Chao Phraya Coffee by the Chao Phraya

By Sandra Scott

Some of the most reasonable flights to Asia go to Bangkok, which is perfect because it is a hub from which it is possible to get reasonable flights to Lao, Cambodia, Myanmar, and other Southeast Asian countries. Consequently, we have been to Bangkok many times. Several times we have stayed at the Royal River Hotel. The price is reasonable for a river view room with a balcony. This is the where we like to chill out, do our laundry, and reorganize.

We start each day with breakfast at the huge buffet, going as late as possible. We catch up on our e-mail, John takes the laundry to a place near the hotel, and we spend hours relaxing on the balcony watching the river. We also like to spend part of each day around the small rooftop pool. But mainly we love to watch the amazing Chao Phraya River. There is always something going on. Small tugs tow huge barges filled with sand up river. Long-tail boats zip from place to place. River taxis transport people across the river. And in the evening we can hear the music from the brightly-lit dinner cruises. When we checked into the Royal River the receptionist gave us a coupon for a free drink. One afternoon we took the Royal River’s free shuttle to River City Mall and spent the time window shopping.  When we returned we decided to get the free drinks. While we were waiting for our free fruit drink, John picked up the menu on the table.

“Listen to this. Doesn’t this sound better than a fruit drink? They have a Chao Phraya Dream coffee made with Maekhong Thai whiskey, brown sugar, cream de cocao, topped whipped cream!”

I agreed! “Sounds like the perfect way to end the day. Let’s have coffee here after dinner.”

We travel extensively, so we have to count our pennies. We don’t dine out every night at home and neither do we when we travel. In fact, some of our favorite dinners while at Royal River Hotel are instant noodle dinners. John goes shopping at a convenience store nearby and picks up a of couple instant dinners. There is usually a wide selection of items that cost less than $2. All hotel rooms have hot water pots perfecting for making instant dinners. We like to have dinner while sitting on the balcony watching the Chao Phraya River. We can see the Royal Boat House from the hotel and one time we watched the royal boatmen practicing in their colorful long boats. Always something to watch.

Each night, after dinner we sat in the lounge with a great view of the Chao Phraya and sipped our coffee. John usually had the Chao Phraya Dream. I usually opted for the Sai Chon Coffee. Sai Chon means “river.” It is a powerful blend of Jack Daniels, brown sugar, Kahlua, and coffee topped with whipped cream! Can there be a better way to spend an evening than sipping Chao Phraya Coffee and Sai Chon Coffee while watching the Chao Phraya? We don’t think so.

Sandra Scott is a frequent contributor to travel publications and to Copley News Service and has co-authored two books on local history. She lives in Mexico, NY.
Photos by J. J. Scott.

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