BANGKOK

Left Heathrow about 2 hours late just after midnight and arrived in Bangkok around six in the evening. Surprisingly, there was no wifi at the airport and it wasn’t easy to find an internet café but we eventually located one tucked away on a sixth floor mezzanine overlooking the departures check-in. Found and booked a hotel online and then changed some cash into baht at the K bank booth on the train station level – they have significantly better rates than any other FX place at the airport.

They have a good system for cabs at Bangkok – there is a line of desks where you give your destination and they set the price and give you a voucher with the details and the cab number on it. A stub goes to the driver so he knows what has been set. So if the driver tries to rip-off the tourists there is a way of retribution.

Arrived at the Arize Hotel in Sukhumvit 26 at around 8.30 pm. We’ve stayed at the Silq Hotel in Sukhumvit 19 a couple of times before and like it but this time it was fully booked. There seems to be a lot of this boutiquey-type of hotel in that area – small-medium sized in the medium-price range with quite modern stylish public areas. Not huge rooms but immaculate and having everything you need, including good wifi.

We had intended to go out for dinner that evening but the late arrival of the plane and the lack of sleep the previous night meant that we just couldn’t be bothered so we had an early night.

I woke at about 2.30 am – 7.30 pm UK time and turned on the TV just in case the football was on – MUFC were playing at Real Madrid in the champions league. At first I could only find, I think, Shaktar Donetsk v. Borussia Dortmund and I was puzzled as to why Thai TV would show that game and not the other one. But, happily a bit more channel flicking found the one I was looking for and I spent a very enjoyable couple of hours.

Next day we woke very late and went to an area of Bangkok we hadn’t been to before  - wandered around a mixture of temples, markets and monuments during the afternoon............

 and then headed back to the hotel to get a wash and brush up before going out to dinner – it was valentine’s day and I had booked a table on the riverside terrace at the Oriental hotel – we went there on our very first visit to Bangkok in 1978.

Our table was booked for 7.30 and they had said that they would only hold it for 15 minutes after that. We started back to the hotel at 5.30 and got in a tuk-tuk taxi. The traffic was awful – it took about half an hour to cover the first mile, and then when one particular red traffic light didn’t change for 15 minutes we got out and started walking to the nearest station – over a mile away. By now all our time cushion for having a shower and getting changed had gone and we were cutting it fine. The BTS train system is great – but quite limited in scope and very crowded.

To cut a long story short, we turned around in the hotel in record time and got a cab to the Oriental – only to get stuck again in appalling traffic. We finally arrived just before 8.30 and it was a joy to leave the bedlam on the roads and go into the calm atmosphere of the hotel. The maître d’ was very understanding and there was no problem with us being so late – and in fact just after we sat down and got our first drink the hotel firework display on the river started – almost as if they had been waiting for us to arrive. A memorable evening with a spectacular buffet – lots of seafood, sashimi and sushi – I’m afraid I have to confess that we made piggies of ourselves.

The taxi back late evening took about 15 minutes – it had taken over an hour earlier.

Next day we decided we wanted no more of Bangkok’s roads so we got the BTS to the river and got on one of the many fast ferryboats that operate up and down. This has got to be one of the best value trips anywhere – for 15 baht, about 35p, you can ride the ferry from one end of the line to the other, about 75 minutes through the centre of the city.

We did the trip both ways, stopping off on the way back to have a wander around Chinatown – hectic markets with stalls selling just about anything. Much of the food on offer were things we didn’t recognise and couldn’t guess at. As in other places, stalls and shops seem to hold vast amounts of stock – far more than it seems reasonable to think they’re going to sell.

That evening we walked along Sukhumvit Road to a restaurant we’ve been to a couple of times before – just south of Asok BTS station, a large open place which spills out onto the road. It’s a bit basic but has a nice mix of locals and foreigners and the food is good.

Next morning we got a cab to the Don Mueang domestic airport for the short flight to Yangon. Early Saturday morning so the traffic was at least flowing.

Air Asia was very good – online check-in, easy bag drop, and flight on time.

Summary of Bangkok – a hectic but interesting place. Makes London seem very tranquil. Avoid travelling by road except late at night or early morning.