Jun 082012
 

After landing about 1pm, first chore was to get cash from the ABM and head to the hotel. Based on advice from Wikitravel, I decided to get a taxi from the soothingly named “OK Taxi” – and true to name, they were ok! The lady at the counter walked me out to a taxi, who didn’t speak English but we did just fine in French, and he was very curious why I’d chosen to visit his city – even more curious when he found it was for just one day!  Wikitravel had told me to expect 10-12 leva for the taxi, and it came to 9,20…wow, a city with an honest taxi system, I was liking this place already.

This is a good place to mention…I was seriously impressed with Sofia, which given how tired and jet lagged I was says quite a bit.  Although it was a brief trip, I was perhaps more impressed than with any other place I’ve visited in eastern europe.  I can’t wait to go back for a longer trip, and explore more of the country.  Everyone was friendly and helpful, and between English, French, and Russian I never once had any trouble communicating…and not just getting what I “needed” but asking enough questions to get what I was really looking for.  Huge thumbs up!

That said, in deference to points collecting and status whoring, I decided to stay at the super-cheap and affordable Sheraton Sofia.  Was upgraded to a fantastic junior suite which was amazing for the one short night.  Friendly, helpful staff that answered all the questions I had, went out of their way to help me find things, and all-around were awesome.  Highly recommend this place based on my brief experience!

By this time it was around 3pm, and I headed out for a few hour walk in advance of the 6:30pm tour I was planning to take.  Walked a total of around 8km around the city, just taking in sights.  Stopped for a couple espressos (I confess, one of them was at Starbucks for all-too-predictable and needed caffeination) and then just camped out for a little bit at a small cafe near the start of the tour for a couple local beers and people-watching.

For a tour, and to see as much as possible in a short time, I’d decided to go on a walking tour with Free Sofia Tour – which was also ranked the number one thing to do on Tripadvisor!  Let me just say, it was definitely an excellent choice!  They say the tour is about two hours, but our guide was fantastic, and at the urging of our group of approximately 10 he went for nearly 3 hours.  That combined with my earlier walk definitely had my feet sore, but it was well worth it!  If you get a chance to take this tour I highly recommend it, and our guide Kiril was fantastic!

So, on to the tour!  Hopefully I get the names of all the sights right…it was lots to see in three hours!

First stop was the Sveta Nedelya Church.

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Oct 212011
 

So, rushed back to the airport and check-in was absolutely empty. We had on boarding pass, and just wanted to get them printed by United since they had been printed by Continental before that. Got the pass, through fast-track first class security, and soon we were chilling in the ANA lounge. A bit of sake, some sushi, catching up on e-mail, and soon it was time to board.

United 837, Tokyo Narita to Bangkok
Depart 18:35, Arrive 23:05, Flight Time 6:30
Boeing 747-400, Registration N117UA, Manufactured 1999
Seats 1A, 1K

Flight was pretty quick – made easier by the fact that I think we both slept the majority of it. Meal was just enough to fill things up for a good doze (plus the wine didn’t help) and soon we were arriving into Bangkok. Honestly, lately, a first class flight on United that doesn’t register is par for the course. Some are really really disappointing, some are memorably good, but the majority are just plain unmemorable…and that’s what this one was.

We grabbed a meter taxi to the Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit, and were soon checking in. It was pouring rain in Bangkok (a prelude to the major floods late) and the Sheraton once again didn’t disappoint. Upgrade to a suite, free massive buffet breakfast, free happy hour with snacks in the hotel bar…all in all, Bangkok (and especially this hotel) remains one of the best travel bargains in the world.

Next morning we were up a bit early, but honestly quite lazy. This was our 7th or 8th trip to Bangkok, and having seen most of the major sites we really just wanted to relax in the middle of the trip. We did a bit of online research after breakfast, and stumbled upon Wat Arun in the Thonburi district which we’d never been too. We’d also never taken a water taxi up the river, so it was a perfect chance to try some new things!

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