Unique, Stylish and Offbeat Travel Guides

Lost Guides was born out of my own personal frustration in not being able to find trustworthy and useful information about places I was travelling to.

Where are the small and stylish places to stay? Where can I eat the tastiest food? Where are the vibrant neighbourhoods filled with quirky shops and independent businesses? What are the unique cultural experiences?

I believe that travel should be inclusive not exclusive, and equipped with the right information, you can experience accessible and authentic luxury.

I’m as equally as excited about sitting on a plastic stool and eating a delicious roti prata as I am about experiencing a delicate tasting menu produced by a creative local chef.

My books distill all my best tips from boutique hideaways, foodie favourites, and authentic artisan shopping to heritage houses, flea markets and surfs spots. It’s a real labour of love.

My aim is to make the lives of my readers a little bit easier by providing a trustworthy source of curated places, eliminating the tedious research work for you.

How do I choose what goes in the books?

I know immediately when I’ve walked into a place if I’ve made a good discovery – it’s a feeling that’s hard to pinpoint – most often it’s a new experience, a new mood. It can be a taste that I’ve never known before, or seeing something beautiful. In Tokyo, it might be spending an afternoon enjoying an outdoor bath at Maenohara Onsen Sayano Yudokoro, having an exquisite omakase sushi meal at Taku, or taking a traditional flower-arranging class at Sogestsu School of Ikebana. In Indonesia, it could be sitting in a hammock looking out at the piercing azure ocean at chic driftwood-style Crusoe House on Gili Meno, or tasting innovative Indonesian food at Locavore in Ubud, or even meeting a master mask maker crafting barong masks in Mas. Each place included in the book has been selected because it’s special and authentic, and gives readers, what I call ‘stylish nomads’, a unique travel experience.

Researching for the books

One of the questions I get asked most is, ‘How long does it take you to do each book?’ The short answer is years and years. The longer answer is as follows. When I’m deciding to do a book, I would have already travelled there many times and got to know that place very well, or in the case of Singapore, lived here for years. The Bali & Islands book encompasses over 4 years of travelling to Indonesia on more occasions than I can count. Singapore contains 6 years of my every day knowledge and experience. And Tokyo & Beyond was put together after travelling to Japan over 4 years. Just before I create a new book, I will go there for about a month to do intense field research and photography, to add to my already dense amount of research.

Design

The books are designed to be both practical and beautiful. More so now than ever I feel it’s important to create and have beautiful objects in an increasingly digital world. Lots of my readers say that they like to display the books on their coffee table, or keep as a souvenir of their travels.

For all my books and their subsequent editions, I have been working with a Singapore based design studio called Sarah and Schooling, who are responsible for the lovely design and layout of the books. I’ve been collaborating closely with the team for over 4 years, on everything from cover design to printing techniques, choosing papers and colour palettes for each chapter. They place and arrange every photo, text and illustration throughout the books.

Curated, trustworthy tips
– only the best 150 or so places.

Unique, Stylish and Offbeat
– each recommendation is carefully selected to give readers a special experience.

Neighbourhood guides
– recommendations are organised by area for easy use.

Designed beautifully
– the books are intended to be kept as a ‘souvenir’, a cherished memento from your travels.

Asia focus and expertise
– the author lives and travels extensively in Asia and is plugged in to the creative network.

Personal and relatable
– written from Anna’s first hand experience, with the tone of being told insider information from a friend.