We are in the port of Laem Chabang.  Nothing much to see. Lunch of truffle hamburger and beer in Mistral. Today we were supposed to ride a bus for at least two hours to get to a hotel in Bangkok.  We were assigned to the St. Regis.  The cruise line paid for the transport and hotel cost, but any drinks and food were at our expense.  We thought better and stayed on board.  I've only been to Bangkok 25 times or so, and stayed at the St. Regis twice.  This hotel actually won a Readers Choice award last year.  Here are some excerpts of  my posting of 21August2016. View from my suite. While there is a mass transit stop just outside the hotel, there is nothing else of any relevance nearby.  I mostly reported on a my experiences at a rooftop restaurant a couple of stops away, Zense. After I used a  $20 BTS SkyTrain ten times, the cost was only around $5. A photo from my table. My initial reaction to this restaurant was one of leeriness. ...

Today I continue my  nostalgic  Pearl's Ashes  series , focusing on  Bangkok .  But there will be a few informational detours, leading to a nightmarish journey to my hotel in Tokyo, and finishing with a hint of what will be my posting next Tuesday. I flew first class, and left Honolulu on 1March2011, 24 hours later arriving at my favorite hotel in Bangkok, the Sheraton Grande Sukhamvit. My philosophy when flying is, "if free, every drink not drunk is money wasted."  I'm not sure my body, and liver in particular, would agree, but it makes for an enjoyable flight. Go to my posting that day for the details , but I had 16 different alcoholic drinks getting from Honolulu to Bangkok. I selected the  Grand Palace for Pearl's Ashes #15 . Here is a  short video of this attraction . Official residence of the Kings of Siam, now Thailand, since 1782, until 1925. Over 8 million visitors/year. One of Pearl's very favorite spots on Earth is the   Grand Pala...