Who would have ever guessed that every few hundred meters in Bangkok there is a 7-Eleven convenience store? These are the quirky little travel treasures that I love. The Kingdom of Thailand was beautiful. We chose to stay in Bangkok, but understand that the real beauty in Thailand is on the beaches and islands. Now we have a reason to go back! The city of Bangkok is very large with about 10 million people, but it is so civilized. Beautifully paved streets, sidewalks, traffic lights, public transportation, and yes real 100% beef burgers at McDonalds. Bangkok was a real breath of fresh air for four days as we walked the clean streets with no one gawking at us or asking us for money.
We took full advantage of the affordable Thai massage and had a full body and foot massage two separate days. The full body Thai massage is a bit different than a traditional relaxation massage. It involved lengthening the spine and bending the body into unique positions. Our massage started with the little Thai ladies walking up and down our back. If I only could have snapped a picture of this! These little ladies get physical and really press hard.
We enjoyed seeing the most famous Wat Pho "The Golden Buddha" and strolling through the small alleys of Chinatown. Lebua at State Tower was our hotel and a beautiful one at that. Frank, the executive chef from Germany, provided a delicious breakfast spread of every and anything that could be consumed in the morning or day. The hotel featured a 64th floor Skybar that overlooks the city and claims to be the highest open air bar in the world. While I can't say I agree it is the highest in the world, I can say it was breathtaking.
Bangkok had endless shopping opportunities and really catered to custom suits, pants, and shirts. Shop after shop advertised 3 shirts and 2 pants for $39 ready in 12 hours. A person could have anything hand crafted in a matter of hours.
Dairy Queen, A & W, Pizza Hut, McDonalds, Dominos, Auntie Anne's Pretzels, Burger King, and several other American chains were well represented throughout Bangkok. It was amazing and really a pleasant surprise. Despite the fact that Thai people don't speak a lot of English we found them super friendly and not near as annoying as Indian people. We could ask a question and they would give a yes or no answer instead of a head wobble or a "As you wish mam" comment. Thailand has excellent customer service and really knows how to properly treat a person. We figure they are a good 10 years ahead of Delhi.
We could highly recommend a trip to Bangkok with a stay at Lebua State Tower, a shopping trip around Siam Square & Chinatown, a visit to Wat Pho and the Grand Palace, and a 60 minute Thai foot massage for 300 Baht=$9.52.
