- Hotels are enhancing their guests’ stays with unique experiences and privileged access to create new travel points of view
- Tom Otley takes an art tour in Thailand, while Laura Miserez provides snapshots of the myriad options available around the world.
There’s something mesmerizing about watching a pot being hand-thrown on a wheel. A huge weight of wet clay is fashioned into a ball, thrown hard against the turntable and then, gradually, something more recognizable appears. The clay is centered, opened, drawn upwards to create sides and then trimmed using simple tools, but mostly the hands of the potter. The wheel’s speed is controlled by a foot pedal.
Eventually, a pot, bowl, dish or vase appears, still caked in the dark color of clay. It’s an ancient art – the earliest pots made this way date from thousands of years ago, and modern electric wheels aren’t very different from the ones used millennia ago when a foot kept the wheel spinning. It looks easy when done well, yet if you try it will likely result in a change of clothing.
Perhaps the most astonishing part is watching the artists at work, painting delicate flowers on a large ceramic plate, following patterns sometimes, or on other occasions merely being inspired by a pattern from a book. It’s a high-wire act – the pottery shop is full of “seconds” where the flaw would have to be pointed out to you.
I was watching potters at the Prempracha Collection, one of Thailand’s leading ceramics factories, where people come from far and wide to see the latest designs. The factory employs more than 100 people on premises just outside Chiang Mai and provides tableware for top-end restaurants, local private buyers and tourist gifts for visitors (shipping even the largest items home isn’t a problem).
BY APPOINTMENT ONLY
Denne historien er fra April 2019-utgaven av Business Traveler.
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Denne historien er fra April 2019-utgaven av Business Traveler.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Around the World in 80 Ways - Oneworld releases an Al-powered travel service for extended international voyages
A new generative artificial intelligence (AI) travel agent will leverage Google Cloud to help ambitious travelers easily book international trips with Oneworld member airlines. The alliance’s Round the World fares allow passengers to book up to 16 flights between at least three continents on a globe-spanning trip that lands back home up to a year later.
Fast Company - In a partnership with SpaceX, United is rolling out revolutionary high-speed Wi-Fi on all its flights
United has become the first major U.S. airline to announce a groundbreaking partnership with SpaceX to equip more than 1,000 aircraft with Starlink WiFi. Passengers will soon enjoy high-speed, lowlatency Internet service, enabling seamless gate-to-gate connectivity across domestic and international flights.
Special Sauce - Celebrated chef and entrepreneur Giada De Laurentiis shares her Italian heritage through her television shows, restaurants, cruise partnerships and an exclusive line of curated products
Celebrated chef and entrepreneur Giada De Laurentiis shares her Italian heritage through her television shows, restaurants, cruise partnerships and an exclusive line of curated products
The Censoring of Social Media? - Why legislatures continually try to regulate freedom of expression, and what the courts are doing about it
There seems to be bipartisan agreement that everything from teen suicide rates to poor mental health and more is due to social media. The obvious solution, they believe, is to impose government oversight on how such services can be provided. Congress is considering sweeping social media legislation and a number of states have already enacted such laws.
Golden Age
Porsche celebrates a half-century of its 911 Turbo with a limited-editon model
The Season's Best Underseat Carry-Ons
Bags that make the most of your space while providing carefree convenience
Crystal Palace
Baccarat offers sparkling cocktails in Midtown Manhattan
East Meets West
Chef Cyril Lignac fuses French and Japanese cuisine in the heart of London
Bigger.Better.
American Express relocated and improved its Centurion Lounge at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to address issues with overcrowding and enhance the customer experience
High Style
A nonstop journey from Singapore to Los Angeles in Business Class