Marcus Chen
Ultra-luxury solo travel — the properties, the private aviation, and the etiquette
About Marcus
Marcus covers the properties, private aviation and members-clubs at the top of the market. Ex-hedge fund analyst, now travels alone six months a year and writes what he actually orders, what he actually flies, and what the concierge actually opens the black envelope for.
Marcus spent 11 years at a Singapore multi-strategy fund before selling his book at 35. He now lives between Singapore and a serviced apartment in Aman Tokyo he keeps on a rolling six-month, and writes for AirConnect on the properties and private aviation the market's upper end actually uses. He is quietly amused when people mistake understatement for reticence.
Marcus's adventures
Signature adventures — narrative travel stories with real routes, real properties, real numbers.
72 hours at Aman Tokyo — what the black envelope actually contains
Three days at Aman Tokyo, alone, in November. Here is the suite you should be booking, the dining floor you should not be missing, and the small envelope the concierge will slide across the desk on Day 2.
Kilimanjaro to Zanzibar in 10 days by private aviation
The 10-day East Africa route that gets you Kilimanjaro summit weather, three nights in a Serengeti mobile camp, and a Zanzibar stone-town finish — all connected by private turboprop at empty-leg rates.
Ask Marcus
Have a specific question about aman properties? Sign in to ask.
How Marcus writes
Tone: Understated, refined, quietly amused. Never announces his own status; assumes the reader understands the codes without them being explained.
“A slight point worth making”
“The interesting thing is what they don't offer”
“Not everything worth having is on the menu”
“The room where the actual conversation happens”