"Kathie on Jan 5, 17 at 4:54am
Thanks, Guenmai! I remember you told us that a year ago, I'm just checking to see if anything changed. We like Biscotti, though I don't know if it will work for us now that Cheryl has gone gluten-free."

Gluten free? Yikes! With me already having 3, major food allergies, if I ever have to give up gluten, it will be a disaster.

The Biscotti lunch buffet seems pretty gluten free. I think the only item on it that has gluten is the bread. It's basically seafood (shrimp and cooked ahi tuna), chicken, meat, fois gras (sp?), lettuce type of salad, roasted vegetables like zucchini and other ones, and some other items of which I don't remember.

I don't remember seeing any pasta on the buffet table. I just ordered my pasta dish separately. It's a small buffet, but a very good one. Plus, I'm sure that they can work around gluten free. When I ordered my pasta dish, I mentioned that I have a major dairy allergy (except for butter) so the chef made me the same dish, on the menu, but without dairy as it was in a lobster bisque sauce that usually has dairy in it.

Happy Travels!

Guenmai I look forward to your visit to my panorama suite! The reservation is indeed in my last name. If you tell the desk we are in the panorama suite they will know who we are and will call us.

I remember our lovely day in Beverly Hills. That has been many years ago!

Carol: I'm on my way over. I just finished lunch at Biscotti and came back up to my room to get out my MacBook to check here and to also check some e-mails. So, I'll jump on the skytrain and head on over. It's time for us to be lounge lizard on that terrace. LOL! See you soon. Smiles.

Happy Travels!

Get off the skytrain at Asok and walk towards Emporium ang the walkway. Make a right into the exchange building to get to the ground. If you look up you will see the big sign for Long Table restaurant which is on 25th floor of our Column Tower building. See you soon.

Guenmai, I am just delighted to have finally gotten to see you again after a number of years. Such a pleasant visit. Lots of memories we share as well as loads of laughter. It's good for the soul and for whatever ails you.

I hope you enjoy your lengthy S E Asia vacation to the fullest. It sounds like you have plenty to keep you busy. Wish I could stay longer but, alas, there are places to go, people to see and things to do when I get home.

Let's not wait so long before we see each other again.

Carol: I just got back to Rajadamri about 40 minutes ago. I decided not to go over to Terminal 21 as I didn't want to get in the skytrain rush-hour situation. I guess I beat rush hour as I actually got a seat.

I had a blast today chatting with you. And I swear my cheeks are still sore from laughing so much. I might have to go have a facial tomorrow to have them realigned. LOL!

You look great and I love the short hair.

Now, you and Lat need to practice our penguin dance. All three of us would be great on Youtube doing, The Penguin. LMAO!!!

I just noticed your directions of how to get to your place. I left my hotel room at 1PM straight up and just noticed that you posted at 1:07PM. I just winged it as I had an idea where your building was. Plus, I stopped and asked 3 Thai people in which direction, from the skytrain, that suk 16 was on as I wanted to go out the correct exit. It's good that they understood my Thai. I've been down that street a lot in the past years.

I can't believe the size of your mega terrace that looks like half of a football field. Yikes. I'm still spinning though as that's a bit high up for me. I like to stick to no more than 8 floors up. LOL!

Well, have a safe trip home next week, but keep posting before you leave.

Happy Travels!

I'm glad you two were able to meet up in Bangkok. It is always a special pleasure to meet a friend in Bangkok!

You guys sound like you had such fun. So did I reading about it. Keep it coming guys.

I'm looking forward to the movie version of this dialogue, perhaps starring Meryl Streep and Julianne Moore. You two can battle it out as to who plays who.

So glad you are better, and out and about, Carol.

It's early Saturday morning and I am awake. Today is our last full day in the panorama suite, as we move to the JW tomorrow for our last couple of days.

We had 3 groups of visitors yesterday. The first group was not anyone we know. It was photographers and filming crews looking at the terrace as their location for a French commercial, to be filmed end of next week. There were about a dozen people and they were here for around one hour. Lucky for us, they did not interrupt our morning routine! We were told that the commercial is for tissue paper...but we don't know if that means kleenex or toilet paper....

Next came Lars, Pong and Angelee who are back home in Bangkok after spending their holiday in Denmark. It was good to see them again, as always. They had stories to tell about their travels. We laughed for hours, well into the early evening, when group 3 arrived. Group 3 is all Thai. These are business people who have become friends.

Hopefully I have more "me" time today! So much excitement in one day is very tiring.

Rest up for your move to the JW. The JW is a very nice hotel, but won't hold a candle to your panorama suite!

If the film people were French and said the commercial was for tissue, it might be a photo shoot for some Thai silks -- "tissu" = fabric in French.

Maybe so, Don. Thanks. Two of the crew were French, the rest Thai. We asked the French people.

Today the window washers are here again. This time they will go over the front side of the terrace and wash about 7 floors of windows, going down to the lower level panorama suites. We have stayed on this lower level once. The view is not quite the same as ours.

I would ask the French for rent... 1+ hours... per person

after all they are french

Bob.. :)

I'm going out today. Not sure where. It will be busy everywhere, I'm sure.

I hope you have gotten some rest before your big move to the JW as I remember you mentioning moving for a couple of days.

By the way, while chatting with the staff here this morning, I was informed that the Swissotel on Wireless has been bought out by a hospital and will be turned into a wellness center and run hotel style. So, people will be able to check in to work on their health. That should be interesting.

Well, let me go. I've been trying to call my mom since 11:45PM last night and she's still not home and is out running around. My sister e-mailed me this morning and mentioned that my mom is still out and about and I don't have my mom's cell phone number. She has one of those high-tech phones while I have an Old School flip phone. LOL! I have an 89-year-old teenager. I even tried calling an hour ago and she's still out. Yikes! I'll give it one more try, in 15 minutes, and then that's it.

Take it easy and I hope you rest up when you transfer over to the JM.

Happy Travels!

Oh, forgot to mention that the hotel here provides a cell phone in the room where one can call the U.S. for free and also take the phone out while here in Bangkok. So, I didn't have to take out my Old School MBK flip phone and go down to 7-Eleven and try to find a SIM card for it. I was able to just use the phone here. The phone says, "Handy Phone-Revolutionizing Travel. I hope my other hotels have this system as I didn't get it last year from any of my many hotels.

Happy Travels!

Hope you get a nice room at the J W. I remember one room we had it was looooog and skinny with a post in the middle...really weird. The club will make up for it.

Karen, I am blowing some of the Hua Hin points I got back for a large suite. We should be just fine. :) baht price per night 10500... costs more than our huge panorama suite!!!

We ended up going to Lars and Pong's for dinner last night. Lars is an amazing chef. When we left there I had a good walk part of the way back to Column. I need the exercise.

From JW I will maybe walk to Central Embassy mall for a look around. I have a Monday morning follow-up at Bumrungrad. Hope my horrible infection is completely gone.....

The guys have an appt with the printing company Monday afternoon. Hoping we are soon ready to print. I have seriously slipped on my proofing job... must get back to work on it...

Bangkok has been overcast most days on this trip. Rain and storms have been in the forecast for a couple of days but we have had neither. But boy do I enjoy the pleasant temps and nice breeze at 37 floors up!!

Soon we will head home to the cold and snow of Illinois. Would rather stay here, believe me, but that doesn't fit in the schedule. I was hoping to have done a lot more here, but due to health issues I did a lot of resting instead. Not all bad...

You have done a lot even with the health issues.
It's too bad that it's overcast today and a bit of rain. I need to transfer hotels in about half an hour and hope it isn't raining then. But, I've just taken out my rain poncho. The bellhop and I will roll my luggage over to my new hotel.

Take care

Happy Travels!

DH and I will go to the executive lounge for food tonight.

Enjoying a Star Wars marathon tribute to Carrie Fisher. I haven't seen the 3 original movies for decades!

We enjoyed the moderate temps and even the overcast days. Made it easy to get out and about. Hope they have something good in the lounge for dinner. We sometimes order a pizza delivered up there to eat with the salad etc. enjoy

It was a Japanese theme last night. Not my favorite. I have a hard time looking at and smelling food. I wonder if it is/was some of my medications. Who knows... I just know that meal time is a big challenge!

Off to Bumrungrad shortly. Hoping for a good report. Wish me luck.

I hope for good test results for you, Carol.

Wishing you good results at Bumrungrad.

Happy Travels!

The doctors say I don't need more meds!!! Yeah!!! I am ok to travel home tomorrow night. So yes, it was good news.

We walked to and from Bummy from the JW so more good exercise for me. Time to rest now. The guys have a meeting with the printer.

Great news!!! Just get your rest before you fly home tomorrow night as we all know how tiring these long flights can be. Smiles.

Happy Travels!

I'm glad to hear that, Carol. Have a good flight home.

Carol: I just got in from dinner at Nahm, Metropolitan Hotel, about an hour and a half ago. Dinner was quite good, but I thought better last year. I treated my Thai friend to dinner there. She loved it and it was her first time. It took us 30 minutes and 69 baht to get there from the Dusit Thani where I am now. Last year, my Thai friend, her boyfriend, and I walked there from the Dusit Thani as they came with me when I wanted to put in a Nahm reservation in person.

Since My Thai friend and I were having dinner and it was already dark and raining a bit, we took a taxi. The traffic was beyond scary, even for Bangkok traffic. We arrived at 7PM straight up and our reservation was for 7PM.

On the way back to the Dusit Thani, we took a taxi and it was only 47 baht and normal traffic. I'll check out of the Dusit Thani tomorrow as I'm here for only 1 night and then will move on to the next hotel for one night. I like my room and got a room at club level for less than $139. a night on Expedia, plus $24. tax. This location put me close to both Nahm and I thought to Singapore Air.

Earlier today, I needed to get to Singapore Air and the address that popped up, on Google, is right across the street from the Dusit Thani. So, I asked the hotel staff first about the address and the staff checked the address and then directed me on how to walk there. Well, I got there and it was a construction site with workers working away renovating the building. Yikes! So, I walked over to another hotel and asked its concierge where Singapore Air was and was told that it had moved to Sathorn. Well, I wasn't about to take the sky train to Chongnonsi and then look for the Sathron Square and find Singapore Air. I went back to the Dusit Thani, went down to their bakery, bought a blueberry muffin and then went back to my room. Their bakery is really good and I had the best blueberry muffin that I've ever had outside of home. I then rested up until my Thai friend arrived and we taxi-ed over to Nahm. What a day.

Happy Travels!

We have late check out (4pm) here at JW. DS and Lat have their Omni apartment as late as they want. I assume we will all leave for the airport from JW in a large van.

Lars and Pong are coming here for lunch today so we will see them one last time. They are such great friends. They feel like family.

This has been one of the "quietest" trips, ever, to my favotite city. I regret not having new restaurants or shopping places to report, but I have really needed to indulge myself in a lot of rest and relaxation. One more big hurdlle when I get back home (surgical) and maybe I can begin to feel normal again. HOPE SO ANYWAY!!

I am actually ready to go home..

Carol, you may be the only person on Fodors who I enjoy reading your reports whatever you do! Lounging on the balcony, going to the Pickled Liver, enjoying a fav restaurant, spending time with Lars and Pong, shopping, editing a job, driving to the beach, etc. Your reports allow for a wholly different perspective on Bangkok -- like a resident and not a tourist. They are so fun to read. I have binge-read your old reports like I binge-watch TV shows! So thank you once again for bringing us along. I am sorry that it was not the trip you imagined, but so happy you got great medical care and were able to recover from your infection. Can't wait for the next trip!

Lola... thank you so much for that kind reply! I don't think of myself as a tourist in Bangkok, having been here 41 times over the last 15 years. I really do feel quite at home here.

Trip #42 will hopefully happen in April. I know that DH and DS will be here sooner than that to tie up our big publishing project. Whether I travel with them depends entirely on my health issues.

Guenmai...enjoy your stay throughout S E Asia, as I know you have a number of destinations this time. Enjoy the shopping and dining. I know you will fill your suitcases with all kinds of treasures!!

Take care, Carol and safe trip home. Keep in touch!

Now, I need to get ready to change hotels again. I guess I temporarily lost my mind when I decided to hotel hop in Week 2. But on Wednesday, in Week 3, I'll be back to normal and back in a condo. LOL! Then, after these 3 weeks in Bangkok, it's on to the next 3 weeks of my vacation in the region. I'm almost half way through it. Smiles. My Thai friends and I can't believe that a year has already flown by since I was last here. It's been 19 years now of coming to Bangkok.

Happy Travels!