bob and andy,

sounds like you really "bonded" on this trip. does that mean you will be going on all your vacations together? lol

Aloha!

If I am not mistaken, the Thai government has already introduced a resolution at the UN to ban them traveling together anywhere in the world.

beth is welcome on all our vactions, she is low maintenance...

wed nov 29---a huge day with tong...

andy proposed a day with tong to me late in the summer, as i remember...tong had been receiveing glowing reports on fodors and we wanted to be able to partake in her efforts to aquaint farangs with thailand...
he made all the arrangements with her..he threw her a curve ball by saying that we had done all the regular things in and around bangkok and wanted to know if she was able to come up with some unusual or seldom done things....they went back and forth with e mails for a number of months...she made several proposals, some of which we liked and some which we did not like....finally they boiled it down to a jam packed day and this is the result....i should say that i was nervous about what HE would put together, but i was willing to go along with it...even if we hated it...in the end i give him his usual C and tong an A....

along the way we received reports that tong was scared of us...."scared"--why-- we are just pussy-cats, albeit large pussy-cats...i can understand this as we are both very vocal on fodors and she perceived it very important to please us with a wonderful day...btw, she suceeded !!

we were picked up at 6:15AM by tong at our hotel...she was to be both driver and guide...she transported us in her large station wagon with 3 rows of seats...she already had picked up the pandas @ 6...first stop was a market place to buy food for the monks who walk along the same street with their bowls collecting offerings all along...each of us got to make some merit with a monk...you buy a plate of food from a vendor which consists of rice, fish, fruit and a box of milk and a sweet...cost about 30B per plate....as the monk approaches you take off your shoes (on the dirty street---karen stood on her shoes), kneel, or in some cases for fat people (me) you just bend down....you then stand and place the food in the monk bowl, without touching the bowl....after this the vendor gives the monk a plastic bag and helps him to put the food in there....way too 21st C for the whole picture...we were already feeling better about ourselves at this point....we got to meet mr tong too as his optical shop is near-by...they are a very nice young couple...

after this we went to a shop nearby to buy packaged gifts for the monks at the temple where we would go to make further merit...karen purchased a medical kit from us and the pandas bought huge gifts---guess they have more to atone for?? well at least one of them...our medical kit was about 200B...

next we drove to one of the famous royal temples near to the grand palace...tong arranged for us to meet with one of the senior monks....we presented our gifts and he blessed us and threw "holy water" on us as we sat below him inside a reception room at the wat....he also poured some special water into a vessel that tong then instructed us how to pour it further and then we took it outside to pour onto the base of the temple tree (poe-tree)...all very symbolic...

next we drove to a local market to buy some fish ---huge cat fish...the market was very interesting and right on a canal under a makeshift tent/canopy...we bought two fish and andy and i released them into the river after a short drive to a local park....this is another ceremony in "releasing some souls"....75B for the fish...

next was a drive for perhaps 40 minutes out into the country heading south towards Sumet, maybe about 60-70 kilometers from bkk...we were not sure what we were in for here....THIS IS THE SECRET PLACE....

we turned off the main road onto a very local road that got smaller and smaller....we were near to the ocean...we entered a small fishing village and stopped at one point to see the "seed" clams or shellfish which later we would see out in the bay where they were "planted" to grow to a "harvesting size"...oysters, clams and mussels...from there we went a short distance by car and pulled into someone's yard and parked....we were on a river that leads out to the bay....there were several boats there and we were shown how shrimp paste is made and dried out in the sun---flies and all...we saw more 'seeds'....we had a w/c stop also (the so called "happy room"...

we were loaded into a small boat....the driver/fisherman, tong, karen and me and beth and andy...off we went...thank god for the umbrellas that tong had brought...it was very sunny and we were going to spend the next few hours out in the sun...i, at first, expressed my reservation about doing this, but karen convinced me i could manage---i hate the sun as i burn badly and also resist sun block...

the ride along the river was very pleasant for perhaps 3/4 of a mile...there were the houses of fishermen on either side and lots of river activity in this remote, but busy community...the boat was less than comfortable for us big guys, but we learned to deal with it...THANK GOD FOR THE UMBRELLAS....we were not the only ones hiding from the sun...most of the fishermen wear long sleeves and long pants and a ski mask sort of thing over their faces with only a slit for their eyes, nose and mouth...must be hot in there....

so picture this: a small boat, low to the water with all of us in it and the four farangs under four seperate umbrellas...we entered the wide open bay/ocean which was very calm...in the bay were stilt houses built for the fishermen as platforms for their activities...many had "seed" gardens around them...further out were huge weirs full of "gardens"

as we were about to leave the river we pulled down into a mangrove type opening....the boat man pulled over to the side and cut the engine....he made a loud calling sound....i, of course tried to imitate it....andy did too and as he is closer to his monkey heritage than am i, a few monkeys started to appear up in the trees....
the boat man was not happy with the response so we left this area...

we went to the other side of the river and entered a larger mangrove area....he yelled out again and oh my god they responded....soon there must have been 100-200 monkeys all around us...they can swim btw...they were in the trees, they were in the water, they were jumping from tree to tree...they were overhead in the trees...they surrounded us....so out came the bannanas...the boat man had purchased 500B worth of them....this is a ton of bannanas!! for about an hour we sat there and feed them...they became more aggressive as time passed....a few times the boatman had to use an oar to hit them to keep them out of the boat...one did jump in and grabbed karen as she clutched a bannana to her chest...i took a ton of pictures....there were old men monkeys, mothers carrying babies, and every sort of monkey you have ever seen....it was so much fun...and it was the unique experience we were looking for...

from there we headed out into the bay...we rode around many of the stilt houses and headed out to the weirs to observe the shellfish as they grew...or should i say how they grow...

the boatman hailed a larger fishing boat---a dragger which pulls shellfish from the bottom....the open boat which is manned by about 5 men pulled along side and showed us their equipment and their catch...very interesting...they all had the masks on so it sort of looked like a bank robbery in a boat...

after this we returned to the largest of the stilt-houses...we had to climb from our boat up a wooden ladder to reach the platform which was all made from bamboo, which had been laced together with some sort of wire...the fisherman's wife had laid out a table for us...they intended that we sit on the bamboo, but after the uncomfortable boat we (I) decided to pull up a chair....they proceeded to present us with a feast of seafood and fish...all beautifully prepared and presented...remember we are out in the middle of the ocean....no kitchen, no electricity, no cooking facility...it was all brought from shore but was all fresh and delicious...

remember our phobia about foods....we thought to ourselves, if we have to die this is where and how we want to die so we dove into the food...

we had nice conversations and relaxation out there for an hour or so..the fisherman and his wife are very nice gently people...

andy of course had to tell them that he lives in the city where their king was born...i think we heard that tale about 50 times during our stay in bangkok together... it is his claim to fame...

there is a western toilet on the platform in a makeshift "out-house"...we all used it... there is also one bedroom out there...his (fisherman) dream is to offer overnite packages out there....the area is a national park and thus he is very limited as to what can be done there....recently the government has required him to tear down two similar platforms in this area...so his options are very slim...he is appealing of course..

we took the boat back to the village, paid him: 800 B per person for the boat ride and lunch and 500 B for the bananas...a huge tip too...we loved this excursion to the "secret place"...

we packed up and headed back to bangkok...next and final stop was at an orphanage where tong had arranged several activities for us....

to be continued after lunch..

tong gave us a choice of the type or types of orphanage(s) that we wanted to visit....our conclusion was that we could only mentally manage to visit a "well" baby orphanage, rather than one with kids with deformaties or mental issues...

as we were riding along the orphanage called to see where we were as the kids were getting anxious for their meal....among other things we were providing the evening meal for the 250 residents of the phayathai home for babies....tong told them we were running late but to go ahead and start the feeding...the kids are from infant age to 5 or 6 years old...

i told tong that if we did not hurry that the kids would have all gone home by the time we got there....a sick joke, but andy almost lost it with this one...

we finally arrived...the orphanage is a lovely set of well kept low rise buildings on the outskirts of bkk...on the porch of the building we were to enter was a welcoming sign for us listing our names...we entered a large bright room full of 3-5 year old kids...all busy eating the meal we had provided....franks, french fries and meatballs, oddly enough...

the name of the orphanage is the phayathai house for babies...

we circulated amongst the low tables, each table seating about 10 kids...they were so cute....we spoke to them in english which of course they did not understand on one level, but on another level they seemed to have accepted our willingness to be friendly towards them...they smiled...we picked up a number of them...some of them hung on us....they were all very cute...

at the end of the hall there was another big "thank you" sign with our four names on it...it made us feel very welcome...

in addition to the food we also provided a quantity of pamper diapers for the little ones...tong had purchased those for us and delivered them the day before, with the assistance of some other fodorites (thank you)...

after they were finsihed eating we took a few group pictures by the sign with our names on it...then we all went outdoors....there are a few playgrounds around the property and we pushed the kids on the swings, etc...

we also visited the nursery and saw the new borns and other small babies...

there is one building with aids babies residing in it...two tables in the eating area were kids from this group...they are segregated a bit...i think they are color coded with a green symbol-thier eating table and the building itself...the building is green and so were their tables and chairs...nothing that they would be aware of however....its just another building and table to them...i asked the male aide who toured around with us about the death rate...he said several years ago they lost 3 or 4 aids babies each month, but that now they have much better medications and that they rarely loose a baby these days...

karen commented that they all looked very clean and well cared for .....all had shoes on, or flip flops ....this was the only odd thing we noticed...the shoes often did not match...

when this all came to an end, we were physically and emotionally exhaused...tong had planned one more thing for us: buying coffins for the poor, but we were way too tired to do that...

so back to our hotel and she dropped us off--hugs all around....she had provided us with both a wonderful and perfect day...her charge was 3000 B for the day plus 300 B for gas...we had done some of the exact type of things that we had asked her for...we all were very pleased...

i will write something more about bangkok guides at the end of my report...

that nite we were again invited to the manager's reception at the marriott, so we had to make a quick change when we arrived back at the hotel and down stairs for that...could not miss those free drinks and canapes and small talk with other invited guests...we managed to eat enough to surfice for dinner...with one other american we were the last ones to leave, eating up all the left-overs and having one last drink....

we were exhausted after two very full days...off to bed by 10:30...

It pains me to say that the day with Tong has been accurately and thoroughly reported, even the planning. I do note that this demonstrates a universal truth, "Always trust a Panda for planning fun." We're not so good with other things.

Well Bob, now i dont have to include this day into our trip report!!!! we did everything exactly as you did, well almost. April ended up buying a new pair of glasses from tongs husband, they are awesome and the price was the best we saw so far. The only other difference was that instead of the orphanage, she took us to the deaf school, since we are both ASL interpreters this is what we really wanted! I will write about that part in my trip report since thats the only other difference from yours and andys! Tong said she is going to star taking people to the deaf school as an alternative to the orphanage if her clients want it.

BTW, when we were climbing up to that house on stilts, i just kept thinking, Bob did this? you are a big guy to be climbing up that bamboo ladder!

jeffrey--don't think for one minute that i did not think about that ladder....i put my feet very close to the nails or screws to limit the strain on the bamboo...everyone laughed at me...

please do also write your experiences with the monkeys, etc...

thurs, nov 30

up about 7...breakfast..

karen went down the street to take laundry and i took a shower...

took the 9:30 boat to taskin and met andy and beth...they came down on the new sheraton steamboat...we took the skytrain to soi 55 sukhumvit....carol had reported on this street of interest....we had riden down it last year and our memory was one of bridal shops...now there are new shops as well and even a small mall...its a very nice street to spend some time on....we were heading for the playground mall....we found it and spent quite a bit of time in there...it is largely geared to the younger set but we managed to find some shops we liked...the panda even sprang for a new watch for himself...karen reports wonderful shoes there too...

we walked back up soi 55 a ways looking for a place to eat...we consulted nancy chandler and finally settled on oishi, a japanese establishment with a huge buffet...about $29 per couple but tons of food to choose from....good, but sort of second rate as restaurants go...
taxi back to sheraton....we went into karen's silk tailor--js thai silk on the ground floor of river city for a fitting...some items were good, some needed some more tweeking...she also ok's a paper pattern that they had made up special for her for a new style blouse she had ordered...

taxi back to marriott...

went out to jack's to try on some things and check on progress of other things....we did spend a lot of time trying on things this trip it seems!! but this is waht makes for perfect custom tailoring...

karen went for a swim and i did internet again...

we met beth and andy at china house at the oriental at 8....actually we bumped into them in the lobby....andy was sitting in gloria's usual spot---security was watching him...

china house---we had been by china house in early november and thought that they never would be ready for their nov 22 re-opening...we thought of poor kathie and how she would miss her birthday dinner...and we thought that they would not be open until mid-december with all they had left to do...they have completly changed the outside look of the building....it is now a gray stucco...there is a large window on the second floor showing the ducks hanging before being roasted...the entrance is a bit odd..

so we arrived about 7:45--early...they asked us to be seated in the new lobby area...one of the managers engaged us in conversation and offered us a drink, which we declined...he went on to explain the new concept...the building now resembles a shanghai opium den of the 1930's, or so they think...shortly we were ushered to a table...

for those of you that do not know, the building is quite small, and now it seems even smaller...

we all anticipated our peking duck, with relish, after so many comments this last year on fodors, what with kathie and laurie and gloria singing its praises...and they are always spot on in their observations...

karen comments that the new building is totally impractical, and dark inside...quite the opposite from its old venue...

we were seated on the first floor...there is an upper dining floor as well...the area is very tight...there are limited tables...some are in alcoves with sliding red louver doors...you would have to be a sardine to sit in there...

things started to go down hill almost from the beginning...there was a stairway to the upstairs right behind where i was sitting and everytime that a woman with heels came down the stairs or went up you would have thought that she was tap dancing on our table...and this seemed to be one of the best tables in the house...

the service was poor at best and very sloppy...

at one point the waiter approached me from the back and i was jesturing with my arm and i hit him and he slopped sauce over the table and on the cloth in front of me...they proceeded to serve us...i finally had to ask to have the sauce removed lest i end up with it all over the front of me...they seemed indifferent...they simply put a cloth napkin down under my plate and they did not even lay it flat...
every time a server wanted to assist all four of us they had to leave the room we were in and approach the other side of the table from another room...totally poorly planned...

other diners were expressing some concerns as well...

so enough about this side of the place...

the food was decent but not the fabulous meal we had expected...the duck is now 1100 B....there is no discussion on the menu as to how many it feeds, but after asking twice we were told it would be sufficient for 4 of us..there are more than one ducks on the menu so choose carefully...we had the chili sauce for the 2nd course of the duck...we ordered a few other things as well and they were ok, but not fabulous...by that time i was really not happy...the others were neutral...

the other things that we had ordered were: shrimp and crab appetiser combo platter; beef and pistachios; hand pulled noodles with pork, and monkey mushrooms...

after our meal the staff sensed that we were not happy with the service....the head waiter wispered in my ear that he would like to offer us a special dessert on the house to amend for the poor service---we had said nothing at that point...i said fine, thank you...

they approached our table with four huge plates of what looked like fire and ice...in the center of the plate was a dragon fruit with its lovely pink/red color and it was filled with a mango pudding...dry ice had been put under it and it was smoking with a sort of steamy fog...quite dramatic...it did not win us over however....the pudding was good and we enjoyed the dramatic effect...we left no additional tip..."been there, done that"....on the way out they gave each of us a boxed fortune cookie...

so to recap, the meal was ok, but not worth the $58 price tag per couple without the dessert cost..such a disappointment...

our taxi back to the hotel chose to go through chinatown...i just wrote it off as part of a bad nites experiences...while it was much further, we encountered very little traffic...

dec 1

up early again...breakfast...down for a swim...

at 10:30 we went out to meet jack for a fitting on my pants...he was late...the reason was that it was raining on sukhumvit and he had brought the whole family to meet us via taxi....his son (20 months) is real cute and his wife is lovely...we had not met her before and were pleased to finally do so...

we took a taxi to nana hotel to the jewelers...we met toronto fodorite halliburton there....we had prearranged this....we had a date for lunch....she looked at some of karen's projects that had been completed....she had ordered a brouch that morning from porn...

we took the skytrain to central chitlom as they are vegetarians and i knew this would be a good place for all of us at the loft restaurant on the 7th floor...we all got some good grub up there as usual...our bill was 852B...i had sushi and karen had italian as i remember...
we had nice conversations during lunch...she (mallory--halliburton) and i have been corresponding daily since the summer...

we took some pictures and then parted...

we took the skytrain to emporium...we wanted a tour of the emporium suites...guenmai's friend was assigned to us so that was very nice....she showed us a number of apartments....they are very lovely...we may consider it for a future stay....the pool there is the best of the serviced apartments that we have seen....the marriott mayfair is second...emporium is a bit more expensive than the others, but has tons of benefits:...walk out directly to the skytrain....huge grocery store on premises as well as a bank..a really nice pool and fitnes club...a central location....they also have a three building complex being built directly on the river not far from the sharngi-la hotel and directly on new road...opening next year....we will all be looking at that place...

skytrain back to the hotel...

i did some internet and karen walked down and picked up the laundry...

took a taxi to the penn and took their boat over to the oriental where we again met andy and beth in the lobby...we were going to the oriental's bamboo bar to meet kurosake (sp) for a drink....he brought a huge bag of macadameia (sp) nuts which we all enjoyed with our drinks, much to the surprise of the waitress...

next we moved on to tongue thai for our last mini-fodors GTG...it started out as just the 5 of us and then brad in bkk and a lady friend joined us....we had lots of fun and some good food....the food was better than when we went with kathie...andy and beth had to leave about 8:15 as their limo was picking them up at the sheraton at 9 for their homeward bound thai flight...

we enjoyed the GTG...

we also loved our times with andy and beth in bkk....they have become good friends and we always enjoy their company...as you know we love to joke back and forth but it is all a head game...his head is fuzzy but mine is clear as a bell...

"Do not ask for whom the bell tolls..." How did bells achieve a reputation for clarity. Oh, I know... with so little information it's easy to be clear. Often wrong, never in doubt.

We enjoyed our time with Bob and Karen immensely. Their love of BKK and pin-point planning makes the days and nights quite fascinating and full. Plus, it's so sweet on those relatively rare occassions when Bob is wrong. Orphans going home.

hope to write more on thursday...

rhkkmk,

Did you notice any residual effect from the recent government takeover ie.troops in the streets, in the countryside, etc.?

Fantastic reading so far....love all the detail. We had a very different take on Basil when we were there for dinner. Service was excellent and we loved the food and atmosphere. I guess, to each his own, lol.

Thanks for all the effort!

Aloha!

The reason there is a delay is because nothing interesting happened after beth and I left BKk. Bob is searching Karen's notes for anything of consequence. Post-Panda depression is a well-known affliction.

we noticed nothing not normal for bkk...the coup was really a non-happening for most thai people, except they seem universally glad that TS is gone...

sat. dec 2 Cherry day

the pandas were well on their way home by now...

we had long anticipated our full day with cherry....i had been talking with both she and gal for a long time about what we might want to do during this day....like the day which andy scheduled with tong, we wanted this day to be a combination of the unusual with some of the traditional bangkok...we also wanted to observe how she would do a tour at the grand palace when she had to balance two people with different interests: karen wanted more info about the palace and its history and i wanted less...my interests are more of an observational nature...she did well satisfying us both as it turns out...

so we had breakfast downstairs as usual...cherry came for us about 8:30 with her van and driver...this i must say is a plus becasue it allows her, the guide, to be totally absorbed with the client and with the passing of info and pleasantries, rather than having to thinks about logistics as with a guide who is also your driver (tong and ratt from our past experiences act as both)...

initially we had intended to visit ko kret for part of the day, but cherry informed us that it was basically out of operation because of the recent river flooding so this was eliminated...

our first surprise was a visit to the erawan museum....this very interesting private museum, located, like the prasart, just outside bangkok is housed in the body of a giant 3 headed elephant which had been errected in the 1990's for this purpose....the elephant is surrounded by a lovely garden and a few outbuildings....there is a shrine there and lovely plantings...

the museum contains the collections of one man and his family...there are lavish vases, statues and other asian art works....but the real interesting part, for me, is the building itself and its interior decoration all housed within this elephant body....floor one is a traditional museum with displays...as you ascend the elaborate stairway it becomes more exotic with every level....the final level is sort of a magical "heaven"...
the whole place is very unique and it added a new dimension to our knowledge of bangkok...

from there we drove to the grand palace...the driver dropped us off just opposite the main entrance...we had a leisurely walk around the inside of the palace....cherry gave excellent descriptions of some of the history, (which although we had visited there many times, it had always been by ourselves with no explanations), and of the buildings and their current and former uses...she was able to balace the presentation precisely to what we had requested: "important information but not overload"... karen visited the emerald buddah wat to observe his current winter vestments, but i stayed outside taking yet more pictures....cherry provided umbrellas for the visit which really helped to shield us from the hot sun...this was much appreciated ...
we loved this visit with the verbal explanations provided by the guide...it has given us a much more rounded understanding of the grand palace, which visually is overwhelming as many of you know...

back to the van and nice cold water and a cold face cloth...cherry's driver is just perfect and always right there when you need him....

our next stop was a short drive to a pier from where we could take a boat over to the supatra restaurant which is on the other side of the river...we had eaten in hua hin at the supatra restaurant there with smeagol and thought it to be one of our best thai meals, so we wanted to try their bangkok branch....the restaurant is housed in an attractive building on the "other " side of the river...they have a large pier so you can take their boat or arrive on a long tail boat of your own--or by auto i guess....
the restaurant is very attractive inside and you receive nice views of the river...the food is good but a lot more expensive than at hua hin....

we took their boat back across the river and walked a short distance from there to the amulet market...this is also one of those places that we have never managed to fit into our past schedules....we wandered around the street market and also went deep into an alley and looked at many amulets...we did not buy one but karen did buy a piece of carved stone that resembles jade....she can hang this from a silk rope around her neck...very very cheap....the driver picked us up and we drove to a location to shop for spirit houses...i have long wanted a spirit house but have never found one that i thought would be able to be transported home....many of the shops were closed but we did find a couple open...sadly none of the houses were able to be dismantled so we took a pass on this purchase....maybe next time...

our next stop was at a flag shop....we purchased a thai flag many years ago in chiang mai and have been unable to find it in our house, so i wanted to buy another better quality one...cherry knew just where to take us for this item....we easily found both a thai flag and a king and queen flag (yellow and blue respectively)...i was quite pleased with this....now we will be able to fly the thai flag below our american flag from our garage peak...

from there we drove to the "monk bowl" alley....in this area monk bowls for the daily collection of foodstuffs are fashioned out of ordinary steel....the work is done right along a small alley in plain sight...gpanda has often spoken about this to us so we wanted to see it for ourselves...a very worthwhile diversion....we ended up buying one bowl....it is quite decorative and we currently have it on display in our living room...ours is about 8 inches in diameter, slightly smaller than the ones you see used around thailand...800B

we made a stop at the flower market again as we needed some more flowers for our room as the wonderful arrangement karen had put together had gotten very sad....

we were back to the hotel by 4:30 as we had requested....we paid up and had finished our formal touring for this trip....

we freshened up and jumped on the marriott boat to head up to river city, to js thai silk,
for yet another fitting of one of karen's blouses...in fact on 3 of them...the indian linen ones are looking quite good in fact...

we were tired after our touring day so we decided to bag the dinner we had planned and just to stop at harmonique for dinner on our way back to the hotel....always a wonderful spot for us...800B

taxi back to the hotel and had some dessert from the marriott bakery in our room...

fell into bed exhausted after a wonderful day...

ttt

sunday dec 3

we had a light breakfast around 7:30 and then spent the rest of the morning at the pool...

showered and did a bit of packing for the return home on dec 5....

our friends gal and cherry came by for brunch at the marriott....the marriott advertisizes this as the best brunch in bangkok--but then so does each hotel...it is trully a magnificent brunch with practically anything you might want including free flowing beverages....they offer western, eastern and all in between including indian, japanese, french and other cuisines...gal headed right for the freshly seared fois gras....i headed for sushi, and the ladies hit their favorites as well.... we spent about 3 hours there and had lots of laughs and way too much food...

they drove us over to the queen's convention center on asoke where we wanted to check out the "best of thailand 2006" exhibition sale....we find that these trade show sales are often very worthwhile as vendors set up booths selling their thai made goods...everything from screen porches to food to bathing suits and shoes....needless to say we bought a bunch of stuff including golf balls for the sons in law, clothing for the grandchildren, a wild bright elephant jacket for karen, silk paded coat hangers, cloth puppets.....

we took a taxi back to the hotel and had a late lite supper down in the hotel's uno bakery/restaurant....

there were a couple of weddings going on in the hotel and we enjoyed their fireworks from our room overlooking the river...

Bob
You two keep buying and buying and buying!!! I thought I was a shopper, but I think you guys put me to shame!! How do you get everything back home? I note that you ship larger items, but do you carry extra empty duffels with you, or travel with "nothing" when you leave Boston and buy what you need... lol...

Carol

monday dec 4--our last full day

breakfast as usual...followed by a quick swim...

we had a date with our aquaintance "Pat" from the 5th element shop....he was picking us up at the hotel and taking us to his shop over on soi 93, new road...we had met his family some years ago when they had their shop in the shangri-la hotel...they manufacture stainless steel items....these are the hand pounded shiny stainless steel items that you see in use in many of the dining rooms around bangkok....many people manufacture these items, but pat's are of exceptional quality, made from the best quality steel, "not from the inferior chinese steel", as pat puts it...
we find many gift items in his small shop...he is glad to host anyone wishing to see his items...you can contact him at [email protected] or by telephoning at 662-292-1968...generally they are open m-f 9-5 as i remember...

he carries flatware and unusual shaped serving dishes, beer mugs, tongs, fantastic wine buckets and many other items...

they are very proficient at shipping...our package arrived at home via ups air in 5 days ($188 for 25 kilos)... prices range from about $3 for a small coffee spoon to perhaps $150 for a large fish tray (one of which we bought this year)...

we find this a very worthwhile stop on our bkk shopping adventures...

pat's son dropped us off at the majestic grande hotel on soi 2, sukhumvit rd....we had previously scheduled a dinner there based on carol's comments, but had had to cancel it....so now we were able to squeek out a lunch there....we also wanted to have a tour of the rooms and facilities...

the shaz restaurant is very attractive indeed....the service was fantastic and the menu was very appealing...the menu is italian basically...we had delicious pizza and caesar salad...both were delicious...953B...we would return there in a minute and next time for dinner...

the hotel is indian owned...the rooms were decent and for the price are a bargain....karen remembers the rooms as being small but comfortable...the pool is a bit small as well but for a dip would be adequate...the location is fantastic--very close to nana and plenochit skytrain stations and just behind the jw marriott hotel...

we walked up to the recently renovated plenochit center on sukhumvit...we were very pleased to find that the Piklix shop is still there on the 2nd floor....they specialize in cotton ware, especially pj's and nitegowns....we purchased elegant gowns for each of our grand-daughters in pink cotton and lace...

from there we crossed the street to the jw marriott bakery (bangkok baking company) where we had ordered a cake...the last couple of years we have ended our time in bangkok with cake served at our jewelers on soi 4, sukhumvit (thai stone jewelry, nana hotel lobby, soi 4 sukhumvit rd)...
over the years (11 years) we have become very fond of each employee of this shop....they create wonderful jewelry for karen and our daughters and friends...we like to end out our bkk stay with a festive time with them...we have found out that they are unfamiliar with fresh rasberries so we always have the cake adorned with fresh rasberries....its a real treat for them...

after our snacks, karen collected all 17 of her jewelry projects; they have one which they were to mail to us....this was to be her christmas present from me....it arrived via mail 3 days before christmas by the way....it is a copy of a whisical bar pin with stones hanging down in a bezel setting (2 opals and one moon stone)from a central gold bar, small sapphires and amesysts randomly placed at the top and 3 large pieces of fresh water pearl set in gold between the stones that hang and the small stones on the top, forming the bar---horid description, sorry...the gold is all etched so as to give it a vintage look...i notice she has been wearing it all weekend so i guess she likes it...

after our good-byes, we took at taxi back to the hotel...

we went out to jack to collect the rest of our items that he had made for us and to pay him...a couple of things still needed a bit more work....they would be ready on tuesday...no problem...

karen did some more packing...

we took a taxi over to the four seasons hotel for dinner at Biscotti....this remains our favorite restaurant in bangkok...it is italian and quite delicious...i note this AM, that guenmai reports that there has been a chef change there....the chef when we visited was the one who has been there since its opening...his menu has remained fairly static and that suits us just fine as the food is delicious and always beautifully presented....karen always has the crab for her apetiser and of course had it again...hope the new chef will keep this?? 4048 B.....

taxi back to the hotel...