Shea and I met our shuttle this morning at 8:00am in the hotel lobby. There was nobody around from our tour so I guess our goodbyes from last night was the last time we would see anyone. It was an uneventful ride to the airport and after checking in for our flight to Bangkok aboard Thai Airways, we had some time to kill and wander the airport looking for some last minute souvenirs. I found a Starbucks where I purchased a few Cambodian Starbucks coffee mugs. I also found a large gift shop which had some carvings produced by Artisans Angkor. We visited the Artisans Angkor workshop on our first day in Siem Reap a few days back. I wanted to purchase one of their carvings but was hesitant to shell out a few hundred dollars. The price was the same here at the airport so I just bit the bullet and handed over $225 for an Aspara wood carving. The flight to Bangkok was very uneventful and within less than an hour of taking off from Siem Reap, we were landing in Bangkok.
to the hotel for the next few days, Hotel Indigo in the Lumphini area of Bangkok. While being transferred, the first thing that I notice is that driving is on the left hand side of the road here similar to the UK. This was a bit surprising considering Thailand has no history of British influence. Located in a business area in the city center, Hotel Indigo is a wonderful boutique hotel with modern and vibrant interior decor and a friendly staff. We were hoping to check in early and relax in our room but the room wasnt immediately ready so we had an early lunch at the hotels restaurant, Metro at Wireless. I ordered the Pad Thai however I found the Pad Thai here to be rather bland. Perhaps it was because I requested but I didnt realize that meant without much flavor. Despite the disappointing first meal here in Thailand, we had a few beers which improved our moods and we had a very friendly and entertaining lady boy as our server.
Our room was on the 21st floor and had great views overlooking the Bangkok skyline. The beds were and the so
cool that we decided to nap for a few hours. While Shea was still napping, I decided to stroll around the surrounding area to get my bearings as well as locate some snacks. The area around the hotel was more business oriented rather than tourist oriented. I noted a fair number of high end shopping, upscale restaurants, and even a few embassies including those of the United States and Vietnam. I eventually found a which are much nicer than those found in the U.S. While purchasing my snacks, I was amazed at the various flavors of Lays chips that I found that were geared towards Asian taste buds such as Green Curry, Nori Seaweed, Salted Egg, and Mieng Kam Krob Ros. Back at the hotel, I checked out the rooftop pool with great views of the Bangkok skyline and was excited to have some time over the next few days to lounge and enjoy the pool.
We had signed up for a night food tour of Bangkok with Bangkok Food Tours which started at 6:00pm. The point for the food tour wasnt too far from the hotel so we decided to just walk instead of grabbing a
taxi. We cut through Lumphini Park which was a hive of activity. There appeared to be some sort of running event taking place at the park this evening with many people jogging and had a number attached to their shirts. Cutting through the park, we dodged the many joggers and eventually made it to the corner of the park and had a quick view of the King Rama VI Monument. From here it was a short walk to our meeting point at Chamchuri Square. We were a bit confused at first as we were unable to locate anyone else who was joining the food tour. Eventually we found a British couple who also had signed up for the tour. We chatted for a bit until eventually many others showed up. Enough people had showed up that we were divided into 3 groups. Our tour leader for the evening was Ron, a Bangkok local who had lived for many years in Orange County.
