Great Places To Write (Part Five - In Thailand)

Friday, July 30th, 2010

The inspiration for "Life In Shadows."

I wrote a short story (called Life In Shadows) set almost entirely in the Mandarin Oriental, about a freelance writer’s interview with a reclusive novelist. While exploring the hotel, the freelance writer sees a beautiful, but sad, lady framed between two green shutters.

The Oriental Hotel is an inspiring place, with the famous Bamboo Bar and the view overlooking the Chao Phraya River. And of course, there’s the Author’s Lounge, so named because of all the famous writers - from Jeffrey Archer to Graham Greene - who have stayed in the hotel. In Life In Shadows, Michael, the main character, interviews the reclusive novelist in the Author’s Lounge, and meets the beautiful woman in the Verandah restaurant, pictured above.

The Mandarin Oriental is stunning, then, but so too is Bangkok - a city that’s one of a kind, polluted and crowded, but exciting and beautiful, all at the same time. Perhaps my favourite city in South-East Asia, and certainly in the top five.

Tags: Bangkok, Great Places To Write, Life In Shadows, Oriental, Short Story, Thailand
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