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In the Joy Luck Club of the Cabochon Hotel, many tales are spurn; some are tall. Here is one that I overheard while munching aromatic sai-grog (sausages, from north-eastern Thailand) washed down by Thai Beer. Yummy. Some guests were animatedly discussing the origin of the name of the hotel and its building, the Walpole, which I have been wondering about as well. With ears pricked, I heard an amazing story.
If memory serves me right, this is how it goes.............
Eugene, the builder of the Walpole Building has been a quiet admirer (over some 30-odd years) of an old Shanghainese gentleman who immigrated to Thailand in the twenties with his family and who made his fortune in timber and later in the gemstone and lapidary industries. His businesses were centred in that golden triangle of the border regions of Thailand, Laos and Burma. As a young migr he quickly achieved substantial success, which was propelled by a |
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| Overheard at THE JOY LUCK CLUB, CABOCHON HOTEL, Bangkok. |
driving ambition. That businessman had refined taste and class, no doubt some of the chic and sophistication of that great city rubbed off onto him. Eugene recalled the first meeting with this enigmatic man in the seventies with great admiration. By then this gentleman was in his early sixties and called reverentially by those near and dear to him as Lao Yeh. It means broadly Lord or Elder Gentleman in Chinese signifying a person of rank and influence. He had a tanned complexion perhaps suggesting that he had spent his years in the sun tending to his businesses. For food, he would rather dine on a host of delicious street fares, which he loved. And, he got around in a classic Jaguar car with all fine inside and outside trimmings, and accompanied by an entourage of aides.
Lao Yeh was an old friend of Eugenes father, |
Yung Hung who sent him to pay respects to his erstwhile friend on his behalf. On that first visit, he asked Eugene to bring back a beautiful gift to his mother, a star ruby, and an unfacetted cabochon for his father. Many more visits followed with each one reinforcing his strong admiration of this Mr. Wal Pole, roughly the Treasured One.
As emulation is the purest form of flattery, Eugene started to cultivate his own tan, by swimming and sunbathing regularly; his love for Thai and Laotian foods grew with his frequent visits, and he also began to acquire a taste for beautiful gemstones from Burma and Thailand. And, last but not least, classic cars; he started his own collection....
The Classic Jaguar MK VII that Eugene still keeps today is a legacy from Lao Yeh as are many the LV trunks and the velvet red |
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Shanghainese sofas, which now adorn the Joy Luck Club. His love for antiques and antiquities was similarly reinforced by Lao Yeh who brought him around to the ancient temples and palaces of this Amazing Land.
At the time when Eugene immigrated to Thailand the Lao Yeh was in his nineties, a truly grand old man. Soon after, the Grand Old Man passed away, leaving Eugene with a strong desire to find a way to immortalize the taste and style of this Thai Lao Yeh. Finally, a couple of years ago he decided to design and build the Walpole Building with all its turn-of-the century features so reminiscent of the Shanghai chic. Now he has a fitting monument to testify a bygone era and to celebrate his Walpole, a man of taste and grace. It is one mans private expression of enduring affection for a friendly godfather or Lord. Thats the gist of the tale I overheard.
Recounted by The Jolly Swagman, an eagle-eyed traveler from Down Under. |
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