My rickshaw driver keeps pace with taxis as he peddles me through Hanoi’s Old Quarter. The cool wind against my face brings relief from Vietnam’s stifling summer heat. Just as I’m about to relax, I smell smoke. It’s not the ubiquitous smog of unregulated motorbike exhausts. I immediately recognize this aroma as barbecue, like pork …
Category Archives: Travel: Asia
7 Random Shots of Shanghai
Shanghai. Seven shots. Totally random. For more travel inspiration and photos, I invite you to follow me and join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
5 Shots: The Puli Shanghai
Here’s a ridiculously short glimpse of the Puli hotel in Shanghai. P.S. You’ll want to bring your swimsuit for this hotel.
Photo of the week: Shanghai hairy crab soup
Shanghai is famous for its hairy crabs, which are in season in the fall. It was a sweltering day in October when I tasted this hairy crab bisque at Ye Shanghai, one of the city’s most elegant Chinese restaurants. On such a hot day, a hot bowl of soup was the furthest thing from my mind…
Photo of the week: Shinjuku, Tokyo
Tokyo is one of the most vibrant cities on earth. It is also filled with surprising moments of zen, like this little side street in the heart of Shinjuku…
Trout fishing — and the yearning for peace — in Kashmir
Death returned to Kashmir this month. A fresh wave of violence erupted after a teenage rebel — a local celebrity on social media — was killed in a shootout with police. More than 70 people have died in clashes in August alone. Five thousand more have been injured, according to various news reports. It is an ominous …
Photo of the week: Mumbai
The Gateway of India is one of Mumbai’s most iconic landmarks, and I had the most incredible view of the arch from the balcony of my room at the legendary Taj Mahal Palace Hotel…
Quick Look: Pangkor Laut, Malaysia
There is no airport on the island of Pangkor Laut. There is merely a helipad and a dock. Getting there is half the fun. Here’s a quick look at this luxury private island resort off the coast of Malaysia. The resort’s helicopter met me at the Kuala Lumpur airport. I returned to the mainland by the resort’s private yacht.
Photo of the week: Bangkok, Thailand
I shot this photo from Vertigo, the rooftop restaurant and bar atop the Banyan Tree hotel in Bangkok, Thailand. The city has an incredible rooftop bar scene, with outdoor bars on rooftops of skyscrapers all over the city. Vertigo was one of the first. Now there are dozens. The park in the foreground is Lumphini …
20 Best Things I ate in 2015
As usual, I ate a lot of amazing food this year. I eat in restaurants almost daily – sometimes twice or even three times a day. Not everything ends up being delicious, sadly. But in the end, I always find more good than bad, or else I wouldn’t have continued doing this for the past …
Quick Review: The Pottinger Hong Kong
The 22-story, 68-room Pottinger opened last year in the heart of Central, the city’s epicenter of shopping and dining. The hotel sits on the steep hillside between Queen’s Road and Stanley Street, adjacent to the pedestrian-only Pottinger Street, one of the island’s oldest vertical pathways. The rooms are spacious and lavish, outfitted with fine linens, …
Where to eat now: Hong Kong
The dining scene in Hong Kong – like the city itself – is the ultimate expression of East meets West. Driven by homegrown chefs and European-trained expats alike, restaurants here combine a potent mix of old and new, of roasted goose and barbecue pork, dry-aged steak and crab fried rice. The epicenter of all this …
Hotel Review: Four Seasons Koh Samui
My love affair with Four Seasons runs deep. I’ve been fortunate enough in my travels to stay at 26 different Four Seasons hotels and resorts, the latest being the beachfront/hillside resort on the island of Koh Samui, Thailand, which I visited earlier this year.
Quick Look: The Butchers Club Deli, Hong Kong
The Butchers Club Deli opened last year in Tin Wan, an up-and-coming neighborhood on Hong Kong’s industrial Southside. If you can find it, you’re in for an amazing steak. They open for dinner somewhat randomly, serving prix fixe meals that revolve around a certain cut of meat, with different days devoted to specific cuts. Dinner …
Hotel Review: Ovolo Southside, Hong Kong
Overview: A former high-rise warehouse turned 162-room boutique hotel, the Ovolo Southside is the first serious hotel to set up shop in the emerging Southside neighborhood of Tin Wan. The Location: The industrial Southside neighborhood of Tin Wan, adjacent to better-known Aberdeen, is a congested jungle of vertical warehouses and high-rise factories that has become …
Is this the Best Hotel Ad Ever?
I published this a while back but watched it again today and fell in love with it all over. It’s an amazing short film by Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts. I’ve stayed at a few Shangri-La hotels around the world, including Hong Kong, Shanghai, Bangkok, Penang, Tokyo, Sydney and Vancouver. Loved every one.
