Our flight from Chiang Mai yesterday was just as we’d hoped.....smooth and speedy AND they managed to feed a full flight as well as provide hot beverage service within a one hour flight! Now here we are all settled into our first hotel in Bangkok’s Chinatown. The Pho Place is perfect....price is right at about $40/night, room is spacious, a big bottle of water in the hallway right outside our room, air con that maybe works too well (but don’t want to complain about that!), and located at the end of a lane off the Main Street so nighttime is nice and quiet. As well, that Main Street our little lane shoots off of....well it is the Main Street in Chinatown so we are super close to everything too.
Last night we found an amazing spot about 5 minutes walk from here. It is a hotel called the Shanghai Mansion and the attached restaurant/lounge called Red Rose. The place is GORGEOUS! You walk into the lobby of the hotel by going across a pretty red bridge (over water) and then you come into the beginning parts of the lobby where some of the art is bigger than a wall in my house and all of the art is really really exceptional. The Red Rose runs alongside this walkway into the hotel and with just glass walls....you get the sense of being in both places at the same time. The hotel is often a choice location for weddings and photographers as inside they have a massive reflecting pool that sits at the base of the balconies that go all the way up to the roof which means that the walkways around several floors are exposed to the reflecting pool. There are lanterns hanging overhead and bottom line....it is stunning! Also beside the reflecting pool there is a huge spiral staircase that would also make for some pretty amazing photos. It was in this hotel lobby that Lynda located a tour desk where we found the production that we’d attend tonight....but I will save that bit till later in this post.
Our first seats in the Red Rose were downstairs in the restaurant and we were seated right in front of the mixologist. This lounge is known for it’s signature cocktails and it was such a treat for me to be able to watch these master mixologists at work! Their signature cocktails (there are about a dozen of them) are quite complex and all of them are tasty works of art. I loved being able to watch the intentional efficiency of the bartenders as they measured, stirred, shook, and poured their masterpieces. The drinks were beautiful and the garnishes were like icing on the cake...they just made the piece that much more perfect. One thing that many don’t know is that when a quality cocktail calls for a squeeze of citrus peel over the top...that doesn’t mean the juice...it means the essential oil that is found in the zest of the fruit’s peel. At the Red Rose they were masters of this aspect and I marvelled at how they even heated the peel just a little with their torch to encourage the oils. Yes.....these guys know what they’re doing! That little torch was also used to top some of the fruit garnishes with a sprinkle of sugar and then brûlée it before placing it on the glass/drink. One of the drinks I ordered required that the bartender put the glass upside down over a stick of smoking cinnamon to leave the essence of the spice as well as a smoky quality in the glass before making the drink. That drink had gin and tonic, the cinnamon smoke, a splash of coconut milk, and an ice ball that had been infused with star anise and cloves. This drink was garnished with a strip of orange peel studded with several cloves woven onto the edge of the oversized stemware. I know it sounds really weird and although it wasn’t my favourite drink of the night...it actually wasn’t bad at all.
Once we’d finished our dinner we headed upstairs to the lounge where happy hour was just about to get underway and where we could get these signature cocktails for a 2 for 1 price (which was good as they were about $12 each!). Mark, our server, accompanied us upstairs and the fun continued. To top it all off....we were seated beside a little balcony overlooking the street and before long some good quality live music started to play right below us. Yes....we were living the high life last night for sure and we were loving it! We met a couple of young guys who were seated at the table next to us who had just arrived from the U.S. They were keen to know where we’d been and amazed to hear that we’d been travelling since October 7th. It is fun to see the look on people’s faces when they hear how long we’ve been on the road. :-)
But enough about the Shanghai Mansion and the Red Rose except to say that if ever any of us find ourselves back in Bangkok we wouldn’t mind staying a night or two at this hotel. We were surprised to discover that the rooms begin at about 2400 baht/night (around $100 CAD). Regardless of whether we were to stay there or not....one thing I do know for sure is that we’re going back to that bar/lounge for their happy hour tomorrow night as that will be Natalie’s last night and so her choice of where to go. She’s in love with the place and I think maybe a little bit in love with Mark too. :-)
Today I opted to skip out of the Grand Palace as I’ve been there at least twice before and as much as it is a ‘must see’ I really didn’t want to do it again. So Lynda and Natalie took off in a tuk tuk and a couple of hours later they reported back that the place is still a ‘must see’ and that they’re really glad they went. Photos never do it justice though...it is one of those things you just have to experience so I’m really glad they decided to fight the crowds and endure the heat to see it for themselves.
Tonight we had to be back at the Shanghai Mansion for our pick up to the production we’d purchased tickets for the night before. It was about 1/2 hour drive away and so as soon as we arrived at the location we were hustled into the buffet dining room where a feast awaited us. There was something for everyone! They had Thai, and Indian, and Western, and Vegetarian and it was all delicious.
I was checking out the vegetarian options when I heard a voice say, “hey you”....I looked up and found myself looking into the face of a friend whom I had not seen or been in contact with in 18 years! Udom was our guide for each of my previous visits to Thailand and so during those trips we’d spent quite a bit of time together. As well, Udom and I share a birthday so each time I was here it happened to also be our birthdays and so every year we’d have another cake and photos together. It was so good to see him and honestly....the odds against this chance meeting are staggering! There are more than 8 million people in Bangkok and we both just happen to be at the same buffet table and show at the same time. Tomorrow he is taking a tour group to Chiang Mai so if we had selected tickets for any other night....our paths would not have crossed. But really.....the odds of this happening at all are impossible...maybe I need to buy a lottery ticket too. LOL. :-). Prior to our departure in October Darlene and I had even talked about possibly trying to find Udom but I had not followed up as I didn’t know when we’d be in Bangkok and it just seemed like such a needle in the haystack kind of thing.....but as Udom said tonight.....it was destiny. And I am very grateful for this destiny....it was wonderful for both of us to reconnect. Udom was there with the group of 32 people he’s taking to Chiang Mai in the morning and so I had the opportunity to meet them and tell them how fortunate they are to have him as their guide. They too all loved the irony of the impossible odds of our meeting tonight and they too all had an awestruck look on their faces when they learned that Lynda and I are travelling on our own for almost 3 months in total. It really does kind of drive it home that people are either inspired or they think we’re slightly insane when they hear what this couple of grandmas are doing. Especially when we get to see the look on their faces which is where their ‘inside voice’ typically sneaks out. LOL. :-). So Udom and I have now reconnected and since we last met Facebook is a reality that will enable us to stay connected.
After our dinner we went outside to see the pre-show show. There was no assigned seating and so we were prepared to have to stand for the hour to watch this cultural performance. But once again Lady Luck was with us and just as we walked up one of the staff arrived with chairs for the three of us right at the edge of the stage. Jeez....I better get serious about buying a lottery ticket now that I think about it! This outdoor show was wonderful but it didn’t come close to comparing with the production that would follow once we were inside.
The Siam Niramit production is owned and operated by Chang Beer company and the stage they perform on is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as one of the largest stages in the world. And yes...it is a huge stage but what will always stay with me was the fact that on that stage there were elephants, and temples, and a river that was deep enough to dive into, and a couple of ships and several canal boats (also in the river), and goats, and chickens, and heaven, and hell, and the rainy season (complete with torrential rains and thunder and lightening), and a jungle, and several festivals, and fire, and sooo many performers with more than 500 unique costume changes, and people flying through the air, and dancing and drumming and well.....a LOT! And all of it was of such high quality. We’d paid 2000 baht each (about $80) for the evening and all of us vehemently agreed it was worth every penny and more. We’d had a private car pick us up and drop us back to the hotel, we’d had an amazing buffet dinner, we’d enjoyed the outdoor performance and the traditional village, and the production itself is definitely world class entertainment.
Once we were back into Chinatown we took the opportunity to walk a little ways down a couple of the streets. Things were starting to shut down as it was after 10 but still there is such a vibrancy to this part of the city. The neon lights of Chinatown are so pretty and it isn’t too big....it’s just a really neat part of Bangkok that is steeped in history and filled with weird and wonderful shops.
It’s almost 1 in the morning here now and I’m finally starting to come down from the high that bumping into Udom and seeing the Siam Niramit production left me in so perhaps I will give sleep a try. Tomorrow is sure to be another great day....we seem to be on a bit of a roll the past few months. :-)
Till next time,
LorLyn
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