigne most tasty! All of it made for one of the most memorable experiences I've had in Bangkok. Thank you, thank you!

After we left, we stopped briefly at Maeng's so that I could bid my goodbye to my dear sweet friend. I'm glad I got to see her one more time. She fed us some fresh mango... the sticky rice was all gone by that time... haha!

My wakeup call came right on time at 3:45 (ugh) and the taxi was ready at 4:30 to take me to the airport. There was a short visit to the Thai lounge for fresh fruit and snacks, as I had not eaten breakfast at my apartment. Then, off to NRT. I slept all the way there!! Fantastic!! Now about a three hour layover, and then on to Chicago. It will be good to be back home once again. My suitcases are full of treasures, so time to go home!

Hanuman, I thought about something your friend from Thai Airways said last night... want to confirm it... that Boeing planes actually really do fly faster than Airbuses ... is that why my trips to Zurich on an A300 seem so long, going from ORD? Funny what one thinks about as they are riding along at 39,000 feet.

Brad is still in BKK until next Monday. That should be enough time to resolve his passport issue, as they are supposed to have a temporary one for him Thursday. He'll have to apply for replacement ASAP as he is heading back to BKK in early December! I know that there is expedited service available, but is there a face-to-face passport office in Chicago where we could stop next Monday afternoon when he arrives at OHare?

Carol

lol Carol - I learnt a long time ago never to meet people for the first time when I'm jetlagged. It's not pretty.

Now now, doggie, I'd certainly take that into consideration and not hold it against you. After all, it's also not a good idea to meet someone for the first time when one has been wandering thru the markets at Pratunam all day!

maybe next time????

Carol

(hanuman, I also got some great video, just downloaded it and had a look... how to post on youtube?)

Oh, of course Carol - I'm not avoiding you. lol. Perish the thought. But I am a little bit shy... I always feel that, in person, the mongrel would disappoint.

dog, I have yet to be disappointed in any fodorite I've met face to face. All of them have interesting lives!

Gonna leave the Red Carpet and go out and walk for the next hour, so I'll have a bit of exercise before boarding my long flight to Chicago. I'll "see" everyone after I get back to my home-sweet-home.

C

i have not read this all yet but will when we return home later this week...

had a fun 24 hours with smeagol over the weekend... it was her birthday...

visiting other english friends for a couple of days now before our return home on wednesday nite... then 9 days home and its thailand with the gpandas...can't wait...

enjoy the rest of your trip

B&K

I'll go if the Dogster goes.

I'm back home-sweet-home. UA upper deck was nice and quiet, so I slept almost aaalllllll the way home. I made my 3 hour drive from the Hyatt Regency OHare (which I can now recommend highly for a park/sleep/fly if one needs to do that) with my eyes wide open. Now the unpacking, sorting, etc begins.

Back to Chicago in a couple of days for a long weekend, then wait in the city until Monday to pick up Brad on his BKK return. A couple of days after that, it's off to Tulsa (I know, boring for most of you) for about a week, followed by Switzerland on Thanksgiving day for two weeks, and then back to BKK for the holidays!! A frantic (but fun) time ahead...

Carol

Bangkok-Tulsa. Hard to tell the difference. How do you know Brad is coming home?

I note that Thanksgiving is a holiday and we will be in BKK. Thai turkey!

Karen will NOT agree to eating Maeng's Thai turkey on T'giving although I'm sure all would enjoy that experience.

BKK/Tulsa... um, have you been to BOTH? BIG differences. I'd much rather be in BKK, but will enjoy Tulsa anyway.

Brad WILL be home. He needs to go to Tulsa as well, and he knows it. He will have an emergency passport in hand, and he will have to get a new one... trust me... he'll be home next Monday!

I will be in Tulsa next week. I have to go.

The party at Hanuman's on Monday night was fantastic. Thank you again.

don't miss the golden corral in tulsa.

plus, i don't plan to eat turkey in bangkok.

we are heading home later today, having spent 5 fun days in england... then only 9 days till we head to bkk

Bob, Karen, have a safe trip home. I hope Bangkok is ready for your return. Brad, see you next Monday afternoon. Ken, you're not eating Maeng's turkey either? You are missing out. The "trimmings" offer a slightly different take on tradition.

Up at 5 this morning... (jetlag)

C