Tuesday, September 2. Kay arrives!  By the way, Sukhothai Hotel is an absolute oasis of a hotel in the middle of Bangkok’s busiest business district. (We had a personal tour of all the rooms just to be sure that this is “the” choice for TFA clients.)  It is!  One would never know that busy Bangkok is just at the end of the driveway…

Breakfast to catch up and review our TFA itinerary.  First stop?  Kay’s favorite tailor, Raja on Sukhumvit Road, with shirts to be copied for her husband and a lovely little cocktail dress that she just had to have in 4 colors!  Then another stroll around Old Bangkok with the world’s best guide – Kay herself!  Great find:  Asia Books. Tip: The pharmacies in BKK are brilliant for whatnots and remedies.  Two other tailors?  World Tailor near the Oriental Hotel and James Tailor (I know, I KNOW!) both included on National Geographic’s Top Ten Tailor’s Worldwide list.

Dinner at Secret Garden on Sathorn Road.  Our Trails of Indochina hosts promised a Bangkok treat and they delivered.  We dined al fresco and I learned that dining Thai-style means using the backside of a fork as a pushing implement and a large spoon for eating. I also discovered that I adore Thai chilies.  The hotter the better.  Who knew?!

Wednesday, September 3. Our guide arrives at 8 a.m. We have a very long day in store.

Talat Doi Wan market outside of Bangkok where Kay reveled in fresh foods of every sort. Everything from fruit to duck roasted on the spot, glass noodles, delicious herbs, nuts, spices, and a variety of fresh vegetables I have never tasted or heard of, but thoroughly enjoyed seeing. Kay did enough tasting for all of us.  Hers is a truly adventurous palate while I am still gathering my Thai taste buds.  Once any vendor learned she spoke Thai as well, if not better, than they, the spoons were alight as Kay was invited to sample absolutely everything.  For me it was visual, for Kay, it was a taste sensation not to be missed.

Back to Bangkok to review the Blue Elephant Cooking School. Love, love, LOVE!  Colonial in architecture only – offering a sunset yellow exterior – Blue Elephant displays a mouthwatering restaurant on the ground floor and several class rooms on the upper level.  Chefs from all over the world attend Blue Elephant to refresh their Thai skills and more than a few amateur chefs converge weekly to study under this leader in Royal Thai cuisine.  Each student has their own work station and the instruction is hands on. TIP: Blue Elephant restaurants, not cooking schools, abound worldwide.  None in New York though.  Not yet!

Next stop BaiPai, for a more relaxed, but nonetheless amazing, method of culinary instruction from Khun Suwan Chakchit and his talented staff of chefs.  Known for Thai home style cuisine, BaiPai is practically a zen experience with hands-on classes in an an open air environment.  I observed a class of Australian travelers soaking up every technique.  Kay salivated as she tried to imagine bringing one of Bai Pai’s giant mortars home to London.  News flash: Everything can be shipped!  TFA travelers will love both Blue Elephant and Bai Pai styles of culinary arts.

Jim Thompson was an American who settled in Bangkok following WWII.  He fell in love with Thai culture and built a Bangkok home that now reigns as one of its most treasured museums.  More importantly, he revived the long dormant Thai silk industry. The speculation that surrounds his mysterious disappearance in 1967 thrives to this day.   Jim Thompson House is a must see on any visit to Bangkok.

At this point I have become an expert in khup kun kha which means thank you in Thai.  Very important words.

Thursday, September 4. Early morning visit to Manohra to inspect these impeccably restored rice barges for an overnight river cruise From Ayutthaya to Bangkok.  TFA travelers will not be disappointed as they sail aboard one of these uniquely luxurious sailing treasures.

Start for Ayutthaya, Thailand’s first capital city.  Breathtaking.  About an hour’s drive outside Bangkok, be sure to get an early start and avoid the noonday sun as there is very little shade at this UNESCO site.  Here, every statue of Buddha was decapitated when the Burmese conquered Ayutthaya, ravaged the city for its jewels and other treasure, and then proceeded to burn it to the ground in the mid 18th century.

There are noodle shops galore in Ayutthaya. Kay discovered two of the best in her travels and we sampled each one.  It is impossible for me to decide which is better, so I will leave it to Khun Kay to make her selection by the time TFA arrives in Ayutthaya in January.  Or perhaps you will decide for yourselves!

Supatra River House for lunch and a discovery next door:  Patravadi DInner Theater - Studio 9 just next door!  Fun for whole family following a savory dinner experience.

Chakrabonges House Villas are a supreme pleasure.  This hotel on the Chao Phraya River is the love and labor of a member of the Royal Family.  The main house remains her private residence. However, surrounding the lush gardens are four stylish apartments, each with a view of the Royal Palace and the Temple of Dawn just across the river.  FIND!

Manorha Dinner cruise. Sound tacky?  Not at all.  For just about $50 per person (sans alcoholic beverages), a beautiful topside table and a seven course dinner can be had while sailing along the Chao Phraya River and viewing the jewel that is Bangkok by night.  Kay and I had a ball, and the food got two thumbs up from Khun Kay Plunkett-Hogge herself!

Best buy: Thai fisherman’s pants in cotton or silk.  I had been given a pair ages ago (by Kay and her husband, Fred) in white Thai cotton and adore them still, though they are fraying badly.  When I spotted them in lovely Thai silk colors in Alameta (unisex sizes only), there was no stopping me!

Friday, September 5.  Rise n Shine!  Travel Day!

An early morning inspection of Mekhala River Barge, an equally enchanting alternative to the Menorha in our plan to sail from Ayutthaya to Bangkok.  We have a difficult choice ahead on behalf of our TFA travelers!

Off to Dusit Palace for a quick dash through ARTS OF THE KINGDOM, an impressive exhibition of traditional Thai arts such as silver, beetle wing, gold and silk arts, including thrones, royal barges, jewelry and weaving.  In the end, I wished we had more time to linger but One Table Jok’s waits for no one!  That’s all I am going to tell you about Jok’s Kitchen other than that it is accessible through small doorway in an Old Bangkok market – the most amazing fresh market I have ever visited anywhere – and quite possibly Bangkok’s best kept culinary secret.  Jok presides over your table personally.  Surprise: Jok was completely enchanted by our own Kay Plunkett-Hogge’s culinary knowledge.  So much so, that I thought he would open the doors of his kitchen just for her.  Stay tuned!

Ger gun mai! (Till we find each other again!)