PART II, RHK'S IN ASIA
Jun 9th, 2008 | 10:23 AM
#81
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 11,334
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Well, not only do you have to work in a suit and tie in your office (smile) but you also have to put on your kung-fu outfit and take care of bad guys!! Now get busy!! No more PHB's allowed. You've got work to do.
lol (welcome back to reality)
Carol
lol (welcome back to reality)
Carol
Jun 9th, 2008 | 01:26 PM
#82
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 6,664
Likes: 0
Carol's "sympathies" are also held by my co-workers. Their basic opinion is that I spent two 1/2 weeks in paradise, so I deserve whatever jet lag I get. This is not the way of the Panda. Forgiveness and charity towards others are our guidelines.
I can't tell you how much enjoyment I get from putting this stuff on Bob's thread.
I can't tell you how much enjoyment I get from putting this stuff on Bob's thread.
Jun 11th, 2008 | 07:46 AM
#89
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 6,664
Likes: 0
I actually think he's on the Andaman Sea portion of his sojourn. Phuket (Meridien beach resort0, Krabi (Sheraton) and Khao Lak (Sheraton). He was very proud to have gotten all these with cash and points at a real bargain. Of course it's a bargain. It's the rainy season.
Jun 11th, 2008 | 11:33 PM
#90
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 29,053
Likes: 0
June 8 (cont)
After our swim, we decided that we would go search for a taxi stand to drive us to the airport tomorrow….we found several down near the beach road….800 B plus 60 B for the tolls… They will pick us up at the villa about 1:30 tomorrow afternoon…
Almost next door was a wi-fi place so we did wi-fi for a while and updated fodors and sent a couple of e mails…
One mail was to air asia….While at the K/L airport I had asked about a refund for our one way tickets from bkk to Singapore, as Singapore air has converted their Newark flight to all business class and we got bumped….i did not like their alternatives so I chose to fly ANA to narita, then united via Chicago directly to boston….the supervisor at k/l had suggested there was a good chance they might make the refund if I wrote to their customer service department….so lets see what happens…
From there we took a songran into pattaya to the avenue mall again….i had to have another one of those Arizona chicken sandwiches that I had had a few days ago at au bon pain….delicious….K had California chicken sandwich….
After lunch we headed over to starbucks for some more wifi, but they wanted to charge me so we went across the way to another coffee place and they offered free wifi….so we had ice cream there and worked on sending out our amazing mail cards….www.amazingmail.com (thanks patricia for suggesting this source)….this is a usa outfit that prints up postcards and mails them from the usa….you can use any photo you wish to upload and personalize the cards any way you want….they store your mailing list for free….current cost $1.12 per card….cards arrive in usa addresses in just a few days….so the gpanda speedo postcards are on the way to all fodorites everywhere….watch for them….well unless the US post office destroys them as obscene….
We decided to walk to the royal garden mall from there (attached to the pattaya Marriott)….along the way I twisted my ankle in a sidewalk hole and fell flat down….a few bruises and a crane to help me up and we were back on our way…we stopped at the Marriott lobby and asked for a bandage to fix one knee which was bleeding slightly…we bought some salve in the mall to make sure some of those thai “bugs” did not get into my cut knee….and some better larger bandages….walked around the mall a while, visited the lame jim Thompson outlet there and several other shops but only bought a greeting card….
Had some trouble getting a songran for the price I wanted for our return as I wanted to make two stops….finally found a really nice older man who agreed to my 150 offer and also to our two stops….i wanted a couple of gift certificates to give to gal and cherry as a thank you for hosting us here in pattaya, in addition to the meals I have treated them to
thus far…during the stops the man got out of the cab and talked to Karen, asking all about where we were from and about our family….another really nice thai….
For the rest of the afternoon we hung out reading, etc at the villa….
Gal is picking us up about 7 and we are all going to the fishing village south of here where we will feast on fish directly on the water’s edge….we have been there before and it is fabulous….i will get the name for publishing here later…..
The headquarters for the American fleet in pattaya is at the hard rock hotel so we went there to pick cherry up…..never have I seen so many young and slim kids with short hair…thought I was visiting a mid-west town in the 1950’s….
So off to the village we headed….it is about 2 townships south of jontien….the restaurant name is: Rimhad Seafood in bang saray…..we had a huge snapper fried, fried morning glories, grilled whole large shrimp, yellow curry crab (my favorite), fried rice, and beers and water….WOW…perhaps the best fish/seafood I have had since I was there the last time….so fresh and so well prepared…
We had a lot of fun….we made plans to meet again for Sunday brunch at the Marriott at the end of our trip…..we thanked them for the invite to come to pattaya and for the use of their villa….
Got home about 10:30….
June 9, 2008
Moving day yet again….planned for a leisurely morning as I had arranged for the car to come for us at 1:30PM for our ride to the airport for our 4:30 flight on air asia to phuket…
We sat around all morning after our breakfasts of two types of brown bread toast and coffee/water with jams we had purchased…..honestly we are getting a bit full of food….especially after the fantastic fishing village meal last nite…
Karen swam, I read----almost finished with my autobiography of Katherine Graham….
The packing was all done and we thought maybe we were within the 15 kilo limit each for air asia….almost but not quite as it turns out…
We again left one bag with gal to be redelivered to us at the Marriott at the end of the trip…
I’m having quite a bit of trouble with one little finger from my fall…..it is still quite swollen and hurts sometimes if I bend it one way or another or put pressure on it…my knee seems to be healing quite well and the other bruises are disappearing….i guess I was quite lucky to have not done some real damage….
The car arrives for us about 1:15….the security people called from the gate to let us know…the driver is very nice….the car is an older Volvo sedan---like 10 years old, but comfortable with a big trunk…..
The drive to the new airport take about an hour and ½…..the driver drives at a moderate pace which is nice….
Check in is extremely easy as there is no line to speak of…..for domestic flights there is a short cut to the gates so we take that and near to the gate we go into a garden restaurant for some lunch….i have a tuna sandwich and water and K has coke and some spaghetti…..
The plane is there when we get to the gate which is always a good sign….air asia flights load up early and often leave early as was the case with this flight…..the flight was scheduled for 4:30 and we pulled away from the gate at 4:20…fine with us….this time the plane is older, a 737, but equally comfortable to the newer airbuses that they us….all leather seating….we have aisle and window with a free seat in between, just as we have had on each of our flights thus far and this time in row 5 as they have blocked off the first two rows for some odd reason….the flight is uneventful….the pilots waste no time on the runways either….we head out fast to the take off runway and we waste no time getting to the gates upon arrival….its nice to see that in some places this can still be done, plus it saves times and $$ on fuel….
Arrival at phuket is easy….we are at the furthest out gate however….bags come out quite quickly and we head to the taxi stand….many people stop us to ask if we want taxis but we ignore them and keep going to the stand which is all the way to the right at the end of the building as you emerge….
It is here that we encounter our first negative thing on the trip….there is a small ramp allowing you to move smoothly down from the side walk to cross the street to the taxi stand….directly in front of the ramp is a huge trolley full of golf clubs and huge suitcases….sitting on the curb is a blob of a guy…..i ask him if this is his and he says yea in his ozzie accent….what’s the problem….i say you are blocking the ramp…”what’s the problem” he replies in a defiant tone…..i try to explain nicely but he is wayyyyyyyyyy toooooo arrogant to care…..karen warns me to shut up….warns me a couple of times…I expect that he will just slug me and I am dead….he moves it eventually or someone else does and I move across the way…..on the other side of the driveway is a shaved head guy who is the companion of the other ozzie….he is totally drunk and for the next 10 minutes puts on a show….yelling and screaming about wanting to fight everyone in
sight….finally their taxi comes and the one with hair is yelling at the other to get into the f______ car and shut up----over and over….its not looking good for a few minutes….so finally they are off….we figured that by 8PM that they both would have been tossed out of their hotel and would be in jail by the end of the nite….
Our taxi comes along shortly and we have a really nice driver….he explains that the trip will take about 1 hour or more to the Le Meridien…..which in fact takes almost 1 ½ hours….i had forgotten how far it is from the airport….
The Le Meridien Phuket Beach Resort is a huge place with about 450 rooms surrounding one of asia’s largest pool complexes….the property takes up one complete bay with a sandy beach…..like all asian hotel complexes there are lots of ups and downs on the property….almost everything is up a few stairs or down a few stairs….where is gene when you need him??? We are upgraded upon arrival to a 6th floor room (top floor) right next to the royal suite (where andy usually stays)…..we have a lovely balcony with great ocean and pool views and because of the 6th floor location we are above most of the tree tops so the view is even nicer…..we are very pleased with this room….it seems small after the villa in pattaya, which had several rooms and open space as well, but we are back to normal hotel living….
I think they have made a mistake on our room rate as they confirm it at points plus $5 per nite…..fine with me….it is a cash and points award rate of 2800 pts and $45 per nite….we will see at check out what they actually charge….
We settle in and decide we are ready to eat yet again….we look at the various restaurants: Japanese, Italian, international, buffet (asian nite today), thai and a couple of bars….we decide on the international…..we are the only people in the inside a/c room….others are outside, but I prefer the a/c when I am tired and eating….
We each chose the nitely special which has a choice of two items in each category and you could have 2 or 3 courses….we chose 3: duck salad, which was rare smoked duck beautifully presented with a small green salad and a balsamic reduction artfully spread around the plate…..for my main I had a medium rare mignon beef: a nice cut of filet, moderately tender, served with a medley of veggies (frozen I think)…..K chose the sweet and sour pork tenderloin with veggies and rice and a decorative salad…..for dessert we both had the single choice of mocha, hazelnut, frozen cream, chocolate cake….again artfully presented with sauce drizzled on the side….i forced all of mine down but K could only eat ½ of hers….it was actually 2 pieces on each plate….she brought the other ½ back to the room to eat later in our stay….
Back to the room and read and watched TV a bit before turning in…..our room is a twin and the beds are very comfortable….the bath is small but adequate….
As andy had told us, we would be very happy here….
They were closed for 8 months after the tsunami….they had limited damage, but I guess the pools were completely filled with debris….only one person from the staff died and that happened as he was driving to work that morning….
After our swim, we decided that we would go search for a taxi stand to drive us to the airport tomorrow….we found several down near the beach road….800 B plus 60 B for the tolls… They will pick us up at the villa about 1:30 tomorrow afternoon…
Almost next door was a wi-fi place so we did wi-fi for a while and updated fodors and sent a couple of e mails…
One mail was to air asia….While at the K/L airport I had asked about a refund for our one way tickets from bkk to Singapore, as Singapore air has converted their Newark flight to all business class and we got bumped….i did not like their alternatives so I chose to fly ANA to narita, then united via Chicago directly to boston….the supervisor at k/l had suggested there was a good chance they might make the refund if I wrote to their customer service department….so lets see what happens…
From there we took a songran into pattaya to the avenue mall again….i had to have another one of those Arizona chicken sandwiches that I had had a few days ago at au bon pain….delicious….K had California chicken sandwich….
After lunch we headed over to starbucks for some more wifi, but they wanted to charge me so we went across the way to another coffee place and they offered free wifi….so we had ice cream there and worked on sending out our amazing mail cards….www.amazingmail.com (thanks patricia for suggesting this source)….this is a usa outfit that prints up postcards and mails them from the usa….you can use any photo you wish to upload and personalize the cards any way you want….they store your mailing list for free….current cost $1.12 per card….cards arrive in usa addresses in just a few days….so the gpanda speedo postcards are on the way to all fodorites everywhere….watch for them….well unless the US post office destroys them as obscene….
We decided to walk to the royal garden mall from there (attached to the pattaya Marriott)….along the way I twisted my ankle in a sidewalk hole and fell flat down….a few bruises and a crane to help me up and we were back on our way…we stopped at the Marriott lobby and asked for a bandage to fix one knee which was bleeding slightly…we bought some salve in the mall to make sure some of those thai “bugs” did not get into my cut knee….and some better larger bandages….walked around the mall a while, visited the lame jim Thompson outlet there and several other shops but only bought a greeting card….
Had some trouble getting a songran for the price I wanted for our return as I wanted to make two stops….finally found a really nice older man who agreed to my 150 offer and also to our two stops….i wanted a couple of gift certificates to give to gal and cherry as a thank you for hosting us here in pattaya, in addition to the meals I have treated them to
thus far…during the stops the man got out of the cab and talked to Karen, asking all about where we were from and about our family….another really nice thai….
For the rest of the afternoon we hung out reading, etc at the villa….
Gal is picking us up about 7 and we are all going to the fishing village south of here where we will feast on fish directly on the water’s edge….we have been there before and it is fabulous….i will get the name for publishing here later…..
The headquarters for the American fleet in pattaya is at the hard rock hotel so we went there to pick cherry up…..never have I seen so many young and slim kids with short hair…thought I was visiting a mid-west town in the 1950’s….
So off to the village we headed….it is about 2 townships south of jontien….the restaurant name is: Rimhad Seafood in bang saray…..we had a huge snapper fried, fried morning glories, grilled whole large shrimp, yellow curry crab (my favorite), fried rice, and beers and water….WOW…perhaps the best fish/seafood I have had since I was there the last time….so fresh and so well prepared…
We had a lot of fun….we made plans to meet again for Sunday brunch at the Marriott at the end of our trip…..we thanked them for the invite to come to pattaya and for the use of their villa….
Got home about 10:30….
June 9, 2008
Moving day yet again….planned for a leisurely morning as I had arranged for the car to come for us at 1:30PM for our ride to the airport for our 4:30 flight on air asia to phuket…
We sat around all morning after our breakfasts of two types of brown bread toast and coffee/water with jams we had purchased…..honestly we are getting a bit full of food….especially after the fantastic fishing village meal last nite…
Karen swam, I read----almost finished with my autobiography of Katherine Graham….
The packing was all done and we thought maybe we were within the 15 kilo limit each for air asia….almost but not quite as it turns out…
We again left one bag with gal to be redelivered to us at the Marriott at the end of the trip…
I’m having quite a bit of trouble with one little finger from my fall…..it is still quite swollen and hurts sometimes if I bend it one way or another or put pressure on it…my knee seems to be healing quite well and the other bruises are disappearing….i guess I was quite lucky to have not done some real damage….
The car arrives for us about 1:15….the security people called from the gate to let us know…the driver is very nice….the car is an older Volvo sedan---like 10 years old, but comfortable with a big trunk…..
The drive to the new airport take about an hour and ½…..the driver drives at a moderate pace which is nice….
Check in is extremely easy as there is no line to speak of…..for domestic flights there is a short cut to the gates so we take that and near to the gate we go into a garden restaurant for some lunch….i have a tuna sandwich and water and K has coke and some spaghetti…..
The plane is there when we get to the gate which is always a good sign….air asia flights load up early and often leave early as was the case with this flight…..the flight was scheduled for 4:30 and we pulled away from the gate at 4:20…fine with us….this time the plane is older, a 737, but equally comfortable to the newer airbuses that they us….all leather seating….we have aisle and window with a free seat in between, just as we have had on each of our flights thus far and this time in row 5 as they have blocked off the first two rows for some odd reason….the flight is uneventful….the pilots waste no time on the runways either….we head out fast to the take off runway and we waste no time getting to the gates upon arrival….its nice to see that in some places this can still be done, plus it saves times and $$ on fuel….
Arrival at phuket is easy….we are at the furthest out gate however….bags come out quite quickly and we head to the taxi stand….many people stop us to ask if we want taxis but we ignore them and keep going to the stand which is all the way to the right at the end of the building as you emerge….
It is here that we encounter our first negative thing on the trip….there is a small ramp allowing you to move smoothly down from the side walk to cross the street to the taxi stand….directly in front of the ramp is a huge trolley full of golf clubs and huge suitcases….sitting on the curb is a blob of a guy…..i ask him if this is his and he says yea in his ozzie accent….what’s the problem….i say you are blocking the ramp…”what’s the problem” he replies in a defiant tone…..i try to explain nicely but he is wayyyyyyyyyy toooooo arrogant to care…..karen warns me to shut up….warns me a couple of times…I expect that he will just slug me and I am dead….he moves it eventually or someone else does and I move across the way…..on the other side of the driveway is a shaved head guy who is the companion of the other ozzie….he is totally drunk and for the next 10 minutes puts on a show….yelling and screaming about wanting to fight everyone in
sight….finally their taxi comes and the one with hair is yelling at the other to get into the f______ car and shut up----over and over….its not looking good for a few minutes….so finally they are off….we figured that by 8PM that they both would have been tossed out of their hotel and would be in jail by the end of the nite….
Our taxi comes along shortly and we have a really nice driver….he explains that the trip will take about 1 hour or more to the Le Meridien…..which in fact takes almost 1 ½ hours….i had forgotten how far it is from the airport….
The Le Meridien Phuket Beach Resort is a huge place with about 450 rooms surrounding one of asia’s largest pool complexes….the property takes up one complete bay with a sandy beach…..like all asian hotel complexes there are lots of ups and downs on the property….almost everything is up a few stairs or down a few stairs….where is gene when you need him??? We are upgraded upon arrival to a 6th floor room (top floor) right next to the royal suite (where andy usually stays)…..we have a lovely balcony with great ocean and pool views and because of the 6th floor location we are above most of the tree tops so the view is even nicer…..we are very pleased with this room….it seems small after the villa in pattaya, which had several rooms and open space as well, but we are back to normal hotel living….
I think they have made a mistake on our room rate as they confirm it at points plus $5 per nite…..fine with me….it is a cash and points award rate of 2800 pts and $45 per nite….we will see at check out what they actually charge….
We settle in and decide we are ready to eat yet again….we look at the various restaurants: Japanese, Italian, international, buffet (asian nite today), thai and a couple of bars….we decide on the international…..we are the only people in the inside a/c room….others are outside, but I prefer the a/c when I am tired and eating….
We each chose the nitely special which has a choice of two items in each category and you could have 2 or 3 courses….we chose 3: duck salad, which was rare smoked duck beautifully presented with a small green salad and a balsamic reduction artfully spread around the plate…..for my main I had a medium rare mignon beef: a nice cut of filet, moderately tender, served with a medley of veggies (frozen I think)…..K chose the sweet and sour pork tenderloin with veggies and rice and a decorative salad…..for dessert we both had the single choice of mocha, hazelnut, frozen cream, chocolate cake….again artfully presented with sauce drizzled on the side….i forced all of mine down but K could only eat ½ of hers….it was actually 2 pieces on each plate….she brought the other ½ back to the room to eat later in our stay….
Back to the room and read and watched TV a bit before turning in…..our room is a twin and the beds are very comfortable….the bath is small but adequate….
As andy had told us, we would be very happy here….
They were closed for 8 months after the tsunami….they had limited damage, but I guess the pools were completely filled with debris….only one person from the staff died and that happened as he was driving to work that morning….
Jun 12th, 2008 | 12:06 AM
#91
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 29,053
Likes: 0
June 10, 2008
Up late….sat out on our balcony and had coffee/tea…..talked to our kids at home….i wrote this section of the report…..
About 10 we went down for the buffet breakfast….the buffet was 650 B ($20) but was the least nice of those we have experienced on this trip….pastry was almost stale and there were none with fruit….we were quite disappointed overall and decided we would give it a pass for the rest of our stay…. It id have some dim sum, which I love but they were all stuck together…
Retunred to the room and Karen got her stuff to go out by the pool/beach…..i stayed in the room….our intent was to skip lunch and to have dinner in town later….
The pool area at the hotel is very lovely as is the beach….its actually a very large recreation area…..there are a number of pools but one main one which is simply huge….there are palms between the pools and the beach with grass and tons of lounges all over the place…..if you leave them for 2 hours you have lost your place….note to AO….we are very pleased with the hotel as gpanda said we would be….(2)—insider joke…the hotel takes up the whole bay, except for some wooded area on both sides…
Karen returned to the room about 3:30….the day had been overcast so she was safe from the intense sun…. just before she returned the baby elephant visited the pool….it is very cute….in fact I could see it from our balcony….
We made a reservation for the 5PM shuttle into town….100B per person….how do you say rip-off….
As we approached the lobby area, there was quite a crowd gathered….some work was being done near the roof of the 3 story high lobby….one of the workers had fallen off of the bamboo scaffolding, or it had failed in some way, and he lay hurt and bleeding on the ground….he was loaded onto a gurney and taken to the arrival area where he was put into the back of a station wagon for the 20+ minute ride to the hospital….i asked the manager why no ambulance…his was response was that this is way quicker…. He also made a few remarks about how they use bamboo instead of steel here in thailand and that in our
country and his (Germany or Switzerland ??) this would not be allowed… he thanked us for our concern….
We were dropped off in front of the police station on the beach road….we walked back along the beach road as far as the Holiday Inn, the site of where we had inspected the damage from the tsunami on our last visit (6 months after the flood)….we cut down the side street where the tailor shop was which we were trying to track down for a fodorite from Canada….i think it has reopened in the same spot btw….
We cut through to the back street and walked back to a new marketplace which has
opened up in hopes of finding something appealing for dinner…..jung celyon…..finding nothing we returned to the beach road after having bought our breakfast for the next morning at au bon pain….yum yum….why are we doing this….#1 I should not eat a huge buffet….#2 the buffet here was only so so…..#3 it cost $47 for the two of us….i’m not an attorney you know who just bills an extra hour here or there to eat out all the time….
BTW---FLASH….KAREN IS JUST READING THE BANGKOK POST AND SEES AN ANNOUNCEMENT THAT THERE WILL BE A “MADE IN THAILAND SALE”
AGAIN FROM NOV 28 TO DEC 7 FOR ANY OF YOU IN BKK AT THAT TIME….IN THE PAST THEY HAVE BEEN HELD AT IMPACT OR AT THE QUEEN’S EXHIBITION CENTER DOWN FROM ASOKE….
On the beach road we decided on Papaya Restaurant in the Patong Beach Hotel complex….very good thai food….we had a large singha, pineapple fried rice with chicken and shrimp, yellow curry chicken (huge pieces of white meat chicken), fried morning glories, prawn with tamarind sauce…..1800 B…..
We continue along beach road in search of ice cream….found haagan das (sp)…should have kept on going….1 scoop 130 B or $4---and it was a skimpy scoop and not very tasty….i know what do you expect in a sex beach tourist trap….
Songran back to the hotel….asking price 300 B, paid 150 B…..thai mafia…..
Bed by 11…..btw, I finally finished K Graham…..amazing woman….
June 11, 2008
Slow to get up again…both of us….i even got up first….very grey day outside….we had some pastry out on our balcony and watched the resort open up for the day….it too was a bit slow…
We read for a while on the balcony and by mid-morning decided to go down to the beach for a couple of hours…..walked in the waves and they were quite big today….swam in the pool….read for a while…
Btw, this is the nicest beach we have seen in thailand….wide, clean and small sand granules…..most beaches we have visited in the past have been either dirty, small, coarse sand or all of the above….the Le Meridien does a very nice job of keeping the whole place clean and neat….i have to admit that the hotel is very western in many ways but there are thai accents everywhere….often western equals comfort, imo….now service that is another thing….asia has the whole world beat in the service it provides!!!!
Our rental car from Pure Car Rent (www.purecarrent.com) was delivered about 2PM….we have a toyota vios for 9 days….it will carry us from phuket to krabi to khao lak and back to phuket…..1100 B per day inclusive….~ $34….car is in good shape, except for the usual scrapes on the paint…it is clean, powerful enough and comfortable with a/c, electric windows and locks…..we will return the car at the airport…
After the car inspection we drove immediately south through karon beach and kata beach….we visited the mom’s tri kitchen restaurant and villa royale to make dinner reservations for tomorrow nite…we see why you like it carol…. We continued south and got out at the observation post and continued to rawai beach and the southernmost point of phuket before starting north again on the east side of phuket….we stopped at Chalong Pier for dinner at Kan Eang Restaurant complex…..it was very highly rated in a number of places….at best it was ok….the site is beautiful but the food was ordinary at best and lacked much flavor….combo appetizer plate…..whole fried white snapper with garlic and pepper, combo veggie plate, pineapple fried rice, fried shrimp with tamarind sauce…..1495 B…..we had much better food at the sidewalk place in patong last nite… we had so wanted to have really fresh fish, but…..
After dinner (6PM) we continued our drive northward passing through parts of phuket town….we eventually stopped at the Central Mall….we went to Swenson’s for some ice cream and to au bon pain and bought their last pastries for our breakfast tomorrow…
It had rained a bit on and off all day so I drove defensively all the way….afraid it might be slippery….plus the motor bikes dart in and out….traffic was moderate to light….
Returned to the hotel before turn down service had even been done….we are both tired…WHY??
Up late….sat out on our balcony and had coffee/tea…..talked to our kids at home….i wrote this section of the report…..
About 10 we went down for the buffet breakfast….the buffet was 650 B ($20) but was the least nice of those we have experienced on this trip….pastry was almost stale and there were none with fruit….we were quite disappointed overall and decided we would give it a pass for the rest of our stay…. It id have some dim sum, which I love but they were all stuck together…
Retunred to the room and Karen got her stuff to go out by the pool/beach…..i stayed in the room….our intent was to skip lunch and to have dinner in town later….
The pool area at the hotel is very lovely as is the beach….its actually a very large recreation area…..there are a number of pools but one main one which is simply huge….there are palms between the pools and the beach with grass and tons of lounges all over the place…..if you leave them for 2 hours you have lost your place….note to AO….we are very pleased with the hotel as gpanda said we would be….(2)—insider joke…the hotel takes up the whole bay, except for some wooded area on both sides…
Karen returned to the room about 3:30….the day had been overcast so she was safe from the intense sun…. just before she returned the baby elephant visited the pool….it is very cute….in fact I could see it from our balcony….
We made a reservation for the 5PM shuttle into town….100B per person….how do you say rip-off….
As we approached the lobby area, there was quite a crowd gathered….some work was being done near the roof of the 3 story high lobby….one of the workers had fallen off of the bamboo scaffolding, or it had failed in some way, and he lay hurt and bleeding on the ground….he was loaded onto a gurney and taken to the arrival area where he was put into the back of a station wagon for the 20+ minute ride to the hospital….i asked the manager why no ambulance…his was response was that this is way quicker…. He also made a few remarks about how they use bamboo instead of steel here in thailand and that in our
country and his (Germany or Switzerland ??) this would not be allowed… he thanked us for our concern….
We were dropped off in front of the police station on the beach road….we walked back along the beach road as far as the Holiday Inn, the site of where we had inspected the damage from the tsunami on our last visit (6 months after the flood)….we cut down the side street where the tailor shop was which we were trying to track down for a fodorite from Canada….i think it has reopened in the same spot btw….
We cut through to the back street and walked back to a new marketplace which has
opened up in hopes of finding something appealing for dinner…..jung celyon…..finding nothing we returned to the beach road after having bought our breakfast for the next morning at au bon pain….yum yum….why are we doing this….#1 I should not eat a huge buffet….#2 the buffet here was only so so…..#3 it cost $47 for the two of us….i’m not an attorney you know who just bills an extra hour here or there to eat out all the time….
BTW---FLASH….KAREN IS JUST READING THE BANGKOK POST AND SEES AN ANNOUNCEMENT THAT THERE WILL BE A “MADE IN THAILAND SALE”
AGAIN FROM NOV 28 TO DEC 7 FOR ANY OF YOU IN BKK AT THAT TIME….IN THE PAST THEY HAVE BEEN HELD AT IMPACT OR AT THE QUEEN’S EXHIBITION CENTER DOWN FROM ASOKE….
On the beach road we decided on Papaya Restaurant in the Patong Beach Hotel complex….very good thai food….we had a large singha, pineapple fried rice with chicken and shrimp, yellow curry chicken (huge pieces of white meat chicken), fried morning glories, prawn with tamarind sauce…..1800 B…..
We continue along beach road in search of ice cream….found haagan das (sp)…should have kept on going….1 scoop 130 B or $4---and it was a skimpy scoop and not very tasty….i know what do you expect in a sex beach tourist trap….
Songran back to the hotel….asking price 300 B, paid 150 B…..thai mafia…..
Bed by 11…..btw, I finally finished K Graham…..amazing woman….
June 11, 2008
Slow to get up again…both of us….i even got up first….very grey day outside….we had some pastry out on our balcony and watched the resort open up for the day….it too was a bit slow…
We read for a while on the balcony and by mid-morning decided to go down to the beach for a couple of hours…..walked in the waves and they were quite big today….swam in the pool….read for a while…
Btw, this is the nicest beach we have seen in thailand….wide, clean and small sand granules…..most beaches we have visited in the past have been either dirty, small, coarse sand or all of the above….the Le Meridien does a very nice job of keeping the whole place clean and neat….i have to admit that the hotel is very western in many ways but there are thai accents everywhere….often western equals comfort, imo….now service that is another thing….asia has the whole world beat in the service it provides!!!!
Our rental car from Pure Car Rent (www.purecarrent.com) was delivered about 2PM….we have a toyota vios for 9 days….it will carry us from phuket to krabi to khao lak and back to phuket…..1100 B per day inclusive….~ $34….car is in good shape, except for the usual scrapes on the paint…it is clean, powerful enough and comfortable with a/c, electric windows and locks…..we will return the car at the airport…
After the car inspection we drove immediately south through karon beach and kata beach….we visited the mom’s tri kitchen restaurant and villa royale to make dinner reservations for tomorrow nite…we see why you like it carol…. We continued south and got out at the observation post and continued to rawai beach and the southernmost point of phuket before starting north again on the east side of phuket….we stopped at Chalong Pier for dinner at Kan Eang Restaurant complex…..it was very highly rated in a number of places….at best it was ok….the site is beautiful but the food was ordinary at best and lacked much flavor….combo appetizer plate…..whole fried white snapper with garlic and pepper, combo veggie plate, pineapple fried rice, fried shrimp with tamarind sauce…..1495 B…..we had much better food at the sidewalk place in patong last nite… we had so wanted to have really fresh fish, but…..
After dinner (6PM) we continued our drive northward passing through parts of phuket town….we eventually stopped at the Central Mall….we went to Swenson’s for some ice cream and to au bon pain and bought their last pastries for our breakfast tomorrow…
It had rained a bit on and off all day so I drove defensively all the way….afraid it might be slippery….plus the motor bikes dart in and out….traffic was moderate to light….
Returned to the hotel before turn down service had even been done….we are both tired…WHY??
Jun 12th, 2008 | 03:15 AM
#93
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 6,160
Likes: 0
Bob & Karen,
Forget Au Bon Pain - my very favourite breakfast from Southern Thailand, for people with cast iron stomach, is the Khanom Jean Nam Ya Gai. Delicious and I'm sure your hotel can arrange some for you.
When will you be back in BKK? We just won, from AMEX, an all expense paid for trip to Chiang Mai staying at the brand new posh Veranda hotel. Hope it doesn't clash with our dinner!
Forget Au Bon Pain - my very favourite breakfast from Southern Thailand, for people with cast iron stomach, is the Khanom Jean Nam Ya Gai. Delicious and I'm sure your hotel can arrange some for you.
When will you be back in BKK? We just won, from AMEX, an all expense paid for trip to Chiang Mai staying at the brand new posh Veranda hotel. Hope it doesn't clash with our dinner!
Jun 12th, 2008 | 04:06 AM
#94
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 6,664
Likes: 0
Let's understand what's happening here. Hanuman, who has already been burdened with Bob's presence once in the last month was faced with the uncomfortable prospect of another endless dinner with him. In a stroke of genius, Hanuman concocts this preposterous story about winning a free vacation from AMEX (has this happened to anyone else?). He's hoping that there's a conflict with the Bob dinner. Otherwise, he will be forced to spend several weeks in Chiang Mai hiding out.
Oh what a tangled web we weave when we practice to deceive.
Brilliant Pook. I'm in awe of such creativity.
Oh what a tangled web we weave when we practice to deceive.
Brilliant Pook. I'm in awe of such creativity.
Jun 12th, 2008 | 04:12 AM
#95
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 11,334
Likes: 0
Glad to see you back on line, Bob. I thought maybe you had fallen off the face of the earth!
You needed Thai foot massage after your ankle twister/fall. That's exactly what I did. Uneven pavement, twisted ankle (but I don't remember falling/only stumbling)...
Enjoy your time in the south. Nine days is plenty of time to enjoy it all.
Enjoy your Mom Tri's Kitchen dinner!! I'll be anxious to hear your report.
Carol
You needed Thai foot massage after your ankle twister/fall. That's exactly what I did. Uneven pavement, twisted ankle (but I don't remember falling/only stumbling)...
Enjoy your time in the south. Nine days is plenty of time to enjoy it all.
Enjoy your Mom Tri's Kitchen dinner!! I'll be anxious to hear your report.
Carol
Jun 12th, 2008 | 04:35 AM
#96
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 779
Likes: 0
Bob,
Sorry to hear about your foot, and your fall. Based on your prior postings - are you sure Andy wasn't nearby and gave you a small shove?
Now, if you had had a good lawyer nearby, I'm thinking after a little lawsuit you could have owned that nice corner store in Pattaya......
Have fun.
Tengo
Sorry to hear about your foot, and your fall. Based on your prior postings - are you sure Andy wasn't nearby and gave you a small shove?
Now, if you had had a good lawyer nearby, I'm thinking after a little lawsuit you could have owned that nice corner store in Pattaya......
Have fun.
Tengo
