We left Perth on Thai Air on a two-leg journey to Tokyo as direct flights were unavailable (ANA started in Oct 2019). This is a short trip, mainly for Hilary to attend the International Quilt show, but also to see Mt Fuji with a snow cover.
Flying is so boring. To pass the time, I watched a very old movie, North by Northwest by Hitchcock, in which Cary Grant and Eve Marie Saint acted. It has not lost it’s impact with age. Followed up with ‘Anna’, a good Russian spy movie, then another Hitchcock, the making of Psycho, with Helen Miram and Anthony Hopkins, an excellent movie.
Bangkok is huge, traffic very slow, and the sights of interest too far from the airport for a quick visit, so we are only having an overnight stop. Bangkok is the capital and most populous city of Thailand on the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand, with a population of over eight million, or 12.6 percent of the country’s population. Over fourteen million people (22.2 percent) lived within the surrounding Bangkok Metropolitan Region at the 2010 census.
Bangkok traces its roots to a small trading post during the Ayutthaya Kingdom in the 15th century, which eventually grew and became the site of two capital cities: Thonburi in 1768 and Rattanakosin in 1782. Bangkok was at the heart of the modernization of Siam, later renamed Thailand, during the late-19th century, as the country faced pressures from the West. The city was at the centre of Thailand’s political struggles throughout the 20th century, as the country abolished absolute monarchy, adopted constitutional rule, and underwent numerous coups and several uprisings. Allied with Japan in World War II, it was subjected to Allied bombing, but rapidly grew in the post-war period as a result of US aid and government-sponsored investment. The city grew rapidly during the 1960s through the 1980s and now exerts a significant impact on Thailand’s politics, economy, education, media and modern society
The flight was not a great plan, at A$1000 instead of the direct ANA flight of A$1500. Is it worth the hassle of a $60 overnight, pushing through the massive Suvarnabhumi Airport, corridors forever, flights from everywhere (even Irkutsk, Russians escaping the icy Siberian winter)? In our youth, it was no problem, and a cheap bed was fine. But now? Maybe not. 1.5hrs from landing to arrival at Miracle Suvarnabhumi Airport hotel. One good thing that comes with age is the wheelchair support! I resisted this for years, but it makes the process so much less stressful. A chair at the plane door, through to the taxi/bus, passing quicker through immigration and customs, with a local who knows the ropes.
My bag was the last off the belt, then a wait in the tropical humidity for the hotel bus. Our helper made calls to chase it up but it was not long. Chaotic traffic, small shops lining the three lane main road, palm trees, long unkempt grass paddocks. I wondered whether a trip into the city was worthwhile, but Lonely Planet said not. Reminded me of Nairobi, though slightly cleaner.
The hotel is adequate, clean, ok beds and ensuite, but only water in the fridge, no milk. TV seems to be entirely Thai. They offer breakfast but we are leaving at 5am. We were told no dinner was available so we either go out to a nearby place or order, which we did. Strange as the Booking com site boasts restaurants with photos! Maybe near, not in the hotel. No matter, the room meal was fine.
