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Published: August 6th 2007
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A Brief Stop in Bangkok and Some Heat in Dubai
When we left Jack and Diane’s house back in March to head toward Australia, we had left a bunch of our stuff behind to help lighten our load. Thus on our return journey to Europe we planned a stop of a couple of days to pick up our stuff, say hi to Jack and Diane and get a few errands done.
The flight from Hong Kong was a short two and a half hours which was nothing compared to the eight and a half hours from Australia to Hong Kong. We expected Bangkok to be incredibly hot and were not disappointed. Upon exiting the plane we were greeted with a blast of heat. Thankfully the humidity was lower so the heat was a little more bearable.
Not much had changed in Bangkok since we had left a few months before. We took our cab to Jack and Diane’s and rested the remainder of the afternoon. Our real work needed to be done the following day so we used our first half day to rest, catch up with Jack and Diane and plan the next day.
Our only full day in Bangkok was spent in the downtown area. We spent the morning packing up a bunch of our stuff that we figured we’d no longer need on the trip. We caught a cab into downtown and bee-lined it to Siam Paragon, one of Bangkok’s upscale super malls. Kel had been here back in March to mail our insurance papers back to the US so we knew that the shipping place could handle our package needs. We started by shipping the package via Thailand post. We were guaranteed a 6-8 week delivery, the pinnacle of efficiency and speed!
We then grabbed some lunch in the nearby food court before catching a cab to nearby Wittayu Road - embassy and consulate row in downtown. We were rapidly running out of free pages in our passports and needed to acquire a few more. Thankfully the US consulate is well equipped to handle these simple requests. In less than an hour we had an extra 20 pages added to our passports and were out the door at just about 2pm.
With time on our hands we decided to return to Siam Paragon to see a movie, in this
case Shrek 3. Movie theaters in this part of the world can be much more upscale than the movie theaters back home. The one at Siam Paragon is incredibly snazzy. When you buy your tickets you have to actually pick which seats you will be sitting in. They show you a floor plan with all the free seats shown and you get to choose which ones you want. We noticed a special row in the very back of the theater which had all its seats open. We asked how much they cost. These are the expensive VIP seats that allow couples to sit in big leather love seats with tables for their popcorn and drinks. The total price for two seats, US $20. Back home it is not usual for two people to see a movie for this cheap and here that amount covers the most expensive seats in the house.
We got Kel some popcorn and headed to our seats and were amazed to find our center back row loveseat complete with a blanket in case we got cold. The blanket was completely unnecessary due to the heat in the movie theater but the concept was very cool.
We enjoyed snuggling on our leather loveseat and the movie was pretty good. Not as good as the first two Shrek movies, but still a fun way to kill the afternoon.
Our final day in Bangkok was spent around Jack and Diane’s house. We repacked our bags, went through the stuff we were giving to J & D and spent some time resting, reading and watching TV. With our late departure set for 1:30am (argh, rough) we figured that getting rest was the best way to prep for the trip.
Later, after a light dinner, Jack and Diane saw us off as we got in a cab headed for the airport. Given the number of times we’ve been in and out of Bangkok in the last few months it was a sad occasion to leave. It had come to feel a bit like home so we were both a little listless as we waited in the airport for our plane.
On Our Way back to Sunny Dubai The six hour flight from Bangkok to Dubai went pretty quickly due to the in-seat entertainment systems and intermittent sleep. We both got a couple of hours
of semi-relaxing sleep on the plane which was a godsend given our early arrival time. We landed at 4:30am into the gigantic Dubai International Airport. They are currently building a new terminal and due to the construction many planes, ours included, have to exit the plane out on the tarmac and get on a bus to get to the actual terminal. When we stepped off the stairs of the plane we were greeted by the worst characteristics of our previous two destination’s weather combined. June in Dubai combines the humidity of Hong Kong with the temperature (actually higher) of Bangkok. At 4:30am the temperature was in the 90’s and the humidity was close to 100%. Over the coming day the humidity relaxed only slightly while the temperature increased to 107, ouch!
When we were last in Dubai we had spent a ton of money to stay in the Madinat Jumeirah. While we were really impressed with the service and facilities we were not impressed with the final bill so this time we decided to change hotels. In order to get the best of both worlds we stayed picked another Jumeirah hotel with a lower price tag, we opted for
the Jumeirah Beach Hotel.
As part of our package at the JBH we had free transfer from the airport. We assumed that this meant a car would be available to pick us up and take us to the hotel. Instead we were shocked to find a man waiting for us as soon as we exited the bus and walked into the terminal. As other guests waited in the long lines to get through customs, our new friend walked us to a roped off line, opened up the rope and walked us to a counter where no one was waiting. We were through customs in less than 2 minutes, proceeded with him to get our bags, and got in a car to the hotel. If this service is extra for you when you come to Dubai, pay for it because it’s awesome!
Unfortunately when we arrived at JBH and checked in, we were told that our room wouldn’t be ready until 2pm and it was presently 5:30am, ouch. Breakfast wasn’t open for at least another hour so we grabbed some couches and I took a nap while Kel read a book. Later we grabbed some breakfast at one of
the hotel’s 22 restaurants before settling in a waiting area in to wait out the time until we could check in. Thankfully, around 11:30am they came and took us to our room. Kel immediately settled in for a nap while I went down to the pool. Despite the heat, a seat in the shade was just what the doctor ordered. I spent the next couple of hours reading while Kel napped.
Despite the heat and the early morning, our first day in Dubai turned out to be a really good one. We got a decent dinner, had some rest and eventually got a whole nights sleep which was absolutely fabulous. It’s the small things in life that count!!
Hope you are all well back home!
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Garron
non-member comment
really moving!
are you guys heading back to Europe now?