Survey: Travellers Grounded but Ready to Fly
TTo mark this important occasion when The Art of Travel goes into print for the first time in Asian Journeys, Ken Hickson asked a few members of his global family and friends’ network how they’ve been impacted – travel-wise – by the global coronavirus pandemic. As we haven’t seen evidence of any similar surveys conducted anywhere in the world, we will claim this as a first! Here’s a selection of personalised travel stories:
PICTURE THIS: A LIFE OF TRAVELLERS’ TALES
Denise Keller, an international travel host, director and producer, she is perhaps best known for her work on Discovery Channel, TLC and MTV. Since winning the coveted Best Presenter Trophy at the Asian Television Awards, she’s a soughtafter event and TV presenter.travel and caring for environment usually take up all of her time.
Travel in 2020?
She’s experienced a 90% drop in travel in 2020, compared to 2019.The last time Denise travelled was March 2020 before Singapore’s circuit breaker. “We were filming in the Maldives for a travel project and we haven’t flown since.”
What have you missed most?
“Family in the US. Short weekend getaways to our Bali villa. Overall, new travel experiences that my husband and I enjoy so much.”
What was your best travel experience ever?
“My husband and I went on a gorgeous river cruise from Vienna to Budapest last year. It was magical.”
What’s on your travel wish list?
“We’re hoping to spend Christmas and New Year with the family, in 2021.”
CRUISING, SKIING & FLYING: HOME AND ABROAD
Joanne Turrell lives on Marco Island, Florida, with husband Ash. They are both 25-year veterans with the Marriott Hotel Group, so travelling for leisure and pleasure has been very regular and enjoyable for years. Until the pandemic put a stop to that in 2020.
Travel in 2020?
In 2020: “One week Caribbean cruise in February and a weekend in Key West in September. In 2019: “Ski trip to Vail (Colorado) in January. One-week Caribbean cruise in January. Dubai and Singapore in February. Los Angeles in May. Boston in June, July and September. Italy and Mediterranean cruise in September. Ski trip to Breckenridge (Colorado) in December.”
What have you missed most?
“We miss excitement and break from life that travel brings.”
What was your best travel experience ever?
“The world trip in 2007. Visited a dozen countries and saw family around the world.”
What’s on your travel wish list now?
“We want to travel to Italy, Singapore, Australia and Hawaii. ASAP!!”
TO SYDNEY FOR SUMMER
Geraldine Brooks, who lives and writes from her home at Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, US, was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in fiction in 2006 for her novel March. Her novels, Caleb’s Crossing and People of the Book, were New York Times best sellers, while her first novel, Year of Wonders - about the plague years in England in the 1600s - is an international bestseller, translated into more than 25 languages. The author of Foreign Correspondence, Australian-born, Geraldine grew up in Sydney and attended the University of Sydney. She worked as a reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald for three years as a feature writer with a special interest in environmental issues. Later she worked for The Wall Street Journal, where she covered crises in the Middle East, Africa, and the Balkans.
Travel in 2020?
In January, she flew back to USA from Sydney, where she had been for summer in the Southern Hemisphere. In March, she flew to Paris and then back to US.
What have you missed most?
“I miss the possibility of being in Sydney this spring/summer.”
What’s on your travel wish list?
Sydney is where Geraldine wants to travel to next - when permitted.
BOWLED OVER BY SCIENCE & TRAVEL
Ian Lowe is an Australian academic and writer with a serious focus on environmental issues. The Emeritus Professor of Science, Technology and Society and former Head of the School of Science at Griffith University, he’s authored or co-authored 10 books, the best known being Living in the Hothouse (2006) and The Lucky Country? Reinventing Australia (2016). He describes himself as “a cricket tragic” and travels to play in and watch the game.
Travel in 2020?
“Very much less travel in 2020! In 2019, overseas trips to NZ and Spain via Singapore, plus about 20 flights in Australia.this year, one overseas trip to NZ and four internal flights.” His last overseas trip was for an annual cricket tour to NZ’S South Island in February. “Just before the shutters went up.”
What have you missed most?
What he’s missed most is “the opportunity to walk in Spain, as I have almost every year since 2007.”
His best travel experience ever?
“The 15-day walk and tour of Mont Blanc, sandwiched between a climate change conference in Geneva and a forests conference in Oslo.”
What’s on your travel wish list?
“Unfinished business is the South-west Coast Path in England. Having done the first six days a few years ago, I want to go back and get around the coast of Cornwall.”
UP IN THE AIR OR ON ICE?
Irene Hoe is a Singapore-based journalist who has authored a number of books, the most recent being 50 Best Kept Secrets of the Istana: History and Heritage (Epigram 2019) and, a long time ago, she wrote the text for photographer Ian Lloyd’s Singapore From the Air.
Travel in 2020?
Irene says she’s had “zero” travel experiences to write home about during 2020 - and very little in 2019.
What have you missed most?
What she’s missed most is “spending time with the family members and friends I travel to visit.”
What was your best travel experience ever?
She recalled that her best and worst travel experience ever was when she “took a seven-month trip that encompassed my usual stops in the US and also several weeks in Argentina, a cruise to Antarctica, a visit to Aberdeen, Scotland, and London. “It was wonderful until it wasn’t. Antarctica was the best highlight and also provided the worst moment. On New Year’s Day, when we were to disembark the cruise ship at the southernmost tip of Argentina, one of our group had a stroke and died.”
What’s on your travel wish list now?
“I want to do a long cruise around Antarctica and if that can’t be managed, I want to visit Venice.”
SHE’S WILD ABOUT TRAVEL & THE ENVIRONMENT
Chng Soh Koon is a very well-travelled Singaporean with a passion for the environment. For many years she worked in the headquarters of WWF, near Geneva, Switzerland.
Travel in 2020?
There was no travel at all in 2020 for Soh Koon. “I did quite a bit of travel in 2019 to Mongolia, Hong Kong, Australia and China. Oh, and across the causeway, too.” Her last big overseas excursion was to China in October-november 2019.
What have you missed most?
“I was supposed to travel to Europe for a wedding in July and would have taken the time to visit friends there. I lived in Europe for 20 years, so I missed reconnecting with friends.”
What was your best travel experience ever?
“I’ve too many. I’ve done some fantastic trips mainly to view great places of wilderness and enjoy new experiences. Some I would single out are Alaska, Corsica and Namibia. China, too, I guess for the great history.
What’s on your travel wish list?
“Hmm, I think to Europe to visit friends there and perhaps Australia, as I had a great time with friends there last year.”
EVERYTHING UNDER THE SUN
Ray Wills’ current research interests: adoption rates and convergence of technology, disruptive tech including solar and storage, electric cars, mobility, and robotics, and the communities that rely on them, and the impact of social media on markets. He’s running three companies (at last count): Sun Brilliance Power, Blue by Design and Future Smart Technologies, as well as holding an Associate Professorship Adjunct at the University of Western Australia (Perth).
Travel in 2020?
He’s done much less travel in 2020 compared with 2019. In 2019, Ray did four flights in Western Australia and eight to other Australian states, but no international trips. In 2020 that was down to two intrastate and one interstate (pre lockdown). He last travelled overseas to Singapore in 2018 and was planning to go again March 2020.
What have you missed most?
“Ability to travel interstate in Australia to see my daughters in South Australia and Queensland destination.” He explains that Western Australia has a hard border – if you leave, you can’t return unless you have a special exemption.
What was your best travel experience ever?
“On Holiday: any one of the trips to New Zealand with my family or cruising the Mediterranean with the missus.” For business travel, he rates a study tour of the UK and Western Europe to look at energy and carbon policy in 2008 including Copenhagen.
What’s on your travel wish list?
“Interstate to see my daughters in South Australia and Queensland – and Singapore for business.”
INVETERATE TRAVELLER AT HOME
Mary Heath now lives in St Albans, England, but is originally from Ireland, where some of her family still live. She’s an inveterate traveller, who often writes of her experiences visiting family and
friends in far off realms. She and her late husband, business journalist Ray Heath, lived and worked in Hong Kong and Singapore.
Travel in 2020?
Mary is a very reluctant “stay at homer.” How much travel have you done in 2020 compared with 2019? 50% Where & when did you last travel overseas? To Peru
What have you missed most?
Seeing and meeting new places and people
What was your best travel experience ever?
A visit to Tibet in late 1990’s.
What’s on your travel wish list?
Japan
INVESTING IN TRAVEL AS A GROWTH INDUSTRY
Nicholas Ashby is a Kuala Lumpur based financial and investment consultant who has a keen interest in travel and the arts – and a fan of The Art of Travel/the Avenue for Creative Arts. He is Principal of a global investment advisory firm Eaton Square, which has a particular emphasis on technology, healthcare, services, food and agri-business and other growth industries. Nicholas owns and operates Bali’s Mayo resort*, which has been missing its usual international guests this year.
Travel in 2020?
“Travel was normal until mid-march, then zero. I was in Australia in January and Bali late Feb/early March.”
What have you missed most?
“Surprisingly little, other than seeing people whose company I enjoy. Other than that, life is much simpler.the biggest downside of not travelling is the running down of my supply of duty-free booze!”
What was your best travel experience ever?
“Many. Maybe Iran with my son (2019). Kilimanjaro also with my son (2012). My last trip to Japan and staying in Kyoto. Ski holidays, when I was fitter.”
What’s on your travel wish list?
“Bucket list (not complete): much of South America, parts of France, Italy, Spain and Portugal, not yet visited. Norwegian fjords. New Zealand. *Bali’s Mayo Resort is located 4km from Seririt, which lies conveniently at the junction of the main north coast highway connecting Amed and Singaraja with Gilimanuk, and two of Bali’s main northsouth routes. Distance from the Bali International Airport is 110 km or 100km from Kuta/seminyak.the journey time will be between 3 and 3.5 hours. www. mayoresort.com
BACKPACKING IN NEPAL IS BEST!
A well-travelled “Dutch Lady”, Wikkie Netten lives and works in Singapore. She is Southeast Asia representative for the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) and normally does a lot of travelling on business, as well as for leisure and family visits.
Travel in 2020?
She’s has had only one overseas trip in 2020 - in January to Myanmar on business – compared to 15-plus trips in 2019.
What have you missed most?
“DFS” (duty free shopping!) but quickly expands on that by saying she misses: “Learning and exploring new things. People interaction.”
What was your best travel experience ever?
“Nepal and backpacking with family. No Internet and no power. Just nature all around.”
What’s on your travel wish list?
“Visit my mom in the Netherlands.”
MISSING THE SENSE OF ADVENTURE
Lekha Patmanathan is a Singapore-based energy management expert with her own company nexergy, which represents Sweden’s Climacheck in Asia. She lives in Singapore, with husband Dr Gow Thevendran and two delightful young sons.
Travel in 2020?
“Much less. We usually get away every two to three months, even if it’s just a trip across the border. We have been Singapore-bound for the last eight months. Our last trip was a family holiday to Australia in February. We went to the Gold Coast and Sydney.”
What have you missed most?
“Family. Sense of adventure and just being on holiday.”
What was your best travel experience ever?
“Africa, we did a safari in the Kenyan Masai Mara and South Africa’s Kruger National Park. Unforgettable!”
What’s on your travel wish list?
“Malaysia to visit family.” TRAVEL TO ENGAGE ALL MY SENSES Global citizen Ranjani Rao, originally from India, has lived and worked in the US for many years. Now based in Singapore, she tells us of her recent “staycation” – an idea she considered ridiculous in a pre-covid world.
Travel in 2020?
“My husband and I went to Amara Sanctuary and Resort, Sentosa for two
nights. It was lovely to be on Sentosa with practically no tourists. We rode the bus and tram up and down the island. Palawan beach was almost a private beach one rainy morning! A lone peacock and a lonely peahen kept us company.” Her last overseas trip was to India, in December 2019 - to attend a family wedding. Prior to that she travelled to Tanzania in August for “a true family holiday.”
What have you missed most?
“Being in a new location where I can engage all my senses, be surprised and return rejuvenated.”
What was your best travel experience ever?
“A fabulous two-week trip to Morocco in 2018 with two girlfriends. Had a great guide, weather was perfect and the whole country was just amazing.” What’s on your travel wish list? Bhutan is on her bucket list as the place she wants to travel to next. (See her story in this issue on her visit to Ladakh in the foothills of the Himalayas in India.)
HOMEWARD BOUND
Darren Thomas is the Singaporebased CE0 of Double Helix Tracking Technologies, a company which has pioneered DNA testing on timber. Originally from the United Kingdom – he went to school in Warwick – he describes his work as involving “wood product traceability and supply chain transparency.”
Travel in 2020?
“I managed to fit in one business trip to Surabaya, Indonesia, at the beginning of 2020, compared to about 14 business and family trips in 2019.”
What have you missed most?
“The variety and change of pace when you travel. Getting out of the normal routine.”
What was your best travel experience ever?
“Exploring the narrow streets and markets of Marrakesh back in the early 2000s.
What’s on your travel wish list?
“As the family is relocating back to the UK next summer - COVID permitting and re-familiarising ourselves with the Continent is top of the list - especially France.”
IN LOVE WITH THE PLANET. FOR GOOD.
Sam Ran Boolsambatra started her communications career in journalism and devoted many years working in travel trade media. She has spent the last 20 years in public relations, working for the Singapore Environment Council and international consultancies. Recently she helped bring together “a passionate group of friends, madly in love with their planet” and named it Kaia. Among her recent writing/editing assignments has been some important work for Sustain Ability Showcase Asia (SASA) and the Alliance to End Plastic Waste.
Travel in 2020?
“None, because of the pandemic. In 2019 I did a road trip to Southern Thailand. I travel to Berlin and Prague.
What have you missed most?
“The freedom to travel anywhere you want to: the smell, the sights and feel of different cultures, people and places.”
What was your best travel experience ever?
“So many, many years ago I took a media familiarisation trip to south western Japan, where we visited historical and cultural sights in various prefectures, such as Osaka, Kobe and Kyoto.”
What’s on your travel wish list?
“To Nakhon Nayok, which is one of the central provinces of Thailand, near to Khao Yai, also known as the National Park. Roughly 2.5 hours’ drive from Bangkok. Mainly to visit my elderly aunts and catch up with my cousins.”
PRIORITY: SUSTAINABILITY FUNDS
David Hunt is the Brisbane-based boss of Blue Asia Capital, engaged in impact investing and funding for sustainability projects in Asia Pacific.
Travel in 2020?
His business travel has been seriously constrained by the pandemic, as he’s done “100% less” international travel in 2020, compared with 2019, but “30% increase in local (Australia) travel.”
What have you missed most?
“The ability to engage in person with our overseas associates and business projects.”
What was your best travel experience ever?
His best personal travel experience was when he was “living and travelling in Canada for eight months in the early 80’s.” Professionally, it was a series of business trips to China.
What’s on your travel wish list?
When permitted he wants to travel to Singapore: “To get back to business. Structuring and projects.”
WINING FOR MARGARET RIVER?
Bryan O’loughlan is normally running a financial services business in Singapore, but he moved back to Australia to run it from Perth
Travel in 2020?
In 2020, he’s done about 10% of the amount of travel he conducted in 2019. His last overseas trip was to Bali in March. What he misses most? “The freedom of choice to travel” His best ever travel experience was in 2000, when he cycled around Western Europe and the UK for about six months, after quitting his job. “I stayed in a variety of camp sites for backpackers and pensiones (B&BS), cycling mainly on ‘backroads’, visiting out of the way places and spending less time in cities.” Bryan thoroughly recommends it to everyone to take some time off and ‘see-the-world’ this way. When asked where do you want to travel to next he said he was off to Margaret River for three days the following week – that’s a three and a half hour drive from Perth. For overseas travel, he’s keen to go to either Indonesia when it opens up, or more likely New Zealand, as that looks like being open sooner.