Dec. 11-13
Departure day, and a snow storm in Toronto. Result: my flight was delayed by 8 hours and I had to overnight in Hong Kong. Not so bad in the end. I arrived in Bangkok about noon on Dec. 13th rather than 8 p.m. on the the 12th. But my bags at least arrived with me!
Spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the area around my hotel (Nouvo City Hotel). It's in the historic section of Bangkok, close to some of the major temples. Many locals live there so I get to experience more of the way the Thai people live. Many narrow streets lined on both sides with shops and stalls. The hotels are generally smaller and more modestly priced so there are many young tourists here. I hear so many foreign languages and so many different English accents, but hardly any of them from North America.
Here's a picture of my hotel room and one of the local streets.
My room at Nouvo City Hotel
Street near hotel
Dec. 14th (Sunday): exploring Bangkok
The breakfast buffet was fantastic. So many choices. Took the shuttle to a local shopping mall largely because it is centrally located and I could walk from there to the Silom area, the newer part of Bangkok. The mall was huge and forgettable (what mall isn't) so I soon started on my walk downtown. Below is a shot of a section of the road system near the mall. Madness. Silom is much more modern than the area where my hotel is located: wide streets, tall buildings. An interesting mixture of modern and traditional Thai. Made my way to the Oriental hotel, which was recommended as a delightful place to have lunch, and it was. Overlooking the river Chao Phraya which runs through Bangkok. Rooms there go for $600/night! But the service and the setting were fabulous.
Then took a boat trip along the river and the canals, which have been likened to the canal system in Venice. Ended the trip at Wat Arun, the temple of the Dawn (one of 32,000 Buddist temples in Thailand). Walked back to the hotel.
Wat Arun
Dec. 15th: more of Bangkok
Spent the morning at the Jim Thompson House. He is an American who fell in love with Thailand and moved there after the war. He is credited with reviving the Thai silk industry. In 1967, he disappeared without a trace while in Cambodia. His house is incredible, as are the silk products sold in his store.
Then found out just how easy it is to get around this enormous city by public transit, first by skytrain (what a view of the treetops and the city), and then the river taxi. All of a sudden the city became more manageable. One can get around without spending precious time in traffic.
At 6:00 the tour group met for the first time. Nine of us in total, mostly Brits except one other Canadian couple who live in Ottawa and previously Halifax. A small world! I am decidedly the least well traveled of the lot. We all went for supper to a restaurant just around the corner. The food here is fantastic!
Jim Thompson House
Skytrain
