I spent 4 weeks in Thailand in 2 different hotels. My first stay was at the Holiday Inn Bangkok Sukhumvit. I quickly learned that Holiday Inn hotels in Asia are not the same as in the States. This hotel in Bangkok was more like a 5-star hotel. The first difference was the 29 floors (my room on the 26th floor). The inside of the hotel was more confirmation that this is not the same as the States. Everything was top notch and the staff were so friendly and quick to help with anything you needed.
I also stayed at the Holiday Inn Bangkok (after returning from Pattaya). This one was across the street from lots of high-end stores and about an 5-minute walk (using the upper walkway) to the centralwOrld mall (this is how they spell it, with a capital ‘O’). This one was a mid-rise hotel but still all the luxuries as the other hotel.
I enjoyed my stay at both locations and have been trying to determine which I like best for my when I return. They each have good reasons for returning.
When I first arrived, I visited with a doctor for a Hepatitis A & B shot. I found out the day before leaving for Thailand that I needed to get a couple of vaccinations. In all of my research on Google and YouTube videos of people who visited or now living in Thailand, none mentioned vaccinations. I found out on one of my community group’s website. A lady mentioned she would be traveling to Thailand in the next month and wanted to know what vaccinations were needed. WHAT!!!!! I was scrambling. But after checking the CDC website, I decided that I only needed the Hepatitis shots. The doctor was a recommendation from a group member. And, I was glad to find out that the doctor’s office was a 23-minute walk from the hotel. I also returned a few weeks later for the flu and Covid shots (after hearing that the U.S. was experiencing an increase in the flu virus).
As for seeing the city, I booked a couple of tours/things to do. The first was a Thai Cooking School. We first went to a street market to shop for our veggies. Our instructor showed us the process of shredding a coconut, which was one of the first items we used in class. We made coconut milk! For each meal, we would prep the foods and then cook using the wok, and then we would eat that meal. The first was Phad Thai, one of my favorite Thai foods.
One day I took a tour of the Ayutthaya Temples (about 1.5 hours outside of Bangkok). The town is famous for the ruins, featuring iconic temples like Wat Mahathat (famous Buddha head in tree roots – see picture below). Bangkok has over 400 Buddhist temples (wats), while Thailand as a whole has over 40,000.
And of course I rode the hop on/off sightseeing tour bus. I got a view of things in and outside of the city.
One of the things that made this trip a lot more enjoyable was the benefits of being an IHG hotel member have paid off. I have reached their highest level of Diamond Status and also Ambassador level for InterContinental hotels only. I mostly stayed at Crowne Plaza hotels while in Europe and a few of Holiday Inn. Now, my status gives me FREE breakfast, lunch and dinner!!! Breakfast rivals Golden Corral, except there is something from every country. What they call ‘tea time’, I call lunch. Each hotel is different, but they might have small sandwiches, spring rolls, or chicken satay. Dinner will have 3 hot food items, veggies to build a good salad, sushi, cold cuts, and dessert. I’ve had Phad Thai, roasted duck with noodles, fried shrimp. The food is very good. Throughout the day, I can stop in the Club Lounge for snacks, coffee, tea or soda (alcohol is free during dinner).
I didn’t always eat in the hotel. There was a good Thai ‘hole in the wall’ restaurant across the street (Honey House) that serves very good Tom Yom Goong soup… YES!!!!! They also have good Phad Thai, chicken fried rice and spring rolls. If you can’t tell, I enjoyed my eating experience in Bangkok. LOL!!
I also ate at El Gaucho and had one of the best meals I’ve had since traveling. Part of this is because Europe doesn’t use a lot of seasoning. This is a steakhouse and that steak was seasoned so well, I was dancing in my head. And then I ate some of that load baked potato… OMG… and then broccoli (remember, I rarely had any veggies in Europe). I was singing, dancing, and clapping for joy in my head. Of course, I returned but at a location near the 2nd hotel, and the food was just as good.
Okay, enough about my excitement for good food. Oh but I forgot to mention there’s a Cheesecake Factory… and yes, I ate there 3 times!!! Other features about the city is the traffic, which is worse than any traffic nightmare you’ve encountered. I will say that it’s a chaotic mess to experience, but the drivers are calm while you’re non-verbally screaming. They have cars, taxis, scooters, motorbike taxis and buses all on the street all day long. Instead of Uber, they have Grab. And when you order a Grab you can select whether you want a car or motorbike. After witnessing how the motorbikes weave in and out between cars, I knew I would never ride one. If you have somewhere to be, you have to prepare well ahead of time. For instance, I needed a Grab taxi to go to the cooking school. You first need to include 15-20 minutes of time for the taxi to reach you, then add in the time distance to the location and add an additional 15 minutes for traffic.
There’s also the BTS Skytrain. Luckily I was near a station at both hotels. One day I just rode the train to see other areas.
I’ll end by saying… I truly enjoyed my time in Bangkok. The time went by so quickly, and that tells me that I was enjoying the city. If you get a chance to visit Asia, please add a stop in Bangkok, you won’t be disappointed.
