A city of romance
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The infinity pool at Nora Buri Resort and Spa in Bophut. Matt Hodges / China Daily |
To grease the wheels of romance, I picked up a bottle of Veuve-Clicquot from a duty-free shop at the airport. I'd also booked a river-facing room at the hotel's original but newly renovated Shangri-La Wing. This is recommended for its stunning night views of the main pool, flanked by palm trees and the Chao Phraya River.
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| Buy, buy in Bangkok |
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| Honeymoon in heaven |
This was one of a number of nice touches that brightened my day, along with the free Wi-Fi and homemade fudge on the bed when I arrived.
So the stage was set. My sassy Korean ex-girlfriend was going to be blown away, emotionally, that is.
One of my Chinese colleagues and his wife were set to join us for their mini-honeymoon. Both women had subsequently expressed reservations about the trip, which had been arranged before Bangkok went into a 60-day state of emergency. Even I was beginning to second-guess myself as I reassured them it would be fine. But we needn't have worried - this was a different beast from the one rampaging around Kiev or Crimea.
Outbound tourism from China to Thailand ballooned by 68.83 percent in 2013, according to Thailand's Ministry of Sports and Tourism, due in part to recently simplified visa-entry policies (Chinese can now get them processed in as little as two days). It is projected to keep growing by 40-50 percent for the next several years. Moreover, the "Land of Smiles" has remained the No 2 destination for flights out of Shanghai for the past three months, according to Ctrip, second only to South Korea.
Yet the streets of Bangkok were quieter this time around. Chinese New Year was drawing to a close - Feb 14 also being its official end-date this year - and Chinese tourists to what Time magazine called the world's most-visited city in 2013 had fallen by 8.56 percent in January compared to 12 months earlier. The sporadic episodes of violence, including several bombings, have caused at least 20 casualties since Nov 30, understandably setting nerves on edge.
Things seem to have stabilized somewhat in recent weeks.
