Travellers' checks

Smooth sailing Travellers can get in touch with their inner Joseph Conrads in the coming months aboard Amanresorts' custom-built 32-metre phinisi coastal cruiser, the Amanikan. From November to February, it will be operating 14 Raja Ampat expeditions off the coast of West Papua, Indonesia. Five- and seven-day excursions are offered, with plenty of diving and trekking around the Raja Ampat Islands and a crew of 10 (including a dive instructor and chef) providing rather more comfort than Conrad would have been accustomed to, but in similarly romantic and inspiring surroundings. One cabin for a couple is priced from US$33,500 (plus 21 per cent tax and service) for the five-day option, but three couples can take three cabins for a more cost-effective US$37,400. To meet the Amanikan, you'll have to get yourself to Sorong Airport, which can be reached from Singapore, Jakarta, or Bali. If you choose the latter connection, you can get a special rate at the island's Amanusa resort. For full details, visit www.amanresorts.com.

On foreign road Anyone with fears about the perils of hiring a car and negotiating unfamiliar roads on their next holiday will find comparative reassurance in reading about the exploits of Charles Glidden. In 1902, the American businessman set out to become the first man to drive around the world, with a British-made Napier car, his wife and an English motor mechanic called Charles Thomas. Many of the countries they visited had never seen a car before and his journey - now all but forgotten - was keenly followed by the world's press. After several years of mishaps and thrills, they completed the odyssey (quite a bit of it by ship, it must be said); but Glidden had enjoyed himself so much that, soon after his return home, he decided to repeat the feat, by a different route. Now, Thomas' grandson, Andrew Jepson, has written a book, Around the World in a Napier, about the extraordinary first trip, using photographs taken by his grandfather along the way. Although a fairly brisk read at only 128 pages, it should at least offer encouragement and a sense of perspective to those for whom three days in a foreign Ford Focus seems like a daunting prospect. The book, which will be published on October 1, is available for pre-order at amazon.co.uk.

Cheap and cheerful There is a new level of comfort to be found among Singapore's budget lodgings. In January, the Adler Hostel launched in Chinatown as "Singapore's first luxury hostel", with youth-hostel-type facilities of a more upmarket nature than the backpacker flophouses hitherto found in places such as Bencoolen Street. Now we have The Pod, a boutique capsule hotel that is selling itself to "discerning travellers who desire fuss-free and convenient living". It offers some amenities that five-star hotels pride themselves on advertising, such as free Wi-fi and Nespresso coffee machines, and some that the big boys don't offer, including a free laundry service and free local calls. There are 83 capsules, or "pods", with 300 cotton-thread count cotton sheets and fluffy duvets. Unlike the Japanese originals, they have no televisions inside, but with free Wi-fi and your own smartphone or tablet, those are hardly necessary these days. Prices at The Pod, which is located on Beach Road, five minutes' walk from Bugis MRT, start from S$78 (HK$475) for singles and S$98 for doubles. For a virtual visit, see www.thepod.sg.

Deal of the week There are free nights to be had at some of Koh Samui's better resorts with a package currently on offer at Farrington American Express Travel. These include the InterContinental Samui, where you can stay for three nights for the price of two (that's HK$5,450 per person, twin share), and Banyan Tree Samui, which offers a similar deal, with prices from HK$8,790 for a Deluxe Pool Villa. Another option is the Six Senses Samui, where Pool Villa guests get a third free night, a 60-minute massage for two at the spa and one dinner for two, from HK$7,990. These prices will be available until the end of next month and include round-trip, economy-class flights with Bangkok Airways non-stop to Koh Samui, daily breakfast and travel insurance. For more details and a longer list of hotels, visit www.amextravel.com.hk/package and select "Koh Samui - Getaway (PG)". Note also the new user-friendly Surcharges link, which will tell you roughly how much will be added for fuel surcharges and airport tax, which in this case is just over HK$700.