V&T107: Cuba, Captain Cook, Dream Cruises

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JUL/AUG/SEP 2018 ISSUE 107 vacationstravel.com

CRUISING HURT IGRUTEN , AVALON AND DRE AM CRU IS E S .

SAY I DO IN FI J I WEDDINGS, HONEYMOONS, ROMANCE . *Entry valid only for Australian readers.

AU$12.95

PLUS JO RDA N CUBA ULURU

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Winter thrills .

AUST R I A SW I TZ E R L A N D JAC KS O N H O L E M A M M OT H

DA L L A S F O R T WO R T H

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POLAND

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TURKEY

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FINLAND

FROM THE EDITOR

THE MOUNTAINS ARE CALLING. John Muir, one of the men credited with starting the movement to conserve places of beauty in the USA, once wrote “The mountains are calling and I must go”. I totally get that. I love being in the mountains, and it is not just about being able to ski down beautifully groomed runs surrounded by nature’s finest work. There is so much more to do and see in these snowy wonderlands.

I love breathing the crisp mountain air, strolling through quaint villages that look like something out of a fairytale, sitting around roaring fires consuming hot chocolate, or wine, or both, and nothing beats the magic of being outside when glorious, fat snow flakes start floating down silently from above. I can never resist the urge to catch them on my hands – or tongue.

In this issue we feature stories on some wonderful mountain resorts in

Lee Mylne Lee Mylne is an award-winning travel journalist, author and photographer who divides her time between a leafy Brisbane inner-city suburb and a high-rise apartment on the Gold Coast. With a strong interest in people, history, culture and nature, she’s been travelling the world for her whole adult life in search of good stories and images. She has visited more than 60 countries, but her recent trip to Poland was her first to Eastern Europe, whetting her appetite to learn more about this fascinating region – and for colder weather. @lee_mylne

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Switzerland, Austria and the USA, and visit Finland’s Lapland and Estonia, with Northern Lights, reindeer and Christmas markets on the agenda.

If you are seeking a romantic vacation, a honeymoon destination or even want to get married in the tropics, we have some great suggestions in Fiji.

In Asia, we head to Laos to read about the transformation of Vang Vieng, and in the Red Centre of Australia, we feed body and soul with some inspirational offerings at Uluru.

In Europe, we fly above the fairy chimneys of Cappadocia in a hot air balloon, visit the battlefields and brand new Sir John Monash Centre in Flanders, explore the wonders of Greenland with Hurtigruten and visit Kraków in Poland.

We meet a cameleer with an Instagram account at Petra, Jordan, volunteer with Free the Bears in Laos and learn about the philanthropists supporting the arts scene in Dallas and Fort Worth. On the cruising scene we find out all about Dream Cruises’ Asian offerings and cruise down the Rhine with Avalon.

Dan Avila Dan Avila is a travel writer and professional photographer with an insatiable obsession for capturing images that evoke emotion and stir wanderlust.

Dan was the Australian Society of Travel Writers Photographer of the Year in 2016 and '17 and has been commissioned to produce images for books, magazines and tourism authorities worldwide. As enthusiastic as the day he held his first camera, work and play remain intertwined in pursuit of the next adventure. @danavilaphotography

In this issue, we have a three-day vacation to Jamala Wildlife Lodge in Canberra up for grabs. Sleep with a giraffe or lemurs for neighbours, dine just metres from white lions and hyenas, and enjoy behind the scenes tours of the National Zoo and Aquarium. To enter, go to our website and sign up for our weekly newsletter, Vacations & Travel Sunday Traveller.

If there is a destination you would love us to cover, send me an email at vteditor@morrismedia.com.au and if you see our magazine in your travels, post a pic of yourself reading it on Instagram and tag @vacationsmag.

In the meantime, prepare to be inspired to travel and, if you are caught dreaming about your next holiday at work, we apologise.

Helen Hayes Editor-in-Chief

Roderick Eime Roderick (Rod) Eime has been writing for Vacations & Travel for nearly 17 years and celebrated 2016 with the coveted PATA Gold Award for his story on Da Nang from issue 96.

Rod has a penchant for remote locations and emerging destinations which he loves to explore from expedition ships. It seems he’s not content unless travelling to some place no one has ever heard of, much less visited.

While producing stories and images from his explorations, Rod has won numerous awards including two gongs for ASTW Photographer of the Year. @traveloscopy

TRIED & TESTED

MV REEF ENDEAVOUR

By Roderick Eime When most people think of cruising Fiji, it’s the big white ships sailing to ports such as Suva, Lautoka and Port Denarau that come to mind. But in truth, these itineraries only scratch the surface of these fascinating islands. The many islands of Fiji are perfectly suited to exploration by small ship and Captain Cook Cruises have more than 40 years’ experience cruising these waters and it shows.

MV Reef Endeavour was built in Suva in 1996 and carries up to 130 passengers in 63 cabins across four levels.

She has had numerous refurbishment during her life, the most recent in 2016 added interconnecting family suites and comprehensively upgraded public spaces and decor. Most often MV Reef Endeavour can be found sailing the warm waters of the Mamanuca and Yasawa Islands, just a few hours out of her home port of Port Denarau, near Nadi. These three- and four-night cruises are a perfect short break and can be either joined for a seven-night cruise or added to a resort stay ashore. Several times each year, she will sail beyond these waters and eastward to Ovalau, Taveuni and the remote Lau group on colonial history or cultural cruises where her prowess as an expedition ship comes to the fore.

Dining, while not lavish, is flavoursome and hearty with reliance on locally sourced fresh fish, fruits and vegetables along with imported meats such as New Zealand lamb. Cuisine reflects traditional island-style dishes such as curries and roast meats with root vegetables such as taro and yam. In the evening, along with musical entertainment, a kava bowl (tanoa) is often set up for guests to participate in an informal ceremony. captaincookcruisesfiji.com

LE LAPÉROUSE IS COMING TO THE KIMBERLEY! Explore the oldest of places in the newest of ships

Sail onboard new luxury small expedition ship, Le Lapérouse, the youngest and most environmentally sustainable vessel in the Kimberley, and be one of the first to experience the Blue Eye underwater multi-sensory lounge, a world-first feature.

Le Lapérouse’s compact size allows her to get close to shore before launching her 12 Zodiacs®.

Accompanied by your specialist Expedition Team, explore mangroves inhabited by saltwater crocodiles, venture beneath vertiginous waterfalls, probe rivers that carve through high sandstone walls and view heaving emergent tidal reefs. You may also witness migrating humpback whales and interact with Indigenous Australians who will share their stories of the Dreamtime and extraordinary rock art.

Onboard enjoy PONANT’s signature French luxury and ambiance, cool off in the pool, and with an Open Bar, relax, drink in hand, admiring the stunning sunsets before enjoying fine cuisine. With just 92 staterooms & suites, all with private balcony, Le Lapérouse will be your luxurious floating base camp - small ship expedition cruising at its best.

Book now to save up to 10%* on last remaining staterooms in 2019!

DARWIN – BROOME or BROOME - DARWIN: Departs May to August 2019 Contact your Travel Agent or our PONANT Cruise Consultants on: 1300 737 178 | reservations.aus@ponant.com | au.ponant.com

*Ponant Bonus discount subject to change based on availability. Correct as at 04/06/2018. Refer to au.ponant.com for T&Cs. Photographs © PONANT Nick Rains, Jean-Philippe Nuel, Philip Plisson. ABN: 35 166 676 517

in Cuba

WEAR AND TEAR

T H E C O LO U R F U L C O S T U M E S A N D B I G C I G A R S A R E J U S T A F E W O F T H E TO U R I S M I C O N S O F H AVA N A .

B U T W H O A R E T H E S E S M I L I N G FAC E S A N D W H E R E D O T H E Y C O M E F R O M ? BY RO D ERICK EIM E

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very day, there she is on the same step.

Every day, an immaculate new outfit, a basket of fresh flowers and a Cohiba cigar the length of her hand and as thick as an anchor rope. Her skin, which is the colour of rich honey, contrasts perfectly with her bright, banana-yellow traditional bata cubana (frilled dress) and matching headscarf.

I’m here in in the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Centro Histórico of Havana where mojito-sipping tourists throng to the beat of Afro-Cuban rhythms among the plazas, narrow alleyways and lanes first cobbled by the Spanish in the 16th century.

The atmosphere is light-hearted and buoyant and every corner seems to have its own minstrel or costume character.

I’m intrigued by these bright personalities who ply their trade with tourists, posing for snaps for a few dollars a click. Smiles and poses always at the ready, they transform instantly from semi-boredom into ebullient artiste at the sight of a camera.

“These are the city’s official costumbristas,” says guide Yummet Vallin, adding, “they’re here every day, rain or shine. It’s their life.”

Costumbrista is a new word to add to my vocabulary: it means ‘one who adheres to local customs and manners’, particularly in former Spanish colonial countries such as Cuba.

I sneak a few candid shots of my colourful subject as she leans nonchalantly against the dark wooden doorway, one hand on her hip,

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the other elbow on her knee and the smokeless cigar pressed against her thick lips. Her eyes stare down the street, looking but not seeing.

“Can we take a few more photos?“ I enquire of my guide.

“Sure, let’s ask,” replies Yummet.

As we approach, our costumbrista bursts into life as if a switch is flipped. All smiles and fluttering eyelashes, we get the whole treatment and her full repertoire of poses.

It’s a practised routine, but one that delights the tourists nonetheless and soon she has drawn a small but appreciative audience.

Our private performance complete, we give her a few pesos and she’s clearly pleased.

But who is this woman and what brought her to this vocation?

Her name is Migdalia Baez and I learn she is a former percussionist and has plied her new trade here on the historic Calle Obispo for more than five years, just 20 metres from Hemingway’s favourite haunt, Hotel Ambos Mundos. She earns several times her former salary in a country where even doctors earn less than US$50 (AUD$66) per month.

But even though individual entrepreneurship is now carefully encouraged in Marxist–Leninist Cuba, Migdalia pays a hefty tax to smile and pose for tourists. Around her neck is her official licence that can be inspected at any time by the municipal authorities.

Around the corner near La Bodeguita del Médio, the spiritual home of the mojito, we

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Opening image: Migdalia is a former musician, now earning a living as an official ‘costumbrista’. You’ll find her in the alley near Hotel Ambos Mundos.

Clockwise from left: Near La Bodeguita del Médico, Rafael sports a magnificent Jazz-era ensemble. He is a retired mechanic; Anita waits for customers near her spot outside a souvenir shop at the cruise port; Cabbie with his vintage 1950s Buick waits for a fare beneath a likeness of Che Guevara.

find Rafael sporting a magnificent jazz-era ensemble, complete with fedora and perfect black-and- white, wingtipped leather oxfords. His oversized cigar looks like it would take root if you planted it. A former car mechanic, he has puffed on the dry stump for 25 years.

Many of the other ladies I recognise from travel brochures and guidebook covers. Glamourous Anita has adorned numerous items of marketing collateral over the years, including postcards and fridge magnets. Her sultry eyes and coquettish smile are a dead giveaway.

We jump back in our 1950s’ Chevrolet taxi for the ride to Callejón de Hamel (Hamal Alley) where Afro-Cuban rumba culture reigns. It’s an eclectic, vibrant backstreet, plastered with garish murals and vivid street art. Little bolthole bars and art studios make this one funky location that appeals to those less inclined to the mainstream historic district with its sober cathedrals, shops and museums. Here, I literally stumble on Leannia Contreras, dressed like a stunning Yoruba princess

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in lavish golden robes. Yoruba is a West African culture that arrived with the slave trade more than 400 years ago and is enjoying a healthy revival in the form of music and dance.

Every Sunday is like Mardi Gras in Callejon de Hamel.

We sit and chat in one of the bars and Yummet tells me how the neighbourhood has evolved from a dingy ghetto for dropouts, addicts and prostitutes into an almost gentrified art precinct. This is thanks to the altruistic artist Salvador Gonzáles Escalona who, through his work with the disaffected and disenchanted youth, attracted a growing number of tourists who have slowly built its prosperity.

This new capitalism extends to taxi drivers, restaurateurs, B&B operators and tour guides – all of whom must be licensed and pay their dues to the State. State-employed tour guides are paid as low as the average wage and must live on tips.

Yummet, 39, is employed by Intrepid Travel and, when I ask how her salary compares to that of her former job as an English teacher, she just laughs and shakes her head. That is why you find professors driving taxis and lawyers like Ernesto Guevara-March running tourist businesses.

The youngest son of the legendary revolutionary hero, Che, whose iconic portrait is plastered everywhere around Cuba, was just two years old when his father was captured and summarily executed in Bolivia in 1967. Today, he and his Greek-born wife, Maria-Elena Gioka, operate La Poderosa Tours with Argentinean partners. Harley-Davidson riders come from around the world for a taste of revolutionary riding all over Cuba, visiting historic sites, scenic locations and sublime

beachfront resorts over the space of a week. Their fleet of modern Harleys are a head-turning sight amid the pre-1960s US-made Chevrolets and Dodges that still populate roads of a similar vintage.

I travel with Ernesto and his two-wheeled entourage to historic Trinidad de Cuba, Cienfuegos and Santa Clara riding a vintage-styled 2012 Dyna Switchback. Over cigars and too much rum we talk motorcycles, tactfully avoiding politics and his famous father.

When the US-backed Batista Government fell in 1959, Che and Fidel were the heroes. While Che made the fatal decision to spread Communism elsewhere, Fidel set up Government, ‘nationalised’ all foreign assets and went on to guide the Caribbean republic on a roller-coaster ride through numerous global political upheavals. The 1961 CIA-backed Bay of Pigs fiasco, the nail-biting missile crisis the following year and the catastrophic 1991 collapse of their benefactors in the Soviet Union; all of which tested both the Castro regime and the people to the utmost.

Since the ailing Fidel resigned in 2008, handing over to his younger brother, Raul, Cuba has struggled on but relaxed some of its restrictions and the population’s living standard is slowly rising, mainly through tourism. Fidel died in 2016, aged 90. In the meantime, regular Cubans battle on regardless, with that revolutionary spirit seemingly undiminished and a love of life, music and bright costumes powering their optimism.

Viva la Revolución! •

Photography by Roderick Eime.

TRAVEL FACTS GETTING THERE United Airlines flies direct to Havana from Houston.

Fly direct from Sydney, Australia, to Houston or from Melbourne (to Houston via LAX). Fly from Auckland direct to San Francisco and then to Havana. united.com TOURING IN CUBA Peregrine Adventures’ small ship adventure cruise Cuban Panorama sails from Havana to Cienfuegos (or reverse) via Maria La Gorda and Trinidad over eight days from November through March. Peregrine Adventures: peregrineadventures.com MSC Cruises operate the 2000-passenger MSC Opera year-round from Havana cruising to neighbouring countries such as Jamaica, Mexico and the Cayman Islands. MSC Cruises: msccruises.com.au Intrepid Travel offer more than 1000 day tours in 170 destinations around the world, including Havana, under its brand Urban Adventures.

Intrepid Travel: urbanadventures.com La Poderosa Tours offer guided motorcycle tours around Cuba aboard modern Harley-Davidson motorcycles and led by Ernesto Guevara-March. Beginning in Havana, tours include all accommodation and bike hire. Non-rider partners welcome. movidas.com.au

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FURTHER INFORMATION It is this writer’s strong recommendation to book your travel through an experienced and knowledgeable agent.

Contours Travel have a great range of tours in Cuba: contourstravel.com.au

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We know Latin America by heart

Let us take you on a personalised journey to experience the true essence of Cuba, Mexico, Central and South America on one tailor-made itinerary or a small group tour

www.contourstravel.com.au 1300 135 391

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Cruising DREAM

A N E W L U X U RY L I N E I S CA L L I N G A L L AU S T R A L I A N C R U I S E R S TO A S I A . BY RO D ERICK EIM E

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ustralians love their cruises. That’s a given. Some of us are wedded to a particular favourite cruise line, while others are looking around the world for new destinations and experiences.

Dream Cruises are a new brand of cruise line offering high-end cruises out of Singapore and Hong Kong with two ships built in Germany and launched in 2016 and 2017. The same company, Genting, which operates the popular Star Cruises and has recently purchased the super luxury Crystal Cruises, built the two in Germany.

Genting Dream was launched first, followed by her twin sister, World Dream, with both 335 m, 3400-guest vessels intended for cruising exclusively in Asian waters. World Dream is based out of Hong Kong, while her sister calls Singapore home. Each one operates two-, three- and five-night itineraries out of their home ports, which include destinations in Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia and Indonesia.

Your clever cruise agent can string these pearls together to make a 12-night itinerary and really make a holiday out of it and still have time for pre- and post- tours in these exciting Asian cities.

The ships themselves are exciting alternatives to those offered in our local waters. Brand new, with the latest technologies and creature comforts, these ships really are suitable for the entire family with myriad dining and entertainment options.

BEST AT SEA One of Australia’s most acclaimed chefs, Mark Best (ex-Marque and Pei Modern), opened his first eatery at sea, Bistro by Mark Best. Featuring superb Western cuisine, Best makes use of both local and imported ingredients including Australian beef – in contrast to the big American brands, which fly in US meat for all their ships.

As you can imagine, Asian cuisine features prominently on both ships and there is a huge choice for Asian food-loving Aussies to explore. For example, the Food Federation venue is a nod to the famous street food cultures in all Asian cities with choices like bak kut teh from Malaysia, curry laksa from Singapore and Hainanese chicken rice among the many Chinese favourites set up in a traditional hawker-style setting.

For those who might enjoy a tipple before or after dinner, the bar alternatives are both varied and sophisticated. In Johnnie Walker House you can indulge your passion for the finest whiskies or celebrate something – anything – at Bubbles with exclusive sparkling wines and Champagne. Mixt cocktail bar is as much entertainment as it is sumptuous cocktails, with all the latest extractors and centrifuges preparing your favourite cocktail or one you’ve never tried before.

SANCTUARIES AT SEA Beyond the regular attractions of these superb ships, Dream Cruises have perfected the ‘ship-within-a-ship’ concept with lessons learned from its luxury partner, Crystal Cruises. Dream Palace offers discerning travellers an exclusive enclave away from the hurly-burly of the main areas. This peaceful sanctuary can be compared to a boutique hotel or a private clubhouse with such luxuries as white-gloved European butler service, preferential bookings at specialty restaurants and shore excursions.

About 150 suites and staterooms are set aside on both vessels for The Palace experience with every guest enjoying access to a private sundeck, gymnasium and spa. For that ultimate experience or any extra special celebration, enjoy the sumptuous Palace Villa. With 224 sq. m of indulgent space, these mini-mansions each feature their own whirlpool spa, terrace balcony and even a grand piano.

The inside tip for Australians wanting to sample Dream Cruises for the first time is to choose from the range of Singapore departures where Genting Dream is homeported.

The bustling, clean and safe multicultural metropolis already

Opening image: Johnnie Walker House bar.

From left to above: The sun deck and pool on Genting Dream; and the Penfolds Wine Vault.

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has close ties to Australia and is a relatively easy city to negotiate with an excellent transport network, superb hotels and plenty of attractions for all ages to enjoy. This international hub already sees passengers of many English-speaking and European nationalities enjoy Dream Cruises to such ports as Phuket, Langkawi, Sihanoukville and Bangkok.

What’s more, when you compare Dream Cruises fares with other leading cruise lines, you will be pleasantly surprised, especially if you catch one of the many discount offers available. Or, check out the two for one plus balcony upgrade deals onboard Genting Dream for certain itineraries out of Singapore.

With two more Global Class ships on the way in 2020 and 2021, Genting’s Dream offerings in Asia are here to stay. •

Photography courtesy of Dream Cruises.

Clockwise from top: Genting Dream at sunset; relaxation aboard; The Palace Experience onboard includes butler service.

TRAVEL FACTS FURTHER INFORMATION Dream Cruises: 1300-658-666; dreamcruiseline.com

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