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…
Category: Destinations
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…
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…
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…
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…
Dude, Your Chopper Awaits – Asia’s First Luxury Heli-Surfing, à la Four Seasons Jimbaran Bali & Tropicsurf
Do overcrowded beaches bother you? I’ve never actually been on one, since I’ve never been on a beach in Europe, where all the beaches look like a Spencer Tunick naked art installation. Who is Spencer Tunick? He’s a brilliant U.S. artist famed for creating human installations of mass nudes in various world locations, mostly…
The Smog Eaters Are Coming – the Vertical Forest Nanjing, China
Next year, an eco building with 1,100 trees will absorb 25 tons of CO2 per year and produce 60kg of oxygen daily in smoggy China. Big trees fascinate me; the older and bigger, the better. They’re so beautiful, and so majestic. If you’ve seen my Barefoot Luxe Facebook page, there are quite a few posts of beautiful…
The Hideaway Home of Count de Mauny (and yours too) – Taprobane Private Island Sri Lanka
When I first set eyes on Taprobane Island I had no idea that a few years into the future I’d become friends with its owner, an expat British businessman who lives in Colombo and Hong Kong. At that time, I didn’t even know someone could actually own this fantasy vision that I glimpsed while driving down…
In Search of Man-Eaters of Kumaon – Corbett Tiger Reserve, India
I went by elephant and by jeep, and nobody was eaten alive. That’s because nobody tried to eat us. Mention animal safaris, animals in the wild, and most people think African safari, but I love visiting the tiger reserves of India. And there are actually quite a few of them. India was once a land teeming…
Where to Relive Bangkok’s Old Town Charm – The Asadang Historic B&B
Bangkok’s historic Grand Palace district is the place to be right now if you’re in the Thai capital. A small heritage B&B offers old-time charm just a short walk from the city’s grandest spectacle. Thailand is experiencing the most heartbreaking event ever known to Thai people, the passing the world’s longest reigning and most greatly beloved monarch, HM the late King…
Tomb Waiter – Dream Dining Amid the Ruins at Angkor Wat, Cambodia
At Angkor Wat, where a lost civilization once feasted under the stars, you can too. Just add butler. Here’s how … In recent years, I’ve been hearing of private parties and chi-chi events held amongst the ruins at Cambodia’s Angkor Wat, a Unesco World Heritage Site. Yes gala dinners, jet-set party people frolicking amid the…
3 Best Affordable Wellness & Spa Retreats in Thailand
Psssst! … Guess what! You don’t have to pay big bucks for a wellness & spa escape any more – if you know where to find it. And I’m telling you here. These are the newest and nicest wellness retreats with the most affordable, professional spa offerings you can find in Thailand! Whenever I see the bill to…
Where Turtles Lay Eggs, and Nobody Knows – A Secret Black Sand Beach in Bali
On a secret black sand beach in Bali, turtles lay their eggs, and nobody knows… Many complain that Bali is ruined – commercialized, over-run by invading tourist hordes, group package tours, beach cowboys, and shaggy souvenir shacks blocking the view of the postcard-perfect rice terraces that the world comes to see. That may be true, but it’s a big…
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