The Proposal

Lebua



To date, Lebua has left a very deep impression. And why not? The unparalleled level of service and the amiable disposition of the staff were evocative of the highest level of service excellence.



Upon arrival, we were ushered into the hotel lobby and were offered assistance immediately. We were asked to wait at the couch, while the staff would prepare the paperwork. Unlike most hotels, we didn't even have to stand at the Check-in counter.



The hotel lobby has an imposing look. But a little too small for a hotel of its size.




Having prepared the paperwork, one of its staff brought us up to our room. On our way, she explained briefly what the hotel has to offer us. The hotel's corridors were 'painted' in orange and purple. Somehow, it does look nice.




The RiverView Balcony Suite



The hotel room was a view to behold. Yes, I expect its 'Riverview Balcony Suite' to be big, but not as big.

Entering the room, you have a corner, seemingly to have coffee with someone.



Then you have your living room.



So that you could watch TV.



Walking deeper, you have your kitchen, where you could make a cupaa. Next to the kitchen is the warobe.



The bathroom itself is beautiful.



Bathe in Bvlgari.











The bedroom.









The documents the staff has to go through with us before handing over the room to us. Yes, we need to sign a letter of declaration so that she could unlock the balcony.






The big mirror acts as a divider between the bedroom and the living room.





And of course, we could not missed out the balcony.

















Mezzaluna

There's this side table next to the sofa in the living room. I was looking through the magazines, till I found a book that gave an introduction on Lebua.





I was reading the article on Mezzaluna with great interest. I was told by everyone who knew this hotel that the things here are very expensive. But I thought to myself, "How much can a plate of pasta cost?"

It turned out to be a costly lesson for me.



I shall skip most of the details, but briefly here how it went.

While Gerrie was in the showers, I brought out the Ted Baker dress and laid it on the bed. With it was a birthday card, which invited her to Mezzaluna. And a gold-coloured clutch to match a pair of gold-coloured heels.



I myself went to the Business Center to use the Internet facility.



After sometime, I went straight to Mezzaluna. The Floor Manager, which I'm going to name FM in this post, ushered me to one of the best seats in Mezzaluna. Or so he said. And the rest of the waitresses. They told me there were two tables in the restaurants that held the best views. And I'm seating at one of the two tables.

The FM then showed me two menus: The wine list and the food list. I was looking through its list and the wine cost an average of $300+. *yikes*

Food list: No pasta could be found. What kind of Italian restaurant is this?!?

A very fine one.

The salad I enquired on has raw beef in it.

And no, I didn't order that.

There was a live band playing in the background. Very soothing indeed.

When Gerrie arrived 30mins later, she was told by the staff they were expecting her. We ordered two glasses of red, an appetizer, an entree and two main courses.

The ambience was really nice. But we overheard the FM telling the next tables that no photography was allowed. What a bummer!



We were given a variety of bread and two shots of sorbet, besides what we have ordered earlier. In fact, I have actually forgotten what we had exactly.



But the food was good. Some bits of it was foreign, but we still ate them. The place was so dark, we couldn't really see what we are having. Lol.

The dinner took 2 hours. When we were finished, the waitress showed us a Desert list. I looked through and then asked her, "Do you serve cakes here?"

She said, "Cakes are complimentary. Her birthday?"

I replied yes.

Soon after, the waitress brought us a slice of cake, accompanied by a violinist playing a birthday song. After he had finished playing, the FM came and poured two glasses of Moet & Chandon champagne. On the house, he said, for coming to Mezzaluna.

After he left, I knelt down and proposed to Gerrie. Then I put the ring on her finger. =)

After the deserts, I signed the bill of S$400 and we proceeded to the Sky Bar.

We were again ushered down the long fleet of steps and we reached Sky Bar. Tables at Sirocco were mostly filled.

The Sky Bar was crowded with party-goers, enjoying the view of the Chao Praya river. We took a couple of photos of the Dome and enjoyed the scenary.



We woke up to a very grand breakfast buffet and took a walk around the hotel, went to Starbucks for coffee...



before we bid Lebua and Bangkok goodbye.

Bangkok

Yes, we're back.

Loads of photos, plenty to tell, too little time to write.



First, I would like to praise Baiyoke Sky for its excellent service. When I booked the room via asiarooms.com, I have ticked the option 'Honeymooners'. The hotel staff had prepared a fruit basket and a slice of cake on its coffee table for us.

In addition, the bed was decorated with petals formed in a heart-shaped. The basin and the bathtub were also filled with petals. Was abit cliche, but still a pleasant surprise.




We were famished then and WALKED through the pasar malam and to Siam Center. Thinking back, we must have gone crazy. It was so far and weather was terribly HOT!

Anyway, my colleague, Justin, had recommended Oishi Grand at Siam Center but by the time we reached the restaurant, it was closing soon.

So we ended up at Greyhound Cafe. Food was good, especially its chicken wings.



Grocery shopping was next at Siam Paragon. We bought a box of mangoes and some other fruits. Durians and pomelos were for supper.



We didn't really spend much time at Paragon. Instead, Gerrie wanted to get some snacks from MBK. After all those walking, it was dinner time. We took a taxi to Chinatown and ended up at Nam Sing.



Justin had recommended me to go to the store opposite Nam Sing. But what he didn't tell me was that they didn't serve sharksfin soup. In any case, the sharksfin soup served at Nam Sing was good, but not too satisfying. It was quite costly, at S$50+ a bowl.




2nd Day

The next morning, we went for Baiyoke's buffet breakfast and were greeted by the long line of food. Approx the length of 4-5 walls.



Breakfast was great, especially with the view Baiyoke offers.

We were so full there wasn't space for lunch. There went my Oishi Grand again.



There were shops readily available in the hotel itself, however I thought the streets would offer better buys. These stalls sell mainly clothes and watches.



This time round, we took a free shuttle bus from the hotel to Siam Center, where I found a Paul Frank boutique.



I was so suaku. I thought I was unable to find any Paul Frank tees for guys in Singap0re, so I grabbed two. Later, I found out these tees are available in Heeren.




Next, we went back to Paragon and a few other shopping centres. Yes, we walked the whole afternoon.



Even to Central!



The first thing that greeted us at Central was this Balloon Fest.



Sculptures, like the one above, are made of balloon, making the whole event so colourful.



There was a performance going on as well. And the characters reminded me of Sim0n and $@lly of Mighty $@vers.



Except that these characters are more photogenic.





The purpose of this trip was not only to celebrate Gerrie's birthday, but also to pop 'The Question'. In addition, to create a memorable trip or to see Bangkok in another perspective.

The cruise dinner that I had booked earlier was to act as a decoy. To let her think that I was going to pop the question that night.

After Central, we went back to Baiyoke Sky to prepare ourselves for the dinner.

At 6, we met our driver at the lobby, who later brought us to the pier in a Camry.





Unlike what I had expected, there was a huge turnout and at least 4 ships were arranged to bring us tourists along Chao Praya river.

So what to do while we had to wait for our turn? Accompanied Gerrie to shop lor.



At 745pm, we boarded the ship.




The variety of food was excellent. But throughout the 2hour cruise, it was obvious the food didnt' matter.



The scenary did.

Our ship was the most happening, compared to the others. Right in front of the deck were the other passengers dancing along the tunes of a live band.

The night ended when the Camry brought us back to the hotel.







3rd Day



The plan had been thought about a few months back. And it was time for action.

After breakfast at Baiyoke, we went for more shopping. Because we were still full, we later settled for coffee.



For the past few days, we had been drinking coffee on a daily basis. Which was weird.

Because we only had a bottle of beer throughout the whole trip.

Meanwhile, I was looking at the time. Planning what to say, what to do at the correct moment.

After we had finished our drink, we went back to the room. Upon closing the door, I said to her, "I have another surprise for you. Let's pack up. We're moving to another hotel."

Within half an hour, we were ready to go. We left our bags at the checkout area and went for another round of massage. During that session, someone from Mezzaluna called and confirmed my reservation that evening.

Excellent service.

We hopped onto a cab and all this while, Gerrie still had no idea where we were going. To confuse her, all I had on hand was the hotel's address. In Thai.



Next up... photos of the room at Lebua. AND... the Question.