Suit Up and Get Out of Bangkok

Today, we had set out to visit some custom tailored shops to get myself a suit and some dress shirts. Daniel had told us we can just google best tailored shops in Bangkok and there is a CNN article listing them. We set out to visit the number 1 rated shop that has done suits for US presidents and other high up personnel and it was right by the Nana BTS station, as well as the shop Richard suggested for dress shirts. I was a bit worried as most shops are closed on Sunday, and we come back from Chiang Mai on a Sunday morning and fly back home the next morning. So I was hoping the shop could do some special arrangement for me.

Once at Nana station, we stopped for lunch at a bar called "The Game" which was replaying a Bruins-Rangers NHL playoff game. It was nice to watch some playoff hockey again. After lunch, we went to the tailor but unfortunately because of our schedule, he could not work anything out for me as he was not open Sunday. Luckily, the area has many tailored shops and I went to another shop around the corner whose ad was in the BTS map. However, same issue, they were closed Sunday. We then walked back towards the station and had passed this store that tried to get us to come in previously, but I figured I would check them out anyway and if they can accommodate my schedule.

 

The shop was called Armani Tailors Studio, and the main tailor is Jimmy and he is from Italy I believe. He was a nice little guy and offered us cold water while we looked through magazines for idea. Not that I knew what to look for in a suit or the differences, or what I wanted,  I was counting on Rebecca to choose the styling lol. Jimmy explained that the basic differences were the number of buttons, the angle of the pockets, the collar style, and the rear cut.

So I finally chose a couple of designer styles that I liked; a Hugo Boss or the Ralph Lauren style that was in the magazine of designer suits. The next step was to choose the type and style of material. Jimmy showed us 3 different tiers or types of fabric. I decided to go with the top quality fabric in dark grey as I needed a nice suit. I planned on getting a couple of dress shirts as well but then Jimmy tried to sell me to get two suits and 6 shirts for 20,000 BHT. I was a bit hesitant at first as I did not want to spend that much, but the black suit I had from Mexx did not fit me that well, so eventually I caved in and agreed to 2 suits with my name embroidered inside, 6 dress shirts and 2 ties for 20,000 BHT (around $700 CDN). Not bad for a tailored suit and shirts.

After choosing the black fabric, I had to decide on the style of each suit. Th dark grey suit will have 2 buttons, a bit shorter,  angled pockets, Italian style collar and 2 rear cuts. While the black suit will be more traditional with 2 buttons, same length, straight pockets, regular collar and single rear cut.


I then had to choose, or rather Rebecca chose the patterns for the dress shirts.  After that they took my measurements and set up another meeting on June 2 where I will come in for the final fitting.


After getting suited up, Rebecca and I went to the mall at Silom station to stock up on some Chinese buns for the overnight train ride to Chumphon. The buns Bangkok were quite expensive to the prices in Toronto. They were about $1 each compared to like 50-60 cents. We then had to take the train back to our hotel to get our bags and then head back to the Hua Lomphon train station. It was quite a lot of back and forth but a lot better than carrying our bags all day.

Once at Hua Lomphon train station, I set out to look for dinner as I read that the food they sell on the train is not that good. The food court is kind of hidden on the side as you cannot really see it from the main waiting area of the station. There were a few small window like stands selling food for cheap and then there was a big open stand that sold pad Thai, and a bunch of other dishes, for only 40 BHT! What a deal! So I bought one for myself and one for Rebecca.

We boarded train #85 and were in the last car. We got the 2nd class A/C sleeper car, with two lower bunks. The trains in Thailand are quite old so they were definitely not that nice. It did have better seating and bunking arrangements compared to the overnight train I took from Amsterdam to Austria. It was an 8 hr train ride to Chumphon and I had no issue sleeping, but Rebecca didnt sleep as well because she was paranoid of people stealing stuff from our bags. The train was scheduled to arrive in Chumphon at 4 but did not arrive until 5am. We then had to wait for the Songserm "bus" transfer which was the back of a pickup truck, while the Lomprayah passengers had a double decker bus. After a 30-45 minute ride, we get to the Pier and board our boat which was pretty small and old. We sat in the bottom of the boat which had plastic seats and wasn't comfortable at all. The water was very wavy that morning so the oscillations for 2hrs was making us sick. it didnt help that the AC smelt like fumes for the entire ride. Sleeping helped a bit but woke up with 30 minutes left, and the constant big oscillations put me on the edge of sickness. I had to try hard not to feel sick and was thinking just 30 more minutes until we reached Koh Tao. Perhaps I should have went onto the deck and sat outside for a bit. I'm glad we were getting off at Koh Tao and not continuing to Koh Phangan.

To be continued on Day 9...

Posted by Steven