I made it – back in the City of Angels (a.k.a. the original City of Sin – isn’t that a contradiction?!). My flight arrived on time at BKK on Saturday morning. My ex had been planning for several months to pick me up, but he’s been very sick with the flu and hadn’t gotten any better during the days leading up to my arrival. Ever the gentleman, he sent his sister to pick me up, though. I was originally going to stay with him for the first night, as neither of my AirBnB rentals in Bangkok were available. Since he may still be contagious and has a rash (which I’m sure he doesn’t want me to see), he said that it’s better if I stayed elsewhere, but… I’d be more than welcome to stay at his condo, as opposed to his house (where he is). His new condo, however, is far from the main part of Bangkok, there’s no BTS/MRT station nearby and he doesn’t have internet there. Thus, I was frantically searching on-line for a hotel in the Sathorn area at 5:00 a.m. on the day before my departure! I chose Anantara Sathorn because they have very good reviews, the exact area was somewhat familiar to me and the rate was too good to pass up. I was even happier when, upon arrival, they upgraded me to a suite on the 34th floor with a spectacular view from my balcony. My first order of business was to jump in the shower and wash all of that grime that comes with 20 or so hours of traveling off of my body. My room phone could be heard ringing while I was in the shower, but I paid it no mind. I checked the message afterwards and it was D., a friend who formerly lived in San Francisco, but currently lives in Bangkok. He stopped by about 45 minutes later and we headed out to lunch.
D. is a member of The British Club. I asked how he could be a member if he isn’t British, but he said that a certain allotment of others are allowed in per year. Apparently, he’s been a member for 4-5 years now. The building was full of dark wood furnishings and the ambience was definitely quiet; not many people there at that time of day. We shared a half carafe of merlot, then opted to partake of their lunch buffet, which ends at 3:00 p.m. daily. I had turkey, shrimp cocktail, cheese, macaroni and cheese, sautéed mushrooms, a burger, etc. The turkey was really good. Since D., who’s an English teacher here, had some work to attend to, he dropped me back at my hotel via cab; we agreed to meet again at 7:00 p.m. for drinks. In the meantime, I took a nap.
At 6:00 p.m. I went to the rooftop bar known as Zoom, as I had a reservation. I’d intended to watch the sunset from there, which was purported to happen precisely at 6:37 p.m. It was breezy, though, and the sunset could not be seen. Even so, it was a pleasant place to be with the glorious all-around view of Bangkok’s skyline. All things considered, prices were reasonable for food and drinks, too. They had 2-for-1 specialty cocktails for Happy Hour. I had the watermelon-chili margarita, which was good, at first. Then the chili began to be a bit much for me. I also ordered porcini mushroom soup with scallops. Yum! By the time D. arrived, I was happy to be drinking a Singha. He admired the view and commented on the affordable prices, too. We still didn’t have lots of time to spend, as his significant other was arriving around 8:30 p.m. that night. We parted ways, but made plans for dinner on Tuesday night.
So it’s Saturday night in Bangkok and I was thinking about checking out the Thonglor-Ekkamai area. I say “thinking” because my jet-lagged body was refusing to cooperate. I had bought a few Heinekens at Family Mart earlier, so popped those open and lay down.
Jet lag is a strange bird, though. Before long, I suddenly got a fresh burst of energy, put on my gym clothes and went to the gym. Although their gym is accessible 24 hours, there’s no staff on-site after 10:00 p.m. Fine with me; I don’t NEED anyone to watch my attempts at working out! The reception informed me that part of their staff would be there to turn on the electricity, though. I did the elliptical for awhile, then tried nearly every weight machine in there. Once that exhausted me and the humidity was still getting to me, I hobbled back to my room and jumped in that wonderfully deep bathtub. What better way to end the day?
View from Zoom
D. & Me at Zoom
Where’s my champagne, dammit?!