Trip report
 

I want to thank all of you Fodorites for helping us in the planning of our first Asian adventure which turned out to be a blast. The travelers are me, Peter and my wife, Linda. I am doing this in Microsoft Office and transferring, hope it works. Sorry for all typos in advance, hope I don�t bore you all. Here is our trip report.

<b>Day 1</b>
We arrived on time at 11:40 pm Bangkok time and cleared customs rather quickly following a long flight from Honolulu via Tokyo on UA upgraded to business class. HNL to NRT flight took 8 hrs 47 min as we experienced 179mph headwinds which slowed our speed down at times to 395 mph. Landed at Narita and went straight to first class lounge. UA�s lounge in Narita is about the biggest UA lounge that I�ve seen. Free showers and lockers. Full comp bar with small snacks (fruit, cheese, crackers, cookies, etc.). Waited our four hours of layover and boarded our 6.5 hr flight to BKK in which I mostly slept. After clearing customs we were met by our driver set up for us by UA. They took us via Mercedes limo to our hotel the Shangri La. Got a nice river view room in the main tower. Golden Circle member (thanks Bob). We were in the room by 1:10am. Showered and passed out at around 1:40 or so.
Day 2
We woke up late for us, 8:00 am. We got breakfast at the Coffee Shop which has an awesome new breakfast buffet display every morning. The usual cereal and bread spread but also all kinds of fruit, yogurts, Thai noodles, dim sum, meats, all kinds of eggs, salad bar, dessert bar, chocolate fountain, etc. Needless to say you could have anything you wanted except corned beef hash, lol. I had read somewhere on this board that before we left that the Golden Circle members only get 50% off their breakfast because of a rule change but during our stay in Bangkok 2/24-2/28 they did not charge us for breakfast. Needless to say we ate here every morning while we were at the Shangri La (4 nights). We then decided to walk off our breakfast and left our hotel for a �short walk�. Well we ended up at the other end of Silom Rd. next to the park after about 2 � hrs of walking ,gawking and dodging people (tuk tuk 20 baht :)) and at all the new and interesting sights and smells of downtown Bangkok. Welcome to Southeast Asia, wow!

We then decided we should head back to the hotel as we had booked our spa sessions at the new Chi spa in our hotel at 3:00 and we wanted to grab a bite of lunch before we did. Walked back to the hotel a little faster than we walked down as it only took us about an hour to get back. Freshened up in our room and headed downstairs for lunch at the Italian Restaurant in our hotel Angelini�s. Good food as I had the Veal Scaloppini special which was wonderful. Linda had the seafood soup which in San Francisco they would call Ciopino(sp). She could not believe all of the seafood in the soup clams, fish, scallops, crab, shrimp, mussels, calamari and the saffron broth was excellent. Having lunch there instead of dinner really cuts down on the bill. Great food and atmosphere, would heartily recommend.

We then walked around our hotel for a couple of hours until our appointments at the spa. We shopped the shops on the street between the S La and the Oriental. A lot of shops with fake name brand shirts and copied general clothing mdse. I wasn�t too interested in buying but was just fascinated by their street life style and just nosing around. Ohhhh the spa!!. What a beautiful place. All of the treatment rooms have everything in them so you never have to change rooms if you are getting different treatments. Linda and I both had the �Enchanted Journey� treatment which consists of a Himalayan Bath Therapy, Mountain Tampa Salt Scrub and an hour long signature massage.

After the intro and filling out of brief health questions they whisk you away to your private treatment suite. There they wash your feet in flowered scented water while serving you an herbal tea of your choice. Its then off to your private steam room for a few minutes, then off into the Himalayan bath which is already drawn for you. You then have your MT Salt scrub which makes your skin feel so oiled, fresh and renewed. After a quick shower to wash off all the salt they finish with a 1 hour massage that just melted all my soreness and jetlag away.

I was now ready for Bangkok. So where was Linda? She�s was still getting the rest of her treatments (nails, toe�s you know lady things) that us men don�t do:). So I piddled around the hotel for a bit (what an interesting neighborhood) until she was finished. I managed to find a pretty good tailor right outside the S La. The name is Stylist Tailors. I had brought a style of Aloha shirt that I wanted to have made with Thai silk. We can pay up to $185.00 per shirt here in Honolulu. I got 5 different ones made up at 1700 baht each. They finished them in 2 days. The contacts name was Miew, and she was very helpful and spoke excellent English. I was happy.

We then went out to our dinner at Sala Thip(sp) Thai Restaurant in our hotel. The food was fantastic along with the live entertainment that was shown throughout the evening. Ethnic Siamese dancing and local music was the entertainment for the evening and it did not disappoint. Early to bed after a great dinner as we were to meet our driver, Ratt, at 8:00 in the morning.

<b>Day 3</b>
Up early, 5:15 am (I always get up early) and watched the river come to life from our hotel window. Woke Linda a little later and went downstairs for an early breakfast 6:30am. Then back to the room to freshen up before our meeting our driver.
8:00 am we step into the lobby as Ratt is walking into the hotel lobby doors. Perfect timing! We are off to the Grand Palace in her nicely air conditioned Toyota green and yellow taxi. On the way to the GP she passes a Wat with the Golden Buddha inside and asks if we want to stop as we have time. I say ok, so while she is parking the car Linda and I notice that 2 Buddhist monks are being initiated that day at the temple with all the ceremony and family that goes with it. At this time Ratt pops up from I don�t know where and starts explaining the Buddhist ceremony that is taking place right in front of us. She would end up always doing this it seemed on our 2 days with her which was part of her �genuine� personality that we loved.

Then off to visit the golden Buddha, a few pictures and off to the GP. Traffic was getting bad around the Palace so Ratt dropped us of right in front with instructions on how and what kind of tickets to purchase. She also gave us a cell phone to contact her if anything went wrong. She went off to find parking. We pushed our way through the touts and went inside to buy our tickets. Once inside we got one of the audio tours and proceeded to do the tour. After about 20 minutes or so I noticed that Linda was off with the audio over my back shoulder as I was trying to figure out what gate lay in front of me. That�s the East Gate said a familiar voice. It was Ratt who was now holding an umbrella over me to shade me and had given one to Linda for herself. She also had a small lightweight cooler over her shoulder with ice cold drinks and towels for us. She had a fan in the other hand which she was using to fan herself and me. WOW!

Our tour through the Grand Palace now became a treat as we walked through with (which was quickly becoming our friend) our driver. Our conversations were as in depth or as simple as we wanted on a subject. As we all know Ratt is a licensed driver and not a licensed guide so she cannot give tours. But she is a great companion and driver. After the last rooms (which were air conditioned) we proceeded to the car for the drive to Wat Po. A quick tour through this one as I was getting tired of talking on/off my shoes it was starting to get hot 96 F. We skipped the Wat Po massage as when we went it was very hot and noticed no seat covers on their work chairs. Everyone was sweating profusely and it did not look like a clean environment for a massage. Sorry. Ratt also recommended not to get a massage here as she just kept mumbling �unhealthy�. So off we went to Jim Thompson�s House.

Drove through China town and passed the Giant Swing(took pictures). Took the 35 minute interesting tour of the house. Had a very good Thai food lunch at the JT Restaurant. We had Chicken Satay, Shrimp w/noodles, spring rolls, 2 glasses of white wine and carrot cake and ice cream for dessert for 1100 bht. Good meal! Great price. Wine was 180 baht a glass. Then off to Hard Rock Caf&eacute; for some souvenirs(We�ve been doing this for years everywhere we go that has one. I have more HR Polo shirts than anyone I know, lol). Then off the JT Hose outlet that Ratt says is right outside Bangkok towards new airport. Prices there are better than the JT House Ratt tells us but selection is limited. Shopped for a while and bought a lot of junk. Back to hotel as it is now nearing 5:00. Ratt drops us off reminding me that she will be by at 7:00 the next day for our tour outside of Bangkok. Had dinner Angelini�s as we were too tired to go anywhere else than in our hotel. The dinner prices are more than lunch. Food is the same, very good but the restaurant does get noisy and crowded as the bar seemed very noisy that evening. I loved it the food though. Had 1 bottle of wine that doubled the bill. Early to bed as needed to get up early for next day. More to follow when I can get more time. Sorry for the length.

<b>Day 4</b>
Ratt is two minutes late 7:02, she apologizes profusely as we enter her car. Off to Damnoen Saduak Floating Market which is in the Ratchaburi Province about 80km SW of Bangkok. We take about 90 minutes to get there passing salt farms and people constantly jaywalking across the highways along the way. As we enter the market Ratt parks and arranges a boat for us at 500 baht. Maybe could have gotten a better deal but not quibbling at this point. Ratt joins us as she is eating her breakfast she just bought from a stall at the beginning of the market. Some soup with vegetables and peppers. Smells interestingly good. She later buys us some fried bananas from a marketer on the river which was heavenly. Ratt advises us not to but anything unless we just have to because you can get everything they have here in the JJ market that we would be going to tomorrow. So we buy a few things anyway just because its infectious.

Take a lot of pictures and leave about 90 minutes later headed towards the Royal Thai-Handicraft Center. What a fascinating place. Made a major purchase here of a coffee table that was just so beautiful. Should be at home in 8 weeks (I hope). After about 90 minutes its off to the Elephant show. Drive northwest to the Elephant grounds. It�s a zoo and show park where they have crocodile and elephant shows daily. The restaurant is the first place we head to as Ratt says they have a beautiful lunch place with cheap prices. The park restaurant is very clean with a lunch buffet which was very fresh with Thai and International Food both hot and cold dishes. I don�t like buffets but this one seems very fresh and pretty busy. So I dig in to the Thai food and have seconds. Some Ice tea and dessert bar and the bill is 220 baht per person. Ratt eats with us and explains that she gets the drivers rate (40 baht). I offer to pay for her but she refuses profusely.

I pay the bill and we enter the park to ride the elephants. 400 baht per hour is what we are charged. They take you around a nice enclosed area complete with waterfalls and forest area. The ride was a kick and another guide follows you around and pops up at certain sights to take pictures of you with your camera. After our ride Ratt escorts us to the elephant and magic show which is just starting. I am a little tired but ok. This takes about 1 hour and by that time I�m ready to go back to BKK. It�s about 3:30 and I wanted to be back by 5:30 because we have reservations at Harmonique at 7:30. As we are leaving Ratt says we still have time for the Rose Garden but I say no and we head back to BKK. Get back to our hotel right at 5:30 after stopping by to check out the Marriot Riverside Resort. Looked at some river and garden view rooms. Not bad, would definitely consider staying here on a next visit.

Crossed bridge to New Road where we pass by where Ratt lives and has also purchased a property she will be renting out as a B&amp;B. She is having problems with her architect but talked to one that she new that we saw at the floating market in the morning and hopes to get it done by June or July. She will post info on her website that her daughter is doing for her, Web address is www.ratservice.com . when it is ready to rent. Ratt dropped us off after a long goodbye with hugs and kisses and pictures. She had become our friend in 2 days and like many of you know she just grows on you. I would wholeheartedly recommend her as a driver in a heartbeat.

After getting ready we catch a cab to Harmonique. Food was ok but sorry for disagreeing with all of you but the service was a little more than terrible, it was non-existent. It was a real busy night , I guess because of all of your compliments the place but really, it was kind of ridiculous. Also we noted that a horrible smell kept emitting from the inner room every so often. When at the end of our meal I went to the restroom I realized what the odor was. They have got to have one of the grossest restrooms for a popular place that I have ever seen. Linda could not stand the fact that when the women would go they would have their faces the men�s urinal. I used to work in a restaurant and I know that we were taught that if you can�t keep a bathroom clean where everyone goes, imagine what the kitchen and other rooms look like that no one but employees go into.

They just got so busy that it took nearly 55 minutes for us to get our order after we ordered. People in the restaurant were freaking out. Don�t know if they�ll be as popular if they have many nights like this. And CLEAN THOSE BATHROOMS! Enough said, rant and rave over Sorry! Bed by 11:30. Next day transfer to Peninsula Hotel.

Great, keep it coming.....

pete; great report. the heck with the corn beef hash, wheres the portuguese sausage, spam, and natto? :-).

will be there next month, so am taking notes.

Great report!

Sorry you didn't like Harmonique. I've only eaten there at lunch time several times, and the &quot;service&quot; indoors is almost non-existant, but outdoors was ok. At dinner, it sounds like it's MUCH worse. I've never visited their restrooms, now I never will....

sounds like the trip is going fantastically...sorry about harmonique...i always try to warn people about the service.. i have been known to get up and ask for one thing or another, especially the bill...

the bathrooms are news to us as we have never had to use them thank god...

don't you just love ratt....you could not ask for any more info than she gives you, unless you are an academic and need every tid bit...

back to harmonique...i have it on my eating schedule for 2 or 3 dinners in may/june...maybe i will no longer like it??? we find the food delicious and the price very enticing....we consider it our bargain dinners...
i always sit in one of the a/c rooms and not many people do so that is why i think we get forgotten....they never have enough help...the old people who run it are still in the 1950's, which i find part of its charm...

anxious to hear how you like the penn...the marriott is not the hotel the sh-la or penn are but we love the relaxed atmosphere and the pool area...we do not do spa so are totally unfamiliar with this aspect of hotels...

GOOD THING YOU STUCK TO YOUR GUNS ABOUT ROSE GARDEN.... complete waste of time imo

Day 5

We were going to transfer to the Peninsula today so we could get up late. Yeah right. I get up early as usual and watch the river come to life. I watched for an hour as one small tug pulling two long Pepsi barges pushed them into 1 stall along the river while turning them around into the opposite direction at the same time, fascinating. I enjoyed doing this every morning while in Bangkok and later in Hong Kong. Anyway, we had our last breakfast at the S La. We absolutely stuffed ourselves. That’s why I hate buffets; it turns normal people into absolute gluttons. Well most of us anyway. We walked around the neighborhood again to walk it off. This time we visited stores and bought some silver jewlery stuff along the New Road next to Silom. Went back to check out and was picked up by our driver who transferred us across the river to the Peninsula. WOW. OK, a definite step up from the Shangri La. For 1 thing you step into the techno 22nd century. All of you who have been there know what I mean. Tried to get into a higher room at check in but am told that they are full (right). Had a quick sandwich lunch in the lobby bar/restaurant and took a cab to Chatuchak Market as it was the weekend, Sunday I think? We shop around in the hottest place on earth at the hottest time of the day 1:00 to 4:00 pm. I had to be nuts but Linda really enjoyed it. After a while it was does this look good? My answer, yeah buy it(in my head I’m just thinking get me out of hear NOW). So needless to say we had a bunch of bags with us when we left. Should’ve got the Skytrain back but figured I’d try a cab since we had not taken the train yet and I was no mood to concentrate. It took 5 cabs before we could get one that used a meter. Got back to the hotel, gave the cab triple the meter which was what all the other taxi drivers were quoting me. I told him that’s for being honest. He gave me his card and thanked me profusely as we walked away with the bellboys handling our bags of stuff. Went down for a dip in the pool then got ready to eat out at Jester’s the restaurant in the 1st floor of the hotel. I ordered the lamb chops and Linda ordered the Fish special with the soft shelled crab as an appetizer. Our most expensive dinner yet as we have 2 bottles of the Chile Peninsula Special Wine at 2500 baht per bottle(it was a long hot day) and are in bed by 10:00.

Day 6
Breakfast downstairs at the Peninsula. Great buffet again with everything the S La has but just looks more formal here at this hotel. Breakfast is included in our room price so we eat here all of our three days here. Walk around out in the neighborhood to walk off our meal then back to the room to call SJ International to pick us up so we can spend more money. Actually Linda already tells me you got that table so …as she smiles and walks away. I’m in trouble.
The driver is there in 26 minutes, wow. Actually it’s two people a driver and his assistant. They take us to the store and we meet 3 different people trying to sell us anything. I mention Kathie from Seattle and the Red Sea parted. Everyone walked away and Bee came up to help us with an assistant. She explains that we will get the absolute best price because of our “special friend”, alright, thanks Kathie! You are somebody! Well needless to say 1 ½ hrs later and 7 rings, two pendants and a necklace I had wished I had never seen that table. All kidding aside thanks again Kathie, your name saved us a bundle. Actually the owner’s daughter came out and introduced herself to us and thanked us for coming in. She really knows her jewelry and actually picked out the sapphire necklace for Linda that we ended up buying. She spent about half an hour with us until someone from the back had to have her to make a decision. I forgot her name, sorry but I was too busy adding and subtracting in my head as Linda had that fevered look in her eyes but we finally left with the rings being sized and to be delivered to us at 6:00 pm tomorrow. S J International is a very professional and huge place. They have a lot of inventory in the back (believe me we saw a lot of it) and can make anything you want to order. We even got the private tour of their factory in front. Highly recommended we were very pleased(at least Linda was).OK, back to the hotel where Linda buys me lunch. I then go across the river to pick up my shirts at Stylist. Everything is perfect. Back to the hotel to the pool to relax. Dinner at The Bed Supper Club that night. We took a cab from The Peninsula and arrived a little early for our reservation so we walk around the neighborhood. It is actually cooler this evening as the weather had taken a cooler turn (84F days and 71F at night) the past couple of days which was real nice. Wow what a neighborhood. Made a mental note to come back here to shop around. Most of you have eaten at The Bed; all I can say is its very interesting. We really enjoyed ourselves. I didn’t think we would. The food was first rate(if not the best we had in Bangkok). The atmosphere was electric. I got so comfortable in the bed that I thought I would hate sitting in that we stayed longer and drank more than we should have. Left about 11:00 to catch the Skytrain back to the hotel. Seemed like a dream as we walked up to the train platform and there was the train, we transfer and there was the other train, we get off and there is the shuttle boat and the hotel. Sleep by 12:30 or so, I think. Sorry so detailed. Tomorrow Kong tour and dinner at Biscotti

still sounding great...will be anxious to hear how you like biscotti....\

how comfortable was it at bed...that is what is keeping me away...you think the food was better than jesters (which you did not say much about????) and angelini????

bob

karen asks is there any alternative to sitting on the bed??? we are old and some of us too large for eating in bed...enough said

I am loving this trip report and getting even more excited about our next trip to Bangkok in Feb 2006. Keep it coming.

Really enjoying your trip report! Is the food at Bed Thai?

Great report! Glad you liked Ratt as much as so many of us do.

Re: Bed Supper Club. Being a big man won't be a problem at all. There is plently of space. It's actually one long continuous bed. Very, very comfortable for all people I would think. There is one small table on the main floor and I think a couple of others upstairs but being on the bed and getting to know your neighbors is half the fun.

The food is probably best described as fusion.

kuranosuke:
missed the portugese sausage but the natto comes in later in the report from Tokyo!

rhkkmk:

the beds on the first floor are about 8' wide and as long as the restaurant (80-90')with seperate plastic tables and pillows for each &quot;seperate&quot; table. You have about the equivelant of a King size bed for yourself and your spouse so there is a lot of room. Two &quot;tables&quot; down from us was a party of 8 which looked pretty crowded but everyone fit so there is a lot of space. They also have these large beachball pillows in between the &quot;tables&quot; so is there is seperation if you want it. Imagine being in a large bed with people serving you as you watch a technodisco/restaurant in action. Add to that the great food. As you know they have a choice of 3 or 4 pri fix meals per night except on Sun/Mon I think. When they take you to your table you just slip off your shoes and climb on. Karen should probably wear slacks that evening to be more comfortable. Don't forget to take your camera as the live menu's are something else. As I said I was very skepttical about this place but we had a blast.
My restaurant rating in Bangkok IMHO(1st timer 1 visit only)
1. Biscotti/Bed Supper Club
2. Angelini/Italian restaurant for which I have notes at home.
3. Sala Thip/Jesters
4. Harmonique
all but Harmonique I would highly recommend.

CFW:
They had Thai selection the night we were there but don't know if they always do. glorialf best describes their food as fusion.

Day 7

Last full day in Bangkok. Breakfast as usual, stuff ourselves and hope it lasts past lunch, lol. We go out to the dock to see about a khlong tour. The bellman at the dock says all these guys (about 5 of them) in front of the hotel are for the reservations. Do you have reservations? I say no. He says I have the perfect man for you across on the other side, he is a real gentle person, for 500 baht an hour. They took us across to the Peninsula dock near the S La and we got on the long tail boat. He took us up Past the Grand Palace, Wat Po area and finally went into one of the Klongs. A two hour tour with a stop at his friends orchid garden and bar in the middle of nowhere was a memory we’ll never forget. We took a ton of pictures which I will post on a sight if I ever figure out how to do it (any help appreciated). We came back and took the Sky train over to the Bed Supper club area to do some shopping and sightseeing. We ended up walking down and visiting the Emporium Mall which was very upscale and air conditioned. Linda managed to get two bags full from there. Then while walking down the street we stumbled across a real nice Italian Restaurante da Lalo Italiano in the Jasmine City Building 2, Sukhumvit Soi 23 for a late lunch and gelato. I had the Osso Bucco with saffron rice while Linda had the artichoke with shrimp pasta special which was divine. The manager is Italian and the food is authentic. I liked it better than Angelini’s. It was that good IMO. Price was really reasonable and the portions were more than adequate. Worth a try if you are in the area. They are open from 10:30 thru 11:00 and have a pretty large menu. After lunch we caught the sky train to MBK. Wow, not enough time left in this day or the next to go through this place. We spend the next couple of hours shopping and catch the Sky train back to Taskim and boat back to the Pen. Cool off in the pool before getting ready for dinner at Biscotti. Take the taxi from the Pen 45 minutes before our reservation but arrive ½ hour late as traffic in Bangkok really sucks. Finally get to the restaurant and are whisked away to our table for one of the most enjoyable meals we have had in Bangkok. Biscotti’s is not an overly stuffy place so at once we felt at ease yet there is an elegance about it (maybe being in the Four Season’s ) that you know your not at a TGI Fridays. I compare their food quality to that of The Bed Supper club. Simply, yet tastefully prepared with marvelous service. I had the Stuffed Veal chop special while Linda had an unreal Shrimp Scampi with linguine. We also ended up ordering a bottle of wine to celebrate our last night in BKK so it wasn’t the cheapest meal we had but for atmosphere and price I probably liked Biscotti the best of the restaurants that we went to on this trip to Bangkok. The Bed comes in a real close 2nd. The have different atmospheres completely yet similar types of food, strange. We hopped onto the Sky train for the ride back to the Pen at about 11:30. Got into bed by 1:00 am. Somewhere today after we came back I also had a Thai massage downstairs at the Pen. 1400 baht for 1 hour but well worth it I thought. Therapist’s name was Yupia. Tomorrow Hong Kong

i'm so glad you liked biscotti...for some reason not many fodorites seem to go there even though i keep prodding....IT IS PROBABLY OUR FAVORITE IN BKK....we have it on our list twice this next trip...i have written down the place on soi 23 to see if i can fit it in too--thanks....we are in that area often...lots of good things on soi 23---baan khanitha, and bkk's best shop...rasi sayan....the delat restaurants too ...a great neighborhood to eat and shop in....

SO HAVE YOU BOUGHT YOUR NEXT TICKETS TO BKK YET?????

aloha hawaiiantraveler.....
love your report...sounds like you are enjoying so many of our favorite sites and hotels. we also spent days with ratt...
we are planning our return trip for october
...how did you purchase your UAL airfare
and can i ask the approx price you paid? i cannot find any deals right now!!!
how did you purchase shangrila and pen hotels? we will also be departing from hnl
and havent decided if we want to go back to the marriott or shangrila.
to change the subject...did you see the play...you somebody?????in hnl...my mother in law was the star......bob (rhmkhk
you are somebody....you have helped us all so much with great insightful info)
kathie...can i use your name too when we do
our jewelry shopping???
keep the trip report going..cant wait to hear more

dive---i know i am somebody--not just sure who....my wife calls me a jerk who spends his whole life on fodors....i reply that is how we get all this great travel info with personal insights that you cannot get from any guide book and it is often very recent info...

Peter-The report is wonderful. It's great to see BKK through your eyes, stomach and wallet. Your description of your first day 2 1/2 hour walk is exactly why we love BKK. Just being there is thrilling without the need for specific sites/sights. Thanks.

divediva

ua to bkk very expensive now, and i don't anticipate any good deals in the future. we in hi are at a disadvantage as like me, i am locked into their ff program, and we are also locked in geographically as ua has the most convenient flt skeds out of hi.

i turn green with envy when i see cheap flts to tokyo and bkk from sfo, lax, sea,ord, and especially iad. actually, iad has cheap flts to almost anywhere.(i think you can go to paris from iad for under $400)

the cost of my tkt for next months bkk trip was $615. i haven't seen anything less than $935 recently. there might be a point when some of us may consider changing to another carrier ie china air, as it is not only cheaper, but arrives at a decent time in bkk, instead of 11pm after a six hour layover in nrt. let me know if you find any good deals with ua to bkk. mahalo.

hawaiiantraveler -- loving your trip report! sounds like you had a great time. can't wait to hear the rest :) wish i would have made that stop to SJ now! sorry about harmonique, it was the best curry we had on the trip. they must have to bathrooms, the one i visited didn't have a men's urinal and wasn't too bad on cleanlieness (i only had 2 drinks, surely i would remember)! it is funny though how things just arrive randomly throughout everyone's meal. glad you had a good time with ratt too, we love her!

our best man who lives in HI often uses an asian airline which stops in taiwan on his way to bkk....he has found great fares with them....of course i forget which airline it is....

united had the $695 bkk flight price for about a year....strange how they change

dive:
I bought the tix thru UA on the phone. They were upgradable to bus class so I had to buy the full fare tix at 1105.00 ea. Included HNL-BKK BKK-HKG HKG-NRT NRT-HNL I see prices in the Sunday ads that run between 700-980,but don't know what airlines they are with. Kuranosuke is right we are trapped with UA here in HNL. I have Elite status with them so it is hard to give them up. We got the hotels also from united vacations on their site on the web. I won't be using them next trip as there are a lot of cheaper way to get the Pen and S La hotels from info gleaned from this site. No, sorry did not see that play. Aloha!

rhkkmk:

We are planning a trip back to BKK and Angkor and Japan next Feb thru March. Liked the weather at that time of year and gives us time to plan. Are you going to make it to the Bed for dinner this time around?

i think roberto will go to the bed to rest up, after he cycles around bkk all day. right? :-).

ht; going to japan and bkk in feb. will mean you need to pack warm clothing for japan. feb still cold in japan. might mean another suitcase for your winter gear. just a thought.

Kuranosuke:
plan to be in Japan by mid March after a couple of weeks in BKK area. I know still colder but rather have that than the heat, we got enough of that here :)

Day 8

We had an early 6:15 breakfast at the Pen as our driver was to pick us up at 7:30 for our 10:30 flight to Hong Kong. We lingered a while by the riverside watching the river traffic saying our silent goodbye to Bangkok :(. We’ll be back. Went up to our beautiful room and said goodbye to it. Closed the curtains by remote one last time and called for the bell boy to help us with the luggage. Our driver from Tour East was right on time. It only took us 35 minutes to make it to the airport. Check in was a breeze as we were flying Thai Air on this leg as United doesn’t have a BKK to HKG flight, they code share with Thai. The flight left 1 hour late but we made up time in the air due to 179 mph tailwind. It was an uneventful 2 hr 50 minute flight. The food was ok. It was raining and 42 F as we arrived in Hong Kong. Breezed thru customs and was met by our driver from Travel Advisors who took us and our bags to his Mercedes limo for our short ride to The Kowloon Shangri La Hotel. We had requested a harbor view room but were told that the rate we were paying was not the Harbor view rate. It would be an extra 600 HK for the view. I tried to bargain but the hotel was pretty full and the front desk guy politely stuck to his guns so I ended up giving in as I was not about to come all the way to Hong Kong and not have a view of the harbor. He gave us a recently renovated corner room #1229, which was a very nice and large room with an unobstructed beautiful million dollar view of the harbor but nothing like the room we had just left at the Pen :(. Linda unpacked as I just sat there for about ½ hour sipping the tea that the room butler had brought to us two minutes after we walked into the room along with a welcome bowl of fresh fruit. We freshened up and went downstairs to explore our new home for the next four days. While exploring we noticed the happy hour sign at the Tapa Bar in the lobby and decided to have some tapas and drinks as the drinks were 2 for 1. Well, 3 hours later and it was dark outside so we went for a walk on the waterfront promenade across the street from the hotel to see the lights on Hong Kong Island. What a beautiful sight. It started raining and we were pretty hungry so decided to get some dinner. Walked around the block and found a small Chinese restaurant just as the rain really started to come down. I had wor won ton mein while Linda had pork chops and rice with brown gravy. It was a very cheap meal (about 8 dollars US). We went back to the hotel to turn in for the night as we were tired from the plane and drinks at Tapas.

Day 9

I awoke early as usual and watched for an hour as the harbor came to life as the sun was rising. It was pretty overcast but the weather channel said it would clear by mid afternoon. We went downstairs to have breakfast at Caf&eacute; Kool on the mez floor which serves up a wonderful buffet breakfast, lunch and dinner. They did not give us complimentary breakfast like in Bangkok but charged us 50% off for my Golden Circle membership. The buffet here though is a lot larger than in BKK with a lot more selections of everything and a lot of dim sum. Anyway after stuffing ourselves again we needed that daily walk so of we went down the street to Nathan Road. We walked up one side of the street for roughly 4 miles and crossed and came back on the other side as the bags of stuff we bought started to get real heavy. What an interesting place. There are a lot of jewelry shops on Nathan Road and everywhere people seem to be selling 24 karat gold chains, jade, etc. Prices were more expensive than in BKK but not as expensive as at home so we bought a lot of little presents and stuff for our relatives and friends back home that day. We got back to the hotel after little after lunch, which we ate at a Chinese restaurant on one of the side streets off of Nathan Rd. Cheap food, sorry I did not write the name down but this restaurant is very popular with the locals as they were lining up outside. We just waited in line with them. It didn’t take too long (about 15 minutes) before we were seated. This time we ate” family” style as we ordered some beef broccoli, rice and sam se mein cake noodles and honey walnuts shrimp. Delicious! We rested a while at the hotel and got our laundry together as we had spotted the Sunshine Laundry about two blocks from our hotel. 7 pounds of clothes washed, dried and folded for 28 HK and done in 2 hours, alright. They have like 39 locations throughout HK. We had nine pounds which cost 35HK. Dropped off the wash and headed for the night market on Temple street. We were just taking pictures of everything and all the lights and signs on the streets when I noticed that a local HK lady was buying fake Louis Vuitton bags from a vendor. The vendor had these hidden under the tables in bags. These looked real as the others on the tables out for sale had obvious flaws and wrong markings. I know that these weren’t real LV’s but they looked real i.e. correct logos and all the right markings. When the lady left with 4 bags I asked the vendor if she had any Gucci’s. She asked me if I was HK police to which I laughed. She then told me to wait as she instructed her teenage daughter to go to the car and get the Gucci bags. About 5 minutes later we had bargained and bought 2 bags. I don’t know why I did this but I guess I just got caught up in the moment. But for 300HK I had 2 really nice looking Gucci purses. Linda was happy.
We shopped around a little more and went back to pick up our laundry which was still warm from just coming out of the dryer (they even used bounce in the dryer). We dropped the clothes off at the room and went across the street to eat dinner. We found what I am calling the best noodles that we had in Hong Kong. The Restaurant is called Dragon Noodles and Dumplings on Mody Rd. in the Intercontinental Plaza Square on the ground floor. They have a cook whose job is just to make noodles by hand it seems constantly. He stands where everyone can see stretching and pounding the dough to make the perfect noodles that this place serves. The place was packed as it was every time we went there (3). The dumplings were out of this world. They had shrimp, shrimp with pork and pork and shrimp with vegetables dumplings that were so full of juice that when you bit into them they would squirt allover the place. If you are ever in the area you got to try this place. We had 2 fried noodles dishes,6 shrimp and 6 shrimp and pork and 4 vegetables dumplings, tea and 2 cokes for 180HK. Highly recommended by the hawaiiantraveler. Back to the hotel to sleep at 10:30. Tomorrow the Peak and Luk Yu Tea House.

not convinced that bed is for me....i really don't have any meals not accounted for...we (I) did a schedule last year and it worked out well....if we are tired we just skip that and mark it as a reason to return soon...

i can't believe the food is that good...if i have bad luck at harmonique it will free up a couple of nites...

make sure you go into the peninsula for tea one afternoon...often a long line...also go up top to the felix restaurant at nite time....have a drink at the bar if not for dinner....BUT MAKE SURE YOU BOTH GO TO THE BATHROOMS...MEN TO THE URINALS...unbelievable...go up just for the bathrooms also...they are near the elavators as i remember...

as you walk along the streets in TST look up at the signs over doorways...some advertise factory outlets...go in and upstairs for fantastic buys....
the tourist agency office at the star ferry terminal has a pamphlet for factory outlets some of which are worth while...

the peddler building on the HK side is a good shopping experience as well...ask in the hotel...its not far from the star ferry on HK

the chinese restaurant in the basement of the kowloon hotel, directly behind the penn, has very good dim sum....

keep the report coming...

bob

Day 10

Breakfast then out the door to catch the Star Ferry to HK side. Go out the front door of the Shangri La and across the street to the subway tube and walk towards the Peninsula exit using the movable walkways. Cuts down a lot of the walk and we make it to the ferry entrance in 4 minutes. Took the un crowded ferry to Stanley and caught the bus up to the tram that takes you to The Peak. Not that nice a day as the fog had set in a little but you can still see all the way to the New Territories. We hiked around a bit and shopped at the mall up there. They had a Hard Rock Caf&eacute; store way up there so we bought our usual supply of souvenirs. Headed down after 2 ½ hrs and went to see of we could get into Luk Yu Tea House for some dim sum. After hunting around we found it only to go inside and see that the first floor was packed. Up the stairs to the 2nd floor. “No more room here” said the waiter. Up the stairs to the 3rd and last floor and lo and behold one last table in the corner. We snag the table as they are just clearing it from someone who just left. Har gau, siu mai,bean curd, char siu bao,deep fried taro, shrimp in fun I just love dim sum. I eat it here in Honolulu at least twice a month and could eat it everyday if I could. This place has one of the best IMHO. I’m sure some will disagree but the place got and A+ by my standards. We had 8 dishes(didn’t want to have that unlucky 7) 3 diet cokes and tea for 320 HK. We then decided to walk around the immediate area and shop, which we did and caught the subway back to Kowloon about 4:30. Rested up a bit in our room, freshened up and went down to Tapas’ for their wine tasting night which was another 2 for 1 deal. Tapa Bar has a real nice selection of international wines but the wines in HK are just like BKK, very expensive. Had dinner at King’s Lodge on 67-71 Chatham Rd. We again had to wait 15 minutes in line but this is a very big place and it was already about 9:45 when we finally made it there. Great Cantonese food. We really liked this place. In bed by 12:00.

I've been following your exchanges abt. cheap airfares and BKK arrival times. Can't speak about the fares as I ma using my ff miles, but I did ask to arrive in BKK during the day time. Cathay Pacific flight leaves Toronto around 10 pm refuels in Anchorage and lands in HK 22 hours later. Two hour layover and arriving in BKK at 10:30 am, so you may want to check out flights from Canada as opposed to O'Hare or JFK.?

ht; sounds like you had a great trip, and ate plenty ono kaukau. put jimmy's kitchen in hong kong central on your restaurant list for next time. have the roasted pig knuckles with a glass of good portugese rose. fabulous.

great report.

Great trip report...SO glad u enjoyed Chatichak - I love it and have bought amazing stuff there but seems is not everyone's cup of tea...could not agree with u more re Bed - one of my fav places in Bkk - fusions well described by Gloria (I have never had Thai there on 5 trips)...

Day 11

Our last full day in Hong Kong begins with breakfast at Caf&eacute; Kool. They change their buffet menu every day so you don’t get bored with what they are serving. If we were paying the full price I wouldn’t eat here every day but at 50% off it’s a deal. We were planning to go to see the Buddha and monastery on Lantau Island today but are just too tired of playing the tourist thing that we just decide to cruise the subway, get off on a stop and explore that neighborhood. That lucky neighborhood ended up being Causeway Bay. Wow, couldn’t have picked a better place. The subway stop leads up into the mall at Times Square. They have the coolest deli market in the mall called City Super Market. You can find anything imported in this deli from Africa to Hawaii and all that’s in between. Ostrich eggs, caviar, salami, pineapples, thai lemongrass, you get the picture. There are a lot of locals shopping here. We then venture out onto the streets and visit Jardine St bazaar where we pick up a few things. There are a myriad of little jewelry and boutique shops in this area. We then stumble onto a huge Fish and seafood market in full swing with all the live everything crawling all over the place. Crab, fish. Clams, oysters, sea slugs, etc. Real interesting. Down the next street is the live meat market with all kinds of meats being sold. The live chicken, pigeon store is very odd. You pick a live bird from the cages and the guys takes it around to the corner tables and chop, well let’s just say instant chicken dinner, real fresh. Okay so after a few hours its back to Kowloon to Dragon Noodles for a late lunch (can’t get enough of this place) then off to the Harbor City Shopping Center. This place is huge(I think they said 7 city blocks). If they don’t have it here it’s not in HK. After a few hours we go back to pack up and off to bed early for our flight to Tokyo tomorrow. We eat dinner at Margau French restaurant in the hotel. The food here is fantastic .Great food with a million dollar view of the harbor at night. The bill also reflects the million dollar view as it is the largest we have paid on this trip yet. Notice I say yet as we have not gotten to Tokyo yet. Into bed by 10:30. Tomorrow Tokyo!

Day 12

The driver is there in the lobby to pick us up at 6:45 am for our UA flight to Tokyo. The ride to the airport takes 30 minutes with absolutely no traffic as it is Sunday morning. Checked in and then tried to find a place to cash in the rest of our Octopus cards. We are told that we should have done it before we checked in as you have to go back thru the controlled area and back to where we bought it in the arrivals area. What a rip off. You think they would make it more convenient. Oh well we now have another souvenir of HK. The flight left right on time at 9:25. Wheels down in Tokyo at 1:44pm after a 3 hr 19 minute flight. It is very cold in Narita when we arrive, 33 F. Lucky we brought our jackets and gloves with us. We catch the airport limo bus service to our hotel in Shinjuku, The Keio Plaza Hotel. The bus service is real convenient as they have a desk located right outside after you exit customs. There buses pick you up right outside the front door so you can literally get door to door service. They load and unload your bags onto and off the bus for you so it couldn’t have been any easier. Cost was 3,000 yen per person and the ride took 80 minutes. We checked into the Keio and got into our 27th floor room with a great view. The rooms in Japan are considerably smaller than those of the Shangri La and Peninsula hotels we just stayed in but are ok. The toilet seat there are worth the price of admission as they are electronic with heaters and lets just say they are very cleansing. We unpack and set out to explore the Shinjuku neighborhood. The first thing you notice about Japan is that everything is so clean compared to BKK and HKG. People are constantly cleaning and sweeping that it seems a ritual. Out the back door of the hotel and past the post office lies a myriad streets with little shops, restaurants, sushi bars, pachinko parlors, and just fascinating little places to shop in that we were out a couple of hours just taking it all in. We found a noodle shop we called 295. We called it that because that is the only thing that we could read on the sign that was in English. They did have a Picture menu though so we walked up the stairs and into the small door that opened into a very jam packed place. KONISHIWA! The waitress yells. She then spurts out a line in Japanese which we don’t understand and smiles at us. I hold up two fingers and say ni kudasai. The waitress laughs and seats us in a table with two other people. She brings us the menu which is all in Japanese but has pictures of everything they serve. I order the miso ramen with sweet pork and Linda orders the ramen with dumplings. The soup dishes also come as a combo with a bowl of rice with teriyaki meat or chicken or bonito flakes. We both order a side of gyoza (5 pieces). Cost for the meal was about 1400 yen. A very cheap dinner. We walk around awhile and go back to the hotel around 10:00 for bed. Tomorrow natto for breakfast:)

loving the descriptions...its fun to experience 3 completely different situations on one trip isn't it??

Day 13

We woke early and decided to check out the breakfast at the Super Buffet Glass Court Restaurant where everything is supposed to be fresh. Lots of selections with a lot of Japanese food selections. I walked around looking at everything before I took anything and notice a small glass bowl with a cover on it next to all the tsukemono and garnishes. I open the jar and that familiar odor permeates the air. NATTO! I quickly grab a small bowl of hot rice and scoop some on along with some pickled vegetables and go back to the table. Linda immediately leaves saying she needs to get something else and leaves me to eat the tiny morsels in peace. We go back for the other food items a couple of times then leave feeling we don’t need lunch. If you are going to stay at the Keio consider joining their Executive Club. Membership gives you special room rates along with free breakfast (saved us 55000 yen for breakfast in Super Buffet) special rooms and VIP check in. You can request a late checkout as late as 4:00 without paying which is helpful for the late flights out of Narita to the US. We then went took the free Disney shuttle to Japan Disney. I know that most of you think that there are a lot of better places to go to in Tokyo with only 3 days but well lets just say that we had to. I’m sure your not interested so we’ll leave the Disney review for another website but suffice it to say we had a great time. We caught the train back to Shinjuku about 7:00 pm and went to an Italian/Japanese restaurant on one of the backstreets behind our hotel. They have a limited English menu combined with their regular menu. Food was great and we had a bottle of Italian white wine with dinner for 2500 yen. Early to bed as we were exhausted from all the walking.

Day 14

After breakfast we walk outside to the subway for our short ride to the Roppongi district for what else Hard Rock Caf&eacute; Souvenirs. Weather is beautiful today as the cold front passes and temperature rises to 64 F during the day. We find the Hard Rock with little trouble and set off to see the rest of the area. Walk around for a couple of hours then duck into the subway and come up at the Imperial Place. Tour the palace area for about 2 hours then head back to Shinjuku to freshen up. We then take the subway to the Ginza. Wow what a sight at night! We stroll up and down the street looking for a place to eat. We finally settle at Valdarno Restaurant right on the main street. It’s Italian and packed but the service is excellent and so is the food. We have 1 bottle of wine with our meal along with appetizer and dessert. Price is 16100 yen our most expensive meal on this trip. Catch the subway back to Shinjuku and go up to the 45th floor of our hotel to the Sky Bar for a couple of cocktails. Beautiful views of the city but with a price of 8000 yen per drink. Sleep by 12:00.

Day 15

Our last day in Tokyo as we leave at 7:00 pm from Narita. Have breakfast and set off to walk around the other side of Shinjuku that we had not yet explored. We then duck into the subway for a ride back to the Ginza. We come up from underground into the Mitsukoshi Store to buy some packed foods and gifts for people back home. If you have ever been to this store in the basement is their version of a food court. You can eat for free here as every stall is offering samples of all that they sell. Made some purchases here then catch the subway back to Shinjuku. Shopped at the Keio Store, the Odkayu Store and another that I can’t remember the name of. These stores are huge 7 to 8 stories each and sell everything from soup to nuts. They are located right above the Shinjuku train station. The Shinjuku area is very convenient to travel to and from as the station is one of the main ones in Tokyo and the JR trains leave from there and you can get to virtually anywhere in the city as the subway stations almost all pass thru there. We then have a late lunch at our 295 noodle restaurant one last time and head back to the hotel to pack up and freshen up before our ride to the airport. The Airport Limo Bus is right on time and we leave the hotel at 2:55 pm. It took us 95 minutes to get to the terminal as traffic was starting to get bad and as it was a Wednesday afternoon. We had a very quick 5 hr 45 minute flight back to HNL as we were aided by a 228 mph tailwind. We hit a top speed of 789mph. All in all it was a fantastic first trip into Asia. We are already planning a return next Feb/March and I’m sure you’ll be hearing from me for all of your expert advice and recent knowledge of areas that you all travel in. Sorry for the length.
Aloha!
Peter

Peter,

LOVED your report.

We have our trip planned this summer just like yours except we are doing it in reverse; Tokyo first, Bangkok is last and we got to Beijing as well.

So I guess we'll go from clean to &quot;dirty&quot; instead of the reverse!

Thanks for your lovely report. We are also at the Penn in Bangkok and we are most excited. We at the Intercontinental in HKG and at the Seiyo Ginza in Tokyo ( St Regis in Beijing).

Thanks for all the wonderful insights!

Cheers!

peter; great report. seems like you had a great trip.

ahhh.. natto for breakfast..what more can you ask for.

question.. the sky bar drink was 8000 yen? thats kinda steep, maybe it was 800. is the free train to disneyland for hotel guest only, or can anyone use it? mahalo again for the great report.

coreection,drinks at the sky bar in the hotel were 800(7.60 US) yen per drink not 8000

kuranosuke:
we rode the free Disney shuttle bus going to the park. They also have a free return bus at certain times but did not want to wait for it so caught the train back to the hotel by ourselves. The Disney shuttle left the Shinjuku area that day at 6:30, 9:00 and at 10:30. They make pickups at the Hyatt, Keio Plaza Hotel and another hotel that I can't remember the name of. They(Disney) does this for alot of hotels in Tokyo as I remember seeing a schedule in the bus. Coming back to Shinjuku the shuttle buses were at 4:30, 7:50 and 10:20.
You were right the drinks were only 800 yen. Can't get use to all those zeroes. Aloha!

peter thanks so much for the wonderful report...so you liked asia???...not surprising....we all seem to love it...
some of us can't get enough...

we are here to assist with future planning as many of us will be in asia before your return so may have some updates for you...

i pick up tid bits every day on this forum and print them out or write a note to myself and then keep it all in a planning folder...anal i know but it helps, especially when the brain fails you...

welcome home...

divediva and kuranosuke:
FYI, just saw the Sunday Advertiser Travel section. R&amp;C Travel has r/t HNL to BKK for $559.00. King's Travel has roundtrip for 560.00 and Star Tours and Travel have r/t for 469.00. Aloha!

peter; mahalo for the info. been checking narita weather as i will be there in a couple of weeks, and thanks to ua, i get a 6 hour layover.

looks kinda cold, so i guess i might have to switch from cold to hot sake with my maguro-natto donburi.:-). domo.