Ever since it opened in 1958 on

• Buddha Room The Mandarin Bar Lounge Rarest Set
• Buddha Room The Mandarin Bar Lounge Rarest Rock

 the top floor of the historic Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok, 

• Find album reviews, stream songs, credits and award information for Buddha Room: The Mandarin Bar Lounge - Various Artists on AllMusic - 2007.Missing.
• Rare Buddha's Halo appears over mountain in China. Glammed up middle-aged women scrap in a bar in shocking clip. Enjoy a cup of tea and chill on lounge chairs in hilarious backstage snap.

Le Normandie has enjoyed its status as one of the Thai capital's top restaurants. Just last December, the recently-renovated restaurant in the hands of the Savoy-born chef Arnaud Dunand-Sauthier acquired two Michelin stars in the celebrated guide's inaugural inroad into Bangkok.

A favorite room in the house is the living room. Hands down, the Buddha painting by artist Deepak is the focal point of this space and lends a sophisticated zen yet heart warming impact to the living room. Dipa shares that the idea came from a painted wall that she saw at Norbulingka, Dharamshala.

Grande Dame,' after all, has ranked consistently as one of the world’s finest hotels ever since 1886 when Italian architects built the first modest inn, called the Oriental, on the Chao Phraya river.

The property's later Garden Wing addition, with a soaring, flowered-filled lobby, long made it Bangkok’s tallest building; until recent decades, that is, as Bangkok boomed and new towers dwarfed it.

But funny things happen when you wait around long enough. Suddenly, the venerable Mandarin Oriental lies at the heart of a whole new Creative District popping up along the newly reviving Chao Phraya waterfront. More on that further below.

This light-filled Garden Suite Living Room belongs to one of a dozen new suites in the Garden Wing.

Credit: Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok

The original Oriental structure is now the Mandarin Oriental Authors' Wing which was just restored to reflect its historic look. Also, the Garden Wing now has twelve new light-filled suites with balconies and bright marble bathrooms, and a butler at your call.

You’d be hard pressed to find any hotel that is known for so many signature moments to take in, from a peaceful breakfast on the river terrace to the legendary Authors' Loungehigh tea with its popular inhouse pastries.

The newly-renovated Authors' Lounge is once again a super bright, flowery space, with side rooms named for the likes of Coward and Conrad and walls filled with photo portraits of famous writers. In the Somerset Maugham room you can read about how in 1923 the legendary British author used to look over the river from his veranda as he was recovering from malaria.

The soaring Mandarin lobby is an inviting meeting place for all comers.

Credit: Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok

Buddha Room The Mandarin Bar Lounge Rarest Set

Sitting in a rattan chair, you'll have a whole selection of one-off cocktails to choose from in the jazz-themed Bamboo Bar, another signature spot in the hotel. The latest drink creations are named for jazz legends who have passed through. Don’t try to imagine the curious concoction made of Lagavulin 16, bell pepper, agave, and lime; just order the 'Kiss of Fire–Louis Armstrong.'

For another venue with an historic atmosphere, pop next door to the property's lovely old villa which hosts their China House restaurant. The interior is Shanghai Art Deco inspired, while the menu is Cantonese.

A ride on the Mandarin's ferry service takes you across the river to their Rim Naam restaurant where you can enjoy dinner indoors or on the Terrace. A set menu of Thai dishes includes the savory goong maenaam phad naan prik pow, stir-fried jumbo river prawn with chili jam and sweet basil.

The Mandarin's historic Bamboo Bar serves drinks as lively as its jazz.

Credit: Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok

In an old restored teakwood house, the Spa across the river was also recently renovated with massage rooms that are as comfy as some hotels' proper rooms. With a massage mat on the floor, treatments combine western massage with Thai stretching movements. As you sip lemongrass tea afterward in the relaxation room, you'll be in no rush to cross the river again.

Once you're back at the main Mandarin Oriental, however, you could take hours to peruse the ample number of Authors’ Arcade shops. In 1946, the legendary Jim Thompson was part owner of the hotel. Today, the hotel hosts a branch of the high-end Jim Thompson personal goods store. A new arcade addition, the Rimowa shop designed a special luggage line for the hotel’s recent 140th anniversary.

You could also spend a good thirty minutes just absorbing all the fun hotel history that is outlined in finely rendered illustrations that line an upper corridor in the Garden Wing: How the hotel hosted a Golden Jubilee dinner celebration for Queen Victoria in 1888; how electricity arrived as early as1891; how before Maugham was a guest, there was Fabergé and Nijnsky and so many more.

As for the new Creative District developing outside the hotel's doors, just take the Mandarin’s ferry once again across the Chao Phraya river and walk a few minutes to the Jam Factory. Opened two years ago, this complex of old river warehouses around a green space is now a popular venue with a restaurant and cafe/bookstore and live music.

The Mandarin's shuttle boat whisks you in half a minute across the Chao Phraya river.

Credit: Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok

Late last year, Lhong 1919 opened further upriver in a complex of original old shophouses where the first Chinese immigrants to Thailand arrived. This extensive project built around an outdoor space with arts and furnishings shops as well as dining is a huge hit.

Hire one of Bangkok's long-tail boats and you can continue up-and cross-river to the famous Reclining Buddha in the Wat Pho temple complex, next to the imposing Grand Palace. Within walking distance is the massive Yodpiman flower market as well.

Coming back downriver and also on the Mandarin Oriental's bank, the enormous River City looks like a commercial mall but specializes in antique and art galleries. Of 1980s vintage, the popular site was recently made over with a glass-panel facade.

Also opened last August from the same team that developed the Jam Factory, Warehouse 30 retains its huge sliding metal doors, beams, and pillars from its WWII era beginnings. The quirky venue's shops include clothing, housewares, and food. A short walk away, the 1940s Art Deco-ish post office last year became the Thai Creative and Design Center (TCDC), with exhibitions.

And just before you step back into the Mandarin Oriental, the all-white facade of the 1908 O.P. Place building beckons, behind which for years antiquities and art galleries have flourished.

On either side of the hotel, the beautifully forlorn Customs House and empty Dutch East India Trading Company headquarters are due next for makeovers. To start, from mid-October to early February 2019, the historic trading company building will hold exhibitions as part of the inaugural Bangkok Art Biennale.

It can be overwhelming as to just how much there is to do within steps of the Mandarin Oriental. And you will have earned a quiet night in after all that running around.

Buddha Room The Mandarin Bar Lounge Rarest Rock

Just head upstairs for dinner at the Le Normandie with its stunning flower arrangements and rich chandeliers. Chef Arnaud Dunand-Sauthier'spigeon Miéral de Bresse or agneau de lait dit ‘allaiton’ will leave you no doubt about those two new Michelin stars.

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Buddha-Bar

Location	15, in various countries
Type	Bar
Opened	1996
Website
Buddha Bar

The Buddha-Bar is a bar, restaurant, and hotelfranchise created by French-Romanian restaurateur Raymond Vișan and DJ and interior designer Claude Challe, with its original location having opened in Paris, France in 1996.^[1] The Buddha Bar 'soon became a reference among foreign yuppies and wealthy tourists visiting the city',^[1] and 'has spawned numerous imitators',^[2] becoming popular in part because of the DJ's choice of eclectic, avant-garde music. It became known internationally for issuing the Buddha Bar compilation albums, which are popular compilations of lounge, chill-out music and world music, also under the Buddha Bar brand,^[1] released by George V Records. Buddha Bar 'has made a name for itself with its Zen lounge music CDs and remains a hit – especially with tourists'.^[3] Locations have since been opened in a number of other countries, although not without controversy arising from the theme.

Theme[edit]

The original restaurant is a Buddha-themed 'upscale bar-restaurant with an orientalist 'lounge' ambience' serving Asian cuisine,^[1] with a two-story dining area dominated by a large statue of Buddha, and an upstairs bar in the form of a large, ornate dragon. The theme was inspired by the discovery of the space to be used, an antique basement archive with a mezzanine, 'which suggested to the architects the idea of an oriental temple and its Buddha'.^[4]

Buddha Bar venues have been opened in various other locations, including Marrakesh, Beirut, Budapest,^[5]Cairo,^[6]Dubai,^[7]Abu Dhabi, London,^[8]Manila, Mauritius, Baku, Tbilisi, Kiev,^[9]Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Caracas, Mexico City, Monte Carlo,^[10], Prague^[11], Mykonos and Santorini. Several locations have since closed. In June 2012, a Washington, D.C. location closed after two years of operations, having 'struggled after a poor critical reception'; while a New York City location was forced to change its name.^[12]

Compilation albums[edit]

Buddha Bar compilation albums have been issued since 1999. In 2001, a Billboard Magazine critic placed the compilation in his 'top ten' musical events of the year, noting the relationship between the restaurant franchise and the music produced by it with the assertion that 'Buddha Bar is not only a good restaurant in France but also one of the best music experiments to come out of France in the past few years'.^[13] Buddha Bar has also released some original music for its albums, specifically the songs 'Buddha Bar Nature' and 'Buddha-Bar Ocean', composed and produced by Arno Elias, the composer of 'Amor Amor' from Buddha Bar 2, and Amanaska. This release included a DVD of nature and ocean footage directed by Allain Bougrain-Dubourg.

Controversy with Buddhists[edit]

The use of the Buddha as a popular icon has been noted to be offensive to some conservative Buddhists.^[14] In 2010, Buddhists in Jakarta protested the operating of a Buddha Bar in that city, asserting that 'the use of their religious symbols in a venue serving alcohol was an affront to their religion'.^[15] The Jakarta location was co-owned by the daughter of Indonesian politician and former governor of the region Sutiyoso, and was closed by court order later that year.^[16] It has been noted that record stores in Dubai 'black out the image of the Buddha' on Buddha Bar CDs to avoid idolatry, but that the owners of the Buddha Bar restaurant in Dubai were permitted to build a two-story Buddha within their establishment.^[17]

References[edit]

1. ^ ^abcdAnthony D'Andrea, Global Nomads: Techno and New Age as Transnational Countercultures in Ibiza and Goa (2007), p. 93.
2. ^Bethan Ryder, Bar and Club Design ( 2006), p. 18.
3. ^Stephen Fallon, Paris (2010), p. 294.
4. ^Hugo Montanaro, 'Buddha Bar', The Best of Bars & Restaurants (1998), p. 72-77.
5. ^David Landry, 'Buddha-Bar Hotel Budapest takes prestigious prize', Budapest Business Journal (December 9, 2013).
6. ^Claire E. Francy, Lesley Lababidi, Cairo: The Practical Guide (2008), p. 82.
7. ^Time Out Dubai (2009), p. 149.
8. ^'Buddha Bar London- The Parisians are Coming'. The Handbook. October 24, 2012. Archived from the original on 2014-01-06. Retrieved 2014-01-05.Cite uses deprecated parameter dead-url= (help)
9. ^http://www.buddhabar.com/en/restaurant-bar-buddha-bar-kiev-3
10. ^http://www.buddhabar.com/en/restaurant-bar-buddha-bar-monte-carlo-11
11. ^http://www.buddhabar.com/en/restaurant-bar-buddha-bar-prague-2
12. ^Missy Frederick, 'D.C.'s Buddha Bar appears to have closed', Washington Business Journal (June 19, 2012).
13. ^Wolfgang Spahr, 'The Year in Music 2001 – Critic's Choice', Billboard Magazine (December 29, 2001), Vol. 113, No. 52, p. 39.
14. ^Damien Keown, Buddhism: A Very Short Introduction (2013), Chapter 6, ISBN0191640506.
15. ^Sara Schonhardt, 'Food Fridays: A Tasteful Journey Through Jakarta History', Southeast Asia Real Time (December 6, 2013).
16. ^Lisa Siregar, 'Kunstkring's Treasure Hunt to Redeem a Years-Old Wrong', Jakarta Globe (December 6, 2013).
17. ^Neha Vora, Impossible Citizens: Dubai's Indian Diaspora (2013), p. 46.

External links[edit]

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