It was Mrs H’s 40th Birthday in January this year. She didn’t fancy doing the big party thing so I suggested we could head off on holiday instead, oh that’s a good idea she said lets go back to Thailand. So it was decided Thailand or bust.
Firstly we had to decide where we wanted to go and for how long. Now this process took ages, we both wanted to go to Bangkok again as our previous visit had been cut short due to 27 hour flight delays, that was the easy part deciding on where to go after Bangkok was the real problem. We looked at the cost of flights online with loads of sites and were struggling to get reasonable prices to suit our needs. Eventually Mrs H went in to our local Trailfinders in Aberdeen and they were fantastic. They couldn’t have been more helpful they priced up flights for a couple of options we were considering and once we eventually decided (after an 11th hour change of mind) we settled on Krabi. Trailfinders managed to get us flights to suit us perfectly and at a much better price than I could find online. Now “ALL” we had to do was choose accommodation, now this took weeks of research and much humming and hawing before we finally got things sorted.
Well we were all set to fly out on the 9th of January from Aberdeen to Bangkok via London Heathrow which was fine until you take the weather into consideration. We were in the grip of the worst snowstorms in the last 50 years and to be honest it didn’t look as if we would be going anywhere. In the week prior to our departure the whole of the UK was covered in a blanket of snow and it was causing havoc with air travel.
Many airports were closed for periods and that had a huge knock on effect. Aberdeen airport was being closed virtually every day for a couple of hours at a time. The biggest problem was Heathrow had closed and that had led to many regional flights being cancelled, luckily mostly by BA and we were flying with BMI. As the week progressed the weather got worse and some airports were shut for days (I think Newcastle was one) but Aberdeen managed to remain open to some extent. I was watching all the weather reports and airport flight information all week and it was very depressing reading. On the Saturday we were flying it was heavy snow in the morning with clearer weather in the afternoon, our flight was at 5.30 pm. According to the Airport website almost all BA regional flights were cancelled from Aberdeen but BMI were still operating as normal and the Heathrow website was showing a number of international flights being cancelled including some to Thailand. As we left the house it looked like our flights were still on schedule so we headed to the airport with our fingers crossed.
There were no queues at the BMI check in desk and our bags were checked in for Bangkok, we sat and grabbed a sandwich and a beer before setting off on time to London. On arrival at Heathrow it only took about 15 minutes to transfer terminals and to find out our flight with Thai Airways to Bangkok was due to leave on time. So a few drinks were had before we boarded our flight 9.30 and after our meal we both slept for virtually the whole journey.
Bangkok airport was a breeze baggage reclaim was quick and efficient as was the Taxi rank. The taxi was very reasonable, you tell the guy in the queue your destination and he gives you a ticket which you give one copy to give to the taxi driver this prevents overcharging. It was late afternoon in Bangkok and the roads were reasonably quiet so it wasn’t long before we were sat in reception of the Lebua At State Tower Hotel with a cold beer and a refreshing scented towel to wipe ourselves down with. The check in process was very laid back and by the time we were finished our drink we were shown to our room. We were on the 55 floor and had fantastic views over the river across Bangkok.
The Hotel was fantastic. It is part of State tower which is one of Bangkok’s most prominent buildings. The first few floors are a shopping mall but seemed to be more than half the units were empty.
We were on bed and breakfast basis and the breakfasts were amazing. The choice was mind bogging with all the usual suspects as well as every variation of eggs you could imagine a fruit selection the likes of which I have never seen as well as a huge selection of Oriental/Asian/Indian food. The hotel had 4 restaurants which were all expensive so we didn’t eat there. We did enjoy a few drinks there even though the prices were extortionate.
The Lebua boasts the highest alfresco bar and restaurant in Bangkok so we had to have a couple of drinks there. It was on the 67th floor and according to the hotel literature photography is banned to protect the clients privacy so I didn’t take my camera but everyone else seemed to be taking pictures without the staff batting an eyelid. The Sky Bar is circular and protrudes over the edge of the building and has a glass floor
its a long way down
A picture from a web site of the Sky Bar
One night we sat in the cocktail bar in a “lovers” seat which looked more like a bed than a seat and had couple of cocktails which I put on the room bill without realising how much they cost, it made Abaco look cheap in comparison.
The level of service in the hotel was fantastic and you really couldn’t fault it
A couple of pics of out hotel room
State Tower
View from our balcony on the 55th floor. We had to sign a disclaimer before we were given the keys to the Balcony
On our first night there we headed out of the hotel for a wander and to get our bearings. One of our intentions was to try the street food that you get all over Thailand and we noticed right across from our hotel a few stalls and streetside places selling food but all the tables were occupied. We spent an hour or so wandering the streets and window shopping and we were getting hungry so we headed back to the hotel and managed to get a table at the most popular of the pavement establishment.
When I say table it was a small plastic more like a kiddie table and chairs with cutlery and plastic crockery to match We ordered a beer and large beers arrived with a frosted glass, we chose a few different dishes from the menu and soon after it arrived our out table and it was to die for. We soon scoffed those off as they were fairly small portions so we tried another couple washed down with another ½ litre bottle of cold beer. When we asked for the bill I couldn’t believe how cheap it was at about £7 so that was it it was street food all the way from there. We went back there again for food one night and stopped off for drinks another night. It is a great way to experience the city sitting in the streets with the locals and observing their daily life.
Typical Bangkok side streets with stalls selling all sorts.
We didn’t take that many pictures in Bangkok as we had been before and done many of the tourist things like visit the Grand Palace and some of the Buda Temples
The food available on the streets is very cheap and extremely tasty
We didn’t do too much sightseeing this time we preferred to just wander the city and experience the atmosphere. We spent one day shopping and spent a day in Chinatown which is an experience in itself.
It as amazing what you find for sale there there’s a street with nothing but old car and lorry parts.
View across the river from Chinatown
We did venture to the street market in Patpong one evening, the marker is in the seedier part of Bangkok and its where you can buy all the fake designer goods.
There were quite a lot of d interesting bars and clubs in the area that skimpily clad girls handing out fliers. I didn’t realise table tennis was such a popular sport over there.
We always felt very safe on the streets of Bangkok and felt able to wander anywhere.
The only time we felt at risk was while in a Tuk Tuk driven my a maniac. The Tuk Tuk drivers were difficult to haggle with and it was actually much cheaper taking a taxi. Only problem with taxi drivers is they want to give uou a tour of the city and not just take you to your destination
Typical Tuk Tuk
We truly enjoyed our 3 days in Bangkok and would recommend anyone heading to the far east should spend a few days there.
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Anyone need a taxi hehehe
Great stuff Hayzer
