We arrived in Bangkok very early – around 8am. We took a cab (about 40 minutes, but only about $10) to our hotel. We stayed at Lebua State Tower, which had great reviews and is supposed to be one of the nicest hotels in Bangkok. We got a great deal through jetsetter.com, and we were excited to see our room. After the taxi dropped us off, a hotel person took our bags while another hotel person greeted us and sat us at a comfy table and chairs in the lobby area. Then she went to get the information to check us in while we just sat and rested in the cute little tea area – definitely a good start. Then we found out that they’d upgraded us, since we were on our honeymoon.
She showed us to our room, and it was amazing. It was on the 23rd floor (great view!) and we walked in to see a small sitting room and a hallway. Along the hallway was a bedroom with a big balcony and its own attached bathroom. At the end of the hallway was a full kitchen and a dining room, with a balcony (Jeff was extra happy to see the drip coffee machine). Beyond that was a living room with a wrap-around couch and big TV. And attached to the living room was the master bedroom, with its own balcony overlooking the river, and a large master bathroom. We also found out later (after opening the various closets and things) that we had a washer and dryer, which was great luck, since we hadn’t yet come up with a plan to do laundry during our trip.
(Also, we found out via a multitude of signs in the hotel that “The Hangover 2” had done some of their filming at the Lebua State Tower, so if you see the movie, keep an eye out for it!)
We had originally planned to just drop off our things, get ready quickly, and head straight out into the city, but we decided to take our time and enjoy our room a bit. We did finally head out, because we needed to find some lunch. Jeff had read in our guidebook that there were little food stands all over the city – on streets, down alleys – and this is where the best food could be found. There was a specific little alley the book recommended not far from our hotel, so we decided to try that first. It was basically a little street lined with people selling fruits, vegetables, or other foods. Some places had a couple linoleum or metal tables out front. Jeff and I walked up and down and then picked a spot with a couple tables. We tried red curry and green curry – they were both good dishes, though the red curry was really memorable.
From there, we made our way to the skytrain – the above-ground metro system. It was really nice and new looking and easy to use. We rode out to the weekend market – it seemed like it was fate that we’d come on the right day to see it. The weekend market is made up of a huge complex of little stalls – some are kind of inside a covered area, some are outside but covered with tarps, and some are just outside and uncovered. They sell about everything you can imagine. There are a lot of clothing shops and shoe shops. Lots of little food stands and mini-restaurants. There are some souvenirs. There is also artwork, kitchen supplies, metal-work, pottery, and lots more. Jeff ended up buying sandals. We found a cute dress and a tea set we liked a lot shortly after we got there, but we wanted to shop around a bit more before buying anything. It was a mistake to leave the stall, though, because the chances to finding the same place twice in that giant maze were very low. By the time we did make it back (and then, only by chance as we were looking for the exit), the shop had already closed.
Jeff did get to try a bunch of different foods, including some of dish made with tiny eggs (quail eggs), and a sort-of barbeque meat thing. We sat down at a little noodle shop and had the only thing they serve – noodle soup with chicken.
Since we were having a big shopping day, we decided to continue on the commerce trend and visit one of Bangkok’s biggest malls. It had about five floors with tons of little stores. There was an area that was filled with tons and tons of little stalls, too. We found a Dairy Queen, and blizzards were less than a dollar, so we thought we’d try the double-chocolate – it definitely hit the spot. We wanted to get some champagne for back at the room, too, but we never saw a liquor shop during our tour of all five floors. But then, as we were making our way out, the escalator dropped us off right in front of a little corner area in the department store that was selling alcohol. We got a bottle of champagne and a bottle of wine (for the next day!), and headed home.
We finished off our day by having a glass of champagne on our balcony overlooking the city.
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