A streaming success

It's more expensive, more crowded now. But Thailand has upped its game. Along Bangkok's Chao Phraya, new delights await and good food is getting its due

- By VIR SANGHVI

Sometimes, I think of the rupee as an old friend you could once count on, but who has now fallen on such hard times that you wonder if there is any recovery in sight. When I first started going to Bangkok in the late 1980s, the rupee was worth nearly two Thai baht. This made Bangkok incredible value, and hotels and restaurants seemed ridiculously inexpensive. Since then, alas, the rupee has slipped into terminal decline, and when I visited last week, I realised to my horror that you now need nearly three rupees to buy a single baht.

It hasn't affected the Thais, of course. The world is rushing to Thailand, and every winter brings the same kind of crowds. The Tourism Authority of Thailand, which once used to encourage Indians to visit, now sits back and does very little; because it doesn't need to. Flights and hotels are full, anyway.

One consequence of the boom is that more and more deluxe hotels keep opening in Thailand. The Four Seasons in Bangkok was my home in Thailand. Then, a few years ago, the Four Seasons gave up the hotel (it is now the Anantara Siam) and said it would open a new property on the banks of the Chao Phraya river. I was, frankly, somewhat sceptical, because the riverside area is a little far from central Bangkok, and I liked the idea of being in the centre and walking everywhere.