Showing posts with label Thailand. Show all posts

Friday 19 February 2016

THAILAND: Review of Shangri-La Hotel, Bangkok

the view from my hotel room at Shangri-La Hotel, Bangkok

In a nutshell

The largest hotel property along the Chao Praya river, with 802 guest rooms and a quarter of a mile of river frontage, it's the hotel brand synonymous with luxury travel.

Where is it?

You'll find it in the central business district of Bangkok, between Silom and Sathon Roads, right on the banks of the Chao Praya river. It's minutes away from some of the big attractions, and a 35 minute drive from Suvarnabhumi International Airport.

our bedroom at the Shangri-La Hotel, Bangkok

Style and character

The Shangri-La Hotel Bangkok design was original based on the valley depicted in the 1933 James Hilton novel, Lost Horizon, and built by a Japanese architect firm. Then, from 2001-2002, it underwent a huge renovation costing US $17m. Public spaces and rooms were designed by Wilson & Associates, including the colonnaded marble floored lobby, featuring sculptures by Thai artists.

The property's guest rooms are split across its two adjacent towers - the Shangri-La Wing and Krungthep Wing. In them, expect decorations in the classic Thai style designed by Wilson & Associates, including elm burlwood panelling and carved Thai motifs. The Krungthep Wing has more privacy, even boasting its own private butler service.

The standard rooms are compact and an unusual shape, thanks to the curvature of the front of the building. But the space is used very well. The swimming pool is on the river front, adding significantly to the majestic airs.

What's unique?

In 2014, the Shangri-La Hotel Bangkok joined the Bangkok Riverside Marketing Partnership (BRMP), a group of eight five-star hotels on the city's riverside with a pledged 150 billion baht investment in the area in January 2015. Which is great for local communities.

The hotel uses solar panels to generate some of its power, saving 2.7m baht a year (about US $77,000). Oh, and they have a helipad, should your chosen method of transport require one.

the grounds of the Shangri-La Hotel, Bangkok

Who goes?

I found out some interesting insight about the visitors. The Shangri-La Hotel Bangkok hosts about 30 weddings a year, and they are looking to specifically target the Indian market, who seem to be following a trend of getting married in Thailand. I have two Indian friends myself who have recently done just that.

About 30% of the guests are there for leisure, and around 50% are on conferences, coming in big groups, accommodated by the 20 function rooms.

And while the hotel is aimed at couples and business travellers, families seem to feel equally at home, with Sunday brunch offering activities for kids, a clown and a magic show, and a kids buffet.

Breakfast

Served in the bright and airy all-day buffet dining restaurant Next2 Cafe - one of the nine drink and dining options available within the Shangri-La Hotel Bangkok (one of those includes a restaurant on board their private river cruise ship!) - and recognising their diverse client base, it's an international offering.

Expect the usual impressive spreads of breads and pastries, even pumpernickel bread. There's both an egg station and noodle station making your dishes of choice to order, the likes of potato wedges, gravy, oatmeal, dim sum, baked tomatoes, creamy spinach, char siu bao, fresh energizing fruit and vegetable shots, and a lot more.

It's also worth noting that by 2017, the Shangri-La Hotel Bangkok expects 50% of all its menus to be sustainable.

breakfast at Shangri-La Hotel, Bangkok

Dining

The Shangri-La Hotel Bangkok offers no less than six restaurants, including an Italian, a very popular Chinese known for its excellent dim sum, the all day buffet Next 2 Restaurant and the classic Thai fine dining experience Salathip, directly on the river.

The Upper Deck bar is a great place for a pre-dinner drink, either indoors or out, and the Chocolate Boutique in the lobby is a paradise for sugar addicts. The nightly jazz and pop is best enjoyed from a comfy stool in the Long Bar. The Shangri-La also has its very own dinner cruise ship, the Horizon, which sets sail nightly at 7.30pm with an international buffet on board.

And afternoon tea delivered in a golden birdcage is pretty cool. In the set you can expect bites like Alaskan King Crab, charcoal and poppy seed baguettes with crisp pancetta, and foie gras torchon with pheasant rillette, port wine jelly and caramelised apples. It also includes the almost luminous and award-winning Blue Paradise mocktail from Thailand’s Dilmah Real High Tea Challenge 2014.

Golden Birdcage Afternoon Tea at Shangri-La Hotel, Bangkok

Service

I received an exceedingly warm reception on arrival, before my details were taken. Not to mention the garland of flowers and very lovely fruit platter in the room.

I noticed the staff seemed genuinely happy, team members laughing with each other and with guests. Service and warmth was impeccable all round, from a very caring team.

You get given towels and cold water at the pool, and there's a free river boat to pop guests over to the night market if they fancy a visit. Plus, there's unlimited access to over 2,000 digital newspapers and magazines in 60 languages.

Liked lots / liked less

You can walk straight to the BTS train from the hotel, only having to leave the building for a few seconds to cross the road. Very convenient.

The room was a little smaller to other Shangri-La properties I've experienced, such as the Shangri-La Hotel in Chiang Mai, but still entirely delightful none-the less.

grounds of the Shangri-La Hotel, Bangkok

Price point

Prices from £140 for a deluxe double to £260 for an executive suite, including breakfast.

Contact

89 Soi Wat Suan Plu, Bang Rak, 10500 Bangkok
+66 2 236 7777
Website
@ShangriLaHotels

Note: I stayed as a guest of this hotel as part of a media package. All views remain my own.

Thursday 21 January 2016

THAILAND: Review of Siam Kempinski Hotel, Bangkok

Siam Kempinski Hotel in Bangkok

In a nutshell

A circular, eight-storey luxury hotel complex centred around tropical gardens and salt water pools, found in prime downtown Bangkok with direct access to the Siam Paragon Shopping Mall.

Where is it?

You'll find it in the epicentre of Bangkok’s premier shopping and entertainment district, and very easily accessed by BTS Skytrain, the most convenient way of getting around the city.

It's also a stone's throw from the other major shopping hotspots including Central World, MBK and the markets of Pathuwan. It's 30km or around a 45-60 minute drive from Suvarnabhumi International Airport.

bedroom at Siam Kempinski Hotel in Bangkok

Style and character

This is a big, glossy, city-centre hotel with some resort-style flourishes, including a sprawling swimming pool and gardens, and an tip-top spa and gym. It's a hard to beat location if you're up for a bit of serious shopping whilst in town.

The building boasts 401 plush rooms and suites, featuring contemporary interiors, embellished with unique Thai elements such as paintings and silk curtains, and many of the rooms overlook the beautiful central garden and pools. Ours felt like a studio flat, with a lounge area, kitchenette, nice big fridge, pots, stove and wine glasses. Expect top brands for the gadget geeks, such as YAMAHA amplifiers and HD Power TV.

The lobby and public spaces are a world of glass and marble dotted with elegant furnishings, delicate Thai artworks and ornate displays of exotic flowers.

What's unique?

The hotel's labyrinthine corridors, pillar-less halls and spacious rooms are adorned with one of the largest collections of Thai art ever assembled in a hotel.

Then there's that direct access to two lines of the BTS Skytrain, making traffic-free travel across the city entirely possible. Direct access to Siam Paragon Shopping Center is available through the sky bridge located on Floor 2.

grounds of Siam Kempinski Hotel in Bangkok

Who goes?

I spotted many Asian guests, with a good proportion of Westerners. There weren't that many solo travellers (who are usually on business), although I'm sure they were there, and I think it's the high-end resort-feel of the place that attracts families.

Breakfast

Served in the bright and airy all-day dining restaurant Brasserie Europa - one of the five drink and dining options available within the property - and recognising their diverse client base, it's an international offering.

Expect breads, pretzels, pastries, babka and a range of jams. Vegetable biryani and noodles. A Middle Eastern section (which we launched ourselves upon - hugely well received after weeks of Asian food) with hummus, fried halloumi, white cheese, labneh, pita, tahini and olive oil.

There's miso, congee, pork floss, salted eggs, pork dumplings, and a noodle station making your choice if dish fresh to order. Smoked salmon, salads, cheeses, tomato and mozzarella salad, cold cuts, smoothies, a juice bar, a posh egg menu cooked to order, and even sparkling wine. The homemade coconut ice cream was terrific, and yes, I had ice cream for breakfast.

I liked the fact they didn't shut up shop as soon as 10.30 arrived, as so many other hotels do. In fact, people were sauntering in as late as 10.30, and they were still seated and greeted with a smile.

breakfast at Siam Kempinski Hotel in Bangkok

Service

All the staff members were wonderful, and service was of the highest order, as you would expect from such an esteemed hotel name.

Liked lots / liked less

This was an all round, very pleasant stay indeed. Guests receive a little pot of Thai aromatics as a gift on departure. Like a really strong Viks - great if you have a cold!

I noticed quite a few scuff marks on the furniture and wall of our room, and several hand prints on the glass between the bathroom and the bedroom. Our room preparation may have been a little rushed, as we did check in early.

Price point

Prices from £90 a night for a deluxe double to £145 for a villa.

Contact

991/9 Rama I Road, Pathumwan, 10330 Bangkok
+66 02 162 9000
Website

Note: I stayed as a guest of this hotel as part of a media package. All views remain my own.

Related links

Week 16: THAILAND - Chiang Mai

Week 17: THAILAND - Songkran Festival in Mae Rim & Chiang Mai

THAILAND: Review of Shangri-La Hotel, Chiang Mai
THAILAND: Review of Shangri-La Hotel, Bangkok

Sunday 25 October 2015

THAILAND: Review of Shangri-La Hotel, Chiang Mai

Shangri-La Hotel, Chiang Mai

In a nutshell

Once you're past the front gate of this five star property, the clanging of tuk-tuks is traded for distinctive Northern Thai decor, serene gardens, and 281 rooms and suites so plush, you'll be tempted not to venture back out into the crowds.

Where is it?

In northern Thailand, Chiang Mai was once the capital of the Lanna kingdom. The city may not have Bangkok’s international acclaim, but it's made its own name for itself by offering great deals on handicrafts and an up-and-coming foodie scene (and what a great scene it is) - minus as many people and as much traffic as the capital.

The hotel can be found in the middle of town, a ten minute drive from the international airport, and within walking distance of the legendary Night Bazaar, cultural centres, a load of temples, shops and boutiques.

Shangri-La Hotel, Chiang Mai

Style and character

Though the hotel features the luxury touches that come standard with the Shangri-La brand, the property’s vibe reflects the region's Lanna heritage.

Even though it wasn't one, the very generous 58 sqm of our Premier Room in fact felt like a suite, what with two sets of large windows, one with a balcony, a sofa, desk, arm chair and day bed. There were speakers in the bathroom, a combination of rich fabrics and teakwood, special touches such as local celadon tea sets, Thai silk pillows, bed runners, and artwork.

Along with the main swimming pool, there's an outdoor jacuzzi and yoga pavilion, as well as sauna and steam room facilities in the large health club. Shangri-La's Chi spas typically highlight treatments and ingredients from across Asia, and this beautiful outpost does the same, along with several locally influenced choices.

I particularly liked the notepad in the toilet, should you be struck by a bolt of creativity whilst on it.

What's unique?

I reckon it's worth splurging a little extra to be a Horizon Club guest. Benefits include bespoke holiday and business travel planning, as well as the following selection of perks:

Private check-in/check-out in your room. Plus the option of a late check-out until 4pm (subject to availability)
A dedicated Club Concierge to take care of all your needs, including special travel arrangements and basic translation services
Tea, coffee or another hot beverage of your choice, delivered to your room with your wake up call

Horizon Club guests also get to use the private lounge - the biggest perk - where complimentary facilities include daily breakfast, evening cocktails and canapes, beverages served all day, newspapers and magazines, suit pressing and shoe shine service.

We spent quite a lot of time in there.

the grounds at Shangri-La Hotel, Chiang Mai

Who goes?

Guests were mostly leisure as Chiang Mai isn't much of a business destination. Many were from China, which is to be expected with the brand.

There were also a lot of families at the hotel during our stay; children could be heard from the other rooms. Expect many kids at breakfast, more than I've seen in any other hotel. It almost had a bit of a resort feel to it.

If you want to enjoy the property away from all of the little ones, I'd advise opting for a Horizon Club room, and therefore access to the Horizon Club lounge - a whole different atmosphere.

Breakfast

Served in the bright and airy all-day dining restaurant Kad Kafé - one of the four drink and dining options available within the property - and recognising their diverse client base, it's an international offering.

I particularly enjoyed the crab congee with ginger, fried shallots, fried garlic, pork floss, pickled cabbage, spring onions, century egg, and Chinese sausage.

Expect the likes of cereals, dried fruit, fresh fruit, a waffle and pancake station, oat cookies, fancy mango and papaya jams, peanut butter, Nutella, freshly baked breads, brioche, cake, smoothies shots, fruits.

There's a big noodle station, and an egg station, both making them to order, and a whole lot more.

breakfast at Shangri-La Hotel, Chiang Mai

Dining

A quite fantastic Szechuan meal was had at the chef's table in China Kitchen (formerly Shang Garden) full of heat and spice and all things bloody wonderful.

The kitchen team is lead by Chef Chen from Chengdu in China, who had joined just a few days prior to our stay. He couldn't speak English or Thai, and his staff couldn't speak Chinese. It was fascinating watching them communicate in the 'language of the kitchen' - hand gestures, head nods and shakes, a lot of eyes, and smiling and laughing.

There was a fabulous in-your-face bowl of Szechuan beef with mushrooms - one of my favourites from the evening. Hot, savoury, numbing to the tip of the tongue.

There was pork, with vegetables and chilli, and deep fried fresh water prawns with a fruit salad - grapefruit, watermelon, dragonfruit. Sounds weird, but actually very good.

But the star of the show was the plate of wonderfully fresh egg noodles, made by Chef Chen daily. With sichuan chilli and a chilli, sesame and peanut sauce. Could have cleared buckets of the stuff.

dining at China Kitchen at Shangri-La Hotel, Chiang Mai

Service

There's exemplary service throughout the property, but particularly in the Club Lounge. I like that the hotel provides cards for you to note down a specific member of staff's name and hand it in, should you want to praise their service.

And just as you've settled down on a lounger by the pool, someone will pop over with face sunscreen, water, fruit and insect spray. Nice touch.

Liked lots / liked less

Liked lots - there are environmentally friendly glass bottles used for the in-room water provided, which get refilled at the bottling plant, wherever that is. Removes the need for plastic.

Liked less - there was building work on a huge site directly in front of our room - condos we think - which got a bit irritating. But that's probably complete by now. To be fair, it's hard to get away from building work wherever you are in Asia; the continent is progressing fast.

Price point

Prices from £160 for a deluxe double to £310 for an executive suite.

Contact

89/8 Chang Klan Road, Muang, Chang Khlan, 50100 Chiang Mai
+66 53 253 888
Website
@ShangriLaHotels

Note: I stayed as a guest of this hotel as part of a media package. All views remain my own.

Related links

Week 16: THAILAND - Chiang Mai

Week 17: THAILAND - Songkran Festival in Mae Rim & Chiang Mai

Sunday 3 May 2015

Week 19: THAILAND - Bangkok

Image of the week: Bangkok skyline by night, view from the Shangri-La Hotel
More images at the end of the post
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Where in the world

A 25 minute boat journey from Koh Phangan to Koh Samui, where we took a short flight back to Bangkok, staying there the whole week.

Thoughts

My preconception of Bangkok was largely lifted from the film The Hangover II, which sees a group of unwitting amnesia-stricken stag do party-goers retrace their steps through the strip clubs, tattoo parlours and cocaine-dealing monkeys of Bangkok, to locate their missing friend and make it to the wedding in time.

I'm sure some truth can be found in that if you're on the search for it, and Bangkok certainly has its fair share of sleaze strips (more on that later). But by and large, the city is a civilised, respectful, sprawling metropolis, full of smiles, the familiar chaos of a capital, and racing towards the future.

You'll find 200-year-old village homes sitting in the shadows of slick climate-controlled megamalls that use the same amount of juice as whole provinces.

Buddhist temples with golden rooftops shimmering in the sunlight share space with the 'go go bar girls' on the scout for that evening's source of income.

Soaring skyscrapers play host to trendy rooftop bars for tourists, expats and the city's young urban professionals, while street food shacks, some unpacked from the back of a motorcycle, serve up some of the best grub in town.

Bangkok
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It would be remiss, though, to visit Bangkok and not wander around the city's sex trade hubs, out of curiosity if nothing else.They play a huge role in the city's entertainment industry, and to truly understand a place, one must bear witness to both the good and the mucky.

It's an odd sight for a first-time visitor to the country, to see old overweight western men so brazenly parading the streets like peacocks with young, sleight Thai girls on their arm. Or sit in a restaurant where the same western male stereotype is this time with a young Thai boy, both eating their meals in sullen silence with not a scrap of conversation or eye contact exchanged between them.

But the thing that struck me the most, was the openess of it all. Yes, clearly, these people are with prostitutes. But this is Bangkok, a city known for its sex tourism, and people barely bat an eyelid over it.

Soi Cowboy, Bangkok
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Walk through the streets around Soi Cowboy (above, and a lot of where The Hangover II was filmed, incidentally) and you'll see stalls flogging obscene sex toys and packets of viagra to unassuming middle-aged men visiting from India, directly next to another selling pretty ornamental soaps in the shapes of fruit and veg to a little girl and her mother.

Girls launch themselves in a high-pitched tirade of 'hellooooo, where you froooom?' as soon as they spot Matt (who is always at least ten feet in front of me), then respectfully retreat and move onto another male once they see me. I had a guy whisper in a very serious tone, directly into my ear as I walked past him, 'ping pong show?' to which I replied, 'I'm alright for now, thanks.' I like how he directed that at me, rather than Matt.

(If you want to find out what a ping pong show is, W ikipedia can help).

You might see a local working girl trot in her stripper heels into a 7/11 convenience store, wearing little more than a bra and knickers, buying mouthwash and floss for her next client hanging back behind her, who has a halitosis problem. All this whilst a robed Buddhist monk passes by outside (ok, he's probably in the wrong part of town).

Airbnb apartment
near Central Plaza Mall, Bangkok

I don't know nearly enough about what I'm sure is a complex and multi-faceted industry with a lot of history, to pass judgement on anyone involved. But it is indisputably a big part of Bangkok's identity, and it's fascinating to observe.

Despite all of that, the thick heavy air, constant state of sweat, smog, or perhaps because of it all, Bangkok is totally rocking, and I love it.

I've been here a total of 10 days (over two visits) and it's not nearly enough. It's a place I could totally envisage living in, staying permanently in one of the many flash condos punctuating the skyscape, like the one we secured through AirBnB (right).

Not that I plan to live here, don't worry, parents. But visit again, most definitely.

The best things I ate this week

One of the reasons I think I could live in Bangkok? Because the food is so - freaking - good. And cheap.

And if there's one thing that makes me fall hook line and sinker for a place, it's what it can feed me with.

Bangkok food tour

Mod from Bangkok Food Tours

As I mentioned last week, there are few better ways to quickly get acquainted with a city's food scene than by taking a food tour.

This week I joined an effervescent Mod (bubbly guide from Bangkok Food Tours), and a few other overseas visitors, for a night time group outing that saw us ferried around the city by tuk tuks, for a showcase of Bangkok's late night dining haunts.

The Best Eats Midnight Food Tour by Tuk Tuk starts at 8pm, follows a series of around seven tastings - as well as a visit to Wat Pho, the night time flower market, and a rooftop bar for a beer - and finishes around 12.00 - 12.30am.

Whizzing through the manic streets of Bangkok in the cool of the late eveing gives a different perspective to the city (in a similar vein, see the excellent night time food tour we did in HCMC, Vietnam on the back of mopeds), particularly when visiting deserted sites that would otherwise be overrun with hoards of tourists during the day (like Wat Pho - see Insider Tip below).

I'd been in Thailand for a couple of weeks already, so a few of the items on the tour were not new to me. But then, there's no such thing as too much of the good stuff.

First up was khao man gai (Thai chicken rice) at a place called Khao Mun Gai Ton Pratunam that's been doing it for over 40 years, and plates were moving briskly. Here, the rice is cooked in chicken broth and chicken fat for maximum flavour.

The sauce condiment to drizzle over this dish is important; I have had better elsewhere at other khao man gai stalls in Bangkok (see street food around Victory Monument below), with a stronger flavour, but this sauce certainly wasn't bad. A bit of blood pudding and chicken liver, with a sticky rice and mango chaser from a stall next door, and we were well on our way.

top: serving broth with Thai chicken rice, donut (patongo) dough, frying donuts
bottom: donuts with green pandan custard, cooking pad thai, Thai dessert
With Bangkok Food Tours
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Also across the road was what I presume were a father and son duo making and frying patongo (Thai donuts) from a great flaccid mound of dough, to be dipped in a green custard, luminescent from pandan leaves. Piping hot, fresh from the fryer, a touch of salt in the dough, and quite lovely with the sweet dip.

I suspected the 'best pad Thai in Bangkok', as advertised in the tour description, might be Thip Samai, which we went to and very much enjoyed last week (to the extent that Matt annihilated three plates of the stuff).

And I was right, but it was good to eat it again, and to know that there is little difference in the length of the queue at 6pm or 11.30pm (check out the video of them wrapping noodles in a thin layer of egg in last week's post). It does move quickly though.

But without hesitation, the best plate from the tour, and a new one for me (bonus), was the fried noodle dish kuay teow kua gai, which Mod mentioned is also known as the 'Asian carbonara'.

Wide rice noodle ribbons (sen yai) are fried in pork fat over charcoal until charred, crisp and smoky. Then, pieces of boneless chicken that have been marinated in salt and pepper are added. An egg is then either mixed in by the chef, or the plate arrives at your table with the egg cracked sitting proud on top, which you mix in yourself like in the video above. Hence the 'carbonara'.

I wasn't expecting so much flavour from something so simple, but then isn't that always the way. Smoky crisp noodles, salty peppery chicken, wet from the runny mixed-in egg, add chilli flakes, pickled chillies, served with a bowl of broth heavy on the lime. Utterly splendid.

I've eaten my way through two food tours in Bangkok, both good, but each catering for a slightly different audience. My advice would be to take this one with Bangkok Food Tours early on in your visit; it's a great introduction to Thai cuisine and Thai street food.

Then, once you're acquainted with the well loved staples, you could move onto the Old Bangkok Food and Culture Walk from Chili Paste Tours (covered in last week's post), for off the beaten track items and more adventurous eating.

Bangkok Food Tours are held in groups. The Best Eats Midnight Food Tour by Tuk Tuk costs 1900 baht (around £38) per person and includes a drop off back to your hotel.

Note: This tour was kindly hosted by Bangkok Food Tours. All views are my own.

Lunch at Nahm

It wouldn't be right to visit Bangkok and not dine at Nahm, the restaurant that's repeatedly topped the Asia's 50 Best Restaurants charts. Although, it got bumped to the number 7 spot this year, replaced by progressive Indian restaurant Gaggan, also in Bangkok.

And so the set menu for lunch was booked, and at just 1500 baht (about £30) per person, it's a steal for what you get. Two appetisers, your choice of a salad, soup, curry, and stir fry (to share), and both desserts on the menu.

lunch at Nahm, Bangkok
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My favourites from that day's pickings, ordered in the collage above from top left: blue swimmer crab with peanuts and pickled garlic on crunchy rice cakes; prawn and coconut wafers with pickled ginger and strips of tofu - like a really light, sweet and sour taco; a Chiang Mai larp salad with guinea fowl scooped onto raw veg; a roast duck, Thai basil, and young coconut soup; sweet thai wafers with poached persimmons and golden duck egg noodles.

Nahm (inside the COMO Metropolitan Hotel), 27 South Sathorn Road, Thung Maha Mek, Sathon, Bangkok.

Street food must-eats

The best places for street food in Bangkok

Bangkok is known as the 'street food capital of the world', so it's probably little surprise that this is the largest section of this post.

When good looking stuff to eat flirts from every corner, it's difficult to know where to start. My advice would be firstly, take a look at this great Top 16 Bangkok Street Food Sanctuaries article written by Mark Wiens for guidance on where to head.

Below is what we got up to.

Yaowarat Road in Chinatown

A common theme I've found during these travels through Asia, is that some of the best street food stalls and markets can be found in a city's Chinatown; those Chinese sure do know how to eat well.

Armed with little more than the name Yaowarat Road (the main neon sign-lit street that runs through Bangkok's Chinatown), we wondered along it one evening, pulling up two stools at whoever was bumping with business and had good looking stuff on display.

Yaowarat Road, Chinatown, Bangkok
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As Mark mentions on his really helpful all-things-Thai-food website Migrationology (do check it out for where and what to eat anywhere in the country, and lots of other countries for that matter), Yaowarat Road is a cut throat environment for street food vendors, meaning only the really good ones survive.

Therefore, you're almost guaranteed a good meal from these parts, wherever you choose to eat.

I had a hankering for noodles and roast meats. Specifically, duck. And at that moment, walked past a great roast duck display; what's that if it isn't fate lending a helping hand with my eating decisions.

First stop, beautiful thin springy wonton noodles, slicked with a little oil, succulent bird meat with crispy skin, broth for spooning on the side, about £1 for a bowl.

top: tuk tuk in Chinatown, roast duck and wonton noodles, roast duck display
bottom: pork and noodle pepper soup, sesame dumpling ginger soup, Chinatown face
Yaowarat Road, Chinatown
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A few meters further down the road, another place, this time an open restaurant with the kitchen on the street, also swamped with eager clientèle. I spotted a young guy who looked like he could speak English and asked if he had a menu.

"We don't have a menu, but we do char siu (BBQ) pork with noodles in a pepper soup." Sold.

It's actually a dish called kuay jab nam sai, and it's rolled up rice noodle triangle shapes, all parts of the pig (if you wish), swimming in a porky black pepper soup that's heavy on the pepper. Gorgeous. £1 for a small portion, which is actually rather large.

It turns out this place is pretty famous and is generally a stop on food tours that work this area. It's called Kuay Jab Uan Pochana and you'll find more info on it here.

Kuay Jab Uan Pochana. Located in the heart of Yaowarat Chinatown on Yaowarat Road in between Soi 9 and Thanon Yaowa Phanit

char siu pork and pepper broth at Kuay Jab Uan Pochana, Yaowarat Road, Chinatown

I'd read about the warm Thai dessert bua loy nam khing, which are dumplings filled with a black sesame butter in ginger water, and it read like a dream.

They're two of my favourite flavours, so I was keen to seek it out. There are some great looking dessert stalls on Chinatown's Yaowarat Road, so this is easy to find. 60p for a powerfully soothing bowl of life affirming joy, with sweet nutty dumplings. A real pleasure to eat.

The easiest way to get to Chinatown is by taxi, but alternatively you can take the MRT to Hua Lamphong station, and then walk to Chinatown from there (10 mins) or take a tuk tuk / motorbike.

Sukhumvit Soi 38

This is a short strip of street food stalls which is a great introduction to the country's kerb-side dining scene.

Here you'll find the well-worn favourites (pad thai, mango sticky rice, papaya salad), menus are in English as well as Thai, vendors speak a good amount of English, and you'll notice quite a few tourists.

street food stalls on Sukhumvit Soi 38, Bangkok
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We started with 10 little skewers of tasty chicken satay for £1, with a lightly pickled cucumber and onion salad and peanut dipping sauce.

We sat in the back to eat them, where a rat ran past my foot and a small cockroach landed on the table. We've been in Asia long enough for this to barely raise an eyebrow these days - imagine the pandemonium that would follow a similar scene in London.

Then it was a few stalls down (the same place Mark gets his salad with raw crab from here) for some som tum mamuang, green mango salad. This was excellent. Hot, sour enough to make your gums ache, and heavy on the fish sauce. Just how I like it. With sliced shallots, roasted peanuts, and a Thai quiz show on the box.

top: satay skewers, satay stall, green mango salad
bottom: dry wonton noodles with crispy pork, mango sticky rice stall, fruit shake stall
Sukhumvit Soi 38, Bangkok
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Then came some wonton noodles from a stall towards the end of the strip, that I later learnt has been serving this stuff for over 40 years. It was busy (what drew me), and we ordered dry wonton (pork and prawn dumplings) noodles with soup on the side, topped with crispy pork. This was very good. I loved the wonton noodles in Hong Kong, and this reminded me of them a lot.

Dessert came in the form of some mango sticky rice from the lady with piles of the fruit neatly arranged at the front of her stall, in the small cul-de-sac on the right shortly after you enter the road. And then a mango shake because I can't get enough of these Asian mangoes.

We returned to the strip on a separate night, guided by the irrepressible desire that had gripped us that day to devour a sloppy, juicy, really good burger. It had been four months since the last one, and western cravings were getting the better of us.

'The Steve' burger from Daniel Thaiger at Sukhumvit Soi 38, Bangkok
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A quick social media straw poll on where to get the best burgers in Bangkok, and I was unanimously directed to Daniel Thaiger's street food burger truck, more often than not found on Sukhumvit Soi 38 (check his Facebook page though, as he does move around).

Everything, including sauces are made from scratch. There was a charred patty shell, yielding juicy middle, crisp bacon, glossy toasted sesame bun, lettuce, tomato, some sort of super sauce, and burger juices down my arm. 'Hit the spot' didn't quite cover it.

To get to Sukhumvit Soi 38, take the BTS Skytrain to Thong Lo station. Exit 4 (you’ll see the street perpendicular to the station as you are on the skywalk), walk down the steps, then make an immediate u-turn, and you’ll be there.

Victory Monument

On a fleeting day where the temperature mercifully dropped by about 10 degrees to a far more sociable 25C, I left my hair down, threw on a light jacket and headed to Victory Monument for dinner shrouded under grey drizzly skies; it could have almost been London.

the Victory Monument roundabout, Bangkok
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There's a whole load of cracking street food around the Victory Monument roundabout; it's like a circular grazing route. Do a lap, and stop at whatever takes your fancy.

Our first was for kaeng kiaw wan gai (Thai green curry with chicken), and some other sort of dry curry with pork, I think. Not entirely sure what it was, but it looked good so I pointed to it and got some.

Then there was some khao man gai (boiled chicken over rice), the Thai version of Hainanese chicken rice (from Singapore). Juicy meat, fragrant jasmine rice cooked in the chicken broth, bowl of broth for spooning, an excellent accompanying chilli dip. All of the comfort for 70p.

And finally, a central curry with rice noodles and fish balls, with six fully loaded plates of garnishes to fill your boots with.

To get there, take the BTS Skytrain to Victory Monument station, Exit 3 or 4, and start exploring by walking around the monument first.

In the bottom right of the collage below I've also included a picture of a honey pear, because the fruit in Thailand is some of the best I've had. These honey pears are enormous, obscenely sweet, and take about half an hour to eat.

Either my fruit selection skills have dramatically improved, or the produce on offer in Thailand is consistently great. Not a dud item in three weeks.

top: central fish curry, Thai green curry and dry pork curry
bottom: chicken and rice, honey pear
Around Victory Monument
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Did you know?

top: departure gate
bottom: walk to departure gate
Koh Samui airport

Koh Samui airport is the quaintest, most laid back I've ever come across. It's privately owned by Bangkok Airways, and has been designed to be completely in tune with its natural surroundings.

You'd have no idea you were in an airport if it wasn't for the occasional, infrequent plane taking off or landing.

The walk to the departure gates is a tree lined avenue flanked by boutique shops and eateries.

The departure gates themselves are littered with deck chairs overlooking palm-fringed grounds that would be more at home in a five star resort.

The shuttle bus that ferries you to the aircraft is a quaint tram.

And, Bangkok Airways provide complimentary food and drink at the departure gate while you wait for your plane.

The whole airport is open, which is gorgeous. But that does mean there's no AC, so everyone quietly melts.

My insider tips

Wat Pho by night

I only realised one of Bangkok's largest and oldest Buddhist temples - Wat Pho (pronounced Wat Po) - could be visited at night, when I was on the above Bangkok Food Tour.

Our group turned up at around 10pm and because there's no one at the ticket office at this time, it looks as though you don't need to pay for the entrance fee.

The opening times are listed until about 5.30 pm, but Mod informs me it's actually open until around 11.30pm - quite the difference. However, we only spotted people as part of tour groups in it at this time, so I suspect you need to be part of one to not be stopped by the guards.

Still, it means you can get some alternative night time shots, there's hardly anyone else is around, and it's a damn site cooler.

the stupas of Wat Pho by night, Bangkok
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Highlight / Lowlight

Highlight.

thunderstorm over the sea
between Koh Phangan and Koh Samui

We had to take a short 25 minute boat ride from the island of Koh Phangan to Koh Samui (the latter of which has an airport).

We moved away from clear blue skies and directly into a thunderstorm.

We were on the boat, with rumbling thunder resonating and lighting striking the water all around us. It was pretty exciting / scary.

The second undisputed highlight of the week was having access to a washing machine, over which I did a little victory dance.

For the first time in weeks, every item of our clothing armoury was put through a hot cycle. Before then, we'd been relying on the portable washing machine, The Scrubba, to get our clothes clean. Which actually does a pretty good job.

But it sure felt good knowing our clothes were getting a mechanical seeing to.

Lowlight.

Probably just that these were our last few days in Bangkok, and in Thailand as a whole. I got myself a matcha soft serve ice cream to cheer me up.

Next week

We bid a teary farewell to Thailand, and hello to our final Asian country, Malaysia.

Postcards

Bangkok