Woke up feeling a little sad today.
You know how it is in life when you've come to enjoy a time and like a place but now that season's come to an end and it's time to go?
That's exactly how I was feeling today.
I had found Voque Sukhumvit remarkably comforting and restful.
I had loved stretching out on the sofa.
I had loved peering through the bedroom glass door to the trees beyond the balcony outside.
And even though this morning it had rained, I had had on previous mornings captured gorgeous pictures of the rooftop view.
We packed, then checked out at 1pm.
After leaving our luggage with the hotel, out we headed to Chidlom for lunch at OKONOMI in Central Embassy.
You might be surprised just why we keep going back to OKONOMI, and why we don't tire of their food even if we have it (like what we did this round) three times a week.
It's the presentation, the flavors, the way the food's so clean tasting with such a clean feeling.
It's also about the textures, and the consistency of it.
I don't have to worry that the Salmon and Cheese Mazemen will have less portion of cheese or less of salmon cubes.
I don't have to worry that the texture of the noodle will not be as sticky and chewy as I like it to be.
Neither do I have to worry that the Salmon Croquette won't have that deep fried crisp crunch on the outside with the soft tasty mush on the inside.
It's what I always hope for my light lunch to be.
And even if one day I decide to get a Tuna Sandwich, I'm pretty sure it will be as grilled and clean and tasty as I like it to be.
This afternoon we ordered what we normally order- Pumpkin Soup, Salmon Croquette, Salmon Spicy Rice and, yes, Salmon and Cheese Mazemen.
Off it was to organic store Lemon Farm across the road just close to Chidlom BTS for organic powders.
We then decided to have a foot massage in the same building but up on the second floor.
I had expected the place to be empty, but no, it wasn't, there were people- albeit one or two- but it was quiet and lovely and the masseuse was skilled.
I know, because I fell asleep.
We took the BTS back to Thong Lo where this time I decided to take a couple of pictures of the view right next to the BTS station. I'm afraid I don't know this area enough to say if this be the central of the central of town, or if this be the expatriate area of town, but what with it being so close to Phrom Phong, what with it being so close to EmQuartier and EmSphere and Onnut, I should say there be a fair number of digital nomads, and expatriates who commute up and down from their homes to offices and more.
In fact it wouldn't surprise me if there be a fair number of expatriates from the Japanese community here.
I have, after all, heard that Ekkamai- just one or two stations on- with her slew of Japanese restaurants and cafes and even a pharmacy, is a regular hangout for them and their families.
Perhaps the most telling part about the expatriate community is the presence of the UFM Fuji Super close by this part of Thong Lor where we had stayed.
During the days here, what with all our running around, we hadn't had much time to visit, so now, with about two hours left before heading to the airport, we decided to make a quick run.
It really wasn't as far as I thought it would be.
We took a left after exiting the hotel, walked along Sukhumvit 51, turned left again into 49/2 Alley, then turned right again into Sukhumvit 49.
The supermarket was a regular-sized one, not quite a larger supermarket, not quite a convenience store.
But they were well stocked.
You first got greeted by the fresh produce- vegetables, fruits, the like- then came the seasonings, then right at the back along the wall were the shelves holding chilled meat.
Somewhere around the middle was the frozen section. You got tubs of ice cream, frozen vegetables, frozen fruits, the frozen gyozas and hot dogs and patties, and then you got the desserts, which, by the way, included an extensive selection of cream profiteroles, cheesecakes, Swiss rolls and more.
After the frozen came the shelves of pantry groceries.
Canned food, instant noodles, biscuits, cereals, UHT packet milks, packet juices, snacks, confectionary, UFM Fuji Super had them all.
And then right at the back, just before checkout, was the bakery section with its baskets of pastries, croissants, cookies and freshly-baked breads.
I wish I had had time to explore the supermarket a bit further, but we had to get back to Voque.
I wanted to take pictures from the swimming pool up on the 8th floor, and it was time to head to the airport for home.
