Sights and snippets from my 2023 Asia trip!
Couldn’t have been more pleased to arrive in Bangkok just to be shuttled off into the awaiting luxury of the Four Seasons. The first order of business was whipping out my google app to grab all the songs in the lobby. The second was snapping some pics of the lobby that upon first sight had me immediately breathless. I would expect nothing less of one of Jean-Michel Gathy’s works, and FS Bangkok did not disappoint. Still kicking myself for not staying at his masterpiece in Otemachi while I had the chance! At any rate, this hotel was part art museum, atelier and cocktail lounge, and 100% an architectural masterpiece. So beautiful I had to dedicate my first post to it, so there you have it 
I’ve already gone over the hotel itself in my review of it, so instead I’ll regale you on my totally avoidable little check-in snafu. Bangkok is Skee’s new city so of course I had to come and visit her, and Skee herself has just recently gotten married, so this trip was part of my ‘congrats on getting married lets ditch your new husband and take a best friend’s honeymoon’ initiative - not that Skee was complaining. Anyway during booking I half-jokingly said we were there for a honeymoon, then completely forgot about it. Upon arriving at the hotel Skee mentions she totally forgot her passport for checking in - I just told her to wait on one of the couches and pretend like she doesn’t know me and I’ll check myself in and get two key cards. LOL the look this lady gave me when I said I was checking in alone the pure bewilderment, the tinge of confusion, the subtle shift of concern and empathy… this poor employee either thought I was conning a free welcome gift or had straight up been left at the altar by some no good fiance. We endured an awkward walk to the elevators as I pretended I was a distraught former bride trying to make the most out of a prebooked honeymoon, where I was then left at the door of a room bedecked with heart shaped balloons, a plate of some kind of mysterious but still vaguely edible dessert, and a hand-written card wishing me a wonderful romantic holiday. Lovely touch really, but completely lost on Skee and I. I think Skee kept the card.
The food at this hotel was also some of the best I’d had in Bangkok. Breakfast was a treat well worth waking up for every morning, and well worth working off with the hotel’s free Muay Thai classes. I’m usually a hard pass for workout classes of all kinds, but I’m looking into Muay Thai studios now that I’m back home! Skee went nuts over the smoked salmon - a pretty unimpressive staple back home, but apparently a rare sight in Asia. Meanwhile I piled on the papaya, mango and passionfruit. Also on the property was Yu Ting Yuan, a Michelin-star Chinese restaurant with the best peking duck I’ve ever had in my life. Skee even said it was better than the duck she had while in China!
Beyond just the hotel Bangkok as a whole ended up being my favorite part of my trip to Thailand. I find Southeast Asian capital cities to be rather ubiquitous after a certain amount of time in them (looking at you Saigon and Manila) - there’s plenty to do and see, but first and foremost it’s a business hub for the country, not a tourist destination, and that means most of what you do in the city is… eat. And eat some more. And fling yourself towards the nearest mall to cool down because walking around in midday is unbearable. I say with no hesitation that my favorite part about Bangkok was hopping onto the back of some random dude’s bike and breezing around with the wind in my hair.
