Enter the Rabbit

Lunar New Year is a time for household preparation, prayer and celebration with friends and family. It’s also somewhat tenuous if you are passing through Hong Kong at the peak of the holiday. People are on the move and flights are full.

Buckled in and ready to leave Vancouver, we shrugged at the prospect of a thirteen hour flight. Five movies and three meals later we descended into Hong Kong’s Chek Lap Kok Airport and transferred to the next gate for our final destination of Bangkok, a few more hours away. Exhaustion had set in but we decided to ignore the fact it was already 9 a.m. back home and here we were late at night the next day – what were we thinking. And then it was over. We had arrived in Suvarnabhumi Airport – welcome back to the “Golden Land”.

By our own admission, a happy traveler is a flexible traveler and even when the second immigration officer in our crowded line promptly closed his wicket at midnight, all that we could muster was a half-hearted sigh. No matter, the horses could smell the stables – and what glorious stables they would prove to be. Just once in your life, hang the expense and stay in an upscale Asian hotel. The experience is second to none.

We arrived at the palatial Mandarin Oriental to a gracious welcome. Sinking into a wonderfully comfortable bed we commanded our bodies to “forget about it”. It was time to drift off into oblivion.

The historic Mandarin Oriental hotel located on the Chao Phraya River is elegantly furnished and numerous, smiling staff greet you by name. To the winter weary of the Northern hemisphere we were struck by the service and the colour.

Orchids of every shade graced the lobby and hallways – from simple table arrangements in soft peach, vibrant purple and ivory to long, thick garlands cascading from the lobby ceiling. The dramatic colour hues complimented the gorgeous silk cushions scattered generously around the lobby’s sofas and chairs.

Outside, bowls of floating lotus blossom led the way to the pool deck and waterfront veranda. What a spot to enjoy breakfast, entertained by a chorus of birds and the boisterous activity on the river. Watching this for a while, we likened the waterfront to toy boats cavorting at full throttle in tin bath tub, as vessels of all descriptions ferried people and cargo, bobbing violently in the heavy swell and insidious water hyacinth.

Much of that first disorienting day was enjoyed on comfortable shaded sun loungers by the pool. Obliging pool attendants brought fluffy towels, replenished iced water, periodically presented samplers of chilled smoothies and lemon infused iced towels to ward off the aches and pains from long hours in the cramped quarters of 60A and 60C.

Lunch was served on smart teak-footed trays that straddled the sun lounger, complete with colorful linens and scattered hibiscus petals.

An invitation awaited to a special cocktail party in the Author’s Lounge the next evening. In its heyday the original hotel, inspired by Jim Thompson design, was a favourite haunt with the likes of Noel Coward, Somerset Maugham and Graham Green.

Decorated in white bamboo with green and ivory furnishings, the area contains a reading room and winding annexes bedecked with antiques and the atmosphere of a bygone age. This evening the white furnishings had given way to a splash of red and gold hangings erected in celebration of the Lunar New Year and the Year of the Rabbit.

Welcomed by hotel staff we awaited a very loud dragon as the sophisticated ambiance of the Author’s Lounge gave way to banging drums and crashing cymbals.

The lively theatrical ensemble snaked its way around the room, the stairwell and eventually out to the riverfront verandah.

What a welcome to Bangkok, Mr. Rabbit!