Wednesday 16th November – Pantip Plaza
I had great intentions of hitting the hotel gym before breakfast however I slept like a baby and did not wake until after 7:00. By the time I got out of bed the only motivation I had was for the buffet breakfast. Both of us should have been cows as we just took our time and grazed on the many food items that were available. Eventually we returned to our room and made ourselves ready for our today’s shopping adventure.
We have decided to visit Pantip Plaza which is an indoor IT Shopping Mall located on New Phetchaburi Road in Bangkok and a 150 baht taxi ride from our hotel. There are hundreds of small shops specialising in computer hardware, software, and accessories, including repair, modifications, networking, secondhand, laptops and peripherals. It used to be a major source of unauthorized copies of software, with software for both Windows and Mac readily available. Applications software and games, together with unlicensed copies of music and films were sold from many of the stalls on the lower three floors. These days only a few stores are selling pirated copies. We did manage to spend a few dollars but most of our time was taken up by browsing at all the gadgets.
With our electronic shopping over we caught up with Judy who is the mother of James’ partner Emily. It was pretty relaxing chilling out at another Novotel with great views of the canals and shopping district of Pratunam. With our visit over it was time for a late, light lunch. Street food was what we needed and a beef skewer and some spring rolls fitted the bill nicely. A leisurely stroll around the shopping district soon ate up the rest of the afternoon. A 200baht ($8) taxi fare and we were back at the hotel and a rest prior to dinner.
On speculation we walked along Silom Road for about 15 minutes looking at different options for dinner. We walked down one of the Sois and came across a street food restaurant aptly named Eat Cheaper that looked like it could deliver some good Thai food at a reasonable price. Alex the very camp head waiter/owner was gregarious and made everyone feel like they were special. He even gives the clientele the necessary 3 baht if they need to use the latrine. We ordered a couple of Thai dishes which we washed down with some beers. To finish we ordered some calamari skewers which were delicious. I think the total bill was an outrageous 300baht ($12) which meant that we would most likely return tomorrow night.
Thursday 17th November – MBK Centre
This morning I did manage to jump out of bed at 6:20 and head off down to the gym for some much needed exercise. I managed to get the heart rate up and raised quite a sweat. After a well needed shower it was time for grazing down at the buffet breakfast. I had a hankering for some poached eggs and the egg chef delivered with a perfect pair, eggs that is.
Today we are off on a train trip to do some more shopping. After topping up our “Rabbit Cards” we boarded our Skytrain for the twenty minute trip to the National Stadium station. The MBK Centre is a large shopping mall and we were determined to visit as many of the eight stories as possible. The center contains around 2,000 shops, restaurants and service outlets, including the 4-storey Tokyu department store. Daily visitor numbers are in excess of 100,000, half of whom are young Thai people and a third foreign visitors. It is popular with tourists, although the majority of shoppers are Bangkok residents. Many stores selling authentic merchandise are also available. MBK Center is connected to the Skytrain Silom line at the National Stadium station by elevated walkways.
I usually visit this store when I am in Bangkok as the prices are quite good and the range of goods available is extensive. As soon as we walked inside we knew that it was the place for a shopaholic to get their fix. Walking down the many aisles many of the store owners called out to us hoping to attract our attention and thus relieve us of our hard earned baht. We were certainly tempted at a few stores and James treated himself to a few needy purchases. With our bags full and both of us tired of shopping it was time for a feed.
Back at the hotel we sorted through our purchases and repacked them in the new bag that James bought. My old bag has a couple of tears and could not handle the 16kg that I need to convey home. With the repacking over I headed down to the hotel’s small pool for a relaxing late afternoon swim. There were only a couple of deck chairs available as it appears this is a popular location for those afflicted by the need for nicotine. Nevertheless, I managed to enjoy a quiet swim and the chance to catch up on some reading.
Around 18:30 we headed downstairs where James booked a taxi for his trip to the airport. Continuing up Silom Road we passed quite a few massage establishments that basically offered the same mix of massages at the same price. We eventually settled on one and had a one hour foot massage for 300baht ($12). Feeling relaxed it was time for dinner at Eat Cheaper. I had some king prawns and James went for the barbeque whole fish. The fish looked and according to James it tasted excellent. With dinner over we headed to the nearby Holiday Inn where we had spotted a bar selling craft beer. They had an extensive range but I settled on an IPA and James had a stout. I must have had a brain snap when I thought the beers were cheap as the final price for the two beers was 750baht ($30) which was substantially more than our dinner. The only saving grace was that they were great beers. James was in need of some essential supplies for Myanmar. A quick stop at Tops Supermarket gave him the opportunity to purchase some black tar or should I say Vegemite. You never know where this iconic brand will pop up.
Friday 18th November – Farewell James
After five weeks of travelling with James it is time to say goodbye as this morning he is off to the airport for a date with Myanmar (Burma). He has been a pleasure to travel with and neither of us feel the need that we have to do everything together. I put the gym on the backburner and after saying farewell to James adjourned to the buffet.
I did manage a session at the gym and afterwards headed off on the Skytrain for a bit of exploring. I ended up in the Patpong area and for some more exercise decided to walk back to my hotel. Along the way I discovered a Citibank ATM which dispensed cash with no ATM fee for Citibank cardholders. Thai banks are notorious for ripping off tourists as ATM fees are generally 200bht ($8). On a side note if you are travelling overseas then look at acquiring the Citibank Plus debit card as there is no international transaction conversion charge. Even though it was just after midday some of Patpong’s entrepreneurs were offering happy hour rates for who knows what. I declined their salacious offers and continued on my merry way down Silom Road.
In the early evening I headed out for another massage and then dinner once again at Eat Cheaper. Alex seated me at a table with one of his regulars who was dining alone. His name was Patrick and hailed from California. In between talking American politics I managed to order the whole fish I must agree with James that it was moist and delicious. After a relaxing evening I returned to the hotel and the late night Fox movie.
Saturday 19th November – Killing Time
I’m not really a gym junkie but I did manage another session prior to breakfast. After a refreshing shower I once again hit the buffet and grazed there until about 10:30. The rest of the morning was spent catching up on the diary and repacking my bag for the trip home. Eventually I headed downstairs and booked my taxi for my trip to the airport tonight. There were no problems and after handing over 550baht I headed off for lunch.
I spent the afternoon relaxing at the hotel and even managed to get in a swim. My ride to the airport isn’t until 20:00 so I headed out for another feed at Eat Cheaper. I only wanted a light meal so I tried the shrimp pad-thai and washed it down with a stubby of ice cold Singha beer. They have a simple accounting system in place at the restaurant. It involves not clearing the table until you are ready to leave. They then count the empty bottles and plates and presto you have the bill. My account for tonight’s meal was 100baht ($4). It was still too early for the airport so I returned to the Holiday Inn for one last craft beer. This time I opted for an American Stout which was full of flavor. The downside was it cost more than my previous two meals combined.
Finally it is time to leave for the airport and my taxi is not a taxi but a reasonably new wagon. Maybe I am travelling with Uber. Just as we departed the heavens opened up and the big fat rain tumbled down. The trip out to the airport took 45 minutes and as we approached mother nature put on a great light show. With all that thunder and lightning Alice and Bella would have been heading for the nearest bedroom.
On arrival at the terminal the check-in line wasn’t long and I soon had my bags on the conveyor belt. Unfortunately for me that is as far as they got. I knew that they were heavy but I didn’t think that they would weigh 40kg. I did my best pleading act but it was to no avail. It was now time to put my backup plan into action. I found a clear space in the middle of the foyer and removed a large plastic bag that I had strategically stored for such an event. Within a few minutes I had three separate carry on pieces and a new weight of 31.8kg which was acceptable. The security check was a little haphazard as they herded a very long queue to the other end of the terminal. The immigration queue was short and I was soon on my way to the CIP executive lounge. This is an excellent lounge with good facilities, food, drinks and includes alcohol. I’ll hang out here until it is time to board my flight which is scheduled to depart at 12:05am.
Sunday 20th November – Goin’ Home
Now that the time has finally arrived for my flight to depart I can allow myself a huge smile. I have really missed Alice, Jemma, Telissa, Aaron and of course Bob and can’t wait to see them. I will try and knock this flight on the head and will experiment by taking two sleeping tablets. Stay tuned for the results! There was no problem in boarding the flight but one thing I did notice is that you can now purchase duty free alcohol in Bangkok. It works in a similar way to Singapore where once you pay for the goods you can then pick up as you come to the stairs to the boarding lounge.
For a minute I thought that I was back in Kathmandu as there was no plane tethered to the air-bridge. Down the stairs we went and onto a bus for a 15 minute ride to the aircraft. Once there we were soon clambering up the stairs to take our seats. I didn’t have my glasses on so I ended up at the wrong seat and told the girl who was sitting there that she had my seat. She took one look at my boarding pass and politely informed me that I was three seats back. Suitably chastened I found my seat and went about stowing my three large items. Fortunately there was plenty of room in the overhead lockers. I held off taking the sleeping tablets as our aircraft seemed to be going nowhere. To kill the time I started watching a movie and we eventually took off 45 minutes late.
There was an announcement that a meal would be served and about one hour into the flight they delivered. I opted for a prawns and pasta which wasn’t half bad. Just prior to the meal I took 1.5 tablets as I did not want to risk being asleep when we touched down in Brisbane. I should not have worried as the tablets are not that strong. I did however manage about 3 to 4 hours sleep which is more than I usually get. About 100 minutes out of Brisbane there was movement at the station and the airline staff came around with some hot towels and a light breakfast. I think that the scrambled egg must have come from McDonalds as it was very ordinary. With some time to kill I managed to watch the Oscar winning movie ‘Bad Moms”. What it didn’t win an Oscar!
Just before midday we touched down in Brisbane. It is always a great feeling coming home and knowing what a great country we live in. I was in no hurry as I needed to stop for a mild code yellow, followed by a scan of my passport. The good news was that no other flights had landed prior to us so there were no queues at the duty free or passport control. After purchasing some Scotch for my gorgeous wife I headed over to the carousel for my luggage. I had some wood items and spices so I knew that I would have to those goods inspected at the quarantine station. There were no issues there but I was subjected to the Beagle sniffing my bags for drugs. With that over I was free to exit back into Australia and the arms of my Darlin! It is great to be home with loved ones and friends.
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