SOUTHEAST ASIA
HUNGRY FOR HANOI 8 HAPPENING HANGOUTS
CAMERON HIGHLANDS Malaysia’s little slice of England
SIX OF THE BEST PENANG EATERIES CHINA’S GUILIN Modern art in an ancient setting
T+L INSIDER TIPS FOR BETTER PICS
APRIL 2011
The
EUROPE SPECIAL
AT LONDON’S SAVOY HOTEL
Behind the scenes and thru’ the ages
NORTHERN HIGHLIGHTS
ICELAND SURVIVOR’S EURO GUIDE
BEST ADVICE? READ THIS NOW!
SINGAPORE SG$7.90 ● HONG KONG HK$43 THAILAND THB175 ● INDONESIA IDR50,000 MALAYSIA MYR17 ● VIETNAM VND85,000 MACAU MOP44 ● PHILIPPINES PHP240 BURMA MMK35 ● CAMBODIA KHR22,000 BRUNEI BND7.90 ● LAOS LAK52,000
Tra ve l a n d L e i s u re A s i a . c o m
contents
April 2011 volume 05 : issue 04
108
86 The Ultimate Wine Lover’s France Delving deep into the Rhône Valley’s vaunted terroir, bruce schoenfeld finds a destination that delivers on a fairy-tale promise: charming villages, alfresco meals, passionate winemakers and some of the country’s most accessible wines. photographed by andrea fazzari. guide and map 93
6 april 2011 | travelandleisureasia.com
94 Little England Malaysia’s Cameron Highlands is noted for its cool weather, tea plantations and strawberry farms. melanie lee discovers that, beyond these British attributes, it is a quirky resort that connects with nature. photographed by darren soh. guide and map 99 100 Undiscovered Italy On a journey through the southern region of the Salento, michael frank comes across a hidden land
of unexpected pleasures where culture, flavors and tradition still reign supreme. photographed by david cicconi. guide and map 107 108 True North The stark, primeval scenery of Iceland is fertile ground for Nordic cuisine. shane mitchell heads to a country of Viking descendants and modern foragers to uncover a wild-at-heart culinary aesthetic. photographed by christian kerber. guide and map 116
christian kerber
features
The local traffic in Iceland.
contents
april 2011 volume 05 : issue 04 T+L SOUTHEAST ASIA
SOUTHEAST ASIA EUROPE ISSUE / SPAIN / LONDON / ITALY / ICELAND / PENANG / HANOI / GUILIN
HUNGRY FOR HANOI 8 HAPPENING HANGOUTS
APRIL 2011
The
EUROPE SPECIAL
AT LONDON’S SAVOY HOTEL
CAMERON HIGHLANDS
Behind the scenes and thru’ the ages
Malaysia’s little slice of England
SIX OF THE BEST PENANG EATERIES CHINA’S GUILIN
NORTHERN HIGHLIGHTS
ICELAND SURVIVOR’S EURO GUIDE
Modern art in an ancient setting
APR I L 2011
T+L INSIDER TIPS FOR BETTER PICS
BEST ADVICE? READ THIS NOW!
SINGAPORE SG$7.90 ● HONG KONG HK$43 THAILAND THB175 ● INDONESIA IDR50,000 MALAYSIA MYR17 ● VIETNAM VND85,000 MACAU MOP44 ● PHILIPPINES PHP240 BURMA MMK35 ● CAMBODIA KHR22,000 BRUNEI BND7.90 ● LAOS LAK52,000
04April COVER MLv11.indd 1
Tra ve l a n d L e i s u re A s i a . c o m
15/03/2011 12:15
On the cover
newsflash 34 Tapas in Barcelona, Italian military chic, Bob Dylan pays a visit to Vietnam, Tokyo’s new galleries and more.
insider
46 50
39 First Look Bangkok welcomes a St. Regis. by lara day 40 Asian Scene Penang’s hottest foodie hub. by robyn eckhardt 44 Quick Study Three photo workshops to hone your skills. by steve mollman 46 Navigator A style revival comes to St Petersburg. by valerie stivers-isakova 50 Eat In Hanoi, a flavorful long weekend. by naomi lindt
34 8 april 2011 | travelandleisureasia.com
44
to p : f r a n k h e r f o r t; b e l o w f r o m fa r l e f t: a a r o n j o e l s a n to s ; c o u r t e s y o f u s a i ; c o u r t e s y o f a l f i e g o o d r i c h
At The Savoy, London. Silk shift dress by Vivienne Westwood; Obi belt by Paul Smith; shoes by Jaeger; bracelets and necklace by Miss Selfridge. Photographed by Tom Hoops. Model: Jovana @ Profile Model. Styling: Pop Kampol. Hair and Make-up: Joey Choy using M.A.C. Photographer assistant: James Eldridge. Stylist assistant: Steven Murray.
contents
APRIL 2011 VOLUME 05 : ISSUE 04
76
57 ICON With its chic quilted body and leather-and-chain strap, Chanel’s 2.55 handbag is a Modernist masterpiece. by carol tse 58 FASHION We take a stylish spin around one of London’s legendary hotels, The Savoy. photographed by tom hoops
best of the region’s artisans, architecture and food. by yolanda edwards. photographed by matthew hranek 76 PORTFOLIO Every August, the Spanish town of Sitges marches to some pretty tall drummers. jackie rado captures the excitement of this firework-laden festival.
journal 64 OBSESSIONS When it opened in 1889, The Savoy in London set the standard for luxury. After a three-year, £213 million revamp, charles maclean asks whether it still does. photographed by james merrell
68 departments
68 HOTELS Nestled amid Guilin’s timeless scenery of limestone karsts and misty waterways, Hotel of Modern Art is striving to build a legacy for future generations. by lara day 72 DRIVE Crisscrossing between Switzerland and Austria, this three-day drive uncovers the 10 APRIL 2011 | TRAVELANDLEISUREASIA.COM
12 IN THIS ISSUE 14 EDITOR’S NOTE 18 CONTRIBUTORS 20 MAIL
72
22 BEST DEALS 24 ASK T+L 118 MY FAVORITE PLACE
C L O C K W I S E F R O M TO P L E F T : J A C K I E R A D O ; TO M H O O P S ; H OT E L O F M O D E R N A R T ; M AT T H E W H R A N E K
stylish traveler
58
in this issue Iceland 108
London 58, 64 Austria 72 Rhône River Valley 86 Sitges, Spain 76 Salento, Italy 100
trip ideas
DESTINATIONS Europe Amsterdam 118 Austria 72 Budapest 36 Greece 26 Iceland 108 Ireland 26 London 58, 64 Rhône River Valley 86 Salento, Italy 100 Sitges, Spain 76 Spain 26, 34 St. Petersburg 46 Stockholm 37
Active and Adventure
72
Arts + Culture
37, 118
Beaches + Islands
108
Culture + History
76, 94, 100
Design
46
Fashion
57, 58
Food + Drink
40, 50, 86
Hotels + Resorts
22, 39, 64, 68
Travel Tips
24, 26, 30, 44
Featured Destination
Cameron Highlands, Malaysia
This month marks the best time to see (and smell) the world’s largest flower, Rafflesia. Cameron Highlands is often 10 degrees cooler than elsewhere in Malaysia so what should you expect of the weather? Well, like its distant English cousin, it’s completely unpredictable. Fortunately, there are enough diversions to keep visitors occupied. (See page 94 for more on Cameron Highlands.)
12 april 2011 | travelandleisureasia.com
darren soh (3)
travel tip
Southeast Asia Bali 22 Bangkok 22, 39 Cameron Highlands 94 George Town 40 Hanoi 50 Hong Kong 22 Hue 22 Koh Samui 22 Kuala Lumpur 22 Asia Guilin 68 Tokyo 37
editor’s note where to find me )) matt@mediatransasia.com )) matt leppard tlsea on Facebook
PICKS OF THE MONTH Some of my personal travel favorites.
Blighty, it’s probably a question of familiarity breeding indifference. (And the weather—I Skyped with my parents yesterday from a mistily warm and humid retreat in Bandung, Indonesia, and much of the discussion was about where their next Mediterranean beach break would be.) All that aside, our London content this Europe special focuses largely on The Savoy (“London Legend,” page 64), which sadly I’ve not experienced as Charles Maclean has. Also, I’m ashamed to say that I’ve never been to Iceland (there is a pattern here: cold weather and I are not the best of friends), although Reykjavík has long been a celeb hideout, and I’m inspired to visit following our feature “True North” (page 108). But I definitely have been to Spain (my first overseas travel destination, aged 11), and can say with certainty that our photo essay on the Sitges festival (“A Devil of a Time,” page 76) captures not only the physical warmth of the country, but also the fiery, flaming passion
of its people and culture. And melding some of the above themes with a convenient Asian transition, I was pleasantly surprised by the suggestion that we look at the British influence on Malaysia’s Cameron Highlands (“Little England,” page 94) and to read the resulting tale of strawberries and Land Rovers. Of course, these days, you, our dear readers, may have your minds on the desirability of long-haul travel. The good news is that according to recent studies, such as those from the International Luxury Travel Market’s Leaders Forum, in which 24 travel experts took the temperature of the industry, the coming years will see solid growth in luxury travel. Memorable experiences, service quality and, of course, the industry’s ability to generate the “wow” impact that T+L readers crave are key. The great news? Asia–Pacific will lead this long-haul recovery. Of course, I know I can always count on T+L SEA readers to blaze trails.— m at t l e p pa r d
Immigrant T+L SEA reviews it, so I visit it. My first impression? Electrifying. Plaza Indonesia Level 6; immigrantjakarta.com. Thailand Anantara Bangkok Sathorn Aside from 425 rooms, this urban escape has an infinity-edge pool, completely fitted out spa and tennis court, all in the heart of the city. 36 NarathiwatRatchanakarin Rd.; 66-2/210-9000; bangkok-sathorn. anantara.com. Europe travel news SwatchAirAsia KL–Paris Route Save on flights to Paris (and enjoy the premium flatbeds). Details on airasia.com.
travel + leisure editors , writers and photographers are the industry ’s most reliable sources . while on assignment, they travel incognito whenever possible and do not take press trips or accept free travel of any kind.
14 April 2011 | travelandleisureasia.com
tom ho ops
I ’ v e n ev e r r e a l ly u n d e r s t o o d t h e t h r i l l o f v i s i t i n g E n g l a n d, b u t b e i n g E n g l i s h a n d h av i n g s p e n t 3 0 y e a r s o f m y l i f e i n
Indonesia Grand Hyatt Jakarta Try the Burgundy bar here for fine wines, cocktails and outstanding views. Jln. M.H. Thamrin Kav. 28/30; jakarta.grand. hyatt.com.
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Melanie Lee writer Assignment Toured the Cameron Highlands for “Little England” (page 94). Favorite thing about England My old school, Kew College in Richmond for the cute uniforms and happy memories of gnawing on fruit-flavored erasers with friends. Cameron Highlands Surprise The omnipresence of strawberry paraphernalia. Asia or Europe Both. Ideally, I’d like to spend one year traveling around Europe and two years traveling around Asia. Overrated Malaysian Souvenir Pewter. Next Big Trip Another former British colony: Canada.
18 april 2011 | travelandleisureasia.com
Steve Mollman writer
David Hagerman photographer
Assignment Wrote our photo tips story (“The Perfect Shot,” page 44). The pinnacle of your photographic career I snapped a piece of chicken for Time. Fave place in Asia to photograph Restaurants serving chicken, based on previous success. Alternatively, Mt. Bromo in eastern Java. Don’t leave on a trip without... Fresh podcast episodes. They can transform a mind-numbing flight delay or traffic jam into a mindexpanding experience. Favorite travel gadget The iPad. Phone screens are too small and laptops remind me of work. Place you’d love to visit Tongariro National Park in New Zealand to experience its majesty. That might outweigh the frustration of being unable to capture it on my camera.
Assignment Photographed “George Town’s New Flavor” (page 40) and contributed to our photo tips story (page 44). First camera My father bought me a Canon before I headed to China in 1986. I took along 12 rolls of film, more than I’d ever seen. Favorite photography Travel led to food, which in turn, led to more travel. Digital or film I started shooting digital in 2007. But I am always amazed at the detail and color in film when I scan my old transparencies. Dream destination India is full of great images. That said, give me a good, lively market and chances are I’ll be a happy camper. Next big assignment I’m working with a community in Chiang Mai that is celebrating its 100th anniversary. The project will result in a book and a gallery show in 2012.
Naomi Lindt writer Assignment Wrote “Three Days in Hanoi” (page 50). Best Asian Eats Malaysia sends me into an endlessly thrilling food delirium. I’d move to Penang just to eat and die happy. Favorite Vietnamese dish I make pilgrimages to Saigon for the banh canh cua—a tapioca noodle soup with huge crab claws—at Thanh Binh restaurant. Don’t leave Hanoi without... A few hours of keg-pulled beer at a bia hoi. Many serve up mean snacks, like cucumbers dipped in chili salt. Street food or fine dining Nothing compares to the magic of a perfectly executed dish from a makeshift kitchen. Aching to See Bhutan. But I could also be lured by an over-water bungalow in the Maldives.
TOP ROW , FROM LEFT : c o u r t e s y o f m e l a n i e l e e ; c o u r t e s y o f s t e v e m o l l m a n ; c o u r t e s y o f n a o m i l i n d t ; c o u r t e s y o f d a v i d h a g e r m a n BOTTOM ROW , FROM LEFT : d a r r e n s o h ; a l f i e g o o d r i c h ; a a r o n j o e l s a n t o s ; d a v i d h a g e r m a n
contributors
mail Letter of the month
Excellent Adventures
It was good to see some off-the-beaten track stories in your most recent issue. Both the Gobi Desert [“Here be Dinosaurs,” February 2011] and, closer to home, Cambodia’s Cardamom Mountains [“Out in the Real World”] were reminders of why I like to travel. Shopping malls don’t do it for me and I can only eat so much, so new adventures are always welcome. I hope you include more of these types of stories in your future issues. —thom reynolds, singapore
Asking Prices
Is it me or are your Best Deals a bit pricey? There are a few each month that are worth considering but some of the hotels and resorts listed seem to be priced out of this world. A lot of the packages often contain “added value,” which I don’t always want or need. Can we have more just on accommodation packages, without all the add-ons? A mix of affordable and five-star accommodation would do wonders. And how about some mentions of airline deals when they happen? —margaret koh, singapore Roam Deals
My advice for roaming abroad? Don’t! As you mentioned in your article [Strategies, February 2011], the prices can be exorbitant, something most travelers won’t realize until they receive their next billing. Skype isn’t always an option either, so I normally find myself with a handful of local SIM
cards, the cheapest way of staying in touch when needed. Now, if I could just remember which one is for which country, I’d be even further ahead of the game! —sheila keau, kuala lumpur Go Phone-less
I’ve found the best thing to do to avoid roaming costs is to shut your phone off when traveling. Or even—and I know this is unthinkable for many—leave it at home. Who really needs to stay in constant touch with the outside world from a tropical beach? When I go away on a break, I want to sever all ties with my world of work. Getting away from some of my relatives is just an added bonus. Of course, in case of an emergency I leave contact numbers for the resort I’ll be at, but I find leaving my phone behind makes for a more relaxing vacation. It’s even better if I can avoid the lure of the Internet too. —brian yee, shanghai
e-mail t+l Send your letters to editor@travelandleisuresea.com and let us know your thoughts on recent stories or new places to visit. Letters chosen may be edited for clarity and space. The letter of the month receives a free one-year subscription to Travel + Leisure (Southeast Asia only). Reader opinions expressed in letters do not necessarily reflect those of Travel + Leisure Southeast Asia, Media Transasia Ltd., or American Express Publishing.
bestdeals
budget-friendly tips for your travel planning
AFFORDABLE ASIAN TRIPS
deal of the month s n a p
Anggun Boutique Hotel, Malaysia.
Matahari Beach Resort & Spa, Indonesia.
Vedana Lagoon Resort & Spa, Vietnam.
WATERFRONT STAY
bangkok Opening Special at the Anantara Bangkok Sathorn (66-2/210-9000; bangkok-sathorn.anantara.com). What’s Included A stay in a Deluxe room;
A two-night stay in a Lagoon View Bungalow for the price of one; and daily breakfast. Cost US$300 (US$150 per night), double, through September 30. Savings 50 percent.
daily breakfast; and Wi-Fi Internet. Cost From Bt2,900 per night, double, through May 31. Savings 18 percent.
VIETNAM Opening Promotion at Vedana Lagoon Resort & Spa (84-54/3819-937; vedanalagoon.com) in Hue. What’s Included
PERFECT FOR COUPLES
MALAYSIA Anggun Romantic Getaway package at Anggun Boutique Hotel (60-3/ 2145-8003; anggunkl.com) in Kuala Lumpur. What’s Included A three-night stay in an Anggun suite; round-trip airport transfers; daily breakfast; a bottle of sparkling wine; one Malaysian dinner for two with cocktails; Wi-Fi Internet access; and extended stays at RM420 per night including breakfast. Cost RM1,599 (RM533 per night), double, through May 31, blackout periods apply. Savings 25 percent.
URBAN breaks
HONG KONG Introductory package at The Ritz Carlton, Hong Kong (852/2263-2263; ritzcarlton.com/hongkong). What’s Included
A stay in a Deluxe room; daily American breakfast; and in-room Internet access. Cost From HK$4,088 per night, double, through April 30. Savings 38 percent. 22 april 2011 | travelandleisureasia.com
BALINESE ESCAPES
INDONESIA Stay 4 Pay 3 promotion at Uma Ubud (62-361/972-448; uma.como.bz) in Bali. What’s Included A four-night stay in
a Terrace room; daily breakfast; in-room Internet; daily guided morning walk and yoga class; shuttle services to Ubud town; and use of fitness facilities. Cost From US$780 (US$195 per night), double, through May 31. Savings 25 percent. Escape to the North West of Bali package at Matahari Beach Resort & Spa (62-362/ 92312; matahari-beach-resort.com) in Bali. What’s Included A three-night stay in a Garden View room; a 20-minute welcome massage; all meals (excluding lunch and dinner beverages); a two-hand massage by the beach; a four-hand Royal Bali massage at the spa; and a snorkeling trip or a guided bicycle tour of the surrounding temples. Cost From US$508 per person (US$339 per night), double, through June 24 and from September 15 through October 27. Savings 15 percent.
THAILAND Opening Offer at Outrigger Koh Samui Resort & Spa (66-77/417-300; outriggerthailand.com/ samui) on the island’s Bophut Beach. What’s Included A stay in a Beach Deco room with king-size or twin beds; transfers to and from Koh Samui International Airport; daily breakfast; and wireless Internet access. Cost From Bt3,240 per night, double, through June 30. Savings 50 percent.
Outrigger Koh Samui Resort & Spa, Thailand.
c l o c kw i s e f r o m t o p l e f t : c o u r t e s y o f A n g g u n B o u t i q u e H o t e l ; c o u r t e s y o f M a t a h a r i B e a c h R e s o r t & S p a ; c o u r t e sy o f V e da n a L ag o o n R e s o r t & S pa ; c o u r t e sy o f O u t R i g g e r Ko h S a m u i R e s o r t & S pa
i t
A KALEIDOSCOPE OF CULTURE AND HERITAGE BECKONS
Discover the many facets and rich cultures of our ethnic communities when you stay at Village Hotels & Residences. Located in the heart of Singapore始s diverse enclaves, our exclusive hotels and residences offer modern comforts with friendly and attentive service wherever you stay.
Is there an end in sight on the restrictions to carrying liquids on board airplanes?
—jamie durand, hong kong
The short answer to that question is no. With each region dependent upon what happens elsewhere in the world, it’s probably best to look at Europe as an example. At the end of this month, the European Commission plans to ease restrictions on passengers passing through Europe from a third country who have bought duty-free liquids, aerosols and gels, either at an airport or on board. But airports and airlines are calling for the ban to remain in place until 2013, when restrictions are to be eliminated. They fear that existing technology does not sufficiently improve air safety. For now, flights to Europe from Malaysia, Singapore, the U.S., Canada and Croatia allow airport duty-free purchases to be carried on board without rescreening. So, stay tuned.
On the beach in Phuket.
Q: With the political turmoil in Thailand last year, what happened to the big deals I expected in Phuket? —susan aiko, tokyo a: Actually, Phuket is coming off its best year
ever for tourist arrivals. The resort island saw a 22 percent leap in passenger arrivals, says hospitality consultant Bill Barnett, partly due to a noticeable increase in the number of international flights that bypass Bangkok and head directly to Phuket. That meant a record 3.5 million passengers in 2010. Average rates for luxury and upscale rooms were down slightly, though middle-of-the-range resorts actually saw their rates increase. So if you’re looking for room deals in Phuket for that perfect getaway, search out new properties that often have great opening rates and book well in advance, which should also save you money on airfares as well.
Q: I need suggestions for a quick weekend escape from Manila. —mark cho, beijing a: Just 30 minutes by air from the Philippine capital is Bellarocca Island Resort & Spa (63-2/817-7290; bellaroccaresorts.com; doubles from US$336), home to 10 private villas, 30 guest rooms and, scheduled to open this month, a spa. Located on its own island, the resort evokes a scene straight out of Greece with its whitewashed architecture perched along a hillside and its comfortable outdoors approach. Getting there requires a 40-minute land transfer and a 5-minute crossing to the island by speedboat or ferry.
what’s your travel question?
Jet-set restrictions.
24 april 2011 | travelandleisureasia.com
» E-mail us at editor@travelandleisuresea.com » Post queries at Facebook.com/TravelandLeisureAsia » Follow us on Twitter at @TravLeisureAsia
(Questions may be edited for clarity and space.)
c l o c k w i s e FROM t o p LEFT : c o u r t e s y o f j w m a r r i o t t p h u k e t ; c o u r t e s y o f b e l l a r o c c a i s l a n d r e s o r t & s pa ; © E k at e r i n a S e m e n o va / D r e a m s t i m e . c o m
askt+l
At Bellarocca Resort in the Philippines.
Strategies travel smarter
The Frank Gehry–designed hotel at Marqués de Riscal winery, in Spain’s Basque Country.
Affordable
Europe 26 april 2011 | travelandleisureasia.com
courtesy of Marques de Riscal
A weaker euro and shaky economies have made bargainhunting in Europe easier than ever. T+L gives you the low-down on three money-saving itineraries in Spain, Ireland and Greece. BY JENNIFER CHEN
insider t+l picks
greece sea, sun and island charm in the cyclades The first domino to fall in the recent European economic crisis, Greece has been badly hit by riots and strikes. Last spring’s protests in Athens scared off holidaymakers, with tens of thousands of cancellations reported in the capital. Though the situation is delicate—as of press time, a new wave of strikes was causing havoc—the government is now predicting a rebound in tourism, further lowering rates by cutting the VAT tax on hotel rooms. The average hotel rate in Athens from January to November this year is around €105, compared to last year’s average of €111, according to HotelsCombined. com. While Santorini and Mykonos are legendary playgrounds for sunseekers, the Cyclades Islands offer the same whitewashed houses and labyrinthine streets, but without the crowds and the inflated prices.
c l o c k w i s e f r o m to p : © n o o l / D r e a m s t i m e . c o m ; c o u r t e s y o f v i l l a n oto s ; c o u r t e s y o f fata m o r g a n a
Sifnos Island, in Greece.
€95
per night The pool at Fata Morgana. Sifnos A recently days completed paved 1–2 road from the capital, Apollonia, has put the fishing village of Vathi on travelers’ radars, but it still has the prettiest and most pristine beach on the island. Located just 30 meters from the beach, each of the three units at Archipelago Seaside Apartments (no address; 30-22840/71120; archipelago-sifnos.gr; studio €60) has its own terrace. Down the beach, Manolis (30-22840/71111; lunch for two €25) reputedly offers the island’s best clay-oven cuisine. Don’t forget to order the salad topped with the local variety of mizithra, a fresh farmer’s cheese.
History buffs can spend hours wandering the winding lanes of the ancient cliff-top village of Kastro, located on the east coast. As you do, remember to look out for the Roman sarcophagi on the streets and the odd Doric column stuck in a wall. Milos The daily highdays speed ferry from 3–4 Sifnos takes less than an hour and an economy seat costs only €16. Book online at aegeanspeedlines. gr, which also lists discounts to other destinations. Base yourself in the main port of Adamas, which has a vibrant nightlife. The six airy studios and apartments at Villa
Notos (30-22870/28200; villanotos.gr; studios from €52) feature terraces, iron bedsteads and Korres toiletries. Adamas’s waterfront is dotted with a good selection of tavernas and restaurants: try the grilled octopus at Kynigos (30-22870/22349; dinner for two €25). A volcanic island, Milos is known for its lunar landscapes, multi-colored rock formations and thermal springs. If you’re ambitious, hire a kayak (seakayakgreece.com) and paddle around the many grottoes and beaches. Sarakiniko and Pollonia are the most popular swimming spots; for a quieter scene,
€52
per night
Villa Notos.
head north to Mandrakia, a fishing village with traditional dwellings built into caves. Folegandros
days Blessedly free of 5–6 Santorini-style discos and hen parties, this 31-square-kilometer island has become the hideaway for those in the know. Its relative isolation has helped protect its charm: highspeed ferries between Folegandros and Milos are only available during the summer (seajets.gr; €25). Get into the low-key vibe at Fata Morgana (Hora; 30-22860/41237; fatamorgana.com.gr; studios from €95), which has 14 tasteful studios around a large pool. A short stroll brings you to the medieval village of Hora, where you can rent a motorbike to explore the island. (The public bus and on foot are your other options.) On warm nights, the crowds at Hora’s tavernas spill out onto the streets. O Kritikos (30-22860/41219; dinner for two €20) specializes in grilled chicken, while the rustic Pounda (no address; 30-22860/41063; breakfast for two €9) serves hearty breakfasts of homemade bread, local cheese and perfect tomatoes.
»
travelandleisureasia.com | april 2011 27
strategies Affordable Europe
SPAIN pintxos, wine and architecture in basque country
Overlooking San Sebastián.
San Sebastián
days Renowned as a 1–3 culinary mecca, San Sebastián is an excellent gateway to Basque Country. Take the five-hour train from Madrid—the high-speed AVE train system hasn’t reached San Sebastián yet. A oneway ticket costs €21.50, 60 percent off the regular price, when purchased in advance online (renfe.com). The Pensión Altair (Calle Padre Larroca; 34-943/293-133; pension-altair.com; doubles from €52) has eight cleanlined rooms in the Gros district. It’s a 10-minute stroll to the parte vieja, or the old town, where you can practice the city’s main sport: txikiteo, or the pinxtos crawl. For modern pintxos, head to La Cuchara de San
€8
per person
The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao.
28 april 2011 | travelandleisureasia.com
Telmo (Calle 31 de Agosto, 28; 34-943/420-840; lacucharadesantelmo.com; pintxos for two €30)—try the braised beef cheeks— and Bar Zeruko (Calle Pescadera, 10; 34-943/423451; barzeruko.com; pintxos for two €25), which serves inventive dishes like bacalao smoked over a mini grill. Foodies will love Hondarribia, a picturesque fishing village where a vanguard of young chefs have set up shop. Meals here are less expensive than at the better-known temples of cuisine such as Mugaritz and Martín Berasategui. At Sugarri (Calle Nafarroa Behera, 1; 34-943/643-123; sugarrirestaurante.com; lunch for two €53), Bixente Muñoz draws inspiration from local ingredients in dishes like grilled squid with caramelized onions.
Diem (Calle Enrique Privado, 7, Navaridas; 34-945/605172; doubles from €70), a stone-and-brick 18th-century house in an ancient, sunbaked village. A few kilometers south is Elciego, home of the Marqués de Riscal winery (Calle Torrea, 1, Elciego; 34945/606-000), one of the oldest vineyards in the area. The winery made a splash
bilbao Head north days to Bilbao and check 7–8 into the Miró Hotel (Calle Alameda de Mazarredo, 77; 34-90/2117777; mirohotelbilbao.com; doubles from €101), a sleek 50-room property across the street from the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao (Avenida
€101
per night
rioja alavesa Hit
days the road to the 4–6 vineyards of Rioja Alavesa. Protected by the Cantabrian Mountains, this arid and hilly region differs dramatically from the forests along the coast, but it’s equally mesmerizing. Nekatur (nekatur.net) is an association of agroturismos and rural guesthouses in Basque Country, offering visitors affordable lodgings steeped in history and local color. Settle in at Carpe
alleyways of the medieval walled city of Laguardia.
At the Miró Hotel.
in 2006 when it opened a titanium-and-sandstone Frank Gehry–designed hotel. Don’t forget smaller producers like Bodega El Fabulista (Plaza San Juan, Laguardia; 34-945/621192; bodegaelfabulista. com), where you can tour the underground cellar. Afterward, explore the courtyards and narrow
Abandoibarra, 2; 34-94/4359000; guggenheim-bilbao. es; admission €8). At the end of the day, locals converge on the Plaza Nueva for pintxos. Stop by Zuga (Plaza Nueva, 4; 34-94/4150321; pintxos for two €23) and Sorgin Zulo (Plaza Nueva, 12; 34-94/415-0684; pintxos for two €25) for creative pintxos.
c l o c k w i s e f r o m t o p : © V a n e s s a k / D r e a m s t i m e . c o m ; c o u r t e s y o f M i r ó H o t e l ; c o u r t e s y o f G ugg e n h e i m m u s e u m b i l b a o
A construction bust, high unemployment and strikes. Despite Spain’s litany of economic woes, the tourism industry has been resilient. Hotel rates have dipped, but only by 0.4 percent, according to the Spanish tourism board, compared to 12 percent in Greece and up to 18 percent in Portugal. And you can still stretch your budget. The U.K. post office recently reported that the country offers better value to travelers than even Thailand or Mexico. A little legwork on the Internet turns up plenty of bargains. For instance, the state-run network of paradores, or converted castles and palaces (paradores-spain.com), is offering a 35 percent discount on three- to seven-night stays. Here, an eight-day itinerary for Basque Country, from San Sebastián to the Rioja Alavesa wine region.
IRELAND music, cuisine and hospitality on the coast Europe’s economic slump slammed Ireland’s tourism industry last year, with visitor numbers falling by 15 percent. That’s good news for bargain hunters. Hotels and tour operators have had to slash prices: Hotels.com recently ranked Ireland fourth in cheapest hotel rooms in the euro zone, with room rates averaging €79. The government, meanwhile, has lowered a tax on passengers leaving Irish airports from €10 to €3. Start planning your trip on Tourism Ireland’s website (discoverireland.com); which lists deals on accommodations and packages. Driving, one of the best ways to enjoy the lush green landscape, is also more affordable than ever: Auto Europe (autoeurope.com) has car hires from €8 a day. Below, a five-day trip along the southwestern coast lets you soak in the country’s musical and culinary heritage.
c lo c kw i s e f r o m to p : © S p h i n x 0 0 0 5 1 4 / D r e a m st i m e .co m ; co u rt e sy o f r i v e r l e e H ot e l ; co u rt e sy o f b r i d g e h o u s e
Charles Fort, in Kinsale, Ireland.
Cork Ireland’s days second city has long 1–2 come into its own with a vibrant music and restaurant scene. Drop your bags off at the River Lee Hotel (Western Rd.; 35321/425-2700; doylecollection. com; doubles from €99), a contemporary, neutral-toned property with a bar overlooking the river, and head to the always-packed Farmgate Café (English Market; 353-21/427-8134; farmgate.ie; lunch for two €30), where local ingredients like rock oyster and lamb shine. Later, browse the stalls at the English Market (corkenglish market.ie) downstairs and make sure to stop by On the Pig’s Back (353-21/4270232; onthepigsback.ie) for a distinct taste of Irish farmhouse cheese. Traditional music fills the air of many a Cork pub, and the impromptu jam sessions are usually free. The atmospheric Sin É (8 Coburg St.; 353-21/450-2266) hosts young and old musicians alike as well as poetry readings. For something different, the 1920’s-styled Crane Lane Theater (Phoenix St.; 353-21/4278487; cranelanetheatre. ie) brings in eclectic acts, including up-and-coming Irish rock bands. If the weather is balmy, have your pint in their beer garden.
Kinsale This pretty days seaside town half an 3–4 hour south of Cork has earned a reputation as the county’s culinary capital thanks to visiting chefs like Rick Stein. The Blue Haven (3/4 Pearse St.; 353-21/4772209; bluehavenkinsale.com; doubles from €80) has 11 cozy rooms and a renowned restaurant focused on modern Irish cuisine. Work up an appetite by taking a tour of Charles Fort, a starshaped edifice that dates to 1678. Many restaurants offer an early bird special at dinnertime. With its spot right on the harbor, Fishy Fishy Café (The Pier Rd.; 353-21/470-0415; fishyfishy. ie; dinner for two €45) serves startlingly fresh
seafood. The fish and chips make a good, cheap meal. Chefs aren’t the only ones to have colonized
€99
per night
Kinsale in recent years. The town also has a number of galleries and artisan shops. The eponymous Giles Norman Gallery (45 Main St.; 353-21/477-4373) showcases stirring black-and-white prints of Irish landscapes, while Enibas (42 Main St.; 353-21/477-7022) sells baubles by local designers such as John Rocha. Clonakilty and
Cork’s River Lee Hotel.
€70
per night
Bridge House, in Skibbereen.
days Skibbereen With its 5 pastel-hued Georgian townhouses and lively pubs, the village of Clonakilty makes a fine lunch stop. The Oracle (1 Western Rd.; 353/85-121-8527; lunch for two €24) serves satisfying burgers in a relaxed setting. On the way out, stop into Clonakilty Blackpudding Co. (16 Pearse St.; 353-23/8834835; clonakiltyblack pudding.ie) for the village’s most renowned export. The bustling market town of Skibbereen is one of the epicenters of West Cork’s Slow Food movement. If you don’t catch the Taste of Cork food festival in September, assemble a picnic at the weekly farmer’s market on Saturday (skibbereenmarket. com). Turn in for the night at Bridge House (Bridge St.; 353-28/21273; bridgehouseskibbereen. com; doubles from €70), a quirkily cozy B&B filled with Victorian bric-a-brac. ✚
travelandleisureasia.com | april 2011 29
smarttraveler
the ins and outs of modern travel
top tips
for using social B&B websites 1 Each social B&B website has a slightly different personality. Airbnb is the most eclectic; Roomorama is more upscale and focuses on cities; Crashpadder has extensive Europe listings; and iStopOver is good for big events, like the World Cup. Choose the most appropriate site for you.
Home Away from Home Social B&B networks have quickly spread in Europe and the United States. But will they take off in Asia? By Jennifer Chen
Believe it or not, travel writers do not always swan about in a cocoon of luxury. While planning a recent trip to Turkey, I found myself searching for a hotel in Istanbul’s trendy Beyoğlu district that was both budget-friendly and not utterly dispiriting. That’s when I logged onto Airbnb.com, a three-year-old online marketplace where people can rent out couches, spare rooms, apartments or entire houses. A few clicks of the mouse turned up a cozy studio in the heart of Beyoğlu, complete with welcoming hosts. Airbnb and other so-called social B&B websites—Crashpadder.com; iStopOver. com; Roomorama.com—have soared in popularity in Europe and the U.S. over the past year. The appeal? They’re more reliable than Craigslist and Couchsurfing. com. They also give experienced travelers a taste of local life, and if you’re lucky, they provide instant friends and tour guides in a strange city. Now these websites have their sights set on Asia. Of the four main ones, Airbnb has the most comprehensive presence in 30 april 2011 | travelandleisureasia.com
the region: 2,200 properties, compared to Crashpadder’s 80 Asian listings. Those numbers are growing daily, with Beijing, Tokyo, Bangkok and Seoul seeing the majority of new entries. There’s also a Chinese-language site—a clear sign of where the next big market is. Others are catching up. To further their Asian expansion, Roomorama.com set up a Singapore office earlier this year, said Jia En Teo, one of the site’s founders. They now have 700 listings in Asia, a number projected to hit 1,200 soon. Since then, Roomorama has been scouring Asia for properties that fit their company’s tonier profile, such as a lovely renovated one-bedroom apartment in Shanghai’s French Concession (US$50 a night). Teo, a Singaporean, admits there are cultural hurdles in Asia. Many Asian travelers want the full-on hotel experience, and unlike in major European and American cities, it is still relatively affordable to stay in a decent hotel in Asia. “But that will change, already Chinese cities are getting more expensive,” she noted. ✚
2 The more information, the better. A reliable host will have a detailed property description, photographs and guest reviews. Unlike with Tripadvisor.com, only actual guests can write reviews, guaranteeing authenticity. Also, the host’s “response rate” gauges how quickly they handle queries. Carefully review information about the property: security deposit requirements, location, bed type and cancellation policies. 3 It’s worth familiarizing yourself with a website’s payment policy. Most social B&B’s will hold the payment in escrow until 24 hours after you check in. Guests are often given a payment code that they present to their hosts. 4 In Europe, prices are often listed as per person. Double check what the final price is before making a booking. 5 Not happy with what you see? Contact the website immediately. Airbnb, iStopOver and Roomorama will help mediate disputes. If the situation is dire, Airbnb and Roomorama will help you find alternate lodgings. 6 Most hosts want to know they are renting to someone trustworthy, so take the time to introduce yourself. Set up a time and place to pick up the keys, and keep your host’s mobile number handy. 7 Remember, hosts are opening their homes to you, so be polite, tidy and discreet. For pampering, stay in a hotel. 8 After your stay, fill out an honest review to help expand the community.
Illustrated by Wasinee Chantakorn
newsflash your global guide to what’s happening right now...
food
viva la tapa In Barcelona, the masterminds behind El Bulli are putting a new spin on the small plate
Chef Albert Adrià at 41°, the cocktail bar at Tickets, in Barcelona.
34 april 2011 | travelandleisureasia.com
Food adventurers lamenting that they’ll never see the inside of El Bulli, now that the temple of experimental cuisine on the Costa Brava is being transformed into a cooking foundation, have reason to celebrate. Mad-scientist brothers Ferran and Albert Adrià have another trick up their sleeves. The just-opened Tickets, in Barcelona’s former cabaret district, aims to reinvigorate that Catalan staple, the tapa—with an Adrià twist, of course. “We want to offer a new approach to a traditional cuisine,” says Albert, whose nearby, more classic tapas bar, Lolita (formerly called Inopia), still draws lines around the block, even after five years. At Tickets, guests can grab a seat at one of six themed bars, including a parrilla grill station and another devoted to Mediterranean ingredients. On the menu: inflatos (fried, aromatized cereals) and artichokes with smoked Idiazábal cheese serum. For the concoctions that made El Bulli famous—sliced Parmesan ice cream, spherified “olives”—choose something off the menu at the cocktail bar, 41º. As its name might suggest, Tickets is dining as entertainment, a concept driven home at the Technicolor dessert area, set beneath a big-top tent, where staff theatrically greet guests with flattering comments. “Only if they deserve it,” Albert says. 164 Avda. del Paral-lel; 34-93/423-2448; dinner for two €65. —heidi mitchell
Photographed by Javier Salas
newsflash fashion
Thermal baths at the Rácz Hotel, right. Below: A Deluxe room at the Budapest hotel.
military chic
update
Hungary’s capital has always had a few things going for it: classical music; Art Nouveau architecture; a wine scene just out of town. Design and luxury, not so much—until this year. Opening in June, the 67-room Rácz Hotel & Thermal Spa (raczhotel.com; doubles from US$336), near the city’s main shopping street, has dramatic chandeliers and views of the Royal Palace, but the real draw is the 16th-century, unesco-designated hammam spa with domed ceilings. Up next this summer: the 102-room Buddha-Bar Hotel Budapest Klotild Palace (buddhabarhotelbudapest.com), the second hotel project by the Parisian hospitality group, with an Asian themed bar and a restaurant with—yes!— an enormous Buddha as its centerpiece. Further evidence of Budapest’s new Golden Era of Design? WAMP (wamp.hu), a monthly fair showcasing everything from fashion to dishware by local artists.— h e i d i m i t c h e l l
music
DYLAN IN VIETNAm We’re willing to bet, and you’ll excuse us here, that the chance to see Bob Dylan live in Saigon won’t come again—or at least, not too soon. The musical icon, who made early inroads with anti-war songs and turns 70 next month, is slated to perform April 10 to commemorate beloved Vietnamese composer Trinh Cong Son, often referred to as the country’s Bob Dylan. The show takes place at RMIT University in an 8,000-capacity stadium (thaiticketmajor. com; tickets from US$50). Never one to say no to another tour, Dylan is also appearing April 3 in Taipei (tickets from NT$800), April 12 and 13 in Hong Kong (tickets from HK$580), and April 15 in Singapore (tickets from S$140), all before a six-city Australian hop. bobdylan.com. — c h r i sto p h e r ku cway 36 april 2011 | travelandleisureasia.com
Bob Dylan.
For more than 40 years, the Usai family has been making gear for the Italian armed forces. Now they’re bringing their sartorial tradition and top-notch workmanship to civilians. Our favorite piece for spring? This durable, refined nylon jacket (US$865). With its sharp, cadet-style cut and and exposed seaming, it’s sure to stand the test of time for fashion lovers and travel warriors alike. usaicollection.com. —mimi lombardo
c l o c kw i s e f r o m t o p l e f t : COURTESY OF R á c z h o t e l & t h e r m a l s p a ( 2 ) ; c o u r t e s y o f u s a i ; a f p / g e t t y
next stop: budapest
on the map
made in stockholm
t o p : CLOC K W ISE FROM TOP LEFT : COURTESY OF U l r i k a S a n d s t r ö m ; PIA ULIN ( 3 ) ; B IANCA B RANDON - CO X ( 2 ) ; p i a u l i n bottom: Keizo Kioku
4 Xoko At this modern café, traditional treats get an artistic twist; try the princess cake draped with pale green marzipan and crowned with red raspberries. 15 Rörstrandsgatan; 46-8/318-0487; dessert for two Kr70.
Acne Archive You’ll find past best sellers— suede bodysuits, asymmetrical jackets—by edgy Swedish label Acne on the racks, along with a trove of shoes, accessories and one-off designs. 53 Torsgatan; 46-8/302-723; acnestudios.com. — ingrid k . williams 6
6
Nor rb
5 Mellqvist Need a lift? The city’s finest espresso is served in this hole-inthe-wall coffee shop, where local devotees pop in for daily caffeine fixes and leisurely weekend brunches. 4 Rörstrandsgatan; 46-8/302-380; coffee and pastries for two Kr88.
N
an gat
2 Carin Wester The current darling of the Stockholm fashion scene, Wester stands out with sharp silhouettes and playful prints for men and women, all on display in her white-walled boutique. 24 Rörstrandsgatan; 46-8/305-415; carinwester.com.
3 Paus Bar & Kök The tiled walls hint at the bistro’s previous incarnation as a charcuterie. These days, menu favorites include grilled steak and scampi risotto, while the bar is a popular haunt for post-work aperitifs. 18 Rörstrandsgatan; 46-8/344-405; dinner for two Kr530.
s Tor
1 Ulrika Sandström Studio Feminine frills and romantic ruffles get a dose of rock-and-roll in the homegrown designer’s latest collection, but don’t miss her line of neutral shifts at the pocketsize shop. 36 Norrbackagatan; 46-8/5456-4410; ulrikasandstrom.se.
acka gata n
On the outskirts of Sweden’s capital, the neighborhood of Birkastan has become a center for the city’s new creative class.
1 2 3 4
Rör st
rand
sga 5 tan
art
new TOKYO galleries
In Japan’s capital, three ambitious young art spaces to watch
Ai Weiwei’s “Cube Light” at Misa Shin, in Tokyo.
Run by a former director of Art Fair Tokyo, the eponymous Misa Shin (1-2-7 Shirokane, Minatoku; misashin.com) opened in a street-facing industrial space last November with a dazzling light installation by Ai Wei Wei. Look out for shows by Korea’s Back Seong Woo and New York–based Momoyo Torimitsu. • Cult art-anddesign publishers Sprout take on a fresh dimension with Sprout Curation (1-3-2 Kiyosumi, level six, Koto-ku; sprout-curation. com), a recent addition to the hard-to-reach Kiyosumi art complex in East Tokyo. Pieces by internationally recognized young artists such as Hiroshi Sugito make it worth the trek. • Next door, Ai Kowada (1-3-2 Kiyosumi, level six, Koto-ku; aikowadagallery.com) gives a welcome platform to emerging talent. Expect anything from Yoshinori Niwa’s edgy video works to Minawa Hirasaw’s eclectic oil paintings, on display this month.— l a r a d a y travelandleisureasia.com | april 2011 37
13-16 JUNE 2011_SHANGHAI
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insider
destinations trends restaurants + more
The Caroline Astor suite at the new St. Regis Bangkok.
CHECK-IN: BANGKOK. All eyes are on Thailand’s capital as
c o u r t e s y o f s t. r e g i s B a n g k o k
the St. Regis unveils its first property in the country. By Lara Day A new St. Regis is bound to turn heads in any city, and Thailand’s hotel-dense capital is no exception. Hidden on levels 12 to 24 of a 47-story edifice, the St. Regis Bangkok (159 Rajadamri Rd.; stregis.com/Bangkok; 66-2/207-7777; opening rates from Bt7,300) opens this month with a stunning contemporary-meets-classic Thai design—swathes of raw silk; stingray-clad wall pieces—and 227 sumptuously appointed guest rooms, which start from a generous 45 square meters. All offer jaw-dropping views from floor-toceiling windows, but the plush Caroline Astor suite stands out for its corner vantage over the lush fairways of the Royal Bangkok Sports Club. Wherever you stay, you’ll be looked after by one of the brand’s famed butlers, who will personally attend to your every need, from brewing your choice of coffee to arranging your Bangkok itinerary. In keeping with the St. Regis ethos, the property melds unabashed opulence with tasteful restraint—not that it fails
to dazzle. Perched on the 15th floor, the stark, black-granite, 22.8-meter pool sparkles with fibre-optic lights after dark; next door is the gorgeous Elemis Spa, where you can relax in a hammam while soaking in views of Lumpini Park. Naturally, there’s no shortage of dining and drinking options. Restaurants JoJo (Italian) and Viu (international) are already open, while a branch of London’s Zuma (modern Japanese) is slated for July. Sip your preferred vintage at Decanter, an intimate wine lounge with a globe-spanning 1,200-bottle collection. And at the St. Regis Bar, defined by soaring ceilings and black-suede columns, sample the brand’s signature drink, the Bloody Mary, reinterpreted as the Siam Mary—feisty with chili, lemongrass and Thai basil—served in a custom-designed silver goblet. Whatever your tipple, be there for 6 p.m. to witness a magnum of Moët-Chandon Grand Vintage 2000 opened with a gleaming Thai saber. ✚ travelandleisureasia.com | april 2011 39
insider
Asian Scene
malay modern
Clockwise from left: Kopi Cine, on Stewart Lane; delicate scallops with prosciutto at Cassis; sitting down at the tiny Amelie Café.
AMELIE CAFé
George Town’s New Flavor.
The World Heritage Site is growing into Penang’s hottest foodie hub, with a swathe of restaurants and cafés livening up the city. By Robyn Eckhardt
When unesco named George Town a World Heritage Site in 2008, it set in motion a rejuvenation that’s prompted Penang-ites like 37-year-old Loh Choon Kueng to open new businesses in its inner city. “I see a lot of younger people moving back,” says Loh, who opened Amelie Café (6 Armenian St.; no phone; smoothies for two RM20) with his graphic designer partner Khor Gaik Ee late last year. Working in a miniscule kitchenette at the back of their cheery, bordering-on-bohemian fourtable café on increasingly hip Armenian Street, the friendly couple serve good coffee, pastas and fresh-fruit drinks—order the restorative orange, banana and ginger smoothie—at easyon-the-wallet prices. LITTLE KOPI
Just up the street, brand-new ice cream café Little Kopi (164 Masjid Kapitan Keling St. at the corner of Armenian St.; no phone; ice cream for two RM20) offers eight flavors—don’t miss the caramel-reminiscent gula melaka made with smoky Malaysian coconut-palm sugar—as well as a small selection of cakes, all served in an airy, simply furnished space overlooking one of George Town’s loveliest Chinese clan associations. All sugared up? Stop next door at Bon Ton the Store, a carefully curated clothing, accessories and gifts boutique. SRI MELAYA
The opening of Sri Melaya (1 Rope Walk; 604/261-3763; RM80 for two) last May marked a homecoming of sorts for affable owner Ocean Teh, who grew up in the city before moving 40 april 2011 | travelandleisureasia.com
Photographed by David Hagerman
to the suburbs with his family at age 13. Occupying the ground floor of a refurbished shop house (Teh lives upstairs) just off busy Chulia Street, the restaurant has gold-yellow walls trimmed in white, contemporary darktimber furniture, terra-cotta-tile floors and a cozy inner courtyard. Its menu reflects Teh’s eclectic tastes, ranging from coconut milkenriched spicy Sarawak laksa to meaty braised lamb shanks. Order the Melaya spaghetti, a fiery tangle of chewy pasta seasoned with chopped chilies, lime juice and Thai basil. CASSIS
Launched last spring in bustling Pulau Tikus, Cassis (368-1-14 Belissa Row, Jln. Burma; 604/229-3858; six-course set menu RM200 per person) was a first for Penang: a restaurant combining an upscale environment with truly world-class cuisine. The dining room—swathed in soothing beige and vanilla hues, and hidden from passers-by behind crimson curtains—sets a suitably swish stage for French-Japanese fare by Penang native chef Beh Weng Chia, who last cooked in Australia’s Margaret River. Experience gained in San Francisco—most notably in the kitchen of seafood restaurant Aqua—is channeled into dishes like Atlantic salmon on a bed of spinach-truffle ragu, and roasted monkfish in a pool of light champagne foam. Meat lovers are well catered to, with a steady rotation of foie gras dishes and a decadent rack of lamb. Weekends bring a sixcourse set meal, which includes three seafood appetizers and a glass of wine.
desserts—apple and guava crumble; black-asnight chocolate Marquis—are to die for. The bar also mixes excellent cocktails, best enjoyed at al fresco tables with a bird’s eye-view of George Town’s always interesting street scene, or at the back of the adjacent Reading Room, where films are screened nightly. SOUL KITCHEN
The Italian-inspired menu and Midcentury Modern–esque surrounds at Soul Kitchen (102 Lebuh Muntri; 60-4/261-3118; RM60 for two) set the place apart on Peranakan-mansionheavy Muntri Street. The year-old venture of transplanted Berliners Michelle Yim and Tonio Neuhaus features a big and breezy front verandah, a revolving list of daily pastas, thincrust pizzas and tramezzini (grilled sandwiches) scrawled on a blackboard in the dining room, and a friendly pooch named Forest. Kuala Lumpur native and foodie Teoh pulls a mean espresso and writes up the day’s dishes, which might include minced-pork-rich spaghetti Bolognese (Soul Kitchen is Penang’s only nonhalal Italian spot); tramezzini of salami and cheese on whole-grain bread slathered with sweet onion relish; or oyster-mushroom pizza. The weekend special is a Malaysian rarity: scrumptious tiramisu—very alcoholic. ✚
SOUL FOOD From top: Dining al fresco at Sri Melaya; Soul Kitchen serves up Italian-inspired fare; the restaurant has a Midcentury Modern vibe.
KOPI CINE
Over the past year, Kopi Cine (55 Stewart Lane; 60-4/263-729; RM70 for two) has become a venue of choice for stylish all-day drinking and dining. Centrally located behind the Goddess of Mercy temple, this corner eatery anchors a row of refurbished shop houses now home to the chinois-meets-contemporary Straits Collection, a 10-room boutique hotel. Expect fresh, high-quality ingredients and bold flavors—think scrambled eggs with smoked salmon and capsicum relish, carrot-andapricot croquettes with thick yogurt, and lamb sausages brightened with fresh tomato relish. Australian owner Narelle McMurtrie’s sweet tooth guarantees that baked-on-the-premises travelandleisureasia.com | april 2011 41
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Tropical Oasis, W Retreat - Koh Samui
W RETREAT - KOH SAMUI Opened in November 2010, the W Retreat - Koh Samui redefines luxury and style. With a contemporary and sleek design set within the famed island of Koh Samui, the W Retreat - Koh Samui is the hottest new property in Thailand. The first W outpost in Southeast Asia, W Retreat - Koh Samui is located on a pristine peninsula in the isle’s tranquil north and offers panoramic views of the azure Gulf of Thailand. Each of the 75 private villas is a personal haven with expansive spaces and a private pool, while the interior is decorated in a striking palette of clean lines and earthy teak-wood elements, with lavish furnishings such as an oversize bed, 46-inch plasma TV, Yamaha sound system, wine refrigerator and outdoor shower.
Beyond the sumptuous villas, plenty of distractions await at this idyllic oasis. The AWAY® Spa offers enticing treatments such as Thaimazcal® experience, a therapy combining traditional Mexican rituals with Thai herbs. Go on an island-hopping snorkeling excursion, unwind with cocktails while drinking in breathtaking sunset vistas at the SIP bar, or simply have W’s signature Whatever/Whenever® service tailor something special to your liking. Exclusive privileges* for Platinum Reserve Credit Cardmembers: • Complimentary 3rd night with 2 nights stay • Complimentary upgrade from Jungle Oasis room to Tropical Oasis room • Complimentary Interactive Breakfast Experience for 2 at The Kitchen Table Restaurant • Privileged rate at THB 21,500+++ per night • Valid for booking and stay until 31 May 2011
*To enjoy the offer, payment must be made with American Express Platinum Reserve Credit Card only. All package amenities associated with this promotion are per room, per eligible stay. Services and components offered in the package are non exchangeable and non refundable and may be replaced with a similar item without notice, based on availability. Advance reservations are required and subject to availability. Rates are per room, per night, based on single/double occupancy and availability at time of reservation. Rates are subject to 18.7% service charge and government tax. Blackout dates and other restrictions may apply. Offer not applicable to groups. Not to be combined with other offers or promotions and subject to change. Void where prohibited by law. Information is correct at the time of publishing.
For reservations, please visit www.whotels.com/kohsamui and quote rate code TLAXMAR when booking online
insider
Quick Study
THE PERFECT SHOT. WANT MORE OUT OF your SLR? hone your skills on a city-based photography workshop with one of these pros. Below, they give T+L their best tips. By Steve Mollman
lens culture
Left: A model poses during a workshop. Inset: Alfie Goodrich.
ALFIE GOODRICH TOKYO
■ THE WORKSHOP Starting before lunchtime, workshops last six or seven hours and take students to different parts of Tokyo such as Ginza and Ueno. Goodrich says the key to being a good photographer is “visual curiosity,” and he nurtures this
in his workshops. In addition to teaching basics, the workshops offer various themes to foster creativity: one forces participants to slow down and think more before each shot by limiting them to 36 pictures, while another demonstrates
storytelling through series of photos taken in quick succession. Groups of three to 10 observe his style of soaking up the world as he walks around before shooting their own images. alfiegoodrich.com; workshops from ¥2,500 per person.
■ GOODRICH’S PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS On Understanding Your Camera “It’s a shame to shoot on Program mode all the time with a camera that can do much more than that.” Most Common Mistake “People
pointing a camera at something and not knowing why they get a bad result. There could be 50 reasons.” On Attitude “Photography is all about having fun. It’s what we should not lose sight of at the end of the day.”
PHOTO SAFARIS Once you’ve tamed your camera, consider venturing into the wild—on a photo safari. In northeastern Thailand, photograph barking deer, white-handed gibbons and pig-tailed macaques with Nature Focus Thailand (naturefocusthailand.com; photo safaris from Bt8,500 per day per person, three-day minimum). Or head to remote Ladakh in northern India, where Photo Safari India (photosafariindia.com; photo safaris from US$300 per day per person, suggested 10 days for Ladakh) will guide you to Himalayan wildlife such as snow leopards.
44 april 2011 | travelandleisureasia.com
courtesy of Alfie goodrich (2). BOTTOM LEFT : c o u r t e s y o f n a t u r e f o c u s t h a i l a n d . c o m
A British photojournalist and commercial photographer, Goodrich also gives photo tours and workshops to aspiring shutterbugs. He’s shot for Time, the Wall Street Journal and Peter Gabriel’s WOMAD Festivals; on one memorable assignment, he had one minute to photograph Yoko Ono.
slice of life
Right: A street scene in Kuala Lumpur’s Chinatown. Inset: David Hagerman.
DAVID HAGERMAN KUALA LUMPUR
A Michigan native, Hagerman specializes in food, portraiture, travel and street photography, and has a knack for making ordinary scenes of everyday life look extraordinary. Aside from this magazine, his work has appeared in the New York Times and Saveur. He also shoots for EatingAsia, a highly regarded food blog.
■ THE WORKSHOP Over two hours in the early morning, students explore the alleyways and colorful characters of Chinatown, then sit down for a serious critique of their snaps. Most workshops are one-on-one, with Hagerman both leading and following. He might show, for instance, how for portraits he engages with potential subjects, or how he lingers in a spot to make them forget the photographer. But participants make their own discoveries. One student, upon learning to “follow the light,” found a beautifully lit courtyard by persisting down an alley that Hagerman had always ignored. davidhagerman photography.com;
workshops from US$175 per person.
■ HAGERMAN’S PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS On Second Nature “Learn how to use—or accurately control— your camera. Once it becomes second nature, the camera will become an extension of your eye.” On Patience “Sometimes you have to wait for a moment to happen. You can’t rush a photograph.” On Backgrounds “Nothing is worse than taking a nice portrait of a person but having a tree or some other object jutting out from behind them so it looks like it’s growing out of their head. You want to ensure that the viewer’s eyes don’t drift.”
t o p : c o u r t e s y o f D a v i d H a g e r m a n ( 2 ) . b o t t o m : c o u r t e s y o f g a v i n g o ug h ( 3 )
GAVIN GOUGH BANGKOK Originally from the U.K., Gough has worked as a professional photographer for about eight years, but it was a Kodak Instamatic that first hooked him on the craft. He shoots stock photos for Getty Images and Lonely Planet, and his work has appeared in the New York Times, The Guardian and Vanity Fair, who sent him on a whirlwind tour of Bali. siam sights
■ THE WORKSHOP
Usually taking place in Chinatown and Pak Khlong Talaat (a 24hour fruit and flower market), a half- or fullday workshop teaches students the secrets behind composition, viewpoint, perspective and making the best use of available light. On the latter, Gough’s approach mirrors one he often uses on assignments: catching the morning light in one location and the early evening light in another, skipping the harsh light of midday. Each tour is followed by
a critiquing session; classroom instruction is also available through Bangkok Photo School (bangkokphotoschool. com). gavingough. com; full-day workshop US$250 per person for groups of three to six, or US$600 total for either one or two participants.
■ GOUGH’S PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS On Gear “All cameras are essentially a black box with a hole in the front. It’s the photographer’s
choices and not the camera gear that make the difference.” On Finding Focus “My motto has become: Take more photos of fewer things. I ask photographers to spend more time with their subjects and to photograph them in a variety of ways before moving on.”
Clockwise from left: Gavin Gough; a friendly Bangkokian; local color.
On Snapping People “Be friendly and direct. Enjoy the interaction before reaching for the camera.” ✚
travelandleisureasia.com | april 2011 45
insider trip navigator
Botanika, in St. Petersburg’s city center, left. Right: Terrassa restaurant, next to Kazan Cathedral.
st. petersburg modern.
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The edgY, intellectual little sister to big-money moscow is in the midst of a style revival, WRITES Valerie Stivers-Isakova. HERE, T+L Surveys the scene
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Kazan Cathedral
EAT A decade after chef-entrepreneur Aram Mnatsakanov opened his groundbreaking modern Italian restaurant Probka (5 Ul. Belinskogo; 7-812/273-4904; dinner for two RUB2,400), the Russian cognoscenti still maintain an insatiable appetite for haute-global cuisine. In-the-know Petersburgers craving Indian head to sultry Botanika (7 Ul. Pestelya; 7-812/272-7091; dinner for two RUB1,400) for vegetarian samosas and ginger-spiked dal, and interiors courtesy of local designer—and cult DJ—Alexei Haas. Meanwhile, prolific restaurant group Ginza Project has launched three notable hot spots. Terrassa (3 Kazanskaya Ul.; 7-812/9376837; dinner for two RUB1,910), a glass-walled space next to Kazan Cathedral, serves a mix of Photographed by Frank Herfort
Italian, Thai and Russian dishes (chicken-liver risotto, tom yum soup and marinated herring share top billing on the eclectic menu). At the Asian-fusion Lujaika (16 Aptekarsky Prospekt; 7-812/324-7094; dinner for two RUB1,440), or “lawn” in Russian, the theme is whimsical wonderland: the restaurant’s pet rabbits roam the grounds, and children can fish in a pond surrounded by open-air dining cabanas. Across town, riverboat restaurant Volga-Volga (Petrovsky Nab., Dock 1; 7-812/900-8338; dinner for two RUB1,920) trolls the Neva, serving up views of the golden spires of the Peter and Paul Fortress while waiters bring on the mâche salad with seared tuna and sturgeon soup.
Styled City
Clockwise from below: Carrot-nut salad, buckwheat and cheese paneer at Botanika; room No. 18 at Antique Hotel Rachmaninov; the lobby bar at the Grand Hotel Europe, on Nevsky Prospekt.
STAY Photographer turned hotelier Oksana Kurenbina took inspiration from the work of local artists for the 25 rooms at GREAT VALUE A ntique Hotel Rachmaninov (5 Kazanskaya Ul.; 7-812/571-7618; hotelrachmaninov.com; doubles from RUB3,720), a hub for creative types that occupies two sprawling floors of a Soviet-era apartment building just off Nevsky Prospekt, St. Petersburg’s main promenade. Across the Moika Canal, the new W St. Petersburg (6 Voznesensky Prospekt, 7-812/610-6161; whotels. com; doubles from RUB8,620), the brand’s first foray into Eastern Europe, features 137 modern rooms with floor-to-ceiling windows, and lamps in the shape of gilded disco balls, all set in a 19th-century building. This corner near the Hermitage is also home to the laid-back, fiveroom Casa Leto B&B (34 Bolshaya Morskaya Ul.; 7-812/600-1096; casaleto.com; doubles from RUB8,140). Guests share a small living room and a dining area stocked with French and Australian wines and are attended to by the friendliest staff in town (most unusual in Russia). But if a fresh take on czarist glamour seems like a better fit, request one of the 17 new Terrace rooms at the 1875 landmark Grand Hotel Europe (Nevsky Prospekt, 1/7 Mikhailovskaya Ul.; 7-812/329-6888; grandhoteleurope.com; doubles from RUB10,420), overlooking Mikhailovsky Palace. At the hotel’s Art Nouveau lobby bar—once frequented by Dostoyevsky—order your vodka neat, the way the locals do. And just across the Neva River on Vasilyevsky Island, one of the city’s up-andcoming arts neighborhoods, the Finnish owners behind Sokos Hotel Palace Bridge » travelandleisureasia.com | april 2011 47
insider trip navigator spring; ice cream bars on hot summer days). Plus, much of the shop’s salvaged furniture— including the dressing room’s whitewashed screen made from old wooden doors—is for sale. Another stop for souvenirs beyond the ubiquitous matryoshka dolls is Lyyk Design Market (74 Nab. Kanala Griboyedova; 7-812/9396051; lyyk.ru), a white-on-white space in a hidden courtyard that features Russian fashion designers’ avant-garde looks, including quilted leather jackets by Leonid Alexeev. Across town, Generator Nastroenia (7 Karavannaya Ul.; 7-812/314-5351; generator-nastroenia.ru)—the name translates to “mood generator”—lifts spirits with leather journals embossed with cheeky Russian-language jokes or Sovietpropaganda-themed cover.
Shopping Central
Clockwise from above: Inside the LowFat Studio showroom; Loft Project Etagi; the boutique’s owner and creative head, Merya (left) and Vera Dmitrieva.
CULTURE The new leading arts venue, Loft roject Etagi (74 Ligovsky Prospekt; 7-812/458P
(2-4 V. O. Birzhevoi Per.; 7-812/335-2200; sokoshotels.fi; doubles from RUB8,950) are banking on their nautical rooms to lure travelers off the beaten path. SHOP The boutique that most embodies the city’s hip new zeitgeist is LowFat Studio (17 Vilensky Per.; 7-812/579-2639; lowfatwear.com), an open-door workshop and showroom for the eco-friendly fashion line developed by business partners Merya and Vera Dmitrieva. The innovative duo, who design playful items such as unisex loungewear, stock a refrigerator with seasonal snacks for shoppers (gooseberries in 48 april 2011 | travelandleisureasia.com
5005; loftprojectetagi.ru), is accessed by a hidden stairwell that leads to three galleries, an artsoriented bookstore and four spaces for major international exhibitions, including the upcoming “Golden Turtle,” featuring nature photography. Last year saw the opening of two museums, both on Vasilyevsky Island and devoted to modern art. Erarta (2, 29th Line; 7-812/324-0809; erarta.com), set in a 20thcentury columned building on the western edge of the island, focuses on up-and-coming Russian talent. Novy Museum (6, 29th Line; 7-812/323-5090; novymuseum.ru), in a former residential building near the island’s metro stop, displays paintings and sculptures from genre-defining artists including Sots-Art duo Komar & Melamid. For a similar feel back on the mainland, there are eclectic galleries Rosphoto (35 Bolshaya Morskaya Ul.; 7-812/3141214; rosphoto.org) and 100 Svoih (39 Ligovsky Prospekt; 7-812/719-9517; 100svoih.ru), set above a basement bar that’s known for sets by underground DJ’s. But the place to see the world’s emerging classical music talent is the Concert Hall at the Mariinsky Theatre
(37 Ul. Dekabristov; 7-812/326-4141; mariinsky.ru), where the winners of this year’s Tchaikovsky competition will perform as soloists during the city’s White Nights festival (May–July). ✚
insider eat
TASTES OF VIETNAM From left: Outside
popular lunch spot Quan Nem, renowned for its nem cua be, or spring rolls; the banana-flower salad at Madame Hien, a new restaurant by French chef Didier Corlou; preparing the northern Vietnamese delicacy banh cuon, or savory steamed crepes, at 14 Hang Ga, in Hanoi’s Old Quarter.
THREE DAYS IN HANOI. From delicate banh cuon to delectable bun, street food to haute cuisine, T+L offers an eating guide for a long weekend in Vietnam’s capital. By Naomi Lindt DAY ONE 8 A.M. LEGENDARY CREPES
The savory, tissue-paper-thin crepes known as banh cuon are a specialty of northern Vietnam, and the family who steams them at 14 Hang Ga—a modest hole-in-the-wall in the city’s Old Quarter—serves up some of Hanoi’s tastiest. Filled with minced pork and ear mushrooms and topped with fried shallots and fresh sprigs of cilantro, the delicate rolls are cut into soft, melt-in-your-mouth morsels before being dipped into a bowl of nuoc mam, or fish sauce, and limes. Not big on breakfast? Banh cuon also double as a pre-dinner snack. 14 Hang Ga; 84-4/ 3828-0108; crepes for two VND40,000. 12 P.M. CLASSIC HOME COOKING
You’ll find the best of Vietnam’s northern home-style fare at Quan Com Pho, a bustling four-story restaurant where locals flock to at 50 april 2011 | travelandleisureasia.com
lunchtime; it’s especially busy on weekends. Though the surroundings are simple—pressed bamboo tables; a few paintings on the walls— the food is anything but, with not-to-be-missed dishes such as succulent beef sautéed with pineapple and spring onions, deep-fried tofu squares in tomato sauce, and ga ran xoi chien, or bite-size chunks of fried chicken with sticky rice rolls and a sweet-and-sour dipping sauce. Even the sautéed greens—chayote; pumpkin stems—are to die for. Order as much as you can, and bring friends. 29 Le Van Huu; 84-4/39432356; lunch for two VND150,000. 7 P.M. FRANCO-VIET HOTSPOT
Already a favorite among expats and locals alike, La Coopérative brings together two of the world’s most sophisticated cuisines— Vietnamese and French—in a comfortable, rustic atmosphere just a stone’s throw from West Lake. With its exposed brick walls, concrete floors and wooden beam roof, the newcomer not only introduces a hip, shabbychic aesthetic to the city’s dining scene, but also brings with it a roster of cross-cultural palate pleasers. Glistening boiled quail eggs sprinkled with black pepper arrive on a square, slate plate, while smoked duck breast comes sautéed Photographed by Aaron Joel Santos
with morning glory and peanuts. There’s also a host of traditional French offerings—coq au vin; boeuf bourguignon—and some unusual Vietnamese dishes, like eel simmered with green banana. 46 An Duong; 84-4/3716-6401; hoptacxa.net; dinner for two VND400,000. DAY TWO 10 A.M. AUTHENTIC RICE NOODLES
Locals line the long, communal metal tables at 67 Hang Dieu day and night to dig into a bowl of bun bo nam bo, a rice-noodle dish that originates from southern Vietnam. This is quite simply heaven in a bowl: strips of grilled beef, shredded lettuce, sliced cucumber, fried shallots, crispy bean sprouts, fresh cilantro and chopped peanuts atop a mound of steamed vermicelli noodles, all of which harmonize in a magical way. A tip: Like any good bowl of noodles, enthusiastic chopstick-and-spoon mixing is essential before digging in—the tangy broth at the bottom of the bowl is exceptional and key to the flavor. 67 Hang Dieu; 84-4/39230701; noodles for two VND60,000. 1 P.M. STYLISH STREET FOOD
The latest addition to the Ngon culinary empire, Nha Hang Ngon continues to lure
the crowds in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City with its winning combination of street food– meets–chic colonial ambiance. Housed in a pair of mustard-yellow, red-roofed villas adjoined by a frangipani-filled outdoor terrace, the restaurant delivers outstanding dishes from a series of outdoor stations where you can watch your food being prepared. Regulars go for hot pot overflowing with giant crabs, paperthin wontons stuffed with shrimp, and pho cuon, thick rice-noodle pancakes filled with herbs and grilled beef. Don’t miss a glass of che, a colorful, coconut-based dessert Hanoians are famous for. 26A-B Tran Hung Dao; 84-4/39336133; lunch for two VND150,000.
NORTHERN FLAVORS
Clockwise from top left: The courtyard of Nha Hang Ngon serves up street food and ambiance; crowds gather for barbecued treats on Ly Van Phuc, also known as “Chicken Street”; the chalk blackboard at La Coopérative; banh cuon and fresh chilies at 14 Hang Ga.
7 P.M. BEST BARBECUE
With a nickname like “Chicken Street,” it’s not hard to guess what the specialty is on Ly Van Phuc, a lively stall-lined street close to the Temple of Literature. Vendors of ga nuong— or grilled chicken, a Hanoi staple—converge here nightly in one of the city’s most frenetic food scenes, with teenage boys sweating and shouting over flaming coal-fired grills as they barbecue chicken feet, wings, legs and even pork ribs to perfection. Not all stalls are created equal: the constant crowds at Viet Ha are a » travelandleisureasia.com | april 2011 51
insider eat
CAPITAL APPETITE
Clockwise from left: The courtyard at Madame Hien, in Hanoi; crab spring rolls at Quan Nem; servers deliver bun bo nam bo to customers at 67 Hang Dieu; sampling the banh cuon at 14 Hang Ga.
PERFECT PHO No trip to Hanoi would be complete without a breakfast bowl of pho, Vietnam’s famed ricenoodle soup. The most classic variety is pho bo tai, or beef broth topped with thin slices of rare beef tenderloin. Order a side dish of the dogbone-shaped fried dough known as quay, and be sure to add a squeeze of lime and a few slices of chili to maximize the flavor. Here, five spots to try: Pho Bo Gia Truyen 49 Bat Dan St., near Ba Dinh Square. Pho Thin 13 Lo Duc, near the Opera House. Phu Xuan 3 Hang Da, where Hang Bong turns into Hang Gai. Pho 10 Corner of Ly Quoc Su and Cham Cam, near St. Joseph’s Cathedral. Mai Anh Pho Ga Come here for pho ga, the chicken-based variety of the soup. 32 Le Van Huu, French Quarter. Pho costs VND20,000 to VND25,000 per bowl.
testament to its superiority. Diners crouch on plastic stools at low sidewalk tables, tearing into skewers of meat, grilled baguettes brushed in sugar (best paired with the chili dipping sauce on the table), baked sweet potato, and addictive bowls of pickled cucumber and morning glory. Wash it all down with a cold bottle of Bia Hanoi. 16 Ly Van Phuc; 84/912-906134; dinner for two VND150,000. DAY THREE 12 P.M. SPRING-ROLL CENTRAL
For some of the most outstanding spring rolls you’ll try anywhere in the world, head to Quan Nem, a buzzing lunch spot that specializes in nem cua be, plump, deep-fried, rectangular packages stuffed with chopped crab, glass noodles, ear mushrooms and steamed bean sprouts. A recipe that originated in the northern coastal city of Haiphong, the parcels of goodness are so huge that servers armed with large metal scissors are on hand to cut them into bite-size morsels. The nem are eaten with a bowl of steamed rice vermicelli, a heaping pile of fresh herbs (a flourish that sets northern Vietnamese food apart in countless
52 april 2011 | travelandleisureasia.com
dishes), and a dip consisting of fish sauce, pickled cucumbers, chopped garlic and red chilies. 123 Bui Thi Xuan; 84-4/3974-3239; lunch for two VND100,000. 6 P.M. REFINED COASTAL CUISINE
Considered Vietnam’s top chef, Didier Corlou is known for dazzling customers at upscale dining room La Verticale, where he reimagines local flavors with French-Asian flair. At his latest restaurant, Madame Hien, Corlou keeps it simple (and considerably more affordable), with a menu of local specialties from all along the country’s three thousand kilometers of coastline. Seated under oversize silk chandeliers and among antique wooden furniture in one of Hanoi’s most stunning colonial villas, guests sample flavorful dishes such as turmeric-grilled red snapper, grilledprawn-and-pomelo salad, and lobster in orange sweet-and-sour sauce. 15 Chan Cam; 84-4/ 3938-1588; verticale-hanoi.com; dinner for two VND600,000. ✚
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Bhitarkanika
Orissa Your ideal ecotourism getaway! With the ever-increasing demands of rising populations and energy requirements, it is now, more than ever before, necessary to protect the world around us. Ecotourism can play a significant role in this preservation, by bringing tourists to areas of outstanding natural beauty, and teaching them about their conservation.
I
Satkosia Gorge
ndia is considered sixth among 12 mega-biodiversity countries in the world, with the east-coast state of Orissa boasting colorful bounties of nature— steep, imposing mountains; enchanting rivers; emeraldgreen forests; and a stunning, evocative coastline. Dotted with ancient architecture and with rich wildlife, Orissa is perfect for
the nature-loving tourist, with several key locations of interest.
Chilika
Covering an area of more than a thousand square kilometers on the spectacular Orissa coast, this is the largest brackish water lake in India and a wetlands preserve. Chilika is separated from the bellowing Bay of Bengal by a sandy ridge, but links to the sea
through a natural mouth at a village called. Hemmed between a range of emerald-green hills on the west and the cerulean sea on the east, Chilika appears like a pear-shaped expanse of water. During the dry months after the monsoon, the remains distinctively, but once the rains pour in, it becomes a freshwater lake. This phenomenon makes the lake a wonderful preserve for marine fauna, including sponges, fishes, crabs and turtles—as well as dolphins.
Bhitarkanika
Bounded by rivers on three sides and the Bay of Bengal on the east, Bhitarkanika consists of a few islands crisscrossed by a number of creeks and small rivers. The confluence of the Baitarani and Brahmani rivers opens a whole new natural world. This area is one of the very few evergreen repositories of the most luxuriant mangrove vegetation in the world. More than half of world’s 60 species of mangrove plants are found here. It is also one of three habitats for saltwater crocodiles in the subcontinent. Notably also, there is a crocodile conservation project at Dangmal, the main island, with a basic concept of rearing and releasing. In the hatchery,
Similipal
crocodile eggs are incubated under simulated conditions, with the young reared in captivity and then released in the rivers after about three years. Further down, near the sea at Gahirmatha, lies a nesting ground for the millions of Olive Ridley Turtles that travel across thousands of kilometers twice a year just to lay their eggs. Covering an area of 672 square kilometers, it is a sanctuary as well as a national park.
Flamingos over Chilika Lake
Similipal
Situated on the northern tip of Orissa, covering an area of 2,700 square kilometers, Similipal is the only tiger reserve in the state. The wildlife forest here is an oasis of flora, fauna and natural abundance, and the rivers, rivulets and waterfalls always cast a virtual spell on visitors. There are also cottages and log houses at different spots inside the forest, dotting the landscape. The Palpala River flowing nearby is ideal for fishing, while at the outskirt of the forest, visitors can find the perfect place to stay.
Ushakothi
Situated in Sambalpur district on way to Deogarh, this forest is treasure trove of wild animals— watchtowers with saltlicks are provided at vantage points for
Olive Ridley Turtles
wildlife spotting. The biggest attraction near Ushakothi is the “Leaning temple” and the enchanting views of the river Mahanadi.
Tikarpara
Tikarpara is a village in the newly formed district of Angul in Purunakot Police station. Washing the feet of this tiny village is the mighty gorge of the meandering Mahanadi, popularly known as the Satkosia Gorge. The narrow gorge extends over 22 kilometers and passes through a high range of green-tipped mountains on either side of Sitalpani before it emerges into the plains. The natural beauty of the magnificently wooded hills with the overhanging peaks is simply breathtaking and enlivened by the presence of wildlife such as the gharial—a slender-snouted crocodile—plus elephants, tigers, bison and spotted deer. The most unique and striking of these is
the gharial. It is here that this endangered species has been brought back from the brink of extinction by a U.N. scheme that started in 1975.
Nandankanan
The Nandankanan biosphere reserve near Bhubaneswar is set amid the Chandaka reserve forest, which covers an area of 500 hectares. Here, a zoo and botanical garden are interspersed by a natural lake over which runs a ropeway; the animals and birds, while kept in enclosures, are free to roam in their natural surroundings. Literally meaning the “pleasure garden of gods,” Nandankanan really is a pleasure ground—not only for visitors, but also for the wide variety of wildlife found there. As well as the world’s first captive breeding program for the gharial, there is also the white tiger, which started a whole new breed despite being born of “normal” parents.
Visit Orissa now! Log on to orissatourism.gov.in or visitorissa.org
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chain reaction
Lambskin bag with matted metal straps, by Chanel.
Created in Paris more than 65 years ago, the quilted Chanel bag has become a standout around the world. BY CAROL TSE If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then the world has been fawning over Chanel’s 2.55 for decades. Perhaps the brand’s most widely copied design, the quilted lambskin handbag with a metallicchain strap first came to light in February 1955—hence the name. What gives the bag its staying power? For one thing, it masterfully brings together understated glamour with sheer practicality. Legend has it that Coco Chanel was tired of carrying her bag in her hand and losing it, so she created a strap that would sit elegantly on her shoulder and transition from day to night. Equally importantly, the 2.55’s simplicity of form lends itself to limitless permutations, from satin and sequins to denim, tweed, even raffia. And then there’s that chain, aped but never matched by would-be emulators. It just goes to show: some things never go out of style. ✚
Photographed by John Lawton
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[st] fashion
Silk camisole with flower-printed blazer, Paul Smith; linen Bermuda shorts with leather belt and corkwedge heels, Mulberry; earrings, Topshop.
London Calling
take A fashionable spin around one of the city's iconic hotels, the savoy. Photographed by tom hoops
[st] fashion
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Silk top with knitted shorts, Daks; corkwedge shoes, Mulberry; belt, Zara; gold bracelets, Topshop. Opposite: Linen mini dress, Stella McCartney; heels and socks, Jaeger; belt, Mulberry; bracelets and necklace, Topshop.
[st] fashion
Silk mini dress, Vivienne Westwood; gold bracelet, Topshop; hat, Urban Outfitters. Opposite: Silk flower printed dress, Jaeger; leather belt, Mulberry; bracelets, Miss Selfridge. Model: Jovana @ Profile Model Photographer assistant: James Eldridge Stylist: Pop Kampol Stylist assistant: Steven Murray Hair and make-up: Joey Choy using M.A.C Special thanks to The Savoy Hotel (fairmont.com/savoy) and Rough Luxe Hotel (roughluxe.co.uk). STOCKISTS Daks shoponline.daks.com Jaeger jaeger.co.uk Miss Selfridge missselfridge. com Mulberry mulberry.com Paul Smith paulsmith.co.uk Stella McCartney stellamccartney.com Topshop topshop.com Urban Outfitters urbanoutfitters.com Vivienne Westwood viviennewestwood.co.uk
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journal
travel topics in depth, vivid visuals and more
London Legend When it opened its doors in 1889, the Savoy set the standard for luxury. now, After a three-year, ÂŁ213 million renovation, Charles Maclean asks whether the claim still holds true. 64 april 2011 | travelandleisureasia.com
t h i s s p r e a d ; C o u r t e s y o f Fa i r m o n t H ot e l s + R e s o r t s
The entrance to the Savoy, located on the Thames in London’s West End.
The sitting room in an Edwardian River View Suite.
E
veryone has a Savoy story, a special memory of the classic London hotel built more than a century ago on the banks of the Thames. Early generations of my family gave lavish Edwardian dinner parties in private rooms or danced the night away to the Savoy Orpheans. I can only recall the humiliation of being thrown out of a party in the Lancaster Ballroom in the early eighties. My rock band was hired to play a debutante party; there was an argument with the host over the music choice, then a scuffle. Security was called, and I was shown the tradesman’s exit. My great-grandfather, Lord Ribblesdale, a Savoy regular whose portrait by John Singer Sargent hangs nearby in the National Gallery, would not have been amused. Apart from the occasional lunch at the Savoy Grill, I had shied away since then. So when the Savoy reopened last fall after a nearly three-year closure for the most expensive refit
any London hotel has ever undergone, I welcomed the chance to visit again. It’s no secret that the reopening of the Savoy was delayed by more than a year or that the project ran wildly over budget. In addition to systemic problems with the plumbing and wiring, the discovery of structural faults in the listed building sent costs soaring. “We had some idea, going in, what we were going to find,” general manager Kiaran MacDonald tells me, “but not that we would have to rip out the guts of the hotel and start again.” The final bill for the renovations ended up being £213 million, more than double the planned amount. If there is any consolation for the Savoy’s proprietor, Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia, who also owns a chunk of the Four Seasons, including Paris’s George V, as well as the Hermitage in Monaco, it’s that the Savoy was out of commission during the worst of the economic downturn. After a taxi drops me off in the landmark Savoy Court, » travelandleisureasia.com | april 2011 65
journal obsessions
a top-hatted doorman swiftly parts me from my luggage. I pass through the glass-domed revolving doors, which over the years debouched such celebrated regulars as Sarah Bernhardt, Noël Coward, Coco Chanel and Marlene Dietrich, and which have survived intact. Formalities are minimal: The reception desk has been done away with, and check-in is taken care of with a couple of keystrokes on a laptop. In the lobby, designer Pierre-Yves Rochon’s take on Edwardian splendor includes chinoiserie tables, toile de Jouy wall coverings and damask upholstery. The Beaux-Arts frieze An Idyll of a Golden Age still adorns the walls. Before being shown to my room I am offered afternoon tea in the Thames Foyer, where I have dusty memories of being brought from school as a special treat. Now naturally lit by a stained-glass cupola and centered around a birdcage gazebo, the foyer remains the heart of the hotel. I inhale a cup of organic Darjeeling and succumb to a nostalgic tartlet or two, made in the new tea shop and patisserie. The manager tells me the waiting list to reserve a weekend table for afternoon tea has stretched to four months. People-watching from a strategic corner of the foyer, I can’t help wishing for the ghosts of the Savoy’s more glamorous past to reappear. It was across the same checkerboard floor—its black and white marble slabs just replaced—that the legendary César Ritz, the hotel’s first 66 april 2011 | travelandleisureasia.com
this spread: james merrell
The Upper Thames Foyer, off the lobby. Below from right: An Art Deco–style room; a guest bathroom.
manager, would advance with unruffled dignity to greet guests in the late 19th century, a white carnation in the lapel of his frock coat. Now managed by Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, the Savoy was built by impresario Richard D’Oyly Carte from the prof its of Gilbert and Sullivan’s comic operas, which he staged at the adjacent (and still running) Savoy Theatre. With Ritz managing and the great Auguste Escoffier overseeing the kitchens, the hotel opened in 1889 and soon established a reputation for the highest standards of service, comfort and cuisine. Ritz gave London its first modern hotel—the first to be run on electricity, the first to have en suite bathrooms and speaking tubes for room service. He introduced the fashion for music in restaurants, hiring Johann Strauss as musical director, as well as the trick of placing reserved cards on the best tables to create a mystique of exclusivity. The Savoy also contained London’s first electric elevator, and I take the Red Lift, a replica of the original red-and-gold lacquered “ascending room,” to suite No. 726. Going straight over to the windows—it was from Savoy balconies that Monet painted his incandescent riverscapes—I am entranced by the views of the Thames bridges, Big Ben, red double-deckers: all the familiar sights of London. Rochon has transformed the two-thirds of the rooms on the river side with an Edwardian theme, as well as those closer to the Strand, now done up in the Art Deco style introduced to the hotel in the 1920’s. In my suite, the attention to detail is impressive: a shelf of books by Oscar Wilde, P. G. Wodehouse and Evelyn Waugh (all former residents); and a framed 1956 photo of Laurence Olivier and Marilyn Monroe from the hotel archives. That evening I meet my half sister and her husband for cocktails in the hotel’s American Bar, where a crooner is belting out old standards. Before going through to dinner, we look in on the new Beaufort Bar, a glitzier affair with
subdued lighting and the lure of late-night cabaret on the same velvet-draped stage where Gershwin gave his first British performance of “Rhapsody in Blue.” At the River Restaurant we drink an excellent Pouilly Fumé with our French food. The restaurant is decked out with sprays of calla lilies and banks of white orchids. The more relaxed Savoy Grill pays homage to Escoffierwith his signature peach Melba, lobster thermidor and omelette Arnold Bennett. Winston Churchill’s favorite table is still in the same corner overlooking the Savoy Court.
Before checking out, I tour the Royal Suite, almost an entire floor, with two bedrooms, a drawing room, a study, a dining room and a kitchen. As you might expect for £9,650 a night, it’s ornate, with marble, lashings of gilt, fluted columns, Murano chandeliers at every turn, even a ventilated closet for your shoes. But I can’t help noticing that the view is not quite as good as the one I had in 726. ✚ The Savoy; The Strand; 44-20/7836-4343; fairmont.com/savoy; doubles from £340.
Drinking Traditions Ryan Murphy, chef de cuisine at the River Restaurant, left. Below: The Savoy Grill serves classic British dishes.
Erik Lorincz, head bartender at The Savoy’s iconic American Bar, in his own words on the bar’s reopening
“Work at American Bar is always busy and exciting. We start at 11.30 a.m., and the minute the doors open people come in just like a flood, and the crowd doesn’t stop till we close at midnight. After being shut for three years, there are many who want to get a glimpse of what the bar is like after the refurbishment. “It’s nice to see people coming back and ordering the ‘regular’ martinis they’ve had for the past 40 years. They sit down, enjoy their drinks and tell me all the interesting stories about what happened to them at this bar. You could write an entire book on this. “I still remember that when we first reopened, there was a guest who came in and ordered a Manhattan. When he took his first sip, he smiled and declared, ‘Finally, I’m back here and I get to
london’S CLASS OF 2011 The city is seeing a slew of big openings (and reopenings) this year. The highlights: After a 28-month renovation, the Four Seasons Hotel London Park Lane returned in January with 1930’sinspired interiors by Pierre-Yves Rochon
and a glass-enclosed rooftop spa. Hamilton Place; 44-20/74990888; fourseasons.com; doubles from £375. Unveiled in February, the 192-room W London, Leicester Square has a frostedglass façade that changes color throughout the day. 10 Wardour St.; 4420/7758-1000; whotels.
have a Manhattan again!’ Apparently, the last time he had this cocktail was on 15 December 2007, the day before The Savoy closed for renovation. He had been waiting all these years to have that drink. “The American Bar has a very long heritage, dating all the way back to 1893. It’s a huge privilege for me to work there after people like the award-winning Peter Dorelli, who was one of my judges during the World Class bartending competition finals last year. There’s also the legendary Joe Gilmore, who was the longest-running Head Bartender at American Bar for over 20 years. He created the Moonwalk cocktail to commemorate man’s first moon landing in 1969, and it was the first drink Neil Armstrong had when he returned to earth. My signature cocktail at American Bar is the Malecon, a Havana-inspired, rumbased cocktail with lime, aged port and sherry.” —m e l a n i e l e e
com; doubles from £299.
com; doubles from £275.
This month sees the arrival of the St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel, part of the landmark train station, with a restaurant designed by David Collins and helmed by Marcus Wareing of the Berkeley Hotel. Euston Rd.; 44-20/7841-3540; stpancrasrenaissance.
In April the Corinthia Hotel London will open in a Victorian building steps from Trafalgar Square. Collins also did the stylish bar here; the restaurant is courtesy of Rome’s Massimo Riccioli. Whitehall Place; 44-20/79308181; corinthia.com; doubles from £379.
The Thierry Despont– designed 45 Park Lane, located across the street from its older sibling the Dorchester, makes its debut this summer as a more intimate and modern version of its glitzier neighbor. 45 Park Lane; 44-20/7629-4848; 45parklane.com; doubles from £670. —f a r h a d h e y d a r i
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journal hotels
Paradise of art Nestled amid Guilin’s timeless scenery, one captured in both painting and poetry, the Hotel of Modern Art is striving to create a legacy. By Lara Day
W
hen it comes to eye-popping limestone, nothing quite compares to Guilin, the pride of China’s rural southern province of Guangxi. There’s a popular Chinese saying about its karststudded, river-seamed landscape: Guilin shan shui jia tian xia. While the literal translation—“Guilin’s mountain-and-water scenery is the best under heaven”—captures the propagandist overtones of the country’s more blustering axioms, a modern rendering conveys what I’ve been told countless times by Chinese friends: “Guilin’s scenery is the best thing anywhere, ever.” And yet, for years, I’d avoided visiting. For every paean, there’s a story about diesel-chugging tour buses, overly aggressive touts or flag-trailing hordes on bicycles. Even the town of Yangshuo, once the dozy antithesis of Guilin city, was reportedly bowing under the strains of domestic tourism. So when I learned that the Hotel of Modern Art (HOMA), China’s first Relais & Châteaux member, was sited in a quiet village between Guilin city and Yangshuo, my interest was piqued. Even more so when I discovered that its name wasn’t merely paying lip service to a marketing aspiration, but underscored genuine artistic ambitions. Touching down at the international airport, I catch my first glimpse of the area’s celebrated scenery: a string of dark, jagged pinnacles is visible from the runway. On the hour-long drive to HOMA, those shapes recur in a multitude of guises, forming a dreamlike backdrop to sweeps of Osmanthus plants and persimmon trees, tumbledown villages and impossibly green rice paddies. Even without seeing the shui of shan shui, I recognize what the fuss is all about. The Tang Dynasty poet Han Yu famously wrote, “The river forms a green gauze belt, the mountains are like jade hairpins”—but the image that occurs to me isn’t one of decorative domesticity so much as primeval mystery. These seemingly endless peaks could be the teeth of some prehistoric monster, jutting from the Earth like colossal relics. (It turns out that ascribing metaphors to Guilin’s physical landscape is de rigueur: colorful rock names abound, from Fish Tail Peak to Grandpa Watching Apple).
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They’re an appropriately artful prelude to HOMA, or rather, Yuzi Paradise, the expansive art park that encloses it. Also known as Fool’s Paradise—yuzi loosely translates to simpleton—the designation demonstrates a knowing selfawareness: the “fool” in question is Taiwanese billionaire Tsao Rhy-Chang, who acquired 534 hectares of pristine, karst-strewn land in 1996, and set to work transforming it with US$1 billion of personal investment and no expectation of financial gain. Planned as a 30-year project, it now has two hotels—the upscale HOMA Chateau and the larger, mid-range HOMA Courtyard—artists’ studios and workshops, an art gallery, a spa and, most dramatically, a sculpture park filled with more than 200 large-scale works created during a series of artist symposiums (a sister Shanghai Sculpture Park opened in 2005). There’s also Tsao’s own residence, the Dream Palace, a glitzy, borderline kitsch structure with a corkscrew atrium that echoes New York City’s Guggenheim, whose entirety can be rented out for a sum of US$10,000 a night. Yet only a tenth of the area is developed. Beyond lies what’s known as the Frontier—an untouched hinterland of brush, cavernous grottoes and herds of roaming cows, where I see a dazzling rainbow arch over the notched horizon in a full, perfect semicircle.
courtesy of guilin homa (4)
HOMA Chateauʼs interiors are winningly idiosyncratic. The cave-like rooms could belong to a boutique hotel in The Flintstonesʼ Bedrock
set in stone From top left: The Flying Spa and Gheorgi Filin’s sail-like Flying on Water, at Yuzi Paradise; Lotus restaurant; Rhythm II by Chinese sculptor Pu Qin; a Deluxe room at HOMA Chateau.
As you might expect, the property’s tone is fanciful, even whimsical, with varying degrees of success. The wedgeshaped HOMA Chateau, designed by Taiwan architect and sculptor Shiau Jon-Jen, is housed under a grass-covered sloping roof and resembles a prodigious slice of cake. Its 46 contemporary art–adorned rooms are winningly idiosyncratic—the cave-like Deluxe rooms, with their curving white walls and cerulean furnishings, could easily belong to a boutique hotel in The Flintsones’ Bedrock— though the most affordable accommodations, the Standard rooms, have interiors that are more practical than stylish. Dishes at the attractive main restaurant, Lotus, tend to » travelandleisureasia.com | april 2011 69
journal hotels
art and nature
From top: Yuzi Paradise, in Guilin; dishes at Lotus emphasize presentation; the Flying Spa.
emphasize presentation at the expense of flavor: a standard pumpkin soup comes in a gourd placed on an arm-length ceramic spoon, while an anodyne chocolate mousse arrives in a hollowed-out ice sculpture. And though lunch options are simple and tasty—Yangshuo minced pork and shrimp; Guilin fried noodles—the pricey dinner items seem based on their ingredients’ prestige value rather than fundamental flavor (think sautéed foie gras with abalone sauce, wild mushrooms and king crab). But all these factors are secondary to the main draw here: the sculpture park, best explored on one of the hotel’s complimentary bicycles. Cycling around the manicured grounds—which echo Oslo’s Vigeland Park and Japan’s Hakone Open-Air Museum—I discover the works of artists from around the world. A three-meter-high stone giant hugs his knees in contemplation (“The Night of Evolution,” Li Xiao, China). A tripartite marble arc reaches skyward like a deconstructed teacup ready to catch a cloud (“Two Realms,” Colin Figue, Belgium). An extended granite family congregates around three sides of a long communal table, leaving two benches empty and waiting (“Living World Arena,” Ju Ming, Taiwan). Three Corten-steel figures balance on a granite gate, their undulating forms reminiscent of calligraphy (“Banquet,” Allen Jones, U.K.). One sculpture disappoints: a wing-like granite sail called “Flying on The Water,” by Bulgaria’s Gheorgi Filin, which I’d already seen in a photograph. The image had shown the sail floating majestically above a glassy manmade lake, but it’s now relegated to a corner where a bundle of shapes—a building, trees, a karst—compromise its otherwise stunning
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courtesy of guilin homa (3)
These seemingly ENDLESS peaks could be the teeth of some prehistoric monster, jutting from the Earth like colossal relics
courtesy of guilin homa
silhouette. “The founder thought it would make sense to move it close to the Flying Spa,” Key Lv, the hotel’s director of planning, says. “I think he regrets it now.” These silent, inanimate objects are by turns surreal and cryptic, disjointed from their surrounding environment and yet perfectly compelling. Encountering them brings to mind not Tang Dynasty poetry but Romantic verse. Take Percy Bysshe Shelley’s Ozymandias: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone Stand in the desert. Near them on the sand, Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command Tell that its sculptor well those passions read Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things... The staff have told me that Tsao, an entrepreneur, made his fortune by developing land for cemeteries. The connection between these art works—monumental, inorganic, lasting— and the concerns of their patron is plain. I’m eager to explore, and decide to venture to Yangshuo rather than overbuilt Guilin. While it’s possible to join the flotilla of tourist-burdened boats down the famed Li River, I opt to take a private bamboo raft along the less heavily trafficked Yulong River, a journey that’s pleasantly tranquil apart from the occasional rapids-induced spray. Once in town, I wish I’d turned back. Recommended to me a few years ago by a fellow travel writer, Yangshuo has grown into a center of tacky mass tourism. Places with names like Rick’s Café Casablanca and Sex 121 Bar jostle with shops offering to immortalize you in dough—the sales pitch: dough portrat: forever lasting. At one restaurant, three teddy bears sit at a table dressed with dumplings and pepperoni pizza. Even the river, indisputably stunning with its swirling jade water and fringe of serrated karsts, is marred. A fisherman, who would have once used his birds to fish, sits on the riverbank with two hulking, grounded cormorants and an orange sign: photos of my birds or photos of you with my birds rmb 5. It’s with relief that I return to HOMA for dinner with a group of visiting painters; an International Art Symposium is under way, and now that there’s no longer space to create large-scale sculptures, symposiums are devoted to smallerscale works. Despite the grand title, it turns out to be a friendly, informal gathering of artists from China, Taiwan and the U.K., selected by the Yuzi Paradise art committee under Japanese art director Koorida Masayuki. They describe the exceedingly generous terms of their attendance: in return for producing and leaving behind at least one piece of art over four weeks, artists receive an allexpenses-paid Yuzi Paradise residency, including lodging at HOMA Courtyard, meals, activities and excursions. “It’s amazing here,” says Crystal Fischetti, a British fine-art graduate chosen by Rob Ward, an established sculptor who
A light installation within one of the Frontier’s many natural caves, which doubles as a dining area.
sits on the committee. “I never would have had a chance to come here otherwise.” The next morning I visit the artists’ studios, which are, without exception, bright and roomy. But one stands out: an expansive second-floor space with sweeping windows that offer panoramic views over the property’s grounds. I speak to its occupant, Taiwanese artist Lee Jiun-Shyan, who was formerly the curator of Kaohsiung Art Museum. He had been taciturn over dinner last night, but when I see his work, it’s hardly recognizable as his: a large, exuberant triptych featuring three bright red Chinese characters that explode with a riot of neon pink and yellow and turquoise. I ask him what inspired this. “I am so, so happy here,” he says. “Look how beautiful all of this is.” There’s a monograph of his work on a table, and I browse through some of his previous paintings: dark-hued visions of industrialization, fraught with pessimism and anxiety. His recent creations certainly mark a change in direction. In the other studios, too, the artists are responding in unexpected ways to the freedom afforded by their new environment. Taiwanese artist Lee Ming-Chung is busy painting a pale, ethereal abstract that recalls light reflecting on water. “In Taiwan there’s a strong demand for figurative work, so that’s what I paint,” he says. “Here I can make what I want.” It’s quite a stamp of approval for the symposium, and for the dreams of Yuzi Paradise itself—surely making what you want, how you want it, is any artist’s ultimate goal. After all, as the British sculptor, Ward, said the night before: “In a hundred years, we’ll all be gone. But this landscape, this work, will still be here.” ✚ HOMA Chateau, Yuzi Paradise, Dabu town, Yanshan district, Guilin; 86-773/386-7888; guilinhoma.com; doubles from RMB2,000. travelandleisureasia.com | april 2011 71
journal drive OLD WORLD Clockwise from far left: The main square in Feldkirch, Austria; outside a bathhouse in Rorschach, Switzerland; St. Gallen, Switzerland’s historic abbey, which dates to the ninth century; a pretzel at National Zum Goldenen Leuen, a 400-year-old tavern in St. Gallen; signs to Heididorf, Switzerland.
germany
N
Lake Constance
Schwarzenberg Bregenz
E60
St. Gallen
Bezau
A14
Liechtenstein
B200
Feldkirch
Lake Walensee
austria
28
Maienfeld 13
Flims Uors Vals
19
Switzerland 0
19 km
Mountain Highs
Crisscrossing between Switzerland and Austria, this three-day drive reveals the best of the region’s artisans, architecture and food. By Yolanda Edwards. Photographed by Matthew Hranek
ALPINE IDYLL From left: Café mélange at the Confiserie Roggwiller tearoom, in St. Gallen, Switzerland; the Swiss Alps; farmhouse restaurant Buura-Beizli, in the Swiss village of St. Margrethenberg.
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Day 1
St. GallentoBezau, 71 kilometers
Your first stop after the rental-car counter at Zurich’s Kloten Airport? The city of St. Gallen (90 minutes east) for a café mélange (black coffee topped with whipped cream) and a pastry (or two) at the 50-year-old Confiserie Roggwiller (17 Multergasse, St. Gallen; 41-71/222-5092; pastries for two €10), known for regional specialties such as Gallen Biber, a gingerbread-style confection made from honey dough and almond filling. The highlight: St. Gallen’s Carolingian-era Abbey of St. Gall (6a Klosterhof, St. Gallen; 41-71/2273381), built in the ninth century. It has more than 2,100 medieval and Renaissance manuscripts in its Baroque Hall. Down the street, a 400-year-old building houses the tavern National Zum Goldenen Leuen (30 Schmiedgasse, St. Gallen; 41-71/222-0262; lunch for two €33), the ideal spot for a Weisswurst and home-brewed Huss-braui beer (for the passenger in your car). After lunch, hop on the E60 toward the small town of Rorschach, on Lake Constance; just beyond Rorschach is a wooden bathhouse where you can stop for a restorative dip. In the afternoon, cross into Austria and turn onto Route 13 toward Bregenz, a lakeside town with contemporary art museum Kunsthaus Bregenz (Karl-Tizian-Platz, Bregenz; 43-5574/485-940). The glass-and-steel building, designed by renowned Swiss architect Peter Zumthor, showcases rotating exhibits—this year the focus is on artists from Asia. It’s just 37 kilometers southeast on the B200 to the Alpine town of Bezau. Check in to the 54-room Hotel Post (35 Brugg, Bezau; 43-5514/22070; hotelpostbezau. com; doubles from €236, including breakfast and dinner), where the fifthgeneration owner Susanne Kaufmann has infused just the right amount of modern flair into this classic country inn: staff are decked out in traditional Austrian garb (dirndls) and rooms are
country classics
From top: The dining room at Hotel Hirschen, in Schwarzenberg, Austria; clogs on display at Devich, a shoe shop in Bezau, Austria.
classics including cured pork belly and potato salad. Day 2
appointed with blond-wood tables and white leather sofas. It helps that Kaufmann’s brother, superstar architect Oskar Leo Kaufmann, oversees the design. For dinner, there’s local favorite Engel (29 Platz, Bezau; 43-5514/2203; dinner for two €90), which specializes in hearty Austrian
Bezau to Feldkirch, 60 kilometers
Sneak in a morning massage at the hotel’s popular spa, which sources ingredients for its organic anti-aging skin-care line from the Bregenzerwald forest. The emphasis on local contin ues at breakfast with bakery-fresh bread, regional cheeses and housemade jams. Before hitting the road, head to town for some shopping, and pick up a pair of handmade wooden clogs—made of untanned cowhide—at Devich (186 Ellenbogen, Bezau; 435514/2236). The blink-and-you’ll-missit town of Lingenau nearby is a must if only for cheese co-op Käsekeller (423 Zeihenbühl, Lingenau; 43-5513/42870), housed in a minimalist building also designed by Oskar Leo Kaufmann. Next stop? Lunch at the 250-year-old Hotel Hirschen (14 Hof, Schwarzenberg; 43-5512/2944; lunch for two €83), in » travelandleisureasia.com | april 2011 73
journal drive the main village square of Schwarzenberg. Across the street, Textil Hirschbühl (2 Hof, Schwarzenberg; 43-5512/2994) sells everything from knitted children’s clothing to Austrian glass schnapps sets, all sourced by owner Theresia Hirschbühl. Travel 51 kilometers south on the A14 to the town of Feldkirch, where you’ll stay at the centrally lo cated GREAT VALUE Hotel Alpenrose (4-6 Rosengasse, Feldkirch; 43-5522/ 72175; hotel-alpenrose.net; doubles from €114), a short walk from the medieval Schattenburg Castle (1 Burggasse,
past to present
From top: The indoor pool at Therme Vals, in Vals, Switzerland; cows fill the main square of Schwarzenberg, Austria.
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Feldkirch; 43-5522/71982; dinner for two €47). Every night, locals fill the castle’s grand dining room to sample (what are said to be) Austria’s largest schnitzels. Day 3
Feldkirch toVals, 124 kilometers
Drive south down Route 28 (through Liechtenstein) and back into Switzerland toward the Alpine town of Maienfeld, where the fictional Heidi grew up. While Heididorf (Heidi’s Village) may be a touch kitschy, it’s definitely worth exploring the wellmarked mountain paths where, according to the story, she and Peter used to play. Less known to travelers is the area’s Pinot Noir, made by more than 130 vintners; stop at Kunz-Keller (2 Flascherstrasse, Maienfeld; 41-81/3301555) and pick up a couple of bottles to sample later. Zigzag your way up the mountain on Grosswiesstrasse Hintergasse, then turn left toward the pint-size town of St. Margrethenberg. The hilltop farmhouse restaurant Buura-Beizli (7313 St. Margrethenberg; 41-81/302-2815; lunch for two €30), set against a backdrop of rolling hills and bleating goats, serves organic food from its farm. Try the veal goulash and barley soup with carrots and bacon. Take the A13 south toward Flims; though it’s known as one of the best ski destinations in Switzerland from November to March, the spring is just as spectacular. At Lake Cauma Park, hike the pine-studded path to the funicular, which drops you down at Lake Cauma, where you can catch a paddleboat or simply take in the view. Back at the top, head south and stop in tiny Uors for dinner at Casa da Luzi (Surcasti; 41-81/931-2459; dinner for two €79), where Swiss chef Beat Reinmann serves whatever’s fresh that day. After dinner, it’s 10 kilometers south to the Modernist spa hotel Therme Vals (Vals; 41-81/926-8080; therme-vals.ch; bath for two €63), designed by Peter Zumthor. End your day with a soak at the hotel’s legendary hot springs. ✚
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On the old town’s streets, devils emerge from the smoke during La Fiesta Mayor de Sitges.
ust to the south of Barcelona, the town of Sitges has a long-standing reputation as a place that knows how to have a good time. From its carnival early in the year to an international film festival each October, and as a year-round magnet for Europe’s jet set, Sitges is never wanting for attention. Yet it’s a raucous centuries-old celebration that photographer Jackie Rado stumbled across on a visit there last year. La Fiesta Mayor de Sitges takes place annually toward the end of August, honoring Sant Bartomeu, the small town’s patron saint. Similar to celebrations in other parts of Spain, the week-long festival builds to a crescendo with a procession of Catholic and Moorish kings and queens in the form of gegants (giants) and capgrossos (oversized papier-mâché heads) parading through the streets, but there’s much to see before that. On the second day, the five- and six-meter Moorish giants are dressed after having been repaired and touched up by local artists. The following day, castellers, those groups that build human towers, swell in the narrow streets. Their towers reach up to six people—that’s four stories high—and are usually topped off with a small child. A fireworks display that night is visible from across the city but best viewed from a boat in the harbor. But it’s the fourth day that causes the greatest buzz. Shoulder-toshoulder crowds fill the cobbled streets of Sitges as the procession of kings and queens takes over. Bastoners perform intricate stick dances along the narrow lanes, devils shooting off firecrackers disperse throughout the old town, while correfucs, or fire runs, bring a last touch of mayhem to this once-a-year festival, one you won’t soon forget. ✚
A Devil of a Time every August, the Spanish town of Sitges marches to some pretty tall drummers. Jackie Rado captures the excitement
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A local resident looks on from her room with a view—at a safe distance from the mayhem.
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A surge of castellers forms a human tower, one that often reaches four stories high.
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A towering version of the Spanish queen advances through the town square accompanied by her entourage.
Each of the gegants is backed by a team of people for protection, with each member taking a turn inside during the parade.
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Fireworks-breathing figures prepare for the procession through Sitges.
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The Spanish monarchs enter the main square, which is full of dancing crowds celebrating the town’s patron saint.
A makeshift group of musicians livens up the streets to encourage more revelers to join the celebration.
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In Sitges, even the devils put on a happy face during the festival.
Dancing amid the fireworks on the streets of the Spanish town is a tricky but exciting business.
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The Ultimate Wine Lover’s France
Delving deep into the Rhône Valley’s vaunted terroir, Bruce Schoenfeld finds a destination that delivers on a fairy-tale promise: charming villages, alfresco meals, passionate winemakers and some of the country’s most accessible wines. Photographed by Andrea Fazzari
In the garden at Maison Trévier, a hotel in an 18th-century town house in Carpentras, in France’s southern Rhône Valley. Opposite: Grenache grapes at Château de Saint Cosme, in Gigondas.
french flair
From far left: the pool at La Verrière, an inn just north of Gigondas; owner Gina Trévier at Maison Trévier. Opposite: The vaulted lounge at La Verrière.
T
he lunch menu at L’Oustalet is simple, a few lines scrawled on a chalkboard. There’s roast chicken or turbot with vegetables, a green salad or rabbit pâté as a starter, an apple tart for dessert. Here in the wine lands of the southern Rhône Valley—those manicured slopes, limestone outcroppings and picture-book towns that knit the river to the west to the Alpine foothills toward the east—such limited selections are de rigueur these days. Restaurants take a curious pride in how little they have to offer, since creating a midday prix fixe only out of what has caught the chef’s attention at the marché that morning will keep food fresh and costs down. Locals can return day after day without growing weary of the options. L’Oustalet sits on the main square in tiny Gigondas, half an hour north of Avignon. It has firm chairs of dark leather, crème-brûlée walls and a 21st-century sensibility, from the informality of the sommelier to the clean, colorful plates of food set beside the bottles of wine (for everyone is drinking at lunch) on the plain wooden tables. And isn’t that Louis Barruol from Château de Saint Cosme, my favorite area producer, sitting in the corner? Gigondas is pretty as a picture, a riot of bright shutters and doors, shady plane trees, stone walls and barrel-tile roofs, well-stocked gourmet shops and wine bars, and flowers everywhere, but it’s also a working wine town. It hasn’t stopped in time like the Provençal villages on the other side of Avignon that can seem as static as Monets. This is the heart of French wine country, which is both a physical reality and a state of mind. My view, past the tables and out the door to the bright sunshine, is pretty much what most people are imagining when they book a trip to France to eat and drink well, spend their days surrounded by beauty, and perhaps visit a winery or two. And that’s exactly what I was looking to do when I planned this weeklong vacation with my family: Find somewhere that made the fantasy of an idealized French wine trip come to life. I’ve been to most of France’s wine regions and enjoyed them all. But Champagne is formal, Burgundy can be inhospitable and imposing to an outsider, and Bordeaux is a collection of historic buildings on a flat, uninspiring landscape. The Rhône is different. The wine itself is hearty, unfussy, the kind you want to drink first and think about later. The landscape is glorious, a lavender-tinged segue of the Alps into Provence. And the towns on the hillsides and in the valleys have an authenticity that can only come from »
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the towns on the hillsides and in the valleys of the southern rhône have an authenticity that can only come from functionality. ‘they’re real. they have festivals, and bakeries, and gossip,’ one innkeeper says
A view of the terra-cotta rooftops of Carpentras.
functionality. “They have a heartbeat,” said Nicole Sierra-Rolet, who owns a working winery and a country retreat called La Verrière in the hills above Crestet, just northeast of Gigondas. “They’re real. They have festivals, and bakeries, and gossip.” A New Yorker raised in Italy, Sierra-Rolet left a high-powered banking life for a second act in wine country. (Her husband, Xavier Rolet, CEO of the London Stock Exchange, flies in on weekends.) Her husband had picked the area around Gigondas, she told me, because it “ticked all the boxes.” I thought of that as we explored the region day after day, through villages such as Châteauneuf-du-Pape and Vacqueyras, Rasteau and Cairanne, that I knew from the wines that bear their names. Each seemed a perfectly composed backdrop, with its tidy square and post office and boulangerie and precisely painted storefronts, yet I never felt that any of it was being staged for our benefit. Instead, we delighted in eavesdropping on real life, eating at bistros among the shopkeepers and doctors and businessmen, watching them pick out produce at the market, kicking a soccer ball with their kids. We were experiencing that bustle and hum of daily existence that we all know well enough, but as played out in a different and most appealing setting. There wasn’t a postcard in sight.
A
ll right, it wasn’t all quite as prosaic as that. One night, sitting outdoors by a gurgling stream at Le Moulin à Huile, in Vaisonla-Romaine, we ate truffle omelettes with foie gras cooked by Robert Bardot, who once served as the private chef for Frank Sinatra. Another night, we drove to Le Grand Pré, a restaurant where squab, a staple of area menus, is composed into something resembling art. Roasted to a perfect crimson, glazed with caramelized soy sauce, and placed atop a bed of red rice with two slices of blood sausage, it was a dish infinitely subtler and lighter than it sounds, and almost too pretty to eat. At Crillon le Brave, a tiny hilltop town, we stayed at the Relais & Châteaux property of the same name, a dramatic hotel of gardens and terraces and glorious views. We spent several days pitching boules and gazing down at the vineyards and lavender-covered hills that stretched to the horizon. Because I love wine, I visited a few producers. But my wife and two preteen sons stayed behind at the hotel, and they seemed to be enjoying the trip as much as I was. And that’s a hallmark of wine country, a sense and sensibility you’ll find from Sonoma to the Greek isles. It’s always a grape-growing area, of course—and the wine made from those grapes needs to be renowned enough to be part of the area’s identity. But it’s also a place where wine’s particular virtues have been incorporated into the prevailing mind set. Wine is convivial; it draws people together, at restaurants and cafés and at home. Yet at the same time, wine is contemplative. You can’t spend much time around it, or the vines that produce it, without considering some grander philosophical concepts in the seasonal rhythms of growing and harvesting grapes and the artisanal labor of transforming them into something beyond mere juice. I felt those rhythms even in loud, chaotic Carpentras, where we spent our first few nights. Perfectly positioned to explore the area, it’s the hub of a wheel that encompasses Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Vacqueyras, Gigondas and Vaison-la-Romaine. You wouldn’t call Carpentras pretty, yet it has glorious aspects. It’s multicultural, with its Turkish restaurants and Tunisian bars and shops selling incense and fezzes and Indian spices, but one afternoon I took a walk and landed on a wooden bench outside a music school, where I heard a violin lesson through an open window. The scene was so quintessentially Gallic that I felt like I’d gone back half a century, to when the only language you’d ever hear on those streets was French. I’d booked us a room at Maison Trévier, a town house dating from the mid 1700’s that sits in the midst of the shopping district. We ended up occupying the entire middle floor, which includes a kitchen and a vast sitting room decorated with impressive-looking oil portraits that could have hung in the provincial museum down the street. Gina Trévier, »
FIVE WINES
NOT TO MISS Here, a handful of wines you can find back home that will give you a taste of the southern Rhône Valley. Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2008 (€55) Châteauneuf-du-Pape is a blend of as many as 13 grape varieties—and Beaucastel employs them all. The result is earthy but elegant, with immense character and complexity. Château de Saint Cosme Gigondas Le Claux 2007 (€37) Saint Cosme’s site and soil are unique in Gigondas, and its wines reflect the setting. Le Claux, from 135-year-old vines, smells like a bouquet of flowers and soars in the mouth with an unmatched purity of fruit. Domaine Boisson Côtes du Rhône Cairanne Villages L’Exigence 2009 (€19) This blend of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre is dark as coal, but it’s packed with the juicy fruit that’s emblematic of this emerging appellation at its best. Domaine Santa Duc Gigondas Les Garancières 2007 (€24) A fine example of a ripe, fleshy Gigondas that has enough spine to stand up to big flavors such as grilled beef. A perfect entry point to the wines of the region. Tardieu-Laurent Vacqueyras Vieilles Vignes 2007 (€34) Vacqueyras is Gigondas’ rustic twin, but this Syrah/Grenache blend has a mineral tautness that balances the jammy fig and blueberry notes.
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the granddaughter of a grape grower, had owned a wine bar in Paris for 15 years but came south in 2005, she said, for a healthier lifestyle. I understood what that meant after she prepared us dinner: a salad of spinach, fresh fava beans and olives, then stewed duck with turnips and carrots. I awoke the next morning to the sound of happy voices from below. My boys were already downstairs in the garden, shaded from the warm morning sun by a canopy, reveling in a singular breakfast of fresh bread smeared with organic apricot and quince jams that Trévier had preserved the previous fall, a semi-savory cherry cake, and homemade cherry juice. “When you find good wine,” she told us as the birds chirped, “you will always find good food and a nice place to stay.” I hadn’t imagined that my winecountry fantasy would include quince jam and cherry juice from any nearby winery. Yet when I look back now, that morning captured the essence of the trip as much as any wine-soaked dinner or picturesque drive.
Food and wine
O
n one of our last mornings, I set out alone for Gigondas and Château de Saint Cosme. Châteauneuf-du-Pape is the southern Rhône’s most famous wine, but I actually enjoy Gigondas better, and Saint Cosme’s most of all. Gigondas itself is higher and cooler than Châteauneuf, and unlike its neighbor, its soil isn’t studded with shiny stones that serve to radiate heat and reflect the sun up into the vines. As a result, the grapes in Gigondas don’t get nearly as ripe, and the wines are able to show a litheness, a nimbleness, that the thicker and more powerful Châteauneufs lack. The wines Louis Barruol makes are serious, yet deliciously refreshing, which is a trick that only a few producers anywhere are able to manage consistently. I found him sitting at his desk surrounded by rugby paraphernalia. We talked about history and geology and family, all of which were in his mind inexorably intertwined, then set off to see the property. Soon we were climbing the hill toward a 12th-century chapel that sits beside the vineyards. I glanced up to see the Dentelles de Montmirail—the spiky limestone rocks that constitute the most recognizable geological feature of this area—looming against a sky of otherworldly Provençal blue, and Barruol’s words from earlier echoed in my brain. I understood what it meant to have 14 successive generations of your family produce something from the local soil. It made me appreciate the wines that much more.
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F a r LE f t : © P h b c z / D r e a m s t i m e . c o m
From far left: Vineyards sweep across the Rhône Valley; the daily menu at Maison Trévier.
Later, we tasted in the second-century cellar, reputedly the oldest in France. In the 2007 Le Poste, I noticed the flintiness of the region’s limestone. The Le Claux, sourced from vines planted in 1875, had a floral nose and high tone that reflected the slope of the vineyard and the crispness of September mornings. I could taste the idea of wine country in every sip, the gathered wisdom of all those generations of Barruols in every glass. Soon we said our goodbyes, and as I emerged into the bright day, with the Dentelles over my shoulders, I realized that it was noon and I was hungry. There was no question what to do next: I turned my car toward L’Oustalet and lunch. ✚
Guide to the southern RhÔne Valley When To Go Starting in mid-June, blossoming lavender plants blanket the fields of the region, adding another splash of color to an already magical landscape. Summers here are crowded, but not nearly as crowded as in Aix-en-Provence or the Riviera to the south. Falls are glorious, and don’t dismiss late winter and early spring, when there’s an appealing quiet to the villages. Hotels cut prices by as much as a third and, because this is a working wine region, restaurants are open year-round. STAY Hôtel Crillon le Brave Place de l’Église, Crillon le Brave; 334/86-40-83-43; crillonlebrave. com; doubles from €250. La Verrière Chemin de La Verrière, Crestet; 33-4/90-10-
N
06-30; laverriere.com; doubles from €250.
33-4/90-65-80-80; saintcosme. com; open weekdays.
GREAT VALUE Maison Trévier 36 Place du Docteur Cavaillon, Carpentras; 33-4/90-51-99-98; maison-trevier.com; doubles from €105.
Domaine de la Janasse 27 Chemin du Moulin, Courthézon; 33-4/90-70-86-29; lajanasse. com; open Monday–Friday 8 a.m.–noon and 2 p.m.–6 p.m.; during harvest and weekends by appointment only.
EAT Le Grand Pré Rte. de Vaison-laRomaine, Roaix; 33-4/90-4618-12; dinner for two €122. L’Oustalet Place du Village, Gigondas; 33-4/90-65-85-30; lunch for two €66. Le Moulin à Huile Quai Maréchal Foch, Rte. de Malaucène, Vaison-la-Romaine; 33-4/90-36-20-67; dinner for two €162. TASTE Château de Saint Cosme La Fouille et les Florets, Gigondas;
Rasteau
Roaix
Rh
Cairanne
ôn i ve r eR
Gigondas
Pierre Usseglio Traditional Châteauneuf producer with an old winery on a picturesque hill. Rte. d’Orange, Châteauneufdu-Pape; 33-4/90-83-72-98; open weekdays, 9:30 a.m.– noon and 2 p.m.–6 p.m. SHOP Carré Boutique A smartly designed shop selling tapenade, olive oil, flavored salts and other regional specialties. Place de la Fontaine, Gigondas; 33-4/9062-31-42.
Vaison-la-Romaine Crestet
Vacqueyras Crillon le Brave
Courthézon Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Carpentras
Paris Avignon
FRANCE Avignon
0
6.4 km
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Little
England
Malaysia’s Cameron Highlands is noted for its cool weather, tea plantations and strawberry farms. Melanie Lee discovers that, beyond these British attributes, it is a quirky, enterprising hillside resort town with a close connection to nature. Photographed by Darren Soh
Crafted hillsides of tea in the Cameron Highlands.
Outside The Lakehouse. Clockwise from left: A streetmarket vegetable stand; strawberries are a common sight; a keeper and his bees.
There are three things I recall from my family trips to Cameron Highlands as a child: winding down the car window to have my face whipped by a gust of chilly wind; competing with my sister to see how many strawberries we could stuff into our mouths; and my mother, prancing around a rose garden exclaiming, “This feels just like England!” For my parents, Cameron Highlands was where they got their English countryside fix via its lush green hills and cool mountain air. Having lived in London for several years, they would often reminisce about their road trips to the Lake District, and they attempted to recapture those quaint experiences with the cheaper alternative of driving up to these mountains to the north of Malaysia from Singapore. They weren’t the first ones. In the 1920’s, Sir George Maxwell, a British colonial administrator of Malaya, earmarked these 712 square kilometers of highlands—the area is 1,500 meters above sea level—as a hill station and a retreat for troops who were only able to return home every eight years. In 1885, surveyor William Cameron discovered this place during a mapping expedition and gave an endearing report back to the authorities, describing the locale as “a vortex in the mountains, while for a wide area we have gentle slopes and plateau land.” There was also an abundance of fertile ground. So up popped vegetable and fruit farms, nurseries, apiaries and tea plantations along with bungalows, a golf course and a hospital. One of the most striking things about Cameron Highlands is its temperature, which ranges between 12 and 25 degrees Celsius, a refreshing contrast to the sweltering tropical humidity in the rest of the country. My first morning, I take a short stroll and realize that experiencing sunny 16-degree Celsius weather is not only a novelty in Southeast Asia, but it also makes you considerably less irritable. “Many guests come here for peace of mind. When you take in deep breaths of this cool, fresh mountain air, you instantly release all that tension,” says Krishna Badhur, the manager at The Lakehouse, a refurbished 18-room Tudor-style country house built by a retired Colonel Stanley Foster in the 1970’s. To complement this gorgeous weather are delightfully kitsch elements of 1950’s England, which have remained in Cameron Highlands long after the British left in 1957. The Lakehouse has Victorian bric-a-brac, creaky wooden stairs, a
crackling fireplace in the lounge and an afternoon tea menu of fresh scones with strawberry jam. On the roads, battered Land Rovers rattle about, laden with vegetables and fruit. Outside of British military bases, Cameron Highlands has the densest Land Rover population in the world, initially thanks to a few generous British soldiers who passed their vehicles on to local farmers after Malaya declared its independence. They became the vehicle of choice for the 33,000 residents because of their ability to withstand the rough mountain terrain. My husband Darren and I explore the more rustic parts of Cameron Highlands in a tan Land Rover with mossy forest guided tour. My childhood trips had predominantly involved strawberry picking and drinking sweetened tea at plantations, the easiest activities at the time to occupy bratty little girls. But now that I’m a little more grown up, there is a lingering fascination to explore more of this hill resort town that feels so different from any other part of Malaysia. While heading up to Gunung Brinchang, the highest point in the country at 2,000 meters, we chat with a Norwegian couple, Johan and Anna Faaberg, expats who live in Kuala Lumpur and are experiencing Cameron Highlands for the first time. “Our friends told us to go to Genting Highlands, where there’s a casino and an amusement park. But we’re Scandinavian. We need something a little more isolated and closer to nature. This place fits the bill, it feels just like a cool summer back home,” says Johan. Our guide, Satya Nagamuthu from Malaysiana Eco Tours, has lived here all his life and researches indigenous plant life. His father was a tea planter from central India, arriving with the British to help with the tea plantations. “I grew up running through tea plantations and exploring these forests. There were all kinds of adventures,” he says. After climbing up the Gunung Brinchang lookout tower where we are greeted with a stunning view of the Titiwangsa Range, we trek down the road through a forested shortcut to get to the mossy forest trail. “You’ve probably never been to a place like this. It’s like entering Pandora from the Avatar,” Satya tells me. » travelandleisureasia.com | april 2011 97
True enough, this 250-million-year-old mountain rain forest takes our breath away. “Hardly European countryside anymore,” whispers Anna, sounding slightly awed. Moss and lichen in rich hues of green, purple and brown coat the stumpy, gnarled trees, exuding a sense of otherworldliness. The ground we walk on has a thick, brown consistency—it’s like walking on chocolate cake—and it gets spongy from the dew. Satya points out some interesting flora like the pitcher plant that preys on insects enticed into its cupped leaves. There’s also the bilberry plant, whose fruit is said to improve night vision—apparently it helped communist insurgents who hid here in the 1960’s with their guerilla warfare. Satya offers tips on how to decide which plant or fruit is edible, knowledge he’s gained from befriending the Orang Asli, an indigenous minority that still lives in this rain forest. “They say that you will live a long life just by breathing in the sacred air of this forest. However, if you’re heading back to Kuala Lumpur tomorrow, then you’ll probably get a heart attack soon,” says Satya with a twinkle in his eye. More sardonic quips come from our guide as he warms up. “Oh look, there’s a Strawberry Head,” Satya mutters as we drive past a teenager wearing a bulbous pair of strawberry earmuffs. He recounts with a shudder that last Christmas, there was a Strawberry Santa Claus going around with a strawberry-shaped gift bag. Perhaps this is one aspect of “English countryside” gone too far. There are around 30 hydroponic strawberry farms here, and countless strawberrythemed shops and stalls scattered across the Cameron’s five settlements selling every kind of strawberry memorabilia imaginable, from umbrellas to bathroom mats. The aggressive marketing must be working. When we go to Big Red Strawberry Farm, the place is packed, and the apologetic staff tell us that there are no more strawberries left to pluck from their nursery—but if we like, we can buy some from their souvenir shop. So instead of stuffing my mouth, I comfort myself with a strawberry milkshake at their Strawberry Café. Things are fortunately less frenzied at the BOH Sungai Palas Tea Plantation, probably the most iconic tourist attraction at in the highlands. BOH (Best of Highlands) is Malaysia’s leading tea company. Run by a Scottish family since 1929, the stylishly sleek tea center is located at the edge of a hilltop facing a vast landscape of Camellia sinensis bushes on gentle, rolling hills, glistening in the sunlight. It doesn’t get more British colonial than having afternoon tea by the plantations. There’s a naturally relaxing charm to this experience, probably one of the few travel luxuries in the world that isn’t too exorbitant. By the end of the trip, I’ve got mixed emotions about the Cameron Highlands. Its majestic mountain views, pristine mossy forests and elegant manor lodgings hark back to my mother’s romantic notion of this place as a charming country getaway. At the same time, commercialization has made its mark with all the souvenir shops, new hotels and plans for a 98 april 2011 | travelandleisureasia.com
shopping mall. Locals like Kalaiyasari Ramasamy, the guest manager at The Lakehouse, notice that Cameron Highlands has become slightly warmer from the recent development and burgeoning number of tourists. Yet in spite of this, she says that the charm of the area will remain. “I’ve always pictured Cameron Highlands as this elegant Victorian lady who is a little cross with how people are treating her at the moment. But the show must go on. She’ll make sure that everything stays beautiful.” ✚
GUIDE TO CAMERON HIGHLANDS GETTING THERE It takes about 3½ hours to drive to Cameron Highlands from Kuala Lumpur via the country’s North-South Expressway, exiting either at Tapah or Simpang Pulai. Alternatively, Kurnia Bistari Coaches (60-5/491-1485; RM22 per person) and Unititi Express Service (60-5/491-1452; RM22 per person) offer coach rides to Cameron Highlands a few times every day from Puduraya Central Bus Station. GETTING AROUND Some of the mountain roads in Cameron Highlands can be harrowingly narrow and winding. It’s advisable to go on a guided tour in a hardy Land Rover while exploring the more rustic parts of this town. One company that offers such tours is Cameron Secrets (60-5/491-2888; cameronsecrets.com). WHEN TO GO The mountain roads become congested during public holidays and school vacations so it’s best to visit during the off-peak periods that extend from this
month into early May and from July to October. STAY The Lakehouse 30th Mile Ringlet, Cameron Highlands; 60-5/4956152; lakehousecameron.com; doubles from RM556. Cameron Highlands Resort By The Golf Course, Tanah Rata; 60-5/491-1100; cameronhighlands resort.com; doubles from RM765. SEE AND DO Time Tunnel Museum Jln. Sungai Burong (between Brinchang Town and Hotel Equatorial); timetunnel.cameronhighlands. com; 9 a.m.–6 p.m. daily; RM5 per person. Big Red Strawberry Farm Brinchang Town; 60-5/491-3327; brstrawberryfarm@yahoo.com; free admission. BOH Sungai Palas Tea Plantation Jln. Gunung Brinchang; 60-5/496-2096; boh.com.my; free admission. Cameron Tringkap Bee Farm Jln. Besar Tringkap; 60-5/496-1048; tringkapbeefarm.cameron highlands.com; free admission.
At the stylish BOH tea center. Clockwise from below: A walk through the mossy forest; at the Time Tunnel Museum; a Malaysian tea plantation; comfort at The Lakehouse; tea covers the Cameron valley.
Undiscovered
Italy On a journey through the southern region of the Salento, in Puglia, Mich a el Fr a nk comes across a hidden land of unexpected pleasures where local culture, flavors and tradition still reign supreme.
Photogr a phed by Dav id Cicconi
Santa Croce basilica, in Lecce. Opposite: A view of Otranto, on the Adriatic in Salento.
Secrets of the Salento Clockwise from above: The
I
t began with a bite of sun-dried tomato.
My wife, Jo Anne, and I had decided to go to Rome with our new baby. She was seven weeks new. Lucia: bringer of light. She brought it in abundance, day and (alas) night. Every now and then, we needed a break. It came in the form of Piera Bonerba, a striking, big-hearted young woman from Puglia. Piera scooped Lucia up and brought peace—and sleep—into our lives. One morning she also brought us a jar of tomatoes that her mother had grown, dried in the intense southern heat and preserved with her own capers and oil. They had an earthy complexity that made me want to slow down time. “What makes these tomatoes so special?” I asked Piera. “The place they come from,” she answered.
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pool at Masseria Bernardini, in Nardò; the breakfast room of Lecce’s Suite 68 B&B; opening a fresh oyster from Pescheria La Lampara, in Gallipoli; a waitress at A Casa tu Martinu, in Taviano.
ago. Remote; behind, in the best sense; not trampled by tourists. Framed by the Adriatic to the east and the Ionian Sea to the west, it had the cleanest water, the most delicious food. The people were as open as its sky. It took us a while, but the summer Lucia turned three, we went. We stayed at first with Piera and her family near Ugento, where I spent several beautiful hours on a pristine sandy beach, taking note of local ways: people swam in the morning and again in the evening; in the baking afternoons the beach was as deserted as any local piazza or city street. Not every Italian has the body of a god. Women liked to accessorize their bikinis with pearl necklaces. Lucia alone among the children wore a full-body SPF sunsuit, causing one young boy to inquire, “Ha freddo?”—is she cold? The macchia mediterranea—local scrub made up of oregano, rosemary, juniper—perfumed the air as crickets sang and sang. In between swims I learned that the Salento’s obscurity extends even to English-speaking travelers’ accounts, which are minimal. There is no complete volume on the food of the Salento in English, only parts in Nancy Harmon Jenkins’s excellent book Flavors of Puglia and chapters scattered through
southern tastes
Clockwise from left: Kitchen art at the Awaiting Table Cookery School, in Lecce; outside Lecce’s amphitheater; pasta with tomatoes, garlic, oregano and pecorino cheese at Lecce’s Alle due Corti; a tarantella dancer in Martignano; some Benedetto Cavalieri pasta.
Honey From a Weed, a highly original work by the English writer Patience Gray, who settled in 1970 in the Salento without running water or electricity and brought a scholarly focus, and almost witchlike intuition, to her cooking and her writing alike. The Salento does have its own filmmaker, Edoardo Winspeare, whose early movies (Pizzicata; Sangue Vivo) turn a sharp ethnographic eye on the character of the region. I quickly discovered that the Salentine Peninsula was made for driving through—as long as you stick to the prettier secondary roads. Though it is an exceptionally varied place, the region is not vast: you can make it from the Adriatic coast to the Ionian in less than two hours. Driving also showed me how flat the landscape is and how densely the olive trees grow in it—Puglia is one of Italy’s most prolific producers of olive oil and wine. Every so often the olives and the grapes were interrupted by gates made of stone and wrought iron that marked long roads to masserie, ranchlike complexes consisting of residences, barns, outbuildings and workshops, that are the region’s indigenous architectural form. Many of the masserie have been abandoned, and their ghostly silhouettes contributed to the feeling I had that this was a landscape that has seen fortunes
rise and fall many times over. But nothing stood out quite like the color of the earth, which was somewhere between blood and cinnamon and, when plowed, split into enormous, loamy chunks: it was like Mars, only fertile.
One morning I went to the fish market in Gallipoli, whose old Greek place-name, Kalè Polis, or beautiful city, seemed to me at least half correct: Gallipoli was indeed beautiful, though not quite my idea of a city. Its narrow, weblike streets spread out across a small island that once made its fortune manufacturing and exporting local olive oil, which was originally used for lighting lamps, not for cooking. I had only to glance into the market before I made a new friend, Cosimo, who introduced himself as “un vero pescatore di Gallipoli” and persuaded me to buy more clams and mussels (at a fraction of New York prices but with a hundred times the flavor) than we could ever eat. While Cosimo packed up my purchases, I explored the town. Like much Salentine architecture, that of Gallipoli has a distinctly Baroque stamp even on some of its modest private houses, whose friezes of molded white plaster were relieved by flashes of yellow, persimmon » travelandleisureasia.com | april 2011 103
The baroque churches were full of women fanning themselves. the men were playing cards and drinking beer and gold. Everywhere I walked I saw fishermen repairing nets or older women leaning out of windows or sitting on small folding chairs in the streets, knitting and watching children. In a place without sidewalks or gardens and very few piazzas, the street itself was the de facto town square. Another morning I set off to visit some of the towns of the entroterra. These inland places make up a small, secret world within the blue-green border of coastal Salento. In Maglie, the largest of them, I stopped at the delightful Pastificio Benedetto Cavalieri pasta factory, which has been producing spectacular pasta locally since 1918—think Willy Wonka with semolina in place of chocolate—before walking through the central streets, where there seemed to be a disproportionate number of bridal shops, underwear boutiques (for women and men) and pasticcerie. Maglie was bustling and caloric; the towns of the Grecia Salentina, by contrast, were closed, stony and mysterious. These 11 villages—Corigliano d’Otranto was my favorite—have Greek roots that may go back as far as the eighth century; by the 10th century, Greek refugees had settled in what was a de facto inland protectorate. Their language, clothing, food and habits were entirely Greek; even now, a millennium later, an older generation still speaks a version of the Greek dialect. So much about the Salento is specific to the province: the dialects; the food; the music (Alan Lomax visited in 1954 and made several notable recordings); and above all the tarantella, a dance whose origins are still in dispute, but which is believed to have originated in the 15th century around Taranto. Peasant women believed they were bitten by spiders and could only purge their bodies of the venom, and their souls of the accompanying hysteria, by whirling in frenetic circles. The tarantella, which was practiced widely well into the 1960’s, has undergone a revival in recent years and is celebrated at summer festivals in Melpignano and Galatina. I spent a Sunday morning in Galatina looking at the frescoes in the basilica of Santa Caterina d’Alessandria, where Old and New Testament stories are given such a pungent specificity that the serpent in the Garden of Eden has long flowing tresses and an oddly coy, knowing grin, as though she alone was immune to the spider’s transforming bite.
The Salento is a place of many endings. The Romans ended the Appian Way in Brindisi. The main autostrada still branches to a secondary road there, as do the state railways. But the most dramatic ending of all is of the land itself: at Santa Maria di Leuca a sign in the empty windswept piazza reminds you—as if, surrounded by all that infinite sea, you needed reminding—that you have reached finibus terrae. 104 april 2011 | travelandleisureasia.com
I came one afternoon to see water again, at the place where, or near where, the Adriatic and the Ionian seas merge. What a thing it was to stand at the very end of Italy, on a promontory that was once home to a brilliant white temple to Minerva and served as a famous guide to ancient sailors—everyone (the Mycenaeans and the Minoans, the Greeks, the Romans, and later the Byzantines, the Longobards and the Saracens) having been through here. I searched for the fabled but, according to most geographers, apocryphal white line that marked the exact meeting point of these two seas, and then I climbed down to water level and rode in a boat operated by a boy who looked to be about 12. He took me and a scattering of other travelers on a tour of the Ionian coast; we putt-putted in and out of half a dozen caves, where the earth sweated and dripped and the boatswain pointed to rocks in the shape of a crocodile, an angry old man and—who else?—a smiling Madonna.
After three days near Ugento we moved on to the Masseria Bernardini, near Nardò. Out of piles of yellow stone a Milanese architect and gallery owner has created seven suites, some with multiple bedrooms. The kitchens and artworks were contemporary, the gardens fragrant with lavender and rosemary, and the pool was a delight. I could have stayed forever. I loved Nardò. The Baroque churches were full of women fanning themselves. The men were gathered in circoli, something akin to social clubs, playing cards and drinking beer. Or else they were in barbershops, leaning back to be shaved with straight razors. In the town’s well-curated crafts shop, I asked the young woman who helped me where all her peers were. “At the beach,” she answered, sighing. Every meal we ate, whether at a beach bar or a swell restaurant, was handsomely presented, with flavors stronger, purer, deeper than I have eaten after decades of traveling and living in Italy. In Taviano we dined at A Casa tu Martinu, which specializes in such Salentine dishes as pure di fave e cicorie, a purée of fava beans served with wilted chicory, and ciceri e tria, a partly fried pasta tossed with chickpeas. In Lecce, our next destination, we ate three meals at Alle due Corti, a family-run place where the menu is in dialect (and English). Also while in Lecce I had a cooking lesson with the American-born Silvestro Silvestori, whose grandmother was Leccese and who has operated a culinary school there since 2003. Silvestori talked to me about the Salento’s push-and-pull relationship to tradition and change. Tradition: people still eat horsemeat, snails, breads of spelt and barley that are meatlike and sustaining; they are suspicious of outsiders; they dislike innovation. Yet change was undeniably in the air: local vintners, after years »
The entrance of Awaiting Table, in Lecce.
flavor friendly
Clockwise from top left: The piazza at Santa Maria di Leuca; a fruit stand in Gallipoli; Nardò’s Piazza Salandra; pastries from the Antica Pasticceria G. Portaluri shop, in Maglie; Alessandro Ruggeri, an employee at Antico Pastificio Benedetto Cavalieri pasta factory, in Maglie.
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of trying to imitate northern-style wines, are learning to cherish their own varietals, among them Primitivo and Negroamaro; the town has an active tourist board; ugly macadam has been torn up and replaced with cobblestones; wine bars have been proliferating. We were staying around the corner from Silvestori’s school at Suite 68, a small, chic B&B in a private palazzo so welcoming that when Lucia walked into the entry hall she looked around and asked if she could take off her shoes. The affable Mary Rossi, who manages the B&B, told me that in the past five years or so Lecce had begun to “wake up and realize what it has”: a modestly scaled city with great food, a revived tradition of papier-mâché artisanship, a Roman amphitheater, a wonderful bookstore and endless Baroque architecture, much of it designed by Giuseppe Zimbalo, and almost all of it so insanely exuberant and over-the-top that my wife described it as drunk.
We had one more masseria, Montelauro, just south of Otranto: another early complex of buildings, once home to 20 families, that had been redesigned by the fashionable owner Elisabetta Turgi Prosperi. Our room was the smallest we’d stayed in, but there were compensations: a pool set in a dark, crunchy lawn; delicious breakfasts and lunches, both served all’aperto; and a clientele ranging from friendly children to voluble older women in silver-framed glasses and linen shifts. Otranto turned out to be the one place in all of the Salento that seemed all too awake to its tourists’ wants. It had the first (and 21st) T-shirt shop I’d seen on my trip, kitschy gewgaws, a
boisterous carousel. This was Otranto by night, though; the next morning I found a more somber place, almost as if, by day, Otranto regularly woke up to the memory of the excruciating massacre perpetrated in 1480 by invading Turks, who beheaded 800 Otrantini when they refused to convert to Islam. Their bones are on display in the cathedral, which is also home to a set of masterfully worked mosaics completed in 1166, and several of the Turks’ granite cannonballs are still scattered in the streets. It felt as though they could have been shot there five hours instead of 530 years ago. On my last afternoon I ended my trip as I began it: with a drive. I went south to see the menhirs and dolmens near Uggiano la Chiesa. These mysterious arrangements of stones, accessible by slender (if well-marked) dirt roads, were left by Bronze Age locals known as Messapians; they seemed to me to have dropped down into deserted fields like visitors from another planet. Afterward I went north to check out the Laghi Alimini, more spectacular Salentine water. On my way back to Montelauro, with the sun lowering and my memorable sun-soaked visit drawing to its close, I stopped at a farm stand where, alongside apricots, peaches, grapes, cherries, melons and yards of greens, the farmer’s wife was selling her own dried tomatoes, mushrooms, zucchini—which I’d never seen before— and capers. She scooped up a caper with a battered wooden spoon and held it out to me. I tasted sweet, I tasted salt, I felt a small pod of fruity liquor burst open in my mouth. “Do you know what makes it so special?” she asked. “Actually,” I told her, “I believe I do.” ✚
guide to salento STAY Masseria Bernardini Contrada Agnano, Nardò; 39-02/5843-1058; April– October; 39-0833/570408; masseriabernardini. com; suites from €200. GREAT VALUE Masseria Don Cirillo Strada Provinciale Ugento–Torre S. Giovanni; 39-0833/931432; kalekora.it; doubles from €70. GREAT VALUE Masseria Montelauro Strada Provinciale Otranto– Uggiano, Montelauro; 39-0836/806-203; masseriamontelauro.it; doubles from €95. GREAT VALUE Suite 68 7 Via Leonardo Prato, Lecce; 39-0832/ 303-506; kalekora.it; doubles from €100. Local house and
apartment rentals salentonascosto.it. EAT A Casa tu Martinu 95 Via Corsica, Taviano; 390833/913-652; dinner for two €56. Alle due Corti 1 Corte dei Giugni, Lecce; 39-0832/ 242-223; dinner for two €37. Antica Pasticceria G. Portaluri 18 Via Alcide de Gasperi, Maglie; 39-380/ 356-5236; pastries for two €2. Ristorante La Pignata 7 Corso Garibaldi, Otranto; 39-339/313-8430; dinner for two €46. Trattoria Le Taiate Via Litoranea, Porto Badisco; 39-0836/811-625; March– September; lunch for two €29.
DO QuiSalento, a local monthly guide to arts, entertainment, and restaurants, has a useful website and publishes one of the few guides in English to the area. quisalento.it.
Ad r
N
Adriatic Sea
Bari
Nautica Med Boat tours of the caves near Santa Maria di Leuca. 34 Via Enea, Marina di Leuca; 39-335/219-119; tours from €15.
ia
tic
Se
a
Bari
Tyrrhenian Sea
puglia
Salento
Awaiting Table Cookery School Lecce; awaitingtable.com; February through December; classes from €326. Lido Pizzo A swimming beach run by the same proprietors as A Casa tu Martinu. Gallipoli; 39-0833/276-978; lidopizzo.it.
ITALY Rome
Otranto Lecce
Ionian Sea 0
Nardò Maglie Gallipoli Taviano Ugento
34 km
SHOP Antico Pastificio Benedetto Cavalieri Traditional dried pasta. 64 Via Garibaldi, Maglie; 39-0836/484-144. Terrarossa Arte Salentina Well-chosen Salentine
crafts. 28 Piazza Salandra, Nardò; 39-0833/572-685; terrarossasalento.it. Pescheria La Lampara At the fish market by the port, Gallipoli; 39-0833/261-936.
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Harvesting mushrooms in a forest at Vallanes, an organic farm in eastern Iceland. Opposite: A typical traffic pileup on an Icelandic country road.
True North
The stark, primeval scenery of Iceland is fertile ground for a new breed of Nordic cuisine. Shane Mitchell heads to a country of Viking descendants and modern foragers to uncover a culinary aesthetic that remains wild at heart. Photographed by Christian Kerber
Shopping at the Frú Lauga grocery, in Reykjavík, left. Right: Salmon on a bed of slate with organic Icelandic flowers and yogurt-like skyr at Dill. Opposite: Óli Ólaffson (right) seasons a dish in the kitchen at Dill.
On a chilly August morning in eastern Iceland, a herd of reindeer paused to graze along a granite ridge. Eymundur (“Eymi”) Magnússon, a dead ringer for the Bee Gees’ Barry Gibb, slammed on the brakes and his truck skidded to a halt on the stony track. The two of us sat silently watching as these skittish herbivores, their enormous antlers swaying like velvet chandeliers in a windstorm, trotted toward a glacial lake outside the town of Eglisstaðir. »
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Iceland is warmed by the Gulf Stream, so the climate is relatively temperate. Although summer is fleeting on the cusp of the Arctic Circle, plenty still grows here, and Icelanders are champion foragers
northern rites From left: Eygló Ólafsdóttir and Eymi Magnússon on their farm, Vallanes; a junior suite at 101 Hotel,
in Reykjavík; the dining room at the Hótel Budir, on the Snæfellsnes Peninsula. Opposite: Reykjavík from above.
“Do they know you don’t eat meat?” I asked. Magnússon chuckled at the thought. “Maybe. Hunting season is coming up soon, and they’ve been on my land for most of the summer.” Surveying the matted crowberry shrubs and lichencrusted rocks, I didn’t see much terrain that could be construed as sanctuary for creatures that stuck out like a frost giant’s sore thumb. But once we bounced around several turns in the rutted trail, the truck dipped into a hidden vale of barley fields. The wind died away as we drove between tall rows of mature aspen. Magnússon remarked at the curious hue of the sheltering foliage, possibly tinted by nitrogen from blue lupines blooming underneath. “No one thought these trees would grow,” he said, “but I have planted one million of them.” In a forestless realm where all virgin timber was cut down more than a thousand years ago, it’s an achievement worthy of a vegetarian visionary. For Magnússon, who supplies tiny white potatoes and fruit preserves to a number of gourmet shops in Reykjavík, it was simply another day on the farm he calls Vallanes. ust kissing latitude 67 degrees north, this isolated island of volcanoes and glaciers is what the Icelandic people have called home—literally between hot rocks and a cold place—since A.D. 874, when their intrepid Viking ancestors first rowed longships across the Norwegian Sea. Unlike its nearest neighbor, Greenland, Iceland is warmed by the Gulf Stream, so the climate is relatively temperate. Although summer is fleeting on the cusp of the Arctic Circle, plenty still grows here, and Icelanders are champion foragers of mushrooms, berries,
moss, seaweed—anything deemed remotely edible. Word about these rare ingredients, not to mention the weird beauty of an untamed landscape, has spread far beyond the island’s lava-rock shores. Danish chef René Redzepi, the leader of the New Nordic culinary movement and an avid forager, sources Icelandic seafood, herbal teas and the yogurt-like skyr for Noma, his Copenhagen bistro, which in 2010 was named the world’s top restaurant (edging out Spain’s El Bulli) by a prestigious international food academy. These modern-day Vikings can cite an ancient literary source for their foraging instincts: the Icelanders’ sagas, which are filled with heroic deeds by poet-farmers and warrior-shepherds. (With his fair hair and beard, Eymi would fit right into one of those medieval prose epics.) I’ve never managed to choke through an entire narrative, but undoubtedly the Old Norse words for locavore and sustainability are in there somewhere. I share a love of scrounging with these far northerners. My mother, an early convert to the health-food craze during the 1960’s, favored Euell Gibbons’s Stalking the Wild Asparagus as her guide to walking on the wild side. She taught me to be an edible opportunist, hunting the sides of streams for cress and picking windfall apples from abandoned farm fields near my childhood home. My own inspiration, however, is an obscure gem titled Icelandic Picnic, by Áslaug Snorradóttir and Sigrún Sigvaldadóttir. Full of tart homilies, this merry collection of arty snapshots celebrates the outdoor pleasures of a brief yet bountiful season, when modern Vikings pack their camping gear and plunder the countryside with berry buckets. At the height of an Arctic summer, I also discover how short a distance it is in Iceland to journey from field to kitchen table. » travelandleisureasia.com | april 2011 113
culinary wilds Clockwise from above: Icelandic horses grazing near Eglisstaðir; a homespun sign on Magnússon’s farm, Vallanes; Hotel Aldan’s chocolate cake garnished with berries; staffers at Kaffismiðja Íslands, Reykjavík’s best coffeehouse.
The Gufufoss waterfall tumbled next to the road. I parked and walked to the edge, where the spray, drifting upward, misted my face and my hair
I
n a tie-dyed bunkhouse on Magnússon’s farm, a group of wwoof-ers were wolfing down wild-blueberry pancakes and rhubarb compote. World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms is a grassroots cultural exchange for back-to-the-land volunteers and growers eager to embrace the crunchy gospel. This crew ranged from a Bowdoin graduate student researching soil content to an elderly Englishwoman with a passion for tundra fungi—all extra hands in the farm’s prized potato patch. “Don’t let anyone in Reykjavík know they’re ready to harvest yet,” Magnússon entreated me. Icelandic Picnic: “Pjód veit, ef prír vita.” “If three have been told, the whole nation knows.” On an island with just over 300,000 residents, word gets around fast. With packets of freshly baked angelica-seed crackers from Magnússon’s wife, Eygló, in my bag, I left the gentle vale of Vallanes for a rough gravel road across a high pass to the nearby eastern seaport of Seyðisfjörður. As I gained elevation, the weather closed in. I found myself in the curious position of navigating a suspension bridge with a dense cloud bank underneath and zero visibility in a region where free-ranging sheep mobbed grassy shoulders. (Both excellent reasons why the speed limit in Iceland is 90 k.p.h.) Halfway through my route, the Gufufoss waterfall tumbled over a series of rock terraces next to the road. I parked and walked to the edge, where the spray, drifting upward, misted my face and hair. One of the most wonderful things about Iceland is the purity of plain old tap water, which tastes of minerals from the sunless halls of mountain kings. Icelanders laugh when you ask for imported bottles. Seyðisfjörður was preparing for a midsummer party. A heap of broken furniture and packing crates piled next to the town hall was to be torched at sunset—which, at this time of year, was just shy of midnight. At the reception area in the Hótel Aldan, the old checkout counter displayed temptingly iced fruitcakes and chewy nut cookies; oak tables and Windsor chairs looked out onto the waterfront. Setting my place with a crocheted doily and candlestick, a waitress recited the evening menu. (Magnússon’s microgreens made an appearance, paired with a smoked duck breast.) As I watched bonfire-bound townspeople stream past the window, succulent langoustine tails arrived garnished with Gotland truffle foam. Close in size to crawfish, Icelandic humar are rich enough on their own. The sauce made from mushrooms sourced on a Baltic island was an indulgent embellishment, particularly given the frugal culinary history of a people who once survived winters on putrefied shark
and pickled seal flippers. Icelandic Picnic: “Margt et sætt í dag, sem súrt er á morgun.” “Sweet today, sour tomorrow.”
A
n eight-hour drive away, on the opposite side of the island, the capital of Reykjavík has all the hallmarks of a small college town— street murals; vintage stores; Internet cafés on every corner. I was there to meet Siggi Hall, an ardent fan of the potatoes from Magnússon’s farm. Tall and jolly, Hall is the Icelandic equivalent of Jamie Oliver; he introduced his viewing public to imported comestibles such as olive oil and maple syrup, but now promotes a cooking philosophy closer to home. We met for langoustine chowder at Nauthóll, a modern bistro overlooking the city beach. I asked him what a summer picnic means to an Icelandic chef. “I like to go out to the country with blankets and sandwiches, smoked lamb and cheeses,” he said. “Especially in August, when the berries get ripe. Everyone has their secret picking grounds.” He leaned in closer to stage-whisper: “You don’t tell where you pick your berries!” Set in grassy parkland on the outskirts of town, Nordic House was designed by Finnish master architect Alvar Aalto. The minimalist structure holds a library and exhibition space. It is also home turf for two culinary madmen. By day, Dill restaurant serves as the museum cafeteria; after hours, all that changes radically. Chef Gunnar Karl Gíslason and his sommelier, Ólafur Örn (“Óli”) Ólaffson, produce poetry from an experimental kitchen slightly smaller than a bread box. Gíslason may just be the next René Redzepi. (He hosted his first Salone del Gusto workshop at the Slow Food festival in Turin, Italy last year.) Because Dill has only 10 tables, each plate gets his conceptual scrutiny, and what winds up on that rustic china is extraordinary. Often Gíslason will hear from a lone hunter who has bagged a reindeer, or a former monk who combs the shore for kelp and moss. Arctic char might arrive from friends who have spawning streams flowing past their sheep paddocks. A ceramic artist will trade dinner for a pot with protruding lamb bones. And a waiter’s uncle supplies fresh-mown hay for one of Gíslason’s quirkier pairings. My table faced a pond where fat white ducks paddled in the twilight. The meal required a wicked sense of humor en hanced by a capacity for surprise: I’d never seen pickled green wild strawberries, birch oil, caramelized cheese whey or pink beer. The cubed, salt-preserved wild salmon with capelin roe and smoked-rapeseed mayonnaise tasted like fishy Pop Rocks with a nicotine twist. A loin of Icelandic » travelandleisureasia.com | april 2011 115
Outdoor tables at the Hotel Aldan in Seyðisfjörður, above. Opposite: The gallery-like lounge at 101 Hotel.
cone, the setting for the start of the fictional expedition in Jules Verne’s Journey to the Center of the Earth. On my last morning, the Budir kitchen gave me a sevenliter plastic bucket. The lane leading back to the main road passed through a dormant lava field blanketed by soft mosses. I hiked among the jumbled rocks and climbed down into a wide crevice out of the wind blowing off the ocean. All around me were low bushes full of plump blueberries that no one had yet found. I picked and picked. Sitting there on the dry grass, with the sound of the surf at my back and the glacier sparkling in the sun above me, I finally had a taste of that transient delight relished by a Nordic race of alfresco revelers. Icelandic Picnic: “Nú er af mér gengið, sagði geitin, ég er bæði full og feit.” “Now I’m done, said the goat, I’m both full and fat.” ✚
Greenland Sea
beef, cooked rare, was dusted with incinerated leeks. (At one point I spotted Gíslason setting fire to a clump of hay outside; the ash fell on a breast of wild goose.) Magnússon’s potatoes nestled next to scrambled duck egg and bacon in cream sauce. A dollop of whipped cider-vinegar butter perched precariously on a lava rock next to equally dark pumper nickel. When the kitchen finally closed and Gíslason pulled up a chair, I asked him why he scorched his food. He crossed his meaty arms and grinned like an oversize garden gnome. “For extra grill flavor,” he said, laughing.
F
oraging is a pursuit eminently suited to the road, and all the better if that byway winds around fjords leading to the Snæfellsnes Peninsula. Every few kilometers I stopped to scan for fragrant thyme and stalks of seeding angelica. The trip to Hótel Budir, a country house on the Atlantic—usually a 2 1/2hour drive northwest from Reykjavík—took me most of a day. After a brisk walk along the pebbled beach to gather mahogany kelp washed up at low tide, I rinsed the sea salt from my hands in an upstairs guest room and headed to the dining room to settle onto a tufted banquette. Budir’s owner and chef, Peter Thordarson, sources much of his menu from farms on the peninsula, with a few significant exceptions. I was intrigued by the gamy flavor of his seared puffin with parsley purée. Accompanying the buttery lamb fillet and pulled shank: a mound of Magnússon’s barley. (Was there no escaping this agricultural activist?) I couldn’t resist begging a small portion of wild cèpes, which smelled like chocolate from a bog. The windows faced west toward Snæfellsjökull volcano, which some Icelanders consider a vortex—one of those energy points where the earth’s magnetic core supposedly attracts supernatural phenomena. My waiter casually mentioned that in winter the aurora borealis seems to arch closer to it. Even at summer’s height, snow caps this mystic
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Ring Road
Snǽfellsnes Peninsula
I c e l a n d
Gufufoss Waterfall
Eglisstaõir• • Seyðisfjörður
Snǽfellsjökull Volcano
Reykjavĺk
•Selfoss
Atlantic Ocean
Eyjafjallajökull Volcano 0
150 km
guide to iceland WHEN TO GO Iceland’s warmest months are from late May to early September. The temperature is mild, but the weather can be changeable. GETTING AROUND Air Iceland (airiceland.is) connects from Reykjavík to Eglisstaðir. Most major car-rental agencies are present. STAY 101 Hotel Modern, art-focused property with 38 rooms. 10 Hverfisgata, Reykjavík; 354/5800101; 101hotel.is; doubles from 36,000ISK. GREAT VALUE Hótel Aldan Comfortable, traditional inn and restaurant on the waterfront. 2 Nordurgata, Seyðisfjörður; 354/472-1277; hotelaldan.com; doubles from 14,900ISK; dinner for two 14,000ISK.
GREAT VALUE Hótel Budir Iceland’s finest country hotel; rooms look out on a tidal inlet or glacier. Budir Snæfellsnes; 354/435-6700; budir.is; doubles from 31,000ISK; dinner for two 15,500ISK.
EAT Dill 5 Sturlugötu, Reykjavík; 354/552-1522; dinner for two 14,000ISK. Kaffismioja Íslands Coffeehouse that serves the best java in town. 1 Kárastígur; 354/517-5535; coffee for two 580ISK. Nauthóll Bistro 106 Nautholsvegir; 354/599-6660; lunch for two 5,000ISK. SHOP Frú Lauga Grocery and gift shop with fresh produce, artisanal cheeses and fruit preserves from Vallanes farm. 20 Langalækur, Reykjavík; 354/693-7165.
simon schama’s
favorite place
Amsterdam the netherlands
A canal in Amsterdam. Below: Simon Schama.
local tips
Simon Schama is a professor of art history and history at Columbia University. His newest collection of essays, Scribble, Scribble, Scribble, is in bookstores now.
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Shoes for Walking “Hester Van Eeghen (1 and 37 Hartenstraat; 31-20/626-9212; hestervaneeghen.com) is my favorite shoemaker and bag designer in the world. Her leather-goods collection is developed in Amsterdam, made in Italy and sold at two showrooms in town.” Café Culture “For croquettes and beer, Café Luxembourg (24 Spui; 31-20/620-6264; dinner for two €60) is a fantastic place. But don’t go if you want to avoid lateral smoke. It’s difficult to imagine Amsterdam without the smell of hand-rolled cigarettes and pipes.”
FROM TOP : © P d i a z / D r e a m s t i m e . c o m ; © d a v e h o g a n / a f p / g e t t y. c o m
“It’s such a place of noisy jubilation—a city that combines the sacred and the profane. Amsterdam always seems to be wrestling with itself. There’s this sense that being there means rubbing shoulders with danger. To clean it up, the way New York’s Times Square has been cleaned up, would be untrue to its character. But you also don’t want it to be squalid, because one walks and walks in Amsterdam. It is a city of perambulation. You pass the railroad station with its neo-Gothic architecture, and then you look down to the Oude Kerk, a 13th-century church with such a strong sense of the city’s beginnings. “In Amsterdam, neighborhoods are intertwined; there are roads that lead both to the university and the red-light district. Whether I’m exploring the Nine Little Streets area, with its cafés and shops, or the Oud Zuid, south of the museums, which is not quite Art Nouveau, not quite Art Deco, there is a sense of what the Dutch call gezellig: a cozy, comfortable, convivial feeling—never smothering. A painting by the great Dutch landscape artist Jacob van Ruisdael, A Panoramic View of Amsterdam Looking Toward the IJ [on display at London’s National Gallery], captures these contradictions. It’s a bird’s-eye view of the wrong side of Amsterdam. He didn’t want to showcase the grandest building; instead, he looked back toward the city’s emotional and economic fountainhead. That’s what one still sees in the city’s fishing boats, docks, the oldest churches—Amsterdam’s simple origins.”—dani shapiro
Canalside Sleeps “The Ambassade (341 Herengracht; 31-20/555-0222; ambassade-hotel.nl; doubles from €245) is a wonderful fiftynine-room hotel where writers often stay.”