Wine and Bangkok in two stages

Recently I unexpectedly had the opportunity to go to Pattaya for a few weeks and I don't have to think about it for long. Friday ticket booked for departure on Sunday at 13.30 pm from Brussels Zaventem with Thai Airways, for € 583.-.

To get there on time, I have to get up very early and, moreover, I depend on public transport, which often fails. I didn't feel like stressing at all, so I decided to travel to Zaventem during the day on Saturday and then spend the night in a hotel near the airport. I had never approached it that way before and I was curious how it would work out.

The first thing that is nice is that you don't have to set an alarm clock, and you can go to the station without a schedule, no schedules with emergency alternatives and calculated safety margins, but just wait for a train to go that way. That was the train to Vlissingen, so I had to change trains in Roosendaal and could bring the nicotine level back up to standard. The Intercity to Brussels would have to wait a while, half an hour earlier a regional train left for Mechelen, via Antwerp Central. Stops everywhere – Look out – but that didn't bother me and on the platform it was no more than 4°C anyway.

At Antwerp Central, the train that had left Roosendaal arrived five minutes after the slow train had arrived, and on the same platform and then it is only thirty minutes to Zaventem. There I had to pay € 5.20 Diabolo surcharge to get out of the station. That is a – controversial – surcharge that everyone who gets out at the airport has to pay. Has to do with the construction of the tunnel and angry unions or something. The lady at the NS desk in the Netherlands should have simply added that surcharge to the price of the ticket, now I was waiting for a girl somewhere to change a 50 euro note. Small suffering. The security check (still in connection with last year's attack) went smoothly and smoothly.

I had already been googling for a hotel. The Novotel was not that expensive, € 79.-, which seemed like a lot to me, but where did the free shuttle buses go? I had to ask and it took me a while to find out, due to the still undecided language battle, in which I am of course also a party. Waited for a while, but didn't see a Novotel van. We walked around a bit, and a little further on there appeared to be information boards with departure times of the vans of the various hotels. The Novotel sign stated that vans were only running on order that evening. It was still noon, so yes, what do you do. Wait even longer? In French it said, as I saw a little later, that the whole day was only driven on order. (See the extremely unfortunate translation in the photo). I had been cold long enough now and decided to take a normal taxi. The meter finally indicated € 6.60, I then tend to give eight euros, but the moment the driver reports that it is 'sept euro' (seven euros), I change my mind, pay her the seven euros, get out without closing the door and shout at her a few more curses. Yes, then I suddenly speak French…

The Novotel is built in an L-shape, with the entrance at the top of the long side. I got a room almost at the end of the short side, so you walk a long way through the corridor. If I were an architect, I would have placed the entrance on the corner, for example. Furthermore, everything seems to have been thought through, bearing in mind that it should not cost too much money. It doesn't matter, as long as I see that reflected in the price I have to pay, which was also € 79 (excl. breakfast) at my 'walk-in', just like online, which I find very reasonable. The 'normal' price of this room is supposedly € 269,-, see photo. When will they stop with this nonsense and 'discounts' of 70%?

No expense has been spared on more or less useful things, the bed is fine, there are ample lighting options, a kettle, coffee and tea, flat-screen TV, telephone with wake-up service, free WiFi, workplace, bench, you can connect your computer to a lot of connectors of which I don't even know the function, a mini fridge, room service, hair dryer, soap, shampoo, a stack of extra towels, I just missed - like almost everywhere - the toothbrush with toothpaste. That is so exclusive, for that you have to book at least a first class flight ticket.
After a few hours of sleep, I felt hungry.

On their own site it is stated that 'the food is simple', so you cannot accuse them of pretensions. The restaurant's decor is more like a glorified McDonald's than a romantic bistro, in keeping with the unpretentiousness of the whole.
The glasses of wine started at €5.30. I always look further and my eye fell on the Chateau Grand Bertin de Saint Clair from 2013, a Cru Bourgeois from the Médoc. Price for a bottle € 37.-. I looked around and got the impression – or convinced myself – that they took six glasses from a bottle here, so that Mėdoc was actually € 6.16 per glass and then it was only 86 cents per glass with the 'house wine'. Moreover, I wouldn't get the chance to drink such a nice wine for that money for the next few weeks and so I persuaded myself to have a bottle pulled up. Of course ordered a suitable piece of red meat (€ 25.-).

The waiter brought the bottle and, as usual, showed it first. You can't do much more than confirm that it's the right one. Then comes the most exciting part, the uncorking. Good tools are half the work here. Personally, I prefer the modified two-stage waiter's knife, where you almost always get the cork out unscathed using the two-stage leverage. That type was also used here. But then you have to know how that works! And this waiter obviously didn't know that. He screwed the corkscrew correctly into the cork at first, but then wanted to start with the 'second kick'. That didn't work, so he unscrewed it more than halfway and tried again. Yes, then he pulled off the top inch of the cork….

"Give it here, let me do that," I said, and even this badly mutilated cork came out of the bottle without damage.
"Look, that's how you do it, Manuel!" I showed him one more time how to use the mechanics and hope he understands now.
Well, you certainly don't expect such Fawlty Tower-like scenes in Belgium, which is reasonably developed from a culinary point of view. Anyway, the - more than excellent - wine was saved and a number of other guests who had watched a few things could also smile about it.
The meat was beautiful, nicely red, a good piece, and with a real grill taste. So real that I'm almost beginning to suspect that you can also get it out of a package these days. So you see, even though the concept is simple, with good stuff you can go a long way, and even if something goes wrong you still have a very satisfied customer.

It wasn't that hard to fall asleep with a whole bottle of wine in hand.

The next morning around half past eight I was awake. Without headache. For € 20.- I had booked breakfast and I certainly do not regret it. An overdose of sandwiches, various savory and sweet toppings, juices and muesli's, hard and soft boiled eggs, plus a 'cooking island' with all the dishes to put together an English breakfast according to your own wishes. Everything impeccable in terms of hygiene, temperature and taste.

There are two computers with a printer in the lounge that are useful for printing out your Boarding Pass. I had already changed seats a few times - the plane was quite full - but was still able to move to a free row of three. Last checked at half past ten, and then took the free shuttle bus to the airport.

So far the first leg of this trip to Thailand, if there is interest in part two, let me know in the comments.

Photos: https://goo.gl/photos/E5FGXnUmvkukrw6W9