My Chiang Mai

As the ornate gates of our home away from home in Chiang Mai swung open for us on a warm summer day, I imagined myself riding a horse-drawn carriage and traveling to another place and time. Oh, my goodness! Have I just been regressed and transported back to some forgotten era? The ubiquitous golf carts waiting to bring us to our rooms (which turned out to be not just a bedroom but a whole mansion) jolted me back to reality. Yes, the year is 2005 and the place is a newly opened culture/spa retreat resort called Mandarin Oriental Dhara Dhevi, Chiang Mai, the most popular destination in Northern Thailand.

From the moment we checked in, we felt like royalty gliding down the red carpet. Picture this: Your own villa with a living room furnished with antiques and a giant TV, a powder room, a big bedroom with another giant TV, a jacuzzi, an outdoor shower, your own garden, your own sundeck and viewing deck, and your own plunge pool. Cool! Plus your own butler to pack and unpack for you (thanks, but no thanks), and a golf cart chauffeur at your beck and call. But that’s just to describe my villa. The other invited journalists – Ethel Timbol of Manila Bulletin, Alex Vergara of Inquirer, Maria Cecilia Beltran Juntereal of Manila Standard, Sari Yap of LifeStyle Asia, and Thelma San Juan of Metro Magazine – have different stories to tell about their respective villas. Ethel and Thelma’s estate recreates the Burmese royal palace of Mandalay in Myanmar. We were to learn later that no too villas are alike. Only last January, these villas housed two of the world’s most famous female tennis players – Maria Saraprova and Venus Williams.

The figures speak for themselves: 60 acres of tropical landscaped gardens (think teakwood trees and hardy Indian rubber trees relocated to the property), rice paddies, and exotic plantations; 144 villas and oversized suites; a spa that’s all of 3,100 square meters; and a design concept inspired by 300 years of the glorious Lanna Kingdom (think opulent and spectacularly carved structures). Certainly, Dhara Dhevi (from the Sanskrit words "star goddess") reigns supreme.

Says conceptual designer Rachen Intawong (call him Tam), "We’re not just building a resort; we aim to create a legend. For me, this is a place where we can create the past, let people touch history."

Piece by piece, the idea gelled. "There was no master plan, it was more like a big jigsaw puzzle," Tam confesses. "Just like the city of Chiang Mai, we built it up over a long time, a natural growth process."

Natural is a word you hear a lot in Chiang Mai. The story goes that five or six years ago, a rich (make that filthy rich) Thai from the South, whose family was big in the car business, went to visit Chiang Mai and naturally fell in love with it. He decided to stay and bought a property near the mountain. He was looking around for more properties to acquire (he had moolah to blow to kingdom come) when he heard that a popular restaurant complex was being put up for sale by its owner. He started acquiring more and more land and decided to build a five-star resort hotel. The rest, as they say, is (Lanna) history.

"We’ve hosted all members of the Thai royal family, diplomats, government people, and Bangkok’s high society," says Savas Rattakunjara, Mandarin Oriental Dhara Dhevi executive assistant manager, rooms division/sales & marketing.

When completed, Mandarin Oriental Dhara Dhevi will have an all-day dining restaurant, a Mediterranean-Italian outlet, and perhaps a sushi bar. The place already has three fine dining restaurants. There’s Le Grand Lanna, a classic and northern Thai resto, where the fainthearted among us were treated to milder versions of chili-hot Thai favorites, like Lanna hors d’oeuvres and fresh vegetables served with green chili dip, deep-fried diced Chiang Mai sour pork sausage with crispy kafir lime leaves, prawn in spicy coconut milk soup, panfried salmon with creamy curry and kafir lime leaves, which we chowed down with steamed jasmine rice. Of course, those who did not chicken out did not hold back on the tongue-searing chilis and swore these red devils cleared their sinuses.

Naturally, there’s a Cantonese and contemporary Chinese restaurant called Fujian, whose head/chef, Hong Kong-born Joey Cheng, serves legendary dim sum in a 19th-century Sino-Portuguese setting.

And then there’s Farang Ses, a French restaurant that boasts, oui, inimitable French delicacies such as foie gras, and Brittany lobster. We didn’t mind a misty drizzle as we were dined and wined al fresco at Farang Ses.

Hail to the chefs – executive chef Gregoire Simonin and executive sous chef Fabrizio Aceti.

That takes care of the stomach. At Mandarin Dhara Dhevi, there’s something to nourish the soul as well. "Culture and wellness are our main attractions," says Savas. "We’ll have our own culture department, a bigger library for rare books. We’ll have cultural activities, lectures on history, etc., performances. Everything will happen here, you don’t have to leave the resort."

Who said anything about leaving the resort? Three (make that two-and-a-half) days at Dhara Dhevi are simply not enough to enjoy the Jacuzzi and the plunge pool or to immerse yourself in Lanna culture. And certainly not enough to find a husband and have a fairytale Lanna wedding.

Your stay in Chiang Mai can be as adventurous or sedate and relaxed as you choose.

"You can go to the spa (more on that later), attend a cooking class (more later), or plant rice (none of this please as planting rice is never fun)," says Sirima Eamtako, marketing communications manager, The Oriental Bangkok.

Says director of art and culture Claudine Nicole Triolo, a New Yorker by birth but an Asian at heart, "As part of our kids’ activity corner, the kids are dressed in northern Thai costume and taught how to plant rice and ride the buffalo to connect them to the local culture. Here, the whole place is their classroom."

As for us, we "connected" with Lanna culture via shopping at the Pedestrian Shopping Street, which showcased native handicrafts and fashion.

"The Thais come up to Chiang Mai to buy furniture," says Savas. "Our buyers include Harrods, Bloomingdale’s, and Neiman Marcus."

Everywhere, you can feel the Lanna culture, says general manager Patrick-Denis Finet, who came from the seat of French royalty Versailles to make a new home in Thailand’s ancienty royal capital Chiang Mai. "You have to involve yourself and understand what happened centuries ago. I think it’s a very unique concept."

Even more unique is the Mandarin Oriental touch that’s famous the world over. The Dhari Dhevi staff is very young, very good-looking, energetic, and motivated. "Almost half of them are in their early 20s," says Savas. "When we were recruiting, we ran a full page ad in color in the Bangkok Post for 10 days and attracted 5,000 applicants from all over Thailand but a lot from Chiang Mai. Most of them were fresh graduates. We took only 350 people."

We had the pleasure to meet 20-year-old management trainee Johnny Perez – yes, a Filipino studying HRM in Switzerland. "He’s unbelievably good," Patrick-Denis gushes. "After two days, I could see this guy would make it. He exceeded my expectations 200 percent."

I guess exceeding expectations is something you can expect at Mandarin Oriental Dhara Dhevi. For one, you can expect more than a relaxing experience at the Dheva Spa, where you’re transported back to the 13th century amid a healing and luxurious ambiance.

"The spa treatments highlight royal Thai, Lanna (northern Thailand), Mandalay (Burma), ayurvedic (India) ceremonies," says Dr. Suchada Marwah, director of Holistic Centre & The Dheva Spa. "What they did in the past we’re doing today. The products they used, the style they adopted, we also have today. Ayurvedic medicine is the complete science of healing. It helps you understand your body, mind, spirit. And it helps you align these three so you can really be in company with yourself, your surroundings. It’s really a complete way of looking at yourself."

Soon to rise is the Ayurvedic Village with six villas devoted to ayurvedic treatment – yet another reason for tourists to flock to Chiang Mai. Among other things, it will offer a complete detox rejuvenation program, which guests may take for a maximum of 21 days.

"Ayurvedic medicine is now very popular," says Patrick-Denis. "People as young as 30 are going for treatment. They don’t want to wait until they get sick. Everybody is concerned about his/her well-being."

The good news to the physically-challenged is that unlike the other structures on this property, the Ayurvedic Village will have none of those steep stairs and promises to be senior citizen-friendly as everything will be on one floor.

So, did we try our hand at Thai cooking?

Well, not really. But I did try – that is, to watch, cooking school chef Khun Mem and her assistant Khun Ann whip up northern Thai specialties like spicy beef salad (yum nua), spicy prawn soup with lemongrass (tom yum kung), roasted duck curry in coconut milk (kaeng phed ped yang), and banana in sweet coconut milk (gluey buad chee, my favorite).

"When I eat spicy food, I can’t stop," says Khun Mem. "I get energized. Chiang Mai food is not too spicy, it’s sweetish."

For our efforts (only two of us made it to this class), Khun Mem rewarded us with a packet of assorted Thai spices (we saw a lot more during a tour of the Thani market earlier in the day), an apron and, yes, a certificate from the Oriental Culinary Academy with our names in Khun Mem’s handwriting. If my friends could see my instant cooking diploma!

So, what’s the best time to visit Chiang Mai?

"Weather-wise, the best time to come to Chiang Mai is between October and early March," says Savas. "We don’t have typhoons here. Scenery-wise, it’s during the rainy season, from May till September. It’s simply beautiful!"

It’s simply great that to celebrate its opening, Mandarin Oriental Dhara Dhevi is offering introductory rates starting at US$295+++ per villa per night. Offer is valid until Sept. 30.

Indeed, GM Patrick-Denis Finet did not disappoint when he said in his letter to each of us, "It is our pleasure to create an enriching and memorable experience for you."

Because once the dust of Dhara Dhevi touches you, it will never leave your soul.