Traveling the World: Cruise Planners on the Road - South East Asia - Bangkok

Safely arrived in Bangkok after a very long set of airplane rides... 3 hours from Ft Myers to Newark; two hour connection time - 14 hour flight from Newark to Narita, Japan - five hour connection time - and a final 6 hour flight to Bangkok - so 30 hours total en-route.

Our last leg was in coach on ANA and we learned an important seating lesson - the window seats in coach on their 777-200's are really scrunched with the leg space taken up by some kind of metal fixture - not good. We will be changing our return seats from Bangkok to Narita to prevent a repeat of this experience...

Our overall flying experience on Star Alliance was great. All of our flights were on time or early. First and Business First on United were very good - perhaps not quite as "tony" as 20 years ago, but still a very comfortable way to spend a long flight. On our long leg, it was fun to think about flying over our Canadian friends' heads on Lake Ontario's Georgian Bay -- just about over Rob and Maureen's place in the Blue Mountains.

Long Great Circle Route from Newark to Narita

Our 6 hour coach flight on ANA was adequate -- helped along by being very tired and dozing for an hour or so of the time -- which took our mind off of screaming babies and seats that are too tight and close together. Couldn't imagine flying the 14 hour Newark to Narita leg in a coach seat these days...

Business First Cabin on United 777-200

We had arranged a driver through our hotel here in Bangkok, the Ariyasomvilla, so once we breezed through Passport Control and got our bags (20 minutes after we got off our plane) we were in the taxi heading to our hotel. Perhaps the quick transition through Passport Control and baggage was because it was 11pm local time -- we are sure that our 20 minute ride from the airport to the heart of the Sukhumvit District in downtown Bangkok was half the normal time because it was late on the evening of the Queen's Birthday celebration. One thing will stand out about the ride -- we were entertained by what I will call the "Bangkok Midnight Express" - about 2 dozen super bike riders splitting 6 lanes of auto traffic at about 120mph - whizzing by our cab at twice our speed - fortunately, we weren't picking up body parts along the way.

View from our room on third floor

Our room at Ariyasomvilla (#310)

Arrival at the Ariyasomvilla was in accord with a place so highly rated on Trip Advisor. When traveling abroad for pleasure, Valerie and I tend to prefer boutique hotels in convenient locations -- if they are a great value, so much the better. Thus far, we are very impressed by what we have seen and experienced. Our room is large, quiet, tastefully decorated with a very comfortable bed and sheets. The staff has been perfect and our bathroom is memorable. Included breakfast this morning was great - freshly brewed coffee, fresh fruits, and cooked to order breakfast - with both western and local choices available.

Our Room is 310 - excellent location overlooking the pool, the Sala (Open air Pavillion where we just finished our outstanding couples massage) and adjacent to a canal with boat traffic bustling along. A beautiful jungle oasis in the midst of a super large urban city of more than 10 million.