According to the song “One night in Bangkok” – the world’s your oyster… well luckily for us, we’re here for four!
I’m excited about returning to this fascinating city, but more so as it’s C’s first time and I’ve been up-selling the place big time so hopefully she’ll enjoy it as much as I did last time around.
We arrived into Bangkok airport bang on time although the lines at border control were pretty big so it took about a half hour to get through. Once outside we set about finding our transfer and soon enough, we were on our way to our hotel. As it was rush hour, the traffic was pretty bad, so it took a good 45 minutes before we arrived.
When I first visited Bangkok many full-moon parties ago, I was staying on the famous backpacker hangout of Khao San Road. I was paying two dollars a night for a dump of a place called “The Lucky Beer” (that’s not a typo). Although the food was ok.
Anyhow that was then and this is now, welcome to the Mandarin Oriental Bangkok…..
We’re staying at one of the most famous hotels in the world and the oldest hotel in Bangkok which has hosted many a celebrity, author, political figure and royalty over the years. Once we arrived, our bags were taken care of and we were handed some welcome flowers. Then we were shown to our room, where the check-in process takes place. Once checked, in our bags arrive. Even at this early stage, the staff seem to be bending over backwards to make us as welcome as possible.
We have a nice view looking down at the pool and onto the Chao Phrayariver, there’s also a nice welcome package of fresh fruit, cake and champagne, very nice indeed.
The room is a good size with a small kitchen area which has a full sized fridge and mini bar, as well as having a separate cocktail cabinet which is pretty cool. Along with two TVs and a nice seating area, the place is spotless.
As it was late when we got settled we decided to take it easy and wander the hotel for a look around. There’s 11 restaurants to choose from so there won’t be any trouble getting a bite to eat. Once we got our bearings we settled into the Bamboo bar for drinkies and we were impressed with the extensive drink menu and again the staff were fantastic. On an interesting side note, there’s a dress code in the hotel, no shorts or t-shirts after 6:30pm.
We decided for food to order room service for a change which was nice, we kept it simple just a club sambo for me and C went with the steak sambo.
The following day we grabbed breakfast on the terrace which has a fab setting right beside the river. It’s table service which is always nice, C went with a crispy egg thing which was really tasty I kept it simple with an omelette.
Our first outing for the day was a boat trip along the river which takes about two hours. It offers some nice views of some of the major attractions which we’ll be checking out over the next few days, as well as showing life along the river bank.
After finishing up on the river, we wandered back to our hotel room, grabbed a few bits and hit the streets. As it was near lunch we found a coffee place called Nob and had a few sambos and some coffee for lunch. After we visited the Wat Traimit which has plenty to see with the main attraction being the largest gold Buddha in the world which weighs over five ton.
When we were done we made our way back to the hotel. We decided to walk rather than hop in a cab or tuk-tuk. Along the way you see plenty of shops, which will usually sell specific items. One shop may sell just rope for example another may sell bubble wrap. It was a good 45 minute walk back in sweltering heat, so by the time we got back to the hotel there was only one thing left to do, hit the pool.
The pool is a good size and has good depth going down to over two meters in most parts, we also ordered some drinks to enjoy from the very friendly staff. The great part was as it was late evening we had the entire pool to ourselves.
For dinner we had booked a restaurant called Breeze. Basically it’s the highest restaurant in Bangkok the same place also has the highest hotel bar in the entire world apparently, a few floors further up. The view from the restaurant was fantastic and even up this high (the 56thfloor) there is, despite the name, no breeze whatsoever and it’s still around 30c at 9:00pm.
After our meal which was underwhelming, we made our way to the very top to admire the view and grab a drink, needless to say the prices for drinks was (no pun intended) sky high.
The following day we had arranged to do a cookery course in the Oriental Cookery school which was the first cookery school set up in Thailand. Originally they were not running the course when we enquired, however they rang back and said they would, so as it turned out it ended up been a private cookery course which was great.
After a brief introduction and telling us about the school we hopped on a boat and made our way to a local market to see all the produce. Our tutor showed us all around and pointed out some of the more unusual ingredients available to buy and how they would be cooked. After that, it was back on the boat and back to the school. Then it was on with the aprons and we got stuck in.
Our tutor spoke perfect English and would give the names of all the ingredients we were using in both Thai and English. All together we were doing four courses, one dessert, one side, one starter and a mains. Like a lot of cookery schools it follows the same format, you watch the dish being made by the tutor, then you go to your work station and make the dish yourself.
To start, we did the dessert as it needed to cool, it was called Pandan and coconut pudding. Next up our side which was basically spicy eggs, the eggs are hard boiled, shell removed, then, deep fried of all things. The best part of course like all the best cookery schools is almost everything is made from scratch. A spicy prawn soup was our starter and for mains was a pork dish, pork being the most popular meat in Thailand.
After we finished, we were given certs to say we completed the course, we were also given a goodie bag which had a selection of spices and an apron. All that was left to do was have our meal served to us in the adjoining Thai restaurant.
After our lunch which we had cooked ourselves, we made our way to Pho Wat to see the world’s biggest reclining Buddha. Along with several other sites it made for a nice evening, on returning to our hotel all that was left to do was hit the pool. We kept it simple for dinner and had pizza in the on-site Italian restaurant.
We had an early start the following morning as our plan was to visit the biggest attraction in Bangkok, the Grand Palace. We hopped in a cab and made our way there and even at just before 10:00am in the morning it’s very busy. Once on the palace grounds there’s plenty to see, along with the oldest jade Buddha, the palace proper and several small museums.
After visiting the Palace we grabbed a light lunch then we made our way to the infamous Khao San road. The Khao San has been a backpacker hangout for decades and it’s obvious when walking the surprisingly short street that it’s geared towards that audience. For nostalgia reasons, we had a drink at the Lucky Beer which is still in business but no longer does lodging.
After walking the Khao San, we hopped in a cab to get to our next stop the house of a guy called Jim Thompson. The story goes he was a WW2 vet and after the war was stationed in Bangkok, which he instantly fell in love with, so he moved here, leaving his wife at home in California as she refused to move. He took a keen interest in silk and set up his own company and sold mainly to America. His house is the main reason for visiting as it incorporates several houses all joined together and at the time was one of the biggest private houses in all of Bangkok. Photos are not permitted inside and you also have to go on a tour rather than just wander around freely. Like some of the best stories, Jim Thompson went missing in 1967 and no clue had ever been found for his disappearance to this day.
After another full-on day, it was back to the hotel for a final swim in the pool. For dinner, we dined in the newly re-opened Lord Jim restaurant which was fantastic and the service impeccable.
Our last morning in Bangkok rolls around, we’ve had a splendid time over the course of the past few days and the hotel went beyond our expectations when it came to service, it was fantastic.
We’ve but a few hours to pass before we leave so we decided to spend it at a mall of sorts just across the river. The mall is the biggest in South East Asia and has all the big name brands here including the high end stuff. It also boasts over 100 places to grab a bite to eat or drink, it’s huge.
As always, hope you enjoyed reading along,
Until next time,
C&J
cjfoodandtravel 