Accommodations make the trip

I was lucky to travel when the best hotels were still inexpensive.

The Okura Hotel in Tokyo was part of the International Hotel chain.

Cost for an overnight stay today would be from $400-$600.

I paid $18 for a first-class room with all the amenities that only the Japanese can think of.

When I arrived, a small army of nurserymen were building a small forest in the lobby area. By the time I left, their forestry project was done and a beautiful Japanese garden was there for patrons to enjoy. 

I stayed in the Grand Hotel in Taipei, Taiwan, a magnificent hotel influenced by Madame Chiang Kai Shek.

While she wasn’t listed as the owner, it was apparent she was the influence behind its construction.

The inside was lavish, with all the 400 plush rooms a traveler’s dream. I paid under $25 a night. Being a guest of the government may have had something to do with it.

I was fascinated by the grounds. Shrubs were carved into the shape of animals and birds. It was entertaining to walk the grounds.

The presidential suite at the time went for $4,850 a night and contained Chiang Kai-shek’s desk and his wife’s dressing table.

In Hong Kong, I stayed several times at the Mandarin Hotel, at the time classified as one of the top 10 hotels in the world.

It was another Continental Hotel, and I spent less than $25 a night.

At the time, I was doing some travel work for Pan American, also owned by the Continental Hotel chain, which explains my rather low rate.

Everything there was marble and the appointments of the finest products.

As in all good hotels you could leave your shoe and laundry outside your door and it was waiting for you in the morning, for a nominal fee. This is a must when traveling light.

In Siem Reap, Cambodia, I stayed at the Grand Hotel D’Angkor. This wasn’t what you would call a luxury hotel, but it was probably the best there.

Siem Reap is the ancient capital and only a few miles from the Angkor Wat ruins, now a favorite travel place. Again, the room rate was in the $20s. I was then off to Vietnam. I stayed each of my three annual visits there. It was clean and centrally located in Saigon. It was eight stories high and had a rooftop garden where you could both eat and drink. It was a favorite place since the city was under a 9 p.m. curfew for obvious reasons. For some reason, I don’t have the receipts for my stays, but I am sure the room nightly cost was under $20.

In Thailand, I stayed at the Narai Hotel, about a middle-rate hotel, but in the heart of Bangkok, where I had some business concerning giving the king a gift.

In Burma, I again found myself in the famous Strand Hotel. It was the place where visiting officials stayed. I had a 72-hour visa and was handicapped in where I could go. The dining room was formal, and the service was very good. Rates were low, since Burma was just starting to open up.

In India I stayed at the Far Eastern in Calcutta, where you signed in a large book. Churchill and a lot of famous people stayed there. Prices were cheap, and the sidewalks outside were crowded with the homeless. They didn’t bother you as you walked through their space and there was a water spigot midway in the block for them to use.

I was the beneficiary of the newspaper I worked for having generous travel policies and a number of special arrangements made on the side.

Today, the trip would cost you your first born, plus whatever you could raise.