I caught Thai Air from Narita to Bangkok:
Strange numbering system, for I am in seat 14B, right next the window. They began with Veuve Clicquot Champagne and an orchid. The audio-visual system is at least ten times better than United's. My first meal:
A few hours later I asked for a zaru soba with soup, plus beer. The meal came, and just as I was about to start, the plane ran into what must have been Dumbo, for there was a sudden loud sound of the plane hitting something...dishes flew off the tray, I got soiled by the beer and there was utter turmoil. I gave pause to the possibility that my end was soon to come.
Well, a few seconds later, all seemed well. The mess was cleaned up and it was never explained what happened. This is the kind of stress you get when you travel, and you can only survive so many of them.
Caught AOT Limousine because they looked like they are more authorized. They are the only booth inside the airport. The reality is that they charge about $30 into town, but only if you ask for their cheapest car. You can get by for half that and less by going to the curb for a regular taxi. But that's grubby.
The first scene in my limousine looks like the air pollution of old...but it was just a brushfire. The second is the current skyline, while the third features Baiyoke Tower II, which began construction in 1991, and finally completed in 1999 as the tallest in the country at 88-stories and 1014 feet. It is now #3.
The Marriott Marquis at Queen's Park is the largest in Thailand (although the Hilton Hawaiian Village has 3386 rooms) with 1251 rooms. It was once The Imperial Queen's Park Hotel, but was completely renovated and more recently opened Spiffy.
This has now become my favorite in Bangkok. Queen's Park separates it from the massive Emporium shopping complex. You can walk through the park, but a shuttle leaves every half an hour from 7AM to 11PM to the Emporium and back. The rooms are excellent, but best of all is a grandiose M Club, which serves a grand buffet at breakfast and appetizer with drinks at the end of the day. Add up the square footage of those lounges at the Tokyo Westin, Westin Sendai and Marriott Associa Nagoya, and they might equal the MM. The drinks here are also the most varied.
I was walked to the elevator and up to the 27th floor to check in, where I started with a champagne. They gave me a room a few feet around the corner on this floor. My dinner:
So what is the primary difference between Japan and Thailand? Temperature. I froze in freezing wind chill getting from the Airport Limousine Bus at Narita into the terminal, and walked off the plane in Bangkok into an oven. The Japanese toilet seats are warmed. In the Marriott Marquis, there is a shock to the system when you sit.
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