OTA battle hots up as Kathleen Tan takes over at AirAsia Expedia
As tweeted this morning, AirAsia Expedia (AAE), the joint venture between AirAsia and the Expedia group, has appointed Kathleen Tan, AirAsia’s group commercial head, as chief executive officer. Tan replaces Dan Lynn, who was moved in from Expedia to head up the joint venture when it was signed [...]
Braemar: The House That Rocked
From the moment I stepped in the door, I felt at home. From below stairs, I could hear the strains of “Jive Talking” and a woman’s voice attempting to sing in unison. I sing a lot at home too albeit not to Bee Gees – I am not that brave.The smells of the house reminded me of my friend’s fl [...]
It’s all about me and I’m on the move, baby
I was sitting at the Foxy Café in Glenorch, Middle Earth, which had a pig as part of its welcoming signboard (pictured right, not left). Other than noticing this slight misalignment of animal references, I also noticed that most of the patrons were people from my part of the world.There was an Indi [...]
Shower me with your talent and passion, Jakarta
I think the shower in my room at Hotel Mulia Senayan is a good representation of the Indonesian travel market. Honest.At first sight, it’s extremely intimidating because it looks like a contraption in a space shuttle where you probably need lots of things to hold you down while you soap your body [...]
Postcard from Myanmar – the genie is out of the bottle
Being bullish on Myanmar is a cliché these days. However, I thought I’d share some notes from a recent trip to Yangon—it’s a good conversation starter at the very least. Beyond the obligatory visit to the Shwedagon Pagoda and happy hour at the Strand on Friday night, I managed to slip in a fe [...]
Letter from Sydney: Australia wakes up to the Asian century
So it seems like I’ve arrived in Sydney at the dawn of a new Asian century.And it certainly feels like it on first impression – I was driven to the hotel by a taxi driver from India, I am staying at the Shangri-La Hotel, a Hong Kong-based and big-on-China brand and for dinner, I had Thai chicken [...]
How social media can be a loaded weapon and why coaching is needed
As I write this, I am on the way to Seoul where social media’s just made a phenomenal star out of a slightly overweight Korean rapper who probably didn’t even forsee that his horse-like dance move on YouTube would become the sensation it has.Psy’s Gangnam video has not only spawned copycats - [...]
Letter from Taipei: I feel good about talent
Sitting in the lobby of the Westin Taipei as I write this. Behind me a man is crooning “Fly Me To The Moon”. He’s got a lovely vibrato and it makes me quiver when he sings, “in other words, I love you”.No one is really listening to him though. Everyone is busy doing their own thing. A cou [...]
Goodbye, flights of peace; hello, fights in planes
Last week, I flew from Shanghai to Singapore. Having to leave the hotel at 5.30am, I was looking forward to catching some shut-eye, then wake up to eat, drink and be merry which usually means catching a movie or two, listening to music and, in case I get bored, I have my Kindle, Mac and iPad to amu [...]
The day I got lost among Supertrees and a Cloud Forest
For a couple of years, I’ve watched them take shape. They looked like two giant armadillos that had got lost in a grove of super mushrooms.Juxtaposed in front of the three towers of Marina Bay Sands and the circle of the Flyer, I felt I was watching a science fiction comic book being illustrated i [...]
