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4 | www.travelweekly-asia.com Between Singapore and Thailand, it's easy to see that one country focuses on hardware and the other on heartware. Having been in Thailand for a week covering the "2015 Discover Thainess" campaign I was struck yet again by how hospitable the Thais are along with the foreigners who have set up homes there. The country is under martial law but you don't really get a whiff of authoritarianism; the locals are still relaxed and welcoming to strangers from other lands. They make their requests known in the nicest possible way. The "2015 Discover Thainess" campaign launched by the TAT focuses on Thai hospitality and the warmth of the local people. From the street food sellers to the hotel front desk they exude a genuineness that is not easily found. Then I returned to Singapore, my homeland. In the papers I WHY "THAINESS" WILL WIN read that the Singapore Tourism Board is pushing for technological innovations in the industry. The folks at the STB work very hard to attract visitors. But will visitors want to come here because they can do things faster? I think the first thing that would impress travellers is how fast and efficient we are, but in the world of travel and hospitality is that the only thing we want to be remembered for? And when it comes to meals, do you fancy a robot whipping up your dinner of fried rice - or the street stall manned by a local? Singapore is definitely very safe and with the drinking ban (Singapore's Parliament has proposed a bill to ban the public consumption and retail sale of alcoholic drinks from 10:30pm to 7am island-wide), it should get a whole lot safer and cleaner. But I felt just as safe on the streets of Bangkok. Natalie Chen lives and breathes travel and journalism. She's been a travel journalist since she graduated from the National University of Singapore. In between stints, she nurtured young talent in journalism as a lecturer at Temasek Polytechnic. As editor of Travel Weekly Asia, she plans to infuse travel journalism with new thinking gained from her time spent with young minds. OPINION VOICES Growing up, I was always told that the Internet was a dangerous place. I heard countless nightmare anecdotes about young girls meeting 'nice strangers' in chat rooms only to later discover they were predatory adults, attempting to lure them from beyond the safety of their Windows '97 computers. Nowadays, we consider the Internet vital towards our security. If the opportunity to 'be connected' is there, we take it. It takes more mental deliberation to stay out of the loop than it does to automatically log into it. Now, being logged in is the default and it's much more rare, almost strange in fact, to be disconnected. THE MILLENNIAL TRAVELLER On the eve of my flight to Asean Tourism Forum in Myanmar, I received a text message from the Flight Centre travel agent who had arranged my air tickets from Australia to Yangon a month or so earlier. "Bon voyage – have a wonderful time in Yangon. Safe travels," she messaged. It's some time since I've needed to use the services of a retail travel agent, like most others I find it's quicker, sometimes cheaper, to book online. But the trip to Myanmar involved a transit in Singapore and an onward flight to Yangon at a particularly busy time (ATF) when seats on preferred flights were scarce. So I popped into my local Flight Centre, spoke to Brianne, who promised she would sort out some flight options and get back to me. And she did. First with an itinerary and price that closely matched my requirements – and then a second call to say she had found a better connecting flight and at a cheaper price. I probably spent less time (the walk to Flight Centre was only 15 minutes) and had a more enjoyable experience than if I had searched OTA's without leaving my desk. And with the added bonus of some brisk exercise. I'm not sure if I will return to Brianne in a hurry because most of my travel is point-to-point and easily arranged online, but I'm now more likely to seek her help than before thanks to great customer service. And there surely is the key to the future of travel agencies. Those who can build relationships, and go one step further with customer service, will be the ones who not just survive but prosper too. I'm now looking for a multi-city fare to Europe. But who to choose? Now, where's that Flight Centre telephone number? NOW YOU SEE ME, NOW YOU DON'T Marissa Trew is an MA Psychology graduate from the University of Edinburgh, who is pursuing her passions for food and health through a career in travel and lifestyle jour- nalism. Her love of exploration stems from summers spent marching on her stomach across Europe, Asia and North America, with every destination having a profound influence in shaping her outlook and inter- ests in life. IN PRAISE OF BRICKS AND MORTAR Ian Jarrett is a widely travelled and expe- rienced writer specialising in hospitality and aviation. His work has appeared in a variety of consumer and travel trade titles, and online newswires. Recent travels have taken him to Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, Seoul, Kazakhstan, United Kingdom and Bali, although he is just as happy walking with his dog on a local beach. BY THE WAY Whether it's sending a direct message about our whereabouts or simply 'checking in' to a café as you hook into their Wi-Fi, deliberately or unintentionally, we have a habit of leaving a trail of markers. Seems like Hansel and Gretel were onto something with their breadcrumbs idea. While I may not carry a stale loaf of ciabatta in my purse every time I go out, I actively subscribe to this idea whenever I send my father my taxi's licence plate details, to have it on record, just in case. For example, a colleague of mine, a young woman like myself, ventured out on her first solo travelling experience. Proud of her independence, she instagrammed a selfie, hashtagged #lonetraveller and stamped the photo with her location so we knew everything down to the name of her hotel. Soon enough, another #lonetraveller, an unknown male, sent her a private message, relaying a similar story to hers and asking if they could meet up and get to know each other. There is every possibility that this person was simply looking for social company. However, as young women in the 21st century, we are raised to feel the need to be on guard all the time, particularly when alone. Immediately realising that she had freely and inadvertently published her hotel address online, she recounted how she immediately tested her bedroom door's lock, anxious about the possibility of someone tracking her down and breaking in. Though nothing came of the incident, it was enough to highlight how the same apparently innocuous actions can serve to protect but also endanger us.