Friday, December 21, 2007

My Home Away From Home, Away From Home

Since getting married last December, The Marriott Resort & Spa has become my home away from home, away from home.


As the story goes, after I proposed to Nuch, she and her mother went to see a fortuneteller to pick the best day for our wedding. I told her any day in March or April would be fine, since you typically need to book hotel reception halls at least 8 months in advance.

It turned out that 2007 was a bad year for getting married (still not sure what will happen to all those couples who did get married in 2007), and Dec. 24, 2006 was the only option, which gave us about 4 and half months to plan.
I called everywhere and nothing was available. Luckily, one of Nuch's friends with 'connections' was able to get us a hall at the Marriott Resort & Spa. The hall was fine, considering everything else was full, but after visiting the sala (not sure about the English word - like a promenade) alongside the Chao Phraya River, Nuch and I decided this was the place for us - as long as it didn't rain.


It's still a special place for us - besides being the location of our wedding reception, it's also a 10 minute drive from where I live in Bangkok, so we find ourselves back there almost every week, whether it's to enjoy the Sunday brunch at Trader Vic's, workout at the fitness center, spend some time by the pool, or have lunch by the river followed by a massage.
Earlier this month, we went there for Nuch's birthday.
They put on a traditional Thai dance performance on the stage set along the riverside.




Here's Nuch trying some Thai desserts



This is an odd picture. They had a wooden carving of what looked like Gollum from Lord of the Rings peering into the stew.


The following week, we took Nuch's parents to brunch. Please hold any gut comments - I just finished 4 rounds at the buffet.



This is Nuch's dad after brunch. He never misses a chance to pose - even if it's in front of the bathroom.


Just a few random pics from Trader Vic's and their dinner cruise.



Finally, here's a picture of their water taxi that runs between the hotel and the Bangkok Sky Train network across the river. If I don't want to drive to work, I'll catch the water taxi to cross the river and catch the sky train, which runs to my office.


Just a little introduction, as I imagine the Marriott will pop up on occasion in future blogs.

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