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Straits Times
16-07-2025
- Straits Times
Coffee Meets Bagel's Singpass check: Why I'll swipe right on that
Find out what's new on ST website and app. On June 9, Coffee Meets Bagel started using Singpass authentication to verify its local users. I knew I would probably have to kiss many frogs before I found my prince, but I did not expect to have to scrutinise if the frogs were real in the first place. Roland looked and sounded like a dream – 39 years old, a corporate lawyer with a start-up on the side, pictures of him in a fancy car and at a yacht party enjoying cocktails, and a bio so polished it could have been written by a branding consultant. But the scripted perfection felt off. In our text conversations, his responses were stilted and unnatural. His favourite food was chicken rice, and his favourite place to catch a sunset was at Marina Bay Sands. His poison of choice at a bar? The Singapore Sling. In the four days I chatted with him, every day on the dot at noon, he would ask if I had eaten. Every night at 10.30pm, I would get a good night message wishing me sweet dreams. Days later, his profile was quietly deleted. Had I been romanced by an artificial intelligence-generated Romeo? I would never know – but I had a strong suspicion that I was. Profiles like Roland's are becoming more common – and more deceptive. With the rise of generative AI, it is no longer far-fetched to wonder if I am flirting with a bot. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Over 600 Telegram groups in Singapore selling, advertising vapes removed by HSA Singapore 2 weeks' jail for man caught smuggling over 1,800 vapes and pods into Singapore Singapore Jail for man who fatally hit his daughter, 2, while driving van without licence Sport 'Like being in a washing machine with 40 deg C water': Open water swimmers brave challenging conditions Singapore Primary 1 registration: 38 primary schools to conduct ballot in Phase 2A Singapore ComfortDelGro to introduce new taxi cancellation, waiting fee policy Business Cathay Cineplexes gets fresh demands to pay up $3.3m debt for Century Square, Causeway Point outlets Singapore Countering misinformation requires both laws and access to trusted news sources: Josephine Teo One dating app has moved to stamp out fake dating profiles. On June 9, Coffee Meets Bagel (CMB) started using Singpass authentication to verify its local users. The one-time verification process involves the CMB app retrieving users' NRIC number or Foreign Identification Number, date of birth, marital status and gender from government records. With Singpass verification, users like me gain rare certainty in a world of fakes: that the person I'm chatting with is who they say they are – not married, not lying about their age, and not some bot. That can only rebuild trust in an increasingly complex digital world, where tricksters with nefarious purposes have more advanced tools to obfuscate their identities. A Bloomberg story in 2024 found that fraudsters are using AI tools such as ChatGPT and Google Gemini to create fake dating profiles. In recent times, it is also becoming increasingly common to see profiles with pictures that are either a little too perfectly edited or look AI-generated. I hesitate to swipe on such profiles – I am not sure if someone is leveraging AI to bolster their attractiveness; or if a scammer or bot is behind such accounts. Even without AI, fake and misleading accounts have been a problem on dating apps. When I first downloaded dating apps three years ago after I was fresh out of a decade-long relationship, I was ready for awkward first dates, rejection and even ghosting. Instead, I found married men with blurred profile pictures looking for a one-night stand, scammers impersonating popular local influencers, and supposed rich Chinese businessmen a little too eager to promote their investments. My friend was shattered when she eventually discovered that a man she had been seeing from a dating app for three months was in fact six years older than he claimed, and was married. A YouGov survey published in February 2024 found that three-quarters of Singaporeans have never used a dating app before. When asked why, 27 per cent said that they were concerned about fake or misleading dating app profiles. Apart from CMB, other major dating apps commonly used in Singapore have some way to go towards addressing this concern. OkCupid, Hinge and Tinder will match a user's recorded video selfies along with their profile pictures. But this only proves a person's identity, and does not verify age or marital status. As at June 10, Bumble has allowed for identity verification with Government-issued IDs in Singapore, but the move is optional. In contrast, CMB users who choose not to verify their identities with Singpass authentication risk losing out on connections because verified users have the option to filter out unverified profiles. This elevates CMB above its competitors, further bolstering its reputation as a dating app for those looking for a serious relationship. The benefits of CMB's move go beyond restoring trust and confidence in dating apps. More crucially, it helps to promote safety. CMB's head of trust and safety Rachel Tee previously told ST that with government-backed verification, the platform will be able to significantly reduce the number of scam profiles that require manual moderation. This means that CMB will have more bandwidth to deal with more serious cases such as harassment, inappropriate messages or even offline misconduct. I have heard many anecdotal accounts from friends who have received unsolicited nude images from people they met on dating apps. Another had to deal with constant calls and messages from a man who could not handle rejection. There are also more serious cases that have gone before the courts. In August 2024, 25 year-old Terrell See was jailed for threatening to distribute intimate videos of a woman he had received while they were chatting on a dating app. In November 2022, 25-year-old Sim Bing Rui was handed a jail term after he threatened to distribute explicit content of a teenager , after he created a fictitious persona on OkCupid and used it to trick her into engaging in a sex act with him. In cases of offline misconduct, victims may not have crucial information about their perpetrator, like their full name or NRIC, especially if they are meeting for a first date. With such information, CMB will be able to assist the police in their investigations. While some users may find the move excessive and have legitimate privacy concerns, they should keep in mind that the application is asking for four fields of basic information. CMB does not have access to all information about a person in government records, including address, educational qualification, or income level. This is a good balance struck between ensuring user safety and maintaining privacy. Of course, the platform must also do its part to ensure data privacy and cyber security to guard against data leaks. CMB's Ms Tee said the company employs robust cyber security measures and partners with cloud computing service Amazon Web Services to ensure that all information is stored within a secure, encrypted infrastructure. In an era when deception is easier than ever, holding users accountable is not just helpful – it is essential. For that alone, Singpass verification is a green flag. 10/10, I'd swipe right.
Tatler Asia
30-05-2025
- Tatler Asia
Retro-Luxe Hotels: 9 glamorous stays that bring back vintage style
One of the world's most iconic retro-luxe hotels, Raffles Singapore, opened 1887, is a time capsule of colonial splendour. Its 1899 neo-Renaissance main building by Regent Alfred John Bidwell featured then-modern powered ceiling fans. The architecture showcases whitewashed walls, polished teak verandahs, marble colonnades, and palm-filled courtyards. Interiors epitomise the Raffles Singapore style: teakwood floors, 14-ft ceilings, mahogany furniture, and Victorian-detailed bathrooms with Peranakan tiles. The legendary Long Bar, restored by interior designer Alexandra Champalimaud and her team at the global design team Aedas, retains its plantation style with palm-shaped ceiling fans and monochrome rattan chairs, offering a taste of historic Singapore luxury. Order the original Singapore Sling, invented here in 1915, and toast to history. Also read: 6 Icons not to miss at Raffles Hotel Singapore, including the Singapore Sling and Long Bar's peanut littering traditio n 2. Hotel Esencia (Tulum, Mexico): a barefoot-luxury hotel with mid-century soul Once the seaside retreat of an Italian duchess on a majestic 50-acre estate, Hotel Esencia offers a masterclass in barefoot luxury with a retro soul in Tulum. Tucked between jungle and sea, its hacienda-style architecture features traditional archways, with the Main House as its historical centerpiece. The design—think Mad Men meets Peggy Guggenheim—curated by owner Kevin Wendle, blends mid-century treasures with Mexican antiques against breezy white concrete interiors accented by bright primary colours, capturing 1950s jet-set nostalgia. Studio Giancarlo Valle incorporated organic forms and traditional Mexican craft, from Guadalajara tiles and Oaxaca rugs to locally carved wood furniture. Designer pieces like Charlotte Perriand chairs and Picasso ceramics enhance this unique Mexican getaway. The spa's carved stone tub evokes ancient Mayan rituals even as hidden speakers provide the soundtrack, perfecting this retro-luxe Tulum experience. 3. The Siren Hotel (Detroit, USA)— a restored Wurlitzer building with vintage Detroit glamour Inside a lovingly restored 1926 Wurlitzer building designed by Robert Finn in Italian Renaissance Revival style, The Siren Hotel in Detroit is a love letter to faded grandeur and new-world creativity. ASH NYC and Quinn Evans Architects preserved original travertine floors and plaster ceiling details, informing the lobby's antiques and mossy green walls. Bold, jewel-toned spaces feature a palette of soft whites, pale pinks, and deep oxblood, with guest rooms in muted pink and burgundy. Art Deco influences shine in its design, with Art Nouveau styled sirens at the entrance. Velvet seating, including pink banquettes in the Candy Bar with its sparkling chandelier, and custom terrazzo bathroom tiles, conjure old-Hollywood energy. This historic Detroit hotel even features an in-house barbershop reminiscent of a Wes Anderson set piece, making for a truly vintage-inspired stay. 4. Hotel Locarno (Rome, Italy)—Art Deco charm in a historic Roman hotel A favourite of artists (like the legendary filmmaker Federico Fellini) since the 1920s, Hotel Locarno in Rome drips with Roman romanticism and Art Deco charm. Its 1925 main building and annexed 1905 palazzo showcase oil paintings, parquet floors, and embellished ceiling stuccoes. Each uniquely decorated room in this historic Rome hotel features antique fixtures, lavish draperies and luxurious tapestries. Suites like the Venezia boast Art Nouveau-inspired coffered ceilings with gilded mouldings and marble terrazzo floors, while the Bellevie suite offers a forest green marble bathroom with a 1920s dressing table. An art-nouveau birdcage elevator, tasseled keys, and vintage bicycles available at the entrance complete the 1920s glamour. The rooftop bar provides aperitivo with a cinematic backdrop, perfect for a glamourous Rome experience. 5. Le Grand Mazarin (Paris, France)—Parisian Elegance with Rococo Revival style Designed by Martin Brudnizki in Le Marais, this theatrical Parisian hideaway, Le Grand Mazarin, revisits French classicism with a modern, whimsical twist, inspired by aristocratic literary salons. It's a riot of rococo revival, where pastel velvets from Maison Pierre Frey and Belle Époque-style chandeliers by Maison Lucien Gau meet fine lacquered paneling. Collaborations with esteemed French craft houses like Henryot & Cie for furniture and Ateliers Gohard for Boubalé restaurant's gilded ceiling ensure authenticity in this luxury Marais hotel. The feel of being in a collector's home is enhanced by bespoke pieces, flea market finds and over 500 artworks, with a hand-painted pool ceiling by Jacques Merle. And while retro glamour runs deep, the service and spa are refreshingly 21st century. 6. The Colony Hotel (Palm Beach, Florida)—vintage Americana and Palm Beach chic come together A candy-coloured gem of old Palm Beach society since 1947, The Colony Hotel embodies cheeky glamour and vintage Americana. Its iconic 'Colony pink' exterior and 'Brazilliance' banana-leaf wallpaper were Carleton Varney additions in 2014. Redesigns by Kemble Interiors feature custom de Gournay monkey wallpaper, scalloped headboards in Schumacher fabric, and rattan armoires by Society Social, defining Palm Beach chic. The lobby shines with Art Deco chandeliers, while velvet, bamboo and wicker abound. The poolside, with its vibrant umbrellas (likely scalloped and pink) and cabanas with Matouk linens, evokes a Slim Aarons world, perfect for a retro Florida getaway. It's his world—and you're just sipping rosé in it. 7. The Hoxton (Brussels, Belgium)—70s design in a Brutalist Brussels hotel Housed in the 1970s Brutalist Victoria Building, The Hoxton, Brussels, softens its imposing structure with retro design by AIME Studios. The vibe is disco-era-Brussel- meets-Brooklyn-loft, blending 70s charm with art-filled modernity. Warm wood finishes and sleek wooden furniture pair with terrazzo and parquet bedroom floors. The lobby features geometric patterns, bold terracotta and burnt orange velvet, dark-wood paneling, and visible raw concrete pillars. Rooms in this unique Brussels hotel boast striped headboards, graphic rugs, curved lamps and Roberts radios. Bathrooms offer a pastel palette with primary colour accents, and bespoke murals add local artistic flair, creating a truly retro-luxe Brussels stay. 8. Château Voltaire (Paris, France)—Parisian decadence in a fashionable boutique hotel An ode to layered Parisian decadence in a 17th-century townhouse, Château Voltaire combines smoky mirrors (implied by its sultry bar) and rich textures (like fringed velvet). Conceived by Thierry Gillier of Zadig & Voltaire with Franck Durand and Festen Architecture, this boutique hotel in Paris mixes mid-century and baroque references with a 1940s-inspired deep-pile black carpet. Expect velvet sofas, velvets in ochre and navy, aged brass, encaustic tiles, creamy plaster walls, handmade glazed ceramic tiles and sultry marble. Bespoke headboards, solid oak wall lights, cubist canvases and custom Art Deco lighting create a sophisticated escape worthy of a Godard heroine, offering a unique taste of Parisian cool design. 9. Grand Hotel Tremezzo (Lake Como, Italy)—Art Nouveau palace with lakeside glamour Perched regally on Lake Como's edge since 1910, Grand Hotel Tremezzo is an Art Nouveau palace that delivers ultimate retro luxury, evoking early 20th-century European high society. Imagine candy-striped loungers—a fitting image for its glamorous pools—a stunning floating water-on-the-water pool on the lake, plus the charming Flowers Pool and an indoor-outdoor infinity pool. Interiors of this historic Italian hotel feature gilded salons, frescoed ceilings (notably in Villa Emilia spa with its original mosaics), plush red velvet furniture and silk wallpaper. Every corridor is an Instagram post waiting to happen. Credits This article was created with the assistance of AI tools
New Indian Express
27-05-2025
- Lifestyle
- New Indian Express
Aspidistra: A low-light gem to enhance the aesthetics
If you're looking to enhance your indoor greenery with a low-maintenance, visually appealing plant, the Aspidistra might just be your perfect match. Known for its resilience and striking foliage, the Aspidistra is gaining popularity among green thumbs for its ability to thrive in challenging indoor environments. Ideal growing conditions One of the Aspidistra's greatest strengths is its adaptability. It grows well in medium to low light, making it suitable for homes or offices with limited sunlight. It requires moderate watering and does well in a standard soil mix. It prefers moderate to warm temperatures and thrives with an average amount of fertiliser. Recommended variety Among the various species, Aspidistra yingjiangensis, particularly the 'Singapore Sling' variety, stands out for its superior performance in low-light conditions. With broad, elegant leaves, it brings a sophisticated charm to any space and is easier to maintain than other ornamental plants. Aesthetic value Aspidistra adds a touch of greenery without overwhelming the setting. Its lush foliage and structured form make it a favourite for interior stylists and urban gardeners. Availability and challenges Despite its advantages, Aspidistra remains relatively rare in Indian markets. Finding a healthy specimen might require some effort or specialist nursery searches, as it has yet to become mainstream in local gardening circles. Propagation made simple Propagation is straightforward — just divide an existing plant and repot the sections. This method ensures the new plants retain the robust qualities of the parent. Styling tip To enhance its vertical appearance, gather the plant's long, hardy leaves and tie them gently around a slender wooden stick. This can make the plant look taller and more structured, adding elegance to its natural form. Whether you're a seasoned gardener or just beginning to green your indoor space, Aspidistra is a reliable and stylish choice worth considering.
South Wales Argus
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- South Wales Argus
Pad at Celtic Manor Resort: Larkin Cen's stunning menu
Set in the airy conservatory at the Manor House at the resort, Pad offers a relaxed atmosphere, friendly and helpful staff, and a culinary experience you have got to try if Asian food is your thing – or even its not. We were even lucky enough to get to chat to the chef to find out about more about his concept for the menu and his delight at being back at the Celtic Manor. Starting the evening with a couple of signature cocktails, including a fruity Singapore Sling, we sat is the big bay window of the bar and watched the world go by – which this particular evening meant watching guests gather in black tie and some fantastic gowns for event at the ICC Wales. We decided to go for the Imperial tasing menu option (£48 pp) which was packed with delights including Korean Pork Belly Bites, Roasted Duck Massaman and a Whole Seabass with Soy Dressing and Herb Salad. (Image: Jo Barnes) (Image: Jo Barnes) (Image: Jo Barnes) Kicking off with Shrimp Crackers we knew we were in for a treat – each dish was just bursting with flavour. The tasting menu is designed to share and made for a wonderfully social meal as we dipped in and out of the bowls with our chopsticks (not in any way expertly but we managed). To accompany the food we asked for a bottle of sparkling water and were delighted to be offered a range of options to flavour the water – these included a slice of root ginger or lemon grass among others. The ginger added an extra dimension giving the water just a slight hint of the taste – I may well be trying this at home. We also decided on a bottle of Hutton Ridge Shiraz from South Africa which turned out to be the perfect choice – delicious but not too heavy to drown out any of the delicate flavours coming from each of the dishes. Tasting menu done, it would have been rude not to sample a dessert. The Mochi Selection (£8.50) included Coconut, Passion fruit and Mango, and Strawberry and Cream, was yummy. (Image: Jo Barnes) (Image: Jo Barnes) The Passion Fruit Panna Cotta (£7.50) with Mango lassi was a revelation and beautifully presented. The menu also offers small plates, bao and dumpling options, larger dishes including steak and a selection of Asian curries and wok dishes. To find out more and to book go to the Celtic Manor website.
The Advertiser
16-05-2025
- The Advertiser
The ultimate Indian Ocean island showdown: the Maldives v the Seychelles
By Mal Chenu It's not often reality says "Screw you, filters, retouching and HDR. We don't need you for our pics." Not just any old beaches some influencer blue-washes to turn heads (and a quid), the Seychelles and the Maldives are already picture-perfect Indian Ocean idylls with endless seascapes, occasional landscapes and coral reefs so clear and brightly coloured they make QLED TV technology look like early celluloid. But if you have to choose one, without the "benefit" of an influencer's profundity and online editing, the Maldives should be your first resort. The accommodation here is all about opulent hotels - think luxury, then think of a word that means more luxurious than luxury, then double it, and you're still not luxurious enough. Every hotel chain celebrated for seamless spoiling with a soupcon of sycophancy has staked a sunny, sandy, cerulean spot in the Maldives. Every company that sneers at five-star ratings as mere entry level is here - Ritz-Carlton, Como, St Regis, Six Senses, Four Seasons, Waldorf Astoria, One&Only and dozens more. There's even a Raffles, which offers a mesmerising and entirely appropriate coconut iteration of its famous Singapore Sling to accompany the impossibly gorgeous sunsets. And most of the Maldives' overwater bungalows and water's edge suites are just a seashell's skip away from an oversized bathtub with lagoon views, private pool, sumptuous day spa and fine-dining restaurants. The Maldives' average natural elevation is 1.5 metres above sea level, stretching up to a giddying natural high point of 2.4 metres. Mount Villingili looms above you at an altitude of 5.1 metres, and you can make the ascent in thongs and without oxygen, before posing for a triumphant photo at the summit. The Maldives may not offer drone's-eye-view panoramas, but it is the consummate romantic getaway, especially for acrophobic couples. It also tops the list of places to see while you still can. Much of the country is expected to sink beneath the waves within a century, so you'd better hurry if you want to beat the tide. It's ironic that a paradise endangered by global warming is all about chilling, but this is the Maldivian lure. Dewy-eyed couples can take a break between relaxing and unwinding for a massage, and then don their freshly pressed white linen outfits for dinner and an unfiltered Insta post about foie gras, Veuve Clicquot and languid lagoon life. Amy will try to tell you the Seychelles is the superior utopia, but just getting there involves making more connections than a job seeker on LinkedIn. She can sell Seychelles by the seashore as much as she likes, but this Mal is a Maldives man, and not just because I can scale a mountain before the ice in my cocktail melts. By Amy Cooper The problem with humans is that we can have too much of a good thing. Even when that good thing is a picture-perfect, sundrenched Indian Ocean island idyll. Just ask Tom Hanks and Wilson the volleyball, or the kids in Lord of the Flies. Or my friends, a couple who fell out so ferociously during their romantic Maldives sojourn they weaponised their swizzle sticks. Paradise with no escape route can only end one way: a descent into savagery. Which is why I hope Mal dives in the Maldives, because SCUBA may be all that stands between him and that scene from The Beach where a raving troppo Leo DiCaprio starts swallowing caterpillars. In the Maldives, you're shipped out to your isolated one-island-one-resort situation and there you remain, on a flat sandy circle devoid of topography, local community or businesses, entirely dependent upon your gilded bubble for sustenance that's served with a monopoly-enabled mark-up. Luxurious, sure, but a trap nonetheless. Like Alcatraz, except with floating breakfast trays. In the Seychelles, you're gloriously free to roam an entire country of 115 islands, through landscapes dramatic with curves and character: misty mountains rising from the jungle; secret coves; rainforests alive with exotic birds and rare orchids. People come just to gaze at the scattered, stacked and strangely sculptural giant granite boulders on the beaches of the inner Seychelles - the world's only granitic oceanic islands. Instead of wondering which of your fellow castaways will crack first, you'll be meeting Seychelles locals, immersing in their rich cultural blend of African, European and Asian as you hop between islands like Mahe, Praslin and La Digue, choosing from swanky resorts, family-run guesthouses, eco-lodges or self-catering set-ups. Even if you fly and flop, there's minimal risk of monotony. Mahe alone has 25-plus beaches, ranging from big Beau Vallon with its street food stalls, water sports and epic sunset viewing to surfy Anse Louis and restaurant-dotted Anse Royale. In Mahe's capital, Victoria, you can eat Creole curries in colonial mansions; inhale Indian, Chinese and African spice aromas amid the bustle of Sir Selwyn Clarke Market; and take a tot at Takamaka Rum Distillery, on an 18th-century estate with two resident giant Aldabra tortoises. I defy even a teen with a two-minute attention span to tire of the Seychelles. Sea kayaking on Cerf, biking through villages on La Digue or spotting wildlife wonders like rare brown boobies (stop giggling at the back Mal, or you'll be denied parole from the Maldives) in the pristine outer atolls - all these await. When you fly home, look out for the Maldives down below. You might spot someone spelling out the word "help", in expensive beer bottles on a small, flat, remote and exclusive beach. By Mal Chenu It's not often reality says "Screw you, filters, retouching and HDR. We don't need you for our pics." Not just any old beaches some influencer blue-washes to turn heads (and a quid), the Seychelles and the Maldives are already picture-perfect Indian Ocean idylls with endless seascapes, occasional landscapes and coral reefs so clear and brightly coloured they make QLED TV technology look like early celluloid. But if you have to choose one, without the "benefit" of an influencer's profundity and online editing, the Maldives should be your first resort. The accommodation here is all about opulent hotels - think luxury, then think of a word that means more luxurious than luxury, then double it, and you're still not luxurious enough. Every hotel chain celebrated for seamless spoiling with a soupcon of sycophancy has staked a sunny, sandy, cerulean spot in the Maldives. Every company that sneers at five-star ratings as mere entry level is here - Ritz-Carlton, Como, St Regis, Six Senses, Four Seasons, Waldorf Astoria, One&Only and dozens more. There's even a Raffles, which offers a mesmerising and entirely appropriate coconut iteration of its famous Singapore Sling to accompany the impossibly gorgeous sunsets. And most of the Maldives' overwater bungalows and water's edge suites are just a seashell's skip away from an oversized bathtub with lagoon views, private pool, sumptuous day spa and fine-dining restaurants. The Maldives' average natural elevation is 1.5 metres above sea level, stretching up to a giddying natural high point of 2.4 metres. Mount Villingili looms above you at an altitude of 5.1 metres, and you can make the ascent in thongs and without oxygen, before posing for a triumphant photo at the summit. The Maldives may not offer drone's-eye-view panoramas, but it is the consummate romantic getaway, especially for acrophobic couples. It also tops the list of places to see while you still can. Much of the country is expected to sink beneath the waves within a century, so you'd better hurry if you want to beat the tide. It's ironic that a paradise endangered by global warming is all about chilling, but this is the Maldivian lure. Dewy-eyed couples can take a break between relaxing and unwinding for a massage, and then don their freshly pressed white linen outfits for dinner and an unfiltered Insta post about foie gras, Veuve Clicquot and languid lagoon life. Amy will try to tell you the Seychelles is the superior utopia, but just getting there involves making more connections than a job seeker on LinkedIn. She can sell Seychelles by the seashore as much as she likes, but this Mal is a Maldives man, and not just because I can scale a mountain before the ice in my cocktail melts. By Amy Cooper The problem with humans is that we can have too much of a good thing. Even when that good thing is a picture-perfect, sundrenched Indian Ocean island idyll. Just ask Tom Hanks and Wilson the volleyball, or the kids in Lord of the Flies. Or my friends, a couple who fell out so ferociously during their romantic Maldives sojourn they weaponised their swizzle sticks. Paradise with no escape route can only end one way: a descent into savagery. Which is why I hope Mal dives in the Maldives, because SCUBA may be all that stands between him and that scene from The Beach where a raving troppo Leo DiCaprio starts swallowing caterpillars. In the Maldives, you're shipped out to your isolated one-island-one-resort situation and there you remain, on a flat sandy circle devoid of topography, local community or businesses, entirely dependent upon your gilded bubble for sustenance that's served with a monopoly-enabled mark-up. Luxurious, sure, but a trap nonetheless. Like Alcatraz, except with floating breakfast trays. In the Seychelles, you're gloriously free to roam an entire country of 115 islands, through landscapes dramatic with curves and character: misty mountains rising from the jungle; secret coves; rainforests alive with exotic birds and rare orchids. People come just to gaze at the scattered, stacked and strangely sculptural giant granite boulders on the beaches of the inner Seychelles - the world's only granitic oceanic islands. Instead of wondering which of your fellow castaways will crack first, you'll be meeting Seychelles locals, immersing in their rich cultural blend of African, European and Asian as you hop between islands like Mahe, Praslin and La Digue, choosing from swanky resorts, family-run guesthouses, eco-lodges or self-catering set-ups. Even if you fly and flop, there's minimal risk of monotony. Mahe alone has 25-plus beaches, ranging from big Beau Vallon with its street food stalls, water sports and epic sunset viewing to surfy Anse Louis and restaurant-dotted Anse Royale. In Mahe's capital, Victoria, you can eat Creole curries in colonial mansions; inhale Indian, Chinese and African spice aromas amid the bustle of Sir Selwyn Clarke Market; and take a tot at Takamaka Rum Distillery, on an 18th-century estate with two resident giant Aldabra tortoises. I defy even a teen with a two-minute attention span to tire of the Seychelles. Sea kayaking on Cerf, biking through villages on La Digue or spotting wildlife wonders like rare brown boobies (stop giggling at the back Mal, or you'll be denied parole from the Maldives) in the pristine outer atolls - all these await. When you fly home, look out for the Maldives down below. You might spot someone spelling out the word "help", in expensive beer bottles on a small, flat, remote and exclusive beach. By Mal Chenu It's not often reality says "Screw you, filters, retouching and HDR. We don't need you for our pics." Not just any old beaches some influencer blue-washes to turn heads (and a quid), the Seychelles and the Maldives are already picture-perfect Indian Ocean idylls with endless seascapes, occasional landscapes and coral reefs so clear and brightly coloured they make QLED TV technology look like early celluloid. But if you have to choose one, without the "benefit" of an influencer's profundity and online editing, the Maldives should be your first resort. The accommodation here is all about opulent hotels - think luxury, then think of a word that means more luxurious than luxury, then double it, and you're still not luxurious enough. Every hotel chain celebrated for seamless spoiling with a soupcon of sycophancy has staked a sunny, sandy, cerulean spot in the Maldives. Every company that sneers at five-star ratings as mere entry level is here - Ritz-Carlton, Como, St Regis, Six Senses, Four Seasons, Waldorf Astoria, One&Only and dozens more. There's even a Raffles, which offers a mesmerising and entirely appropriate coconut iteration of its famous Singapore Sling to accompany the impossibly gorgeous sunsets. And most of the Maldives' overwater bungalows and water's edge suites are just a seashell's skip away from an oversized bathtub with lagoon views, private pool, sumptuous day spa and fine-dining restaurants. The Maldives' average natural elevation is 1.5 metres above sea level, stretching up to a giddying natural high point of 2.4 metres. Mount Villingili looms above you at an altitude of 5.1 metres, and you can make the ascent in thongs and without oxygen, before posing for a triumphant photo at the summit. The Maldives may not offer drone's-eye-view panoramas, but it is the consummate romantic getaway, especially for acrophobic couples. It also tops the list of places to see while you still can. Much of the country is expected to sink beneath the waves within a century, so you'd better hurry if you want to beat the tide. It's ironic that a paradise endangered by global warming is all about chilling, but this is the Maldivian lure. Dewy-eyed couples can take a break between relaxing and unwinding for a massage, and then don their freshly pressed white linen outfits for dinner and an unfiltered Insta post about foie gras, Veuve Clicquot and languid lagoon life. Amy will try to tell you the Seychelles is the superior utopia, but just getting there involves making more connections than a job seeker on LinkedIn. She can sell Seychelles by the seashore as much as she likes, but this Mal is a Maldives man, and not just because I can scale a mountain before the ice in my cocktail melts. By Amy Cooper The problem with humans is that we can have too much of a good thing. Even when that good thing is a picture-perfect, sundrenched Indian Ocean island idyll. Just ask Tom Hanks and Wilson the volleyball, or the kids in Lord of the Flies. Or my friends, a couple who fell out so ferociously during their romantic Maldives sojourn they weaponised their swizzle sticks. Paradise with no escape route can only end one way: a descent into savagery. Which is why I hope Mal dives in the Maldives, because SCUBA may be all that stands between him and that scene from The Beach where a raving troppo Leo DiCaprio starts swallowing caterpillars. In the Maldives, you're shipped out to your isolated one-island-one-resort situation and there you remain, on a flat sandy circle devoid of topography, local community or businesses, entirely dependent upon your gilded bubble for sustenance that's served with a monopoly-enabled mark-up. Luxurious, sure, but a trap nonetheless. Like Alcatraz, except with floating breakfast trays. In the Seychelles, you're gloriously free to roam an entire country of 115 islands, through landscapes dramatic with curves and character: misty mountains rising from the jungle; secret coves; rainforests alive with exotic birds and rare orchids. People come just to gaze at the scattered, stacked and strangely sculptural giant granite boulders on the beaches of the inner Seychelles - the world's only granitic oceanic islands. Instead of wondering which of your fellow castaways will crack first, you'll be meeting Seychelles locals, immersing in their rich cultural blend of African, European and Asian as you hop between islands like Mahe, Praslin and La Digue, choosing from swanky resorts, family-run guesthouses, eco-lodges or self-catering set-ups. Even if you fly and flop, there's minimal risk of monotony. Mahe alone has 25-plus beaches, ranging from big Beau Vallon with its street food stalls, water sports and epic sunset viewing to surfy Anse Louis and restaurant-dotted Anse Royale. In Mahe's capital, Victoria, you can eat Creole curries in colonial mansions; inhale Indian, Chinese and African spice aromas amid the bustle of Sir Selwyn Clarke Market; and take a tot at Takamaka Rum Distillery, on an 18th-century estate with two resident giant Aldabra tortoises. I defy even a teen with a two-minute attention span to tire of the Seychelles. Sea kayaking on Cerf, biking through villages on La Digue or spotting wildlife wonders like rare brown boobies (stop giggling at the back Mal, or you'll be denied parole from the Maldives) in the pristine outer atolls - all these await. When you fly home, look out for the Maldives down below. You might spot someone spelling out the word "help", in expensive beer bottles on a small, flat, remote and exclusive beach. By Mal Chenu It's not often reality says "Screw you, filters, retouching and HDR. We don't need you for our pics." Not just any old beaches some influencer blue-washes to turn heads (and a quid), the Seychelles and the Maldives are already picture-perfect Indian Ocean idylls with endless seascapes, occasional landscapes and coral reefs so clear and brightly coloured they make QLED TV technology look like early celluloid. But if you have to choose one, without the "benefit" of an influencer's profundity and online editing, the Maldives should be your first resort. The accommodation here is all about opulent hotels - think luxury, then think of a word that means more luxurious than luxury, then double it, and you're still not luxurious enough. Every hotel chain celebrated for seamless spoiling with a soupcon of sycophancy has staked a sunny, sandy, cerulean spot in the Maldives. Every company that sneers at five-star ratings as mere entry level is here - Ritz-Carlton, Como, St Regis, Six Senses, Four Seasons, Waldorf Astoria, One&Only and dozens more. There's even a Raffles, which offers a mesmerising and entirely appropriate coconut iteration of its famous Singapore Sling to accompany the impossibly gorgeous sunsets. And most of the Maldives' overwater bungalows and water's edge suites are just a seashell's skip away from an oversized bathtub with lagoon views, private pool, sumptuous day spa and fine-dining restaurants. The Maldives' average natural elevation is 1.5 metres above sea level, stretching up to a giddying natural high point of 2.4 metres. Mount Villingili looms above you at an altitude of 5.1 metres, and you can make the ascent in thongs and without oxygen, before posing for a triumphant photo at the summit. The Maldives may not offer drone's-eye-view panoramas, but it is the consummate romantic getaway, especially for acrophobic couples. It also tops the list of places to see while you still can. Much of the country is expected to sink beneath the waves within a century, so you'd better hurry if you want to beat the tide. It's ironic that a paradise endangered by global warming is all about chilling, but this is the Maldivian lure. Dewy-eyed couples can take a break between relaxing and unwinding for a massage, and then don their freshly pressed white linen outfits for dinner and an unfiltered Insta post about foie gras, Veuve Clicquot and languid lagoon life. Amy will try to tell you the Seychelles is the superior utopia, but just getting there involves making more connections than a job seeker on LinkedIn. She can sell Seychelles by the seashore as much as she likes, but this Mal is a Maldives man, and not just because I can scale a mountain before the ice in my cocktail melts. By Amy Cooper The problem with humans is that we can have too much of a good thing. Even when that good thing is a picture-perfect, sundrenched Indian Ocean island idyll. Just ask Tom Hanks and Wilson the volleyball, or the kids in Lord of the Flies. Or my friends, a couple who fell out so ferociously during their romantic Maldives sojourn they weaponised their swizzle sticks. Paradise with no escape route can only end one way: a descent into savagery. Which is why I hope Mal dives in the Maldives, because SCUBA may be all that stands between him and that scene from The Beach where a raving troppo Leo DiCaprio starts swallowing caterpillars. In the Maldives, you're shipped out to your isolated one-island-one-resort situation and there you remain, on a flat sandy circle devoid of topography, local community or businesses, entirely dependent upon your gilded bubble for sustenance that's served with a monopoly-enabled mark-up. Luxurious, sure, but a trap nonetheless. Like Alcatraz, except with floating breakfast trays. In the Seychelles, you're gloriously free to roam an entire country of 115 islands, through landscapes dramatic with curves and character: misty mountains rising from the jungle; secret coves; rainforests alive with exotic birds and rare orchids. People come just to gaze at the scattered, stacked and strangely sculptural giant granite boulders on the beaches of the inner Seychelles - the world's only granitic oceanic islands. Instead of wondering which of your fellow castaways will crack first, you'll be meeting Seychelles locals, immersing in their rich cultural blend of African, European and Asian as you hop between islands like Mahe, Praslin and La Digue, choosing from swanky resorts, family-run guesthouses, eco-lodges or self-catering set-ups. Even if you fly and flop, there's minimal risk of monotony. Mahe alone has 25-plus beaches, ranging from big Beau Vallon with its street food stalls, water sports and epic sunset viewing to surfy Anse Louis and restaurant-dotted Anse Royale. In Mahe's capital, Victoria, you can eat Creole curries in colonial mansions; inhale Indian, Chinese and African spice aromas amid the bustle of Sir Selwyn Clarke Market; and take a tot at Takamaka Rum Distillery, on an 18th-century estate with two resident giant Aldabra tortoises. I defy even a teen with a two-minute attention span to tire of the Seychelles. Sea kayaking on Cerf, biking through villages on La Digue or spotting wildlife wonders like rare brown boobies (stop giggling at the back Mal, or you'll be denied parole from the Maldives) in the pristine outer atolls - all these await. When you fly home, look out for the Maldives down below. You might spot someone spelling out the word "help", in expensive beer bottles on a small, flat, remote and exclusive beach.
