Six million people visit Bali each year. It’s easy to understand why. The Indonesian island deserves its reputation as a paradise or the ‘Island of the Gods’, with rice paddies, Hindu temples and volcanoes to explore inland, long white sand beaches, sunny weather, excellent surfing and no shortage of places to enjoy a good cocktail.
One of the perks of being a pop star is the freedom and money to travel the world in style, even to purchase homes in exotic locations around the world.
Long before Laos became ‘Laos’, the South-east Asian country was known as Lan Xang. It translates as ‘the land of a million elephants’, the name given to the kingdom in 1353 by former king Fa Ngum.
Japan is one of my favorite countries to visit. One of the reasons I like it so much is the elegance and the attention to detail across so many parts of Japanese culture, from the neat, caringly presented food, often like mini artworks, to calligraphy, as well as in the architecture and interior design.
What would Elvis Presley be like if he was a drink? It’s not a question I’ve asked myself before, but, according to Ruben, chief bartender at the recently opened Pacific Standard bar on the 41st floor of the new Alila Bangsar hotel.
In Buddhist cultures, ringing a bell, a gong or cymbal is said to be a way to make an offering to the Buddha.
Cultural diversity is a great thing. The more people and cultures you have living in a place, the more knowledge, ideas, customs, beliefs and viewpoints you have, all of them bouncing off each other and forming new combinations, whether that’s in art, politics, literature, music or food.
Kuala Lumpur’s a city of towers. It’s iconic 452-metre high Petronas Twin Towers were the tallest buildings in the world from 1998 to 2004, until Taipei 101 in Taiwan and other subsequent constructions eclipsed them.
Rome, famously, wasn’t built in a day. The new Apurva Kempinski Bali, the latest addition to Bali’s hotel scene, also took considerably longer than a day.
While some hotels pride themselves on being at the cutting edge of art, design and architecture, a showcase of the future, that isn’t for everyone.
Modern cities often move at a rapid pace. That isn’t something many locals in Kuala Lumpur would say about the traffic, which can be sluggish. But the Malaysian capital, known as KL, is one of Asia’s major hub cities and financial powerhouses.
If you talk to anyone who visited Bali 20 years ago, they’ll tell you how much the paradise island has changed. It’s still a beautiful, relaxing place to spend time, one of my favorites.
Bali is an easy place to be indulgent. Around the coast and across the island, there are plenty of bars, restaurants and hotels where you can laze around, drink cocktails by the pool, and over-eat each day.
My ears pop somewhere around the 40th floor. That´s not a sensation you usually get as you make your way to check-in, but the Banyan Tree Kuala Lumpur is more of a high-altitude experience than your average city hotel.
From the tree-covered limestone karsts to the deep blues of the sun-hit ocean, there’s no shortage of color across Krabi, a province in south-west Thailand.
