In our own personal homage to TV’s Tom Haverford, Asha and I set out on our very on ‘Treat Yo Self’ Day, Bangkok style.
Breakfast a posh french creperie, a couple of hours spent at a luxurious spa getting massages, cocktails on the roof of one of Bangkok’s tallest buildings and dinner at a Japanese restaurant.
The rooftop cocktails were a farewell/memorial service for Asha’s long-serving and much-loved Nissan Micra, which was sadly sold for $70 scrap metal when we left Australia. Asha decided the money should go towards a bit of a splurge in Bangkok in the little battlers memory.
The day started with a sleep-in rising at 11:00. Sleeping in has become a daily, guilt-free occurrence. Many places we have gone in Thailand have been sleepy and quiet during the day (due to the heat) only to come alive with life spilling out into the street at night.
Breakfast comes in the form of rich, filled crepes and fresh coffee at Crepes and Co., (Sukhumvhit, Soi 12) – a favourite hangout of the Griffith clan.
- Cute girl, drapes and crepes
You can choose crepes (or other food) from a big French and Moroccan menu – or can fill out a ‘make your own crepe’ card. The place has a big following amongst expats from all over living in Thailand, as much for the garden setting and old Thai house that houses it, as for the food (I’m not as much a fan as some). For Thailand, its pretty expensive, with breakfast crepes from 200 to 350 baht.
After breakfast, we walk (roll) down the street to Lavana, a spa and massage centre (apparently one of the best in Bangkok) – another Griffith clan favourite.
Due to lingering back problems from a massage i received on a beach 6 weeks prior, I take the manly option of getting a 1 hour foot massage. This is better than it sounds, and the massage includes foot, leg, shoulders, neck and head.
Asha has a proper Thai massage, and a small Thai woman bends, pulls and tugs her body into positions for an hour – easy to see why its called “Yoga for lazy people”.
Mid-way through my massage, with a herbal eye-pack in place, lying back on a cloud-like reclining chair, tranquil music in the back ground, i manage to fight the urge for a post-breakfast nap.
Oh, and the massage starts with complimentary tea and ends with ice-cream.
Each of our massages cost 450 baht ($15 – usually around 250 baht or $8 at off-the street places).
Next on our treat yo-self tour we head to the Moon bar, on the roof of the 62nd floor of the Banyan Tree building in Silom. The bar is just a short walk from Hendo’s apartment where we have been staying in Bangkok.
Drinks up here are expensive for Thailand (beers 250 baht or $8, cocktails from 300 baht or $10), but its definitely worth it for the view. From up here you can see all of Bangkok, or at least as far as the smog will allow you. Plus with a martini in hand, it makes you feel like you are in a James Bond film.
We sat and watched the sun go down, and were gifted with an even more incredible view as Bangkok light up. But the camera battery died before that happened, so you will just have to check it out for yourselves.
A few hours later, a little tipsy and a lot relaxed, we had our fill of the view and headed down the road for Japanese dinner to finish off the day. Japanese in Bangkok is cheap, high quality and everywhere.
All in all a marvellous day, one that would surely cost a packet in Australia, but over here it cost us between $60 and $70 each. Tommy Haverford would be damn proud.
Goodbye Green Car!
Very nice! I went to that same bar on top of the Banyan Tree Hotel. Incredible view!
Very nice! I went to that same bar on top of the Banyan Tree Hotel. Incredible view!