Slow and slithery into the New Lunar Year: Navigating the “firehose” of changes
At the Lunar New Year celebrations hosted by Sentosa Development Corporation this week, I noticed the words “spring into prosperity” on the screen, right next to an animated image of a snake.
I suppose the word “spring” works better than “slither” – the latter doesn’t quite convey [...]
Pass the “mala” please: Asia demand for China travel surges
Recently, a headline in Bloomberg, “China’s Biggest-Ever Bid For Foreign Tourists Is Falling Flat”, caught my eye.
It reported that despite the extension of visa-free entry access to 38 countries, “the influx of foreign tourists and the billions of dollars in spending they could have brou [...]
Your Guide to 2025 – Problems to be fixed and trends no one is talking about yet
Happy new year. Everyone had a good break, all ready to take on the new year, whatever it may bring?
The good news is, travel is alive and well. All over the world, people were going places, experiencing new adventures and finding escape in new scapes and climes while the work world hibernated f [...]
Letter from Penang: Some repetitive tasks should not be replaced by AI
When Eric Chong of Green Acres, Penang, suggested we spend a morning harvesting cloves, I jumped at the chance to detach from the wired world – if only for a little while. It wasn’t just for me, though. I was also looking for something to get two Gen Alpha kids out of their YouTube bubble and in [...]
Letter from Seoul: A snowy backdrop to outbound trends, AI innovations and a search for community
Caught in the first snowfall in Seoul, Yeoh Siew Hoon has time to thaw out her brains while the plane is being de-iced on the tarmac to reflect on the key takeaways from WiT Seoul 2024.
The Koreans believe that first snowfall is auspicious. If this is true, then Seoul’s travel industry is in fo [...]
Letter from Phoenix: Of bomb cyclones, flight disruptions and super agents
On the day I was to fly out from Phoenix to San Francisco came news of the “bomb cyclone” that battered the Pacific Northwest and Northern California, causing power outages, downing trees and power lines, and tragically killing two people in Washington State.
It resulted in flight cancell [...]
Ice baths on a tropical island: This is how weird and wonderful travel’s going to get in the Next Generation
Key takeaways from WiT Singapore 2024
As I was lying by the pool at Cempedak Private Island, watching the sun set over a calm South China Sea and being grateful for the wonders of travel, a strange ritual was taking place nearby.
A group of wellness devotees from Singapore were taking part in a [...]
Letter from Ho Chi Minh City: From instant noodles to skyscrapers
Listen to the podcast here:
“When you live in it, you don’t see it.”My friend said this with a wry smile as she navigated the busy streets of Ho Chi Minh City. I sat beside her, wide-eyed, taking in the sweeping changes of a city I hadn't seen sinc [...]
The quest for longevity: What’s travel got to do with it?
Over truffled mushroom canapes and lemongrass-ginger infusion tea, I asked Dr. Athasit Amornthanomchoke, an anti-ageing and preventive medicine doctor, practising at the RAKxa Integrative Wellness Retreat in Bangkok, if he saw a lot of male customers and what was the most common reason for their vis [...]
I entered Singapore without a passport. Now that’s personal
Last week, I entered Singapore sans passport. I had arrived on a flight from Bangkok and at the immigration gates, when I wanted to put my passport on the scanner, I was told, “No need already. Just look at camera.”
Two camera clicks later and I was through. True to what had been announced a [...]
