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Published: October 6th 2015
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Bangkok 27July - 2 Aug - Bangkok Shangri-La
We were met at the airport by the hotel limousine - it's the most luxurious car I've ever been in with adjustable seats and footrests in the back of the car! We were greeted at the hotel and taken straight to the lift where we had an in-room check-in. They had decorated our amazing suite with balloons and flower petal art on bed. Red roses in bedroom, bathroom and lounge! As Horizon club members we had use of the 19th floor lounge where we had breakfast and also free cocktail Happy Hour from 5pm-7pm. This basically was all you could eat and drink for 2 hours!! We ate in the in hotel Thai Retaurant on the first night as we had a complimentary meal. this was a set meal and it included a series of dancers appearing periodically in different costumes to prfirm dances - slightly bizarre evening! on the 28 July it was our actual Wedding Anniversary!! After a leisurely start I went for a massage while Tom went to the gym. On our return the Hotel delivered a Chocolate heart to our room. Tom had booked dinner at Vertigo, which
is one of the rooftop restaurants we ate in on our honeymoon with an amazing view over Bangkok. Sadly it rained so we had to eat indoors instead. However, to make up for our obvious disappointment we were offered a few glasses of bubbly! We had Mushroom soup, Corn Soup followed by steak and chips - it was a nice change from Asian Cuisine! The chef sent us very nice anniversary cake which we were too full to eat so we took it back to the hotel in a very posh doggy bag! On 29 July we took the LRT to Siam Paragon to buy new Camcorder- the previous one having died in Hanoi after getting wet. Tom went to Gym I soaked in bathtub and in the evening we ate in the Horizon Club cocktail lounge. The drinks were anything from cocktails, wine and champagne to beer and soft drinks. The food ranged from nibbles and dips to smoked salmon, various dim sum, mini quiches, cold meats, cheeses, seafood, salad, rolls etc. I can't tell you how much we miss cheese! Needless to say you really didn't need to eat in the restaurant after 2 hours of complimentary coiffing
and grazing!!
On 30 July we transferred to the Banyan Tree where we were upgraded to an apartment with a huge bathroom- the shower also doubled as a steam room! We were supposed to go on Tuk Tuk Food Tour but we cancelled as we not keen on spending 4 hrs driving around Bangkok in the rain and we were able to eat in the Cocktail Happy Hour lounge which was also included in the room tariff. There were usually hot curries of beef or pork, smoked salmon, cheese and biscuits, salads, bread and mini desserts but sadly only Mocktails due to Hotel's religious observance of Buddha Lent!
The following morning we had an early start to visit Khao Yai Natonal Park. It was a 2 hour drive but well worth it for a fantastic day trekking with our ranger guide. First task was to put on Leech protection cotton bootees- very glamorous! We drove into the park and then continued on foot. After about 20 minutes we saw White- handed gibbons, high up in the tree canopy. After about 30 minutes more our eagle eyed guide spotted a troop of Macaques. He was really knowledgable and pointed
out all sorts of flora and fauna. We saw evidence of elephants, piles of dung and flattened grass during our trek but couldn't find any. After lunch we hiked to the beautiful Haew Narok waterfall, the tallest in Khao Yai park with a drop of 150 metres. The top of the falls have been surrounded by an 'elephant fence' since 1993 when seven elephants were swept over the falls when trying to rescue a calf. It was almost the end of our day and although we had had an enjoyable day, seeing a wild elephant would have been the icing on the cake. as we were heading back to the entrance to the park a large bull Elephant Came out of the trees and started grazing right next to us! It was a truly awesome experience! We were elated!Back at the hotel we were too late for cocktails so cracked open the Gin to celebrate a successful trek
1 Aug we had breakfast, chilled out and did the laundry in preparation for packing. The evening was spent having cocktails and nibbles aka dinner: Samosas,Satay Skewers, Smoked Salmon, Salad Potato Salad, Cheese and biscuits, Sparkling and White Wine. On 2
Aug it was breakfast and off to airport for our next stop Chiang Rai!
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