Making the TV sexy again in hotel rooms
I don’t know about you but I find that just as I am watching less television at home, I too am watching less TV in hotel rooms.With so much screen time being spent in front of so many other devices, the old goggle box has become rather neglected. You can catch up on the news anytime, anywhere on [...]
Monopoly, disruption and game changers at the centre of the universe
I landed in Baiyun International Airport, Guangzhou past midnight this morning and felt like I arrived in the middle of an industry cocktail party.At immigration, I met a group of travel agents from Singapore on a Singapore Airlines fam tour. Airline objective: To promote their new late flight to th [...]
Move over, you old thing – make way for the new
Either I am losing it or I am travelling too much. The night before my flight to Shanghai, I thought I should check on my flight time. Turned out I had booked the 01.15 flight thinking it was 1.15pm.Panic ensued. This meant I had roughly five hours to get ready instead of 17 hours. What did I do? I [...]
My Venice: Best pool in the world, and more
Why would anyone choose Venice in the height of summer? Veterans avoid it in July – too hot, too humid, too crowded. But I’m here and loving it. Because there’s a lifeline on the laguna to beat the heat. Well, sort of in it actually. Filtered sea water, lightly chlorinated with a splash of fr [...]
I can’t get no instant satisfaction; yet it’s possible
I was having lunch the other day with a hotelier who asked me, when was the last time a hotel swept you off your feet? Fortunately, I didn’t have to think too hard because the experience had only happened in January.It was at the Park Hyatt Dubai (left) when the IT manager came to fix my problem w [...]
It’s certified, I am an Airhead
Ok I cracked. I broke my first New Year’s resolution within three days. A record even for me. I bought the Mac Air. Super fast. Awesome light. Sexy as hell. For some reason, it makes me think of Cher but more of her later.So the first question I am asked now is, what about your iPad? Wasn’t it m [...]
Krabi for a day
My friend Doug from Vancouver was in Thailand for nearly 3 weeks, and wouldn't you know it that his schedule was completely clashing with mine. So the only way to really catch-up was to meet in Krabi for 24 hours. Better than nothing, right?So I grabbed my toothbrush and toothpaste, two T-shirts [...]
Letter from Japan, via Sydney
I have to admire our Japanese friends for their fortitude and resilience in facing what their Prime Minister said is their worst crisis after World War Two – and which is still unfolding.It was good to see so many of them at the Australian Tourism Exchange in Sydney (pictured is the opening lunch [...]
Wego goes local quirky in video commercials in Indonesia
It being 1.45am in the morning and nothing else to do but to go to bed, I decided to watch Wego’s new commercials on YouTube – six of them back-to-back takes 2 mins 15 seconds, I had been told by CEO Ross Veitch.It’s the first of a series of television and YouTube commercials the travel search [...]
Local Measure promises instant gratification for social hotel guests
Imagine you’re sitting at a pool bar at a hotel and you take a selfie with mojito in hand and place it on Instagram, saying, “What a grand way to celebrate my birthday.”You then return to your room and find a dark chocolate walnut cake with a card from the hotel general manager, saying, “Hap [...]
