Flying in to Thailand is always a thrill and this trip is no different. I actually flew into the old Don Mueang Airport rather than the new Suvarnabhumi, but it was nice to see the old place. The trip into town was faster due to the “new” raised highway that wasn’t there 20+ years ago (?) when I last flew into Don Mueang. And my driver was trying to beat the morning rush into the city by driving at 120 to 140 kph on the straight parts of the road. Like any courageous sort, (sarc/) I did not look up at the road or the traffic. I kept my eyes down on my Kindle reader until traffic forced my Grab driver to slow down.
It was 8am so my room was not ready to so I walked down Sukhumvit Road to Sarnie’s, a coffee and ice cream place on a Soi nearby. Very quiet, unassuming place that now has power plugs at most tables which is great. Ordered a mediocre iced latte and a great home made vanilla ice cream/peach lemongrass gelato. Great welcome back to Bangkok!
Room still was not going to be ready so I visited my favorite Michelin Bib place on Sukhumvit, Rung Rueang Pork Tung for the small version of their Tom Yum with mixed meats. And then remembered that I like the fish ball and minced pork better and that the small is just too small a bowl to work well. I will remember next time.
Wandered about by Gentle Monster at Emquartier and got a kick out of the last remaining Christmas decorations.
Then my room was ready and I fell out, slept like a log for several hours. Woke up just in time for dinner and I was Jonesing for some Pad Kra Prao, so it was off to the Marriott Marquis for their “boutique” street food cafe, the Siam Tea Room. Sounds oxymoronic to me but they tried. I ordered Pad Kra Prao and the waitress recommended pork belly instead of minced pork and I unwisely agreed. The pork belly is not right for the dish and the fried egg was overdone, not jammy at all. But the mango and passionfruit shake was on point!
Walked home in the comforting heat, traffic noise and humidity of Bangkok. It is interesting to see what seems like home after a few weeks of travel.
As soon as the sun was up I was showered and went down to the breakfast rooms for a quick perusal of the options. Rembrandt believes in a little of everything, so I spooned up a small amount of several dishes, then grabbed a machine made cappuccino and a fruit yogurt. Nice breakie. Then it was off to the Sky Train to Surasak Station and a walk up Surasak Road to the Bangkokian Museum of early Bangkok life. First, I love the Sky Train, it is just a cool way to travel around Bangkok. Second, the Bangkokian Museum is old fashioned fun. It is three old homes from the late 1890’s and early 1900’s with many of the original furnishings and LOTS of photos of Grandmother and a sculpture of Dr. Grandfather. And tons of memorabilia. Well worth a visit! And it is free!
Then it was a short’ish walk to Chinatown past an elementary school and a Mecha sculpture. Pretty cool!
I visited 2 favorite places of mine in Chinatown, both places recommended to me by Peter years ago. I hit Jay Hieng Fishball Soup for an excellent bowl. Started with just a few tastes of the broth. Just about perfect. Rich, savory, just a great dish. Love this place. As I was leaving I realized that they had not charged me for my Coca Cola so I held up the change and explained. They both smiled and nodded and shooed me down the road. I do not know what that was about but it was charming.
Then I spotted a cool elephant sculpture and stood for 10 minutes waiting for a tuk tuk to roll by in back of it. The light was bad and the photo did not turn out that well but I liked the elephant so it was worth it. The street sweeper laughed when I explained why I was standing there with my phone camera in hand. Glad to give him a moment of humor. 
Then I stopped at Ek Teng Phu Ki for Ceylon Milk Tea and Coconut Cream Custard Toast. Love this place and the little AC cooled nook upstairs is a great place to recharge your energy levels. And both tea and toast are perfect.
Then I saw two cats just napping the afternoon away and realized it was time for my own siesta.
When I woke up again I wandered over to the Emsphere. It is just an over the top conglomeration of fairly decent cafes, tons of punters and a very nice display of Lotus roadsters.
I left there and visited a Mom and Pop place called Flowers Cafe. I was seated at a group table that appeared to be a billiards table with a piece of plywood over the felt. The downside was that of the three groups at the table 2 were German, 1 was French and then there was me. I have found that food in Thailand tends to be better in cafes that have fewer of people like me. Western I mean, not just American. I was the only “Anglo” at Jay Hieng and Ek Teng and at both of them the food was great.
Anyway, I ordered Seafood Yum Woon Sen and Fried Morning Glory. Good, not great, but it was so quirky I am tempted to go back to delve deeper into the menu.
Home again, happy to be back in Thailand! Not sure if I will go north or south next week. Guess I will play it by ear.
