rhkkmk

i did not break the toilet seat fat a--..... it was stained and the room director saved face by rteplacing it....

i have broken at least one seat in the past however and cracked a whole wall mounted toilet at the hyatt in bali...enough toilet talk!!

rhkkmk

Monday---last day in bkk for all 4 of us


Up, and down to breakfast…. We were liking chatrium more each day, especially if you overlook the service inconsistences, but for this location and directly on the river it is perfect…. I just looked at my bill and we paid per room $104 inclusive of tax/svc and breakfast… can’t beat it!!

This would be another busy day… we took a taxi to celadon pottery on asoke. Each woman bought something…. From there we went to porn to pay for and pick up jewelry…. One piece of pat’s had been forgotten so it was taken to the factory and would be delivered to the hotel before 7…
Next we went to platinum fashion mall for a couple of hours…. First stop was that costume jewelry place on the 4th floor where fodorits have bought so much…. The girls loved it and stocked up…. Cheap, cheap, cheap…. I boughtr a joke gift for mr lee…

I think I have the order of stops out of line, but it is an overview of the places we visited…

From there we headed to the Jim Thompson Main store on suriwongse at the corner of rama IV… we went right to the café for lunch…. After lunch we shopped the entire store…
From there we went to river city but they were not really open, although “boss lady” was there…

We took the Hilton boat across the river and went up to the bar 360 on the top floor for a drink…. This bar has fantastic views for 360 degrees and especially up and down the river from floor 38 maybe… we took the Hilton boat to taskin and then boarded the chatrium boat back to the hotel…

We ate that night in the Silver Wave Chinese Restaurant on the 36th floor of chatrium.. we were the only people in the dining room I think… we had a round table for 4 in a private alcove with a fantastic view of the river, both up and down… The food was good, but nothing outstanding…. 2 appetizers, 4 main dishes and one white rice, wine and prosecco ($15 a glass), beer…. Expensive at 5,143 B, but a nice experience.

At about 9:30PM, jack came to the hotel to deliver most of pat’s clothing and kathleen’s slacks. A couple of things are not ready including my suit and robe, but they will be delivered next week to the Marriott Mayfair before the girls leave for home on Tuesday morning…….

Another long but fun day…. We are all exhausted and looking forward to some down time at the beach at khuk khak, prang nga, near to khao lak, at the new JW Marriott Resort. We are hoping that it is as nice as the hotel by the same name at phuket..



Tuesday

Up a bit late and some last minute packing after breakfast. We are leaving quite a bit behind at chatrium as air asia has such severe restrictions on luggage even though I supersized our capacity.

Our r.t. air asia flight was booked on line with a total cost for 4 of 17,069 B or about $550. we paid extra for insurance, extra luggage and the most essential--- seat reservations in the first 5 rows—aisle and window with an empty seat between.
I checked in on line the day before the flight, but could not print boarding passes as I had no printer available… seats: 1 A&C, D&F…. I should have done row 2 as there is more seat room because the arms are movable…

Tong sent a van for us at 10:15 as requested to take us to the airport. Checkout was easy enough, although I never understand why you have to sign every piece of paper twice and why there is so much paperwork.

We were on our way… I would have taken a different route but I was not driving… it took one hour to the airport… just before the airport the driver pulled over. A car came up behind us and they exchanged something…. The driver got back in and changed his T shirt???? We were off again… odd…

Checkin at AA was easy using only the bag drop window… she printed our boarding passes…. A long walk to the domestic gates at B 1-6. The incoming flight was a bit late arriving but we took off only a few minutes late…. Flying time 1 hour and 20 min to phuket… all of their bags came out almost immediately and mine was the next to last …

A rep of pure car rental (on line) was there waiting for us just outside the terminal. I have successfully rented from them in the past. I ordered a crossover SUV with auto which is just right for us… it has a 3rd seat which we folded down for luggage, but would be fine for 6 for around town… it is a Toyota… price 7000 B for 5 days with p/u , dropoff at airport and insurance included…. Car is almost new, has great a/c and electric locks and windows and best of all auto, which always costs a ton extra.

Easy exit from airport (40B), a quick right and later a left and with the hotel map we had an easy drive for just about 1.25 hours…. It rained on and off… we made good time and there was just normal traffic….

We zoomed right by the hotel entrance---their signage is pending… K caught it out of the corner of her eye. We u-turned and entered the driveway, a 1.8 kilometers to the resort.

The entrance way and lobby are lovely—enclosed and a/c. we were seated in the lobby and registration was done there while we were served a tadsty red cold drink and cold towels. The hostess was sweedish. We were greeted by the general manager, Ty Collins, a 30ish American. Very nice guy. We talked about his past assignments which ranged from seoul (fantastic) to vegas to hydrabad to phuket to here 2 months ago. The hotel owner is German/Turkish.

We were automatically upgraded to pool access rooms in bldg one. There are 300 rooms. The rooms are roomy and very nicely appointed with all thai accessories and furnishings…. One sofa bed and one shaise. The bath is huge with a marble tub, a double shower room and a toilet room, plus unique double connecting marble sinks. Oddly, very little counter space…. The towels are huge and fluffy.

On our bed was a dog made from towels…on the girl’s an elephant… each room has a large porch with table and two upholstered chairs and large foot stools. A swinging gate leads to a stone path to the lagoon which is about 4 feet here.

The place is fantastic… There are lots of restaurants and bars scattered around the property. The beach area has a wooden boardwalk swirling through grassed areas which lead down to a sandy beach…. My only complaint is the distances and that is only because I am lazy…

Dinner was in the Olive restaurant with a Turkish chef. The sisters had pizza, K had a pasta dish I think and I had lamb moushka…. All delicious… we had two desserts to share: both apricots soaked in muskadat (sp) and served with nuts and fresh yogurt….outstanding…

Internet (free wi-fi) and then bed….



Wednesday


A wonderful sleep for all… about 9 or so we walked over to the huge breakfast restaurant…. There were quite a few folks, which was good to see, but it was not crowded…. Ty came by our table and wished us good morning. I guess this prompted the rest of the staff to faun over us….. they were all so friendly… They kept coming back asking if we wanted this or that… Not all were thai… there was a german guy, who I named wolfgang, a Romanian guy who I called roma, a swiss girl and a bunch of young thais each nicer than the previous…. The breakfast was outstanding, fresh and complete as one expects from asian marriotts…. Soup to nuts literally. The sisters were blown away.

We stayed there for quite a while…. The girls went to the beach and I hung out doing this and some paperwork…. Pat spoke to my sister in umbria via skype…

At 2:15 it rained lightly so they came back to the room… K swam in the lagoon for a while and has now come into the a/c for a shower…

I am now caught up to date with this…

We are having a fantastic time as we always do, doing both new and old things, tons of shopping and eating with some sightseeing added in… We have added the railroad market, new golden Buddha wat, standinf Buddha wat, chatrium, Marriott sukhumvit grand and a few other things to our experience list.

rhkkmk

Karen here... just spent a few hours at the beach. The beach it's self and the water are fabulous. There is the usual scramble to claim the beach chairs (esp the front row ones ), there were some empty ones so they have enough. Around the side lagoons there are sun beds tucked into the foliage along the way for privicy. There are 3 km of pools you can paddle along. My legs are tired of swimming all around. Very relaxing.

bookchick

Oh, it sounds fabulous! (B&K, it's about 24 degrees here right now--no snow yet, and yesterday was sunny but cold. I climbed a ladder and cleaned our gutters and was glad to be wearing gloves!) I loved hearing about the railroad market, and loved hearing about the beach, too. Am living vicariously through your travels, so keep it comin' and thank you so much for this!

BC

cw

Just wanted to say that I've been following your reports and reading with pleasure. Thanks for taking us along.

linawood

DH and I were traveling in Vietnam the same time as you - just found your report. In fact we crossed paths at the Vinh Hung Resort in Hoi An. I got a laugh out of your Nov. 4 fustrations at the airport in Hanoi when flight to Hue was cancelled. We were on the 19:20 flight, also cancelled, and here is an excerpt from my trip journal:

"Arrived at the airport to huge line and confusion at the Hue check in window. Terrible weather in Hue. After about an hour the flight was cancelled and we were handed a sheet of paper with instructions to apply at the office in Hanoi the next day in person or by phone to rebook! I went downstairs to the Tourism Office which I had seen on an earlier foray and found an absolute angel of a young woman. She couldn’t believe the unhelpful information we had been given. She took charge, found us a flight at 6:55 AM tomorrow (which I had to battle for in a huge mass of disgruntled travelers), called H.at Tonkin to change our Hue arrangements, booked us a hotel near the airport. In an hour we were sorted and on our way to the “airport hotel”.

The “airport hotel” didn’t look bad on the outside really until we got to the room – although the carpeted stairs were filthy and frayed. Room smelt like chemicals and was clearly not clean, the sheets and duvet were used, the bed like sheetrock, odd wood paneled walls, and a window with no glass – only shutters. Well we were exhausted and hungry so went for a bite at the restaurant “in the back”. It was a little open shed on a deck which we were soon to discover was located over a pond/lake? (couldn’t see in the dark) and the mosquitos descended. I found a Deet wipe for exposed areas but we probably still got bitten before we could scarf down our soup and beer (not bad and less than $5 dinner). Back to the room and reluctantly ready for bed when I spotted a HUGE flying insect that looked like a 2” wasp with long descending stinger….and then another one. P. captured one in a filthy glass covered with book and I took it to the man and girl at reception. I made gestures about “biting” and they nodded. Then killed the bug and handed me the disgusting glass. I gestured that there were more. Very fustrating time trying to get them to understand we needed a new room. The girl telephoned an English speaking friend, I explained, friend talked to girl, girl smiled sweetly and blankly. This went on for awhile. P. came down and went through the whole routine again. Nothing. I admitted defeat after a while and said I’d sleep with a towel on my head. We walked away but P. fed up – back to desk, holding our ground and eventually we got another room offer. I think the problem may have been that we were in the “best” category room and there wasn’t another, so they said nothing. We must have said at some point we would take ANY other room. The new room was smaller, also dirty with used sheets, but this one smelled of old pee instead of chemicals. Exhausted, I covered the duvet by my face with a clean looking towel, took pill and slept 6 hours."

After a long drive from Halong Bay that day and with such an early morning flight, we couldn't face going back to Hanoi, but in 40 years of budget traveling, that was by far the worst hotel. And we've had some good laughs in retrospect.

rhkkmk

lina--- worth the trip back to hanoi for sure

rhkkmk

So we really had a totally lazy day… I was so lazy that I did not even swim… I hung around the room all day, took a couple of naps, sat on the deck and did nothing productive at all….. seems vacation has finally begun…

At 6, we moved over to the olive restaurant where Ty, the GM, was hosting his weekly cocktail party. Because it was still raining slightly the party was moved from the beach to olive… Even though it was raining the sky at the horizon was pink as the sun went down…I expect that means a nice day tomorrow…

We were greeted at the door by staff and welcomed with drink orders and passed hors’…
K&I had g&t’s, and the girls had beers—pat tried chang for the first time… We spent almost all of our time outside on a covered porch which was very pleasant. People were not very friendly and did not mix at all… very odd. We were repeatedly served plates of mixed sushi, which was fresh and tasty. Other hors’ were passed as well. Ty introduced us to his wife Kim, a charming Korean-American, who also had worked in the hotel industry. The women were very interested in her role and life here in Thailand.. We each had another drink. By this time it was 7PM and we felt we should leave.

We moved inside and took seats in the restaurant as we still were a bit hungry.. I had interest in a burger, but alas no burgers on this menu. I settled for lentil soup and bread and butter…K had a baked lasagna with meat sauce.. pat and Kathleen each had green ravioli… Portions were quite small, but just right for what we needed…

During the meal a thai band set up and played for a while… later a dance troupe did two thai dances… after them a duo did a thai dance story, circulating around the room….

I ordered a black and white dessert: chocolate ice cream and a chocolate topped white cheese cake---yum…..don’t ask me about my blood numbers after this meal….

One of the waiters told us that a fire show was about to begin outside, so we went out onto the front steps and watched a thai man perform with torches, swirling them around, tossing them in the air, etc…. it was fun to watch…

We all went back to our room and gabbed for a while, did internet, and then went to bed by perhaps 10 or so….

Another restful night…



Thursday---Thanksgiving


Awake early, but I stayed in bed…. K read on the deck…

By 8:45 we were on our way to another fab breakfast: for me… dim sum, sushi, pastry, bacon, salami, parma ham, mustard and wasabi, smoothie, strawberry juice, more salami, 2 kinds of cheese, etc oink

Ty came by our table again and spent quite a bit of time chatting about his life in this industry, moving his dog from country to country, home leave and many other subjects…Kathleen asked about the large piece of land next to the hotel and he told us it belongs to the hotel’s owner, and he described possible future uses for it…

Back to the room about 10:30…. The girls were off to the beach to reclaim the chaises they had marked earlier…. I’m again staying in the a/c…. will probably swim after a while in the lagoon…

This afternoon we need to go into town and drop off some laundry…

Tonight at 6 is the Thanksgiving dinner exclusively for the 16 americans on property…
900B each. We are looking forward to it…

Smeagol

Bob - just how many GMs do you know LOL?

enjoying reading along, see you next week.

bookchick

Smeagol, dear, he makes it a point to make the acquaintance of as many as possibly. It's his pleasure to do so, but it remains to be seen if it's the pleasure of the GMs!

BC

Smeagol

BC -LOL

rhkkmk

they just flock to me like small children do... they never rub my belly however like other asians do...

and after our dinner tonight it is an even bigger belly...more tomorrow on that...

just spoke to our daughter in MA and her family and also our NH daughter who is in PR for the holiday....plus K's mother..

i put 1000 B in my phone on oct 29 and i still have over 500 B left unused, even after many local and calls to the usa... its so cheap to call...

bookchick

Flock?? Hardly! Flee? More like it. Bob tries to phone the Mariotts, Hiltons, etc., ahead of time and ask if any of the GMs have leg, knee, ankle problems. Then HE flocks to them until they grant any/all of his requests just so they can see the light of day again.

BC

rivet

Thanks for the hotel tips for Bali, Bob. They were great choices.

Am a few weeks behind on your thread so will catch up over the weekend.

Happy Thanksgiving to all our American Neighbors!

rhkkmk

Ok, we never made it out of the hotel… the laundry will have to wait until tomorrow… We whiled away the afternoon… There was rain about 5 but it subsided enough for us to make it over to the building where Ty and Kim would host the 14 Americans for what proved to be a fantastic thanksgiving dinner with all the fixxins…

The sun was going down as we walked towards the beach… the light was one of those fabulous twilight happenings… great for pic taking…. The palms fringing the beach and the umbrellas gave a beautiful foreground for the sea and the sunset… The pavilion building where our dinner was set was floor to ceiling windows with wonderful décor with gleaming wood, plus a/c. One long table had been set out just next to the window on the beach side of the room. On 3 sides there were buffet tables arranged, which were spread with amazing foods. Kim and Ty welcomed each of us as we arrived. We introduced ourselves and shared some cocktails and chat. The group was as follows: the 4 of us from New England…. A New Zealand/Aussie couple currently living in Sacramento—he in the undersea robot business…. A couple from Peoria and their daughter and son returning home from 3 years in India with Caterpillar… Kim and Ty—he the Marriott GM… a couple from NYC, he an international HR search firm former owner, she a flight attendant on private jets…

After we sat down Ty asked if there was anyone who wanted to say anything… there being no takers, he gave a very short “thank you” for our bounty in life, etc. It was a lovely way to start an American Thanksgiving meal…

We were a very congenial group.

The food was amazing and for the most part very traditional American Thanksgiving fare. A 4 station buffet was set up.

First there was delicious crab chowdah, in kim’s honor

On a central table the center of any thanksgiving was displayed: the golden brown roasted butterball turkey… Next to it was a large ham… each platter was adorned with many fresh veggie displays, like ¼ ears of roasted corn on the cob, roasted yams, and other veggies. It all looked so inviting. A chef carved for us.

On a side table were displayed perhaps 10 salads: green salad, pot dilly salad,2 pasta salads, artichoke/pepper pickled salad, small shot glasses with a cherry tomato on a skewer with a liquid base of some sort, and a few others.

Opposite that was another table laden with veggies: warm giblet gravy, tiny long carrots with a sweet glaze, green beans, roasted pots, warm julienne beet salad, brussel sprouts, fantastic stuffing which chef told us that he learned of in napa valley, creamed corn, and one or two more…

Cranberry sauce of course.

None of us were shy about digging in.

White and Red wine was continually poured every time your glass got to the ¼ full level.

There was a staff of perhaps six to cater to our every desire. They were all so friendly and kind… We especially like “dimples” one of those very friendly and very gay thai men who served us. He was the wine guy this evening and we got to know him quite well. The staff as a whole is so caring, friendly and service oriented it is a pleasure to be staying here.

Then there was a dessert table: sweet pumkin pie a la thai, berry cobbler, sweet bread pudding with berries baked in, several kinds of cut up local fruit, and one or two more.

Coffee and tea were offered at the conclusion of the meal…

Many of us stayed on and drank more wine and chatted. Ty shared info about the hotel, about his hotel experiences, about Thailand, etc…. Steve (nyc) talked about golf locally and how he was ripped off for a golf cart (1800 B) that day at the canyon club---the only cart used was his caddy used a dilapidated pull golf cart…. Our New Zealand friend spoke about their recent experiences… simply, it was a very compatible group and we most enjoyed this lovely setting, fantastic food and good company.

It was after 9 when we finally left for our rooms. K & P came to our room for some gossip and a review of our vacation, and we made some calls home to family… We even spoke to our daughter in PR…


We were charged 900 B each (~$27.) for the dinner.




Friday


Up by 8:30 and over for breakfast…. We chatted with the oz/nz couple and said good morning to the caterpillar family…

What a fantastic spread the breakfast is here….it is 700 B normally if not included in your room rate, which ours is…

Btw, our rate is only 3000 B++ or about $118 per night. WOW!!! A steal, plus we were upgraded, although I do not think there is a bad room here. I guess this is still the soft opening for the hotel--- yikes it lasts almost one year…

After breakfast we all went swimming…. I lasted about 2+ hours and the ladies are still at the pool/beach edge.

This PM we will leave the resort for the first time, taking out some laundry and checking out one shop we have been told about—opposite mcdonalds. We may drive the coast a ways as well. We will have dinner in town tonight…. K has a list of options.

bookchick

Sounds like a lovely Thanksgiving, Bob!

(I served not quite as many side dishes, and there was no wine. Nevertheless, we made do here, and feel, although 2010 has by no means been a stellar year, we have a great deal for which to be grateful.)

Still loving this report! I think I'll pop over to the Europe Forum for a moment, though. I wonder how Laurieco and Eric are faring in Rome...

BC

rhkkmk

so we did take to the road about 3.... we found a laundry just out on the main road after an initial miss.... we saw lots of clothes hanging out in a yard, so i pulled in and K went to ask. the non-english speaking woman did not understand the word "laundry"--so evidently it was her family's clothes hanging out front... go figure..
6.5 kilos at 65 B per kilo. ready tomorrow at 3.

we drove south for perhaps 10 miles looking for mcdonalds, as we had been told there was a nice shop across the street...we found it and P and K bought a few things...

We then headed north again...

rhkkmk

we passed the meridien hotel where we had stayed 2 years ago...

we saw 2 elephants along the road and turned around for a better look.... they, with their mahoots, were just off the road and they were eating trees and bushes.... we stopped and took pics from the car... one mahoot called his beast and he came right up to the car and spit at karen... we then gave him a macaroon cookie, the only food we had. he stuck his trunk into the car... this satisfied the newbies wish to see and touch elephants...

we continued north and took a small road toward the ocean. we saw lots of post tsunami destruction---abandoned boats, foundations, etc. we saw two new tall buildings which have been built as escape houses should there be another emergency.

we rode along a beautiful beach area..

this area was one of the worst hit in the 2004 dec 26 flooding. lots of lives were lost all along this coast including at our hotel.
we saw new storm warning sound towers. everywhere there was new building...we saw a huge fish/shrimp farm...huge!!
we saw what we think are former fish smoking buildings.

Finally we visited a very moving memorial to the T victums. set into a manmade hill is a walkway set between two walls. on the left wall are plaques with names primarily of western tourists who lost their lives... on the right side is a shinny curved wall representing a huge wave.... it reminded us of the DC war memorials.

We drove south again and went to dinner at the excellent "The Candle" restaurant.... we had perhaps the best thai food we have had during this trip....$12 each including 4 large beers and 5 main dishes and 2 appetizers.

After dinner we returned to the JW

Internet and bed...

bookchick

<i><<...he came right up to the car and spit at karen... we then gave him a macaroon cookie...>>
</i>Is it just me, or does anyone else find some just wrong about this???


<i><<he stuck his trunk into the car...>>
</i>What, the car didn't have a trunk of its own????

BC

tengohambre

Boy, the Thanksgiving Dinner sounds terrible......

Terrible for the rest of us, that weren't there . It sounds as if you all haven't yet been kicked out of the hotel or Thailand. Have a great time.

PS
who knew they had Butterball Turkey's in Thailand.