btw, i am now one nite short of regaining my marriott gold status, and that will be taken care of next month...

Carol, be sure to say hello to Maeng from Leny and I and tell her how much I miss her chili. The Adelphi must feel like going home for you by now, what a great location. PLease say hello to Lars, Pong and Jack for us also. It is hot, sticky and humid back here but I'd rather be hot, sticky and humid there. Have a great time on Samui.

don't need a mag this time in bkk to protect yourself either..

Bob, will Marriott gold status give you complimentary in-room internet? What are the most significant benefits that you look forward to receiving?

Bob if you had stayed at Hyatt that many times you would be a Diamond member already and get real benefits.....

Aloha!

I agree about Hyatt. I rarely stay at Mariotts anymore but found it took forever to get points to make much of a reward. But Hyatt offers lots of deals to their Gold Passport members. Most recently -- for any two stays at ANY level of Hyatt you get one free night at ANY Hyatt world wide. So I made a point of staying at four Hyatt Place hotels (averaging about $79 each) for a night each when I needed a motel, and my reward? Two free nights at Grand Hyatt Hong Kong worth about $425 each!

Then they sent me a platinum membership card for several things, including free internet at Hyatts -- something I've been complaining about on here for a while.

I really think Pook, Dang, and Mony are Bangkok's most friendly and welcoming 'host family'! I hope the 'powers that be' realize what wonderful representatives they are, on behalf of their beautiful country.

I am back just a short time ago from a visit to their beautiful home outside of Bangkok, and a delicious (think really YUMMY) lunch! Dang went out of her way to avoid my strange food allergies in preparing her array of delicious delicacies. Mmmm, mmmmm, mmmm! Now I know why I enjoy Asian food. Ah, the flavors... and it doesn't have to be spicy. Pook, please tell Dang that I truly enjoyed all of it, but was particularly surprised by the unique flavor of the taro/sticky rice/gingko dessert!! Fabulous!

Pook's driver came right at the appointed time, to pick me up at the Adelphi on soi 8 to drive me out to the house. Traffic was moving right along on the trip out of the city, but as is typical of Sukhumvit, it was stop and go once you try to return to the city center, and come down that last exit ramp and join the traffic on Sukhumvit! Job well done by Pook's driver. I was delivered back to my home away from home... I think I dozed off during the ride back into the city. Jetlag can be a real bummer.

Thank you thank you, Pook, Dang, and Mony, for such a pleasant time! It was a great way to spend a part of my day.

I'm definitely going to order a pair of those shoes... you know what I'm talking about, Pook. :)

Now I need to curl up for about a 2-hour nap so I can be awake for quiz night at the Pickled Liver.

Hi John and Leny. Haven't seen your posts on here for quite a while. I will, indeed, give everyone your best. I know the are all going to ask when you two will be returning to BKK!

Craig, thanks for the nice compliment on my post. I'm glad you thought it was informative.

And now, like I said before... NAP TIME!

Oh, before I forget, happy birthday Pook!! Enjoy your dinner with family tonight.

Carol

It was our pleasure Carol. Nice to see you again and have fun in Samui!

i guess the most valuable gold perks to me are the upgrades in room category and the free internet (not always in your room---sometimes only in the club) and club privledges...

for instance, carol reports that on her current stay at the marriott riverside, they only have offered her free internet in the lounge... i will try to push for in room too when i am there in october...

i also like the late checkout---sometimes they will extend that to 6PM...

i do like the hyatt program too....but, recently they have increased their point requirement for stays quite a bit... they do have tons of add ons, even for non-status guests...

btw, i find that if you are a marriott status guest, the renaissance chain treats you in a superior fashion to the marriott.... the same holds true for le meridien in the sheraton group...

but i am currently finding the sheraton/starwoods program to be the most appealing....with their cash and points deals, you can stay for as little as 1200 pts plus $25 for a single night....i find that many of the thai properties are available for 2800 pts plus $45 which is a steal for the likes of the plaza anthanee in bkk.... even the dreaded ROS is the same...

btw, the hyatt does not have an allied credit card program which makes it harder to earn non-stay points....

How did you do at Quiz Night?

What is Quiz Night?

Thursday nights at Pickled Liver they have a trivia contest.

Great fun.

Jack was AWOL yet again. He missed a fun quiz night. Maeng says he is very busy with treating sick people. I have not seen him yet! I do know, from an email, that the new 'stuff' I brought for him was perfect, and very timely. I'm hoping to see him soon.

I sat at the corner of the bar and gave Nick's team a few answers that they did not otherwise know :) I left right after the music part of the quiz.. I only knew two songs... pathetic. I was really tired and needed sleep. The good news is, I'm now rested and ready to take on BKK. Maybe I slept so well because I'm back 'home' at Adelphi???

Speaking of Adelphi, I'm back in an executive apartment. The deluxes were all full. I'm on the top floor (penthouse). Great view. I'll get a deluxe apartment after Samui. I've already placed my booking request.

Evelyne, I do so look forward to taking you and your family to the Pickled Liver tonight for dinner. I hope you enjoy your evening at the PL. There are some 'colorful' characters there.. very much like "Cheers" the old TV series. "everybody knows your name" It's just a fun place!

John, you and Gene and Gary would make a good team. You'll have to try it sometime. Last night's quiz master was a Canadian guy. He had theme questions. Tricky!

Today, Platinum Mall. I think I'll taxi there. Looks like rain. We had a big heavy downpour that started last night at about 5:00 and it was still in the left-over sprinkles stage when I left quiz night around 9:45.

Pook, there was a guy named Peter at the PL last night, who was also celebrating his birthday. His cake was carrot cake so I passed on eating any. Maeng had mango and sticky rice for me (that was my dinner :) last night... That's OK. I wasn't hungry!) This morning I'm ready to shower and tear into the breakfast buffet downstairs. Not nearly as big as the one at the Marriott, but still, enough to fill me up. I like the fruit, yogurt, eggs, etc.

Now, off the eat breakfast and take on BKK. Laundry is done for the time being... I did loads in between napping last night.

I want to go to the basement at Paragon and pick up some delicacies for my fridge. They have some of the best looking foods there. Always fresh!

Carol

You only knew 2 songs?

I woulda known em all.

There was one you would NOT have know. You had to be a Brit to get it. The rest of 'em, yeah, you would have known them.

You'd be surprised.

My husband and I are going to BKK in Jan 2011 and using Marriott points. We are Gold members. I was under the impression that the Marriott Resorts and Spas didn't have an Executive Club that was available to us. It was in their website. simpsonc510, it seems you were able to access "The Club." Is that correct?

Absolutely, a_traveler99...I made full use of "the club" during my visit, as a gold elite member. It is not an enclosed 'room' but rather a nicely appointed 'space' on the lobby floor, that has wooden foldable walls around it.. very Thai style, I'd say. Very comfortable. Casual, but not overly casual. No swim suits or short shorts... I think you would be turned away if not properly dressed. But maybe someone else can comment on that, someone who stays there all the time. This was only my first visit to the M R&S on the river.

Let's hope Bob (rhkkmk) can convince the powers that be to open up free internet to gold members IN THEIR ROOMS as well. That would be fantastic. I love powering up my laptop at 'all hours' and I can do that if I'm in my room, in my jammies, or whatever!

Shopping at Central Chitlom Department Store was really good today. I brought 3 shopping bags full of goodies back to my apartment... all for ME! There are some good sales. Guenmai, if you are following along here, they have sales in the British India department, as well as the Journal department. I love both of those brands.

Am enjoying an iced coffee and caprese salad at Monsoon (the restaurant on the main floor at my Adelphi apartment bldg). Can't recommend it more highly. It looks almost too pretty to eat! The chef here does a great job w/presentation. But the salad itself is really tasty too!

Interesting side note... the daily newspaper delivered to my room at the Marriott was the Nation. Here, I don't get a paper delivered, but I can read both the Nation and the Bangkok Post in the lobby, which I do most days. Bangkok Post today reports that the Thai economy is bouncing back quite nicely. Wonder what hanuman thinks about that headline?

Adelphi is very busy. There was only one empty table at breakfast this morning! All nationalities stay here, and many are families with small children. It is a very family friendly place. The same staff has been at the front desk and the doormen and bellmen, etc. since I started staying here two years ago! They must be doing something right. Not to mention, I'm always praising this place on the internet... (and no, I'm not a paid spokesperson)

I wish it would just rain and get it over with today. The humidity is a killer. It's also pretty hot out there. A nice (monsoon) rain shower might cool it down a bit!

Think I'll head over the Platinum Fashion Mall for a little bit, by taxi. I would usually take the skytrain to Chitlom and walk thru Central World... but since the fire, it is not open... (so sad) and I'd rather not walk past it to get to Platinum!! (my own way of protesting the redshirts' actions?)

More later. Evelyne, still hoping to see you here at 6, for dinner at the Pickled Liver!

Carol

Just finished a fantastic meal at the Pickled Liver with Evelyne and family. I think they all had a really good time, and they thought Maeng's cooking was delicious! It was a mix of Thai and Indian dishes, plus mango (no sticky rice tonight) for dessert. A really fun evening!

(psst... rhkkmk... Bob, just to let you know, Evelyne's husband Joseline (I've probably spelled it wrong) says HE is the happy sexy Buddha. Maeng rubbed his belly for good luck. You have competition!)

I showed Evelyne and family my apartment at Adelphi, just so they can see what a typical serviced apartment has to offer. I think they were pleasantly surprised. More new customers?

We had another heavy rain this afternoon, but it didn't last very long... not like yesterday. It's still pretty sticky outside however. The rain didn't cool things down very much, if at all.

I read in today's Bangkok Post that the Thais are dropping a bunch of old beat up Chinese military tanks into the Gulf of Thailand in order to create new maring/dive sites. It'll be a while before it looks very interesting, unless you divers just want to see some old tanks up close and personal.. haha. I thought it was a pretty clever idea, and a good use for the old tanks, perhaps.

For those of you who stay at the Marriott on the river, a travel agent friend told me that come August, half of the resort will be closed for renovation, for about 3 months The other half will still be open for business. I don't know which half, and I don't know if there will be a noise problem during renovation? The travel agent did say that Benihana will be closed during that period of time, if that is any clue to which 'half' will be renovated.

I passed Central World today, in a taxi, on my way to the Platinum Mall. It would appear that Isetan (the store at the 'other' end of the mall from the big fire) is open for business. Not sure about Centara Grande Hotel, but it just might have re-opened as well. The rest of the mall and hotel complex appears to be closed. I can't tell whether there is renovation going on. It looks like demolition is underway though, behind the big wall.

Tomorrow I'm meeting Maeng at the weekend market. There are a few things on my list (requests from friends at home) so I do have shopping to do. Not quite the same as when I was buying for a small (hobby) vendor space.

I hope you enjoy your day. I'm going to hit the sack in about an hour.

Carol