We began the morning with fried toast and fried eggs and hot coffee the same way we'd been having few days before.
A meal like this might look simple, might even feel simple- a slice of bread fried with butter and eggs made in the form of scrambled or omelet, with instant Nescafe Americano sugarless coffee (for me) at the side.
But the best things in life aren't simple.
Because if they're the best means they aren't simple.
It's a blessing to be able to bite into the crunch of the thinly sliced toast and let the warmth of the butter melt inside the mouth.
It's a blessing to be able to cut up the omelet into pieces and savor each piece as slow as I can.
This morning we hung about in the room a little bit more.
There's something about 42 Grand Residence that gives off a bit of an 80s nostalgic vibe. I don't know if it is the lay of the room, the space of the room or the furniture.
I just know that there aren't many places that let you have a giant a** black leather L-shaped sofa with a high glass-topped coffee table facing the TV.
Neither are there that many places that strive to give you that sense of warmth with their presence of furniture.
I don't really know how to describe it, but if there be one thing about the room of 42 Grand Residence that still sticks in my memory, it is how they've laid everything out so neatly in such a harmonious manner that you can move seamlessly from stove to table to sofa back to fridge again.
There might come a day where I forget just how the room looked like.
But at this moment I can remember how the kitchenette is to the left right after you step through the door, where there is a sink, a stove, a countertop, and drawers for the crockery and cutlery. Next to the stove is the washing machine, which, whilst there may be those who balk at its placement, I actually find it rather practical where one can prep and cook and wash their clothes all at the same time.
Facing the stove and washing machine on the other side of the wall you get the microwave, and the fridge, and in between both sides, a small coffee table that I think works well as a sort of pantry where you can place your sauces and breads and jams and snacks and cookies and all manner of cooking oils.
Our loaf of bread sat there for three days.
The bedroom comes right after, the bathroom is to the left, and may I just say how large and spacious this bedroom is, complete with headboard, wall counter (supposedly for the second television but one might just as well place books there), and a sort of dressing table that was comparatively empty save for a couple of little decorative plants that Housekeeping had thoughtfully placed there.
Right outside the door of the bedroom is, of course, the living space, with TV cabinet, high coffee table, the TV itself, and next to it, the carved out dining space in the form of four dining chairs and a dining table.
My favorite part of the room had to be, I tell you, the balcony.
Maybe it was the direction the balcony was facing.
Maybe it was the peaceful (residential) neighborhood quiet of cars at that hour.
Maybe it was the lovely glow of the morning's sunshine over the balcony and all the charming houses in front of it.
Later in the afternoon we took what felt like a very long walk from Sukhumvit 42 to (exact address) 112 1 Ekkamai Road, Soi Alley 10 on the other side of the BTS station for lunch at a Michelin-starred crab and seafood place called Here Hai.
You know, until I got here, I hadn't known just how popular this place was.
Outside the outlet there was a queue stretching 20 people long, and then we got told afterwards to expect a wait at least an hour long.
Queue or no, that didn't stop people from coming.
And then for a while it seemed like it would be a very boring wait, but then chance happened and I got to see a bit of Royal Thai Police action.
Right where I stood there was a burger place called Burger Dads. Up on the second floor, via a flight of stairs, there was a hostel called The Bob Hostel.
What exactly transpired, I don't know, but four policemen drove up in their official ISUZU truck, got out, went upstairs, hovered out on the balcony a little bit, and then not long after came down with a sorta disgruntled male guest who was then guided up the back of the truck whilst the officers got in the front.
It wasn't too long a wait after that, thankfully, and we were soon shown to our table so happened to be right next to the door.
Like many family-run restaurants, Here Hai has a homestyle, no frills sort of vibe, with muted white (crabmeat-colored) walls, wooden square shaped tables with stools, and for decor, a kitchen wok hanging right above my head.
I can't remember their menu right now, but there were definitely some dishes worth thinking about, and after a bit of peruse, plus some discussion, we decided we had stomach for just three.
There was, of course, the signature Crab Omelet.
I'm not sure whether we had it with rice or just plain but it has been some time since I had an omelet with this many chonks of chunky crab laid all over it, and it has been some time since I had the pleasant flavors of crab meat wrapped in a mouthful of soft, runny egg.
Then because my friend wanted to have the recommended crustaceans, all of which were brought in directly from Surat Thani, we ordered a chili lobster, and a plate of mantis prawns fried in garlic.
I'm not sure how to describe the chili lobster.
Except that the flesh was remarkably sweet, the roe delicious, the lobster wasn't as spicy as I thought it would be, and it was actually quite fun yanking out the flesh from the shell of the crustacean.
The mantis prawns were, to me, the interesting ones.
Especially since up till now ignorant me hadn't known the existence of mantis prawns, which, whilst they do belong to the stomatopod family, they aren't exactly true shrimp. In fact, compared to regular shrimp, they're pretty huge- up to 10cm in length- and apparently are an aggressive predator in their shallow, tropical and subtropical habitats.
Gotta admit, they look fierce.
Even with their heads off, and, after being deshelled and steamed and cooked and fried with heaps of garlic.
They still look fierce.
But they are savory, their meat has a lot of chew, and they do have a lot of meat.
Lunch over we walked across the other side of Soi Alley 10 towards the Thong Lor area to a Lemon Farm branch located on the 1st floor of a cute-sized shopping mall at the address of 90 Soi Thong Lor 2 in Watthana District.
It was interesting trying to find the place.
Somehow, goodness knows how, Google Maps led us to the delivery ramp of the shopping mall but fortunately the security there seemed to be experienced with poor lost farang Lemon Farm shoppers and right away guided us to the lift up to the 1st floor.
Here we got a couple jars of biscotti, a few bags of cookies and snacks and more packets of organic tea.
Then back it was to Siam Square where we had a massage for two hours.
in the late evening we headed to Central World's SF Cinema for the 9pm MOANA 2 movie.
My friend had remembered just how much I liked the experience of The Bed Cinema, and gotten us tickets for two.
I love this Bed Cinema experience.
It's not that I haven't ever watched movies from a bed before, but to rest my head against comfortable cushions and pillows, snuggle under a blanket, and have a free flow supply of snacks, and soft drinks- in a public cinema- is a lovely, almost wild experience for me.
I might want to come here in lovely pajamas and squeejee slippers for the movie.
I might even want to bring over a stuffie or two.
Maybe one feels less stiff when it comes to The Bed Experience when watching a movie and so get to appreciate it more.
Maybe one just wants a brand new method of movie watching- in a public space- like how drive-in movies used to be so popular years and years ago.
There can be so many reasons for one to appreciate an experience like this.
But I like it.
I like how lounging on a wide enough mattress makes me enjoy the movie more.
I like how it gives movie-goers (especially those who discern their budget) a chance to watch their favorite movies from a bed aka in a bedroom where previously they might only have been able to watch from the living room sofa, or from the living room floor.
Amenities at the bed include pillows, blankets and even a pair of slippers, but what I really, really love, are the snacks, of which (for that price of the ticket) SF Cinema does not stinge.
There're little packets of salted mixed nuts & fruits.
There're little packets of cookies.
There're cute little bags of popcorn in the flavors of caramel sweet and paprika cheese.
Then there're some sweets, some healthy stuff, and cans and cans of soft drinks which you can have to your heart's content.
For those who prefer hot drinks, there's also coffee and tea.
This evening I chose two bags of caramel, two bags of paprika cheese, a packet of cookies, a packet of nuts, and a can of Schweppes orange, which I'd seen sold on the supermarket shelves but didn't get to try before.