amolkold

Amazing, Andrei! I'm still trying to figure out how you got that SFO-SYD routing for only 70K! Gotta love manual systems!

Btw, as you are in SFO, I believe you were allowed access to the SFO Global F lounge since you had a same-day UA GF flight. It's highly worth the walk in the future, great lounge!

andreiz

Previous: 5 - Flight: SIN-BKK SQ J / Lounge: SQ Private Room

Seat belt sign went off and everyone in the business cabin got up immediately and went for their carry-ons. We exited through doorway 2L and I headed for immigration hoping to beat the rest. Immigration was so dead that one of the officers was playing Angry Birds (judging by his hand gestures). I think he was stuck at a level.

My passport was stamped and I was through in no time at all. Before the trip I researched the best way to get into the city and while taxi emerged as the most popular one, there were still reports of dealing with dishonest drivers, language barrier, and all that. I decided to skip the possible hassle during my first visit to Bangkok and went to the AoT (Airports of Thailand) desk where I booked a “limo”, really a Toyota sedan, to St. Regis for 1100 THB.


Starwood has quite a number of properties in Bangkok and I’d considered Le Meridien ($150 or 2800+$45 Cash & Points rate) and Royal Orchid Sheraton Towers ($150 or 1600+$30 C&P), but in the end decided to book St. Regis since the rate was only $180.

My driver was nice and we chatted about where I was from and what my plans were in Bangkok. He was a bit shocked that I was leaving the next morning, though it did not stop him from trying to sell me on a 5 hour tour that "his brother" could give me for 2000 THB (Grand Palace, Wat Pho, canals, markets, etc). I politely declined citing tiredness and wanting to have flexibility in my plans.

It took us a bit of time to find exactly where St. Regis was located (is it not a popular hotel among visitors or something?), but we finally arrived. The doorman quickly removed my luggage out of the trunk and escorted me to the reception on 12th floor. Instead of the usual counter, there were a few large desks semi-hidden behind wide columns, each with a nice leather chair so you could sit down while being checked-in.


The front desk agent who was helping me said I had booked the deluxe room with king bed, but I inquired about the possibility of an upgrade. He said they could upgrade me to Grand Deluxe Room with better view, but when I asked about suites he stated they were all sold out. I was also surprised to hear that I'd have to pay for internet and breakfast.– amenities that should be free for Platinums, so I asked him to double-check. He said the reservation was booked as Gold (correct), but after some typing he did find me in the system as Platinum and apologized for the confusion. After producing the keys, he then escorted me to the room (which was a nice touch).

The room was nicely decorated and had a partial view of the park and some downtown buildings.


The bathroom had dual sinks, a walk-in shower and a soaking tub.


I quickly logged onto wifi and saw that there were still suites for sale. Whether the guy lied to me outright or fudged the truth a lot, I really don’t like when that happens, especially when a simple check can reveal the real state of things. Normally, I’d be quite satisfied with the room, but now I was determined to do some arm twisting and went downstairs with my laptop open to the Starwood page.

The agent who checked me in wasn’t around, so I sat down at another desk and showed the agent there my laptop, saying that according to SPG rules I was entitled to an upgrade to the best available room, including standard suites, which they apparently had available. She checked my reservation and conversed with a manager for a bit, then apologized and said that yes, they could upgrade me to a suite, but it wouldn’t be ready until 5 or 6 pm (presumably due to a Platinum guest using their 4 pm late checkout benefit). That was fine as I planned to go out anyway. They told me I could leave my luggage in the current room and it would be transferred to the suite when it opened.

I went back up for a quick shower and change of clothes and then headed out. My plan was to visit Grand Palace and Wat Pho temple right away since it was already 1:30 pm and I didn’t want to miss the opening hours.

The BTS station was conveniently right outside the hotel. I took the train to Saphan Taksin pier and purchased a ticket for the orange canal boat taxi.


The ride was quite fun and fairly fast in some parts. One of the boat guys was using his whistle liberally to control the traffic of both tourists and locals getting on and off at various stops. The water was dirty, with clumps of vegetation floating around, but there were some colorful boats and backs of old houses to look at.


What wasn’t fun was the temperature and the humidity. I’d heard it was pretty bad, but you really have to experience it yourself. By the time the boat arrived at my stop, my shirt was already half soaked through. I gently unstuck myself from the seat and alighted among the general chaos of waterfront market, which was on the way to Grand Palace.


I spent a couple of hours viewing the awesome palace. The Temple of Emerald Buddha was definitely a highlight, though you couldn’t take pictures inside and I had to improvise.


The experience of seeing all these grandiose buildings was somewhat tempered by the incredible humidity. I discovered that I could sweat in places I didn’t know could sweat and had to sit down in the shade a couple of times to take stock of just how much liquid was left in my body. Thinking that replenishing electrolytes might be a good idea, I bought a fresh coconut from a shop and had a refreshing drink of delicious coconut water.


At this point it was getting close to 4 pm and I started walking to Wat Pho temple along the road strewn with kiosks and makeshift stands selling food, clothing, trinkets and other touristy stuff. Tuk-tuks and scooters were roaming around, leaving dust hanging in the air. The map I got from the hotel wasn’t quite precise in showing how far Wat Pho was, so I stopped to ask a wizened old man. “Wat Pho? Already closed”, he said. Bummer, I thought, but decided I should probably go and look at it at least from the outside. Before I could leave the old man started chattering at me, saying there’s not much to see here, and that I should take a tuk-tuk to visit some other places like Lucky Buddha Temple, the amulet market, etc.

He pulled out his own map and a pen and started circling various places, saying how I could visit 3 or 4 in the next couple of hours and pay only 40 THB for the tuk-tuk trip. It was this implausibly low fare that made something click in my brain and I realized that I was in the middle of the infamous “tuk-tuk scam”, in which you are told the main attraction you want is closed and instead quoted a cheap price for visiting several other sights and, once you get on, they take you to a crappy gem or a tailor shop where you are virtually trapped until you buy something.

Having figured this out, I grinned inwardly and played along for a bit, asking more about Lucky Buddha. “Yes, much luck!”, the old man gesticulated animatedly while drawing on the map, then turned and called out to a lounging tuk-tuk driver, who reluctantly indicated he was available, but I could see that he followed our conversation from the beginning. I demurred, the old man kept talking and emphasizing that he just wanted to help me and didn’t want any money in return. This went on for a bit until I decided that I should really get going. Saying “Thank you, good bye”, I just turned and walked away.

I reached Wat Pho in another 10 minutes and what do you know, of course it wasn’t closed. I wandered around various courtyards and buildings for an hour or so, marveling at the skill that had gone into creating these lavish decorations.


I concluded with the visit to the Reclining Buddha statue, one of the largest in the world at 43 m long.


Taxis waiting outside the temple were refusing to use the meter and wanted to haggle over the price instead. I simply said no and kept flagging them down until finding a proper one. Once at the hotel, I checked in with the front desk and was given the key to the suite.

andreiz

Walking into it, I couldn’t help but think, “Now that’s what I’m talking about”. It was worth the effort. The suite was large, beautiful, and elegant. There was a small corridor that opened into a large living room, furnished with a sofa and armchairs, the working desk and a large flat screen TV. Subdued lighting and tasteful color scheme helped create a feeling of luxury.


The views weren’t as good as from the Deluxe room though, being mostly of the apartment buildings across. Drawing the curtains was a pre-requisite, unless you felt like an exhibitionist.

The bedroom was off to the right and apparently the turn down service had already been performed.


The jewel of the room was the bathroom, though. It was almost as large as the bedroom itself and contained dual sinks, a large oval soaking tub, and spacious walk-in shower.


On the table in the living room was a complimentary treat from the hotel, some fruit-shaped sweets.


The light switches in the rooms were baffling. There was no clear indication what each one controlled and especially annoying was the lack of switch near the toilet room. You had to turn the light on from outside the whole bathroom area or use the "night light" button near the bed.

I lounged for a bit and took a nice long shower, fully anticipating the need for one more by the end of the night. Originally I planned to walk along Ratchadamri road and see what the sidewalk food stalls had, but I was feeling jet-lagged and my digestive system wasn’t quite cooperating with the idea of a fried street food. Instead I wandered around Central World – a giant mall with probably the biggest food court I'd ever seen – while silently praising the inventor of air-conditioning. On level 7 I found a modern-looking Thai place and had a Singha beer with some fried wontons and marinated beef, which was just okay.

Walking back toward St. Regis I tried to hail a cab, but they were all of the off-meter variety and the taxi drivers I passed kept enticing me with offers of "happy hour". Finally caught one and went to Vertigo Bar on the rooftop of Banyan Tree Hotel, which I heard had sensational views. Unfortunately, the bar wouldn’t open until 10:30 pm, so the staff suggested I have a drink at another open air lounge on 52nd floor. The place was full with tourists, local couples on dates and groups of Western businessmen. The cocktail I had was distinctly average, but the views were very pretty. I felt that I needed to catch up on sleep and went back to St. Regis.

Alas, I only slept for a few hours and woke up on my own at 5:30 am. After a quick shower, I packed and headed downstairs for breakfast. It was served at Viu restaurant on the reception level and it was bright and elegant.


There was hardly anyone there, so I asked for a spot near the window overlooking the Royal Bangkok Sports Club and ordered a long espresso. The breakfast spread was fantastic, with a mix of Western and Asian breakfast staples and some other interesting items.


Ordered a couple of eggs over easy and assembled the rest of my breakfast from various stations.


The coffee was delivered, along with a tiny warmed pitcher for the cream, which was a nice unique touch. My plate was quite full, so I tucked in and enjoyed the delicious breakfast while contemplating the upcoming travels. Having finished, I still wanted something sweet, but didn’t see any bread or pastries around. I asked the breakfast manager who said, “Follow me, sir” and took me into a separate “bread” room, which is the probably the best name a room can have, ever.


It had quite a selection of breads, croissants, pastries, jams, and even a fresh honeycomb.


The manager asked which bread I wanted and cut me off a slice. Thumbs up on the service.

My sweet tooth satisfied, it was time to say good-bye to St. Regis and leave for the airport. I had another SQ J flight back to Singapore, my second new city (and country) on this trip.



Previous: 5 - Flight: SIN-BKK SQ J / Lounge: SQ Private Room
Next: 7 - Flight: BKK-SIN SQ J / City: Singapore

SPBanker

Most excellent! And there's no shame in downing a few vodkas with caviar...

zcat18

Congratulations on an absolutely terrific report so far! Can't wait to see the rest! ^^

snowymt

wow that honeycomb is pretty cool. great report so far!!

Moomba

Quite a deal you managed to snaffle there getting those SQ F flights. Well done and well done on this report too. ^

BA5E

Fantastic TR so far, glad you were able to get that upgrade at St Regis which you were entitled too being platinum. I loved the breakfast spread, I was dying to grab some of the food, am now feeling extremely hungry, looking forward to the next instalment^

LAXJetter

St. Regis BKK looks like quite a treat. I stayed at Hansar Bangkok right next door and while I enjoyed it (free breakfast buffett anyone?), I cant wait to get back to try the St. Regis.

Keep up the report!

farbster

Excellent TR. I'm surprised you were planning on flying all those hours wearing your contacts...

How much weight do you think you could have gained on all of these flights?

andreiz

I wasn't – I planned to take them off in the middle of the ORD-AMS flight, but realized I forgot the contacts solution..

I was up a couple of pounds after getting back. My metabolism was up after a few months in the gym and on good diet, so I burned through stuff quickly.

spizzy

Loving the TR.

Drosophila

Excellent report, many thanks! ^
How did you manage to get SIN-BKK-SIN booked in a OW-ticket?

010010

great report, were you able to gain access to SQ private room using your SQ MUC-SIN BP?

whicho

Fantastic....makes me miss BKK even more then I already did.


Oh and flying.