Bob, I printed out your report for Jeane to read as we drive up to Maine from Connecticut this afternoon - 76 pages. It's about a 4 hour trip - hope she has time to finish it.

Wednesday

breakfast was in the brand newly renovated garden restaurant on the lower level of the north building...they did a fabulous job on the renovation....the fabrics and woods are very welcoming...the buffet is delicious and complete in every way...the only missing thing is the dim sum....oh well...we did think that there was less selection than in the past but this is a way to make it more organized...small portions are put out and refreshed very regularily...the stations are quite permanent and built-in...

after breakfast we had a swim....karen stayed on at the pool while i went out to do internet..

by the way gpanda...the water next to my desk at the bank was a full sized olympic pool.....i had full time masseurs as well...bet the law office doesn't have this...

from there we took the shuttle boat to taskim and after a wait took the oriental boat to their hotel (i find their boats very unreliable timewise....every time i wanted to use one it was late--off schedule)...

we walked through the hotel...the lobby is very lovely, as i remembered from past visits, as are other rooms of the hotel...it is a gem...

out front to oriental place and a visit to cotton house...they were closing for lunch but allowed us in for a quick fitting...they are very gracious...blouse needed a bit of tweeking...

we took a taxi to central chitlom...up to the 7th floor for lunch at the Loft...this day we had decided to have tempura...we had shrimp and veggies...it is cooked to order and took about 10 minutes.. 866 B

next...over to gaysorn to change one of the pairs of shoes purchased earlier--too small for one daughter...no problem...on the way we visited the new holiday inn on plenochit....we had a tour...it is very nice...the rooms are smaller than some, but still decent sized...they are very attractive...pool is pitiful and right off the lobby...a good location however---guen--give it a try....we may try it in the future....we walked through the lobby of the intercontinental...we were very impressed...had never been in there before...very old world...
we took a taxi to the amari watergate hotel as we wanted to visit the mall that carol had described as being across from the diamond grand condo project and in the basement...that is exactly where it is...we found it easily...it is called city complex...there are many floors of shops and stalls and all with a/c...the basement is the best part...karen bought a number of pairs of wacky shoes: 199B mostly, but some were 299B....sequins, rhinestones, buttons, bright colors...mostly flip flops or slides...they were just wide enough for her foot...be forewarned.. she is 6.5 medium which is 46 or 47 their size i think---or is that 36 or 37???
we purchsed some cotton muslin type dresses for the girl grandchildren with embrodiery on them...465 B for 3 dresses ($11.50)...5 neck ties for 1400 B---heavy fabric and lining and conservative...
there are row after row of jeans, slinky tops, and wild stuff....a great place to shop and very cheap...some bargaining of course...the more you buy the cheaper

A GOOD SPOT THANKS CAROL...

from there we took a taxi to river city...karen tried on a blouse that she had ordered with tigers on it...they were able to place the animals in perfect places to show them off...it is sort of an african feel shirt..karen had taken in a linen blouse from j jill as a model...something unique about the front tab...

from river city we took the chao payra express boat to taskim---our only ride this time on these great boats --11 B each...then the marriott shuttle to the hotel...

quick swim...we had beer in the room afterwards...

we decided to eat out front in the mall...last year we had thought that our favorite thai family food restaurant was a little lame and sort of tasteless....but things were back to normal this year....WE HAD A DELICIOUS MEAL AND IT WAS VERY TASTI... plus it was very cheap...612 B for tons of food...some favorites like lemon chicken and cashew chicken, plus some shrimp dishes and rice...too much food and some beer...this restaurant is on the lower level of the mini mall...you turn left just before the parking lot as you come out to the mall from the hotel on the lower lobby level, go to the end, turn right and go as far as you can go...it has a two word name., one of which begins with a K and S is the other word...it is sort of in back of the bank and the restaurant on the front corner of the mall...

after dinner we took a taxi to the night market...this was new a few years ago and we have never been...to be honest i found it quite hot there...but we did decide that it was perfect for tourists, especially tourists with not much time....there are hundreds of shops...they are neatly arranged...the products are quite nice and the prices are decent...there is bargaining of course...it could be your one stop shopping if you want to buy some representative thai things but do not have time...the best time to go is 6-9 PM so i am told...nancy chandler offers a small map on her website...she has a shop there...we found it in the section nearest to the stage...there is a huge food court there and an open air stage on which music was being played live during our visit...it is a beer garden atmosphere...i was amazed by the beer dispensers that you can have on your table...i can see carol holding court there...

the skytrain is not too far away, but the subway is right there on rama IV...as we had not ridden the subway yet we took this opportunity to try it...if is fantastic...by the way the stations are fully air conditioned...we took the subway to asoke and changed to the skytrain which is right above the station...escalator all the way up with one change...the next nite we did it again but went the other way on the subway to si lom (this is correct---not silom) and you had quite a walk to the skytrain station even though it shows as a change over station...the two transportation networks are not integrated for payment...
the subway uses a small round disc for your ticket...it is electronic...quite neat really...the skytrain uses a thin credit card type card....both are reusable...
our fare on the subway was only 15 B...
the subway just now does not go to too many places that tourists want to go, except it does go to the weekend market (as does the skytrain) and to the nite market and to asoke...

boat to the hotel and a lovely nites sleep..

craig---we were hoping that it would be shorter than last years' at 80 pages, but i guess i failed and i have 4 more days to do..

have fun in maine...
suppose i get a tooth ache...who will i turn to??

Thursday

down for breakfast...some things have been altered from the day before...they must have thought that things could be better organized...

we did see the pool manager on our way to breakfast...karen took this opportunity to thank him for his gift...a week earlier he had told us that he had a gift for us...what could this be??...the day we left a week or so ago he presented me with a very heavy plastic bag...he said, "from my parents in ayudhia (sp--the former capital)..handmade"...i thanked him and took the bag...he had to get back to work...i was a little embarrased that he would give us a gift...we have had converstaions with him for 10 years during our stays at the marriott and always received extra special treatment from him....i always tried to remember him in my tips as well...

so anyway, when i got up to the room i opened this bag...inside was a knife holder made of wood and quite a few knives and a cleaver, all made of bronze or something similar and with wooden handles...it was very impressive...now i was very embarrased...it was over the top...good for hand luggage on the plane was my thought....tons of knives and a cleaver...that cleaver could make quick work of the security door into the pilot's cockpit..

so karen thanked him profusly for his kind gift...

at 11AM, by pre arrangement, we were picked up by the owner of the 5th element factory/showroom....some of you may remember them as owners of the stainless steel show room at one end of the shangri-la hotel mall...they have magnificent stuff...dishes, flat ware, impelments all hand fashioned from stainless steel and bronze....many of the 5* hotels in bkk use their stuff...i had kept in contact with them since last year...i was disappointed to learn that the shop had closed but cheered to learn that they have a shop/factory near by to the hotel...
so "Pat" the owner and his youngest son picked us up...

the shop is in back of the montien hotel, roughly, in a quiet neighborhood...

the show room is small but we managed to find a ton, and literally a ton, of items we wanted....we decided to have them shipped....i actually heard from him yesterday that they will be shipped by ups on monday...one item a small cheese knife had to be manufactured so there was a delay and we bought 8 for gifts...ups cost about $100.

sample items: cheese knife--$4.50;
to be continued after lunch

Further evidence that Bob is not difficult to find in BKK. Of the 20 million people, almost all are Asian. Of the remaining, Bob is still quite "distinctive". There may have been only 5 people in BKK his size. I guarantee that only one was accompanied by his wife, our RhkKmk. He might as well have been wearing a Fodors T-shirt, oops, polo shirt. If it's any solace, he is nearly indistinguishable in Needham. One of dozens. But was the Olympic pool salt water?

a bowl shapped like an apple--10 inche diamerter-$25.; heavy beer mug with elephant trunk for a handle (for me)-$35....

after we completed our purchases we went across the street to his home/office where we did the financial part and met pat's wife and enjoyed some cold water and a nice chat...he told us about the process and the fact that they use the very finest quality, not the cheaper steel now available from china and that the pieces are hand hammered by home workshop people whom he employs...he described the process of making a dish...it was all very interesting...he gave karen a small pure bronze coffe spoon and told us about why some bronze keeps it color and some does not...we have had this problem with some thai bronze in the past...all has to do with the alloys used and the quantity of the nichel added...again he uses top quality bronze with a high percentage of nichel---5% i think he said...

if you would like to visit they would be glad to have you, and of course would love for you to buy some things...pat's name is: pratan kanchanavithayakul...no wonder he goes by pat...they are at 45/26 soi chareonkrung 93, chareonkrung road (new road)..tel: 662-292-1968
e-mail: [email protected]

another son drove us from the shop to river city...karen dropped something off at thai silk and we were on our way to the conrad hotel for another delicious dim sum lunch...how do i say fabulous??...you have to try this place!!!

the same manager/waiter greeted us...he wanted to know how our trip was going...how much longer we would stay, etc..we ate again from the dim sum menu at the fixed price...again it could not have been better... 1458 B....

took the hotel bus to the skytrain...and went back to our hotel...
karen went out to swim until it rained and bob did internet for an hour and 1/2, including some fodors...

we went out to see jack and karen picked up her jacket...it fit perfectly...she was so pleased...and only $37...my shirts were all ready as well...he threw in two extra shirts as when they were monogrammed with my companies's logo (2 of them were for work) they did it in white thread instead of navy so it had to be done over and he just made new shirts....i insisted on paying for them but jack would not hear of it....he is such a nice man and good business man...he knows we will always be back, and send others even if i did not buy much on this trip...

on purpose we had had a really big lunch...we had beer in the room and got the 7:30 boat to taskim...time had escaped me and we were a little late...where were we headed??

THE LADY BOY SHOW...

billT has raved so much about it that we had to do it...we choose Calypso Cabaret at the asia hotel...i had ordered our tickets on line months ago for the 8:15 show...there are two daily shows--one later...you can request your seats as well...bill had suggested front row so i did this and i choose front row center...there is a diagram on line to guide you...the show was about 600 B each..

if you can believe it, we left the marriott pier at 7:30 promptly, and arrived into our seats at asia hotel at 8:12...the hotel is all the way across town...the skytrain is wonderful...there is direct access to the hotel from the skytrain stop...

our seats were literally front center, first row...

you have a small table in between each two seats and you are entitled to a complimentary drink with each ticket...karen had wine and i had draft beer...the theatre is small and cabaret style...perhaps there are 250 seats or less..our seats were 3 feet from the stage....we were almost the only farangs there...most were japanese and many older ladies were in attendance that nite...

at about 8:20 a man in a tux came and stood right next to me and up came the lites...he was the impressario...

the show was fantastic....all the singing was either in english or in japanese...most of the songs were american except for one or two japanese favorites...the music and singing was 95% prerecorded and they lip sync to the tunes...the costumes were unbleievable and there was plenty of cleavage showing...these men/women are unbelievable and some are very attractive and enhanced (breasts) and miniz=mized in other places (use your imagination)...one of the stars was so close to me i could see his very bad acneed skin...really very bad skin...the girls were shapely and everything was in very good taste...the show lasted perhaps 90 minutes...we loved it...thanks bill!!!

i forgot to add...i became a center piece of the show a couple of times...the girls came and sat on my lap and one gave me a huge red lipstick kiss on my left cheek (of my face)....they wore lots of makeup as does any theatrical person...one number was sung directly to me and i kissed her/his hand at the end of the number...

we took the skytrain to the stop near to crepes and co on soi 12 sukhumvit where we had decided to go for a late evening dinner...it was delicious...we had dinner crepes and then dessert crepes...we had nice conversation with the owner (swiss) during our dinner...750 B....we do love this restaurant...it is different from anything we can get in the states...the crepes are so fresh and the ingrediants are creative...you can have a full meal or just a snack...it seems to be very popular with locals, especially ex-pats...

taxi back to the hotel...

Bob, I am loving your report. You really covered a lot of ground. I've been taking notes for next year's trip. Will definitely get the Calypso Cabaret in. Are you going to be posting your pictures?

roberto; when i first met you at eimprorium, i got the impresseion that you were quite the ladies man.

your escapades at the calypso certainly confirmed that. :-).

oh yea...i'm the ladies man...you see what ladies are attracted to me...

my pics will be on shutter fly in a week or so...i will post when they are ready...i am working on them....

thanks bob for the info on phuket promotions....

i have never been one to make restaurants/dinners as an event on my holiday itineraries...i usually just find a busy local crowd eatery and wing it....but....after your culinary escapades thru asia....i will definately
venture into the world of fine dining
to enjoy a few of your favorites. the bed supper club, L elephant in luang prabang, the dim sum place and the indian buffet all are making my mouth water with anticipation.
thanks for your report

Bob-- is the crepe restaurant open for lunch?

Enjoyed your detailed post. I always have flown Northwest Air from the east coast going through Detroit. The last trip of 3 I upgraded with miles to the business class. What a much more pleasurable flight! In Bangkok I have stayed at the Royal River-package from Northwest and found it to be okay,but you make me want to try another hotel. I always go to Phuket as I visit a friend there. I have not seen the new Marriott,although I have toured a great part of the island.
Your writing style and info make me want to return and especially try some of these restaurants. Did go to the Biscotti on my birthday.

Bob--one of the things your report points out is that by returning to the same hotel the staff becomes your friends and that adds so much to a trip. Same is true of shops etc. While we always want to see and do new things some of the "old" stuff ends up being so rewarding because of the people to people connection -- to me the most important part of travel.

I know there are advantages to staying in several different hotels when in bangkok but I for one would rather travel to the other areas to explore but feel like I'm at home in my hotel.

gloria---you are so correct...i do not feel that way about hotels in many other world spots, but i do about thailand...we have our favoritre places in england, france and elsewhere, but it is not the people who bring us back there, but the hotel or its location that do...


maryann--the marriott is not any place where you would just drop into...it is way north away from everything and not viewable from the road...it is worth your time however....i am never able to upgrade on my N/W bkk flights although i have often tried..

gloria...crepes and co is open for all three meals...early morning to late nite...only in bkk and nyc

friday

wonderful breakfast...how are we going to adjust to home in 4 days??? cereal and skim milk and water with lemon...ugh...

swim

hotel boat to taskim and oriental boat to its hotel (had to wait past pick-up time again)...oriental place and cotton house...karen's blouse was ready for pick up...it fit perfectly and was just what she wanted...1800B---2000 B in silk next time...karen was very satisfied with cotton house in every way and we shall use them again in the future...we will also continue to use js thai silk...

we took a taxi to the jim thompson house...we wanted to try their new restaurant which had opened since last years visit...they continue to "improve" this piece of property...it is getting pretty tight in the compound as they add more buildings...jim might be mad...

the restaurant is located in the building on the right as you enter the gate...it is on the ground floor...i think there is a function room on the upper floor...the restaurant is very modern looking and quite white, but still in a thai design...we had two thai dishes for lunch and 2 desserts plus water---440B..very reasonable...all the jim thompson restaurants are reasonable and very good...

we looked around in the newish JT shop there for a while and bought some cards...no house tour for us...

from there we walked the couple of blocks to MBK...MBK is the 7 story mammouth cut price department store in the siam sq area...siam sky train stop...we spent about 2 hours in there and covered quite a bit of territory....how can you have one floor and maybe 500 vendors selling cell phones?? they do at MBK...
i bought the "drug store" reading glasses in the small case i had been wanting...3 pair for $14....we bought the 3 eldest grands a watch each---one was a barbie watch...wow!!.....550B for the three...

back to the hotel via the skytrain and hotel boat...

guess what we did---you got it--SWIM...

we took a taxi to convent road, just off of silom, for dinner...just across from swiss lodge is a small soi...it has 2 or 3 restaurants on it...we were headed to six degrees...it is an italian place i had read about on a web site...

the restaurant is very now...minimalistic in tone and very trendy...excellent food..we sharred an expensive antipasto (quite large), i had a pasta dish and karen had a pork cutlet...karen had a glass of wine and i had water...we did not have dessert...1836 B...carol, this is a place for you, as is the thai restaurant next door...don't have the name at the minute, but it is right next door...you can't miss it...a large open windowed area with plants all around... we will be returning to 6 degrees and to the thai next door...this is the former home of the mantra restaurant which closed a year or so ago....

taxi to the night market...we had missed the nancy chandler store the nite before and wanted to visit it...we found it...bought some cards...

by the way...on nancy's website she has one area that lists openings and closings in bkk...i find this very helpful in planning where we want to visit...

karen bought some more fancy flip flops next door to nancy chandler...350 B each pair...

we again took the subway but this time we only went one stop to si lom and transferred to the sky train...a long walk in between stations and some of it was hot and outside although the area was covered...

we had some ice cream at uno on the lower level...

bed

Saturday

a lovely breakfast as usual...

this was our pick-up day for any purchases that we had not picked up already....last year we hired a driver to do this but this year there were not so many places to visit at the end of our trip....

we went first over to js thai silk...most everything was ready but the last blouse had not even been cut out yet...in retrosect i may be seeing what others have had trouble with...this is why we do not leave anything for the last minute...we waited quite a while but the employee who was to be working on it did not show up to work until about 11:15...in less than one hour it was ready for a fitting...we spent the time chatting...it was ok and they would finish it over the afternoon and we would get it from ms yai on sunday...

we took a taxi back to the hotel as we had wasted quite a bit of time...but honestly we did not have all that much to do that day....

we went to uno's for a chicken caesar salad...delicious...we could not wait for daily salads when we returned home...if we had to name one or two frustrations we have with thai travel...one would be that we rarely dare to eat salads and brushing your teeth with bottled water is a pain...

earlier in the week we had decided that we would like to do something for thai stone jewerly as a thank you for their constant assistance with our purchases and their friendship for the last 10 years...presents didn't seem appropriate, although in the past we often bring porn some little thing from the usa, like a pottery mug or some other simple thing...this year we had not done that..

i thouhgt that we might take some food and drink...but what??....we settled on a large cake/tart...the marriott bakery makes wonderful fancy cakes...so what kind??...they were featuring a wonderful looking rasberry topped cake/tart which looked nice...

so on thursday we talked to the bakery manager who had gotten to know us...she suggested a 2 pound cake for the 10 of us...normally the ones in the case were 1 pound, but that would not be adequate...so 2 pounds, that was perfect...thais do not like real sweet things generally, so this rasberry tart like cake with some cream filling and a wonderful crust seemed perfect...they do wonderful decorations on the top....she asked us if we would want anything written on the top and we thought ok...how about "thank you thai stone"...

so after lunch we picked up the cake...the manager was very proud of it...she brought it to our table to look at before it was boxed...the rasberries shown in the lite and they had made a large white chocolate plack which was placed on an angle on the top of the tart with our thank you written in brown chocolate on it... it looked lovely...

we had also arranged to borrow some china plates and normal silverware from the hotel to take with us, plus they put in a box of dessert napkins...karen just happened to have a cake knife with her---doesn't everyone travel with a cake knife?? who says we are not prepared for all occasions when we travel... its plastic by the way...the utensils were all put in a heavy bag and the cake had a wonderful festive looking box with big handles..cake--1070 B

we took a taxi to the shop...


when we arrived they sort of wondered what we were carrying...so we just told them we thought we would have a little party to thank them...they were amazed...thank god there were no other customers and the boss was not there either, although he came in just at the end and we had saved him one piece...

some of them had never had rasberries, so this was a real treat..rasberries are not grown in thailand we were told...they loved the fresh whipped cream which was a decoration....mr lee had two pieces as did one of the girls...

the little party was a success!!...we were pleased and so were they....mr ho loved the cake too....

so after a quick clean up...they wanted to wash the dishes, but i insisted that the hotel would do it...
we got on to looking at all the purchases and repairs that had been our jewerly projects for this trip...there were 13 seperate items...

it was all bundled up for our return to the hotel...each item is put in a box, if appropriate, and then put into a little silk bag...

i made my final payment (credit cards are no problem)...after i returned home i discovered that i had overpaid by the amount of my initial deposit...in the fun both mr lee and i had forgotten about the small deposit...i have e mailed him and he checked his figures and no problem...we can fix that...

we said our good-byes and porn escorted us out of the shop and i gave her a little kiss and hug as did karen...she is really a friend to us...

back to the hotel...we returned the utensils...

out for a swim...we met two guys and a woman from the usa...two of them work for parametric tech... which is headquartered in our town...we enjoyed talking to them...it was their first trip to bkk...

out to pick the robe up from jack...it was perfect and the monogram was nice as well.... a good father's day gift...
we said our goodbyes to jack as well after i paid him...he presented us with a small gift as well....when i learned last fall that he was getting married i arranged with the assistance of gpanda, who was to be in bkk at thanksgiving time, to have a small gift delivered to him...
in return he wanted us to have a momento from their wedding...he gave karen a fake jewel encrusted decoration which one wears traditionally from ones' waist...he also gave us two silver cups which we also feel have some significance...this was very kind of him...

we had decided to have dinner at tongue thai again....it was equally delicious this time...it began to rain hard while we were eating...they were able to get us a taxi however...

back to the hotel...

we only have one day left of vacation so i will finish this report up tomorrow with sunday and the monday return home

the fireworks we went to in our little town were absolutely fantastic tonight...

FYI - the Thai restaurant in the mini mall by the Marriott - "Khiew Savoy".

Bob
Looks like Six Degrees and the Thai next door will get added to my list for the next trip. Thanks for the recommendations. There are just way too many great dining venues in BKK. One could eat a wonderful meal in a different place every night for at least a month! Too bad we have to pick and choose only a small number of them each time.

We always enjoy a nice lunch at the JT house, and a quick look in the shop there. Good food, and reasonable too. You are within a stones throw of our original Thai apartment hotel choice when you are standing at the canal at the JT house. I still love Patumwan House. Simple, clean, no pool, and very friendly (and about $35 a night).

I'll set up court in the beer garden at the night bazaar, but only if I'm joined by my Asia fodorite friends. We have not had the big beer dispensers there, but we have had them at our favorite music/food/dance/nightclub venue, Tawandang. MMMMMmmmmmm good (Tawandang is a German brewery)!

Happy 4th everyone. Fireworks in my small town will be tonight. We can see most of them from our backyard as we live near the small lake where they are displayed. DH is in Lucerne now but son and I and other family members shall do a small picnic and play some croquet and then Scrabble. Quiet but enjoyable.

Carol

just last nite i came across the bus. card for the thai restaurant in the marriott mini mall....the correct name of the restaurant is: Keaw Saveoy I

give it a try ...we found it very tasty and as always very cheap....we are usually the only westerners in the place...that's a good sign..