Adam and I arrived at LAX ready for our long flight. When we were checking into our flight with Japan Airlines, they mentioned that we could upgrade to Premium Economy for an additional fee if we were interested. They told us that with Premium Economy, we would get 20% extra leg room, leg rests, extra arm room, and a separate cabin from regular economy. They also said we would be able to use the lounge at LAX. After some thought, we decided that for such a long trip, it might be worth the extra costs (they were offering it to us for $150 per person) and just went for it.
In my opinion, it was definitely worth it for our long flight. We probably wouldn't do that again, but it was a really nice experience! We had noise canceling headphones (super nice on a long haul flight and really comfortable), Adam and I didn't elbow each other like we did on the way home flying Cathay Pacific economy, the service was amazing because there aren't a lot of premium economy seats but there were several flight attendants in our cabin (we admit to beeping for them a few times to get water, ice cream (!), snacks, sandwiches, etc. during the flight). Not only that, but hanging out in the lounge at LAX was awesome...usually we are with all the other folks sitting around on the hard chairs waiting for their flights to come in. The lounge had computers with internet, free beverages, snacks and food (really decent coffee and no need to pay $6 for a bottle of water! Sweet!), comfy chairs, t.v., newspapers....if only I could have lounge access every time I wait at the airport!
Ok, enough about how exciting we were about flying more than economy (it wasn't quite business, and nowhere near first class...but it was better than anything we've ever had, lol) and how free water can bring me such excitement about hanging out in an LAX lounge...on to Bangkok!
We arrived fairly late at night so rather than bothering Andy's friends who we were staying with, we booked a hotel for a night. The hotel was quite nice and close by the airport, so if any of you ever need a hotel to stay at for a transit/layover in Bangkok, check out the Paragon Inn. They picked us up at the airport, served us a nice cold beverage, and the hotel was super clean and updated. We totally needed the complimentary cold drink because it was blazing hot in Bangkok (especially since we were coming from dry 70 degree weather!).
So refreshing in the humid heat!
Pretty photos in the room! Yay!
Bed- super comfy after hours on a plane!
Rooms & the pool
Plumeria trees were all over Bangkok (and after the rain fall, the flowers would cover the ground)- Shara told me that in Thailand, they typically planted those trees in graveyards but now they can be found all over, including in people's yards and at our hotel.
Our time in Bangkok was very short because the main purpose of us going to Bangkok was 1) to meet up with Andy and his friends Tim & Shara so we could travel together to Myanmar and 2) most importantly to get our visas to Myanmar!
We arrived on Saturday night so Sunday was our day to just hang out since the Myanmar Embassy was closed. Shara was so sweet to pick us up from the hotel and take us back to her house. Tim was away on a retreat, so we hung out with Shara around town. We ate lunch close to her house (delicious pad thai for cheap!) and then wandered around town- stopping at a mall that had Ferrari and Lamborghini dealerships, a shopping area that sold tacky shirts and souvenirs, a boba and mango smoothie stop, and the Jim Thompson House Museum.
Just as they advertised- cheap and good!
Fresh mango smoothie- yum!
That evening we met Shara's husband Tim. Of course, Adam and I were hoping for Thai food, but Tim was hankering for a steak so we ended up at this place called Wine Connection. We forget that foreigners living in another country usually don't crave the local food since they have it all the time, lol.
The next day, our goal was to get our tourist visa for Myanmar. We got up bright and early and Shara took us over to the Myanmar Embassy. The visa office didn't open until 9 am, but we were there at 8am. There was already a line forming, but luckily we were 4th & 5th in line. Once they opened, we had to show them we had the proper paperwork before they gave us a number. We then had to sit and wait for our number to be called, where we gave them our paperwork, passports and money. Luckily there wasn't any problems and we were back that afternoon to pick up our passports with the visas in them! Since it took less time than we expected, we decided to explore Bangkok but didn't get too far because it was too hot! Ended up finding shelter from the heat at the local mall (where we ate McDonald's ice cream cones for cheap!).
Tuesday was both a holiday and also a free day for us since we didn't have any issues with the visas. Since Andy wasn't arriving until Tuesday night, Adam and I decided to use this day to try and do some sightseeing. We headed to Wat Pho, the Temple of the Reclining Buddha, via taxi (first stopping at the cheap Thai place for a quick "breakfast" of pad see ew and pad thai). When we got there, it was already blazing hot and I was sweating profusely (it was insane...it looked like I just went for a dip in the pool). Plus we had heard that we needed to be properly covered, so poor Adam was in long pants! After paying our entrance fee, one of the men at the front desk offered a guided tour for a fee, so we decided to take his offer. We probably wouldn't pay for a guide at Wat Pho again because it wasn't particularly informative and our guide had us posing in awkward positions in front of Buddha, which I really would have preferred not to. I won't post any of those horrible photos, but here are a few from Wat Pho.
The Reclining Buddha was really neat to see. It was huge!! Over 150 feet high and covered in gold leaf. Also the feet and eyes of the buddha were engraved with mother of pearl and the soles of the feet have 108 different images of buddha.
After visiting Wat Pho, we decided to head next door to the Grand Palace. I didn't read up on the Grand Palace so all I knew that was there was the small Emerald Buddha made of jadeite. When we arrived at the Grand Palace (we ended up walking about 2 blocks), we were sweating, hot and ready to get some shade cover! We discovered that the Grand Palace was closing early because of the holiday, and the Emerald Buddha exhibit was already closed off. We decided not to spend the $12 per person to go in since we would only have an hour there. We ended up getting a cold smoothie across the street at some corner shop.
Andy arrived that evening and we got all our bags ready because the next morning we were headed to the airport for Myanmar!!
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