Up close and personal in travel retail
Ystradgynlais (Welsh for ‘vale of the river Cynlais’) is easier to find (at the northeastern end of the Swansea Valley ) than it is to pronounce. But after a good dram or two of the outstanding local whisky Penderyn, I’ve just about got the hang of it.
If Bengaluru Duty Free is the airport world’s best arrivals duty-free shop, this Mitti Café is surely its most special food & beverage outlet, ‘The Magic of Abilities’ writ large across the warmest smiles you could ever hope to encounter.
Any requests? Something by The Moodie Blues, I suggest?
The calligrapher kindly asked me to choose a design of my choice. Admiring the bright orange hues and the lovely shape of the lettering, I made my choice. “What does it mean?” I asked. “It means ‘Write like an angel.”
All of us in travel retail have had these moments of not knowing whether to laugh or cry. Not only would a Heathrow transit mean 28 hours or so of flying plus transit time from Mumbai to Hong Kong, but I’d actually not be back in time for my subsequent flight to Hainan.
In family terms, the Ahujas also put the worst of times to the best of use, transforming the family ranch with astounding alacrity and vision into the outstanding facility it is today.
Vivek told me he’s been reading The Moodie Davitt Report every day since he started in the business a decade or so ago, catching up with brand launches, product trends and, yes, my Blog.
For I dipt into the future, far as human eye could see/Saw the Vision of the world, and all the wonder that would be/Saw the heavens fill with commerce, argosies of magic sails/Pilots of the purple twilight dropping down with costly bales
To the non-Kiwi ear (and, it now has to be said after 38 years living overseas, mine), ‘Fish and Chips’ sounds like ‘Fush and Chups’.
Even here, far away from the madding crowd during a two-day retreat without internet (and only sporadic phone signal), I have found a link to the aviation sector that has dominated my life since I left New Zealand way back in 1987.
My Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc is done and I hear my gate calling like an aviation equivalent of Danny Boy’s pipes. Christchurch here I come
In my view, no airport in the world better encapsulates the much talked-about, often poorly served concept of sense of place as Taoyuan International.
My photos capture prime examples of the incredibly rapid transformation in the Kingdom. What will endure longer in my memory, however, from my journey here is the pride, passion and emboldenment of the people of Saudi Arabia and of the vision and vibrancy that underpins a startling societal and business transformation.