…one of the March 12th bombs went off here, inside the Sea Rock.

When I first saw the hotel, in 2005, I was told by my companion that it was rumored to be haunted.   We had drinks and bad Chinese food in the quasi-Tiki bar at the back, looking directly down on the blackness of the ocean as we ate.   As we left through the lobby afterward, the place was indeed eerily deserted.

Now, when back there in December last year, the hotel was vacated, windows all removed, street dogs and  guards stationed out front.   On my last day in the city, I was told that the property had been bought by Mandarin Oriental  and is due to be renovated.

A brilliant rendition of that horrible Black Friday can be seen in Anurag Kashyap’s 2007 release.