Letter from Phoenix: Gummies, guacamole and lessons from taxi drivers
After three years away, I was curious to see what Narita airport would look like, compared to Incheon where I had just been two weeks prior. This is one of the slower airports in Asia Pacific to recover – Incheon is number two in recovery after Singapore – and although Japan fully reopened on Oc [...]
Follow mummy’s advice, work with OTAs and embrace new economy asset class: Miguel Ko on the future of hospitality
Amid the bad news, investors pick bright spots – Japan leads the way
Hoteliers who follow their mother’s advice “to share”, learn to embrace the “new economy asset classes” and learn to work with OTAs are the ones who will win in the new world of hospitality, said Miguel Ko, chairman of [...]
A knotty challenge in Cempedak (and elsewhere): Massaging tech into touch
Key learnings from WiT Singapore 2022 and their impact on talent and local communities
EVEN the heavy downpour could not dampen my excitement at returning to the private island of Cempedak, three years since my last visit. I wondered what the all-bamboo, adults-only resort would look [...]
“The end is inevitable. Your kind is destined for extinction.”
Not if you blend old world experience with new world tech – just look at Maverick
In the movie “Top Gun: Maverick”, there’s a scene in which Rear Admiral Cain (Ed Harris) is telling Maverick (Tom Cruise) that “soon we will have pilots who don’t need to eat, sleep, p… and disobey order [...]
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 [...]
