They asked Sir Richard Branson. But I'll answer it:
Window or aisle?
It used to be "window", for the novelty. But then, I was always getting the ones next to the wings, novelty wore off, and I started to fly a little but longer flights. So it's aisle for now. Except for those times when the check-in staff were too lazy to ask.
The last thing I ate from a minibar?
I had a can of Coke from my friend's minibar when I visited her when she was in town on a business trip. I don't usually touch anything from the minibar - they're expensive and they have been there for ages! There is always a 7-Eleven around the corner.
I won't leave home without...
My small pillow from childhood, which has been places with me. And now, vacuum ziploc bags to reduce the bulkiness in my luggages. Also, I make it a habit now to have a pen in my hand-carry to fill up immigration and customs forms on flights.
The best trip I've ever taken? And why?
Paris in October 2006. Because it was free, impromptu, itineraryless and the dream trip most people work hard and save up for. And it helped that Paris is so beautifully romantic just like most people described. Belle!
My dream trip?
My dream tripsss?! A few: Bhutan, Bora-Bora and New York New York. Side info: I heard the King of Bhutan is a great, great man. Probably gives the King of Thailand a run for his money.
The movie or book that inspired me to pack my bags?
DK travel guidebooks, especially the Top Ten range for doing the must-dos during short stays. The best travel books around, much better than wordier-than-wordy Lonely Planet. LPs are so heavy to carry around!
My greatest travel pet peeve?
Excess baggage. My excess baggage. And tourists from China. Definitely tourists from China. They're everywhere you go these days. "Made in China", including tourists. And eating places that don't serve ice cubes when you ask for some.
How I deal with jetlag?
Never flew long enough to suffer from one.
If I could travel with any living person...
A boyfriend.
I'll never go back to ____________ And why?
I can't think of a place now. Maybe Hanoi, because I can't think of anything enticing to pull me back there. Ok, wait, maybe their handicrafts, especially handbags, are beautiful and cheap!
If I could be anywhere right now...
Shanghai. The night glitz of Shanghai, endless fashion, cheap food. But wait - oh no - domestic Chinese tourists! But yes, I would love, love, love to be in Shanghai right about now!
Angel Lam
- Angel Lam
- Singapore
- Angel holds a degree in Communication from Monash University, Melbourne, Australia with specializations in Journalism and Psychology. She entered the United Nations system as the Communications Associate of the Malaysia country office, where she formulated and implemented media strategies on international development issues relating to integrity and transparency, democratic governance, environment, HIV/AIDS, poverty reduction and South-South cooperation, as well as gender issues and the Millennium Development Goals. Angel also worked on several development projects on Afghanistan, particularly in reviving its dried fruits industry through modern agro-processing methodologies, and in encouraging foreign direct investment to the reconstruction of Afghanistan, for which she championed while at the Afghanistan Investment Support Agency, the investment arm of the Government of Afghanistan. She is currently a recipient of the Lee Kuan Yew Postgaduate Scholarship at the LKY School of Public Policy, the political science arm of the National University of Singapore, where her work and research in international development and poverty alleviation continues.