Jw Marriot Bangkok

So I woke up obscenely early, about 2AM, and never was able to go back to sleep. I watched bad TV and movies, bathed, planned my route of possible sights for the day, and talked to Chris on the phone before I finally decided I could leave the room. Had breakfast in the hotel, since I didn't want a repeat of being everywhere before it opened, like yesterday. American breakfast (I know, lame) but it had a lovely fruit plate and, guess what? It turns out I like papaya. Who knew? I had to ask th...

Woke up about 4:30AM, done with sleeping but still had a bad headache. Took a cool bath and got dressed, determined to get the hell out of my room. Did some email checking; judicious battery usage. Mapped out a little of my day. About 5:30 chatted with the concierge and found out directions to the closest Skytrain station, but that didn't open until 6. Looked over my map and book for a bit until I thought I could leave for the train. Got there just as the station opened and bought an all-day...

I made it out of the room on time to meet my contacts, and I helped them check off the inventory and split them out among three team members. We had a nice chat, and I got another recommendation to go to the Grand Palace and other views in city. We chatted about the US in general and Chicago, among other things. I got back to room and wanted to sleep a bit more, so I did. When I woke up later, around 10AM, I was hungry but not feeling very well. I decided to go to breakfast downstairs to see ...

I didn't get to my hotel until after midnight, but there were no hiccups at the airport or trying to navigate there. There are signs in both English and Thai all throughout the airport, and in the taxi line the monitor wrote out my destination in Thai for the driver. The driver went very fast, but there were no seatbelts in the car, which made me nervous. Also I am not used to riding on the left, and I approached the wrong side of taxi, much to the driver's annoyance. As we left the airport ...

Thailand - Part 1 - Bangkok This was an adventure too. Off early to the airport too. A taxi claimed first to be the son of the guy with 8 kids, then the brother. The GM at Raffles suggests its all a story so that they get bigger tips. No problems at immigration this time or even getting a cab the 45 km to town. We got the cab with an LNG tank in his trunk so it was a tight squeeze with the help of bungey cords getting 2 bags into the trunk and another in the front seat to get downtown to our ...

Bangkok is a tropical metropolis that is also one of the most traveller-friendly cities in Asia. A furious assault on the senses, the first things that impress many visitors are the heat, the congestion both on streets and sidewalks, the pollution inherent to rapid development, the squalor that accompanies a gaping chasm between rich and poor, and the irrepressible smiles of the Thais. Despite the sensationalized international news reports and first impressions, the city is surprisingly safe,...

On arrival there were thunder storms and lightning upon landing...not a good sign. When we got our taxi driver we were exausted from travel. The taxi driver was going like ten miles per hour in the heavy rain and was falling asleep at the wheel. We were being honked at because our driver was swerving back and forth in and out of lanes...pretty scary. It was also soooo hot and humid so Jeff asked the driver to turn up air...half asleep he ignored us. As we got into the bright lit streets of do...

One night in Bangkok makes a hard man humble Not much between despair and ecstasy One night in Bangkok and the tough guys tumble Can't be too careful with your company I can feel the devil walking next to me We finally found the Wild Orchid. It is a really cute spot, perfect for meeting other travelers and watching the people coming to and going from Ko San Rd. A couple of beers and a flying cockroach in Natalie's hair later and we make our way to Gulliver's. It's a cheesy western style bar y...

One night in Bangkok and the world's your oyster The bars are temples but the pearls ain't free You'll find a god in every golden cloister And if you're lucky then the god's a she I can feel an angel sliding up to me........................ I woke up in a new country. I must admit that my first thought when i exited the plane and entered this strange new world was, "What have i gotten myself into?" Our car service was nowhere to be found, no one seemed to speak English, and Oh my God! they dr...

Seven million ears later, we arrive in Bangkok, my ass asleep and unable to find the "limo" our hotel was supposedly providing us. So we grabbed a cab, a confusing little fellow with flowers on his dash board and the tendency to laugh nervously when he couldn't understand our English. As if he was hoping that this was somehow the correct response. When we arrived at the JW Marriott in downtown, they searched our car for bombs. (there was just a bombing in Bangkok and Chang Mai on New Years). ...