Bangkok trip highlights
 

Am now nearing the end of my trip and am back in Bangkok. Won't go through a daily trip diary because so much of what I did was just social but I will give some hightlights and a few disappointments.

Prasart Museum -- I went for the first time last year and went again this time so Ann could see it. We both loved it and it definitely deserves a second visit. Ratt took us. As some of you may recall she had a bit of an altercation with Mr. Prasart when she took me there last year and I wasn't sure she'd be willing to go back. But while he remains on her "not favorite" list she goes there all the time with customers.

Went to two of the new mentions on the nancy chandler website. One was the M.R. Kukrit House which is a bit like Jim Thompson without the crowds in terms of architecture and grounds although it is not on a klong. However, his collection is not particularly interesting from an artistic standpoint but is from a historical point of view since much of the collection were gifts from world leaders. I found the house very intersting since I have had a long interest in Kukrit both as a statesman and as a writer (4 Reigns is a book I always recommend) so I found it a very worthwhile visit. However I certainly wouldn't put it on a must see list for first timers unless you have that interest.

Bangrak Museum -- basically a waste of time I felt. Usually I agree with nancy chandler's recommendations but not this time.

Sky Bar -- definitely should be a must see. really spectacular. Never seen anything like it. Crowd was very young when I was there and pretty busy.

Face -- this was the biggest disappointment for me thus far. I was really lookin forward to our meal. We went for lunch and were the only ones there which didn't help. Ann had pad thai which was ok -- nothing special. I had a minced chicken with lemongrass and garlic, chili and ginger baked in a banana leaf that was inedible. Probably the worst food I've eaten since arriving in asia. Service was awful which was even more absurd considering we were the only two people there. We shared spring rolls that were ok but very greasy. The room itself was pretty but there was no toilet paper in the bathroom -- again a bit weird since we were the first and so far the only customers of the day -- we got there at 12:30 and left at 1:45 and didn't see another person. I was fully expecting this to be a new favorite restaurant so was truly disappointed. Our lunch at lemongrass in terms of food, service and atmosphere was 1000% better.

More later

WOW---face better get their act together....we much preferred our nite time visit....

the PM's house....that is on my list of do's this time....is it only open on weekends?

keep the info coming

bob

Your experience at Face is worrisome. Our food there was really excellent, though the service was slightly slow (not a problem for us as we weren't in a hurry). It was on out list for a return visit.

I appreciate your report, Gloria!

Bob-- yes the Kukrit House is open on weekends. We got there at 10AM and spent about an hour there. You can roam around on your own or ask for a guide -- we did the latter.

Kathie-- I wouldn't have cared if the service was slow since we also weren't in a hurry but they couldn't even manage to bring the food at the same time and when they did bring mine it wasn't even hot. And we had to ask for our drink three times before it came. Again, with only two people in the place that seemed a bit absurd. Obviously this could be a fluke experience but it was really bad.

Ok-- now for a comparison of the Garden versus the River wing at the Oriental. We stayed in both this trip so I can actually compare. The garden wing rooms are unique and really lovely. Mine was a split level. There is a much more private/exclusive feel to this wing since there are only 34 rooms. Bathrobes are silk not cotton.
However, if you're getting on in years you should know that you will be climbing stairs both in and to your room (although some of the rooms are on one floor you still have stairs to get to them) and there is a step into a deep tub/shower which I hated. There is no separate shower stall except in the suites in this wing. Personally because of my age I realised that I now prefer the river wing and told them not to upgrade me again to the garden. The rooms are not as unique and the standard rooms are not huge but I like the busier feel of that end of the hotel, the shower stall and the no steps. By the way for those who were complaining about the toilet area not being private -- the shutters close completely so if you want privacy you can have it and if you don't you can get some daylight. Absolutely not a problem and actually a nice touch.

Big highlight in the food department is China House. Went back and ordered something other than Peking Duck and it was truly superb. This is definitely my favorite restaurant in Bangkok in terms of food, service, ambience and value.

Bed Supper Club fun and food good but not sure it's a place I'd return to every year. Twice is sort of enough.

On Sunday Ratt suggested we have lunch at a place called Methavalai Sorndaeng across from Democracy Monument. It was filled with local thai families having Sunday lunch -- we were the only westerners. The place was large and decorated in a very old fashioned european style. There was a pianist and singers (one old and one young -- both women, both fat, both fairly unattractive -- very different from the thai woman working at tourist restaurants). Menu was thai and chinese and food was excellent and very cheap. We had four different things and ann had a coconut drink and total cost for the two of us was under $10. Singers were singing thai songs -- not one western one. It was a lot of fun. Definitely would recommend. Food is not "gourmet" but 1000% better than what we had at face for a lot less money and at least there were a lot of people here. Service was very pleasant and efficient.

Just came back from the lunch buffet at Lord Jim which was outstanding. Fish was fabulous. Ann had the sushi which she said was as good as she has ever had. Restaurant was full -- about 50% were local thai people either doing business or celebrating something.

Turns out my last day will work out well. I leave after midnight tomorrow (ann leaves in the morning) and I've been told I could keep my room until around 9PM at no charge --- and you wonder why I keep going back to the Oriental? :-) Plus there is a cocktail party that begins at 6:30 so I can go to that, change clothes, check out and go to the airport. A perfect way to end the trip.

Gloria,

I have been following your postings with interest.

We also had dinner at Methavalai Sarn Daeng in November mainly because it was near where we were staying and we had found mention of it in Lonely Planet. It did have a certain style about it. Again, the place was packed out and we were the only Westerners there. The music was like Thai-style lounge music. The evening we were there, there was a succession of about 10 female singers of a certain age and elegant style. My partner thought that it was the same woman changing her dress after every song! However, there was a table of them and I wondered if they were also customers. The band was fronted by a male singer and so there were some duets. The other diners were very appreciative and would sometimes present the singers including the male with a pink carnation with a 100 baht note wrapped around the stem. It was only the second dinner we had had in Thailand and was much better and more upmarket than the previous evening where we had eaten at the other restaurant at the the Democracy Monument, called Vijit where again we were the only non-Thai customers. Although, I kind of wondered if we might have be missing out on the culinary delights of some of the more popular Bangkok restaurants, it felt like we had stumbled upon some kind of middle class Thai dining experience and the meal we had was enjoyable.

Thanks for your report(s) Gloria - I have enjoyed the new information...

Went to bamboo Bar for jazz last night. The group was terrific -- even better than in the past. However, as usual I could only stay an hour before the smoke got to me.

Gloria
Do enjoy your last day in BKK. I assume Ann is on her way home now. The Bamboo Bar is a great place to sit for a drink. It's too bad the smoke bothers you so much. I'm married to a cigar smoker so I'm used to it.
Carol

Hi Carol-
Yes, Ann is on her way home. I'm having a lay low day. A foot and leg massage, final check and pick up of clothes at cotton house, lunch somewhere, pack, cocktail party and then to the airport. I can't believe this trip is over.

I love the bamboo bar. In addition to the smoke issue for me the fact that the jazz doesn't really get started until after 10 (they only have a pianist earlier) means that it is often past my bedtime. :-) I'm not much of a late nighter largely because no matter when I go to sleep I wake up at 5 AM so 11PM is my typical bedtime.

Gloria
I'm not much of a late-nighter either. But if there is nice smooth jazz music, I might manage to keep my eyes open! lol

Have a safe trip by to ORD.

Carol

Interesting, Gloria about Face. I had oily food,too. It wasn't the best Thai food I've ever had...to say the least. I had one fish dish that I would order again, but would ask them to cut down on the oil. I tasted my Thai friend's pad thai which I wasn't impressed with. So, if I'm going to spend a substantial amount of money on food, then give me Basil at the Sheraton Grande Sukumvit anyday where, as far as I'm concerned, my lunch was worth every baht of the 1900+ baht bill. I took the leftovers home and ate them for dinner. Yum...yum...There are too many good places to eat in Bangkok to settle for mediocre. Happy Travels!

hmmm... Two people whose opinions I respect had food was wasn't good at Face in January. Does the good chef go on vacation in January???

here is my 2 cents worth....i think some of it might have to do with lunch....the thai rest. is the only thing open at lunch so maybe the staff is very short and the best cooks are not on duty....maybe the boss is not there and things become lax...??????

we had one bad dish at lunch also....a pork dish that was all fat...there also were not many people there that day...and service was ok but not good...

the chicken dish is the same one that terryr had and she said it was not good in her trip report....

Picked up my clothes from Cotton House. I now have a new work and casual wardrobe. Had 3 pairs of wool pants, 1 wool suit, 1 silk suit, 3 pairs of cotton pants and 10 pants ant top outfits in a variety of fabrics. Total cost for all of the above was $1,300 and it all looks great.I'd say that's good value.

Bob-- it looks like I won't make it to Tongue Thai. Was going to go last night but there was not a single person in the restaurant so we decided against it. And today I decided I wanted to end my trip with a sure bet so I had dim sum at China House -- superb. And tonight I'll have my dinner at the cocktail party.

As for Face -- I have a feeling the Indian restaurant is the one to go to. It's gotten pretty consistent reviews which obviously the thai one has not.

Bob, Gloria, here's my experience with Face: We had lunch at the Thai part and while there were few people there, the food was really excellent. So it's not just a lunch/dinner issue. One of the dishes we had was a duck dish and it was superb.

We had dinner at the Indian part. Service was still a bit off. The food was very competently prepared but wasn't as special as the Thai dishes we had.

Gloria, I hope you are having a smooth flight home!

In the thai business lounge waiting for my flight to board. Forgot that on the non stop flights to the states Thai actually opens and checks all luggage which is why they say you should be at the airport 3 hours ahead. The Oriental had someone waiting for me when I arrived and he took all my luggage and hoisted it to the various places. Considering the weight of my luggage that was a real pleasure.

Gloria, do you recommend arriving 3 hours prior to your flight? Do they open all luggage as opposed to x-raying it? Also how is the business class lounge?

Craig-- before they x-ray your luggage they open it and thoroughly go through it. I'd say they spent about 3 or 4 minutes going through my bags. So it can take a lot of time. And this part of check in is the same no matter what class you're flying. When I arrived there were very few people there and it took me about 15 minutes to have my luggage checked and about 45 min total from arrival to the business lounge. The guy from the Oriental said the line is very long later.

Business lounge is lousy. I think there is a better one but it's very far from the gate.

Gloria,
Thanks for the informative report!
I've made a note of Methavalai Sarn Daeng restaurant for future reference.

Our experience with Face's Thai restaurant was for dinner, and we thought it was fine, but nothing to rave about.

We had thought about going to Tongue Thai, too, but found it almost empty so we went somewhere else! I can't imagine that they'll stay open long if that continues to be the case.

Have a good trip home!

i am perplexed....why not go into a restaurant that has few people in it when you have rave reviews from fodorites?/ just curious??

I know it sounds funny, but I don't like eating in a restaurant that's empty- it's too quiet.

And part of what I want when eating out is the feeling of conviviality and the people-watching that you have in a crowded place. The atmosphere feels more comfortable to me when a restaurant is full of people.

ok---reasonable

Gloria...what's this about Thai opening suitcases on non-stop flights to the States? I had a Thai non-stop to L.A. a few weeks ago and nothing was opened. I even checked in three suitcases although I was only supposed to be allowed two. I was checked in in about 20 minutes and that was it. Happy Travels!

Odd- guen. Did you leave from terminal 2? It seems to be standard on the JFK nonstop.

The thai nonstop to JFK was a pleasure even though I had to change airports to fly to Chicago. We left at 1:05 AM which meant that since I didn't have to check out until 9PM I essentially had a free day in Bangkok. Business class was about 80% full but the other sections were pretty empty. I found the timing of the flight to be super. They served drinks and a light meal immediately upon take off. I had some wine and a bit to eat and was asleep by 2AM. Woke up at 5AM to go to the bathroom and fell back asleep until 8. They served breakfast at 9 and I went back to sleep for a couple more hours. They served water, drinks and snacks whenever you wanted them but the next meal was served two hours before landing and it was dinner. Personally I wish dinner had been the second meal and breakfast the third but I guess it doesn't much matter. Food is ok but not nearly as good as Malaysia last year.

I find the seats very comfortable but it takes some adjusting and playing with it to get it to the most comfortable position for you -- I found the completely flat position to be less comfortable than some other ones for sleeping. Flight is about 17 hours. We landed at about 6:20AM. I was through immigration, customs and had my luggage by 6:50 and caught a 7:00AM bus to LaGuardia (cost is $13). Got to LaGuardia at 8AM and was able to change my 11AM flight to the 9AM flight to Chicago. Landed in Chicago at 10AM and was home by 11AM. Not bad. Now I have the whole day to unpack, get my dogs, relax and get ready to go back to work tomorrow. I'd take this flight again anytime.

don't forget to go see mom.... oh maybe she had the dogs i forget...

wait till the office sees you in your new duds...

welcome home...

gloria....karen wants to know, did cotton house supply all of the fabric?? including the wools...??

That's interesting what you said about Tongue Thai as we ALMOST left when we got there as we were the ONLY people there. After we ordered though, lo and behold, the place started filling up until when we left it had only 1 table free.

I could never figure out the timing of when people really eat in bangkok though??

aloha,
gaz

Bob-- yes, Cotton House provided all the fabric including the wool. Once I told them what I wanted they brought some additional fabric samples to the store.

For newbies who like Jim Thompson fabric I want to urge you to go to the outlet. We went twice and they had a lot of different things each time. The price difference is generally around 50% so a huge saving.

gloria...did you go to both outlets??

Welcome home, Gloria! I look forward to hearing more about your trip when you have some time to recover a bit.

Gloria
I'm glad you made it home safe and sound. Hope the dogs and your mom got along without you...

Now you can start planning the Chicago GTG!! lol I know you'll be busy and also trying to adjust to the new time after such a lengthy stay in Thailand.

I'm on my way to Chiang Mai this morning for an overnight visit. Not sure what I'm going to buy there... if anything. I'll know it when(and if) I see it.

Carol

I'll come up with some possible weekends for the Chicago GTG and post them in the next few days.

Bob-- I only went to the outlet out of the city center since I wasn't looking for fabric but was buying placemats, napkins, handbags, ties and other gift items.

WHAT DID YOU GET ME??? I'M SO EXCITED?? OK SO YOU DIDN'T GET ME ANYTHING.... how about a piece of soap from the oriental?? or a napkin or an ashtray...??

was your esperience at lord jim the same as always?? some have reported it slipping....i can't imagine it...i do think someone said they did not like the new decor---maybe that was you...

B ob-- I LOVE the new decor at Lord jim-- think it;s spectacular and both the lunch buffet and dinner was superb. It had always been my least favorite restaurant at the hotel but now I love it -- although it is American prices so expensive. I think the food is much better than in the past and others must agree -- in the past it used to be empty but it's packed these days with both tourists and locals.

It's the new decor of the Verandah that I don't like.

I agree. The food was very good and the place looks very nice. I ate dinner there the night that I stayed at the Oriental in Aug 2005. The prices though were over the top. Happy Travels!

I agree about the prices -- it's in the American price range for restaurants -- although still cheaper than Sirocco. It does have some "reasonable" entrees -- mine was 650 baht--so prices can be kept down but it is definitely expensive. Unless money is not an issue, it should be saved for a special evening. The lunch buffet, however,is an excellent value and the food and selection is spectacular.