Revisited

Investment and redevelopment have transformed Dallas into a thriving city in which arts and culture abound, and there are fabulous places to eat at the end of a long day’s fantastic sightseeing

Words Tom Otley

Dallas comes with more preconceptions than most US cities, and most of them are wrong. It’s a major conurbation, with the greater Dallas area home to well over seven million people and growing quickly, yet you could walk around Downtown all day and wonder where all the workers are. e regional o ces of major nancial institutions are present; there are new and refurbished hotels, bars and restaurants, yet the vanishingly small number of shops (apart from the beautiful original 1914 Neiman Marcus building on Main Street) shows that people come here to work and then leave in the evening, heading to the suburbs.

What makes it even more surprising is that pre-Covid, 27.7 million people visited Dallas annually for a total economic impact of US$8.8 billion. In the last 25 years over US$2.5 billion has been invested in Downtown Dallas and the population almost tripled between 2000 and 2010, and now stands at 13,000 people.

What’s also unexpected is there so much to see and do in the centre of Dallas – shopping aside. Within walking distance of Downtown you have world class art galleries and museums, interesting architecture, successful urban regeneration and sites of real historical interest including, of course, Dealey Plaza and the Sixth Floor Museum located on the top of the infamous Book Depository from where JFK was thought to have been shot. You’ll also get a warm welcome from Texans.

Dining In Style

To dispel the last preconception, the only cowboy hats and boots we saw during our stay were on smartly dressed ladies out on a Friday night in the exclusive Monarch restaurant. is glamorous, deliberately overthe-top, wood- red, modern Italian restaurant is on the 49th oor of the newly reopened and refurbished e National, formerly the First National Bank Tower. If you prefer Japanese cuisine, take the stairs to Kessaku on the 50th oor and walk around the entire building with unrivalled views of Dallas at night, seeing as far as Fort Worth on a clear evening.

e National Bank building was designed by architect George Dahl in the mid-1960s but had been empty since 2010 before undergoing a US$460 million restoration. It now has 324 apartments, four restaurants and a 219-room hotel as well as some o ce space. However, walking around it the rst impression is the nine- oor-high base to the building which has a dazzling façade of 17,000 pieces of marble from the same quarry as the Parthenon (nothing understated here). e skyscraper rises above this in dark glass with white detailing (apparently to resemble bankers’ suits). It had lain empty for over a decade before refurbishment.

On the ground oor there are several shops including Lucchese, where you can buy o -the-shelf Texan fashion as well as made-to-measure boots – they can take up to six months to make, though – and there’s a ower shop, barber and small art gallery. At the moment the apartments are available for rent in the hope that people will then be tempted to buy, though with monthly rent starting at more than US$2,500 per month, other districts might provide more a ordable homes for young upwardly mobile urbanites. Meanwhile, Downtown needs to continue its regeneration. Dallas was founded in the 1840s and owes its early development as a trading hub through the railroad network. e discovery of oil and gas in the early 20th century powered its growth, with the nancing and associated wealth helping to create the city that is still in evidence today. For the visitor, the billions spent on the centre of Dallas in recent years means it is possible to enjoy buildings restored to their full glory. e Statler – originally e Statler Hilton when it opened in 1956 – has a fabulous mid-century glass and porcelain exterior with a lovely arc to the frontage. Its diner, Overeasy, is a good spot for breakfast. Next door is the 1953 Central Library, like the Statler and the National, designed by George Dahl, and now home to the Dallas Morning News.

It’s not all history, though. A new addition to the centre is AT&T Discovery District. We sat there one warm February a ernoon and watched the preparations for the NBA All-Star Game on the giant screen, sipping drinks bought from one of the multiple outlets of the newly built Exchange on the Square. To one side is the 1931 Art Deco-style Dallas Power and Light Building, now home to Pegasus City Brewery’s taproom (its original Brewery Tap House is still open in the nearby Design District). en there is the Adolphus Hotel, originally built by the founder of the Anheuser-Busch brewery, Adolphus Busch, in Beaux Arts style, and now majestically restored and part of Marriott’s Autograph Collection.

Downtown shades into Uptown as you walk towards the Arts District, where essential stops are the Dallas Museum of Art with a permanent collection of more than 25,000 pieces along with various visiting exhibitions, and the Renzo Piano-designed Nasher Sculpture Center. If you have time, visit the smaller Crow Museum of Asian Art to see its exquisite collection of lacquer and jade objects, and if you have a science bent, or better still have youngsters with you, the Perot Museum of Nature and Science is in a Brutalist-style building with a unique glass-sided escalator high up on one wall. e expansive space holds enough interactive exhibits, and dinosaur skeletons, to keep the most hyperactive child occupied for a morning.

In the evenings, there is the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center where on a Saturday evening, we watched the Dallas Symphony Orchestra in a programme of Tchaikovsky and Bruch, while a Sunday matinée o ered Madame Butter y in the neighbouring Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House.

If that all sounds a little high brow, visit Deep Ellum, which takes its name from its main drag – Elm Street – that runs into Downtown. It is a low-rise neighbourhood of bars, clubs, independent shops and boutiques, along with some great restaurants, including a few with extensive vegetarian and even vegan menus, which in Texas really is saying something. Although if you want excellent smoked meat, Pecan Lodge was doing great business when we walked past (no queue, but it was latea ernoon by then) and is famed for a 13-hour brisket. Many of the immediate attractions of Dallas are easily walked and, in a piece of visionary city planning, Klyde Warren Park has been created over the Woodall Rodgers Freeway which means you can walk from Downtown to Uptown without noticing the freeway. On a Sunday morning we watched a friend take part in an annual 5km run starting in the park, which is being extended west towards Field Street to open an extra space that will be called e Jacobs Lawn (the plan also includes a three-level enclosed special events pavilion and an ice-skating rink).

Further Afield

at evening we had margaritas outside under a warming gas burner at El Camino followed by a Tex Mex meal, while another day we used the same route to walk further and reach the beginning of the Katy Trail, a 5.6km stroll along the former Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad, commonly called the K-T and eventually the Katy. e trail takes you up to Knox, a superb example of urban regeneration connecting the parks north of Dallas and allowing you to look into backyards, people-watch and stop o at the Ice House, which is a beer garden, and burger and Tex Mex restaurant. e Katy Trail starts at its southern end at Harwood Park which is also undergoing development; the last of eight parks being completed. When nished, Downtown will have added 23 acres of green space in the city’s core over the past 15 years. Visiting other districts close to Downtown is more challenging. In theory, the Dallas Area Rapid Transport (DART) system ought to be the means of exploring neighbouring districts. It connects the massive airline hub of Dallas Fort Worth (home to American Airlines), but we were warned o using it by locals for our rst ride into town from the airport and instead got an Uber. en when visiting local attractions and chatting with Texans (everyone is very friendly and helpful), they all indicated that we should not use the DART; advice that I assume is linked to the number of the city’s homeless and vulnerable people who congregate at the stations. Watching the empty DART trains passing every few minutes over a ve-day period, their smartly liveried but largely empty carriages gliding by on rails and negotiating the city centre streets, it seemed a missed opportunity. We were told at busy times pre-Covid some used it, but the idea of it being a mass transit system clearly hasn’t been realised. e convenience of car travel, ease of parking and the ubiquitous freeways all undermine the case for it, as did its speed – it is slow over longer distances.

For visitors to use the Go Pass app and so enjoy ‘contactless’ travel, you require a zip code, though we found a way around that by simply putting in our hotel’s zip code, and I was told later through the help chat (a er we had le Dallas) that you could simply enter ‘00000’ into that to then use the app.

Room For Improvement

Instead, we used Uber a lot, and when it was sunny, walked back from Deep Ellum under the North Central Expressway which is several lanes of elevated freeway. It was a short and pleasant walk, but you certainly wouldn’t do it at night. ere are plans for John W Carpenter Park, which was just north of where we were, to be extended under the freeway and provide a more scenic way of connecting the two, and more generally, nding a way of making Dallas walkable.

To the south of here, the area between Commerce, Main and Cesar Chavez has been renamed East Quarter and there is development and redevelopment taking place, including 300 Pearl with 18,600 sqm of o ce space, 2,322 sqm of retail space, and 336 luxury apartments, and 2200 Main, a former 1930s Cadillac manufacturing facility, which is available for lease. e other emphasis should be on the airport, which though it has had signi cant investment still has some very long queues for visitors – 90 minutes for US immigration isn’t unknown, but the airport wasn’t busy, just badly organised and with only a couple of immigration booths open. Dozens of international travellers were missing their connections, yet there was just a shrug from those attendants who could have helped. ere’s no doubt that there is both the determination – and the optimism – to x a lot of these problems. e redevelopment of the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center has been approved (it will remain open while this occurs), and with the Dallas Fort Worth population projected to reach 10 million people in the 2030s, ranking in size behind only New York City and Los Angeles, the prospects are bright.

Dallas Citypass

e website citypass.com o ers access to four sites for US$49 per person – Perot Museum of Nature and Science, and Reunion Tower GeO-Deck, with a choice of two out of the following three: Dallas Zoo, George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum, or Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum. BTI

Where To Stay

Dallas has a total of 34,000 hotel rooms, with 15,000 in the Downtown core, and another 5,000 coming (Dallas is in h place nationally for the number of rooms under construction). Reviews of the Adolphus, an Autograph Collection Hotel, and e ompson Dallas will be in Business Traveller’s May edition. New hotels include:

HARWOOD HOTEL is new 20-storey luxury hotel is in under construction in Uptown’s Harwood District, close to the American Airlines Center and the Dallas Arts District. Architectural renderings show a sculptural white building with cantilevered upper oors, and a swimming pool and garden on the roof.

JW MARRIOTT is new 15-storey hotel is scheduled to open in 2023 in the heart of Dallas’ Downtown Arts District. e 283-room hotel is set to feature a 2,300 sqm grand ballroom and meeting space, spa, restaurant, lobby bar, tness centre, and a roo op pool deck and bar.

Intercontinental Dallas

e new hotel will be at Cityplace Tower, in Uptown, with panoramic views of the Dallas skyline. Plans include a roo op in nity pool and lounge plus over 1,950 sqm of event space.

a US$750 million high-rise with a roo op pool and garden space.

The wave of Indian gin is one that can’t be ignored or avoided. Here are some homegrown brands that need to be in your bar

WORDS AKANKSHA MAKER

It’s safe to say that India is riding high on its gin wave. e juniper-berries based spirit has seen multiple variations of blends that have given rise to homegrown brands that have stirred up the “alcobev” industry for the better. Recently, a number of them showcased at Mumbai’s Gin Explorer’s Club that was well received by the urban youth of the metropolis. Whether you love cocktails, drink it on the rocks or have it as a simple G&T, it’s hard to ignore gin today. Here are a few gins that have been launched in the countryand must be in your bar right now.

Terai

Terai India Dry Gin is a contemporary gin rooted in London Dry Gin values but with an distinct Indian avour pro le and character. It is a eclectic gin which begins with vibrant green notes li ed by a citrus punch. is is followed by a speci c oral bouquet and a sweet and piney juniper avour. Sweet and herbaceous avours are balanced on the palate by a dry spice and savoury nish. It is founded by the Swarup family who have an antiquity of agriculture and distillation in the eponymous region of Terai, and are sincerely preserving the sanctity of the land and its people. It is interesting to learn that terai is a belt of fertile marshlands running along the foothills of the Himalayas. is land is lush and fertile, watered by springs and rivers — and this freshness echoes in the brand too.

Hapusa

Hapusa is a gin that is uniquely Indian — it is distilled in India with foraged Himalayan Juniper and locally sourced botanicals. In Sanskrit, juniper is called “Hapusa”, and it is this berry which gives their gin not only its title but its distinctive aroma and avour too. Grown near the snow line in the Himalayas, this brand uses an elusive juniper berry that o ers a complex structure around which the rest of their botanicals are thoughtfully arranged. ese botanicals are sourced from all over the country to bring together its melange of a avour pro le that makes this a real sojourn in a glass. e owning brand - Nao Spirits uses local juniper, turmeric, mango, ginger, cardamom, coriander seeds, gondhoraj limes and almonds to create the spirit. All botanicals are added in a one-shot method to the still, named Agatha.

Samsara

e brand’s rst limited edition and experimental release, e City of Pink, is an exquisitely cra ed pink gin that is distilled with signature 11 botanicals and further infused with fresh oral extracts and summer berries. is edition is best enjoyed on the rocks, in a gin & tonic or topped up with sparkling wine. e regular edition is distilled in a classic London Dry method using eleven handpicked botanicals that include hemp seeds, rose petals, vetiver grass, green cardamom and juniper berries. Samsara is oral and citrusy with a subtle whisper of spicy earthiness. e brand believes in sourcing local botanicals, sourcing organic packaging material and running a women centric production facility. Each bottle of Samsara is cra ed sustainably and responsibly. e brand was launched by businessman Aditya Aggarwal in Goa in September 2020. He heads Spaceman Spirits Lab, a platform that brings together mixologists, alcobev experts and distillers, and he also makes Samsara.

Greater Than

Greater an claims to be the “only London dry gin made in India”. It is copper pot distilled with botanicals sourced from India and around the world. is gin has clean juniper and fresh lemon peel on the nose and a zing of ginger on the nish. e advent of Greater an dates back to 2015 when the world was going through a so called “Gin-aissance”. Two bar owners in Delhi — Anand Virmani and Vaibhav Singh — believed that country where gin and tonic was invented and where exotic gin botanicals are found in most home kitchens — could be where India’s London dry gin could come from. ey stepped out from behind the bar, got themselves a copper pot still and experimented with every spice, herb and fruit they could nd. ey distilled a lot, and eventually found a recipe they loved enough to not just want to serve at their own bar but to take to the rest of the country and the world.

Gin Gin

Gin Gin comprises nine botanicals that include hemp, Himalayan juniper, coriander, lavender, rosemary, caraway seeds, cinnamon, lemongrass and butter y pea ower . It is branded as India’s only single-shot distilled ‘hemp’ gin. e 24-year-old founder, Shubham Khanna said that he wants Gin Gin to be a gateway spirit for the entire category. In this regard, adding hemp as a botanical would help pique a consumer’s curiosity, as per him. A er trials across a few bars and hostels

Terai India

Dry Gin is a contemporary gin rooted in London

Dry Gin values

Created by the makers of Woodburns Whisky, Pumori is named a er Mount Pumori

in Goa, Gin Gin has now hit the market. e Gin Gin Gin Gin Mule, which is the regular Gin Gin Mule is a cocktail that Khanna suggests you go for with this spirit. He is a self-taught distiller who travelled to New York to study the gin-distilling business. It was about 40 recipes later that Gin Gin was nally born. A gin so good, they named it twice!

Jaisalmer Indian Craft Gin

Jaisalmer Indian Cra Gin is a triple-distilled neutral grain spirit, re-distilled in a traditional copper pot still. Botanicals from across India are used and Jaisalmer Gin is named a er the city of Jaisalmer (known as ‘ e Golden City’) in the heart of the ar Desert of Rajasthan. Created with a blend of lemongrass, Darjeeling green tea, citrus peels, juniper and other Indian herbs, Jaisalmer Gin is manufactured by Radico Khaitan in their Rampur distillery. e spirit was launched internationally in late 2018, before it launched in India later 2019. e owning company is one of the oldest whisky distillers in India and one of the largest alcohol distillers in Asia. With two facilities, one in Rampur and one in Maharashtra, Radico Khaitain has a total distillation capacity of over 13 million litres per month, although their gin is made in relatively small batches at present. e fort of Jaisalmer is depicted on the logo and bottle above a blackbuck (Indian Antelope) in reference to the Jaisalmer State coat of arms.

Jin Jiji

THE GIN EXPLORER’S CLUB

Curated by Food Talk India, marked a profound platform and showcased an overarching gin experience. Featuring interactive experiences, delicious meals and music, over 9000 people attended the two-day festival. Homegrown and international gin and tonic brands came together: Doja, Gordon’s, Greater Than, Hendrick’s, Jade Forest, Jaisalmer, Jimmy’s, Roku, Samsara, Stranger & Sons, Tamras, Tanqueray and Terai. A sustainable festival, it partnered with Recircle as the recycling partner, where they successfully managed to divert 100 per cent of the waste generated in 48 hours, away from landfills and oceans.

e jiji in the moniker is derived from the Hindi word jijivisha to describe a passion and lust for life. Jin Jiji uses juniper sourced from the Himalayas and distills its spirit with other Indian botanicals such as tulsi and chamomile in a copper pot still in Goa. is claims to be the rst gin in the world to use cashew nuts, an ingredient synonymous with Goa, in its production. e brand copper pot distills botanicals in Goa, adding some of the highest grade, locally grown cashew nutthriving here since being introduced by Portuguese rulers in the seventeenth century. e brand has also come up with Jin JiJi Darjeeling — its rst tea inspired variant, as Darjeeling is home to distinctive black tea in the world. e botanicals in this include Himalayan juniper, Macedonian juniper coriander seed, Darjeeling tea, angelica root, orris root, cashew nut, Indian lemon peel, ginger clove and cardamom.

Pumori

Created by the makers of Woodburns Whisky, Pumori is named a er Mount Pumori, which is located just 8km west of Mount Everest. As per the brand — “ e juniper in the gin is sourced from this region, and hence, the name is a hat tip to the glorious peaks and that moment of peace and clarity one attains while in the mountains.” Pumori’s 100 percent homegrown gin features 12 botanicals sourced from the Indian subcontinent and it is produced in a facility of Fullarton Distilleries based in the woodlands of Candepar, Goa. e New Western-style gin shines with Himalayan juniper, orange peel, lemon peel, cardamom, coriander seeds, liquorice, nutmeg, rosemary, aniseed, cinnamon, almond and vanilla. Pumori is currently available in Goa and seems to be gaining popularity in the bars of top metros. BTI

Motorhomes, camper-vans and caravans have arrived in our country and motoring holidays are seeing a meteoric growth.

Words Bob Rupani

Cars

The Covid-19 pandemic has completely changed our world, possibly forever. While the pandemic has done lots of harm, it has also led to many innovations and certain new ways of living. As we have all experienced, Covid-19 unleashed a “Corona con nement” on us, which in turn has given birth to a great desire to get away and break free. But as the pandemic has not gone away entirely, there is also a requirement for holidays with proper social distancing.

Unfortunately, social distancing is not possible in planes, trains, buses, hotels and restaurants and this has resulted in an increasing interest in caravans, campers, and other such “homes on wheels”. Yes “camper-van tourism” has nally arrived in India and lots of folk are now going on driving holidays into the wilderness and staying and sleeping in their private “homes on wheels”. Many organisations have also begun o ering such “vacations on wheels”, and some people are even buying and getting their own made to order camper-vans from specialist custom builders. e caravan lifestyle that is so popular in the western world may have come late to India, but now it’s racing ahead with full speed.

e availability and range of such “homes on wheels” is also mounting with each passing day and we at Business Traveller India have dug deep and handpicked our favourite ve campers. While doing so we have tried to make the most diverse choices, and selected ve campers that deliver a vast bouquet of varied experiences. So here are our favourite ve campers, in no order of preference.

Luxe Camper

Bengaluru based startup Camper-van Camps and Holidays India, has introduced the Luxe Camper. Presently they o er vacations on wheels in Karnataka and the Founder Tiger Ramesh says his aim is to provide travellers the opportunity to deep dive into unexplored destinations by personalising their travel trails and activities.

Vinay Luthra (IFS), former Principal Chief Conservator of Forests is also a Director and according to him, their Luxe Camper is probably the safest way to travel since it allows guests to maintain social distance during the journey, as well as, at the destinations.

Luxe Camper has partnered with small lodges, home-stays and select campsites of Jungle Lodges and Resorts Ltd. ese camping spots are situated near beaches, historical monuments, hill stations and wildlife sanctuaries at places like Bandipur, Bheemeshwari, Hampi, Kabini, Kodagu, Kudremukha and so on.

e Luxe Campers are built on Ashok Leyland chassis and have a separate driver compartment and guest cabin that can accommodate up to four adults. e lounge doubles up as a comfortable queen bed, along with a motorised suspended queen bed at the front. ese campers are also equipped with a kitchenette that comes with an induction stove and gas, toaster, electric kettle, a microwave oven, fridge and freezer and high quality crockery and cutlery. It has two smart TV’s, a high end audio system with Bluetooth, 4G wi , 230V power sockets, USB charging points and a modern washroom with hot shower. It also has an external shower, a sleek awning with wind sensors, a portable barbecue kit and a bicycle rack, to make outdoor life more enjoyable. A certi ed driver and well trained glamping leader, accompany the Luxe Camper.

For more information, log on to LuxeCamper.com

Taurus

Captain Suresh Sharma, a retired army o cer has built Taurus (named a er his birth sign) the camper-van and personally drives guests to destinations with limited access and facilities. Captain has designed his Taurus to be fully self-su cient and uses his army training and traits, to take guests deep into the wilderness to experience nature in all its untamed beauty.

Many adventurous travellers have gone with him on tours to far ung places like Ladakh, the deserts of Rajasthan and Kutch, lesser explored valleys in Himachal Pradesh and also regions close to our Indo-Pak border. e beauty of his destinations and camping sites are that they far away from any habitation or hotels

Taurus is based on an Eicher VE-2016 chassis and the entire design was done by Captain Suresh and his 50 years of experience of outdoor life has gone into it. e Captain’s personal involvement and his attention to detail make Taurus stand out from the others. Taurus can accommodate eight guests at a time and the highlights have to be the two double occupancy roo op and four single occupancy side tents, which Captain describes as “Tray Tents”. ese tents are Captain Suresh’s own original design and there are also arrangements for two people to sleep inside Taurus, but most guests prefer these outdoor vehicle mounted tents.

Another attraction is the well-equipped modern outdoor kitchen at the rear. Captain personally samples every food ingredient and even does the cooking. Guests, who want to have a go in the kitchen, are welcome, and amongst those who have cooked in Taurus are food historian Ashish Chopra and the famous UK based Chef Vineet Bhati.

Captain Suresh says, “I am the driver and the cook of Taurus and my being there makes the di erence. Guests love my personal touch and safe driving”. Wherever Taurus sets camp, Captain Suresh digs holes which are then covered with a mini tent and tted with “Clean Waste Commodes” from the USA. ese then function as the two eco-friendly eld toilets, in addition to the one onboard Taurus. For more information greendotexpeditions.com

Cars

Another attraction is the wellequipped modern outdoor kitchen at the rear

Office On Wheels

e pandemic introduced a new “work from home” practice and while we are seeing a gradual return to normal o ce routines, many still do “WFH”. But for those who prefer not to, they can now opt for an innovative “o ce on wheels” or “mobile o ce”.

is “o ce on wheels” is a creation of Pinnacle Specialty Vehicles, who custom build and make special purpose vehicles for commercial and personal use. With their “o ce on wheels” they hope to rede ne how India goes to work. According to them, the “o ce on wheels” is a customised business van for businessmen, executives and professionals on the go and is ideal for business meetings and intercity commutes in your very own “mobile o ce”. eir designers can also build an “o ce on wheels” to your speci cations with seating options most appropriate for working as well as relaxing while on the road. With the “mobile o ce” you can work on the go, work in tra c, work alone, work with a team, and also work in a style suitable to you.

In this “o ce on wheels” based on a Force Motors Traveller, air suspension is optional and you get luxurious reclining executive seats, lounge sofas and also a convertible bed. It is equipped with foldable tables and a video and audio conference system integrated with a Smart TV that allows you to connect with your team members or clients. With this smart AV system, one can make presentations in the “o ce on wheels”, or work on a bigger screen by wirelessly connecting it to a laptop.

e “mobile o ce” comes with multiple device charging power ports (12 V and 220 V) and when parked it can be connected to an external power outlet, to operate things like the A/C, TV, fridge, A/V system, etc. When you want to take a break from work, you can fold down the desk, recline your seat, and relax and watch your favourite show or lm.

e “o ce on wheels” also has a mini café with a pantry that comes with an oven, electric kettle, etc. ere is an onboard washroom that can also be tted with a shower if you so desire.

Expandable Motorhome

is “expandable motorhome” named Finetza, is also a creation of Pinnacle Specialty Vehicles, and its biggest distinguishing feature is its expandable cabin. Based on a Force Traveller Royale, the overall length is 6857 mm. But when the cabin at the rear is opened and expanded, the length becomes 8447mm, a substantial increase of 1590 mm.

When closed you have a cabin with a sofa. When it is expanded, this rear cabin converts into a full-size bedroom! e entire operation of expanding and creating additional space is motorised and can be operated via a switch or even android app on a tablet or mobile.

Finetza has sliding doors and air-suspension and boasts of an ergonomically stylised lounge with recliners, motorised convertible bed, full pantry with refrigerator, microwave oven, hot plate, gourmet co ee machine, an on-board washroom with sink, and an electromagnetic pump operated WC. is behemoth of a machine is not just any luxury vehicle, but an opulent home on wheels which takes luxury caravanning to a whole new level”.

It also has a noise cancelling cabin, wardrobe and storage space, sleeping for two to six persons and other useful features like exterior awning and powered footstep. e interior design, materials, colour combinations and overall look and ambience are top-class and the designers deserve to be complimented for generating additional space via the inventive “expandable cabin”.

Cars

When it is expanded, this rear cabin converts into a full-size bedroom

SELF-DRIVE CAMPER-VAN

e Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) in association with Motohom, has introduced a Mahindra Marazzo camper-van, which is given out on a self-drive rental basis and up to four can travel in it. e boot space has been smartly utilised to t custom made cabinets over which the rear seat folds down into a atbed with specially fabricated cushioning for two. ere is also a pop-up roo op tent for two with a ladder to climb up into it. is tent can easily be folded down when it’s time to drive to your next destination.

e customised storage boxes in the boot, one of which also slides out, hold amongst other things a gas stove, refrigerator, crockery, cutlery and some ready to cook packaged food and beverages. e Marazzo camper-van is also provided with a picnic table, chairs, shing rod, sports kit and a mini barbecue set. A bicycle mounted on a rack behind the tailgate is part of this camper-van and there is also a 35 litre water tank with a hand wash spray, tted below the rear bumper.

e one thing missing is a portable toilet, but MTDC says it is setting up camping grounds for caravans, and restrooms will be available there. Apparently MTDC also provides parking facilities in their resorts where the guests can use the toilets, electricity connections, ll up water, etc. BTI

Tourbillon watches are known for their precision and beauty. Here is a shortlist of a few tourbillon timepieces that you should take note of

Words Gayatri Thakkar

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept Flying Tourbillon

Piguet’s Royal Oak Concept Flying Tourbillon comes in a variety of colour combinations. e 18 carat pink-gold timepiece is encrusted with 208 sapphires of di erent shades of blue. e case consists of baguette-cut sapphires and glare proof sapphire crystal and caseback. e timepiece provides a humble water resistance of 20 m, but is truly a visual masterpiece with an openworked pink-gold dial and hands, a hand-stitched light blue alligator strap to match the sapphires. It also comes with an additional rubber strap with a constellation pattern. audemarspiguet.com

Breguet Classique Double Tourbillon 5345

“QUAI DE L’HORLOGE”

is timepiece has a classique “grande complication” with two rotating tourbillons, which are attached to a centre plate via a bridge. Breguet’s Classique Double Tourbillon 5345 has balance springs with Breguet overcoil, a sapphire dial engraved with Roman numerals. e centre plate of this hand-winding timepiece is hand-engraved on a rose engine. With a power reserve of 50 hours and 588 N calibre, 81 jewels, and a sapphire caseback, the timepiece exudes elegance. e stone coating strap with a triple blade folding clasp perfectly complements the platinum-heavy body of the watch. breguet.com

Breitling Premier B21 Chronograph Tourbillon 42 Bentley

e Breitling Premier Chronograph Tourbillon Bentley is the product of a partnership between Breitling and Bentley, and pays homage to Breitling’s invention of the modern chronograph. is heritage-inspired limited edition timepiece features a tourbillon complication, rectangular chronograph pushers, and Arabic numerals. In terms of design, the timepiece is masterfully cra ed with grooves on the sides of the case, an open tourbillon cage, and an overall vintage theme. With a red-gold case, emerald green dial, and gold brown alligator strap, the Premier Chronograph Tourbillon Bentley presents an unparalleled elegance.

Bulgari Octo Roma Carillon Tourbillon

e Octo Roma Carillon Tourbillon is Bulgari’s limited edition timepiece. It boasts a mechanical manufacture movement, three-hammer carillon and tourbillon. With a platinum case that compliments the blue skeletonised dial and alligator leather rubberised strap, the Octo Roma Carillon has a sleek, modern nish. An octagonal case and folding buckle are some of the other modern design features. e watch happens to be water resistant up to 30 m. It features an impressive power reserve of 75 hours. bulgari.com

Iwc Portugieser Tourbillon Myst Re R Trograde

IWC’s Portugieser Tourbillon Mystère Rétrograde is a sophisticated timepiece that boasts a perpetual calendar, moon phase model and ying tourbillon, powered by the 51900 calibre. e silver plated dial is enclosed in an elegant platinum casing, with a retrograde display, chronograph, and power reserve display. e timepiece can withstand up to thirty metres of water resistance, and the Pellaton automatic winding movement provides a power reserve for upto a week. An Italian black alligator leather strap ties the entire timepiece together, making for a combination of luxury and functionality. iwc.com

JAEGER-LECOULTRE RENDEZ-VOUS TOURBILLON

e Rendez-Vous Tourbillon is a timepiece that brings out the cra smanship of Jaeger-LeCoultre in both jewellery and watchmaking. With a white-gold case that boasts a diameter of 39 mm and a satin blue dial, the timepiece displays orale hands, and a complication in the lower half of the dial. A blue leather strap with double-folding white gold buckles ties the timepiece together. e rose gold Rendez-Vous Tourbillon sports a mother-of-pearl dial that is encircled with diamonds in a remarkable display of elegance. Amongst other features, the timepiece has a power reserve of forty- ve hours, and is water resistant up to 50 m. jaeger-lecoultre.com