Well I'm off to the wicked wonderland of Bangkok. Not among my favorite places, but it serves the purpose of onward travel from Don Muang or Suvaranabhumi airports, is a gateway to the South and not least of all it satisfies all shopping urges. None of these have inspired this weekend trip though. I'm off to spend a weekend of catching up with an old friend from Cape Town who has been in China for 5 years or so and who I haven't seen for most of those 5 years. I have no doubt that there will be much celebration and very little sleep.
The lucky bugger and his lady are heading to Koh Samui on Sunday for a couple of weeks; I hope they will have great weather during their time there since there were floods and rough seas just a week or so ago. Then again this is Thailand and everything changes in the blink of an eye.
Right now I'm in the van and should arrive in BKK in about 3 hours or so. I'll have plenty of time to check in to my Hotel and perhaps even do a little shopping before the celebrations begin. Meanwhile, time to sit back and relax and enjoy the really good music in the van. As usual everyone is asleep, the bums hit the seats and the eyes close. Right now it's me and the driver .. let's hope he keeps his eyes open until we get to Victory Monument.
Fast forward .... back from a wonderful weekend
So, arrived safely in BKK, spent about an hour in the traffic, and then onto BTS at Victory Monument to Nana area. I'd pre-booked a room for the night at the Holiday Inn Express on Sukhumvit Soi 11, and wandered slowly down the Soi from the BTS. Weather was good, and although a little busy, nothing out of the ordinary for a Friday afternoon. I was pleasantly suprised by the efficiency and friendliness of the staff at the Holiday Inn, having become used to surly receptionists at so many hotels on my travels.
A quick freshen up and a change of clothes, and I was soon out in search of somewhere to have dinner. The Nana area has hundreds (no exaggeration) of dining options: Fast food, roadkill, Italian, Lebanese, Indian, Vietnamese, British, Irish, Australian et al. I opted for the Ozzie joint and had a really good dinner of grilled gammon steak with fried eggs and mash. Too much mash, but the food was delicious, and went down very nicely with a couple of carafes of Ozzie red. Nothing much else of any interest for Friday night as friends were only arriving on Saturday, so I managed a fairly early night.
Delicious breakfast on Saturday morning at the Hotel, a quick haircut and at noon a change to the Grand Swiss Hotel, also on Soi 11. The need to go to Pantip IT Mall had me on and off the BTS from Nana to Siam, and then a quick ride on a motorcycle taxi to Pantip. Being the weekend of Chinese New Year, it was absolute chaos in the Silom area and all the way to Pantip. The motorcycle dude was a bit of chop the way he was riding that motorcycle, and it took every ounce of my better judgement not to lose my cool with him. They seem to have developed a low tolerance for arrogant falangs, and I didn't fancy coming home on the news or Thai visa forum, so I shut my mouth and hoped for the best.
Shopping done, took a tuk-tuk back to Siam and then BTS to Nana and Grand Swiss, where my friends were already waiting for me. The afternoon was spent at the Ozzie spot again, having a few drinks and making dinner plans. A few too many big, juicy burgers were passing our table, so friend and significant other chose to have dinner there rather than my reccomendation of Baccara's. Good we did, the food again was delicious, and after "I lost count of how many" drinks later, it was only a short walk back to the Hotel. But the night was not yet over, and we spent another couple of hours sipping cocktails at the Skyview terrace, with the most amazing views of the city on a cloudless evening. Wonderful evening.
The Grand Swiss is a relatively new hotel and is located in a quiet spot slightly off the main Soi. It is still unspoiled and is a lovely place to stay. The rooms are furnished very tastefully and the decor in the hotel is very pretty. It's not my first stay there, and certainly won't be my last if they maintain their standard of comfort and "luxury". The breakfast is good .... there was bacon :-) and an assortment of western and Thai dishes, fruits, a big variety of coffees, teas and juices. The reception staff have improved somewhat since my first stay there, and although not as friendly as the Holiday Inn, they were a lot less morose than the others I encountered on previous visits.
After a leisurely breakfast, and at the request of my friend, we took a quick tuk-tuk ride to Starbucks on Sukhumvit Road about 7 or so Sois from the hotel. My friend was in Thailand 19 years ago, and his partner has never been here, so it was just for the sake of it. We didn't go into Starbucks - their coffee is certainly not the best but their prices are over the top. We ambled back, stopping at souvinier shops, jewellery and bag shops and stalls, including the Pink Pussy which sells costume jewellery, blingy caps and bags and other bits and bobs. Us girls were gifted with a really cool blingy cap each, which we sported for the rest of the morning. Thanks Joachim, I will always think of you when I wear it, just as you said.
Too soon it was time for the holiday makers to get a taxi to the airport, bound for Koh Samui. A quick coffee at the hotel and they were on their way to their 2 week get away from it all . Jealous much? Of course!
The lucky bugger and his lady are heading to Koh Samui on Sunday for a couple of weeks; I hope they will have great weather during their time there since there were floods and rough seas just a week or so ago. Then again this is Thailand and everything changes in the blink of an eye.
Right now I'm in the van and should arrive in BKK in about 3 hours or so. I'll have plenty of time to check in to my Hotel and perhaps even do a little shopping before the celebrations begin. Meanwhile, time to sit back and relax and enjoy the really good music in the van. As usual everyone is asleep, the bums hit the seats and the eyes close. Right now it's me and the driver .. let's hope he keeps his eyes open until we get to Victory Monument.
Fast forward .... back from a wonderful weekend
So, arrived safely in BKK, spent about an hour in the traffic, and then onto BTS at Victory Monument to Nana area. I'd pre-booked a room for the night at the Holiday Inn Express on Sukhumvit Soi 11, and wandered slowly down the Soi from the BTS. Weather was good, and although a little busy, nothing out of the ordinary for a Friday afternoon. I was pleasantly suprised by the efficiency and friendliness of the staff at the Holiday Inn, having become used to surly receptionists at so many hotels on my travels.
A quick freshen up and a change of clothes, and I was soon out in search of somewhere to have dinner. The Nana area has hundreds (no exaggeration) of dining options: Fast food, roadkill, Italian, Lebanese, Indian, Vietnamese, British, Irish, Australian et al. I opted for the Ozzie joint and had a really good dinner of grilled gammon steak with fried eggs and mash. Too much mash, but the food was delicious, and went down very nicely with a couple of carafes of Ozzie red. Nothing much else of any interest for Friday night as friends were only arriving on Saturday, so I managed a fairly early night.
Delicious breakfast on Saturday morning at the Hotel, a quick haircut and at noon a change to the Grand Swiss Hotel, also on Soi 11. The need to go to Pantip IT Mall had me on and off the BTS from Nana to Siam, and then a quick ride on a motorcycle taxi to Pantip. Being the weekend of Chinese New Year, it was absolute chaos in the Silom area and all the way to Pantip. The motorcycle dude was a bit of chop the way he was riding that motorcycle, and it took every ounce of my better judgement not to lose my cool with him. They seem to have developed a low tolerance for arrogant falangs, and I didn't fancy coming home on the news or Thai visa forum, so I shut my mouth and hoped for the best.
Shopping done, took a tuk-tuk back to Siam and then BTS to Nana and Grand Swiss, where my friends were already waiting for me. The afternoon was spent at the Ozzie spot again, having a few drinks and making dinner plans. A few too many big, juicy burgers were passing our table, so friend and significant other chose to have dinner there rather than my reccomendation of Baccara's. Good we did, the food again was delicious, and after "I lost count of how many" drinks later, it was only a short walk back to the Hotel. But the night was not yet over, and we spent another couple of hours sipping cocktails at the Skyview terrace, with the most amazing views of the city on a cloudless evening. Wonderful evening.
The Grand Swiss is a relatively new hotel and is located in a quiet spot slightly off the main Soi. It is still unspoiled and is a lovely place to stay. The rooms are furnished very tastefully and the decor in the hotel is very pretty. It's not my first stay there, and certainly won't be my last if they maintain their standard of comfort and "luxury". The breakfast is good .... there was bacon :-) and an assortment of western and Thai dishes, fruits, a big variety of coffees, teas and juices. The reception staff have improved somewhat since my first stay there, and although not as friendly as the Holiday Inn, they were a lot less morose than the others I encountered on previous visits.
After a leisurely breakfast, and at the request of my friend, we took a quick tuk-tuk ride to Starbucks on Sukhumvit Road about 7 or so Sois from the hotel. My friend was in Thailand 19 years ago, and his partner has never been here, so it was just for the sake of it. We didn't go into Starbucks - their coffee is certainly not the best but their prices are over the top. We ambled back, stopping at souvinier shops, jewellery and bag shops and stalls, including the Pink Pussy which sells costume jewellery, blingy caps and bags and other bits and bobs. Us girls were gifted with a really cool blingy cap each, which we sported for the rest of the morning. Thanks Joachim, I will always think of you when I wear it, just as you said.
Too soon it was time for the holiday makers to get a taxi to the airport, bound for Koh Samui. A quick coffee at the hotel and they were on their way to their 2 week get away from it all . Jealous much? Of course!
Well, time for me to get moving too, so I did the BTS trip to Victory again, and was lucky enough to get a van almost immediately. Feeling slightly "tired" from Saturday night's shenanigans, I was hoping for a snooze in the van, but that didn't work out as planned. The van was full and I had 3 bags on my lap. I went with 2, had to buy a back pack for the extras I'd bought, so in retrospect I should have booked 2 seats. Nevertheless, I managed to survive the trip back without any sleep or major discomfort. Thanks in part to the very kind old gentleman who allowed me some extra space for one of my bags.
And here I am, at work while my friends are enjoying the island life. I see that the seas are still a little rough, and it's cooled down quite significantly again all over Thailand. But, I have no doubt that in a few days they will be "grilling their bods" on the beach. Sabaai sabaai guys.
Holiday Inn Express Soi 11
Beautiful views of the city 
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