Six Days in Bangkok - Spring 2015

Please forgive my spelling and punctuation, I'm a plumber and not an English major. Just read and have fun.
Whenever we fly into Bangkok, I think of it as flying into the Bronz,  just safer.

We always take pictures of the stuff inside our bags and then the bags as we check them in. The reason is most foreign airlines only will pay $30 to $100 USD a bag, including the contents.  


We carry travel insurance that will pay up to $1,000 USD each person but they like to see what is inside the bags. Knock on wood, we have never lost a bag in 18 trips back and forth across the Pacific Ocean. 

Our trip from California was very uneventful, which is a good thing. We landed at 1:30 AM as our plane was a little late.  Out plane from los Angeles was an hour late taking off. 

Originally we only had 55 minutes to change plane in Taipei. The crew made up 15 minutes and the plane that we were connecting with waited as half the booking for the connecting plane was on the plane from LAX. 


The new B777-300ER that China Airlines is using has a "Family Couch" section in economy class. It is three seat on the side that the leg rests come all the way up flat so it makes the three seats into what I would call a playpen as opposed to a couch. The lady and child next to us just snuggled up and slept for most of the trip. The airline even gave them bedding. 
 
We breezed through immigrations, got our bags which were prioritized and arrived at the White Orchard Guest House around 3:30 AM.  Now, the girl on the desk acted like she did not know anything about our room.  She kept asking who we reserved it from.   I played the phone converstion I had saved on my cellular phone to her and she still did not get it.  Finally, I pointed to the white board with reservations and there it was, "Terry and Daeng room #108 03-03-15". 

We took our bags to our room, unpacked some of the things we had packed on hangers and eye drops into refrigerator. 


We were wide awake as both our us slept on the 14 hour leg from California so we hopped on motorbike taxis and went to FoodLand for tourist breakfasts. 

Yep, you guessed it, comfort food of eggs, bacon, sausage, juice, toast and coffee. 

We walked back to our room, showered and went to bed.

We slept all day. 

I got up and took a motorbike taxi up Shuhamvit Road to a meeting of English speaking friends.


Before I left Kratom, the day manager, fixed us up with an extra pillow, water and extra towels. We're in heaven. 


Bangkok is a great place to get over jet-lag as it is a 24 hour town. 

An American Breakfast at FoodLand is 59 THB, about $1.83 USD with juice and coffee. The food is served on real porcelain plates, too.  

"Took Lae Dee" translates as "Cheap and Good". 


This area of Bangkok is know as the "Fun Zone". This sign says it: "The Worlds Largest Adult Playground!"

We like this area as it is easy to get around by taxi, motorbike, foot and skytrain along with the diversity. You can also get any kind of food that you would like. 

Today, I wanted to go to a meeting at the church on the end of Soi 10 off Shuhamvit Road.  I talked with the motorbike taxi driver and he said he would take me through the Tobacco Monopoly. 

It was a nice ride but the smell of the chemicals and the tobacco drying made me very glad I had quit smoking.  

This area is in the middle of Bangkok, just off of Shuhamvit Road. To see the ride just CLICK HERE. 

Now, here is the scary ride going the other way on Shuhamvit Road: CLICK HERE!


We have kind of lost track of the days and nights. We are blaming it on Jet-Lag.  We will be ready to make the trip north to our home in Mae Sai on Monday. 

The blue sign in the background of the picture is the Myanmar (Burma) border. 


We did get to have lunch and spend some time with our friends Richard and June. 

Daeng loves to go shopping.  The nice part is she only buys what she really likes and will not spend a lot of money doing that.  

Here is a picture of her in front of a big shop named the "Pink Pvssy".  I told her she would look great in that silver dress but without hesitation she said: "NO!"

We also looked at some shoes but Daeng like "Flip-flops" the best.  She wears them everywhere.  

The only time we had a problem with her wearing flip-flops was a few years back. She was not allowed into the big Bangkok Jewelry and Gem Show. You know what our attitude was; yep, screw them. 

On our walk to breakfast this morning we could see the men working on the powerlines. 

I call this picture: "Shocking - The Thai Way". Look close and you can see several men standing on the poles and wires. 

It's around 5:00 AM Sunday morning. I woke up listening to a group of ladyboys arguing under our hotel window. 

With my limited understanding of Thai, I think they were arguing about who was the best looking.  I opened the window, leaned out and waived at them.  They waved back laughing, maybe because I was naked. 

I think this was one of the ladyboys that was arguing. By the way, the saying here in Bangkok is: "Best looking girls are boys."

I did some emails and decided I would have breakfast at the NaNa Hotel Buffet Breakfast.  This will probably be the last chance for a "farang", aka: western style, breakfast for a while.  


It is an all you can eat breakfast for 250 THB, about $7.70 USD.  If you stay there breakfast for two is included in the room. 

We won't stay there as three times, in the past, we had reserved standard rooms and then when we arrived we were told they did not have the standard rooms and only had deluxe rooms for more money.  We feel that is being dis-honest!  One or two times we can accept as mistakes but three times and we feel you are trying to screw us. 

Breakfast was okay with ALL THE BACON YOU CAN EAT!. I got my money's worth but I probably will not eat there again as everything else, besides the bacon, was just so-so.  

While we were talking a walk and clowning around, Daeng made a conference call. 

I think we are ready to make the trip north.  

Although we had fun, six days in Bangkok was enough for us. 

We live 891 kilometers north of Bangkok. That is 554 miles north. 

It's a travel day. It did not go real smooth. Here is the story: We were picked up at our room by one of Jon's drivers. Jon has been providing us with ground transportation for many years and always doing a great job at fair prices. He dropped us off at the Thai economy check in gate.

When we got to the Thai Airline, All Flights check in counter we were told we had to go back 4 isles for our plane check it. That was a long walk.

When we put our bags on the check in scale the lady told us we were over the 20 kilograms each and would have to pay 560 THB. I explained to her that in the past we were allowed 23 kilograms as we were coming from California. She said yes, if we came on Thai Airlines. I said okay and gave her a Chase Sapphire credit card. She in turn told Daeng to take it to the end of the row of check in booths. 

My right knee was hurting so I asked for a wheelchair while that was happening. A nice guy brought a wheelchair and I sat down. 

Then a lady from Thai Airlines brought me a credit card slip to sign. It had the 560 THB charge on it along with a US dollar amount. This is a trick that Thai banks use to get about 3% more when using a US credit card. I told her I wanted to pay in Thai Baht. She said that was so I scratched out the US dollar amount and signed it. I'm sure we will have to fight that one for the principal.
Then onward through security. Daeng's bag had be searched as she had a small container of dietary fiber in her bag. 

After that when we got off the elevator to the ramps Daeng realized she had lost her ticket. She ran back to security and found it BUT she did not have her identification so she could not come back. Luckily the fellow pushing me in the wheelchair realized that and went back and got her through.

The nice part is we were right on time to board the plane.

We are now home in Mae Sai and happy although a little annoyed.

It was nice to sleep in our own bed. 

By the way, the next morning I logged in to my Chase Sapphire card and see the $18.18 charge. I called the bank and a live person answered the telephone Chase. that is one of the benefits of this card. 

I explained the circumstances and she said she would credit the card the difference of 95 cents. 

Thank you Chase Bank. Sometimes it's not the money, it's the principal. 

The really nice part is I feel better. HUGS

Sunshine, Friends & Fun, Fun, Fun!

Well, we made it to our home on the Myanmar (Burma) border.  Everything was just like we left it.  Daeng's brother Tun and his wife, Hlong keep everything in good condition.  It is a lot to take care of with 9 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms, 2 inside kitchens and outside cooking area. Half of the home is dark, Teak flooring so it shows any dust and has to be cleaned every day or two to look nice. 

Our five day stay in Bangkok was fun as there is a lot of diversity at the largest city in Thailand.  I think the populations of greater Bangkok is around twelve million folks.  There is lots of food with every kind of food you can think of; yes, even McDonald's.

Across the road from our room is a biker bar that has reserved spaces for Harley-Davis Motorcycles.  Yep, Harley riders get treated special here, as well.

On another day we met our friend "Boonma", Mark Roger from New York, near his guesthouse at Khaosan Road.  Khaosan road is by the huge "Chao Phraya River".  This area has turned into an upscale sheik shopping area.

 

We had to laugh as the old lady that was minding the booth where we took the picture of Daeng holding the shirt got mad at us because we did not buy the shirt after taking the picture.  I guest we get grumpy when we get old.

 

We all laughed about that!  We had to visit a Temple and ring the bells.  Everyone that visits Thailand needs to do that several times.  Over the years we have probably rang a few hundred temple bells, maybe a thousand.

It is fun to see how loud you can make the bells ring.  Ringing the bells three times after each prayer is supposed to bring the prayer to life.  We rang them really hard.

There are lots of animals on the streets in Bangkok, dogs, cats, lizards, rats, etc.  Some are bigger than others. 

Speaking of looking for food, we like to eat in a little place called "Food Land" on Soi 5 off Sukhamvit Road.  It is a counter seated place with Western and Thai food.

It is very clean, prices are good and the staff is friendly. Another name for the place is "Took Lae Dee" which translated  to English means "Cheap and Good".  An American Breakfast of two eggs, bacon, two toast, orange or pineapple juice and coffee is 54 Thai Baht (about $1.80 US).

It is also a large western style market that has just about anything you would want.  We buy black pepper there as whole black pepper is hard to find in Thai markets.

 

After a couple days of resting and shopping, for some reason they just don't got together, we made the 1 hour and 10 minute trip to north to Chiang Rai.  We picked up our rented Nissan March and drove the 59 Km to our home in Mae Sai.

 

It was nice to pick up some things for the house at Tesco Lotus, a large western style shopping market.  We also had an ice cream cone at KFC. 

In the morning, we had a little Thai breakfast at the morning market.  It consisted of fish, a river fish with almost no bone, sticky rice, coffee and tea, all served on banana leaf.

Than to Bangkok Bank for a letter that says I have more that 800,000 THB in the bank for over 90 days.  Onward to The Thai Immigration Office to renew my retirement visa. That went very well and I now can come and go into and out of Thailand any time I want to for the next year ending March 13, 2014.

 

Tomorrow we are driving to Chiang Rai as Daeng has a dentist appointment at 6:00 PM with a dentist that specializes in periodontal problems.  Deang is okay but sometimes has a shooting pain in one of her back teeth.  We want to make sure it does not become a big problem.

 

Life is good!



Made it to Bangkok - Our Winter in California

Well, after 18 1/2 hours in the air we made it to Bangkok.  Everything is okay but with the usual hassles with getting to our room for a little nap.

First thing that happens is the taxi driver, who was supposed to take us to see a few hotels we had not stayed in before, decided he had another fare that was more important then us so he just told us: "This is as far as I'm taking you."  He took our bags out of the taxi and demanded we pay him.  Daeng paid him the meter fare with no tip, of course.  Oh, shit, here we are "at the curb, again".

From along side the road, I called the "Di" Guest House on Soi 4, in the Sukhamvit Road area.  I told the lady that answered the telephone we had stayed with them before and did she have room for us for the next five (5) nights?  She ask me how much we usually paid for the room.  I told her 900 Thai Baht a night.  She said: "Okay, I'll book the room for you at 900 THB."

We walked down the street from where the taxi driver had dropped us off.  When we got to Sukhamvit Road we got a taxi that took us to the "Di" Guest House.

When we checked in at the desk, the same lady I talked to on the telephone told us the room was 990 THB.  I should be used to folks in tourist areas doing this kind of thing but I still told her that was not right as she told us 900 Thai Baht was the rate on the telephone.  By the way, it's not the money, I just hate being blatantly lied to as 90 THB is only about $3.00 US Dollars a night.

I walked next door to the "White Orchid II" Guest House and the lady at the desk knew us.  She said she would put us in the front room on the second floor for 800 THB a night.  It is a very nice clean room with a window that looks out the front, Free WiFi, Air Conditioning, Refrigerator, HD English TV, hot water, safe,etc.  The Guest House is staffed by nice folks, as well.

We did have a problem, a year or so ago, with the owner of the "White Orchid II" booking us for a room and then when we got there at 4:00 in the morning they had no room for us.  I had to remember not to cut off my nose to spite my face.  That's is what my Grand-Mother taught me, anyway.

We walked back to the "Di" Guest House, thanked the lady and told her we were going to stay next door.  She shook her head in a manor that said she understood.

We had a nice winter in California.  The weather was mild and no major events.  We like it when it's peaceful and calm. 

Daeng and I celebrated our birthdays, together.  Now that she is 40 years old, I told her I was going to trade her in for 2 twenty year old girls.

She put her hands on her hips, looked me right in the eyes and said: "You're not wired for 220!"

Christmas time with the family is always a good time.  My Mother is still holding up okay but can't stand or walk.  She also requires 24 hour nursing care. 

Daeng loves to wrap and fix packages and she is extremity talented, also.

It was also nice to give the gifts we had shopped for and brought back from Myanmar (Burma) and Thailand.  You can read of that story by CLICKING HERE.

The chess set was a big hit!

We enjoyed being with friends and celebrating the lives we live today. 

Birthday cake is also great, even at 7:00 AM!

We did some work over the last three months and made enough money to spend the spring in Thailand. 

We also scrapped the two Ford trucks that we built new in 1988.  They lasted 25 years.  I found myself having some emotional feeling over them.  Bye, bye trucks!  You did lots of work over the 400,000 miles. 

I will miss the roominess of having my office in the cab and the space in the cargo area for over 1,100 plumbing, heating and air conditioning parts plus tools. 

I won't miss the buying gasoline as they averaged 6-7 miles per gallon.

The Chevrolet HHR we bought gets 22-30 MPG.

In February, we started the process of selling our business, DIAL ONE Cooling, Heating and Air Conditioning, Inc. to our friend MOUNIR FRANCOIS NOUJAIM aka: "Moonie".

I have known and worked with Moonie for over 25 years and know he will do a great job of carrying the company forward.

Ron Brown, our accountant and friend, will continue to work on the agreement so we can complete everything at the end of this summer.  Daeng and I plan on working the summer when we return in early June.

I'll write more when we get settled at our home in Mae Sai.  We leave Bangkok on Tuesday and fly the 600 miles north to Chiang Rai.  We will then rent a car for the next two months and drive the 40 Km to our home. ‏

Bangkok - 24 hour Town

Although Bangkok is like flying into the Bronx of New York City we always have fun. We're almost over jet-lag but still waking up at 4:00 AM. We went for a little walk down Nana Soi and said "Hello" to the trash guys. Yes, that is a man inside the big trash truck, separating plastic and glass bottles.

We walked across Sukhamvit Road and looked at shoes. I liked the red pair on the top row but they did not have my size. Oh well, it's always hard to find shoes at 4:00 in the morning.

After a little breakfast and coffee we did visit a few sidewalk shops. I liked the red, white and blue dress that Daeng is holding up but she thought the price of about $70.00 United States Dollars was to much. They didn't have it in my size, either. I thought it would have looked nice with the red shoes.

Daeng is going to visit some friends this afternoon and I'm going to go to a meeting with some English folks and then take a nap. We leave Saturday morning for the last leg of our trip to Home on the Myanmar (Burma) border.