据说,约一百年前,约瑟夫·康拉德沿曼谷的昭披耶河(即湄南河)上行到“东方饭店”门阶前时,他吃惊之余又感到忧虑。他为这座仅有一层楼面的饭店的豪华气势感到吃惊,忧虑的是自己微薄的水手工资恐怕难以支付昂贵的房租。但是,当一位曾经当过船长的经理使他确信租金不会过高时,这位日后蜚声文坛的作家才安下心来。康拉德万没有想到,他曾租用过的第一号客房有朝一日竟会刻上他的名字,成为饭店最显赫的套房之一。他也不曾想到海味餐厅会以他的《吉姆老爷》这部令人难以忘怀的小说命名。今日曼谷的“东方饭店”更是蔚为壮观,它 About a hundred years ago, Joseph Konrad was said to have been astonished when he walked up the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok (the Chao Phraya River) to the front of the “Oriental Hotel.” He was surprised by the luxury of this one-floor hotel, worried that his meager sailor wages would make it hard to pay for expensive rents. However, when a manager who had worked as a captain convinced him that rent would not be too high, the future literary writer came to a halt. Conrad did not realize that one of the first guest rooms he ever rented could one day be carved into his name, becoming one of the most prominent suites in the hotel. Nor did he think of the seafood restaurant named after his unforgettable novel “Lord Jim”. Bangkok today’s “Oriental Hotel” is even more magnificent, it