It was Jeane (Craig's wife and I that demonstrated the cherry stem trick.

One of the very peculiar things about my illness was that i had no desire to go online at all, Fodors, email or anything. Who would have guessed that there's a relationship between online and respiratory issues?

The night of the boat ride, we ate again at the Terrace. This time we got two orders od Prawns in Chili Sauce. Delicious. Still no appetite.

We noticed that Soho, the Indian restaurant had immediately put up the twinkle lights that we had suggested. Of course, when we went to dinner at 6:00 pm, they were closed. They opened later. A unique marketing method. Wait until many people have already eaten to open. Good luck to them.

The next two days were spent lounging around at the pool and on the lawn. Just what the doctor would have ordered, had I gone to see one.

While we were in Krabi, maureen went to Siem Reap. She spent six nights at Ponheary's guest house. She befriended a young American girl who was there teaching English. The young girl rode her bike an hour each way to school. Maureen apparently gave her half the clothes she had brought.

One night, we ate dinner at the Italian restaurant (I know, Italian again? It's one of the "benefits" of vacationing with Bob. I note that when we ate Italian in Shanghai, he was very judgmental, but on his vacations it's de rigeur.) at the Amari Vogue. This is a very nice hotel down the raod from the Sheraton. It was the Amari Vogue signs that guided us from the airport. The food was very good. The setting was beautiful. The restaurant is right on the beach. We saw the sunset. Beforehand, a bunch of boys were playing soccer on the beach. We were the first guests to arrive and the last to leave. We were visited by the GM, Simon and had a long chat. Bob strikes again. near the end of our meal, we were joined by the chef who essentially talked our ears off. he was very pleasant, but even Bob had enough by the end of the chat.

Dinner the last night at the terrace. This time we ventured out and tried the Fish filet in Chili sauce. Delicious.

Last day in Krabi. Took a little sun and off to the airport. Easy flight. Beth and I actually ate something in the Krabi airport. Very few options. Flight was easy.

Van pick up. We had him take us to the Marriott to pick up clothes we had stored and then off to the Plaza Athenee. A very nice hotel. We managed to avoid romm 342 and got 2003. Bob was down the hall in 2009 and Maureen in 1906.

Beth, maureen and I went for a walk up to Sukhumvit to explore. beth and I pumped maureen for all the information about her Cambodia trip. Also, I found a laundry outside the back entrance to the hotel.

Bob and Karen went to get eyeglass repair from Chang, Tong's husband. beth, maureen and I took a cab to Kinaree for the BKK GTG. When we arrived, slightly late, Pook, Kathie, Cheryl and Michael BKK were already there. Acquaintenances were renewed and made.

The BKK GTG was really fun. We let Hanuman and MichaelBKK order for the table and they did a superb job. Conversation flowed relatively smoothly (remember I was still sick and a little subdued). I strongly suggest that other fodorites try to plan GTG's when traveling to Asia. It's easy to put one together. A simple post announcing your travel dates and a desire to GTG and people can join in. It's a great deal of fun.

Naturally, Bob and Karen were very late to arrive. They claim they got stuck in traffic, but it was obvious his Bobness was going for the grand entrance. If only there had been a large central staircase, his Scarletness could have been in his element.

In truth, there was a small problem with the accounting after the meal. I calculated the per person charge and then collected it. When I counted, it was a small amount short. I have my Needham suspicions concerning the culprit, but MichaelBKK graciously paid for the bill on his credit card, while taking the cash. He ate the underage.

Cab ride back to the PA. Once again, 5 of us piled into a cab. Bob in the front passenger seat and the four of us crammed into the rear seat. Beth was always next to me and mentioning which parts of my body were poking her.

There was no mistake with the bills, you just forgot to factor in that Thais, or in this case just me and Tong, get 50% off. Also, we are half the size of the great Panda so it makes a lot of sense.

Gpanda- I think you devoted all of 3 sentences about the hotel- hmmmmmmmmmmmmm .

bill, i'm guessing the cages in the basement were not too pleasant...

Hanuman-there was not a mistake with the bill. the math was correct. Bob just tried to screw us.

BillT-Bob included plenty about the PA in his tedious report. It is a very nice hotel. The rooms are pleasant, the beds comfortable and the service top rate. The pool is very relaxing with a great deal of shade. We did not eat at the restaurants, but I had a drink at the bar in the lobby and they had superb bar snacks. The concierge was helpful and the doorman always promptly obtained a taxi. Breakfast was superior. All in all, it was a great bargain for $114 per night, including breakfast, tax and service.

Gpanda- thanks we are looking forward to our stay at the Plaza in January.

BillT-I think you'll really enjoy it. I can certainly understand why you would not take Bob's word for it. It gets the official Panda stamp of approval.

Up the next morning and very good breakfast at the PA. Note that there has been no exercise since the early days at the marriott. I'm trying to conserve my energy.

Cab ride to the Platinum Mall. The driver tried to tell us that it did not open until 11 and we should go to some stores of his choice. We ignored him and decabbed at about 10. Of course, it was open. We started on a upper floor and Beth and Karen again ogled shoes endlessly. Bob and I looked for places to sit down.

Cab ride over to the Paragon Mall. This was a stark contrast to the Platinum. Much higher end. It's huge, so we just went to a small sampling of stores surrounding Blue Indigo. A few items were purchased. Beth got a very nice necklace. We had lunch in the food court.

I was assigned to return to the hotel with all of the loot, while the others continued to shop. Perfect. The pool and a cigar beckoned. As noted above, there's a lot of shaded spots at the PA pool, so my fur did not burn.

Dinner at Crepes and Co. This is a favorite of Bob's and Beth and I had never eaten there. It's just past Cabbages and Condoms, which Beth and I have liked in the past. Dinner was fine, but nothing special.

oh, lets just say that dinner at C&C is only about 1000 times better than cabbages and condoms...

Another thing about which Bob and i disagree.

The next day, once again, we gorged ourselves on breakfast, except for me.

B and K were off to the Stainless Steel place, so we went over to the national Museum. In all our trips, Beth and I had never been there. I would say that it was interesting, but definitely not a top line attraction. i would say that it's a third tier spot. Interesting history of Thailand and some wonderful pieces scattered about. The funeral chariots were a highlight.

Taxi back to the PA. I had run out of books, so I went over to Asia Books in the All Seasons mall. Actually bought a good one by mark Gimenez. Also, I got a tangerine juice on the street. This is one of BKK's delights. A delicious burst of energy. Some pool time along with a cigar.

For dinner, we met up with Fanny at Harmonique. B and K had met Ken at his place for a drink, so Beth, maureen and I made our own way over there. Skytrain, transfer, off at Taksin, Oriental Boat and a walk up to H. it took about an hour during rush hour and a taxi would have taken far longer. naturally, bob, karen and fanny were late.

The food was again delicious. why do you think we went back? At the end, they were still hungry, so they ordered two more dishes. After these were consumed, they brought a chicken with cashews that we had ordered an hour and 15 minutes before. Nonetheless, it was all eaten. Separate taxis back to the PA. Even we did not try to fit 6 people into one small Toyota.

the reason we were late was that we stayed too long at vertigo atop the banyon tree and then met with slow traffic...

we ordered more food because they had not ordered enough for 6 and then proceeded to eat most of it....

despite all of this it was indeed fun

Late is late. Late to the GTG, late to Harmonique. Is BKK traffic a surprise?

The last full day, we went to the Thai Crafts Fair at the Jasmine Center. This is a now weekly exhibit of many booths of interesting stuff. Clothes,jewelry, wood, hide carvings, etc. We arrived early and had a pleasant chat with a Canadian woman who lived in BKK for thirty years and been associated with the crafts fair for many. We were the first in line. When 10:00 rolled around the people flowed into the exhibits. It was not crowded and browsing was easy. This is a change from when they only held it once a year. A few items were purchased and back we went to the PA.

Some serious pool time and a cigar. I had to go back to Asia books to make sure I had enough for the long plane ride.

For dinner, we went to Biscotti at the Four Seasons, Bob's favorite. The food was excellent. The GM wandered around with a plate of truffles. They had a separate menu page with truffle dishes. None of us ordered one. Nonetheless, Bob managed to capture the GM and complain that they did not have any Singha Light. Apparently, this is a grotesque mistake for an Italian restaurant.

We had arrived at the hotel early and went for a nice stroll around the open courtyard to the left of the lobby. Some very nice upscale stores.

Taxi back to the PA with sadness for the end of our vacation sweeping over us. I had already begun to think about work and upcoming cases. Truly yuck!

does anyone feel like they have read this already in a much more comprehensive and informative report??

The Panda has a little trouble identifying authority figures. A) the gentelman with the truffles was the head chef of Biscotti. B) the man identified as the GM was the matre'd of Biscotti. Details Panda, details!!!

We did have a delicious meal...even if it was a splurge on an economy trip.

The exact identity of hotel personalities is best left to those that seek their company. We purists merely seek good food.

In regards to Bob's report, I draw your attention to the second half of the title of this thread, i.e., The Real Story. His Bobness left out the part about his whining about the absence of Singha Light. A crucial detail if one is attempting to get a flavor of the interactions with the hotel staff.

next time i go to biscotti, i am taking a 6 pack of singha light with me as a present to the staff...

I'm sure they're awaiting Bob's return. They've probably discontinued carrying sigha of any kind. Maybe a truffle flavored beer.

The last day, we ate breakfast, lounged at the pool and generally did little. Easy check out and pick up by van. No excitement at the airport and early check in. In fact, we had once again arrived before the counter opened, but an easy wait. Beth, Maureen and I had a snack and we went down to the gate. One thing about the BKK airport is that there is nothing in the vicinity of the gates. they are off by themselves.

Easy flight to SIN, including some inedible food. In the SIN connecting gate, I entertained a group of Australian HS field hockey players, embarrassing Beth and Bob enormously. The flight to FRA was easy with some sleep. As noted elsewhere, the FRA connecting gate was deplorable. No commerce, too few seats for the full flight and bathrooms were far away. A small bottle of water was $5. Not what one expects from "the best airline in the world".

Flight to JFK seemed interminable. Could not sleep. Also, I didn't eat any of the main dishes and just snacked on the rolls and fruit.

At JFK, easy transfer into the rental van and off we set. there was a great deal of traffic until we entered Westchester County. We stopped at Reins, just past Hartford for some Deli sandwiches. Maureen ordered corned beef on wheat toast. Deli fans everywhere were horrified.

Long ride back to Cambridge arriving about 5:30 pm. To normalize my sleep, I tried to stay up to 9:00 pm. This resulted in a disaster when I couldn't fall asleep until 1:30 am. Up at 3:30 am, dull-eyed and mushy tailed. A very hard day at work.

Correct me if I am wrong, but did you folks REALLY fly Bangkok-Singapore-Frankfurt-JFK-Bos? Willingly?