Just back from a lovely, relaxing week-end visiting wonderful friends in Bangkok! Friday afternoon was spent exploring the recently opened IKEA, which is located in Bangna. As always, stepping into IKEA in any country makes me feel as if I am transported back to Sweden, if only for the duration of a couple of hours. As far as international travel goes, I guess that's pretty cheap ;)
Saturday morning was cool for Bangkok, so I wandered along Sukhumvit before heading towards the shopping centers at Siam. Bangkok is such a city of contrasts - construction, demolition, Christmas decorations in November, delicious waffles, snarls of telephone cable and some of the best shopping to be found anywhere. When the heat becomes unbearable, which it does at about 10 am, I'm always glad to slip into an air-conditioned shopping mall.
Saturday afternoon found us all at Terminal 21, a new shopping center right by the Asoke intersection. The concept is based on an airport, with Gates and country themes on each floor. Apart from shops there are a vast number of restaurants and cafes. My absolute favourite feature, however, are the Japanese toilets with have more function buttons than I know what to do with.
Sunday we had planned a visit to the annual Scandinavian Christmas Bazaar which was held at the Rembrandt hotel on Sukhumvit soi 18, but by the time we arrived it was mostly over. Instead, we discovered a Swedish restaurant called Scan Deli on the same road (where you can buy Ahlgrens Bilar and order Västerbottenostpaj), but ended up at Lean on Tree across the road which has a lush green garden and a cooling fountain. It was the perfect spot for a farewell mojito before I had to pack my bags and head back to Chiang Mai.
