This is Callie, she is three and precocious, she has been around the block world a few times and she isn’t afraid to speak her mind…in multiple languages.
Sometimes though, being three and all, things can be confusing. Here was her enlightenment (pun intended) today.
One of my scholarship student mentees is a monk and he came for his mentoring session today, in the middle of our chat Callie wandered by, totally naked from her afternoon swim.To be fair to her she did wei to the monk and very politely say “Joom Reap Sure”, the monk replied and wei’d and I guess Callie thought she was in…
“You’re a monk, not a chipmunk, a chipmunk is an animal and they sing. Do you sing?”
My student was a bit taken aback by a naked three-year-old discussing his singing ability, but he did nicely respond that monks don’t sing, I added that we do hear them chanting to Buddha sometimes.
“Ohhh,” said Callie, “I give Buddha the high-five.”
While it may sound like the newest thing in religious lingo, ohh, Jesus, yea, he gets a high five. Callie however was not being philosophical, but rather meant that on her way up to bed she likes to high-five the Buddha in our lobby.
I have had this blog in my head for years and it is just now, stuck on a bus from Bangkok to Cambodia, that I am putting fingers to keyboard to get the word out. Serviced apartments are fantastic. When I was pregnant with Couper I lived in Bangkok for three months and, wanting something safe for my then one-year-old (yes, my kids are only 15 months apart and yes, I am tired a lot) and myself we rented a serviced apartment. Our original apartment was a one-bedroom at Centre Point, Silom, it had views of the river and was a two minute walk to the skytrain station. Callie and I explored the city from this safe little base and it was where Couper lived for his first few days. Subsquently when I travel back with the kids we stay in various serviced apartments and they are perfect for us, allowing us living space, a kitchen to make snacks and usually two bathrooms.
Callie and Couper enjoy a movie in 'our' apartment
Here are some myths about serviced apartments debunked:
Myth 1: They are only available for long stays.
Debunking: Wrong! Service apartments are often able to be booked just like hotels for as many, or as few, nights as you want.
Myth 2: Serviced apartments are more expensive than a hotel because they offer so much more.
Debunking: Wrong! That’s the beauty of them. Usually a one bedroom serviced apartment in Bangkok has a kitchen, a living room, a bedroom and a bathroom and costs less than the Sofitel, Marriott or other hotel offering similar standards.
Myth 3: You then have to clean your own room.
Debunking: Wrong, oh so wrong. Serviced is the key word here. The rooms are cleaned daily and the sheets changed every few days so you get a clean room, but it is better for the environment.
Myth 4: You don’t get the services you do at a hotel.
Debunking: Wrong again! Room service, maid service, IT service, everything the hotels have these apartments have and often the add-ons aren’t expensive. At Siri Sathorn, my new favorite apartments, wireless is free in all rooms and they will call and make appointments for you or call you a taxi if you need to get somewhere. The only service they don’t have is a tour desk, but then again, I can take care of that for you (archive.journeys-within.com)! All the apartments we use have pools as well as gyms and because they have to keep them nice for their full-time guests the gyms are often better than those at the hotels.
Callie enjoying the pool at our serviced aparmtments
Myth 5: We would have to go out for breakfast and there’s no room service.
Debunking: Wrong. At Siri Sathorn and at the Centre Points breakfast is included in the cost of the rooms and is often a very good buffet. They also have room service and it is delicious, some of the best Mango Sticky Rice I have ever had was at Siri Sathorn.
Dinner at Centre Point with Callie (all my friends wrote back when I sent this out and commented on the yummy looking room service. I could have cooked it in my kitchen...I didn't but I could have).
Myth 6: Serviced apartments are in the business district, not near where I want to stay.
Debunking: And finally, wrong! Siri Sathorn is on Sala Daeng road, walking distance to Silom Road and the skytrain. Centre Point, Silom, is next to the ferry dock and Saphan Thaksin skytrain station. Both are walking distance to shopping, restaurants, banks and malls.
The view from my Bangkok apartment
At Journeys Within we use serviced apartments for families and often older couples as they are amazingly quiet and the staff just go above and beyond for their guests. The only thing a serviced apartment lacks is that Thai feel and can lack a bit of character. I don’t think in every city they’re the right option, but in Bangkok, when there is so much going on just out the door it is nice to have a little peace and quiet and your own space inside.
Couper's first home was two nights in our serviced apartment in Bangkok (and yes, he flew to Cambodia at four days old, but that's another story!)
Waew, my Bangkok director for the past two years recently got married and is moving to Canada with her husband. She asked me to write her a reference letter and as she has been a contributor to the blog I felt that posting her reference letter was a fitting tribute. Good luck Waew, we will miss you!
Waew and Andrea at Waew's going away party in Bangkok
Dear person thinking about hiring Waew,
Stop thinking and hire her! I know employers are supposed to word these letters so as not to take any risk, but I do not consider endorsing Waew a risk. From day one Waew has been an asset to my company. Her first order of business when we hired her was to tell us that we were paying too much for the space we were in. She proceeded to find a better space for less money and we moved the entire office. This attention to the bottom line, without a sacrifice of service or quality of product has been a theme throughout Waew’s time with us.
Waew truly is a model employee – she takes ownership, she is tireless in her work and she is always happy and positive. Over the last two years Waew has taken our Thailand operation from an office to a family. Her relationship with guides and suppliers got our guests incredible service as well as excellent deals. It was these personal relationships that really made the operation so successful and Waew was able to develop them naturally, bringing the rest of the company in as she went, so ultimately benifitting all of us.
In terms of reliability, you can consider this, Waew never let me go to voicemail. Whether it was seven in the morning or 10 at night Waew always answered her phone and helped me solve any and all problems. In fact, on New Years Eve at 1130pm at night a guest had a question and called Waew, she answered and solved the problem – going above and beyond just comes naturally to her.
If all this hippy-dippy admiration isn’t enough, then the hard facts are that our Bangkok operations doubled in sales with Waew at the helm and our net income rose by a large percent, she truly took our operations to the next level.
To end, I think Waew exemplifies Thailand – full of energy and life, hardworking and loyal and just a pleasure to be with. I can’t help but think that in the dead of winter, in an office in Canada, a little bit of Thailand would go a long way.
I consider myself lucky to have had Waew as part of my team and if I had, or was able to start, a Canada office, I’d like to think that you wouldn’t even be getting this amazing opportunity.
I always loved the episodes of Sex and the City where Carrie fell in love with her city. They were always so perfect, even at times, in their imperfection. I have never felt that kind of love for a city, I mean I have felt nostalgic and warm in London at Christmas, I have felt hip and blond in LA, I have felt edgy and interesting at a book reading in San Francisco, but I have never truly loved a city…until today. Today I loved Bangkok. I loved it not because it was perfect, but because today it was perfect for me. I think, like Carrie, to find that love you have to be on your own, have to be open to loving something because you aren’t surrounded by kids, husbands or friends. With no distractions, I spent a day with Bangkok.
It started with a taxi ride to Samitivej Hospital (doesn’t sound good so far I know). I had to get a root canal and I was scared. But the taxi driver took to the back way (is there any other way in Bangkok??). We went down a street selling only photos of the Royal Family, another that only sold monk paraphanelia: orange robes flapped out the doorways and alms bowls gleamed from inside.
At the hospital my dentist spoke perfect English and went through what would happen and why I didn’t need to be as scared as I was. An hour later it was done (except for that appointment in March where they do more drilling, but no need to dwell on that!).
My excema has come back so I stopped at the skin clinic where I didn’t have an appointment, I was seen within 30 minutes and another doctor with flawless English told me to take Vitamin B, use a new ointment she had and reduce my stress (I promised I would do two of the three).
Back on the Bangkok streets I took a taxi to downtown. I love the taxis in Bangkok, with the AC blasting it’s a cool cocoon trundling through ridiculously bad traffic. With kids and husbands this traffic is painful, but today it was a moving performance, each block we stopped was a new scene in motion with me as the audience.
I was dropped at MBK where I took escalators to the 4th floor and the Big Cut Salon and Spa. No fancy music here or smells of frangipani, but once the cucumber is on your eyes and the masks are being put on and taken off the dingy walls feel a million miles away.
Inside MBK at Siam Square
A facial and eyebrow wax later I headed to the food court on the 5th floor. There I tried the new concept restaurant by Oishi. A take on Benihana you sit at a bar as they cook the food in front of you. Perfect for a party of one on a date with the world. My steak was perfect and I had in-meal entertainment as others came and their lunch too was prepared in front of us.
My delicious lunch and the chef in Bangkok
After lunch it was back to the salon for a haircut and color and now to the best surprise of the day. At each hair cutting station, a computer with games, movies and, wait for it, internet! I gleefully wrote Brandon that I was getting my personal to do’s and my work to do’s done at the same time. He didn’t appreciate the perfection of that moment for me.
Getting my hair done while I worked, my idea of perfection!
Hair back to blond and me up to date on email I headed to the new Bangkok Art and Culture Center, across the street from MBK and Siam Square. I loved the cool of the building, the hippness of it all, but still with a sense of Thai history. Nothing Bangkok does seems to loose its roots. Because it was never colonized I feel that Bangkok has always been allowed to be itself and though it has changed and developed it never lost the traditions and weight of it’s past. Even in a brand new museum with a modern design you feel the presence of the Royal Family and the history of Thailand in its very foundation.
After the gallery I headed to Siam Paragon to look for some books for JWOC, unfortunately they didn’t have them, but I browsed the aisles flipping through history, art and guidebooks. I was interrupted in the middle of my browsing by thousands of screaming fans out the window. It turned out that Oiki? Or Odidi, or some Thai celebrity was making an appearance that day in the Square and the teeny boppers had turned out in force. O-whatever didn’t look as impressed as I think most men would be to see thousands of Thai schoolgirls screaming their names, his cool factor was off the chart…ripped jeans, a shirt off one shoulder and spiky hair. There was a moment of nostalgia…whatever did happen to New Kids On the Block?!? And where is my old school uniform?
My movie started at 730pm and I was surrounded by Thais on dates and just out for the night with friends. Boys and girls packed in to see Confessions of a Shopaholic. In Thailand, before any movie, a tribute to the king is played and everyone stands. I always get chocked up over this reverence to the King. It must be nice to believe in and love something this strongly. While their political views do differ, love for the king does not and this solidarity is inspiring.
While the movie was probably worth the $3 I spent to go, it was worth even more than that to listen to the Thai’s enjoying it. It was fun to listen and see what got the laughs…goofy dancing was a big hit!
I took the skytrain home, still packed even at 1030 at night, and then walked towards my apartment, despite the late hour people sat at small tables enjoying a before-bed snack of noodle soup, papaya salad and meat on a stick. I ordered some Pad Thai and ate it quietly on a plastic stool letting the honking and yelling roll over me.
I may not be Carrie Bradshaw, I may have traded stilettos for flip flops, but this was my city and I was in love, I walked the rest of the way home, letting the heavy air of Bangkok, full of noise and heat and history, kiss me goodnight.
My Sex and the City moment in Bangkok
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