Hot. Hebat. Hangat. Indonesia. Women. Travel.
I think I broke a personal record last Saturday. I went to Jakarta. I spent eight hours there. I spent it all in a shopping mall. And I didn’t buy a single thing.
I was there to speak at a Wired Women Weekend event and instead of imparting what little I know, I ended up learning a whole lot [...]
Letter from 30,000 feet: The difference between SIA and Emirates A380 Business Class experience
I am sitting at 30,000-something feet as I write this, cocooned in my flat bed on a Singapore Airlines A380 to Zurich. I feel like I am in a space capsule – I can now charge all my devices and yes, there’s now also On Air wifi.
There goes that last bastion of peace. I check it out but think t [...]
Letter from Berlin: Same, same conversations but different
Arrived in Berlin yesterday, my annual pilgrimage to this city to attend the world’s largest travel trade fair and thinking, it’s amazing how everything’s changed yet nothing has.
As usual, I meet fellow travel colleagues on the flight. And as usual, the same conversations are struck up.
[...]
Letter from Jakarta: A city that’s all about the possible, however impossible it may be
One never zips around Jakarta – that is a fact – but I feel as if I have just zipped in and out of the city and in that short time, felt once again the pulse of a city that’s all about the possible, even though it may sometimes feel impossible.
For example, immigration was impossible on the [...]
Mobile’s not big in Dubai, it’s HUGE and even babies do it
If there was one key message I took away from my three-day visit to Dubai, it’s how huge mobile is and how pervasive mobile adoption and usage is in the region. “Everyone has a smartphone here,” my friend told me, “and we do everything on it.”
And if I was already impressed in Shangha [...]
Letter from Dubai: Excitement is in the air as 2020 and online promise beckon
My first day in Dubai over and I can feel the excitement in the air – the reason, a four-digit number, 2020.
It may be six years away but that number is emblazoned everywhere I look and everyone I meet is citing that number – the year of the World Expo – as why this city is once again bulli [...]
What went mainstream in 2013 and what kind of fish do you want to be?
Tis the day after Christmas and I love this time of the year because unlike everyone else, I am staying home. The streets are quiet, the breeze is cool, and I am taking long walks without having to bump into people and their bikes.
Seems the whole world’s gone bike-crazy – I was in Penang [...]
As 2013 nears, time to reflect on what lies ahead
In under a fortnight, we will usher in a new year. Time to wind down, take a break and reflect on what will unfold in 2013. For those wishing to pursue business opportunities in Asia, here's our take on what you have to heed. For now, happy holidays.
1. Low cost continues [...]
Tips for the new romance of 2014
So if you were to ask me what I will remember most about 2013, I’d say it’s the year Asia truly came of age. Sure, she's been noticed before. People have whispered about her attraction. The people who know her well already know that she's special. But I am now talking big-time, mass-scale, globa [...]
A world of diminishing space and privacy – like it or lump it
Two things happened on my last trip round the world worth commenting on.
One, the move by US authorities to allow mobiles to be used inflight during taxi, takeoff and landing. Delta Airlines was the first airline to allow this and on my flight from JFK to Fort Lauderdale, I experienced what [...]
