Updates and round-ups from across the region

Challenging times call for kindly exchanges

An ever-growing number of professional volunteers are donating their expert services to charities across Singapore. Sarah Porter spoke with Andrew Hooper Nguyen, banker and co-founder of charitable portal The Kind Exchange (www.thekindexchange.com) to find out more

WHAT EXACTLY IS THE KIND EXCHANGE AND HOW DID IT COME ABOUT?

We are a network which matches community groups in need of professional services with experts prepared to volunteer their time. My wife Julie and I sat down in 2007 with a number of like-minded Singapore-based friends and decided that we would like to do something with a community or charity angle. One of the ideas that we came up with was replicating a model that had been applied in Australia called The Good Company, which I was involved with as an occasional volunteer. It took us six months to set everything up and we launched in March of last year. The board come from a reasonably diverse background. It’s a mix of foreigners and Singaporeans.

HOW DOES YOUR WEBSITE WORK?

We aim to create a platform – a clearinghouse – of what we call KindDeeds. Essentially, we match organisations that need volunteer services with people who are able to give them. And because we’re targeting professionals, we seek volunteers who are firstly interested in the area; secondly who have the requisite skills; and thirdly who have the time available. So while there are a lot of people who want to give back and who have the skills, not everyone knows where to volunteer.

The community groups post ‘KindDeeds’ on the site – and we make it known they are up there. Our database of volunteers search the website under the specific categories and see if there is anything that suits them. We have a database of about 300 members and we operate almost exclusively by word of mouth and media opportunities. We have a bi-weekly newsletter for our members.

WHAT ARE YOUR SUCCESS STORIES TO DATE?

We made 35 matches last year, and year-to-date we have made 20. We most recently helped Habitat for Humanity find volunteers to attend a women’s house-building event in Batam. And we found a person to write a fundraising plan for The Jane Goodall Institute.

IN TODAY’S CLIMATE, HOW IMPORTANT IS THE KIND EXCHANGE?

Looking from a demand side, funding for charities is going to be down. We aim to build the capacity of the organisation, rather than replicate what they are doing. We help provide professional services to them to make them better at operating and therefore serving their stakeholders. So for every dollar of services that we provide for free – they don’t have to spend a dollar to get a professional consultant to do it.

On the supply side – a lot of people are not as busy at work and there is also a lot of people soul searching, over the recent year, on what is actually important in life.

WHAT WOULD YOU MOST LIKE OUR READERS TO KNOW?

We’re in desperate need of IT professionals to volunteer their time. Also, you don’t need a work permit to do volunteer work.

Travelling Solo

Business travel tends to be a solo pursuit. But that doesn’t mean travellers should restrict their recreational pursuits. CONNECT set itself the task to find out which hotels in the region best cater to those travelling alone

A recent study by Westin Hotels & Resorts found that 34% of frequent travellers feel lonely away from home. So they launched Unwind… A Westin Evening Ritual, featuring the tastes, sights and sounds of each destination. Unwind events (like chocolate and wine pairings, live jazz and rotating art exhibits) transform each lobby into a gathering spot and encourage guests to socialise. Guests at The Westin Beijing Financial Street (www.starwoodhotels.com), for example, get to experience a candle-lighting ceremony, tai chi and watercolour painting.

Alternatively, the upwardly mobile may wish to bond on the move. At select hotels, RunWESTIN is a complimentary programme offering guided three-mile morning “discovery” runs three days a week. Led by Westin’s Running Concierge, bottled water and towels are provided.

For those desirous of some serious me-time, the ShangriLa’s Far Eastern Plaza Hotel, Taipei has a Wii Fit Exercise Package (from US$286 per night), which includes use of the nifty Nintendo gadget, a bottle of select house wine, wireless broadband access and daily American buffet breakfast.

Over on the mainland, Pudong Shangri-La’s (www.shangrila.com) “Professional Shopping Concierge” is a free three-hour service to guests staying in Grand Tower Horizon Club rooms and suites. Set out on a concierge-accompanied shopping expedition for the best possible bargains and a source of opinion and companionship for those seeking it.

As the setting to Lost in Translation, seriously luxurious Park Hyatt Tokyo (www.parkhyatttokyo.com) is possibly the most famous solo-travel hotel destination in Asia. And deservedly so. There’s no dining-alone intimidation at 52ndfloor New York Grill; counter seats face the open kitchen, allowing for interaction with the chefs, who guarantee to keep guests entertained. One of the few hotel facilities not featured in the film, bicycles are available to rent for cycling around nearby parks, especially popular for visiting Yoyogi Park and Meiji-jingu Shrine.

Calling all flexible jetsetters heading to Thailand: riverside Millennium Hilton Bangkok (www..hilton.com) offers sunrise and sunset yoga classes under the banyan tree next to their Spa terrace – the perfect opportunity for solo travellers to meet likeminded souls. Firmly inflexible? Hilton Hua Hin’s new poolside cinema means guests can swim over to a comfortable spot or settle down on a poolside lounger to enjoy a post-meeting flick.

Probably the city’s smallest restaurant, Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong’s The Krug Room (tel: +852 2825 4014, www.mandarinoriental.com) can open for just one person with 24 hours’ notice. Offering a personalised dinner menu created by Chef Uwe Opocensky (US$ 256+ 10% per person, includes a glass of Krug Grand Cuvee), if you do have guests, the restaurant seats up to 12 diners around a communal table. To accompany the meal, choose from the largest collection of Krug champagnes available outside of France.

HERE TO STAY

Hotel and resort news to write home about across the region

To Beijing first, where Hilton Beijing Wangfujing’s Macanese eatery Vasco’s welcomes new-addition Forest Zhao, the city’s first water master. Zhao introduces diners to the ‘mouth feel’, origins, clarity, taste and brightness of water, as well as recommending food pairings, stemware suggestions and optimum serving temperatures for still and sparkling waters.

“Many people think that all bottled waters taste the same,” says Zhao. “But like fine wine, natural waters come from a unique source; they have terroir, a legend, and often a long history.”

Vasco’s (+86 (0)10 5812 8888) offers over 18 of the world’s best bottled waters, from China, France, Italy, Norway, Germany, Austria and Wales.

Over at Beijing’s hip Opposite House (www.theoppositehouse.com), young Chinese artists are finding a new platform for their art. The current collection features artistic clothing creations in various mediums, from porcelain and grass, to terracotta and PVC. The fashion theme reflects the bolthole’s Sanlitun-district locale, one of Beijing’s premier open-plan shopping destinations.

Sticking to the cultural theme, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Tokyo (www.mandarinoriental.com/tokyo) is promoting the MO Azuma Odori accommodation package, which includes premium seats for the 85th Azuma Odori geisha dance performances at Shinbashi Enbujo Theatre in Ginza. The package also includes a shokado bento lunch prepared by six ryotei restaurants (known for accepting customers primarily by referral only), breakfast and flexible check in/out times. (Available from 29 May to 1 June 2009, starting from US$865.)

Also worth a note, the Mandarin Oriental opened their new Sanya property this January on Hainan, China’s second largest island. Spread over a 12-hectare beachfront site on Coral Bay, the resort’s guest rooms all look over the South China Sea.

In March, Accor took over the management of the 653-room Pullman Shanghai Skyway (www.accorhotels.com) in Lu Wan District. Launched in 2007, Pullman is the hotel group’s upscale brand designed for business travellers.

Back in Tokyo, the 600sqm Club InterContinental – Japan’s largest club lounge – brings a luxurious, business-friendly new space to ANA InterContinental Tokyo (www.anaintercontinental-tokyo.jp/e). After a multi-million dollar renovation, the lounge’s six distinct areas comprise a welcome reception, library, relaxation space, dining room, bar and meeting facility.

Responding to growing levels of interest from guests looking for sustainable hotels that manage their environmental impact, InterContinental Hotels Group, (the world’s largest hotel company by number of rooms) is trialling a new online system called ‘Green Engage’ to help hotel executives better manager energy consumption. Trials have shown potential energy savings of up to 25%, and if fully adopted, it is estimated that savings could reach US$200 million. Green Engage software allows hotels to directly input data on site, then automatically compares hotels of a similar nature, listing a series of actions that each one can take to reduce waste and the consumption of energy and water.

To Thailand, and the Shangri-La Hotel, Bangkok (www.shangrila.com) has unveiled the first phase of a US$60 million redevelopment project which sees the rebirth of their free-form pool, teak-pavilion-chic Salathip Thai restaurant and riverside NEXT2 café. The pool benefited from landscaping treatment by top resort architect Bill Bensley, who added gently sloping edges for sunning in the water.

Across the river, Anantara Hotels, Resorts & Spas (www.anantara.com) will open its first serviced apartments at the end of April.

Anantara Baan Rajprasong’s (www.anantara.com) 97 one- and two-bedroom flats overlook the Royal Bangkok Sports Club’s inner-city golf course, and promise a wood-, glass- and light-filled ambience with indigenous touches. Residential amenities include a fully equipped kitchen, dining area and laundry service. A deli-style restaurant will suit the time poor. Added extras: a fitness centre, swimming pool, landscaped gardens and top-end spa.

Last but not least, Hilton Singapore (www..hilton.com) on Orchard Road has revamped its rooftop swimming pool terrace on Level 24. An oasis in the heart of town, the terrace is all wood and marble, with a pleasing abundance of green foliage. Lounge on the new chaise longues or lap it up in the 12m pool.

Breaking the Fast

For one of the most creative hotel breakfasts there is, head to Le Méridien, writes Georgia Reeve Michelin-starred chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s new Signature Breakfast menu has started to roll out across Asia-Pacific Le Méridien properties. Begin with one of its eight eye-opening elixirs – a fruit juice hit in a slim shot glass – and follow up with an aromatic illycaffé, the premium coffee brand. Vongerichten’s trick is to take a classic breakfast item then cunningly reinterpret it. Smoked Salmon Silken Tofu Crunchy Bagel or Espresso Steamed Eggs, anyone? Incredibly, these are not à la carte specialities, but served in regular buffet style.