August 9, 2014
Bangkok is one of the most congested cities I have ever seen. I was struck by that when I first travel to Bangkok almost 15 years ago. Since then, they have added a skytrain which has done little to ease the congested traffic that runs all hours of the day and night. Continue reading
August 8, 2014
For the most part, I really enjoy flying. It doesn’t always go well and there have been flights I would rather forget about but for the most part, I look forward to the experience. Being at a Star Alliance Gold Level helps tremendously, the lines are shorter, the luggage comes out sooner, and with enough points you can upgrade to Business Class and that makes a huge difference.
My flight to Bangkok started in Los Angeles, it stopped in Narita (Tokyo), before landing in Bangkok. The first leg of the trip was on United’s 787 Dreamliner. I treated myself to business class and it was worth every minute of it. I had 10 hours of being served while watching movies.
In the afternoon I headed out on the tour’s first official tour. A boat ride to the Royal Palace and to see the Emerald Buddha and temples around it. I had seen it before when I was in Thailand just over 12 years ago but was impressed to see it again. The workmanship that goes into the temples is incredible with a lot of detail. What appears to be patterned wall paper is actually painted onto the wails. There are parts of the temples build using porcelain.Fortunately, we had a really nice weather day. It wasn’t too hot and there was a nice breeze.
In the evening it was off to dinner and another boat ride. When I returned to the hotel, I fought to keep my eyes open while updating my blog. I think I am going to sleep very well tonight!
Temple of Dawn
Millennium Hilton Bangkok
Jan 30, 2014This is one of the nicest Hilton I have stayed in. The breakfast buffet had the biggest selection I have ever seen in any hotel. Of course, I wanted everything but I decided to limit it. Still not used to the time change, I was up a couple of hours before breakfast started. I was ready to head out at 7:00 AM but decided to wait a few hours for the city to wake up.I crossed the river and decided to walk with no clear direction to see what I would stumble upon. Bangkok is full of sites, sounds and smells. It is also very colorful and it is easy to take a ton of pictures only to look at them later and wonder why I took them all. In person, it is all very interesting but it doesn’t always translate into pictures.
As I wandered around, I found myself in a very residential area. Hoards of mopeds, bikes, cars and tuk-tuks with parents dropping their uniformed kids at a nearby school. If there were sidewalks, foods stalls and shops extended their real estate onto it and even into the street. Bangkok is known for its street food and there were plenty of outside kitchens cooking their specialities – ducks, chickens, noodles, phad thai – a different specialty at every stop. I found myself feeling hungry again.
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I arrived in Bangkok today after a very long day of travel that started in Los Angeles. I stopped in Tokyo and in Singapore. Overall, thing went smoothly. It was my first time at the new International terminal at LAX. I was surprised with how good it looked and was really impressed with the Star Alliance lounge.
I flew on Singapore airlines and I got to fly on an A380 – currently the largest passenger airliner. Singapore airlines always provides great service and I cannot say enough good things about them. I wish our domestic airlines in the states would take note of the level of service that starts with a smile and a friendly attitude.
The Singapore airport is also impressive. Lots of shopping and places to eat, free movies, Koi ponds, butterfly gardens and the list of things to do and see goes on. Certainly more than enough to do on a short layover.
I checked into the Millenium Hilton and was impressed by the hotel. Being a Diamond HHonors member I received a few extra perks like the welcome plate of fruit and access to the lounge. I didn’t want to fall asleep early but I wasn’t ready to go exploring just yet. I decided to take in the views of the city from the executive lounge. Continue reading
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