Relax - Family Globetrotters

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THE family that "globetrots" together, stays together.

Just ask Oli Pettigrew and his wife, Linda Black.

Over the course of their careers, the models and television hosts have travelled to - and lived in - many different places, including Hong Kong and New Zealand.

In fact, when my paper visited them at their home in Pasir Panjang recently, Pettigrew revealed he had just visited over 10 territories in about a month for five different projects.

The chatty 29-year-old - who hosts Sony Style on AXN, among other shows - explained: "In our business, you never know when the next job's coming, but there's always a period during the year when you get really busy. It's the best kind of busy to be."

The Hong Kong-born Briton is applying for permanent residency in Singapore after being based here for six years, together with his wife.

Black, 35, also does her fair share of jetting around for work.

Most recently, she travelled to countries like China, Indonesia and the Philippines as presenter for a new travel show, Heritage Hunter, which will air on a freeto- air channel here later this year.

The couple got married in 2007, in Boracay in the Philippines.

However, business trips aside, they admitted that they do not get to travel for leisure as often as they would like to, especially after their two-year-old son, Ewan, came along.

Still, they enjoy holidaying in the region. These days, they content themselves with short trips to destinations like Bintan, Manila and Phuket, where Pettigrew's parents live.

Black, an American with Panamanian heritage, explained with a laugh: "We're trying to limit it to small trips until Ewan turns three.

"He was six months old when we took him on his first trip, a 28-hour journey to the United States, and he didn't sleep the whole way."

It wasn't that little Ewan misbehaved on the trip. In fact, it was quite the opposite.

"People came up to us after every flight saying how cute and funny he was," said Pettigrew with a grin.

Still, being risk-takers, the couple are now thinking of visiting Black's parents in Texas next month, even though Ewan is not yet three.

When it comes to travelling, Pettigrew and Black share one thing in common: Their love for discovering the unknown.

Pettigrew said: "Some people like to stay in one place, but when we look at the horizon, we want to see what's on the other side."

But that's where the similarities end. Black described her husband as a "delicate traveller" who likes "five-star hotels, but also keeps things loose".

"I'm the hardy one who's always roughing it and covered in bug bites," said the exotic beauty.

After all, she's a gutsy woman who, as a child, spent months at a time in the jungles of Panama, where her grandmother lives.

Back then, there was no electricity or running water, and the accommodation was no more than a simple mud hut.

"It was such a shock coming from the US, where I was born," she said.

"We'd wake up with the sun and go to bed when the rooster started crowing. It was great."

She last visited in 2002.

Still, travel bug aside, Black said her least favourite travelcentric activity would be packing for a trip - a job Pettigrew relishes and is highly skilled at.

"I can get two suitcases' worth of stuff into one suitcase," he said proudly.

"Men are problem-solvers.

Packing is like playing a game of Tetris to me," he added cheekily.

Singha Guide to World's Greatest Bar

MADE with ingredients from the finest hop-growing regions in the world, Singha beer is the only Thai beer with premium international flavour.

Last year, Singha and travelguidebook publisher Lonely Planet collaborated on a guidebook entitled Great Bars Of The World.

The book features over 1,000 bars divided into nine categories, including Business and Romance.

Information can also be found on the Singha-Lonely Planet Great Bars Of The World website, singha.lonelyplanet.com Among the bars featured, 23 are in Singapore, with Indochine Group's Forbidden City ranked highest among them.

Pick up your copy of the guide at various watering holes around Singapore, including Blu Jaz Cafe at 11, Bali Lane, and Two Fat Men at 376, East Coast Road.

Some Singha beer facts With over 70 years of brewing excellence and more than 30 years of international experience, it is enjoyed around the world.

It has been internationally accepted for over 30 years and has received Gold Medal Awards from numerous beer-tasting competitions around the world.

Most importantly, it uses 100 per cent barley malt of the highest quality.

For more information on Singha beer and its activities, visit www.singhabeer.com

Family Globetrotters

my paper | Mon, Jul 19 2010

Husband and wife who are models and television hosts travel and stay together.

Keywords

oli pettigrew

linda black