Live from Bangkok...
 

Good morning friends. I'm safe and sound in Bangkok, staying once again on soi 4 at the Omni Towers. I have a very nice apartment on the 33rd floor for the first five nights. The cost is 1500 baht per night. This apt overlooks the Conrad Hotel and Bayoke Tower and is quite a bit larger than the one in had in February. The view is wonderful from 33 floors up! This apartment doesn't have a hot pot (very unusual) and I did not bring mine from home (purchased at MBK a few years ago) but a friend who lives here at Omni let me borrow his for my stay. My kitchen is pretty sparcely accessorized this time. Don't know why... other than I'm renting NOT from the hotel part, which I did the last time (which is about 1000 baht more per night) but from the condo association rentals on the lower level of the lobby. The friend who lives here got son and I each our own 1-bedroom apartment. We don't get maid service for this price, but you can catch the maids in the hallway, slip them some baht, and they will gladly tidy up. I'm only here for five nights as we are leaving for Phuket on Monday. When we return, I'll have a different apartment as the one I have now will be rented to someone else by that time.

We don't have Phuket reservations yet, but there won't be a problem getting something. I'll let you all know what bargains we discover. Our friend who has a tailor shop, mini mart, and travel desk at the National Stadium skytrain station, down the stairs at exit 1, is helping us with plans. I have not yet arranged any tailoring with him, but doubt that I will since I don't really need anything done this trip.

Yesterday, my first full day here, I was pretty jetlagged. I ventured down to MBK to get a new SIM card for my mobile phone so that "we" can all stay in touch while in Thailand. Then I went to Siam Discovery to see what is playing at the EGV Gold Class theaters. I've talked about this theater before. It is absolutely the most plush movie theater anywhere. The Gold Class theater has only 30 seats and each one is a Lazyboy type recliner. Some have massage built in. You get pillow and blanket and footies so you are as comfy as you would be at home while you watch a movie. You can have a glass of wine, beer, popcorn, etc. as there is a little table between each set of two chairs. I think we will go see "The Transporter"... (?) as son says that is a good movie. One person in our group saw it yesterday and recommended it.

My feet got very tired yesterday as I'm not yet used to the heat and humidity and trapsing up and down the steps to the skytrain stations. It's great exercise! But with tired feet that were burning on the bottoms it wasn't quite so much pleasure walking around. Will venture out once again today. Son says that Bangkok is the one place where you can have ONE THING on your agenda, and NOT get it done!!! LOL LOL LOL My ONE thing today is to go to see "Od" at a Central Chitlom Department store hair salon to have him cut and color my long curly hair once again. He did my hair last February and it looked really nice. I'm dealing with naturally curly hair only for about the last two years of my life (the result of anesthesia during a very long surgery) and I appreciate a stylist who can do a good job with it and give me some helpful tips to boot.

As far as weather, we had rain when we landed in BKK on Wednesday night at 10:45pm. The days have been cloudy in the morning, but we've not had showers. You see people carrying umbrellas, but they are not needing them. The temps are in the low 90s so it's hot and sticky. Just the way I remember BKK!!

Last night's dinner was just a cup of soup in my room as I was jetlagged and did not care to venture out. The first night here, we went at midnight/12:15ish to the Brunswick to say hello to Ming, and then to the "old" Hillary bar here on soi 4 where some other friends and members of our "group" were playing pool. We then visited a very nice upscale rooftop bar (only about 3-4 floors up) on soi 4, for a nightcap. It was hard getting to sleep. I hoped I would "crash" when my head hit the pillow, but that didn't happen. Thank goodness I have work to do on the book (proof reading) as I'm waking up before the sunrise!! Once the jetlag goes away I will sleep better, I'm sure.

I have asked an acquaintance here at Omni, a retired SanFran lawyer, about the situation with the Sofitel, soon to be Hilton Millenium. We'll see if he can give me any of the scuttlebutt from the locals. He is full of interesting information about all sorts of political scandals here in BKK, such as the new airport being built on a swamp! Only in BKK...

It's 11 am and time to head for Central Chitlom. I'll be back on line with you once again later on today, or tomorrow morning for sure.

Sawadee kah,
Carol

Great to hear from you.

Carol (or anyone else) what is the cheapest and easiest way to make calls back to the states from thailand. I am going to need to call and check on my mother while I'm there this time. In the past I just direct dialed from my hotel but I only called once a trip. This time I will need to call every couple of days so I'd love a cheaper alternative if there is one that doesn't involve huge inconvenience.

get a calling card from 7-11

or dial
007 or 009 (which are cheeper then 001 calls)

Carol-great to hear you've landed in BKK. Why don't you go to MBK and see if one of the stalls can sell you an "e", to eliminate confusion.

nice slow start for you....your feet will improve with some good thai cotton between them and the soles of your shoes...have a foot treatment...people seem to love them...

since you can see the conrad from your room take a walk over there for lunch one day at the liu rest. on the 3rd floor....the best dim sum you will ever have....flat fee for all you can eat and you order from a little menu that has a short description of each item...yum, yum

looking forward to the next segment...

aloha carol....
have a great trip and i look forward to your phuket report...

Good morning once again, everyone.
Hold the presses! Yesterday I made a comment about not getting maid service with my apartment. I was wrong. They will come in and clean and replenish towels and sheets every other day.

Today really looked like rain at 9 this morning, but now the sun is breaking the clouds away, so looks like another lovely hot day in BKK.

Last night we had a great dinner at a new place on soi 2. The Majestic Grand hotel just opened a few months ago. It is a lovely new hotel, with at least two nice restaurants inside. We tried "Sacz" on the first floor near the lobby (live jazz music, good Italian food). You could get a pizza for about 300 baht or less, depending on toppings. A bottle of Chilean red was about 2600 baht. The presentation of the foie gras was amazing. I even took a picture of the plate before we indulged in it. It was "beautiful" to say the least.

The other restaurant in Majestic is on the 4th or 5th floor. A friend has recommended it. It overlooks the pool. Will have to check it out, since it is so close. Tonight, this friend is cooking at his condo so we will not be trying a local restaurant. Hopefully today will be full of activity so I have something to report back to my "audience" out there in cyber space.

We also found a nice bar/restaurant at the Erewan last night. This hotel is no longer a Grand Hyatt. The bar and restaurant is called Spasso. The atmosphere is very nice there. We didn't eat, just had a glass of wine at the bar. There is a stage where a really good pop rock band plays live. This would be a nice place for dinner and dancing, I would think.

Guenmai, do you visit Peninsula Plaza at all? It's right next door to your favorite (Four Seasons). We went in there last night to find a friend who works there. Nice shopping place with very upscale shops. It deserves a better look sometime.

Most or many of you know that I am a retired teacher of 33 years, at the elementary level. One of my former students is now on Samui on business. He emailed home and said to send his things... he would not be coming back home!! LOL LOL LOL WE KNEW this would happen, right?

Son and a friend had dinner together two nights ago, and I wanted to report on "Majaraga Restaurant" on soi 29. It is Thai fusion cooking. Son said the meal was really excellent, but very expensive. 9000 baht for two, but they had a nice red wine to go with set dinner at 2200 baht per person. I didn't get details of what they ate, but many of you have taken my son's suggestions when visiting in BKK and have said they were very good. Son was the first one to tell me (and I then told all of you) about the Bed Supper Club. He usually gets the scoop on the best places!

There is a small pool tournament going on today at Hillary. Orgy7 if you are reading this, I'll be at the tournament this afternoon around 3ish, I would say. Maybe see you there? Oh, and my hair isn't curly right now as I had "Od" style it yesterday and he straightened it besides.

Gloria, I would suggest to you that you get a phone card, just as others have said. It would be the most convenient way to call home, and certainly less expensive than calling from your hotel room. Hotels usually charge horrendous fees for making calls from your room. You probably pay twice what you would by using a phone card.

Bob, the feet are feeling much better today. I am on the lookout for some socks that fit in my flipflops!!!

I'll "see" everyone later! You have a great day, where ever you may be.

Carol

hyatt name is gone....interesting...spasso has been around for a while...it is in many of the guide books...

penn plaza has lots of upscale places....in fact the owner of the prasart museum has a reproduction/antique shop there on maybe the 3rd floor in the back...interesting place...

looking forward to tomorrow's report..

enjoy..

Carol said "Bob, the feet are feeling much better today. I am on the lookout for some socks that fit in my flipflops!!!"

If you find a shop that caters to the Japanese community, you'll probably find some. Ask for "tabi".
I'm enoying your report!

spasso, thats one odd place. durring the day it's one the finnist italian restaraunts in town, at night it turn into one of the cities most upscale freelance prostitue pick up bars. I found that out the anyoying way.

Simpson. so close yet so far. I have thai class at that time today.. but please keep me posted of other oportunities we may be to meet.

have fun.

roberto; do you ever go to sleep?

orgy, thank goodness you never take me to these places, like spasso. :-)

It's 5:45 in the afternoon here, so it must be before sunrise back in the US. I've been enjoying myself today with a small bit of shopping at MBK. We have now booked our Phuket trip for Monday to Wednesday. We are going to stay at the Katathani in junior suites. I'm anxious to see this place as the brochure looks very nice. Kata Noi is a very quiet beach so we should enjoy peace and quiet for a couple of days. The price per person, including airfare on Thai, two nights in jr. suite, airport transfers on Phuket to and from, plus breakfast at the hotel os about $355 per person. Thai has a cheaper flight special during September but you must travel later in the afternoon to take advantage of the price. I don't want to wait until 3 in the afternoon to fly to Phuket. I want to get there early so I can enjoy more time there. So, we leave at 10:45 in the morning from BKK. I know I've read other posts about Katathani and some folks have asked about it. I shall give a firsthand report of my opinion. The Boathouse was actually cheaper than Katathani. That surprised me a lot. I have stayed at Boathouse before so wanted to try a new place. Villa Royale also had some specials during off season that would include massages and cooking classes and I don't know what all.... I do not want to be tied down to any sort of schedule so that was not something I wanted to do this time. The price was about $200 per night. I wish I could get my villa for that price during peak holiday season!!

I'm off to dinner cooked by a Danish friend who lives here. It will be a Mexican dinner tonight, with me providing part of the needed spices, which I brought to the cook in my suitcase. I'm sure it will be a very tasty dinner indeed.

More tomorrow...
Carol

carol---that hotel in phuket is one of two that jamesA suggested to me for my last trip....it looked very nice on line so i hope you will like it...

have a good time...

bob

Enjoying your report. Liked the bit about your former student wanting to stay. Keep it coming!

Sawadee kah from Bangkok once again.

The dinner party last night was great fun. The food was excellent. What a great cook our Danish friend is. He should open a restaurant. Speaking of restaurants, we shall try to get into the Bed Supper Club tonight for dinner. Sunday night is not surprise menu night. I shall make a list of the items on the menu so I can report back what is being served tonight. I would imagine that a trip to Sky Bar will be in order afterwards, since we will all be "dressed" for the evening.

My cell phone rang this morning at 6am Thai time, waking me up from a pretty good sleep. When my DH was on the other end, I first thought TROUBLE at home, but thank goodness it was a very minor problem that was easily solved.

Gloria, I also have an elderly mother, age 90, who still lives in the house where I grew up. She has a sharp mind but her body is getting pretty frail. I always wonder if something might happen while I am so far away. But, one makes plans and then follows through, and hopes everything is OK. So far, so good.

Bob, I have a brochure for the Katathani and yes, it does look very nice. I am very pleased to hear that James recommended it to you, as I trust his judgement. It should be very quiet as it is located on Kata Noi beach. I should be able to see Villa Royale from there. Villa Royale was having a special deal, as I mentioned before, but since I have stayed there twice before (and absolutely LOVED the place) I opted for something new. The "boys" let me make the choice. Wasn't that nice of them?! After I made the reservations, I stopped by the big pool tournament, and one of the girls there lives on Phuket now. She says Kata Thani is "OK" but she hoped we would not be disappointed. I guess that remains to be seen. I shall certainly give my report. For those of you going to Boston, I shall have many photos on my laptop which I will gladly share with anyone interested.

Craig, I am most anxious to meet up with my former student next time he comes back to his hometown. I know he is only joking when he says he is not coming home from Samui... (we ALL say or think that, don't we???) I just really had to laugh when DH emailed me with the comment about staying. For me it was like, duh... yah... I was not at all surprised. I think it just caught the young man off guard, as the place is so laid back and the people are so friendly. Not to mention the fact that Thailand is such a bargain. It's too bad the young man can't take time to visit Bangkok on this trip. He was actually lucky to get a few days of R & R on Samui before and after the big gig. He normally flies in and out right before and right after. This time he could stop and smell the roses, as we say.

Remembering that BKK is the place where you can have ONE thing to do in a day and NOT get it done... I have one thing to do, and that is to go to MBK and buy a great sturdy little hard side cabin size bag to take to Phuket tomorrow. I tried to buy it yesterday but the man wouldn't reduce the price. After looking around at other places, I know it's the one I want, so I shall try once more.... and then BUY IT!! I may also pick up a few more little things for sorority sales, as I have noted some really cute new items. I haven't shopped at Pratunam yet, so I don't want to get too excited about making too many purchases. I am always surprised to find that there are more new products everytime I come here. It's such a great place to shop.

The weather today is the sunniest I've seen yet. I'm sure it's 90 plus, and humid, but hey, this is BKK. I would not want it any other way.

Orgy7, sorry about not being able to meet up yesterday. When I get back from Phuket, on Wednesday late afternoon, I shall try once more to find a meeting place. Are you near Saxaphone? One of the "boys" really wants to go there to hear the jazz. If not there, do you know the "old" Hillary Bar? It is just down the street from Brunswick, near the Raja Hotel. That is where the "boys" seem to be playing pool, rather than the Brunswick so much anymore. But I DO want to have a bowl of Ming's chili. She came to last night's dinner party and I told her I would be coming in sometime soon. I had brought several boxes of chocolate to the dinner, and when Ming left the party, so did a box of the chocolate!! That's fine... she's such a sweetheart, and I know how much she loves chocolate! It's a real treat for her.

I'll report back in later, but will sort of 'hang around' this forum for a little while, in case there are any fresh new questions to answer.

Carol

simpson.... saxiphone is about a 3 minute walk form my apartment. I've yet too go myself so It would be nice to check out the place myself.
here is schedual of events.
http://www.saxophonepub.com/music.htm

I could probably find hillary.

have you made it too central lad prao yet... it may not be that great, but as I said they have some funky shops in the basement.

the one place that always catches my attention is a store the sells scale models of world building. they have all the main landmarks like big ben, empire state building. taj majal. and they also cary wat arun and other thai landmarks I think thier so cool.

Good evening everyone. I just typed the most wonderful report about tonight's dinner at the Bed Supper Club and I LOST it. AAAAARRRRGGGHHHHHH I hate when that happens. I'm tired and I don't really want to type the whole thing again but I shall hit the highlights.

We were the first party to arrive at dinner tonight, at 7:30. Most folks came around 8 to 8:30ish. We noted a "car" (minus engine and other parts) parked right in the center of the dining room. Of course, we wondered "why" ... There was a "bed" in the car also. We thought it might be another "table" at the place??

The menu for tonight included:
Starters:
Cold crab meat soup
Bar-b-q duck breast
Cos and rocket lettuce salad
Mains:
Balinese Gindara filet
Alaska sea scallops
Kangaroo loin
Chicken breast
Tenderloin of beef
Desserts:
Sorbet trio
Green tea pendan cake
Molton chocolate capuccino

I had the cold crab soup, the Bali fish, and the chocolate dessert. It was all absolutely to die for. Wish I could make the dessert. It as even more delicious than my favorite choc cake that oozes chocolate when you cut into it.

Part way into the evening, a guy in a grease monkey suit, carrying a beer and a tool box, comes into the restaurant. We thought, hmmm what's going on in the kitchen??? Well, the guy had Billy Bob buck teeth and talked like a hick. Turns out, HE was the evening's entertainment.

He "worked" on the car sitting in the middle of the room. We were right in front of his work place so we had a lot of fun interracting with him. We had photos in the car, some "with" the machanic, on the "bed" in the car. It was an absolute riot! I'll have photos in Boston for those of you coming east.

If you have been to the bed before, you will understand what I'm talking about when I say the entertainment for the evening was a mechanic, working on a car. If you've not been to Bed Supper Club in BKK yet, it is a MUST DO for the most amazing meal and unique experience!!! ANYWHERE!!! I cannot recommend it highly enough.

orgy7... can we try to meet up at the Brunswick maybe on Thursday afternoon around 5? I'll try to be there.

We are off to Phuket rather early in the morning so I must trot off to bed. I don't know about wireless on Kata Noi Beach. I'm having my doubts... but I shall try my best to report live from Phuket, if at all possible.

Carol

aloha carol....

we are loving your adventure reports...
does the bed supper club have open menu options? we have a vegetarian and a non fish eater in our group? is there a better nite to go?

looking forward to your phuket report...that is also on our itinerary next month

Good morning and aloha,dive diva,and others who are reading fodors now,

I'm up early as we have a 9am van picking us up to go to Phuket. I decided to have a light breakfast before leaving the Omni so here I am in the lobby using my Wifi. I am packing to vacate my apartment, and will get another one when we return on Wednesday.

Re: Bed Supper Club. Everytime I go there, the menu has different things on it. It is always wonderful!! I think I've read here (maybe guenmai can fill you in) that if you ask, they can give you vegetarian meals. If you go on Friday and Saturday, I think that is the "surprise menu" and they don't tell you what is being served. They come around and ask you if there are things you cannot eat. If you tell them you are vegetarian, you will probably not be served fish or meat. I'm not vegetarian (although I could be one very easily) so I don't have to deal with those issues.

A typhoon is headed for northern Thailand, according to the weather. We have plenty of sun here in BKK though. It's another beautiful day at 8 am. One of our group members went to Chiang Mai for an overnight buying trip (he also imports to the US like we do) and he said it was really wet up there. We do not have a reason to go to CM this trip, thank goodness.

Well, I've got things to do before we leave the Omni so I'd best get busy. I want to make sure I'm ready to hop on the van in about 45 minutes. I am so anxious to get to the beach for a little bitof rest and relaxation.

I'll post more from Phuket, either using my wifi or by finding an internet cafe.

Carol

Glad you arrived safely and are having a great time. As for the Peninsula Plaza question...yes...I have been to that Plaza, but it has never appealed to me.During last month's trip, I didn't even walk over there and it's right next door. Oh, by the way...outside of my window at the Four Seasons and to the left,there was a big building under construction...probably in back of the Peninsula Plaza area. I was curious about it and was hoping it would be serviced apartments as I would love to live near Rajadamri Rd...my #1 choice of areas. Anyhow, I asked the concierge at the FS what was going on and he said that it is supposed to be the Ritz Carlton. Interesting. But, he also said that he thinks they have pulled out of the deal. So who knows what it will end up being. While in Kuala Lumpur a few years back, I stayed at the Ritz Carlton. So, if it ends up a Ritz Carlton, I'll have to try it out,too. SO many hotels and so little time to try them all out. Oh, regarding your feet burning on the bottom. I've only had that happen once...the first trip to S.E.Asia back in the 90s when I was wondering around the region for 3 weeks. I had packed tennis shoes...a mistake...burning bottoms of the feet. But, good I had taken along my Rockports with the kind of sole that's made for walking-type of shoes. Well, I've never had feet burning with those kinds of soles...and I've worn them through hot Ghana, West Africa,too. I just went into Easy Spirit yesterday and the new collection is out and I bought khaki-colored hiking-boot looking shoes($89), but they are no where near the heavy weight of hiking boots. I love Easy Spirit shoes for SE Asian climate. Go on easyspirit.com and maybe there's a photo of the ones I'm talking about. Happy Travels!