Doing business in the clouds The kingdom of Bhutan provides an unlikely, but breathtaking getaway for a corporate event. As the plane gradually emerges from the clouds and sunlight streams through the cabin, there is an audible gasp of delight from the left hand side of the plane. Everyone is glued to the window as a soaring expanse of snow-capped mountains appears dramatically on the horizon. Shortly after this the plane makes its descent into the valley below, weaving magically between the mountains as if it were not a cumbersome piece of machinery but a nimble bird darting between trees and it gracefully lands at Paro airport. Welcome to Bhutan - Land of the Thunder Dragon. Named after the claps of thunder that shake the valley in the monsoon months, Bhutan is a tiny nation tucked away high in the Himalayas and in 2008 was heralded as one of the top tourist destinations in the world. Romantically referred to as The Last Shangri-la, Bhutan was closed to the world until 1974 when at last it cautiously opened its doors to a meagre 287 visitors. Since then a measured and cautious approach to tourism by the government has limited the number of visitors to the country as they follow a high end/low volume strategy involving a daily tourism tariff for all visitors. This has in turn successfully mitigated the damaging effects of large-scale tourism.

The essential sommelier What used to part of the senior waiter’s responsibility, Sommeliers are carving out a league of their own at top restaurants here. Food critic Wong Ah Yoke may not be a regular drinker, but that makes him even more appreciative of the sommelier’s service when he does get in the mood. In describing his expectations, he says: “Sommeliers must be confident that the wines they recommend are reasonably priced for the vintage, and will complement the taste of the food. This requires in-depth knowledge of how various wines will react with food ingredients and possibly alter the final taste on a diner’s palette.” So what are the basic services diners can expect of a wine butler? For certified wine specialist Tommy Lam, it means knowing the vintages well - as wines from the same region like Bordeaux can vary drastically from year to year – in order to recommend one according that will suit the customer’s taste. What happens if a diner is less than pleased with the recommendation? “This is very subjective,” Lam explains. “If the sommelier had erroneously recommended a wine that was dry when the customer had asked for sweet, they have a right to send it back. Otherwise, diners do not have grounds for rejection because the onus falls on them to make the final selection.”

Sound Philosophy Bang & Olufsen has been synonymous with leading edge design and technology for the last eight decades. From the iconic sliding clamper of the BeoSound 9000 CD player system, to the avant-garde circular dial plate of its mobile phone, Bang & Olufsen has pushed every boundary imaginable when it comes to contemporary design and high-tech wizardry. According to Peter Skak Olufsen, nephew of both founders Peter Bang and Svend Olufsen, the company has been an innovator since its founding 84 years ago in the town of Struer in Denmark. “Back in the 1920s, all the radio sets ran on battery power, a source which suffered from spiralling costs and very short lifespans,” he explains. “Bang and Olufsen worked together for eight years without pay to solve that problem with the Eliminator, a component that when fitted to any radio, draws electricity from the mains instead of batteries.” To showcase this trailblazing heritage, the company has established a US$10 million museum in Struer, a stone’s throw away from B&O’s factory headquarters and the iconic Farm. The Museum documents the Danish brand’s illustrious history with some 3,000 products tracing its technological evolution on show. Admission to the museum is free, with guided tours provided by appointment. “The museum’s location in Struer represents how closely the town is related to the company,” Peter Olufsen explains. “There were lots of people in the town who thought Bang & Olufsen would fail. In fact Bang’s father was ready to turn the factory premises into a school should the partnership not succeed.”