Bangkok 2012 Day 1 and Day 2 – Shopping

Arrived at 10pm at the Suvarnabhumi International airport, took the Airport Rail Link to Phaya Thai station where we transfer to BTS (their MRT) Sukhumvit line to Siam Central and transfer to Silom line to Saphan Taksin. From there, it was a 8 mins walk to the hotel. Walking there at night was a little difficult as we were certain of the direction to the hotel. However, the behemoth of a hotel with its golden dome provided a guide for us to walk towards it nonetheless – Lebua hotel.

Late check in with a fairly quiet reception counter was ok, though we were mesmerized with the expansive hallway that oozes luxury, we thought (opinions from infrequent 5-star chasers). However, what really impressed was the room. Huge rooms, huge balcony with a view, huge bathroom but at a really affordable price (comparatively).

It was getting late, bath time and bed time ensued.

Day 2 Shopping

Had buffet breakfast which was pretty good in terms of variety and taste. Before hitting the streets, we explored the hotel a little so see what facilities it had.

First stop was the Platinum Mall. Getting there was pretty straight forward, though a fair bit of walking is expected. Get on the BTS at Saphan Taksin (which is only a single rail that has train coming from 2 directions) and alight at Siam station, and its a 15 mins walk to the mall, with food hawkers along the way for you to grab a bite.

We took the whole day to go through the multiple levels of shops, trying to keep track the ones that we visited or not. It was truly a shopping haven, being cheap and a large variety range. Only issue is that there were no trying but for the price, it was still risk worth taking. Went back to our hotel around evening time for a dinner at the restaurant top of the hotel.

 

Had a dinner reservation at 730pm at the Mezzaluna restaurant. Initially wanted to do the Alfresco dinner at Sirocco, the world’s highest open air bar instead but it was fully booked! The moment we stepped out the elevator, we could felt the ambiance of a high class restaurant oozing, from the service, the deco, the band and the food. Reminded me of the Equinox of Singapore.

I tried to take a video of the band that was producing some classical note when a staff informed that it wasn’t allowed. It was ok for me though as I had taken my snippets for memory sake. Enjoyed thoroughly the 7-course dinner, fine dining style with nicely arranged small quantity of food, but surprisingly filling enough. There was a birthday cake prepared for my wife that came with a birthday song played and sung by the staff of the restaurant! Excellent service from the staff and a memorable night for the birthday girl.

After dinner, we could visit Sirocco which was just on the outside of the restaurant, one level below. All the tables were filled and so is the bar counter, where a paranoma view of the city can be admired from. Since there were many people there as well, it took some time before we could find a nice spot to snap some photos and enjoy the view.

 

As we were out at the bar, the cake which didn’t had to tummy room left was delivered to our room, so that we could enjoy it later.