we mark our milestone 100th issue with a grand tour of inspiring islands, hotels and ’hoods, restaurants, rail trips and adventures. In the following pages, you’ll find A few, like phu quoc in vietnam, that also appeared in our first magazine, and others, such as the st. regis langkawi, making their world debuts. these trips will have you planning countless future vacations—because the hardest thing about picking 100 awesome places in asia isn't in compiling the list but in culling it.
Burma Boating yacht charters
(burmaboating.com). From their port in the pristine Mergui Archipelago, where they run regular cruises, the fleet can sail you anywhere from the Andaman Sea to the Java Sea in relaxed luxury.
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Nos. 1-9
shed harried hong kong in beautiful, beachy, leafy Sai Kung.
Wonderfruit.
Pattaya The much-maligned Thai beach town steps up its game with a bunch of new classy properties, the Hotel Baraquda (mgallery.com), Ozo (ozohotels.com), MĂśvenpick (movenpick-pattaya.com), and U (upattaya.com) among them. Hotel Baraquda.
Music Festivals
F R O M T O P : C O U R T E S Y O F W O N D E R F R U I T; C O U R T E S Y O F h ote l B A R A Q U D A ; C O U R T E S Y O F T R I . O pposite : C O U R T E S Y O F B urma B oatin g
Expand your aural horizons at some of the many music fests around the region. Wonderfruit
Adelaide
(wonderfruitfestival.com). Chonburi, Thailand. December 15-18. Arts, sustainable living and music pumping til past dawn.
(adelaidefestivalcentre. com.au). A slew of festivals throughout the year showcasing art forms from cabaret to guitar.
Rainforest World Music
Fuji Rock (fujirock-eng. com). Yuzawa, Japan. July 22-24. All the big names, presented Coachella-style, minus the pretentions, plus hot springs.
(rwmf.com). Kuching, Malaysia. August 5-7. The best traditional musicians from the far reaches of the globe. Festival
Yarra Valley wine tour : Pretty, premium, fuss-free vineyards just an hour east of Melbourne.
sri lanka: hotel hopping
Tri.
Sri Lanka’s still-untrammeled landscape, welcoming culture and small size make it seem purpose-built for boutiques, which are appearing all around the island, and are ever-more accessible thanks to improved infrastructure. Plan your own hop among new hotels Owl and the Pussycat (otphotel.com), Tri (trilanka.com) and Anantara (anantara.com). Or let multi-property Jetwing (jetwinghotels.com) or Celyon Tea Trails (teatrails.com) shuttle you around Sri Lanka.
Aqua Mekong.
river cruises Roll down the rivers and into the hearts of diverse cultures on these gold-standard cruises. Irrawady The Strand (thestrandcruise.com)
Mekong Aqua Mekong (aquaexpeditions.com)
Qantas First Lounge, Sydney.
Bali Beach Clubs
Potato Head, Seminyak
(ptthead.com)
amazing Airline Lounges Earning premium status on these airlines could be worth it just for their five-star signature lounges. Qantas First Lounge:
The Pier, Cathay pacific:
Concorde Bar & Lounge,
Nikki Beach, nusa dua
SYD and MEL
HKG
British airways: SIN
(qantas.com.au)
(cathaypacific.com)
(britishairways.com)
(nikkibeach.com)
C L O C K W I S E F R O M T O P : T ony Law ; C O U R T E S Y O F P otato Head , S eminyak ; C O U R T E S Y O F N I K K I B E A C H B a l i ; C O U R T E S Y O F Q antas . OPPOSITE: COURTESY OF THE BRANDO
Yangtze River Avalon (avalonwaterways.com)
Nos. 10-22
The Brando.
Private Islands The ultimate luxury? Getting away from everything and everyone on an island paradise you can call your own. Whether they’ve got lavish amenities like Laucala’s private submarine or over-the-top eco-ethos embodied by The Brando’s seawater air conditioning system, these resorts indulge 110% of your wildest castaway dreams. Aroveda by Akaryn , Cambodia (akaryn.com) Balesin , Philippines (balesin.com) Bask Gili Meno , Indonesia (baskgilimeno.com) the brando , French Polynesia (thebrando.com) Laucala , Fiji (laucala.com)
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