Our Bangkok Sojourn
Bangkok is a city which evokes different reactions from people based on their expectation, experience and aspiration.
Well this was our second trip to Siam (the older name for Bangkok) and we decided to dedicate our blog to this fab city.
Unlike our last trip where we spent all the days at the nerve center of the city ( Siam Square) ; this time around we started our trip with a fairly quaint surrounding @ Bangkok Noi or simply put on the banks of the River Chao Praya .
This was a quiet little boutique hotel, off the main road at the banks of one of the canals of the river. Sitting by the river, sipping some thai Ice coffee and watching the boats with tourists pass by…that’s what laidback Bangkok feels like!
The highlight of our stay @CHANN Bangkok Noi was the chef’s special tasting menu at its IMM Restaurant in a private room by the river side.
Soon it was time to explore the sunny tropical side of Thailand and so we head out to Koh Samet, an island located about 20 mins speed boat ride off the coast of Rayong District. The beauty of this island is that it lies within the National park and offers some stunning visuals of unique foliage not to mention the treat to Ornithology enthusiasts.
Thailand is a very tourist friendly nation; considering our booking and planning was done online and by the concierge at the hotel; it was time to sit back, relax and enjoy the trip.
Our journey from Bangkok to Koh Samet took about 3 hours and we reached about in the late afternoon.
And there we were in a corner of the island, in a resort with access to its own private beach.
The evening was spent well strolling & eating at the main beach Sai Kaew.
When you are on a beach holiday, you sometimes get carried away to do something funky … or a little more adventurous as some may like to call it. So Kayaking was a thing we thought we could take up. So here we were the two of us, ready with our kayak on our very first Kayak adventure on rather rough sea (or maybe it was just that time of the day where the sea would not allow us to kayak at all). One hour into merely trying to get on the kayak and then we gave up.
Good sense prevailed and we took a motor bike to go sightseeing all over the island. A 7 km long island with some of the most stunning visual sites specially at the tip of the island called Tray koh viewpoint ( end of Koh Samet) near the Pha Kra Rang beach.
Dinner was by the private beach of the Jep’s restaurant on bean bags with our bare feet caressing the soft and cool sand on a full moonlit sea. As if the setting was not enough, the food served was delish to say the least with the freshest ingredients the island could offer…the Tom Yum Goong had the freshest shrimps and enoki mushrooms, fragrant with lemongrass and kaffir lime and galangal, spicy with tender chilli with the right amount of tanginess. The freshly grilled squids was the perfect accompaniment.
The next morning was time to swim at the very nice Ao Prao Beach with low lying mountains of dense foliage on either side of the beach providing a mesmerising setting.
This was followed by breakfast at the beachside Kerala Coco restaurant. Post breakfast it was time to head back to the ever so pulsating Bangkok.
This time around we stayed in downturn Bangkok at Pathun Wan which is largely known for its larger than life shopping areas – Gayson village, Chitlom Centre, Central world, Central Embassy and of course the Siam Paragon, a little down the street.
We are foodies at heart and since the last time we checked out the street food scene at Bangkok, this time around we decided to check out some uber fine dining places alongwith some old gems. Whether it was Kub Kao Kub Pla with the most tender ox tongue stew and crispy fish and morning glory fritters or the clam omlette with quintessential dessert of mango sticky rice at the Inter Restaurant nestled in Siam Square since 1981, we were not disappointed.
Supanniga Eating room overlooking the Chao Praya river offered us some superb appetizers like Ma Hor, Mieng Yong and Khao Tung Nam Prik Pao Kak Moo alongwith some surprising toppings on rice cake for dessert
The fish bowl noodles offered by the Lofters eating area in Chit Lom Central were refreshing. Ros'niyom at Siam Paragon delighted us with the crispest mussel pancakes and crab meat curry with steamed rice. Coconut and Toddy palm pie was the best way to wash it down with at the dessert place by its side.
Nara by Inka at Central Embassy with its Thai inspired modern menu gave us some out of this world culinary experience of on the house appetizer of diced fresh cucumber with salted egg with the right measure of stimulation on the taste buds accompanied with green apple mocktail.
A trip to Bangkok cannot be completed without the customery Thai Massage , and we booked ourselves at the highly recommended The Health Land at Asoke area for a rejuvenating end to our trip.
Massage done it was time to leave for the Suvarnabhumi ( golden land) airport , and what a befitting name for the land which has abundance of all of mankind needs – sunshine ,food and warm people .
Bangkok conjures up different images for different people …. One that was largely portrayed in the movie Hangover and the other which we explored from arty Bangkok art and cultural centre (BACC) to Open house @Embassy mall and to its culinary delights .
So until next time, Khob Kun and Sa wat dii BBangkok!!
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