Even during normal, healthy times, Kevin Kwan’s novels provide delightful escape, inviting his audiences into the first-class lounge and the glitziest parts of Singapore, Paris, Shanghai, and New York City. In a pandemic, when international travel is all but impossible, readers have never needed the Crazy Rich Asians author more. Luckily, his newest book, Sex and Vanity, came out in July, and provides romps through the Italian island of Capri and the leafy enclaves of the Hamptons.
Kwan, locked down in Los Angeles, has spent the summer chatting about the book through a Zoom screen. “It’s been the weirdest, most wonderful, most tortuous thing ever at the same time,” he says. “As a writer, you spend so much time in solitary confinement. I was so looking forward to coming out of seclusion and being able to travel.” While we wait to travel again, he chatted with Condé Nast Traveler about why he loves Capri and the Hamptons, his favorite hotel amenity, and everything you didn’t realize you needed to know about the Denver airport.
Why Capri plays such a big role in his new book:
Capri is a no-brainer. It’s just, to me, the most beautiful island on the planet. There’s something to just the shape of the rock itself that is entrancing. The water, the quality of light, blooming flowers everywhere. Beyond being this beautiful Mediterranean jewel, there’s this layer of archeology and history that’s been around for thousands of years. It’s been a playground for the rich and famous for millennia; the ancient Romans partied there before the time of Christ. So many fascinating people moved there and built these villas. Axel Munthe, a famous Swedish doctor, built a villa on a cliffside and collected art and antiquities and planted these gorgeous gardens. There’s a medieval monastery where the Carthusian monks are still making perfumes to this day. And beyond the history and archeology, there is just fun. You can go to Capri on a backpacker’s budget or on a one-percenter’s budget and have an amazing experience. That’s what I love about it.
And why the Hamptons is such a fascinating place:
The Hamptons, to me, is very insider-y. If you're visiting as a tourist, there's actually not much to see because everything's behind private hedges. Everything happens in homes on these great estates, or in private clubs and in restaurants you can't get into. [It’s] about a world of exclusivity that I was very luckily able to peek behind. I spent every summer there for 20 years, and so I got to know the place really well. But it's a world of very private pleasure, as opposed to Capri where it's accessible for all. It's also very tribal: There are locals, and then there's the summer crowd, so it's all these various interwoven tribes that are always so interesting to me. That's what I write about in all my books. The Hamptons is this ultimate social game that's being played by the people who go there.
Why he likes to arrive to airports early:
I hate being late and rushing. I've had that experience one too many times, where I'm rushing for a plane. And I've missed planes before. And once you've missed one international flight, you never want to do it again because it ruins your entire schedule. So now, I'm a very early arrival. I will first go to the lounge and get a drink or something, just refresh myself, and then I actually leave. I like wandering around the airport and looking around at all the weird shops, depending where you're at. In the U.S., there's always a Brookstone. I love going to the gadget store. I love stocking up on magazines. I always get myself extra water just because I like to really, super, super hydrate when I'm on planes. That's my ritual.
Why he loves the Denver airport:
I love airports, the weirder the better. I used to, for some reason, always be in transit in Denver, and there's all these myths and urban legends about Denver airport. Just Google “Denver airport aliens,” and you'll go down a rabbit hole, because there's all these rumors that it's built over a secret base where they keep aliens. There's an infamous story about how a guy once—because it's so huge, right? So sprawling—one guy took the wrong elevator and found himself down at this weird hallway. He went to a bathroom and there was a giant urinal that was 20 feet tall. I'm not kidding about this. He was in the bathroom for special, giant aliens. So every time I go to Denver, I'm looking for the secret passageway. I want to find this giant urinal. People really dork out on the weird iconography, the weird sculptures and art collection in Denver airport—what it means and signs for aliens or Freemasons. I love all that stuff.
His strategy for long-haul flights:
A lot of flights to Asia are very late at night. They set them at 11:00 p.m., and I think it's on purpose so you are able to go to sleep and then you wake up in Seoul or Hong Kong in the morning. They try to accommodate for the body clock already. I really do try to sleep on planes, especially going to Asia, so I don't drink alcohol because I think it actually dries you out. I also don't take caffeine at all. I have my ritual. I actually really love airplane food, believe it or not. I even love economy-class airplane food. I guess it goes back to my love of TV dinners. I'll wait for the meal and I'll always try to watch a movie that I've seen before while I'm eating. For some reason, Four Weddings and a Funeral is always on the classics channel. Or I'm watching Pretty Woman or Ferris Bueller's Day Off. I love a tried-and-true classic, usually a fun little rom-com. I'll do that, I'll have dinner, and the minute that dinner is over, I will change. I always bring with me a really, really comfortable pair of travel sweats. I have a pair of really thick woolen socks. And then I go to sleep. Usually they serve breakfast two hours before they land. So that's always been my ritual and it seems to work out fine.
Okay, and his other little helper:
I also take this pill, which I love. It's called crystal meth. No! It's literally called Jet Lag, and it's this homeopathic thing. You get it at Whole Foods or any good green grocery or pharmacy. It comes in a packet, and there’s melatonin and other herbal stuff [in it]. I swear to God, it works. You take it before the flight, you take it while you're flying, and then you take it when you land. It always helps me adjust. It comes in this little blue white paper box.
His favorite hotel amenity:
Well, I have a big partiality to Peninsula hotels. If there's a city where there's a Peninsula, I will always stay there. They are just the best hotel chain in the world. And you find the same amenities in every room around the world—no matter if you're in Hong Kong or Paris or Chicago, you go into your Peninsula room and there's always a tea drawer. I'm a huge tea drinker. You open this drawer and there's usually a display of a beautiful teapot, two cups, and then a selection of teas. They curate the finest teas. I love that. It's just, to me, the ultimate luxury.
His top recommendation for Singapore:
To me, my favorite memories of Singapore are all about food. It's all about the street food. So, as a kid, my favorite place to go to was the Newton Hawker Centre. It's right in the heart of town. A lot of people say it's way too touristy—whatever, whatever, the food is still amazing. You can go to this outdoor center and have literally 400 different dishes or more.
