When you travel a lot, you start to care about the in-between places. I’ve always loved airports - the super efficient ones like Hong Kong and Singapore, the chic and gorgeously designed ones like Oslo and Denmark, the retro fantastic ones like Charles de Gaulle, and even the bizarre horrid ones like Harare in Zimbabwe. In a way, airports are the ultimate soft branding destination for any country. There is a lot of discussion these days about the virtues of soft power. Nations are vying for supremacy - not just in terms of military, political or economic strength - but also in people’s perception of ‘coolness’. And what better place to start, than the first port of call? Turkey seems to be no stranger to the concept. Check out the ultra luxe new Turkish Airlines business lounge in Istanbul. You start to wonder whether the developed/developing country paradigm is almost set to be reversed!

I've been enjoying listening to the new city guides jointly released by Louis Vuitton and Soundwalk. Narrated by three well known local actors (Gong Li, Shu Qi, and Joan Chen) they blend personal anecdotes with ambient sounds and slick audio production.

The result is quite compelling. It's an amazing experience walking around a city, even one familiar to you, hearing someone else's perspectives on what you are seeing. And it's only going to get more sophisticated. As most of us start carrying GPS/phone/MP3 devices - geotagged audio tours are going to be the guide books of the future. Smart move by Louis Vuitton. After all, once luxury brands exhaust the possibilities of expensive objects there is only thing left to sell. Curated brand experiences.