Hotel Art - Chiang Mai

Just a small selection of some of the fantastic art which is to be found in all corners, inside and outside

in our loo

in an alcove outside Edward's room

in Edward's loo

in the dining area

detail of one of two huge wallhangings in the dining area

above our bath

figure in a niche near the restaurant

above our bed

at the bottom of our garden

and finally, my favourite, on a plinth by the central reception area

A few interesting roof structures

coconut leaves, Mekong delta area, Vietnam

clay tiles, Luang Prabang, Laos

clay tiles with stencilled wooden battens, Buddhist temple, Luang Prabang, Laos

Irregular clay tiles on plain wooden battens, Luang Prabang, Laos.

wooden shingle on canopy, Chiang Mai, Thailand

Oh yes, the weaving workshop

 In all the excitement of being here last night, I neglected to tell all about the weaving workshop. Suffice to say that it was hugely enjoyable and, as I feared, I could easily get hooked on weaving - fortunately we have no room for a loom!
 

 
My first task was to wind some bobbins of silk thread on the ever-so wonky swift. I needed five of black and two of pale green. Whilst I did this, I had an audience of my teacher Miss Lin, Mr Morn the interpreter and a charming "Blue Hmong" lady working in a corner of the workshop doing some indigo batik on a length of hemp fabric for a skirt.

They giggled as I negotiated various challenges, including snags in the thread, a loose traction belt on the swift and my sheer inexperience and unfamiliarity with the device. But they were very supportive and were as thrilled as I was by the end result!

The loom was already set up and my first challenge was to work 20cm of plain weave. First I watched Miss Lin go through the process slowly...two pedals, one shuttle, one heddle. Right pedal, throw shuttle, left pedal, beat, throw shuttle, right pedal, beat... Just when I thought I was getting the hang of it, Miss Lin would correct my hand position, remind me to beat a little harder...replace my hand into the middle of the heddle. And often, when I relaxed and lost concentration for a second, she'd giggle and put me right with the correct feet and shuttle position.

I was just getting the hang of it...lunchtime! I enjoyed a freshly cooked Lao-style lunch with Mr Morn and his colleague Mr Noy, both young students of English and glad of an opportunity to chat and relax a little. They explained each dish of food and how to eat it, tucking in themselves and joining me in enjoying a great meal. Clockwise from the front, a clear vegetable soup, a pork and bamboo shoot salad, fried tofu with chilli and leaves, a salad of spinach-type leaves and chillies, aubergine dip in the middle and green, purple and white jelly dessert with coconut. All accompanied by Lao sticky rice in the round cylindrical basket container and eaten with the fingers - except for the soup, of course.

Half an hour's break then, when Mr Morn and Mr Noy both had a nap and I took the opportunity to wander around the garden and enjoy the beautiful surroundings.

Then back to work. Time for the pattern. The loom had been set up with the "hook" pattern, a traditional Lao motif and a new challenge was thrown into the pot. Not only did I have to remember the pedal and shuttle throwing sequence, I now had to manage the strings which created the pattern rows - having been warned that setting up a pattern on a loom took time and skill...and if I lost one of the strings or got it out of place, then it would create difficulties.

First was four rows black, four green, four black, four green and so on. Then a little introduction to the string business. Three more stripes and then into the pattern fully.

New respect for these skilled women who not only create such wonderful textiles but do it so easily, so quickly and so creatively...for they introduced different colours along the row, working instinctively to create the most beautiful effects.

A short time later, a cheer from Mr Morn - half way! Now the pattern strings, which I had been moving from pegs at the top of the loom to pegs at the bottom were going to move back up again, creating the mirror image of the design.

At the same time, distraction came in the form of shouts - the young men from the village were about to practice for the boat race on Sunday and my young teacher was eager to have a look and give a shy wave. They waved back and their antics created great hilarity as we all stood and watched them power away on the fast current. The Hmong lady stood and shook her head with a smile, as if to say "young people today...."

When I'd added another 20cm or so of plain black weaving to my masterpiece, Miss Lin finished it off with a few rows of cotton, ready to cut the fringe. As I worked on this last piece, another more experienced weaver came over and gave a little advice about my edges which I admit were rather less than perfect!

Miss Lin finished the weave and set up the loom for the next piece before cutting it away and twisting the fringe. She did this in the same way as we've seen Maori women make their skirts from phormium leaves - by rolling it down her shin - and tied the knots so deftly, I couldn't quite work out how she did it!

I was delighted with my "masterpiece", wonky edges and all. What a great way to spend a day!

Not quite Butlins

When it comes to hotels, we are not noted for slumming it. In fact, I'd go as far as to say, we enjoy a bit of the good life on holiday and we make no excuses for staying in some of the most gorgeous places in the world and consider ourselves very lucky indeed to be able to do that.

 

So, for our last two nights in Thailand we looked forward to returning to an old favourite - the Four Seasons resort in Chiang Mai. We reckon it's ten years since we were here, certainly Edward was more of a young lad than he is now!

 

As we arrived, we remembered exactly what it was about this place that makes it so special and looked forward to two days of peace, quiet and maybe a trip to the night bazaar to remind ourselves of the world outside. We'd booked two rooms, wonderful rooms with outside sala and our first glimpse of the pool was very tempting.

 

But wait...the receptionist asked, would we prefer a "residence", with two bedrooms and a large sitting room instead?

 

Show us and we'll decide.

 

Well...no brainer, as they say.

The description was somewhat understated, for not only have we two bedrooms and a large sitting room, the whole place is a dream.

 

 

 

We have a plunge pool to ourselves and three or four outside sitting areas.

 

 

 

 

In our bedroom there is a large octagonal relaxing area with drapes and a fan, where Edward felt immediately at home, claiming that this comfortable corner was bigger than his London flat...

 

 

 

 

 

From his room, there is access to a small raised area with outdoor, screened seating, perhaps for dining privately.

 

 

But if we wanted to invite guests, there is a huge dining table (seating ten or twelve) and several cabinets of antique china. There's plenty of comfy seating and a fireplace (even though it's 30C outside)...a huge cabinet with every audio visual bit of kit imaginable (yes, even an ipod dock) and the largest sofa we've ever seen with an umbrella at each end and twenty - yes, 20 - cushions with assorted local embroidery designs - photos of those tomorrow.

But the big surprise came when we explored a door we'd missed when we arrived - a little voice greeted us with "sawadee-ka" and there was Wan, our mae baan (housekeeper). Oh my goodness...

 

At hourly intervals throughout the afternoon she has enquired whether we'd like a snack...a drink...some fruit....a G&T....could she unpack our suitcases? (! better not.....at the end of a trip the contents of our bags are not exactly for public consumption!) Finally, after showering and changing for dinner, I realised that my linen skirt and top would need ironing - which brought a smile and joy to Wan's eyes as she whisked them away, returning them beautifully pressed some ten to fifteen minutes later.

 

So, after G&Ts, fruit and canapes, we're just about ready for dinner. She tells us she'll wait till we've gone out before turning down our beds and tidying up for the night and will then go home. She'll see us in the morning - she says at 7.30am but I doubt whether we'll see her then!

 

I'm already planning on how to get her home in my suitcase.

Blue hands

After all, who did a dyeing workshop and came home with clean hands?

I've had a wonderful day at the Ock Pop Tok workshop, having the place all to myself and completely individual attention. What more could I ask?

A warm welcome this morning from Mr Morn, the interpreter and guide who greeted me with a mug of bael tea (delicious - hadn't had it before) and who introduced me to the programme for the day. After a bit of background information about sericulture he explained about the natural dyes used in Laos - illustrated by a walk around the garden where most were growing. The view from the workshop was breathtaking and the cool breeze from the river most welcome.

After an introduction to Mr Khum, master dyer, it was straight to work.

First task, chopping tumeric for the yellow colour. That had to be pounded to a pulp before boiling with sappan leaves to achieve the colour I wanted.

Whilst that was cooking, I chopped some fresh indigo leaves and soaked them in cold water for the green dye.

That was a new one for me - I've only ever done the hot fermented indigo dyeing before, so thought this would be something different.

I'd never heard of sappan wood before but clearly it's a useful one, for it can give pink, red or purple depending on the mordant used.

The sappan wood liquor had been fermenting for several days and was at a steady boil at my side ready to accept the skein of silk which I'd soaked with a huge alum crystal in the water to give the gorgeous rich purple colour.

Having squeezed and rinsed and totally admitted defeat in untangling those wet skeins, I handed them to Mr Khum who laughed as he shook them out into perfectly straight hanks to hang in the sun to dry. I guess he's had a fair bit of practice.

Later in the day, he came over bearing three beautifully presented skeins of silk for me - and a small plastic carrier bag.

 

 

What had I left behind in his dye kitchen? Nothing at all - it was his present of a few pieces of sappan wood, some tumeric root, indigo leaves and some annato seeds for me to take home.

 

 

Next on the programme was weaving - as absolute first for me. Far too much to report now though, so that will wait until tomorrow.

 

 

Our last night here in Laos, a beautiful country with the most gracious and delightfully friendly people. What we have seen has been unspoiled and so natural. We have loved every minute of our stay.