Used to be The Oriental in Bangkok with its Writer's Room, powerful historical resonance -Joseph Conrad once moored his ship off the end of the garden - and suites so luxurious even the butlers had butlers, But it's been 10 years since I last checked in, and I've no idea what it's like now.
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In Goa, at the glorious Aashyana Lakhanpal villa on Candolim beach. You swim in a diamond blue pool being dive-bombed by dragonflies; a mongoose washes his whiskers; butterflies skim the water to drink. One is having a Scheherazade moment on the edge of the Arabian sea.
Goa has seriously moved on. Forget the happy-clappy scene – now Kate Moss, Peter Lindbergh, Mick Jagger and Daniel Craig are all going. Lady Hamlyn (who famously refurbished chateau de Bagnols and was ticked off by her husband for blowing the budget - what budget?) has bought a fort in Reis Magos.
Goa's reemergence as a more fashionable, suddenly trendy Arabian Sea hangout has much to do with the launch of world-class villas such as Ajai Lakhanpal's awesome AashyanaLakhanpal*** (Escrivao Vaddo, Candolim: Tel 0832-2489225 or -9276
