Grand Adventure 2017 Day 21: Starting with a Bang
We are coming down the home stretch. I cannot believe that we're on our second to the final stop on this grand adventure. After five days and four nights in the beautiful coastal town of Phuket, today we were off back to another big city, the capital of Thailand, Bangkok. We woke up at 6 AM and were off to the airport at 8 AM after packing our bags and checking out of the hotel.
We got to the Phuket domestic terminal at 8:30 and dropped off our bags in what looked like a giant construction zone. We had a little time to kill and had one glaring thing missing from our time in Phuket, a Starbucks mug. We researched and found out that one of three Starbucks in Phuket was in the international terminal of the airport. We walked from the domestic and found the Starbucks in the back corner (furthest from where we were) and got yet another mug to take home with us.
From there we walked back in the warm humid weather to the domestic terminal, and went through security. We were fortunate enough to have access to another airport lounge today, which worked out given the mess the domestic terminal was in. We made our way to the Coral Lounge where we sat around waiting for our flight and enjoying the peace and quiet. We were offered a Thai massage but declined it. Jenn grabbed us a quick burger at Burger King and an hour later we were off to Bangkok.
The flight from Phuket to Bangkok only lasted a little over an hour. Jenn slept for almost all of it and I finished my book and listened to podcasts. After landing, boarding a bus to take us to baggage claim and grabbing our bags we were off. We had the St. Regis Bangkok schedule a pick-up for us to take us to their hotel. They came with a beautiful Mercedes sedan with layback seats, LCD screens on the headrests above us, and plenty of leg room and air conditioning. It made the 45-minute drive into the hotel a breeze.
We've stayed at some pretty amazing hotels on our trip this year, but there's something pretty special about The St. Regis Bangkok. Of course, Jenn and I have a soft spot for St. Regis since we got married at one. We were greeted by at least five staff as we entered and were shown immediately up to our room where we completed the check-in process. This is the second hotel this trip that's done check-in within the room instead of at a counter. We got a stunning room overlooking a golf course and the rest of Bangkok on the 19th floor.
I cannot speak highly enough of the hotel. Not only was the hotel decked out for Christmas, which made Jenn and I both squeal. Once we got done with settling in, dropping off our bags, and recording a room tour we were off.
We only have two nights in Bangkok which doesn't give us a ton of time. We had two stops on the agenda for today. So we called for an Uber, and ten minutes later we were off. Sadly we didn't go anywhere fast. The traffic in Bangkok is atrocious; it gives Los Angeles traffic a run for its money. Our first stop was to Wat Suthat also known as the Red Giant Swing. Sadly the swing was being re-constructed, luckily we were still able to walk around the beautiful grounds and temple. It was beautiful.
From there we got another Uber and continued to go nowhere fast. Our next stop was Wat Traimit, a stunning Buddhist temple with a giant Buddha inside. Sadly, neither Jenn or I were dressed appropriately to go into the temple, which was our bad for not remembering that before we left the hotel. We did get to explore the outside grounds and nearby streets which was fun.
After about a half hour at Wat Traimit we got one more Uber to take us back to the area of our hotel. Instead of being dropped off at the hotel though we got dropped off at a Starbucks a few blocks from our hotel to pick up a mug in Bangkok. The first Starbucks we visited didn't have a mug, so we walked another ten minutes and found another Starbucks in a renovated Thai home which had our mug. We also grabbed a water, Jenn a hot chocolate, and I got my second peppermint mocha of the season.
From there we walked back to our hotel. On the way back we saw a beautiful mall that had one of the largest Christmas displays I've ever seen. We had to stop, so we crossed the street and walked through. The sheer amount of people taking pictures and enjoying this gorgeous outdoor display was incredible. Jenn and I have already started humming Christmas tunes, and this only increased our excitement to get home and decorate.
At this point, we were soaked in sweat and ready to go back to the hotel. We walked back to our hotel and for the next two hours, we just relaxed. A few minutes before 7 PM we headed downstairs to the first floor to go to JoJo's restaurant, an Italian restaurant in the hotel. Why go Italian when we are in Thailand? Great question. As part of booking our hotel through Amex, we got a free dinner for two at the restaurant.
The meal was amazing. We sat down and ordered still water and two glasses of red wine. The free dinner turned out to be a 3-course meal where we got to choose a starter, a main course, and a dessert from the full menu. Before we even got our first course we were given an amuse bouche which although not the best, was a nice way to kick the meal off. For our starters, Jenn went with a Tuscan soup and I had a Caprese salad.
For our entree, Jenn went with a pork cheek filled pappardelle that rivaled anything we've had in Italy. The noodles were freshly made and the pork cheek was divine. I went with their duck breast which was perfectly cooked and paired with a downright sinful sauce. For dessert Jenn went with vanilla ice cream and I had their tiramisu. The meal didn't end there though. Our amazing waiter brought over an after dinner vanilla liquor to help settle our stomachs. I also got a nice cappuccino to round out the amazing meal.
A little after 9 PM we left JoJo's full and happy and went back to our room where we watched an episode of Love on Netflix and called it a night. Although our time in Bangkok is brief, I'm so glad we're here because we've already fallen in love with the beautiful city and this absolutely incredible hotel.
