Bangkok!

Our flight to Bangkok was scheduled at 10:45am so we got up early, finished packing, and left in time to return the rental car to the airport by 8am. We went to check in with the airline and found the counter for Nok Air closed…. Superman went to ask the information desk and was told they would open up for checking bags 2 hours before the scheduled flight. We were supposed to board at 10:15 and it was already 8:30. So, we stood in line and waited. It was a good thing we were third in line because they didn’t open up until almost 9:30, then they gave us grief and made us check all of our carry-on luggage because they each weigh over 15 pounds (7kg allowed). We had to pay a fee of $1200 baht (about $50 US) at the ticket counter after checking the bags. Annoying. The guy said he was doing us a big favor because normally it would be about that price for each bag. We’re considering buying another big suitcase so we can rearrange weight and only check 2 bags on our other flights with this airline (We’ll fly to and from Phuket to Bangkok over the next few weeks.)

Finally we made it through security – they had big signs everywhere that said you could bring 1000ml of water with you… But they made us open and dump out every one of our new waterbottles. We got to the gate expecting to board soon and saw that the flight was delayed until 11:10, so we sat down to wait. A minute later the Americans we had stood in the check-in line with (who live 15 minutes from us at home) came to find us and tell us the gate had changed. Yep, sure enough, back upstairs. Gotta love airports.

The flight from Chiang Mai to Bangkok is a quick 1 hour and 15 minutes. No outside food or drink allowed (they would probably make an exception for infants/toddlers). NixiRay and I both experienced some ear-pressure problems on the descent and for a few hours after – I hate feeling like my ear is in a fishbowl. We tried all the tricks with gum, yawning, reverse pressure by plugging our noses, etc. but nothing helped. Eventually they popped on their own (it sounded like a firework for both of us) and our ears were sore but at least no more pain.

We were greeted at the airport by this friendly guy who was only playing dead.

We bussed from the plane to the airport and booked a Grab to our hotel 45 minutes away- The Cotton Saladaeng. The hotel had our family suite ready for us and allowed us to check in early, and also allows for luggage to be held in the lobby before checkin/after checkout which is nice for working around flight schedules.

Our room is very nice and has plenty of space for everyone – 2 King beds and 2 Twins. We spent a little time exploring the hotel (another cold swimming pool…) and Superman tried to figure out what was going on with his phone. Ever since the plane touched down it has been repeatedly losing service and saying SIM not found. A huge problem since we use his phone for booking rides and all of the excursions…. So we downloaded and signed in to all of the apps on my phone too, just in case.

Then we decided to walk to the King Power Mahanakhon (Pixel) Tower, about 35 minutes from our hotel. The streets of Bangkok are much wider and there are big sidewalks with curbs. Yes, there’s a lot of traffic, but the drivers aren’t nearly as crazy as in Chiang Mai and we felt a lot safer walking down the streets. Just wait for traffic to clear after your crosswalk light turns green– there’s always a few cars and motorcycles that sneak through. There are also some places with networks of walking bridges to go over the highways and intersections which is very nice! Some of the trains run on top of these bridges, other trains are 3 stories underground.

We found a Thai restaurant along the way and stopped for dinner. We decided to try the Sweet & Sour pork, Stir-fried chicken with Thai basil, fried rice & fried noodles. We asked the owner for no spice. The sweet & sour pork came first and was HOT. Superman asked for a side of plain rice and was able to eat that. The fried rice and noodles were fine. The stir-fried chicken came (Miss A and I were going to split that) and I took two bites and thought my face was going to melt off. The flavor was really good, but wow! Fire! So painful. We didn’t eat that one. The kids split the other meals & ate until they were full (portions are usually quite large, so we usually order 4 meals for the 6 of us and it’s plenty). I ate the rice that came with the spicy chicken and called it a day. Oh, and about a gallon of bottled water wishing it was milk.

We finished walking to Pixel tower and bought tickets to go to the top floor ($1080 Baht for anyone over 12, $350 Baht for kids – pricey for adults but comparable to the World Trade Center Freedom Tower in New York for the experience). The elevator ride takes only 50 seconds with a silly monkey video playing on 3 sides and the ceiling. The doors open on the 74th floor which has big windows on all sides. What a view!!

Gotta love a mirrored ceiling too!

We planned on getting there about 30 minutes before sunset. It was perfect timing for gorgeous sunset pictures over the city. We took the escalator up one more floor and then the stairs up 3 more to the 78th floor where you can go outside with the crowds of other tourists enjoying the view. Of course we also went up the last flight of stairs on the top to get to the highest point in Bangkok – 314 meters.

This city is huge!! 10 million population and very spread out, so the city just goes on and on in every direction. It was fun to get a birds eye view of it, and beautiful with the red sunset making everything glow!

The highlight of the top floor though is what they call the Glass Tray. We put on shoe covers and took 3 steps down onto the glass (the last step is a few inches lower than the others and makes you feel like you’re walking right off the building! Scary!)

Below your feet is 78 stories of nothing, and then the street. It really is a strange sensation to be standing over the edge! We laid down face first – aside from not being windy it feels/looks like skydiving! We had a lot of fun enjoying the views out there.

The only annoying part is that they don’t allow photos from on the glass – someone has to stand outside the barrier to take pictures which makes it hard to take good ones, especially since the sun was down. It was a really cool place to be though, watching all of the city lights turn on and the traffic down below.