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By Benjamin Malcolm
We first view Champen in the debris of a mountain clearing, after
a brief hike up through scrub and brush near the elephant village
at the base of Anantara Resort & Spa in Chiang Rai. She seems
quite happy to see us, or perhaps the stalk of bananas we carry.
Either way, it's good to make her acquaintance - Champen is to
be my designated elephant of the day in Anantara's mahout programme.
This is perhaps the only five-star resort I've heard of that offers
such a thing - a discerning characteristic of a hotel already well
on the way to distinguishing itself. Chiang Rai, while by no means
a backwater in the Thai tourist scene, does not attract the numbers
that Phuket or even Chiang Mai does. The recently renovated Anantara
Resort & Spa, opened on October 1st, might well sway future
statistics.
Set in the midst of 160 acres of indigenous forest, the 90-room
Anantara is less than 50 metres from the convergence of Thailand,
Myanmar and Laos, in the famous "Golden Triangle" area,
formerly known for drug production and now more commonly known for
commercial potential (think economic superhighway from China to
Bangkok).
We have come here on an auspicious time, the weekend of the full
moon candle festival of Loy Krathong and the overlying holiday lends
an even more romantic feel to a place that needs little help. Anantara
has fancied itself up for the occasion, with flags and krathong
preparations awhirl.
As with any resort of this calibre, our stay is filled with sublime
moments.
My first truly sublime moment is the feeling we have as we step
into our room and behold the comforts that lie before us.
The staff has turned on some Thai folk music and the gentle aural
stimulation lends a magical quality to our initial sensory gathering.
The giant bathing area is the first thing that comes into view -
a behemoth two-person oval-shaped terrazzo tub (in which all manner
of bath salts and other aromatics can be poured). This is a do-it-yourself
spa; another even more comprehensive version, the Mandara Spa, lies
only minutes away.
The bathroom is completely open, but we soon discover that the
entire space can be closed off by sliding panes of fluted glass.
Illumination for the room comes in all forms, from inset lanterns
to track lighting, giving the fullest range of option for moods
and styles.
Our spacious balcony, with its in-built sofa, beckons us into the
cooling air and we decide to spread out for a moment on the soft
cotton cushions of our porch, which looks directly over the infinity-edge
swimming pool and beyond the tree line to the wide waters of the
Mekong River and forested mountain ranges of Laos and Myanmar. Being
late afternoon, the coffee maker is soon bubbling forth with fresh
brew. The question forms in our minds: will we ever get up to leave
the comforts of this room?
There is much to see of course. With its recent renovation, the
Anantara has opened just in time for the cool temperatures of the
high season. Landscape Architect Bill Bensley, who designed the
Regent Chiang Mai's landscaping among others, applied his expert
hand to the garden areas and outside features of the resort, while
John Lightbody of Abacus Design planned the interiors, whose arts
and crafts reflect a local feel of Thai, hill-tribe and Northern
culture.
An ensuing sublime moment occurs during dinner, when we finally
venture out from our room's creature comforts. We've picked the
perfect romantic venue - the open -air terrace of Baan Dahlia, the
signature Italian restaurant of the hotel.
It is the perfection of balance - the food, the rhythms of celebration
and the location, in the open under the night skies. We keep the
wait-staff active, opting for an Italian coffee and Caesar salad,
both of which demand set-up and preparation time at our table. The
Italian coffee is a good idea simply for the warmth afforded by
the mini-stove's flame as the late afternoon coolness has been replaced
by a decided chill. We have no problem seeing the Mekong and the
countryside under the moonlight and the celebration of the holiday
is well underway. The Burmese casino across the river is lit up
like a cruise ship against the darkness of the flowing river and
"kome fie" lanterns float constantly into the air.
With such an excellent meal, we feel the need for a walk and I
am treated to my third sublime moment, a view of the full moon from
the staircase outside my room, juxtaposed with Lanna flags and the
"kome fie" lanterns floating up into the sky.
Truth be told, it wasn't the only view that caused me to pause
for a while. The best time to walk around the resort is at night,
where you can truly admire the work of the interior designer. There
are so many nooks and crannies scattered about, backlit niches and
wall cavities that highlight the wonderful array of carvings and
pieces of art. The teak used in the process has been reconditioned;
not a single branch of new teak wood was cut during the restoration.
One of the best pieces is at the entrance, a full Northern Thai
folk storyboard carved in wood that surrounds a small cement pond
about which one must walk to enter the hotel. It is here that I
see four blue-tile elephants, which reminds me of my next morning
meeting with the four pachyderms of the hotel.
This is, for sure, one of the specialties of the hotel, a chance
to experience the life of a mahout, or elephant trainer, under the
guidance of the resort's nature ranger, John Roberts. The resort
offers a three-day course for guests, which begins each day at 6:30
a.m.
I have the early morning to myself. As I edge around the pool,
I have yet another sublime moment. In the quietness of the morning,
I stand and look at the mist hanging low just under the treetops
at the edge of the river. This is a resort set in such natural beauty
that you can have these moments all to yourself, simply enjoying
a time and place amid forest, mountain and river.
Roberts shows up carrying a couple of banana tree stalks and the
group sets off down the road to the elephant camp. There are four
elephants in all - Champen, Tantawan, Lawann and Yom. I am paired
up with Champen and before I know it, I'm being instructed in mounting/dismounting
techniques. The mahout shows me how to mount, grabbing the top of
the ear, stepping on the elephant's raised leg and then pulling
myself up onto the back of the neck. I grab where the mahout tells
me and before I know it, I'm up, sitting with my legs directly behind
the ear flaps, resting my hands on the rough skull hair of Champen.
Roberts gives me a quick set of words to use, "bye" for
"go," and "how!" for "turn around."
Champen ignores all my commands and heads for a dewy clump of sugarcane.
I don't last long as a mahout, but it has been an amusing couple
of hours.
We have a little time to investigate the other signature programme
at Anantara Resort & Spa - the Mandara Spa. This "spa with
a view" can take any number of pleasurable hours from your
day, depending on the treatment you desire. All rooms face onto
the green of the surrounding forests and the Mekong River. The eight-page
menu outlines an array of soothing options, including a papaya and
honey body wrap, the Thai herbal hot compress treatment and warm
stone massage, a 90-minute aromatic massage combined with deep heat
therapy (which uses smooth basalt stones from heated water as massage
tools). A guide hands us a cool face towel and some soothing ginger
tea for our tour, leading us through the open-air spa rooms.
Hotel guests can enjoy a two-hour spa sampler, half-day package,
or even "The Body Symphony" couples package, a four-hour
retreat of herbal steam baths, salt glow exfoliation, aromatic massages
and facials.
While the mahout programme and Mandara spa offer excellent retreat
options, the resort offers off-site programmes as well, including
a three-country tour that begins with a breakfast tour of Tachilek
and ends with happy hour on the Laotian island of Don Sao.
The Mandara Spa would have provided the final sublime moment of
this five-star resort, I'm sure, had we the time to investigate,
but we must be heading back home to less comfortable quarters. We
head out the door, past the wooden storyboards and jewelled elephants,
down the road to our car. I wave to Champen as we drive by. She
seems to be still much too engaged in her sugarcane, free of her
erstwhile mahout, enjoying a tardy lunch treat in the late afternoon
sun.
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