SEA Trip Day 9 (+ 10): End of Trip

Sunday, January 22 (+ Sunday, January 22): BKK > SIN > SFO > SMF

We enjoyed a final breakfast in the lounge before heading to the airport for our mid-day flight from Bangkok to Singapore. Our check-in process went quickly, so we had enough time to visit the Singapore Airlines lounge for some pre-flight beverages. Once again, we lucked out with an empty aisle seat in our row during the flight. 

Our layover in Singapore was a bit long, so we made full use of the Singapore Airlines Business Class lounge, thanks to our connecting flight in United Polaris Business Class. After some lunch, we took turns walking around the airport and admiring the Chinese New Year decorations.

I made a few more purchases of gifts and souvenirs and also made time to visit the butterfly garden. What a unique attraction to find at an airport! (the butterflies are hanging upside down under some leaves in the photos below -- sort of hard to discern in this small format, though)

Our flight to San Francisco departed after 10pm, and since I still wasn't feeling great, I ended up sleeping for nearly half of the 14.5 hours. Mr. E and I had chatted with the flight attendants about leaving some of my meal for me to have when I was ready. The menu for this particular flight was very limited in options for me, more due to my allium allergy than to my being a pescatarian! Quite disappointing. But not too much of a hardship since I didn't feel like eating a lot anyway. Just too bad that I wasn't in the mood to enjoy the adult beverages either!

We arrived in SFO around 9pm. Yes, that's correct. We left Singapore at 10pm on Sunday and arrived in San Francisco at 9pm on the same day. Time travel!!! We basically had to live the same day twice! So weird...

Since we used the Mobile Passport Control app, we breezed through our arrival procedures and had just enough time to make a stop at the Polaris Lounge before heading to the gate for our 10:20pm flight to Sacramento. And then we waited. And waited. And waited some more. Again with minimal communication from the gate crew about what was happening or why the flight was delayed. Apparently, the issue was yet again related to the lack of cleaning crew. Arrgh! We finally departed about 30 minutes late and made it home to Louis XIV right around midnight. *yawn*

Overall, despite the travel disruptions, it was a great trip and wonderful opportunity to reconnect with friends. Too funny that we had to go halfway around the world to meet up with them and didn't get together more often when they were living in SoCal! We're definitely prioritizing a return to Singapore, but I think we're good with "one and done" for Bangkok.

Next up, some family time in Austin for a combo birthday weekend in early March.

SEA Trip Day 8: Last Adventures in Bangkok

Saturday, January 21: Starbucks Quest, Farewell to Friends, Afternoon Tea #2

Our friends came back into the central city area on Saturday, which gave us another chance to catch up. J attended a professional development event, and A and Kiddo made a stop at the Neilson Hays Library to exchange some books. This was our opportunity to spend some time with Kiddo and to finally meet Poley, the famous polar bear (see A's blog for many appearances and stories about this fluffy friend).

Since the Library is just a block or so from our hotel, it was easy to meet up with them. But first we went off on a quest of our own to the nearest Starbucks and found two awesome mugs to bring home -- one with the skyline of Bangkok (in the classic 3D style that we prefer) and the other to celebrate the Year of the Rabbit. Let's hope we can fit them both in our bags on the way home!

A was having trouble finding a Grab to get to our lunch spot, so we ended up walking back to our hotel to ask the concierge for assistance. Our destination was The Commons, which has multiple food vendors and plenty of outdoor seating. Mr. E and I weren't really hungry after our leisurely breakfast in the lounge, so we just got a healthy juice to share while J and A and Kiddo enjoyed their food. Kiddo's waffles were beautiful! She loved them! Unfortunately, A's supposed "real Wisconsin cheese curds" didn't quite live up to their billing (no squeak).

We said farewell to our friends in the early afternoon and decided to walk back to the hotel, seeing more of the city and the street life as we strolled along in the shade.

Our final planned activity for the trip was afternoon tea at The Author's Lounge, located in the Oriental Hotel. Since our reservation was for 4:30pm, we decided to take a cab to minimize being out in the still-warm air even though the hotel wasn't too far away. We were seated at a table in the main room, right next to the piano player. After several minutes of trying to talk over the music, Mr. E asked the staff if we could move to the back room to decrease the background sound. The staff was very accommodating, and we ended up at a table large enough for 5+ people!

Since I was still a bit warm, I opted for a cold-brewed tea to accompany my vegan and gluten free tea set, which was recommended by the staff as the best way to avoid any allium. Mr. E had the standard tea set, which included a small walnut chocolate cake robed in red and shaped like a rabbit. The entire presentation was amazing and VERY plentiful! We wish we had known earlier that it was perfectly acceptable to ask for a to-go box...

In addition to making a note in the reservation about my allium allergy, I also mentioned that this trip was to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary. So we were presented with a lovely little extra sweet to acknowledge our special occasion!

This experience was a great way to close out our Bangkok visit, with excellent service, amazing food, and a special surprise at the end.

We decided to walk back to our hotel and stopped at a small shop that Mr. E had noticed on our way to The Author's Lounge. What a great find! We procured a beautifully carved wooden elephant to add to our collection along with a cute elephant magnet as part of our souvenirs.

Back at the hotel, I crashed in the room because I wasn't feeling well and was in bed by about 7pm. Mr. E enjoyed the lounge and the rooftop bar again for one final night in BKK.

SEA Trip Day 7: Catching Up With Friends

Friday, January 20: Foot Massage #2 (ouch!), Dinner at Scarlett

After a leisurely breakfast in the lounge, Mr. E and I got a cab out to the Rama 2 area to meet up with A. He showed us around their immediate neighborhood, including the next-door hospital and outdoor market across the street. It was great to see their apartment and pool deck and surrounding area in person after reading about it for the past year and a half on his blog!

He had made foot massage appointments for the three of us at his nearby favorite spot. We settled in for 60+ minutes of very firm pressure on our feet and legs, finishing up with about 30 minutes of additional massage on our shoulders, necks, and upper backs. There was some bantering about which therapist provided the firmest pressure, and I think I claimed victory, if the bruises on my calves later in the afternoon were sufficient evidence...!

We headed back to our hotel around 2:15pm to relax for a few hours. Mr. E visited the fitness center, and I swam laps for a bit in the infinity pool. Then we got ready to meet up with A and J for dinner at Scarlett Wine Bar & Restaurant in the Pullman Hotel G, just a few blocks away from our hotel. We arrived at our reservation time of 5:30pm, but A and J were delayed by traffic and a brief typical Bangok-esque cycle-meets-taxi encounter. Mr. E and I bided our time with cocktails and the view.

Once our friends joined us, we took advantage of the Friday evening Happy Hour offering of a meter-long cheese & charcuterie board with a bottle of Australian Shiraz for 1,900 Baht (approx. $55). J and I chose the components of the board, and it truly was a full meter long! Almost couldn't fit on the table!

Once we polished off this group starter, we each ordered a little more to finish off the meal: Nicoise salad for me, pasta Bolognese for Mr. E, grilled asparagus for A, and truffle mac & cheese for J. Photos of the latter two below show the lovely presentation and appropriate portion sizing.

We decided to wrap up for the night after some more wine. Mr. E and I walked back to our hotel while A and J summoned a Grab for their return transportation. Such great company and conversation for 3+ hours and so awesome to catch up with both of them and hear more about their lives in BKK and their plans for the future!

Taking a "Paws" from Travel Updates

Today we celebrate and honour and remember our beloved stripey boy cat, Captain Jack. We had to say farewell to our Pirate Prince exactly two years ago, on February 5, 2021. He remains in our hearts forever, with his sweet handsome face, fluffy fur, and smiling purrs. We love you, Cap'n!!

SEA Trip Day 6: Touring in Bangkok

Thursday, January 19: Temples, Foot Massage #1, Afternoon Tea #1, Enjoying the Lounge

Mr. E and I had booked the Three Temples City Tour through Trip Advisor for our morning activity. After a workout in the room for me and breakfast for both of us in the lounge, we met up with our English-speaking guide, Sunny, in the hotel lobby. I hadn't realized this would truly be a private tour for just the two of us! 

We started off at Wat Traimit, the Temple of the Golden Buddha. Sunny provided a history of the temple and the multiple spots where the Buddha had been sited over the years. We were greeted by a street cat as we began our tour of the grounds and then climbed the stairs to enter the temple and marvel at the Buddha as Sunny waited outside and made sure our shoes didn't go missing.

Sunny explained to us that marigolds are frequently used in abundance to honor the Buddha, and we certainly saw this in multiple places that we visited. Another smaller temple is part of this site as well, so we made a quick stop for another viewing, which included seeing several people praying and requesting blessings from a monk.

The parking lot was quite full, and Sunny and our driver helped to navigate some other vehicles so that we could depart!

The next stop was Wat Arun, Temple of the Dawn. This site wasn't quite as crowded, so it was a bit easier to tour around the main tower and also see some of the surrounding structures. The tower is covered in multi-colored porcelain tiles and offers a striking contrast to the visual style of the other temples.

Our final stop was at Wat Pho, home of the enormous reclining Buddha. This temple offers an entire complex of grounds, scattered with many sculptures including a whole set showing a series of yoga postures, and other buildings that feature a vast collection of Buddhas. And another cat!

We were finished with the tour and back to our hotel around 12:30pm. Our plans for the rest of the day included an evening food tour. However, after seeing the traffic circulation and poor air, I realized that a 4-hour tour in an open-air tuk-tuk probably wouldn't be very enjoyable. 

Mr E didn't have any hesitation in agreeing when I suggested that we forgo the experience and just take the rest of the day to relax at the hotel instead. We started with afternoon tea and a shared salad bowl at the Lobby Lounge. The tea set was presented in a special box and included a nice variety of sweet and savory items for us to share.

Then we decided to check out the spa offerings and were able to get an on-the-spot 30-minute foot massage in the mid-afternoon, which was followed by lemongrass tea and a snack of fresh yogurt with fruit and granola out on the pool deck. We finished up the day with drinks and food at the lounge, and Mr. E also returned to the rooftop bar for a cocktail after I went to the room to read before bed.