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Published: February 12th 2007
The Loy Nava approaching...
The rice barge approaching for us to board.My final blog entry for my Jan/Feb 2007 Thailand trip:
Taking you back to Saturday, 2/3/07...I didn't want to leave Chiang Mai, but my vacation was coming to a close. Saai and I grabbed a songthaew (sawngthaew?) from Libernard Cafe to get to the Chiang Mai airport outside of town.
Our flight back to Bangkok was on Air Asia. For those not familiar with this airline, it is based out of Malaysia but serves many airports in SE Asia. It's a low cost airline with no reserved seats, and no free drinks/snacks/meals. I think it cost around $18 per person for the 1 hour flight from Chiang Mai to Bangkok. Not bad. If you do your homework, you can get some amazing deals on flights within SE Asia.
We arrived in Bangkok around 1:00 p.m. I checked into the First House Hotel (Samran Place, my recent 1st choice in hotels in Bangkok was booked, but First House was fairly close (near Siam Square) at the same price - 805 baht - $23). I can't say I liked it much. Looking out the window at a concrete block wall 1 foot away isn't ideal now, is it? That's ok.
The price was right.
I had booked a dinner cruise that morning over the internet (nothing like planning things last minute!) I thought this would be a fun way for Saai and I to celebrate our last night together until I headed back to America. It did not disappoint...
These dinner cruises are pretty cool. There are quite a few options, varying on the type of setting (traditional rice barge to modern boat), food (Thai, international, seafood, vegetarian), and presentation (buffet, set course, order by menu). I chose Loy Nava due to its authenticity. It's the oldest of the dinner cruises (over 30 years old) and uses a traditional rice barge. They have 3 set multi-course menu's - seafood, Thai, and vegetarian. The cost for this particular dinner cruise is $37 per person (including transportion from & to your hotel). It operates a sunset cruise (6:00 - 8:00) and evening cruise (8:10 p.m. - 10:10). As you can imagine, the sunset cruise is more popular. There was a ton of food. Not top quality but good enough. Saai and I had a great time.
The next morning, Saai and Si met me at the First Hotel. It
Si & Saai
In the Bangkok airport prior to my departure for America was time to head to the airport for my return to America, and Si was there to lend support for her friend (my girlfriend!). We took a taxi to Suvarnabhumi airport in Bangkok. We went to the EVA Air ticket counter, I got checked in, and then it was time to say our goodbyes. Goodbyes aren't easy. I'm thankful to Si for being there for Saai after I left. Although leaving one crying girl behind isn't fun, leaving two crying girls is strangely better. I didn't want Saai to be alone.
I'm now back in America. Being in Thailand was great but this trip was primarily about reuniting with my girlfriend Saai. We're not together, and yet, we're together. What I mean is that we remain committed to each other in spite of being on opposite sides of the earth.
When will I return to Thailand? Stay tuned...
Look! There goes Dave!
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