asiafun Thai trip Day 1 BKK

[asiafun]

Day 1

 

My giddiness faded as I was closer to my departure date. I began to get more concerned about the more serious issues such as reservations, tickets, itineraries, currencies etc. By the time it was the night before I was able to actually sleep and not be up all night anxious about how much fun I was going to have.

 

All of my previous visits were technically business and so I had little in the way of free time to really do what I wanted to do. I was finally going to be able to really see the real Thailand and get past the glam and glitter.

 

My ride was on time in the morning and an hour later I was at checked in. This flight would be China Airlines as they offered a really good fare. I had horror stories about the food so on China Air so I brought some McDonalds along.

 

The plane (Airbus 330) was actually pretty nice and had the interactive Audio Visual System where I could pick what I wanted to watch and even play games. I spent half the flight brushing up on my Thai. Before I knew it I was zipping through Don Muang immigration. There was a crush of people and so there was no chance of making it through in a hurry. It took 15 minutes in the line and I was being helped by a really cute but very bitchy immigration girl.

 

Next were bags and customs and as soon as I came down the stairs my bags were right there on the carousel. I got past customs without even a glance and decided to get a few extra baht at the money changing machine. The whole time I had some pecker wood about three inches behind me looking over my shoulder. Wayyy inside my personal space and if I was not such a tolerant guy, I would have made a huge scene. The rate was 40.09 to the dollar.

 

Just outside the doors was the arrivals cab stand and a huge freaking line and no cabs! Piss on that! I remembered the board and instead of option b which was go to departures and hail one there I took the five minute walk where those cabs came off the top and caught one there. No waiting, just a quick walk! The cab took the expressway which was a total of 60 Baht to get to my hotel on Sukhumvit soi 4. The cab ride was about 150 baht to the hotel Nana Thai mansion.

 

I went to check in where I found that the RSVP I made three weeks earlier was nonexistent. WTF??? To make matters worse the charge was now 1700 baht instead of 900 baht as agreed. I was pissed but kept my smile and tone even. Paid for the room and made sure my stay here in the place would be short and not one I would ever make again.

 

The suite they gave me was a real suite but it was lacking in any real amenities. No hair dryer, soap only, no pots, pans, no minibar?no nothing?.damn. The room was even rundown and the aircon in the living area did not work. The TV had a very limited channel selection and while not that important for this trip considering I would be very busy, it would have been nice to have. The only redeeming factor was the fact it was a ten minute walk to NEP.

 

I made my way to Soi 12 by taxi, which ended up being a bastardized route due to the heinous traffic and 30 minutes elapsed. I passed by the Chuvit Park which was still being worked on. Not yet open.

 

At Soi 12 I found Grand Imperial Travel which then became my focal point for all RSVP?s in the Kingdom. The staff is very friendly and very helpful. The girl hooked me up with two tours over the next two days, a private car to Pattaya and a hotel in Jom Tien. Prices for hotel in Jom Tien were out of control for Christmas. I ended paying almost 6000 baht for a room on Xmas night.

 

After that I decided I would go by foot back to the hotel which took only 20 minutes! By the time I passed back through the NEP area the place was hopping. I had an early rise and potentially long day so NEP was not in the game plan for the night. I had a wee bit of hotel food, red curry, and called it a night in preparation for a 6AM wakeup.