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2 | www.travelweekly-asia.com 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. Published by NORTHSTAR TRAVEL MEDIA SINGAPORE PTE LTD SINGAPORE 91 Bencoolen Street, #05-08 Sunshine Plaza, Singapore 189652 • TEL: +65-6801-0450 FAX: +65-6801-0469 BEIJING Room 024, Building 8, Qijiayuan Diplomatic Compound, No.9 Jianguomenwai Street, Chaoyang District 100600, China • TEL: +8610-8532 3611 | FAX: +8610-8532 5293 SHANGHAI Room 2553, The Headquarters Building, No.168 Central XiZhang Road, Shanghai 200001, China • TEL: +8621-5179 8360 | FAX: +8621-5179 8360 Travel Weekly Asia is published on a monthly basis by Northstar Travel Media Singapore Pte Ltd. Located at 91 Bencoolen Street, #05-08 Sunshine Plaza, Singapore 189652. All rights reserved. Volume 6 Issue 11 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. 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 EDITOR Esther Faith Lew Tel: (65) 6801 0457 | esther.lew@ntmllc.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) 9750 8405 | bb.bbcreative@gmail.com GRAPHIC DESIGNER Suki Chong | suki.bbcreative@gmail.com SALES & MARKETING REGIONAL SALES DIRECTOR Ng Whey Whey Tel: (65) 6801 0460 | whey.ng@ntmllc.com REGIONAL SALES DIRECTOR Derek Ho Tel: (65) 6801 0459 | derek.ho@ntmllc.com MARKETING EXECUTIVE Alvin Tan Tel: (65) 6801 0458 | alvin.tan@ntmllc.com AD TRAFFIC AND PRODUCTION COORDINATOR 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 BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR Roger Wang Tel: (8621) 5179 8360 | roger.wang@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 NORTHSTAR TRAVEL MEDIA CHAIRMAN AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Thomas L. Kemp CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER Lisa Cohen PRESIDENT, TRAVEL GROUP Robert G. Sullivan EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, DIGITAL MEDIA Thomas Cintorino EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, GROUP PUBLISHER David Blansfield SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, PRESIDENT, EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Lori Cioffi SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Arnie Weissmann SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, HUMAN RESOURCES Janine L. Bavoso VICE PRESIDENT, MARKETING SOLUTIONS Michelle Rosenberg VICE PRESIDENT, PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND PRODUCTION Roberta Muller VICE PRESIDENT, CONTENT LICENSING Sheila Rice VICE PRESIDENT, IT INFRASTRUCTURE AND OPERATIONS Rich Mastropietro VICE PRESIDENT, DATABASE PRODUCTS Elizabeth Koesser TRAVEL WEEKLY EVENTS PRESIDENT, TRAVEL GROUP Robert G. Sulllivan SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, EVENTS, TRAVEL GROUP Alicia Evanko-Lewis In London, I caught the musical, "Close To You: Bacharach Reimagined". Written by young Canadian artiste, Kyle Riabko, it's a tribute to one of pop music's most celebrated and prolific songwriters and while I normally eschew musical medleys, Riabko's clever and contemporary arrangement and interpretation made me say a little prayer for young, fresh talent. Sitting next to me and clearly enjoying it as much as I was, was a Los Angeles-based art teacher who takes a week off in London every year for what he calls his "West End fix". David had seen it just the day before and I could understand why he had to return for a repeat performance – the young artistes on stage are brilliant and mesmerising as they move from one song to another as easily as raindrops falling on your head. Youthful interpretations of timeless classics are vital in opening up old worlds to new audiences. Benedict Cumberbatch breathed new life into "Sherlock" and Sherlock Holmes London walking tours are once again all the rage. And I dare say his recent reprisal of "Hamlet" at the Barbican attracted hordes of new fans who were more into him than the mad Danish king but never mind, now they've watched Shakespeare. Shakespeare's Globe, the complex which includes the reconstructed Globe Theatre and Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, is also being reimagined, along with the entire area of the London Borough of Southwark where it sits. Smack in the centre of the borough and rising tall and proud is The Shard, London's first skyscraper. The Shangri-La London, the Hong Kong group's first address in the UK, occupies the 34th to 52nd floors and the views from the hotel are, well, simply amazing. That "wow" moment when you put your keycard into the slot and the curtains rise automatically, giving a slow reveal of a great, historic city that in its 2,000 years of existence has seen every kind of drama known to mankind – plague, fires, murders, royal intrigues, war … The London Eye gives you an elevated view as well but this view is at a whole new level – literally – and my two days' staying in the hotel and exploring the Southwark neighbourhood made me reimagine London, as she is, not as she was. Once teeming with prostitutes, convicts and pirates – Charles Dickens' "Oliver Twist" was set in this area – Southwark is seeing a renaissance. I took a two-hour walking tour of Bermondsey Street and its surroundings with a Blue Badge guide and learnt not only about the history but the evolution and development of the area, and met café owners, glass blowers and artists who have made this part of London their home. Despite the development, what I like is that there is more old than new and the old are being kept and preserved, unlike where I live where there is more new than old. You can as easily pop into the old Horseshoe Inn for a pint as you can for designer coffee and Ecuador chocolate at a café and you can as easily catch an illuminating light installation as abstract masterpieces at the Tate Modern. EYE ON OLD LONDON TOWN TALKING POINT

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