The flight from Zurich was long but uneventful, with arrival in Bangkok delayed a few minutes because of a thunderstorm in the area. I had read up on the taxi arrangements in Bangkok, whereby the dispatch desk is supposed to allocate you to a cab and tell the driver where you want to go (since most drivers have little or no English). All very well, but just outside the airport, the driver stopped and wanted clarification as to where we were going! Not his fault, but just as well I had printed the hotel's instructions (in Thai) from the internet. But I was prepared for his question as to whether to use the toll road, and I knew that I had to give him the money to pay the toll. So all worked out well, and we were drinking the welcome tea at the hotel within 90 minutes of landing, notwithstanding an afternoon traffic jam on Sukhumvit Road. The room has cooking facilities, but since breakfast is included in the rate, perhaps we don't need these after all. We're staying in Soi 8, near the top of Sukhumvit Road. This isn't an area that I was previously familiar with but I thought the fact that the Westin and Sheraton Grand (amongst others) are nearby was a positive. There is Robinsons department store but otherwise the area has many, many street stalls, restaurants (of all descriptions), made-to-measure suit shops etc, and so is certainly vibrant and full of activity, but it doesn't have a lot of mid to up market shopping arcades etc. However, the Skytrain runs down the street, so it will be easy to get around.
After a short look around, we had dinner at an Indian restaurant. After we had ordered, we were a little apprehensive but all doubts were dispelled when the food arrived – it was great. Sue showed them her card in Thai requesting no MSG, and the waiter readily understood and said that they didn't use it. We even had sweets, which were also terrific.
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