The first thing I usually do when I arrive in Bangkok is to either order in-room massage or room service, if my arrival is at that awkward time between too late for a proper dinner and “too early for bed but I think I will have a quiet night before a big day tomorrow”.
This trip was no exception. My regular masseur was busy – there are obviously a lot of stressed out Bangkokians who are keeping her busy – and so I decided to order room service.
While waiting, I do what is usual these days for most business travellers – check my email and Facebook, surf the Web and because I was preparing for a presentation the next day, went on YouTube and was happily wandering down the rabbit warren of that alternate universe when the door bell rang.
Twenty minutes. Not bad. I open the door and there’s a smiling young man holding a tray in his hand. I beckon him in. He sets the tray on the table that is, by the way, filled with fruits, flowers and chocolates – all the things designed by hotels to make you feel like you’re at home.
A lovely aroma that always reminds me of Thailand fills my suite at the Dusit Thani Hotel. Fish sauce – that which makes all flavours of Thai cuisine come alive.
I allow the aroma to waft for a while while I continue my explorations down video wonderland. It never ceases to amaze me how much time people have to fill this alternate universe with content.
I find the video that I am looking for – a collaboration between the legendary David Bowie and indie rock band, Arcade Fire, on the song “Wake Up”. It’s from the latter’s album titled “Funeral” and while the video is playing, I go to Curt Ewald’s Facebook page to read the posts about his passing on September 4.
I knew Curt from his Starwood days as regional marketing chief in Singapore and he struck me then as a smart cookie – someone who brought a fresh view to hotel marketing at that time.
I remember a particular conversation we had that resonated with me at the time. He shared with me his life theory. Everytime we start something new – new relationship, new project – the curve goes up. Then it starts to dip. The key is to jump to the next stage before you go too far down that curve, and begin a new curve that you can climb. And so on and so forth.
I thought of him on his final curve upwards. His Facebook status said, “I have seen the final end. It is beautiful, wonderful, peaceful.”
I say a silent goodbye to Curt and leave a comment for his wife, Deborah.
I return to the video which has been viewed almost 2.5 million times. The song is a clarion cry for “children to wake up, hold your mistake up, before they turn your summer into dust”.
The aroma in my room reminds me I should have my dinner before it gets cold. I walk over, lift the lid off the beautiful porcelain bowl and … nothing.
The bowl was empty. Thinking I was seeing things due to over-exposure to YouTube, I closed the lid. I opened it again. Still the same. Empty. I wondered if I had missed something – perhaps the room service attendant had come in with a warmer and left it somewhere. I looked under the table. Chair. Nothing.
I called room service. I said, “You just brought me room service but the bowl you brought me is empty”. There was a moment of silence on the line, after which the staff broke out in a burst of giggles, apologized and said, “We will bring another bowl right away” or something like that. It was hard to decipher amid the laughter.
I like the laughter. It made me see the funny side of things. Laugh, smile, say you’re sorry. As Akapol Sorasuchart, president of the Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau, said later that day at Asia Connect, “That’s the Thai way. We smile, say sorry, and everything’s alright.”
Five minutes later the door bell rings. The same attendant is standing there with a big grin on his face and a bowl in his hand. He opens the bowl this time to prove there’s food inside. He says sorry a few times.
I think Curt would have loved this story. He would probably say, are you sure you didn’t eat that first bowl, wash up and make up the story so you could get a free bowl of noodles?
I must say the noodles were so good I might be tempted to try that trick at my next hotel stay.
