VR is going to need a woman’s touch to make it real in travel
There’s a by-now famous photo that’s been making the rounds in the digital world – it shows Mark Zuckerberg striding very confidently down an aisle in a room full of people wearing Virtual Reality headsets.What struck me in the photo was not that Zuckerberg looked inordinately pleased with him [...]
A fine line between celebrating tribal culture and “gawking at natives”
The man of undetermined age swings his leg back and forth, then stamps hard against the dusty ground. The air is hot and still but his energetic dance celebrating the harvest season sends his loincloth flapping. His face may be inscrutable, but his motions are practiced and confident.I am seated in [...]
Letter from Phoukhuone, Laos: At last, a chance at a future for girls
If you google “Phoukhuone Laos”, not much information appears. There are a couple of posts by intrepid travellers who have to cross the town on their way somewhere in this landlocked country, bordered by Myanmar and China (north), Vietnam (east), Cambodia (south) and Thailand (west). One post ta [...]
Letter from Penang: Lessons from the Monkey King
I was sitting in my doctor’s office and browsing through his reading materials, I came across comic books about the Monkey King, a main character in the Chinese classical novel, Journey To The West.Known as Sun Wukong, the Monkey King has been in my consciousness since childhood. Sun Wukong, a mon [...]
Why Travelstart’s Ekbergh decided to get married after 10 years of bacherlorhood
It was around March last year that Stephan Ekbergh, sole owner and founder of South Africa-based Travelstart, was first approached by Amadeus Capital Partners (not related to Amadeus IT by the way).The first meeting with Andrea Traversone took place in ITB Berlin and Ekbergh recalled it didn’t go [...]
Silence of the web at ASEAN travel leaders level
For all the chatter and plans unveiled at the ASEAN Tourism Forum held in Manila earlier this month, nowhere did the Internet feature, or any discussion on the impact of the web on travel.The silence on the topic was staggering – aside from the Malaysian national tourist office (NTO) press briefin [...]
Hotel wonderland as distribution is disrupted and ALICE comes out to play
A long, long time ago in a galaxy far away, I dreamt of being a hotelier. In fact, I recall asking a general manager if he would switch places with me for a day just so I would understand what it was like to walk around with hands behind my back and look at floors to see if there was litter or occas [...]
What David Bowie said about the Internet rings true for travel too
I know much has been written about the passing of David Bowie this week and even more shared on social media and it’s times like these that you realise again the power of the Internet.It gives voice to a community united around one thing and it allows us to share all our different memories, perspe [...]
As 2016 dawns, may the force of women be with you
Warning: This post may contain a spoiler alert, but really it's quite obvious. Just as “Lara Croft” got a reboot under the masterful hand of Rhianna Pratchett, into a heroine with more than boobs, Star Wars has also been rebooted with the seventh sequel, “The Force Awakens”.And the force i [...]
May the Internet be with you – hark the forces at play at Expedia
As I write this at JFK airport, waiting for my Korean Airlines flight to Incheon, the Force has awakened. Yesterday – December 17 – was the premiere of the long-awaited and much-anticipated “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”, which is getting smash reviews by the way. It was thus only natural t [...]
