Dream by Luxury Escapes | Issue 6

Italy −

Photo by Steve McCurry

THE LUX FILES

A new storey in Kuala Lumpur’s hotel scene

Rising from the ashes of the beloved Equatorial Hotel, EQ piles on the luxury.

38 44 50 A reef-seeking Whitsundays day out

Playing castaway on a sliver of sand on an InterContinental Hayman Island Resort day trip.

e new Maldives resort making waves

Capella Group’s brand-new Maldives stay, Patina, is doing things differently.

A trip to the Inland Sea in Doha, Qatar

Taking a wild desert ride from the souq to the sea in Qatar’s capital of Doha.

Kicking back in Hong Kong

Shopping for limited-edition shoes on Hong Kong’s famous Sneaker Street.

Spicing things up in Phuket Old Town

A local food tour turns up another side of this popular Thai destination.

Cover image

Kapama Private Game Reserve, South Africa.

Photo: Ryan Murch.

e Luxury Escapes insider guide to Barcelona

Tapas, art, museums and evening strolls, our complete guide to the Catalan city.

Going wild in Kapama Private Game Reserve

There are animal sightings, friendships, and even a few tears, on a South African safari.

Germany’s great divide conquered

This year marks the 35th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, we celebrate it.

Editorial

Head of Content

Penny Cordner-Maas

Creative Lead

Natalie Meneghetti

For all editorial enquiries, contact editorial@luxuryescapes.com

Advertising

Tourism Boards

Partnerships Manager

Jodie Collins

Strategic Partnerships

Executive

Rothschild

For all advertising enquiries, contact mediasales@luxuryescapes.com

Luxury Escapes

CEO and Co-founder

Adam Schwab Chief Marketing Officer Ben Connell

Dream by Luxury

is published by Luxury Escapes (ACN 150 650 927), Level 4, 68 Clarke Street, Southbank, VIC 3006. Ph: 1300 88 99 00. Printed in partnership with Invicium print management company.

Can a resort really make you feel at home?

Turtle Island in Fiji is a uniquely intimate place where you leave feeling like family.

Going for gold, old and new, in Dubai

Dubai is known for its glitz and glamour, but there is also plenty of local food, history and colour.

Escapes

Do more dreaming online

Be inspired by wanderlustworthy destinations, traveller’s tales and the latest travel trends online at Dream by Luxury Escapes.

From the Luxury Escapes CEO

luxuryescapes.com/inspiration

e most bucket-list worthy destinations for 2025, from palace stays in India to the beaches of South Korea.

e top tips and tricks for holidaying like a VIP for less.

Also catch us at: @luxury.escapes

As the year winds down, many people start taking stock of the best things that have happened over the past twelve months. This sort of end-of-year reflection has me thinking of the best destinations, resorts, hotels and experiences that we at Luxury Escapes have featured over the past year, and it has led to our inaugural annual awards: The LuxList.

The LuxList will be the first time that we ask our members, and readers, to vote for what they think are the best luxury escapes in the world.

We value the opinions of our members, just like they value the great deals that we provide for them, and now we want their help shaping the standards of the travel industry.

The LuxList will offer prizes for participation and will then culminate in the ultimate listing of Luxury Escapes members’ favourite places of all time.

Award categories will include things like our most-loved destinations, our most-

revered cruise line and the best familyfriendly escape. We want to know what you think is the best inclusion-packed escape of the year, the most bucket-list worthy getaway and who is the top of the top of our Ultra Lux destinations.

Speaking of Ultra Lux, I stayed at Capella’s ground-breaking new resort in the Maldives, Patina Maldives (“Treasured island”, page 38) and it is a great getaway for an extended family. Luxury Escapes head of content, Penny Cordner-Maas was (intentionally) marooned on a sandy paradise in the Whitsundays (“Reef seeker”, page 32), while our content manager Stephanie Mikkelsen put a big tick on her bucket list with a South African safari (cover story “Wildest dreams”, page 88).

So, keep and eye out for The LuxList and you can have your say, win a prize and get inspired to book your next holiday with our inaugural awards.

Adam

Schwab

CEO and Co-founder Luxury Escapes

THE LUX FILES

Shining a light on the new, the next, the people and the places you need to

20 /

Sky-high luxury at Kuala Lumpur’s EQ hotel

32 / Playing castaway on Hayman Island

38 / Patina Maldives, a rst from the Capella group

50 / Sneaky shopping in Hong Kong

Patina Maldives, page 38.

It takes a village

New East Brunswick development attracts culinary stars

East Brunswick Village (EBV) is a newly created urban renewal project in Melbourne’s popular northern suburb and it recently attracted some heavy culinary hitters.

Middle Eastern favourite Rumi has moved into EBV and brought with it its wine-bar sibling Rocket Society, named for the Lebanese Rocket Society that tried to join the space race in the 1960s. The small bar has old postcards of Beirut and a turntable takes pride of place on the bar; try the “arak and apple”, with fresh apple juice combined with the aniseed-heavy spirit or grab a blackboard quick bite. Next

door is Rumi’s new digs with old menu classics like the cheese cigars filled with halloumi, feta and kasseri or school prawns spiced with baharat and served with tahini.

Grab a beer at EBV’s Bridge Road Brewers, the Melbourne home of the Beechworth craft brewer. Tap beers feature faves like Beechworth Pale Ale and more experimental offerings; the plate-sized pretzels are a must. You can also grab quality take-away wine and beer at a new Blackhearts & Sparrows outlet.

End the night at FOMO (Food + Movies), a cinema that offers far more than just popcorn. Get pizzas and burgers, themed movie sundaes or a glass of wine in huge seats with a table and device to order food from.

Classic hits

“These new retailers really round out the offering at EBV and give East Brunswick locals more reasons to visit and do all their shopping and entertaining in the one place,” says Mario Lo Giudice, director of the project.

New music-themed Neil Perry bar opens in Sydney’s Double Bay

Neil and Samantha Perry have joined with Linden Pride and Nathalie Hudson (New York’s Dante, number one World’s Best Bar 2019) to create a bar and music venue in Double Bay.

Bobbie’s is named after Linden’s grandfather, DJ Bob Rogers who is credited with introducing Top 40 radio programming to local audiences on 2UE in 1958. The bar will focus heavily on martinis and other classics like highballs and negronis.

“We want Bobbie’s to be a throwback to when my grandfather reigned the airwaves

during the golden age of rock’n’roll – a time of big ideas, three-martini lunches and larger-than-life personalities,” says Linden. “Nathalie and I jumped at the chance to work alongside Neil and Sam again and create a world class cocktail bar in our hometown that captured the live music and swagger of Bobbie’s generation.”

Located in Double Bay’s iconic Gaden House, Bobbie’s sits under Neil’s other new venue, Song Bird, embodying his love for Asian cuisine.

Ahead of the game

Sabi Sabi renames and starts work on brand-new lodge

Sabi Sabi Private Game Reserve has announced it will rebrand to Sabi Sabi Collection, as the family-owned private reserve in the Greater Kruger Park expands beyond its four lodges: Bush Lodge, Little Bush Camp, Selati Camp and Earth Lodge.

Jacques Smit, Marketing Director at Sabi Sabi Collection, told media in Australia that they were embarking on a bold new project.

Located at the convergence of four rivers, Sandringham, a 6,500-hectare former hunting reserve is being regenerated by Sabi Sabi. This mammoth task focuses on rehabilitation, rewilding and the introduction of Sabi Sabi as protectors and custodians of this land.

“We are excited to be entering a phase of exploration and growth with the aim of extending Sabi Sabi’s conservation and community-led ethos and over 45 years of experience to other parts of Africa, starting with the inclusion of Sandringham Private Game Reserve,” said Jacques.

e latest and hottest hotel and resort openings to get on your radar

e StandardX, Melbourne

e rst Australian outpost of e Standard Group has set up shop in Fitzroy, one of the city’s most eclectic postcodes and a tting location for the group’s signature cool-without-trying style.

The StandardX hides 125 rooms behind its steel sheet-covered facade, and an all-day Thai restaurant, BANG, is helmed by local chef Justin Dingle-Garciyya. A rooftop bar, serving Mexican snacks and small plates, is reserved for hotel guests only.

Rosewood Schloss Fuschl

Located between Salzburg and Hallstatt, on the pretty banks of Lake Fuschl, this fairytalelike retreat is inspired by the surrounding alpine region.

There are 98 rooms, including suites and lakefront chalets, and accommodations befit the sumptuous 15th-century castle setting – guests with a nose for history should book the Heritage Rooms. The hotel’s facilities will have you living like a king (or kaiser) too. Expect provenance-guided fine cuisine in Schloss Restaurant, curated wellness journeys and immersive local experiences.

e Emory

e Emory lays claim to being London’s rst all-suite hotel and sits overlooking Hyde Park in swish Belgravia.

Beneath the striking sail-style architecture are sumptuous suites, masterclasses in modern, muted design, and some with balconies or courtyards. Guests are treated to unpacking and pressing services on arrival, and have access to a house car, as well as the hotel’s private rooftop, Bar 33, and membership to Surrenne, four levels of wellness nirvana. A cigar merchant, slick lobby bar and fine restaurant, abc kitchens, rounds things out.

Four Seasons Hotel Osaka

Four Seasons Hotel Osaka is located in the city’s Dojima neighbourhood, promising elegant rooms and suites.

Accommodations on the “GENSUI” floor, the hotel’s contemporary take on a Japanese ryokan (traditional inn), have tatami mat flooring, platform bed and access to tea ceremonies. Another floor is dedicated to wellness – treatment rooms, sauna, indoor pool, Japanese baths – while dining options include upscale Chinese, all-day French and, of course, a sushi restaurant.

THAT STAYS

Sydney Harbour

Two state parks border this lake made famous by the TV series of the same name.

Photo: Overview

DREAM

Can-can versus tango, croissant against medialuna: these elegant cities may have fancy footwork and crescent-shaped carbohydrates in common, but don’t go calling one the copycat of the other.

Paris

Few cities evoke such glassy-eyed daydreams as Paris. Once the address of Monet, Moliere and more Maries than you could poke a baguette at, the French capital has an enduring magic that sees visitors ock to its brasserie-lined boulevards in search of aky pastries, Ei el Tower sel es and that je ne sais quoi only this city can promise.

Book a stay at SO/

NEIGHBOURHOOD

Latin Quarter

On the left bank of the Seine and one of the oldest districts in Paris, the Latin Quarter is home to the Pantheon, Sorbonne and clusters of independent bookstores, bars and boutiques. Jardin du Luxembourg straddles the Latin Quarter’s border with SaintGermain-des-Prés, and the Jardin des Plantes is here too. Do not miss the weekend morning market along Rue Mouffetard (Saturday until Sunday midday).

Philharmonie de Paris

Venture out to north-east Paris to catch a classical concert at this extraordinary venue, dubbed the new musical heart of the city. By day, wander Musée de la Musique and its temporary exhibitions, or head to one of three concert halls at night; performances in the modular Grande Salle are especially brilliant. The genres cover symphonic, chamber music, jazz and contemporary stylings.

EAT

La Grande Épicerie de Paris

This gourmet emporium is so fine it could only be in Paris. First opened in 1923 and more recently overhauled in 2013, it spans 2,900sqm of floor space and 30,000 items across a pastry kitchen, butter wall, fishmonger, deli and more. There are 13 traders offering dine-in or takeaway options; Jardin du Luxembourg is 15 minutes’ walk away for those wanting a Parisian picnic.

DRINK

Septime La Cave

This wine bar and shop is the younger sibling to Michelin-starred diner Septime and makes a slightly less intimidating gateway to the world of Bertrand Grébaut. The list of sips is tight, with a focus on natural wines, small producers, and bio-dynamic techniques. There are rotating options by the glass, and bottles can be purchased and enjoyed at the bar (corkage may apply). Snacks and small plates are suitably excellent.

STAY

SO/ Paris

One of the city’s most fashionable new addresses in a sleepy pocket of the Marais, SO/ Paris’ allure covers RDAI design, boldly styled guest rooms and a location that puts guests only a few well-heeled steps away from the banks of the Seine. There are 162 rooms and suites, spread across the 8th and 14th floors, with a scene-favourite bar-restaurant-nightclub sitting pretty up top.

FROM TOP: The Eiffel Tower and the river Seine; the colourful cafes of the Latin Quarter OPPOSITE PAGE: the bright colours of Caminito, the street museum in La Boca; tango in the Caminito neighborhood

Buenos Aires

Football, asado, tango: Buenos Aires is a city of passions. Set along the banks of Río de la Plata, the sultry Argentine capital is the child of two heritages and its part-European, part-Latin-American amalgamation makes for more than just Evita and empanada. Fall into the rhythm of Buenos Aires to uncover a heady mix of old-world piles and vibrant barrios, street performances and storied steakhouses.

EAT

Mercado de San Telmo

This historic market, occupying an entire city block, has fed, watered and welcomed locals and visitors since 1897. Food stalls sell fresh fruit, vegetables and meats, as well as local snacks, coffee and bites to eat on the go – yes, there are empanadas. On Sundays, hundreds of independent vendors take over the area around the market as part of Feria de San Telmo.

NEIGHBOURHOOD

San Telmo

The city’s oldest barrio is vibrant with open-air galleries, tree-lined streets and traditional parrilla (steakhouses) grilling some of the finest cuts in the world. On Sundays, the crowds are drawn to Calle Defensa and Plaza Dorrego for antiques and knick-knacks. Brush up on Argentinian history at Museo Histórico Nacional or catch a tango performance at El Viejo Almacén.

Stay at Alvear Palace

VISIT

Doppelgänger

This is a bar with a laser focus on its libations: cocktails. And cocktails only. There is no beer, soda or wine (not even malbec) on offer. The curation of cocktails therefore is unsurprisingly exceptional, with more than 70 options on its drinks list covering classic combos to more inventive muddlings. The bar itself is modelled after European drinking dens in the 1920s and ’30s and reservations are recommended.

STAY

Alvear Palace Hotel

This grand hotel in La Recoleta is the embodiment of Buenos Aires being the “Paris” of South America. An immaculate iteration of oldschool luxury, it spans 11 floors with 207 rooms and suites, as well as a spa and wellness centre, indoor pool, rooftop bar, sushi restaurant, and steak-forward Alvear.

SEE Teatro Colón

Considered one of the best opera houses in the world, the immaculate acoustics and eye-catching architecture of Teatro Colón are on display with its ballet, opera, orchestral and contemporary performances. Guided tours run Monday through Sunday and Colón Fábrica is the specialty museum displaying pieces from past productions.

Crimson

NASHVILLE

peak

e bartender’s handshake is the traditional greeting between hospitality workers: it might take the form of a signature cocktail or a single shot. We shake hands with Mickey Stevenson, lead bartender at intimate Nashville cocktail den Four Walls.

Hidden within the art-filled interior of The Joseph, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Four Walls has “Spaghetti Western” cinematography inspire the decor and a menu that includes a ferocious La Famiglia Negroni menu with twelve variations, the perfect match for Four Walls’ showstopping marble bar, designed by Rosso Levanto and the perfect shade of Campari crimson.

While the decor and menu pay homage to founder Joel Pizzuti’s Italian-American heritage, the name is pure Nashville. It’s taken from a 1957 Jim Reeves’ track, often credited as the first example of the Nashville Sound genre.

Mickey Stevenson’s no stranger to juggling diverse influences: his love for bartending blossomed as he travelled across the world. He is meticulous about ensuring there is intention behind every ingredient and garnish; Mickey needs guests to enjoy every sip. “To me, mixology happens before the shift, while bartending unfolds during it,” he says. “Offduty, I’m always researching emerging trends and trying to infuse whatever’s happening in the craft cocktail scene into my work.”

But when it comes to his off-menu welcome drink he keeps things simple with a refreshing twist on an after-work beer, the Spaghett.

Spaghett

300ml Miller High Life beer (or any light beer)

45ml Aperol

20ml fresh lemon juice

Garnish: a lemon slice

1. Add all ingredients to a pint glass.

2. Stir carefully to combine.

Bar Sovereign

“It’s an after work classic,” says Mickey. An industry favourite, this easy-going establishment is a stalwart with Nashville locals for its irreverent art pieces and generous happy hour. “I have a lot of respect for the high-volume places and craft cocktail lounges – both are masters of their craft.”

Lucky’s 3

You can’t beat the vibe at this 4th Avenue hangout spot: high balls, hot dogs and High Life beer on draft make it the place to wind down after a tough shift. “If anything, three stars is selling the place short.”

Robert’s Western World

“This one’s for if we’re feeling really wild,” says Mickey. It’s the spitting image of a “cowboy bar,” drawing folks looking for live country music and boot-scootin’ great time from Nashville and beyond.

Tiger Bar

This carnival side-show inspired gin house claims to be “like no other place on Earth”. Expect gin-infused gummies on shaved ice, pandan and orgeat-flavoured adult snow cones, cotton candy negronis and more.

e Fox Bar & Cocktail Club

“The Fox is a great establishment,” says Mickey. Food & Wine magazine agrees, in 2023 heralding the mixology house as one of the 10 Best Bars in the U.S. and calling it “the pride of East Nashville”. Go for the Fox Daquiri, a delicious blend of three rums, lime, pineapple and sea salt.

MICKEY’S

IMAGE:

Return to splendour

Updating a classic can be a dangerous move, risking alienating friends and fans, but Kuala Lumpur’s EQ hotel has risen from the rubble of its popular predecessor, e Equatorial, and is modernising the city’s much-loved cuisine, too. Paul Chai nds that rare beast: a sequel better than the original.

I am holding in my hand a piece of the best bread in the world. It’s not a crunchy baguette, a fluffy foccacia or an on-trend sourdough but a flaky, oily tangle of roti canai, a flatbread that originated in India but was perfected in Malaysia. According to food website TasteAtlas, roti canai ranked number one on its Top 50 Best Breads in the World in 2023 with a rating of 4.9 out of 5 but I did not need them to tell me how good roti is. Having lived in Singapore for two years, I quickly discovered that roti dipped in curry sauce is the breakfast of champions, a perfect lunch-on-the-go and a beer-sopping late-night delight.

Executive chef of EQ hotel, Federico Michieletto, reminds me of roti’s recent award as we sit down to a table full of Malaysian street-food classics made by him and executive sous chef Krishnan Ramachandran. In front of me is a smoky, spicy char kuay teow (flat noodles), sizzling sticks of chicken satay with tangy peanut sauce and beef rendang redolent with cinnamon and cloves. I tear off a piece of roti and soak it in the fragrant chicken curry, happy as a toddler with toast soldiers and a softboiled egg. There is a great complexity to Malaysian cuisine and it has more ingredients than a homemade curry

OPPOSITE: the marine-steel staircase in EQ’s Sky 51 bar with its unrivalled views of the famous Petronas Towers. THIS PAGE FROM TOP: EQ stands on the former site of the popular Equatorial hotel and is even more popular than its beloved predecessor; the 51st floor of EQ.

paste with Malay, Hokkien, Indian and Peranakan all thrown into the sizzling wok.

My spread of Malaysian favourites has the zing and sting of street food but has been given a five-star glow up thanks to Federico and his team of 200 who work in food and beverage at EQ. They are taking much-loved favourites and giving them a new, upmarket spin, much like the hotel itself.

Kuala Lumpur’s Equatorial Hotel was one of a wave of new hotels opened in the Malaysian capital in the 1970s in what was known as the Golden Triangle, a central city spot packed with hospitality options; its restaurant The Chalet was a famous spot for

the KL glitterati with its Swiss-themed menu and lush decor. In 2012, the modest-sized Equatorial shut its doors for the last time and was razed to the ground, but in its wake rose EQ a glass-and-steel mega-scraper 52 storeys high with enough panache to rival its neighbour in central KL, the Petronas Towers.

Kuala Lumpur can be a clamorous capital, the streets packed with hectic hawker markets, temples cloaked in clouds of incense and the constant thrum of traffic. Stepping into EQ is like entering the eye of the storm, a passion-project, family-run affair that feels incredible luxurious but also fantastically homely.

Market capital

Over a cocktail at the hotel’s Sky51 bar, owner and CEO Donald Lim tells me that he gave one simple instruction for the look of the signature rooftop cocktail bar. “I wanted the bar to be somewhere that would make it very hard to refuse a marriage proposal,” he laughs. Sky51 shares the rooftop spot with new diner Sabayon, named for a favourite dish from The Chalet, and the annual pop-up revival of the original Chalet menu is a huge night on the KL social calendar.

FROM TOP: setting

a more standard room.

It is a grand space looking across to the Petronas Towers and the square below, and is the best seat in the house for new year’s fireworks. Sabayon and Sky51 share the same level divided by a faux elevator door with a martini on the call button. The centrepiece is a staircase that Donald tells me was forged in one piece from marine-grade steel and leads to the Blue bar above, a whisky-forward sipping spot, and favourite place for a skyhigh selfie.

You get similar views from a Deluxe King Twin Tower room, which faces the double skyscraper that was once the highest building in the world. The floor-to-ceiling windows frame this view while a coloured chaise lounge allows you to pull up a pew for when the sun drops and the skyline twinkles into nocturnal life.

The following morning, I am up early and off for a market tour with executive sous chef

the tables in Sabayon restaurant in EQ; the hotel’s party spot, the AHA! Suite. that looks onto the infinity pool and comes with Bang & Olufsen speakers;

Krishnan. We head to a local wet market where fish are stacked on a table piled with ice and huge pods of Malaysian petai, or bitter beans, are hung up at a stall like smalls on a Hills Hoist.

After, we head to a more tourist-friendly market, Pasar Besar (Central Market), in the centre of town. The stated aim of this colourful marketplace is to preserve Malaysian food culture and pass it on to future generations. Punchy scents abound as you walk past piles of belachan (fermented

shrimp paste), a cornerstone of local dishes for over 200 years; tubes of jeruk (fruit pickle) believed to be good for your health; and more varieties of sambal (chilli sauce/paste) than I have ever seen. Sambal, I discover, comes in over 200 varieties and has been declared Malaysia’s national condiment by The Michelin Guide

Back at EQ, in Nipah, the ground-floor restaurant that celebrates Malaysian classics I thank Krishnan for the tour and decide to add a little spice of my own to the outing by

asking about Singapore and how much claim it has over dishes like laksa and char kway teow when the Lion City also crows about these local dishes?

“They can do some of the Chinese specialities but they are different: the char kway teow is different, the laksa is different,” says Krishnan, diplomatically. “They can’t cook like Malaysians because the land here is bigger and the produce is better. Are they better than Malaysia? Let’s just say they have their own flavour.”

Book a stay at EQ

goes north Supernormal

You used to have to travel to Melbourne for Andrew McConnell’s awardsweeping restaurants, but Queenslanders are getting a taste of this Melbourne fave. We pull up a chair with chef Jason Barratt.

The second location for Andrew McConnell and Jo McGann’s Supernormal restaurant is on Brisbane’s Queen Street riverfront along with historic company like Customs House. The menu is an homage to its Melbourne sister restaurant rather than a slavish recreation. There is a host of appetisers, a raw bar and dumplings but it is given a northern spin with south-east Queensland produce. Yes, you still get crispy duck and New England lobster rolls but you might also be served up chilli-poached Moreton Bay bug and whole mud crab with black pepper sauce.

Chef Jason Barratt says guests can expect a beautiful dining space, river views and comfy banquettes. Diners are greeted by a hand-sculpted green-emerald maitre d’ station, there are green-peppered terrazzo floors and plenty of tropical foliage, floor-toceiling windows frame the river beyond.

“Brisbane has such a strong connection with the food growing areas that surround it so I can combine the skills I learnt and honed in Melbourne with the restraint and respect for local ingredients that I have really discovered here,” Jason says.

His favourite local ingredient is the spanner crab from the northern rivers. “We buy it live – it’s not that easy to get as there are not a lot of spanner crab catchers around. The meat is delicate and sweet with a beautiful earthiness”. And Jason has turned this delicious meat into a new Supernormal signature.

“A dish that I feel really represents the identity of Supernormal Brisbane is the spanner crab and hand-rolled noodle salad,” Jason says. “It’s light, fresh, served cold and relies on the depth of flavour from the crab to bring it all together.”

JASON’S FAVOURITE BRISBANE RESTAURANTS

Gum Bistro

“A lovely neighbourhood wine and snack bar, interesting simple and tasty food.”

Agnes

“Everything is cooked over fire so there’s an awesome flavour profile that runs through the whole menu delivered by a highly skilled chef team. It’s also a really fun place to be.”

Stanley

“One of the first restaurants I ate at when I came to Brisbane, Louis [Tikaram] is a really creative and talented chef.”

Julius

“A mid-week pizza sitting at the bar with a glass of wine on my own is a really great way to wind down after a busy day.”

Hellinka

“It’s just a total vibe, the best people-watching in town and the most delicious fresh Greek food.”

Spanner Crab and Cold Noodle Salad

Serves 4

400g crab meat

Dashi cream

1 gelatin leaf, soaked in 2 tablespoons cold water until soft

150ml dashi

100ml cream

25ml milk

½ tbsp soy sauce

½ tbsp mirin

½ tablespoon sake

salt

To serve ½ lemon

Udon noodles

900g wheat flour

45g salt

480ml water

105g potato starch

Handful Thai basil leaves, picked 2 tablespoons sesame seeds, lightly toasted

Generous splash of olive oil

To make the udon noodles, combine all the ingredients in a stand mixer with dough hook attached and mix for 7 minutes. Remove and rest for 1 hour. Roll the dough out into your desired thickness (around 0.5cm thick) and hand cut into noodles (around 1cm wide). Bring a large pot of water to a simmer over high heat, reduce to medium. Blanch the noodles for 4 minutes. Drain and refresh with cold water.

For the dashi cream, remove the soaked gelatin leaf from the water, squeezing the excess water to remove. Place the gelatin together with the other ingredients into a food processor or blitz with a hand blender until smooth. Pass the mixture through a fine sieve and chill in the fridge. To assemble, spread around two tablespoons of the dashi cream on each plate. Dress the udon noodles with a good squeeze of lemon and a few pinches of salt and place loosely over the dashi cream.

To finish, season the crab meat with salt and place over the noodles. Garnish with Thai basil, sesame seeds and olive oil.

BRISBANE

For bookings: +960 664 6600 reservations@cococollection.com

ONE NIGHT IN...

Seminyak

From a pre-party spa treatment to watching the sun go down in one of the original Bali beach clubs, Seminyak is known for its unique shopping, pampering and night life.

Here’s your planner for the perfect night out in Seminyak.

5pm Golden hour

There are sunsets and there are Balinese sunsets. Finish a lazy day at the beach by watching the sky turn alternating shades of pink, purple and gold. The Desa Potato Head Beach Club has mastered the Ibiza-style experience. Listen to Balearic beats from your plump day bed or from its sleek beachfront pool as the sun dips into the water. If you’ve already washed off your sunscreen, you can marvel at nature’s biggest show from Desa Potato Head’s sprawling rooftop bar Sunset Park.

6pm Pampering pitstop

The Moroccan-inspired two-storey Bodyworks Spa provides the perfect pitstop before a night on the town. The Balinese stalwart recently moved to its new purposebuilt venue where you can find everything from pampering treatments such as the Fire & Ice that combines an infrared sauna and ice bath with a manicure, pedicure and blow dry within its coral-coloured walls. This also works as a good post-party venue, where you can ease those partied-out limbs.

7pm Room with a bar

The W Bali hotel was created for party people. Its whitewashed walls and streamlined looks would look equally at home in Miami. If you book the EWow Panoramic Ocean View Suite you can serve a few cocktails from your own bar. Alternatively, you can let the skilled cocktail waiters serve you a G&T with steel ice in the W Lounge while you wait for your taxi.

7:30pm

Unique buys

Seminyak isn’t short on shopping opportunities, but if you are looking for a lastminute souvenir, visit Toko Emporium at Jl Kaya Aya No1, which is a boutique filled with finds created by local artisans. Its items are so sought after that it supplies boutiques and department stores as far away as Barbados, Dubai and Korea. Snap up everything from resin bangles and batik beach dresses to kitsch red rhinos. Open till 9pm.

8pm Neat eats

The chandeliers, bare brick walls and moody lighting give Mama San a speakeasy vibe. Sink into one of the leather sofas and order small or large plates filled with South-East Asian flavours. Think slow-cooked beef rendang filled with Sumatran spices and coconut and mango pavlova. This buzzy restaurant owned by Scottish chef Will Meyrick, also runs a supper club upstairs.

10pm Award-winning cocktails

If you’re ready for more cocktails, continue the party at Motel Mexicola, a restaurantturned-party-venue, which is open until 1am. Its gin and charred pineapple Despacito and mint and prosecco Pornstar Mojito cocktails caught the attention of The World’s 50 Best restaurants. Need a sugar fix? Order the crispy churros dusted in cinnamon sugar that you can dip into bowls of chocolate and caramel to boost your energy levels for the dance floor.

1am Dance till dawn

Just a short ride away is La Favela, a restaurant-cum-nightclub that is designed to look like a Brazilian favela. Walk over the rooftop decorated with washing lines filled with clothes to enter a three-storey hideaway covered with antique clocks, bicycles and cabinets of curiosities. The village theme continues with the two VIP rooms, which are designed to look like someone’s sitting room and there’s also a tropical garden. The DJs are creative and will be keeping you on the dance floor till 5am.

OPPOSITE: sunset at Desa Potato Head Beach Club Resort. CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: Mama San; Motel Mexicola; Bodyworks Spa; W Lounge at the W Bali.

Capital of surprises

ere may be #Only1DC, but there are a million di erent ways to experience, enjoy and taste the American capital. Rebecca Gibney and Cameron Daddo, hosts of Luxury Escapes, The World’s Best Holidays, share their experiences in the famous city.

Actress and TV host, Rebecca Gibney, thought she knew what to expect in Washington, DC, a town made famous by its political history. But what she found instead was a town bursting with opportunities.

“The diversity in Washington, DC is incredible and there is so much to see and do,” she says. “I think people think that it is all about politics but it is nothing like that.”

Rebecca and Cameron Daddo spent a week

filming in and around the capital and were both taken by how different it is to other American cities.

“I was surprised by how calm it is,” says Cameron. “Because no buildings can be taller than 130ft there is a lot of sky and a lot of light and that feels different than the hustle and bustle that I was expecting; it’s like one big neighbourhood.”

To be surprised by all that Washington, DC has to offer, book a trip with Luxury Escapes

See the monuments, di erently

Rebecca Gibney was excited to see the famous monuments in Washington, DC but she was unprepared for her reaction. “Walking up the steps to see Abraham Lincoln, I felt a rush of incredible emotion,” she says.

“Seeing the monuments at night was one of my favourite things to do. While they’re incredible during the day, seeing them lit up at night –like the Washington Monument disappearing into the night sky – takes it to the next level of magnificence.”

You can also visit these landmarks by bike, trolley or Segway.

Soak in the history of the National Mall

Cameron Daddo imagined a busy capital full of news vans and rushing people but instead he says “it’s the opposite, there is so much culture and diversity here.”

“The way that the Mall was designed in George Washington’s time by Pierre Charles L’Enfant, he had the vision for this open space that is free to travel down – that is the motto of America: freedom for all, and that is encapsulated in Washington, DC.”

Family-friendly, and just plain friendly

Cameron Daddo also found the people of Washington, DC to be genuinely welcoming. “I went for a run at six o’clock in the morning down the National Mall and everyone I passed said ‘Good Morning’, everyone. It felt so friendly.”

Sample the high-end dining…

Filming at Jônt, Cameron and Rebecca had one of the most memorable meals of their trip to Washington, DC. Jônt is an ambitious, 17-seat tasting counter with two Michelin stars. The menu takes its inspiration from Japanese cuisine and uses the freshest meat and seafood with luxurious sauces; dishes like king crab with truffle and lamb with seaweed butter.

“You expect fine dining to be amazing and a little bit stuffy but it wasn’t that at all, it was funky and cool, nothing like The Bear,” Rebecca jokes. “They give the patrons an incredible experience and you almost don’t want to eat the dishes because they look so nice.”

…Or enjoy a guilty culinary pleasure

Cameron Daddo had another food highlight, one that has taken him over two decades to try, “I lived in America for 25 years and I never had a chilli dog and I am so glad that my first chilli dog was at Ben’s Chilli Bowl,” he says. Ben’s has been slinging chilli since 1958 and the halfsmoke chilli dog is one of the must-have menu items.

Take in the local neighbourhoods

Walking tours are a great way to be immersed in the various neighbourhoods, each with their own style and flare. “The mixture of cultures here is one of the biggest highlights and surprises,” says Cameron Daddo. “Because you have 100-plus embassies you have so many people infusing this city with culture.”

“I expected to see the places I had seen in all the movies: Capitol Building, Abe Lincoln, the White House, the Supreme Court and the monuments,” says Rebeccan Gibney. “But I was not expecting to be as pleasantly overwhelmed as I was by Washington, DC. I am coming back; I haven’t seen it all.”

Reef seeker

QUEENSLAND

Indulgent pampering, 360-degree sunsets and playing castaway on an uninhabited island in the Whitsundays, Penny Cordner-Maas is never at risk of an ordinary getaway at InterContinental Hayman Island Resort.

“What do you think Rosie, do you still want to go?” I hear one guest quietly ask her friend as they glance towards the four kids they have in tow. They both laugh nervously before nodding. It will be fine.

I am sitting in the departure lounge at Hayman Island’s marina with 10 other guests from InterContinental Hayman Island Resort. Jack, the 20-something activities instructor, and our speedboat skipper has just finished a somewhat alarming safety briefing that included lifejackets, a v-sheet (to attract the attention of other boats or overpassing aircraft when stranded), and a brick phone.

I’ve signed up for one of the resort’s Sunset Island Escapades – a chance to watch the sun go down from one of the neighbouring Whitsunday Islands. No one has told us how far we’re travelling, or if they did, I missed it when I was Googling the meaning of “escapade”... an act involving some danger, risk, or excitement, because it is different from usual.

It’s not long until we’re gliding along the Coral Sea on our vessel Reef Seeker, skimming the water’s edge and watching as Hayman Island shrinks in the distance behind us. In less than 10 minutes, Jack points to an approaching sandbar in the middle of the ocean, “See that island up ahead, that’s Langford Island, that’s where we’ll drop you.”

Relieved to have arrived in one piece, (and without anyone needing to yell “man overboard”), we quickly disembark the boat. In just a few minutes our hosts are getting ready to head back to the marina. Jack notes our apprehension and attempts to reassure us, “Don’t worry, the island should stay above water until we come back. I mean it will if we read the tides right”.

I am pretty sure he’s joking, but we’ve only just recovered from the briefing, so it doesn’t land as he might’ve hoped.

The other two couples (who weren’t nearly as concerned throughout the briefing) confidently grab their deck chairs and head to

the furthest point of the island, ready for the sunset.

I join the group with Rosie, her sister-in-law Melissa and their kids and we choose our spot and settle in for a picnic in the middle of the Great Barrier Reef. As conversation flows, we begin to acknowledge this extraordinary, once-in-a-lifetime experience, bewildered that this bucket-list moment is something we can do so close to home.

We quieten as the sun drops behind the island’s peak, giving us uninterrupted views of this breathtaking sunset. In what seems like no time at all, the sky blends from gold, to pink and dark blue, before all colour disappears behind the horizon.

Shortly after, Jack returns. He smiles knowingly when he sees us grinning ear to ear.

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: InterContinental Hayman Island Resort in the Whitsundays is the ideal base for exploring the famous island and reefs; Reef Seeker safe and sound on a sunset sandbar; Langford Island.

Paradise, found

Located at the northern tip of the Whitsundays is the renowned InterContinental Hayman Island Resort. The resort is designed to showcase the natural beauty of the surrounding islands with local materials, sustainable practices and preservation of the island’s flora and fauna.

Upon my arrival, my dedicated host Emily gives me a tour of the resort. We weave through tall, open spaces, designed to maximise views of the ocean, beaches, and the resort grounds.

“We’re conscious of everything we produce here,” Emily says. “Any waste we produce needs to find its way off the island too.”

This I realise, is why each guest is gifted a reusable water bottle and each room is fitted with Suite Control systems that optimise the climate while minimising energy usage.

The first stop on our welcome tour is the Hayman Spa, where I book in a 60-minute Spa Oasis, as well as a Signature Hayman Massage. We weave through landscaped gardens, passing through two spectacular swimming pools and Emily points out each of the standout dining options.

I’m floored by the size of the resort; I was not prepared for just how expansive it is. I’m

in the Pool Wing, and the enormous One Bedroom Suite Pool View room instantly has me switching into holiday mode with its calming coastal colour palette and breathtaking views across the pool and Coral Sea.

On her way out, Emily suggests keeping eye out for Billy, he’s been living on the island for 54 years and “loves to chat”.

Later that day, I find Billy methodically cleaning the infinity pool. I introduce myself, enquiring whether he has time to share one of his famous stories.

His face lights up, “Oh, I’ve got more than one story I could share.” Not at all worried that I’ve commandeered his time mid-shift, Billy Hutchinson, Marine Master, launches into the story of his near-death experience with Cyclone Ada just 10 days after first arriving on the island in 1970.

I’m captivated by his tale, and it’s not until the end that I pause and question, “And even after all that, you’re still here. What’s kept you here all this time?”

He laughs, “I sure am. I’ve travelled all over the world, but no matter how far I go, I’m always drawn back here to Hayman. How could I not be? This is paradise.”

InterContinental Hayman Island Resort

InterContinental Hayman Island Resort is a jewel of the Whitsundays. This acclaimed destination (with a history that stretches back over 70 years) underwent a $135 million renovation in 2019, transforming into the five-star haven it is today. The resort offers a collection of 182 guest rooms alongside luxurious amenities such as a spa, pools, fitness centre, watersports, and recreation facilities, as well as diverse dining options including Pacific Restaurant, Amici, Bam Bam, Aqua, and Bar 50.

LEFT TO RIGHT: Hayman Spa; Hayman Island from the air; the InterContinental Hayman Island Resort

A FAMILY HOLIDAY

At Alma Resort Cam Ranh, we're redefining family getaways for Aussies seeking extraordinary escapes.

Spacious family suites with breathtaking views Culinary journeys for adventurous taste buds

Endless adventures in our sun-soaked wonderland Shared moments that last a lifetime

ALMA RESORT

Where Vietnamese hospitality meets Australian family dreams

Fall in love with Canada

ere’s more than just leaves in the air with the change of the Canadian seasons, there is romance, adventure and unforgettable indigenous experiences. e fall (autumn) o ers incredible natural wonders, blazing winter foliage and the famous Northern Lights.

Fall in Canada is a great way to experience unique wildlife, explore the country in temperate weather and to enjoy beautiful locations without the summer crowds. Popular with the Australians visiting Canada

is the opportunity to see bears (grizzly, black and Spirit bears) in the wild in a remote lodge setting. It’s here you will find openhearted communities and unique indigenous cultural experiences.

See bears in the wild

One of the best ways to see bears in Canada is from a remote wilderness lodge. These intimate, boutique-style lodges gives you a close up view to the grizzlies as they emerge from their winter slumber. Capture amazing photos not just of the bears but also a host of other wildlife including bald eagles, whales, sea otters and seals. If you love bears and bear viewing, Whistler is home to 50 black bears best seen in summer and fall and Vancouver lays claim to two orphan grizzly bears at Grouse Mountain.

Learn local culture in Whistler

Fresh mountain air, vibrant scenery and an abundance of adventure are what fall in Whistler is all about. Fall into the rhythm of this season with a chilled-out vibe, inspiring events of all kind and true mountain town experiences. There’s an endless list of reasons Whistler is a mecca for outdoor lovers and cultured travellers alike. Spend your day viewing wildlife in their nature habitat during a guided black bear viewing tour, flying through the air with a Zipline tour or take to the sky with a Heli adventure. Immerse yourself in an energetic arts and culture scene by visiting the Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Center, a world-class attraction showcasing the cultures of the Skwxwú7mesh Úxwumixw Squamish Nation) and Lillwat7úl (Lil’wat Nation) through cultural tours, exhibits, art, food, language and performances.

Come and explore in Vancouver

In the fall, Vancouver comes alive with vibrant colors and offers the perfect weather for exploring the waterfront city. Its walkable downtown gives you easy access to everything, from the multicultural culinary scene to guided cycling tours along the seawall. Begin with a food tour at Granville Island Market, then embark on a thrilling zodiac ride for stunning views of the Coast Mountains and Stanley Park. Spend a day on the North Shore, walking among the treetops at Capilano Suspension Bridge Park or taking the iconic Grouse Mountain Skyride, to the Peak of Vancouver.

See the colours of fall

Ontario and Quebec are the perfect places to see the ever-changing fall leaf colours, the ochres, golds and brilliant yellows that look like an oil painting. You ride on horseback through leaf-littered trails, sleep out in a the forest or help pick cranberries on a local farm. Fall is also a perfect time to visit the northern provinces of the Yukon, Northwest Territories and Churchill, Manitoba to view the dazzling, colourful dance of the Northern Lights. You see the Northern Lights across many parts of Canada and the further north you go the stronger in colour they are. Fall is a great time to see them as the nights are getting longer.

For something di erent, visit Canada in the changing landscape of fall, where the colours are as vibrant as the local culture.

Treasured MALDIVES

island

Capella’s rst resort in the Maldives, Patina Maldives, is not your average island stay with food trucks, a multi-generational focus and one restaurant for every 15 guests. Luxury Escapes Co-founder, Adam Schwab, checks in for some memorable family fun.

One of the great myths of the Maldives is that when you get there, it isn’t as Insta perfect as the countless images show: the Maldives is one of the only places that’s actually more stunning IRL. And Patina Maldives, the three-year old uber-lux resort from the famed Capella Hotel Group is no exception.

Patina is a forty-five-minute speed boat ride from bustling Male Airport. Typically, Maldives resorts are accessed via sea plane, so being able to walk fifty metres from the airport exit gate to the jetty and a few minutes later be speeding towards your resort is a huge time saver. We were on the island an hour after landing (fun fact, Maldives resort clocks are set to “island time” which is one hour ahead of Male).

Patina Maldives is Capella’s first resort under its Patina brand – with another scheduled to open in Osaka in 2025. The flagship Capella brand itself is also undergoing a rapid expansion, with three new properties opening in the next year. While already well known to ultra-elite Asian and Middle East markets, Capella burst onto the Australian hotel scene in 2023 when it opened the $335 million Capella Sydney

in the heritage-listed former Education Department building, setting new standards for luxury.

Capella forms part of Singapore’s hugely successful, Pontiac Group. Founded by Henry Kwee Hian Liong, a textile trader who moved to Singapore in 1958, Pontiac dominates Singapore’s luxury hotel sector (it owns the Singapore Ritz-Carlton, Conrad and, of course, Capella). Pontiac is now managed by its third generation, with cousins Evan and Leyland Kwee taking far more active roles.

Pontiac’s first moves outside Singapore were in Sydney, New York and its Fari Islands project in the Maldives, which includes not only Patina, but also the neighbouring Ritz-Carlton Resort (managed by Marriott) and the soon-tobe-developed Capella Maldives.

Patina is helmed by experienced general manager, Antonio Saponara. Antonio cut his teeth at Amanpuri in Thailand before guiding the openings of Bulgari Beijing and Bulgari Moscow. Attention to detail is immense at Patina. Pool umbrellas were recently imported from Italy – at a cost of US$9,000 per umbrella.

Patina Maldives

Sitting in the uber-luxury set that includes Chevel Blanc and sisterproperty Ritz-Carlton, Patina’s pricing for one-bedroom overwater villas ranges from US$2,000 per night in low season. The Maldives is accessible from Australia via Singapore, Sri Lanka, Qatar, Dubai or Abu Dhabi (we arrived direct from Heathrow on an overnight British Airways flight).

Stay at Patina

Turtles, food trucks and seriously huge villas

A major difference between Patina and most other Maldives resorts is the focus on a la carte dining (most Maldives Resorts, even the highend ones, tend to be more buffet focussed). Patina has 12 different dining options. Bearing in mind there are only 90 villas and 20 studios on the island, that’s a ratio of one restaurant per 15 people.

Seafood is fished locally, while much of the produce is sourced globally (or grown onsite), with lamb and beef coming from Australia. The choice in cuisine is immense, ranging from Brasa, a Patagonian restaurant focusing on rustic, grilled-meat dishes to the high-end Koen, a fusion of Nordic cuisine in Japanese style. Fari Beach Club offers exquisite sushi while Roots is a plant-based communal dining concept centred around organic, home-grown produce. Wok Society was my favourite, offering mouthwatering Chinese fare including truffle dumplings, soft-shell crab, wok-fried chilli lobster and dark chocolate and mandarin mousse that would feel at home in a Hong Kong Michelin-starred establishment. The resort even has a collection of food trucks, including the casual Go Go Burger, an Italian gelato van and Tum Tum by Ritz-Carlton.

We’re staying in a 600 square metre (yes, 600) two-bedroom beach pool villa. This villa is also conveniently twenty metres from the electric-blue Indian Ocean waters. Our private pool is 12 metres long while the staff kindly erected a tipi for our kids in the lounge room. Each of the two ensuites has multiple showers (just in case four people need to shower simultaneously). Guests get their own numbered

bicycle to ride around the island (while we choose to stroll on the sandy paths).

Overwater villas, usually preferred by Australians, are also sizeable, accessible by one of the four piers. The overwater villas offer direct access to Patina’s house reefs, hosting coral and extensive marine life. For those who are more adventurous, the resort also offers snorkelling and scuba trips – we did a dolphin and turtle cruise, which involved us snorkelling among a bale of turtles and thousands of fish with our own private local dive expert.

Unlike many Maldives resorts, which are very adult focused, Patina has an extensive kids club program, with the air-conditioned Footprints kids centre running everything from craft lessons to regular cooking and mocktail making classes in its custom-built kids learning kitchen. Our nine-year-old son was even able to join the Real Madrid Football

Camp run by a Real Madrid youth training coach.

Luxury hotels have made heavy investments in wellness in recent years with Patina’s Flow spa no exception. The spa treatments are simply mind-blowing.

Patina has a major focus on sustainability –plastic of all kinds is banned on the island (including food supply), while the resort will soon be 70 per cent solar powered with batteries storing power overnight.

A biodigester ingests natural food wastes and converts it to compost.

Unsurprisingly, the resort has amassed a share of celebrity devotees. Premier League and LaLiga football players are frequent visitors, often participating in a bi-weekly soccer match against staff on the resort’s custom-designed pitch. Members of the Middle Eastern royal families are also reportedly regular visitors to the property.

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: the two-bedroom beach pool villa is 600-metres square; the overwater stays have the classic luxury style associated with Capella; food might be wokfried chilli lobster or Nordic fusion cuisine.

NORTHERN TERRITORY

Rock star

Taking its name from the exact geolocation of the camp, Longitude 131° has the most amazing views of Uluru in the Australian outback. Salty Luxe, aka Sarah Royall, checks in.

e details

Longitude 131

Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park

e lowdown

Surrounded by desert, this remote camp offers a down-to-red-earth luxury experience in the Australian outback with killer views of Uluru and the option of guided walks around the area. Magical experiences await including dining under the stars at Table 131° and intimate access to the Field of Light.

e abode

Safari-style luxury glamping tents are decorated with old photographs, maps and stories of the past and have a prime spot in the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. The balcony turns into a stargazing post in the evening as the day bed is transformed into a sanctuary (we returned home from an evening under the stars to a beautiful setup featuring a comfy swag, warm fire and snacks). Connect directly with nature and sleep with your doors open to feel a gentle desert breeze and stargaze from bed.

e locale

Home of the Anangu people, Kata Tjuta National Park has iconic rock formations, incredible wildlife and contains the ancient wisdom of the First Nations people who live here (First Nations artwork adorns the walls, stories are told and time is spent learning about local culture).

e highlight

Book your stay now

Having a coffee on the balcony as the first light hits the desert as the surrounding area comes alive with birds and a warm glow. You can watch the first rays of light hit Uluru to a soundtrack of singing birds. There is a feeling of immense gratitude that you have intimate access to something as special as Uluru.

e menu

The big event is dining under the stars at Table 131° hidden among the red dunes in a secret location. Guests are treated to a decadent four-course dinner with matched wines that celebrate seasonal bush food. The dune-top dining experience is also a must, to drink in the sunset.

e conclusion

Longitude 131° is a must-do Australian experience for all travellers. It is a unqiue stay that reignites your love of country and inspires relearning of First Nations culture with a true connection to nature.

DOHA

From souq to sea

On a visit to Doha in Qatar, Paul Chai spends hours wandering the serpentine alleyways of the Souq Waqif before taking a death-defying sand safari to the edge of the Inland Sea.

Doha’s Souq Waqif has a surprise around every corner from long-lashed camels chilling in the Emiri Stables to the ear-piercing birdsong when you stumble upon the bird souq. But the most interesting spot is the falcon parking area. In the falcon souq, between Al Asmakh and Al Ahmed streets, these regal birds perch in a sandy arena inside the falconry stores. Some birds are for sale, others are here to learn to deal with the hustle and bustle of places like the souq and some are just left by their owners to be cared for while they go and shop. Surrounding the birds are displays of the falconry paraphernalia like the highly decorated hoods to cover the bird’s eyes topped with embroidery and feathers and there are wall murals of Qatari royalty and their prized pets.

The falcon is the national bird of Qatar, and the art of falconry has been practiced since Bedouin times when the bird of prey was sent in search of food in the desert. So important are these creatures that the falcon souq is also

home to a falcon hospital, four floors of top-flight avian medicine from molecular biology to virology; radiography to feather imping, the art of repairing broken or damaged feathers. In the waiting room sits a tree of silver perches for patients to wait and a small peregrine falcon museum for visitors to peruse.

Souq Waqif is one of the last traditional souqs on the Gulf and for centuries it was an important trading spot for the nomadic Bedouin who would bring wool and animals to trade. The buildings are low-slung and coloured like the desert sand; wooden beams jut from the sides of the buildings nodding to a time when they were too valuable to trim and discard, in case they may be needed for a fire. Before the oil riches, one never wasted anything in such a harsh environment.

Back on the streets of the souq, night is falling as local men shop for throbes, the long white shirt they wear over loose pants, and gutras, the coiled headwear that is held in place with a black rope.

LEFT TO RIGHT: checking the quality of a pearl at Souq Waqif; the Inland Sea; the open spaces around the bustling souq; falcons wait patiently for their owners at the falcon parking area.

For women, the shayla (black headdress) and abayha (long black dress) are modelled on mannequins that lean against the mud-rendered shopfronts. Outside, as fairy lights twinkle to life overhead, the queue for spicy Arabic coffee never lets up.

You can see modern Doha in the distance, a sand-and-skyscrapers metropolis rising over the camel stables on your left, to the right the I.M. Peidesigned Museum of Islamic Art is a monolithic marvel of modern architecture but here in the souq you could be in the Qatar of old where it was pearls, not petroleum, that drove the local economy.

Walking down a small street packed with jewellery shops I see a photo of the souq from the ’60s with clunky Holdens parked next to the stalls and a few shops down I see a desert rose taking pride of place in a window. Formed on the arid shores of the Inland Sea, these sand crystals mimic a fan of rose petals and are much prized. I wander out past the falcon souq where a lone bird lets out an ear-piercing shriek.

Having a (sand) blast

The following morning it is my turn to let out a blood-curdling scream as my fourwheel drive peels off the top of a vertiginous sand dune, sliding down the side at an almost 90-degree angle as all the passengers inside yell and clutch their handholds (also known as Jesus bars); sand flows over the hood so thick I am sure we are about to be buried alive. At the start of the journey, we were asked by our driver, Arif, if we would like the “wild” option and a carful of blokes decided that sounded like a good idea. Now the inside of our 4x4 feels like a washing machine on spin cycle as Arif plunges off the side of mountainous dunes only to shoot straight back up the face of them to do it all again.

Eventually, we hit more level salt plains and head past camels saddled with intricately weaved red-and-grey blankets and equally colourful muzzles, to protect passersby from the odd antisocial spray of spit.

The desert drive ends at the Inland Sea, or Khor Al Adaid nature reserve, where the vast sandy nothing collides with 1,833 sq kms of sea water that enters via a narrow channel from the Arabian Sea. The reserve is home to turtles and dugongs and was once the site of Bedouin fishing villages. Across the stretch of water, you can see the Saudi mountains and we spend some time combing the shore in the hopes of sighting a desert rose.

Though no one leaves with one of the rare and valuable crystals as we drive back to Doha, in a thankfully less “wild” way, we have time to see luxury resorts set up in the Saharan sands, circles of caravans where Bedouin descendants now live and the tall flames of oil refineries that now power the Qatari economy. Whether it is walking the crowded streets of the souq or touring the extreme landscape where waves crash against desert dunes there are plenty of jewels to discover in Qatar.

Ra es Doha

The dramatically scimitar-shaped Raffles Doha sits at the point where the desert meets the sea taking up half of the Katara Towers, opened in 2022. The hotel boasts 132 suites on the exciting Doha waterfront and makes a great base for exploring the city. Doha makes for a fantastic stopover destination with Hamad International Airport recently taking the top spot in Skytrax World Airport Awards, dethroning long-reigning champ Singapore’s Changi Airport.

Book your stay now

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: the “wild” option to the Inland Sea; a blanket-draped dromedary; a luxury camp near the Inland Sea.

northernterritory.com/deals

Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park

High spirits

A celebrated Cambodian destination ever since the discovery of the Angkor temples, Siem Reap is now home to a cosmopolitan speakeasy scene. Longtime English-Italian émigrée Evi-Elli La Valle runs local company Taste Siem Reap, shuttling visitors around the city’s nest restaurants and bars.

Back in 2015, Evi-Elli La Valle arrived in Siem Reap with her partner Geoff and was immediately smitten. She’d previously lived in London, Edinburgh, Venice and Melbourne, and admits she was “apprehensive to live in a small town”. However, the international aspects of life in Temple Town seduced her – as well as the quieter parts of Angkor Archaeological Park itself.

“There are always new, interesting people arriving,” she says. “This is why I launched Taste Siem Reap in 2018. With most travellers staying on average for three nights, it is impossible to pack it all in, so we show people the best of Siem Reap.

“We have three businesses, two kids and no plans to leave any time soon,” says Evi-Elli – she also runs a store selling Cambodian crafts and clothing. One of the many tours on Taste Siem Reap’s roster is the Cocktail Crawl, which brings tourists to three very different bars. The best-known of the trio is Miss Wong – a cocktail-joint-cum-art-gallery laden with chinoiserie ornaments that’s been a Siem Reap favourite since 2009.

The Keys by Tomoka is an idyllic alfresco venue; SO 26, meanwhile – run by ebullient Scotsman Stewart Kidd – arrived in 2021 almost next door to Miss Wong, and harks back to the jazz clubs of Paris in the 1930s.

SIEM REAP

ABOVE FROM TOP: the temple of Angkor Wat; The Keys by Tomoka. OPPOSITE FROM TOP: Scribe bar at FCC Angkot Wat; Bar43; Wild Siem Reap.

12.30pm Hidden gem

‘’Endora is a super-cosy spot on Little Pub Street with probably the best wine list in town, and the wine bar at the back is a sophisticated spot. It’s the last stop on the Taste Siem Reap Hidden Gems tour, and then [you can] wander down the road to Barcode [a nightclub institution] for the best drag show in town.”

2.30pm Afternoon delight

“The delicious cocktails at Wild are complemented by great food. They have names like Midnight in Paris, James Bond on Holidays, Alice in Wonderland and La Pocion Azteca. The sultry mid-afternoon heat might be the perfect moment to sup a So Fresh!, infused with absinthe, cucumber and lime.”

5pm Gardening leave

“Scribe bar is the garden bar at boutique hotel FCC (Foreign Correspondents’ Club) standing by the Siem Reap River on Pokambor Avenue. I favour the FCC Spritz above all: a refreshing concoction that combines vodka, aperol, lime juice, sugar, angostura bitters, cucumber, mint and tonic water.”

6pm Bit of a

character

“Asana Old Wooden House is the most characterful drinks spot in the city – not to mention the oldest, constructed in the late 1960s. It’s built around a traditional house from Cambodia’s pre-war glory days, the last one remaining in the Pub Street district. Asana is a beautiful spot and the herbal cocktails [some served in teapots] are a must-try, with Herbal Kulen Gin, made by the owner Pari, a clear favourite.”

7.30pm Neighbourhood joint

“The Wat Bo neighbourhood is home to the former Pou (“Uncle”) Restaurant, recently renamed PinakPou Restaurant and situated in the lush garden of Maison 557, a 1950s-inspired bed-and-breakfast. PinakPou’s chef de cuisine is Mengly Mork, a local chef known to create some weird and wonderful recipes. The cocktails are really good here: the Nhouam Nhi – with mixed fruit in soju, Cointreau and Sprite with black fermented rice – is one of my favourites.”

9pm Mexican favourites

“Opened in December 2023, Tequila Bar by Itacate in the Pub Street district serves the tacos, fajitas, quesadillas and burritos you’d expect at any Mexican. But the drinks are the real highlight, with an appealing menu of Hispanic favourites such as Mezcalita, Jarrito and Margarita Anejo.

10:30pm Cheers to Temple Town

“Bar43 in Alley West, a street of boutiques near Pub Street, remains one of the city’s bar highlights. Creative cocktails in a chic atmosphere is how I’d sum up its appeal –there’s a real joie de vivre about this place. The bar’s next-level design gives it the edge, with leather sofas, jazzy ceiling panels and porthole-style windows, while two karaoke rooms upstairs host boozy singalongs. The celebratory atmosphere at Bar43 is the perfect way to wrap up a day in Siem Reap.”

HONG KONG

Get your kicks

A chance encounter with a celebrity chef in designer sneakers sends Nate Robinson on a mission to the city’s famous Sneaker Street, where collectors vie for rare shoe “drops”. Will he be pumped to nd his “spirit pair” or end up hitting the pavement empty handed?

There’s an award-winning chef in ultra-clean sneakers talking and I almost don’t realise. I’m halfway through one of the best meals of my life.

I’m at Hong Kong Cuisine 1983, the decade-old Happy Valley institution that’s recently gone through a massive reboot. Hong Kong’s long been legendary for its dining scene, though after a week grazing my way shoulder-to-shoulder through the city’s busiest siu mei shops, Happy Valley’s quiet, leafy atmosphere makes an excellent retreat.

There’s a certain confidence on display in the dining room, pared down but unassailable. It flows directly from the chef himself.

After two decades working as a private chef, Silas Li has taken over the fine-dining spot, bringing new ideas, new fire and new kicks aplenty. It’s recently earned him the coveted 100 Top Tables 2023 Best Chef award – and, in 2024, Hong Kong Cuisine 1983 made its way into the Michelin Guide.

“You see that man over there?” Silas says. I peer over at an older gentleman sitting alone, relentlessly demolishing plates with a slight smirk. “He’s got a Michelin-starred restaurant in Kowloon. This is where great chefs go to eat on their day off.”

From the ankles up, Silas is the image of a chef: pristine black jacket, dark pants and a weary smile. He’s also wearing sneakers, field-of-snow white surrounding an electric blue swoosh. I jump at my chance to ask about them.

“I’m getting a reputation for cooking in Nikes,” he says. “These are my favourite, though I probably own 60 or 70 pairs.”

The restaurant’s tasting menu is steeped in high-velocity joie de vivre, a masterclass in balancing traditional Cantonese and European flavours. Highlights include a high-concept crab marrow “egg” served alongside a cute – but sadly delicious – baby crab.

The star of the show is the sesame crispy chicken, arguably Hong Kong’s signature dish. Silas presents it on a bed of straw. “We only make five of these a day,” he says, running a chopstick along the bird’s mesmerising caramel skin. Each bite is tremendous: flavour echoes across my palate.

When I sneak into the kitchen, I’m surprised to see there’s two lines running. One team meticulously flambés with fine whiskey; one tames fire on jitterbug woks. The mise en place is as clean as Silas’s sneakers.

True to his roots, upstairs there’s a room dedicated to private dining, and an impressive wine cellar – almost 200 bottles, most with labels faded from decades spent in the dark.

“These aren’t for the guests,” he says. “This is my private collection. These are just for me.”

Sole traders

The shoes looked great on Silas. I’m beginning to suspect, perhaps a touch misguidedly, that they’d also look great on me. Luckily, I am in one of the best towns in the world to go sneaker shopping.

It’s always frenetic in Mong Kok, Hong Kong’s ultra-dense shopping district; its current Cantonese name, Wong Kok, roughly translates to “Crowded Corner”. There are markets and mansions here hawking everything from wide-eyed goldfish and axolotls to Japanese cameras plucked from the depths of obscurity.

Just around the corner from Mong Kok station, Fa Yuen Street – more commonly called Sneaker Street – is awash with Hong Kongers looking for a bargain. It’s a place that’s legendary among sneakerheads –those who compulsively hunt for the next “drop”, or achingly exclusive new release sneakers – the world over. With over 50 outlets dedicated to the world’s biggest footwear brands, including Nike, Adidas and more, the energy on Fa Yuen Street is feverish. I’m not a sneakerhead; I’m just a guy who needs a new pair. I’ve never owned more than three sets of shoes in my life. I figure there’s nowhere better on the planet to look than Sneaker Street, Mong Kok.

Look up and it’s quintessential Hong Kong: fading apartment complexes straining against pale skies, moving neon billboards

spilling colour into the streets. Look down for something new: the city’s finest kicks are on display and moving, a swirling tapestry of every shape and every shade imaginable.

It’s more shoes than I’ve ever seen in my life. I decide early that I’m looking for my “spirit pair”, sneakers so crisp and audacious that I’ll never get tired of wearing them.

The best stores are hidden up sticker-filled staircases, and each second-hand reseller is a gallery unto itself. There’s shoes the colour of cherry blossoms in early spring, shoes in emerald and gunmetal, shoes that look like they belonged to Jackson Pollock, shoes fitted with a working gold watch and daubed with inspirational lines like: “If you knew what you had was rare, you would NEVER waste it”.

I start to get it. I’ve been bit. I can feel myself becoming a sneakerhead.

Somehow, I lay my hands on my “spirit pair”: Nike High Tops the colour of the rising sun as I imagine it was seen by earliest man, huddling in their caves after the long and terrible night. I’d later learn they’re themed to look like candy corn. I love them anyway.

Hong Kong’s a city of transformation, and there’s always something new on the horizon. What won’t change is that this is a city that understands the only way to approach excellence is the old-fashioned way: one foot after the other, step by step. That doesn’t mean it can’t arrive in style.

Is it legit?

Low sales taxes and a competitive market mean that you can find a pair of Nike High Top Air Jordan 1’s on Sneaker Street for as low as HK$430 (approx. A$65) – less than a third of the cost of a pair in Australia, though the real appeal is in blink-and-you’llmiss-’em limited edition drops and pairs you just can’t find anywhere else. Many of the shops are members of the government of Hong Kong’s “No Fakes Pledge”, committed to selling only authentic products.

FROM TOP: Fa Yuen Street, or Sneaker Street, famous for its wide range of exclusive “kicks”.

PREVIOUS PAGE: the crab marrow “egg”, sneaker-clad chef Silas Li and the famous crispy chicken.

IMAGES:

A PHOTOGRAPHIC JOURNEY THROUGH

The Maldives

Filming the latest season of Luxury Escapes e World’s Best Holidays in JOALI Maldives, Holly Nicholson and Miguel Maestre brought some glamour to the tropics.

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: sunbeds with a view at JOALI; the resort from the sea; Holly and Miguel are ready for action; sunset in the Maldives; Holly bringing some colour to the island; luxurious private dining spot.

OPPOSITE: the wharf at JOALI Maldives

Arrive in style

Whether you want to step out in some luxury hotel-branded swim shorts, celebrate an incredible indigenous designer or keep warm in colder climes, our latest picks of travel gadgets and fashion will make sure you are ahead of the pack.

Passport pleaser

Who says you can’t navigate border security with panache. The Earle Passport holder combines functionality and style. The holder features a passport pocket, three card slots and a pen holder and is made from sustainably sourced Italian pebble leather.

Kinnon Earle passport holder, $109.65 kinnon.com.au

Roll into spring with July’s Classic Carry On, in limited-edition Blush Pink. The July Carry On has an ejectable battery that is approved for flying across all major airlines and the smoothest wheels you’ve ever felt.

July Classic Carry On, $325 july.com

Movies on the go

Recently launched into the Australian market, XGIMI smart projectors include the MoGo 2 Pro, which not only fits in your backpack but uses the same colour temperature standard (D65) used in Hollywood giving playback a warm, movie-like look. There is also built-in surround sound.

MoGo 2 Pro, from $999 xgimi.com.au

In a collab with designer Orlebar Brown, the Bulldog swim short has been specially made for hotel chain Mandarin Oriental. These shorts feature the original geometric artwork using the iconic fan and adapted to fit the tailored elements of an Orlebar Brown Bulldog swim short.

The Mandarin Oriental swim short, $360 ShopMO.com, Orlebar Brown online and selected Mandarin Oriental properties

This is the bestselling Annmore Wool Overcoat from New Zealand’s Swanndri. Each winter, they sell over 2000 units, featuring their proprietary 70 per cent NZ Wool/30 per cent NZ Merino blend. Features include a two-way zip, storm flap and adjustable cuffs.

Swanndri Annmore Overcoat, $399.99 swanndri.com.au

Woolly warmth Bold new sunglasses

Liandra recently unveiled its latest collection ESSENCE at Australian Fashion Week 2024, along with her latest sunglasses collaboration with Pared Eyewear. Founded by Liandra Gaykamangu, Liandra combines fashion with contemporary Aboriginal art and culture.

Liandra sunglasses range, from $265 liandraswim.com; pared.com

HUNTER VALLEY

e green miles

e Hunter Valley wine region is steeped in winemaking tradition going back to the 1800s but, on a midweek escape to the home of semillon and shiraz, Katie Dundas discovers how the Hunter is turning over a new, more sustainable, leaf.

As I approach the village idyll of Pokolbin, a Hunter spot famous for its cellar doors, the sun is shining down as soft spring light bounces off the rolling hills of budding vines. If that’s not a sign that it’s time for a wine tasting, I’m not sure what is.

Audrey Wilkinson, one of the oldest wineries in Australia having started in 1866, is the perfect choice for an afternoon tipple. With sweeping views of the Brokenback Mountain Ranges, this has to be one of the most picturesque wineries in the Hunter. Still, I’m here for more than just the views – I’ve booked into the vineyard’s Fortified and Fromage tour via Ultimate Winery Experiences Australia.

Guided by Brian, one of the winery’s inhouse experts, my immersive experience goes deeper than your standard wine tasting. This tour is designed to allow visitors the opportunity to slow down and really get to know both the wines and their makers. As I walk into their heritage barn, an irresistible cheese and quince board,

all locally sourced, has been beautifully prepared and I can’t wait to dig in. Brian tells me all about the winery’s history and ethos, but my highlight is the tour’s namesake – sampling the vineyard’s fortified wines, straight from their oak ageing barrels. I’m new to fortified wines, but I quickly fall in love with the Winemaker’s Selection Liqueur Verdelho NV – a blend of crisp white verdelho and brandy, aged to create a dark golden drop steeped in butterscotch, oak and orange flavours. A bottle of this one is definitely coming home with me.

As a member of Sustainable Winegrowing Australia, Audrey Wilkinson is raising the bar for ethical wine production in the Hunter.

“We saw the Sustainable Winegrowing Certification as a way to not just show our commitment to reducing our environmental footprint but also join a network of likeminded grape growers and business owners who we can support and learn from. It is our goal to continually improve all parts of our business from vineyard to bottle,” Audrey

Wilkinson’s Chief Winemaker Xanthe Hatcher tells me.

From both an environmental and economic perspective, sustainability is vital to wine-producing regions like the Hunter Valley, with grape varieties particularly sensitive to the impacts of climate change. The Hunter has a particular focus on biodynamic viticulture, like native plants to ward off insects, or running sheep or guinea fowl beneath the vines that would otherwise be sprayed with chemicals.

So, my whole Hunter Valley road trip has a sustainable theme running through it. On this midweek road trip, my partner in crime is the EV9, Kia’s premium all-electric SUV.

With reduced emissions from my electric vehicle (EV), free from the shackles of petrol stations, sustainability is at the front of my mind on this journey. On the trip up, I am surprised by how whisper quiet and spacious the EV9 is and its powerful speed makes for a comfortable ride to discover the sustainable side of the valley.

OPPOSITE: Audrey Wilkinson Vineyard in Pokolbin in the Hunter Valley. ABOVE: NSW’s Hunter Valley is famous for semillon and shiraz grapes.

Hunter Valley nouveau

Hotels in the Hunter Valley are embracing meaningful change as well. Rydges Resort Hunter Valley, a spacious and friendly retreat for kids and adults, is completely powered by an onsite 13,350-panel solar farm. Before settling into my suite, I take the opportunity to plug into one of the resort’s three EV chargers.

I settle in with dinner at the casual Lovedale Bar & Grill, paired with a lager from the onsite Sydney Brewery. The focal point of the restaurant is the Rydges’ pool and kids’ water playground, the water heated by energy generated from the kitchens and brewery. After a good night’s sleep, both the EV9 and I are fully recharged, ready to hit the food and wine trails. Free from the weekend crowds, I’m pleasantly surprised by the serenity of the Hunter. There’s ample opportunity for unrushed chats with winemakers regarding their techniques and time to linger at wineries, semillon in hand, as eastern grey kangaroos forage in the distance.

Kia EV9

Released in 2024, the Kia EV9 is the brand’s fully electric SUV. It seats up to seven, with ample luggage space. Thanks to a li-ion battery, a spacious interior, and a combined all-electric range of 505 km, the high-tech EV9 is as versatile as it is stylish. Book a test drive today.

Rydges Resort Hunter Valley

Book your stay here

This expansive resort, in the heart of wine country, is ideal for anyone seeking relaxation. Families can soak up the fun of the waterpark and kids’ club, while adults will love the onsite brewery, adults-only Haven pool, and lush Ubika Day Spa. Redsalt Restaurant features a five-course tasting menu, paired with local wines, and is the resort’s signature dining experience.

FROM TOP: Kia’s new EV9 electric car; Rydges Resort Hunter Valley’s huge onsite solar farm; the resort offers dinner at the casual but delicious Lovedale Bar & Grill.

Book your stay here

Château Élan at e Vintage Hunter Valley

This award-winning resort, featuring a golf club and spa, is just minutes from top wineries and restaurants. Don’t miss dinner at Legends Restaurant, featuring modern Australian cuisine in a charming setting overlooking the lush greens. Indulge in a one or two-bedroom villa apartment to enjoy a spa bath, gas fireplace, and private courtyard or terrace.

The EV9 handles the Hunter’s country roads like a pro. I can’t remember the last time I had so much fun driving. And as EV fast-charging stations across Australia have increased by 90 per cent in the last two years, the quintessential Aussie road trip may soon become an electric one.

Before heading back to Sydney, I spend one more night soaking up the relaxation of the region. The Château Élan at The Vintage Hunter Valley is my home for the night, the perfect place for doing nothing at all. With my gas fireplace roaring and a glass of wine in hand, I take in the lush green views of the

Ultimate Winery Experiences

Ultimate Winery Experiences represents a hand-selected collection of Australia’s premium wineries offering experiences designed to take you beyond the ordinary, with incredible food, behind-the-scenes tours and more.

Greg Norman-designed championship golf course and settle in for a cosy evening. After a hearty breakfast at the resort’s Legends Restaurant, overlooking the 10th hole, I pack up the next morning and mentally prepare myself for a return to reality.

The Hunter has lowng been a beloved destination for Sydneysiders, and with the innovations of passionate winemakers, tourism operators, and hoteliers charging forward with sustainable change, I feel confident that it’ll stay this way for years to come.

Ready to explore?

FROM TOP: Chateau Elan overlooks lush golf greens; the resort features a spa offering; the special tasting at Audrey Wilkinson organised by Ultimate Winery Experiences.

Access baggage

Accessible travel is far more complex than a hotel putting in a few ramps and rails, but it is a huge travel market and one that is set to grow rapidly. Martin Heng, former accessible travel manager for Lonely Planet, examines accessible travel and how businesses can improve their services.

What do disabled people like to do on holiday? The same things as everyone else. I know this from personal experience as a quadriplegic and from years as accessible travel manager for Lonely Planet, but a wide-ranging 2022 research project recently confirmed this. Disabled people just want access to the same travel opportunities as everyone else. The Valuable 500 is a global business partnership – including Google, Apple, BBC, Sony and Procter & Gamble – working together to end disability exclusion. The survey asked 3500 disabled people in five countries – the USA, the UK, Australia, China and Japan – questions about their travel habits, experiences and opinions.

Interestingly, the biggest barriers to accessible travel are not physical.

ILLUSTRATIONS BY MIGUEL MANICH

When asked where tourism service providers could make improvements, lack of information came above physical issues. Put simply, if people don’t know, they won’t go, because the risk of disappointment or even disaster is so high. Editor of the world’s only print magazine dedicated to accessible travel, Travel Without Limits, Julie Jones, nails it when she says: “It’s not enough just to have accessible facilities. It’s equally important to make sure that people know about them.” Around 30 per cent of respondents to The Valuable 500 survey want more access information on websites, and almost 40 per cent lament the fact that they aren’t able to contact someone to ask accessibility questions.

When asked how they chose travel agents and tourism service providers, overwhelmingly the most important factor for respondents in every country was being treated with kindness and respect (52.6 per cent), followed by staff who understand their needs (43.2 per cent).

These results highlight the fact that tapping into this market doesn’t necessarily mean investing tens of thousands of dollars into costly renovations, which many service providers cite as the reason why they are not actively pursuing the so-called purple dollar.

Accessible travel is big business.

The Chicago-based Open Doors Organization charts the remarkable growth in the number of trips taken and the total spend by people with disabilities in the US. The most recent 2018/19 survey found that 27 million travellers with disabilities took 81 million trips and spent US$58.7 billion – up from US$34.6 billion in 2015. The more recent 2022 report by MMGY Global found US travellers with mobility-related disabilities travel for leisure almost as much as those without, spending US$58.2 billion per year on travel.

One of the most ground-breaking surveys was the VisitEngland Purple Pound survey, which quantified the spend by people with disability and their travelling companions (then $23 billion), and its contribution to national totals (20 per cent of day visits and 15 per cent of overnight trips). The survey also found that people with access needs stay longer and spend more.

The other important data captured by the VisitEngland surveys was a breakdown of traveller impairments. This dispels the almost-universal conception of travellers with a disability being wheelchair users. In fact, just 6 per cent of those reporting an access need were wheelchair users, compared to 7 per cent who reported being blind or partially sighted, 26 per cent with total or partial hearing loss, and 50 per cent who were living with long-term illness.

There are two important take-outs from these data: the majority of people with access needs don’t need level entry to a venue or an accessible toilet, and an overwhelming majority of impairments are invisible. Ross Calladine, who has driven VisitEngland’s accessible tourism strategy and serves as the UK’s Tourism Disability and Access Ambassador, emphasises that “what we mean by accessible tourism is tourism experiences that can be enjoyed by everyone – people with physical, sensory and cognitive impairments, but also others with a range of different accessibility requirements.”

A 2024 report by Tourism Research Australia revealed that in the June quarter 2023 alone, the value of domestic travel by people with accessibility needs and people travelling with them was $6.8 billion. This represents 21 per cent of total domestic tourism spend in that quarter, a percentage that echoes the VisitEngland surveys and reflects almost exactly the estimated percentage of people living with disability in Australia.

Good access is good business

The main reason that this market segment is expanding so quickly is actually due to ageing populations. By 2030, one in six people in the world will be aged 60 years or over – about 1.4 billion people – and by 2050, this ratio will double, representing 2.1 billion people. According to UN Tourism, by 2025, one in eight international trips will be taken by a retiree aged 60 or above. Why is this important? Although seniors are unlikely to identify as disabled, almost 40 per cent of people will retire with an acquired disability, more than half will have a severe dis-

ability by the age of 75, and more than 70 per cent of people aged 80 and over will have access needs. So accessible tourism is not just about catering for people with a disability; it’s about catering for anybody with access needs, many of whom will be ageing into disability without regarding themselves as disabled.

Any tourism business that wants to thrive will need to accommodate this ageing demographic. Retirees – the current cohort of baby boomers – already control the majority of the world’s wealth, and also have the time and inclination to travel.

Right now, it should be regarded as a business opportunity says Igor Stefanovic, UN Tourism Coordinator for Accessibility, Cultural Tourism and Indigenous Peoples. “There’s low supply versus growing demand because the accessibility market is huge and its transversal, it’s cross-cutting,” he says. “It’s not a niche market because accessibility needs are everywhere, disability happens everywhere.”

There has been a lot of talk about the travel industry “building back better” after Covid, but I believe that in the case of accessible and inclusive tourism, this has genuinely happened.

UN Tourism published the UNWTO Inclusive Recovery Guide in 2021, the first issue of which was dedicated to the inclusive response for persons with disabilities.

The report said: “Ensuring good accessibility is not a ‘favour’ to visitors with access requirements but rather a game-changer for businesses.”

Meanwhile, in Australia, there has been a huge uptick in interest in accessible tourism. Queensland declared 2023 the Year of Accessible Tourism, allocating $12 million dollars towards improved infrastructure and the development of accessible products and services.

Compared to Europe, Australia is a relative late-comer to accessible and inclusive tourism, but along with a huge groundswell of interest in disability in the media – from You Can’t Ask That and Love on the Spectrum to Dylan Alcott as Australian of the Year to the much more serious spotlight on the NDIS and the plight of disabled people – there is a lot of momentum behind making tourism more inclusive. The message is finally getting through: good access is not only the right thing to do, it’s also good business.

of life Spice

In Phuket Old Town, Stephanie Mikkelsen swaps temples for table reservations on a palate-tingling afternoon tour.

“Okay,” says Cat, our guide from A Chef’s Tour, clapping her hands together as we sit down. “Time to try Thai spicy!” She cheerfully tells us as she orders the spicy pla tong crung (dry fish curry) for our group, despite the owner of the restaurant thinking she’d ordered the wrong dish. We’re at Yoy Pochana, a canteen-style diner living in the bones of a SinoPortuguese build in the candy-coloured streets of Phuket Old Town. I feel an elbow nudge my ribs. “You going to do it?,” whispers my partner. “Or are you going to chicken out?”. Of course I will, and not just because he’s thrown down the gauntlet. Phuket is, after all, a UNESCO City of Gastronomy, so adapting the “when in Rome” approach is my ticket to getting a taste – literally – of the Old Town.

Using food as a window into a destination’s history isn’t a new idea, but it is one of the best when I have: limited time (in this case, a single afternoon), an appetite, and am travelling with a partner who zooms through temples and museums at Olympic walker pace. Enter this afternoon’s adventure, a different take on a lunch-and-learn as we criss-cross Phuket Old Town on foot, stopping at family-run food stalls, a Chinese shrine hidden down an alley, and even a hotel Leonardo DiCaprio once called home.

In what I guess is a calculated move, Cat doesn’t throw us into the proverbial Thai spicy deep end. We instead start with khanom kari puff saikai (chicken curry puff), a fine example of Phuket’s melting pot of Chinese and Malaysian influences. The pastries, traditionally folded by the men of the family-run operation, are delicate and flaky. There is a single table outside for dining in, and a display of Wattanapol Curry Puff’s other flavour offerings: black bean, purple potato, red pork intestine.

We munch on our pastries as we walk to our next stop where I’m reminded of another lesson food tours often excel at: not judging a book, or restaurant, by its cover. The Ko Yoon Noodle Phuket shopfront is almost totally obscured by thriving pot plants and the interior walls are lined with sun-aged framed photos, figurines and other bric-a-brac.

Once seated at tables crammed inside, Cat explains Phuket was a tinmining town, a boom that drew Chinese migrants from the Fujian province and with them, their famous hokkien noodles. Today, the owner of Ko Yoon serves up his interpretation of Hokkien mee (noodles) and each mouthful is a reminder of Phuket’s Thai-Chinese Peranakan heritage. Springy noodles are topped with fish balls, slices of fatty pork, plenty of black pepper and just-wilted pak choy; a small cup of intense prawn-head broth comes with it, meant to be sipped separately rather than poured over. Iced roselle juice washes it all down.

LEFT: the streets of Phuket Old Town; dishes from Yoy Pochana (inset). ABOVE: Promthep clock tower.

Follow the leader

The next two hours are spent in a similar fashion: Cat leads, we follow. To an open-air food court away from the main streets, where each stand is manned by a different local family, for fresh Hokkien spring rolls (delicious) and tofu skin-wrapped sausage (even more delicious). To a Chinese high tea, sipping hot barley tea – pinkies raised, naturally – and nibbling delicate cookies, the size of coins, made from tapioca and sugared watermelon seeds, traditionally gifted to newlyweds on their wedding day.

I chat to a fellow biteseer on our way to Go Benz Phuket, known for their kao tom hang (pork and rice with broth), and we trade “best bites of Thailand so far” recommendations. Once we arrive, I know he is the better foodie; ordering his bowl with traditional offal cuts. I load up on crunchy fried Thai garlic instead and mentally kick myself for not wearing something with a more forgiving waistband. It’s at our penultimate stop, as the aforementioned Thai spicy fish curry, comes out of the kitchen, that I find myself wishing I had another glass of the sweet pink-red roselle from earlier. “The owner thought I’d made a mistake, ordering this for you,” Cat says. “Tourists normally don’t order it.” Very reassuring. Nevertheless, I go in with a fork and naivety, the chilli hitting my brow before I feel it on my tongue and beads of sweat forming quickly enough that the restaurant owner hurries over with extra napkins and cold water.

For all the build-up though, the heat isn’t as confronting as expected – I go back for seconds and thirds. I finish off the plate, knowing it’s not just my newfound chilli mettle I’m taking away from this afternoon. I’ve had my introduction to Phuket Old Town and I’m already hungry for my next bite.

CLOCKWISE: Phuket street art; kao tom hang from Go Benz Phuket; Sino-Portuguese building; pla tong crung from Yoy Pochana.

Bali highs

Dramatic cli tops rising from crystal-clear waters, majestic rice terraces and countless ancient temples: it’s easy to see how Bali has earned its nickname ‘Island of the Gods’. Part of Bali’s charm lies in its versatility: fun- lled adventures, family-friendly holidays, secluded honeymoons or ultra-luxurious private pool villas.

Bali’s jungle-filled hinterland is home to sacred monkeys and a living spiritual tradition that stretches back millennia. Its culinary scene rubs shoulders with the world’s greatest, its beach clubs are legendary and the coral reefs that hug the island are home to more species of tropical fish than the Great Barrier Reef. No matter what you’re into or where you end up, an escape to Bali promises an unforgettable stay.

Ready to explore?

InterContinental Bali Resort

The InterContinental Bali Resort was the first five-star hotel built in Jimbaran Bay: its opening in 1993 helped kickstart a hospitality gold rush that’s going strong to this day. An interior refresh in 2021 breathes new life into the hotel’s décor: rooms feature tropical hardwood floors, hand-painted murals and subtle nods to the island’s revered spaces. Sunset Beach Bar & Grill, located directly on the beach, plates up mezze platters and grilled fish plucked directly from the Indian Ocean; for an evening at one of the island’s best sushi counters KO Restaurant is hard to beat. The hotel’s Club InterContinental lounge is legendary: a true resort-within-a-resort, privileges include 24-hour on-call butler service, complimentary – and lavish –high teas and cocktail and canapé evenings and access to the exclusive Club Pool.

BEACHFRONT LUXURY

Stay at Six Senses

CLIFFTOP VILLAS

Six Senses Uluwatu

Situated on limestone cliffs high above the shimmering waters of the Indian Ocean, Six Senses Uluwatu delivers unrivalled luxury. Each of the resort’s 75 private pool villas feature lush garden surroundings, natural colourways, traditional design flourishes and unrestricted oceanfront views. Six Senses celebrated wellness programme is a natural fit for Bali, itself a legendary destination for tranquillity seekers. Designed to integrate holistically with your stay, you can expect carefully crafted dishes showcasing local ingredients, handmade mattresses and signature treatments utilising wild-grown organic oils and local techniques. Catch one of Bali’s best sunsets at Uluwatu Temple, just a ten-minute drive away; rise early the next morning to savour the region’s dawn waves, so good they attract surfers from around the globe (and several Rip Curl championships.)

CULINARY VISIONARY

Hotel Indigo Seminyak Beach

Hotel Indigo prides itself on operating small boutique hotels in the world’s most exciting neighbourhoods. Surrounded by fashion boutiques, happening nightclubs and ultra-hip eateries, Hotel Indigo Seminyak Beach’s 2017 opening felt like an inevitability and the hotel’s design draws inspiration from the district’s whimsical spirit. As befitting a hotel in one of Indonesia’s culinary hotspots, the dining is spectacular: SugarSand serves Japanese izakaya-inspired plates and tipples right on the beach, while Tree Bar’s organic, herbforward cocktails are inspired by the island’s own lush gardens. Pottery Cafe gets in on Seminyak’s brunch mania with their house-blended coffee and a breakfast menu that zigzags between decadent delights – think salmon eggs benedict topped with fennel and fried capers – and refreshing bowls packed with Indonesia’s bountiful fruits, including dragon fruit, coconut, berries and banana.

Explore Hotel Indigo

BRISBANE

Youngat heart

Sailing onboard the Disney Wonder, Annabel Fuller discovers childlike whimsy – without kids – and plenty of other “kidults” who are unabashed fans of the Mouse House.

Donning brightly coloured Encanto-themed ears, loud Hawaiian shirts and matching wedding bands, newlyweds Samuel and Forest Moore beam from (Mickey) ear-to-ear with excitement. Onboard the Disney Wonder for anniversary celebrations, the Queensland couple proudly announce their excitement to meet characters, hurtle down the waterslide and indulge in unlimited soft serve on the pool deck. Much to my surprise, they’re not sailing with young children. In fact, they’re not sailing with children at all.

Avid cruisers and Disney superfans, the duo aren’t the only adults swept up in all the fun. For the first time in forever, Disney Cruise Line has ventured into Australian waters and

as we board, all around us come oohs and aahs.

From the time my Mum was reading me the stories of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Tinker Bell’s treasures, my childhood consisted of sharing the magic of Disney with her. That’s why it only felt right to invite her along on this four-night roundtrip sailing from Brisbane to Sydney. I wondered if we might be a little too old for Mickey’s ship, but from the moment we laid eyes on Disney Wonder’s smart black hull – with nautical twists and hints of Captain Mickey throughout – we were swept up in an enchanting world of childlike adventure.

We’re far from the biggest Disney fans onboard, but the magic does not

OPPOSITE: The pool area of the Disney Wonder, a delight to adults and kids alike. THIS PAGE: a Broadway-style show.

surpass us. Mum spots Captain Mickey first. Waving enthusiastically, he approaches us and leans in for a hug, before posing for a photo. The nostalgia washes over us like a wave, and for just a moment I’m that little girl again.

During our sailings first Broadway-style production, we enjoyed a reimagining of beloved films – under the sea with Ariel, scaling towers with Rapunzel, even into Andy’s room with Woody – and we’re reminded nobody is ever too old for Disney. The adults around me grinning as they sing along to Can You Feel the Love Tonight, were no less spellbound than the starstruck children waving to Princess Belle as she waltzed across the stage.

Be our guests

Each day we find ourselves with a full schedule of activities designed for childless travellers, like ourselves. Perth-based mother-daughter duo Rochelle and Isabelle tell me they are on their third Disney holiday of the year. The Disney Vacation Club members – who own a US timeshare – adore Mickey and friends so much that 18-year-old Isabelle is relocating to Orlando to work at Walt Disney World Resort upon our return.

At the morning trivia we bump into Brisbane grandparents Judy and Richard who left the kids (and grandkids) at home. Having visited the parks with their own children, the couple were ecstatic to once again immerse themselves in the world of Disney – this time without having to travel overseas.

Our day’s adventures include character meet-and-greets, rejuvenating on hot stone lounges at the tranquil Senses Spa & Salon and dancing the night away in one of the exclusive adults-only venues. Even with so much to do, Mum and I manage to find moments to delight in some downtime. The entirety of the ship’s bow is dedicated to adult-exclusive venues. We uncover a whole new world of relaxation, refuelling with barista-poured coffees in the Quiet Cove Cafe, watch the world glide by in the adults-only pool and stir up trouble with an exclusive mixology class at the sophisticated Cadillac Lounge.

The gentle melody of Be Our Guest welcomes us into Animator’s Palate – setting the stage for our inaugural dinner. Infused with a sprinkle of pixie dust, the restaurant immerses us in an animated world. French flair is on show at fine dining Triton’s, a restaurant worthy of fearsome food critic Anton Ego’s praise. At The Princess and the Frog-inspired Tiana’s Place, the lively Crawfish Crooners provide a toe-tapping soundtrack to our evening, as the restaurant is transformed into a Mardi Gras-style parade. Brunch at Palo, Disney Wonder’s adultexclusive Italian restaurant, is a highlight. Starting with a delightfully crisp parmesancrusted chicken breast served on a bed of creamy arborio risotto. It’s not until my dessert of Mickey Mouse-shaped waffles, swimming in the most delicious apple and cinnamon reduction, that I remember I’m onboard a Disney cruise, and not dining along the grand canals of Venice.

Convinced a Disney Cruise Line holiday is just as much (if not more) fun for adults, as it is for children I proudly wear my Mickey ears as we gaze up at the shimmering fireworks. It’s the final night, and with ice-cream in hand we are back with Hawaiian shirt-wearing friends Samuel and Forest. Friendship and sugar; two things that sweeten the bitterness of leaving what can only be described as Where Magic Meets the Sea.

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Disney Cruise Line is returning to Australian shores this year. The company also recently announced a fleet expansion, adding four new ships to be delivered between 2027 an 2031. Check out our cruise section for more info.

Ready to cruise with us?

FROM TOP: Captain Mickey is as big a draw for adults as for kids on Disney Cruise Lines; inside the staterooms; setting sail again in Australian waters for the second year.

INSIDER: BARCELONA

From sun-soaked beaches perfect for a morning swim to lively plazas for afternoon people watching and a nightlife that encourages you to party like there’s no mañana, Spain’s seaside city has it all. Barcelona is also a cultural capital full of Catalan pride with Picasso gallery, Miro museum and Gaudi’s ongoing La Sagrada Familia architecture project.

Barcelona has tapas at every turn, fine wine and giant gin and tonics as well as the wonders of modernist and Gothic architecture dominating the streetscape. Stroll through enchanting alleys, eat like a local at the bustling markets or treat yourself to

a laidback cocktail on a rooftop bar, of which there are hundreds. Whether you’re here to soak up the art, bask in the sunshine, or just to get a flavour of the city, Barcelona’s charm is guaranteed to win you over.

Here is our insider guide to the perfect city break.

Drinking and dining

Bar Cañete

Wander just off La Rambla – Barcelona’s famous nocturnal promenade – to Bar Cañete, your go-to for some of Barcelona’s best Spanish and Catalan tapas. Try fresh clams a la marinera or veal cheek with parmentier potatoes and dine like a local –the best seats in the house are along the bar.

Cruix

For irresistible paella and creative tapas, head to Cruix, where humble ingredients are transformed into gourmet delicacies. Fresh paella with meat or seafood is topped with a layer of socarrat – the crisp, caramelised rice that forms during the making, without which the dish is considered incomplete by locals.

Sercotel Rossellón

With arguably the city’s best view of La Sagrada Familia, the rooftop terrace of Sercotel Rossellón is a no-brainer for sundowner cocktails after a day of exploring. Grab an Aperol spritz or margarita and watch the sky turn crimson behind the city’s most impressive landmark.

Nobu Barcelona

Combining world-class dining and unparalleled city vistas, Nobu Barcelona brings you divine Japanese fare complemented by contemporary design and warm wood-panelling. Take the opportunity to try Nobu’s famed black cod with miso or opt for a carefully crafted tasting menu followed by cocktails on the swanky rooftop.

Paradiso

Disguised as a pastrami shop, you’ll find Paradiso, a speakeasy bar with a long-standing spot in The World’s 50 Best Bars. Serving up theatrical drinks, including the Mediterranean Treasure served in a treasure chest and seashell, you’re in for delectable cocktails and sustainable bar bites.

Disfrutar

Anointed World’s Best Restaurant in 2024 by The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, and boasting three Michelin stars, Disfrutar offers intricately crafted dishes such as mushroom spaghetti with parmesan, egg yolk and truffle. But there’s a catch – it’s not easy to secure a booking at this exclusive spot, so start planning well in advance.

Spain by season

Barcelona offers four distinct seasons, each with its own appeal for travellers.

Spring

Spring in Barcelona brings a warm, pleasant climate, it’s the perfect time to explore the parks or wander La Rambla. On April 23, the city transforms for Sant Jordi’s Day, a local twist on Valentine’s Day. It’s a day dedicated to literature and love, with books and roses as the main attractions. Streets are lined with stalls offering a colourful collection of gifts for loved ones, perfectly capturing Barcelona’s romantic charm.

Summer

Barcelona in summer is sizzling with excitement. The beaches are a hit with everyone, and the nightlife is eclectic with beach parties and outdoor concerts, like the popular Festas de Gracia in August. The heat and crowds can be intense, so escape to the shaded Gothic Quarter or find a rooftop pool to cool off. As the sun sets, the city becomes a playground for late-night tapas and dancing under the stars.

Autumn

Autumn means cooler temperatures and a breather from the tourist frenzy. The weather is still perfect for outdoor fun and the food scene is bursting with harvest festivals and fresh, seasonal produce. Check out neighbourhood street parties, and don’t miss La Diada, Catalonia’s national day (September 11), for parades and celebrations. Grab some hot chestnuts from the many street vendors or enjoy autumnal dishes at local restaurants.

Winter

The cooler season is pleasantly mild but crisp. It’s the ideal time to check out indoor spots like the Picasso Museum and La Sagrada Família without battling summer crowds. The city comes alive with Christmas markets and festive decorations that give it a cosy feel. Enjoy a mulled wine or hot chocolate while strolling through twinkling streets or simply soak up the Christmas spirit. Just pack a jacket for those chilly evenings.

Sleeping and relaxing

W Barcelona

W Barcelona boasts 26 floors of unmatched luxury and jaw-dropping views over the Mediterranean or the sprawling city. With two grand pools, high-end dining options, a lavish spa and Barcelona’s beachfront as a backdrop.

InterContinental

Conveniently located near Plaza España, yet tucked away from the hustle and bustle of the city, the InterContinental Barcelona offers five-star elegance and comfort, Michelin-starred dining and a sunny rooftop and sparkling pool, all with the serenity of Montjuic hill nearby.

Grand Hotel Central

Combining the grandeur of the 1920s with Catalan Noucentisme design, Grand Hotel Central welcomes you with stylish rooms and suites showcasing cutting-edge decor by London design studio Sagrada. Featuring five-star hospitality, a chic rooftop bar, restaurant and pool area, and regular rooftop DJ sets, this is a great stay.

Ohla

Known as “the hotel with a thousand eyes”, Ohla Barcelona is instantly recognisable by its striking facade. But the extravagant tone set by the exterior doesn’t end there – with a rooftop terrace praised in The Rooftop Guide, a clear-sided infinity pool and Michelin-starred Caelis restaurant.

Kimpton Vividora

Contemporary design in the heart of the Gothic Quarter, the hotel’s bold-yetcalm colour palette makes for a peaceful retreat in between sightseeing, while the trendy rooftop, Terraza de Vivi, doubles up as one of the city’s most popular brunch spots.

Mandarin Oriental

A coveted address along the high-end Passeig de Gràcia – one of Barcelona’s best shopping strips – places you just steps away from the city’s main attractions. The hotel is also known for exceptional service and worldclass dining – including Michelin-starred Moments restaurant.

Art and architecture

Home to the awe-inspiring La Sagrada Familia – one the most famous buildings in the world – Barcelona also plays host to other bold architecture. Antoni Gaudi’s modernist creations – such as Casa Batllo, Park Guell and the floral pavement tiles beneath your feet – are scattered throughout the city. In contrast, the city’s Old Town showcases gothic design, with highlights such as Barcelona Cathedral and the Basilica of Santa Maria del Mar taking the spotlight. For art lovers, stop by the Picasso Museum to discover one of the most extensive collections of the artist’s pieces, or visit the National Art Museum of Catalonia for an insight into Catalan works and spectacular views over the city.

BEST KNOWN FOR:

Gastronomy

As you wander the streets of the Gothic Quarter in pursuit of the best patatas bravas, be sure to also try Catalan bombas (meat-filled potato croquettes) or butifarra (Catalan sausage), and sip on a glass of sparkling cava or a chilled vermouth in the sun like a local. If you visit during winter months, don’t miss out on calçotada season, when Catalans enjoy grilled calçots (a variety of green onion) dipped in romesco sauce, paired with classic dishes and local red wine drank from a porró (a traditional Catalan pitcher). More than just a meal, a calçotada is a social event that brings friends and family together, perfectly encompassing the Spanish and Catalan way of life and communal approach to dining.

Sun and estas

Thanks to its sunny climate and festive culture, Spain boasts a truly vibrant outdoor lifestyle. There is always cause for celebration, and it’s not uncommon to stumble across (and take part in) a street party on your way to the shops. Every neighbourhood across the city has its own celebration during the year, showcasing decorated streets and live music, and city-wide festivals make for the perfect opportunity to experience the Spanish buzz. If you’re lucky enough to be in Barcelona on June 23, you’ll see the whole city and beachfront come alive with fireworks and festivities that continue until sunrise for the Feast of Sant Joan that celebrates the start of summer.

Out and about

See the sights

Along with main attractions like La Sagrada Familia, Casa Batllo and Barcelona Cathedral, be sure to take a walk down iconic La Rambla, explore the trendy Born neighbourhood and go shopping on Passeig de Gracia. From stunning architecture to bustling streets lined with boutique shops and trendy cafes, you won’t run out of sightseeing gems.

FAMILY AFFAIR:

Ultimate family playground

For the little ones, the city is packed with kid-friendly attractions. Start with the CosmoCaixa Science Museum, a scientific wonderland where kids can touch, play and learn about everything from outer space to dinosaurs – not to mention get up close and personal with the capybaras in the museum’s rainforest habitat. Don’t miss the Barcelona Zoo in the lush Ciutadella Park, home to giraffes, elephants and lions.

For the teens and tweens craving a bit more thrill, head over to Tibidabo Amusement Park for exhilarating rollercoasters and

panoramic city views.

And let’s not forget the grownups! While the kids are entertained, you can soak up the sun at one of Barcelona’s many beaches or dive into the city’s food scene. Relax with a cafe con leche while the kids build sandcastles or treat yourself to tapas while they chow down on some churros.

For those extra special family moments, why not charter a boat and explore the Mediterranean coast? It’s a great way to get a unique perspective of Barcelona’s skyline from the water and make memories that will last a lifetime.

Catch the cable car to Montjuic

A green sanctuary away from the bustle of the city, Montjuic hill is home to an array of parks and gardens, the National Art Museum of Catalonia and historic Montjuic Castle, all paired with panoramic views over the city or the shimmering Mediterranean.

Watch the sunrise in style

Beat the crowds to Barceloneta Beach and watch the sky turn crimson above the city from a standup paddle board, a heavenly way to start the day. With the water still calm, it’s the perfect time to admire Barcelona’s coastline, followed by a breakfast with a view.

Go rooftop hopping

After a day of exploring the streets of Barcelona, gain a new perspective and marvel at the city from above with a cocktail in hand. Find your favourite rooftop pool and views and watch the sun go down as you savour traditional tapas or local sparkling cava.

Sample local produce

On La Rambla, make sure to stop by the vibrant Boqueria market. A true foodie haven, the stalls are teeming with juicy, colourful fruit, the finest Iberian ham and local cheeses.

Experience Park Guell

Home to some of Gaudi’s most unique creations, Park Güell is brimming with mosaic-covered structures, vivid colours and landscaped greenery. The sprawling park sits atop a hill offering sweeping vistas across the city.

THE SURPRISING THING:

Barcelona’s unique Catalan identity

One thing that might catch you off guard about Barcelona is that it’s actually part of Catalonia, with its own distinct language and culture. While the city is known for its energetic, international vibe, it’s also the beating heart of an autonomous region boasting its own rich cultural identity. Don’t be surprised if you hear Catalan being spoken alongside Spanish. You’ll

spot it on street signs, menus and even in everyday conversations. So, if you see “bon dia” instead of “buenos días”, or hear locals proudly using Catalan, just know it’s all part of the city’s charm.

The local culture is equally unique. Catalonia boasts its own traditions, festivals and culinary delights, so expect to see and taste things you wouldn’t in

other regions of Spain. For instance, you’ll encounter traditional Catalan dishes like calçots (grilled green onions) and crema Catalana (think crème brûlée but with a Catalan twist). And don’t miss out on local festivals like La Mercè or the Castellers (human towers) that really show off Catalonia’s flair.

A season of sailing

Set sail into a new season of Luxury Escapes: The World’s Best Holidays with cruise voyages to spectacular destinations, from Singapore and Japan to the Greek and British Isles.

Meet this season’s featured cruise lines.

Discover the grandeur of Japan and South Korea on a 10-night expedition aboard Heritage Adventurer. Explore storied Hiroshima, Miyajima, and Ulsan and beyond, and take advantage of Xplorer and Zodiac tender vessels on included wilderness excursions. Then, recline in comfort aboard your exclusive vessel, where you’ll be treated to all-inclusive meals and drinks.

European indulgence

Experience the magic of old-world Europe as your AmAWaterways ship glides along the Danube’s waters through Austria, Germany, Hungary and Slovakia. Take in the imperial heritage of Vienna, learn why Bratislava is dubbed “Coronation City of Kings”, enjoying all-inclusive fine dining, drinks, and an intimate ship experience throughout.

e royal treatment

Sail between two of Asia’s most vibrant cities –Tokyo and Singapore – aboard Royal Caribbean’s Ovation of the Seas. Royal Caribbean’s innovative Quantum-class ship heads to ports in Japan, South Korea and Vietnam. In between adventures on shore, elevate days at sea taking in 360-degree views in the North Star® observation capsule and trying thrilling activities like surf sessions or simulated skydiving.

Private luxury Spirit of Adventure

Explora I is designed to deliver an experience akin to a private yacht, featuring suites, penthouses and residences with private sun terraces and refined styling. Take advantage of more than 12 indoor and outdoor bars and lounges, sparkling pools flanked by private cabanas, holistic wellness therapies and a diverse program of entertainment and events.

Expedition time

Departing Dublin, the brand-new Seabourn Venture is designed to reach some of the most far-flung and coveted destinations such as the Scottish Isles and Iceland. The all-inclusive dining, treatments in the spa, and sessions in the insightful learning centre enhance your culturally enriching onshore excursions including hikes and trips in the Zodiac.

Ray of light

The second of the Nova-class ships, Silver Ray is as sleek as it is innovative with glass-led design and emphasis on natural light. Onboard, Silversea’s hallmark culinary program, S.A.L.T (Sea and Land Taste) promises a gastronomic gateway to Mediterranean cuisine through market trips, exclusive dinners, and cooking demonstrations.

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Dreams Wildest in South Africa

Feel the spirit of South Africa in its tapestry of cultures, breathtaking journeys and unforgettable moments.

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HERE & FAR

Prowl the wilds of South Africa on a tour of Kapama Private Game Reserve.

/ Dubai: the golden child of the Middle East

Wildest dreams

On a private game reserve near Kruger National Park, a keen-eyed Stephanie Mikkelsen becomes a novice tracker, comes within trunk length of a herd of elephants, and gets very emotional in front of a gira e. She also argues that making safari a once-in-a-lifetime event may be doing it a disservice.

It has been less than 10 minutes since we left Hoedspruit Airport and already, I am a mess.

Tervin Mdluli, our guide for the next two days at Kapama Private Game Reserve, has made me cry. I had warned Tervin I might tear up when I saw my first giraffe, the animal I was most looking forward to seeing on my first safari. And those tears came on cue when he pulled off the road leading to the lodge for us to get closer to a big male he spotted through the trees. “I told you I would!” I say, trying to salvage my game face. “I’m not the first person to cry, right?” He is watching the giraffe, too, and turns around in his seat to look at me. “No, it happens for many guests. Not so soon though.”

I am also surprised with how quickly safari has affected me. For many, safari is the stuff of daydreams, savings plans and “one day” conversations and over the next few days I lose count of how many times I hear fellow khaki-clad guests telling one another “this trip was a long time in the making.”

For Craig and Janet Sherwood, who I meet at my first afternoon tea over a blush-pink macaron and cup of rooibos tea, the journey to Kapama was somewhat different – booked only three months prior – but it was no less significant.

“I’d always wanted to do it as a kid, but never thought it was a realistic dream,” Craig says. “Originally we had even been talking about European river cruises, but we both felt

pulled to South Africa.” As one of the younger guests at the lodge, my safari dreams began with The Lion King on VHS but, by the time I depart Kapama, I know the bucket lists have it wrong: safari should not be a once-in-alifetime experience. As soon as you go on safari, you want to come straight back and do it again.

Our game drive vehicle, an open-sided Toyota with more grunt than a warthog, roars along the track, cutting through the bushland. The sharp eyes of Tervin and Phillip, our assistant tracker, scan the dense scrub looking for hints an animal is nearby. Every now and then, they point out something on the road: “a pride of lions went this way” or “a rhino slept here last night”. My lack of tracking prowess does nothing to deter me from announcing I want to spot an animal before Phillip. They both laugh heartily. Game on. I know I have no chance against Tervin and Phillip’s skill at reading the bush, but the easy camaraderie into which we’ve fallen makes me feel comfortable throwing down the challenge. And to my delight, it takes less than an hour for me to see something moving in the brush. “There!” I point. “Behind that tree!”. It’s a black-backed jackal! Tervin nods. “Well done. You can have Phillip’s job now,” he says. He’s joking but I would be in Phillip’s spotter seat in a flick of that jackal’s tail if I was allowed.

Finding the animals of Kapama is work. The reserve covers some 13,000 hectares of African bushveld, from

low-laying grasslands to tangled scrub, and the vehicles mostly keep to rough tracks for sightings of the reserve’s Big Five (lion, elephant, African buffalo, leopard and rhino). The drive is never boring, every sense is heightened with nervous excitement. On our first morning drive, we spend over an hour searching for an elephant herd, zigzagging across the south-east corner of the reserve, looking for any clue that tells us where they might be. We see African buffalo, kudu, giraffe, impala (there are always impala) but we get no closer to the pachyderms. Patience is a virtue on a South African safari and waiting is just a part of the, ahem, game and ours is rewarded when a call comes over the radio.

We drive to a new area of the reserve, Tervin kills the engine, and we wait, listening. Rustles, harrumphs and the snapping of twigs come from dense foliage on both sides. I see a flash of trunk snake around a branch, pulling it and its sage-green leaves into an open mouth. It belongs to what is, in that second, the biggest elephant I have ever seen. That is, until another elephant, then another and then five more emerge from the trees. The longer we are here, the more elephants appear, including two babies who lumber out of the foliage, bumbling by our vehicle and towards the matriarch of the herd. Soon, we are surrounded. It would be a lie to say I’m not a little nervous. It is a strange vulnerability to be so exposed and aware that nothing but a car-length is between me and some of the largest mammals on the planet. The closeness with which the vehicles can get to the wildlife never failed to thrill me.

Making connections

OPPOSITE, FROM LEFT: poolside at Kapama River Lodge; on the game trail with guides Tervin and Phillip. CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: the writer on safari in South Africa; an impala; a pair of lions; a sunset game drive at Kapama Private Game Reserve; a white rhinoceros.

e wildness of safari demands you never have the same experience twice.

One drive, it’s three lionesses lazing by a watering hole, sleeping off a big meal. Another day, we cross paths with a different trio, this time on the hunt. They take little notice of us, their attention instead on their next feed.

Even the quiet moments and missed encounters are memorable. “We had stopped for sundowners,” Janet Sherwood recalls. “And we heard a lion roar in the distance, but our guide was saying it was probably a kilometre, two kilometres away. Well, a few minutes later we hear an absolute stampede of hooves, and our guide is suddenly hurrying us in the car, telling us ‘Get in, get in!’ and that we have to leave. It was incredible, so amazing how quickly things change.”

Even to a seasoned guide like Tervin the sightings never lose their sparkle. “We never face the same situation twice, it keeps us motivated,” he says. “Picking someone up [from Hoedspruit Airport] without a clue and seeing their expressions when they see something like an impala is the best. Like yours.”

Kapama River Lodge has one main restaurant, and, after each game drive, it becomes a stage for guests to share.

Mealtimes, especially breakfast, are a regular show-and-tell event. A pair of women, friends from America, tell another couple how an elephant got too close for comfort that morning. Janet and Craig share their experience about lions feeding on a zebra, and I watch a little girl flick through photos on her mother’s smartphone, more interested in that morning’s memories than the freshbaked pastries on her plate.

While the feathery and four-legged occupy a bulk of my own camera roll, the time I have with the people of Kapama is no less memorable. “When guests arrive here, we as a team already understand that people may have saved up for quite some time,” explains Kinty Tshuketana, assistant lodge manager. “We want each guest to feel they have a personalised experience.”

The beauty of this approach becomes clearest on our final night. Guides join their guests for dinner every night but tonight we are not at our table, instead being drawn to a crackling fire pit on a sunken terrace lounge. For a split second I worry if Tervin will find us, forgetting that if he can spot a leopard in the brush; we are easy fodder. He appears two minutes later and takes a seat. We spend the next 30 minutes talking,

learning as much about Tervin as we have about wildlife: he and Phillip are cousins, their grandparents lived in Kruger National Park before it was designated such, and he hates snakes. He also, somewhat shyly, admits his favourite part about being a guide. “When you drop guests off, you’ve turned their world upside down and they are telling you things that you don’t even remember saying, because what you have shown them and what they have seen is so amazing.” He pauses for a moment. “It makes me happy being in photos that are so special to them.”

Kinty believes the connection guests make with their guides is one of the reasons the lodge sees so many return guests. “The safari experience is quite emotional, and the little bits that happen in the lodge, that is just the cherry on top,” she says. “It warms our hearts to know that people from overseas actually come back to see us.”

Two days at Kapama River Lodge has me knowing I will be one of those returning guests. Why should the animals be the only ones to undertake an annual migration? Until then, safari is struck from my bucket list and the game plan for the next one begins.

OPPOSITE: a sunset drink by the pool at Kapama River Lodge. ABOVE: giraffes in the early morning light; Phillip, assistant tracker at Kapama Private Game Reserve.

Kapama River Lodge

The largest and most social of the camps on Kapama Private Game Reserve, the River Lodge puts the wildness of Kruger National Park at your fingertips. Suites are a masterclass in less is more styling: restrained old Africa decor, modern finishings and excellent proportions. The River Lodge is all-inclusive, rates covering all meals (daily changing a la carte menus), two daily game drives, select local and premium drinks, and pick-up from Hoedspruit Airport. Rates exclude conservation levy. Kapama River Lodge is a featured stay in select Luxury Escapes tours of South Africa.

Go on safari with Luxury Escapes

Wonder wall

On November 9, 2024, Berlin commemorates the 35th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Nate Robinson travels to Berlin on a mission to peek behind the (iron) curtain, discovering re ection, renewal and freedom in Germany’s boisterous capital.

During the height of the Cold War, Berlin was called the City of Spies (in German, less atteringly, it was Agentsumpf, or “agent swamp”). Today it’s still a city of secrets, teeming with ghost stations, underground art bunkers, hidden wildernesses and echoes from the city’s past.

Here’s a secret: spend the day cycling around Berlin and you’re bound to eventually recognise the uncomfortable bump that signifies crossing the double-bricked line marking the perimeter of the Berlin Wall. If you’re riding down Chausseestrasse – a street once so factory-packed it was named the Land of Fire – it’s worth stopping once you feel it. Look down and you’ll find small brass rabbits immortalised in asphalt and cobblestone. This is the Kaninchenfeld (“rabbit field”), a tribute to the only creatures who were able to freely cross the border between East and West Berlin.

“It’s good that you stopped,” says Oleg Bogdanov, my guide. “Most people don’t even notice.”

Though he formally moved from St. Petersburg in 1992 – eager to get involved with the city’s exploding techno scene – as a young anthropology student Oleg had been visiting East Berlin since the early 1980s. He has vivid memories of staring at the West Berliners at the iconic Brandenburg Gate, visited constantly by tourists from both sides. It’s in the Kaninchenfeld, less than a minute away from the headquarters of Germany’s foreign intelligence service, that Oleg tells me that as a young student he’d been interrogated twice by the KGB, the Soviet Union’s notoriously ruthless secret police force. Both times it turned out they’d been after someone else.

“Pretty lucky,” I say.

“Extremely.” A thought crosses Oleg’s face. “Hey, you want to see something cool?”

We’re off again, past the shining, jewel-like Sapphire building, a new symbol of Berlin’s resilience. We pass through a narrow metal gate and another secret unfurls itself: a sprawling sea of tall, wild grasses, confined by old

brick and juvenile birch. The sounds of the city drop away; I can hear the buzz of fat bumblebees working lazily in the fields.

We’re at Nordbahnhof Park. It occupies the site of the wide “death strip” that separated Berlin’s twin barriers. During the time of the Berlin Wall, the strip was continuously doused with herbicides; soldiers on both sides required unobstructed views. The fields are allowed to grow wild again, an urban allegory of the city’s healing. Colourful alfalfa beds and yellow-flowered celandine replace barbed wires and beds of nails; the watchtowers’ demolished territories are quickly occupied by greedy blackberry bushes.

The remains of the Wall stand behind us. Instead of soldiers with rifles, two German artists with spray cans replace one street art mural with another. This is the North Side Gallery: opened in 2023, it’s the city’s newest concrete canvas.

The Berlin Wall is famously the world’s greatest openair gallery. It’s also the world’s greatest palimpsest: always changing, art constantly superimposed on art, you’ll never experience the same gallery twice. The rhythmic click-click-click-hiss of the artists’ work feels as at home here as the wild calls of insects and birdlife; the smell of fresh paint mingles with the tea-like aroma of blooming speedwell.

You can’t keep Berlin down.

“You’re seeing it,” Oleg says. “The Wall itself is something that, when created, it changed us forever. This park preserves Berlin’s spirit of resistance using only the language of the landscape. Some things you can only experience in Berlin.”

FROM TOP: Mauerpark (‘Wall Park’), once a part of the Wall and now an open-air gallery; the tribute to the Kaninchenfeld (“rabbit field”). OPPOSITE: The Humboldt Forum; the dining room at CHIARO, Hotel de Rome’s elegant Italian restaurant.

Echoes of the East

Oleg’s taught me something important: while Berlin’s network of trams, trains and buses are efficient, the best way to discover the spirit of the city is to walk or cycle.

Follow the Wall through central Berlin and you’ll find secrets on every street corner.

A minute’s walk from Checkpoint Charlie, the city’s best-known border crossing, you’ll find perfumer Frau Toni’s flagship store. The brand has famously reimagined one of the city’s lost fragrances, the scent worn by legendary Berlin actress Marlene Dietrich.

Wander further into West Berlin, past the city’s sprawling Tiergarten (Berlin’s answer to Central Park) and you’ll find the massive InterContinental Berlin. Built in 1958 on designs by notable architecture firm Pereira & Luckman, the hotel was originally meant to be Germany’s first Hilton. Look up: the hotel’s chessboard facade, a protected heritage work, wryly hints at the city’s future as a den of espionage. Guests have included Bill Clinton, Alfred Hitchcock and Michael Jackson – presumably drawn to Berlin InterContinental’s extraordinary pool, sauna and spa, with adjoining gardens designed to blend seamlessly into the Tiergarten behind.

An hour’s stroll north-east, past Berlin Zoo, Tiergarten and under the Brandenburg Gate, and I’ve crossed back in the East. I’m at the Humboldt Forum, one of Berlin’s newest museum complexes. Built on the site of the Palace of the Republic – itself erected on the ruins of the Kingdom of Prussia’s Berlin

Palace – it features exhibits devoted to showcasing life in East Berlin and the greater Deutsche Demokratische Republik.

Colloquially called “The People’s Palace”, the Palace of the Republic was the city’s major social hub – always completely open to every citizen, it held beer halls, cocktail bars, a cinema, discotheque, casino, theatre and thirteen restaurants. The Palace was demolished in 1990, ostensibly due to asbestos concerns. Among the casualties were the beloved Glass Flower, the main hall’s central feature, and the Milchbar, a sundae house that featured twenty flavours of ice-cream and gleefully poured irresponsibly sized portions of iced chocolate. For the children of East Berlin, a visit would have been an extraordinary luxury.

“The Palace of the Republic was a symbol of regular life in East Berlin,” says Judith Prokasky, senior curator, Humboldt Forum. “And it wasn’t all bad. You told me earlier you think luxury is rooted in freedom. For the people of the Deutsche Demokratische Republik, luxury was in security.”

I think about that as I cross the River Spree, check-in to the Hotel de Rome and celebrate my arrival at one of Berlin’s finest five-star hotels with a glass of French champagne. Overlooking the historic Bebelplatz, the hotel’s building was originally constructed in 1899 to be the headquarters of the Dresdner Bank; after the Second World War it was repurposed as the State

Bank of East Germany. Hotelier Sir Rocco Forte painstakingly preserved whatever remained before opening Hotel de Rome in 1996, including installing Hotel de Rome’s subterranean pool in the bank’s old jewellery vault. Marble pillars and mosaics of gold leaf perfectly frame the pool’s beauty.

It’s after gawking at the pool that Stine Kreitel, Hotel de Rome’s assistant guest relations manager, stops me. We’re in front of a huge green door: four keyholes encircle a golden lever. “I’ll tell you a secret: we only have three of the keys to this door,” Stine says. A key was misplaced during reunification. “To this day we have no idea what’s inside.”

A city, divided

On the morning of August 13, 1961, Berliners awoke to discover their city divided by a barbed wire fence, physically and ideologically carving the city in two. Originally built to stop Soviet-controlled East Berliners from escaping to West Berlin, the Berlin Wall eventually came to include guard towers, anti-vehicle trenches and vicious traps. As protests and political pressure reached fever pitch, the Berlin Wall finally fell on 9 November 1989. In that period, at least 140 people were killed as they attempted to cross the Wall.

Going underground

Hotel de Rome’s shimmering masterpiece beneath the city inspires me to seek out more of Berlin’s underground treasures. A walk down the Zimmerstrasse – still following the brick remains of the Wall, past Checkpoint Charlie and a park dedicated to the Trabant, the East Berliner’s automobile of choice – leads me to The Feuerle Collection.

“We have a few rules,” says our guide. She emerges from behind the bunker door like a famous Berlin Wall rabbit crawling out of a warren, blinking and big-eyed. “No phones and no talking. Try to be as quiet as you can. We’ll get you when it’s time to move on.”

There’s only myself and another woman on today’s tour; access is by appointment only. We both agree immediately, eager to discover whatever secrets lie below.

Berlin has a proud tradition of bunkersturned-galleries, places transformed from spaces of terror to spaces of awe. The Feuerle Collection inhabits a massive subterranean space originally designed to house telecommunications equipment during the Second World War. Despite

Fly with Scoot

Berlin continues to become more accessible to Australian travellers as airlines increase capacity and add new European routes to their networks. Scoot currently has regular flights from Melbourne and Sydney to Berlin via Athens and Singapore. flyscoot.com

its West Berlin address, the bunker was owned by an East Berlin train company; it was jealously contested for decades before being purchased and restored by German art obsessive Désiré Feuerle.

The temperature immediately drops as we descend into the collection’s underworld.

The bunker could have existed yesterday, years ago or tomorrow: the space is timeless, hugged by concrete and heavy beneath the weight of division and strife. I stop to stare at a vast subterranean lake – the waters are so still and so clear that I wonder if it’s somehow a sleight of mind, my own consciousness playing tricks on me.

Pieces are lit dramatically; light and shadow are as key to the exhibit as the artefacts themselves. I learn quickly that juxtaposition is a major theme. A gleaming Anish Kapoor sculpture stands against Ming-dynasty Imperial Chinese furniture; ancient Khmer Buddhist relics, white as snow in the gloom, are set against a backdrop of deliberately scandalous photography by renowned Japanese shutter-maverick

Nobuyoshi Araki. Deep inside his secret palace, Désiré Feuerle has strived to demolish all boundaries, all walls within.

There’s a sigh and whispering from behind me. I wheel around, shocked – my companion is kneeling in front of a Khmer statue, praying quietly. The guides ignore her transgression. After a moment’s hesitation, I do the same. This is between her and the art.

When we finally emerge into the sunlight she immediately apologises. “I’ve just never... I quit my corporate job to study for a few months in a Cambodian monastery,” she says as way of explanation. “I wasn’t expecting anything like that.”

How could you? We chat for a while in the sunlight – about her time in Cambodia, about my time in Berlin. I ask her for her name, and she asks for mine; it turns out that we have a close personal connection, and the coincidence leaves me speechless.

“I don’t know if I loved it,” she says. “If I’m being honest, I don’t even know if I liked it. But I’ll tell you one thing – this is the kind of thing you can only experience in Berlin.”

IMAGE: HOTEL DE ROME

Tuning out

Turtle

Island in Fiji allows couples to disconnect from hectic lives and reconnect with each other, all to the soundtrack of spontaneous sta singalongs, angelic kids’ choirs, traditional culture nights and the ever-present melodic “bulas” of its caring, welcoming sta .

You hear Turtle Island before you ever set foot on its sandy shore. As the pilot cracks open the door to the de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver seaplane, the Fijian welcome song, Bula Maleya, in perfect threepart harmony, is carried by the beach breeze and sings of relaxation, reconnection and tropical possibility. Also carried are any female passengers, conveyed from the plane to the sand by a pair of Fijian warriors in traditional dress, while the male passengers wade themselves ashore. As the choir breaks up, the singers form a line to give each new arrival a warm hug and welcome them to the Turtle Island family.

It is an intimate greeting to an intimate place. Turtle Island is a couples-only resort located in the Yasawa chain of volcanic islands in the west of Fiji. It has just 14 bures lining the beach, some right on the sand, others set back into a forest of palms, eucalyptus and raintrees – and one on the small rise at Vonu Point. The bures themselves have a kind of homey opulence. The path to your bure is paved with the ghosts of previous visitors, their names carved into cement tiles and set with local shells; a hand-carved wooden plaque hangs over the door welcoming you with your names engraved upon it by Turtle Island’s in-house carver. Inside, is a hand-hewn writing desk fit for map-drawing or novel writing; the living space has an L-shaped, fern-printed couch, dark-wood cupboards and a fridge packed with your pre-ordered favourite tipples. In the bedroom, a four-poster bed has twisted tree branches holding up the canopy and a central tablecum-pillar is made from the trunk of a tree. Floor-to-ceiling louvred windows are covered with light gauze curtains that billow in the natural air conditioning. In the corner of the room is a sunken spa set into the wooden floor, and a double rain shower. We are shown all of this by our “bure mama”, Wati, who looks after us for the whole of our stay.

We unpack to more island melodies further along the beach accompanied by the strumming of a ukulele and start to understand why staff tell you when you alight at Turtle Island: “welcome home”.

OPPOSITE: Turtle Island’s Bure #1 sits on beatific Vonu Point, and guests there often host cocktails for the whole island on the deck. TOP: each bure on Turtle Island has its own private lounges and hammocks. ABOVE: guests are looked after by their “bure mama”.

From goats to GOAT

The island is unrecognisable from when it was purchased by American businessman Richard Evanson in 1972. Richard was not planning to build a resort but rather turn on, tune in and drop out of his hectic San Francisco lifestyle. He arrived on the barren island, the foliage destroyed by thousands of feral goats, with a tent, a fridge packed with beer and hope for a simpler life. Before long, a young local Joe Naisali rowed across to meet Richard from Matacawalevu Island opposite. He took his new friend across to his village of the same name (meaning “Big Beach”) where the American hired some men to help him plant trees on Turtle Island, build bures and forge the foundations of what the resort has become today.

It was only when a film crew came in 1980 to make The Blue Lagoon, with Brooke Shields, on the famous waters of the same name, that the idea for a resort began to take shape.

This organic, personal approach that includes people from the local communities is now in the DNA of the island. A few days after arriving, we climb aboard a small wooden boat adorned with palm fronds and hibiscus to visit Matacawalevu; our guide is Erami Ravato who calls the village home. It is part of a day-long celebration of Fijian culture on Turtle Island that happens every week.

Just like Richard did over four decades earlier, we have to ask permission from the chief to enter the village and Erami smooths things over with an offering of a bag of kava, the national root-based drink. Then we are off on a tour, we walk to the village square lined with houses and Erami nods to four poles at the northern end. This used to be the chief’s house where Richard came to trade but was subsequently destroyed in a cyclone.

“I like to show guests what village life is really like, that it is still intact, this laidback kind of life,” Erami says. “There is no rush hour in the village, everything is very relaxed and family oriented, the simple things in life.”

There are percussive sounds from a new house being built, the rustle of leaves from trees laden with breadfruit and the sing-song sound of kids playing. Sleepy dogs laze in the sun and we shop at the local shell market.

Lunch back at Turtle Island is a table laden with Fijian delicacies: spicy calamari, white fish cooked in coconut milk and a tower of fresh crab. The majority of what you eat on the island is either grown in the garden (home to over 145 garden beds), farmed there (pigs and chickens) or pulled straight from the sea. There is no green-washing here, just washed greens eaten metres from where they are grown.

That night is a celebration of Fijian music and dance, starting with a lively number written by Joe Naisali and finishing with a traditional kava ceremony. Evening kava is one of the special things about Turtle Island because each night is hosted by a different area of the resort: construction, farming, housekeeping, food and beverage. The kava is served out of a giant turtle-shaped bowl handmade in the Joinery and the fun of asking (taki) for a kava bowl and then ritually clapping after drinking it breaks down staff and guest barriers to allow for real conversations that can lead to pleasant surprises. Chatting to Teveta Irivi, the island’s sous chef, I ask his favourite local dishes that are not on the Turtle Island menu.

“Let me show you, for lunch I will send them to your bure,” he says.

OPPOSITE, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: plumping bure pillows; one of the floating pontoons used for intimate “dine outs”; horse riding and amazing food are part of the island; music is everywhere on Turtle Island. FROM TOP: kava ceremony on Fijian culture night; the fresh produce.

Turtle Island

This all-inclusive resort inspires such guest loyalty that more than 60 per cent of visitors return to Turtle Island. A few weeks a year the resort also opens itself up to families.

DREAM

Songs of the south

After a few days on Turtle Island, you acclimate to the absence of cars, the presence of frogs in the footbath where you wash sand off your feet and the alarmclock crow of a rooster who escaped the island opposite by running across the lagoon at low tide.

A week in paradise has its own rhythms: the arrival and departure of the seaplane bringing guests and whisking them away again; being met halfway along the beach each morning with a glass of fresh lemonade; and cocktails on the sand where guests introduce themselves on arrival and go through island highlights when they leave.

There is music everywhere, from spontaneous singalongs at the breakfast table to karaoke nights. A kids’ choir from the local school comes to the island to perform and the Sunday Turtle Island church service brings the whole staff choir together. By now we recognise many faces: the deep bass of Jerry, our activities manager, that nearly rattles the chapel’s stained glass windows; Bou from construction who taught me a “milk cow” (a cup of kava squeezed straight from the straining bag for extra oomph), and Eseta whose breakfast service is second only to her choral harmonies.

Every other day involves couples being booked onto one of the dozen private beaches and delivered to their very own patch of sand by boat or buggy. On Devil’s Beach I snorkel alongside a black-andwhite striped sea snake, sting ray and green turtle while my wife reads a book swinging in a hammock; on Shell Beach we dine on a picnic of white fish salad and on Nudy

Beach we take a bottle of Moet and decide to shimmy up a low-slung palm tree (with clothes on).

Each day ends with the rolling out of the kava mat and chatting with staff and fellow guests.

But there are riffs on routine, too, like our discovery of a mangrove walk (Bou’s team’s handiwork) that takes you high over mangrove trees for a very different view of the island; a sunset horse ride to the mountaintop where Richard is buried (he died in 2021) with his pet dog Michael; and the meal of the trip: Teveta’s special lunch.

Two days after our kava-mat chat, a table and chairs appear outside our bure under the shade of a palm. Wati sets the table and opens our Champagne as the table is filled with snapper cooked in lime, salt and coriander over an open fire; kuita vakalolo, octopus tentacles in onion and coconut milk; and eggplant seared and skinned, served with salsa and fresh coconut cream. Then a song starts up the beach and more staff arrive serenading us and placing salusalu (Fijian leis) around our necks.

Among them is Turtle Island’s chief conductor, Bill (one name, like Beyoncé) who is constantly keeping an eye on things but is also the first to break into song or swivel his hips.

“Music goes together with happiness,” Bill says. “Most of the songs we make on the island are lively songs, we have stories about how we created Turtle Island and we turned them into happy songs.”

Bill says that while the tourism business is meant to be all smiles, there is more honesty

behind the happy faces at this resort that he has worked at for nearly two decades.

“The family that we have here is like the way we are living back in our own village,” Bill says. “We are happy at the back and, when we come to the front, we show that happiness to the guests.”

Guests see behind the scenes, too, free to wander through the staff village to explore the island on mountain bikes, plant trees as an island reminder or even dine under fairy lights amongst the garden beds and all the while sing-song “bulas” come from any staff you meet.

Just as bula is the traditional island welcome, Isa Lei, is its mournful counterpart, the Fijian farewell song. You hear it each time a Turtle Island family member heads for the seaplane to return to their life of traffic, work and snatched meals on-the-go, but there is a particular poignancy when it comes calling for you.

On the final morning, departing guests are invited to address the morning staff meeting and meet Richard Jnr, son of the island’s founder. We share memories, offer thank yous to key staff and my wife even sheds a few tears. As with most things on Turtle Island, the moment is marked by a song, this time a solemn hymn.

It is time to engrave our cement tile and leave behind a permanent marker of our time on Turtle Island, but the truth is that the music, the natural beauty, the flavours and, above all the people, of this unique private island stay have already left an indelible impression upon us.

Other Fiji stays

Crowne Plaza Fiji Nadi Bay

Located right next to Turtle Island Airways, where the seaplane conveys you to the island, the Crowne Plaza Fiji Nadi Bay is Fiji’s newest premium resort that features suites surrounded by an infinity pool lagoon, Latitude Bar and Lounge and La Bottega Italian restaurant.

Coconut Beach Resort

Also in the Yasawas, Coconut Beach Resort is located on a former copra (coconut biproduct) plantation and features just 11 bures in a coconut grove. The resort offers a vibrant house reef in a protected lagoon, and traditional Fijian hospitality.

Stay in the Yasawas

golden child e

All that glitters is (most likely) 24-karat gold in the party town of Dubai, but ip the shiny coin and you’ll discover the traditions and history deep in its Emirati heart. Belinda Jackson goes glam at Atlantis e Royal and then hits the storied streets of the city.

In this town, there’s gold, and then there’s gold.

There’s the gold bling of the hardware on the latest alligator-skin “It-bag”.

Then there’s the old gold; heavy ropes of plaited, 24k gold necklaces slung with a Bedouin-style pendant the size of a pigeon’s egg, displayed in the windows of the gold souq.

This is a tale of the two faces of one city: the luxury and bling that Dubai is known for, and the tradition and heritage of this Bedouin nation. And on my many trips to the emirate, I’m flipping to both sides of the coin.

Dubai has a special place in the seven emirates that make up the UAE – it’s the party town. Others have their own niche – the sugar daddy (Abu Dhabi), the thrill-seeker (Ras Al Khaimah), the sleepyhead (Fujairah)… but Dubai is the good-time girl. The playboy, if you will.

To the world, Dubai’s face is flashy and flamboyant, clad in luxury-brand labels, revving the Lamborghini down the 14-lane main drag, Sheikh

Zayed Road. If you want to know where all those Lamborghinis are going, they’re to be found in the porte cochère of the new Atlantis The Royal, the ultra-luxury poster child of six-star hotels (a rating that doesn’t actually, officially exist, but it sounds fabulous, right?)

Artificial archipelagos are a trademark of Dubai – I’m thinking here of the World Islands, three kilometres offshore, a crazy brainchild that includes an amoeba-shaped Australia. The Palm Jumeriah is another man-made marvel, modelled on the emirates’ emblematic tree, and the new Atlantis is situated at the top of that tree, beside its little sister, the pink Atlantis, The Palm.

Launching on the front foot, the Jenga-like hotel dropped $31 million on its opening party, including a performance by Beyoncé. Tone set.

THIS SPREAD: Atlantis The Royal is the ultra-luxury poster child of “six-star hotels” that was opened by Beyoncé. It is housed on the man-made island known as the Palm Jumeirah.

From there, it’s been a wild ride for the luxe Atlantis, which is at almost 100 per cent occupancy the day I check in. The foyer is jammed with visitors, not staying, but here for the photo ops with giant Louis Vuitton mascots, for dinner at the one-Michelin-star Blumenthal restaurant, for the teeny, weeny Dolce & Gabbana bikini in the brand-tastic shopping arcade.

Gold diggers will find 24-karat gold on the wagyu and lobster sushi rolls at Ling Ling, one of its 17 restaurants, on the gold-coated volcanic stones in its Golden Hour massage, and in my bathroom, where the gold-plated toothbrush, gold combs and gold razors are guaranteed to depart in guests’ luggage (guilty). That’s not to mention all the gold draped across those same guests as they play in the hotel’s sky-high Cloud 22 pool club, at the Nobu beach club, or in one of the other 90 pools in the hotel.

Of course, the hotel has a dancing fountain – you’re nobody in this town without one, and the world’s tallest performing fountain set the benchmark when it opened in 2009 at Dubai Mall. The world’s largest shopping centre is also the world’s most visited site, with 105 million sightseers last year, with good reason, it’s attached to the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building. That’s so Dubai.

It’s often misunderstood that the best way to enjoy a landmark is by being in it. In which case, you’d be wrong. To illustrate: taking a ride to the top of the Burj Khalifa is an essential rite of passage for every firsttime visitor to Dubai. But surely it’s better to be looking up at the glamorous skyscraper and its (record-breaking, naturally) laser light show?

And that’s how, one evening, I’m thrown into the fray of bar-top dancing and Mediterranean-Turkish cuisine at GAL, in the

Downtown hotel. This sultry night on the open-air terrace, the glamorous clientele flashes its white teeth and white linen in countless photos, with the spectacular backdrop of the Burj.

I’m not saying you should strike viewing platforms off your list, especially when Dubai has so many. My ears pop in the elevators shooting 240 metres up to the Level 52 of the Palm Tower to View at the Palm, which gives a bird’s-eye view of The Palm, while Aura SkyPool wins the gong for world’s highest 360-degree infinity pool – book before you arrive in Dubai, this one is on the hot list for locals and visitors alike. And, if the rumours are true, Ain Dubai, the world’s largest observation wheel, at 250 metres high, will soon recommence turning after more than two years doing very little apart from glittering prettily from its outpost on Bluewaters Island – another of Dubai’s artificial islands.

Address

ABOVE, FROM LEFT: Atlantis The Royal is the new measure of high-end accommodation in a city that is full of

Atlantis e Royal Dubai

Book your stay now

Pearls of wisdom

In this most global of cities, Dubai’s population of 3.75 million represents more than 200 nationalities, but less than 15 per cent is actually Emirati – the rest is drawn from every corner, nook and cranny in the world. But what if you’re looking for that 15 per cent? How do you nd the Emirati in the emirate?

Opened in 2023, the ultra-luxe hotel bristles with restaurants from the world’s top chefs and shopping concessions from the fashion industry’s most recognised names. The superb Awake Spa’s signature Dubai treatments include a sand and date sugar body exfoliation, and a Gulf salt scrub with a moringa flower wrap. There are 795 rooms, suites and penthouses in the gold-dipped Atlantis The Royal, which is located on the crown of The Palm Jumeriah.

Al Seef Heritage Hotel, Curio Collection By Hilton

Book your stay now

Located on Dubai Creek, 15 minutes from the airport, the hotel has 190 rooms set in 10 houses across Al Seef, which is modelled on a traditional Arabian souq (market). The rooftop hotel restaurant, Saba’a has an excellent signature mix grill, and outdoor shisha lounge. Guests can soak up panoramic views from the rooftop pool and bar at the neighbouring Canopy by Hilton.

To get into Dubai’s head, you have to go through its belly. The city rewards the explorer who’s looking to eat Khaleeji cuisine – food from the countries facing the Persian Gulf (and adding Yemen, because it misses out on a geographic technicality, but it’s in the ‘hood, and its food is so, so good). You can easily track down cuisine from Yemen, Saudi Arabia and Oman from the 13,000 restaurants and cafes in this town – sink into the floor cushions and order giant platters to share.

One sundown, we score a table at Al Romansiah, a restaurant behind the Emirates Mall, the second largest of Dubai’s megamalls. In sharp contrast to the air-conditioned mall; our outdoor table, facing a busy local street, is quickly loaded with Emirati and Arabic dishes, from sambousseh – little triangles of mince-stuffed pastry – to great rounds of malawah bread, plates of vivid rocket dressed with sumac and pomegranate molasses and its signature lamb biryani,

which demonstrates the strong links with the Indian subcontinent. It comes cooked in a tagine and is sealed with a pastry lid that we crack gleefully, releasing a curl of fragrant steam. The champagne of the international hotels is swapped for tall glasses of cold, bright orange mango juice and dark red pomegranate juice.

Here, at street level, you’ll find the engine room of Dubai – the workers who make it tick – and also a reminder that even the most international of cities still has a creation story, as a pearl fishing village. To follow the story’s trail, you could start at the statue of pearl fishers in the Al Shindagha historic district, and follow the creek on the Bir Dubai side, through the trinket- and textiles-laden Old Souq. Stop for an icy watermelon fauxmojito and abra-watching at Bayt al Wakeel, a cafe that began life in 1935 as a shipping office and stopover point for the sailing route between Bombay, India and Basra, Iraq.

Past the wharves, your feet will take you into the traditional Al Fahidi district, with its coffee museum and art galleries, and street displays of dhows, the fishing boats of Arabia. The big drawcard here is the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding. Here, you’ll find your Emirati, local volunteers who will answer all your questions about life, food and traditions in the UAE.

Continuing my walk along the creek, Al Seef is a re-creation of a traditional souq. If you’re looking for an old Arabian film set, this is as close as you’re going to get in Dubai. Forget the high-rises of glass and steel, the pedestrian-only streets are lined with low mud-brick buildings, their flat roofs topped with verandas and elegant wind towers, poised to catch the cool breeze from the saltwater creek below.

The shopping is different, too. Instead of names, names, names, I buy a pair of hand-thrown ceramic mugs from Iran, an embroidered cloak from Syria, some kohl eyeliner for a gift, then refuel with coffee and Palestinian-style knafeh, the sweet-salty dessert of gooey white cheese and shredded pastry, in the little Nablus café.

Al Seef is home to one of Dubai’s few restaurants serving only Emirati food. At Al Fanar, the hero dish is machboos – a classic mutton-and-rice dish with yellow basmati rice and the local spice mix, bzar. The waterfront Al Seef outpost brings Dubai’s seafaring roots to the table, adding a grilled sea bass machboos to the menu, as well as the superEmirati dish jesheed, minced shark meat served on rice.

As a rule, Dubai isn’t known for its bargains, but Al Seef Heritage Hotel by Curio is one of its best. The Hilton-owned hotel

lets you sleep in Old Dubai, albeit Old Dubai with hot running water, plentiful restaurants and cabs instead of camels.

The hotel’s 190 rooms are spread across 10 mudbrick bayt (houses) along Al Seef, set in alleyways running through the souq. Each has mudbrick walls, exposed timber and reed ceilings, its simple furniture of wood and leather accessorised with Bakelite phones and turn-of-the-century lamps, reworked into 21st-century usefulness. French doors open to a balcony, looking over the souq’s rooftops and across Dubai Creek to Diera.

Souq, for a small vial of earthy oud to keep in my handbag.

At just one dirham – that’s about 40 cents – catching an abra across the creek is probably the cheapest thing you can do in Dubai. From Al Seef on the Bur Dubai side, you’ll need to save all your pennies for Deira’s gold souqs.

As a warm-up, I throw myself into the labyrinthine Grand Souq, snapping up a Hand of Fatima or khamsa amulet to ward off envy and protect against evil, and yet another silk scarf to feed my obsession. It’s on to the Spice Souq for some preserved limes (loomi) to work on my machboos, and the Perfume

To come full golden circle, it’s time to slip your (designer) sunglasses on and dive into the Gold Souq. Be prepared for the pitying assessment of anything less than 18-karat gold – “Clearly, your husband doesn’t love you,” is the unspoken refrain, upon spotting my pallid, low-karat Australian jewellery.

Racks of bangles, collars dripping with amulets and charms, it may be one of the few times you can legitimately use such phrases as “diamond-encrusted”. You might not need a neck-to-navel, gold filigree body drape, but then… this is Dubai. If you’re going to shine anywhere, this is the town to do it in.

TOP: the Al Seef Heritage Hotel by Curio, a Hilton-owned property, is good value in Dubai in an area known for its Emirati cuisine. ABOVE FROM LEFT: in Dubai

you can take a traditional, or not so traditional, boat across Dubai Creek to Diera; the outlook from the Al Seef Heritage Hotel by Curio.

Travel satchel

MEMENTO

Cameron Daddo

ACTOR/PRESENTER LUXURY ESCAPES: THE WORLD’S BEST HOLIDAYS

“It’s a travel memento with purpose. I bought this travel satchel in Athens, my second season shooting Luxury Escapes: The World’s Best Holidays. I needed a place to put my travel things, my passport and cash. I didn’t want to get any old bag, I was very particular about it and I walked through the leather markets in Athens just below the Acropolis and I came across this one and I love it. There are so many places to stash my stuff – there has to be six zips on this thing – and it’s amazing how much it can carry.”

The new season of Luxury Escapes: The World’s Best Holidays is now showing on Foxtel and Binge.

ATHENS, GREECE

Kia EV5 Light years ahead.