Thailand in the Rain
Jun 13, 2000 | 6:58 am
#1
Original Poster
Original Member
Join Date: May 1998
Location: Kirkland, WA
Posts: 6,932
Thailand in the Rain
A Oneworld Foray
American Airlines was having a sale on Cathay Pacific award travel so I cashed in 20,000 Aadvantage miles that were gathering dust in my account along with 60,000 Starpoints worth 75,000 miles for the 95,000 miles needed to get a First-Class roundtrip from LA to Bangkok on the Hong Kong flag carrier. It had been remarkably easy for me, with no status at all on American, to get through and book my flights. Everybody at both American and Cathay Pacific was a pleasure to deal with and since I was somewhat flexible with my dates I got a 10-day mid-June trip with no problems.
Hunnybear dropped me at the zoo known as the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX. I found Cathay Pacific and wheeled my bags to the First-Class line. Since the First-Class agent was busy I went up to the unoccupied Business-Class agent next door and checked in with no problems. She gave me invitations to the First-Class lounges in LA and Hong Kong and pointed me vaguely in the direction of the lounge.
I was on my own going through the long line at security and finding the lounge. Cathay Pacific didnt have a guide or concierge like United does. They were using the Qantas lounge at LAX so I went in and fired up a laptop once I found an appropriately live phone cord. The lounge was nothing special. They had a self-service bar with inexpensive beer, Australian wine, and liquor. Stale sandwiches and tired-looking sushi sat on trays nearby. I tried an open-faced salmon sandwich and abandoned the stale bread after one bite.
After an hour or so they announced boarding for my flight and again I was left to fend for myself finding the gate. Boarding was a zoo. There were two long lines but it was not possible to see the signs that marked the first line as being for First and Business class so every third group of passengers was turned away and sent to the back of the longer line. As soon as I stepped aboard things improved. My personal flight attendant introduced herself to me, followed soon after by the First-Class purser and then the In-flight Services Manager. I had booked seat 2A in the 747-400 after learning the plane had the new Betsy seats. They seemed a hair wider than the United First Suites but had no back massage or power outlet and did not lay as flat. When sleeping I felt an uncomfortable bump mid-thigh, but the seat was certainly comfortable enough for a good nights sleep.
As soon as I sat down I was offered Krug Grand Annee Champagne and a delicious lobster tartlet. I told the stewardess I drank water like a camel so she brought me a 1-liter bottle of Evian. When I ran dry later in the flight she replaced it with a 2-liter. It took some time to go through the menu, wine list, and personal-entertainment guide that were brought along with a little kit of moisturizing creams, a duvet, slippers, eyeshades, and a very nice sleep suit. I asked for three movies, Life Is Beautiful, Go, and Joan of Arc: The Messenger, which were brought promptly. All the food on the flight was cooked to order and available at any time but I did a fairly traditional meal service. After takeoff I ordered a Manhattan (made with Gentleman Jack) because Id never seen one on a plane before. They didnt have shakers so I ordered it on the rocks.
Then came generous portions of Osetra caviar with all the fixins, accompanied by chilled Stolichnaya vodka which wasnt quite chilled enough. Osetra is one of the cheapest name caviars available. My favorite is Sevruga, which Thai used to serve before the currency crash. I dont know if they still do. United eliminated caviar with a cock-and-bull story about saving the environment a couple years ago, the cheap .......s.
After the caviar I skipped the soup but had the teriyaki chicken Caesar salad. The chicken was superb but the salad could have used more garlic, cheese, and anchovy like Hunnybear makes it. For the main course there were two Western choices, veal in a cream sauce and rigatoni. Instead I ignored the stewardesss warnings and ordered the Chinese favorite, cod with a sweet-hot sauce. It was excellent.
I skipped dessert, as I do as a rule, but ordered an espresso with the hopes of staying up another six hours to start the jet-lag process. No dice. I fell asleep most of the way through Life Is Beautiful but dont tell Roberto Begnini. When I woke up I just gave in and flattened out the seat to sleep for real.
The stewardesses on this flight figured out a way to keep the Business-Class passengers from poaching on the First-Class restrooms: they keep them occupied at all times. That means I had to find a stewardess to open the door every time I wanted to use them, which I found a bit of an inconvenience, but not as much as having them full of business-class or coach passengers.
This was my first time taking a late-night flight to Asia and I was somewhat surprised by the lack of service. Thinking about it, though, it seems primarily a sleep flight and they pretty much left us alone. Towards landing, though, they came around with a nice fruit plate and a made-to-order breakfast. I had a frittata-like thing with bits of smoked salmon, which was OK, but the highlight was the chicken sausage accompaniment. I had five. I ordered decaf twice during the flight and each time they brought me a porcelain pot of it.
Towards the end of the flight I discovered that the video system had some interactive computer games. I started playing Hangman and got halfway toward beating the high score set by someone in row 48 but we landed early and I was denied.
Even in their home airport Cathay Pacific provided no concierge for the First-Class passengers so I found my own way to the fabled lounge. From what I had heard I expected to be blown away, but it was really no nicer than the LAX Red Carpet Club with the addition of private shower and bath facilities. There was a spa downstairs in the Business-Class lounge but it wasnt open until after I had to leave. Service was minimal. A waiter took my order for a pot of decaf when I sat down then ignored me for two hours. A modest buffet breakfast was put out half an hour after we arrived. I took a nice shower in one of the cabanas with a mysterious door at the back that the attendant told me was out of order. Refreshed, I borrowed a power adaptor and spent most of the two and one-half hours on line, calling Hunnybear with Dialpad, writing, and fighting with the FlyerTalk ads crashing my browser.
There was no announcement of my flight, no departure monitors, and once again no concierge so I asked the agent at the front desk when I should board. She told me they only make announcements when flights are delayed but that I should head out in about five minutes so I popped a couple har gows from the buffet into my mouth, retrieved my checked bags, and found my way to gate 29 for the connection to Bangkok.
------------------
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American Airlines was having a sale on Cathay Pacific award travel so I cashed in 20,000 Aadvantage miles that were gathering dust in my account along with 60,000 Starpoints worth 75,000 miles for the 95,000 miles needed to get a First-Class roundtrip from LA to Bangkok on the Hong Kong flag carrier. It had been remarkably easy for me, with no status at all on American, to get through and book my flights. Everybody at both American and Cathay Pacific was a pleasure to deal with and since I was somewhat flexible with my dates I got a 10-day mid-June trip with no problems.
Hunnybear dropped me at the zoo known as the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX. I found Cathay Pacific and wheeled my bags to the First-Class line. Since the First-Class agent was busy I went up to the unoccupied Business-Class agent next door and checked in with no problems. She gave me invitations to the First-Class lounges in LA and Hong Kong and pointed me vaguely in the direction of the lounge.
I was on my own going through the long line at security and finding the lounge. Cathay Pacific didnt have a guide or concierge like United does. They were using the Qantas lounge at LAX so I went in and fired up a laptop once I found an appropriately live phone cord. The lounge was nothing special. They had a self-service bar with inexpensive beer, Australian wine, and liquor. Stale sandwiches and tired-looking sushi sat on trays nearby. I tried an open-faced salmon sandwich and abandoned the stale bread after one bite.
After an hour or so they announced boarding for my flight and again I was left to fend for myself finding the gate. Boarding was a zoo. There were two long lines but it was not possible to see the signs that marked the first line as being for First and Business class so every third group of passengers was turned away and sent to the back of the longer line. As soon as I stepped aboard things improved. My personal flight attendant introduced herself to me, followed soon after by the First-Class purser and then the In-flight Services Manager. I had booked seat 2A in the 747-400 after learning the plane had the new Betsy seats. They seemed a hair wider than the United First Suites but had no back massage or power outlet and did not lay as flat. When sleeping I felt an uncomfortable bump mid-thigh, but the seat was certainly comfortable enough for a good nights sleep.
As soon as I sat down I was offered Krug Grand Annee Champagne and a delicious lobster tartlet. I told the stewardess I drank water like a camel so she brought me a 1-liter bottle of Evian. When I ran dry later in the flight she replaced it with a 2-liter. It took some time to go through the menu, wine list, and personal-entertainment guide that were brought along with a little kit of moisturizing creams, a duvet, slippers, eyeshades, and a very nice sleep suit. I asked for three movies, Life Is Beautiful, Go, and Joan of Arc: The Messenger, which were brought promptly. All the food on the flight was cooked to order and available at any time but I did a fairly traditional meal service. After takeoff I ordered a Manhattan (made with Gentleman Jack) because Id never seen one on a plane before. They didnt have shakers so I ordered it on the rocks.
Then came generous portions of Osetra caviar with all the fixins, accompanied by chilled Stolichnaya vodka which wasnt quite chilled enough. Osetra is one of the cheapest name caviars available. My favorite is Sevruga, which Thai used to serve before the currency crash. I dont know if they still do. United eliminated caviar with a cock-and-bull story about saving the environment a couple years ago, the cheap .......s.
After the caviar I skipped the soup but had the teriyaki chicken Caesar salad. The chicken was superb but the salad could have used more garlic, cheese, and anchovy like Hunnybear makes it. For the main course there were two Western choices, veal in a cream sauce and rigatoni. Instead I ignored the stewardesss warnings and ordered the Chinese favorite, cod with a sweet-hot sauce. It was excellent.
I skipped dessert, as I do as a rule, but ordered an espresso with the hopes of staying up another six hours to start the jet-lag process. No dice. I fell asleep most of the way through Life Is Beautiful but dont tell Roberto Begnini. When I woke up I just gave in and flattened out the seat to sleep for real.
The stewardesses on this flight figured out a way to keep the Business-Class passengers from poaching on the First-Class restrooms: they keep them occupied at all times. That means I had to find a stewardess to open the door every time I wanted to use them, which I found a bit of an inconvenience, but not as much as having them full of business-class or coach passengers.
This was my first time taking a late-night flight to Asia and I was somewhat surprised by the lack of service. Thinking about it, though, it seems primarily a sleep flight and they pretty much left us alone. Towards landing, though, they came around with a nice fruit plate and a made-to-order breakfast. I had a frittata-like thing with bits of smoked salmon, which was OK, but the highlight was the chicken sausage accompaniment. I had five. I ordered decaf twice during the flight and each time they brought me a porcelain pot of it.
Towards the end of the flight I discovered that the video system had some interactive computer games. I started playing Hangman and got halfway toward beating the high score set by someone in row 48 but we landed early and I was denied.
Even in their home airport Cathay Pacific provided no concierge for the First-Class passengers so I found my own way to the fabled lounge. From what I had heard I expected to be blown away, but it was really no nicer than the LAX Red Carpet Club with the addition of private shower and bath facilities. There was a spa downstairs in the Business-Class lounge but it wasnt open until after I had to leave. Service was minimal. A waiter took my order for a pot of decaf when I sat down then ignored me for two hours. A modest buffet breakfast was put out half an hour after we arrived. I took a nice shower in one of the cabanas with a mysterious door at the back that the attendant told me was out of order. Refreshed, I borrowed a power adaptor and spent most of the two and one-half hours on line, calling Hunnybear with Dialpad, writing, and fighting with the FlyerTalk ads crashing my browser.
There was no announcement of my flight, no departure monitors, and once again no concierge so I asked the agent at the front desk when I should board. She told me they only make announcements when flights are delayed but that I should head out in about five minutes so I popped a couple har gows from the buffet into my mouth, retrieved my checked bags, and found my way to gate 29 for the connection to Bangkok.
------------------
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Jun 13, 2000 | 7:51 am
#2
Original Member
Join Date: May 1998
Location: CH-3823 Wengen Switzerland
Programs: miles&more, MileagePlus
Posts: 27,043
thanks ... looking forward to hear from "Thailand in the rain", as I plan to make my Aug-Sep US trip (US tennis Open, 49er game, Napa valley wine-inspection) as another rtw starting with the 3-days-(rain-)package at the Oriental BKK.
Jun 13, 2000 | 10:56 am
#5
Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: EU rotating
Posts: 2,926
Good report QL! Looking forward to your Thailand in the rain.
This sounds yummy! I got a craving for caviar after reading this. Gotta raid the icebox! 
Luckily, great caviar can still be had in Russia for about $10/pound and their Stolichnaya is also correctly chilled.
.
Sure seems to be an interesting strategy. Just like way back in primary school... "Excuse me miss, may I go p..?"
Then came generous portions of Osetra caviar with all the fixins, accompanied by chilled Stolichnaya vodka which wasnt quite chilled enough. Osetra is one of the cheapest name caviars available. My favorite is Sevruga, which Thai used to serve before the currency crash. I dont know if they still do. United eliminated caviar with a cock-and-bull story about saving the environment a couple years ago, the cheap .......s.
Luckily, great caviar can still be had in Russia for about $10/pound and their Stolichnaya is also correctly chilled.
The stewardesses on this flight figured out a way to keep the Business-Class passengers from poaching on the First-Class restrooms: they keep them occupied at all times. That means I had to find a stewardess to open the door every time I wanted to use them, which I found a bit of an inconvenience, but not as much as having them full of business-class or coach passengers.
Sure seems to be an interesting strategy. Just like way back in primary school... "Excuse me miss, may I go p..?"
Jun 13, 2000 | 7:43 pm
#8
Original Poster
Original Member
Join Date: May 1998
Location: Kirkland, WA
Posts: 6,932
Thailand is still amazing!
The 747-400 for the short hop to Bangkok had a special livery with children holding hands and having fun in order to demonstrate that Cathay Pacific airlines was in favor of such things. I had seat 2A again and once again we had the Betsy seats. Service was impeccable on this leg. Once again three supervisory levels of stewardess introduced themselves to me. Krug Grand Annee was once again served on the ground. I ascertained that the decaf I had been drinking was in fact instant. Points for United for having brewed Starbucks light (much better than regular Starbucks) decaf on all their flights.
The flight was delayed an hour on the ground in Hong Kong due to engine maintenance. The Australian captain kept us well informed of the progress with announcements every five or 10 minutes while the crew kept our glasses full in First Class. Finally we took off for the 2.5-hour flight to Bangkok. They passed out menus that curiously had food for this segment and the next, which I wasnt taking. I ordered assorted dim sum, which was excellent, and some tomatoes and mushrooms to accompany. They had ricotta cheesecake but I passed, being a couple pounds overweight.
We landed and taxied to a real gate, which was a special treat in Bangkok. Passport control was a breeze and the First-Class bags were first off the conveyor belt. While waiting for them I looked up at the huge Amazing Thailand up to 80% off sale! posters and was glad to see that Thailand was still amazing. I wheeled through the green line and found my brother Mike smiling waiting as promised. (He had sent me an email saying hed be the one smiling and waving.) We found the driver for the Sheraton Royal Orchid and they were happy to put us in an airport limo, mark up the price by 150 baht ($4), and bill it to my room.
Happily there was little traffic on the way to the river. We arrived and were personally greeted by a beautiful Thai woman in a pink silk dress who ushered us directly up to the 23rd floor and into the room they had blocked for me, the Uthai Thani suite, where she sat down at one of the two desks and checked us in personally. The two-room suite had a full view of the river from both rooms, a king bed, 1.5 baths, and a giant in-room safe. Not bad for $85/night. The hotel also had a Towers floor and three Starwood Preferred Guest floors above where I was staying.
I was refreshed from the club in the Hong Kong airport so Mike and I went right out exploring. We took a taxi to the Skytrain station and then rode the beautiful air-conditioned train to National Stadium (25 baht or 65) where we got off and took the walkway to MBK mall, the biggest shopping mall in Thailand. MBK stands for Ma Boon Krong, which is spelled several different ways. This mall had any junk you could possibly want to buy, from stuffed Chinese cartoon characters to bondage equipment. There must have been 25 restaurants spread across the eight mammoth floors. Our main goal was to get some walking done in air-conditioned comfort and eat at an OK Japanese restaurant on the top floor. Mike had sushi and I had some pretty good beef sukiyaki.
After that we decided to ride the Skytrain the length of the route. The turnstiles reminded me of the Washington Metro, complete with orange plastic gates and ticket-eating machines. We rode down to the last stop on Sukhumvit, past the Sheraton Grande where I usually stayed. The Royal Orchid is older but still very nice. The Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit is closer to the airport, newer, and has butler service and a phenomenal breakfast buffet.
Weather was muggy but not overly hot in Bangkok today. Despite it being the rainy season, Mike said it hadnt been raining the last few days. We rode back to a stop in the middle of the city and then took a long walk back to the river. I was exhausted from staying up so long but felt great to get the exercise. We went down to the Eight Bells bar on the riverside at the Sheraton and had a couple of overpriced drinks (220 Baht each or $5.65). I had a Temple of Dawn in honor of our plans for tomorrow. It was pretty weird with lychee juice, gin, and blue Curacao. Mike had a frozen margarita that looked great. We sat in the cool breeze by the muddy river and relaxed. The restaurant there was having their nightly Thai Culture show with dancing in traditional Thai garb. I relaxed a bit too much and fell asleep a dozen times so I announced to Mike that I was afraid I was through for the night. I hugged my brother goodbye and went up to crash.
------------------
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The 747-400 for the short hop to Bangkok had a special livery with children holding hands and having fun in order to demonstrate that Cathay Pacific airlines was in favor of such things. I had seat 2A again and once again we had the Betsy seats. Service was impeccable on this leg. Once again three supervisory levels of stewardess introduced themselves to me. Krug Grand Annee was once again served on the ground. I ascertained that the decaf I had been drinking was in fact instant. Points for United for having brewed Starbucks light (much better than regular Starbucks) decaf on all their flights.
The flight was delayed an hour on the ground in Hong Kong due to engine maintenance. The Australian captain kept us well informed of the progress with announcements every five or 10 minutes while the crew kept our glasses full in First Class. Finally we took off for the 2.5-hour flight to Bangkok. They passed out menus that curiously had food for this segment and the next, which I wasnt taking. I ordered assorted dim sum, which was excellent, and some tomatoes and mushrooms to accompany. They had ricotta cheesecake but I passed, being a couple pounds overweight.
We landed and taxied to a real gate, which was a special treat in Bangkok. Passport control was a breeze and the First-Class bags were first off the conveyor belt. While waiting for them I looked up at the huge Amazing Thailand up to 80% off sale! posters and was glad to see that Thailand was still amazing. I wheeled through the green line and found my brother Mike smiling waiting as promised. (He had sent me an email saying hed be the one smiling and waving.) We found the driver for the Sheraton Royal Orchid and they were happy to put us in an airport limo, mark up the price by 150 baht ($4), and bill it to my room.
Happily there was little traffic on the way to the river. We arrived and were personally greeted by a beautiful Thai woman in a pink silk dress who ushered us directly up to the 23rd floor and into the room they had blocked for me, the Uthai Thani suite, where she sat down at one of the two desks and checked us in personally. The two-room suite had a full view of the river from both rooms, a king bed, 1.5 baths, and a giant in-room safe. Not bad for $85/night. The hotel also had a Towers floor and three Starwood Preferred Guest floors above where I was staying.
I was refreshed from the club in the Hong Kong airport so Mike and I went right out exploring. We took a taxi to the Skytrain station and then rode the beautiful air-conditioned train to National Stadium (25 baht or 65) where we got off and took the walkway to MBK mall, the biggest shopping mall in Thailand. MBK stands for Ma Boon Krong, which is spelled several different ways. This mall had any junk you could possibly want to buy, from stuffed Chinese cartoon characters to bondage equipment. There must have been 25 restaurants spread across the eight mammoth floors. Our main goal was to get some walking done in air-conditioned comfort and eat at an OK Japanese restaurant on the top floor. Mike had sushi and I had some pretty good beef sukiyaki.
After that we decided to ride the Skytrain the length of the route. The turnstiles reminded me of the Washington Metro, complete with orange plastic gates and ticket-eating machines. We rode down to the last stop on Sukhumvit, past the Sheraton Grande where I usually stayed. The Royal Orchid is older but still very nice. The Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit is closer to the airport, newer, and has butler service and a phenomenal breakfast buffet.
Weather was muggy but not overly hot in Bangkok today. Despite it being the rainy season, Mike said it hadnt been raining the last few days. We rode back to a stop in the middle of the city and then took a long walk back to the river. I was exhausted from staying up so long but felt great to get the exercise. We went down to the Eight Bells bar on the riverside at the Sheraton and had a couple of overpriced drinks (220 Baht each or $5.65). I had a Temple of Dawn in honor of our plans for tomorrow. It was pretty weird with lychee juice, gin, and blue Curacao. Mike had a frozen margarita that looked great. We sat in the cool breeze by the muddy river and relaxed. The restaurant there was having their nightly Thai Culture show with dancing in traditional Thai garb. I relaxed a bit too much and fell asleep a dozen times so I announced to Mike that I was afraid I was through for the night. I hugged my brother goodbye and went up to crash.
------------------
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Jun 14, 2000 | 12:20 am
#10
Join Date: Jan 2000
Location: Boulder, CO USA
Posts: 29
Since you are at the Sheraton Royal Orchid, you are right near a place that I had an excellent meal in March. Check out the provocatively named "Tongue Thai" Restaurant at 18-20 Charoen Krung Soi 38, (telephone 630-9918). I've only eaten there once, but it was very good and pleasant. I had a dish of pork cracklings with beans and curry (I forget the name of the dish.) Mmmm, mmmm, good.
Jun 14, 2000 | 9:57 am
#13
Original Poster
Original Member
Join Date: May 1998
Location: Kirkland, WA
Posts: 6,932
Not temple of doom Hunnybear. 
Five-star hotel
The bed was not Heavenly but I slept dreamily nevertheless. Mike and I decided to go for a long walk and try the recommended lunch buffet at the Sukhothai Hotel. We asked the concierge for directions and headed out. It still hadnt rained since I had arrived and showed no signs of starting, but it was somewhat humid and we sweated as we walked. Walking in Bangkok is challenging. It is not a pedestrian-friendly city. Traffic is constant and drivers are not fastidious about obeying traffic laws. Its not unusual for cars to run red lights or motorcycles to take a shortcut by driving on the sidewalk the wrong way down a one-way street. Cars use leaded gas and do not have pollution controls, causing noxious clouds to hang over the busy streets. Many people wear surgeons masks and a few even gas masks.
We walked for over an hour and finally found the Sukhothai. The feeling of entering the beautiful lobby of this nine-year-old hotel, air conditioning cascading over us like a cool waterfall, was like a well-deserved reward for the long walk. We headed right for the buffet and tore into it. They had a wide variety of excellent food including fresh sushi, 15 different vegetables, stir-fry and pasta made to order, several Western meat dishes, and a nice assortment of desserts, which I dont eat as a rule but since they were nice enough to put them out I didnt want to insult the chef. A smiling busman refilled our water glasses constantly. The price was the same for lunch or dinner, 680 Baht each ($17).
This hotel was right next door to the fabled Westin Banyan Tree so Starwood loyalists should know about it if youre staying there. It was so nice that I went op to the desk and asked, How much does it cost to stay here? Rooms started at $240 year-round. A clerk showed us a standard room and a suite. Both were beautiful.
We took a taxi to the Oriental Hotel so that Mike could see it and also to rent a boat to take us up the river. This is the most famous hotel in Bangkok but it doesnt do anything for me besides pick my pocket. We found the Normandie Grill, which Mike had heard was a great restaurant, and thought we might have dinner there one night. I told him about the disappointing and stunningly overpriced Chinese food I had eaten at another of the Orientals famous restaurants, China House. He said he thought this one might be overpriced too but perhaps worth the experience.
We asked the concierge about renting a longboat and he said the price was 400 Baht ($10) per hour. We figured we could hire one ourselves for about a tenth of that so we went outside looking for a public pier. The first one we found, right next to the hotel, quoted the same price. So we went in search another one but found ourselves dead-ended in a Catholic girls school where the students were outside having their P.E. class. At this point we gave up and returned to the hotel and paid the 400 Baht.
We told the pier attendant we wanted to go to Wat Arun for about a half-hour, then proceed up to the Royal Palace, where we would finish and take a taxi home. The ride was fun. It took about 15 minutes to get to Wat Arun, where we paid a 20 baht (50) landing fee and another 20 baht each for admission. The temple was interesting in that it was completely covered with porcelain china. We walked up the two flights of stairs that were open to the public, took some pictures, and went back down where our longboat driver recognized us and pulled up to the pier.
It was another 10 minutes or so up the muddy river to the Royal Palace. Several people and a sign warned us not to talk to strange people giving false information, so we didnt. We had 45 minutes left in which to buy a ticket but we spent the entire time looking around at the free parts of the grounds and the ticket booth was closed by the time we got there. The highlight was the museum of gifts to the Emerald Buddha, chiefly because it was air conditioned. I also liked the throne room where I imagined the meeting between Anna and the King took place.
By the time we realized we had screwed up on the tickets and couldnt see the Emerald Buddha, it was too late. We took a taxi back to the Sheraton and had a round of overpriced drinks in the air-conditioned lobby bar before parting to clean up for the evening. It finally rained for about an hour when we were indoors. I got on line and read about the latest developments in the Clinton Administrations attempts to destroy Microsoft, then took a cab to Patpong where I met Mike at a sidewalk bar he had found with 49-baht ($1.25) drinks until 9 p.m. We had a few rounds and watched the people walk by, then headed over to Bobbys Arms for dinner.
Bobbys Arms, an English Pub off Patpong with a typical ridiculous Thai entrance up the ramp of a parking garage, was inexpensive but good. I had New Zealand sirloin for 340 baht ($8.75) and Mike had Steak Diane. They had wine by the carafe, which Mike said took a while to come because every time you ordered it they sent someone down to the supermarket below to buy it. We enjoyed the meal then headed out to the theater district to watch some ballet. Business was slow, being a weeknight in the low season, and the ballet dancers had plenty of time to mingle with the customers. We hit Queens Castle I, Supergirls, and Pussy Galore, all on Patpong I, before calling it a night around midnight. Such ballet! There were steps Im sure they never taught in ballet school.
------------------
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Five-star hotel
The bed was not Heavenly but I slept dreamily nevertheless. Mike and I decided to go for a long walk and try the recommended lunch buffet at the Sukhothai Hotel. We asked the concierge for directions and headed out. It still hadnt rained since I had arrived and showed no signs of starting, but it was somewhat humid and we sweated as we walked. Walking in Bangkok is challenging. It is not a pedestrian-friendly city. Traffic is constant and drivers are not fastidious about obeying traffic laws. Its not unusual for cars to run red lights or motorcycles to take a shortcut by driving on the sidewalk the wrong way down a one-way street. Cars use leaded gas and do not have pollution controls, causing noxious clouds to hang over the busy streets. Many people wear surgeons masks and a few even gas masks.
We walked for over an hour and finally found the Sukhothai. The feeling of entering the beautiful lobby of this nine-year-old hotel, air conditioning cascading over us like a cool waterfall, was like a well-deserved reward for the long walk. We headed right for the buffet and tore into it. They had a wide variety of excellent food including fresh sushi, 15 different vegetables, stir-fry and pasta made to order, several Western meat dishes, and a nice assortment of desserts, which I dont eat as a rule but since they were nice enough to put them out I didnt want to insult the chef. A smiling busman refilled our water glasses constantly. The price was the same for lunch or dinner, 680 Baht each ($17).
This hotel was right next door to the fabled Westin Banyan Tree so Starwood loyalists should know about it if youre staying there. It was so nice that I went op to the desk and asked, How much does it cost to stay here? Rooms started at $240 year-round. A clerk showed us a standard room and a suite. Both were beautiful.
We took a taxi to the Oriental Hotel so that Mike could see it and also to rent a boat to take us up the river. This is the most famous hotel in Bangkok but it doesnt do anything for me besides pick my pocket. We found the Normandie Grill, which Mike had heard was a great restaurant, and thought we might have dinner there one night. I told him about the disappointing and stunningly overpriced Chinese food I had eaten at another of the Orientals famous restaurants, China House. He said he thought this one might be overpriced too but perhaps worth the experience.
We asked the concierge about renting a longboat and he said the price was 400 Baht ($10) per hour. We figured we could hire one ourselves for about a tenth of that so we went outside looking for a public pier. The first one we found, right next to the hotel, quoted the same price. So we went in search another one but found ourselves dead-ended in a Catholic girls school where the students were outside having their P.E. class. At this point we gave up and returned to the hotel and paid the 400 Baht.
We told the pier attendant we wanted to go to Wat Arun for about a half-hour, then proceed up to the Royal Palace, where we would finish and take a taxi home. The ride was fun. It took about 15 minutes to get to Wat Arun, where we paid a 20 baht (50) landing fee and another 20 baht each for admission. The temple was interesting in that it was completely covered with porcelain china. We walked up the two flights of stairs that were open to the public, took some pictures, and went back down where our longboat driver recognized us and pulled up to the pier.
It was another 10 minutes or so up the muddy river to the Royal Palace. Several people and a sign warned us not to talk to strange people giving false information, so we didnt. We had 45 minutes left in which to buy a ticket but we spent the entire time looking around at the free parts of the grounds and the ticket booth was closed by the time we got there. The highlight was the museum of gifts to the Emerald Buddha, chiefly because it was air conditioned. I also liked the throne room where I imagined the meeting between Anna and the King took place.
By the time we realized we had screwed up on the tickets and couldnt see the Emerald Buddha, it was too late. We took a taxi back to the Sheraton and had a round of overpriced drinks in the air-conditioned lobby bar before parting to clean up for the evening. It finally rained for about an hour when we were indoors. I got on line and read about the latest developments in the Clinton Administrations attempts to destroy Microsoft, then took a cab to Patpong where I met Mike at a sidewalk bar he had found with 49-baht ($1.25) drinks until 9 p.m. We had a few rounds and watched the people walk by, then headed over to Bobbys Arms for dinner.
Bobbys Arms, an English Pub off Patpong with a typical ridiculous Thai entrance up the ramp of a parking garage, was inexpensive but good. I had New Zealand sirloin for 340 baht ($8.75) and Mike had Steak Diane. They had wine by the carafe, which Mike said took a while to come because every time you ordered it they sent someone down to the supermarket below to buy it. We enjoyed the meal then headed out to the theater district to watch some ballet. Business was slow, being a weeknight in the low season, and the ballet dancers had plenty of time to mingle with the customers. We hit Queens Castle I, Supergirls, and Pussy Galore, all on Patpong I, before calling it a night around midnight. Such ballet! There were steps Im sure they never taught in ballet school.
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Jun 14, 2000 | 10:03 am
#15
Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: New York
Posts: 7,988
Thank you for another excellent report on Thailand and on one of my favorite airlines, Cathay Pacific. I agree with you concerning redeye flights to Asia. It was pretty bad if you could not sleep. Service was minimal even in SQ. One CX F/A had to be on duty at each cabin class. They usually read magazines at their crew seat and were very alert to the F/A calling button. However, they did not walk around much. However, the a la carte dining looked much better than UAL regular meal service. If you are taking a regular daytime flight on your way back, you will enjoy the regular full dinner service with caviar and salmon carved in front of you... used to have rack of lamb, too.
Personally, CX First and Business are pretty good. I think it may be a bit too early in the morning. I guess the food selection simply beats United RCC... They suppose to have more meal service and a spa.
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Carfield
Menu Scavengers
Inflight food critics