A blessing it is when someone remembers what it is you wanted to try, and what it is you wanted to have.
I had hoped to try the Shang in Bangkok.
Not because I desired to be treated like a princess or queen or have luxury for a night, but because I always wanted to know what it was like staying in this district along the Chao Phraya River, and because it seemed to make good financial sense.
If there's one thing about the lobbies of Shangri La's hotels that I have come to realize, it is that they tend to be high-ceilinged with lots of natural light and even lots more space.
So much is the similarity that one feels a slight sense of familiarity almost as soon as one steps into the lobby.
It's as if you know exactly where to go.
What it is, precisely, however, I don't know.
It might be the space.
It might also be the sight of all those comfortable chairs in the lounge next to the lobby that makes one want to settle in and breathe a bit before heading elsewhere.
I liked the flowers.
I liked how colorful they were, how tropical they looked, and how dramatic they were all in full bloom cascading downwards towards the floor.
I guess there's something about orchids in fuchsia color that remind you just where in Asia you are.
If the flowers don't do that for you, that solid-looking, sturdy-to-the-touch, dark wood type of teak furniture in your room will.
Yes I was glad for the huge sized bed.
I was also glad for the desk and the coffee cabinet under the TV.
But let's just say that this evening I was more eager for the bath and the shower.
Then again, even as I relished the hot water spray in the shower, it didn't mean that I didn't get mesmerized by the view outside the window.
It was beautiful.
Whether it was a culmination of the skyscrapers in shadow, whether it was the sight of a most breathtaking Bangkok sunset, or the sight of those powerful River currents coming all the way down from 300km up north, for the first time in my life I realized just how magnetic this waterway was.
It might have been the currents.
It might have been the ferries making their way criss-crossing the waterway to and fro.
But something about this waterway spoke to me.
I wish I knew what it was.
But I don't.
Perhaps at another time I might be in a better frame of mind to think and to discover.
Perhaps at another time I might have the time to explore this River better.
But as of this time I'm just glad to have been able to experience from two different points of view.
It wasn't just the River that I got to feel.
I too had a most enjoyable time exploring the hotel, which, even though I haven't been to as many Shangs as I would have wished to, seems to be a bit larger than some of the other properties that I've been to.
I don't mean it in terms of height- they're probably more or less the same- but in terms of space.
The property of Shangri-La Bangkok has two wings.
On one end you have the Shangri-La Wing- business-like, serious, stoic, old-money, city skyscraper- but on the other end, you have the Krungthep Wing which has balconies (that also overlook the Chao Phraya River) and, from the exteriors alone, seem to give off a more relaxed, resort-like vibe. '
There're differences between one and the other, of course, at least in terms of room categories where the Shangri-La Wing has Premier, Deluxe and Horizon, compared to the other with just the Krungthep and the River View.
What charmed me, however, wasn't just the length of distance between one Wing and the other, or the lovely sight of symmetrical balconies on each floor of the Krungthep Wing.
Neither were it the interiors of the Krungthep Wing which I thought looked more cultural in their design- they had a bridge and all this greenery. What's more, with all the natural light streaming in from the roof and all on all sides, seemed to carry a distinctly different vibe.
But as much as it were the interiors of the Krungthep wing, it were the corridor leading between both wings that had me surprised.
I had expected nothing more than a long carpeted corridor (because that's what most places do) but no, besides the naturally-lit, spacious corridors- there were more than one- there were these.
These pictures here don't actually show just how cute and adorable all these little dioramas are.
You have to be there to see them for yourself- the colors, the layout, the level of detail.
Everything looked like a little movie set, especially those wooden chairs from the Weddings Department that the staff had arranged to make it look like a wedding in a garden.
The Lobby Lounge Department didn't lose out either, not with their cute little sprig (there's an actual word for it) of flowers, their three-tiered cake stand with macarons and cakes prettily arranged, their elegant tea cup and tea pot, and the wall sticker.
I loved the amount of detail that went into these little dioramas.
Maybe one can say they are more patient.
Maybe one can say that they've got more people.
But I say it all begins with the heart, the pride and the skill which they then hone thereafter.