Two More Days in Familiar Bangkok

This is my third visit to Bangkok in the past ten years. The first trip was when I went to Kathmandu and western Nepal to river raft down the class five Karnali River in 1998. It was my first travel on my own to a third world country and I started the adventure with a three day layover in Bangkok, roughing it at the four or five star Royal Orchid Sheraton on the Chao Phraya River, next door to the Oriental Hotel. I mostly explored the river and side canals by river taxi, visited Jim Thompson's house, shopped for silk and antiques, and adjusted to being on my own half way around the world. The second time I was in Bangkok was in 2002. I was on a 16 person group tour of Cambodia and Northern Thailand with Overseas Adventure Travel and, that time, I learned how to ride the Skyrail through the city. So when Kathy, FeFe and I got off ship on Day One, on our own, for serious shopping in Bangkok, I was able to make some suggestions about how to spend our time.

Kathy and Fefe had specific things they wanted to look for, so, we spent most of the day at the Jim Thompson Factory Outlet which I had just read about, the main Jim Thompson retail store, and a new, huge shopping mall called Siam Paragon which was astounding. We were exhausted by the end of the day from schlepping around pounds of fabric so on Day Two, we just went to the Oriental Hotel and then rode the Chao Phraya river taxi boats up and down the river to watch local Bangkok life, see some temples on the horizon, and have lunch at River City, which is a great shopping center next to the Royal Orchid, that is known for its silk and antique shops. Before leaving town,  Kathy ordered a made-to-order, designer Thai silk ensemble at an exclusive shop in the Oriental Hotel, so she was in heaven!! We had memorable experiences both days trying to find cab drivers who could speak enough English and knew the directions to get us back to the ship, but we made it back both days before the designated time required to set sail (or rather spin the props) out of harbor, and we made sure to toast those events with scotch on the rocks.

I really do like Bangkok, but I know that I have barely scratched the surface of its various districts and alleyways and canals. We did not have any Thai massages (which I made sure to experience the first two times I visited Bangkok), nor did we make it to any temples, markets, or other landmarks, because Bangkok is HUGE and convoluted with lots of one way streets, and it feels like a set for the movie "Bladerunner" to me.  But we did have what Kathy called an almost orgasmic shopping experience and we all loved the boat rides so a good time was had by all.