This year I started learning Japanese. It’s something I have wanted to do for years, and for a long time I worried I would never be able to get a grasp on it. I’m happy to say that I picked up quite a lot during the first term.

Travel addiction is a terrible thing. Withdrawals from it are just as bad as with any other addiction. I feel it right now to my very core. Of late, I have had to calm down and get used to spending all of my time at home base, with no travel plans in the coming months. Of course, this has been essential, unavoidable…and rather unbearable.

I’ve been following the food scene in Taipei quite carefully this past year and have been intrigued by the local specialties and the seasonal produce only found on the island.

We live in an age where fast pace is the norm. Blink and you’ll miss it, is the urgent moniker of today. This especially applies to Marketing. Technology and our limited attention spans are both a marketers dream and their enemy.

This may well be my favourite expression of gratitude. If you travel to Japan, you will hear it repeatedly. For it is uniquely Japanese. 

The element of surprise is always welcome in my travels. It can be found in many experiences and is one of the things that makes travel so alluring and addictive.

Since I began this journal, my eyes and ears have been open to trends and habits that have become commonplace in the wide world of hospitality. My curiosity is constantly piqued, and there have been some common threads appearing that have fooled many people for years.

It’s fascinating to watch the latest trends in the ever exploding hotel scene. As more and more hotels squeeze into the emerging category between mid-range and luxury, but still fall into a five-star model, there are many tricks up a brands sleeve to lure a new and curious market.

When you fly up in the pointy end, airlines have a lot to answer for when they don’t deliver to expectations. Passengers who shell out significant funds for an indulgent experience know the drill.

It’s rare that I’m taken by complete surprise by my choice of accommodation. Certainly, many times I have been disappointed, where my abode has not lived up to its reputation, but rarely has it been the other extreme - so vastly better than I expected. Boy, it sure has on this latest trip to Tasmania. 

Recently I’ve been thinking about some of the quirkiest aspects of flying. If you fly regularly on the same carrier it’s surprising how quickly these oddities stay in your mind and drive you a little bit around the bend.

I am a total devotee of traditional world cuisine. My frequent trips to Japan inevitably lead me to another astonishing meal, thus is the quality of restaurants there. Of course, the reality for me is that I visit as much as I would like to. This leads me to seek out the best quality I can find on my home turf.

It’s not all luxe resorts, fine dining and top wines for me. There is so much more out there to discover. We are living in an age where experiential travel is a priority for most, and I’m completely on board with it. The less time spent lolling in your hotel room the better. Unless of course, you’ve scored a Presidential Suite you just wouldn’t in your right mind tear yourself away from.

No other country assaults my senses quite in the way Japan does. Not a day goes by when my mind doesn’t wander to a past experience, a certain place or time, which led me to one of those magical “only in Japan” moments that happen to you, and only you, when you go.

The sheer vastness of Australia often surprises many. It’s one of the world’s largest continents and the one with the greatest uninhabitable land. With vast desert right through the centre, the only really comfortable areas to live are on the coasts and around a quarter way inland.

In our ever more complicated and busy worlds, our choices in just about everything have increased tenfold. So, it is also with the aviation industry.

These heady days of travel are all about bucket lists. Those often long lists of destinations and experiences to be ticked off before either we, or perhaps more appropriately, they – are gone.

Everyone has an opinion about airlines. Everyone has a preferred airline. When hiccups occur, as things don’t always go to plan, your opinion can quickly change. I didn’t think I would write an article praising an airline, but I have felt the need to do so for some time now.

I’ve recently returned from Fukuoka, Japan. Nestled on the Western coast of Kyushu, it’s a city not as well frequented by tourists than those in Honshu. In fact, during my five-day sojourn, I only saw a handful

I bet you can’t stop looking at this picture. I know. Wow! Right?!
Normally this would appear as my Outstanding Dish of The Month, but as I began writing this, I realised it deserves its own feature