As we returned back to the hotel from a long, wearisome day battling the crowds at the Grand Palace, exhaustion was creeping in. Our hotel was right next to Assumption School, a skyscraper of a building in downtown Silom- and we were heading past at the end of the school day. We trudged along the sidewalk like salmon swimming upstream, dodging groups of joyous school children heading to the BTS, busses, and boats on their way home. After a revitalizing stop in 7/11, we finally made it back to the hotel.
The hotel was pretty standard as they go, with a nice panoramic view of the Silom area (including the State Tower). Perhaps the main point of note was that the bathroom wall was completely transparent glass. After brief concerns that this was a far more open arrangement than we had hoped for, we discovered that there was in fact a giant, motorised screen which could be clunkily lowered or raised via a temperamental switch in the bathroom. Why the wall needed to be glass in the first place, I'm not entirely sure, but it did add an air of novelty to the place.
Refreshed and with dignity intact (thanks, motorised screen!), we headed out to the Sky Bar at State Tower. The first surprise was that on entering the lobby, most of the retail units were empty. The place was kind of a ghost town; not always unusual for Thailand, but still a surprise in such a busy/well-visited neighborhood. Regardless, we got into the elevator and shot up more than 60 floors, where we were welcomed by a succession of nice ladies in evening dresses. As it was early in the evening, we didn't head out to the main bar area (at least, I assume that's why), but instead headed out to a roof area on the southern side of the building. I had no complaints though, as the view was absolutely stunning. It's a peculiar feeling, as Bangkok feels especially noisy, crowded, and hemmed in at street level- to transcend all of that and look down upon the mayhem was a truly humbling experience. I was so amazed by the view that I spent the first five minutes alternately gaping and taking photos, before I even looked at the menu. Of course, the drinks were expensive (the starting price seemed to be around 500 Baht/$13), but I'd expected as much. You're obviously paying for the experience, and it was worth it. Incidentally, the drinks themselves were pretty nice; most of our group headed for a fruity cocktail, whilst I decided to pretend I was an adult for once and ordered a 15 year old whiskey on the rocks (eat your heart out, Don Draper!). On the plus side, there were constantly replenished bowls of olives and peanuts to snack on, and I probably gorged an entire bowl of olives by myself. Not that I'm in any position of authority to give travel advice, but I loved the experience and would recommend it to anyone visiting Bangkok.
Next up, we stumbled into a Bar B Q Plaza for dinner. For the uninitiated (as I was), at Bar B Q Plaza you order a selection of meats and vegetables, which you then cook on a massive grill in the centre of the table. With my Thai being incredibly limited, I relied on the tried-and-tested Brit abroad approach of pointing to the menu, smiling, and smiling/nodding at whatever the waitress said. This turned out pretty well, as we were soon chowing down on platefuls of chicken, beef, and bacon. I'm still not exactly sure how we avoided food poisoning, but I can only assume we'd made some good karma at the temple earlier.
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| Wait, I'm using the same chopsticks for raw chicken and cooked pork? Oh boy. |
The next day, after an extended rest, we headed out to Jim Thompson's house. I'd been there several times before, but wanted to take my friends along to show them what else Bangkok had to offer. I'm personally fond of the place because it's far more secluded and relaxed than central Bangkok has any real right to be. It was certainly far more pleasant than our previous excursion to the Grand Palace; we were part of a small group of a dozen people who toured around the house at a leisurely pace, admiring the curios and novelties on display. All in all, a lovely morning- but with only one, monumental problem. Time was creeping on, and after fighting our way back through the traffic we ended up collecting heading to the airport at about 1:15, with a flight taking off at 3:30. Just over an hour to get to Suvarnabhumi from central Bangkok? Well, that just ain't gonna happen.
Sure enough, the taxi spent most of the next half hour at an absolute standstill, peppered with 30 seconds of zipping down long stretches of highway. It was maddening. I tried to follow our progress on Google maps, but with such an erratic progression I really couldn't tell if we'd make our flight or not. Our taxi drivers did us a massive favour in ignoring our requested destination and dropping us off one stop early on the airport link train, thereby ensuring we made it to the first possible train. After bounding up the steps with backpacks and cases in tow, we had little else to do but sit on the train and mentally sharpen ourselves for the inevitable rush at our destination.
Bang! At Suvarnabhumi we were out like a shot. Up from the platform to the aiport basement. Frantically hammering the button for the elevator and cursing every motherfucker who had the temerity to stop the lift. Snapping out of the lift on floor 4 and heading straight for the Thai Smile counter, jogging in a most unbecoming matter. Yes, I was that person who runs at airports. We got straight to the counter and I gave the staff the most positive/apologetic expression I could muster.
"Where are you going?"
"To Chiang Mai."
[considering not letting me on] "...how many people?"
"Five people." (safety in numbers? One person is omittable, rescheduling five is a pain in the arse)
"....ok."
Thank you, Thai Smile! Oh, benevolent gatekeepers! I weep at your mercy!
These were all things I didn't say, but I made my gratitude as profound as socially possible. Checking my watch, I'm sure we were within two minutes of being refused on to the plane. As we took off barely an hour later, I thanked my lucky stars and swore to myself that I would never be late for a flight ever again. Nevertheless, we'd done it. In spite of the heat, marauding tour groups, traffic, and much more besides- I'd survived the 31 hours in Bangkok physically intact. Until the next time, of course....
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