April 19 – May 1 2018
Back to Bangkok! We flew from Lombok to Kuala Lumpur Malaysia, stayed one night in a hotel called Sri Enstek then flew Thai Airways to Bangkok. It was actually a great trip. The hotel was located about 20 minutes away from the airport in a plaza and we were able to have a quick, delicious dinner at De Kanar which serves Mamak food (Indian Muslim food). Their daal and mutton curry were amazing. A little spicy and full of flavor. The next morning we had free coffee and toast, jumped in the shuttle then got into the airport only to find out that Thai Airways was not open yet and we had to wait about 20 minutes before they opened! At least we were the first ones in line, that has never happened before. After checking in we found our way to the Premier Platinum Lounge to take advantage of our free access via Priority Pass. Being able to spend the next 3 hours here is so much better than just sitting at the gate. Not only do we have free food, drinks, and wifi but also its quieter with nicer chairs. The flight itself was great, I really liked Thai Airways and highly recommend it. Good service, decent food, tv at each seat, and the seats were pretty big.
I was so excited to finally get to Bangkok. How I look at Bangkok now is very different than how I viewed it when I left a couple months ago in February. It feels so modern, clean, and organized with so many choices of food and things to do. It seems as if I could be in New York City!
We got an amazing deal on a 1 bedroom apartment with weekly cleaning in Asok, just across the street from where we previously stayed. Coming here felt like home, I think the baby even remembered it. The first morning we went up to the Skytrain and when he saw it coming he started yelling ‘Yeah, train!’ so loud, I was laughing so hard I almost cried. We jumped on and again he was yelling in excitement when it started to move. We got off the first stop and made our way to Benchasiri park. As we turned into it he immediately got excited and started to run right into the playground. I love seeing him this happy, these are memories I will cherish forever. While we were there we found 2 very young kittens in the bushes playing and soon their mom came to take care of them. John and a couple other young kids were peaking in to see what they were up to. It’s so comforting to find a little bit of nature in this concrete jungle, even if it is just kittens.
Over the next 12 days I took the baby to Central World playground, a kids lego robotics school where we built a windmill out of legos then attached a motor to make it spin around, Imaginia playground at Emporium Mall, and Benjakiti park. John even got his second hair cut here. This city has a lot to offer for kids and it is so easy to take advantage of it.
Aside from baby stuff, we went back to Pe Aor for the best tom yum goong. It was still just as delicious as I remember it and this might be one of my favorite dishes ever. We also had lunch with Bob at a fancy Thai restaurant called Baan Khanitha and it did not disappoint. Their service was impeccable, food was fresh, beautiful decor, and so many choices that I have never seen. John got Nam Prik Ong which is fresh vegetables with dip but they cut the vegetables so beautifully and the dip is amazing. It is not your typical ranch with raw vegetables platter. Having been without sushi for a couple of months we indulged ourselves in quite a few Japanese meals. This may not be the cheapest way to eat but it feels so healthy and tastes so good. I also got to finally try the best beef gyro that John and Brian found in Nana. The sauce has a little bit of dill and the meat is so flavorful, these guys from Syria know what they are doing!
Bangkok also has so many markets and we have barely covered them but we went back to Or Tor Kor Market to get some fruit and have lunch. This market is amazing. It is right next to the subway making it easy to get to and the food there is so fresh and tasty. We got some large shrimp in garlic sauce, steamed crab, barbecue pork, stuffed crab, and some kind of rich shrimp sauce that I could only eat a small amount of because my tastebuds could not handle it. This time of year durian, lychee and rambutan are everywhere so we got some. I can officially say that I like durian. This time it actually tasted a little like onions but I liked it.
Another favorite thing to do here is to get a massage so one day I went around the corner to Massage@Le for a 1 hour foot massage and it was heavenly. I wish I could have this every day! For John, one of the things he loves about being here is being able to shoot muay thai and he has already gone to a couple of events.
Although our time is going quickly, I look forward to a couple more weeks here eating and exploring!
