"Can i reach it now, im not up here often, God only knows and he aint talkin', im a skyscraper"
I left Pai Lin & got dropped off at Phuket airport. Before long i was back in Bangkok & got my next transfer taxi from there. I was pleased a man stood at arrivals with a board with my name on, i'd always wanted to be greeted by someone like this but the plonker had spelled my name wrong! Oh well. I got dropped off at the "Honey" hotel & by chance as i was checking in Andy breezed into reception, he said we'd be meeting later in the evening & going for something eat and a few drinks but i wasnt sure where we were bound for, that was a secret for now. I went to my room & got settled in. After being treated to 2 really nice hotels earlier in my trip the room in the Honey was a bit of a come down, it was cheaper but the room was really small, the bed was proper comfy though. The hotel itself was ok with good staff & a cafe next door, so all in all for the money i couldnt grumble.
I met Andy & Ho in the evening &d to see some friendly faces put thoughts of Phuket/Karon Beach out of my mind, hell, i was on the final leg of my holiday & was living each day as it came. Not much time for looking back (other than to share my Phuket tales with Andy). We took a taxi to Baiyoke Tower, Thailands highest building & the place we would be eating at. As the taxi pulled up i saw how immense the building was. Baiyoke Towe is the tallest building in Bangkok & is over 300 metres high, it has numerous restaurants & bars inside it, there is even a golf driving range on the 18th floor! The piling/foundation of the building runs 65 metres underground, thats about the same size as a 22 storey building! The lobby of the hotel was bustling & it was clear to see that it much more than a hotel, it was also a mini shopping centre! We had to take about 2 or so lifts to get to the restaurant on the 76th floor & paid about 500 baht/£10 for an "all you can eat" buffet meal. There was a cornucopia of food on offer, rice, noodles, seafood, steak, sushi, chips, pasta, duck, curry & much more besides, i was hungry &ready for this sumptuous repast! I dont usually drink alcohol with a meal, i had a coke & found that it was refillable with as much ice as you could want, mint!! I made my way through about 3 or 4 platefuls of various types of food & enjoyed the lot, i made a pig of myself by troughing most of the above delicacies but who cares, im on holiday. Andy was raving about the steak so i thought id try a bit, i went to the counter &the guy behind it put a fresh piece on the griddle, then turned it over, it was cooked in about 30 seconds, ace! Next to the steak counter were large pots of pepper sauce & mushroom sauce, no stone left unturned foodwise then! After all the savoury stuff i fancied a dessert, which i dont normally do as im a savoury kind of guy but i found something that was different & that i liked. I tried a dessert from a "cray pot"which resembled a large earthenware jug & inside was a warm concoction of coconut milk &bananas. Very nice & like nothing id ever had before. We'd all had a good feed & i noticed that Ho's plate was brimming with king prawns & even a full crab! Ho is a very slim woman but she can eat loads & loves seafood, her plate looked like a fishmongers dustbin!
After the meal we made our way to the top floor of the tower which is revolving roof & we had a great view of Bangkok by night. I could see the lights from the traffic which were small distant blurs down below. As i looked down i could see a much smaller building with people on that roof, they must've been about 150 metres below us & they were still high up in the scheme of things. I dont normally like heights but up there i felt comfortable up there, it was a great feeling & a great view at the top of the world! After this we made our way down to street level & went for a couple of drinks in an Irish bar before going to the "Log Home" a hotel where Andy & Ho got married. We had a few drinks in the bar where there was a live band playing rock music covers. Eventually the bar closed & we made our way to Soi 13 for another drink. Soi 13 is a street where people come for late drink on the street as the bars in Thailand close at about 1am. There are small plastic tables & chairs there & the vendors sell beer & food from their trolleys/stands. After a couple of beers it was time to go home, i had a really great evening & the memories of the food & view from Baiyoke tower would stay with me.
After another long day i was pleased to get to bed as we had another big day ahead of us tomorrow, we were to visit the Grand Palace & reclining Buddha.
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