Bangkok, Thailand Oct.31, 2012
Bustling roads, faithful people and Inflight meal
This is my third visit to Bangkok. It was about a decade since I visited the city last time. I remember I arrived at Don Mueang Airport and had to take a taxi to get down to the city center in a crowded road at that time. It was a long and hectic ride to the downtown. This time, I landed at Suvarnabhumi airport, which is connected directly with the downtown by Airport Rail Link. Now I can enjoy good views of Bangkok from the windows on the elevated Airport Rail Link on my way to downtown.
I flew by Japan Airlines from Narita the morning and hit Bangkok around the evening. The roads are bumper to bumper with cars and bikes in the downtown. Many of them are going home from work. I feel dynamism of the Asian city every time I visit. I visited the city for a business meeting this time. I stayed at JW Marriott near MRT Sukhumvit station. At the airport I took the Airport Rail Link to Phaya Thai station. Then I changed to BTS for BTS Asok station. The meeting was held at the hotel. So I spent most of time in the hotel and ate at restaurants in there. So no chance to see around the city except a guided river boat tour the host of the meeting arranged for us on the last day of the meeting. (We went Wat Arun, temple of daybreak and saw the city along the river on the tour.) I took a walk around the hotel whenever I had a chance and took a foot massage near the hotel. I was able to see people praying at shrines in the evening. There are shrines in the middle of the city center. I saw a lot of people coming to pray in the evening. I heard some 94% of Thai people are Buddhist. I saw people come to those places in town maybe on their way home and spend some time in front of buddha statues. Seeing those, I could not feel the sense of respect for them any better.
The meeting was over. Now I am leaving for Japan by a mid-night flight. Packed in the air-conditioned conference room, which was too cold for me, eating at a restaurant in the hotel, I had no chance to eat something local people eat this time. I wanted to have a Thai curry dish during the stay. Maybe I will have another chance to come and enjoy local food. I checked out the hotel and headed to the airport back same way I came. The inflight meal offered on my return flight was not that bad. Sausage and Omelet with a cup of white wine and the movie “Ted”. They were really good.
