ST U F F W E LOV E
TRAVEL DIARY
CURIOUS
Fingers on the travel pulse.
Italy
10 of the best festivals.
Schedule a little fun and festivity into your 2019 travel plans.
PENIDA ISLAND, INDONESIA
Rio de Janeiro carnival
Upside down “ice cream cone” houses Alberobello, Puglia
Alberobello is home to over 1000 traditional Trulli (unique dry-stone huts with conical roofs). The Rione Monti quarter is the most trullisaturated area, and for those after a niche hotel, staying in one of these cosy little abodes is an easy request.
Still relatively untouched, Bali’s Penida Island is just 25-minutes by boat from Sanur. A sliver of pristineness, you can stay in thatched treehouses next to white sand beaches, sip on fresh, three-dollar coconuts and venture to lush waterfalls. Ask in-store for details.
Brazil. 2-9 March. Some of Rio’s famed street parties start at 7 am, so pack your stamina. The Sambadrome is where the dancers prance, while in the streets, revellers wear costumes.
Follow in the footsteps of the Incas.
Billion dollar art museums in the desert. Louvre Abu Dhabi only opened its doors in November 2017, but has already bagged Leonardo da Vinci’s US$450 million “Salvator Mundi”, viewable from September 2018. Even if art’s not your thing, the building itself — in all its glittering glass glory — is quite the masterpiece.
4 I N S P I R E | HOUS E O F TRAV E L
Sunken city
Baia, Gulf of Naples The city of Baia was the biggest party town in the Roman empire, but it was not to last and the city sank below the Tyrrhenian Sea. Today, glass bottomed boats and divers explore Baia’s sunken villas, marbled statues and Roman bath houses.
Frozen in time
For a Machu Picchu alternative, look to the lesser-known Lares Trek. A Peruvian beauty blessed with Inca fortresses and breath-taking scenery, it covers 33km in three days. High-altitude hiking with few others, better yet, no permits are required.
TH E B E ST H O LIDAYS ARE CREATED TOGETHER .
Pompeii, Campania Mount Vesuvius blew its volcanic lid in 79AD, obliterating Pompeii. To see what the city used to look like, join a tour and pop on a 3D virtual reality headset — such is the magic of modern technology.
Portugal. June. The celebration of St. Anthony, also known as the Lisbon Sardine Festival, fills the streets with garlands, barbecues and pop-up bars. Visitors wander the laneways drinking beer, eating sardines and partying with the locals.
Holi Festival of Colours India. 20-21 March. Join residents in throwing a rainbow of coloured flour across their suburbs. Come spring, Holi is the Hindu celebration of colour, friendship and love, with ‘colour bombs’ bought in advance.
Coachella Music & Arts Festival
NE X T STO P, P E RU.
Lisbon Sardine Festival
California, USA. 12-14 and 19-21 April. The holy grail of music festivals, 2019 marks the event’s 20-year anniversary. 40˚C heat, dry desert and world-class sets pull in the A-list celebrities.
Scoppio del carro (Burning of the cart), Italy. 21 April. On Easter Sunday a nine metre antique cart is hauled to Florence’s Piazza del Duomo. Heaved by white oxen and accompanied by musicians and locals dressed in 15th century costume. An enormous firework display ensues and the bells of Giotto’s campanile ring out.
Burning Man
The International Isle of Man TT races UK. 25 May-7 June. Dubbed one of the world’s most exciting racing events, every May motorcyclists navigate the Isle of Man’s tiny roads, reaching hairraising speeds of 331kmph.
Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival Tennessee, USA. June. An annual four-day music festival with 150 performances across more than 10 stages.
HOT TIP
Oberammergau Passion Play Germany. May through October 2020. Only occurring in the last year of each decade, this open-air production has been performed by the inhabitants of Oberammergau village since 1634. It’s over five hours long but everyone gets a dinner break at 5pm.
Nevada, USA. 26 August-3 September. The strict novendors policy means no money changes hands and everything must be shared or given away. Exploring community and selfexpression, the ritual burning of a large wooden effigy (“the Man”) draws huge crowds, and plenty of personalities. ■
By SARA BALDWIN, House of Travel Orewa
Secret Solstice
“Queensland’s most stylish beach Iceland. June. Making the most town, Noosa, hosts of a sun that never sets, and the annual Noosa Food and Wine home to the world’s first Festival from 16-19 live performance inside a May. From beach glacier, other venues include barbies to street 5200 year old lava tunnels markets, join dieand geothermal pools. hard foodies from all over for a three-day culinary event. You can even dine in seaHOU S E O F T RAVEL | I NS P I RE 5 fronting tipis.”
