A Quest For Mystery

Travel writer Pico Iyer explains why he is most enthralled by places that he cannot quite figure out

- Hong Xinyi

Trust a writer to be attuned to the communicative power of a symbol. At one point during this interview, author Pico Iyer shows me the key card he has been given for his stay at Raffles Singapore as its first writer-‘in-‘residence. Its technological guts are encased in leather, which is embossed with the face of British novelist Somerset Maugham—just one of the many renowned guests to have stayed in the iconic hotel.

“It’s perfect, isn’t it?” Iyer remarks, regarding the key card with distinct pleasure. “This is an emblem of Raffles’ elegant past, and I’m so glad it’s Maugham because he’s been my hero since I was a boy. But it’s also opening the door, literally, to a cool digital future.”