Asia After Hours

Peninsula hotel, Bangkok, Nov. 2011

The Peninsula hotel always delivered for me on every stay. I had a deluxe suite again, room 3009, for which I paid something around THB 20k++ that time. I really liked it there and I consider it to be a great deal for money. The staff is incredible friendly and skilled. I can only recommend the Peninsula to everyone who wants to relax a few days in Bangkok : they have a great riverside location, stunning views over Chao Phraya river and their spa and F&B are among the very top of the city.

It is impressive how very sound-proof the rooms are, you really don’t hear anything and the rooms are bright too, a lot of light is coming in.
Still plenty of things inside of the Peninsula have an 80s charm, it is a bit out of date, but nothing is perfect.
I am glad that this place exists : the staff is perfectly organized and I always feel to be in good hands when staying there.

Mei Jiang restaurant, Peninsula hotel, Bangkok

The Mei Jiang is probably one the best chinese restaurants of Bangkok. The Peninsula hotel in general is among the best in terms of culinary experiences with their F&B director Mr. Behrens taking care of that things remain as they are.

I am not an expert but the menu I chose was good, the staff was friendly and the service good. It even wasn’t really expensive considering that the restaurant is inside a top riverside luxury hotel. The restaurant gets booked well I heard, even better than their Thai restaurant Thiptara because of the high amount of chinese guests around the riverside.
Overall the restaurant is very good, but not that outstanding enough to let me go there if I would be staying far away from it. Their spa alone would certainly be enough reason to make the way/effort.

Popularity: 1%

The Big Mango

This Big Mango in my eyes is the world’s best city. When I visited Bangkok for the first time in 2005, I already had the feeling that this would become a love-affair. It just felt right to be there and things didn’t change since that.
When we explored the city by helicopter I recognized how little I know of the city. I don’t think it is really important to know every angel there, but there is plenty I still want to learn and explore. The heart of Bangkok are its natural friendly, Buddhistic people who are strongly connected with the king. I don’t think it is correct/fair to say that everything went downhill and that it just became a touristic, idiot hub. It depends on the areas and tell me any other place that’s better taking it all together. Jakarta has more diverse characters, it feels more grown-up, but they don’t have that open, free feeling : too much is happening just inside buildings there.

One of the most frequented questions I get is how much money you need to enjoy it the way I present it in my videos. I thought a long time about it and experienced the very luxury but also the budget end. I didn’t start staying in Bangkok at the Jim Thompson suite. My first hotel was the President Solitaire. I payed for my first room and first stay THB 2200/day. Let me tell you what : I was so extremely happy with this room, I could not believe that I was now able to afford a room that has such a nice marble bathroom. I was blasted away from the Thai hospitality and got the chills when I entered my room. I think the first time Jim Thompson didn’t make me happier, although I still consider it to be the best room of a hotel in Bangkok and Bangkok is No.1 worldwide in my eyes.
The point is that at a certain level, the extra luxury doesn’t bring you proportional extra fun.
Interesting is that according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand, the normal, average tourist spends around THB 4000 per day, a little more than USD 100. And I believe that this for a tourist is just about right to do everything without real limitations if you are smart. Of course there always is no open end. But I would never go in below THB 4000 per day, it won’t be fun. As an expat or resident the budget could be decreased a lot. Beware that taken into assumption that your currency might inflate at a rate of 2.5%, your fixed money value will decrease by half after 2 decades.

Honestly speaking you can basically fuck all my guides if you search there for eventually having the ultimate day. They can help you for getting an impression, give you ideas and a better overview. Everyone has a different taste, I prefer to structure here everything as an authority because in first priority I am doing this site for myself, it is a collection database of my own travel memories.

Do you really need to pay THB 5000 for a having the best massage experience of Thailand ? Hell no, you only pay that if you want to be secluded/safe from the real world, housing in pure luxury while getting the treatment. Some of my most memorable massages were THB 250, 90 min Thai massages in some dingy parlors, located in small Sois.
The picture is very similar for Thai food. My best Tom Yum Goong I also didn’t had a 5-star Thai restaurant. Does this now all mean that I reverse back and only stay at the budget places ? No, I will continue visiting the whole spectrum because I think I experience most that way. The point I want to explain is that even if you cannot afford the luxury places, just be happy with what you have and that you found Bangkok instead of dieing in ignorance without knowing heaven.

I want to thank a few people who helped and supported me on the last trip to make this video and following happening : Jakob, Thomas, Vann, Em, Twopee, Michael, Jah, Tar, Cherry, Fai, Nadia, Kat, Dream, Ann, Lookpad, Michaela, Patrick, Advance Aviation, Peninsula hotel Bangkok, Four Seasons hotel Bangkok, Dusit D2, BKcoolclub, The Pent, Funky Villa, Bangkok Pattaya hospital, Baccara, Rainbow 4. Many thanks for letting me keep the memories inside this video and I hope it enjoys/motivates/inspires other people as well :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNNKyoRRyMk

Popularity: unranked

Peninsula hotel, Bangkok : The friendly nerds of the riverside

I stayed at the Peninsula at the very end of the trip. I was very much out of energy and motivation at this time. That’s the main reason why I am not satisfied with my video here. The Four Seasons, Sukhothai and Dusit Thani I did earlier and the results are therefore better. After coming back from Pattaya I didn’t do anything of good quality anymore. Well, I try it again next time with more insights and hopefully with a better camcorder someday as well.

For the welcome you get some Peninsula chocolate you see in the picture above and the little charming details you find in the room make you feel very comfortable instantly. The staff you will meet is the most spectacular about the hotel. They are mostly all very nerdy and extremely friendly. I have never seen a hotel in Thailand with so many nerdy people, even the guests seem to be in majority nerds. It is so much different than the Oriental where a lot show/prestige guys hang out.

Everyone I met was very open-minded and helpful. I chatted a bit with their F&B director, Mr. Behrens, who just recently came to Bangkok from Peninsula Beijing. Before, he worked a couple of years in Phnom Penh at Raffles hotel. Totally hardcore that German guy: for working a few years in Cambodia you must be really tough. His job in Beijing must have felt like vacation in comparison afterwards. He is not only very capable but also extremely friendly. He totally fits into the Peninsula culture. The Peninsula people somehow remind me of the Boston consulting group culture. I think that’s a very fitting comparison. I didn’t videotape the chat because it didn’t feel appropriate at that moment. I might ask him a different time if possible.

I once saw a cleaning person in my room. That guy was super-small but so very big with his smiles. It’s incredible, how do some Thai people do that ? You cannot train them like that and money can’t change people like that as well. It’s their culture and the buddhistic way they grow up : that’s why they are so friendly and in harmony with themselves. That’s also why in Europe, the USA, Arabian countries you can pay more for your hotel stay and in some categories they can beat Thailand, but the service will never be as good as there. The Thais simply do it best in hospitality and the reason is their culture.

The Peninsula spa is totally outstanding, it is the very best hotel spa of Bangkok, even knocking out Devarana spa, Spa Botanica and Oriental spa. The design is the most beautiful spa next to Potalai. I consider it very much worth it only coming to the hotel for the spa or for eating at Thiptara restaurant. The pool is not that large but stylish and unique with the different levels. Shown room is a grand suite, 19th flor if I remember correctly for THB 18k plus Tax+VAT that season. I will be back.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-TKPBcPR1w

Popularity: unranked

Bangkok’s very finest suite : Peninsula suite, Peninsula hotel

This is an inside video look into Bangkok’s best suite you can possibly stay at. Neither the Mandarin Oriental, nor the Four Seasons can beat that with their top rooms in Bangkok.

Situated at the 34th flor, you have direct access to the rooftop and helicopter. Be careful that you don’t get lost in the 364 sm area of a very high luxury degree, you even have an own gym. The most impressive feature is probably the terrace and panoramic views over Chao Phraya river.

I have made a booking for a grand deluxe suite you see in the second video. What I saw at the Peninsula is already enough to judge that this is the best riverside hotel of Bangkok. I still placed it below Four Seasons although I will update the hotel guide after I experienced a stay there.

Thanks a lot to the very friendly and helpful Peninsula staff.

Part 1 :

http://www.vimeo.com/13603815

Part 2 :

http://www.vimeo.com/13607210

Popularity: unranked