We played a round of petanque (like bocci ball, but French) on the gravel court near the spa. The balls were quite rusty--I think they were left out all through last monsoon season ;-)
Rather than repeat the cheap ferry ride that we had taken from the mainland to Ko Lanta, we opted for a private air conditioned minivan. Although it was twice the price, the journey was half as long. (Although, it had significantly less character).
The flight from Krabi to Bangkok was short and pleasant. The real travel adventure began when we traveled from the Bangkok airport to our hotel.
We stopped at the tourist information booth and got the attendant to write the address of our hotel in Thai. But as a result we had to dodge her trying to sell us on packaged tours. Next we went in search of a metered cab while being accosted by people trying to take us into town for a fixed price. We finally found someone who said he would take us in a metered cab. Partially true, it was an upsell scheme, they drive you in a nice car away from the airport too a metered cab, in the hopes you will just want to stay in the nicer more expensive car.
We hopped in the metered cab and then found our next roadblock: Traffic. It took us 2 hours to get to the vicinity of our hotel, and only to discover that the tourist info attendent wrote down the wrong address. (Unlike many major US cities, where the cab driver knows all the ins-and-outs of the city, Bangkok cabbies are quite clueless--many are farmers who simply had a bad crop last season and need to make some money.) After driving from hotel to hotel we finally found ours. Of course the cabby wanted more money, but we refused, checked in and cooled off. After this first series of upsell scams we resolved to be on our guard and not fall prey again.
The hotel, the Park Plaza Sukhumvit, is a great mix of funkiness and buisness hotel practicality. We got a deluxe corner room on the 15th floor with an amazing view for a great rate. The hotel is is east of the old town, but right on the sky train line at the Asok station. The hotel decor is modern, but functional (Lily kept exclaiming over the excellent juxtaposition of tile finishes on the bathroom walls and floor). A shower stall and separate soaking tub were a welcome luxury after the lengthy travel adventure.
We explored the hood a bit (many tailor shops, British Pubs, pharmacies, and street vendors), and decided that, blasphemous as it was, we both had a craving for pizza. We found a fantastic pizza joint run by an ex-pat Italian, Luigi's Pizzeria. Pricey but it really hit the spot. Quite possibly the best gnochi we had ever eaten! Plus, the owner was a total character and made for amusing conversation.
After dinner we crashed by about 11pm.
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