Word: teak
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...water taxi to take me out of town, however. That required a bit more planning. Once again I used history as my guide. For hundreds of years the Chao Phraya served as the main entrance to central Thailand. Immense wooden barges patrolled its banks, exchanging cargos of teak and rice for gold, precious stones and imported goods from abroad. The ancient Thai capital of Ayuthaya was considered to be the entryway to Asia and ambassadors from as far away as France, Portugal and Japan camped at its doorstep seeking concessions and passage from the Thai Kings. Some...
...style?at a pier in southern Bangkok. I immediately kicked off my shoes, knowing that I wouldn't be needing them for a while and savored the feel of well-polished wood beneath my feet. My room, one of six, fit two people comfortably and was charmingly decorated in teak with silk cushions and Thai art. The clever design of the cabin made up for the limited space, placing the double bed above the well-equipped sunken bathroom. I could have watched the river from my room's window, but the sun-filled upper deck beckoned...
...There was nothing to do but sit back in comfortable teak chairs and watch the city go by. Bangkok is so crowded that it is difficult to get an idea of the city's shape, but from the comparative open space of the river the view was unobstructed by tall buildings. Soon the city skyline, haunted by the skeletal remains of half-finished luxury hotels?relics of a building boom cut short by the economic crash?gave way to factories, villas and then modest villages on stilts, interspersed with gaudy, golden-roofed temples...
...wears a burgundy top, a traditional, collarless Northern Thai vestment, and sits on a cushion on the soft teak floor under a pavilion next to a bubbling stream while young women in ornate sarongs parade past with plates of spicy chicken, sticky rice and boned freshwater fish. A famous oenophile, he sips an expensive Bordeaux, brought to Chiang Mai from his own cellars. His entourage, a collection of cronies and political allies for whom Thaksin has been criticized, is gathered around him at other low tables. For a putative reformist, he has surrounded himself with numerous politicians associated with corruption...
...crime that now stands as the most heinous and shocking in Nepalese history was perpetrated in the innermost sanctum of that monarchy. At about 9 p.m. Friday, the mustachioed Crown Prince took his place at the teak dining table in a room that could accommodate 50 people, its pink walls hung with temple and landscape paintings. After pouring himself another drink, he began arguing with his parents, shouting at his mother, Queen Aiswarya, who didn't approve of the Crown Prince's romance with longtime paramour Devyani Rana, 23, the daughter of a former Foreign Minister of Nepal. The Crown...