Missing Bangkok already

Pomegranate juice available at street stalls. Fabulous.

Nights out in Thong Lo

We revisited a few old Thong Lo favourites like Fat Gut'z, Krung Thong and Wine Republic, but also tried lots of new places like the Iron Fairies, Mellow, Apotek, Supanniga and Phuket Town.

Isan sausage

Fishcakes

Watermelon martini

Drink matches my nails and iPhone case...

Phuket dishes (which I didn't like at all - that strong shrimp sauce seems to be in everything)

Nice decor in the restaurant though

The fabulous (Bangkok) Beatles playing their usual Monday night gig in Fat Gut'z. That's a signature cocktail called Arisan Maru (kaffir infused aged rum with honey, lime and a chili on the side)

TWG in Bangkok

Bangkok has really extended its tea salons since my last visit. My favourite is Twinings, but TWG is also pretty good.

Somerset Apartments, Thong Lo

The last week of the holiday was spent in Bangkok, this time in the trendy residential neighbourhood of Thong Lo in a serviced apartment sun by the Ascott/Somerset group. Thong Lo has no hotels, but quite a few new residence towers, cafes, cocktail bars, restaurants and the usual Bangkok street stalls that David loves so much. 

Our apartment block

The pool

A bit messy now, but here's the sitting room

Bedroom

Our street in Thong Lo

Thewet and Vimanmek Palace

I think we have been to all of the major sites in Bangkok, but each time we come, we revisit at least one of them (because they are pretty incredible). Nowadays, we aren't skint backpackers and could afford to hire a driver to take us places, but we still do these things the old way - as much as possible on public transport. We took the BTS to Saphan and walked to the river boat station at Sathorn. Strangely, we ran into one of David's old students from Japan! We then boarded a boat up the Chao Phraya river to Thewet. We had lunch on a scruffy deck overlooking the river. It was a sleepy Sunday afternoon in that part of town - and boiling hot (between rain showers). Vimanmek Palace didn't look too far to walk on the map and we could go via the flower market. The flower market was awesome - like a roadside garden centre really. I would love to have bought some orchids. It seemed a very long walk in the heat... and after an altercation with a chancer of a tuktuk driver, we briefly visited Wat Benchamabophit, walked past the Dustit Throne Hall and eventually in the rain to the strange but beautiful Vimanmek Palace. The palace was built in 1900, is made of teak, and contains no nails. Inside are 72 rooms decorated in European style. We visitors could only view a few of them and we couldn't actually go into any rooms. Although this is a beautiful palace, the museum is a bit of a pain for visitors actually. We weren't allowed to wear shoes so we had to queue up in the rain and leave shoes in a smelly show room. We then had to got to another room to lock up our phones and cameras. We were then scanned and searched on the way in. As we walked around the palace, we were wedged between hideous loud and uncouth mainland Chinese tour groups. They behaved so poorly and, honestly, should not be allowed to travel. 

River boat

Wat Benchamabophit

Dusit Throne Hall

You aren't allowed to show your knees in the palace so David had to buy a sarong

Photo from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vimanmek_Mansion

Ban Kamtheing (1844 house)

I can't believe that in all of the years of going to Bangkok, we hadn't been to this gorgeous house. It is a northern style Thai house from 1844 right next to Sukhumvit Station in the centre of the city.

Meiji University, Bangkok

Our friend works at Srinakharinwirot University in Bangkok, well actually, she works at Meji University which is located within Srinakharinwirot U. David works at Meiji in Tokyo, so we were keen to see the brand new Bangkok setup. On Tuesdays and Thursdays there is a flea market on campus, so we thought Tuesday would be a good day to visit.

Terminal 21

Terminal 21 is a giant mall, but not just any old giant mall, it is broken down into cities. Each floor has a theme: Caribbean, Rome, Paris, Tokyo, London, Istanbul, San Francisco, Hollywood. It's very clever actually. I like that there are plenty of small independent shops and Thai designers. I have been going back to some of my favourites for the past few visits. It has an excellent food court and restaurants, too. We met Wilalialuck one night after she finished work.

We met Wilailuck in front of the Bus on the London floor

Dinner: som tam, stir fried morning glory, catfish and other spicy delicious Thai food at "Have a Zeed" 

Fun on the Tokyo floor

Lingering over mango sticky rice

On the Tokyo floor