Bangkok has topped the MasterCard Global Destination Cities Index for the highest number of visitors — but it’s Dubai where the cashed-up tourists are going.
According to MasterCard, visitors stayed in Bangkok an average of 4.7 nights and spend US$173 per day during calendar 2017. The capital of Thailand attracts an average of 20 million overnight visitors in the year.
Continue reading Bangkok and Dubai: a tale of two top tourist citiesThe problem with big cities is that it costs big bucks to visit them.
Quite often, though, there are interesting places nearby where you’re in striking distance of the big smoke but able to save a little money and have a slightly different experience.
Continue reading Five ‘off Broadway’ destinations that are well worth a visit
Qantas has slowly but surely been unveiling a new strategy for its big-ticket flights from Australia.
On top of its announced aim to offer ultra-long-haul flights from Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne, the Flying Kangaroo is preparingto redirect its flagship QF Flight 1 to London back via Singapore, rather than Dubai, which has been the single stopover for the past few years.
Continue reading The Flying Kangaroo jumps in a different direction
When I travel, I often use an app called TripCase. It usually works like a dream. I just forward my flight and hotel booking confirmation emails to TripCase, and my journey shows up on all my devices. Flight delays and other information is updated in real time.
On my most recent trip, however, something went awry.
When I sent it my booking confirmations for Cathay Pacific flights CX713, Bangkok to Singapore, and CX712, Singapore to Bangkok, TripCase decided that I was going to New England in the United States.
I have actually been to Augusta, Maine — for Thanksgiving, no less — and I had a wonderful time. But I’m not sure how I could go there twice on successive days starting from different Southeast Asian airports.
Which city is the favourite with tourists? Well, it depends which source you believe.
Hong Kong is — again — the most popular city with tourists, according to the latest survey, which notes that London has been overtaken for second place by Bangkok.
Ibis Styles on Macpherson
Singapore
June 2016
I chose to stay at this hotel for a very simple reason: it was the cheapest room I could find online among my preferred brands.
I was looking for a relaxing stay in a no-hassle place. I’d already chosen Singapore as my destination because of the excellent business-class deal I secured from Oman Air, and the knowledge that I’d be comfortable with my surroundings.
The Styles came in at about S$128 (US$95.50) a night for bed and breakfast. Continue reading Review: Ibis Styles, Singapore
A time-lapse video doing the rounds of social media demonstrates three years of change in Singapore in just under five minutes.
Created by artist Keith Loutit and posted on Vimeo, it shows buildings going up, and coming down, cars winding through the streets, and changes in season and weather.
You can read more about the artist and his work here.
A trip to Raffles features on many a bucket list — especially for those interested in Singapore’s colonial past who want to see (or stay in, if they can afford it) arguably the most celebrated hotel in the world. For me, this was my third visit, and a somewhat sentimental one as I remembered a departed friend with whom I first visited Raffles many years ago.
