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2 | www.travelweekly-asia.com NORTHSTAR TRAVEL MEDIA (ASIA) GROUP PUBLISHER Irene Chua Tel: (65) 6801 0451 | ichua@travelweekly.com EDITORIAL EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Yeoh Siew Hoon Tel: (65) 6801 0450 | syeoh@ntmllc.com EDITOR-AT-LARGE Ian Jarrett Tel: (618) 9433 6455 | ian.jarrett@travelweekly.com EDITOR Natalie Chen Tel: (65) 6801 0453 | natalie.chen@travelweekly.com WRITER Danielle Yong | danielle.yong@ntmllc.com WRITER Corinne Wan Tel: (603) 2201 1979 | corinne.wan@travelweekly.com HONG KONG CORRESPONDENT Catharine Nicol | cn@monsterpix.hk GRAPHIC DESIGNER Lim Bee Bee Tel: (65) 97508 405 | bb.bbcreative@gmail.com SALES & MARKETING REGIONAL SALES DIRECTOR Katherine Ng Tel: (65) 6801 0460 | katherine.ng@travelweekly.com MARKETING EXECUTIVE Alvin Tan Tel: (65) 6801 0458 | alvin.tan@ntmllc.com AD TRAFFIC AND PRODUCTION COORINATOR Rena Koh Tel: (65) 6801 0455 | rena.koh@ntmllc.com IT & DIGITAL IT & DIGITAL OPERATIONS Raymond Sim Tel: (65) 6801 0456 | raymond.sim@ntmllc.com CHINA OFFICE GROUP PUBLISHER (China) Rebecca Zhang Tel: (8621) 5179 8363 | rebecca.zhang@ntmllc.com BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR Shawn Li Tel: (8610) 8532 4021 | shawn.li@travelweekly.com EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Susan Li Tel: (8610) 8532 3611 | susan.li@travelweekly.com MEDIA REPRESENTATIVES HONG KONG/MACAU ZAM International - Manna Ma Tel: (852) 9650 0518 | manna.ma@zamintl.com.hk KOREA Young Media Inc - Keon Chang Tel: (822) 2273 4833 | ymedia@chol.com INDIA MHI Communications - Smriti Khanna Tel: (9198) 1040 7483 | skhanna@mhi.com.hk AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR - ASIA Patti Mo | patti.mo@travelweekly.com DATABASE & FULFILLMENT MANAGER Zoe Chu | zoe.chu@travelweekly.com FINANCE ASIA FINANCE MANAGER Julia Tham | julia.tham@ntmllc.com CHAIRMAN AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Thomas L. 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Volume 6 Issue 8 Please address all subscription mail to the above address, Fax +852 3020 5794, or email travelweeklyasia@asia-ad.net. Online Subscription: www.travelweekly-asia.com/subscribe For reprints or copyright permission contact Wright's media at +877 652 5295 ext 102 or niademarco@wrightsmedia.com http://wrightsmedia.com/reprints/contact.cfm?magrid=3500 Printed by SUN RISE PRINTING & SUPPLIES PTE LTD Travel Weekly Asia is BPA audited, with 11,100 print circulation and 18, 893 eNewsletter circulation in 30th June 2015. Around the world, BPA is the preferred third-party auditor for advertiser-supported business publications (including print and digital editions). BPA verifies paid, controlled, or any combination of paid and controlled circulation, and reports the data in a single Brand Report. Founded in 1931 BPA Worldwide is an independent, not-for-profit, self-regulating organization governed by a tripartite Board. Siew Hoon is a traveller who loves to write and a writer who loves to travel. She's combined her two loves into a career in travel journalism that has seen her launch several travel industry titles and conferences, including WIT. She loves the change and discovery that comes with travel and the business. This being the Hungry Ghost month – the season the Chinese believe that supernatural spirits rule the earth – it seemed appropriate that entrepreneur Desmond (he only goes by that name) decided to open the Ghost Museum in Georgetown, Penang. When I walked past the museum located on 57, Lebuh Melayu (Malay Street), in the heart of the Georgetown World Heritage precinct, it had been opened barely a month and Desmond, an affable, cheerful chap, was at the entrance, soliciting customers. Curious, I stopped. First let me explain my interest. Ghosts are a big part of Chinese and indeed, Asian, folklore. I grew up with tales of supernatural beings haunting our earth. And it is during Hungry Ghost month, the seventh lunar month of the Chinese calendar, that the (Chinese) ghosts are most active. This is the month that little girls are told not to play with paper dolls (although whether this now applies to digital avatars, I don't know) and we were told not to swim in the ocean or walk about cemeteries at night (if that was your kind of nocturnal activity). We thus grew up, fearing ghosts and to this day, I have girlfriends who will not sleep in hotel rooms without the light on and who refuse to stay in "heritage" properties. The best cocktail stories in Asia are those of ghosts haunting and I have a bunch of anecdotes collected over the years of my friends' ghostly encounters in hotels. In fact, when I first wanted to write my travel book, my publisher asked if I would consider writing about ghosts and travel because according to him, the biggest selling genre of local fiction in Singapore is, yes, ghost stories. Anyway, back to Desmond (above, left) whose idea behind the museum is to change people's perception of ghosts. "We Chinese and Asians are so scared of them and I wanted to get people to understand ghosts better, so that we don't fear but appreciate them as part of our lives." He runs five tours – themed around different countries and regions, South-east Asia, Malaysia, Japan, Egypt and China. He also holds theme dinners around scary encounters and ghoulish props. When I was there, a family of Chinese tourists was buying tickets, the children clearly excited about the upcoming experience. Perhaps it's the novelty but I believe this Ghost Museum is different enough to attract tourists looking for an alternative experience. In this area of Georgetown, where every shop house has been turned into a café, bar, boutique hotel or souvenir shop, there is certainly a lack of things for families to do at night. There is another trend working in Desmond's favour. In recent years, Halloween parties have also taken Asian cities by storm – Singapore's Night Safari's Halloween theme nights are legendary and attract thousands of party revelers looking to be frightened out of their skins. Maybe I should really get round to writing that book of ghosts and travel. GHOULS, GHOSTS AND A SPOOKY SUCCESS IN MALAY STREET TALKING POINT Desmond (left) with museum supervisor Ryan Leow.

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