A Bit of the Old, A bit of the New.....

on the 3rd day of our stay in bangkok, we had to wake up very early because we took an out-of-the-city tour of the Bang Pa-In Royal Summer palace and the ancient capital of Ayutthaya, 60 kms and 76 kms north of bangkok, respectively.

from our base at Rachaprarop Tower Mansion, we took a cab for nearby Indra Hotel where a van picked us up to bring us to the site of Suan Lum Night Market, where the air-conditioned tourist bus was waiting.

after about an hour's trip on the bus, we reached the Bang Pa-In Royal Summer Palace. "The palace dates back to the 17th century, pre-dating the establishment of Bangkok as the capitol. All the buildings seen here date from its revival by King Mongkut (Rama IV) in the 19th century. Today, the palace is only used infrequently, and then mostly for state occasions rather than as a royal summer residence.

the palace is very European in design. The buildings are laid out along an artificial ornamental pond. In what was formerly the public area of the palace, the lake is a long rectangular pool, lines with formal plantings and the odd folly of copying buildings or ornaments from other places."

in contrast to the Grand Palace in Bangkok which is toured on foot, to our relief, the Summer Palace can be toured with a golf cart (for a fee); in fact, jon enjoyed the entire tour just driving the cart so much he never left it until the tour of the grounds was finished!!!

from the Summer Palace, after about a 30 minute-travel by bus farther north, we came to the old city of Ayutthaya.

"Ayutthaya, or Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya, the Thai capital for 417 years, is one of Thailand’s major tourist attractions. Many ancient ruins and art works can be seen in a city that was founded in 1350 by King U - Thong when the Thais were forced southwards by northern neighbours. During the period of Ayutthaya being the Thai capital, 33 kings of different dynasties ruled the kingdom until it was sacked by the Burmese in 1767.

at the last stop of our Ayutthaya tour, miguel and i even had the chance to enjoy a 30-minute elephant ride through the streets and ruins of this old city.

the trip back to bangkok was a 3-hour leisurely boat ride along the Chao Phraya River.

on the boat we had a sumptuous buffet lunch, lots of cups of coffee, and a few hours of rest for our tired and aching feet.

we got off the boat at River City and took the "Shuttle Boat" of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel to their spa just accross the river from the hotel.

after touring the spa, we took the shuttle boat again, this time for the hotel itself. we were picked up by our rented van from the lobby of the hotel.... then brought back to Rachaprarop.

after freshening up, we were off to the Spring/Summer Restaurant for dinner. This is what Gourmet Traveller says of this retaurant:

"Every night BMWs and Land Rovers fight through the city's noxious traffic; their Prada-clad occupants heading for the oversized cushions outside this pair of retro-fabulous 50s houses in the Sukhumvit neighbourhood. Zesty spring rolls and lemongrass chicken skewers dunked in tamarind sauce get the palate off to a familiar start. Spicy wing bean salad has plenty of zing, as do creamy braised scallops with sweet onions and chili oil. Linger under the stars or head into the lounge-like Summer Chocolate Bar to indulge in a selection of equally standout chocolate treats, vanilla crépes and Thai tea custard."

too bad we left our BMWs and our Pradas in Manila (hehehehehe).... because this review notwithstanding, we didn't stay long in the place!!! although the food was fabulous, the service was bad.... and it didn't help either that there was a group of foreigners dining with us who talked sooooo loud you'd think they own the place!!!

(as before, jon will post the 'fusion" gourmet food we had at Spring/Summer.)

to cap off the night, we all had a family style massage at the 8-storey Health Land Spa and Massage.....

"While the settings are grand and luxurious, our services are priced at the same level as in general massage centres rather than the high-end spas found in hotels. Attention to fine details of customer service and satisfaction remain our key goals in striving to offer superb services that are worth the customer every single penny. Henceforth, customers who come to visit Health Land are left with the impression that we provide better premium services and offer a heavenly escape from high-stress lives. Our broad customer base include expatriates, office workers, housewives, university students as will as forgien customers who come from overseas to visit us."