My Travel Blog

The weather is getting unbearable here. It’s so sunny and hot, I feel like melting when I’m out in the afternoon. The roller blinds can seem to block the rays as well, so I’m staying away from the windows.

My only wish this summer holiday is to bring my kids back to their home town. I want them to be attached to their families back home, and remember their country well, instead of growing up as Thai. That’s the confusing part of expat kids, I guess.

There is another riot coming up tomorrow, by the Reds. So, if you are happened to be in Bangkok, check out this news by Thaivisa.com  about Map Of Possible Bangkok Trouble Spots For This Weekend.

Try to avoid the hot spots for at least 3 days, start from tomorrow. Some routes are closed too, so plan your itinerary well.

Here’s the spots to avoid:
POSSIBLE DANGEROUS SPOTS

“33 dangerous spots” that was posted by a member in the 2bangkok.com forum who frequently seems to have political insight.

1 Supreme Court
2 Criminal Court in Ratchadaphisek ring
3 Bangkok Bank HQ at Silom
4 Bangkok Bank – Nana Branch
5 Kasikorn Thai Bank – Nana Branch
6 Siam Commercial Bank – Ratchayothin HQ and Phetburi HQ
7 Grand Place – Now UDD men are going to burn down Grand Palace to pacve the way to turn Thailand to Republcian regime!
8 Siriraj Hospital to Commit Regicide against His majesty.
9 Major Ratchayothin
10 Big C rat Boorana – Southern terminal of Chao Phraya express
11 Central World – Main target for looting
12 Central Lad Phrao – Main target for looting
13 Phrannok Market
14 Minburi Market
15 Dao Khanong Market
16 Patthmawikorn Intersection
17 Arun Amarin Intersection
18 Rom Klao intrersection – clowed to Motorway and SUvannabhum
19 Kaset – Nawamin
20 Kaset – Nawamin – Crossing Lad Pla Khao
21 Kaset – Nawamin – Crossing Pradit Manootham road.
22 Nawamin Intesection
23 Sathon Intersection (Narathiwat crossing Siom) – Chong Nonsee
24 Saladaeng Intersection to storm Chulalongkorn Hospital
25 Saphan Kwai Intersection
26 Klogn Toei Intersection
27 Ram Khamhaeng road – form Lam Salee to Suwinthawongse
28 Minburi Intersection (Ram Indra road crossign Suwinthawongse)
29 BMA Office at Giant Swing and Dindaeng
30 Lumphini Park
31 Pathumwan Princess Hotel – MBK
32 Pathumwan Vocation School – MBK
33 Uthenthawai Vocation school – certainly cstormgin Chulalongkorn U. and holdign lots of hostages

Best still, don’t come to Bangkok these few days, until the situation is confirmed over wise. Being an expat here for almost 2 years, I’ve got “numb” with the riots, but will stay away from the hot spots and try not to wear any red or yellow during this period of time. Oh well, Orlando vacation packages will seem to be a better choice than a holiday in Bangkok!

We spent a nice weekend at Millenium Hilton last month in celebration of my birthday, and all of us had a great time there. We stayed at one of the executive suites, and my kids love the room a lot. Maybe they were attracted to the Samsung flat screen TV on the wall.

The living area in the suite.

The bedroom

My boy jumped on the bed before I managed to take a snap, so the bed was a bit messy.

The view from the room. It’s Chao Phraya River.

Amenities by Crabtree and Evelyn. I love them!

The sunset view from the other side of our suite.

We were given a complementary birthday cake, and I was happy about it. On top of that, we love the pool too.

Too bad it was too windy and cold for a nice swim, so after dipping in the water for awhile, my kids played in the sand area instead.

Just grab a nice book and you can spend the whole afternoon here.

I didn’t snap a lot of photos in Hilton, but I can share 2 shots taken at the lobby.

Hopefully, we will go for another stay again at Hilton Bangkok.

I’ve just known a friend who’s been to Lebua lately and I’m so attracted to this 5-star hotel now. It’s Lebua, which is located at the State Tower of Bangkok and it has Bvlgari amenities!!! Bvlgari! Do you hear me?

By just looking at the photos already make me drooling for spending a night there. I would trade the money meant for rv insurance for a stay at Lebua. Of course, we don’t have an RV, so we don’t need the insurance. LOL!

The famous Sirocco Restaurant is situated at the Dome, but my friend told me that kids are not allowed. So, if we are going to stay there, I might not be able to dine in style at Sirocco. Sigh…

I got it all wrong. I thought we are going to Hilton, but it’s actually Le Meridien Bangkok! Yippie!

Le Méridien Bangkok reaches 24 storeys into the City of Angel’s skyline, towering in contemporary five-star luxury at the head of the pulsating Silom commercial district and just metres from the energetic Patpong Night Market.

I’m equally happy as Le Meridien has always been a nice hotel. Ah…I would love to book my reservation at Le Meridien Bali next time, if we are going to Bali again.

Too bad I’m out of budget to buy something nice for myself for my birthday trip. If not, I would love to go there in my finest dress and Contemporary Jewelry. But anyway, I know that we will all have a good time at Le Meridien, with or without a nice piece of dress. It’s family moments that count!

 I love checking out the fairs at Impact Muang Thong Thani and I’ve just visited the jewerly fair at Impact days ago. I shall blog about it later, but too bad, I didn’t snap any photos as camera is not allowed.

Nonetheless, I haven’t been to Queen Sirikit National Convention Center. Maybe it’s quite far away from my area, but my friend is there now for the Medical Fair Thailand 2009. I wonder if there is any Medifast discount at the fair right now?

If you are interested to check out the fairs held at Queen Sirikit, here is the website. But still, I found that the fairs at Impact are more for normal people like me.

 I had a date with an old friend last night, and I took the cab to the city. I could have driven, but I am not good at remember routes. Furthermore, I don’t have an gps so getting a cab is a safer choice.

Most of the taxis in Bangkok are clean and good, and they charge by meters. But then, the taxi drivers speed a lot and it can be quite scary to a timid passenger like me. There was once when I got out of the cab because the taxi driver drove like a mad man, and it almost scared me to death! Most of the taxis don’t have safety belts at the back seats, so it seems very dangerous to me, especially if my kids are tagging along.

so, if you are getting a cab in Bangkok and if you think the driver is driving too fast, just tell them “char char” which means slow. I say “rot char char” some times too, if it’s too fast for me to handle.

 I’ve received a few newsletters about the mid year sale of various brands and I’m getting all tempted to go shopping again! The best thing about living in Bangkok is, besides that good food, shopping is always great here. I love to go for the bargains and I have a few items in my list which I want to get within these few days. If hubby has the time for shopping, I would love to go to the city to check out some books, patio furniture covers, clothes for my kids and etc.

But then, the influenza situation is worrying there, so maybe I shall shop at the nearby shopping malls. Let’s enjoy the mid year shopping spree!

It’s pretty worrying with the latest news that influenza H1N1 has already spread at schools in Bangkok:

 The spread of influenza (A)H1N1 has forced Bangkok’s Saint Gabriel College to suspend all its classes and activities until next Thursday, while Saint Francis Xavier School has announced that it will shut down for seven days. Other schools are expected to follow suit.

Part of the reason why I am worried is my gal is going for her first school trip in the city next week, so I begin to be all alert about the cases of influenza in the city. I hope that it’s under control, and it won’t go as bad as the condition in Pattaya.

Thailand’s total 2009 flu cases: 46

17 were workers at a Pattaya discotheque

4 were admitted to a Chon Buri hospital

5 were St Gabriel’s school students

We haven’t figured out our term life insurance quotes in Bangkok yet, but most important, I want my kids and family to be safe here, instead of being threatened by the virus. The symptoms of influenza (A)H1N1 include fever, coughing and sore throat, so we shall be extra careful in monitoring our kids. Besides that, I shall ask them to wash their hands more often, and if there is a must, they will put on masks to school too.

 Throughout my mom’s stay in Bangkok with me, we didn’t go sightseeing as hubby is not around, so most of the time I will bring her to the mall or flea market for shopping. She loves shopping, just like me, but she only likes to buy cheap stuffs. LOL!

She has almost spent all her money, buying things for herself, my dad, my niece, but she has not got an XBox for my brother, but I think she can forget about it already. LOL! Nonetheless, she agrees with me that shopping in Bangkok is great.