The flight from Osaka to Bangkok was easy. The Osaka airport is relatively new but not very spacious. But no matter, we made it to our gate easily after walking through the very popular tax-free shopping area. It was our first time flying Thai Airways and the service was quite good. Flight attendants wear traditional, colorful clothing. They were very concerned about a bumpy flight and worked super hard to serve everyone’s meal quickly. It turned out the flight was extremely smooth. After our 10 hour flight to Osaka, the 5.5 hours to Bangkok seemed like nothing. Going through customs was easy. Jim had to carry his walking sticks because security made him use them in the airport so we could carry them on. So we were escorted a faster line after arrival to make our transit easier. We decided to preorder a driver to our hotel from the airport for this part of the journey instead of mass transit because we were arriving so late. The cost was very reasonable and it’s hot here, so It was a good choice.

Leaving the airport you are greeted by many of biggest billboards we have ever seen, easily four times larger than typical billboards.

We chose the So/Bangkok Hotel because of the location next to a Lumphini Park (a medium sized park surrounded by 30-40 story residential and office buildings), and it’s easy access to transit. It was a good choice. Bangkok is a huge city with a population over 11,000,000. Traffic is terrible most of the time, construction is happening everywhere and the trains and subways are packed. In short, it’s a very busy place! On the flight from Osaka we listened to a well-timed Econ/Talk podcast that talked about many things including the next 100 years of growth of the world economy which guest economist believes will be centered in India and S.E. Asia. You definitely sense that dynamic here.

Because we arrived late, they didn’t have the room we booked and ended up in a room with 2 twin beds, but they assured us we would be upgraded the next day. We were pretty exhausted so it didn’t make much difference. The hotel is a bit noisy here, because there is a very busy road between it and the park, but I came prepared with silicone ear plugs for both of us. They make all the difference to mask out the traffic noises when you’re trying to sleep.

On our first day, after a breakfast fit for a Queen and King (complete with Thai soups, omelettes, breads, fruit smoothies and too much to even try) we decided to explore the park and the local “skytrain” elevated transit to visit Raja’s Fashions. Robert Scales, our new friend we met in Osaka, suggested we go there to get clothes made. We needed to get Jim a light weight sports coat for India and we thought we would do that in India, but the timing seemed better here in Bangkok. Raja’s is a multi-generation family-owned business and just lovely. They measured Jim and we picked out our fabric and while we were there we met two other couples from Seattle who were very familiar with Dick’s. We exchanged cards and will meet again in Seattle! The farther away we get from home the world seems smaller!

After our shopping we went to one of the many nearby malls and explored the food court. There were so many choices of local delectable Thai foods. It was amazing and overwhelming! And the prices are extremely reasonable. With our mouths a bit on fire, we decided we “needed” some ice cream to finish up and fortunately there was a a sit down Swenson’s Ice Cream Parlor in the food court. Yum!

There is the usual collection of American brands: McDonald’s, Burger King, Dominos, Crispy Cream (donuts are good here!). And the prices are cheap. $5.85 for a Big Mac combo meal.

Returning to the hotel after lunch we moved to our upgraded room. What an upgrade! It’s a huge corner room with amazing views in two directions. Then it was time to head to the pool. Bangkok hotels are famous for their rooftop pools. Ours was on the 10th floor, not on the rooftop, but because it faced the park it still had great views of the city.

Another must do in Bangkok is enjoying the spas and getting a Thai massage. We did ours at the hotel. It was quite reasonable and really nicely done. To end our first day we grabbed a snack at another must-do in Bangkok: the roof top bar. We were early and I’m guessing this place really hits its peak about midnight and has a very young vibe. Every tall hotel has one of these. I think we have passed our roof top bar phase, but it was a nice experience with a good view and it gave us time to use Google and learn more about the economic history of Thailand. The internet can be so amazing. Here we were sitting at a roof top bar, sipping a gin and tonic and learning so much about Bangkok and Thailand. The modern world is such an amazing place. So much is possible if humanity can just avoid war. Thailand has done a good job of that. They aren’t invaders and haven’t been invaded since the 1800’s and in general Thailand’s leaders have chosen collaboration and trade instead of plunder. So today Thailand is prospering and growing. However, there is definitely a dark side to Thailand that focus on sex and prostitution in parts of the country. Definitely a Yin/yang.

We’ve signed up for a couple of tours and the second day we did a “Temples, Palace and Canal” Tour. Our guide, Angelo, met us at the hotel and guided us through a full day of spiritual sharing, history, conversation and shared growth and experiences. We definitely could not have navigated all the visits in one day without a guide like Angelo. He coordinated the driver and our favorite part (the “James Bond Boat” (featured in “The Man With the Golden Gun”) through the canal and water way system that is like the one in Venice but much larger.

We visited the three large temples in Bangkok throughout the day. Wat Phra Kaew, Wat Arun, and Wat Pho. They are each unique and Angelo shared his Buddhist knowledge as we learned about each. We “talked story” as they say in Hawaii about traditional Buddhist beliefs and prayers. Along our journey Angelo made sure we were well hydrated, sprayed our hands with disinfectant, gave us treats (I especially like the Thai taco) and made sure we had got great photographs at all the key locations.

Our favorite part was getting onto the water and going through some of the locks of the canal system. We had to wait outside each lock to enter the canals because there was a large tidal surge coming from the Gulf of Thailand (the river tides in Bangkok can vary up to 14 feet because Bangkok is not far from the ocean).

Our final Temple visit was the giant golden Buddha laying on its side. It’s quite spectacular.

Back at the hotel we rested a bit before heading out for Jim’s fitting. This time we took the Metro (suggested by Angelo) instead of walking through the park to the elevated train. The trains and Metro were packed because it was peak commuting time. But we arrived at our appointment on time and they made the fitting improvements so that they could finish the sport coat by Thursday.

We hoped to grab a quick dinner in the Siam district before heading back. Unfortunately the recommended restaurant was closed. At this point it was 7:30, we were hungry, this area is definitely seedier, so we took the train back to our district and grabbed a quick bite at a local restaurant near the train station before heading to the metro and back to our hotel.

So, an extremely full day two came to an end.

Bike tour of the farm island: Our second full day in Bangkok was quite a contrast from our first. A driver took us by car from our hotel to the beginning of our “jungle bike tour” on a small island near the port of Bangkok. It’s mostly a manmade island that used to be an isthmus. It’s now built up and sea walls protect it from flooding. We met our guide “Vee” and 8 other bike tourists, then walked to a small boat dock on the Chaophraya River through a poorer part of Bangkok and took a short water taxi ride to the “jungle” Island. I’m just OK at bike riding, but as “admiral of atmosphere” I thought this would be something Jim would appreciate and our friends Kaysi and Stephen said it was a good excursion. But, meandering through narrow paths sharp turns of the paths was challenging for me. The bike through the nice park, and quiet roads, was much easier. It was quite a different experience, but well worth it.

We saw several large monitor lizards and learned about the “suicide/murder” tree that produces a poison seed that looks like a small coconut and has no antidote. It grows wild throughout SE Asia. For a completely different culinary experience, we stopped briefly at a roadside table for the best mango and sticky rice we’ve ever had! These guided tours are great at finding the local food gems.

Other tidbits:

There are only 3 seasons in Bangkok: Winter/Summer/Rainy. Winter is the coolest season, with highs in the high 80’s and low 90’s, but it didn’t feel as hot as we thought it would. We rarely saw the sun much and never saw any stars. We didn’t get rain, because this is the dry season

The people are delightful. Thai people smile a lot, and are very friendly. Bangkok is modern but still growing quickly with lots of construction sites all around the city. There are at least 6 tall buildings going up in the immediate vicinity of our hotel. What appeared to be a hot tub was no warmer than the pool, which was not warm. It was cold.

No bugs they are definitely spraying here.

As a marketing person, I’m always interested in the ads. No financial ads. The big billboard near our hotel is really pushing Dior red lipstick (definitely making me want to use my red lipstick) Samsung phones, cars and IKEA with a smattering of other things.

Thursday is our last day and it’s a transition day. We will pack, pick up Jim’s sport coat and do a little final exploring before heading to the airport for a 10pm departure on our 4-hour flight to Delhi. The next blog will be from India!

Arrived in India:

We arrived in India last night for the main course of our travels. Our Tauck pick up was super smooth and boy did we need the help navigating the airport chaos. The past week has been wonderful but we are excited for our India Adventure.