Photos Courtesy of Quincy Hotel
Hallelujah! A hotel utterly conceived around the understanding that those checking in might be suffering from a common ailment called jet-lag.
The Quincy Hotel, Singapore, ticks all the boxes.
Early check-in to suit arrival times of transworld planes? Check. Super-fast transit from showing passport at front desk to bedroom with blackout blinds, (with [...]

If you were to ask a nutritionist if it’s humanly possible to gain two kilograms in just three days I think he’d say no. However, I can vouch, through personal experience, that it is entirely doable. Such is the magic of the Great Barrier Reef’s Bedarra Island that for weeks after our return I shall [...]

I was crossing the border into China the week before last week and spotted this rather interesting bomb disposal equipment, parked metres away from the queue in which I was standing. It seems somebody has to wheel up to the suspicious package or bag and using the go-go-gadget-like claw, pick up said object and place [...]

Image Courtesy of info.aia.org
I’m not a huge fan of Ginza (too many chain stores and tourists) but it is worth a visit for the new Lanvin store, which has two floors of magic.

Time your visit around lunch or afternoon tea at the Gucci Café. You don’t have to be into the brand to enjoy this [...]

It’s been a while since I visited Japan and enjoyed the amazing assortment of packaged sweets on offer. Even Muji sells amazing pinwheel cakes and delicately packaged candy.
Fortunately my friend’s Tristan and Yuka have just returned from Tokyo with a truckload of Japanese lollies to satisfy my sweet tooth.
I especially like the long thin white [...]

When you’re in Japan, eat Japanese and only Japanese. And for the real deal the best place I’ve ever been in Japan is Toufuya Ukai. Traditional private dining rooms all open up onto beautiful gardens that are quite magical to walk through before and after dinner. It’s a sensational place for lunch or [...]

Photo by Mikhail Gherman
Shibuya is an easy area to spend a day. Start the day with an early lunch and some great retail at my favourite spot: Margaret Howell (1-13-8 Jinnin-Shibuya-Ku) for great clothes and home wear put together in a lovely way. The café serves wonderful light lunches outside on the terrace.
Allow a few [...]

After a few days in the metropolis it can be nice to escape. A perfect day trip is the Kamakura area an hour’s drive or train ride south west of Tokyo. The series of 5 or 6 beaches lining the coast from this point are refreshing after the heat and intensity of the city. [...]

Being a product designer sees me spending significant amounts of time in Guangdong province, southern China, where a huge percentage of the worlds stuff is made. It’s a busy place, ever changing, ever growing and spending time here certainly shapes my opinions as a designer and as a consumer. A plus side to the factory [...]