I have friends in HK for the day in-route back to Kiwi land after being in Spain so instead of going to work I head down to the airport express to see them before they head to HK island. If only the a/c was stronger!!
Manda and Haddon arrive at work just before 2pm. It’s been a crazy morning, I’m very glad to be leaving the office!! It’s a quick trip to the airport - lots of chat about their time in Spain.
We say goodbye at the airport, I’m heading to meet Kat and they are off to get their bag from the locker.
Thankfully security and immigration move quickly - not as busy as expected before a long weekend.
Kat had chosen the Cathay lounge closest to our gate - it’s right opposite, definitely couldn’t get better than that!! We have about half an hour together before going to board the plane.
The flight passes by quickly. Its a beautiful day so the views are great. We passed a couple of planes and I was amazed how quickly they were going!
On landing into Bangkok it’s a standard long walk to immigration. Good to stretch the legs after the flight.
We are straight through immigration via the APEC line. This time they had airport staff standing outside checking we had APEC cards.
Taking the train to the city is nice and easy; beats sitting in Bangkok travel! We arrive at the last stop and don’t realize it. Whoops. It’s only once lots of people get on that I go and find out. Yep it’s our stop and we need to get off. It’s an easy change to the BTS sky train where we go 6 stops. Our hotel is directly opposite. Perfect!
On check-in we get a recommendation for dinner in the mall across the road. We want proper Thai Thai food :)
We are definitely not the only ones having the same idea of eating here - thankfully a few tables before us aren’t here when their numbers are called so we get in quicker.
Dinner is super tasty!!
I wake super early on Friday 7 June - the alarm definitely wasn’t needed!!
Not having to rush is lovely! Tonight is our dinner at Gaggan (the reason for the trip) so it’s going to be a relaxing day at the pool before then.
Breakfast is a slow affair, perfect!
We then go to the swimming pool.
As the rain starts we move closer to the middle of the umbrella. Everyone else seems to get up and leave. No need, it will pass. And it did.
About an hour later the rain starts again - this time it’s a lot heavier. People up and leave immediately. We decide to ride it out.
The temperature drops a lot too which is actually nice. We decide to stay put, if we leave we will get absolutely soaked!!
It takes a lot longer to clear than earlier but eventually it does. Fresh towels are exchanged (it’s like they have just come out of the dryer) - the rain was coming at all angles earlier so our ones are soaking wet!
What seems like minutes later the rain drops start again along with the thunder. Yep time to leave!
Back in the room we watch the storm getting worse and worse. The thunder and lightning are loud. Traffic is at an absolute stand still. Hmm we may need to rethink how we get to Gaggan later.
Kat receives an email from Gaggan advising we need to allow an hour to get to the restaurant due to the heavy rain. When we had goggled earlier it was saying 25 minutes to drive or around 35 minutes to take the BTS. With the weather we decide to taxi. The hotel gives us an umbrella then orders a taxi.
We literally can’t get out of the hotel driveway. Traffic isn’t moving at all!! Our taxi driver seems annoyed by this and decides to change direction. This doesn’t really help at all! After sitting in the taxi for 15 minutes and going maybe 100 meters the driver speaks to us in Thai. We have no idea what he is saying other than BTS and two stops. Right oh, time to get out. The BTS station is right here so it’s a quick dash from the taxi.
We join a long line to purchase tickets, thankfully it moves quickly. Clearly everyone else is thinking it’s best to take the BTS rather than be in a taxi that doesn’t move!
The trains are packed but we manage to get on. Thankfully it’s only 3 stops. When we exit the rain has stopped but man oh man the flooding is CRAZY!!
Walking down the road passing all the street vendors selling food is making us hungry. We continue down to Gaggan.
As we walk down the driveway we notice the staff having a meeting. As we get closer I realize Gaggan is there speaking with his team, WOW!
We are ushered inside and asked for our details. There are already a few other tables here waiting, then within minutes lots of others arrive.
When it’s our turn to be taken to our table we pass an open kitchen; I’m kind of bummed we won’t be on the chefs table. Hey ho it’s still going to be an amazing evening.
We are taken upstairs, Kat is before me so I don’t notice to we get to the top we have seats at the chefs table. Wholly Molley and bottles of amazing Cuban rum - AWESOME!!! We are beyond excited, like kids in a candy store!
As the other 10 guests arrive we are asked if we want to do the wine pairing or order drinks a la carte - wine pairing thanks!
Gaggan, yes Gaggan, comes into the area and chats with the staff then turns on the music. Not what you would expect in a restaurant but it totally works here!
Gaggan introduces himself and gives us 3 rules for the evening. 1. No talking when he’s talking; 2. No smoke breaks (it’s a journey and the smoke changes the taste of the food) and 3. There are only two courses where cutlery is given (either chop sticks or a knife and spoon). All very easy for us to follow.
Gaggan advises they choose the chef’s table by the nationalities so to have a mix of nationalities. You can’t request it or pay for it.
Gaggan stays for the majority of the evening talking to us about each course. WOW
After our first course I honestly thought I’d be hungry at the end of the 25 courses - this is 100% NOT the case! A couple of people I know who have been here before told me not to eat something if I didn’t really like it (as you get so full), there was only one dish like that for me - the mushroom custard soup.
I feel beyond lucky to have got a seat at the chefs table - an amazing evening!!
We decide to walk up the road to the Muse Hotel for a drink before going back to the hotel. It’s nice to be walking after all the food.
We get a table at the roof bar - amazing views! On reviewing the menu we decide not to stay.
Getting a taxi home isn’t easy, we asked two and both quoted a price. When we said no, we want meter they said no. Right oh then we’ll take the BTS. Nice and easy!
Saturday 8 June I wake just before 8am, it has been a fairly restless night. One minute I was too hot then next too cold. I’m about to head down to the restaurant for a couple of tea when Kat wakes. She’d had a night like me too.
Breakfast is slow and chilled - perfect! Looking at last nights photos is great. What an absolutely amazing experience!!!
The pool is a lot busier today than it was yesterday; we take the same seats as yesterday.
Man oh man it’s hot when we walk out of the hotel. Doesn’t help that we are in the peak of day. Thankfully there are pockets of shade.
We walk back to the hotel after Kat’s session. Thankfully this time there is a little bit more shade.
Right next to the hotel is a supermarket which we spend time wandering around. There are a few purchases made to take back to HK.
The rest of the afternoon is spent chilling the room.
We decide to take the train to dinner; the entrance is basically directly under the BTS station so nice and easy.
We follow google maps on exiting the station; after a few minutes getting ourselves to a place where we can’t get there without walking a lot. We ask a local man for directions, he so kindly advises he doesn’t speak any English but he’ll take us there. Beyond kind!!
We end up walking down a narrow footpath, on a main road, that isn’t a footpath. We 100% wouldn’t have done this by ourselves!! He points out a few things along the way that we shouldn’t step on. So kind. When we arrive close to the restaurant (which I know as I’ve been before) he points to where we need to go. We try to give him money but he keeps refusing, saying “welcome to Thailand”. Wow. It’s restored my faith with the Thai people.
We have a table upstairs. Afshan arrives a few minutes after us. Dinner is super tasty.
Getting a taxi home isn’t fun. The restaurant had already ordered two for us. As we get in we are told THB 200, ummm no thanks. Meter thanks. He then says THB 150. Again no thanks, meter. He refuses so we get out. There is another taxi right there which happily takes us on meter. Crazy!
We are across the road from the hotel with traffic hardly moving. We decide to get out and walk via the BTS walkway to get across the road.
Sunday 9 June we have a bit of a sleep in. Thankfully it had been a better night sleep wise even though the a/c (and probably all the power) briefly switched off during the night.
We head straight to the pool, after a nice chilled breakfast, where we have a couple of hours relaxing in the sun.
We decide to take the train back to the airport, instead of a taxi. Both trains are super easy, ridiculously cheap and nice and quick.
On check-in we are advised we are wait listed for business class - woo Hoo. This is totally due to Kat’s status. She advises we’ll only do it if both of us are upgraded. Aah. We are nearly done with checking-in when I get a tap on my shoulder; Afshan is at the counter next to us. Talk about timing!
Kat asks if we can take Afshan through the APEC line, yep. Great! So much quicker with security and immigration.
Straight to the lounge we head – champagne and pad thai for three, thank you!
Two minutes ahead of schedule we pull back from the gate. Gaggan you were out of this world amazing!! Bangkok, I’ll be back!
I’m returning to Hong Kong with absolutely no trips booked / confirmed......hmmm let’s see how long that lasts!!.
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