Go Now July 2012

Experience villalike grandeur at Lemon Tree, Goa Explore the languid beauty of Hua Hin

Bollywood films that made it big on their locations Check out the newly opened OTW at Aman Delhi

mauritius unlimited July 2012 go now

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go now July 2012

this issue editors’ page

Experience villalike grandeur at Lemon Tree, Goa Explore the languid beauty of Hua Hin

Bollywood films that made it big on their locations Check out the newly opened OTW at Aman Delhi

mauritius unlimited ••COVER.indd 1

06/07/12 3:22 PM

Dear Readers, Our cover story this month is on destination Mauritius. The story highlights how, beyond the beaches, there is so much activity that the tourists can experience, not just an idle holiday but a fun and action packed opportunity. The Indian traveller is increasingly seeking more action, and Mauritius has been building in this direction in recent years.

Our other international destination explored this month is Hua Hin in Thailand. We bring you our experience of staying at a lessor known Centara Grand Hotel. Till early this year, this was the Sofitel. This month, the hotel became a member of The Leading Hotels of the World, a membership that speaks volumes of the quality standards at the hotel. Hua Hin is at best a sleepy little town, two hours’ drive from Bangkok. It is, however, a total tourism experience with a dozen golf courses, numerous beach resorts and an equal number of deluxe second homes.

It is monsoon time and gladly the fierce Indian summer for this year is behind us. The lush green countryside is most inviting – there are parts of India such as Goa and Kerala that become over whelmingly attractive. Interestingly enough, it is not high season and therefore, the rates are equally attractive – make the most of this happy combination. But there are also destinations, such as Mandu in Madhya Pradesh, that are typical monsoon destinations. The water bodies become full and the architectural remains get washed with the rains – the atmosphere is magical.

Around Mandu are some of the most hallowed pilgrim sights in Hinduism. These are all yours to explore. Make Indore your base as there is so much to see and do. We bring some of these images in our feature on destination Indore. Fortunately, quite a few branded hotels are now in Indore. Our host was Radisson Blu, offering all that you may need during your stay.

In our section on Delhi City Escapes, we bring you a rich assortment of what is new and happening. At The Aman hotel in New Delhi, we bring an experience at On The Waterfront, the city’s new watering hole. Also, the recently opened spa at The Imperial is unfortunately open only to residents – enough reason for you to check-in at the hotel. Happy hunting!

readers write in Amazing Photo Feature

The photo feature on Dharamshala was a great way to know the place. The pictures were brilliant and the write up very nicely captured the essence of the place. More such features would be welcome in the magazine. It captures everything from religion to shopping to the eateries that have made Dharamshala what it is today.

Karan Oberoi, Mumbai

Aha Srinagar!

Retail Therapy

The last pages in the magazine which dealt with retail therapy were just so helpful. There are so many things that come into the market but one never gets to know about them. The article armed me so much information that I knew what I needed and what is available.

Aisha Singh, Chandigarh

Summer Delight

I am a Kashmiri settled in Delhi and it was so wonderful to see the write up on Srinagar.

It just gladdened my heart to see my old hometown. The paradise on earth despite the troubles still seems to be the most beautiful place to me in the whole world. It was a pleasure reading the piece and I am thankful to you for bringing me this write up.

The stories on summer season were really delightful and very helpful. It is very important to know what to eat and what to avoid in this season. The write up by a spa director was really informative because skin care during these harsh summer months is of utmost importance. We would like to see more such informative pieces if possible.

Beena Kaul, New Delhi

Savita Sharma, New Delhi

Editor: Navin Berry Assistant Editor: Purva Bhatia Business Development: Sudhir Sood Advertising: Saurabh Shukla Design: Ashok Saxena, Neelam Aswani Go Now is printed and published by Navin Berry, on behalf of Cross Section Media Pvt. Ltd. Printed at Rakesh Press A-7, Naraina, Phase II, New Delhi.

Go Now is published from IIIrd Floor, Rajendra Bhawan, 210, Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg, New Delhi - 110002.

Tel: 91-11-43784444. Fax: 91-11-41001627, 41001628.

E-mail: info@crosssectionmedia.com This issue of gonow contains 80 pages plus 4 pages cover

drop us a line

Like something we wrote? Wondering how to get somewhere? Or been to a place you want to talk about? Write to us and let us know. Don’t have the words to describe a place? Don’t worry – send us your best travel pictures and we’ll let them speak for you. If your letter or photo is published, you will get a year’s subscription to gonow absolutely free! Send your letters and photographs to E-mail: info@gonow.in info@crosssectionmedia.com Material not used will not be returned

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india escapes 12 Photo Feature: The pomp and show of President’s Bodyguard.

18 City in focus: Indore – The Gateway for the religious hubs in MP 22 Getaway: Cruising the Brahmaputra 26 Destination: Wake up and smell the coffee in Chikmaglur 28 Review: The newly opened Park Hyatt Hyderabad 30 Rooms and Suites: Experience villa-like grandeur at Lemon Tree Amaranta, Candolim Goa

Globetrotting

38 Jordan: Marvel at the Roman ruins in Jerash 42 Mauritius: Head there for an adventurous vacation 46 Prague: 12 reasons to visit the Czech capital 50 Thailand: Explore the languid beauty of Hua Hin 54 Cinema Tourism: Destinations are the new Bollywood heroes

city escapes 60 Fine Whisky: Get a taste a new whisky in town 62 Fine Dining: OTW is the new buzzword at Aman 64 Check Out: Have a fun dining experience at Prego 66 Living it up: Experience Arabian nights at Barka 68 Rooms and Suites: Experience grandeur at Radisson Blu Paschim Vihar 70 Review: Spa at The Imperial Delhi 72 Spas and Gyms: Get romantic with couple spa packages 76 Retail Therapy: Check out the new products launches this season

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india this month

u Teej Festival, Rajasthan

Celebrating Holy Matrimony 22–23 July, 2012

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ajasthan, as we all know, is a state full of festivals: Pushkar Cattle Fair, Jaipur Literature Festival, Camel Festival, the Elephant Festival, and the list goes on. One of the most celebrated festivals is Teej, which is a much anticipated monsoon festival for married women. The women who are betrothed, also participate enthusiastically. While Karva Chauth is celebrated to pray for the long life of the spouse, Teej is observed to invoke Goddess Parvati and pray for continued marital bliss. Mythologically, the festival has its roots in the fable of the 100 year separation between Lord Shiv and Goddess Parvati. It commemorates their reunion after Parvati had paid a penance with this 100 years separation. The festival is celebrated depending on the cycle of the monsoon but the ballpark time is generally July-August.

The festival is, by and large, celebrated by women dressed up in fine jewellery, new clothes, hands decorated with henna and songs are sung on the theme of marital bliss. The real fun of the festival is experienced in the inner lanes of the old city in Jaipur where the women sing, dance, make merry and take turns to swing on jhoolas on trees.

The old city is also famous for a spectacular procession wherein goddess Parvati’s idol is carried through the lanes along with antique palanquins, decorated elephants, horses, camels, brass bands, and dancers. Girls who are engaged receive gifts from their future family, consisting of traditional items such as henna, bangles, ceremonial dresses and sweets.

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How to reach There One of the popular circuits on the tourist itinerary, Delhi-Jaipur is well connected by air, road and train. Jaipur has its own airport which is well connected with regular flights. Jet Airways, Air India and Kingfisher operate daily flight from Delhi.

Jaipur also has its own railway station and direct trains are available from Delhi.

Tourists can also book taxis from Delhi, which is just 264 km from Jaipur. Volvo as well as other deluxe buses are available from Delhi – and the tickets cost anywhere between Rs 500-700. Taxis too can be hired from Delhi (charges are anywhere between Rs 5,000-8,000 for a round trip). the weather July can be reasonably hot but once the rains set, day time can be pleasant too. Morning and evening time is generally favourable for sightseeing.

Venue Teej is celebrated across Rajasthan. An elaborate procession is taken out in Jaipur for two consecutive days on the festive occasion in which people participate in large numbers.

india this month

u Wayanad Splash Monsoon Festival, Kerala

A monsoon Special

13–15 July, 2012

“R

ain is grace; rain is the sky condescending to the earth; without rain, there would be no life.” – John Updike.

None of us are likely to disagree. The Monsoon season has a special charm to it and we all anxiously wait for the rains to knock on our doors. There are festivals and religious ceremonies; quite apart from the obvious fact that our agriculture cycles also depend on the monsoon cycle.

One much sought after, and perhaps not so well known, festival is the Wayanad Monsoon Carnival “Splash” which is now in its fourth edition and will be held from July 13 onwards at Kalpetta, the headquarters of Wayanad in Kerala. The highlight of the festival is an exhibition cum extravaganza for 7 days that will be held from July 9th. The festival has steadily climbed on the itinerary of the global traveller, both because of its venue and also because it is an innovative attempt by the locals to promote monsoon tourism and Kerala state. Activities have been designed by the locals and the tourism officials. These include mud football, slippery tree climbing, crab catching, river crossing and river rafting. The occasion is also used for B2B sessions on tourism matters; hosted tours by leading national and international tour operators are also conducted.

Getting There Kerala also known as Gods’ Own Country is a favourite tourist spot of many Indian and foreign travellers. It is well connected by air, road and trains.

All domestic carriers operate regular flights from Delhi to Kerala.

Nearest airport is Coimbatore.

Wayanad is 190 km by road from Kochi. the Weather Kerala has hot and humid climate. During July, the temperatures may fluctuate from a maximum of 30°C to a minimum of 23°C. Venue From July 13 onwards the venue of the festival will be Kalpetta, which is a city and a municipality in Wayanad district.

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world this month

u Zanzibar International Film Festival (ZIFF)

A cultural potpourri

7–15 July, 2012

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he ZIFF (Zanzibar International Film Festival) is one of the biggest cultural events of the Eastern African countries. It is now in its 15th year and it originally started as a film festival but now it has grown in size and overall cultural importance to include music, dance, literature and crafts from the region. The event is important because it showcases the talents of the region and gives a platform to the gifted. It is also known as the festival of Dhow countries and has become very famous and filmmakers from all over the world participate in the festival. The festival tries to offer a perspective on contemporary trends in global culture which addresses the defining ideas of the twenty first century.

The symbolic dhow stresses the need to recognise and to celebrate diversity while upholding individual integrity.

As an element of the dynamic of Zanzibar and the Indian Ocean region which ZIFF intends to encourage, there is the opportunity for an assertion of the dignity of the Zanzibari people while at the same time embracing the diasporic and international reality of the contemporary world. The main events are held in Stone Town Zanzibar with some of the events on Pemba Island and mainland Tanzania. In 2011, Zanzibar and Tanzania welcomed around 1,50,000 people out of which foreign visitors were around 7,000 and the countries represented were 43.

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How to reach There Some of the international airlines which operate flights out of New Delhi to Zanzibar are Kenya Airways, Lufthansa and Oman Air. The tickets are priced at Rs. 27,725 upwards per person including taxes. The main form of public transport in Zanzibar is the Daladala share taxis.

Weather forecast According to the World Meteorological organization the temperatures in Zanzibar during the month of July varies between 22°- 28° Celsius Venue The main events are held in Stone Town Zanzibar whereas some of the events are also held in Pemba Island and mainland Tanzania.

world this month

u Esala Perahera, Sri Lanka

Sri lanka’s finest festival 19 July – 2 August, 2012

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ne of the world’s most intense religious parades, Esala Perahera is celebrated by the Hindus and Buddhists both. The event is celebrated in the beach town of Kandy in Sri Lanka. The festival celebrates the veneration of the relic of Lord Buddha’s tooth which is housed in a temple in the city. The parade lasts for about 8 days.

Every night the parade starts around 8 pm. It is a sight to behold as the pageant unfolds in all its splendour with elephants fantastically gilded, swirling dancers, colourful costumes, blazing fire crackers; you get caught amidst pungent spicy aromas and the rhythmical drumming of beats. The festival attracts a large number of tourists not only from within the country but also from far and wide.This festival features five main processions. The first one is the Maligawa Perahera or the procession of Sacred Temple of the Tooth. The second procession is from the shrine dedicated to God Natha, the third from the shrine dedicated to god Vishnu, the fourth to god Skanda and the fifth and final procession to goddess Pattini.

How to reach There Several Indian and International flight operators fly out of Delhi to Sri Lanka.

The flight duration is approximately 3 hours. The starting fares could vary, around Rs. 17,000 upwards per person including taxes.

Public transport in Sri Lanka is cheap, the cheapest option being bus, while there is also a decent railway system; one could also travel around in Tuk Tuks (taxis); however remember to bargain with the taxi driver to arrive at the best price. the weather Average temperature in Sri Lanka fluctuates between 27°-29°C. The temperatures during July-August are normally pleasant.

Venue A popular festival of both the Hindus and Buddhists, Esala Perahera is celebrated in the beach town of Kandy.

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India Traveller

lobby, Park Hyatt, hyderabad

Travel and discover a subcontinent

travel buzz

Take a welcome monsoon break with Royal Orchid Hotels

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xperience the ro mantic monsoons acro s s Roya l Or chid Hotels in Hospet, Shimoga and Goa. Situated about 13 kilometres away from Hampi, Royal Orchid Central Kireeti – Hospet is all set to treat you to a luxurious stay at this splendid site with a conveniently designed monsoon package. Royal Orchid Central, Kireeti offers you two nights and three days stay for just Rs. 12500/- this monsoon.

Moving over to Shimoga,

Beach Resort & Spa in Goa offers two nights and three days package for just Rs. 24,000/- (excluding taxes) whereas the Luxury Suite at just Rs. 3,000/- per night.

Royal Orchid Central offers two nights and three days stay in a luxurious do uble de lu xe r o o m with a complimentar y sightseeing package for Rs. 7999/-. Moving on to beaches, Royal Orchid

These offers are valid upto: August 31, 2012 For reservations call: Royal Orchid Central, Kireeti. Tel: +91 8394 300 100. Royal Orchid Central, Shimoga, Tel: +91 08182 401999 and Royal Orchid Beach Resort & Spa, Goa, Tel: +91 832 2884 400.

Mapple Hermitage, Bhimtal offers discounted monsoon packages

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ooking to escape the sweltering heat, find your perfect haven at Mapple Hermitage Bhimtal.

Their special monsoon package is a perfect getaway for this monsoon.

Experience ethereal beauty of nature in the true sense. Enjoy the best of both the worlds at Mapple as you find yourself surrounded by contemporary furnishings and facilities like climate controlled swimming pool, Gym, SPA et al amidst the serene natural settings.

Allow yourself to rekindle your spirits and experience the magic of monsoon this year, the Mapple way! The package includes welcome

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drink, tea/coffee maker in rooms, use of swimming pool, free use of indoor games excluding pool table.

The offer is valid till 31st September and the Lakeview room is priced at Rs. 12999.

Explore New Delhi on Segway machines

Take a tour of NCR’s imperial region Rajpath on the world's coolest machine the Segway PT i2.

Experience all of the great sights the city has to offer and see the historical buildings and monuments which include Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament and various other ministry buildings on Rajpath, Amar Jawan Jyoti and India Gate.

Cruise through fascinating sections of the city while hearing informative historic and current facts about the area. Each tourist will be provided with a helmet (compulsory) and additional safety gears like elbow and knee pads guaranteeing an optimal tour experience.

For tour booking please call: +91- 124 4610666, +91- 124 3322052 or email at: segwaytour@bird.in

Yatra.com has come up with lucrative monsoon packages Perfect time of the year to go on a vacation; your kids are on a break and the monsoon has just set in. Yatra.com ha s come with amazing deals in four stunning locales in India, Kerala, Goa, Pondicherry and Meghalaya.

Kerela: ‘Kerala’ the Paradise, explore the serenity of Kerala with 4D/3N holiday packages at Rs 6999/- which includes hotel accommodation, buffet breakfast and sightseeing.

Citrus Goa: Enjoy this beach destination and party at this destination with 4D/3N holiday packages at Rs 6999/- including welcome drink, hotel accommodation

and buffet breakfast.

Exotic Meghalaya: ‘Meghalaya’ the abode of the clouds, has all to offer to its tourists. Find out more about this picturesque state through these 5D/4N holiday packa ge s at R s 12300/- which includes hotel accommodation, buffet breakfast and sightseeing.

Pondicherry: ‘Heritage’ is one of the most precious gifts that Pondicherry has to offer to its tourists. Explore the heritage with the 3D/2N holiday packa ge s at R s 5999/- which include hotel accommodation and buffet breakfast.

travel buzz

Give your partner a special surprise this monsoon

Enjoy a long stay at Courtyard by Marriott Gurgaon

Radisson Blu Hotel New Delhi Paschim Vihar brings Monsoon Special Couple Packages at the Vyoma Spa. Cherish romantic moments from 1st July to 31st August 2012. Vyoma Spa offers rejuvenating treatments by trained international masseurs to pamper every element of your body and soul.

Exclusive packages are as follows: Package 1: A romantic offer inclusive of couple’s massage and one complimentary alcoholic/non-alcoholic drink.

Price: Rs 5000/Package 2: Couple Hair Spa + Couple Luxury Pedicure + Mocktail. Price: Rs. 3499/-

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he C our t ya rd by Marriott hotel offers special rates and package for the guests who stay for 5 or more days. With longer stays guests can enhance their luxury experience as well as enjoy special discounts on select services. The hotel continues to provide its guests with a memora-

ble experience along with a comfortable stay in the Cour tyard by Marriott Gurgaon. The Long Term Stay Package includes: Special discount on booking of 5 nights and more; Two - way airport transfer; Complimentary in-room high speed Internet access; Buffet breakfast for 2 and children below 12

years; 30% discount on food and soft Beverages; 30% discount on business centre facilities; 30% discount on laundry and dry cleaning services; Late check-out till 1600 hrs.

Terms & conditions apply.

For more information and reservation contact: 0124 4888 444

A royal experience in neighbouring Rajasthan

Laurent & Benon Group’s hospitality solutions has launched special holiday packages for their Heritage Collection hotels located in the tourist haven of colourful Rajasthan - Indra Vilas in Alsisar and Thar Vilas in Jaisalmer.

The weekend getaway package for these hotels includes Traditional Rajasthani welcome, Scheduled village tour with guide, Camel ride for children, Evening

entertainment with local music & dance show, Ayurvedic rejuvenating massage for couple, Gym, Health Club & other recreational facilities, Buffet Breakfast.

Package exclusive of applicable taxes.

Terms and Conditions apply.

All at an unbelievable price of Rs. 9,999/- for 2 nights & 3 days (Indra Vilas) and Rs. 11,999/- for 2 nights & 3 days – (Thar Vilas).

Detoxify your Body this Monsoon

Udaipur is most often referred to as the ‘City of Lakes’ or ‘Venice of East’. Set on the shores of Lake Pichola and surrounded by hills, Udaipur grew in complete contrast to the harsh desert of the rest of Rajasthan.

The Oberoi Udaivilas gives you a reason to experience this city during the monsoons. The season is ideal to detoxify the body. It is the ideal time of the year to undertake an exclusive experience that is a unique combination of purification, rejuvenation and pampering. Keeping this in mind The Oberoi Udaivilas is pleased to introduce a special yoga program that ranges from a basic two day course to a five day special. The details of the package are as attached. The yoga special is strictly for resident guests of the hotel.

For special offers on room stays please call on toll free 1800-11-2030 or write to reservations@ oberoigroup.com or visit www.oberoihotels.com

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photo feature

The Pageant of the President’s Bodyguard This is the month when all eyes are set upon Rashtrapati Bhawan in the nation’s Capital, the home of the president, the first citizen of the country. Rashtrapati Bhawan gets a new occupant and India its new president. We bring you the regalia that goes with this imperial edifice, the pomp and the show of the President’s Bodyguard.

Dismounted guard in the Mughal Garden.

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photo feature The commandant, the trumpet banner and dismounted guard in front of the Church of Redemption, north of Rashtrapati Bhavan.

E

very nation needs its symbols – those that express its deepest needs for identity, belonging and self pride.

Nations create for themselves symbols that have gravitas and grandeur, for Mankind believes (often irrationally), in its own essential nobility and high purpose.

The Office of the Indian President is the shining crest of the world’s biggest democracy. An Office that is arrayed with all the accoutrements of majesty – a 360-room domed palace and gardens built on a 4000 acre estate, a gold-plated horse-drawn carriage and a small but elite household cavalry regiment for its personal protection.

The Flag bearer of the PBG in the summer uniform.

The Changing of the Guard can be viewed every Saturday (except on Gazetted Holidays) as follows: 08.00 AM to 08.40 AM (15 March - 14 August) 09.00 AM to 09.40 AM (15 August - 14 November) 10.00 AM to 10.40 AM (15 November -14 March)

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The dismounted guard in their Summer dress stand in front of the Star of India.

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photo feature Officer of the Bodyguard in winter uniform.

The Trumpet Banner ceremony in the Forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhavan where each new President presents a trumpet and a Trumpet Banner to the PBG at the start of their term.

The President’s Bodyguard is 239 years old and is the seniormost regiment in the Indian Army. Its inception dates to 1773 when it was raised at Benaras by Governor General Warren Hastings. At Independence, the Bodyguard was split between India and Pakistan in a ratio of 2:1. The assets of the regiment were also divided, but both countries wanted the Viceregal buggy. It’s fate was finally decided by tossing a coin, which is how Indian Presidents have since ridden the buggy down Rajpath on Republic Day. In India, the role of the PBG has been primarily ceremonial, but the Pakistan PBG has since expanded into an active operational force.

Though the PBG consists of trained combat Paratroopers

and Armoured Vehicle crewmen, its signature corps is the ceremonial Mounted Corps led by a Trumpet Major on a white charger. The Bodyguard are a stirring sight. Each soldier is 6 feet tall or more. They are mounted on tall bay horses, the only horses in the Indian Army privileged to keep a full, flowing mane. The men are dressed in scarlet coats with gold-braid trimmings, epaulettes and spotless white gauntlets, and it’s easy to see why they absolutely deserve their sobriquet ‘God’s Gift to Girls’!

The out-going President, Pratibha Patil, has for the first time opened to the public the Ceremonial Changing of Guard . The ceremony takes place every Saturday morning in the forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhavan. The mounted guard and a rifle contingent, march to the strains of a military brass band playing Saare Jahan Se Achha, Amar Jawan and Vijay Bharat.

The PBG and it’s ceremonies, such as the presenting of the Silver Trumpet and Trumpet Banner by each President, are vestiges of India’s colonial history. And it was a sign of July 2012 go now

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photo feature

The President’s Bodyguard in the Forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

the grace and maturity of our founding fathers, that India did not seek to deny or reject its colonial past even as it cast it off; but incorporated it into the stream of consciousness, transmuting it instead into a symbol of Indian pride, even as the country stepped forward to take its rightful place among the sovereign republics of the world. Though dressed in uniforms and decorated with insignia that are of British derivation, yet the motto of the Bodyguard is a stirring “Bharat Mata ki Jai”.

India remains a part of the Commonwealth, with the Bodyguard performing their feats of tent-pegging and trick riding at the recent Diamond Jubilee celebrations of the British monarch.

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The President’s Bodyguard escort the President’s car back towards the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

The Trumpet Banner alerts the mounted troop during a ceremony at the Forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Text by Bharati Motwani and photographs by Amit Pasricha

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city in focus

Indore, the largest city of Madhya Pradesh is known for its architectural splendour. Host to many industries, like automobile and textile, Indore is also becoming the IT hub of the state. With an idyllic blend of the past and the future, the city has much to offer to the traveller. It is also the natural gateway to numerous religious destinations and also to the legendary city of Mandu.

The Gateway for the Religious Hubs in MP

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t’s one of the harshest months on the year when the blazing hot sun makes it difficult to even step out of the comfort of your home, forget walking miles barefoot. But a look at the Mahakaleshwar Temple in Ujjain tells you a different tale. The burning floor, sweltering heat, long queues, pushing and shoving – nothing deters hundreds of Shaivites (the followers of Shiva) who have thronged the shrine to seek blessings of the ‘creator and destroyer’. The time is auspicious to offer prayers to Shiva and Mahakal, one of the most important of the 12 jyotirlingas in India. This one is believed to be born on its own (swayambhu), deriving power from within itself; the others are ritu-

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ally established. The scenario is similar in other temples of such religious significance in Madhya Pradesh. Struggling to find little space for myself in the crowd, I smell intense devotion. I see women, evidently from Andhra, incessantly chanting mantras as they wait for hours for a minute of puja.

Indore sees an influx of thousands of devotees who make annual trips to the sacred sites of Ujjain, Omkareshwar and Maheshwar. To host these tourists, the city has several branded hotels like Country Inns and Suites, Ginger, Lemon Tree, etc (apart from non-branded hotels).

Radisson Blu Hotel Indore – which made an entry into the city two years ago – hasn’t just added to the city’s room inventory but is also working towards promoting the destination. The hotel, in association with Madhya Pradesh Tourism, is offering attractive packages that include the stay as well as visits to the religious sites as well as to Mandu. I am here to sample one of the packages, on invitation by the hotel.

city in focus

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Images from Radisson Blu Indore

Ujjain My first stop on this sacred journey is Ujjain, which is located at a distance of about 70 km from Indore. It takes me about an hour and a half to reach this celebrated town.

Hindu mythological legend has it that when the Gods and Demons churned the ocean of milk, a few drops of nectar fell on four places: Haridwar, Nasik, Prayag and Ujjain. Considered to be holy since time immemorial, these are the four sacred sites for the Kumbh Mela.

Surrounded by the holy waters of the Shipra River, Ujjain houses Mahakal, one of the twelve celebrated jyotirlingas in India.

Called Dakshinamurti since it faces south – the only jyotirlinga to be so – the shrine of Mahakaleshwar Temple is of great significance to Tantriks.While visiting the temple at 3 am for the early morning aarti might sound spiritually ideal, noon is a good time if you want to explore the five levels of the temple without facing the crowd.

One of the must see rituals is the Bhasma Aarti that takes place between 4-6 am. This involves smearing the lingam with still-hot 22

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ashes from the cremation grounds in homage to Shiva, the ‘master of death’.Women are not allowed entry during the ritual.

Other major temples in the holy city include ‘Bade Ganeshji ka Mandir’ that houses the only ‘panchmukhi’ (five-faced) idol of Hanuman. There’s also Harsiddhi Temple, where according to the Shiva Purana, when Shiva carried away the body of Sati, her elbow dropped here. The most interesting temple is definitely the Kal Bhairav Mandir, where liquor is ritually offered to the deity, who emerged from the third eye of Shiva. It is believed to be associated with the Tantra cult.

It is said that the liquor offered disappears pretty fast into the mouth of the deity. A statesponsored research into the mystery has not yielded any results yet.

be visited as a day trip from the city. However, you might want to spend more time in this picturesque town.

Originally the fort capital of the Parmar rulers of Malwa, it later came to be ruled by the Pathan Sultans of Malwa, who constructed exquisite palaces, tombs and gates.

One can devote hours admiring the massive Jami Masjid, Jahaz Mahal and Hoshang Shah’s tomb that provided inspiration to the main architect of the Taj Mahal. Centuries ago, the town was a monsoon retreat of the Mughals, who made several pleasure palaces and lakes. In fact, Jehangir is said to have written: “I know of no other place that is as pleasant in climate and with such attractive scenery, as Mandu in the rainy season.” The statement stands true even today.

Mandu

Maheshwar

The next day I make an early start to head to Mandu. Nothing religious about this legendary town but more is less when it comes to describing beauty of Madhavgarh (or Mandu) especially during the monsoons. Located about three hours away from Indore, it can

Yes, this is home for the distinctive hand-woven Maheshwari sarees. But there is more to this tranquil town (located close to Mandu) settled on the banks of the holy Narmada River. You can sense a sanctimonious whiff in the air when you take a boat ride here and

city in focus gape at the temples distinguished by their carved balconies and intricately designed doorways. There are numerous temples that commemorate different forms or ‘avatars’ of Shiva.The most remarkable structure, however, is the Ahilya Fort, residence of the erstwhile royal family (Holkar) of Indore.The fort is now converted into a heritage hotel. It also houses a statue Rani Ahilyabai, who is credited for the rise of the town, along with relics and antiques belonging to the Holkar dynasty.

Omkareshwar With the island shaped like the holiest of Hindu symbols, Om, the place can not get holier.

(A valley divides the two hills on the island in such a way that it appears in the shape of Om.) Or it can if it marks the confluence of Narmada and Kaveri rivers. Omkareshwar means the Lord of Omkaara or the Lord of Om Sound. There are different versions of stories about the origin and the history of the place.

Visit the ‘Omkar Mandhata’ temple here, dedicated to the Hindu deity Shiva, which shelters one more of the twelve ‘jyotirlingas’.

Also, there are other temples scattered around the island, like the Siddhanath Temple, which is a fine example of early medieval Brahminic architecture. It is talked about for the fresco of elephants carved upon a stone slab at its outer perimeter.

Text & photos by purva bhatia

onoffer Radisson Blu Indore has introduced two special packages: ‘Leisure’ & ‘Pilgrimage’ offering a tour of the prominent sites at an attractive price.

Pilgrimage Package Valid: Till 30th Sept’2012 Package Rates: Rs. 19999 + applicable taxes Package includes: Two night stay for a couple inclusive of guided tour to Ujjain and Omkareshwar; Trip to Ujjain and Omkareshwar in AC vehicle with VIP Darshan, Abhishek, Pooja, visit to Mamleshwar temple & boat ride at Omkarehswar; all entrances; local sightseeing of Indore…and more. The offer is valid till 30th Sept 2012.

Leisure Package Valid: Till 30th Sept’2012 Package Rates: Rs. 23,999 + applicable taxes Package includes: Three nights stay for a per couple inclusive of tour of Mandu, Maheshwar Ujjain and Omkareshwar; Trip to Mandu, Maheshwar, Ujjain and Omkareshwar in A/C vehicle with VIP Darshan, Abhishek pooja, visit to Mamleshwar temple, Shahtradhara & Ahilya Fort, boat ride at Omkarehswar; all entrances; local sightseeing of Indore…and more For terms and conditions and more information visit www.radissonblu.com

Celebrated Arola comes to JW Marriott Mumbai

Two Star Michelin Chef Sergi Arola’s new Restaurant & Bar opens doors

J

W Marriott Mumbai partners with two star Michelin Chef Sergi Arola to bring his sublime Arola brand to India. This chic lifestyle destination will offer guests the exclusive flavours of authentic Catalan cuisine and is slated to be the most anticipated announcement in Mumbai’s gastronomic scene.

Speaking on the launch of the new restaurant, Thomas Guss, General Manager, JW Marriott Mumbai said, “There is a perceptible movement underway with guests now familiar with exotic cuisines; they want preparations that are new and different, authentic in flavour and reminiscent of their last holiday abroad.”

Chef extraordinaire Sergi Arola is a bold, irrepressible culinary trend-setter. A definitive proponent of Spanish heritage, Sergi will delight guests in Mumbai with gourmet Spanish cuisine. A chef who weaves stories of his homeland into his food, his explosive talent has earned him two Michelin stars and he is the proud owner of six celebrated restaurants around the world bringing the first ever outlet to Asia here in India.

Speaking on the occasion, Sergi Arola said, “The aim is to surprise the Indian audience with eclectic European cuisine designed especially for their increasingly discerning palate.” A key aspect of the restaurant is contemporary lounge music with distinctive Spanish and Latin influences.

A few key highlights of the restaurant are: Cocktail Couture: Gin: Arola, is all set to

revolutionize the city’s cocktail culture with Mumbai’s largest selections of Gin in the city.

Breathtaking View: Arola, offers breathtaking views of the Arabian Sea through the open terrace.

Exclusive: Arola, where the accomplished enjoy the seclusion of three private dining rooms while still being in sync with the rest.The solarium as well as the main restaurant allows you experience a sense of comfort in exclusivity.

Signature preparations: Sample Chef Sergi Arola’s signature preparations which include Patatas bravas (“Bravas de AROLA”, deep fried potatoes filled with a spicy tomato sauce and topped with aioli), Sardinas (Marinated fillets, with “Huevas de Arenque”, tomato and toasted bread), Filet Mignon (Knife cut steak tartar, with a soy sauce and wasabi infusion and crunchy onions), Tomates Maduros (Served as a salad, tossed with extra virgin olive oil, marinated tuna and black Alentejo olives) and Gambas (Prawns sautéed with garlic, chili and parsley).

Open All days Seating Capacity: 12 bar seating, 3 live counter seating, 20 al fresco, 48 restaurant seating Dress Code: Smart casuals (open footwear, short pants, and sleeveless shirts for men not allowed). Entry Age: Above 21 years only July 2012 go now

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The north-east

Lands beyond the veil

Cruising the Brahmaputra

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the north-east

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t was a dream come true.

We’ve cruised down the Nile through the history of Egypt. In Switzerland, the Rhine led us to a living medieval town where the facades of houses were the bright canvases of the past. Sailing through China’s river-wrought Lee Valley was an unfolding scroll of feather-light Taoist sketches: every frame more evocative than the last. But we had never done a sustained cruise down one of our own, ancient, rivers. Now, as we squelched down the banks of Assam’s Neemati Ghat, and boarded a ferry, we were about to embark on a voyage of discovery down Old Man River himself: the whimsical, implacable, Brahmaputra.

As the ferry pulled away from the ghat, and our new riverine home grew in our vision, we had nixed feelings about being on board again. As a former Indian Naval family we had cherished the warmth and companionship of our colleagues, but this was different. Here, on this comparatively small ‘vessel’ ... which is what it was called .. we would meet perfect strangers who would come together for a few days and then go their separate ways. But we needn’t have worried. Our elegant hostess, Jahnabi, introduced us

to the silver-haired Jim and Edna Forster from the UK, Christopher and his assistant Laura from France who were shooting a TV documentary on the cruise, the knowledgeable Manager of the cruise company, Pratik, and the Cruise Manager Barun, Clearly they were all well-seasoned travellers: affable and interested, with none of the abrasive attitudinal problems of first-time voyagers. Also, our cabin was snug with wide views of the river, the food was delightfully varied thanks to the innovative Chef Mangal, and the service was unfailingly attentive. We could not have asked for more.

It is always exciting to move into new, and virtually unknown, terrain. For us, as for most Indians, the Northeast is a veiled land. On the first land excursion, for instance, we came face to face with the achievements of the mysterious Ahom dynasty. These formidable people, immigrants from further east, had ruled this land for 600 years: more than the combined eras of the Mughals and their successors, the British. In fact they had succeeded in repelling all Mughal attempts to take over their territory. In Sibsagar we marvelled at their enormous reservoir, their bee-hive shaped red

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the north-east temples, and their double-storeyed pavilion from where they had been entertained by animal fights and human displays of strength and agility. Clearly, they were a very cultured people who appreciated the good things of life, great administrators and warriors. Sadly, they had vanished as mysteriously as they had come, leaving only their monuments and their histories, but we had no idea what they looked like. They seemed to have left no sculptures or paintings of themselves.

Back on board, conversation over dinner should have revolved around the Ahoms. It is difficult, however, to sustain a conversation on speculation. Instead, Jim informed us that he belonged to one of the Reever clans: dreaded cattle raiders of ancient England. He also told us that our ancestors’ reputation as marauders was even worse!

The next morning the Charaidew began to sail down the river. The Brahmaputra, here, was a braided waterway, splitting into a number of channels which separate and merge and separate again creating little islands, and then wiping them out overnight. We depended on the keen eyes and inherited knowledge of our pilot, the slim, alert, Mr. Kasem. Consequently we started just after an early cloud-clotted sunrise, and pegged ourselves securely to the sandbanks at dusk.

Our French friends had been caught in a sudden downpour but, as Chris put it pragmatically: “It is all part of the experience so we have shot it!”

That night the conversation at dinner veered round our next destination: the world’s largest inhabited riverine island, Majuli. Here, a charismatic reformer named Sankaradeva had established monasteries dedicated to his aversion of ritualism, idolworship and sacrifice and offering a direct experience of divinity through dance, music and art. His opposition to the power of priests had led to his persecution. He had fled to the security of Majuli where his teachings had attracted growing numbers of followers.

The next day, on little religious enclaves on this green island, monks danced joyously with drums, acolytes were taught the spiritual appeal of the dance, a guru and his disciple crafted masks for sacred performances of the epics, and a group of boat-builders assured us that their profession had also been blessed

by Sankaradeva. He had decreed that monks should be able to support themselves and not be parasites on society.

The river is eating into Majuli and, accord26

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ing to a news-report, has reduced it by 227.43 sq. kms between 1914 and 2008. But there is a silver lining to this. The monasteries, which were concentrated on Majuli, have now begun to move to the mainland.The message of Sankardeva is much more accessible. Moreover, because of the increasing threat posed by the Brahmaputra, the call to declare Majuli a UNESCO World Heritage site has taken on a new urgency.

Some people of the river, however, have adjusted to the flooding and to their lands and their homes being gobbled up by rising water. Our second trip ashore, after the cruise began, was to a MIshmi village. The paths were soft underfoot, the towering stands of bamboo squeaked and rasped: they‘re the iconic giant grasses of the north-east. We scrambled up a notched bamboo ‘ladder’ to a MIshmi hut on bamboo stilts, thatched, walled and floored with bamboo matting.

Said the master of the house, sitting in his privileged place to the west of the hearth:

factfile 4 day sailings in October and December 2012 start from Guwahati and in November from Dibrugarh. Guests are picked up from the airport and taken to the embarkation point.

For more information and bookings contact : ASSAM BENGAL NAVIGATION, 3 B, Dirang Arcade. GNB Road, Chandmari, Guwahati 781003, Assam.

Tel:9207042330 0361-2667871/72/73 e-mail: sales@assambengal.in assambengal@ rediffmail.com

“When the river eats our land, we will pack up and move away as our ancestors have always done.” We believe that they have followed the course of the river, migrating from its headwaters in Tibet, doggedly refusing to be parted from its whimsical moods as if the Son of the Lord of Creation was entitled to be destructive too.

We spoke about this attitude of the MIshmis on our last evening together. Our crew had driven bamboo pegs into a sandbank, stretched out cables for lights, and gave us a bonfire and barbecue. The stars twinkled in the sky, the river lapped gently, the conversation sparkled at first, then became a little nostalgic, The chances were that we would not see each other again. Jim and Edna would go back to their little island that once ruled the world. Laura said that she was longing to taste the cheese of her native Burgundy. Christopher kept his counsel wondering, possibly, if he had got enough usable footage to make an episode for Voyage. We knew we had adequate material for our writings and for the chapters in our book dedicated to this cruise and the North east. But our experiences, during these days, had gone far beyond the need to make our readers see, smell, taste, hear and feel what we had encountered. We had sensed a much deeper urgency that needed to be expressed.

The Charaidew had shown us an intriguingly beautiful, veiled, land that needed, very urgently, to be better understood.

Text & photos by Hugh & Colleen Gantzer

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www.radissonblu.com July 2012 go now

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special interest

I

f there is a contest among India’s big cities for nearby getaways, Bangalore will be up there high on the list. From Coorg in the South West, to breathtaking Hampi in the North, to scores of wildlife getaways, there are enough weekend getaways for 52 weeks. And whether you are a coffee aficionado or not, make India’s coffee capital Chikmagalur part of that ‘must do trips from Bangalore’ list.

Chikmagalur is listed in most travel guides as a ‘hill station’ and I kept myself prepared for all the rough and tumble of hairpin bends and steep climbs. But once I eventually got past the infamous Bangalore traffic and hit overdrive they never showed up! A drama-free five hour drive was all it took to arrive in a district that is home to 15,000 coffee growers and welcomed me with a bracing air – pleasant but far from chilly.

The Serai is arguably the best address in Chikmagalur – a luxury retreat nestled within the confines of a 70 acre coffee estate. I quickly downed a glass of cold coffee as part of the welcome formalities and was whisked away to one of the resort’s 29 villas. Each of these villas has its own private pool (the kid friendly villas have a Jacuzzi instead) and are tastefully decorated with an accent on understated elegance. There’s abundant natural light, plenty of verdant green around the villas that happily coexist with a colour scheme dominated by coffee brown. A massive swimming pool, a lounge bar

and a spacious restaurant make up the hotel’s fact sheet but I seriously doubt anyone ever leaves the comfort of their villas except to explore Chikmagalur.You can also consider the (Taj) Gateway Hotel with its tranquil sights and sounds of nature.The hotel features 10 rooms and 19 cottages with exquisitely restored colonial architecture and breathtaking mountain views.

It was Baba Budan, a holy man who inadvertently put Chikmagalur on the map. Legend has it that he smuggled seven coffee beans after he discovered the pleasures of coffee on a trip to Yemen about four centuries ago. He planted these coffee beans around his mountain abode on the Chandradrona Parvatha near Chikmagalur.The plant took root, the place came to be known as Bababudangiri and once the British began commercial cultivation of coffee about 150 years back, India’s coffee story truly began and hasn’t looked back ever since.

Chikmagalur literally means Younger daughter’s town and it is believed to have been given as a dowry to the younger daughter of a local chieftain Rukmangada.

Even if you wake up to a cup of tea in the morning, a trip to a coffee estate is still a must do. If you are too lethargic to leave the confines of the Serai you can take a guided tour of the coffee estate within the resort. But it is best to venture out and discover the complex and fascinating journey from coffee bean to coffee cup. Chikmagalur’s Arabica Beans are

Wake up and smell the coffee…

Chikmaglur

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world famous (Robusta is the other major bean variety). Chikmagalur’s prized coffee tree – the Coffeea Arabica thrives only in sheltered mountains with sloping terrain and requires more care and nurturing than an infant. Soil must drain well, be a tad acidic and yet rich with minerals. Weeds and creepers need to be kept in check but not completely eliminated and, most importantly, coffee trees need cover from harsh sun and are usually grown in these parts under a canopy of silver oak trees.

First come the flowers that eventually transform into coffee berries. These berries take anywhere between eight to ten months to mature and become ready to be manually harvested. A cumbersome process transforms coffee berries into a brown aromatic bean that is fit for roasting. Beans are sorted, washed and also go through moisture reduction during this process. A fiery roasting process then exposes the coffee beans to temperatures between 180 and 230°C during which time their colour changes from green to yellow to the final brown t h at i s re a dy for grinding and brewi n g. A n d i f you’d rather not take my

word for it, you can spend a morning at the Chikmagalur Coffee Museum for more clarity on the subject.

There’s a lot to do in and around Chikmagalur (see box), from the nearby historic temples at Belur and Halebeedu to stunning views from Karnataka’s highest peak - Mullainagiri. And if your club membership allows you access (through an affiliation arrangement) I would also strongly recommend a visit to one of India’s most historic planter’s clubs – The Kadur Club. The old bar filled with hunting trophies like stuffed Gaur bison heads is easily one of Chikmagalur’s finest watering holes.

A half day in town can be quite taxing especially when you are in holiday mode; thankfully, Serai’s luxurious Oma Spa has quite a few rejuvenating treatments that can help you recharge your batteries ahead of a tough week at work. There’s nothing better than the Signature coffee scrub that leaves your skin softer, re-energised and smelling of coffee!

You can also explore the marvels of Malenadu cuisine that is unique to this region. Malenadu literally means land of mountain ranges and covers other areas that surround Chikmagalur, like Saksleshpura and Mudigere. Malenadu cuisine incorporates ingredients that g row i n t h e dense forests of the Wester n Ghats like Bamboo s h o o t s , r aw

MustDo Coffee Estate visit: Your hotel can organise a trek inside a coffee estate or a visit to a coffee processing unit Tee off in style: The Chikmagalur Golf club is the brainchild of celebrated golf course designer Phil Ryan. This 9 hole course offers picturesque views of the mountains in the distance and also features well-appointed rooms and a plush clubhouse Belur and Halebeedu: These historic temples are one of the finest examples of Hoysala architecture and are enroute from Bangalore to Chikmagalur Call of the wild: The Bhadra sanctuary is just 40 kms away and offers wildlife treks and jungle safaris.

Picture postcard views: head to the Baba Budan Giri Range (35km), with the massive Mullayangiri Peak towering over it. Opt for one of the demanding treks if you are the outdoorsy type or just do some backseat driving and enjoy the views from the comfort of your car.

Kemmangundi: named after a former king of Mysore who made it his summer retreat, this scenic hill station is about 60 kms away Sunset at Agumbe: on a clear day is one of the beautiful sights in Karnataka. Located about 35 kms from Chikmagalur, Agumbe is also one of India’s rainiest destinations and often referred to as the Cherrapunji of the South

jackfruit, Colcassia leaves and the flavours also reveal influences from Coorg and Mangalore. You can find Malenadu delicacies like Akki Roti (made with rice flour), Crab Chutney, Kozhi (Chicken) Saaru at local restaurants or on special menus at the Serai and The Gateway.

So, whether you are seeking a piece of history or a chill zone (literally), Chikmagalur makes for the perfect extended weekend getaway and offers a variety of experiences. And, do not forget your cup of coffee for the road before you leave India’s coffee country.

by Ashwin Rajagopalan

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hotels & resorts

Park Hyatt Hyderabad

Epitomises the brand’s intimacy and elegance

After a resort hotel in Goa, Park Hyatt recently opened its first city hotel in the country, making the cut with its understated panache. Go Now gets you all the details.

T

the other design elements in the hotel.

Park Hyatt hotels, globally, are premium luxury hotels that are ‘intimate and residential in style’. The hotels, located in many of the world's premier destinations, are elegant but in a very subtle way. The interiors are sophisticated, the decor intriguing and there are critically acclaimed art programs and signature restaurants featuring award-winning chefs.

Located in the posh Banjara Hills area of Hyderabad, the property is the first city hotel by Park Hyatt in India. (It has a resort property in Goa.) Park Hyatt Hyderabad is also the first hotel to offer serviced apartment. The Residence offers five-star facilities and amenities at its 42 serviced luxury Park Hyatt hotels are premium luxury hotels that are ‘intimate apartments. The hotel and residential in style’. The hotels, located in many of the has 185 guestrooms world’s premier destinations, are elegant but in a very subtle and 24 suites spread way. The interiors are sophisticated, the decor intriguing and over six floors, while there are critically acclaimed art programs and signature restaurants featuring award-winning chefs. the apartments are The brand targets discerning, affluent individual business and on the two uppermost leisure guests. Offering luxurious accommodations, Park Hyatt floors. Evidently tarensures personalised service to all its guests. So you notice geting the corporate the staff going the extra mile, to ensure you are comfortable traveller, the rooms at the hotel. are equipped with

he facade of the hotel gives no hint of what lies inside. Simple and subtle in its appearance, it certainly doesn’t indicate the level of class and style of this newly opened hotel. And that perhaps is the best way to describe a Park Hyatt: subtly stylish.

Step in and you see an impressive porch with a shimmering steel mesh ceiling fixture.

Inside, the lobby is designed with sparkling water features and plants surrounding a 35-foot tall white structure, which could be interpreted as a Ganesh idol or mother holding her child.

The abstract sculpture is as intriguing as are

The elegant all day dining restaurant, The Dining Room.

Brand Park Hyatt

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The Fitness Centre.

hotels & resorts huge work de sk s, advanced in-room technolog y and conveniently placed electrical outlets and light fixtures.

The Design The lobby area looks grand with proficient use of the space. The w a l k w ay s on t he floors look impressive with wooden slating, giving you glimpses of green Suite bathroom plant s on ter r ace gardens on some of the floors. Don’t miss the ornamental chandeliers across the hotel. Not to be missed is also the artwork in the hotel.

There are abstract paintings by a French artist who is said to have been inspired

by Indian culture. The impressive design of the property is the result of the creative vision of John Portman & Associates and Hirsch Bedner Associates, who have given several impressive design elements like the exotic chandeliers, Indian motifs, silk and vibrant colours among others.

T he gue strooms, claims the hotel, are among the largest in the city, measuring at least 463 square feet.

Neutral earthy tones along with shades of white and silver make for a tranquil ambience.

Dining Options In the city that loves its food, Park Hyatt offers plenty of dining op tions. All restaurants a r e de s i g ne d w it h interactive show kitchens. In keeping with the brand’s philosophy of housing signature restaurants, the hotel features Tre-Forni that serves delicious Italian

cuisine. It has an extensive wine list which include s wines from Central and Northern Italian wine re gions. There are three rustic ovens used for baking fre sh piz za s a s well as grilled and baked dishes. A must try at the restaurant is seafood and risottos.

Next, there’s Dining Room that offers traditional Indian menu along with classic European cuisine. The Living Room offers the hotel’s signature selection of macaroons and other French pastries besides Western and Indian-inspired high tea in the afternoon. The Oriental Bar and Kitchen serves Southeast Asian cuisine to accompany the drinks. It has separate libraries each for cognacs, Asian liquor and whiskies.

Meeting Facilities With a focus on business travellers, the hotel features Hyatt’s innovative residential-style meeting concept. Named The Manor at Park Hyatt Hyderabad, the meeting facilities are meant to ‘reflect the entertainment spaces of private homes’. There are small and mid-sized groups a personal, tailor-made meetings or events experience aided by a dedicated Events Service team.

For relaxation after a hectic work day, the hotel offers gym facilities and an infinity pool with private cabanas.

Also, there is The Spa that offers wellness therapies ‘inspired by those given to the Nizams of Hyderabad’. by purva bhatia

factfile Address: Park Hyatt Hyderabad Road No. 2, Banjara Hills, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh 500034. India Tel: +91 40 4949 1234 Fax: +91 40 4949 1235 Email: hyderabad.park@hyatt.com Room Rates: Rs 15,000 + onwards per night

While you are in Hyderabad...

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hether you are on a business or a leisure trip, the City of Nizams gives you plenty of options to make your trip memorable and pleasant. A graceful blend of Hindu and Muslim traditions, the city will charm you with its warmth.

We list out some of the must-dos when you are here...

SEE: Charminar: A perfect symbol for Hyderabad, it stands for the intermingling of Hindu and Islamic traditions. Do not miss the exciting view of the city from the very top of the minar. Next, head to Golconda Fort – known as marvel of military architecture. Clap your hands at the portico and hear the sound reverberate miraculously inside the King’s chambers on top of the hill. Spare time for an exciting light and sound show in the evening.

Bollywood fans shouldn’t miss a trip to Ramoji Film City – a unique theme park-cum-film facility.

Beautiful gardens, hills, lakes, artificial waterfalls, amusement parks, and striking architecture – you’ll get it all here!

For a delightful evening, catch up the Laser Show at Lumbini Park and then spend some time near the Hussain Sagar Lake. The park attracts a lot of crowd for its Japanese Rock Garden, dancing fountains and a huge floral clock. Every evening, a laser-light show uses a water screen to project and narrate the history of Hyderabad.

EAT: No trip to the city is complete without getting the taste of the famous Hyderabadi Biryani.

The undisputed leader in offering an authentic taste is Hotel Paradise. Order some kebabs along with the biryani. However, there are several other delectable cuisines too in Hyderabad’s kitchen. Try lamb curries with the Hyderabadi kulcha. There is also a range of vegetarian south Indian cuisines, like idli and dosa. Get to tasting some of them at the Eat Street on Necklace Road.

Paan has formed an integral part of Hyderabadi hospitality since the time of the Nizams. There are several flavours available today that go beyond the traditional fennel, mint or saffron. Savour one after a hearty meal in the city.

SHOP: The best gift for someone or yourself, you can carry from Hyderabad, is undoubtedly the famed Hyderabadi pearl. There are several shops in this ‘city of pearls’ that sell pearls in all hues, colours, and sizes. But be alert not to be duped; it’s best to take a local along or check out several shops and compare prices before making up your mind.

The Bidri work which is silver inlaid on black metal is also a must-pick from Hyderabad. Visit the government Handicrafts Emporium Lepakshi to pick up some of this fine craft in the form of bidri hookahs, tableware or even jewellery.

If bazaars steeped in atmosphere and abuzz with activity fascinate you, head to Laad Bazzar in the Charminar area. Pick bangles, wedding accessories and other embellishments from here, for yourself or your loved one. by purva bhatia

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hotels & resorts

If location is important for a hotel, it is even more important in Goa. For those chasing the nightlife of North Goa, The Lemon Tree is admirably located on the main stretch going from Panjim and Aguada to Calangute and Baga.

Lemon Tree Amaranta, Candolim Goa

Room 156 stands apart for its villa-like grandeur

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oom 156 is tucked away into a separate, almost unnoticeable, rear block in the hotel complex.

So much so, most residents would not even know of its existence. This is the Heritage block with just five suites, 156 being the largest, most exclusive, and boasting of its own private pool. It is more than a plunge pool, crystal-clear blue, with a private garden running alongside. Inside the room, you have ground plus one level – very comfortable living on the ground with a powder room, and one expansive attic on the first with a large double bed, and a large

attached toilet. All the usual amenities are included, including a thoughtful cordless phone that comes in handy even when you are lounging at the pool!

Lemon Tree in Candolim, Goa was a great revelation. If location is important, and indeed it is very important in Goa with its large distances, then down-town is the word for this hotel. It is on the main road that goes from Panjim and Aguada upto Baga and further North. This is where the action is, in Goa. All the night life, the Goan pubs and shacks that the destination is famous for, exist in close proximity to Candolim and

Room 156 with its villa-like experience

Entrance to the private pool.

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Calungate. The Candolim beach is a mere 5 minute walk, Room 156 is the closest to it. The best departmental stores, Newton and Delfinos are within walking distance.

Snipes, the popular spa, is a mere 10 minutes walking distance.

There is plenty of action within the hotel itself. It has an imposing swimming pool with a sunken bar. The pool is right in the middle of the hotel and is well shaded with giant trees around it. The feeling is lush and inviting as even during day time there is plenty of shelter available. The coffee shop that serves buffet meals is adjoining the pool. The hotel’s speciality restaurant, Republic of Noodles, is most recommended, even if you were not staying in the hotel. The food is excellent, also unusual in its menu offerings. It draws its inspiration from the street foods of Cambodia,

Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand and China.

On a visit last month, the hotel had begun extensive renovation of its standard rooms. It has a boutique-like ambience, very cozy and very homely. It has a small room base of 60 plus numbers. Small effects in stained glass, special architecture modeled on Portuguese era create a lasting impact, capturing the romance of the 15th century.

Most of all, I would recommend the hotel staff – it has a young team, much like the Lemon Tree organization, most helpful and friendly. And before I forget, Room 156 has a published tariff of Rs 33,000 per night; check out on their website for the rate of the day.

For standard rooms, some excellent packages are available, and you can choose what suits your needs best.

Ground Zero – the living room equipped with its own music system and well-stocked bar.

Text & photographs by navin S berry July 2012 go now

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A still from the movie ‘kal ho na ho’ which is shot in Switzerland

Globetrotting Discover the world with our updates on destinations, airlines and experiences

July 2012 go now

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airlines & airports buzz

Fly to Houston with Turkish Airlines

Check in virtually on Lufthansa’s new app

Turkish Airlines is all set to fly to Houston besides operating their existing flights to Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and Washington DC. IstanbulHouston flights are scheduled to begin from April 1, 2013. Flights will operate 4 times per week on Mondays, Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

Due to heavy demand for seats between Istanbul and N e w Yo r k , Turkish Airlines also has introduced a third daily Istanbul-New York flight from May 2012. Effective from 28 May to 16 September, the summer schedule will include three daily services for this period.

Introductory fares of 399 Euros between Istanbul and Houston will be valid from April 1, 2013 to May 15, 2013.

A

fter my ‘MySkyStatus’ Lufthansa ha s now brought a new app that fulfill the motto “living on the badge”. It invites people to virtually check in with the new Blue Legends app.

Passengers can share information about their journey with other via social networks. Blue Legends gives users the opportunity to virtually “check in” airports, lounges and Lufthansa flights through Foursquare although this does not actually take place. The passengers using this app are rewarded with ranks and badges for regularly checking in virtually.

For example, users can become “Expert Pilots” on the routes they fly most frequently. Early risers who check in before 6 a.m. are awarded the “Early Bird” badge and so on and so for th. Blue Legends, one of the first ten so-called foursquare Connected Apps, is built around the location-based social network foursquare and is available now in a beta version in the foursquare gallery or at www.lufthansa.com/ blue-legends.

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Offer is valid for First Class and Business Class passengers Synonymous with luxury and opulence, Dubai is the cit y for the ultra rich club. It treats you with style and panache.

Along with Emirates and MasterCard, The Armani Hotel and The Address Dubai Marina have loads of things to offer. If you book your Emirates flight with MasterCard till 30th September then you can expect a feast at the city.

First class tickets come with two nights at the

Armani Hotel Dubai, and Business Class tickets come with a single night at The Address Dubai Marina. Bookings in both classes include free 96-hour visas and complimentary fast-track access to At The Top, Burj Khalifa’s observation deck on the 124th floor.

The offer is valid till 30th September. For mor e infor mation call (022) 40974055

Double dailies to Dubai and Bankgkok on IndiGo

IndiGo is all set to introduce new additional flights on its Dubai and Bangkok route.

IndiGo will expand its international operations with new flights between the cities of Hyderabad-Dubai, Chennai-Dubai and Kochi-Dubai. In addition, IndiGo will start its second daily and direct flights between Delhi-Dubai and Delhi-Bangkok sectors.

These new flights will be operational effective August, 2012. IndiGo will be offering introductory return fare of INR11200* (or AED 734) on the new flights.

For more information visit www.goindigo.in

airlines & airports buzz

Air France switches to swanky new terminal 2E

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he Paris Airport Authority, Aéroports de Paris, along with Air France recently launched the newly upgraded terminal 2E at Paris. All Air France flights from India will move from terminal 2C to terminal 2E at Paris, Charles de Gaulle airport. The shift has been made considering the ease, comfort and convenience of the passengers.

The new shift will be a boon for the people travelling from India. As a part of this project, Aéroports de Paris has invested 580 Million Euros to transform, improve and simplify the passenger experience at Paris - Charles de Gaulle. The key developments made at Terminal 2E include opening of the “Concourse M” where Air France will concentrate all its international, non-Schengen flights.

This includes flights from India to USA, UK, Africa, South America and Canada. With

BA has special offers going for students There is something new from the stable of British Airways for the Indian student s who want to study in the UK, US, Canada and select European destinations.

The new promotional offer for the university students allows students flying with British Airways between 01 June and 30 October 2012 to carry an extra piece of luggage weighing up to 23 kilos in addition to the permitted checked in allowance*. To make travel ea sier, Br itish Airways has teamed up with par tners to pro vide special offers and

attractive discounts to students bound for foreign universities. The offer is valid for students holding a valid student visa to the UK, Europe, USA or Canada only. The outbound travel must be completed on or before 30 October 2012, originating in Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad or Chennai. *The existing baggage allowance is 23 kilos to the UK and customers connecting to the US are entitled to two pieces of 23 kilos each.

For further information on British Airways visit www.ba.com

this development, Indian passengers will be able to connect to other international flights within the same terminal. Plenty of changes have been made at 2E, the new terminal like the largest Air France Business Lounge, new shopping area, European connections, expanded service area.

Upper Class cabin launched

by Virgin Atlantic Virgin Atlantic’s A330 took off from Delhi to London with a new look this July. The airline has redesigned its Upper class Cabin on the A330 as part of its £ 100 million investment plan. The state of the art cabin boasts of the longest bed in business class, a 2.7 meter long onboard bar, an innovative touch screen entertainment system, unique mood lighting, stylish interiors and in plane mobile and GPRS connectivity. The new espresso leather seat is one and a half inches wider and reclines up to 50% more. Each seat has an innovative touchscreen entertainment system JAM loaded with the latest Hollywood and Bollywood entertainment and has a new technology hub that allows passengers to connect their smart phone, USA stick or tablet to JAM, watch desired content. The long haul airline has also launched a unique software – PlaneView – allowing passengers to take a virtual tour of the cabin. With PlaneView, customers will be able to experience the key features of the cabin in a 3D environment.

Malaysian Airlines’s first A380 to ply on Kuala LumpurLondon route The first A380 Airbus for Malaysian Airlines was unveiled with a special celebration livery that was designed specifically for the new A380. This A380 will ply on the Kuala LumpurLondon route. Altogether Malaysia Airlines has ordered six A380s with a premium layout seating 494 passengers in three classes. The aircraft will be used to operate thrice weekly (Tuesday, Friday, Sunday) for Kuala Lumpur-London and the return flight departing the next day.

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travel buzz

Have a great honeymoon in US; thanks to Crowne Plaza

Discover Dubai at the Atlantis, The Palm

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ome monsoon and the Atlantis, The Palm Dubai has some great deals to offer. This monsoon, there is something for everyone to enjoy in the family. The package starts from AED990++ per room per night. The offer is valid till 30th September 2012. Another deal, the Visa Family Fun Package includes a one night stay in a Deluxe Room, AED 800 dinner voucher at a choice of three restaurants (Ronda Locatelli, Rostang, The French Brasserie or Levantine), breakfast for two adults and two children, a 2 for 1 treatment voucher at ShuiQi Spa & Fitness and an afternoon session at Kids Club for two children. The offer can be redeemed by presenting VISA card. The Lost Chambers, home to over 65,000 marine animals will have the last of series of Family Fun Days on 7 September allowing families to discover the mysteries of the ocean and all-age Escape the swelter activities together. Another interesting thing are the ing Indian summers five AAA monsoon camps at the Club Rush that will by taking a welcome offer monsoon programmes and workshops.

Pure bliss in Mauritius

For more information visit atlantisthepalm.com or call +971 4 426 1000 and quote Atlantis Monsoon P.S. Please note that the AED 990 rate is for room only, per room, per night and does not include service and authority fees. Valid for stays from 8 May to 30 September 2012 only.

Mandarin Oriental, Singapore introduces great package for Formula race enthusiasts

Experience the thrill of watching formula one race from the luxury of your hotel room located at Mandarin Oriental, Singapore. Located right in the heart of the circuit, it is ideally located within walking distance of the Pit Building from where one can get clear view of the race.

The package provides guests with access to the season’s exclusive city night race as well as luxurious treats in the hotel. It is priced at SGD 9,500 per room per night requires a minimum three nights’ stay and is available only during the Formula One race season which starts in mid- September 2012.

This package comes loaded with incentives like accommodation in a luxurious Bay Suite, personalised check-in within the comfort of the suite, round-trip airport transfers by Mercedes-Benz limousine.

These packages are valid during the Formula One race season from 21 - 23 September 2012. For more information or reservations, call (91)- 65-6885 3030 or e-mail mosin-reservations@mohg.com 38

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break to Mauritius for 6 Nights / 7 Days.

These packages are valid for booking till 15th July and ar e priced at Rs. 60,000.

The trave dates would be from 27 July to 2 August.

These packages include 6 nights’ accommodation in a three star hotel in Mauritius.Daily Breakfast and dinner at the hotel, full Day Ile Aux Cerf island tour with speed boat transfer, full day south tour, full day nor th tour where visit to Pamplemousses Garden is not included. Air fare Delhi- Mauritius- Delhi All tours.

The 6 nights/7 days packages starts from Rs 60,000.

For more information or reservations call (91) -9815444488, 9915444488, email: globeplanners@ gmail.com

Let Crowne Plaza help you make your honeymoon better and more romantic. It is simple, book your wedding celebration at any Crowne Plaza Hotel or Resort in the U.S. or Canada before December 30, 2012, spend US $5,000 or more, and you’ll receive a Honeymoon On Us Visa® Prepaid Card worth up to US $1,250 to spend on your honeymoon at any Crowne Plaza worldwide or at any hotel anywhere. The bigger your wedding, the

better your honeymoon can be. Here’s how it works: YOU SPEND YOU GET US $5,000 US $250 US $10,000 US $500 US $15,000 US $750 US $20,000 US $1,000 US $25,000 US $1,250 Whether your dream honeymoon includes relaxing on a beach in Mexico, a glittering getaway on the Las Vegas Strip, or a week of wild rides in Orlando, your Honeymoon On Us card will pay up to US $1,250 toward your stay anywhere Visa debit cards are accepted.

For more information log on to www.ichotelsgroup. com/crowneplaza Or email at 1800meeting@ ihg.com or call at 1800-111-000. Ext. 5678

Escape to the scenic Koh Chang in Thailand

Centara Hotels & Resorts have recently opened Koh Chang Tropicana Resort & Spa on Koh Chang. The resort offers special rates to visitors who wish to spend extended periods on the island. If one wishes to stay for seven nights anytime before 31st October, the rate for Superior room is baht 2,000 baht nett and a Cabana Suite is baht 3,800 baht nett.

The resort has 157 spacious rooms and suites which are designed to enhance the sensation of living in a tropical beach setting and are contained in two wings, Superior and Deluxe. The main swimming pool faces the beach and has its own Jacuzzi. A second swimming pool is set within the gardens. Moving on to the Spa, Thailand is known for its massages and The Spa at the resort offers body wraps, massages, steambaths and an array of signature treatments designed to thoroughly relax and rejuvenate your body. The offer is valid till 31st October.

For more information and reservations, please contact tel. +662 101 1234 ext 1. Or e-mail to reservations@chr.co.th or visit at www.centarahotelsresorts.com

travel buzz

Sheraton Towers Singapore: Stay for there days and enjoy fourth night complimentary

Experience luxury and opulence at Tower Club, Lebua

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ebua is synonymous with luxury and high life and Tower Club at Lebua, Bangkok epitomizes that opulence.

Now, Lebua has come up with ‘Acca Kappa’ a superlative luxury brand from Italy that is a favourite with celebrities’ worldwide.

Sheraton Towers Singapore has set a benchmark in the hospitality industry with its outstanding service standards and classical charming ambience. It is located at a 10 minute walking distance from the dynamic entertainment, shopping and dining district of Orchard Road.

One of the finest hotels in Singapore, the Hotel has 420 elegantly ap pointed rooms that come equipped with modern amenities and conveniences. Award-winning restaurants include the renowned Li Bai Cantonese Restaurant, and DOMVS the Italian Restaurant. In the current package, you pay for three nights and get to stay four nights. Guests can stay in the newly refurbished room for three days and enjoy the fourth night complimentary. The package also includes breakfast for 2 persons and free internet access. The offer is valid till September and the fourth night must be on a Friday, Saturday or a Sunday. The offer will not be valid between 20-23 September.

For more information log on to www.deals.sheraton.com/ Sheraton-Towers-Singapore-Hotel

Enjoy the hospitality of Hyatt Regency in London

Hyatt Regency London-- The Churchill has extended a special offer under which guests get to stay three nights for the price of two.

The special offer which is valid from July 13-25, 2012 is priced at GBP 453 per person. This offer includes daily breakfast; return shuttle transfer from Heathrow Airport to the hotel and sightseeing hop on hop off tour.

One of the finest 5 star hotels in London, Hyatt Regency London - The Churchill enjoys a prime location in Central London’s West End, close to exclusive shopping and the City. Its positioning in the Marylebone area, adjacent to Park Lane, ensures that it is one of the best situated luxury hotels in London from which to explore Hyde Park, Marble Arch and Buckingham Palace, some of London’s most celebrated landmarks.

For more information contact: astralworld@astraltravels.com

Acca Kappa can be used by the guests during their stay at the hotel. The White Moss collection by Acca Kappa includes shampoo, conditioner, body lotion, soap and shower gel which has unique qualities and aroma to rejuvenate your body and soul. Further to enhance this luxurious experience, the hotel is also offering the ‘Suite Deal at Tower Club’ package; a one-bedroom accommodation in a Tower Club Riverview Suite priced from US$ 269++ per room per night. The unique package offers guests a personalized half day temple/palace tour, round trip airport transfers, drinks at Ocean 52 and daily breakfast at Cafe Mozu.

For reservations please call: +66 (0) 624 9555 or email reservations@lebua.com

Amazing opening offers

by Four Points by Sheraton, Sandakan

Amazing opening offers by Four Points Sheraton, Sandakan Four Points by Sheraton Sandakan that has just opened this year has brilliant opening offers for the guests. The hotel is situated right on a scenic waterfront pedestrian promenade overlooking the Sulu sea. The facilities are great, the amenities are outstanding; from a great spa, to an outdoor pool, a lobby lounge an all day dining restaurant. There is something for everyone. The opening celebration package includes Free breakfast for 2 at The Eatery, Late check-out at 4 p.m. (subject to availability), Two Coffee or Tea at Wrapped Deli (per stay), Complimentary high speed internet access in all rooms. The rate starts from MYR 208++ and the offer is valid for bookings and stay up till 31st December For more information log on to www.deals.fourpoints.com/ Four-Points-Sandakan July 2012 go now

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Lesser known

Located in Northern Jordan, Jerash is well-known for its Roman ruins. Hidden in sand for centuries, Jerash today reveals a fine example of the grand, formal provincial Roman urbanisism that is found throughout the Middle East.

Rome on a Wadi

Jerash N

ostalgia changes geography.

The Brits came to India seeking trade, evolved to conquerors, longed for the ambiance of home, created the hill-stations. Mussoorie, Naini Tal, Shimla, Ooty became clones of British county towns with red-roofed cottages set in little gardens where English flowers bloomed.

In Jordan we discovered that the Romans did the same thing.

Here, 2,000 years ago, they had changed the Arabian town into a deliberately Romanesque Mediterranean centre with public baths, fountains, colonnaded streets, and

theatres with VIP seats. They even changed the name of the town from the Arabic Garshu to the Roman Gerasa. It is now known as Jerash.

We drove 48 kms from Jordan’s capital, to Jerash.. We parked in a lot above the Wadi Jerash stream and snacked enormous oven fresh nan-like breads and delectably sweet, cardamom-flavoured, coffee. From here we strode up an inclined road, got a glimpse of the modern town massed below, and stepped into AD 50. This is, reputedly, ‘the world’s best preserved Roman provincial

Hadrian’s

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ar style.

ing a famili

Arch, sett

Acanthus Carving, typically Mediterranean.

Lesser known

city’, designed by skilled Roman architects and engineers. And as we trudged around we also realized that we still have a lot in common with the people who lived in Jerash two millennia ago.

Visually, the most impressive space is the Oval Plaza ringed by a colonnade of Ionic pillars. As the sun moved, the pillars threw striations across the plaza and a family of visitors rested in their shadows. This was, clearly, a public meeting

place, a concourse, where citizens exercised briskly in the morning, met and conversed through the day, and strolled around and relaxed of an evening. It was the equivalent of Delhi’s Jantar Mantar and Mumbai’s Oval.

Presumably, this was also, the place were disgruntled citizens met to express their ire with the exorbitant price of Indian textiles and their society women who flaunted these see-through fabrics. Historically, they did have such agitations in Rome.

Stretching out from the Oval Plaza is the impressive Colonnaded Street. This main thoroughfare of Jerash still carried the marks of chariot wheels, the preferred vehicles

of those days. Broad pavements once held shops and we noticed stone manholes to drain water into underground sewers. Presumably there were no flooded roads in Jerash.

Halfway up this road, the columns become broader. This was the entrance to the Macellum, a covered marketplace: appreciably more organized than a bazaar or a gallery of street-shops. The British could have replicated this idea when they created Crawford Market in Mumbai and the New Market in Kolkata. These eventually evolved into New Delhi’s Connaught Place which, incidentally, also has soaring columns. The

The South Theatre and its Bedou musician.

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lesser known columns of Connaught Place, however, are not crowned by decorative capitals. Lying around the ruins of Jerash were acanthus capitals carved with the stylized leaves of a prickly desert shrub growing wild in the Mediterranean lands.

The Roman obsessions with columns and commemorative arches was passed on to the British who had no monumental culture of their own. The British, in turn, gifted this to us and the results were the Gateway of India and India Gate. In Jerash, Hadrian’s Arch soared, honouring the visit of the Emperor Hadrian in AD 129. It was meant to be the southern gate but the civic authorities lost their incentive when the Emperor passed on.

Historically, Public Works Departments have a short motivational span.

No town worth its name can do without its sports arena. This is the safety valve of the aam admi and distracts their attention from bad governance, corruption and the other ailments of a top-down society. Jerash had its Hippodome. This enormous arena could hold 15,000 frenzied spectators, as the charioteers raced around, whipping their steeds, The new town of Jerash below the Roman city.

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making and breaking fortunes in this major, and very prosperous, trading town. Those sports were the progenitor of our F1 races roaring around the tracks of the world. Gambling has always provided safety valves for the pressures of excessive wealth.

Moreover, in those uncertain days, the movers and shakers of the economy had as much need to be protected as they have today. We walked past the massive City Walls and through the South Gate.

The space in front was empty but when the city was at the height of its fame, this was the open ma r ket s qua r e wher e owners of push-carts and canopied stalls offered bargains from all over the

A Romanesque Colonnaded Street.

lesser known

Getting There : Air by Royal Jordanian Airlines from Mumbai and Delhi to Amman, the Capital and then 48 kms. by road.

Getting Around: Taxis or hired cars. We were driven around by a vehicle of Benz Rent a Car, Telefax: 009626 5821181. e-mail:BENZ.Rentacar@gmail.com Accommodation: Best to make Amman the base for day trips to interesting places around.

The capital has hotels to suit all budgets.

We stayed in the 5-star Landmark Hotel, Tel: 962 6 5607100 e-mail : info@landmarkamman.com For more information: www.visitjordan.com

world, including muslin and spices from India.

Then we came to a monument that must have been very appealing in its time: the Nymphaeum. This beautiful fountain, with its red bowl, was dedicated to those graceful, semi-divine women, the Nymphs. It must have been a source of as much delight as the Trevi and other sculpted fountains in Rome are today. Civic fountains in cities around the world are part of the cultural legacy of Rome and were spread all over the world by the British. Sadly, that other monument to the Roman obsession with water, the West Baths, collapsed in the great earthquake of January AD 749 and was never rebuilt.

For some strange reason, neither the North nor the South Theatre seemed to have been damaged by that seismic disturbance.

The North Theatre was smaller and could have been used for civic meetings and not only for theatre. The South Theatre’s stage has been reconstructed and the acoustics are still superb as we heard when a bagpiper and drummer, in Bedou robes, filled the air with their music. Though an American tourist loudly questioned the existence of bagpipes at the time that the theatre had been built, he was wrong. Bagpipes could have been moaning and groaning as far back as 100 BC. But even in those distant days some people were more equal than others: their stone seats were reserved, and Greek letters were inscribed on them to make sure that others did not occupy those privileged, high-status, places.

That was many centuries ago, in Jordan.

Clearly, however, as Jerash showed us, human arrogance prevails: the more things change, the more they remain the same.

Text & photos by Hugh & Colleen Gantzer

American Express brings the Platinum Credit Card

T

apping into urban Indian’s affinity for travelling, American Express recently launched the American Express Platinum Travel Credit Card offering cardmembers a complimentary return domestic flight and a luxury hotel stay each year of membership. American Express has tied up with IndiGo Airlines and the Taj Group as anchor partners to offer cardmembers travel and lodging rewards and benefits.

Cardmembers can also redeem their Membership Rewards points, earned from regular spending, for miles in more than 65 leading international and domestic airlines.

Cardmembers will get a welcome gift of 5000 bonus Membership Rewards points (worth IndiGo voucher of Rs 4,000) that will be credited to their account on the first charge and another 7500 bonus Membership Rewards points (worth IndiGo voucher of Rs 6,000) on reaching the spend threshold of Rs 1,90,000 within a renewal cycle.

Once cardmembers reach the spend threshold of Rs 4,00,000 in the same renewal cycle, they will get another 10,000 bonus Membership Rewards points (worth IndiGo voucher of Rs 10,000) plus Rs 10,000 worth Taj Group vouchers.

In addition to the bonus points which give complimentary return flights and Taj Group vouchers, cardmembers will also earn Membership Reward points through regular spending and accelerated rewards (5X and 10X) which can be redeemed from 600 other redemption options with the most powerful Rewards Programme in the country – The American Express Membership Rewards Programme.

According to Shailesh Baidwan, Country Manager and Head of Consumer Cards business, American Express Banking Corp., “The American Express Platinum Travel Credit Card is a significant addition to our growing portfolio of offerings that give cardmembers greater need-based choices. The marketing alliance with IndiGo Airlines and the Taj Group has helped us create a valuable proposition with the best spendlinked benefits which would help those who enjoy travel and value quality. The card has been tailored to meet an underlying customer need for a complete travel product which offers value and flexibility backed by American Express’ best-in-class Platinum Services.”

Key highlights of the American Express

Platinum Travel Credit Card: Platinum Travel • Up to 2 complimentary return flights aboard IndiGo for simply spending as low as INR 1,90,000 in a year • Up to 4 complimentary return flights aboard IndiGo and up to 2 room nights stay at the luxurious Taj Group, on spending INR 4,00,000 in a year • No hassles of mile conversion and black out dates on travel Platinum Reward • Earn 1 Membership Rewards point for every Rs 40 spent on the Card • 10 times Membership Rewards points at over 300 Platinum partners across India and Singapore • 10 times Membership Rewards points at MakeMyTrip on packages, stays and international flights, and 5 times Membership Rewards points for all domestic air bookings • 5 times Membership Rewards points on your groceries and supermarket shopping, all days of the week • Additionally, cardmembers will have flexibility to redeem all their Membership Rewards points for additional IndiGo and Taj vouchers and 600 other redemption options including leading airlines and hotels Platinum Services • 24X7 Platinum Assist • Zero Lost Card liability • Online fraud protection guarantee • Emergency Card replacement • Online services Platinum Privileges • Big purchases made easy with Pay-inParts privilege • Convert transaction above Rs 5000 in EMIs with the triple fold benefit (0% processing fee, 1.49% p.m. interest and no foreclosure charges) • Up to 25% discount across 400 plus premium restaurants July 2012 go now

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destination

Sky diving in Mauritius.

T

hink of Mauritius and your mind instantly conjures up images of powder white beaches and tropical palm trees. A popular honeymoon destination and a luxury hot spot for celebrities and jet setters, Mauritius is one of the closest things to paradise on earth.

With welcoming people, a weighty history, luxurious hotels and of course, spectacular beaches, Mauritius serves up a multicultural platter that’s hard to resist. Like a pearl in the Indian Ocean, Mauritius or L’Île Maurice, as the French call it, is a melting pot with a history of more than four centuries and numerous cultures including the Dutch, French, English, Chinese, Indian and native Creole influences.

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destination Wellness Get rid of your stress and revive your senses with the exquisite beauty and body care products offered by the various Spa and wellness centers spread. Most hotels and resorts offer world-class Spa facilities and are sponsored by leading international brands such as Givenchy, Clarins, Guerlain, La Prairie, Shisheido, Tree Spa and more. Therapies include Asian Ayurvedic massages, ocean-inspired treatments, ageold African, Balneotherapy (hot bath), thalassotherapy and Creole remedies made from local herbs and flowers, Thai and Balinese.

Zip line ride.

Golf Mauritius offers over a dozen extraordinary golf courses set on a stunning tropical island. Some of the most popular golf courses are Anahita Golf Course, Gymkhana, Tamarina, Le Saint Géran, Maritim, The Legend Golf Course, The Links Golf Course, Golf du Château Golf Course, Golf Course of Shandrani Resort, Trou aux Biches Hotel & Golf Club, Belle Mare Plage Golf Club - The Links and Héritage Golf & Spa Resort, among others.

Yacht charters Mauritius is one of the most idyllic locations for yacht charters in the world. Mauritius is an ideal yacht charter vacation destination that offers sun, teeming coral reefs, beautiful anchorages, interesting island destinations, great weather, and a culture that has sprung from both African and French influences. Mauritius has unbroken coral reefs and beautiful, clear lagoons wherever you sail with a backdrop of a tropical island with huge pitons rising from the central plateau. Tourists have an abundance of small island destinations including ‘Coin de Mire’, Flat Island, Gabriel Island, ‘L’ile aux Cerfs’, and Benitier Island. The main port of Port Louis is the perfect starting point for your

Quad Biking at Casela Nature Reserve.

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destination charter, offering plenty of boats, provisioning, and a lively night life.

Increasingly, Super Yachts and Luxury Yachts are finding their way to Mauritius. For those looking for perfect weather, amazing sea life, and the ability to get away from it all, you couldn’t ask for a better destination. Mauritius offers all kinds of boats: catamarans as well as regular monohull sailboats, motor boats, cabin cruisers and super yachts. All the boats are crewed (there are no bareboats) as the ever changing reef means that it needs to be navigated by someone who knows it like the back of their hand.

Avid travellers to the island, and also increasingly from India, are keen on exploring Mauritius in style, with options like self-drive, convertible mini cooper and BMWs. Another great option is the heart-thumping adrenaline indulgence of Skydiving at its absolute best. Enjoy a complete 360º birds-eyeview of Mauritius’s awesome coastal, inland and mountain scenery with a spectacular sky-dive, all in one exhilarating adventure.

And if the sky is not the limit, Mauritius also offers deep-sea diving for marine enthusiasts. Mauritius is a region with a variety of interesting dive spots, with water temperatures ranging from 22° Celsius in winter to 28° Celsius in summer, making it comfortable and ideal to dive, anytime during the year! A unique accompanying experience is the sight of dolphins.

Nature lovers and soft adventure enthusiasts alike can be assured of a unique holiday experience. Mauritius offers some unique activities like walk with the lions, segway rides, undersea walk, dolphin cruise, seven coloured earth and many other attractions.

Walk with the Lion Imagine yourself walking and matching steps with the giant Lions, that too, in their habitat! Your imagination will meet reality where this unique adventure activity of walking with the lions amid perfect

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safety, is available. Mauritius Safari Adventures and Casela Nature and Leisure Park is offering this one-of-a-kind opportunity. This is a chance to experience and study the natural behaviour of the lions and be a part of their “Pride” in a very natural environment.

Sky Diving Experience the once-in-a-life-time chance. You will get to experience a 10,000ft skydive. The flight before the jump offers a complete 360º bird’s eye view of Mauritius’s awesome coastal, inland and mountain scenery. When reaching 10,000 feet, the aircraft door opens, and you get to tandem skydive, harnessed to an experienced qualified Instructor.

Submarine Go down in the blue submarine and explore the hidden treasures of the Indian Ocean. Experience the sites and sounds on “Blue Safari”, which takes you down in total security, to 35m deep blue waters.

Welcoming you to this enchanting underworld are the myriad multicolour fishes, coral reefs and crystal blue waters. Popularly referred as the ‘Betty of the Mascareignes’, this safari lasts an hour and seats 5 to 10 passengers and the pilot or just for a couple, seated in A/C, fully transparent glass cabin at atmospheric pressure. There is no age bar for this activity. Become a fish in the silent symphony, performing a memorable ballet would be a unique experience. You can also plan your wedding underwater through this option, in which there will be a decorated submarine and a bottle of champagne for you.

A diving cameraman is available to shoot the wedding ceremonies.

Sub Scooter What can be more interesting than watching the vibrant and opulent marine life through a sub scooter! Explore the crystal-clear under-

water world of Mauritius in the world’s first underwater scooters.

Enclosed in a candy-coloured bubble with an engine attached, you breathe freely in the air pocket as you steer yourself around 3m under the surface of the water. You’re accompanied by a qualified diver at all times to ensure you don’t go off in the wrong direction. Feel like James Bond in an underwater adventure as you chat to your sub-scooter companion and wave to the distorted faces of your friends as they chug past you on their sub-scooter.

Visit seven coloured earth The village of Chamarel in southwest Mauritius is home to two natural wonders - the magnificent Chamarel Falls and the colored earths of Chamarel. The earth is particularly unusual; created by volcanic rocks resulting in beautiful patterns of colour in the exposed hillsides. If you take a handful of each of the seven different colours of dirt and mix them together, they’d eventually separate into a coloruful spectrum, each dot of sand rejoining its colour caste. Similarly, the gorgeous Chamarel Waterfalls offers amazing natural beauty and spectacular views. But this is not the only thing to enjoy. Particularly designed for kids, there is a wild adventure park built in Chamarel Village, where children get to indulge in outdoor activities.

Incidentally, World Health Organization (WHO) has ranked the air in Mauritian as the second best in the world.

Mauritius is a year round destination and is directly connected by Air Mauritius to the Indian cities of Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru and Chennai. Visa is free on arrival for Indian Passport holders.

Text & photos courtesy Mauritius Tourism

Getting There Air Mauritius flies from Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi and Mumbai direct to Mauritius. You can also connect on Middle East carriers such as Emirates through Dubai. Basic fares in Economy Class are upwards of Rs. 36,000 inclusive of taxes.

Accommodation The island has exquisite top-end hotels including Ritz Carlton, The Oberoi, One & Only. Mid market as well as budget hotels also provide comfortable accommodation.

More Information Mauritius Tourism offices: New Delhi: TRAC Representations (India), A-61, 6th Floor, Himalaya House, 23, K.G. Marg. Tel: 011 23350269, 9899639478.

Email: tracrepinfo@gmail.com Mumbai: TRAC Representations (India), 111, Turf Estates, Off Dr. E. Moses Road, Opposite Shakti Mills, Mahalaxmi. Tel: 022 24981666/777.

Email: pr@tracrep.com

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destination

Prague, the capital of Czech Republic, has a distinctive charm to it. Second World War, civil war – it has seen it all and come through all of it. It is one of the most important capital cities in Eastern Europe and a hub of culture. Our writer here went around town and has listed the major 12 reasons to visit Prague. Read on to find out what is it that you would like to do.

12 reasons to visit

Prague

Praha streets.

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ar-torn nations of Europe have a historical value that has attracted millions of visitors.

The structures, which escaped the wrath, are gorgeous and the ones that bore the brunt of war have a modern art value as they leave a lot to a traveller’s imagination. Ever since I realized that I have a date with Prague, all I could imagine was the orange roofs, lush green corridors, breath taking scenic views and of course the castles and churches. Getting a glimpse of the same in the movie Rockstar, which was shot in the lanes of Prague, I had this urge to explore the culture of a city, which has been the hub of lot of cultural activities.

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Walking tour

What could be a better way to start a sojourn of a breath-taking city than being on your own foot? Despite the jet-lag and a longish flight to the destination via Vienna, I couldn’t resist but dump my bag in the hotel and venture out for a walk. Thankfully in Prague there are walk-guides who give you company and knowledge about

the history of the places. Being an Indian who comes from a nation of historical monuments, I straightaway got to exchanging the histories.

On offer was amazing old streets lined with historic buildings, magnificent squares and ancient bridges of this central European nation. The trip started from the Prague Castle, the highest point in Prague. The castle

destination that holds the world record for being the biggest castle, is also known for Czech crowns that have been stored here. Sadly for me, the visit was limited to the outer walls. Heading to St. Vitus Cathedral, which is a part of Prague Castle, I had a first hand experience of Gothic architecture. Gigantic pillars with pointed tombs, massive interior roof with paintings of Bohemian kings was enlightening. We then crossed Lesser Town and walked down the Nerudova Street before crossing Charles Bridge, which is one of Europe’s oldest stone bridges. Thankfully, the Charles Bridge has survived the war and still connects the two ends of the city over Vltava River. The statues on the sides have stood for more than three centuries.

We then stepped into the Old Town Square and took a round of the Jewish Quarter. The building, which is renowned for a time when the Jewish community of Prague was ordered to vacate the city and relocate in a confined area, again reflects a story of conflict, and survival.

was enjoying the other side of Prague. Professional singers made the evening more special by their performances even as the sun was saying goodbye to one more successful and happy evening. It was a perfect silhouette setting.

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Golf at the scenic golf courses

Being a golfer myself, I have travelled to many countries to cover golf and play on numerous courses through different continents, but there was something different about golf in Prague. Be it the Albatross Golf Resort, Black Bridge Golf Resort, Konopiste Golf Resort which is 40 km far from the city or the Golf Park Slapy SV. Jan, the landscaping of each one of them was different from the other. Using your driver and hitting parallel to the river at Konopiste or hitting it as straight as an arrow on the Black Bridge, each course presented a unique challenge.

For a golf lover who is looking to improve his game, the alien conditions of Prague, would certainly make him a better player.

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Accommodation and hospitality

This city has a bit of a ‘mind your own business’ attitude. At times one may feel that the city lacks the warmth of a place which accepts visitors with open arms. But at the Crown Plaza in Prague and Hotel Bellevue Karlov in Benesov, I met the most hospitable people in terms of providing services, helping out with routes or finding me great souvenirs, which was a great experience.

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Romantic carriage ride to Stud Favory

An hour-long romantic carriage ride to Stud Favory truly gave me a different experience from our Victoria ride around Gateway of India in Mumbai. It was not just a ride but also an unforgettable day in the region of central Posazavi.

Sitting like a queen, the joy of watching the spectacular landscapes gave me great

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Jazz Boat Tour

Little exhausted after a four-hour walk, the next thing on my itinerary was a delight. Prague Jazz boat tour is serene. As one cruises along the river, in sight of all the historical monuments I had earlier visited on foot, I had time to recap the afternoon. With the sound of jazz and great Moravian wine for company, the monuments this time had a different feel to them. It felt, that historical structures would come alive. Initially, I was enjoying the view from the warmth of a cabin on my boat, but without feeling the wind on your face, the mind doesn’t get refreshed.

On the deck, I did just this and as the boat cruised through the historical centre of Prague and took me to the suburbs of the city to see the old industrial areas, I

Trams at Praha street.

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Musicians on Prague bridges.

joy. The carriage ride started from the Konopiste Castle and took me to the house of 900 horses from all across the world. The unique three-winged farm building was built in 1750, which now has a restaurant where one can spend a relaxing evening with the added facility of a campfire.

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The city of Beer

Being in Prague or anywhere in Czech Republic and not visiting the local brewery or tasting the world-renowned Pilsner beer would be an unforgivable sin. It won’t be unfair to call beer the real soul of the city as it can be felt at every step, from the walls of the houses, to the streets and on the squares.

On an average, a Czech person drinks at least half litre of beer a day in the country.

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Music & Live Band

It wasn’t a surprise that the Rockstar movie was shot in Prague. The city has

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a humming tone to it, truly filled with music and every Czech seems to be a musician. The heritage of Czech music is rich, beautiful and varied, just like the country’s landscape. Its charm and rawness can be heard in the symphonies and operas, reflected in the colourful and passionate folklore, and resonate in dreamy jazz melodies. One can easily find musicians and composers lighting up the city with their great talent.

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Night life

It doesn’t get dark early to have a nightlife, that’s when a friend of mine told about Europe. For me personally, the nights were astonishingly beautiful as it used to get dark after 10:30 pm and there was time to throng the pubs. Nowhere else, you can witness amalgamation of rock music, jazz band, authentic memorabilia from the world’s hottest artists and top class American fare through the

night. I was amazed to find that the cost of beer, sparkling water and still water was the same in all the bar menus.

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Shopping

Prague has come a long way when it comes to its shops and shopping in general. Unless you are betrothed to a specific brand, you can find just about anything you need 24x7. The most famous city centre shops often have seven days a week opening hours; however neighbourhood and smaller stores normally close at noon on

Czech food.

Saturdays and completely on Sundays. It’s easy enough to spend a day losing oneself in dusty old shops where you will uncover quaint treasures, elusive bargains, and rage gifts, everything from clothes to knick-knack to books.

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Dining

There is a sweet tooth imbibed in the soul of Czech. Sweetness in food is amazing. Being a vegetarian I couldn’t enjoy the meats, but colleagues told me it was awesome.

For a change I ate in Govinda,

destination

Tourism in European cities grows despite economic slowdown

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ccording to a report prepared by the MODUL University in Vienna, the three most popular destinations for tourists in Europe are London, Paris and Berlin. These destinations have recorded annual total bednights levels in excess of 20 million for the year of 2011. The other cities that have achieved the highest year-on growth rate, are Barcelona and Prague with the rate being 11% and 9% are respectively. The report further stated that European city tourism has grown overall by around 5.9% in spite of the economic situation. The international bednights have increased by am overwhelming 8%. This report was presented at the European Cities Marketing BRIC conference in Zagreb during the launch of the 8th Edition of the ECM Benchmarking Report. The US continues to be the single most important source market, followed by Germany, the UK and Italy. Russia and China showed the highest year-on growth rates with a remarkable 36% and 30% respectively.

run by Krishna Consciousness, situated in Praha 6 and the instructions given by my guide in all the restaurants helped me get the best food. Wherever I sat down for a Czech meal, soup was the first order of business along with the beers, which Czech’s drink like water. As it’s just a warm up for the main course, by the time you reach the dessert, the rich main course makes you feel like giving up.

However, unlike feeling sleepy after an Indian meal, you feel more active.

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Erpet Golf Centrum

The Erpet Golf Centrum is the biggest and only indoor golf facility in the Czech Republic.

The centre features a two-storey driving range with fourteen tees, a large putting green, a six-hole course for short-game practice and four simulators, which simulate the game at more than fifty courses world-wide and have

been used for many golf tournaments. Apart from facilities like Tennis, Squash, Football, Basketball, Swimming Pool, the centre also has the famous Thai Massage which comes complimentary with few golfing sessions.

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Public transportation

20 degree Celsius temperature was a delight for me to spend more than four hours in just walking around the historical, political, cultural and economic pathways. On top of it, the transit system impressed me a lot when I went to compare the public transport to what we have in India. Be it a bus, metro, taxi or a tram, there is always a sense of security during the day as well as at night time as I was never being pushed by a crowd at any point of time. The best place to purchase a ticket is at a metro station not just for the metro but for every mode of transport.

US Embassy promises an easier visas In the capital recently, a Visit-USA North India Road Show and Travel Trade seminar was held under the auspices of the Visit USA Committee. Presiding over the meet, the US ambassador to India, Nancy Powell spoke about how US was keen on promoting itself as the number one tourist destination for Indian travellers. She said that visa norms will be relaxed further so that Indians will have easier access into the country.

Towards this objective, an initiative that has been started by the Commercial Service of the US Embassy is the Visit USA Committee (VUSACOM). VUSACOM, a not-for-profit body will be working towards promoting US as the number one tourist destination. As a collective of leading Indian travel and tourism organisations in this business, VUSACOM will play a pivotal role.

The president of VUSACOM, Ashwini Kakkar said, “VUSACOM is here to help people gain advantage of the great relationship that we have with US authorities.”

The vice-president of VUSACOM, Manoj Gursahani also said that VUSACOM will be further developed into a high revenue generating channel for its members.

James Herman, Counsellor for Consular Affairs, spoke about how the Embassy and consulate teams endeavour to make the visa process easier for the applicants. He said that they were trying to waive the visa interview altogether for certain categories of applicants. These included those applicants who were applying for the same category visa, if the previous visa had been issued at the same post in India, if the applicant had not been refused visa earlier in the same category, and if the previous visa was still valid or had expired within last 4 years.

Further, according to the Consular Team India’s (CTI) visa facts, there were more than 660,000 Indians who visited the US in 2011 and spent more than $4.6 billion. The business community was not far behind because more than 130,000 Indians travelled as members of the Business Executive Program (BEP) in 2011. Considering the traffic movement, US Embassy in New Delhi has increased its staff by more than 60 percent and has opened two new consulates in Hyderabad and Mumbai.

The endeavour was to process 97% of visas within 24 hours; the maximum wait for visa appointments is currently 10 days or less, across India. The majority of applicants were being issued 10 year multiple entry visas.

by Aprajita shishoo

by RADHIKA MEHTA

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hotels & resorts

Hua Hin is Thailand’s lesser known secret, on the surface paling before the better known and more popular cities such as Phuket and Pataya.

But Hua Hin has a distinct advantage in that it is 2 hours drive from Bangkok airport and can easily be clubbed along with Thailand’s capital, without an additional airline coupon. Hua Hin has everything going for it – abundance of golf courses, the seacoast and plenty of beaches and branded resorts. It also has a 24hour McDonald and KFC!

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hotels & resorts

Explore the languid beauty of Hua Hin, amidst the setting of a Classical Colonial Hotel July 2012 go now

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hotels & resorts

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t is just a two hour drive from Bangkok airport. The road is signal free and the distance of over 200 km is covered in ease and comfort. Hua Hin is a sleepy town, at best, with hotels and second homes in great demand. Typically, it is the domestic tourists that drive the major part of the demand – local Thais driving out over week ends and extended holidays. As you begun to approach the city, hoardings appear, selling a variety of properties – and small real estate shops are aplenty. A number of branded and local hotels are around – from Hilton and Sheraton to names you have never heard and of course, there is also the Centara Grand. That’s where we stayed – right in the

middle of the city, and yet boasting of a long and impressive beach front. The location could not have been better. Just step out of the hotel and you have McDonald and KFC, open 24 hours. There are coffee shops, including Starbucks and the local bazaar, including the famous Night Bazaar, just a stone’s throw away. The city market also has the massage parlours – step into any of them, many are run by families and offer a quick foot therapy, if you dont have time for more.

Firstly, Centara is a known brand in Thailand and the Far East, even though relatively unknown in India so far. With a present tally of 55 rooms in Thailand, including cities like Phuket, Krabi, Pattaya, Samui, Chiang Mai and also in Vietnam, Indone sia, Sr i Lanka, Mauritius, and China, the group has a significant presence in this region. The owners also run the famous shopping malls, Central in downtown Bangkok.

In Hua Hin, with 13

hectares of private landscaped gardens, Centara Grand Beach Resort & Villas, the hotel reflects the grandeur and regalia of its ancient past. The hotel has been cleverly built over time – every time, there has been an addition, the architects have taken great pains to ensure consistency in design and execution. It all looks beautifully restored, even though some of it is relatively new.

The hotel’s charm reflects “Old Siam” with its quaint colonial-era architecture consisting of teak work furnishings in the superbly maintained guestrooms and suites, which date back to 1923.

Originally known as the Railway Hotel, the first class resort accommodated visitors to King Ram VI’s summer palace.

Centara Hotels & Resorts acquired it in 1985 and has displayed the historical past in the hotel’s own museum with artefacts and antiques. The Architects Association of Thailand awarded the hotel for “outstanding conservation” in a category dedicated to preserving history Thai buildings. The hotel has also been used as a setting for several Hollywood films.

The couple therapy room lets in sunlight and a verdant green landscape.

Your massage bed on the greens! The beach is just across.

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This Glasshouse accommodates the speciality restaurant.

Its 249 guestrooms offer its clients superb luxury in an old world setting. The beautifully appointed rooms range from the regular standard to pool villas. Every guestroom offers comfort and convenience with bedside control panel, safe deposit box, remote control television (LCD TV for the Villas), DVD player (only for the Villas), mini-bar, satellite channels, Internet connections, individual air-conditioning, IDD telephone, hair dryer and coffee and tea making facilities. The rooms are large, and so are the toilets. The suites have balconies that provide stunning views of the hotel gardens.

For a resort, the hotel has some excellent food choices. The Railway restaurant features both Thai and Western food that evoke the days on the history National Thai Railway. The Palm Seafood Pavilion offers delectable gastronomic delights, and a glass house seaside setting. Hagi, the Japanese restaurant, features delicious Teppanyaki, Sushi, Sashimi, and other Japanese delights.

The Museum Coffee and Tea Corner gives guests the chance to step back into the British colonies to enjoy high tea, while the Salathai Restaurant serves a la carte and set breakfast and authentic Thai cuisine. For a relaxing drink, guests can visit the Pool Bars, the Elephant Bar or the Satchmo Club.

Your chessboard to play and perhaps soak in the rain as well.

The resort’s landscaping highlights its long history and royal underpinnings. The giant green topiaries have been artistically trimmed and shaped to add to the hotel’s splendor, featuring additions such as elephants, birds, peacocks and many more.

A variety of leisure activities are available, to suit a variety of interests and ages.

From an impressive kids room, to a choice of 4 swimming pools. There is also a table tennis table cast in concrete, to make it allweather proof. There is also a chess board in concrete, with life like chess pieces to play with.

Hua Hin is specially popular with golfers as the city has so many choices - you can play at a different course every time you come. Also recommended for family holidays – accommodation is not cheap, as there is a good demand for rooms over week ends.

Plan early and book early and get the best offers. And just in case you did not want to drive down to Hua Hin, it also has an airport.

Taxi from Bangkok Airport to your hotel in Hua Hin costs around 2000-3000 Baht. Do check on quality and age of the taxi before finalising the cost.

Text & photos by navin s berry

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cinema tourism

Films that made it big, thriving on their chosen landscape Foreign locations have attracted many a Bollywood filmmaker.

With film budgets increasing every year, it makes commercial sense for film producers and directors to cart their units abroad either to picturise their songs there or, sometimes, to set their stories in the scenic foreign lands.

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hat started as being backdrops for romantic songs has become an integral part of Bollywood films: exotic foreign locations. So much so that the foreign venues have became like characters in the film. For the audience, the foreign shootings give them value for money as they get a glimpse of foreign countries they dream of visiting. For the producers, the additional money spent on transporting entire units to fancy locations abroad is worth it because the revenues also increase, what with the scenic beauty only prompting people to go for the film.

The impact of Bollywood films on the audience has been so immense that the governments of various foreign countries have realised that tourism in their countries increased in direct

proportion to the success of films shot there as the number of tourists from Asia in general, and India in particular, grew manifold. This led to different governments granting financial and other assistance to Bollywood producers in a bid to woo them to shoot in their countries. So you have the UK government subsidising the shooting cost of films shot there. Similar schemes have been floated by a host of overseas countries as a lure for Bollywood producers to shoot their films there. In addition to increasing the traffic of tourists after the release of films shot there, the shooting also provided employment opportunities to hundreds of locals in the countries.

Komal Nahta, well known film critic and an anchor of the television trade shows talks about the films which have thrived on foreign locations.

cinema tourism

Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge. Image Courtesy and Copyright: Yash Raj Films Pvt. Ltd.

Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge: The first film that comes to mind when talking of foreign locations being woven into the film’s plot is Aditya Chopra’s maiden directorial venture, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge. Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol are complete strangers who meet on a trip of Europe, starting from London. Kajol is due to get married to a boy she has never met. Sparks fly between Shah Rukh and Kajol and she is unable to forget the days they spent together while they were exploring Europe. As such, the Eurail travel was so well-knit into the story that it was difficult to imagine DDLJ without the train journey from London to Switzerland and back. In fact, lakhs of people repeated the love story and do so even today (it is still running uninterruptedly in one show daily at Mumbai’s Maratha Mandir cinema in its 17th year!) just to see the idyllic European locales which, incidentally, served as the perfect backdrop for the romance between Raj Malhotra (the name of Shah Rukh Khan’s character in the film) and Simran (Kajol). In fact, there was a joke in the film industry when it was released in 1995 that the film had to succeed because it was the cheapest means of sightseeing Europe. A ticket costing Rs. 30-50 gave a person a chance to not just watch the film but also the feeling that he had roamed Europe with Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol!

Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara: Travel agents in India swear that the tourist outflow to Spain has increased in the last one year after Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara was released.

The public got to see what Spain looked like for the first time in the multi-star cast film, which exploited the country like no Bollywood filmmaker ever had. In fact, Spain was added as a very essential constituent of the story about three friends (Hrithik Roshan, Abhay Deol and Farhan Akhtar) who meet after a few years to fulfil their long-standing pact that they will undertake a bachelor trip and indulge in sports, one chosen by each of the three friends. The country they choose for the bachelor trip is Spain and the sports they partake in are deep sea diving, sky diving and bull run. Besides in the aforementioned sports, there are other parts of Spain also shown in the film. Spain was obviously chosen as the location with a specific reason because all the three sports are popular in that country. Besides, the natural beauty of the sovereign state in South-Western Europe added to the visual appeal of the film, making the audience repeat the film and the rich and famous to head for a holiday in Spain.

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Anjaana Anjaani Anjaana Anjaani: Although a commercial flop, Sajid Nadiadwala’s Anjaana Anjaani (2010) beautifully exploited the foreign locations on which it was shot. Aakash (Ranbir Kapoor) lives in New York and is in heavy debt because of the stock market crash. He contemplates suicide. Kiara (Priyanka Chopra), who stays in San Francisco, is also keen on ending her life because her boyfriend has cheated on her. The two meet at the George Washington Bridge, from which both of them are trying to jump off to death. After this and several other failed attempts at committing suicide, the two take part in different adventures and even travel to Las Vegas before the appointed day (31st December 2009) when they have decided to commit suicide. The stock market crash, lack of parental or friends’ support, the feeling of being alone at the time of personal misery, all these were the reasons why the film had to be based out of India where two youngsters could be on their own. The various adventures they try, the trip to Las Vegas added not only to the drama but also to the eye-filling experience of the audience. Despite the visual beauty of the love story, the film did not work at the box-office but that’s a separate issue altogether.

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cinema tourism

Kal Ho Naa Ho Kal Ho Naa Ho: Karan Johar produced Kal Ho Naa Ho in 2003, handing the reins of direction to debutmaking Nikhil Advani. Karan Johar, who also wrote the film’s story and screenplay, set the story about a generally angry girl, Naina (Preity Zinta), in New York. Naina stays with her widowed mother (Jaya Bachchan), two younger siblings and her paternal grandmother (Sushma Seth). She finds solace in the company of her college pal, Rohit Patel (Saif Ali Khan), and falls in love with Aman Mathur (Shah Rukh Khan) who comes to live in the neighbourhood and is a do-gooder. Aman plays the catalyst in igniting the love story between Naina and Rohit as the latter loves Naina. But like all love triangles, there are complications in this one too.

The only difference was that the complexities and confusions looked very beautiful as they all took place in the picturesque city of New York! Naina’s family couldn’t be shown as living in India because the sensibilities of the film were different, and the US city was very appropriately selected by writer Johar. The foreign locations and the very-Indian-at-heart love story went down so well with the audience that the film became one of the biggest hits of that year, not just in India but also overseas.

Namastey London Namastey London: Vipul Shah made a love story about an Indian-bred boy, Arjun Singh (Akshay Kumar), and a London-bred Indian girl, Jasmeet alias Jazz (Katrina Kaif). The story underlined the tendency of second-generation Indians, born and brought up abroad, to forget their Indian roots and to indulge in un-Indian activities like public kissing and alcohol consumption. Shah very aptly chose London as the city in which Jasmeet grew up, to draw the contrast between Arjun Singh’s upbringing in a small town of Punjab in India and that of the London girl, Jasmeet. The freedom which young Indian girls living in London experienced when the film released in 2007 was very beautifully brought out by Vipul Shah. In that sense, London was like a character in the film. Hence the title, Namastey London. The film, it must be mentioned, was greatly inspired by Manoj Kumar’s Purab Aur Pachhim (1970).

by Komal Nahta

July 2012 go now

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City Escapes

the imperial spa and salon

Life in the Capital City – The Best of Spas, Lounges, Bars

bars & Lounges

The new whisky in town

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one are the days when you’d ask an uncle or an elder brother to pick up a bottle or three from abroad.

Now, the finest single malts and blended whiskies are available right here, and more keep getting introduced to the market. Here are our eight picks, the best of the 2012 launches. Truly, the good life is close at hand.

Teacher’s 25 Year Old Malt whisky is the secret of this sublimely smooth blend (though there are some fine Scotch whiskies in here too). To be precise, the Ardmore Single Malt, a Highland peated malt whisky from the Teacher’s family.

Aged casks (no less than 25 years old) of the Ardmore are hand selected to create the Teacher’s 25 Year Old; the end result is a blended whisky full of character, at once rich and sweet-mellow, with lovely hints of fruit and spice, and a delectably lasting finish of peat smoke.

And in an exquisite touch, the Teacher’s 25 Year Old comes in ceramic decanters (each separately numbered).

Teacher’s 25 Year Old (700 ml) is priced at Rs. 26,230 in Delhi, Rs. 33,225 in Mumbai, Rs. 32,368 in Bangalore and Rs. 31,000 in Kolkata (it will soon be available at airport duty free at $250)

Teacher’s Highland Single Malt For a distillery (Ardmore, in Scotland’s Highlands, established 1898) that still uses traditional (and exceptionally high-quality) methods, it’s little wonder that the Teacher’s Highland Single Malt is a malt of rare vintage, and one also of gentle charm.

The process of crafting this velvety, and superbly rounded, malt involves the use of wooden wash-backs (in which the wort, an infusion of malt, is fermented) as opposed to the modern steel ones. Old, clearly, is gold, for the finished product is a delight to savour: intense, characterful, with a beautifully balanced smokiness about it. And the peat in this Highland malt does not overpower; it instead sits lightly on the palate (and nose).

Teacher’s Highland Single Malt 750ml is priced at Rs. 4210 in Delhi, Rs. 5000 in Mumbai, Rs. 4544 in Bangalore, Rs. 3900 in Kolkata (a onelitre variant will soon be available at airport duty free at $40)

Johnnie Walker Double Black ‘The Darker Side of Black’. So says the tagline for the Johnnie Walker Double Black. It cer62

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bars & Lounges inely magnificent.

Dog 21 Year Old.)

Available at duty free shops in all Indian airports ($45)

Available in key markets at Rs. 12,000-Rs. 16,500 (MRP will differ from state to state)

Dalmore 15 Year Old (Limited Edition)

tainly demands attention. This is a blend that has been created using whiskies from the more remote distilleries on Scotland’s west coast. Jim Beveridge Johnnie Walker’s Master Blender describes the process thus: “After hand-selecting a number of whiskies defined by hints of smouldering charcoal, crisp ash and burnt timber, we barrelled our blend to mature in deep-charred old oak casks.”

Fiery stuff! Unsurprisingly, the ‘Double Black’ makes for a considerably more smokier and, also, more intensely full-bodied experience than the JW Black Label. For enthusiasts of the ‘Walker’, it is one not to be missed.

Johnnie Walker Double Black is available in Karnataka (Rs. 4,090), Andhra Pradesh (Rs. 4,225), West Bengal (Rs. 3,755), Mumbai (Rs. 4,850), New Delhi (Rs. 3,840) and Chandigarh (Rs. 2,660)

Glenlivet Master Distiller's Reserve There’s plenty going on in the Glenlivet Master Distiller’s Reserve. What, however, gives it its exceptionality and, undoubtedly, class is that it is matured in three distinct types of wood. While traditional oak barrels give The Glenlivet its characteristic ripeness a ripeness that appears to burst like berries in summer American oak imparts it with a buttery depth. Then the twist: a cask of exsherry (first fill) oak adding an invigorating fruitiness and tanginess to the malt. And when rounded off with a deliciously nutty finish, you have a single malt that is genu-

Ole! There are strong flamenco notes in this Dalmore, which is not sur pr ising, for it has been matured, over 15 years, in customized sherry casks (Matusalem, Apostoles and Amoroso) from Jerez de la Frontera, a city in Spain’s culturally rich Andalucía region. Clearly, all that time spent maturing in wood has given this single malt a rare refinement and depth. Besides that subtlety, the Dalmore boasts a pick-me-up piquancy, thanks to an alluring whiff of dried spices, and a restrained but splendidly citrusy palate. Rarely has luxury been so understated.

Available at leading liquor stores, pubs, bars & restaurants across Delhi, Haryana, Mumbai and Bangalore (Rs. 6,000-Rs. 8,800; MRP will differ from state to state)

Black Dog 21 Year Old (Limited Edition) This blend’s age catches one’s eye; it is, unquestionably, a scotch whisky to relish. Why is the Black Dog 21 Year Old so unique? Well, for one, 25 of the most excellent single malts and grain whiskies, all from Scotland’s Highlands chief ly, t houg h, f rom the Speyside region, the heartland of whisky in Scotland have gone into creating a blend that borders on perfection. With such quality ‘ingredients’, it’s no wonder that we have a whisky of unobtrusive elegance, crafted by hand by Master Blender Richard Paterson. (In all, 3540 bottles have been made of the Black

Balvenie 40 Year Old (Limited Edition) What do you get when you marry Balvenie single malts (of William Grant & Sons) from six European sherry barrels? The uniquely marvellous (and marvellously unique) Balvenie 40 Year Old, of course!

Malt Master David Stewart selects rare single malts that have been maturing for close on four decades, at the Balvenie distillery, and blends them into a standout (and singular) single malt that exudes character and depth in equal measure. This Balvenie’s agreeably creamy-fruity hints and discreetly citrusy notes almost effortlessly counterbalance its honey-sweetness.

Crafted with much love and care, the Balvenie 40 Year Old comes in a bespoke oak box handmade by Scottish craftsman Sam Chinnery and hand-engraved by Sam’s father, John.

The Balvenie 40 Year Old Limited Edition (150 Bottles of Fourth Batch) is available at the Park Hyatt, Hyderabad (‘peg’ price in the range of Rs. 30,000 to Rs. 40,000 per 30 ml) and Hotel Crowne Plaza, Rohini, New Delhi (‘peg’ price Rs. 36,000 per 30 ml)

Grant’s 12 Year Old We’re told that Grant’s 12 Year Old is the only blended whisky that’s spent ‘extra’ finishing time (six months) in American oak (first-fill) barrels. And that’s what gives it its distinctly (and extraordinarily) intense and flavourful character. Each of the single malt and grain whiskies that have gone into this blend has been matured in oak casks for at least 12 years. So what you get is not just a blend that’s big in personality, but also one that’s fireplace-snug, with a comforting dash of fruit and spice. As befits a brand of such repute, the Grant’s 12 Year Old is a rather special whisky.

Available at ITC Maurya and Taj Palace Hotel, New Delhi (Rs. 900 per 30ml)

by Sharad kohli

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bars & lounges

OTW at Aman is the new buzzword in the city

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s you pull up on the porch, through the glass exterior, the first feature that catches your eye is a unique light installation “Lacrime Del Pescatore” – Tear Drops of the Fisherman.

Designed by the renowned German artist Ingo Maurerwith significant projects around the world,the installation makes a statement for the restaurant that combines elegance with subtle glamour.

Ingeniously redesigned and built upon their previous Tapas Bar and Aman Restaurant, this new avatar has an easy flow throughits three levels, combining the restaurant, On the Waterfront, on two levels with a seating of 132, withAnidra, the bar on the third. OTW at ground level encompasses the water body which was earlier there, only as a part of the hotel but not of the restaurant. Adding to the ambience is a glass walkway that leads you to a more exclusive dining area, also in glass including its ceiling,surrounded by the water body with flames above water, creating a calming reflection. You can book for a private dinner with a minimum cover charge or alternatively use any of the individual tables. There is also averandahon the side, with casual seating overlooking the water, connecting with the main hotel.

The interiors of the restaurant are subtle and on closer inspection, you start seeing the intricate detailing. At ground level, the large bar reaches high into the ceiling on one side and a suspended wine cellar on the other. The glass walkway can also open out in winters (good weather) to bring in the fresh breeze. The open deli counter in the centre has detailing in antique brass. On the first floor, a “dine in the kitchen” feel has been created with a high drama chimney to take care of the fumes from the open oriental counter. Adding that extra touchof comfort and convenience, a wooden coat hanger and a marble-top pedestal to place your handbag, are available if needed.

Talking of food, OTW has made a conscious effort to keep the menu different from their other well-known offering Setz,at

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Most of us, particularly those living in South Delhi, could not have missed either driving past or hearing about the new restaurant, On the Waterfront and its attached night club, Anidra, recently opened at The Aman on Lodhi Road. Brilliantly located in the heart of the city, OTW is quickly catching the attention of Delhites, and with good reason.

the DLF Emporio, with an extensive menu ofEuropean, Oriental and Indian dishes.

The choice is impressive - grilled specialties from the “Robata” (rustic form of grilling from Japan) and European delicacies such as the Chilean Sea Bass, French Poussin, or Gruyere Gnocchi and a variety of sushi, dim sum and teppandishes. The Stone Cooked Kebabs are prepared in wood-fired ovens, cleverly adapted from the earlier restaurant where they were conventionally used tomake pizzas.

We started our eveningwith salmon sushi with Philadelphia cheese (Rs 1,250)and steamed tiger prawn dim sums with soy and tobicco (Rs 590). Then followed an invigorating, wholesome and spicyoriental prawn soup with coriander root, lemon leaf and galangal (Rs 610) andenoki, silken tofu soup with pokchoy and snow peas (Rs 510).Of the mains, the teppanyaki John Dory fish (Rs 1350), an Australian sole fish, was perfectly grilled. The much recommended “PatharMurg” with tulsi and dhania (Rs 775)and TawaGoshtGilawat (Rs 775)are hot stone specialities.We concluded the dinner with some must have desserts, the Napoleon Pastry

with vanilla ice cream(Rs 450) similar to a popularly known mille-feuille pastryand the Orange Crème Brule (Rs 450). Every course was well cooked, well presented and rich in flavour and left us wanting to return so we could try out more dishes from the menu.

Adding to the popularity of the restaurant is the newest club/lounge in town, Anidra.

Literally meaning insomnia, the club operates on a coveted 24hr licence and is open till 3am on most weekends, making it the preferred destination for an after party among

Address: Aman New Delhi, Lodhi Road, New Delhi. Tel: 91 11 43633411.

On The Waterfront: Operating Hours –1100hrs to 0030hrs, open 7 days of the week. OTW offers an irresistible lunch buffet throughout the week and a la carte for dinner.

The deli menu, served from 11am to 12:30pm and from 3pm to 7pm, offers a range of freshly prepared crepes, waffles, salads and sandwiches.

Meal for Two: RS 5,000 plus taxes (with alcohol) Timings: ANIDRA – Operating Hours – 2000hrs – 0300hrs, open 7 days of the week.

the Delhi elite. There is a long, conveniently placed bar right in the centre. To ensure comfort for guests who wish to smoke, they have provided a large smoking room with easy access to a second smaller bar. The feel of the place is electric with interiors in red, silver and dark hues and colourful artwork on the walls.

Ide a l for a g r oup of friends, you can go for the Anidra party-buckets which include a bottle ofchampagne /scotch/ vodka plus 6 shooters along with mixers – priced from Rs 5,800 – Rs 9,500. Or alternatively pick from an extensive menu of premium single malts or Anidra special cocktails and shooters. To accompany your drinks are an array ofbar snacks ranging from Indian kebabs, sushi, oriental and costal preparations.

Designed by Michael McCann of Dreamtime Australia Design, an award winning design company, OTW is a clear winner on both food count as well as for its ambience.

The serve was prompt with a polite, efficient

and well informed attendant. As can be expected, the prices are akin to other five and seven star properties in the city,but surely worth the money for those who can afford it – and seeing a packed house through the evening, there are obviously plenty of takers.

I would recommend calling ahead and reserving your table, especially in the evenings and also on weekends. A most successful makeover from its earlier innings, when there were very few takers, to now becoming a crowd puller! by priyaanka berry

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‘Fun Dining’ at Prego, at westin gurgaon

accidently drop a spoon, while dining at this newly opened restaurant, and I hear the entire staff clapping. The lady sitting on an adjacent table almost jumped from her chair as the waiter almost dropped the cup of coffee she ordered. Well, almost. The two instances are only a couple of “gimmicks” at the restaurant. The idea is to make it a fun-dining and not an uptight fine-dining experience. In fact, the restaurant promotes itself saying that you can “come as you are” without worrying about dressing up and keeping up the etiquettes of a high-end restaurant.

Ambiance Prego is an Italian restaurant but with a Californian influence. So instead of a typical Italian cafe interior, it is a large American format restaurant. If you are visiting the restaurant on a pleasant evening, you can sit in the outside area overlooking the pool at the hotel. However, on a hot afternoon/evening it is best to be comfortable inside, where the ambience is undemanding, to say the least. It gets its earthy tone with natural wood chairs 66

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and tables and light coloured walls. Glass jars filled with raw pastas, herbs, sauces etc., spread across the restaurant add character to the interiors. The design is basic, making you feel like you are sitting in an Italian kitchen (albeit with a Californian touch!).

Cuisine The menu is comprehensive yet simple.

There are several signature dishes like Antipasto Misto, Prego Cesar Classico, Salsa Tartare, Lasagna Alforno among others.

Also, there are Chef’s special dishes by Chef Davide Concas (who is from Italy). Chef Davide has been cooking for 12 years and imbibed the style of his grandmom.

There is an extensive wine list highlighting the best of both old and new-world varieties, while a kids menu keeps younger diners happy with popular dishes.

I am personally not a big mushroom fan; however, I highly recommend Zuppa di funghi aromatizzata al tartufo, which is basically cream of field mushroom, truffle scent soup. A thick soup with flavours of mixed mushrooms is definitely a must-try. Another

The newly-opened Italian restaurant Prego, at Westin Gurgaon, believes in fun dining rather than fine dining. Go Now gets you the taste of the fun and the fine elements of this restaurant.

fine dining

Address: 1, Sector 29, MG Road, Gurgaon, 122002 Located in: The Westin Gurgaon For reservation: (+91) 124 4977777 Meal for two: Rs 3000 (plus taxes) without alcohol

‘not-to-be-missed’ dish on the menu is Truffle Tanglioni with black truffle shavings and Parmesan cheese. The black truffle is shaved over chicken and served with sauteed asparagus and roasted potato. The Chef also recommends Ragout Bianco di pollo – home made smoked chicken, served with white ragout and mushrooms. While my appetite did not allow me to try the Pizza, the Chef recommends Pizza Prego – made of barbequed lobster, red onion jam and Kalamata Olives. If you fancy coriander on your pizza or have a peculiar request for any dish, feel free to ask the Chef for the same. The Chef tells me there is a lot of customisation upon requests from the guests.

No Italian meal is complete without dessert and a cup of coffee. You get the two together in The Affagato al café which is ice-cream served with a soft baked biscuit, Drambuie, topped with bitter espresso – you need to have a taste for bitter coffee to completely enjoy this one.

Overall, the preparation of food and the overall feel of the restaurant is simple yet delectable. Forget the uptightness but keep all the pros of a high-end restaurant and have a fun-dining experience at Prego.

by Purva bhatia

Choco-o-doodle time at ‘The Chocolate Beetle’

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pread across 400 sq. ft of area in the plush South Delhi locality of Greater Kailash-1, The Chocolate Beetle is heaven for chocolate lovers.

The store has a thematic design featuring unique interiors and a strong visual merchandising concept with a pink coloured vintage beetle limousine parked inside which serves delicious chocolate desserts and beverages.

The theme is vibrant and upbeat, appealing to all ages, especially the youth.

The Chocolate Beetle offers a wide and exclusive assortment of chocolates and some of these include Signature Belgian Chocolate truffle cake, Beetle’s Brownie sandwich, flavored hot chocolates in hazelnut, mint, cinnamon, Irish cream, Signature Belgian Chocolate truffle Shake, Low fat gelato’s and ice creams to name a few.

The price of these chocolates varies from Rs. 49 for a scoop of ice cream to Rs. 59 for a slice of cake and Rs. 700-900 for 1 kg cakes.

Imported chocolates are priced steeper and

start from Rs. 100 and go upto Rs. 1000 plus for a basket of chocolate.

Gurjeev Gulati, founder and director, The Chocolate Beetle spoke at length about the USP of the store and customized gifting options for weddings a s well as corporates w h ic h t he s tor e under takes, “I would say it’s a complete chocolate indulgence cafe which give s you u n i q u e chocolate exper ience and visually it’s very attractive. As far as the corporate clients are concerned, the customised chocolate bar is a big hit with them where as Gulkand Chocolates are a hit with the wedding clients.”

Future Ventures “The store has ambitious plans of opening six outlets in two years across Delhi and the NCR region with one in Gurgaon, followed by another in Punjabi Bagh and NOIDA,” said Gulati.

Outlet address: C-201, Behind iStore, Greater Kailash -I, M-Block market Timings: Open all 7 days from 11 am to 11 pm. by vasujit kalia

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Arabian nights Barka, the eatery in the Garden of Five Senses, may be pegged as a Med hangout, but make no mistake, the food worth trying is decidedly Arabian.

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t takes a couple of visits to decode Barka: the upscale eatery in the verdant Garden of Five Senses. It has an unabashedly Mediterranean heart – right from the name (which conjures up visions of Spanish food), to the ambience – an open-air atrium which is invitingly lit up by candles and lava lamps in the evenings.

But ask the chef for recommendations and Anis Ahmed, a gourmet who’s learnt and honed his skills in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, will reel off a list of Lebanese and Arab delicacies. So, if you decide to go by his judgement, you’ll start with Tabbouleh (Rs. 175) – a succulent levantine Arab salad made of bulgur, tomato, and finely chopped parsley and mint, which is traditionally served as part of a mezze; follow that up with spinach and goat cheese keeta skewers (Rs. 595). Of course, if you want the whole deal then skip the salad and order the mezze platter (Rs. 575, which includes Tabbouleh). For main course, try either the Shawarma wrap (Rs 375) or a shish kebab platter (Rs 375).

To be fair, it’s not as if the menu is bereft of Mediterranean, or even Indian fare. You could as easily have a Greek salad entrée, and chase that up with one of Barka’s hearty portions of pasta or risotto. The pizzas pass muster too and the Indian grill section has all the standard fare and more.

But that is not what this writer would recommend: while the Italian and Indian section in Barka’s menu passes muster and is up to the standard you’d expect from an upscale restaurant and lounge, it’s not exceptional. The Arab fare, on the other hand, is probably as authentic as you’d expect

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ith more and more people bitten with the organic bug, The Imperial, New Delhi has launched an all new organic menu. Executive Chef of The Imperial, Willi Haueter is the brain behind this healthy initiative. He has reinvented continental cuisine with unusual creations and pairings at 1911 – all day dining multi cuisine restaurant. The menu which will be served from September onwards this year is a rich accumulation of recipes evolved to the next level with use of local produce from organic farms and using ingredients which are pure and unadulterated.

Speaking exclusively to Go Now, Chef Willi Haueter talks about the recent fad for organic food and the ingredients which

this side of the Suez Canal. In fact, unless you’re a gastronome who values authenticity over what appeals to your palate, make sure you tell Ahmed that you’d like him to spice things up a bit, lest you find the food on the blander side.

But that’s really one half of the deal. Most regulars go to Barka, not so much for the food as they do for the ambience: located at the rear of the Garden of Five Senses, the eatery beckons patrons with its dimly-lit, romantic outdoor setting. Even if there’s a raucous party going on in the small indoor section, the outdoor gazebo is still relatively quiet and it’s entirely possible to have a conversation and a meal without having to speak loudly. Add to that a really good collection of single malts, premium whiskies, and a wide selection of cocktails, and you’ve got an ideal place for a high-spirited evening.

And the option of ending your day with a quick bite or a full-fledged meal.

Not surprisingly, Barka is very popular as a venue for private parties and it’s prudent to call, check and make Address: S8-S9, Gate 3, Garden of Five Senses, Saiyad reser vations Ul Ajaib, Saket, New Delhi before going.

Phone: +91 9810445544 Parking can be a Meal for two: Rs. 1500bit of an issue but 2000 (without alcohol) a valet service is Reservations: Required available.

Valet Parking: Available

Healthy bite with ‘Organic Menu’

The Imperial Hotel Executive Chef Willi Haueter has taken organic food to a new level with his organic menu.

go into making the healthy recipes.

Q. Why this sudden liking for organic food?

I don’t think there has been a sudden liking for organic food; it has been on the scene for some time now. I think people tend to eat healthy these days than they did some twenty years back. I think people are looking for healthy and easily digestible food that is why they go in for organic food.

Q. What prompted you to come up with this organic menu? What is so special about this menu?

There are enough people who want this kind of food and they are even willing to pay 20-25 percent more for the organic food.

This extra price is justified because growing organic vegetables takes more effort and labour. We have 100 percent organic ice cream available here in the hotel itself – it is completely lactose free and there is no animal product used in it.

Q. Tell us something about the speciality of this menu and its price range?

The unique menu is a tasteful delight comprising of soups, salads, main course and desserts and offers an impressive list to choose from. The specialities include Roast Barley and Chicken Soup, Fresh Tomato and Feta salad, Cobia with Fresh Potato and Fennel Salad and more. The dessert station is a visual treat that teases diners throughout their meals and offers sinful temptations like Apple Jalousie, Passion fruit , Lemon Tartelette and Blueberry Colette. The buffet is priced approximately at Rs. 2100 plus taxes per person.

Q. Where do you source your ingredients from?

I think India has a very good terrain to grow organic food. We at The Imperial, New Delhi have an organic garden in our backyard and from next month we are growing lettuce there and currently we are growing spinach.

Q. Considering the organic produce is neither as aesthetically attractive nor fulsome as its genetically modified counterpart how will you manage to woo your guests with your offerings?

It is manageable. All the fish here is organic, we do our own smoking, we also make organic paneer in the hotel. Organic food is bit different from industrially produced food as there is no distortion in the flavour in the former. For example an originally grown carrot will always be different from a carrot grown normally.

Q.What are the benefits of organic food?

Organic food is healthier, there are no chemicals and you don’t have to wash it again and again to get rid of pesticides. by vasujit kalia

by meraj shah

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SPAS & WELLNESS

The Imperial Spa and Salon

In sync with the hotel’s grandeur

For an iconic brand, adding any new facility always poses a challenge.

There is always ‘high expectations’ in keeping with the brand image.

The Imperial, with its new spa and salon, has lived up to its reputation.

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large staircase, in white Italian marble, leads you thirteen feet underground to the spa reception. The first thing that strikes you is the sheer amount of daylight coming through the skylight. The aura of the spa is fresh, calm, warm, and almost romantic.Walking through the spa, you see strong influences of Mughal architecture in the form of marble inlay, mirrorwork and high ceiling with arches. The walkway is adorned with sayings of Sufi poets hung on the walls.

T he r e a r e a to t a l of ten t r e at ment rooms,each witha different Mughal motif on the walls, including a private Mughal Suite for couples. There is also a traditional two room Kerala Suite for you to experience authentic Ayurvedic therapies.

After sipping the cooling “sufi juice�, pomegranate with some herbs and spices that were not disclosed, you head in for a brief consult.

I opt for their signature massage, the Imperial Depth, which combines Swedish, Deep Tissue and Energy Balancing methods. My therapist smartly dressed in a white and red leninIndian suit, presents me with a choice of four kinds of music and six oils to suit your skin type and requirements. During my massage I learn that all therapists, in addition to continual training sessions are also trained in reflexology which adds a new dimension in their knowledge and skill. After a fabulously relaxing and rejuvenating ninety minutes I feel renewed to head out back into the daily grill.

Befitting the image of the hotel, the spa offers you an exclusive experience through the use of painstakingly developed products, experienced and hand-picked therapists and that personal touch.

For body and beauty treatments, the Imperial Spa and Salon uses their privately developed signature line of products called SUFI which consist of sixindividual blends for massage oils and an Eau De Toilette. These oils are selected to suit individual requirements and contain pure cold pressed base oils like Jojoba oil, Carrot Seed oil, Sweet Almond and Apricot Kernal oil.For facials and skin care,

they use exclusive products from NaturaBisse-Barcelona to repair and invigorate your skin.

The Imperial Spa offers an extensive variety of massage therapies, facial skin care and body purification treatments. The Ayurvedic therapies come with the option for a consult with an Ayurvedic doctor to address your general health concerns and even a special Ayurdevic meal. They have also introduced the Imperial Sports Massage by therapists who are trained and qualified by the London School of Sports Massage. This personalised remedial massage therapy is ideal to treat any sports or repetitive strain injuries.

The prices range from Rs2800 for aneck and shoulder massage to Rs7500 for their signature 4 hand massage. Imperial Spa journeys that take from three hours to a full day, or a luxurious treat at the private Mughal Suitefor a couple can cost you from Rs9500 to Rs30000. A personalized mix of treatments can also be designed to suit your needs. Taxes are extra.

Lest I forget to mention, there is also an extensive salon for ladies and gent, open also to non-residents. This plush salon offers high performance products from Kerastase- Parisfor hair care.NaturaBisse-Barcelona and unique Imperial Blends are used for facials and other salon treatments.

The spais personally overseen by Ms.Jacqualine Tara Herron - Director Spa, Salon, Health & Racquet Club, who has worked extensively over two years on product development, therapies, techniques and training methods. She adds that special personal touch and effective customization of holistic wellness therapies.

The Imperial is widely acknowledged as one of the most iconic hotels in Delhi today. A landmark in hospitality, it now operates a truly inspired spa that carries the same grandeur and sophistication that comes along with its name. The spa, open to hotel guests only, is definitely an added incentive to book your stay at the hotel.

by Priyaanka berry

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Time for Two With time-scrunched modern couples – caught up in the whirligig of office and home – increasingly looking for some quality time together, hi-end spas are stepping in to fill an important need.

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hese sybaritic hubs of wellness are providing partners a conducive environment to de-stress and rejuvenate themselves even as they bond over a raft of therapies.

The bedrock of this unique philosophy, say experts, are the Hindu scriptures. These ancient texts talk of ‘Rupasampat Wahya Bhiantara’ - the balance of inner and outer beauty which leads to a more fulfilling and wholesome life for partners.

No wonder, many of the newer Indian spas are fashionably designed around Indian history, astrology and values, and offer incredible immersive spa experiences, dedicated to indigenous culture, myth, materials and design. Some spas even provide regionally-specific treatments (such as the use of turmeric and semolina to enhance a South Indian experience, and sandalwood and rosewater in Delhi to augment flavors of the 16th century Mughal dynasty).

Others have introduced regionally-specific building materials like marble or stone--while others feature ‘leharia’ folk art patterns; Indian love swings and Rajput water gardens (from the state of Rajasthan);‘Madhubani’ paintings (from the state of Bihar); or Mughal landscaping and architecture) And the forecast is that more and more spas will be celebrating Indian historical epochs, mythical stories and royal age-old cultural therapies.

In fact in Hindu tradition, it isn’t uncommon for special massages and treatments to be administered to the bride and the groom in the run up to the nuptials. And with the whole of India in the throes of the crazy summer wedding season, what could be a better time for couples to head to spas?

Interestingly, the therapeutic and communitarian dimension of spas was discovered in 2,000 BC by the Egyptians.

They used the most rudimentary equipment -- a tub full of water heated by sizzling stones – to de-stress themselves. The mighty Romans took this concept a notch higher by inventing gigantic spa baths that later morphed into communitarian hubs. In fact the Belgian town of Spa – where the provenance of the word ‘spa’ is traced – has today reinvented itself as a chic resort for baths and mineral springs where couples head to relax and heal.

Spa Finder, an online spa industry news and information website, forecasts that in 2012, global spas will continue to focus on health and wellness with burgeoning trends such as an array of inventive therapies.“After four tough economic years that made experimentation challenging, we are seeing the industry once again pushing the envelope with exciting ideas, delivering more wows, more fun, and quite serious wellness innovation,” said Spa Finder president Susie Ellis.

The burgeoning need for couple therapies in India, say experts, needs to be seen in this global context. As Shekhar Malkotia, Spa Director at The Claridges Spa in Surajkund, puts it,“A couples’ spa suite is the perfect getaway for a “time for two”. Contemporary spas provide a conducive environment that encourages bonding and harmony with your loved ones.

They offer an intimate experience that helps couples share private moments together during treatment. This leaves them with fun and romantic memories to cherish.”

Indeed who can argue with that?

R The Spa, Radisson Blu Plaza, New Delhi This capacious 20,000-feet spa, spliced into three levels, offers three special suites and four rooms that promise “a tranquil ambience for togetherness and pampering for couples”. Cascading waters and scenic water fountains recreate the calm of nature, while treatments combining natural recipes and international brands like Pevonia, Spa Factory Bali, ensure holistic well-being.

The Orchid Suite and Frangipani Suite feature an infinity tub and an `experience shower’ to take relaxation to new highs.

The White Lotus Suite – outfitted with luxe accoutrements like a Vichy shower, Hamam bed and a Hydrotherapy bed – also boasts of specially designed lighting and music to calm the senses. Rudra, Moksha, Mandarin and Iris are the other spa suites.

Arguably one of India’s finest urban spas, the outfit offers a complete wellness experience with a choice of massages and the right blend of Asian traditions and European therapies. Through its couple packages, R The Spa aims to deliver complete health care and natural immunity of the human body.

“The treatments are targeted at the detoxification of the entire body by removing toxins, improving blood circulation and strengthJuly 2012 go now

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SPAS & WELLNESS ening the bodily systems with multifarious fragrances and unique curative effects,” says a spa official.

The spa offers multiple couple packages including a Rama-Sita package (Rs13,800 for a couple). This includes a floral bath and a body scrub followed by a rejuvenating aromatherapy massage and an aromatherapy facial. Post-massage, couples can tuck into scrumptious spa cuisine including champagne and strawberry chocolate fondue!

Partners can also opt for other packages from the spa’s extensive menu – Sandhya Raga using marine products and thallasso wraps for jet lag recovery, Aquatherapy with Moroccan Skin Purifying Wrap for a complete body restoration and an Oxygenating Sea Mask for a luminous complexion.

The Claridges Spa Inspired by the ancient Indian baoli (reservoir) in concept and design, The Claridges Spa sprawls over a luscious 15,500 sq ft.

Couples can draw upon the expert advice of a pool of ayurvedic doctors, therapists and wellness professionals which help customize their personal spa experience.

A roomy 770-sq feet Couple Spa Suite

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journey begins with the use of a spa bath followed by treatments of the couple’s choice.

The suite offers a steam room, whirlpool, side-by-side massage beds for treatments as well as private relaxation lounge made just for two. The suite – indeed a spa within a spa -- provides a retreat where couples can enjoy side-by-side treatments and a completely private pampering.

The spa also offers steam and sauna rooms that aid in detoxification, circulation and body cell metabolism. There are independent jacuzzi and a relaxation lounges with a climate controlled environment. The facilities also include a meditation rooms and couples’ suites which offer exotic massages with independent massage beds to perform all the treatments. The two-hour ‘Luxury Suite Couples Experience’ is pegged at Rs 9950 plus taxes.

Amatrra Spa The word Amatrra is defined in Vedic context as the `silence’ that occurs during meditation, between recurrent chants of `Om’. Ergo, the spa helps couples to physically unlock and balance positive and negative, internal and external energies in harmony

with the Cosmos.

The spa is perhaps the only one that offers many lifestyle solutions with its very own expert panel of Astro Physics Specialist proficient in body constitution analysis, an ayurvedic doctor, a physiotherapist and a yoga expert to customize private meditation, color-connected elevation therapy, herbal heat revival, relaxing massages, yoga and body wraps.

The most sought-after, 90-minute couples massage offers massage suites filled with soothing music and blissful aromas, the perfect setting to share a spa experience with a partner. The experience – aimed at “promoting bonding and togetherness in a unique setting” – concludes with an aromatic bathing ritual and an offer of signature tea blends.

The spa also offers a ‘Spa Couple Tour Package’ with varying prices. The full day package includes a welcome drink on arrival, meditation and rituals (10 minutes), exfoliation therapy-body scrub(one hour), synchronized abhyanga (one hour) and sauna / steam / jacuzzi /shower (30 min). This is followed by a swimming pool experience, a facial, shampoo and blow dry, offer of herbal tea and a spa lunch.

SPAS & WELLNESS

EXPERTSPEAK Tania Bardhan, Spa Manager, The Leela Palace New Delhi

Radiant in the rains!!

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Tattva Spa Not up to braving Delhi’s catatonic heat to get to a spa? Well, worry not. Tattva will ensure that the spa comes to you. A unique concept pioneered by entrepreneur Anita Kaushal, Tattva, the mobile spa offers couples a cachet of treatments customized to their requirements at their own place!

The spa also organizes a ‘cozy couples spa night’ where partners can add a special twist to the proceedings by getting heat incorporated into their treatments. “A massage or body scrub that uses warmth enhances all the senses, which makes the experience feel even more indulgent,” says a spa official.

Amongst Tattva’s numerous offerings are packages like ‘Harmony’, a 60-minute parallel session where couples can opt for full body massages – a Swedish massage and Lymphatic massage for Rs 2,800 per person.

The ‘In Unison’ 75-minute parallel session (priced at Rs 3200), ensures complete relaxation while the therapists administers full-body massages along with an expert pressure-point scalp massage.

The ‘Celebrate togetherness’ 75-minute session (tagged at Rs 4,000 each) offers couples the options of a Swedish massage, a lymphatic massage, an aromatherapy massage, a deep tissue massage or an ayurvedic massage.

So have you booked your spa appointment yet? by neeta lal

he much awaited rains have arrived bringing relief from the long scorching summer.

While it’s time to let go of our tedious summer skincare routines, it is important to remember that this season brings challenges of its own for your skin.

The high levels of humidity lead to increased levels of perspiration during the monsoons.

This along with constant wiping can make your skin look parched and dehydrated. For this, it is important to keep drinking adequate water to keep the skin hydrated from within even though we may not feel as thirsty as in the summers.

Breakouts from inadequate cleansing and use of heavy products are common during this time of the year. Thus, care must be taken to choose products which can rehydrate and purify the skin while not clogging the pores.

For cleansing, gentle water-soluble cleansers like the Hydrating Cleansing milk from ESPA are best. The use of a toner mist like the Herbal Spa Fresh containing a blend of rose, neroli, tangerine and geranium essential oils twice a day makes sure that the skin feels rehydrated and renewed rather than taut and dehydrated.

Regular exfoliation with the Refining skin polish from ESPA will make sure you brush away dead skin cells and keep clogged pores at bay at the same time deeply nourishing the skin with nutrient rich Plankton. A very good option for a moisturizer is the 24 hour balancing complex with lavender and sage oil which purify and nourish at the same time. If your skin is prone to breakouts during this time, keep a tube of the ESPA tea tree gel at hand. This can be used as a light moisturizer or an antiseptic, calming treatment for the affected areas.

For more intensive face and body care, spa treatments like the skin brightener or re hydrator facials

by ESPA done regularly combined with an Oil and salt scrub for the body will further boost your regular skin care routines.

Some effective home remedies may include toning several times a day with fresh cucumber and rose water. For this read labels carefully to determine the purity of rose water if you are buying it off the shelf. Fresh basil and mint infusion in water is also makes for a refreshing toner. For this make sure you have access to organically grown herbs and use purified water. To moisturize, massage the face lightly with about 5ml of organic pure honey, leave on for few minutes and rinse.

Wet weather can also bring down immunity and the chances of fungal infections go up during this time. To prevent this, include adequate vitamins and minerals in your daily diet and ensure you maintain a regular fitness routine. Exercising will also take care of overall circulation and detoxification keeping your skin healthy and glowing. Also, using products like the Resistance body oil from ESPA containing eucalyptus, lavender and tea tree oils will keep minor skin conditions at bay.

So, here’s to enjoying the rains armed with the confidence of glowing and radiant skin!!

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ROOMS & SUITES

Radisson blu hotel new delhi paschim vihar

A new option for West Delhi Tapping the West Delhi market, Radisson Blu Hotel New Delhi PaschimVihar offers exciting food and beverage options... Be ready to get spoilt.

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he Radisson Blu Hotel New Delhi Paschim Vihar is ideally situated in the western part of Delhi. Located at a distance of 25 kms from the Indira Gandhi International Airport, makes it an ideal choice of the corporate guests who have their business interest in this side of Delhi.

Talking about the reason of opening the hotel in West Delhi, Kanchan Rizvi, Director of Sales & Marketing, Radisson Blu Hotel New Delhi Paschim Vihar says, “West Delhi was always an unexplored market till Hilton came few years back and became an example for investors that West Delhi has potential for 5 star segments. For investors West Delhi was an attractive option as land was available at good rates helping them to reduce the project cost. West Delhi is surrounded by niche rich class people in areas like Paschim Vihar, Punjabi Bagh and other locations.

Food and beverage business was always considered to be profitable in this area however we can say that

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today that this area also has demand for rooms.”

Rooms and Suites The hotel features 178 spacious guest rooms which includes 122 Superior rooms, 35 Business Class rooms, 1 Presidential Suite, 2 Deluxe Suites, 15 Executive Suites and 3 Junior Suites.

Superior Room with an area of 355-420 sq ft offers a choice between king size and a twin bed. Spread over an area of 387 sq ft, Business Class Room offers various additional amenities for a business traveller. Whereas for those who seeking the finest detail and grandeur the hotel offers 21 suites including a jewel in the crown, the Presidential Suite which is spread across an area of 1528 sq ft and will be operational shortly.

The rooms have been designed in synchronization with the Neo-Gothic theme of the hotel, imparting a sense of luxury and elegance. The rooms are accentuated with rich, comfortable furniture and modern

ROOMS & SUITES in-room amenities to exude warmth and comfort.

Speaking about the architect who has designed these rooms Rizvi says, “The hotel has been designed by a widely recognized architect and designer renowned for Hospitality Designing, Bobby Mukherji. He has worked on these rooms keeping the guest convenience.”

Indulge in luxury All these rooms and suites come with the lavish features like 42” Flat screen Television, high speed Internet and WiFi, over sized work desk with table lamp, direct International dialing, In-room electronic safe, mini bar and a tea /coffee maker.

Faridabad gets a slice of Ginger!

Savour the Desi delights at Indyaki One can get to savour quintessentially Indian food which is cooked on live Teppanyaki grills at Indyaki, the Indian specialty Restaurant The highlight of the restaurant is the Japanese style of cooking where the trained chefs will excite the guests by the eclectic display of their flair cooking. The menu features Vegetarian and Non Vegetarian Prefixe meals along with elaborative A’ la carte menu with Indian flavors.

Banqueting Facility Located on 3rd floor of the hotel is 20,000 sq. ft. banqueting area which can accommodate people up to 50-2000.

Two large pillars less ballroom can accommodate update 750 guests each along with small banquets halls which can accommodate up to 200 people.

The large banqueting area makes this hotel a favourite wedding venue of the people staying in the nearby colonies. This also becomes a major source of revenue for the hotel.

“The major source of business are the wedding, including NRI weddings. Extended families of the people from Paschim Vihar and Punjabi Bagh have settled in US and UK but they come to India for their wedding.

They want to get the weddings of their near and dear ones solemnised under one roof that is where we come in with our expertise.”

USP of the hotel Vyoma SPA salon and fitness centre which is spread across a total area of 12000 sq ft. with outdoor swimming pool on seventh floor makes it a unique feature of the hotel. by vasujit kalia

With a focus on domestic and corporate travellers, the Ginger Hotel, which recently set its foot in the industrial hub of Faridabad, has come up with state-of-the-art rooms equipped with all modern amenities and decor to match the customers’ taste.

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deally located near the National Highway on G.T. Road at Fun City Mall, Ginger Hotel in Faridabad has strategically positioned itself as the hotel suitable for the domestic and the corporate traveller. A limited services hotel, built around the unique concept of smart basics, Ginger Hotel provides intelligent, well thought out facilities to meet the key needs of today’s traveller at affordable rates.

The hotel features 91-rooms which include 4 single occupancy rooms, 28 standard double rooms, 58 twin rooms and one room which is reserved for differently-abled guests.

Talking about the smart interiors of this particular property, Prabhat Pani, Chief Executive Officer and Director, Roots Corporation Limited says,“We do not have separate interiors for any of our hotels and that is how we derive cost our benefit. The interiors of all the rooms across all our properties have been done by Incubis. However, the one element that makes the Faridabad property different from others is the paintings in the rooms and the corridor which are very much linked to the location.”

Going on further, Pani says,“We are currently focussing on the domestic traveller and our target customer is corporate traveller who is not going to spend too much time within the hotel. We plan to tap corporate executives who work at junior to mid level, traders, suppliers or entrepreneurs of small and medium businesses.

Our guest can also be a traveller who travels for leisure but spends most of his time outside the hotel.”

Modern Amenities: The size of a typical Ginger room is approximately 190 sq. ft including a bathroom.

The rooms offer guests a space they can call their own, with amenities such as mini-fridge, LCD TV, self-controlled air-conditioning, tea and coffee maker, and telephone and special features including a gym, conference room and meeting room. The hotel’s tech-friendly conference room can also be made available to guests for presentations, showcases and meetings.

It’s a steal for all those guests who are looking for luxury at an affordable price. . by vasujit kalia

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retail therapy

just arrived

From precious metals to gadgets, accessories to furniture, there is always something new in town for the style diva or the connoisseur of fine living. We bring you a selection from the finest – which enhances ease of living or adds luxe to living.

Time for Some Californian Colours

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Backpacks for convenient travel

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xcursion, experience or expedition – no journey is ideal without the perfect backpack. Basecamp, the online portal for travel accessories, has introduced Outsider Backpacks that allow you to carry all your necessities and belongings properly, securely and in an arranged manner. The bags come with wide options of extra pockets and extra space. These are available from 24 litres to 65 litres in widest range if colours and patterns.

Price: Rs 2999 onwards Available at: Mumbai: Phoenix Mill Mall, Unit no.17, Ground Floor, Grand Galleria, High Street Phoenix, Lower Parel. Phone:+91-22-24948880, phoenix@basecamp.in NEW DELHI: D-5, Inner Circle, Connaught Place.

Phone: +91-11-23416696, cpstore@basecamp.in 78

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sprit Timewear goes back to its roots this year! Taking inspiration from the endless summers of California- the sun, the sea and the feeling of pure joie de vivre, Esprit Timewear unveiled its latest Spring Summer 2012 Collection for men and women. From subtle to bold, basic to funky and metallic to pop, this collection has a lot to offer in design, style and colours.

Esprit Timewear’s Spring Summer Collection 2012 signifies the joy of being at the beach, shopping, sitting in a café or even a night out with friends.

With this collection, Esprit enters the season bursting with energy, vibrancy and life! This Spring Summer Collection exuberates the typical Californian lifestyle – fresh styles with a love of colour – offering a right watch for every occasion. Combining utility with vogue, the collection offers watches for women that are playful, stunning and chic! Watches for men from the collection come in creative attractive designs and are the perfect way to emphasise the sporty and masculine appeal.

Cool eye pads to relieve stress

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hahnaz Husain has introduced different eye pads that help reduce dark circles and relieve stress. Containing cooling and refreshing natural extracts of cucumber, chamomile, aloe vera and ginseng, Cool Cucumber Eye Pads are soothing premoistened eye pads taht help to relieve stress and induce relaxation. They also reduce dark circles and puffiness around eyes. Apply for 10-15 minutes and feel the difference. ‘Anti-Wrinkle Green Tea Under Eye Patches’ are formulated to restore balance of the skin’s natural moisture levels, reducing the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines. The skin is revitalized after just one use. If used on a regular basis, the patches will help to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Contains marine collagen and green tea.

Price: Rs.199 for 10 eye pads

Go Vibrant this Monsoon

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onsoon is around the corner and it’s time to refresh your wardrobe and enjoy the season to the fullest!

BIBA helps you prepare for the rainy day with its latest monsoon offerings in bright and lively colors. The range embraces an array of kurtas in breathable cotton fabric, where each outfit flaunts flawless cuts and extraordinary designs & prints. These kurtas provide comfort and thus, are a must have for this season.

Products code and description: BIBA Kurta 1: This BIBA piece is very stylish yet extremely subtle. A fit and flare tunic in a contemporary floral print makes for elegant evening wear paired with crops, anklets or skinny jeans. Made from 100% cotton, it is priced at Rs. 799/BIBA Kurta 2: A unique semi circular placement print with a traditional Indian motif on cotton fabric is perfect to pep up your mood for this monsoon. Wear with anklets and crops.

Price of this attractive kurta is Rs. 699/- only.

Available at all BIBA stores across India.

For more information, please visit: www.facebook.com/ BibaIndia and www.bibaindia.com

Say Cheers to Summer!

Indian wine maker, Luca Wine brings you LUCA Muscat White Wine produced at Nirvana’s state of art winery at Bawal, Haryana.

M u s c at Wh i t e Wi n e i s a golden yellow white wine. It is highly aromatic with rich fruit extracts and honey. A medium-bodied wine, this one is ideal for summers. It can be paired with gingerbread cookies, rum balls, fruitcake, cheese and also with food with similar sweetness and richness. It is a wine often served on its own during or after a meal as a dessert wine.

LUCA Muscat White Wines are available in Delhi, Chandigarh, Haryana, Punjab, HP, UP, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Karnatka & West Bengal in the price range of Rs. 480/- for 750ML. (Delhi MRP)

Dual Time Zone Watches

Antonio Bernini presents the all new Crusader. A staggering combination of design, technology and precision, the watches come at a very attractive price band ranging from Rs 21,995 – 24,995. Designed for the self reliant, ever challenging urban man, this masterpiece is synonymous with power, masculinity and amour-propre! With Crusader, Antonio Bernini replicates the aeronautical features of F-16 into a wrist adornment. The timepiece boasts dual time zones in a case with each time zone adjustable by a separate crown on the sides of the case to ease maneuverability. The watch has a 3-D dial multi with cotes de Geneva decoration where the hour time is on base level and second time zone is on the sandwich layered crystal with petite seconds in the sub-dial.

Available at: Mumbai: Watches & More at - Infiniti Mall Andheri (W), Infiniti Mall Malad (W) High Street Phoenix and Korum Mall, Thane Delhi: Johnson Watch Co. Connaught Place and Gangaram‘s Gallery, Preet Vihar Bangalore: Watches & More at Zimson- The Watch Store

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retail therapy

Gift Options for your Home

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bony Gautier has launched an innovative range of leather sofas available in various leather colour options and sizes to choose from. The collection features latest contemporary designs coupled with the best modern technology in designs called Zurich, Jordan, Toronto and Fabio.

Zurich is the perfect sofa for relaxation; inviting and versatile, and chameleon like ability to fit in just about anywhere.

It is a dynamic combination of comfort and style. Plump cushions and generous proportions make you never want to get up! Toronto is generously proportioned and upholds the highest standard of class and comfort. This piece is absolutely eye-catching and chic. Toronto in every variation offers glamour. Sink into comfort; and styled for relaxed, casual living. Sit back and relax. You can customize from multiple colour options of leather.

Jordan is stylish adjustable back rests

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and loads of charm, it creates a living room oasis of stylish shapes in a comfortable layout suited to your space. Fall into comfort with the deep-cushioned, luxe proportions of Fabio. One of the best-sellers, the Fabio is a contemporary design with clean lines and open curves.

Wonderfully versatile, it suits a wide variety of room settings. Extra padding and deep seating create a lush feeling.

Available at: Noida: K5 - K9, Sector 18, Noida – 201301 Ph: (0120)3062335/39 Gurgaon: JMD Regent Arcade, MG Road, Gurgaon – 122002 Ph: (0124) 4214570/71 Bangalore: 25, Intermediate Ring Road, Koramangala Ph: (080) 41112901/02/03 Chennai: J-Block, 3rd Avenue, Anna Nagar East (Next To Axis Bank) Ph: (044) 42615070, 26213621/22 Hyderabad: Plot No – 473, Road No. 36, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad – 500033 Ph: (040) 23557738 Faridabad: Crown Plaza Mall, 29th Milestone, Sector 15 A, Faridabad Ph: (0129) 4012228

aspar brings new range of gift collection that includes bed covers, cushions, jewelry box, watch box, dairies, photo frames and more. With Maspar, you can bring more colour into your life with the new shades of pink, yellow, blue bed covers and cushions. There is nothing more exciting for a woman or young lady than to receive a special jewelry box gift.

Also, there are lovely photo frames to store beautiful moments together. The collection is available at all exclusive stores of Maspar in cities like Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida, Bangalore, Mumbai, Ludhiana and Pune.

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last page

Green Alert Ecotourism is one of the most rapidly growing and dynamic sectors of the tourism market.

In our monthly round up of the destinations which offer sustainable tourism places we feature: The Burren National Park in Ireland and Hawaii Island.

A walk on the wild side…

Burren National Park in Ireland

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aking a walk in one of Ireland’s six national parks is a chance to immerse yourself in raw, unspoilt nature. It is one of the last great u ncont a m i na te d landscapes.

The word “Burren” comes from an Irish word “Boírea n n” m e a n i n g a rocky place. This is an extremely appropriate name when you consider the lack of soil cover and the extent of exposed Limestone Pavement. The Burren National Park is located in the southeastern corner of the Burren and is approximately 1500 hectares in size. The Park land was bought by the Government for nature conservation and public access. The natural habitat comprises wildflowers, limestone pavement, archaeology, farming, wildlife and folklore of the region – a hiker’s dream.

One can get to see the geological icon of the region (Mullaghmore hill), herds of feral goats, a large turlough or seasonal lake, great “wallscapes” (networks of drystone walls) and the world-renowned Burren mélange of Arctic and Alpine and Mediterranean.

On a farm in Punjab, live the ‘real’ hospitality Get to experience what life is on a farm in Punjab, a state that has won worldwide acclaim in agriculture!

Experience Farm Tourism, courtesy Punjab Tourism.

In the rural heartland, the farm owner acts as both host and guide for the visiting tourist. The farm houses provide a clean, hygienic environment with modern facilities, that meet the standards defined by Punjab Tourism. Farm stays introduce travellers to the real ‘Punjabi’ hospitality, with fine ‘home cooked’ meals, farm activities and the opportunity to meet families from the outback and country regions of Punjab. One gets to introduce one’s children to real life farm animals and the world of farming through farm holidays.

Farm stays in Hawaii Island

H Tourists exploring a coffee farm in Hawaii.

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awaii Island has a complex but fragile ecosystems that are easily affected by outside influences. Though the Hawaiian Islands are some of the most remote in the world, they are by no means isolated, hosting more than seven million visitors each year – nearly seven times more than the resident population.

Agricultural tourism is a growing business in Hawaii as most of the farm owners have opened their estates to the visitors. Hawaii Island is an agricultural cornucopia. Macadamia nuts, coffee, orchids and other tropical plants, papaya, mango, cacao, jackfruit, vanilla, ginger root, kava, goat cheese, honey, hearts of palm, and exotic fruits like durian, rambutan, star fruit, cheremoya, figs, lychee, and dragon fruit are just a sample of what Hawaii’s farms have to offer to the world.

Agri-tourism helps farm owners here to survive and thrive. compiled by vasujit kalia

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Date of Publication 6/7/2012

RNI No. DELENG/2000/3645 Posting Dt. 4-9/7/2012 Licence No. U(C)-299/2012-2014 W.P.P. at MCB-1 Reg No. DL-(C)-01/1250/2012-2014