More rain. Yes, it looks like that will be the order of the day. There were moments this morning where the balcony looked like a lake was going to form on it, as the drain couldn't keep up with all the water. It doesn't help that the lower deck is open to the sky because of the stairs going up to the roof. I don't think that there will be much of anything happening today.
Until about 14h00 today we only left the room to go have breakfast and then hang out in the covered courtyard (by the pool table and gym), and catch up on all our social media. Finally we decided we should have something to eat and not wait until dinner time, so we picked up the umbrellas and headed out. Like yesterday, it started off with light rain, but by the time we were a block away from our hotel it was really coming down. It didn't help that the umbrellas were small either. My shoes were soaking wet in no time. Shoes in Phuket and not sandals you say? I've never been a sandals person, but I did buy a pair. Within no time I remembered why I don't wear sandals. The thing that goes between your big toe and the other toe seems to always attack my foot and it gets raw very quickly. That was really show lived.
So what turned out to be a 5 minute walk from the hotel ended up being a 15 to 20 minute walk...in one direction! Here too, people walk across the sidewalks instead of one behind the other. The biggest offenders here are not the same cultures or age groups I am used to back home. Over here it seems to be predominantly those from Australia, India, or the Middle East. Not necessarily people I would have expected to hog the space. Fortunately I am used to dealing with this back home, so I was able to keep some space for us to walk down the sidewalks and not have to walk on the street, dodging oncoming traffic and/or the masseuses along the street.
The restaurant had air conditioning. Now I am definitely a fan of air conditioning when I'm anywhere warm, but even though it was very warm outside, when you walk into an air conditioned restaurant. Everything was full blast and even though only one table was taken, we chose to sit t the very back as there was not an air conditioner anywhere near our seat there. Being wet with the AC on is not the most comfortable feeling. We finished lunch and headed back out only to be greeted by no rain. It was much more pleasant walking home but now the sellers had come out of their booths and the tuk tuks were everywhere calling out 'tuk tuk taxi?' or 'tuk tuk boss?' or 'tuk tuk tuk'. Ah well, at least the rain had stopped.
Got back to the hotel and took a look from the rooftop to see what the likelihood of some sun coming our way was. It did not look good. Sure enough, after not too long, the rain came again. Not much, but just enough to deter really doing anything. So we just hung out watching the movie channel. We decided since it would be raining we would try the dinner at the hotel. At nighttime, the lounge and larger part of the restaurant turn into the dining area while the smaller part of the restaurant becomes the buffet. We wanted to eat something off a menu and not a buffet, so we ended up ordering a chicken dish for George and a white bass dish for me. We also had a complimentary fruit salad from the hotel which we were given the first night here. When the dinner came out, each of our main courses was presented on a long rectangular plate, approximately the width of our table (twice the size of the placemat) and presented very nicely. To look at it one would think that's not a lot of food, but when you actually eat it, there is a lot. Coming with my fish was a mashed potato and artichoke as well as something else with it that I couldn't quite identify. Almost like a tomato but not quite. The meal was good, but not great. We probably should have stuck to Thai food as opposed a western food, but we did not like the limited choices on the menu. Tomorrow night we'll eat out again.
After dinner, since the rain had stopped, we walked up the street to the Family Mart, a Thai version of 7-11 from what I can see (but the do have 7-11 here as well). We were in the mood for a red Fanta (strawberry/cream soda) and a chocolate bar. Then it was back to the room for the evening.
Overall it was a do-nothing day, nice, but would have been nicer if we could have done nothing on the rooftop deck. But then, tomorrow is another day.
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Don't Rain On My Parade
They morning started off with rain. In fact it rained all night and continued into the morning. I certainly hope it stops sometime so we can get out, even if it's only to our rooftop to relax somewhere stretched out other than on the bed.
So it was down to do breakfast and once again the selections were great. A few changes from yesterday, but all still great. I think I'm going to wear more when I get home than when I left and that was definitely not the plan. After breakfast, the rain seemed to ease up a bit, so we decided to go for a walk down along the beach area, but took the umbrellas in the room just in case. We did have to use them, but by the time we went the block to the beach, the rain was coming down in torrents. We opted to head back to the hotel and relax in the covered courtyard instead. I suppose I shouldn't complain about the rain, after all it is the rainy (monsoon) season here and we knew that when we booked the trip.
Around 15h00 the rain had stopped, and we could see in the distance that it was likely not to start again for a while, so it was off for a walk down the street again to see if we could find something for dinner later. We were looking for something Thai again, but wanted a little more spiciness in it. We walked past Bangla street and stopped in front of a restaurant called 'Enjoy', and perused the menu in front. The greeter/waitress was right there asking us to come in (as they all do here), but we told her we were just looking for later tonight. It certainly looked like a good place to try, so we decided we would come back here later. We now wanted to go back and get some sun on the deck while it was still out.
Back at the hotel up our private rooftop terrace, we put the deck chairs out in the sun and laid back to enjoy...well George did. I was not really in the sunning mood and for some reason the Wi-Fi wasn't really working up there, so I headed down to the main deck off our room and laid there, surfing (I should have been editing pictures but I just wasn't into it at the moment).
Dinner time came and it was off to the restaurant we found earlier. The walk there was actually very nice, as it seemed a little cooler and we were not bothered by vendors and massage people as I think they thought we were headed to a pub or restaurant, and knew we would likely not have time for any shopping or getting a massage.
We sat outside on the front patio at the restaurant and ordered milkshakes to drink. Me a mango and George a strawberry. Mine was delicious as was Georges, but we think his was just made with strawberry ice cream and milk, while mine probably had real mangos in it. We started off again with spring rolls and the dipping sauce with them was stupendous! It had a certain spice in it that made it delicious to eat and wanting more.
This was followed by satay again, and pork pad thai, Thai curry chicken and basil with green beans and some steamed rice. The waiter brought us some oils and ground chili flakes to spice it up as we mentioned to him that we did prefer a spicier taste. All I can say was delicious. The Thai curry chicken was my ultimate favourite. I could have eaten 2 or 3 plates myself. Even adding on a fair bit of oils and chili, it did not have the burning taste I often found at home, but rather a flavourful heat to it. I am going to have to find some of this back home, likely at the Thai House restaurant, but certainly not at the place we are used to going to. We finished off the dinner with a bowl of ice cream each and then were on our way.
The walk back was after dark, so we decided to take a walk down Bangla and see how different it was at night as compared to the early afternoon. The street was closed to traffic and people were milling around everywhere. Karaoke was happening in some bars, while the hotel had hired their own entertainers to sing in others. It was already turning into a drunkfest for some people, as we watched them staggering down the street while being held up by their friends. People kept trying to hand out sheets and get us to go see the 'Ping Pong' shows, something which I had absolutely no interest in watching, even if you paid me. The massage girls were working full time here as well, as were people exploiting baby monkeys by handing them to people on the street or setting them on shoulders but always looking for payment later. The clubs seemed endless, but we finally made it to the end of the street and headed back to our hotel.
We relaxed in the room and on the deck for a while before heading to bed. A quiet, relaxing day which is always a nice way to spend a vacation.
So it was down to do breakfast and once again the selections were great. A few changes from yesterday, but all still great. I think I'm going to wear more when I get home than when I left and that was definitely not the plan. After breakfast, the rain seemed to ease up a bit, so we decided to go for a walk down along the beach area, but took the umbrellas in the room just in case. We did have to use them, but by the time we went the block to the beach, the rain was coming down in torrents. We opted to head back to the hotel and relax in the covered courtyard instead. I suppose I shouldn't complain about the rain, after all it is the rainy (monsoon) season here and we knew that when we booked the trip.
Around 15h00 the rain had stopped, and we could see in the distance that it was likely not to start again for a while, so it was off for a walk down the street again to see if we could find something for dinner later. We were looking for something Thai again, but wanted a little more spiciness in it. We walked past Bangla street and stopped in front of a restaurant called 'Enjoy', and perused the menu in front. The greeter/waitress was right there asking us to come in (as they all do here), but we told her we were just looking for later tonight. It certainly looked like a good place to try, so we decided we would come back here later. We now wanted to go back and get some sun on the deck while it was still out.
Back at the hotel up our private rooftop terrace, we put the deck chairs out in the sun and laid back to enjoy...well George did. I was not really in the sunning mood and for some reason the Wi-Fi wasn't really working up there, so I headed down to the main deck off our room and laid there, surfing (I should have been editing pictures but I just wasn't into it at the moment).
Dinner time came and it was off to the restaurant we found earlier. The walk there was actually very nice, as it seemed a little cooler and we were not bothered by vendors and massage people as I think they thought we were headed to a pub or restaurant, and knew we would likely not have time for any shopping or getting a massage.
We sat outside on the front patio at the restaurant and ordered milkshakes to drink. Me a mango and George a strawberry. Mine was delicious as was Georges, but we think his was just made with strawberry ice cream and milk, while mine probably had real mangos in it. We started off again with spring rolls and the dipping sauce with them was stupendous! It had a certain spice in it that made it delicious to eat and wanting more.
This was followed by satay again, and pork pad thai, Thai curry chicken and basil with green beans and some steamed rice. The waiter brought us some oils and ground chili flakes to spice it up as we mentioned to him that we did prefer a spicier taste. All I can say was delicious. The Thai curry chicken was my ultimate favourite. I could have eaten 2 or 3 plates myself. Even adding on a fair bit of oils and chili, it did not have the burning taste I often found at home, but rather a flavourful heat to it. I am going to have to find some of this back home, likely at the Thai House restaurant, but certainly not at the place we are used to going to. We finished off the dinner with a bowl of ice cream each and then were on our way.
The walk back was after dark, so we decided to take a walk down Bangla and see how different it was at night as compared to the early afternoon. The street was closed to traffic and people were milling around everywhere. Karaoke was happening in some bars, while the hotel had hired their own entertainers to sing in others. It was already turning into a drunkfest for some people, as we watched them staggering down the street while being held up by their friends. People kept trying to hand out sheets and get us to go see the 'Ping Pong' shows, something which I had absolutely no interest in watching, even if you paid me. The massage girls were working full time here as well, as were people exploiting baby monkeys by handing them to people on the street or setting them on shoulders but always looking for payment later. The clubs seemed endless, but we finally made it to the end of the street and headed back to our hotel.
We relaxed in the room and on the deck for a while before heading to bed. A quiet, relaxing day which is always a nice way to spend a vacation.
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
What Day Is It Today?
Ok, I thought I waited long enough so that this would post on July 2nd, but it actually ended up posting on July 3rd cause its the middle of the night back home. So todays posting will contain updates from yesterday as well as today (which isn't quite done yet).
The 2nd started somewhere on the flight from Munich to Bangkok. Not quite sure where, but I did manage to get in a couple of sleeps, and I think that was the saviour for the day. Woke up a little before breakfast was to start so it gave me time to freshen up before anyone else was awake. No, I didn't use the pyjamas they gave to us on the flight. A few people did, including one of the stranger people sitting across the plane from us. He was in them before the plane even left the gate, and asleep as soon as the seatbelt sign was turned on.
As they were getting ready to set up the tables, on of the flight crew saw George standing and talking with me and asked if we would like to have breakfast together. No hesitation there, we were happy to sit with each other, me in my chair, and George on the foot stool/guest stool.
Much as last nights dinner, breakfast consisted of a lot of choices. We started off with a choice of fresh fruits, yoghurt, cereals, and muesli (or any combination thereof). Of course fresh juices were in order as was coffee or tea. This was followed by breads and the main plate. We both chose the cheese omelet (I'm sure it was a 3 egger) and also included a huge pork fillet medallion and some delicious fried potatoes. I was stuffed by the time breakfast was done. Now it was just time to wait to land in Bangkok and see which lounge we would be brought to.
The plane was disembarked using the exit behind First Class and the cabin crew held back the business and economy passengers until we had a chance to make our way off of the plane. When we got to the end of the bridge, we were met by our Thai airlines rep who whisked us and the weird guy across the way to our next stop, security. It was the 3 of us since we are all headed to the same place, Phuket, so it was much easier to arrange and explain procedures to everyone, only once. Our rep waited until we were all through security and then led us to the First Class Lounge. Now I had hoped this would be where we got to go, but since we were only connecting in business class, I sort of expected to end up in the business class lounge. As we were checking in, the weird guy asked if he could book a massage now. He had told us that we should get one and enjoy the full treatment. Now I had heard that this was a hit or miss when passengers are departing Bangkok in a cabin that is not First Class and not International, but I thought I would see how it played out and take advantage of it if he was successful. The girl (a trainee) started to look for a time, but was quickly told by her co-worker that it is only for international passengers. He was arguing the point as he said he had done it many times before (which I have no doubt), but they weren't budging. I decided to not push it and just asked if George and I could get our seats re-assigned as we were not seated together on the last flight. Just happily took our boarding passes and checked and then offered us an exit row with 2 seats in business. She also noticed that we had pre-ordered special meals on this flight. She became very apologetic and said that this particular flight did not offer the salmon tarragon we ordered. Again, it was no problem as we were still full and I was kind of surprised that their web site let me order a meal outbound but not on the return. It is a very short flight, after all. We then left to go relax in the lounge.
We didn't need to make our own way to our seats in the Thai First Class Lounge or Royal Orchid Lounge as it is called. Rather, we were led into the lounge, passing private rooms with their own TV's along the way. We had a choice of any place we would like, so we ended up finding something near the window a little ways down from the entrance. We had no sooner sat down when one of the staff came over and while kneeling down, offered us a purple coloured drink, something she said was traditional so we graciously accepted. It was cool, refreshing and delicious to taste. We were also asked if we would like something to drink but I just chose to have some fresh pineapple juice and take a moment to fire up the laptop. They also gave us menus so we could see if there was anything we would like to order to eat, but after the flight, we were still full.
It was about this time that George had a 'Ryan moment'. He had been looking for his iPhone in his backpack and couldn't seem to find it. I asked if he wanted me to check online where it might be and I did so while he continued to dig through all the pockets in his bag. His phone was actually turned off, so until someone turned it on, it didn't track online, but I was still able to send a message to it and make it sound out in case someone was nearby. When he still couldn't find it, I suggested he ask at the front desk as it may have been left on the plane since he had last used it there. While he was over there, I checked his bag again, as I remember he had said to me that he would put it in a certain place. It was unlikely that I would remember but for some reason or other I did. When I checked the pocket, it was in the first place I looked. I turned it on and held it up as he walked back, so happy to be reunited with it. He had to go back to the front to let them know it was safe and no need to check the plane. The message I sent came through on the phone, now that it was on, but fortunately, we did not have to wait for someone else to retrieve it. We were now able to relax and enjoy the lounge.
While we were sitting there, one of the ladies from the front came over to us and told us that there were two first class seats available on our upcoming flight and if we would like them (there were in the middle), they would assign them to us, but we would still only have business class service. Not a problem at all, we would gladly take them. She advised us that we would need to leave the lounge by 16h00 to go through immigration and catch our flight and gave directions where our gate would be. So we sat back for a little while longer and enjoyed the break while we waited to continue the journey.
We decided to leave a few minutes early, as I'm always concerned about lineups along the way and how unpredictable they can be. Our flight was to start boarding at 16h20, and I wanted to make sure we were there on time. As we were leaving, they brought us our new boarding passes and then led us down the corridor to show where we would go to immigration before boarding our flight to Phuket.
We went down the hall and then down the stairs to see 4 lines up people standing at the four booths. We chose what we thought was the shortest line, not noticing the 'trainee' sign at the counter right away. Every line was moving slowly but ours seemed to go even more slowly. We eventually moved over two lines to what appears to be the fastest moving line of them all...until we got there. Just like a supermarket, it's always the longest time to get through. As it got closer to boarding time the lad from Dublin who was in front of us, offered to let us go ahead, as he had lots of time to kill before his flight to Samui. The crazy man on our flight showed up after us, picked the line with 2 customs agents and ended up moving to our original line when a second officer showed up. As it turned out, he reached the counter just before we did. When I finally had my turn it was, walk up to the counter, hand in your documents, stand in the two footprints and when told to look at the camera, look so they could take a picture of you. It actually went quite quickly when we went through so I'm not sure what the hold up was for those in front of us.
When we got through security, again, and re-put together, we started off toward our gate. By the time we got there, they were already boarding and we followed the crazy man to what I guess was the priority line up (there was no sign), and we got ahead of a lot of people who were in a much longer line-up. In no time we were on the bridge and headed to our business class seating in First Class.
As we were waiting for the plane to fill, one of the flight crew came over to apologize for not having our special meal on board. Once again, we told her not to worry as we are perfectly fine with whatever everyone else is having. So in the 1 hour 25 minute flight we got served a nice snack of fish cakes, asparagus and cauliflower followed by a delicious desert which we've figured is a mango/coconut creation. I could have eaten a dozen of those easily! Oh, and the lemongrass water when we got on was amazingly refreshing. Going to have to look this up when we get home.
Finally landing in Phuket about 20 minutes late due to traffic delays at Bangkok airport, we went into the terminal to get our baggage and head out to find the limo driver to our hotel. We found the carousel with our flight number and stood waiting for it to start moving. While we waited, crazy guy came up and told us our 'international baggage' would be in another area (we had got stickers put on us before passing through immigration about this). We followed him into the main terminal and then turned into another baggage area where we found another carousel with our flight number. This is where priority baggage tags don't seem to work. The 3 of us were waiting while almost all the other baggage was loaded onto the belt. Ours was close to last before it came out and I was feeling a little anxious having a driver wait outside for us so long when our flight was delayed.
We passed through the nothing to declare lane and headed back into the throngs of people offering taxis into the towns. It looked like all the pre-hired drivers were outside so out we went, passing this craziness. By this time it's pretty much nightfall, and we are reading various names on signs but couldn't find mine. We walk the short distance to the end and still see nothing. Finally, a guy walks up to us holding his sign with my name on it (first name misspelled) but everything else in order. So off we head to his vehicle for the drive into Phuket.
Now it's been a long time since I have ridden in a vehicle in Asia (only 1 other time) and it all came back to me why I prefer getting to me destination some other way than by car. I don't believe there is a speed limit in Thailand, nor do lanes mean anything. It's just go as fast as you can, drive wherever you want to (and as close to other vehicles as you can), honking at anyone who gets in your way. This went on for about the whole hour we were driven to reach our hotel. I think the only time I tensed a little was when we were climbing over the last twisty hill only have to head down the other side.
We finally arched our hotel and checkin was quick and pleasant. We both were given cold towels and a glass of lemongrass water. Another ultra refreshing drink, and good for you too! One of the porters brought us and our bags up to the room to also explain the features along the way and in the room. It turned out to be everything we expected and more. A lovely walk through closet area by the bathroom, a rain head shower, huge king bed, Apple TV, Wi-Fi set up for us, great patio with seating area off the bedroom and stairs leading to our rooftop sun/shade deck upstairs. But since it was dark and late, we just settled unpacked and settled in to relax before heading to bed. We wanted to start the day tomorrow on a regular schedule and be ready for breakfast in the morning.
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Woke up Tuesday morning a little before 06h00 as the light was beginning to shine into the window. It looked to be a fairly nice day, a bit overcast and the temperature was already 26c going up to 30c (humidity would knock that up about 10 degrees more). After we had our morning coffee in the room and got ourselves presentable, we made our way down to the restaurant to partake in the buffet included in our stay. They had some western choices, including bacon, toast, cereal, and of course the egg station where they made delicious omelettes. Reminded me of our trips to Puerto Vallarta all over again. There were all kinds of fruit, a lot I didn't recognize but made sure I tried anyway. Yogurts, fresh honey, freshly squeezed juices and on and on.
After breakfast we decided it would be a good day to walk down to see what we could find in the daylight and possibly find either a tailor and/or optical store for George. We walked down to Thanon Taweewpmg, the main street running along the beach area of Pa Tong. Although it was fairly early in the day, we did encounter a lot of people offering massages and when you walked by, even though you said no or just ignored them, they still had to touch you somewhere, either your arm or bum, At first I thought it was used as an attempt to pickpocket you, but don't believe so anymore. George also made the mistake of answering someones hello which only led them to talk more and start offering to make a suit for him as he was a tailor (I don't think he was barely 20 years of age). Drawn in, he found it difficult to leave and try as he might, the guy played along with whatever excuse George tried to use to get away. Finally he just said he would check back later and got the the guys card. We continued our walk down to the tailor George had had researched a bit before hand which also included a stop at Starbucks for something cool to drink. As we walked and talked about it, we realized that we were really not here long enough to ensure everything would be correct fitted if he tried to get a suit made before we left. As well, we really weren't sure of the bargaining practices here, and my last bargaining was done in Mexico, which is so much different than it is in Asia. So in the end, he did not get anything made.
On our walk back he wanted to stop at an opticians to see what they had. In we walked and after being out in the hot, humid sun, walking into the air conditioned store caused me to sweat like there was no tomorrow. As I mentioned before, ever since the chemotherapy, this has really been an issue. I think I'll ask the doctor about it when I see her in August. But back to the story. George tried on a number of glasses in the store before he finally narrowed his choices down to three pairs. The girl started writing how much they would be (with a 30% discount), as well as for the lenses (which due to his stigmatism, would have to be brought in from Bangkok in a couple days). He told her he had his eye prescription at the hotel, and would be back after he picked it up. His plan was to get 2 pairs of glasses for the price he would pay for one pair back home.
As we walked back to the hotel, we decided to stop into another optical store just to compare and see what they had to offer. It turned out that not only did George find nicer sets of frames, but the owners were much easier to work with. The discount was a little less than what the other store offered, but we were certain we could get them to bring that down when we came back. So off to the hotel we went to get his prescription, and after a rest, we were on our way back.
After the deal was done, and arrangements to pick them up Friday evening, it was time to take a walk up Bangla Road and see what it was all about. As it was still early in the day, there was not a lot happening yet, but you could see that the street was practically made up of nightclubs and bars all stacked in layers down the street almost from one end to the other. I can only imagine what this place gets like late in the evenings. Our walk back was to be along Thanon Ratuthit Songroipi, the next somewhat parallel street up from the beach. If we that the massage ladies were bad before, it only got worse here. It seems every few feet you walk you come upon another massage parlour, and if not being accosted by the ladies working there, you are accosted by taxi drivers and tuk tuk drivers. It was insane and it wasn't even late in the day yet. We made it back to the hotel and took a break before heading back to the optical store to give them George's eye prescription.
We walked back to the store around 13h00 as they had to have everything done by 14h00 to ensure that the lenses could be shipped in from Bangkok in time to have them ready for Friday. Half was paid down and the other half to be paid when he gets his glasses. George had also asked for a better discount since he was buying two pair. He offered them 1000 baht less than their offer and they agreed to the price. As we turned to leave, we saw that the rain had begun coming down. We waited under the awning a few moments before we started venturing back, but the rain never really stopped. There were moments it came down in torrents as we walked, so we just hid under the closest awning until it eased off, then continued on our way, finally reaching our hotel, soaked, but still warm.
I relaxed a bit on our lower balcony until it was time to head out for dinner. We grabbed the umbrellas from the closet and set out to find some Thai food. We didn't have far to go, as literally, in the building next door was a Thai restaurant and we decided that it would be the place we tried tonight. We ordered drinks as it was happy hour and all drinks were 1/2 price. I had a mai tai, and I swear that there was more alcohol in it than anything else. Not that I am complaining, but I really think I got much more than my moneys worth on that one. We ordered some spring rolls and satay to start. The main entrees were Shrimp Pad Thai (turned out they were out of shrimp so topped it with fresh prawns), and a chicken dish with vegetables and a sweet and sour sauce and a bowl of steamed rice to complete it all. Everything was delicious, but I sort of anticipated it to be spicier than it was. We decided to finish off the meal with dessert, ordering a bowl of Rambutan (Ngor) and a bowl of Longon (Lam Yai). Although I found them not horrible tasting, the Longon similar to a lychee, the texture while chewing it was similar to octopus which I was not crazy about (George even less so). All in all though it was an enjoyable dinner.
After that it was back to the hotel for a bit of surfing and relaxing while listening to the rain outside and then off to bed, ready to start another day tomorrow, hopefully with some more sunshine.
*** Pictures are still to follow and will be added later ***
The 2nd started somewhere on the flight from Munich to Bangkok. Not quite sure where, but I did manage to get in a couple of sleeps, and I think that was the saviour for the day. Woke up a little before breakfast was to start so it gave me time to freshen up before anyone else was awake. No, I didn't use the pyjamas they gave to us on the flight. A few people did, including one of the stranger people sitting across the plane from us. He was in them before the plane even left the gate, and asleep as soon as the seatbelt sign was turned on.
As they were getting ready to set up the tables, on of the flight crew saw George standing and talking with me and asked if we would like to have breakfast together. No hesitation there, we were happy to sit with each other, me in my chair, and George on the foot stool/guest stool.
Much as last nights dinner, breakfast consisted of a lot of choices. We started off with a choice of fresh fruits, yoghurt, cereals, and muesli (or any combination thereof). Of course fresh juices were in order as was coffee or tea. This was followed by breads and the main plate. We both chose the cheese omelet (I'm sure it was a 3 egger) and also included a huge pork fillet medallion and some delicious fried potatoes. I was stuffed by the time breakfast was done. Now it was just time to wait to land in Bangkok and see which lounge we would be brought to.
The plane was disembarked using the exit behind First Class and the cabin crew held back the business and economy passengers until we had a chance to make our way off of the plane. When we got to the end of the bridge, we were met by our Thai airlines rep who whisked us and the weird guy across the way to our next stop, security. It was the 3 of us since we are all headed to the same place, Phuket, so it was much easier to arrange and explain procedures to everyone, only once. Our rep waited until we were all through security and then led us to the First Class Lounge. Now I had hoped this would be where we got to go, but since we were only connecting in business class, I sort of expected to end up in the business class lounge. As we were checking in, the weird guy asked if he could book a massage now. He had told us that we should get one and enjoy the full treatment. Now I had heard that this was a hit or miss when passengers are departing Bangkok in a cabin that is not First Class and not International, but I thought I would see how it played out and take advantage of it if he was successful. The girl (a trainee) started to look for a time, but was quickly told by her co-worker that it is only for international passengers. He was arguing the point as he said he had done it many times before (which I have no doubt), but they weren't budging. I decided to not push it and just asked if George and I could get our seats re-assigned as we were not seated together on the last flight. Just happily took our boarding passes and checked and then offered us an exit row with 2 seats in business. She also noticed that we had pre-ordered special meals on this flight. She became very apologetic and said that this particular flight did not offer the salmon tarragon we ordered. Again, it was no problem as we were still full and I was kind of surprised that their web site let me order a meal outbound but not on the return. It is a very short flight, after all. We then left to go relax in the lounge.
We didn't need to make our own way to our seats in the Thai First Class Lounge or Royal Orchid Lounge as it is called. Rather, we were led into the lounge, passing private rooms with their own TV's along the way. We had a choice of any place we would like, so we ended up finding something near the window a little ways down from the entrance. We had no sooner sat down when one of the staff came over and while kneeling down, offered us a purple coloured drink, something she said was traditional so we graciously accepted. It was cool, refreshing and delicious to taste. We were also asked if we would like something to drink but I just chose to have some fresh pineapple juice and take a moment to fire up the laptop. They also gave us menus so we could see if there was anything we would like to order to eat, but after the flight, we were still full.
It was about this time that George had a 'Ryan moment'. He had been looking for his iPhone in his backpack and couldn't seem to find it. I asked if he wanted me to check online where it might be and I did so while he continued to dig through all the pockets in his bag. His phone was actually turned off, so until someone turned it on, it didn't track online, but I was still able to send a message to it and make it sound out in case someone was nearby. When he still couldn't find it, I suggested he ask at the front desk as it may have been left on the plane since he had last used it there. While he was over there, I checked his bag again, as I remember he had said to me that he would put it in a certain place. It was unlikely that I would remember but for some reason or other I did. When I checked the pocket, it was in the first place I looked. I turned it on and held it up as he walked back, so happy to be reunited with it. He had to go back to the front to let them know it was safe and no need to check the plane. The message I sent came through on the phone, now that it was on, but fortunately, we did not have to wait for someone else to retrieve it. We were now able to relax and enjoy the lounge.
While we were sitting there, one of the ladies from the front came over to us and told us that there were two first class seats available on our upcoming flight and if we would like them (there were in the middle), they would assign them to us, but we would still only have business class service. Not a problem at all, we would gladly take them. She advised us that we would need to leave the lounge by 16h00 to go through immigration and catch our flight and gave directions where our gate would be. So we sat back for a little while longer and enjoyed the break while we waited to continue the journey.
We decided to leave a few minutes early, as I'm always concerned about lineups along the way and how unpredictable they can be. Our flight was to start boarding at 16h20, and I wanted to make sure we were there on time. As we were leaving, they brought us our new boarding passes and then led us down the corridor to show where we would go to immigration before boarding our flight to Phuket.
We went down the hall and then down the stairs to see 4 lines up people standing at the four booths. We chose what we thought was the shortest line, not noticing the 'trainee' sign at the counter right away. Every line was moving slowly but ours seemed to go even more slowly. We eventually moved over two lines to what appears to be the fastest moving line of them all...until we got there. Just like a supermarket, it's always the longest time to get through. As it got closer to boarding time the lad from Dublin who was in front of us, offered to let us go ahead, as he had lots of time to kill before his flight to Samui. The crazy man on our flight showed up after us, picked the line with 2 customs agents and ended up moving to our original line when a second officer showed up. As it turned out, he reached the counter just before we did. When I finally had my turn it was, walk up to the counter, hand in your documents, stand in the two footprints and when told to look at the camera, look so they could take a picture of you. It actually went quite quickly when we went through so I'm not sure what the hold up was for those in front of us.
When we got through security, again, and re-put together, we started off toward our gate. By the time we got there, they were already boarding and we followed the crazy man to what I guess was the priority line up (there was no sign), and we got ahead of a lot of people who were in a much longer line-up. In no time we were on the bridge and headed to our business class seating in First Class.
As we were waiting for the plane to fill, one of the flight crew came over to apologize for not having our special meal on board. Once again, we told her not to worry as we are perfectly fine with whatever everyone else is having. So in the 1 hour 25 minute flight we got served a nice snack of fish cakes, asparagus and cauliflower followed by a delicious desert which we've figured is a mango/coconut creation. I could have eaten a dozen of those easily! Oh, and the lemongrass water when we got on was amazingly refreshing. Going to have to look this up when we get home.
Finally landing in Phuket about 20 minutes late due to traffic delays at Bangkok airport, we went into the terminal to get our baggage and head out to find the limo driver to our hotel. We found the carousel with our flight number and stood waiting for it to start moving. While we waited, crazy guy came up and told us our 'international baggage' would be in another area (we had got stickers put on us before passing through immigration about this). We followed him into the main terminal and then turned into another baggage area where we found another carousel with our flight number. This is where priority baggage tags don't seem to work. The 3 of us were waiting while almost all the other baggage was loaded onto the belt. Ours was close to last before it came out and I was feeling a little anxious having a driver wait outside for us so long when our flight was delayed.
We passed through the nothing to declare lane and headed back into the throngs of people offering taxis into the towns. It looked like all the pre-hired drivers were outside so out we went, passing this craziness. By this time it's pretty much nightfall, and we are reading various names on signs but couldn't find mine. We walk the short distance to the end and still see nothing. Finally, a guy walks up to us holding his sign with my name on it (first name misspelled) but everything else in order. So off we head to his vehicle for the drive into Phuket.
Now it's been a long time since I have ridden in a vehicle in Asia (only 1 other time) and it all came back to me why I prefer getting to me destination some other way than by car. I don't believe there is a speed limit in Thailand, nor do lanes mean anything. It's just go as fast as you can, drive wherever you want to (and as close to other vehicles as you can), honking at anyone who gets in your way. This went on for about the whole hour we were driven to reach our hotel. I think the only time I tensed a little was when we were climbing over the last twisty hill only have to head down the other side.
We finally arched our hotel and checkin was quick and pleasant. We both were given cold towels and a glass of lemongrass water. Another ultra refreshing drink, and good for you too! One of the porters brought us and our bags up to the room to also explain the features along the way and in the room. It turned out to be everything we expected and more. A lovely walk through closet area by the bathroom, a rain head shower, huge king bed, Apple TV, Wi-Fi set up for us, great patio with seating area off the bedroom and stairs leading to our rooftop sun/shade deck upstairs. But since it was dark and late, we just settled unpacked and settled in to relax before heading to bed. We wanted to start the day tomorrow on a regular schedule and be ready for breakfast in the morning.
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Woke up Tuesday morning a little before 06h00 as the light was beginning to shine into the window. It looked to be a fairly nice day, a bit overcast and the temperature was already 26c going up to 30c (humidity would knock that up about 10 degrees more). After we had our morning coffee in the room and got ourselves presentable, we made our way down to the restaurant to partake in the buffet included in our stay. They had some western choices, including bacon, toast, cereal, and of course the egg station where they made delicious omelettes. Reminded me of our trips to Puerto Vallarta all over again. There were all kinds of fruit, a lot I didn't recognize but made sure I tried anyway. Yogurts, fresh honey, freshly squeezed juices and on and on.
After breakfast we decided it would be a good day to walk down to see what we could find in the daylight and possibly find either a tailor and/or optical store for George. We walked down to Thanon Taweewpmg, the main street running along the beach area of Pa Tong. Although it was fairly early in the day, we did encounter a lot of people offering massages and when you walked by, even though you said no or just ignored them, they still had to touch you somewhere, either your arm or bum, At first I thought it was used as an attempt to pickpocket you, but don't believe so anymore. George also made the mistake of answering someones hello which only led them to talk more and start offering to make a suit for him as he was a tailor (I don't think he was barely 20 years of age). Drawn in, he found it difficult to leave and try as he might, the guy played along with whatever excuse George tried to use to get away. Finally he just said he would check back later and got the the guys card. We continued our walk down to the tailor George had had researched a bit before hand which also included a stop at Starbucks for something cool to drink. As we walked and talked about it, we realized that we were really not here long enough to ensure everything would be correct fitted if he tried to get a suit made before we left. As well, we really weren't sure of the bargaining practices here, and my last bargaining was done in Mexico, which is so much different than it is in Asia. So in the end, he did not get anything made.
On our walk back he wanted to stop at an opticians to see what they had. In we walked and after being out in the hot, humid sun, walking into the air conditioned store caused me to sweat like there was no tomorrow. As I mentioned before, ever since the chemotherapy, this has really been an issue. I think I'll ask the doctor about it when I see her in August. But back to the story. George tried on a number of glasses in the store before he finally narrowed his choices down to three pairs. The girl started writing how much they would be (with a 30% discount), as well as for the lenses (which due to his stigmatism, would have to be brought in from Bangkok in a couple days). He told her he had his eye prescription at the hotel, and would be back after he picked it up. His plan was to get 2 pairs of glasses for the price he would pay for one pair back home.
As we walked back to the hotel, we decided to stop into another optical store just to compare and see what they had to offer. It turned out that not only did George find nicer sets of frames, but the owners were much easier to work with. The discount was a little less than what the other store offered, but we were certain we could get them to bring that down when we came back. So off to the hotel we went to get his prescription, and after a rest, we were on our way back.
After the deal was done, and arrangements to pick them up Friday evening, it was time to take a walk up Bangla Road and see what it was all about. As it was still early in the day, there was not a lot happening yet, but you could see that the street was practically made up of nightclubs and bars all stacked in layers down the street almost from one end to the other. I can only imagine what this place gets like late in the evenings. Our walk back was to be along Thanon Ratuthit Songroipi, the next somewhat parallel street up from the beach. If we that the massage ladies were bad before, it only got worse here. It seems every few feet you walk you come upon another massage parlour, and if not being accosted by the ladies working there, you are accosted by taxi drivers and tuk tuk drivers. It was insane and it wasn't even late in the day yet. We made it back to the hotel and took a break before heading back to the optical store to give them George's eye prescription.
We walked back to the store around 13h00 as they had to have everything done by 14h00 to ensure that the lenses could be shipped in from Bangkok in time to have them ready for Friday. Half was paid down and the other half to be paid when he gets his glasses. George had also asked for a better discount since he was buying two pair. He offered them 1000 baht less than their offer and they agreed to the price. As we turned to leave, we saw that the rain had begun coming down. We waited under the awning a few moments before we started venturing back, but the rain never really stopped. There were moments it came down in torrents as we walked, so we just hid under the closest awning until it eased off, then continued on our way, finally reaching our hotel, soaked, but still warm.
I relaxed a bit on our lower balcony until it was time to head out for dinner. We grabbed the umbrellas from the closet and set out to find some Thai food. We didn't have far to go, as literally, in the building next door was a Thai restaurant and we decided that it would be the place we tried tonight. We ordered drinks as it was happy hour and all drinks were 1/2 price. I had a mai tai, and I swear that there was more alcohol in it than anything else. Not that I am complaining, but I really think I got much more than my moneys worth on that one. We ordered some spring rolls and satay to start. The main entrees were Shrimp Pad Thai (turned out they were out of shrimp so topped it with fresh prawns), and a chicken dish with vegetables and a sweet and sour sauce and a bowl of steamed rice to complete it all. Everything was delicious, but I sort of anticipated it to be spicier than it was. We decided to finish off the meal with dessert, ordering a bowl of Rambutan (Ngor) and a bowl of Longon (Lam Yai). Although I found them not horrible tasting, the Longon similar to a lychee, the texture while chewing it was similar to octopus which I was not crazy about (George even less so). All in all though it was an enjoyable dinner.
After that it was back to the hotel for a bit of surfing and relaxing while listening to the rain outside and then off to bed, ready to start another day tomorrow, hopefully with some more sunshine.
*** Pictures are still to follow and will be added later ***
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Happy Canada Day
We're leaving Prague this afternoon and heading to Phuket via Munich and Bangkok. You likely won't see an update here until after we arrive there and have had at least one nights sleep. Will catch you later. Have a great day celebrating Canada's 145th birthday until then.
Slow start to the day as we are checking out by lunchtime. We thought we would wander past our favourite breakfast place this morning to see if they were open. As it turned out, they were not so we headed off to Wenceslas Square. It seems places don't open to eat before 08h30 or 09h00 and even that is gauged by whatever time the workers decide to stop having their coffee and cigarette. Thus we ended up at Starbucks again for a latte thinking we would just head back to one of them after they opened. We had seen lots of people gathering in the square as well as a lot of policemen so we knew that there must be some sort of march or parade going on. Turns out they were celebrating 150 years of Sokol in the Czech Republic. One of the people who was in it told us that there was representation from all over the world including Canada. When we found this out, we thought we don't want to get trapped behind something in the square so we just decided we would head back up the street, check our restaurant one more time, and if it was open eat there or if not, head over to the hotel. It was open! So the Bistro Deli and Bakery would serve us our last breakfast here.
We were still early and wanted to wait until last minute to check out, so we headed back to the room to catch some TV and maybe step out to buy our train tickets. It turns out we have to buy from a machine and George is worried that they will automatically stamp the time when we do so we'll head back when we are ready to go. Now we'll just sit in the hotel and wait until it's closer to the time to head to the airport. I will definitely recommend The Sheraton Prague Charles Square hotel to anyone. We found the location handy yet quiet enough that we were not bothered by any noises outside. Our room was at the back facing some residences and what looked like a gym on the ground floor of one. Some days we got to see them working out in the back yard. Staff were friendly and everything was super clean. Definitely a place to think about.
We arrived in the subway station at 13h00 for our trip out to Ruznyë Airport in Prague. Took us about a half hour to reach the transfer point for the bus. We found our stop without any problem and watched as the airport bus arrived at the station to drop off more visitors to Prague. He then pulled over to switch drivers and have a chat, a long chat, a very long chat! There was a young Asian lady sitting at the bus stop with a bag of strawberries in a basket. We saw her take a strawberry out of the bag, take a small bit out of the bottom, put it back in the bag, and then take another and do the same thing. She did this for at least six of the berries in her bag, then tied it up and waited. Strange. About half an hour after he arrived he finally got moving again and came over to pick us up. Once aboard, it was a quick drive to the airport, terminal 2 and after checking in at the business class counter, we zipped through fast track security and headed up to the lounge.
The lounge here is pretty basic. It has a a number of seats and tables. A few choices of packaged salads, sandwiches, yogurt, nuts, pretzels, muffins and such, as well as a few choices of spirits and non spirits for quenching ones thirst. It's a contract lounge for many airlines, so you get what you get and nothing more. We'll look for a bit more in one of the lounges at Munich before hopping into our suites on the Thai 747 to Bangkok for the next 11 hours. Then its a connection to Phuket and we'll be there by tomorrow evening (tomorrow morning if you're back in Vancouver).
We arrived in Munich airport. The flight was short, only 40 minutes but they managed to serve the four of us up front a snack. I wasn't really sure what it was, something in tomato, a meat with pickles and pearl onions and some kind of sauce, as well as a dessert with kiwi in it (it had to be stirred to make it taste like something). Business class on this flight really consisted of 2 seats on a four across seater. You get one and the other one is 'your space'. The attendant sets up the tray on that one so that you are not confined in your chair should you need to get up.
When we landed in Munich we entered the terminal first and then tried to find out where our flight left from and what lounge we could go to. We were on 'C' level so we wandered the hall to the Lufthansa service centre where they told us we would have to go up one level where our departure gate was at H08 but clear passport control first, and then we could use the First Class Lounge there. As our flight was not yet listed on the departure board (we leave at 21h50 and the board only went up to 21h05 so far), we wandered down to the Lufthansa First Class lounge to check with them. They confirmed that we had to go upstairs as well, so off we went.
We got upstairs to join the lines and the 'Rest of the countries' since we were not EU citizens. Then I noticed that there was a separate line for Lufthansa First and Business class passengers so off we went since it was much shorter. We were through in no time, so we headed on over to the Lufthansa First Class lounge on the 'D' level. Unfortunately Lufthansa is very proprietarial when it comes to letting people in their First Class facilities. Only Lufthansa passengers are allowed, no other Star Alliance members First Class passengers need apply. We were sent across the hall to the Lufthansa Senator Lounge and there we saw that First Class was accepted there. There appears to be a distinction here, as business class passengers have their own lounge while Lufthansa's Senator members accept other Star partners First Class passengers.
The lounge is quite large and has an open glass window looking down to the floor below. Lots of seats and places to charge your laptops with free Wi-Fi as well. There was some goulash, German meatloaf (wiener food), and chicken curry for hot food. Also there were a few cold snacks and lots of stuff to drink, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic. I passed on the alcohol as I am waiting for the Dom Perignon on our Thai flight later.
We have a really strange couple sitting next to us. I'm not sure what to make of them, but it is just not normal. I don't think they were a couple other than in the sense that his wife probably does not know about her. When she bends over, her black thong shows clearly throughout he pink spandex she is wearing and she's all over him in very inappropriate ways for a public location. Not that he's any better with his hand feeling her *ss when she has the need to sit beside him and rub up against him. I'm quite glad that they left for their flight now. Of course we only get about 20 minutes here without them before we head out to our flight.
Boarding time was near so we finally headed down to our gate at the far end of terminal 2 in Munich. It looked like a lot of people gathered inside, but of course they were filling a 747 so a lot were expected. I took a picture before boarding and if anyone is interested, we had the first 8 windows at the front of the aircraft for our viewing. Boarding commenced with passengers in First and Business class as well as the Star Gold members. We were about 6th and 7th to board and when we reached the aircraft (after going down 2 escalators and taking the 1st exit for our cabin, we were greeted graciously by the cabin crew. We moved up to our seats and sadly, there had been an aircraft swap (which I have heard happens a lot on this route), and they were not individual suites, rather just individual seats but a mile of legroom to spread out. We each had our own bin for our carry ons. As passengers boarded, we were wondering if anyone else was coming up front as there were 8 empty seats waiting. Slowly 3 singles came in, one who looked like a world traveler, and then just before they closed the door, a family of 4 came in with two young children. And for anyone questioning, they were very well behaved. I did manage to drink 2 glasses of Dom Perignon Vintage 2003 before they closed the doors though.
A little while after takeoff, they came around with some appetizers. I'm not sure what all was in either, but the one that was topped with shrimp was delicious and I had to have some more after I ate the first two. Then it was time to set up for dinner. Out came the massive table for my seat and once all set up, they brought out the caviar and vodka. I passed on the vodka, but had to try the caviar as it was something new for me. They gave me two big spoonfuls and I chose some chopped egg whites, chopped scallion and some kind of sauce to mix them together to help with the saltiness. I think I've found another treat in life that I cannot afford. Both George and I were in heaven. I finished mine off with another glass of champagne and then it was on to the next appetizers, a chicken salad Thai style and sliced roast beef filet. Again, all were delicious and the plate was clean when I was done.
I didn't partake in the regular offerings for main courses as I had pre-ordered Lobster Thermidor for this flight. How many ways can I say heavenly! I love lobster, but I absolutely adore lobster thermidor! Once again, I left nothing on the plate. Dinner was followed by a fruit and cheese offering. I passed on the cheese but had a variety of fresh fruits. By the time dessert rolled around, I had to pass as I was absolutely stuffed. George did try the dessert and said it was wonderful, a pineapple coffee taste with strawberry sauce, but was only able to eat half of it.
Dinner done, it was time to get some shut eye. I had started watching the movie 'John Carter' but fell asleep before it was over. Unfortunately they didn't get to fully make my bed but when I woke up later I was covered in a warm quilt.
We arrived in Munich airport. The flight was short, only 40 minutes but they managed to serve the four of us up front a snack. I wasn't really sure what it was, something in tomato, a meat with pickles and pearl onions and some kind of sauce, as well as a dessert with kiwi in it (it had to be stirred to make it taste like something). Business class on this flight really consisted of 2 seats on a four across seater. You get one and the other one is 'your space'. The attendant sets up the tray on that one so that you are not confined in your chair should you need to get up.
When we landed in Munich we entered the terminal first and then tried to find out where our flight left from and what lounge we could go to. We were on 'C' level so we wandered the hall to the Lufthansa service centre where they told us we would have to go up one level where our departure gate was at H08 but clear passport control first, and then we could use the First Class Lounge there. As our flight was not yet listed on the departure board (we leave at 21h50 and the board only went up to 21h05 so far), we wandered down to the Lufthansa First Class lounge to check with them. They confirmed that we had to go upstairs as well, so off we went.
We got upstairs to join the lines and the 'Rest of the countries' since we were not EU citizens. Then I noticed that there was a separate line for Lufthansa First and Business class passengers so off we went since it was much shorter. We were through in no time, so we headed on over to the Lufthansa First Class lounge on the 'D' level. Unfortunately Lufthansa is very proprietarial when it comes to letting people in their First Class facilities. Only Lufthansa passengers are allowed, no other Star Alliance members First Class passengers need apply. We were sent across the hall to the Lufthansa Senator Lounge and there we saw that First Class was accepted there. There appears to be a distinction here, as business class passengers have their own lounge while Lufthansa's Senator members accept other Star partners First Class passengers.
The lounge is quite large and has an open glass window looking down to the floor below. Lots of seats and places to charge your laptops with free Wi-Fi as well. There was some goulash, German meatloaf (wiener food), and chicken curry for hot food. Also there were a few cold snacks and lots of stuff to drink, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic. I passed on the alcohol as I am waiting for the Dom Perignon on our Thai flight later.
We have a really strange couple sitting next to us. I'm not sure what to make of them, but it is just not normal. I don't think they were a couple other than in the sense that his wife probably does not know about her. When she bends over, her black thong shows clearly throughout he pink spandex she is wearing and she's all over him in very inappropriate ways for a public location. Not that he's any better with his hand feeling her *ss when she has the need to sit beside him and rub up against him. I'm quite glad that they left for their flight now. Of course we only get about 20 minutes here without them before we head out to our flight.
Boarding time was near so we finally headed down to our gate at the far end of terminal 2 in Munich. It looked like a lot of people gathered inside, but of course they were filling a 747 so a lot were expected. I took a picture before boarding and if anyone is interested, we had the first 8 windows at the front of the aircraft for our viewing. Boarding commenced with passengers in First and Business class as well as the Star Gold members. We were about 6th and 7th to board and when we reached the aircraft (after going down 2 escalators and taking the 1st exit for our cabin, we were greeted graciously by the cabin crew. We moved up to our seats and sadly, there had been an aircraft swap (which I have heard happens a lot on this route), and they were not individual suites, rather just individual seats but a mile of legroom to spread out. We each had our own bin for our carry ons. As passengers boarded, we were wondering if anyone else was coming up front as there were 8 empty seats waiting. Slowly 3 singles came in, one who looked like a world traveler, and then just before they closed the door, a family of 4 came in with two young children. And for anyone questioning, they were very well behaved. I did manage to drink 2 glasses of Dom Perignon Vintage 2003 before they closed the doors though.
I didn't partake in the regular offerings for main courses as I had pre-ordered Lobster Thermidor for this flight. How many ways can I say heavenly! I love lobster, but I absolutely adore lobster thermidor! Once again, I left nothing on the plate. Dinner was followed by a fruit and cheese offering. I passed on the cheese but had a variety of fresh fruits. By the time dessert rolled around, I had to pass as I was absolutely stuffed. George did try the dessert and said it was wonderful, a pineapple coffee taste with strawberry sauce, but was only able to eat half of it.
Dinner done, it was time to get some shut eye. I had started watching the movie 'John Carter' but fell asleep before it was over. Unfortunately they didn't get to fully make my bed but when I woke up later I was covered in a warm quilt.
Saturday, June 30, 2012
Last Full Day In Prague
Our last full day in Prague and it appears to be overcast and possibly even looks like rain is on the way. Could the weather forecast be wrong and we are finally going to get a break from the heat and humidity?
We planned to catch the noon sailing on the boat cruise from our tour that started yesterday so thought we would get an early start out for breakfast. We headed to our usual stop but they weren't open yet so we decided to head down to Wenceslas Square to see what they had there. It was really quiet on all the streets, few people, and even fewer vehicles moving. We got to the square and didn't really find much open and since we had timed plans we broke down and went to that evil place that I don't like to talk about, so we'll just leave it at that. As we sat down to eat on the patio, a few drops of rain started to spatter on the ground. George thought we might have to go back to the hotel to get a coat but I assured him that the rain would stop soon.
By the time we finished eating, my thoughts proved correct, the rain had stopped. We ended up walking back to the hotel anyway as we had lots of time, and we thought we would pick up a bottle of water we had in the room that we meant to bring with us. We also realized that since the boat starting point was on the other side of the Jewish Quarter, we could catch one of the tour buses we were on yesterday (the line without air conditioning) and ride it over to the other side again, this time possibly getting one with air conditioning! There was a stop on the tour a block or so away, right near the train station we arrived at and will be returning to tomorrow. Also spotted the ugliest doll I have ever seen on the walk back. I think it was once a former gymnast, now shrunken down and preserved forever.
After waiting about 25 minutes a bus came. I guess they were slowed down by all the traffic that seemed to build up since we had breakfast earlier. I was a little worried that the bus would be full and since there were 3 other people waiting there before us, I had said to George that we'll walk along the river if there isn't enough room. Well not only was there plenty of room, but the bus had the best air conditioning I've been in so far this trip. We were more than happy to go around on the green line tour again just to get us to our stop. It is only supposed to take about an hour so we had plenty of time still.
We drove around the castle again and finally reached our stop where the guide pointed out where we should go to catch the boat and what name to look for, the Classic River. Again we still had lots of time, so we wandered around the area for a bit, not going far as by now the heat of the day was starting to set in quite well. There was what looked sort of like a monument by the river, and on it were pictures of the river flooding over the banks 10 years ago. That would have been really high, as the river was down a ways from the road bank. We had to take either a roadway or walkway down just to walk near it.
People started boarding the boat around 11:30 so we hopped on as well and sat down for a drink in the shade before heading upstairs to the rooftop. We met a couple ladies from Manhattan Beach in California and had a really nice visit with them. They had been on a Baltic Cruise and then decided to spend some time in Moscow and Prague before heading back. Their trip was only 15 days and they regaled us with their rush through Heathrow in London and nearly missing their connection because one of them forgot to pull her laptop out of her carry on. She said in the states they don't need to do that and she couldn't understand the customs official when he asked her to. I thought it was the same language, but I have to remember that the British accent was probably confusing. They were heading back the same way, so I wished them better luck on the return.
Once we completed the cruise, we disembarked and waited in
the shade for a few moments while the other groups got themselves up the stairs
and out into their buses or on their walks. I happened to notice a Hop-On,
Hop-Off bus coming and George saw it had the same guide as we had yesterday. So
instead of walking into the downtown area, I suggested we catch the bus if
there was room, as it would take us the two stops much quicker than walking in
the heat.
So now it’s off to bed. Tomorrow will just be a lazy morning before
heading out to the airport after check-in and catching our flights onward. I’ll
try to blog something tomorrow, but may have to wait for any detail until after
we’re settled in Phuket.
We planned to catch the noon sailing on the boat cruise from our tour that started yesterday so thought we would get an early start out for breakfast. We headed to our usual stop but they weren't open yet so we decided to head down to Wenceslas Square to see what they had there. It was really quiet on all the streets, few people, and even fewer vehicles moving. We got to the square and didn't really find much open and since we had timed plans we broke down and went to that evil place that I don't like to talk about, so we'll just leave it at that. As we sat down to eat on the patio, a few drops of rain started to spatter on the ground. George thought we might have to go back to the hotel to get a coat but I assured him that the rain would stop soon.
By the time we finished eating, my thoughts proved correct, the rain had stopped. We ended up walking back to the hotel anyway as we had lots of time, and we thought we would pick up a bottle of water we had in the room that we meant to bring with us. We also realized that since the boat starting point was on the other side of the Jewish Quarter, we could catch one of the tour buses we were on yesterday (the line without air conditioning) and ride it over to the other side again, this time possibly getting one with air conditioning! There was a stop on the tour a block or so away, right near the train station we arrived at and will be returning to tomorrow. Also spotted the ugliest doll I have ever seen on the walk back. I think it was once a former gymnast, now shrunken down and preserved forever.
After waiting about 25 minutes a bus came. I guess they were slowed down by all the traffic that seemed to build up since we had breakfast earlier. I was a little worried that the bus would be full and since there were 3 other people waiting there before us, I had said to George that we'll walk along the river if there isn't enough room. Well not only was there plenty of room, but the bus had the best air conditioning I've been in so far this trip. We were more than happy to go around on the green line tour again just to get us to our stop. It is only supposed to take about an hour so we had plenty of time still.
We drove around the castle again and finally reached our stop where the guide pointed out where we should go to catch the boat and what name to look for, the Classic River. Again we still had lots of time, so we wandered around the area for a bit, not going far as by now the heat of the day was starting to set in quite well. There was what looked sort of like a monument by the river, and on it were pictures of the river flooding over the banks 10 years ago. That would have been really high, as the river was down a ways from the road bank. We had to take either a roadway or walkway down just to walk near it.
People started boarding the boat around 11:30 so we hopped on as well and sat down for a drink in the shade before heading upstairs to the rooftop. We met a couple ladies from Manhattan Beach in California and had a really nice visit with them. They had been on a Baltic Cruise and then decided to spend some time in Moscow and Prague before heading back. Their trip was only 15 days and they regaled us with their rush through Heathrow in London and nearly missing their connection because one of them forgot to pull her laptop out of her carry on. She said in the states they don't need to do that and she couldn't understand the customs official when he asked her to. I thought it was the same language, but I have to remember that the British accent was probably confusing. They were heading back the same way, so I wished them better luck on the return.
We were getting pretty hot sitting under the canopy at the
stern of the boat, and thought we may as well head upstairs where we might
catch a bit of a breeze, plus get a good seat as more people were starting to
arrive for the cruise. We chose a spot to sit down but found no breeze at all,
just the hot sun beating down on us with the humidity making it sticky and
moist out. In the next twenty minutes, the boat would fill up, both on top, in
the rear, and in the dining area below (it also operates as a luncheon and
dinner cruise later). We had a couple from Mumbai sitting with us, their
children at other tables up towards the front.
We slowly got underway, making our way up river to a point
just beyond the Charles Bridge
before heading back. There was no commentary along the way, which I found a
little strange, but then again, when you are dealing with so many languages,
and no permanent seating, I guess its hard to install any sort of headset like
we had in Paris last year. Besides, the guide that was leading our new friends
from Mumbai and their group would walk by on occasion and point out something,
giving a small anecdote about it.
One thing I was glad we got to see was the Prague Metronome high
above the hill in Letna Park. It stands 23 metres tall and represents the
Czechs government swinging between the left and right (communist and
democratic). It replaced the largest statue in the worldof Stalin that once stood there. Most other things we saw on the cruise were places we had walked
past in previous days, so were familiar with them, but were nice to see from a
different angle on the river. We also spotted what looked like a hot air balloon, but it turned out to just be a hot air balloon tied to the ground with seating for 2 at the top. George said a resounding NO when I asked him if he wanted to go up.
We filled up the bus and then made our way downtown to see
if we could find anything more to buy at the New Yorker. George lucked out and
got a few more things. Me, well I didn’t find anything else that appealed to me
at the moment. I also didn’t really want to pack more stuff in my suitcase just
to carry to Phuket and then back home. I’ll wait until we’re in Phuket and
maybe have a little look there.
A little past mid afternoon, we went back to the hotel to do
a little relaxing and internet surfing. It was getting a too warm to walk
around anymore, and there were fewer and fewer shady or cool spots to hide in.
We did stop in Marks and Spencer for a sandwich and found a nice
air-conditioned café up on the 3rd floor. But going back outside in
the 32c weather (40c with humidity), was just too much. Also walked through one of the many surprise malls you encounter in what was probably once a courtyard and saw this interesting piece of hanging art.
Dinner time rolled around and we hadn’t really found a place
earlier to eat at but decided roughly where we would look down another road we
hadn’t been on before. Going back outside was like walking back into the fire.
It was really hot and humid and not a breeze to be found. We made our way to a
street just a block away called Reznickà where we found a couple restaurants,
but nothing that really appealed to us. A little further up we came to a
crossroad called Śkolska so turned down there. Still nothing of interest and we
finally ended up on one of our usual streets for walking to Wenceslas Square.
Here we saw a sign for a restaurant called Restaurace u Českÿch Pánū, a gothic style restaurant set in the cellar
areas amongst the original foundations of a building built in 1348. The food
here was traditional and delicious. I had a potato and mushroom soup (with a
few vegetables at the bottom) followed by another style of goulash with bread
dumpling and lots of ale based
gravy to sop up in the dumplings.
After dinner it was a walk down to Wenceslas Square and a
stop at Starbucks to check out some mugs for a friend and so George could catch
some Wi-Fi time on his iPhone. Then it was back to the hotel for some pre-packing
for tomorrow trip to Phuket, followed by a face time call to our neighbour who
was at our place with Odessa. It was nice to see Odessa playing with Linda, but
I don’t think she understands how it works and that she could actually see us
in the phone.
Friday, June 29, 2012
Taking A Tour
Today the plan was to check out a tour that was suggested to
us yesterday by the gentleman we met from Bristol last night. He had told us
that we could get a tour that included 3 land routes as well as a one-hour boat
cruse for CZK 500. He said they were all hop on, hop off (except the boat) and
I thought I heard him say that you had a 24-hour time period to use it once you
started. So after a late breakfast, we headed down to the place he told us
about on Wenceslas Square to check it out before heading out for our days walk.
We also learned that the Czech Republic has one of the least religious populations on earth despite all the churches here. Close to 80% of the population is agnostic or atheist. A lot of that was spurred from the mainstream religions killing the high priest of the Brotherhood of the Hussites, calling him a heretic. This turned the people away from religion and most still do not believe in what the other churches have to offer, saying they are still there mainly for the tourists.
When the green line arrived, the guide inside didn’t even bother to check our tickets, as he somehow remembered us from earlier when he was at the stop while we waited for the red line. Did we really make that big of an impression? We hopped onto the bus where there were 6 guys from Spain and 2 others already aboard. Grabbing our seats we noticed how stifling hot the bus was, not air conditioned like the last one. The guide said that this particular bus had its air condition not working, so we decided we would see how far we could handle it. If it got too hot, we would just get off and wait for the next bus in 15 minutes.
We found the place he told us about easily with his
directions, at the back of a money exchange place right next to the Evropa Hotel. As it turned out, the orange Hop On, Hop Off was actually good for a 48
hour period, so rather than doing our planned walk to Letna Park and then on to
the castle gardens, we decided to start the tours today and finishing off
tomorrow with a boat cruise.
We headed over to where one of the stops was in the downtown
area, where two of the tours had stops, the green line running every 15 minutes
and the red line, running every hour. We thought it best to take the red line
first, as it was the least frequent, went to the furthest places out from the
centre of town and also covered areas we would not likely walk to. While we waited for the red line, two
green lines passed through so we new that the frequency they said they had was
pretty accurate. Finally, a red bus came and along with 6 other people, we were
off.
This bus did not have the headsets for tour to describe
where we were going, rather, the guide would give the tour to us in English
only. Even though he had a script to follow, he said he would speak candidly as
he thought it provided a much better tour throughout. George and I had also
decided that since this route only ran hourly, we did not plan to hop off
anywhere to wait for another bus. If there was anything we ‘must’ spend more
time at, we could visit again tomorrow.
We started off and within about a block, we hit one of the Prague
traffic jams that can occur in and around the major tourist centres. We drove
past the building where the communist party is head quartered in the Czech
Republic. Outside the entrance the pavement is splashed with red paint,
representing the blood of people killed by them. Further up the street, was the
former headquarters of the Gestapo, now used by the ministry of industry and trade.
We turned the corner past the former Federal Assembly of Czechoslovakia, the Prague National Museum (which is the
cultural centre of Prague) at the upper end of Wenceslas Square, then down past where
we purchased our tickets, then up again to the top of the square. Turning south
we passed the Church of St. Ludmila, over 900 years old. Then we crossed the
Nuselskÿ most which is the highest bridge in the Czech Republic and also has
two subway lines running underneath the road deck. Our next stop, after
crossing the bridge, would be Vyšehrad, home of the Congress and Slavin
cemetery. It was also one of the points where our guide recommended getting out
and exploring if we had the time. As I mentioned, we planned to just go for the
ride today and decide later if we wanted to head back this trip or another
time. Just a short distance away, just past the main police station for Prague,
was the next stop on the tour, the Corinthia Towers, the first ‘skyscraper’ in
the Czech Republic. It was overlooking the bridge we just crossed and must
certainly have some fantastic views from the rooms (it’s a hotel) atop which
overlook the hills and valleys that make up the city. The area in the valley
below was once only vineyards, but now completely covered by housing as one of
the 50-60 districts that make up the city of Prague.
Heading back towards the downtown area, we passed the main
train station, Praha hlavni nádraži, named after Woodrow Wilson which opened in 1871 and had its first
run from Prague to Vienna, not a very popular run by any means with only 7
people on the train. Past the Opera house, then continued past one of their
famous squares, Námësti Winstona Churchilla, named ater Winston Churchill right near the Viktoria Zizkov
stadium on to the Vitkov National Memorial, which has one of the world’s
largest equestrian statues. Just a ways beyond this we passed what looked like
a big park on a hill, but rather turned out to be a huge underground nuclear
shelter. Just beyond that, the tour guide mentioned that the area we were in
had the distinction of having 1 pub for every 100 people. Now I think I know
where some of that absinthe may be drank.
Onward to the Žižjic TV Tower, the worlds third ugliest building. I
had taken pictures of it from across the river, but up close I almost have to
agree. Built at the order of the last Communist lead of the then
Czechoslovakia, it appears to some people to represent either a finger pointing
and saying, ‘be good, because I will be back’ while others say it is ‘giving
them the finger’. Either way it is quite ugly. We also noticed that along the
sides of the tower were the same 3 'Tower Babies' we discovered in Kampa park
on the other side of the river. These were David Černÿ sculptures, that depending who you ask, you will get differing opinions of what they think of them.
We also learned that the Czech Republic has one of the least religious populations on earth despite all the churches here. Close to 80% of the population is agnostic or atheist. A lot of that was spurred from the mainstream religions killing the high priest of the Brotherhood of the Hussites, calling him a heretic. This turned the people away from religion and most still do not believe in what the other churches have to offer, saying they are still there mainly for the tourists.
Onward we passed the Hilton hotel, one of the most expensive
hotels in all of Prague. It is also where many dignitaries have stayed when the
come to Prague for meetings, including the former President, George Bush.
Snipers were found on every rooftop surrounding it. I’m not sure how they all
missed him, but that’s another story. We then moved on past Pragues second train station.
Then it was back to the downtown stop where we would wait to
catch a green line bus. The tour guide we had was fantastic throughout the
entire tour. He had all the information about each of the stops and places
along the way. He would also throw in a few extra bits of curious and funny
facts about various places along the way. We chatted a bit after and like most
places we have travelled to, they also see and have a different view of Canadians
than they have of our neighbours to the south. Each time I hear the talk about
the differences, it makes me proud to be a Canadian.
When the green line arrived, the guide inside didn’t even bother to check our tickets, as he somehow remembered us from earlier when he was at the stop while we waited for the red line. Did we really make that big of an impression? We hopped onto the bus where there were 6 guys from Spain and 2 others already aboard. Grabbing our seats we noticed how stifling hot the bus was, not air conditioned like the last one. The guide said that this particular bus had its air condition not working, so we decided we would see how far we could handle it. If it got too hot, we would just get off and wait for the next bus in 15 minutes.
Starting off down the same street we hit the traffic jam on
proved to still have the same traffic jam, only worse. Before we got to the
end, the Spanish group bailed as they couldn’t take the heat. I also think the
wafts of B.O. from the driver didn’t help matters. We stayed on hoping to make
it across the river at least before transferring. As the bus moved it did seem
to cool a bit and as it turned out, we made it up past the castle and to the
point where we walked up the old stair route the other day. We had decided to
get off here and buy some more ‘ice water’ to take back with us as we walked to
check out some shopping downtown before heading back to the hotel.
I must say that on the green line where we started listening
to the tour on the headphones, it was not nearly as interesting as listening to
our previous guide. With all the traffic, the timing of each played piece of
information never seemed to coincide where we really were. Fortunately for us,
since we had walked past most everything earlier, we knew what they were
talking about. But the descriptions throughout were again, not nearly as
entertaining.
Once we made our way across the river to the downtown area
(and having nearly finished the entire 1.5 litre bottle of water myself (George
had his own)), we found our way into a store called the New Yorker. I think
this is Pragues version of Primark in the UK. The New Yorker is actually a
German store and the deals here were great. I ended up buying a couple shirts
and a hat for CZK 600 (around $30.00), while George got a couple shirts, jeans
and a scarf for CZK 800. We will likely be back here again tomorrow when our
hands are not so full of maps, cameras and dripping ice water bottles. It also
didn’t help that we were still quite warm from our last bus ride. On the way back to the hotel, we made a quick stop top join the lineup at our new favourite bakery and deli for dessert.
For dinner tonight we had not plans so decided to wander
around and see what we found. We checked out a few menus at some restaurants,
but they didn’t really appeal to us. We had walked around a bit and George
suggested heading down this one street a block and turning towards the main
area if we didn’t find anything. It looked like a pretty quiet street, as no
umbrellas and tables anywhere along the way. We passed a doorway into a what
looked like a book and magazine shop but we cold also see a restaurant further
back in the building. Sure enough, there was a menu posted by the entrance and
it looked reasonable even though they had a fair wide range of foods in their
offering.
We walked inside of what appeared to be a bit of a Bohemian
folk style restaurant. A few tables downstairs, some up the stairs, and another
section out on the courtyard patio. We took a seat and when our menus were
brought over we noticed that the server had a much better command of English
that other places we have been to.
We each ordered a Greek Salad, George a fettuccine and me
spaghetti and meatballs. The salad came first and it was a huge plateful each.
It was delicious. Normally I avoid eating olives, but like one of my favourite
Greek restaurants in London, the olives here could not go uneaten. When we were
done, the waiter brought out our big bowls of pasta. Fresh and delicious and
one hundred times tastier than the previous nights dining experience.
We were noticing that the other patrons coming into the
restaurant/bar all spoke English. I wasn’t sure if they were Canadian or
American though. The gentleman that appeared to be the proprietor also spoke
English. I finally asked our server where the owner was from and he said he was
American. In fact, most partrons that ended up coming to the restaurant were
American or Canadian. They even had an entertainer playing for a couple hours
who set up his system in the corner and he started out with some folk-like
music. If anyone comes over here, I highly recommend this restaurant. It is
called ‘The Globe Bookstore and Cafe’ and is located at Pštrosova 6.
Thus ended our evening. A short walk home with a stop at the grocer
store for some bananas and more water then it was time to call it a night.
Tomorrow is the boat cruise and I think we’ll try out the yellow line on the
Hop On, Hop Off tour. Until then, hope you had a great day as well.
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