We Don't Need Your Stinky Fruit In Our 5-Star Hotel!
November 18th 2009 17:38
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Category: No Category
When I first saw the below sign from across the hotel lobby,
I wondered if it were a cautionary tale for adventurous people who wanted to get off the beaten track in Cambodia, but upon closer inspection it turned out that the hotel wasn't taking the time to draw tourists' attention to the danger of land mines, but forbidding them to bring a fruit native to South-East Asia into its premises.
My sense of curiosity on fire, I walked up to the nearest concierge and asked him to tell me a bit about durians and why they were prohibited. He was like 'Durian, tasty fruit! But! Smelly!' It was at this point that I burst out laughing - such serious language (prohibited!) when all that was really wanted was for visitors to consume an item with an offensive odours outside the Swissotel Le Concorde.
It kept me amused for the next 10-15 minutes, and I had to take a photo of the self-important sign. I couldn't keep my hand still because I just couldn't stop giggling, but enjoy!
I must say I have had a rather schizophrenic experience of Thailand - I have bounced back and forth between 10 dollar guesthouses where the rooms don't lock properly and the walls provided practically no noise barrier from screaming children outside, and luxury hotels with nightly seafood buffets, beauty spas, fitness centres and lucrative views over the city - and I enjoyed both experiences equally.
Perhaps the most intriguing thing about the Swissotel was that they were playing an instrumental version of Ricky Martin's misogynistic Living La Vida Loca on flute in the lobby... Thinking about it, music has a big impact on me, and so being immersed in a different audio landscape (everything from traditional instrumental Thai to Bangkok's latest manufactured pop-rock bands, to 60s and 70s British rock music, to bits and pieces of contemporary Western pop - I didn't choose any of the music I listened to over the last four weeks, and it helped to bring about a new ambiance of openness and acceptance in my head.
Now, when I revisit Robyn and Royksopp featuring Robyn I am hearing different connotations, combinations of sounds, lyrical emphasis and collections of tones.
More later!
I wondered if it were a cautionary tale for adventurous people who wanted to get off the beaten track in Cambodia, but upon closer inspection it turned out that the hotel wasn't taking the time to draw tourists' attention to the danger of land mines, but forbidding them to bring a fruit native to South-East Asia into its premises.
My sense of curiosity on fire, I walked up to the nearest concierge and asked him to tell me a bit about durians and why they were prohibited. He was like 'Durian, tasty fruit! But! Smelly!' It was at this point that I burst out laughing - such serious language (prohibited!) when all that was really wanted was for visitors to consume an item with an offensive odours outside the Swissotel Le Concorde.
It kept me amused for the next 10-15 minutes, and I had to take a photo of the self-important sign. I couldn't keep my hand still because I just couldn't stop giggling, but enjoy!
I must say I have had a rather schizophrenic experience of Thailand - I have bounced back and forth between 10 dollar guesthouses where the rooms don't lock properly and the walls provided practically no noise barrier from screaming children outside, and luxury hotels with nightly seafood buffets, beauty spas, fitness centres and lucrative views over the city - and I enjoyed both experiences equally.
Perhaps the most intriguing thing about the Swissotel was that they were playing an instrumental version of Ricky Martin's misogynistic Living La Vida Loca on flute in the lobby... Thinking about it, music has a big impact on me, and so being immersed in a different audio landscape (everything from traditional instrumental Thai to Bangkok's latest manufactured pop-rock bands, to 60s and 70s British rock music, to bits and pieces of contemporary Western pop - I didn't choose any of the music I listened to over the last four weeks, and it helped to bring about a new ambiance of openness and acceptance in my head.
Now, when I revisit Robyn and Royksopp featuring Robyn I am hearing different connotations, combinations of sounds, lyrical emphasis and collections of tones.
More later!
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