We left the RC early to make our way to the Pier Lounge at the HKG airport. I have read great things about the CX lounge in Hong Kong and we were not disappointed. The walk to the Pier lounge though was arduous and for a brief point in time I thought I was in some bizarre Escher painting with never ending moving walkways. Luckily, we arrived to the lounge just as dim sum and noodles were being made available so we had our breakfast there.
Following another hearty fill, we made our way to the plane, and for the five-hour flight, J was good, although we were still feeling slightly jilted at the last minute plane change. I would say CX J is comparable to JAL J but the IFE system did seem a little dated, and the monitor did not move as much as I would expect.
The flight was smooth and the service was fine, and before we knew it, we had arrived at Bangkok. We made our way through the premium fast track customs lane thanks to our CX J tickets, and praise be the premium gods we did, because otherwise we would have been in line forever. We quickly made our way through customs, purchased a sim card, and found our driver from The Siam Hotel. The Siam Hotel car service was a modern BMW with in-car wifi, water and hot towels. Now humor my digression for a moment, but can I just say that the USA really needs to up its moist towel game. Everywhere we went in Asia we were always greeted with a scented hot or cold towel (depending on the weather). Why is this not done in the USA? Is there some severe towel shortage I’m not aware of? Anyway, back to the trip.
The ride to The Siam from the airport took about an hour. I have read a number of FT posts about The Siam’s location, but honestly, we didn’t mind. However, for those reading and considering a stay, I will say that The Siam is located on the river, but farther north than the city center. In a normal city, with a well-funded public transportation system, and policies to limit traffic, this would not be a problem. Bangkok is not one of those cities. The skyrail system only goes to a few locations, and does not have many stops that go northwest (none close to the Siam). The Siam, like all the hotels located by the river, offers free boat ferries to any pier location on the river, and there is a skyrail stop about 30 minutes down river. Thus, if you want to go southeast from The Siam, you would likely take the boat for 30 minutes, then walk for approximately 10 minutes from the pier to the skyrail, and then take the skyrail. This is obviously not ideal for people who have reservations (read on for our harrowing journey to Gaggan), or need to be somewhere quickly, but for us it typically wasn’t a problem, and the benefits of staying at the Siam more than make up for its location.
Upon arrival, we were greeted by our butler Than, who welcomed us with a delicious drink, and showed us to our room. Than would remain our butler for the remainder of our stay. Now let me level with you, we have stayed in some nice places, but we have never had a butler before. What does one ask a butler to do? Do they shine my shoes? Press my laundry? Order us cars and confirm reservations? Fix the sim card on my phone so that I can use it in Bangkok? If you answered ‘all of the above’ you would be correct. Than was indispensable during our stay in Bangkok, and he really made us feel like we were the only people staying at the Hotel. Although, if I’m being honest, we might have been. During our three nights, I probably saw one other couple there. We stayed in the Mae Nam Suite, which was beautifully decorated with dark woods, and old world style fixtures. The entire hotel had an English Explorer vibe going on which we really dug.
Unfortunately, on this day there was no time to rest or enjoy the hotel because we had a mission. Prior to our trip I had researched tailors, and while I know that the halcyon days of cheap and good Bangkok tailors is no more, I still wanted to have two bespoke sport coats made, and my wife wanted to recreate a Loro Piana cashmere cape she saw in a magazine. After much research, we decided to go to the Cotton House for her tailor. The Cotton House is located close to The Peninsula hotel in a small shopping center called the Oriental Palace. My wife showed the seamstress the picture of the cape, picked out some of the materials, and measurements were taken. Total process took about 15 minutes, and 200 USD. The end product would take a second fitting, and four days. I had read beforehand that it usually takes about 4 days to a week to have something tailored, so we accounted for this by having us return to Bangkok for one night towards the end of our Thailand portion before heading to Japan. This had the benefit of not having us rush or make connecting flights, and to have our tailored clothes ready. We planned on staying at The Peninsula for that one night so I provided the seamstress with that information and she offered to deliver the tailored cape to the hotel when it was completed. With my wife taken care of, we next moved on to my tailored goods. I selected Rajawongse tailor for my tailoring needs. Similar to my wife’s process, I met with the tailor, had my measurements taken, picked out the fabrics (a maroon lighter coat, and a thicker textured blue), and paid approximately 380 USD for two sport coats. I would also need to go back the next day for a second fitting, but he would deliver it the Peninsula as well. All in all, a fairly painless process.
With our tailoring needs met, we foolishly decided to take an Uber back to the hotel. Looking at the map on my phone, I figured ‘hey we’re just two miles away’ how long could that possibly take during 6 p.m. rush hour? Well two hours later, or perhaps more, I’m not sure, I think I blacked out at some point in the car due to a road rage-related aneurism, we made it back to the hotel. We decided to have dinner there as it was getting late. During our stay, the main dinner area in the hotel was undergoing renovations, so they instead made the pier the dining area. Dinner was good, with us running the color wheel of curries (we opted for a yellow curry this time), and papaya salad. Now I love spicy food …. my wife… not so much. Needless to say this was an eye opening (and watering) experience for her. Following dinner, we retired for the night, and prepared ourselves for a full day of exploration.