Gallery » ASIA/SOUTH PACIFIC » Round the World 2019 - Bangkok
We spent seven nights in Bangkok, returning to our favorite hotel there, The Holiday Inn Silom. After leaving the cold in Melbourne, we actually enjoyed the hot, humid climate of Bangkok – at least for a couple of walks. Otherwise, we stayed at the hotel and two nearby shopping malls. Interestingly our room this year was booked on the top floor (or so we thought). We took the elevator to the 27th floor and discovered that there is another floor above it that is used by family members of the hotel’s original founder, Mr. Hari. When that floor isn’t occupied, you can walk an exterior hallway to see lots of memorabilia regarding Mr. Hari and his family. It was truly fascinating! We knew that Mr. Hari was Hindu because of the many religious shrines on the property. However, we didn’t know he was born in British India and moved to Hong Kong at an early age.
After discovering this tribute and speaking with staff about it, we learned there was a museum in the hotel’s lower level dedicated to Mr. Hari. It had an amazing amount of additional memorabilia, including lots of trophies and awards given to him. It was here that we learned that our favorite hotel in Hong Kong, The Holiday Inn Golden Mile, was Mr. Hari’s first hotel. Talk about an amazing coincidence!
In summary, we enjoyed another great stay with wonderful hospitality. We did venture out but not to any major temples as we have visited most of them multiple times (i.e., The Grand Palace, Wat Arun, Temple of the Emerald Buddha). Instead, we spent some time relaxing before continuing our journey to China and Hong Kong. Click on the first image below to see what we learned about Mr. Hari.
