Bangkok, day 1 – the city

Night in Bangkok, view from the 16th floor
Noaptea in Bangkok, vedere din camera de hotel

A 5 star hotel with an infinity pool in Bangkok is a nice way of ending a 28 days trip through Thailand and Cambodia, a month of heat, dust, funky smells, poverty, scams and ancient temples full of stories of past history.

The view from the hotel room at the 16th floor is magical, especially at night time, when cars in traffic and skyscrapers are full of sparkly lights.

View over Bangkok from the 32nd floor
Vedere de la etajul 32 asupra Bangkokului

One happy thing leads to another….(’cause life has to keep balance): not even 5 minutes in the room, ecstatic of how perfect everything is, and I step on a sharp thing on the floor (a nail going through the carpet). My heel is bleeding from a tiny hole. Handymen come to fix the nail. A nurse in uniform like taken from an old movie, comes to disinfect the wound and puts a band aid on it. The manager of the hotel comes to apologize offering us free pass to the Executive’s Lounge during evening at the 32st floor, with free cocktails and food. Perfect turn of events – the view from that height is dazzling!

So, the first day in Bangkok looked like this:

Sky train (BTS)

It’s like a subway, but the rails are in the air, in between buildings and above the streets.

The stations have 3 levels: the street level with stairs towards the second level where you buy tickets from machines or ticket booths. Escalators will take you the the third level to the platforms where the train comes.

You pay accordingly to the distance of travel. People stay in line waiting for the train. It doesn’t cover all the city.

The platform level is good for photographing the flowing traffic underneath: with colorful taxis, lots of motorcycles and tuk-tuks.

People waiting in line to get in the sky train in Bangkok
Oamenii asteapta civilizat la coada sa urce in trenul suspendat in Bangkok

Traffic in Bangkok, view from the sky train station. On the right is the stair towards the level with ticket booths for the Sky Train
Trafic in Bangkok vazut de la nivelul statiei de tren suspendat. In dreapta sunt scarile ce duc spre nivelul unde se vand biletele.

View over traffic and the Sky Train rails crossing over the streets
In dreapta este una din statiile Trenului Suspendat.

View of Bangkok, seen from one of the levels of the Sky Train Station
Strada in Bangkok vazuta de la nivelul statiei de Tren Suspendat

Siam Paragon

One of the biggest shopping centers in Asia, with luxury labels from Fendi to Lamborghini, was (finally) a sign of modern civilization and the closest I felt to Christmas here in Thailand (nice decorations and colorful globes in the fake Christmas trees put between the palm trees).

The best part in this mall was the bookshop, with only english books from where we bought 3 books: 2 from Terry Pratchett: “Small Gods” and “Sourcery” and 1 by Elizabeth Gilbert -“Eat, Pray, Love”.

The “funniest” part was to see the pure stupidity in human kind: the Louis Vuitton shop with their “too full to come in” sign and the idiots staying in line waiting to get in.

The yummiest part was eating a very spicy red curry in the food court, followed by the sweetest, most flavored cinnamon rolls.

Siam Paragon Mall, on of the biggest shopping centers in Asia
Mallul Siam Paragon, unul din cele mai mari din Asia

Christmas decorations in Bangkok
Decoratiuni de Craciun in Bangkok

Christmas decorations and Palm Trees in Bangkok at Siam Paragon Mall
Decoratiuni de Craciun printre palmieri

“Due to the crowd in the store, please kindly wait for a moment. We apologize for any inconvenience caused”. I still can’t believe there are people willingly waiting in line to get in the shop.
“Datorita aglomeratiei din magazin, va rugam asteptati. Ne cerem scuze pentru disconfortul creat”. Mentionez ca in magazin erau doar 5 persoane, iar alti cativa asteptau la coada in afara magazinului. No comment.

Floating spoons
Linguri in aer!

Hot cinnamon rolls for desert, because “Life needs frosting”
Rulouri calde cu scortisoara la desert, pentru ca “viata are nevoie de glazura” 🙂

Walk around Siam Square

I like going off the beaten path, away from tourist sights, to “get the feeling” of the city.

Thailand welcomes the new year of 2557.
Tailanda se pregateste pentru anul nou, 2557

A colorful tuk-tuk.
Un tuk-tuk colorat

Pool and cocktails at the hotel

At the Eastin Sathorn Hotel in Bangkok everything is nice: from the big, cozy rooms with fabulous views, to the infinity pool at the 14th floor. I admired, I photographed, I relaxed.

I was quite melancholic (being away from home and missing everyone, far away from a real, cold Christmas), but the evening spent at the Lounge with a Long Ice Tea made everything seem better.

The infinity pool area at the hotel

View from the 16th floor
Vedere de la piscina, et. 16

Admiring the view
M-a furat peisajul, ca sa zic asa

The next photo is taken from this location at the 32nd floor/ Poza urmatoare e facuta de aici, etajul 32

View from 32nd floor