Very recently, on an island not far away, a tired city girl was happy to escape Bangkok for the first time in over a year. Released from the border lockdown, many people here had rushed to Europe (so easy to get into!) and all returned infected with Covid (and therefore straight back into quarantine). But…
Category: Travel
Do Your Island Math: Luxury Secret Garden + Private Beach = Four Seasons Koh Samui
We’re in the throes of a weird Covid third wave, raging full-throttle in Bangkok. WFH is back in place, schools are closed, and pink Food Panda deliveries are the main sign of traffic on empty city streets. But let’s rewind to a few short weeks ago, so I can cling to the memories of my…
An Afternoon Tea Tree Indulgence at the Sindhorn Kempinski Bangkok
It’s mid-afternoon, mid-week, and the mood is lively in the lobby of the new Sindhorn Kempinski Bangkok. You’d never guess the hotel only officially opened on October 1st, in the middle of a Covid border lockdown, judging from the energy in its elegant, cavernous lobby. A low murmur of polite chatter and the occasional clink…
Dining High at King Power Mahanakhon Bangkok SkyBar & SkyWalk
Architects must get huge job satisfaction, I think, when I stand at the entrance of the King Power Mahanakhon building in Bangkok. It must be so fulfilling to see your work actualized from an idea in your head to a real-life steel and glass structure. It must be even more satisfying when that creation becomes…
Where Vietnamese Heritage and Modern Monk Wisdom Meet – Four Seasons Hoi An
Historic Hoi An, the Vietnamese town famed for its 300-plus tailor shops, had hovered on the fringes of my awareness for years. It’s been there for centuries, but was the type of secondary destination you’d tag on to a bigger one, like Ho Chi Minh City. So when direct flights between its sister city Danang…
A Thai Island Escape Where Bigger is Better – Ritz Carlton Samui
As I’ve mentioned before, word of mouth is a powerful thing. At lunch recently a friend mentioned her stay at the Ritz Carlton Samui, and what I remember from her enthusiastic convo was Big! Big! Big! and New! New! New! Oooooh. Words that stuck like hooks and reeled me in. All this bigness and newness…
Where Singapore’s Old and New Chinatowns Meet – The Six Senses Maxwell
I’m just a visitor, but there seems to be two Chinatowns in Singapore – hip new Chinatown where curlicued old mom ’n pop shophouses have gentrified into trendy cafes, bars, shops, salons, and yoga studios on one side of the Maxwell Road intersection, while on the other side lies the majestic Kwan Im Goddess of…
Enchanted Rainy Day Hideaway – Keemala Phuket
Rain was lashing against the airplane window as we landed in Phuket and I was taken aback. It had never occurred to me that it might be raining during my island getaway at Keemala Phuket resort. It was June – still the soft launch of rainy season in Thailand, and not the real, heavy flood…
Feeling Hong Kong’s heart through art, cuisine & spa – The Cordis Hong Kong
Hong Kong is so exciting to visit. Such a throbbing place! Everything comes at you from all directions, all at once. It’s sensory overload 24/7. You stumble around in a semi-dazed state from trying to block it all out and take it all in at the same time. It keeps you on your toes,…
Heritage Hip in China’s Panda City – Temple House Chengdu
It seems obvious to choose Shanghai or Beijing for a first visit to China. I would have done that too, but the minute I heard the words “panda city”, I was headed to Chengdu. I wasn’t even sure exactly where Chengdu was at first, but who cares, when the city is the official panda center…
How to stay in a palace at the Rishikesh International Yoga Festival – Ananda in the Himalayas India
70 Spiritual Leaders | 100 Countries | 150 Sessions The International Yoga Festival, 1-7 March, 2018 It’s time to head to Rishikesh, the birthplace of yoga, the home of the ancient yogis, sages and seers. Every year the riverside town of Rishikesh in the cool Himalayan foothills hosts the International Yoga Festival with more people…
A hotel where Malaysia’s Chinese heritage lives on – the Blue Mansion Penang
I always forget I’ve been to Malaysia because I haven’t been to Kuala Lumpur. But then I remember I’ve been to Penang and stayed at a historic hotel that isn’t easy to forget at all. The Blue Mansion Penang is an unusual boutique hotel with its own unique heritage and even Hollywood movie credits. An…
The fantasy island where fish swim above when the meal’s underway – Hurawalhi Maldives Resort
I must confess. I had never been that keen to go to the Maldives until I visited the fabulous, amazing new Hurawalhi Maldives Resort last month. Yes you heard me. And you may wonder- who in their right mind wouldn’t want to go to these jaw-dropping paradise islands? Err … that would be moi. And I had my own reasons….
The Coolest Pool Penthouse in Phuket – Aleenta Resort Phuket, Thailand
What insider insight can I tell you about Phuket, an island so famous, so popular and so commercial that for decades it’s been consistently voted on “World’s Best Islands” lists and whatever other superlatives you can imagine. Well here’s a useful bit of info that might astonish people about this famous island. What most Phuket…
How to Find Bliss in Bhutan – Aman Resorts’ Meditation & Wellness Retreats, September – November
This September – November, luxurious Amankora resorts in the unspoilt Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan offer exclusive wellness experiences to take you on your own inner journeys, while travelling through its elegant lodges around the Land of the Thunder Dragon. Amankora – Meaning of Life Retreat 10th – 18th September If you’ve ever dreamed of an experience that will literally…
6 Unforgettable, Instagrammable, Shareable Things to Do in Bali
I never get tired of visiting Bali, and I go there on a regular basis. Thank goodness for good friends who live there, as well as a growing circle of new friends the more I go there. I’m not exaggerating when I say it’s the most charming, inviting, relaxing, and photogenic of places to go…
How to house a Viceroy (what?) – Lalitha Mahal Palace Hotel Mysore, India
What do you do when a Viceroy of the British Empire comes visiting? Build him a palace to stay in. I’ve said this before, and I say it again – I love old palace hotels in India. I love the majesty, the history, the crumbling edges, and the slight creepiness of these old buildings. The biggest…
White water rafting where the Ganges is glacial green – Snow Leopard Camp, Rishikesh, India
The Ganges River can surprise you, and I mean in a good way. High in the Himalayan foothills you can play on its aquamarine waters and sleep on its snow-white sand banks. I wasn’t always a luxury spa freak. I’ve always liked adventure travel and exotic places, as long as there’s some hygiene and comfort involved; I like…
Where a magic mountain retreat recharges body and spirit – Alassari Plantation Bali
When I told people my next destination in Bali was a private coffee plantation with luxury villas and spa high up in the central hills, the reaction was always the same – widened eyes and “wowww … sounds reeeally nice! Where!” My own reaction was pretty much the same when I first saw Alassari Plantation’s…
Home sweet home at the secret honey house – Villa Madu Ubud, Bali
I would never have known about Villa Madu in Bali if a friend in Ubud hadn’t suggested it to me (thank you secret friend! You know who you are!). It’s one of those under-the-radar places that I’ve never seen before in big magazines, but is known through word-of-mouth, or by people who know people. I…
Where life is beautiful by design – Stone House luxury B&B, Bali
I left Stone House Bali a few weeks ago, yet when I think of it now, I can still feel as if I’m there. So vivid was my stay there that the feeling lasts and lasts, and is imprinted deep into my sense memory. When you stay at Stone House, you absorb every bit of the…
Where Angkor chic shines – the Shinta Mani, Siem Reap, Cambodia
– Where ancient Khmer motifs infuse contemporary design. Believe it or not, I’ve lived in Bangkok for years and had never been to Cambodia, even though it’s just across the border. Maybe it’s the close proximity, but it never seemed so urgent a destination. The only reason to visit would be to see Angkor Wat, but,…
Ayurveda Weight Loss Holiday – Barberyn Beach Ayurveda Resort Sri Lanka
Sometimes – usually after I’ve overloaded on too much cake and croissants – my idea of a dream vacation is to go to a nice seaside health resort to lose weight, eat good food, relax and rest without stepping inside a gym, and do hardly anything . Hahahaha! Sounds too good to be true? It’s not. Such places do exist! The hilltop swimming…
Train Spa-ing in the Highlands – all aboard Europe’s first spa carriage on the Belmond Royal Scotsman
Open a luxury spa menu and you’re likely to find treatments called “spa journey this” and “spa journey that”, which are meant as journeys of the senses but don’t really take you anywhere outside your spa suite. Finally, someone’s come up with something that really is a literal spa journey, and it’s so practical to boot. Coming this April 17, 2017,…
BAREFOOT LUXE - Blog Asia luxury travel, best spas & wellness, top hotels, resorts, barefoot luxury lifestyle 