Letter from Bangkok: What the world needs now is a lot more wellness
RAKxa invests $27m to transform Suan Sampran into RXV for “Everyone's Wellness”
YOU know the theme song from “America’s Greatest Hero”, Walking On Air, which goes, “Believe it or not, I am walking on air, I never thought I’d feel this way.” Well, that was the song (I know, showing m [...]
Singapore’s mask-off heralds good news for APAC travel
All eyes on Japan as it takes one more step towards easing of restrictions
“THE women will be happy, lipstick sales will go up,” said the Gojek driver to me, the day the announcement came that Singapore would make masks optional except in public transport and medical facilities effective August [...]
The invisibility of tech and the silence of sound – transforming tours and cinemas
PERHAPS it’s revenge cinema-going but lately I’ve been catching a lot of movies. After two years of watching on the small screen, it’s go big or stay home.
I’ve gone back to the cinemas where I am always freezing – I bring beanies and puffer jackets along and pretend I am in Iceland – [...]
For laughing out loud, what’s the funniest travel experience you ever had?
THIS morning, I woke up to the sound of heavy breathing. Now before you get excited, it was only my dog. Soon as I opened up my eyes, she threw up on me. It was hard not to laugh. Of all the things I’d imagine waking up to in my life, it wasn’t this.
A few minutes later, I am walking my other [...]
Saint-Emilion uncorked: Monoliths, merlot and a man called Ma
IN the ancient medieval village of Saint-Emilion in Bordeaux, France, the people who once upon a time lived there spent a lot of time underground. The unique terrain – sand, clay, limestone and a micro climate (although that is a double-edged sword these days given the storms, hail and heatwave th [...]
Hello, Adele, zombies in travel and dragons – Eddie’s got you covered with his electric cab
EVER tried getting on a boat in stormy conditions and you feel it rocking and rolling under your feet as you scramble to clamber onboard without falling into the raging sea? Well, travel in Europe feels a bit like that these days.
Everything seems to be creaking at the seams in Europe and ex-Euro [...]
Letter from Schiphol: Anyone who’s in customer service should read this
It has rekindled my faith in chatbot-meets-human-intelligence
WHEN my boarding pass blipped at the gate for my KLM flight from Amsterdam to London, my heart jumped. “What’s wrong? Are they going to deplane me?” I immediately thought.
Such is the paranoia of travelling in Europe these days [...]
Letter from 5lasserre: Where time is as fluid as the wine and as silent as the cats
I AM writing this as I overlook the vineyards of St Emilion, a French medieval village in the heart of Bordeaux. Since I’ve been in France the past week, I’ve experienced a heatwave – two days of temperatures that made me think I was in Oman, instead of Brittany – and a hailstorm, with stone [...]
Letter from 30,000 feet: Why worry, be happy, and dreaming of digital twins
I AM writing this on a flight bound for Amsterdam where I will connect to Nantes, France. I am a tad anxious because everyone is warning me what a mess travelling in Europe is these days – harrowing stories of delays in even Schiphol, in my book, one of the best airports in the world.
It seems [...]
Letter from Northumberland: Hello, New World
“WHAT’s life like in Singapore? Is it expensive?” asked my Albanian driver on the way from Manchester to Newcastle, roughly a three-hour car ride. He was complaining about the high costs of living, and rising fuel prices, in this land which he moved to almost 15 years ago.
I told him Singap [...]
