I’m A Girl. See What I Can Be!
Eunice Olsen, former Nominated Member of Parliament, Miss Universe Singapore 2000, actress and Host, has launched her first book of poems for children between 6 and 13 years old, calling it “I’m a Girl. See What I Can Be”. The book’s 10 poems are based on real-life stories of 10 inspirational Asian women who have been featured on WomenTalk. These women come from Singapore, the Philippines, Nepal and Thailand.
Featured women include Anamika Subba, Faith Ng, Dr. Gerlinda Lucas, Lena Sim, Lily Goh, Melissa Sarah Wee, Nina ‘Cute’ Rotelo, Sanduen ‘Lek’ Chailert, See Too Hoi Siang Joanna and Theresa Goh.
Accompanying each poem are illustrations done by ten differently abled artists. Apart from three illustrations, the rest were provided in black and white, and colour rendered by Hatch Design, who also assisted in the design and layout of the book.
Olsen hopes to encourage young girls and boys to draw strength from these stories and to know that they can be who they want to be. This book is for the boys as well, who will play a really important role and be there to empower these girls, to respect women and to help bring our world to gender parity.
The book was crowdfunded on Indiegogo.com and managed to raise 125% of the amount needed for the first print run.
You can purchase the book at Kinokuniya Singapore and on euniceolsenmedia.com/book. It is distributed to schools by Closetful of books.
E Book version is available on kindle, Amazon, euniceolsenmedia.com/book and iBooks. The audio book is available on euniceolsenmedia.com/book but will be available on audible in October 2018.
SOAR
SOAR by Shashank Nigam, the CEO of SIMPLIFLYING is a compilation of case studies of the airline business that are captivating and extremely motivating. Shashank Nigam has helped over 75 airlines and airports become remarkable. Born in India and grew up in Singapore, Nigam has lived in inspiring locations including Boston and Kampala. He is currently based in Toronto with his wife and two young kids.
Eight airlines have been featured in this book and Shashank charts their journey through the eyes of the employees.
Read about Southwest’s LUV story, Finnair’s design story, AirAsia’s motivating story of a pilot, Turkish Airlines’ viral advertising and innovative products, kulala’s funniest airline, Singapore Airlines’ Singapore Girl and beyond, Vueling’s act like a startup story or Air New Zealand’s customer experience and the innovative Skycouch .
AirAsia’s CEO Tony Fernandes has always asked his colleagues to believe the unbelievable, dream the impossible and don’t take no for an answer. He has also empowered employees and the AirAsia story in the book shares the story of an ex-political journalist turned route planner. What I found most inspiring was how Kugan Tangilisuran’s story and his eleven tries to become a pilot after first joining AirAsia in 2005 as a 17-year-old dispatch boy in the HR department.
You can purchase the book at S$36.27 + S$17.41 for shipping online or at Amazon.
The Small Luxury Cookbook Volume 3
The Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH), a collection of over 520 hotels in over 80 countries, has launched the third edition of the Small Luxury Cookbook. The cookbook contains 142 recipes of main dishes created by chefs from some of the finest hotels in the world. Many of these recipes have been passed down through generations or are inspired by world-class fine dining curated by international recognised chefs. Over 100 SLH hotels have restaurants that carry Michelin stars or awards of similar global acclaim.
From Maldivian tuna with tropical fruit salsa and slow cooked Greek octopus with aubergine miso to Swiss chard ravioli with scallops and Valencian paella with crayfish and mussels, the array of cuisine and technique of these special recipes offer at-home chefs a taste of luxury. All recipes in the book are accompanied by step by step instructions, as well as alternative suggestions for any hard to source ingredients allowing for a chance to recreate not only the dishes, but holiday memories at home.
SLH has identified some of the biggest culinary insights for this year to coincide with the release of the new cookbook.
- The Racha, an eco-luxury beach resort in Phuket, Thailand, welcomes guests with a cup of Butterfly Pea Flower Tea that is grown locally on the island and infused with organic Thai lime. Butterfly Pea Flower Tea has been around for centuries but is only getting global attention recently. It contains high antioxidant content and health properties that enhances memory and decreases stress.
- We all want unique dining experiences. At Milaidhoo Island Maldives, the resort offers five different curated mood dining menus paired with wellness treatments including special baths, meditation and spa treatments to transport guests into a state of Zen. In Cyprus, Columbia Beach Resort hosts a series of full moon dinners on the beach every summer for their discerning guests.
- Unusual food pairings such as green tea with French cuisine can be found at the ABBA Resorts Izu in Japan whilst The Lalit London offers naan and wine pairings at its restaurant, Baluchi.
- Wellness-led food options are inspired by guests wanting to focus on self-care and restoring balance on holiday. HGU New York serves up a liquid lunch menu made entirely of freshly blended juices whilst the Ovolo Woolloomooloo in Sydney includes a plant-based restaurant featuring dishes such as kimchi dumplings, zucchini lasagna with pistachio pesto or hibiscus strawberry cheesecake.
- Appetite for hyper-local cuisine has been driven by travellers wanting to taste food straight from the source and rediscover ancient and forgotten ingredients. Casa Angelina Lifestyle Hotel on the Amalfi Coast, Italy, has recently introduced two new floral-based cocktails to its bar repertoire, designed to showcase oranges and lemons from the region. El Lodge Ski & Bar in the mountains of Sierra Nevada, Granada, serves Riofrío organic caviar (indigenous to the Andalusian province) at the El Grill restaurant, accompanied by blinis and sour cream. Les Sources de Caudalie in Bordeaux offers a vegetal lunch with dishes including nettle soup and wild daisy or strawberry gazpacho with immortelle flower ice cream.
- Asian Hotpot is becoming increasingly popular all over the world, due in part to the rising interest in convivial dining and bold, spicy flavours. Chef Nguyen Than Hieu and his team at Naman Retreat in central Vietnam have created their own Naman Special Hotpot featuring ingredients such as lemongrass, tofu, seafood and noodles.
The Small Luxury Cookbook can be purchased online for US$52.
Discover the Best Moment of Your Life with Lonely Planet
Lonely Planet’s latest book you should check out is “The Best Moment of Your Life”. Published in August this year, The Best Moment of Your Life is a collection of 100 remarkable travel experiences shared by Lonely Planet writers.
Some of the unique experiences you can read about include:
- High points and adventurous accomplishments: from summiting Yosemite’s Half Dome and cycling 11,000km around the shores of the Mediterranean, to crossing the Gobi desert on foot, and proving to yourself that parenthood won’t curb your adventurous spirit
- Wading into your own history or that of others: including witnessing the first free speech of Nelson Mandela and watching a space shuttle launch
- Experiencing the power and majesty of wildlife: from a captivating encounter with a mountain gorilla to a fleeting glimpse of a snow leopard and a long-awaited tiger sighting
Get inspiration from these travel writers and see the world through their eyes and then go explore these destinations. The 272-page hardback is available at US$22.99 from Lonely Planet.
