ISSUE 44 OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2016
ISSUE 44 OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2016
Let’s Travel THE MAGAZINE FOR CORPORATE AND LEISURE TRAVELLERS
THE MAGAZINE FOR CORPORATE AND LEISURE TRAVELLERS
CHINA’S Great Wall Sojourn in SAMOA Events time in QUEENSLAND NEW ORLEANS Food experience
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contents 5 ASIA
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23 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
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35 AUSTRALIA 51 NEW ZEALAND 59 PACIFIC ISLANDS 75 CRUISING 85 BEYOND 97 BUSINESS SECTION
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2 www.letstravelmag.com Contents
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Asia China 6 Great Rides 10 India 14 Maldives 18
Destination China
Walking The Great Wall Words and images by Tim Roxborogh
Just the idea of a brand new, entirely fake replica of an ancient Chinese water town, built with the sole purpose of attracting tourists, could put some people off. At best it sounds kitsch and Vegas-like, at worst a tacky, misguided blight on an otherwise quiet and wonderfully ragged section of the Great Wall of China. By the time you add an enormous five-star hotel across the street designed to vaguely resemble a European castle and any notion of this being an authentic Chinese experience seemed more an impossibility than an improbability‌I loved it.
6 www.letstravelmag.com Asia, China
United States of America New Orleans 24 South Dakota 28
Australia, Hamilton Island www.letstravelmag.com 23 Juneau, Alaska
Destination New Orleans, USA
Bayou Bounty and Cajun Cocktails Words and images by Shane Boocock
T
he birthplace of the ‘Dixie’. In 1835 the Citizen’s State Bank on the corner of Royal and Iberville Streets in New Orleans began printing its own money including the ten-dollar bank note, with the French word for ten, Dix, printed on the note’s face. Americans, who frequented the bank but spoke little French, soon started to refer to this section of town as the ‘Land of the Dixies’, hence the word ‘Dixieland’, which later became a common phrase denoting the French Quarter. The Land of the Dixie is in fact 12 blocks long and six blocks wide, however Dixie eventually became synonymous with all of America’s southern states. One of the best visual references for first time visitors to New Orleans is the sight of all the distinctive tombs in cemeteries as you drive in from the airport. It typifies the resilience of this below sea level destination that the best way to save their loved ones from literally floating away, was for their long lost descendants to create the world’s first above ground burial crypts. Everyone has of course heard of Mardi Gras, the world’s biggest outdoor party, but New Orleans also boasts over 3,000 indoor bars, more per capita than any other city in the U.S.A.
Sazarac cocktail
“Nawoleans” as it’s often pronounced, is a city with a jambalaya pot full of southern roots having retained and maintained its cultural heritage, and distinct architecture in streets with streetcars and electric trams that bisect this city like a twisted and tangled net from a Bayou shrimp boat. Below the second-storey cast iron railings on Bourbon Street you can still listen to blues and jazz for free being played by street-corner musicians just across the way from some of America’s best award winning Creole restaurants. Besides the Cajun/Creole food that includes a hotchpotch of African, Caribbean and French Huguenot spices aided with a
24 www.letstravelmag.com U.S.A, New Orleans
good dollop of American culinary influences, this city is also famed for inventing the very first cocktail. Yes, New York did not invent the cocktail, as shocking as it sounds. The tale of the cocktail? In 1838, apothecary Antoine Peychaud routinely conflated brandy, absinthe and bitters, which he always served to friends as an aperitif in an egg-shaped cup. In French, the cup was called a ‘coquetier’. Americans who couldn’t pronounce it properly called the cup a ‘cocktay’ and hence, the word ‘cocktail’ was born. Originally, the brandy used was Sazerac de Forges et fils, but most bartenders eventually switched to a higher-proof rye whisky by 1870.
Australia Outback Queensland 36 Queensland 39
Australia, Hamilton Island www.letstravelmag.com 35
Destination Queensland
Big Sky Country Words and images by Catherine Milford
Driving out of Brisbane, the noise of the city slowly fades. Concrete greys and snaking traffic recede, and busy urban life gives way to sand-coloured grasses and eucalypt trees. Multi-level signposts give distance information to nearby landmarks. We’re off on a Queensland Big Sky Country Drive to the Scenic Rim and the Granite Belt of Southern Queensland, and while we’re still a long way from what a true blue Aussie would call “The Outback” we’re definitely not in Kansas any more, Dorothy.
36 www.letstravelmag.com Australia, Outback Queensland
New Zealand Waipoua Lodge 52 Hilton Auckland 56
Australia, Hamilton Island www.letstravelmag.com 51
Destination New Zealand
On the Edge of Time By Gayle Dickson
Peace. Serenity. Seclusion. Three things uppermost in my accommodation selections when I just want to get away from it all for a short break. If you can add in great food, exceptional service and fabulous rooms, then we have a winner.
52 www.letstravelmag.com New Zealand, Northland
Pacific Islands Fiji 60 Samoa 63
Australia, Hamilton Island www.letstravelmag.com 59
Samoa Serendipity
Pacific Islands, Samoa www.letstravelmag.com 63
Cruising Star Clippers 76 MSC Cruises 82
Australia, Hamilton Island www.letstravelmag.com 75
Hoist the Main Sail! Words and images by Roderick Eime
From lubber to lover, our small ship expert, Roderick Eime, gets a view from the crow’s nest on Star Clipper.
76 www.letstravelmag.com Cruising, Star Clippers
Beyond Namibia 86 Canada 92 Where in the World 96
Australia, Hamilton Island www.letstravelmag.com 85
Destination Namibia
Chobe Water Villas Namibian hospitality company, O&L Leisure, has opened Chobe Water Villas, a luxurious riverside retreat in the Caprivi Strip on Namibia’s Northern boundary. The resort is only a few kilometres from the unique place where four countries meet‌Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana and Namibia.
86 www.letstravelmag.com Beyond, Namibia
Business Section Virgin Australia 98 Business Events Australia 101 Francis Travel Marketing 118 Accor Hotels 128 The Difference Catering 134 New Products 136
Australia, Hamilton Island www.letstravelmag.com 97 New Caledonia
Virgin Australia International It felt good to leave behind a cold August day in Auckland and board a Boeing 737-800 plane, where, in just under four hours I strolled across the tarmac in barmy 20-degree Samoan temperatures.
98 www.letstravelmag.com Airline, Virgin Australia
EVENTS
w w w.thedifference.co.nz
CORPOR ATE
WEDDINGS
130 www.letstravelmag.com Business, Accor Hotels
132 www.letstravelmag.com Business, Accor Hotels
Pub ASX Thomson Reuters Charity Race Day_A4 01/04/2016 08:13 Page 1
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