The ancient chedi at Wat Chedi Luang temple, Chiang Mai. Image by James Houston

Chiang Mai is fast becoming Asia’s most appealing tourist destination with its verdant scenery, glorious temples, thriving arts scene and seductively bohemian mood. Digital Editor Millie Walton ventures to Northern Thailand to discover the secrets behind the city’s allure.

Thailand’s never really appealed to me. I shunned the backpacking, full moon party scene for trekking in the Himalayas, safaris in Zimbabwe and little known rural villages where I could still feel traces of culture that elsewhere have been mowed over by skyscrapers and shopping malls. Yet, on a recent trip I found myself making a detour to meet a friend who’s recently moved to Bangkok, a city which she cheerfully describes as “the ugliest place in the world,” but for a day or two it’s fascinating to be wide-eyed in an Asian supercity.

By contrast, Chiang Mai is the kind of place you could stay for weeks, months or like many artists from around the world, years. We arrive on Sunday morning in early June, when monsoon season is at its teething stage. The showers are short, but extremely powerful and in response, the surrounding landscape shines vibrantly green. The city, for many, is Thailand’s adventure capital; within a few kilometres radius, there’s trekking, zip lining, white water rafting and multi-layered waterfalls cascading through the jungle, but it’s also slowly establishing itself as an artistic hub with live music venues, art galleries, yoga, studios artisan coffee shops and a collection of swanky boutique hotels.

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A suite at 137 Pillars

We check in to 137 Pillars, one of the most architecturally interesting five-star establishments in town, built around a grand restored Lana style Thai house. It’s a small hotel, just a few metres back from the Mae Ping River and a short walk from the city’s walled old town, but the spacious layout of suites in a collection of traditional style houses, clustered around the main wooden house and gardens, makes it seem almost like a mini village. As the first downpour of the day hits, we sit on our terrace watching the huge raindrops run down the palm leaves and soak into the earth. It’s over in less than ten minutes and we make our escape to the old town.

137 Pillars, Chiang Mai’s most stylish boutique hotel

Technically, the old town is the tourist hub of the city, but its also where most of the art galleries reside and the most beautiful temples. Compact in size with picturesque hidden alleyways, it’s perfect for exploring on foot. We begin at the Chiang Mai House of Photography, a sky blue wooden building hidden alongside the more dominating presence of the Lanna Folklife Museum. Downstairs is the room for lounging on sofas and armchairs with a photography book selected from one of the glass cabinets, whilst upstairs is the gallery space. As elsewhere in Thailand, the imagery here is currently dedicated to the recently deceased King. It’s an interesting and intimate exhibition examining a nation’s collective mourning, featuring four walls dedicated to the work of young photographers.

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Artist, Chumpol Taksapornchai

Whilst Chiang Mai isn’t home to any big-name galleries, as you dip in and out of the artist studios and cosy, colourful art spaces that line the streets, there’s an exciting sense of discovery and experimentation. Last year, the Chiang Mai Art Conversation (CAC), a four-year-old collective that aims to consolidate information about the city’s art spaces into a central database, issued its first Chiang Mai Art Map paving a route for visitors to explore the best of the local arts scene. One of the favourites is Matoom, run by artist Chumpol Taksapornchai. Filled with his large scale, dreamy water colours of imaginary landscapes and his mother’s colourful mobiles, it’s like wandering into a creative cave. “A lot of artists live here because we’re surrounded by nature and old culture. It’s an inspiring place to be!” Chumpol says of the city, “You have the smell of the countryside whilst being in a modern city at the same time.”

Wat Chedi Luang temple. Image by James Houston

At 6pm we make our way to Wat Chedi Luang temple, in time to watch the monks gathering inside for evening meditation. We sit for a while at the back listening to the chanting before circling the courtyard to admire the towering Lanna-style chedi built in 1441. When we leave, we find the streets lined with stalls for the Sunday night walking market. Here you can find local crafts, cheap souvenirs and sample the street food and whilst it can get crowded, it still manages to feel relaxed and soft. The people are gentle and smiling, eager for you to see their products, but never aggressive or pushy.

The market sprawls in a kind of maze and we’re lost for a while before we find our way back to the hotel for a late, but very welcome treatment at the spa. I opt for the 90 minute signature, combining Swedish massage techniques, with hot herbal compresses and Thai stretching. It’s a deeply relaxing and indulgent experience that seems fitting with Chiang Mai’s sensual aura, followed by an even later dinner and cocktails in the sultry, open air Dining Room restaurant that, on a balmy evening, feels almost Mediterranean.

Chiang Mai is one of the few destinations in Thailand, which manages to cater to the modern lifestyle without compromising ancient culture and traditions. Sadly, it probably won’t be long until that changes, but for now the city remains one of Asia’s most intriguing.

Bill Bensley’s Art Deco palace, The Siam

Why should I go now?

Thousands of tourists flock to Thailand every year to take part in intensive wellness and meditation retreats in monasteries round the country, but whilst most of these tend to involve at least degree of comfort deprivation, The Siam is offering its own luxury holistic programme throughout 2017 with visiting artisans running classes to help guests restore a sense of balance into their hectic lives. Think aromatic essential oils, cold towels, soft, fluffy dressing gowns and slippers. In other words, pure, indulgent bliss.

What’s the lowdown?

A treatment room at the Opium Spa

Designed by renowned architect and interior designer, Bill Bensley, The Siam is a contemporary Art Deco palace with traditional Thai elements, but whilst Art Deco architecture is usually known for its heavy facades and oppressive detailing, the hotel is light and airy with stark white walls and a glass roof atrium. Unlike most of the city’s other luxury hotels – towering skyscrapers, glinting on the skyline – The Siam is more like a creative home with a well curated art collection and original antique furnishings as well as cosy communal spaces where you can curl up in an arm chair listening to one of the hotel’s vinyls; the library area can also be transformed into a private cinema room, on request, complete with popcorn. As such, it attracts a stylish and refined crowd who value aesthetism over elitism. The Opium spa is seductively sultry and Thailand’s Princess  trains regularly in the hotel’s gym, which feature its own miniature Muay Thai ring. The real charm here is in all the thoughtful details; free water bottles to keep you hydrated in the humidity, umbrellas in case of sudden downpours, cards specially printed with Thai instructions for guests to hand taxi drivers, even a guard standing by to stop the traffic when you cross the road for a lunch time street food snack. If you must venture further into the city, The Siam’s sleek yacht transports guests up and down the river from its private pier. It’s as James Bond as it sounds.

One of the hotel’s sumptuous Pool Villas

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The sprouting glass atrium

Getting horizontal

Our suite was a sensual chamber of cool Art Deco black and white, with enough mirrors to satisfy the most vainglorious of guests and smooth jazz set as the default soundtrack. The room came with a butler, who took personal responsibility for all our needs and was fitted with its own bespoke smart phone programmed with city guides and useful hotel information.

Flipside

The only window in the room was behind the bathtub, but in Bangkok that’s not necessarily a disadvantage. It’s one of the few cities in the world where people actually avoid the views unless you’re into mazes of futuristic skyscrapers. Plus, since most of the hotel is glass and full of exotic plants, it’s easy enough to find natural light when you need it.

Rates: From THB 17,971 a night inclusive of breakfast, excluding tax and VAT (approx. USD $ 500/ €500/ £400)
Millie Walton

thesiamhotel.com

The business model proves how important close bonds are to achieving success

For family-run objet d’art purveyor and producer Lotus Arts de Vivre, it is all about relationships – and not just within the family. YUEN LIN KOH catches up with the von Buerens

Their sprawling family home, hidden in the high-rise jungle of Sukhumvit 23 district of Bangkok, has for decades been a sanctuary for travellers from near and far. Rolf von Bueren, now 73, a prominent industrialist who arrived in Thailand from Germany in 1962, and his wife Helen – also of the same age and of Thai and Scottish parentage, are the hospitable couple who lavished dinners and parties on friends visiting Thailand from around the world. Witnessing and interacting with a cosmopolitan mix of guests passing through their doors as young children, elder son Sri and younger son Niklas von Bueren – the second generation of the family – perhaps understand better than anyone else that the world, huge with different and divergent cultures, can also be very small.

After all, the von Buerens were as cosmopolitan as it gets for a family living in Thailand during the sixties. Despite being seen as foreigners, given their European blood, they embraced traditional Thai culture with fervent passion. Their home, sitting on grounds purchased by Helen’s family close to a century ago, is a vision of classicism. Nine hardwood houses with soaring peaked roofs and generous wooden decks rise from the verdant 1.5 acre plot, and are connected by a maze of wood and stone paths meandering across a garden lush with tropical flora. When locals were looking to shed that heritage while they were moving forward with times, Rolf embraced it as someone enthralled with this new culture he was experiencing. The Catholic later even converted to Buddhism. His passion for Thai culture – which is passed on to his children and distinctly showcased in Lotus Arts de Vivre pieces – makes the von Buerens perfect ambassadors of the graces of the Thai culture. Yet at the same time, they are also familiar with the fashions and aesthetics of the European culture.

Sri and Niklas’ cosmopolitan views and tastes were also nurtured through their many journeys around the region. “We were always travelling to Indonesia, India and other destinations all around the Asian region even before they were fashionable,” recalls Niklas, now 41 years of age. “Father of course, was the disciplinarian. But the most valuable thing he taught us was curiosity. He has a curious mind and is always interested in art and culture, and would constantly be making us learn and enjoy other cultures, be it trying new things, eating new foods, visiting temples… All that learning was quite boring when we were young, you know, but today we know that this curiosity is the root of all of Lotus Arts de Vivre’s new developments.”

This galuchat (stingray leather) elephant stool has a touch of silver sterling to make it shine

For the benefit of the uninitiated, Lotus Arts de Vivre – though with a history of just 30 years – is one of the most revered names in the niche jewellery business of producing one-off pieces. In fact, it is one of the largest producers of single-piece jewellery in the world. Their statement pieces, adorned by members of high society and royalty alike stretching from Palm Beach and New York to London and Cannes to Beijing and back to Bangkok, are sought after worldwide. Elizabeth Taylor, Gore Vidal and even Gianni Versace are just some personalities who have fallen under its spell.

Each unique piece is inspired by nature and crafted from a fantastical combination of wonderous materials – from humble coconut shell to innovations of gold-fused glass, from sparkling diamonds, rubies and emeralds to iridescent scarab wings. Sumptuously textured, riotously colourful, outrageously glamorous and exquisitely graceful, they are pieces not to be carelessly worn by all and sundry. With the pieces from Lotus Arts de Vivre, you have to carry it with all your personality, lest it outshines you.

They are also producers of fantastical homeware – ranging from gold-leaf and lacquer-lined ostrich egg containers and black onyx and silver toothpick holders in the form of a miniature porcupine, to stools clad in stingray skin and a magnificent mahogany eagle that took 17 artisans and more than a year to carve and cast with 99 pounds of sterling silver.

For all its sophistication, Lotus Arts de Vivre has amateurish beginnings. It was set up as a mother’s way of keeping herself busy when her children had left the country to study abroad. Though of course, the von Buerens didn’t just set up a shop at any place; they placed themselves strategically at what is now the Four Seasons Bangkok. It was 1983 and the hotel, then the Bangkok Peninsula, was the place for anybody who is anybody to see and be seen. “My father encouraged my mother to start the first shop through selling pieces that have been purveyed and collected through their travels. But my mother is not a businesswoman – if anything, she didn’t want to carry on with this!” reveals Niklas.

Abalone Shell Bowl – The sterling silver grasshopper features onyx stones for eyes

Even though he and his brother were sent to boarding school in the United Kingdom when they were about 10-years-old, it is clear that unbreakable bonds with the family have been fostered even in their tender ages. Without the slightest bit of pressure from their parents, both Sri and Niklas eventually joined the company, in their own time. Sri, now 45, went on to study gold and silversmithing after his studies in the United Kingdom. “It was after I returned that we started our own jewellery workship; it then slowly morphed into a retail business. It was really run very much as a hobby until about 10 years ago, but a lot of the philosophy still stands, in that it is inspired by travel around the region, by places such as China, India, Japan, Indonesia and of course, Thailand.”

Niklas himself went to business school and entered the banking industry upon graduation. Spending four years in the finance industry, he saw the family operation very differently. Where others saw exoticism, he saw Unique Selling Points. Joining the company in 1998, after the economic crisis, he made it his mission to market the brand globally in a time when Asian aesthetics were not widely appreciated.

Together, the brothers injected new vigour into the company and created a brand – a name known today for its inimitable style that applies delicate, time-honed traditional craftsmanship to bold, innovative designs from a distinctly young spirit.

Through exhibitions, events, dinners – each month sees an average of two events, one held in Bangkok and another internationally – and naturally, their personal connections, the von Buerens keep their global audience enthralled with their unique sense of style. It’s a work that sends the entire family to different parts of the world: as Niklas speaks to us from their home office in Bangkok, Sri is at Mozaic Beach Club, one of the two boutiques in Bali where their pieces are sold – and attending Jeremy Irons’ Indonesian screening of his environmental documentary, “Trashed”. In the meantime, Rolf and Helen are in Europe talking to a carpet purveyor for their other retail business, Theatre of Indulgence, before moving off to London for an exhibition with Couture Lab, an impossibly chic retailer of exquisite luxuries, founded by Carmen Busquets, previously a major investor and board member of Net-à-Porter.

Dragon Ring – A key symbol of Chinese mythology, this dragon features diamonds, citrine and pink tourmaline

But their work is not just about spreading the word. It is really all about the pieces they produce. “Over the last 30 years, we have probably created some 10,000 pieces,” shares Niklas. “We are in the midst of doing a large format coffee table book, and in the process have spoken about our favourite pieces – as it turns out, some of the pieces dearest to each of us are custom orders for our clients. These pieces are special to us because there is a sentimental story behind each commission, and each piece holds a profound meaning for them. To us, the profound meaning comes from the fact that these people have entrusted us to create this for them.

“Our pieces are predominantly one-offs, 50 to us is a big number. Each piece – even those that are not bespoke – has a story behind it.”

And it’s not just a story of the wearer that it tells. Working with Her Majesty Queen Sirikit’s SUPPORT Foundation, Lotus Arts de Vivre collaborates with silk embroiderers of Thailand. The von Buerens family also takes years to cultivate relationships with master craftsmen such as a Chinese cinnabar lacquer artist based in a place five hours outside of Beijing; maki-e painters in Noto, Japan; and even Indonesian ivory carvers, now preserving their skills through carving coconut shells. Each meticulously crafted piece is a many-fold story of traditional craftsmen from Asia, each lending his unique touch to the piece, and in turn, leaving a little piece of his own story in it.

Each piece also tells very much a story of the von Buerens – their taste for Old World charms, their rich globetrotting life, their all-embracing spirit, their sense of wonderment. Their principle of being true to themselves extends to beyond the immediate family, now expanded with Niklas and Sri becoming fathers themselves. This is because every patron, every craftsman and everyone from the team of over 200 is considered family. Niklas for one is quick to declare that theirs is not a closed operation limited by blood ties – kindred spirits who hold the same values are also welcome to join them in Lotus Arts de Vivre’s journey into the future.

“It is the network that we created over the 30 years which has opened us to business opportunities – it’s an interesting way to move forward. We never really plan to go into something, we just naturally go into it because our customers were looking for these services or products.”

And perhaps therein lies the beauty of keeping things in the family. The brand isn’t developed – it is nurtured; the company isn’t developed, it grows organically. Certainly there are challenges to working with family members – even staying under the same roof can be a trial for some of us – but for the von Buerens, the pros outweigh the cons. “And it allows me to spend more time with my kids!” beams the usually-stern Niklas. And that alone, for anybody who understands the joy of a family, is priceless.

lotusartsdevivre.com