Asian Hotels - Oriental touch

Mansion Hotel Shanghai

"The Mansion Hotel once belonged to one of Shanghai's most notorious gangsters before the Communists took over in 1949. But since the colonial-era villa was transformed into a hotel in 2007, visitors can relive the glory days of Shanghai's yesteryear." (Businessweek) Love it!



137 Pillars House Chiangmai, Thailand

Built in 1889 to accommodate the manager of the British East Borneo Company, this residence has now been restored into a 30-suite boutique hotel. While the stately teak-wood building has retained its oriental elegance, the hotel delivers the level of comfort one would expect from a high-end establishment of its caliber. Elements reminiscent of days gone by such as tiled verandas, cane shades, rattan furniture, and free-standing Victorian baths are complemented by modern facilities such as flat screen televisions, wi-fi, and outdoor garden showers. Two of the hotel’s Louis Leonowens Suites feature private infinity pools.

Hotel Rooms

Witness Taylor Camp in Bangkok

In 1969, Howard Taylor, brother of actress Elizabeth, bailed out a rag-tag band of thirteen young Mainlanders jailed on Kauai (island northwest of Honolulu) for vagrancy and invited them to camp on his oceanfront land. Soon waves of hippies, surfers and troubled Vietnam vets found their way to Taylor Camp and built a clothing-optional, pot-friendly tree house village at the end of the road on the island’s North Shore. In 1977, after condemning the village to make way for a State park, government officials torched the camp — leaving little but ashes and memories of “the best days of our lives.” Powerfully evocative photos from the seventies reveal a community that rejected consumerism for the healing power of nature while the story of Taylor Camp’s seven-year existence is documented through interviews made thirty years later with the campers, their neighbors and the Kauai officials who finally got rid of them.

Serindia Gallery

OP Garden 4, 6 Soi Charoen Krung 36

Unit 3101, 3201
Charoen Krung Road, Bangrak,
Bangkok 10500
Thailand

Image above from Serindia. Spotted Serindia when i went for the opening of the OP Gardens.