Monday, November 27, 2006
22nd November One night in Bangkok (apologies to Murray Head)
Prince Palace swimming pool area on level 11.Prince Palace Hotel, Bangkok (Much better inside than outside appearance!)
22nd November (Wednesday)
Up early and pack. Down to the Global Gossip and upload some more photos. Quick lunch and pick up the shuttle bus back to Sydney airport. As we go down the road from the hotel we take a corner and to my left I see the harbour and docks and waterfront area which would have been a 10 minute walk. It would also have been a really interesting area for exploring as part of the Australian Navy is based there. The driver is a nightmare, talks to himself and shouts at the traffic and then his radio controller tells him to take a detour to collect some more passengers. The family I’m travelling with in the shuttle who are from Singapore look at me with a look of resignation. Their flight is at 5pm, mine is 5.30 and it’s now 2.15. I say to the driver he hasn’t time to pick up more people as the family are catching 3.30 flight and the driver is already late. Tell his controller that. We continue to the airport with out the detour. The family are really nice and the Dad used to travel to England a lot so we have a good chat about places he visited and chat about Singapore. Get to check-in and all goes well until we get on the 747 to Bangkok. Sydney air traffic control decide to change the direction of take off so we have to travel to the opposite end of the runway. This decision obviously creates a delay so they decide to give priority to smaller aircraft and Qantas flights. We wait a further 50 minutes at the side of the runway before finally getting cleared for take off. I’m beginning to notice a pattern emerging with all my flights, can you? Arrive in Bangkok Suvarnabhumi airport an hour late at 23.50 local. Clocks back 4 hours so is 03.50 by my body clock. The first thing you notice as you leave the aircraft and step into the walkway is the smell. It’s a sort of dull, spicy, herby, curry and slighty sweaty body odour type of smell but it’s everywhere. The other thing you notice is the heat and humidity. This is a brand new airport and only been operational since end of September 06. It is huge with 6 levels and has quite a spectacular design but is also a concrete monolith. Make my way to baggage reclaim which is about a 10 minute walk from disembarkation! Ok, how do I get from here to the hotel? Find an information desk but get accosted by numerous men and women for taxi services to Bangkok, best price was 900baht biggest was 1200baht. About £13 to £20. Information advise of shuttle bus which is 150 baht, yeah bargain! Hah, takes me to city with 20 others squeezed onto a smallish bus with inadequate storage luggage. Then find that it only takes me to near the hotel when the driver stops bus and says “tha’ way” and waving his arm in the general direction of a street to the right as I get off the bus. My glasses steam up in the heat and humidity after the aircon of the bus. Go down the road but is not the name of the road I need (Damrong Rak) but has a sign that says Bo Bae and the hotel is in Bo Bae Tower so I take a chance. Walk down the road past loads of fruit street vendors packing up their stalls and wares. I say stalls loosely as they are more ramshackle metal frames and many load their fruit and some seem to have been selling t-shirts, on to motor scooters or Tuk-Tuks. Get to a bridge which crosses a river? And decide I have gone too far or the wrong way. Just then a taxi pulls around the corner so I flag him down and ask “Prince Palace Hotel?” He nods and I ask him if it’s far. Stupid move on my part because of course it’s going to be far, he’s a taxi driver. At least he didn’t say “don’t go south of the river this time of the night Guv”. He shrugged so we loaded the suitcase and I on board and off we went into the night and uncertainty. Well, what a journey. All of half way back up the road I had just walked down. About hhhhhhhhhmmmmmmmmmmmm let me see, some where round, aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh oh 300yds! Hotel Prince Palace was down a side road behind a market area and couldn’t be seen from the road I was on. Ha, cost me 50baht, .80pence but what a relief. Ground floor busboys and concierge met me and sent me to floor 11 reception. Signed in and got key card for room 2001 (A space odyssey). Lift to floor 20 (another 23 above me) and into the room. Wow! Huge. Aaahh, very soft carpet and hey, spectacular views of Bangkok by night from 20 floors up. My suitcase then arrived with bellboy and he showed the room and the remote control for everything. Well all the lights and the tv and the aircon and whether you want the room cleaned or not to be disturbed. It doesn’t draw the curtains tho’! It’s now 02.30 and I’m a bit weary so will retire and check out stuff tomorrow.
22nd November (Wednesday)
Up early and pack. Down to the Global Gossip and upload some more photos. Quick lunch and pick up the shuttle bus back to Sydney airport. As we go down the road from the hotel we take a corner and to my left I see the harbour and docks and waterfront area which would have been a 10 minute walk. It would also have been a really interesting area for exploring as part of the Australian Navy is based there. The driver is a nightmare, talks to himself and shouts at the traffic and then his radio controller tells him to take a detour to collect some more passengers. The family I’m travelling with in the shuttle who are from Singapore look at me with a look of resignation. Their flight is at 5pm, mine is 5.30 and it’s now 2.15. I say to the driver he hasn’t time to pick up more people as the family are catching 3.30 flight and the driver is already late. Tell his controller that. We continue to the airport with out the detour. The family are really nice and the Dad used to travel to England a lot so we have a good chat about places he visited and chat about Singapore. Get to check-in and all goes well until we get on the 747 to Bangkok. Sydney air traffic control decide to change the direction of take off so we have to travel to the opposite end of the runway. This decision obviously creates a delay so they decide to give priority to smaller aircraft and Qantas flights. We wait a further 50 minutes at the side of the runway before finally getting cleared for take off. I’m beginning to notice a pattern emerging with all my flights, can you? Arrive in Bangkok Suvarnabhumi airport an hour late at 23.50 local. Clocks back 4 hours so is 03.50 by my body clock. The first thing you notice as you leave the aircraft and step into the walkway is the smell. It’s a sort of dull, spicy, herby, curry and slighty sweaty body odour type of smell but it’s everywhere. The other thing you notice is the heat and humidity. This is a brand new airport and only been operational since end of September 06. It is huge with 6 levels and has quite a spectacular design but is also a concrete monolith. Make my way to baggage reclaim which is about a 10 minute walk from disembarkation! Ok, how do I get from here to the hotel? Find an information desk but get accosted by numerous men and women for taxi services to Bangkok, best price was 900baht biggest was 1200baht. About £13 to £20. Information advise of shuttle bus which is 150 baht, yeah bargain! Hah, takes me to city with 20 others squeezed onto a smallish bus with inadequate storage luggage. Then find that it only takes me to near the hotel when the driver stops bus and says “tha’ way” and waving his arm in the general direction of a street to the right as I get off the bus. My glasses steam up in the heat and humidity after the aircon of the bus. Go down the road but is not the name of the road I need (Damrong Rak) but has a sign that says Bo Bae and the hotel is in Bo Bae Tower so I take a chance. Walk down the road past loads of fruit street vendors packing up their stalls and wares. I say stalls loosely as they are more ramshackle metal frames and many load their fruit and some seem to have been selling t-shirts, on to motor scooters or Tuk-Tuks. Get to a bridge which crosses a river? And decide I have gone too far or the wrong way. Just then a taxi pulls around the corner so I flag him down and ask “Prince Palace Hotel?” He nods and I ask him if it’s far. Stupid move on my part because of course it’s going to be far, he’s a taxi driver. At least he didn’t say “don’t go south of the river this time of the night Guv”. He shrugged so we loaded the suitcase and I on board and off we went into the night and uncertainty. Well, what a journey. All of half way back up the road I had just walked down. About hhhhhhhhhmmmmmmmmmmmm let me see, some where round, aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh oh 300yds! Hotel Prince Palace was down a side road behind a market area and couldn’t be seen from the road I was on. Ha, cost me 50baht, .80pence but what a relief. Ground floor busboys and concierge met me and sent me to floor 11 reception. Signed in and got key card for room 2001 (A space odyssey). Lift to floor 20 (another 23 above me) and into the room. Wow! Huge. Aaahh, very soft carpet and hey, spectacular views of Bangkok by night from 20 floors up. My suitcase then arrived with bellboy and he showed the room and the remote control for everything. Well all the lights and the tv and the aircon and whether you want the room cleaned or not to be disturbed. It doesn’t draw the curtains tho’! It’s now 02.30 and I’m a bit weary so will retire and check out stuff tomorrow.
# posted by desmond22 @ 8:46 am 
