Where the old and new sit side-by-side

Well, there is some progress on the sleeping front. Today I slept until 3.55 am – woo hoo! Still really annoying, but I’m slowly getting there, and hopefully I will be back to a normal routine soon. I don’t know why I am affected more than the others, but I had the same issue last year, so clearly it has something to do with me. I’ve finished the ‘Frankly’ book, which I very much enjoyed reading, and now I’m onto a more sobering one, the memoir ‘Nobody’s Girl’ by Virginia Giuffre about the abuse she suffered from a young age and later at the hands of influential people.

Today is Ms R’s birthday, so we have a few little gifts and her birthday cake to celebrate. S and Ms R have a full day planned, which mainly comprises getting ‘dolled up’ for various outings that they have booked. Breakfast at Unbirthday Café, then cocktails and dinner at the Tichuca Rooftop Bar at Thonglor and drinks later at a nearby local bar. I will try and get some photos from them to insert here, though I don’t want to be seen as the oldie that is cramping their style, and I’m also very conscious (data protection etc.) that they probably don’t want their photos appearing in our blog, so that is why you are stuck with our non-fashion and ugly mugs, I’m afraid.

Of course, this also explains why they both S and Ms R have the biggest suitcases with them – so far we have noted 9 pairs of shoes between them and don’t get me started on the number of outfits, toiletries and beauty accessories. A funny wee point to note here was that when we arrived at the apartment, we didn’t realise that their bedroom doesn’t have a mirror in it, and we would have swapped but I really like the balcony and ensuite we have (and it’s more practical for us), but I said they could use our room anytime we are not using it, so the vanity area has now been taken over with hairdryer, tongs, etc. – oh it makes me laugh. Also note how our daughter has her father wrapped around her little finger, and he is ironing her skirt – I don’t think R has ever ironed any items of mine in the past!

Right back to R and I. After seeing the girls off, we also set off on our merry way to explore the Central Embassy Mall. We haven’t done this one before, so we are looking forward to it. To get there, we take the BTS at Phrom Phong for a short ride to Phloen Chit, and we walk along the skywalk from there to Central Embassy.

Central Embassy

Central Embassy is a shopping mall in Bangkok. It was constructed on the site of the former British Embassy gardens on Phloen Chit Road, which explains why, later on during our outing, we noted a statue of Queen Victoria in an old park area close by.

Once we get into the mall, we notice a lot of high-end retailers and can see that there must be some sort of event on, as lots of people are in a queue (or more precisely, they have left a marker for their place in the queue on the floor). We can’t help but wonder what it is for, but I later discovered that there was some official Ralph Lauren event on, and some Thai pop star or celebrity was going to be opening the event.

The mall is very swish and upmarket-looking. It’s also relatively quiet compared to other nearby malls. Although there are a lot of high-end fashion stores in here, there are also some more general ones like Muji on level 3. I also should add that the toilets in here are very, very nice indeed and are possibly even better than those of Terminal 21. So, make sure you visit them.

The architecture and layout of the mall is beautiful, but for us, the best part of this mall has to be the level 5 area, which was just incredible. It wasn’t just the fantastic views that you get from there, or the fancy cinema, but the layout of the whole floor, especially the bookstore area was just stunning. We loved all the little nooks and crannies that you could just sit in and relax whilst reading a book. There are also cafes and restaurants, some with outdoor spaces, and there are also co-working spaces that can be booked.

For lunch, we headed to the food hall on the lower ground floor. Even though this was a food hall, it was slightly different from most of the food halls we have experienced so far. On entry, you are given a card with a 1000-baht value on it, and you use this card to buy what you want. Then, when you are leaving, you hand over your card, and the cashier then rings up the cost, and you can pay either in cash or by card. There is an additional 5% added onto the bill, which I guess is to help offset the increased costs associated with operating the food hall. It was certainly worth it as the overall feel is more upmarket. For example, you don’t have cutlery stations, but all the tables are laid out with paper table mats and cutlery for you, and you don’t return your tray to a tray station as the staff are on hand to take the plates, clean the tables and set up new table areas. You can also even pay a little additional charge to get your food brought to your table.

There was a huge variety of food vendors. The prices were very reasonable, and the portion sizes were good. The fact that there were lots of Thais eating here was also a good sign.

I had a pork and wanton soup dish, and R had a garlic chicken and rice dish. My choice was fantastic, but R’s was a little underwhelming in terms of flavour – possibly because he didn’t add any additional condiments or chilli? For afters, we had some banana dessert with mung bean and taro, which was fine but not really the sort of dessert we usually go for.

Today’s route

Day 4, 28 Nov, 2025

After lunch, we headed out of the building and made our way along Wireless Road to visit our next destination in the area, a stunning heritage home and park. I loved how the street had several interesting cover plates along this road – I think there were 4 designs in all, but it was lovely.

Nai Lert Park Heritage Home

Not long after, we came to Nai Lert Park Heritage Home, which is a 22-square-meter park, heritage home, and museum in Bangkok, Thailand. Located in Pathum Wan district, the home was designed and built in 1915 by developer Nai Lert. The park is considered to be the oldest one in Bangkok.

For three generations, the Nai Lert family lived in the house until it was unanimously decided in 2012 to convert the private residence to a heritage property.

Nai Lert bought the land along the Saen Saep Canal and planned to build a unique teakwood abode where they could relax and have friends over to visit on the weekends in the confines of a lush garden. The Nai Lert family home was opened to the public in 1915. It was the first western-style public park in Siam, even before Bangkok’s Lumphini Park was opened.

Nai Lert Park Heritage Home was turned into a museum filled with historical memorabilia from three generations – each corner and the thousands of artefacts within are parts of an enthralling history of the family and buildings.

We didn’t plan on going into the house or museum itself, but wanted to have a little look around the garden area, and it was absolutely stunning. It never fails to surprise me how you can come across areas which are like a little oasis in the middle of a busy, bustling and hectic city like Bangkok. I just love how you have the old and new right beside one another. We thoroughly enjoyed our time here. There are several restaurants and cafes in the grounds, and there were preparations for a wedding going on when we were there. I cannot imagine a more beautiful setting for a wedding, though I dread to think how much it would cost!

After our park visit, we exited out on the other side of the road (Chit Lom Road) and made our way back towards the Central Chitlom mall (which connects to the Central Embassy mall) and onto the skywalk back to the BTS and heading home. On our way home, we popped into the Japanese supermarket and then the nearby TOPS grocery to pick up something for the evening’s dinner and also more water coolers, as we are going through a lot of water and we don’t have the luxury of having coolers delivered to the apartment, as we had in our Home Exchange accommodations last year.

Then our usual routine of shower, rest and relax for the evening. The girls were already in the apartment when we got back, and they were both busy getting ready for their night out. I nearly fainted when I saw the high heels they were both wearing and feared for their little feet. Thankfully, they weren’t planning on walking too far as they ordered a Grab taxi to and from the skybar. That said, as soon as they returned, we noted one already had her shoes in her hand, and the other couldn’t get out of hers quickly enough. We thought that was them in for the night, but no, a quick change and off they went again – this time to a bar with live music near the apartment. We, on the other hand, were sad old gits, off to get our much-needed beauty sleep!

Bangkok, Thailand