This recent trip to Penang and Bangkok has been one of the quieter vacations in the sense that there were very little sounds from other vacationers/people around us - sounds of doors slamming in the morning or water running, etc. Except for Penang, the sound of Bangkok traffic barely reached us. Perhaps it is a quiet season.
Traffic in Bangkok was madness as usual. It took an hour to get from Suanplu to Chamchuri Square one rainy afternoon around 4 pm. Under "normal" traffic conditions, it probably would have taken 15 minutes.
K1 and K2 also took very easily to meeting my cousin's kids. They seem to love the notion of meeting "long lost relatives" or something since this is their first meeting. Would this make them second cousins?
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Spotted
In a soi near Silom - Testicle Massage. We walked by too quickly for me to see how much they were charging. The Internet allows the curious to try it at home.
Open borders
1. No more having to fill in those dratted arrival and departure forms. This was more painful because we went IAD-BKK-PEN-BKK-IAD which means 6 rounds of forms instead of the usual 4 rounds.
2. No more roaming charges. It sure would have been nice if we could have used our U.S. phones in Penang without incurring roaming.
3. Free Internet. I know - this has nothing to do with open borders.
2. No more roaming charges. It sure would have been nice if we could have used our U.S. phones in Penang without incurring roaming.
3. Free Internet. I know - this has nothing to do with open borders.
Bangkok stay
On our two night layover in Bangkok on the way to Penang we stayed at Pantip Court. We took a 2-bedroom apartment which was much larger than expected. Overall this was a comfortable place with a nice pool and breakfast although the buffet lunch was not very good. The orange and guava juices tasted fresh (no added sugar or preserves) and K2 liked them. The a al carte menu/room service food was good. As expected we spent the afternoon mostly sleeping. Was a little disappointed that I did not take the time to explore the soi a little more.
A large chunk of the time in Bangkok was at the Somerset Park Suanplu where we stayed at a 3-bedroom apartment. The breakfast was quite varied and having an egg station was good. I alternated between noodles/rice and eggs. The room service food alas was not very good. The apartment had 2 Internet connections which was extremely useful. The speed of the Internet was 512K for free or 4MB if we wanted to pay. We chose the free option and it was frustratingly slow at times though I'm not sure whether it was the site or the connection. Some of the floor tiles felt loose and a toilet and sink had some problems draining. The DVD player was an older model that could not play JPG files nor the movie I made of K1's Spring Celebration. The bathrooms were also well kept (and perhaps even updated) which was great for me since I hate tired (even worse, moldy) bathrooms.
The drawback of this place which we sort of knew going in was that it is on the "wrong" side of Sathorn. Having to cross Sathorn to get to Silom is a pain even with the tuk-tuk service. We'd really like to be on the other side next time although there aren't any 3-bedroom places in Saladaeng that we've seen so far. There weren't also any large hawker centers that makes getting meals easier although there are a lot of small restaurants and road side stalls. (There are a few hawker centers on the other side of Sathorn.) Navigating or crossing Suanplu can be quite a challenge as well.
We left after about a week to go to Hua Hin and when we came back we were given not the same apartment but a corresponding one two floors up (27th) which only had one Internet connection. There also seemed to be something amiss with the ducts because we all started sneezing and coming down with sore throats. Fortunately we were only there for 2 nights.
All in all this Somerset was better than the last one we stayed at (Park View) - the kitchen at Suanplu was better equipped and the dining table and place settings were for 6 or more people. At Park View (although we also had a 3-bedroom) there were only settings for 4 people and a very small round table. The size of the 3-bedroom was also much smaller than the one in Suanplu.
We had also contemplated staying at the Vista Sathorn which was just down the road from the Somerset but they were going to charge 500Thb for Internet access per day!
A large chunk of the time in Bangkok was at the Somerset Park Suanplu where we stayed at a 3-bedroom apartment. The breakfast was quite varied and having an egg station was good. I alternated between noodles/rice and eggs. The room service food alas was not very good. The apartment had 2 Internet connections which was extremely useful. The speed of the Internet was 512K for free or 4MB if we wanted to pay. We chose the free option and it was frustratingly slow at times though I'm not sure whether it was the site or the connection. Some of the floor tiles felt loose and a toilet and sink had some problems draining. The DVD player was an older model that could not play JPG files nor the movie I made of K1's Spring Celebration. The bathrooms were also well kept (and perhaps even updated) which was great for me since I hate tired (even worse, moldy) bathrooms.
The drawback of this place which we sort of knew going in was that it is on the "wrong" side of Sathorn. Having to cross Sathorn to get to Silom is a pain even with the tuk-tuk service. We'd really like to be on the other side next time although there aren't any 3-bedroom places in Saladaeng that we've seen so far. There weren't also any large hawker centers that makes getting meals easier although there are a lot of small restaurants and road side stalls. (There are a few hawker centers on the other side of Sathorn.) Navigating or crossing Suanplu can be quite a challenge as well.
We left after about a week to go to Hua Hin and when we came back we were given not the same apartment but a corresponding one two floors up (27th) which only had one Internet connection. There also seemed to be something amiss with the ducts because we all started sneezing and coming down with sore throats. Fortunately we were only there for 2 nights.
All in all this Somerset was better than the last one we stayed at (Park View) - the kitchen at Suanplu was better equipped and the dining table and place settings were for 6 or more people. At Park View (although we also had a 3-bedroom) there were only settings for 4 people and a very small round table. The size of the 3-bedroom was also much smaller than the one in Suanplu.
We had also contemplated staying at the Vista Sathorn which was just down the road from the Somerset but they were going to charge 500Thb for Internet access per day!
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Google around the world
Now that I am in Thailand, the Google toolbar defaults to the Thai Google so a lot of my searches are in Thai which I can't read. It has its frustrating moments but at the same time when we were looking for take out food from S&P last night, my search fro S&P returned the restaurant as the top hit rather than the S&P 500.
Driving around in Penang
Traffic was even more horrible than the last time we were in Penang which was 4 years ago. Fortunately, we managed a trip to the Mengkuang Dam to feed fishes. The dam itself was pretty nice - lots of joggers and runners but was pleased that during the actual drive there over the Penang Bridge and on to Kulim/Bukit Mertajam the kids got to see some tropical scenery: paddy fields, and various fruit trees (papaya, rambutan, durian, coconut and oil palm). I remember these to be pretty boring whenever we drove to KL but K1 and K2 were thrilled, calling them out as they spotted them.
Then there was what I would consider the quintessential tropical scenery of rice paddies with the lone limestone hill rising up in the distance.
Then there was what I would consider the quintessential tropical scenery of rice paddies with the lone limestone hill rising up in the distance.
Face masks
There were a non-trivial number of people wearing these in the Incheon, Bangkok, and Penang airports though none from the Dulles to Incheon flight. (Does this say something about the (ir)rationality of Asians?) My mom almost made us get some in Penang until she found out that they were sold in packs of 100. My only real concern was trying to keep the kids from touching their faces (noses, mouths) with their hands after touching all kinds of things in the plane and the airport.
Thankfully, no mishaps so far.
Thankfully, no mishaps so far.
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