Hmmm... sorry to hear the First Class Lounge at Narita isn't so fabulous.

If the immigration fast track at BKK works for Biz too that would be great!

Get some sleep, Carol. You have lots to do in the morning.

make sure one morning that you go and have the big breakfast....

try the meatballs in the italian restaurant....

Carol: Enjoy the Marriott breakfast on the Riverside Terrace at least one day. It is the BEST we have had in our several trips to BKK. In fact, our December trip includes "breakfast at the MR/S, even if we are staying at the Adelphi. We have stayed at the MR/S for part of a trip, but it is so remote that I wouldn't want to stay there for the entire time. But I realize that everyone is different and has other ideas.

See you at the AS in December!

Sandra

Good morning! I think I slept about 2 hours... :) so I'm not very bright eyed and busytailed, but at least I'm up. I'm hungrier than I thought, so I will head to the buffet this morning as soon as I've caught up with fodorite reading.

The pool at the Marriott RS stays open until 11 pm... so says the hostess who showed me to my room last night. Great looking pool! If I were the lie-by-the-pool sort, I'd be in 7th heaven I think.

My room is in the wing nearest to the Taksin BTS station, but on the pool side of the building. I can see both the pool and the river. Very pleasant. Thai style. Wooden floor. Balcony w/two chairs is nice, albeit humid. Bed is comfortable and covered with feather pillows (I asked for that). Being a gold elite member has its priviledges!

I wish the bathroom had a separate shower stall... that would be my one BIG request. The slope of the sides of the bathtub make it just a bit tricky for standing and showering; but the mat in the bottom of the tub helps. Lots of nice big towels, which I like. Bathrobe was useful, as were the slippers this morning. Good assortment of channels on the big flatscreen TV. (I like Fox News.. Adelphi Suites only has CNN Int'l and BBC plus a couple of other English channels that I don't particularly enjoy)

HT, I'll be sure to give you the name of the printing company. You should try to see their factory. Very state of the art!

Maeng called me last night, and she says she is once again making the chili that I so dearly love! (did I already tell you that?) My mind is fuzzy and my tummy is rumbling.

I'm off to the office after b'fast in the buffet.

Bangkok is humid. The Club Lounge is humid. But, hey, it's BANGKOK!

Kathie, the RCC 1st class lounge is 'nice'... I guess I'm not sure just what I was expecting. I'll be checking out the ANA lounge on my way home. I did not know what to expect, so maybe disappointing isn't quite what I should say about the RCC First Class Lounge. I DID hear, however, that the 1st class Thai lounge at BKK is absolutely fabulous.. best in the world (?)... this according to the Aussie fellow I met during my trip over. BTW, he only travels first class. Paid for life-long 1st class about 20 years ago, at the price of $270,000!!!!!! (cough cough, sputter sputter)

And now I'm officially STARVING!

Have a great day, everyone.

Carol

(Hi Sandra... yes... see you in DEC at the AS)

There is still a 50 Baht surcharge for getting a taxi from the queue. The AOT has put out a bid for a new company to manage the queue that won't charge the management fee, but that won't be finalized until the end of the year, at best.

i am rarely asked for the 50 B

rhk - that's because you tip so ferociously that even a BKK taxi driver is laid mute.

You laid a mute?

Carol....did not see u today, we have room 631 got ugraded to junior suite, then u have separate huge shower and huge tub...
We are touring tomorrow at 8am with Tong or I think one of her girl Kun, so we will be at the market for breakfast at 7:00am
Hope to see you then
Evelyne

Hi, carol just missed you, passing through BKK from Cambodia on the way to Malaysia. Might be back on Sat.

Since your DH and DS are not with you DON'T forget our date this Thursday!

hey---where is she...??

I'm here. I just typed for about 15 minutes, a nice long report, only to discover that my internet connection dropped off.. (inactivity I guess???) so I can't post what I just wrote!!!! AAAARRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHHH Get me back to soi 8!

I'll check in from Adelphi where I can type to my heart's content and not lose my connection in the process.

Breakfast was with Evelyne... lovely!
Hanuman, I'll see you tomorrow for lunch! Looking forward to it.

I'll be back on line once I hit soi 8.

Carol

Carol, how are the rooms at the Adelphi? I'm considering staying there in November. Are the studios big enough or should I go for a deluxe/executive room?

I’ve learned my lesson! This is a ‘Word’ document that I’m going to copy and paste onto my fodors post! Aren’t I the clever one… haha… better than typing for a long time and losing it all because of inactivity on the internet. The good news is, once I get to Adelphi tomorrow morning, that won’t happen again. Plus, I can do internet in my jammies… free… in my apartment! I have to be ‘dressed’ to go into the lounge here at Marriott to make use of my free internet. That’s OK… I‘ll deal with it.
Now, let’s see what I was trying to say for the last two days… before being so rudely ‘dropped’ from my on line connection. After I post this, I will go back and read all the new posts and reply, as needed.
First of all, Maeng and I will go to Samui for 3 nights! Yes!!! She has consented to leaving BKK for that long. I’m very pleased. The bar will be closed Monday and Tuesday as it is a big Thai Buddhist holiday. Many people who work in offices will enjoy a 4-day weekend. Lots of them are travelling. Samui tickets on Bangkok Airways were not cheap, but then, they never are cheap to Samui. I’ve contacted my friend on Samui who owns a resort on Chaweng Beach, and we’re all set. We’re also doing a one-day run to Chiang Mai. That one will be on Thai, on Saturday the 31st, right before I head back home.
Yesterday, that’s Tuesday, I spent about 3 hours at the office, working on the 550 page book project that has been requiring my attention for the past couple of months. There were only very minor things to ‘fix’ and I should see a digital proof on Friday. Hope it looks fantastic. Cross your fingers for me.
Dinner yesterday was at the Pickled Liver. I tried Maeng’s ‘new’ (old recipe) chili. Yum! I can’t explain why her chili is so awesome… it just IS. Dr Jack was AWOL until later in the evening, and by the time he arrived I was gone, as I nearly fell asleep with my face in my chili bowl! I left PL at about 7 and was in my bed at the Marriott, sound asleep, by 8:05! I was really pooped! Too tired to head to the lounge for internet or drink or food.
This morning (now we’re on Wednesday) I had a lovely breakfast with Evelyne and family, here in the buffet. I’m sure they are having a ball today with one of Tong’s guides. I think shopping was a main focus today for them.
Me, I had breakfast, headed to the lounge to post (and lost my long update…see above) and then off to MBK. I wanted to top up my BKK cell phone sim card so that it is good for yet another year. I like keeping my same phone number.
A bit of shopping in the Tokyu department store. Looking for specific clothing items, but did not find what I wanted. I had more success at Paragon though. Maeng and I met up there and then had a Haagen Dazs treat. I needed to hit VASU (32.2 exch rate today) to get some baht for dollars.
Then off to the travel agent to book the trips to Samui and Chiang Mai. I’m really glad Maeng will be joining me, as she needs to get out of town.
Back to the Marriott for a cocktail, canapé, whatever they are offering, in the lounge. I’ll be heading down there shortly. First I’m cooling off in my AC.
I’ve been past the two only ‘real evidence’ of the Red Shirts destruction a couple of times now. Everytime I pass Central World and see the results of the fire, I think that this was truly a horrible thing to have happened. I cannot tell whether re-construction is yet underway, but I’ll be hanuman knows.
The other bit of evidence is a theater which I’ve seen many times from the Siam BTS station (across from Paragon Mall). The theater was destroyed. Again, a horrible result. So sad.
Other than that, Bangkok appears to be back to normal. The skytrain is very busy! I think they are maybe running more trains, as you have to stop along the tracks before Saphan Taksin station to wait while a train coming from the other side of the river is dropping off and picking up passengers. The track at Saphan Taksin is only one way. I wonder if they will have a way to make it two-way at some point?
There is construction at Siam Discovery. I assume they are expanding. I was told that there will be a new shopping/hotel complex next to the parking lot by Central Chidlom department store. There has been a vacant lot there for a very long time. Right now, that lot is occupied by a carnival. There are all sorts of rides for kids. I have yet to see anyone there! My friend at the printing company, whose office window overlooks this vacant lot, says that there is no place to park so that a family could visit the carnival!
Packing up and leaving the Marriott tomorrow after breakfast. Back to soi 8 and my home away from home. Looking forward to visiting Pook and Dang at their home for lunch! And then, Thursday night is quiz night at the Pickled Liver! I can’t miss that! Not that I know all the answers… haha There have been a few ‘fodorites’ teams, but never a winning team. Tomorrow I’m hoping Dr Jack will let me join his team, since I’m a ‘solo fodorite’ unless MichaelBKK and/or vinovino and/or dogster would show up.
Evelyne and family will be meeting Maeng on Friday. We’re going to the PL to eat garlic shrimp, and who knows what else. Maeng will surprise us, I’m sure.
OK. Time to discuss what I like/don’t like about the Marriott, since I leave tomorrow. The resort is, indeed, an oasis in this chaotic city. The shuttle boat ride is quite pleasant. The cold towel (no more bottle of water…) is a welcome relief from the heat. And trust me, Bangkok is hot right now!
I don’t like missing the shuttle boat, since it’s a half hour before the next one. I took a taxi the other day, because I needed to get to the office, and the shuttle had just left. I had the taxi take me to the closest BTS station on the Marriott side of the river. From there, I caught the skytrain and made it into the city just fine.
I wish there was a separate shower in the bathroom. The slant of the sides of the tub is just a bit tricky when standing to shower. I wish the Marriott were only about 5 minutes away from Maeng’s, rather than 45 minutes! This resort is just way too far from Sukhumvit…sorry.
The breakfast buffet gets an A+. The pool gets an A+. The friendliness of the staff gets an A+. My room is very comfortable, the bed is great, and I like the big flat screen TV. I don’t like having to go to the lounge to get my free internet. Yes, you can get on line from your room, but it’ll cost you.
I have not tried the restaurants here at the hotel. I also have not been across the drive into the little mini mall. There has been no time for this. Remember, Bangkok is a city where you can have just ONE thing you MUST do in a day, and NOT get it done!!! (I’m smiling)
I have probably ‘lost’ some of you with this long report. Sorry ‘bout that. For those of you still with me, thanks for coming along. I still have lots to do before heading back home.
Carol

Well, I see that my usual paragraphs did not work very well on that post. Sorry 'bout that.

Re: the Adelphi. mcbg1... are you solo? Do you require a washing machine for keeping up with laundry? I find that the studio is just fine for solo, but me, I keep the washing machine busy just about every other morning, with a load of wash. I travel with only a few outfits, and it is certainly nice to wash them and hang them to dry. The studios do not have the washing machine. The deluxe and executive one bedroom apartments do have the washer. I am always staying in an executive apartment, but this time I'm moving into a deluxe, for at least the next four nights after leaving the Marriott. I'll make up my mind about my last four nights at Adelphi after trying out the deluxe. I may or may not ask to be put back into an executive apartment. We'll see.

But to answer your question, the studio is an adequate size, yes.

I'm having finger foods and a glass of wine in the Marriott lounge. Lovely. Won't need to go out and buy dinner, as there is enough to fill me up right here. I don't like eating a large meal right before bedtime anyway. I'm sure I'll be asleep by 9-10 tonight, as I'm starting to yawn, and it's just 7pm. Jet lag...

Enjoy your day!

See you soon, pook.

Carol

Great post, Carol - lots of good news and info. If you hit the preview button before posting, you can spot things like lost paragraph spacing and correct them before posting. Your post was really not that difficult to read though.

Tell Pook that Craig and Jeane say "Hi".

and give mony, dang and pook hugs from us.....

i agree it would be way nicer if marriott would extend the club internet access to your room....

i can't believe that you have not even walked through the mini-mall... there are a couple of good shops out there...

i very often take taxis to sukhumvit area from the marriott....they use rama III with zooms you quickly over to sukhumvit....the only hang up is usually at the end of asoke where it joins sukhumvit....frequently the traffic is backed up briefly there.... it really depends on what time of day...
but then of course you miss the fantastic ride on the ferry, which we really love....each time we see different stuff along the river, even though we have probably taken that route 500 times...