Blog
An extraordinary dilemma
Written by Jimmy
Seldom in my life have I been confronted with such a dilemma. Seriously. I’m on a major Asian trip, which started a couple weeks ago in Jo Burg and has moved through Ethiopia, Dubai, Kuala Lumpor, Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Hong Kong… Notwithstanding all this travel, I have so far only faced one extraordinary crisis … in room 237 of the Park Hyatt on the Rocks in Sydney.
This is my favourite hotel on earth and 237 is my favourite room, with extraordinary views of the Sydney Opera House. Here’s a picture at around 6AM from my computer chair while working on e mail:
The view is a lot lovelier than the quality of my blackberry camera. For reasons I don’t really understand, I love this building passionately. I stare at it for hours. I get the whole ‘sails’ thing, but for me it looks like a mother trying to shelter her children in the a terrible storm (and this is a drug free trip!) and it does something to me. So, what exactly is the crisis?
Well, room 237 has something else. The Washlet S400. You might remember me reporting on this beauty when I encountered it at the Shanghai Airport. It is the world’s greatest toilet, with more faucets ready to serve you than the whole New York Fire Department. It’s like sitting on the Trevi Fountain in Rome, or Old Faithful in Yellowstone. It’s like being Gulliver and settling yourself down on a Lilliputian car wash.
But, it is on the other side of room 237, 25 feet away from the floor to ceiling view of the Sydney Opera House. It is in a windowless room. What could I do? The carpet was worn through to the floor boards as I paced back and forth trying to decide where to spend my time.
Ulimately, guiltedly , I hovered over the Lilliputian car wash, staring at my crappy picture of the lovely opera house on my crappy blackberry and promised myself that when I grow up I’ll be a better person.
And that’s all I have to say about the crisis in Sydney.
Jimmy