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MARCH 2012
IN
THE MIDDLE EAST’S BIGGEST TRAVEL MAGAZINE
!
Produced in International Media Production Zone
On the trail of tigers in central India
ALL WHITE?
Graeme Green on driving across the world’s largest salt flat
DALLAS
Riding high in the city of cowboys
TAKE A PUNT
Raymond Whitaker barges his way round magnificent Venice
Tahiti
An ocean of possibilities in the South Pacific
KANOO WORLD TRAVELLER MARCH 2012
CONTENTS TRAVEL BITES 05 CHECK IN
From new hotels to top spring breaks, we round up the latest tit bits in travel.
17 WHERE TO STAY
Make for Moscow for standout style and mesmerising sights.
18 PICTURE THIS
44
Three eye-widening snapshots to make you look twice.
25 ESSENTIAL SELECTION
Holiday amidst gorgeous greens at one of the world’s top golf resorts.
66 VISIT: DALLAS
Cowboys, football and southern style: Rob Orchard makes the most of Dallas.
68 VISIT: ISTANBUL
We go in search of ‘beauty by the Bosphorus’ in Turkey.
71 COMPETITION
Your chance to win a two-night break at the Yas Viceroy Abu Dhabi Hotel.
72 SUITE DREAMS
Open your eyes to the great African outdoors at the Molori Safari Lodge.
40
32
FEATURES 32 INDIA Sophie Lam follows the trail of the mighty tiger in Madhya Pradesh.
40 VENICE
Raymond Whitaker glides his way through the city’s waterways.
44 BOLIVIA
Graeme Green dons his sunglasses to drive across the world’s largest, bright white salt plains.
50 TAHITI
Fine climes, lush landscapes and beach parties like no other – Ben Mondy finds paradise on the Pacific Island.
58 HUNGARY
50
58
Mike Unwin trades popular Budapest for the country’s rural side...
French Polynesia. Louie Psihoyos. Corbis/Arabian Eye.
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March 2012 Kanoo World Traveller 3
CHECK IN | NEWS
CHECK IN
BE INFORMED, BE INSPIRED, BE THERE
CANADA
TRUMP INTERNATIONAL HOTEL & TOWER TORONTO Donald Trump is not a man who thinks small – little surprise, then, that his latest hotel (and first foray into Canada) is also Toronto’s tallest residential building. Trump International Hotel & Tower Toronto peers over the city from a height of 900 feet – head downtown to the city’s finance and entertainment hub and you won’t be able to miss its all-glass façade. But do the interiors live up to its glossy exterior? Team Trump make sure of it – décor comes designed by II BY IV Design Associates, cueing super-luxurious suites (we’re told
colours were inspired by champagne and caviar) and top-of-therange trimmings. For a stay of Trump proportions, book none other than the Presidential Suite – all 4,000 feet of it – complete with two bedrooms, a soundproof media room and private dining space. But if you fancy stepping out come nightfall, make straight for the 31st floor where the hotel’s signature STOCK restaurant (headed by Chef Todd Clarmo) serves up imaginative fare (try the seared sea scallops with split peas) to a backdrop of sparkling city sights. trumptoronto.ca March 2012 Kanoo World Traveller 5
HOT OFFERS
Is your luggage ready for an upgrade? Few bags will look more stylish at departures than Mulberry’s latest offering; inspired by vintage steamer trunks, the new Travel Bag Family brings globetrotters a trio of sizes – from a camera bag, to a day bag and an oversized carry-on besides. Its leather and textured finishes are sure to take your fancy, too – be it Oak Shiny Lambskin (ideal for country retreats), Lizard Print (for more exotic getaways) and Natural Animal Print (what could be more chic on safari?) mulberry.com
GLOBAL
NEW HOTELS TO MAKE FOR IN MARCH Sofitel adds yet another string to its bow this month, with the beachside Sofitel Agadir Thalassa Sea & Spa (below left; sofitel.com) in Morocco. The venue takes inspiration from its setting, from its spice-hued interiors to its three eateries, all of which serve Moroccan fare. If it’s a fantasy island-style getaway you’re after, though, reserve a spot at Viceroy Maldives (below left; viceroyhotelsandresorts. com), which opens on April 2. Here you’ll find 61 villas dotted across 17 acres of palm-flanked sands – just step off your private deck and sink your toes into cotton-white sands. Though its official debut is May 17, reservations can now be made at the Palace Hotel Tokyo (palacehoteltokyo.com). Set by the Imperial Palace, its location is picture perfect and its cluster of Michelin-star eateries world class. If you can’t wait til May, make instead for the Conservatorium Hotel Amsterdam (conservatoriumhotel.com) in the iconic building that once housed the city’s top music conservatorium (classical tunes play in tribute). Today, its design melds old and new, from a glass-covered atrium to exposed beams.
6 March 2012 Kanoo World Traveller
TOWN AND COUNTRY This month’s offers, brought to you by Kanoo Travel and American Express Travel
NEPAL SOJOURN 7 DAYS, 8 NIGHTS From $836p/p For a scenic seven days, this Nepalese adventure is just the ticket. On it, you’ll drink in the sights of Kathmandu, Pokhara and Chitwan: in Kathmandu, you’ll find yourself at the heart of Nepal’s arts and culture; in Pokhara you’ll step on to a cable car for panoramic views of the Himalayan region and magnificent Fishtail Peak, while in Chitwan the region’s elephant safaris are unforgettable – so take a camera.
NATURAL KERALA 6 DAYS, 5 NIGHTS From $350p/p Journeys start in bustling Kochi (aka the Gateway to Kerala) where ancient colonial architecture is abound and Kathakali (a local dance drama) is still performed. Come day three, you’ll adapt a more leisurely pace with ayurevedic treatments before heading to Mararikulam to bask in an endless stream of pristine beaches.
JORDAN IN DEPTH 7 DAYS, 6 NIGHTS From $550p/p Take in the myriad sights of Petra, including the historic Shobak Castle and soaring Mount Nebo, before retiring to the four-star surrounds of your hotel. This trip to Jordan takes in Amman as well (including overnight stays), the highlight of which has to be a one-and-a-half hour Bedouin jeep ride inside Wadi Rum – hold on to your seats...
MY PERFECT TRIP… Cornwall
Kate Kemp – owner of luxury Thai retreat Sarojin (sarojin.com) – reveals where she loves to holiday away from the balmy climes of Khao Lak…
Trebarwith Strand in Cornwall is my favourite break – it’s a great place for family holidays and feels like a complete getaway. The setting is completely away from the maddening crowds. It is also off the tourist route, has great coastal walks, views, beautiful beaches and surfing by sunrise. The Port William is my preferred place to stay: it’s an Old Cornish coastal inn and it’s set a short walk off the coastal path, 200 metres above Trebarwith Strand beach, on the cliff with fantastic sea and beach vistas – I could watch the view for hours and hours. Renting a private cottage is a great bet too. I’d recommend Trebarwith Strand; a small collection of old fisherman cottages that are wonderful to share with family and friends. Eating doesn’t get much better than a picnic on the cliffs near Tintagel Castle or a beach barbecue on Trebarwith Strand at low tide. I’d also really recommend the Rising Sun at Altarnun – a great gastro pub, or beverages by sunset at The Port William. I never go to Cornwall without packing walking shoes, a wet suit and surf board and a warm fleece. My one top tip is to check the tide times at Trebarwith. The beach is only useable low to mid tide; at high tide you would never know a beautiful beach existed there. If you do one thing, walk the stunning coastal paths from Tintagel to Trebarwith, stop off for a drink at Trebarwith on the cliff, and sup it to great views of the beach below. 8 March 2012 Kanoo World Traveller
ITALY
Grand Designs
There’s a new suite in Florence and it’s a beauty; KWT gets a sneak peek… Sat on the banks of Arno, the former Grand Hotel Florence has been revamped and reclaimed by the legendary St. Regis brand, and the jewel in its crown is surely the new Bottega Veneta suite. Step inside the building (once a 15th century nobleman’s palace, later an 1800s hotel and favoured haunt of Queen Victoria) and you’ll pass by handpainted Florentine landscapes and ageing antiques on the way to the 112 sq m suite. Inside, earthy tones resonate throughout, while a bedroom and two baths prove perfect spots in which to retire after a day’s sightseeing. Alternatively, you can take an elegant pew in the living/dining area and drink in the stellar city views. Elsewhere, eyes will linger by the design brand’s signature furniture, fabrics and accessories. The inspiration for such an elegant display being the city itself: “We were constantly inspired and exhilarated by the art and the history around us. That is an experience I’d like to share with guests who stay in the suite,” muses Bottega Veneta’s creative director Tomas Maier. “They should feel immersed in the unique character of Florence and inspired by being at the centre of the Italian Renaissance.” stregisflorence.com
CHECK IN | NEWS
LONDON
Is This the World’s Best Concierge?
To every luxury hotel a concierge is an invaluable asset. But who does it best? KWT unearths the industry’s top dog From a mundane delivery to the nigh impossible feat of bagging tickets for a sold-out show, the quality of your stay can lie in the pages of a concierge’s contact book. Whether you know it or not (and, done well, chances are you won’t have a clue), it’s this individual who is tasked with making guests’ stays the best they can be. Who, then, wears the concierge crown? Industry hype led us to the UK, where ‘London’s most important, respected and influential concierge’ resides – Colin Short, The Lanesborough’s head concierge. Having assumed the role of President of the Society of Golden Keys (a concierge society founded in 1952) for half a decade, such an honour was preceded by the Best Concierge Worldwide award from Virtuoso in 2008 and the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Golden Keys Concierge Awards 2010. Short, then, is most certainly in the running. “I have been at The Lanesborough for 18 years and before that at Stafford for 20 years”, he says – longevity he credits as part of his success: “Having been at The Lanesborough for this long allows me to have personal relationships with our guests and get to know their likes and preferences.” On his awards to date, he is humble (as a concierge
should no doubt be) “For Virtuoso, my competitors were from luxury properties around the world, so I felt honoured to receive the award...” And on that well-documented Lifetime Achievement Award: “That was through many years of hard work and tribulations of moving the Golden Keys to modern times,” he says. So, what tasks earn a concierge world-class acclaim? “I managed to board a guest on the QE2 once it had already departed; they unceremoniously boarded via a tug boat,” recalls Short. “My job is about discretion,” he adds, “and, in the past, this has also included keeping a Concorde on hold ensuring our guests did not miss their flight.” Is it this task-busting ability that will take a concierge to the top of his game? “I would say the art is making a big problem a small problem and adapting a ‘leave it to me’ attitude,” says Short. On top of that, he credits one must-have quality: “Always treat everyone with respect,” he says, “the waiter pouring your water today might be the restaurant manager in ten years.” And for those in pursuit of his wellpolished footsteps, he has one piece of advice: “Every Monday make it your task to find two new contacts for that week.” You heard it from the top. lanesborough.com March 2012 Kanoo World Traveller 11
CHECK IN | NEWS
GLOBAL
4 WAYS TO DO... SPRING BREAK Trade rowdy US teens for fine climes and city sights this March
UK
SURF’S UP
KWT chats sun, sand and solar power with Peter Cobbledick, the owner of Atlantic Surf Pods – an all-new holiday hotspot to hit the Cornish coast
1
Go vintage shopping in Paris Make a beeline for La Maison Champs Élysées (lamaisonchamps elysees.com) for its stylish Shopping Expedition package: the hotel (whose interiors are designed by fashion house Maison Martin Margiela) will celebrate the Parisian art de vivre by sending you to the antique market of St-Ouen, with interiors expert Riad Kneife in tow, after which you can shop til you drop at the department stores and boutiques of the Golden Triangle.
2
Take a train through Mallorca In early spring you can avoid the crowds at this holiday hotspot and instead make the most of its warm climes and colourful blooms. While Mallorca’s best known for its sandy beaches and mountainous backdrops, its best-kept secret has to be the casual-yet-chic town and port of Sóller – best reached by a vintage-style train which chugs its way along the north-west coast.
3
Behold Gucci galore in Florence The achingly-luxurious Il Salviatino (salviatino.com) launches its Gucci Experience package on March 1 to mark the fashion house’s 90th birthday: celebrations that will see you spend two nights in a sumptuous suite; perusing the new Gucci museum; devouring three Tuscan courses by Michelin-star chef Carmine Calò; basking in a one-hour massage at the villa’s spa and flicking through a tome of Gucci’s history (best read at a sun-dappled street café, espresso in hand).
What are the ‘surf pods’? There are seven in total, each of which is an ‘eco pod cabin’, designed to have the least impact on the surrounds. Each pod has a cave-like structure, with a curved roof and sides and they are extremely well-insulated – they can even warm up with the body heat of two people. There is an underfloor heating element, too, that can be driven by solar or wind power in the very cold months.
outside and you’ll find a deck, complete with a barbecue and big bean bags.
4
Where are they based? In Cornwall’s north coast on a peaceful 26-acre farm.
Who should stay there? It’s actually been fascinating to see the wide levels in society that enjoy the experience so far; from Lebanese to country folk, from young to old.
Stomp divots in Dubai Polo season is in full swing come March, when the finest riders (and glamorous spectators) flock to the emirate for the Dubai Polo Gold Cup. And at Desert Palm (desertpalm.ae), five new Polo Suites provide the perfect excuse – each one boasts floor-to-ceiling windows and al fresco terraces, prime spots from which to view a match in full swing.
What’s inside each of them? A king-size bed with cotton sheets, duvets, soft pillows, solar and LED lighting. Aside from that, you have a private wet room and WC (so it’s definitely ‘glamping’), hand basin, and fully-equipped kitchen area. Step
Why do they make for a unique break? They’re the first to be in a sheltered location, set back from the Cornish coast, but close enough for easy access to five beaches. A stay here will take you away from the usual hustle and bustle of life and on top of that it’s a break that’s eco-friendly, off the grid, and with a low carbon footprint.
What element of the pods surprise people most? That the pods’ cave-like feel touches something innately primordial in them. oneoffplaces.co.uk March 2012 Kanoo World Traveller 13
CHECK IN | NEWS
WHAT IN THE WORLD?
FROM THE WORLD’S RICHEST RACE DAY TO ROLLING CHEESE DOWN CHESHIRE HILLS, MARCH HAS THE MAKINGS OF AN EVENTFUL MONTH...
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1–4 VIENNA ICE DREAM sees Vienna’s Rathausplatz (City Hall Square) transformed into a huge, fairytale-worthy ice rink where families and pros don their skates before gliding over the ice while pop, rock and even salsa tunes blare out. A true winter treat.
2–21 MELBOURNE FOOD FESTIVAL turns the city in to a culinary hub with over 300 gourmet events that get visitors positively drooling. This year marks its 20th anniversary, which means 20 days of lip-smacking events, from Aussie barbecues to three-course banquets and tastings from top chefs too. 7-9 CHEESE ROLLING CHAMPIONSHIPS are an ongoing tradition in these dairy-filled parts, where hoards of fromage-loving locals gather to cheer on team Cheshire, who compete against their rivals Lancashire and Stilton. A charming (if not a little whiffy) celebration of Britain’s cheese-making.
15–18 TOBAGO INTERNATIONAL GAME FISHING TOURNAMENT has dedicated fishermen heading out to Tobago’s northern-east village (Charlotteville), where they raise their rods to try and catch the biggest blue and white marlin, yellowfin tuna, dolphin, sailfish or wahoo in the deep blue sea.
17 ST PATRICK’S DAY PARADE is at its biggest in the world in New York City where, despite being an ocean apart from Ireland, it draws some 150,000 marchers and over two million spectators each year. Head to Chicago, meanwhile, and you’ll see the Chicago River dyed green for the day.
31 DUBAI WORLD CUP 2012 is officially the richest horse race on the planet, worth an eyewidening $25.26 million. An ultra-glamorous audience of 60,000 fill the Meydan Racecourse to cheer the world’s finest thoroughbreds and nimble jockeys round the track.
March 2012 Kanoo World Traveller 15
CHECK IN | WHERE TO STAY
WHERE TO STAY...
MOSCOW
Thick with history, Moscow’s streets are teaming with sightseeing stop-offs, while grandiose hotels dripping in glamorous Muscovite style serve as stellar spots to retreat to when tiredness sets in. Which one tops your most-wanted list? START
Central
OR
Location
Red Square
OR
Style
Historic
Design
OR
The Ritz-Carlton, Moscow
Radisson Royal Moscow
ritzcarlton.com If you want to be on the cusp of the city’s finest sights, the Ritz-Carlton will place you at the edge of the famed Red Square, right by the Kremlin. In fact, rest tired feet in one of its polished suites (each one a show of dark cherry wood and marble-clad bathrooms) and you can spy such iconic sights from your window.
radisson.ru Set in one of Stalin’s star-topped Seven Sister buildings, stays here will cast you back to the neoclassical era. Its 650-feethigh exterior and gold-clad interior is sure to make your jaw drop, as will its myriad eateries (one set inside its spire) and walls clad with original paintings from the country’s most prominent 20th century artists.
Budget
Crowne Plaza Moscow World Trade Centre ichotelsgroup.com While it doesn’t scrimp on style (note the palm-dotted lobby and soaring atrium), rates here are wallet-friendly.
OR
Splurge
Modern grandeur
Ararat Park Hyatt Moscow
Hotel Baltschug Kempinski Moscow
moscow.park.hyatt.com Stays here not only place you a wander away from the Bolshoi Theatre and St Basil’s, but the hotel’s world-class lounge and its panoramic views.
kempinski.com The new Design Suites make for regal stays – try the Linley Suite, designed by Queen Elizabeth II’s nephew.
OR OR
Art Nouveau
Hotel Metropol metropol-moscow.ru Built in the 18th century, this historical bolthole is a vision of Art Nouveau style, the highlight of which has to be its huge stained-glass ceiling.
March 2012 Kanoo World Traveller 17
18 March 2012 Kanoo World Traveller
ESSENTIAL SELECTION | THE BEST ROOMS IN THE INDIAN OCEAN
PICTURE THIS
CRATER LAKE
Tongariro volcanic complex, New Zealand Nestled in stark, inhospitable surroundings, the emerald lakes of NZ’s North Island may look welcoming in comparison – but dip a toe at your peril. The rainwaterfilled craters, which have formed over thousands of years, owe their stark azure colour to minerals leached from surrounding rocks. The last eruption occurred back in 1975, but the landscape is far from tranquil: vents in the rocks belch out eggy, sulphurous fumes, so you’ll need a fair dose of determination – or a peg on your nose – if you want to get close. The 19km Tongariro Crossing hiking route takes in the lakes, as well as some spectacular volcanic peaks and rock formations. Image: Corbis / Arabian Eye
March 2012 Kanoo World Traveller 19
PICTURE THIS
AFRICAN BUFFALO Tsavo East National Park, Kenya
Spread over a mammoth 21,500 sq km, Tsavo is the largest national park in Kenya – which is just as well, because it’s got a vast population of Big Five beasts to squeeze in. Not least the sizeable African buffalo community, whose herds can top 1,000. Feeding and bathing time at a Tsavo waterhole is a sight to behold – a splashing riot of hooves and horns reveals these oftoverlooked bovines for the sprightly creatures they are, and makes for a thoroughly entertaining spectacle. Plan a visit during the dry season (May-October) for the best game viewing, and keep an eye out for rhino, giraffe, zebra and lions too – and if you’re feeling brave, take a trip to the glass underwater crocodile-viewing chamber in Tsavo West. Image: Corbis / Arabian Eye 20 March 2012 Kanoo World Traveller
ESSENTIAL SELECTION | THE BEST ROOMS IN THE INDIAN OCEAN
March 2012 Kanoo World Traveller 21
22 March 2012 Kanoo World Traveller
ESSENTIAL SELECTION | THE BEST ROOMS IN THE INDIAN OCEAN
PICTURE THIS
SPOTTED LAKE
Okanagan Region of British Columbia, Canada To the untrained eye, Spotted Lake might look like a bit of a quagmire, but this polka dot pool (set in Canada’s only desert) is actually a sacred site for British Columbia’s First Nations community. A cocktail of naturally-forming mineral salts give the lake its patchy surface; as the water evaporates in the desert heat pathways are revealed around the cats’ eyes pools. The lake’s ingredients, thought to have healing powers, include calcium, sodium and magnesium sulphate (also known as epsom salts), and colours range from yellow to blue according to the weather and season. Image: Corbis / Arabian Eye March 2012 Kanoo World Traveller 23
ESSENTIAL SELECTION | COURSE YOU WOULD
ESSENTIAL SELECTION
Course you would Laura Binder makes a swing for gorgeous golf resorts the world over, so you can tee off in style…
Adare Manor Hotel & Golf Resort, Ireland adaremanor.com Adare Manor delivers quintessential Irish charm on a colossal scale: while its setting is twee – in the pretty village of Adare – the property itself is a storybook castle set on 840 acres of grandiose land: land that’s not only ripe for golf, but fishing, horse-riding and brisk country walks. That’s if you can bear to trade the estate’s enviable creature comforts for the crisp Irish air. Each of its 62 bedrooms come decked in
rich fabrics, with some boasting fairytale-worthy four-poster beds. And if that isn’t enough to make you feel like the landed gentry, the cuisine certainly will: the wood-panelled Oakroom restaurant (where dining is by candlelight only) is our pick for heart-warming fare – the breast of local pheasant and braised red cabbage with chocolate jus is to-die-for. Hole in one: Put your handicap to the test at the world-class Adare’s Robert Trent Jones Sr. championship golf course, penetrated throughout by the glistening River Maigue. March 2012 Kanoo World Traveller 25
Fancourt, South Africa fancourt.com Few golf courses lay claim to a backdrop like Fancourt’s (pictured) – but then you are in the midst of South Africa’s Garden Route. Some 1,515 acres of gorgeous greens circle the hotel while, in the background, the majestic Outeniqua Mountains parade. It’s any wonder anyone gets any golfing done. Inside, the resort’s luxe lodgings are good enough to keep you holed up for days – ask about stays in the charming Manor at Fancourt, a bolthole that dates back to 1859. Outside the resort explore the Garden Route, where whale and dolphin-dotted shores provide viewing opportunities aplenty; the nearby Knysna Lagoon oyster farm, which serves up the finest shells for slurping; and myriad activities from horse-riding to kayaking. Hole in one: With no fewer than three golf courses (Outeniqua, Montagy and The Links), enthusiasts will feel like they’ve hit the jackpot: don’t leave without a round on the Gary Player-designed Links, considered South Africa’s finest.
26 March 2012 Kanoo World Traveller
Four Seasons Resort Provence at Terre Blanche, France fourseasons.com/provence The Old Course Hotel Golf Resort & Spa, Arrive here to picture-book Provence: Provençal gardens are laced with Scotland lilac-hued lavender, hillsides are thick with flowers (and peppered with oldcoursehotel.kohler.com the resort’s villas), and trees form a patchwork of vivid green. Enter the It’s nigh impossible to spotlight golf’s finest retreats property’s apricot façade and you’ll find South of France-style flung without including St Andrews – a centuries old town across suites in a show of crisp white linens, plus French doors that open that’s drawn royalty to its greens and golfing stars to on to spacious terraces – the perfect place to spy the pine and oakits bunkers. Few resorts epitomise the area’s legendary thick valley below. Non-golfers will love lounging on a cabana by the Scottish style than the Old Course Hotel – perched a resort’s flower-flanked pool, sampling local cheeses and truffles. Golfers ball’s throw from St Andrew’s Old Course (a course that meanwhile can sink their spikes in to two 18-hole, par-72 championship dates back 600 years, no less, and is tipped as the birth courses (Le Riou and Le Château) where rolling pea-green hills and place of the game itself). Stays here earn guests top tee valleys form the base for golf legend Dave Thomas’s design. times and preferred access to the hotel’s Duke Course, Hole in one: Perfect your swing at the resort’s one-of-a-kind Albatros where you’ll want to pause play to admire killer views Golf Performance Center and gain on-site expertise at the David over the links and out to sea. But if there’s one thing that Leadbetter Golf Academy. will have you marching off the historic greens, it’s the food: the hotel’s Road Hole restaurant serves locallysourced cuisine – don’t pass up the Craigtoun Estate rabbit with boulangere potatoes and carrot puree. Hole in one: With some serious golf to be had, you’ll be pleased for the hotel’s stellar spa – treat tired limbs to a session in the Deep Relaxation Room (it’s snoozeinducingly good) before a Golfer’s Massage.
ESSENTIAL SELECTION | COURSE YOU WOULD
Empire Hotel & Country Club, Brunei theempirehotel.com Could this be the glitziest country club on the planet? Arrive at the foot of a rainforest and at the core of an exotic, 445-acre estate and you’ll behold the palatial property, offset with bright gold pillars and soaring ceilings. As you might expect, the golf course is equally impressive: a floodlit 18-hole Jack Nicklaus-designed championship number, no less, which stares out across the South China Sea. Little wonder, then, that the Empire Hotel & Country Club has long drawn heads-of-state and royalty to its greens. If you’re keen to follow in their regal footsteps, check in to the Presidential Suite – with a private swimming pool, steam room and sauna, movie theatre and grand piano, there’s no grander spot to catch your breath after a round of golf. Hole in one: Get decked out in all the latest fashion at the hotel’s pro shop before practicing your swing at its driving range (26 covered bays and target greens of up to 200 metres), heading to the putting green, or teeing off from the 18-hole course.
March 2012 Kanoo World Traveller 27
Amanusa, Indonesia amanresorts.com/amunusa For a true golf getaway, the hilltop-bound Amanusa is hard to beat. Teetering on tropical green hills, amid fragrant foliage and before an inky-blue Indian Ocean, it’s a secluded spot that nonetheless places you in a prime position for a game of golf – peer out and you’ll see The Bali Golf and Country Club unfolding directly beneath you. When you’re not making for the greens, the resort’s bougainvillea-shaded pool is well worth a dip, though you’ll first have to drag yourself away from your stellar suite: opt for a Pool Suite for your own private pool or a Garden Suite for a private garden courtyard, outdoor shower and canopied day bed – the ideal place for a post-golf snooze. Hole in one: A stay here earns guests’ complimentary use of Bali’s three golf clubs – so prepare for varied rounds on The Bali Golf and Country Club, The Nirwana Bali Golf Club and The Bali Handara Country Club.
Marbella Club Hotel Golf Resort & Spa, Spain marbellaclub.com Once the private home of Prince Alfonso von Hohenlohe, the Marbella Club Hotel is now a beachfront resort that places sun-seekers at the heart of see-and-be-seen Marbella. Take your pick of its Andalusianstyle villas and you’ll be amid a bevy of glamorous guests who head here for its 320-days-a-year sun, sea and sand – not to mention the nearby yacht-heavy Puerto Banus. Meander through swaying palm trees (at times it feels more L.A. than Spain) to hang out at the hotel’s famous beach club, or take a detour to the Thalasso Spa, where an indoor sea water pool, hammams and bespoke treatments make it one of the best in Europe (its seashell facial is well worth a go). Hole in one: An 18-hole Dave Thomas-designed course awaits golfers here, complete with contoured fairways, uninterrupted greens, gorgeous water features and catch-your-breath vistas that extend all the way to Sierra and Gibralter. Should you feel like it, you can even swap clubs for stirrups at the private riding stables.
28 March 2012 Kanoo World Traveller
ESSENTIAL SELECTION | COURSE YOU WOULD
Four Seasons Resort Costa Rica fourseasons.com/costarica Tropical interior design, lush foliage and monkeys swinging by your suite are all standard features at the Four Seasons Costa Rica, where lodgings look akin to tree houses (the most luxurious kind, of course), interiors marry local lava rock with clay roofs, and terrace-set infinity pools allow you to drink-in your surrounds in five-star style. When it comes to the golf, its location on the Papagayo Peninsula means you’re in for a round like no other. Arnold Palmer is the pro behind the eighteen-hole course, where you’ll be limbering up amid green-ravaged cliff sides, sparkling ocean views and exotic rainforests – just don’t be surprised if a cheeky monkey or giant, meandering lizard tries to put you off your swing. Hole in one: The sixth hole is the course’s signature shot, from which you’ll need to make a 61-metre downhill tee shot. We’re game if you are.
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One&Only Palmilla , Mexico palmilla.oneandonlyresorts.com John Wayne, Ernest Hemingway and Jean Harlow have all flocked to this Mexican haunt – and its ability to seduce jetsetters hasn’t faltered since. Perched on a 33km cottonwhite stretch of the Los Cabos Corridor, it’s tricky to decide which glamorous feature enticed such stars first: the oh-so South American architecture (red tile roofs, whitewashed walls, gushing fountains) or the stellar eateries? Among said eateries is Jean-George Vongerichten’s Breeze and Agua, where you can whet your appetite on anything from ceviches and quesadillas to olive tapenade and sautéed foie gras. Then there’s just the question of how to best spend your spare time: on the par-72 golf course; aboard the resort’s private yacht or immersed in a treatment at its revered spa. Hole in one: Home to Mexico’s first Jack Nicklaus course, each of the 27 holes here brings with it a view of the azure ocean, while fairways snake their way through a rust-hued desert landscape. 30 March 2012 Kanoo World Traveller
ESSENTIAL SELECTION | COURSE YOU WOULD
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WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE | INDIA
Welcome to the jungle Sophie Lam goes on the trail of central India’s tigers…
Don’t be disappointed if you don’t see a tiger. It’ll still be wonderful.” I glanced up. My host’s words felt all the more poignant as I noticed an oil painting of a proud Nizam – a past sovereign of Hyderabad – with his right leg propped up on a freshly slaughtered tiger. As I prepared to leave the Taj Falaknuma Palace for the national parks of Madhya Pradesh, it was easy to be transported back to the era of the palace’s construction in the late 19th century. At the time India was home to as many as 100,000 tigers, and hunting was as much a fixture of a nobleman’s leisure pursuits as polo or vintage cars are today. Madhya Pradesh, which translates as ‘central province’, is the heart of India and also the core of tiger territory. But the big cats’ numbers have declined to such an extent that they stand at a pitiful 1,650. Hunting is, of course, now illegal; but that has driven the value of a dead tiger up to a staggering $25,000 (in the grisly global trade in endangered species, prices are quoted in American dollars). Poaching is starting to decline in Madhya Pradesh and tiger numbers are showing gentle signs of recovery. But no less a threat to their survival is posed by human encroachment into their natural habitat. In some parks, tourism has increased six-fold in as many years, while the surrounding landscape continues to be transformed by modernisation and urbanisation. It has brought their survival to a crisis point that last month pressed India’s Supreme Court to consider the petition of environmental activist Ajay Dubey to follow the example of other states and ban tourism inside the ‘core regions’ of Madhya Pradesh’s tiger reserves. March 2012 Kanoo World Traveller 33
Opening page: An Indian tiger. Opposite, clockwise from top left: Madhya Pradesh’s Man Singh Palace; Cenotaphs, Madhya Pradesh; Peacock; Local man wears a traditional turban; Tiger swimming in Madhya Pradesh; Safari jeep.
‘the sun peeled back a blanket of mist from the tall grass, picking out a pair of butterflylike ears’ I was travelling north to Pench and Kanha national parks, home to two of the state’s five reserves. But with those disturbing statistics and cautionary words ringing in my ears, the hope of seeing one of the majestic cats was fast diminishing. And anyway, first, there was some monkey business to negotiate – a troupe of silky grey langurs sitting in the road, picking seeds from potholes. Our car swerved around them, barely eliciting a look upwards as we wove through their picnic spot. Roadside signs reminded me that Madhya Pradesh is Jungle Book country. The associations are everywhere: Mowgli’s Den, Kipling’s Court and Baghira Huts flashed past the window, prompting me to wonder whether I’d see a Baloo (sloth bear) or a Bagheera (black Indian leopard) instead. Kaa (the python) I could do without, but as we pulled up at Baghvan, two lethal Russell’s vipers had just been collected from the undergrowth near one of the lodge’s huts to be released outside the gates. Despite the fact that Rudyard Kipling had never visited Madyha Pradesh, it is widely thought that he set The Jungle Book collection in the district of Seoni, on the outskirts of what is now Pench National Park. The word ‘jungle’ originates from the Sanskrit word jangala, meaning ‘uncultivated land’. Baghvan is no less evocative, taking the local word for tiger, bagh, and forest, van, to form its name. However, Shere Khan would have to wait, since my jungle immersion was to begin with a gentle drive in the lodge’s open-top 4x4 to Lake Koka with one of Baghvan’s naturalist guides, Yusef. It was rush hour – a succession of cows and goats were being guided along the dusty, narrow roads by their turbaned herders. The paddy fields were parched: the briefest of summer monsoon 34 March 2012 Kanoo World Traveller
seasons quench this part of central India. We passed haystacks in the shape of space ships, girls filling jugs at a water pump, and villages full of children who paused their games to bid us “bye-bye”. Dusk drew a soft, speckled cloak over the sky as we arrived at the lake, prompting fruit bats to descend from the trees and a flock of egrets to swoop off from the lake. We stood by the water’s edge with cups of hot tea and tiffin of spiced, crunchy chickpeas, listening to the sounds of day turn to night. As we drove back in the inky darkness, small fires illuminated families as they cooked outside their homes. Back at Baghvan, dinner was being cooked on a charcoal grill, the poolside dining table lit by paraffin lamps and a canopy of dazzling stars twinkling through the trees. Buttery soft tandoori chicken, and freshwater fish with daal and paratha, soon left me satisfyingly tired. Which was exactly the intention, said Yusef. To get to know the jungle properly, he told me, I had to spend a night in it. My room was arranged like a palatial treehouse overlooking a semidry river, with a double bed set up on a deck. Another bedroom with four solid walls and a roof offered sanctuary below, but fortified by food, I reckoned I could handle a night outside. A mosquito net and curtains provided a degree of privacy, but the howl of wild dogs, the scuttling of squirrels and an anonymous but unremitting chirruping ensured that I spent quite a long time getting accustomed to the night sounds of the jungle. When the alarm rang at 5am – I’m sure moments after I had fallen asleep – it was time to venture into the jungle proper. Hot-water bottles and blankets combated the morning chill as we joined the queue that had formed outside the park gates. Taking its name from the river that divides it in two, half of Pench National Park is designated the ‘core area’ and tiger reserve; an even
WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE | INDIA
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WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE | INDIA
smaller proportion is open to tourism. Entry is restricted to a few hours in the early morning and late afternoon, and the driver of each vehicle is handed a specific itinerary by the park officials. Off we went. The landscape is formed from open deciduous forest, the sparseness of undergrowth reputedly making tiger spotting more promising. Fingers of pale golden sunlight grasped through the teak and frankincense trees and a sweet, dusty scent permeated the cool air. A rustle. My heart began to beat faster as I scanned the trees for a flash of copper and black stripes. Instead, there were white speckles and the benevolent faces of two chital, or spotted deer, who were munching on the grass. We continued deeper into the jungle, stopping as Yusef pointed out cranes and peacocks drinking from the edge of a lake and pausing at junctions to look for tracks. Tigers, he told me, don’t like to get wet and will follow the roads to avoid dampening their paws in the dewdraped undergrowth. We listened for distress calls, but Pench seemed to be chirping away quite contentedly. A cascade of smooth rocks disappearing into the trees designated leopard territory. These shy and elegant cats are said to outnumber tigers in Pench, but are also notoriously elusive. At one river crossing, a large troupe of langurs was disturbed by a pair of jackals trotting through the long grass, sending the monkeys scampering skywards. Just as the heat of the rising sun started to become tangible and sent me into a fresh stupor, Yusef slammed on the brakes. A fresh female tiger paw print. The hunt was on. We spent the next hour following her tracks and listening for warning calls; as news got out, a trail of cars formed behind us. It suddenly felt rather intrusive. Yusef, however, was sensitive to the tigress’s evident desire for privacy and sensibly abandoned the search. Sensing my disappointment, he diverted my attention to a tiny owlet in a tree hollow, elegant swordtail butterflies and the spectral spectacle of a ghost tree, its bark hanging off like scabs, revealing a pale white trunk underneath. If I hadn’t had the privilege of meeting a tiger in Pench, my next destination, Kanha, looked even less promising. My camp here was Banjaar Tola, where the vast and luxurious tents are separated from the park and tiger reserve only by the emerald flow of the Banjaar river. During the monsoon, tigers – and plenty more wildlife – venture March 2012 Kanoo World Traveller 37
Taj Falaknuma Palace Previous page; Taj Falaknuma Palace. Opposite, clockwise from top: Rupmati’s pavilion; Taj Falaknuma Palace’s interiors; Madhya Pradesh Khajuraho dancers.
down to drink from the water. However, the forest is denser than in Pench and the monsoon had caused the foliage to flourish, offering ample camouflage to reticent animals. Meanwhile, Banjaar Tola’s manager, Gil, is also passionately involved in a project to reintroduce cheetahs to northern Madhya Pradesh. Asiatic cheetahs had been hunted to extinction here by the 1950s – the first stages of the project meant that first the natural habitat had to be revitalised, then prey animals introduced and habituated. Once detailed surveys have been completed, it is expected that cheetahs will form part of the landscape in two of the state’s wildlife reserves. If successful, the project could prove that careful and sensitive management of the region’s wildlife will triumph over locking it away out of sight. Gil emphasised the point, explaining that if the parks are not managed by tourism then the opportunity for illegal poaching increases massively. What Kanha lacks in tiger-spotting potential, it makes up for in mesmerising beauty. Nudging up into a tangerine sky, the sun peeled back a blanket of mist from the tall grass, picking out a pair of butterfly-like ears poking out of the top. Edging closer it was just possible to make out a swamp deer wading down into a lake. The mist rose like steam, revealing tiny whistling ducks on the water’s surface. Grassy meadows gave way again to forest, where the low whooping of the langurs was kept in time by the metronome beat of the coppersmith barbet. Sal trees and bamboo surrounded us as my guide, DK, pointed out a hoopoe pecking about on the path before it took off, revealing a magnificent display of black and white wings. The foliage put on a decorative display too, splashed with pink wild cosmos flowers, while pyramid spider’s webs of staggering size and complexity put paid to any notion of venturing into the trees. I was starting to get into the gentle rhythm of Kanha’s splendours. A timid Indian muntjac deer scampered across the path, sending an electric blue flash into the air – an Indian roller, which landed on a branch above, displaying its bright pink belly. Then all of a sudden, we were stymied by a gargantuan, slow-moving road-block. Happily, this bristly-headed and rather endearing obstruction had just tracked down a tiger, and so I heaved myself up onto its back where I sat on a small platform as its mahout guided us into the trees. The elephant ploughed through effortlessly, taking down saplings 38 March 2012 Kanoo World Traveller
and shrubs as if they were single blades of grass, but leaving the boughs above her head making straight for mine. Then her mahout mumbled something and she stopped. He pointed down to the forest floor. At first all I could see were some bushes, but then a pair of eyes flashed at me. Barely four metres in front of us was a sleepy tigress – and we had just disturbed her morning nap. She opened one eye to look up, hardly seeming bothered by our presence, then slowly eased herself up to reveal the beauty of her form. The jungle seemed to fall silent for that moment as we studied each other, but then the elephant decided that it was time to move and, just as quickly as we had arrived, we were doing a three-point turn and making our way back to the road. This was one of the park’s female tigers, DK explained. There are around 60 here and she was the mother of several cubs. No two cats’ stripes are the same and a trained naturalist can easily identify one from another. It was an awe-inspiring moment, however brief, and I immediately understood why visitors to Madhya Pradesh are hell-bent on seeing a tiger in the wild. As we left the park, I asked DK what he made of the impending ruling of the Supreme Court. Could it actually be a good thing if tigers weren’t disturbed by convoys of 4x4s, day in, day out? “Imagine a beautiful palace,” he said. “If you decide to lock its doors with only guards outside to prevent people from entering, can you guarantee that all the splendours inside will remain the same when you unlock it 10 years later?” It’s a big risk, and one that I hope will be given lengthy and careful consideration.
WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE | INDIA
Images: Photolibrary, Supplied Text: Sophie Lam / The Independent / The Interview People
‘...it was easy to be transported back to the era of the palace’s construction... At the time India was home to as many as 100,000 tigers’
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KEEPING UP WITH THE DOGES A new boat trip in Venice rekindles the stately opulence of the old city republic, finds Raymond Whitaker – if only briefly…
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tanding on the upper deck of La Bella Vita as we cruised across the lagoon to Venice, the morning sun picking out the campanile of St Mark’s, I felt for just a moment like one of the Doges of the old Venetian Republic who would take to the water in ceremonial barges of legendary magnificence. I, too, was in a barge, but the deck beneath my feet was steel, not wood, and we were propelled by an unromantic diesel engine instead of 168 rowers. La Bella Vita had a humble previous life carrying sand up and down the River Po until it was converted last year into a hotel boat with 10 cabins. But no Doge could have had an entourage as attentive as our captain, Diego, and his crew, who outnumbered the passengers. Five nights earlier, having been told for some unfathomable reason to rendezvous at a cavernous conference hotel in Mestre, Venice’s ugly mainland neighbour, we met our fellow voyagers, six old friends from Alabama who were bemused and curious to find an English couple in their midst. “Y’all are our entertainment,” one told us – a sentiment which became mutual, though their devout Republicanism and fondness for a magazine called Garden & Gun told us there were some topics best left alone. La Bella Vita was waiting for us down the autostrada in Mantua. Each week the vessel cruises the Canale
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Bianco, parallel to the Po, between Mantua and Venice, undertaking the reverse journey the following week. I decided our direction was better, not least because our voyage ended with a stately arrival in Venice rather than an anticlimactic minibus transfer. Arriving on Sunday afternoon in Mantua for a Monday morning departure, our only chance to see the interior of the vast Palazzo Ducale would have been if we had put down our bags and rushed straight off, but the temptation of a welcoming glass of sparkling grape proved too much. (Starting in Venice, though, we would have had the same problem with the Doge’s palace.) But we found time at least to cycle past the looming walls of the palace, the setting for Verdi’s Rigoletto, as the moon rose. Next day, we began life on the water. The Canale Bianco runs between the Po and Adige rivers, through a region known as the Polesine, much of which is a national park. Flat, fertile, and full of birdlife, it seems curtained off from the busy life of the north Italian plain. One reason is that the canal no longer plays any economic role: though the locks we passed through could accommodate far bigger vessels, we did not meet a single other boat of any size. Instead, we chugged between reed banks, with only egrets, swans and doves for company. With all food and drink included, it was easy to drift in
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Opening page; Gondoliers on Guidecca Canal. This page, clockwise from top: Bicycle in Venice; Fishing Boats outside the market on Riva Vena canal; Fish market; Swan on canal; Venetian canal.
a semi-trance between the top deck, and, when the early autumn sun became too hot, the air-conditioned saloon, or take a siesta below in the compact but well-equipped cabins, also air-conditioned. (The boat has two larger suites on the main deck.) It would not be long before Maria, our chef, was producing more miracles of Italian regional cuisine from her galley somewhere in the depths of the vessel, and Aurelio, our steward, Jeeves-like in his discreet attention to detail, was standing by with more examples of the best Italian tipples. To avoid being pampered into complete torpor, we needed our excursions to historic Ferrara, to the Bagnoli estate at Bagnoli di Sopra, where we tasted an extraordinary range of beverages made with the local Friularo grape, and Ca’Zen, a genteelly decaying example of the mainland villas once built by rich Venetians (an errant wife was banished here for dallying with Lord Byron). By the time we reached the fish market at Chioggia, at the southern end of the Venetian lagoon – where the Alabamans were dismayed to see squid still immersed in its own ink, having never learnt where calamari came from – we felt like we had been embraced into an Italian family, albeit an occasionally over-protective one. When we took to the barge’s bicycles to ride the length of Pellestrina, one of the pencil-shaped islands that shelters the Venetian lagoon, there was a fuss because we did not all take the same route. And then Venice, where our mooring was held up by a delivery boat. We watched in admiration as the pilot, using a miniature crane, unloaded pallets of provisions from his wildly-lurching craft as coolly as if he had been on dry land. Much of the turbulence was caused by cliffsized cruise ships sliding by to disgorge day-trippers in their thousands, engulfing the city and, we were told, increasingly driving out local people. Yet the magic of Venice survives: as we gazed at a small choir practising for a wedding, singing Mozart’s Laudate Dominum to perfection in the late afternoon glow. Parting from our shipmates after our final night on board, a thought occurred to me. If I were Doge of Venice, I would ban any vessel bigger than La Bella Vita from calling there. Unfair? Certainly, but at least everyone who made it would experience, as I had, some of the luxury for which the city has always been famed. 42 March 2012 Kanoo World Traveller
‘By the time we reached the fish market at Chioggia... we felt like we had been embraced into an Italian family’
Images: Corbis /Arabian Eye; Photolibrary. Text: Raymond Whitaker/ The Independent / The Interview People.
VENICE | ITALY
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White White
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WHITE MAGIC | BOLIVIA
Magic Bolivia’s Salar de Uyuni is the world’s largest salt flat, a landscape so dazzlingly bright, you’ve got to wear shades. Graeme Green gets an eyeful…
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Opening page: Salar de Uyuni salt formations at sunrise. This page: Cacti at night with star trails. Opposite page clockwise from top left: Flamingo at the Altiplano; White conical mounds of salt reflect the clear water on Salar de Uyuni; Aymara Man With Llamas. Next page: Uyuni to Calama railway.
I
plunged my arm down into the icy water. “Muy grande,” said Raul, the 4x4 driver, describing the size of what I would find down in the hole. I searched around with my hand until I found a large cluster of crystals hanging on an underwater shelf, then broke it off and pulled it out. “Bonito!” said Raul. It really was beautiful: a fist-sized collection of sparkling white crystallised salt, perfectly-formed cubes that looked smooth and man-made, more like a small modern abstract sculpture than a work of nature. They’re quite common beneath the surface of Bolivia’s salt flats, found in holes known as ‘salt eyes’ formed when the salt expands and contracts with daily changes in temperature. I asked if the authorities minded people taking souvenirs. “No one minds at all,” said Javier, my guide. “There are 10 billion tons of salt in the Salar de Uyuni. No one will miss it.” Bolivia’s Salar de Uyuni, the world’s largest salt flat, is a unique area: strange, beautiful and immense; a brilliant white landscape that is half the size of Wales. Until recently, it was also difficult and time consuming to get to, requiring either the use of a private vehicle for the eight-hour drive from the tourist hub of La Paz, or a combination of bus and train taking more than 12 hours. Now it’s possible to fly to Uyuni from La Paz in one hour. But despite the country’s President Evo Morales inaugurating Uyuni’s new airport in July last year, many local and international operators aren’t aware that the new flight is available. I looked out of the window of the compact 18-seater plane as we arrived over Uyuni. Beyond the city limits, I could see the shift from scrubland to the bright white where the salar, the salt flats, began. They continued beyond the horizon. “The thing about Uyuni,” said Javier, who met me at the airport with driver Raul, “is that there’s no place like it in the world.” At 3,656m the air is as pure as the perfect white landscape. There’s a popular local story that after a new cemetery was built in Uyuni, not one of the town’s inhabitants of 15,000 died for a whole year, because the dry cold air makes it hard for contagious diseases to spread. Eventually, according to the tale, the town had to ‘borrow’ a corpse from nearby Pulacayo to break ground at the cemetery. The dazzling landscape does come with a health warning, though. 46 March 2012 Kanoo World Traveller
“I advise that from now on you wear your sunglasses,” said Javier as our 4x4 reached the shores of the salar. People have been known to experience headaches, sun blindness and other problems due to the brightness. Raul drove past men with shovels loading piles of salt into trucks. There are no roads across the salt, just faint tracks from other tourist vehicles. Local drivers navigate using markers such as the Tunupa volcano and other surrounding peaks. “If the driver isn’t from these parts, it’s very easy to get lost,” said Javier. We travelled to the popular island of Incahuasi and walked around the cacti-covered dot of land to the shrine to Pacha Mama (Earth Mother) at the summit. Fish Island, a quick drive across the salt, was entirely tourist-free. I climbed fossilised coral cliffs to look over the vast landscape. I held still: absolute silence. A lone vicuña (like a small llama) ran alongside us as we arrived at the village of Jirira. Large tents set up on the shore were to be our home for the night. It was a memorable spot to camp, with the salt flats directly ahead, llamas wandering on the slopes, flamingos grazing on the beach and the ragged crater of dormant Tunupa behind us. After a sunset that turned the sky pink and mauve, we settled in. This is a harsh high-altitude environment, intensely cold at night, but the tents were up to the task. Not only did we eat several dinner courses at proper tables and chairs in the kitchen tent, but then someone announced the excellent idea of hooking up electric blankets to a generator. After checking out the brilliantly clear night sky, the electric blankets, combined with thick layers of duvets, thermals and five layers of clothing, ensured a comfortable night’s sleep. The standard way to explore here is on a 4x4 tour, but I had something more exciting lined up. I met Robin, a Dagenham-born Bolivian, in Uyuni who kitted me out to ride a 650cc motorbike (a yellow and black Suzuki DR650) across the salar. As well as helmet, boots and jacket, sunglasses were again vital. The feeling as the great bright white and blue of the salar opened out in front of us was extraordinary. Shallow surface water close to the shore perfectly mirrored the sky as the bike purred along. Because the landscape looked like ice and snow, it took a while to accept the
WHITE MAGIC | BOLIVIA
‘The feeling as the great bright white and blue of the salar opened out in front of us was extraordinary’
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bike wasn’t going to slip and slide. In fact, the salt terrain is quite grippy: hard and solid, like concrete. We zig-zagged across the open plains, throttle open, with no other vehicles in sight. Even through sunglasses, the colours were vivid, the white and blue landscape so crisp and fresh it felt like we were riding through a toothpaste advert. The ground ahead sparkled in the sun. “Here, you get the experience of the vast openness,” said Robin over lunch on Incahuasi island, about an hour from the Chilean border. “It’s easy riding but spectacular riding.” Robin and I gave each other lots of space in the afternoon. At times, he was just a black speck on the horizon; other times, we looped around and crossed each other’s tracks. Later, we left the salt and rode a sandy road along the shore to the ‘train cemetery’ outside Uyuni, arriving as the sun was setting behind silhouettes of hulking engines and carriages abandoned to rust and graffiti after the collapse of the mining industry here in the 1940s. According to Robin, this area was the birthplace of football in South America. British engineers came here in the late 1800s to help build Bolivia’s trains and railways, bringing the game with them.
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I stayed overnight in the Luna Salada Hotel on a hilltop close to the flats. The hotel is made entirely from salt but, like the tents, is not without creature comforts – including gas fires to combat the chill. The walls are made from big bricks of salt with creamy white layers and brown mud layers, like big portions of tiramisu. The beds, chairs, tables and other furniture are carved from salt, and the floors are a gravelly sodium chloride. The view contains salt, too: from the dining hall window, I looked out over llama-covered slopes leading down to the salar which stretched out to the horizon. To the north lay the dramatic crater of Tunupa. The next morning, I drove north-east, stopping at the abandoned mining town of Pulacayo to see the last train robbed by Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid before the Bolivian army tracked them down and killed them. Beyond it, via some grand mountain scenery, was Potosí, the highest city in the world, where I stayed overnight. The city has a tragic past. It is known as Cerro Rico (Rich Hill) for its large deposits of silver and other valuable metals. An estimated nine million workers died here during the intense mining projects of the Spanish colonisers.
WHITE MAGIC | BOLIVIA
Images: Corbis / Arabian Eye; Photolibrary; Shutterstock Text: Graeme Green / The Independent / The Interview People
‘the white and blue landscape was so crisp and fresh it felt like we were riding through a toothpaste advert’ Sucre, just a few hours’ drive away, is the opposite of Potosí’s narrow, occasionally gloomy streets. Here, everything is wide open and airy; the buildings stand bright and shining. Though La Paz is home to the government, Sucre remains the official capital of Bolivia. “There’s still anger,” Pedro, my local guide, told me as we sat on the central Plaza 25 de Mayo. “The people in Sucre say all the time this is the capital.” Although Sucre lost the administration in 1899, there were violent protests to bring back the government as recently as 2007. Otherwise, this is the most peaceful city in Bolivia, a Unesco World Heritage site of white colonial buildings. The Declaration of Independence was signed here back in 1825, and I visited Liberty
House on the plaza to see a copy of it (the original is held in a local bank’s vault). Then I explored Sucre on foot. One of the capital’s former names was La Ciudad Blanca (White City). Every building in the centre continues to be white-washed each year by government decree. I walked up to San Felipe de Neri Convent for the peaceful rooftop viewpoint and from there looked out over terracotta roofs and a sea of gleaming white houses, shops, museums and towers – the dazzling sunlight bouncing in all directions off shining surfaces. Here, as on the salt flats, sunglasses are less a fashion item than a piece of safety equipment. In this part of the world, it’s hard not to be dazzled.
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AN OCEAN OF POSSIBILITIES | TAHITI
An Ocean of Possibilities Lush landscapes, warm waters and a party on every beach – the South Pacific islands of Tahiti have it all...
W
hen my breath had slowed to a pant and my heart ceased racing, I wiped the sweat from my brow and looked out on an incredible sight. One thousand metres below, in a sea of mottled greens and coral lagoon blues, spread the island of Moorea. Further out, I could see other small French Polynesian isles popping out of the Pacific. I had reached the highest point of the saddle between Moorea’s peaks of Tohiea and Mouaroa after a three-hour ‘pineapple raid’ – the local term for a mountain hike. The journey had started at what was definitively sea level: the white beach directly in front of the small family pension called Fare Edith where I was staying. A hike up to Le Belvedere led to a narrow trail over rich black soil, passing beside pineapple fields, through thick rainforest and onwards, up to my new, exalted position. French Polynesia is one of those tropical island destinations, in an exclusive alphabet that starts with Antigua and ends with Zanzibar, that British travellers seem to find particularly seductive – even though the costs of getting there and staying there can be astronomical. However, it is possible to visit Moorea and its neighbouring island of Tahiti without spending a fortune: lodging in local pensions is a good option and is likely to open doors to a culture and people that package holidays often neglect. March 2012 Kanoo World Traveller 51
‘A hike up to Le Belvedere led to a narrow trail over rich black soil, passing beside pineapple fields, through thick rainforest’
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AN OCEAN OF POSSIBILITIES | TAHITI
Opening page: Moorea Island. This page, clockwise from left: Tropical fruit and coconut on palm leaf; Ukelele player; Palm trees and hammock; Moorea Island sunset; Mount Mouaroa.
Fare Edith wasn’t the cheapest on offer, but here a four-person air-conditioned bungalow with kitchen costs just £100 a night. Edith and her family took me in as one of their own – and the incredible surfing, diving and trekking made my stay all the more rewarding. The Society Islands lie deep in the Southern Pacific Ocean, a cluster of extinct volcanoes lying about halfway between Australia and South America. This remoteness adds to the archipelago’s allure, but the primary attraction lies in their beauty: warm blue waters contrasting with lush tropical landscapes. Honeymooners come here, as do the ridiculously rich. I was neither, but am a keen surfer, diver and walker, and the Society Islands offer some of the most idyllic venues for all of these sports. I divided my time between three atolls: Tahiti, Huahine and Moorea. After a few days on Moorea, I slipped effortlessly into Tahitian time, which entails following the lead of locals and spending hours on the very basics of life. Luckily in this part of the world, the bare necessities alone can make you very, very contented indeed. After my pineapple raid and a much-needed swim, I was joined for dinner by my guide, Joel Hart. “I’m oneeighth German, one-eighth English, a quarter French, and half Tahitian,” h e said. “My grandfather was an English aristocrat who was the first European to settle the Marquesas Islands, while my father became a successful property holder. I was his 16th child, at age 72, with his third wife.” Joel’s family history is linked to that of French Polynesia as a whole. The islands have been populated by local Polynesians since about 300AD, but the spread of French Catholic missionaries in the early 19th century, and France’s wish to protect them, saw it named first as a protectorate in 1842 and a colony half a century later. For Tahitians such as Joel, a Polynesian heritage and way of life has mingled with 200 years of French rule to produce a unique cultural blend. “It’s sometimes difficult to pinpoint who we are,” said Joel. “We rely on the French government for economic survival and we’ve absorbed the French education and bureaucratic systems. And yet the Polynesian aspect of our heritage is fiercely independent.” Joel recommended I visit Pineapple Beach, a beautiful white stretch of sand with its own bar-restaurant just metres from a coral lagoon. My arrival coincided with the bar owner hosting an ahima’a, a Tahitian feast where meat, fresh fish, chicken and local fruit and vegetables are placed in a large underground oven – in effect, a hole in
the ground filled with hot coals – and cooked slowly for about eight hours. Soon, I was among the tattooed locals and happy tourists indulging in cocktails and slow-roasted meat. One local, Michel Bourez, informed me that his tattoos (which covered about a third of his substantial muscular body) were a link to when all Polynesians wore them: “Back then they signified your place in the tribe hierarchy, but these days, after being banned by the missionaries for hundreds of years, they’ve come back into fashion as a way of expressing our identity and island heritage.” A dance troupe provided the entertainment, with 12 beautiful local women performing dances that I was told were designed to (a) welcome visitors and (b) challenge an enemy. Whatever the intention, the dances were a compelling mix of power and rhythm. Just 50 metres from the beach, the snorkelling and diving was first class, with an underwater rope trail guiding swimmers around the shallow coral lagoon. Twice a day, a local guide stands in the lagoon and feeds about a dozen manta rays as you watch. Later, I shared a drink with two Australian surfers who raved about the cheap surf hostel up the road called Mark’s Place, where the primary forms of transport on offer were hired bicycles and a kayak. Meanwhile, Angela and Tristan, a couple in their late twenties from Ireland, had taken the Tahiti budget living lifestyle to a whole new level. They had a pitch at Nelson Camping, a cabin and campsite based on (another) pretty white coral protected beach a few kilometres away near the town of Haapiti. “As it was a fairly expensive flight, we thought we’d save on accommodation and put some of our money into the diving expedition and activities,” Angela said. “It’s 1,400 French Pacific francs [$15] a night to camp – and in a place like this, you want to be outdoors and in the ocean anyway.” A 30-minute plane ride took me to the more northerly island of Huahine, one of the least developed islands in French Polynesia. It’s rarely visited by the honeymoon set, and the lack of resorts with the $950-a-night glassbottomed huts means it has a raw, untouched feel to it. Here I stayed in Fare Maeva, another family-run pension perched on a secluded white sandy beach and coralflecked lagoon. The accommodation consisted of rows of cabins, with a double bed in one room and some lounge furniture, a TV, fridge and basic kitchen in the other. Fare Maeva is by no means luxurious, but it’s certainly comfortable, especially since as it has its own ocean-front pool which is within splashing distance of the Pacific.
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This page: Local Polynesian dancers. Next page: Bora Bora Pearl Beach Resort & Spa.
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AN OCEAN OF POSSIBILITIES | TAHITI
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ceremonial stone placed at the centre of the marae. Then I was ready for the flight back to Papeete, the capital of Tahiti herself. I have to confess to a measure of disappointment about Papeete. There is an early morning market (Le Marche), which has good fish, vegetables and local crafts for sale, but the town itself is just a small, grubby port. Rather than stay for too long, I rented a car and drove towards the town of Teahupoo, pronounced Cho-poo, and meaning ‘the end of the road’, which is exactly where it is, about 100km from Papeete. For centuries Teahupoo was a traditional fishing town, far removed from the Tahiti tourist brochures. However, once it was found to boast one of the best – and most dangerous – surfing waves in the world, it was thrust into the surfing limelight. The Billabong Pro is held here every May, which means this small village is now swamped with aspiring surfers. This jamboree has created a window of opportunity for anyone owning a bed in the area; a host of pensions and homestays now operate in the village. “It’s nice to meet people from other places,” said Papa Teva, the owner of Vaiani Pension, where I stayed. “And the surfers and visitors are usually very friendly. We treat them like family and open our home.” Papa Teva’s house is perched on the water’s edge; visitors can feed fish and rays from their bungalow balcony. It’s cheap, too: an impressive €65 a night with breakfast and dinner included. And if surfing isn’t your thing, there are amazing hikes up to the waterfalls in the nearby hills. These are covered in a lush jungle canopy, though regular tracks by locals and visiting hikers have left obvious thoroughfares. It’s also possible to hire a fisherman’s boat for the day, or rent a canoe, or go horse riding in the stunning jungle and beaches further to the south. My last day in Teahupoo summed up French Polynesia perfectly. Papa Teva invited me out for an afternoon’s fishing, and after three hours we returned with some big tuna and mahi mahi. I helped Mama Teva clean and fillet the fish, then retired to the balcony to catch the epic sunset with a cold Hinano drink. When that natural wonder burned itself out, I sat down with Papa and his family for our self-made feast. There were no waiters, no white tablecloths, and no fancy beverages. But we were eating a fantastic meal in one of the most beautiful places on earth, with local people that had welcomed me into their home. In that moment, I felt as though I had found the real Tahiti.
Images: Corbis / Arabian Eye; Photolibrary; Shutterstock Text: Ben Mondy / The Independent / The Interview People
It was also just a 10-minute bike ride from the island’s main town of Fare, a slightly grubby but still exotic port serving the large harbour. Fare has local art and craft shops, surf and kayak hire, internet cafés and cheap bar/ restaurants. It also provides a cheap base from which to explore the island. I took the €75 island boat tour offered by Huahine Nautique, a boat operator located on the harbour’s edge on the outskirts of Fare. Huahine is so tiny that my all-day excursion circumnavigated the whole place. There was enough time to take in an incredible snorkel in Maroe Bay (a gentle current propels divers through schools of sparkling reef fish and bulbous coral heads while the boat tags along behind); a trip to a natural pearl farm; a look at the island’s marae, an ancient ceremonial ruin that once served as an open-air sanctuary; and, finally, to Huahine’s natural aquarium. This is an offshore coral garden where local guides feed fish every afternoon. I held on to a rope attached to the shallow reef and found myself among a feeding frenzy of rays, tropical fish and – rather terrifyingly – some thrashing reef sharks. The highlight, though, was lunch. My boat driver Barca pulled into a pristine beach on a motu (an outlying sand island) that came complete with picnic tables secured in the water. In minutes he had filleted some white tuna, washed it in the sea, then marinated it with fresh lime and sea salt. He added coconut milk by passing freshly hacked coconut through a muslin sieve, then came some chopped tomato, cucumber and red onion. As a final flourish, cold drinks were produced and Barca accompanied my meal by twanging and twinkling expertly on his ukulele and singing traditional Polynesian songs. I ate it all with my feet dangling in the warm ocean – and it was easily the most enjoyable lunch I have ever had. After lunch, I went for a walk around the motu. Two bays later I stumbled upon a local group of 20 or so women and children sitting in the water and shucking enormous fleshy clams that were being delivered in boatloads by the burly Tahitian males. I sat down with the villagers and, despite my atrocious French and nonexistent Tahitian, offered my services. I then spent an hour shucking the sweet clams into a big bucket, while they worked and gossiped, generally just having another routine day in paradise. The next few days were spent exploring the island by land, first by Le Truck (the local bus) and then by moped. It was a chance to check out the remaining beaches and take a closer look at the thousand-year-old Ahu, the
AN OCEAN OF POSSIBILITIES | TAHITI
‘French Polynesia is one of those tropical island destinations, in an exclusive alphabet that starts with Antigua and ends with Zanzibar’
March 2012 Kanoo World Traveller 57
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THE GOOD LIFE | HUNGARY
The Good Life Mike Unwin and family venture to quintessential rural Hungary, where nature is tempered by life’s finer things‌
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Opening page: Hortobßgy National Park. This page, clockwise from left: Eger Castle; Japan Travel Bureau train; A water feature in Stoeckl, the historic old town of Cheb, Eger; Eger seen from Eger Castle.
‘
This place is like heaven for Hungarians,” says our guide Gabor Torocsik, as our railway carriage trundles up the narrow-gauge line into the hills above Szilvasvarad. “To us, the hills are something magic.” The forested slopes would not strike the average mountain-dweller as anything extraordinary. But all things are relative, and it seems that Hungarians – whose landscapes tend towards the pancake-flat – go mad for their hills. Certainly the Bukk National Park, near Miskolc in north-east Hungary, is a lovely day out. We hop off at the end of the line and stroll down the trail through stands of oak and beech, waterfalls and trout ponds glinting through the green. I detect a certain nostalgia in this yearning for the uplands. On an ancient map at park HQ, Gabor traces for us the great expanse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, before the 1920 Treaty of Trianon gave away 72 per cent of Hungary to the neighbours. “You saw those hills as we drove in?” He gestures beyond the forests towards the border with Slovakia. “All that used to be Hungary.” Eger’s impressive castle is a monument to past glories: it was behind these walls in 1552 that some 2,000 gallant townspeople held out against an 80,000-strong Ottoman army. Gabor explains how the ramparts are now an important symbol of national pride. My daughter is not overly concerned about the slings and arrows of Hungary’s historical fortunes. To any Harry Potter aficionado a castle is a castle, and this one has hidden cannons, tunnels, and a noisy replica of the defenders’ ingenious ‘firing machine’: a wine barrel that 60 March 2012 Kanoo World Traveller
they stuffed with gunpowder and bullets and sent down the slopes of the castle to rout the invaders. Eger and its surroundings offer treats galore for a nineyear-old. First, there are horses: our lunch at Szilvasvarad overlooks a paddock of Lipizzaners, and afterwards my daughter takes the reins of a horse and cart as we trundle through the forest. Then the sweets: Eger’s confectionery museum houses everything from ballet shoes to bibles, all created from sugar paste and tempera glaze by confectioner Lajos Kopcsik. In Eger’s Szepasszony Valley, ‘the valley of the beautiful women’, the goodies are more consumable. Here, the soft volcanic tufa that underlies much of the town is honeycombed with 130km of cellars. In the chilled vaults of cellar 36, local vintner Tamas Sike treats us to a tasting of the region’s grape. By glass number three, I have begun to acquire the rose-tinted spectacles that clearly explain the district’s name. The next morning, leaving Eger, I realise we haven’t spied another British tourist since the baggage carousel at Budapest airport. Our first stop was in pretty Szentendre, just half-an-hour’s drive from the capital. That evening, as we tucked into chilled sour-cherry soup and spicy goulash at the Aranysarkany restaurant, the city-breakers surprised us by their absence. But this was nothing unusual: according to Gabor, 95 per cent of Brits never make it beyond Budapest. So it is with a smug sensation of having the country to ourselves that we head south-east towards Hortobagy National Park, in the heart of the Puszta. This region is quintessential rural Hungary, land of nodding water pumps and sun-baked steppes. But we arrive to find
THE GOOD LIFE | HUNGARY
‘We hop off... and stroll down the trail through stands of oak and beech, waterfalls and trout ponds...’
March 2012 Kanoo World Traveller 61
‘Puszta is quintessential rural Hungary, land of nodding water pumps and sun-baked steppes’ that days of unseasonal rain have flooded the roads. My ambition to spot a great bustard – the huge bird, native to these grasslands, that is Hungary’s best-known feathered attraction – is thwarted. The rain has not washed away all the birds. Storks and egrets make the sodden landscape appear more Okavango than Europe. I soak up the sense of space as we drive east across the plain to Tuba Tanya, our guesthouse on the park’s eastern boundary. Here, we find homespun hospitality and traditional cuisine. Much of the latter comes from the farm, where the livestock includes Hungarian breeds such as mangalitza pigs. My daughter’s favourites are the puli dogs, so smothered in shaggy dreadlocks that, without the panting pink tongue, you can’t tell one end from the other. Tuba Tanya is close to the spa town of Hajduszoboszlo, home to one of Europe’s largest aqua parks. Hungarians 62 March 2012 Kanoo World Traveller
love their spas – an Ottoman legacy that nobody minds – and so, as rain continues to lash the Puszta, we brave the steam baths and bubbling hot tubs for an afternoon splash. While my daughter joins the shrieking youngsters on the water slides, I sink into a steamy cavern, where bathers soak like cave salamanders in amphibious torpor. Clear skies the next day bring a chance to explore Lake Tisza, created in 1973 as a flood defence for the Hortobagy. A 120km raised embankment provides a perfect cycle track. We pedal our rented bikes through meadows thick with wildflowers. After lunch in the lakeside town of Poroszlo, boatman Lajos Szabo ferries us around the lake. Birds are everywhere: whiskered terns fluttering over the open water; squacco herons stalking the floating water chestnut; pygmy cormorants arranged on a drowned tree. But still no bustards.
THE GOOD LIFE | HUNGARY
Images: Corbis / Arabian Eye; Photolibrary; Shutterstock Text: Mike Unwin / The Independent / The Interview People
Opposite page: A local girl walking through a field. This page, from top: Ferto lake National Park tavern; Storks in a meadow.
Lake Tisza is dwarfed by Lake Balaton, south-west of Budapest and our next stop. The weather is back on track, and it is clear why this lake – the size of the Isle of Man – has flourished as Hungary’s summer playground. We ignore the signs to the popular southern shore resorts, however, and head around the northern shore to the Kali Basin, where an undulating landscape of meadows, vineyards and copses seems to strike a perfect balance between Hungary’s northern uplands and eastern plains. Our base is Sarffy House, in the tiny village of Dorgicse. Here, Tamas Giebiser and Kati Sipeki have converted a 19th-century residence into a collection of B&B apartments. The décor and detail are all you might expect from a designer couple from Budapest. The pair have thrown themselves into rural life, baking rough-hewn bread from a huge clay oven in the garden and serving homemade goats’ cheeses for breakfast in the converted barn. Add local artists and musicians who drop by, and the result is a place with a distinctly Tuscan ambience. For three days, we laze around Sarffy House, exploring the farmland, dozing in a hammock beneath the walnut tree and – when we get our act together – following Tamas’s directions to local attractions. Top for us are the discreet beaches and towering monastery of the forested Tihany Peninsula – which juts out into Lake Balaton – and the ‘sea of stones’ at Kirandulas, a perfect rock playground for children. Our fortnight ends in Hungary’s north-west corner, where the town of Sopron is closer to Vienna than Budapest. The opulence of nearby Ezterhazy Palace – Haydn’s home for 24 years – reflects the former empire’s ‘Austro’ side. We lunch at the Raspi restaurant, with a different estate grape for each course. Then we take to a canoe and explore Lake Ferto. Water snakes wriggle across our bows and kingfishers zip along reed corridors, as guide Balazs Molnar explains how this wetland stretches into neighbouring Austria. It is thanks to a tip-off from Balazs, a fellow birdwatcher, that on our last evening I find myself up a nearby observation tower scanning a sea of grass. Sure enough, two telltale long necks soon pop up, followed by a laborious flapping as two enormous birds take flight. Great bustards. At last. There is just one thing Balazs didn’t mention, though. To reach my bustard site, I have inadvertently driven 5km over the border into Austria. But it still counts, I tell myself. After all, all this used to be Hungary.
‘For three days, we laze around Sarffy House, exploring the farmland, dozing in a hammock beneath the walnut tree...’
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THE WONDER OF KERALA Explore India’s beautiful south
Day 01: Cochin | Day 02: Cochin – Kumarakom | Day 03: Kumarakom | Day 04: Kumarakom – Mararikulam Day 05: Mararikulam | Day 06: Mararikulam - Cochin HOTEL ENVISAGED DESTINATION
A
B
C
D
COCHIN
DREAM
TRIDENT
AVENUE REGENT
PRIDE
KUMARAKOM
ZURI
ZURI
EASTEND LAKESONG
KUMARAKOM LAGOON
MARARIKULAM
MARARI BEACH RESORT
MARARI BEACH RESORT
ABAD TURTLE ON THE BEACH
ABAD TURTLE ON THE BEACH
COST PER PERSON IN US DOLLARS CHILD WITHOUT SINGLE ROOM BED SUPPLEMENT
CATEGORY
1 PAX
2 PAX
3 PAX
4 PAX
CHILD WITH BED
A
1454
731
570
691
205
125
626
B
1445
726
570
687
220
128
621
C
851
433
367
395
195
58
320
D
770
390
325
350
150
55
285
Inclusions:-
• • • • •
Accommodation in well appointed rooms with breakfast. Transportation in air conditioned vehicle with personal chauffer for the entire tour. Guide services in Cochin as per the above itinerary. Entrances for the monuments. All Government taxes.
Exclusions
• Tip/laundry/ phone calls etc expenses of personal nature. • Any kind of flights tickets for domestic or international air travel. • Mandatory festive supplements will be charged additional and payable at the time of booking.
Package Valid till 31 March, 2012 Important Notes: Rates not applicable during festive periods like Christmas /New Year/Diwali. Rates are commissionable by 10% 12
Kanoo World Traveller May 2011
CONCIERGE | OPENER
CONCIERGE BALI | DALLAS | ISTANBUL | MADIKWE
THE 30-SECOND CONCIERGE
CONCIERGE TEAM, THE LEGIAN, BALI
How would you sum up the resort’s style? It has enough Balinese accents to know you’re in Bali, but enough contemporary designs and wooden touches to make it a timeless jewel whose design never abates and whose environment has history and soul.
How can I best spend my days – both inside and outside the hotel? Start with morning yoga, followed by a sumptuous breakfast at the restaurant (you must try our famous french toast or eggs benedict) and then head out for a culture day trip at nearby Ubud. After, head back to the hotel for complimentary tea served with traditional cakes and fruit, then start your evening, after an exceptional sunset, with our signature cocktail and dinner at The Restaurant, (Chef Dorin’s five-course degustation menu is one to try). If you prefer to dine outside of the hotel, seek out Sardine, Sarong, Sip, La Lucciola Metis or MamaSan.
What would you say is The Legian’s finest feature? Aside from location, location, location, it’s the service, service, service. At The Legian we are not just colleagues, we are friends. This evokes a sense of belonging to a community or family in guests. The service is not stiff or unctuous, rather, we think of our guests’ expectations before they even do.
Where can I taste authentic Bali cuisine? The restaurant provides Balinese and Indonesian dishes – take the celebratory Rijsttafel, served by Balinese ladies dressed in the national kebaya. Top places offsite are Bumbu Bali (worth the 45 minute drive), or the nearby Made’s Warung and Café Degan. Visit ghmhotels.com or ttc.ae
What can I expect to find on arrival at The Legian? A warm, smiling team of dedicated and personable staff against the backdrop of a mind-bogglingly beautiful beach spot, set in the best part of bustling and trendy Seminyak.
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VISIT
DALLAS If you’re looking for a friendly, Southern-style welcome and a plethora of family-centric activities, make your way to the great state of Texas, says Rob Orchard
T
he oil-fuelled metropolis of Dallas has an enviable subtropical climate, a booming arts and entertainment scene and a zest for life captured in its city slogan: “Live Large. Think Big.” From the gleaming skyline of Downtown to the chichi boutiques of Uptown (the city has more malls per head than anywhere else in the country) and the ‘streetcar suburbs’ of East Dallas, you’ll find plenty to uncover and enjoy. And yes, anyone who loved the TV series of the same name will be delighted to hear that plenty of people in the city still wear their stetsons in public – even President Obama donned one last time he was in town... 66 March 2012 Kanoo World Traveller
MUST-DOS Dallas World Aquarium (1) will be the apple of your kids’ eyes on a trip to the city. Wondrous tropical fish glide by on every side; the walk-through tunnels containing sea turtles, sharks and stingrays are particularly inspiring. But it’s not just about aquatic life here – there is also the most amazing collection of tropical birds, as well as tree kangaroos and 16-inch fairy penguins. The Rodeo (2)
It wouldn’t be a proper trip to Texas without spending an afternoon at a rodeo show. The best in town is the Mesquite Championship Rodeo (mesquiterodeo.com), which runs from April to September. Here you can watch genuine cowboys (and all-round daredevils) trying to remain on a bucking bronco for as long as possible. There’s a hearty, family-focused feel to these occasions (there are even pony rides for little ones), which
DALLAS | USA Opposite page, clockwise from top left: The Rodeo; Dallas skyline; Baseball stadium, Texas Rangers v. Baltimore Orioles.
DALLAS’S BEST... SPORTS’ TEAMS The Dallas Cowboys
The Texas Rangers
The Dallas Mavericks
The world-famous American Football team plays at the Cowboys Stadium (stadium. dallascowboys.com) – head down to soak up the electric atmosphere at a game.
If baseball’s your sport, you’ll love cheering on the mighty Dallas-based Texas Rangers (texas.rangers.mlb.com), who are current American League Champions, no less.
Basketball team the Dallas Mavericks (nba.com/ mavericks) are NBA World Champions – pick up tickets to watch them in action at the American Airlines Center.
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GRAND PRAIRIE
are as much about live music and delicious food as they are about men in tasselled shirts desperately clinging to horses. Kimbell Art Museum (3) Oil dollars have helped to buy some seriously impressive pictures for Dallas and at the Kimbell Art Museum (kimbellart.org) you can see works by Goya, Munch, Van Gogh and Poussin, as well as a beautiful creation by the young Michelangelo. Chinese Han and Tang-era ceramics and pottery and exquisite figurines from the Huari empire of Peru complete the mix. Six Flags over Texas (4) (sixflags.com) is one of the nation’s finest theme parks, with over 50 rides, many themed around cartoons and films. Check out the Batman rollercoaster, the Speedy Gonzales train, and the Daffy Duck, Wile E. Coyote and Yosemite Sam adventures,
BALCH SPRINGS
before moving on to Dive Bomber Alley, where you can take a shoot downward from 15 storeys high. The Sixth Floor Museum (5) (jfk.org) is one for older kids only. Dedicated to Dallas’s darkest hour – the assassination of President John F. Kennedy – the exhibition is in the city’s downtown area, in the book repository where assassin Lee Harvey Oswald took his fatal aim. This carefully-curated spot brings together footage and photos of JFK to tell the story of his presidency up to that date, and of the effect his assassination had on the country. You can even see the exact spot where Oswald squeezed the trigger – thought-provoking stuff. Frontiers of Flight Museum (6) (flightmuseum.com) is for anyone who’s interested in flight – both by airplane and
spacecraft. It comes crammed with excellent exhibits which trace the eight decades between the Wright brothers’ first flight (at seven miles per hour) and the launch of the Orbiter shuttle (at a speedier 17,000 miles per hour).
WHERE TO STAY The Stoneleigh Hotel and Spa (7) (stoneleighhotel.com) is in the heart of the Uptown district – a marvellous spot that’s just a short walk from the parks of Turtle Creek and the boutiques of the North Park Center. The decor is gleefully ostentatious (think chandeliers and Art Deco twists) and the Draper Suite is a likely candidate for best in the city. The Four Seasons Dallas (8) (fourseasons.com/dallas) has to be the ultimate spot for golf lovers visiting the city – it’s built around the fairways of the
Las Colinas golf course. Which means, you can be out of bed and teeing off within minutes...
WHERE TO EAT Bob’s Steak and Chop House (9) (bobs-steakandchop.com) is a sleek, smooth operation whose wet-aged steaks, served with smashed potatoes, set the standard in a state that prides itself on its prime rib – so don’t let its name put you off. The French Room (10) (hoteladolphus.com) is Dallas’s best Gallic restaurant. Set at the Hotel Adolphus, it’s been described by the New York Times as “a Louis XV fantasy on the prairie”. On no account should you leave without trying their sensational Colorado rack of lamb with parmesan potato gnocchis and citrus garlic jam. Superb. March 2012 Kanoo World Traveller 67
VISIT
ISTANBUL When you feel in need of an invigorating trip to inspire you, turn your sights towards Turkey’s most impressive city…
I
stanbul, the beauty by the Bosphorus, is the only city in the world which can genuinely lay claim to that old boast of being the place where ‘East meets West’. The city literally lies on the dividing point of Europe and Asia, the faultline between two continents, and is the home of an exotic blend of cultures which has produced some of the most powerful art and architecture in the world. It has long exerted a pull on visitors – since it was known as Constantinople, and before that as Byzantium. Among its dreaming minarets, its age-old palaces and its bustling markets, you’ll find a city of beauty and charm – the perfect place for a long weekend break. 68 March 2012 Kanoo World Traveller
MUST-DOS The Grand Bazaar (1) has been the beating heart of the city’s commerce for centuries and is everything a giant souk should be: heaving with life, decorated with great towers of gleaming trinkets, filled with the noise of thousands of traders and visitors haggling and bantering, and shot through with the sweet scents of freshly-cooked pastries. Top buys include majestic Turkish carpets, intricate gold jewellery and leather purses and bags. Topkapi Palace (2) is a treasure trove; a vast complex of buildings which was the control centre for the Ottoman Empire at its height. Built in the 15th century at the behest of Sultan Mehmed II,
it is a lavish, highly-decorated place where tourists wander round crick-necked trying to drink it all in. The place can seem overwhelming – if you only see one thing, make it the Imperial Treasury, home to the 86 carat Spoonmaker’s diamond and the emerald-hilted Topkapi dagger. City Wall walk (3) There’s no better way to get a bird’s eye view of this magnificent city than by taking a saunter along the rebuilt ancient walls of Constantinople. Hook up with any number of tour companies and they will take you around the miles of walls, stopping off at the great ancient gates and the Yedikule Fortress, all the while taking in the wonderful
ISTANBUL | TURKEY
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Opposite page: Mecidiye Mosque at the bank of the Bosphorus. This page, clockwise from top: Topkapi Palace; Asitane restaurant; Spices in the Grand Bazaar.
views and hearing how these battered stone ramparts kept the city safe against Bulgarian, Russian and Tartar armies. Visit a hammam (4) – Istanbul is the home of the best hydrotherapy spas and baths in the world: head to a hammam and you’ll be steamed, soaked, scrubbed, pummeled and leave feeling ten years younger, with a healthy rosy glow to boot. Ancient hamam Çemberlitaş Hamami, (cemberlitashamami.com), which dates back to the 16th century, is a good place to start. Cruise the Bosphorus (5); whether you jump aboard a commuter ferry during the day (which set off regularly from Eminönü) or take a special night cruise with dinner, you’ll love bobbing along the mighty Bosphorus and seeing the city’s riverfront lit up in all its glory. Visit Istanbul Modern
(6) (istanbulmodern.org) to check out the best in local art. Its imaginative programmes and exhibitions showcase emerging talent from across Turkey, with an emphasis on photography and conceptual art: there is also a gallery dedicated to work from the Ottoman era onwards. WHERE TO STAY The Marmara Istanbul Taksim (7) (themarmarahotels.com) If you’re looking for jaw-to-thefloor views and swish suites where every detail can be tailored to your tastes (right down to the pillow menu), check in here. For a real treat, you can grab one of the ‘Flying Carpet’ suites, which come complete with a personal telescope for looking out over the city. The Sofa Hotel (8) (thesofahotel. com) is the place to stay for
ultra-hip boutique design. Located in the cool Nisantasi district, it was created by starchitect Sinan Kafadar and offers a pleasingly modern, minimalist feel in a city that can sometimes get too wrapped up in its architectural past.
WHERE TO EAT Asitane (9) (asitanerestaurant. com), in the Kariye Oteli in Edirnekapi, recreates royal dishes from the times of the sultans. Expect the biggest and most impressive feast of your life. Balikçi Sa bahattin (10) (balikcisabahattin.com) is a must-visit when you’re in the mood for delicious seafood. Set in Sultanahmet, the eatery takes the day’s catch, grills it and serves it with fresh salads: if the weather’s warm, grab a seat on the beautiful terrace.
ISTANBUL’S BEST... HOT SPOTS FOR HOLIDAY SNAPS The Galata Tower Take the elevator up to the top of this building and you’ll get some truly stunning shots, particularly at sunset.
Rumelihisari From the battlements of this hillside fort on the Bosphorus you can capture sweeping views of the riverside.
Sapphire From the 236 metrehigh observation deck of the Sapphire tower, the tallest building in Turkey, you can get gorgeous snaps of the more modern side of the city.
March 2012 Kanoo World Traveller 69
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70 March 2012 Kanoo World Traveller
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WIN A TWO-NIGHT STAY AT THE YAS VICEROY ABU DHABI HOTEL It’s virtually impossible to ignore the shell-like façade of the Yas Viceroy Abu Dhabi Hotel, which hovers over land and water and poses trackside to the Yas Marina Circuit, where racing legends burn rubber during the famous Formula 1. But you don’t have to be a motoring enthusiast to reap the benefits of this futuristic five-star hotel. Inside, it’s home to 499 ultra-modern rooms, the achingly-stylish ESPA resort spa and no less than 12 dining and lounge venues (perfect for the night birds among you). Don’t leave without soaking up the sun by its infinity pool with light bites, or supping a drink of something cool at the ultra-fashionable Skylite lounge. viceroyhotelsandresorts.com
THE PRIZE A two-night stay, plus breakfast, in a deluxe room. For your chance to win, email your answer to easywin@ hotmediapublishing.com before March 31, 2012.
Q. What is the name of Yas Viceroy Abu Dhabi Hotel’s famous spa? a) ESPA b) The Spa c) Yas Spa TERMS AND CONDITIONS: Prize to be claimed within six months of issue. Dates subject to availability.
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March 2012 Kanoo World Traveller 71
SUITE DREAMS
MOLORI SAFARI LODGE, MADIKWE
Glide over South Africa’s Madikwe Game Reserve (all 75,000 hectacres of it) by helicopter and it won’t just be the sprawling green-tinged valley and sloping mountains that catch your breath as you descend on to the Molori Safari Lodge’s heli pad, but its exquisitely-designed suites. With just five in residence, our pick is the Metsi Suite (pictured) for its safari-chic style. Inside, its Kirk Lazarus-designed interiors marry the modern (chandeliers, claw-footed velvet chairs, leather chaise lounge) with the authentic (animal prints, beaded detail and thatched roof) to glorious effect. But few sights beat its earth-brown terrace and turquoise infinity pool – a few barefooted steps out of bed is all it takes to reach the water, where you can soak beneath the African rays while scouring the reserve for life (the wildlife-spotters among you will love the suite’s terrace-based telescope). molori.co.za/safari 72 March 2012 Kanoo World Traveller
Enjoy the privacy of your waterfront villa Listen to the sounds of gently lapping waves Experience the beauty of your own island sanctuary
Enjoy your beachfront sanctuary within the comfort of Park Hyatt Abu Dhabi’s private villas on Saadiyat Island. Surrounded by beautifully landscaped gardens, the two and three bedroom villas range from 200 to 355 square metres and feature large terraces with open-air plunge pools, outdoor massage and sun beds, all overlooking a breathtaking nine-kilometre stretch of natural white sand beach. Reservations +971 2 407 1234 or abudhabi.park.hyatt.com The trademarks HYATT™, PARK HYATT™ and related marks are trademarks of Hyatt Corporation. ©2012 Hyatt Corporation. All rights reserved.
THE FINEST ADDRESS IN QATAR Now accepting reservations
St. Regis Hotels & Resorts extends a privileged invitation to experience the finest expression of luxury and an unrivaled commitment to service excellence at the latest addition to its portfolio, The St. Regis Doha. Come, explore.
the st. regis doha u
al gassar resort u
u
po box 14435
west bay
u
doha
u
qatar
tel +974.4446.0000 fax +974.4446.0001
hotel debuts :
abu dhabi
bal harbour mauritius
sanya
doha
bangkok
florence
shenzhen
stregisdoha.com Š2012 Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Preferred Guest, SPG, St. Regis and their respective logos are the trademarks of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc., or its affiliates.
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