South East Asia trip 2014: APRIL 3, 2014: BUS FROM KANCHANABURI TO BANGKOK, BACK TO THE BOSSOTEL FOR OUR LAST STAY, DINNER-HARMONIQUE

BANGKOK-April 3-5, 2014

April 3, 2014

Our last breakfast here. We feel sad that we have to leave. We have really loved staying here. It's a lovely property in a good location with a great pool and wonderful staff. There is so much to do in this area! For our visit we concentrated on the WW II stuff.

Our room with drying clothes on the chair!

Have just enough time for a short dip in the pool and my husband is ready to head back to BANGKOK. We reluctantly check out only having to pay for the 2 smoothie slushie drinks we had by the pool-143 baht.

Such helpful staff-Peerapun Boonyongsunchai

Looking toward the street from the hotel entrance

If you rent a car the hotel has parking space available

Entrance to hotel from street

Our same tuk tuk guy arrives to take us to the bus station. Wish I had written his name down somewhere! He was very nice, had passable English. As we drive I'm passing some familiar landmarks and then we come to a much busier and larger part of the town that I didn't even realize existed!! At the bus station I have time to take a picture of our tuk tuk driver and thank him for chauffeuring us around-100 baht. What great timing. There's a bus getting ready to leave for BANGKOK right now! I quickly pay for our 2 tickets, 1st class at 120 baht each even though the ticket says 110 baht?? No time for pictures as we hop on the bus, seats 30 and 31. The bus departs at 11:40 am. The A/C feels so good. After a short time a bus hostess gives out bottles of water. We enjoy relaxing in the comfortable seats and admire the scenery.

Love the sign

Pass the cemetery on the way to the bus station

Kanchanaburi city gate??

Our tuk tuk driver Ek

At the bus station

Our bus

Very comfortable seats

Toilet on the bus

Seat configuration is 2-2. Lots of empty seats

BANGKOK We're back! The bus trip took about 2 hrs. The bus station is called Sai Tai Mai/SOUTHERN BUS TERMINAL. It's further away from our hotel than the train station. Our plan is to get a taxi to take us the WANG LANG/SIRIRAJ PIER-N10 where we will catch a ferry back to SATHORN/CENTRAL PIER. Then it's a short walk to our hotel. There are lots of taxis at this bus station but unfortunately no one understands where I want to go! I keep mentioning pier for boat. Finally we're ushered into this one taxi with a very kind looking older guy at the wheel. We are told fare will be 270 baht. I think that's a bit much but I have no other option. I try to show him on my map the pier. He nods ok and off we go. Several minutes later and we are starting to wonder where is this guy taking us? We keep driving and driving until finally we recognize where we are. He's driven us back towards the SATHORN PIER!!! We see the street for our hotel and direct him down it and he stops right outside our hotel. I can't believe this guy was willing to drive us all that way back to the SATHORN PIER for 270 baht when I had paid 500 baht for our taxi from our hotel to the Thonburi Train Station which is closer! I give him 500 baht and he starts to give me back money but I tell him it's all his. He has a big smile on his face and I feel great. Such a sweet guy. He deserves to get as much as what I paid 2 days ago. Now some of you reading this may take issue with what I did but we're going home in a few days and I enjoyed making someone happy.

Southern bus terminal in Bangkok

BOSSOTEL Our fourth and final stay here. Check in is a breeze as well it should! The staff knows us and we know them. Our last welcome drink. Sigh. I put the balance on my credit card. 1800 baht which is for 1 night. I had pre paid the other night already. I can't believe this is our last 2 nights of our 3 month trip through SE Asia! We have room #415. The room is furnished/equipped pretty much the same as the other 3 rooms we have had. It is now pushing 3:00 pm so too late for sightseeing so we will relax by the pool. I make reservations for us for the show tomorrow Siam Niramit. I think it was skeezik's trip report and raves about this show that made me decide it was a "must see". I also make reservations for dinner tonight. The pool is nice but it's a bit overcast which is real unusual.

Dinner HARMONIQUE Not knowing how far away this place is we decide to take a taxi there. 80 baht. It didn't seem like a long distance so we may walk back to our hotel. This restaurant is nothing much to look at from the alleyway entrance but it's quite cute inside. We notice that the place is very busy, practically full with young wait staff almost running back and forth. We both order the pad Thai-mine with chicken and Richard's with pork. A singha beer and a coke. Service is slightly slow as Richard orders another beer but it is busy so I don't mind. Our dinners appear and the pad Thai is inside a pastry cover of sorts. Very different from what I expected but to be honest the food was great. For dessert I order a scoop of strawberry ice cream. This has been a nice dinner, all for 380 baht. We decide to walk back to the hotel enjoying the night scene around us.