CHIANG MAI – Bustling but still spiritual. As a fairly seasoned traveler I should’ve known a popular city such as Chiang Mai would be a big place. Somehow I had envisioned a big village or small city, perhaps on a hill, with a series of winding alleys and small food carts. Instead, I found a busy city of some 1.5 million people with large hotels and scattered high-rise towers and wildly coloured tuk tuks and red and white and yellow pickup trucks with covered backs for passengers to ride in and endless shops and markets. Still, there are some quiet Read more
Thailand
We don’t hear a lot about Como Hotels hear in North America. But that could change. Soon. There are nine hotels currently in the portfolio and three more are planned, including on at 24th and Collins in Miami Beach; close to the South Beach insanity but far enough away at the same time. The group was started by a woman from Singapore who had stayed in many hotels in London but didn’t find one to her liking. The emphasis is on stylish design and service, but they don’t aim to be a youthful, exuberant place. “It’s for people who have Read more
BANGKOK – Being on the 32nd floor of a hotel overlooking the Chao Phraya river in this city is a pretty cool place to watch a thunderstorm. Kinda ruined my shot at dining outdoors at the luscious-looking Thai restaurant here (see photo of the seating area by the river) at the Peninsula Hotel, but I’ll try tomorrow for a drink anyway. It’s my first visit to Thailand and, naturally, first to Bangkok. So far, so good. I had fabulous and spicy Tom Yum Goong soup at the outdoor café here overlooking the river, as well as a dish of minced Read more
