And the continuation could easy have been … stays in Bangkok! But our New Year’s eve did not get that crazy.

Bangkok is known to have some of the best night scenes in Asia. For anyone that like party, there is a lot to choose from of neon-lit clubs and bars with cheap alcohol.

This New Year eve we decided to stay at the same location as we would celebrate as from earlier experience trying to get taxi on New year eve can be quite tricky so we booked our stay at the Lebua with a room overlooking the river.

  

We touched down in Bangkok around lunch time, checked in to our hotel and started our celebration with lunch at the poolside restaurant and a few glasses of rose while waiting for our room to get ready.

As we had not made any dinner plans up front and most things were fully booked for New Years eve events,  we ended up with a table at the Opus Wine bar for a 7 course dinner. Not what we had in mind but as options was limited for this evening we went for it and it ended up being a surprising evening with fantastic food and wine.

 

We welcomed 2016 reaching for the stars at the Dome sipping Champagne at Flute A Perrier-Jouët Champagne bar with an amazing view and fantastic atmosphere. Our new found friends at the bar invited us to tangle along for some drinks to check out Bangkok’s night life but we turned it down. Waking up next morning we were both happy we did.

 

 

Bangkok, also known as the Asian “City of Angles” is the perfect place to spend New year eve and some days after to laze around, indulge and get pampered. And this is just what we did.

 

Our remaining days was spent visiting the different temples and trying out some local Thai food.

We found our way to the Chao Phraya river, also named “the river of kings” by King Rama I, to check out Bangkok’s waterway. The Riverboats are a great way to get around to the different sites. After the New Year celebration it felt good with the nice breeze from the river.

 

 

We visited What Arun “Temple of Dawn”, named after Aruna, the Indian God of Dawn. Sitting majestically on the Thonburi side of the Chao Phraya River, the legendary Wat Arun is one of the most striking riverside landmarks of Thailand.

 

  

Followed by a visit to  Wat Pho “Temple of Reclining Buddha” that is just across the river so just a short ferry ride away.

 

 

Wat Pho’s top highlight is the genuinely impressive Reclining Buddha and it’s an amazing site. We had to queue up to enter in to the room where it is located and had to take off the shoes. They provide plastic bags for you to bring them along with you so when you get back out they will not be lost.

   

  

We spent some morning hours at the Chatuchak weekend market, that is Asia’s largest market with 27 sections and over 15.000 booths selling virtually everything. As we went early morning it was not to crowded but at the time we left it was quite packed.

 

 

We picked up a map at the entrance to make sure not to get lost.

 

  

As Bangkok get really hot on a sunny day a refreshing coconut ice cream would have been a good option to try, but as the queue was to long we ended up with some water instead.

 

We visited Chinatown for a stroll around and different from other places in Bangkok on this day when most stores were closed due to the holiday, Chinatown was quite busy.

 

 

The many gold shops along the street was packed with people and just off the small side roads in any directions we passed stores selling just about anything you would be looking for.

 

 

After a long day strolling the streets we visiting one of the many massage places in Bangkok for a well earned foot massage. To get around Bangkok we used Tuk-Tuk as long as the distance was not to far. It is a easy way to get around and your find them everywhere.

 

 

Food lovers as we are and having tried out some of the local food that we both love, we wanted to try out Bangkok’s international kitchen. Due to the holiday lots of places were closed, but at the end we managed to book a table at the Savelberg Restaurant. And it ended up being and amazing culinary experience.

 

Savelberg Bangkok is located at the Oriental Residence and is run by Henk Savelberg, a critically-acclaimed chef behind four different Michelin-starred restaurants in the Netherlands. As the main man himself is working the kitchen on a daily basis we had the pleasure of meeting him when he came over to our table to welcome us to the restaurant.

   

We headed up to the sky bar at the Dome to watch the sunset and to try out the  smooth yet powerful Hangovertini before ending our evening checking out Bangkok’s famous night life. Bangkok becomes a different city at night so well worth to try it out.

 

The Hangovertini cocktail was created by Lebua’s mixologist for cast and crew of “The Hangover Part II,” which features a few key scenes shot at the hotel. The Cocktail is made with Chivas 18 years, Zen green tea liqueur, Martini Rosso, green apple juice & rosemary infused honey.

Our flight to Bangkok from Singapore was with Tiger Air.

Our hotel during our stay: Lebua at state tower

Bars with a view: Sky bar at Lebua

Places to eat: Savelberg, for a culinary experience (French), Blue Elephant (Thai), Opus Wine bar (Italian)