Gisela and Jason's Thailand adventure

After waking up with the birds; mission number 1 The Paragon shopping center. A short Skytrain ride from the hotel and we are in London, New York or Paris. The Paragon center is where the rich Thai folks go to shop. Everything you would expect at an up market shopping center is there. The only difference is that Bangkok is currently in the sales period and 70 percent off isn't unusual. That didn't stop Gisela enough to qualify for a VAT refund however.

Lunch was an excellent Japanese affair in the Paragon center; mixed Sashimi with a side order of Octopus for me and Tempura for Gisela.

Feeling a little worn out after the shopping experience a little self pampering was in order. Being a collector of international haircuts I went for a trim at the local beauty salon near the hotel and Gisela opted for a manicure and pedicure. Next stop; the masseurs. The original plan was to take the train to Wat Pho where the national school of massage is located. It's possible to subject yourself to the students (for a small fee) however as the temperature was hitting 40 degrees in the shade we decided to pay a visit to the local 'health' massage parlor instead. I choose the traditional Thai and Gisela went for the more advanced aroma therapy session. After having my feet washed (something that I found particularly funny) I changed in to the little cotton outfit they gave me and made my way upstairs to the 'treatment' centre where I found a number of mattresses on the floor. Each mattress was surrounded by a curtain making a little private space for each person (aka victim). The masseur introduced herself (in Thai so I have no idea what her name was) and even before she stared she asked if I was interested in a sexy oil massage!! Of course I was shocked to say the least SHOCKED! Clearly I politely declined. The Thai massage I had back in Chiang Mai was tame compared to this one. Today's massage was painful.. really painful. It started out OK (just twisting all of my muscles in my legs.. one by one like some kind of torture act similar to having ones nails pulled off) but when she flipped me over and started work on my back and legs… that was really special, especially when she started walking on my back and digging her heals in between each bone and muscle from my neck to the back of my ankles.

After an hour of torture I crawled back down the stairs to the ground floor where I found Gisela looking happy and healthy. The staff poured me out into the street with a wai and I was free! Time for a beer to recover from the ordeal.

We (well I) then hobbled back to the hotel for a rest prior to the evening activities.

As this was to be our last night in Thailand we decided to go up market a bit (in fact Gisela mentioned that the entire holiday was up market but this event was to be really special). Firstly however we set off to Mr. Song's to pick up our new threads. As expected everything was perfect. Mr. Song cannot be recommended highly enough. I had one tailored suit (a clone of my wedding suit) for only 120 Euros and Gisela had one skirt, one pair of trousers and a dress for Flo for around 100 Euros.

After a drink at the Oriental (which seems to be our unofficial Bangkok HQ these days) we headed to the restaurant.

On the opposite side of the Chao Phraya River to the Oriental is a famous Thai restaurant called Sala Rim Naam. Some people in the know say that Sala Rim Naam is the best Thai restaurant in Bangkok. Some of the food they serve there was once reserved only for royalty. Each dish is like a little piece of art… but much tastier! We shared an assortment of traditional Thai appetizers with various sauces. I can't remember the Thai names of the appetizers but they included crab in little blue steamed parcels, various deep fried vegetables and duck in crispy pasty. For the main course we shared Spicy fish dumplings, stir fried morning glory with preserved soy sauce, banana blossom salad with spicy chicken and steamed rice. The wine was equally good; a tasty white Chilean number. I think Sala Rim Naam is probably the best restaurant I have been to in years… highly recommended.

A few hours after we arrived at the restaurant it was time to go. As we left our Mr. Song purchases at the Oriental we needed to take the private boat back across the river to the hotel. We were the only two passengers and I think the driver of the boat and his assistant wanted a bit of fun. As it was quite they decided to do a little joy riding so we took the boat for a little spin around the local sites prior to arriving at the hotel.

Taxi from the Oriental to Tenface. An excellent final day and evening in Bangkok!!

Jason & Gisela