May 2013 by Travel + Leisure Southeast Asia

SOUTHEAST ASIA

MAY 2013

Phuket

What’s new under the tropical sun

Falling for Melbourne KID STUFF: MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR FAMILY VACATIONS

Check in and Check up: Our guide to medical holidays 66 9 771906 082018

SINGAPORE S$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

Amsterdam like you’ve never seen it before

HOW TO RELAX IN HONG KONG

Volume 07 / Issue 05

Contents

May 2013 Features 74

A Wrinkle in Time Maymyo is a beautifully preserved colonial curiosity in northern Burma. sy lv i a gav in steps into the sepia-tinged town. photogr a phed by cedr ic a r nold . gu ide

r e n e Va n d e r h u l s e

Melbourne by the Minute How do you experience the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s best neighborhoods in just 48

hours? sh a n e mit chell gets the lowdown down under. pho t ogr a phed by m a rcel auca r

Dutch Renaissance Welcome to the new Amsterdam, where the Masters are progressive chefs, the clogs are made of carrots and futuristic architectural wonders abound. anya von bremzen shares the top restaurants

no visitor should miss. photographed by rene van der hulst. map and guide 93

Little Steps in Wonderland At three new theme parks in Malaysia, a few young friends help melanie lee recapture the magic of childhood. pho t ogr a phed by da r r en soh . gu ide 97 Be My Guest a im ee lee ba ll travels to Los Angeles

to assess peer-to-peer travel, social mediaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s latest trend. pho t ogr a phed by j essica sa m ple

102 Throw Off the Bowlines During an exhilarating live-aboard sailing course, m er r it t gu r le y spots a stingray, kicks the donkey and catches the trade winds from Langkawi to Penang. gu ide 108

Restaurant Stedelijk in Amsterdam, page 84. t r av e l a n d l e i s u r e a s i a .c o m

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Contents

dest i nat ions

Conceiving a Cocktail Uncover the mysteries of mixology on the sandy shores of Bora Bora. st ory

Plus Phnom Penh’s new hipster hot spot; wellness treatments in Hong Kong; soaking under the stars; a currency quiz; and more. Trip Doctor 51

a n d photogr a phs by i a n

Plus What to wear in Japan this spring; the best new smartphones; and more.

lloy d n e u bau er

Singapore’s Golden Oldie Only 15 minutes from the city-state, Pulau Ubin offers a gateway back in time. by du nca n forga n Canvas to Catwak Laos-born fashion designer Hien Le shares the inspiration behind his new collection. Wandering West Lake roby n eck h a r d t goes

shopping in this

Q+A How to snare a better seat on your next flight.

Deals An exclusive for T+L readers, on Boracay; a golf getaway in Bangkok; and more. Point of View

Personal Baggage They are repositories of dreams—r eggie na delson contemplates the deeper meaning of luggage.

A palate cleanser at The Grill, Regent Phuket, page 24.

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T+L Family Special 59

Five Things to Do in Five Asian Countries Tips and tales on planning a trip that’s fun for the whole family.

on the cover Cooling off under a tropical sun. Photographer: Brent T. Madison; stylist: Albert Schippers; model: Vika Aditya.

Decoder 110 Mexico City Art Nouveau and Baroque palaces, hip hotels and mouthwatering cuisine. by pe t er j . fr a n k . pho t ogr a phed by lu is ga rcí a

Strategies 117 Let’s Get Medical bill br edesen shares all the latest info on medical tourism in Southeast Asia. Last Look 122 Mount Everest May is the month to climb the world’s highest peak or at least visit base camp. photographed by alex treadway

B r e n t t. m a d I s o n

burgeoning suburb of Hanoi.

Phuket on a Plate The Thai island elevates resort cuisine. by di a na h u bbell . photogr a phed by br en t t . m a dison

Departments 14 16 … i n b o x 18

e d i t o r ’s n o t e

contr ibu tors

Radar 24

12 …

Destinations

May 2013 123 84

m e x ico c it y

110

a m ste rda m

l angk awi

m ay m yo

106 102

Bor a Bor a

m e lBou rn e

DESTinATiOn

PAGE

WhEn TO GO

WhAT US$5 BUyS

WhO TO FOLLOW

Bora Bora

may through october brings the least rain, but temperatures are in the high-20s to 30 year-round.

a small bottle of local pure vanilla extract.

@tahititourism

maymyo

october through may. spring is strawberriesand-cream season.

two tickets on the famous train from mandalay to maymyo, which also heads onward to hsipaw and lashio.

@Burmatweet

melbourne

november through march, during summer and its shoulder months.

two hours of unlimited rides on melbourne’s old-school trams, plus a Four’n twenty traditional meat pie.

@stylemelbourne

amsterdam

april through august are the warmest. march and september are wet.

ten tulip bulbs at floating flower mart Bloemenmarkt.

@Iamsterdam

langkawi

102

dry season is december through march.

an adult admission ticket to Crocodile adventure land.

@tourismlangkawi

mexico city

110

It’s temperate all year, but november through april is dry season.

two tortas—with such fillings as octopus and jamÒn serrano— from local traditional sandwich chain la Castellana.

@mexicoCity

Long Weekend

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Beach

Active

t r av e l a n d l e i s u r e a s i ac o m

Food+Drink

Shopping

Arts+Culture

Editor’s Note

where to find me chrisk@mediatransasia.com @CKucway on Twitter

Travel Memories

n the current rush to visit Burma, there’s certainly no shortage of intriguing corners of the country to explore. This month, we take a walk around Maymyo (“A Wrinkle in Time,” page 74), a hill station that evokes a different era, a destination to take you out of your comfort zone and leave you with indelible travel memories. That’s what the best trips do for us all. I still remember venturing down to a secluded water hole just outside of the town, sidestepping a python along the way—read: taking flight and not looking back— and, afterwards, hopping a ride with a local farmer on his ramshackle tractor back up the steep dirt road. That cool dip in a tropical jungle feels like yesterday when, in fact, it was all the way back in 1995. Yet, writer Sylvia Gavin tells me she doubts little has changed in the central Burmese outpost since that time. Given the country—and despite Asia being in a constant state of flux—this is one instance where I believe that to be true. At ground level in Burma, after years of neglect, there’s now a headlong sprint to catch up to the rest of the world. At the other end of the spectrum is our look this month at one of the world’s favorite cities (“Melbourne by the Minute,” page 80), specifically at two distinct neighborhoods, the CBD and Fitzroy, home to “the hidden and the hip.” That same tone applies to this month’s take on Amsterdam (“Dutch Renaissance,” page 84), where photographer Rene Van Der Hulst captures the city in an entirely modern light, which only follows given writer Anya Von Bremzen’s look at the new Masters—its chefs. Back in this part of the world, I recently attended a meeting of the sales and marketing minds from Marriott in Phuket. Under a number of banners and like many other hotel groups, the chain is expanding rapidly in this region, so much so that, back in Bangkok days later, I stopped in at a just-opened Marriott, which is walking distance from where I live. Proof, if any is needed, that change is always close at hand in Asia.— christopher kucway

Overlooking Bangkok from the Octave Bar and Lounge atop the new Marriott.

our next stops

hanoi and Saigon Vienna

The T+L Code 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

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roBert Fernhout

hyderabad

Contributors

Naomi Lindt

Collin Crowell

Anya von Bremzen

cambodian kid culture Though common practice in North America and Europe, guidebooks will always tell you not to pat a local child on the head, which is considered sacred. Perhaps it’s the way I feel when Khmers walk right up to my baby and kiss or nuzzle him—it’s just too invasive. so how did you get used to strangers whisking your son away? I love that I live in a place where strangers are friends, not foes. Everywhere we go, we’re greeted with smiles, and my son gets to interact with the world rather than regard it with trepidation. how far has he traveled? Four countries, 19 flights, six road trips. He’s seen the ocean, the desert and mountains, not to mention a fair share of cities, and experienced climates from 0 to 30 degrees (I’m pretty sure he prefers the latter).

western baby/eastern traditions Many Vietnamese mothers and babies can’t leave the house or bathe for four weeks after delivery. So, when we took our daughter to a Christmas party only a few days after leaving the hospital, we received many worried looks from our local (and expat!) friends. international infancy At nearly five months old, Marie Arcade Crowell has already traveled around the world, when she took a return trip from Saigon to California and Vancouver to see her grandparents over Lunar New Year. really— take your kids on a vespa tour? Yes! As soon as they can hold on, wear a helmet and be trusted to follow instructions, they can ride. That said, we won’t adopt the local habit of sticking a wicker basket on our motorbike and heading out with the baby. We’re waiting until she’s at least six for her first Vespa ride.

favorite amsterdam food experience I loved snacking at the Albert Cuyp Market: buttery herring and fried cod; a crisp spring roll; fresh stroopwafel (waffle discs held together by oozy caramel syrup); then gawking at the retro, over-the-top cakes in De Taart Van M’n Tante bakery. how do you recover from the ensuing food coma? Speed-walk the entire, gorgeous periphery of the central Canal Ring. Just mind those bikes! read all about it My latest book, Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking: A Memoir of Food and Longing (Crown Publishing), is due out in September.

Writer “Family special” (page 59).

Writer “dutch renaissance” (page 84).

‘i love that i live in a place where strangers are friends’ — naomi lindt

F r o m l e F t: C o u r t e s y o F n a o m I l I n d t; a l I s o n B r a d l e y; B a r r y y o u r g r a u

Writer “Family special” (page 59).

Inbox

Art with Heart Thank you for giving the spotlight to such a talented and big-hearted artist as Lim Muy Theam [“Pink Elephants on Parade,” March]. Certainly foreign NGOs are welcome and appreciated, but it is home-grown and returned philanthropists and entrepreneurs with a stake in their own country—people like Theam and Tuy Sobil, a.k.a. KK, who runs the Tiny Toones breakdancing progam—that will really get Cambodia moving forward. Also, Theam’s work is stunning. Lean Chhay, phnom penh Secret Style haven

Living in Vietnam, my girlfriends and I normally get our shopping fix in Bangkok, where there’s such a great mix of brand-name and local fashion. Now I want to take a girls’ trip to Manila. When I told my friends, they couldn’t believe me, so I had to physically show them your magazine [“Made in the Philippines,” March]. The designs are so cool. On my shopping list: a candy-colored Rocio Olbes bag and a wedding dress by Rajo Laurel! Esther Vo, saigon On the Waterfront Food Town

London [“London Is the Capital of Food,” February] has for years been a much better city for food than the old British stereotype would have us believe. But these days it’s truly world-class. @flygirl737700

contact info

My wife and I loved “The New Old Hamburg” [April]. It’s one of our favorite port cities. You’re never far from the water, whether it’s the Elbe in Blankenese or the Alster in Eppendorf. In both words and pictures, the article conveyed that sense of proximity. Well done. John McDermott, san francisco

tleditor@mediatransasia.com, travelandleisureasia.com, f facebook.com/ TravelLeisureAsia, or @TravLeisureAsia. Comments may be

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Radar on our

Soak or swim at Sala Phuket’s Pool villa.

news. finds. opinions. obsessions.

t+l p i c ks

Bathe under the stars hotels throughout asia are redefining the alfresco washing experience, with open-air tubs that provide the ultimate soak. By Karryn Miller

Courtesy oF sal a phuket

thailand

there’s no shortage of ways to get your water fix at sala phuket, where 80 percent of the accommodations include a private pool. If you’d rather soak than swim, sala’s spacious villas also feature outdoor tubs, separated from the pool deck by curtains. 333 Moo 3 Mai Khao Beach, Phuket; 66-76/338-888; salaresorts.com; Pool villa from Bt9,700.

india

oversized sandstone tubs expose bathers to a starry sky at khem Villas’ rustic cottages. on the fringe of ranthambhore national park, known principally for its wild tigers, the 10-hectare resort offers a tranquil bathing experience. VPO Sherpur Khiljipur, Dist. Sawai Madhopur, Rajasthan; 91-94/1403-0262; khemvillas.com; cottages from Rs17,000.

china

From 32 floors up, hyatt on the Bund’s Chairman suite has one of the best views in shanghai, period—and certainly the best from a bathtub. an open-air deck, with a raised, jetted tub at its center, looks out over the futuristic skyline of pudong. 199 Huangpu Rd., Shanghai; 86-21/ 6393-1234; shanghai. bund.hyatt.com; Chairman suite from RMB46,600.

singapore

as its name promises, Capella singapore’s Constellation suite provides excellent nighttime views of the cosmos. star-gaze through the slated wooden awning above the Jacuzzi. 1 The Knolls, Sentosa Island, Singapore; 65/6377-8888; capellahotels.com; Constellation suite from S$899.

indonesia

a lotus pond’s calming effect doesn’t typically lure spectators to dive in, but at the alila ubud you may be tempted. here the baths are surrounded by a lush basin of floating lilies and lotuses, for the perfect balance of nature and pampering. Desa Melinggih Kelod Payangan, Gianyar, Bali; 62-361/975-963; alilahotels.com/ubud; Pool villa from US$435.

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Radar food

Phuket on a Plate

this thai island is elevating resort cuisine, with kitchens producing culinary feats as diverse as the travelers that frequent its sandy shores. By diana hubbell for the traditionalist ruen thai, dusit thani laguna phuket The sprawling Laguna complex was one of the first places to put Phuket on the global tourist map, and it’s still going strong today. At the venerable Dusit Thani, the service is still friendly, and the signature restaurant, Ruen Thai, still offers a solid selection of local favorites. The dishes, while familiar, are executed with care. A yam som-o with juicy pomelo and shrimp proves the kitchen isn’t afraid of a few chilies, and chunks of fresh seafood float in creamy hor mak soufflés. For more special-occasion worthy fare, the chef will ignite a whole Phuket lobster tableside. Once the flames subside, guests can pry the tender meat from the shell and slather it with curryspiked coconut sauce. Taken in combination with the restaurant’s lakeside setting, it’s easy to understand how this comfort cuisine has stood the test of time. 390 Moo 1, Srisoontorn Rd., Cherngtalay, Talang; 66-76/362-999; dusit.com; dinner for two Bt2,100.

The finishing touch on Phuket lobster at Ruen Thai.

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for the romantic the grill, regent phuket cape panwa Like the rest of the newly opened Regent Phuket, The Grill is all about understated elegance, with soft lighting and subtle gold accents. Looks alone could sell this place, but what really sets it apart is the impeccably sourced food. Ask which farm your Wagyu steak came from, and there’s a ready answer. Just about everything that can be made from scratch is, from the smoked salmon and the bacon, to ice cream, yogurt, bread and, in the future, mozzarella. Even the butter is Photographed by Brent T. Madison

Beet salad gets a new spin at Thanyapura.

Chef Matteo plates an appetizer at Mare.

house-churned, herb-flecked, truffleinfused and dusted with two varieties of volcanic salt. All these fastidious details happen behind the scenes though, and the resulting dishes feel surprisingly unfussy. More importantly, while chef Justin Baziuk is comfortable with occasional molecular-gastro flourishes, he isn’t afraid to let the ingredients shine through simple preparations. A bloodrare rack of New Zealand lamb, seasoned only with a bracing mustard rub and served with crisp, buttery baby potatoes is good enough to stop a conversation cold. 84 Moo 8, Sakdidej Rd., Tambon Vichit, Amphur Muang; 66-76/200-800; regenthotels.com/ phuket; dinner for two Bt4,200. for the design fanatic Black ginger, indigo pearl Much has already been said about the Indigo Pearl’s brooding, steampunk aesthetic and quirky Bill Bensley design. It should come as no surprise then that the self-consciously stylish hotel’s signature restaurant, The Black Ginger, resides in the middle of an artificial lake, complete with torches, a fog machine and a raft to ferry guests across. Once inside the darkly intimate interior, the mood is more subdued,

The Black Ginger by torch light.

A palate-cleansing sorbet at The Grill.

though no less theatrical. Waitresses decked out in slinky black silks offer up Thai staples augmented by superlative ingredients like fine de Claire oysters and imported U.S. rib eye. A mammoth prawn rises from the tom yum goong and the roll-your-own springrolls come with a rich crab-andpork filling. For dessert, try the black sticky rice pudding with jackfruit. Nai Yang Beach and National Park; 66-76/327-3389; indigo-pearl.com; dinner for two Bt3,000. for the fitness junkie divine, thanyapura phuket While most resorts aim to provide a leisurely holiday, Thanyapura caters to a much more active crowd. Until the addition of a hotel in 2012, this sprawling complex in the midst of Phuket’s jungle was primarily for serious athletes. The emphasis on wellness goes from the fitness facilities all the way to DiVine, the property’s low-key eatery, which serves a variety of healthful foods like quinoa-crusted chicken. The global cuisine here is far tastier than your standard spa fare. An inventive salad of beet “ravioli” consists of ruby-red slices wrapped around tangy feta and sprinkled with pistachios. After a

well-balanced meal, guests can indulge in a whey-protein-spiked vitamin-rich smoothie, or a more hedonistic cocktail. 120/1 Moo 7, Thepkasattri Rd., Thepkasattri; 6676/336-000; thanyapura.com; dinner for two Bt1,600. for the family mare, centara grand Beach resort phuket A coral-pink palace set directly on a white stretch of sand, the Centara Grand Beach Resort Phuket is all beach breeze and charm. The easygoing ambiance extends to Mare, the resort’s airy Italian restaurant. Kids can watch the cooks in action in the open kitchen while parents sip something from the reasonably priced wine list. Hailing from Genoa, chef Matteo Verini whips up a menu of dependable crowd-pleasers using mostly imported ingredients. All the requisite items are here, from smoky carbonara to seafood pasta. You’ll find no surprises, but with little ones in tow, that can be a relief. Take a bite of the excellent tiramisu, sip an espresso and watch the kids play in the surf. 683 Patak Rd., Karon Beach, Muang; 6676/201-234; centarahotelsandresorts. com; dinner for two Bt3,200.✚ t r av e l a n d l e i s u r e a s i a .c o m

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Radar

r e s tau r a n t s

From top: Cocktails and street art in Doors; suckling pig; coca de escalivada.

If there were any doubt that Phnom Penh is the Shoreditch of Southeast Asia, a new retro-industrial eatery/ bar/performance space flings open its—ahem—Doors (18 St. 47 at 84; 855-23/986-114; doorspp.com), enticing the cool kids with wall-size street art, nightly live music curated by hip-hop collective KlapYaHands and a pxintos menu from Barcelonan celebrity chef Aitor Olabegoya. On a recent Saturday, Spanish suckling pig and deep fried artichokes went down smoothly to the

design

put a ring on it Following Beyoncé’s logic, the sheraton must really like China’s taihu lake: the recently opened Sheraton huzhou hot Spring Resort (5858 Taihu Rd., Huzhou, Zhejian; 86-57/2229-9999; starwoodhotels.com; doubles from RMB2,246) is shaped like a giant ring emerging from its watery depths. this architectural feat is drawing interest from the design community. “By incorporating this iconic ring-shape,” lead architect

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ma yansong says, “my goal was to design a contemporary hotel that seamlessly integrates with the surrounding environment while evoking the beautiful arch bridge over taihu lake.” the hotel ascends 27 stories, 92 meters off the ground, with a total of 321 rooms. the guestrooms are located within two towers, named Crystal and Jade, which come together in curvature housing the hotel’s many facilities. —david ngo

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beats of bands and break-dancers from Teen United, a youth talent fest. Husband-and-wife team Kean Kim Leang and Patricia Tan opened the venue to help “inspire a revitalization of the golden age of Cambodian arts,” Tan says, hoping that showing “diversity in the global scene would open doors to new possibilities in self-expression” for local creatives. A lofty goal, and one that just may offer a window to Cambodia’s next cultural revolution.—jeninne lee - st. john

The Sheraton huzhou hot Spring Resort.

C l o C k w I s e F r o m B o t t o m : C o u r t e s y o F s h e r at o n h u z h o u h o t s p r I n g r e s o r t; C o u r t e s t y o F d o o r s ( 3 )

Cambodia’s Hipster Hot Spot

Radar d r i n ks

Conceiving a Cocktail

how are the tastiest drinks born? uncover the mysteries of mixology on the sandy shores of Bora Bora. story and photos by Ian lloyd neubauer

Bartender Martin Berges peppers a Bora Mary.

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Clockwise from left: Cocktails with a view; the Lady Marmalade’s first day on the menu board.

What better inspiration for an exotic mixed drink than an exotic locale? Perhaps that’s why the St. Regis Bora Bora is such a prolific breeding ground for new concoctions, with creative spins on old classics and entirely fresh inventions slaking the thirst of vacationing cocktail connoisseurs. And the man behind the magic? Martin Berges—a third-generation bartender who learned his trade at his family’s bar, Café De La Gar in the Parisian suburb of Bois Le Roi. For the past year, he’s spent his nights mixing drinks in Aparima Bar (stregisborabora.com/aparimabar.com; drinks for two €34), sunk into the voluminous main pool at the resort. Its signature cocktail is the Bora Mary, a local interpretation of the Bloody Mary. A seemingly innocuous combination of vodka and tomato juice shaken on ice with seasonings like Worcestershire and Tabasco sauce, salt and pepper, lemon and lime, the Bloody Mary has a hotly debated origin story. The St.Regis claims the cocktail was perfected in 1943 by Fernand Petiot, while he was bartending at their iconic King Cole Bar in New York. Today, each of the St. Regis’s 21 dress-circle properties serves up its own variant of the Bloody Mary. In Mexico City, it is mixed with agave. In Atlanta it comes with a shot of Southern Comfort, while in Rome olive oil is thrown in. And in Tahiti, Petiot’s famous cocktail is accessorized with watermelon juice to create the delicate Polynesian proposition that is the Bora Mary. As Berges mixes one for me, he explains how the cocktail’s forbearer gained notoriety in the West as a tipple people could justify drinking before lunch because of the health benefits of the tomato juice, and how the local additive—freshly crushed, deseeded watermelon juice—makes it easier to drink in the tropics.

After washing it down, I challenge Berges to create a new cocktail based on Tahitian grapefruit (technically a pomelo). Unlike the grapefruits back home that are distinctively sour, Tahitian grapefruits are creamy and sweet. I had not been able to stop myself from gorging on grapefruits since arriving in Tahiti. Berges accepts my challenge and snaps into action, sampling and experimenting with a cacophony of white spirits, liqueurs and sweeteners. When he thinks he’s got it, he combines the ingredients in a shaker, pours them into a martini glass and asks me what I think. “It’s interesting,” I tell him. “But a little sour. I was expecting something sweeter.” Taking it on the chin, he dabs a teaspoon into the St. Regis-branded marmalade and tastes a little bit. “This is the culprit,” he says, pointing out shards of orange peel concealed within. “It’s not like the marmalade you buy in the supermarket. It’s of much higher quality but bitter to eat.” I taste it again and agree. Berges dashes to the bar and returns with a bottle of ginger liqueur. “This ought to do it,” he says, building a beta-version of the cocktail. The result sates my most erotic grapefruit fantasies, sweet and sour with a sneaky vodka kick. “Now you have to name it,” I say. For the first time since the ritual began, Berges stops to think. Moments pass. Then he lifts his eyes and speaks: “A hundred years from now, a journalist will come here and write the story on how we invented this drink.” “And the name?” I repeat. Another pause. “The Lady Marmalade,” he says. ✚ t r av e l a n d l e i s u r e a s i a .c o m

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Radar

d is c ov e r y

Watershed Moments

an overwater bungalow may be the closest you’ll get to your own private island. go ahead—dive in. cambodia A luxury pioneer on the southeastern shore, Song Saa Private island Resort (songsaa. com; doubles from US$1,649) has eight salvaged-timber villas set right in the salty blue. Make sure to visit the sea horses and turtles at the protected marine reserve. malaysia If luck is on your side, come nightfall you’ll spot Mount Kinabalu from your Lagoon Villa deck and little else at Gayana Eco Resort (gayana-eco-resort. com; doubles from RM905).

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philippines Set off in a secluded corner of Palawan, Lagen island Resort (elnido resorts.com; doubles from P20,000) goes a step further when it comes to getting away from it all: its string of 53-squaremeter Water Cottages are lined along a wooden boardwalk, but be sure to book WC101-103 or 109-111, the quietest options. bora bora At the Four Seasons Bora Bora (fourseasons. com; doubles from XPF85,000), quantity doesn’t impinge on quality: even with 100 luxe, stilted

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huts—more than any other resort on the island—you’ll feel like you’re alone in paradise. The big decision: booking one looking out toward Mount Otemanu or the pristine beach. maldives In true W style, the W Retreat & Spa Maldives (whotels. com; doubles from US$960) is a place to both party (at the underwater club 15 Below) and relax. Ocean Oasis suites have glass-floored showers, so you can watch colorful fish and stingrays in the reef underfoot. —sarah khan

Looking out from the main pool at Song Saa Private island Resort, in Cambodia.

Photographed by Christopher Wise

Radar 2

quiz

The new euro currency, redesigned with high-tech security features, comes out this month—giving us cause to reflect on the world’s most notable notes. Here, some particularly vivid legal tender from around the globe. Can you figure out which country’s cash fits the bill? —patrick sheehan and merritt gurley

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spend too many of these at the Baccarat table in the “Monte Carlo of the Orient.” B. The guy you see here founded the Seljuk dynasty, which ruled this oil-rich nation (later a Soviet republic) for more than a century.

C. Animal-lovers rejoice: On this currency’s notes, you’ll find a sailfish, a scops owl or a giant tortoise. D. There’s nothing queer about this three-dollar bill, except that you can’t exchange it outside its South Pacific home.

E. Got a craving—

or perhaps a yen—for Wagyu beef? You’ll need more than a few of these. F. You’ll also see the mythical creature on this note decorating pagodas across the country. G. The revolutionary leader pictured

on this bill that’s worth US$1 is famous for more than his goatee. h. Stock your cupboard with Ceylon tea from this island country, which started growing the crop in the 1860’s after a coffee drought. ✚ See answers below.

Answers A .2: macanese pacata B. 5: turkmen new manat C. 4: seychellois rupee D. 3: Cook Islands dollar E. 1: Japanese yen F. 8: Burmese kyat G. 7: Vietnamese dong h. 6: sri lankan rupee

The Color of Money

A. Try not to

Radar

Create your own massage soundtrack at Sense of Touch.

wellness

Holistic Hong Kong Looking to unwind in Hong Kong? Oh sure you could get a foot massage, but why settle for something so pedestrian when you could have your whole body tended to by supernatural specters, swing loop-theloops in a cloth hammock, unlock hidden energy, call upon past lives for advice and channel the ancient healing power of Mongolian stones? Here are treatments that will lift your spirits… or at least raise your eyebrows. 34

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Shakti healing Circle, one of Hong Kong’s oldest healing centers, introduces visitors to a wide range of alternative practices such as Reiki, a treatment that balances the chakras; Kundalini Yoga, a form of yoga that focuses on intuition; and even Shamanic Healing, communicating with the spirit world to affect healing. shaktihealingcircle. com; 60-minute healing session, HK$880.

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The Sanctuary is one of the newest healing centers in Hong Kong and, with its clean design and modern setting, offers a calm environment to explore a variety of healing practices. The menu offers all manner of curiosities, like Emotional Freedom Techniques, a healing method that stimulates the meridian points in the body through tapping; hypnotherapy, using hypnosis to access the

unconscious where behavioral patterns are stored; and past life regression, therapy that unveils the way your current issues are affected by your past lives. Founder Phil Davies also believes in giving back to the community with free meditation sessions on Mondays and Fridays. thesanctuary.com.hk; 60-minute Emotional Freedom Techniques session with Phil Davies, HK$1,200.

Courtesy oF sense oF touCh

a growing number of alternative wellness centers offer new age and ancient non-traditional healthcare to escape the confines of the city—and, in some cases, of your current life. By karen Fong

Anti-gravity yoga at Bodywize hails from New

York where Bodywize spa founder Lisa Mak spent months learning the art before bringing it over to Asia. A combination of exercise and yoga, the practice retains yoga’s inherent calming techniques while making it fun, effective and accessible. “It’s easy to get the moves in just a few classes, which makes it very motivating for people trying it out,” Mak says. A maximum of 12 students can join each class, and the time slots often fill up because the light-hearted nature of the exercise has wide appeal. “There’s always laughter in the classes,” says Mak, “It’s a great way to de-stress and relax.” Classes range from “therapy,” for all ages and levels, to “fundamentals” for the basics, and finally “flying fitness,” where complex moves like loop-the-loops take place. bodywizeyoga. com.hk; 75-minute Fundamentals Anti-Gravity Yoga class, HK$480.

massage that will benefit you long after you leave their villa-style, Baliinspired retreat. Playing host to a new Italian technology called MUUSA, the spa offers a series of massage packages that allow the therapist to create a unique musical soundtrack as they soothe your aches and pains. Wearing a small device that transmits and transforms movements into melody, the therapist effectively creates a piece of music designed exclusively for the client. The piece is recorded on a CD, which clients can replay at their leisure to conjure the relaxation of the original massage. The 60- to 90-minute session comes as part of a signature treatment such as Awaken Your Senses, which includes a coffee scrub blended with peppermint followed by the MUUSA massage, using reviving sandalwood and lemongrass. senseoftouch. com.hk; 90-minute AwakenYour Senses treatment, HK$1,290. ✚

hanging out at Bodywize anti-gravity yoga.

F r o m t o p : C o u r t e s y o F a n t I - g r a V I t y y o g a at B o d y w I z e ; Courtesy oF the sanCtuary

Chains Medicare Centre, a family business

for eight generations, combines Traditional Chinese Medicine with the natural properties of rocks from Mongolia in their popular stone energy chamber treatments. These stones are said to emit infrared rays and negative ions, which detoxify the body, lower blood pressure, improve metabolism and clear up the skin. chains.hk; 30-minute stone energy chamber session HK$150.

Sense of Touch, the new spa at the Crowne Plaza Hong Kong Kowloon East, is introducing a new kind of

The Sanctuary treatment room.

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Radar d e to u r

Singapore’s Golden Oldie What’s most striking about Pulau Ubin is not its mangrove wetlands or emerald lakes. It’s not even the quiet lanes that wind past rickety wooden kampong houses, rainforest and thickets of coconut trees. No, what’s most remarkable about this speck of granite is that its aura of nostalgic torpor remains generally undisturbed. Home to just 100 villagers, here vintage telephone boxes rub shoulders with colorful ramshackle temples and electricity is drawn from generators. Women sell coconuts from cool boxes and modern Singaporean cuisine is eschewed in favor of fresh seafood plucked live from tanks. Even getting to the island reveals a side to Singapore that many tourists presume lost amid all the city’s practicality and glitz. The ferry terminal at Changi Village is the hop-on, hop-off point for the bumboats that make the 15-minute trip from the mainland. The small vessels smell of oil and are crewed by grumpy Chinese aunties and uncles. Watch out if you don’t have the exact S$2.50 fare. The near absence of motorized vehicles makes this bucolic hideaway ideal for exploration by bike. There is a string of interchangeable rental shops lining the lane near the ferry pier. You’ll get something adequate for around S$10 a day. If, however, you are going to tackle the Ketam Mountain Bike Park—8 kilometers of trail that includes some tough sections—pay S$20 for something better. 36

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Clockwise from top: Sunrise over Pulau Ubin; pedaling around the island is a favorite pastime; bumboats at the Changi Village ferry terminal.

For those inclined to take it easy, there’s more to do than just meander. Part of the fun of the Ubin experience is just following your nose and biking along its lanes. The must-visit attraction is the Chek Jawa (chekjawa.nus.edu.sg) wetlands. The one-way track takes you through dense interior forest patrolled by wild boars and hornbills. The wetland itself encompasses several ecosystems including a sea-grass lagoon, coral rubble, mangroves and coastal forest. Behold the outlook from the peaceful noordin Campsite across to Johor in Malaysia. Another sterling viewpoint is at Ketam Quarry in the west of the island where the gentle rise to the lake reveals a widescreen

overview of Singapore that stretches all the way down to the towering skyscrapers of the CBD. The island’s clutch of restaurants offer local favorites such as sambal stingray and chili crab in Singapore’s most stirring seafront setting. Season Live Seafood (65-6/542-7627) is the biggest and the best location of the outlets near the jetty. Though most visitors tackle Ubin as a day trip, it is possible to spend the night on the island. Its one resort, Celestial (65-6/542-9749; ubinbeach. celstialresort.com; doubles from S$168), offers clean and pleasant rooms in a barracks-style building and, for those looking for privacy, there are also standalone beachfront villas. ✚

CloCk wIse From top: ©espIon/dre amstIme.Com; l auryn Ishak ; ©oprIder/dre amstIme.Com

stepping off the bumboat to pulau ubin, a mere 15 minutes from the city-state, means going back in time. By duncan Forgan

Radar

Movies by moonlight at Cape nidhra hotel.

goods

obsessions

Float On

In Thailand, Cape Nidhra Hotel, Hua Hin, is launching Moonlight Cinema, pairing the old-school charm of a drive-in movie with the splash-worthy fun of floating in a pool. The hotel will be screening Hollywood classics like Paris When It Sizzles and Roman Holiday pool-front, for you to enjoy from the comfort of your inflatable raft. First Friday of the month from May to October, 2013; capenidhra.com; doubles from Bt6,300.

More than 25 local galleries will show at Art Basel Hong Kong, including Feast Projects, with paintings by T’ang Haywen.

the gallery new york’s venerable Lehmann Maupin (lehmannmaupin.com) just opened a rem koolhaas–designed space in the historic pedder Building.

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Boutique fashion shop Bothos has released a new two-sided canvas bag that celebrates the brand’s Italy-meets-hong kong heritage. “In Italy, real luxury always came from true craftsmanship,” says founder luigino Bottos. “with Bothos, I am bringing back the art of design and handiwork to offer something unique to the connoisseur.” the colorful hand-stitched graphic totes are a signature item from the leather and apparel couturier, available only at their flagship hong kong stores. Bothos Concept Stores; GF 20 and 22 Hollywood Rd., Central, Hong Kong; 852/2526-9222; bothos.com; HK$690.

c u lt u r e

art Basel’s next stop the newest franchise of the influential—and see-and-be-seen—fair, Art Basel hong Kong (May 23–26; artbasel.com) marries the banking bling of switzerland with the balmy weather of miami. here, where to mingle with the artists and a-listers. the restaurant Book a table at Duddell’s (852/2525-9191), the much-anticipated arts club that’s opening in Central during the fair.

the museum on the site of the future museum M+ (wkcda.hk), in kowloon, check out an exhibit of large-scale inflatable sculptures.

the neighborhood the gritty wong Chuk hang area is home to alternative art spaces such as Spring Workshop (spring workshop.org). —kevin mcgarry

C loC k w Is e F r o m to p : C o u r t esy o F C a p e n I d h r a h ot e l ; C o u r t esy o F Bot h os Bag s; ©a dag p pa r Is, C o u r t esy o F F e ast p r o J eC ts

the flag Bag

Radar spotlight

Canvas to Catwalk

laos-born fashion designer hien le shares the inspiration behind his arty new collection that dominated Berlin Fashion week earlier this year. By merritt gurley “I connect with the work of my grandfather, who was a master tailor in Laos.”

Where to buy ↑ hien le’s designs are popping up in retailers throughout the region, including initial (initialfashion.com), in hong kong, and Croon a Song (croon-a-song.com), in tokyo. prices range from €150 up to €800.

On the runway ↑ “Berlin Fashion week was really overwhelming. It feels wonderful to know that my work is so appreciated.”

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hien’s pick ↑ “my favorite piece in my recent collection is this printed half blouse, half shirt.”

inspiration ↑ hien’s autumn/winter 2013/14 collection is inspired by the work of artist mark rothko.

C l o C k w I s e F r o m m I d d l e : C o u r t e sy o F h u s s/ t r u o n g ; a B oy n a m e d s u e .C o ; C o u r t e sy o F a n h d I n h a n d t h a da r l I n h .C o m ; C o u r t e sy o F t h e m u s u e m o F C o m t e m p o r a r y a r t, l o s a n g e l e s ; C o u r t e s t y o F t h I s I s Ja n e way n e .C o m ; ©t h u y p h a m

new material ↑ a handbag made out of alcantara, a composite synthetic material similar to suede leather. “It is usually used for the interior of cars and boats but I’ve been using it in my designs for several seasons now.”

Radar

From far left: Outside The hanoi Bicycle Collective; a splash of color at Chula; inside Clom’s Closet.

1 n

Ât h .

iÊ

on the map

u i Ê.

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thBc

The “order inside the chaos” on Hanoi’s streets makes the city one of the world’s safest places to cycle, insists Spaniard Guim Valls Teruel. He should know; Teruel opened The Hanoi Bicycle Collective (THBC) shop a year ago after traveling the world on an electric bicycle. Though Teruel sells two-wheelers and accessories and offers repair services at the shop, his primary target is the “cyclotourist” keen on seeing the Vietnamese capital—or even the country’s far reaches—from a saddle. Rent a flashy fire engine-red vintage-style upright by the hour and cycle West Lake’s 17-kilometer circumference on your own, or opt for a guided tour. 44 Ngo 31, Xuan Dieu; 84-4/3718-8246; thbc.vn; rentals from VND50,000 per half day.

chula

Barcelonans Laura Fontán and Diego Cortizas are behind Chula, a boutique, exhibition and performance space occupying a rambling modernist villa on a quiet stretch of the lake’s western shore. The small showroom displays the couple’s distinctive line of separates and dresses in punchy colors, embellished with bold geometrics. If nothing on a hanger strikes your fancy, consult Chula’s archives: “We will take an old design and change something—a color, or maybe a detail—to make it our customer’s own,” Fontán explains. In fine weather the infectiously ebullient Fontán and Cortizas host live music, accompanied by sangria, in Chula’s large interior courtyard, with views over the lake. 6 Nhat Chieu; 84-4/37101102; chula.es; separates from US$100.

2 iÊ .u

500 m

Ð Ă.

hanoi’s once sleepy suburb is home to an increasingly diverse collection of shops, restaurants and cafés. robyn eckhardt shares her three favorite new stores.

Wandering West Lake clom’s closet

Look for sophisticated knits, elegant dresses, classic separates and accessories with a touch of whimsy at six-month-old Clom’s Closet, just off the lake road on busy Xuan Dieu Street. The majority of the distinctive clothing on display in the shop’s airy two floors is designed by Japanese expat Oda Tsubasa, who also oversees the reasonably priced bespoke tailoring services. One recent visit turned up quite a few finds, including a stunningly simple taupe silk shift, a sporty spring-weight blue-and-white striped sailor’s sweater and a quirky, bright-orange felt bowler sporting a pair of diminuative mouse ears. 31A Xuan Dieu St.; 84-4/3718-8233; tailoring services from VND890,000, allow two weeks for delivery. ✚ Photographed by David Hagerman

Radar b e au t y

what’s in your Baggie, martha stewart? The domestic doyenne and author of this month’s Living the Good Long Life reveals the goodies in her carry-on arsenal. 1 Clé de Peau Beauté Refining Fluid Foundation (nordstrom.com). “The best I’ve found.” 2 SkinCeuticals C E Ferulic (skinceuticals.com). “Always use it pre-makeup.” 3 Susan Ciminelli Algae Deep Cleanse (susanciminelli.com). “Feels so fresh!”

5 AmorePacific Moisture Bound Tinted Treatment Moisturizer (sephora.com). “Protects my skin with sunblock and has a hint of color.” 6 Mario Badescu Super Rich Olive Body Lotion (mariobadescu.com). “I transfer it to a tiny bottle and add a Martha Stewart for Avery label. I have to stay organized!” —k athryn o ’shea-evans

2 5

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Seasoning a signature pizza at Motorino.

debut

Hong Kong’s Home Slice Popular New York City pizzeria Motorino has opened its first restaurant overseas in Hong Kong’s chic SoHo district. The casual Neapolitan dining concept was initially launched in Brooklyn in 2008 by Belgian chef Mathieu Palombino, who honed his kitchen skills under Laurent Tourondel and David Bouley. Harboring a culinary dream to set up an intimate pizzeria, Palombino traveled to Naples to familiarize himself with the genuine Neapolitan article. Just as the Italian government dictates, all Motorino’s

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pizzas are made to a traditional recipe using Caputo flour, San Marzano tomatoes and buffalo mozzarella. From its hip setting—think distressed hardwood floors and pressed tin ceilings—signature dishes, including prosciutto di Parma and Brussels sprouts pizza, are cooked up in the obligatory wood-fired oven. Palombino is so confident in his product that he is planning to open a Motorino in Naples next. 14 Shelley St., SoHo, Central; 852/2801-6881; motorinopizza.com; lunch for two HK$236.—helen dalley

F r o m t o p : C o u r t e s y o F m o t o r I n o p I z z a ; J o h n l a w t o n . I l l u s t r at I o n B y m I C h a e l h o e w e l e r

4 Fekkai Salon Technician Color Care Shampoo and Conditioner (fekkai.com). “Makes hair, in a word, lustrous.”

Radar st yle

Map Quest howâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s this for street style? new yorkâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;based fashion brand Cityzen by azin turns satellite images of global cities (hong kong! tokyo! Bangkok!) into dresses, silk scarves and leather bags. never get lost again. By mimi lombardo

new york City in duchess satin, us$1,330, Cityzen by azin. B o t t o m r I g h t: C o u r t e s y o F l o u I s V u I t t o n

three more well-plotted accessories

Canvas mexico tote, echo.

p h o t o C r e d I t t e e k ay

london clutch in suede and satin, anya hindmarch.

monogrammed world map silk scarf, louis Vuitton.

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Photographed by John Lawton

your travel dilemmas solved ➔

52 …

53 …

Trip Doctor pa c k i n g

tech

de a ls

the final say

Q: how clean is my hotel bedspread?

Q: how can i get a good seat on my flight if i don’t have elite status? A: As airlines pack more people onto planes, economy passengers are increasingly feeling the pinch. Adding insult to (squashed-knee) injury, carriers also reserve covetable window and aisle seats for high-ranking loyalty-program members. But you needn’t get stuck in the middle. Here, some ways to find a better seat. Choose your flights by cabin layout.

Seatguru, our favorite online airline-seat-map compendium, has recently added a new flight-search function that lets you filter results by comfort as well as the usual factors (price, duration, etc.). Mining the site’s trove of cabin data

to assess seats and amenities, Seatguru offers you an overall “G-Factor” rating of “Love it,” “Like it,” or “Live with it” for each flight—and tells you how much it will cost to trade up for a more comfortable plane. Buy a better seat.

Most major airlines have added (or are in the midst of adding) “premium economy” to their main cabins: roomier seats with extra legroom and other perks. Cathay Pacific’s long-haul premium economy, for example, usually costs about 50 percent more than regular coach and has the same seats the airline uses in business class on its regional routes.

Illustrated by McMillan Digital Art

Check again and again.

As upper-tier loyalty fliers get upgraded, their window and aisle seats open up. Call 24 hours before your flight, check again at the airport and finally at the gate. You may have to pay—but not always. You can also use the website Expertflyer, which will send you an alert when better seats open up. Spend your miles.

You can upgrade using miles on your preferred carriers and their alliance partners, but there are some hitches. Some lower-fare economy tickets are not eligible, or require significantly more miles than full-fare tickets do. And, you’ll often have to chip in cash as well as miles.

A: In the past few years, nearly all major hotel brands have phased out their polyester bedspreads in favor of duvets with easy-to-clean covers. Westin, Marriott and Hilton, along with Four Seasons, Le Méridien, Ritz-Carlton and St. Regis, all wash duvet covers between each stay. Some hotels simply use sheets to shield you from duvets. Make sure to sleep under the third sheet in these instances.

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Trip Doctor

by Mimi Lombardo

packing

Q: i will be traveling to Tokyo and Kyoto for 12 days. how many pairs of jeans do i need? Jacket or sweater?

version from Strenesse Blue (US$625)—the fabric is

comfortable, and the shape will keep you looking sharp. Shabby-chic outfits just don’t work in Japan, so try to be as dressy as you can (adding ballet flats and some well-placed statement jewelry goes a long way). Q: Any suggestions for a multitasking fitness shoe? —karen lemster,

via e-mail A: Try the new 2 Adidas ClimaCool sneaker (US$60).

The sporty cousin of the boat shoe weighs in at 0.11 kilograms, with mesh uppers (great for keeping feet cool while walking). One important tip: break in any new pair of kicks before hitting the road. Q: We’re off to Buenos Aires, and i want to pack light. Can you recommend some dual-purpose clothing? —patricia broder, santa monica, calif. A: If you’re headed to the

tango-shoe capital of the 52

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world, you’d better pack light—you’ll need lots of room in your bag for new acquisitions, especially footwear. We’re excited about Derek Lam’s affordable DesigNation line for Kohl’s—it looks good but isn’t too precious to throw in a suitcase. Our pick for your trip? The

Perfect for a workout— and a swift hike through the airport.

3 1

3 wood-grain-print cotton shirtdress (US$70), to be

worn alone or over leggings. We also adore this spacesaving 4 Twelfth Street by

Cynthia Vincent dress

(US$298)—it can be worn with the V-neck in front, in the back for a boatneck look, as pictured, or over your swimsuit as a cover-up. Q: i refuse to check bags. Can you recommend a favorite carry-on? —kaito

tsunashima, via e-mail A: If you can take only one

suitcase, consider the new four-wheeled 5 Biaggi Contempo roll-aboard (US$219). It weighs just over 3 kilograms and folds for easy storage (perfect for under your hotel bed). It’s not as roomy as checkable versions, but you can always have your clothes laundered by the hotel. A fresh feel is often well worth the nominal fee.

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Easily collapses to half its size.

C l o C k w I s e F r o m t o p l e F t: C o u r t e s y o F d e r e k l a m ; Jo h n l aw to n (2); sa m k a p l a n (2); Jo h n l aw to n

A: Pack two pairs of denim in different washes and one pair of black leggings (or slim black pants). Since it’s a warm-weather season, opt for a knit blazer over a coat. We love the 1 candy red

by Tom Samiljan

Trip Doctor

tech

smartphone wars 2.0

android, windows and even BlackBerry are stepping up their game against apple, benefiting travelers. t+l’s tech expert finds which platform is best for you. for the organization wiz Windows 8 seamless integration with any windows device is the greatest selling point for this platform. we also love its resizable “live” tiles, which let you put what’s important to you—flight alerts, for example—front and center; innovative tap-to-pay technology; and travel-friendly features, from built-in skype to high-end photo capabilities. The Phone to Get the sexy and slim nokia lumia 920 (nokiausa. com) has some of the best picture modes we’ve ever tried.

for the multitasker BlackBerry 10 with its recent overhaul, BlackBerry is making a comeback. the productivityminded inbox, called hub, optimizes it for business; but there are also an array of after-work features, such as a camera that lets you pick the perfect still from a few seconds of footage, video chat–enhanced messenger and the most intuitive smartphone keyboard yet. a bonus: personal and work modes let you tune out the office when you’re at the beach. The Phone to Get the z10 (blackberry.com) is ultralightweight, even with its big, 10.7-centimeter touch screen.

for the gadget Junkie

for the app addict iOS 6 despite a rocky debut, apple’s ios 6 is still a powerhouse. Case in point: the passbook feature, which includes scannable boarding passes, has become a standard-setting travel tool, and the camera’s new panorama photo mode is equal parts fun and practical. plus, apple is still first in line when it comes to debuting the most innovative apps, with more than 800,000 titles in its store. The Phone to Get the iphone 5 (apple.com), with lightning-fast 4g lte.

Photographed by Jamie Chung

Android Jelly Bean apple’s biggest competitor now claims half the u.s. market and more than 700,000 apps. Constant updates mean the android keeps getting better; recent additions include resizable widgets, improved security features and google now, a siri-like, voice-activated search tool that sends you personalized updates, such as flight delays or traffic jams along your usual commute. The Phone to Get google’s sleek nexus 4 (android.com) is highly customizable, with app icons and widgets that let you to tailor the crisp homescreen to your daily routine.

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Deals

A Premier suite in The District Boracay.

Philippines

p11,520 per night

T+L Reader Exclusives spa

philippines

What t+l reader exclusive at the district Boracay (thedistrictboracay.com). Details two nights in a premier room for guests who present a copy of this page or magazine. highlights one 60-minute massage for two, one dinner and one lunch for two, daily breakfast, roundtrip airport transfers and free stay for two children under 10. Cost From p23,040 (p11,520 per night), double, through september 30. Savings 30 percent.

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thailand

What 2013 special rates at Baan ling noi (baan-ling-noi. com). Details three nights in the four-bedroom villa. highlights access to all of the villaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s facilities, including a fully equipped kitchen, a sala, an infinity edge swimming pool and free wi-Fi. Cost us$840 ($280 per night) for the entire four-bedroom, eight-person villa, through June 30, and september 1 through december 20. Savings 30 percent.

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vietnam

What honeymooner package at princess dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;an nam resort & spa (princessannam.com), near phan thiet. Details two nights in a mandarin suite. highlights guests receive their choice of either one complimentary 60-minute body massage for two or one complimentary body care wrap for two, as well as one set romantic dinner on the beach for two. Cost From us$866 (us$433), double, through october 31. Savings 23 percent.

thailand

What touch of thai massage at anantara si kao (sikao.anantara. com). Details two nights in a deluxe room. highlights one 90-minute thai massage lesson and take-home pack for two, 20 percent discount on all spa treatments, two sets of anantara thai massage clothing and complimentary daily breakfast for two. Cost From Bt15,600 (Bt7,800 per night), double, through december 31. Savings 15 percent.

C o u r t e s y o F t h e d I s t r I C t B o r a C ay

Beach

long weekend china

What enchanting hangzhou at Banyan tree hangzhou (banyantree.com). Details three nights in a water terrace suite. highlights one complimentary night, rmB200 in spa credits per person per stay for either a 90or a 120-minute massage, one afternoon tea for two, and complimentary daily breakfast for two at waterlight Court. Cost From rmB7,200 (rmB2,400 per night), double, through december 31. Savings 30 percent.

treatments and 20 percent discount on food and beverage. Cost Bt16,000 (Bt2,666 per night), double, through may 31. Savings 52 percent.

thailand

What suite and green at the peninsula Bangkok (peninsula. com). Details a stay in a deluxe suite. highlights green fees for two with one caddie each, round-trip transfer shuttle to the thai Country Club, late checkout until 6 p.m. and daily buffet breakfast for two at river CafĂŠ and terrace. Cost From Bt19,888, double, through august 31. Savings 26 percent.

thailand

What with our Compliments at 137 pillars house, Chiang mai (137pillarshouse.com). Details three nights in a rajah Brooke suite. highlights the third night is complimentary. Cost From Bt12,800 (Bt4,266 per night), double, through october 31. Savings 33 percent.

hong kong

What pay less for more at sheraton hong kong hotel & towers (sheraton.com). Details three nights in a tower deluxe harbour View room. highlights Complimentary third night, daily breakfast at oyster & wine Bar, exclusive access to towers lounge with refreshments and evening cocktails, and complimentary high-speed internet access. Cost From hk$1,900 (hk$633 per night), double, through december 31. Savings 33 percent.

active thailand

What 5th anniversary deals at absolute sanctuary (absolutesanctuary.com), on koh samui. Details six nights in a superior pool or sea View room. highlights Complimentary sixth night, daily yoga class, complimentary breakfast, 15 percent discount on spa

city china

What Crossroads remixed at w guangzhou (starwoodhotels. com). Details a stay in a wonderful room. highlights rmB500 food and beverage credits, and a bottle of premium champagne. Cost From rmB2,013, double, through august 31. Savings 40 percent.

macau

What treasured moments 2 at Conrad macao, Cotai Central (conradmacao.com). Details a stay in a deluxe suite. highlights Complimentary breakfast for two, free wi-Fi, two pairs of signature Conrad satin slippers, and aromatherapy associates bathroom amenities. Cost From mop2,038, double, through december 31. Savings 20 percent.

hong kong

What weekend retreat at Jw marriott hong kong (marriott. com). Details two nights in a deluxe room. highlights room upgrade if available, choice of daily hk$588 dining credit, breakfast buffet or executive lounge access. Cost From hk$7,376 (hk$3,688 per night), double, through december 31. Savings 34 percent.

Point of View

personal Baggage they are repositories of dreams, reflections of personality, emblems of history—reggie nadelson contemplates the deeper meaning of luggage. t was in the bowels of a Berlin train station some years ago that I lost my principles and got wheels. I was coming back from a long trip with my colleague, call him Sam, and I had a large, old-fashioned leather suitcase of my father’s. How cool I felt! Except I could barely carry it, worse still, there were stairs; even worse, no porters. Sam glanced at me, and restrained himself, but I knew. Pulling his own suitcase on its nasty little wheels, he gave me that smug “I told you so” look. I knew the time had come, and the next day I purchased a mud-colored nylon thing with wheels, and it was easy, yes, but I had betrayed my ideals. No longer could I see myself as a true road warrior, a high-style woman with 56

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a leather case of that color you get only after decades of use. Sure, it’s easier, but even now, years later, I believe that wheels are for the proletariat. My immigrant grandmother probably took her belongings in a wheelbarrow from Minsk to Hamburg to sail to America. Hard-sided, soft, canvas, polycarbonate, leather, faux leather, wheels, no wheels, there is no end to the types of luggage that you watch tumble off that carousel, praying yours did not disappear. Me, I’m also glancing at other travelers to see what they claim. Your suitcase, that duffel, or carry-on, is who you are when you’re on the road; it reveals your style and status in the same way your house does. A turtle has his shell; you’ve got your suitcase.

For it is, after all, by your luggage that they will know you. What you carry your stuff in represents the essence of you as a traveler. Does your suitcase make you feel part of the travelocracy? Are you a fashionista with a logo bag who slips arrogantly past those lugging duffels filled with duty-free? That guy in black jeans with his silver Zero Halliburton that says I am a very cool photographer? I am a luggage snob. In my fantasy life, I am a well-worn but beautifully kept Hermès leather suitcase, black, I think, no wheels of course. Or perhaps a supple old brown leather holdall, the sort a spy might have taken aboard the Orient Express; or a Vuitton steamer trunk; or a hard-sided suitcase from Illustrated by Peter Arkle

Globe-Trotter, that high Victorian company that still makes its cases out of vulcanized fiberboard and uses a 19th- century “guillotine” to cut them. Yes, my Globe-Trotters, the same cases that carried the clothes of many British royals, have been with me on safari many times, perhaps with Robert Redford in attendance at his African camp. In luggage, my fantasies are limitless. As my mother always said, why be economical in fantasy? Louis Vuitton, like many of the great luggage companies, set up shop in the 19th century, when the culture of travel was really invented. Trains steamed across continents, ships sailed between them. So popular was M. Vuitton’s luggage, he worried about knockoffs. To prevent them, he made his luggage first in brown and beige stripes and, in due course, with the signature LV’s. I know people who dream of those logos.

y old friend Lois’s entire emotional life has been invested in her luggage. “When I was seventeen, in 1957, I had a black aluminum steamer trunk purchased in Brooklyn, filled with summer-camp clothes and great expectations as a first-year counselor. At that age,” says Lois, who is gay, “I was hiding my true sexuality, buried in those layers of trunk trays like the secrets buried in my psyche.” There followed the denim duffels tossed into a 1967 Chevy Malibu when she headed for a job across the country, and later, the pink, fakeleather valises for her first trip to Paris. But now, she’s decided, “it’s time for real Vuitton.” Lois has found herself and discovered her soul in a suitcase. This luggage thing, you’re talking Freud. I mean you can confuse your suitcase with family. Franklin Getchell, co-owner of Moss Bureau, a design firm in New

York, succumbed to wheels years ago and trundles an immense and sensible Tumi, the one with the thousand pockets and zippers and removable inserts. “I feel I am traveling with a somewhat slow younger sibling,” he says. Or take my pal, the insanely elegant surgeon. She brings only carry-on: her lilac Bric’s wheelie and duffel.

rom early on, I was raised with the idea of nice luggage. “Eat your soup softly and carry a good suitcase” might have been my mother’s slogan. When I left for college, she and my aunt chipped in to get me matching Mark Cross suitcases, red, with black leather sides and trim. Most people had hard-sided luggage back then, but my Mark Cross bags were soft, and quite perfect, and I still have them almost 40 years later. Mark Cross was the American luggage of choice; no surprise, perhaps, that the son of the second owner was Gerald Murphy, who, with his wife, Sara, epitomized the glamour of the 1920’s. Ah, the vanity case. The hatbox, the train case. In my time, I’ve had them all. Now I’ve got wheels. “I would rather break my arm schlepping than wheeling,” my best-traveled friend Jan used to say. But she too finally capitulated. Now she takes a small, wheeled Prada case to the Milan design shows. As for me, now that I’ve committed to the wheel, I think I’ll go whole hog. Yes, they make me feel like just another cog in the great travel machine. But maybe there’s a new kind of glamour to be found in speed. I may start wearing those shoes with built-in roller skates, so as to glide through airports where the walk seems longer than the flight. And I’m certainly looking forward to robotic luggage (in development, I’ve heard) that will drive itself, follow me though customs, maybe even hail me a cab. ✚

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THINGS TO DO IN FIVE ASIAN COUNTRIES Plus tales from the road, tips and more. PhOTOGRAPhS By TED AnD DEBBiE illustrations by Kathy MacLeod

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Thailand 1. KAyAK KRABi Paddle your way down a mangrove canal along the rainforest-lined coast of Krabi. The mangroves, rich with wildlife, are sure to excite any young traveler but the real prize comes with discovering stalactite and stalagmite-adorned sea caves, rich with mystery and intrigue. 34/12 Ao Nang, Muang, Krabi; 66-7/563-7364; krabisealand.com; Bt2,100 for adults, Bt1,200 for children.

2. ExPERiEnCE ELEPhAnTS For the ultimate adventure, trek through the jungle and take a river plunge with elephants at the Anantara Golden Triangle Resort and Spa. Looking for something closer to Bangkok? Hitch a ride atop an elephant to explore the impressive palatial ruins of the ancient capital of Ayuthaya. 229 Moo 1, Chiang Saen, Chiang Rai; 66-53/784-084; goldentriangle.anantara. com; Bt2,850 per hour for two people on an elephant.

F r o m t o p : s e a l a n d &t r e k ; a n a n ta r a g o l d e n t r I a n g l e r e s o r t & s p a

The country is an oasis of family-friendly adventures that will delight children of all ages. By Loren Braunohler

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F r o m t o p : l o r e n B r a u n o h l e r ; C o u r t e s y o F s I a m o C e a n w o r l d ; l e F t: © w I l k I n / d r e a m s t I m e

3. GET CULTURED Visit more than 100 replicas of Thailand’s best-known monuments at the Ancient City. This is a great way to comfortably introduce your children to Thai history and culture without the inconveniences of hot boat rides and frantic taxi drivers. 296/1 Sukhumvit Rd., Samut Prakan; 66-2/709-1644; ancientcity.com; admission Bt500 for adults, Bt250 for children.

4. GO WEST Bask in the mountain country of Khao Yai. Children can enjoy wildlife-spotting at unesco World Heritage Site Khao Yai National Park. Farm Chokchai, Thailand’s largest dairy farm, offers ice cream-making and cowboy shows. Km 159-160 Moo 2 Friendship Highway, Nakhon Ratchasima; 66-4/432-8485; farmchokchai.com; admission Bt250 for adults, Bt125 for children.

5. UnWinD UnDERWATER Get your ocean adventure on at Siam Ocean World. Children will marvel at seahorses, manta rays, penguins and a giant octopus. Let your kids ride the glass-bottom boat while you scuba dive with sharks. Siam Paragon, 991 Rama 1 Rd., Bangkok; 66-2/687-2001; siamoceanworld.co.th; admission Bt1,700 for adults, Bt1,300 for children.

A Family Affair Naomi Lindt roams the region in search of festivals, carnivals and fairs to keep your family entertained all summer long. Catch more than 50 kid-friendly, international short films at “Big Eyes, Big Minds,” Singapore’s international Children’s Film Festival, which takes place at the Arts House during May and June and has screenings for ages two to 18. bigeyesbigminds.com; tickets S$12.50. Some of the world’s best theatrical acts for the young (and young at heart)—concerts, dance performances, puppet shows—gather at Hong Kong’s international Arts Carnival, the largest event of its kind, from July 5 through August 11. www.hkiac.gov.hk. For some thrilling aerial acrobatics, check out the Bali Kite Festival, July 13 to 15, where some 1,200 gigantic traditional kites—measuring up to 4 by 10 meters—take to the skies on Sanur’s Padang Galak beach. holidaysia.com/events/bali-kitefestival. Macau’s Nam Van Lake comes to life with dozens of beautifully decorated, 10-meter-long vessels during the riotous international Dragon Boat Races, which take place June 8, 9 and 12 this year and lure hundreds of international athletes. sport.gov.mo/en/sites/dragonboat.

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Stranger Things Have Happened How to handle the cheek-pinching, photo-snapping, rock star-levels of attention that perfect strangers will heap on cute kids in the Southeast Asia. By Naomi Lindt when I moved to asia five years ago, I never planned on starting a family here. so it was with some trepidation that I found myself pregnant in phnom penh, where I live, planning a birth in Bangkok. there’s a lot about having a child in asia that took me by surprise, but nothing more so than the celebrity status children in the region enjoy, especially fair-haired kids who offer that extra novelty factor. First, there’s the paparazzi: nearly everywhere we go, people want my one-year-old son auggie’s photo, from a dozen korean teenagers who squealed over him in a departure lounge, smartphones poised, to the normally aloof immigration officials at suvarnabhumi airport (I was worried when they didn’t immediately process our passports but they were rummaging for their cameras). I can only guess how many times he’s appeared on Instagram. then there are the do-gooders: the Cambodian woman I sat next to on a flight who patiently picked up my son’s toys each time he dropped them (which was roughly every 60 seconds), carefully wiping them off, or the Vietnamese mother of two who nearly tripped over her suitcases trying to help me manage my own behemoth. and finally, the babysitters: from siem reap to Chiang mai, hong kong to danang, somebody always wants to hold auggie, be it waiters or spa therapists or front-desk clerks. Before I know it, a pair of arms has reached out and he’s been ushered off and surrounded by a bevy of cooing, clicking fans, and I get a single moment’s peace. when he started protesting at strangers’ attention at around seven months, things got complicated. In saigon, the silence of a hotel breakfast along the river was interrupted by a panicked, unrelenting shriek. “Is that a dying bird?” my friend asked. It was separation anxiety rearing its head, yet the poor woman who’d kindly offered to help couldn’t understand what she’d done wrong. after that, auggie clung to my neck desperately whenever someone tried to take him. he left behind a lot of broken hearts. sure, there are times when all the attention is unwelcome. during a recent lunch when I tried to coax the strong-willed boy to eat, one young waiter pinched auggie’s cheek every time he walked by, thwarting my attempts to connect spoon and mouth. sometimes he just wants to hang out on mom or dad’s shoulder, watching the world, rather than letting it invade his space. still, I’d take all this positive attention over the sighs of annoyance I know we’d encounter at home in the u.s., where at restaurants or hotel pools small children might not be welcome guests. the greatest thing about bringing up baby in asia? the sense that the world is a warm, welcoming place, and everyone’s glad you’ve stopped by.

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Cambodia From Angkor-themed activities to exploring landscape on four legs, there’s plenty to keep the kids entertained in Cambodia, indoors and out. By Naomi Lindt

1. RiDE inTO ThE SUnSET Give the family’s templetrodden feet a break by saddling up at The Happy Ranch House Farm, which offers one- to three-hour trail rides through the neon rice fields and sleepy, picturesque villages outside of Siem Reap. Longer tours include visits to hidden temples, far from Angkor Wat. With horses ranging from meandering ponies to quick stallions, riders of all ages and experiences are welcome. Two kilometers outside of Siem Reap; 855-12/920-002; thehappyranch.com; from US$25 per hour. 2. PLAy Mini-GOLF Engage in some family-friendly competition at Angkor Wat Putt, Cambodia’s first miniature golf course. With greens that require shots through pint-size renditions of Angkor’s most famous temples, the 14-hole course will put any golfer’s skills to the test (incentive for mom and dad: a hole-in-one wins a free beer). 7 Makara Rd.; 855-12/302-330; angkorwatputt.com; US$5 for children, US$7 for adults, including hotel pick-up. 3. SPEnD A niGhT AT ThE CiRCUS Check out Phare Ponleu Selpak, an NGO that teaches disadvantaged children the disciplines of acrobatics, performance, music and art in the charming town of Battambang. Their troupe puts on shows four times a week in the big top, featuring original, energetic tumbling, balancing and fire acts set to live music. A second venue just opened in Siem Reap for nightly performances. Two kilometers from Battambang city center and behind the Angkor National Museum in Siem Reap; 855-53/952424; phareps.org; US$5 for children, US$10 for adults. 4. ChAnnEL yOUR WiLD SiDE At Rainbow Lodge, an eco- and kid-friendly property in the southwestern province of Koh Kong, about a three-hour drive from Phnom Penh, days are spent on guided treks through the flora- and fauna-filled jungle or swimming in the Tatai River. Go explore the waterfall by kayak or boat. Meals are served family-style on a breezy veranda, accompanied by huge, colorful geckos that peer from the rafters. Tatai Village; 855-12/160-2585; rainbowlodgecambodia.com; doubles from US$75. 5. TAKE in AnCiEnT TRADiTiOnS Book a seat with magical shadow puppets, hand-carved characters that have been telling stories for centuries. Phnom Penh’s Sovanna Phum Theatre (166 St. 99, Phnom Penh; 855-23/987564; shadow-puppets.org; US$5 for children, US$10 for adults) hosts performances on Friday and Saturday nights.

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Singapore Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a glut of options to keep the kids entertained in this family-magic metropolis. By Melanie Lee

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Packages for Parents 1. ViSiT ThE zOO The Singapore Zoo is almost painless for parents, with its array of kid-friendly programs and services. Drop by Rainforest Kidzworld, where there are pony rides and animal shows. There are also prams and wagons (to sit up to two toddlers) for rent. 80 Mandai Lake Rd.; 65/6269-3411; zoo.com.sg; free for kids younger than three, S$14 for kids aged three to 12, S$22 for adults. 2. ExPLORE nATURE If your little ones are feeling restless, the Jacob Ballas Children’s Garden at the Singapore Botanic Gardens is the perfect spot to run it off. There is a maze, a tree house, a water play area and interactive exhibits for children to have fun with nature. 1 Cluny Rd.; 65/6471-7138; sbg.org.sg; free admission for kids up to 12 years old. 3. BECOME G.i. JOE A city tour with Singapore Duck & Hippo tours gets adventurous with this 60-minute, land-and-sea ride on a remodeled 1942 World War II amphibious war craft. Children especially dig the Transformerslike bus-to-boat conversion of the DUKW (pronounced as “duck”) vehicle as they get up close with Singapore’s stunning skyline. 65/6338-6877; ducktours.com.sg; S$2 for kids younger than three, S$23 for kids three to 12, S$33 for adults.

4. KEEP OLDER KiDS hAPPy

For brooding tweens or adolescents who aren’t keen on family holidays, Universal Studios offers some cool rollercoaster cred: Revenge of the Mummy (with fireballs and mummy warriors) and Battlestar Galactica (the world’s tallest dueling rollercoasters). 8 Sentosa Gateway; 65/6577-8888; rwsentosa.com; S$54 for kids four to 12, S$74 for adults.

5. STAVE OFF RAiny DAy BOREDOM

The best place to keep children occupied indoors for hours is the Science Centre, where there are 14 educational galleries, with The Mind’s Eye (on optical illusions) and the Live Animal Exhibit being the more popular pit stops. Their Omni- Theatre, Asia’s largest seamless dome screen, also presents some thrilling 3-D nature shows. 15 Science Centre Rd.; 65/6425-2500; science.edu.sg; 10 a.m.–6 p.m. daily; S$8 for kids three to 12, S$12 for adults.

Asia is the definition of family-friendly and these new amenities, services and specials are setting the bar for the traveling family. By Loren Braunohler MALDiVES Shangri-La Villingili Resort & Spa kids will love the dolphin cruise and parents will love that two little ones (under 12) can stay for free. Maldivian Journey package; shangri-la.com/male.villingilliresort; villas from US$815 per night, through December 23; three-night minimum.

ThAiLAnD JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa the new kids’ pavilion, paired with thoughtful touches like milk and cookies at bedtime, will make this a sure hit. Sea Sand Sun Family package; marriott.com; two adults and two children for Bt6,000 per night, through December 31, two-night minimum.

ViETnAM hyatt Regency Danang Resort & Spa kids will tucker themselves out at Camp hyatt and the kids’ spa, including swimming and rock-climbing lessons. Ultimate Family Adventure package; danang.regency.hyatt.com; US$420 per residence per night, through December 31.

inDOnESiA Uma by COMO, Ubud with arts-based activities and problemsolving challenges for the kids and yoga classes for the parents, there’s enough to keep everyone busy. Discovery Retreat package; comohotels.com/umaubud; six nights from US$1,600 (US$265 per night) per adult and US$1,100 (US$183 per night) per child, June 14-20.

CAMBODiA Sofitel Angkor Phokeethra Golf & Spa Resort young ones will feel grown up indulging in the spa’s new services for children, and parents may not mind shelling out for the toddler treatments with the 50 percent discount on the room rate. Magnifique Family package; sofitel.com; from US$215 per night for the first room.

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Vietnam

Between eating, shuffling everyone around, and finding some relaxing beach time, here are five things you’ll want to do in Vietnam. Just say it’s for the kids. By Collin Crowell

1. RELiVE hiSTORy There’s more to Vietnam than the “American War,” but before you can shake off the dusty notion of a conflict-torn country, you have to visi you’ll be amazed by the minute Viet Cong hideaways, while you and your kids crawl through now-widened tunnels and explore rusty tanks. Saigon River Express; 84-12/8592-0018; saigonriverexpress.com; tours VND1,667,000 for adults, VND1,113,000 for children. 2. SCOOT ThROUGh ThE CAPiTAL After you finish staring at the sea of motorbikes that clog Vietnam’s roads, and muster the courage to cross the street, you won’t be able to escape the desire to take your own ride on Vietnam’s favorite form of transportation. Vietnam Vespa Adventures offers a great tour of Saigon on an antique Vespa. There are kid-size helmets and sturdy backseat rests to make sure the family has a safe time out. 169a De Tham St., District 1, Pham Ngu Lao Ward, Saigon; 84-12/2299-3585; vietnamvespaadventures.com; The Insider’s Saigon Tour from US$59 per person including Vespas, drivers, guide, lunch and all entry fees. 3. GET DiRTy Nha Trang is Vietnam’s family-friendly beach city. Take a break from the diving to roll around in the mud, treating yourself to a spa-like session at Thap Ba Hot Springs. The photos of everyone covered head to toe in mud alone will be worth the trip. 15 Ngoc Son, Ngoc Hiep, Nha Trang; 84-58/383-5345; thapbahotspring. com.vn/hotspring; doubles from VND3,800,000, inclusive of select spa treatments.

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4. CATCh SOME AiR Put down the Piña Colada and take up kiteboarding. This adrenalin-fueled sport is not for the faint of heart, which makes watching professionals fly through the air in Mui Ne all the more delightful. This once sleepy beach town now prides itself on being one of the biggest water sports destinations in Southeast Asia, with places like Jibe’s Beach Club offering a wide variety of activities. Plus, there’s mini-golf. 84-90 Nguyen Dinh Chieu, Mui Ne; 84-62/384-7405; windsurf-vietnam.com; kiteboarding from US$60 per person per hour. 5. GET TOO CLOSE TO WiLD AniMALS For a one-of-akind encounter, try feeding crocodiles in the Mekong Delta. Phoenix Island is crisscrossed with bamboo bridges that suspend above giant crocodiles basking in the hot sun. For a croc-feeding experience a little closer to Saigon, try the kitschy and bizarre Suoi Tien Buddhist Theme Park (VND80,000 for adults, VND40,000 for children) outside of Saigon. Locals also say that lion-feeding time—4:45 p.m. daily—at the Saigon Zoo, is worth a visit. Without any rail guard, just mind the gap. 2B Nguyen Binh Khiem St., Ward Ben Nghe, District 1, Saigon; 84-8/3829-3728; saigonzoo.net; admission US$2.

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Rules of the Road Mastering the family road trip is no easy feat. Kari Haugeto offers a few tips she’s picked up on the road. my partner Christopher elliott and I have been tackling the highways and byways of the u.s. with our three children in the backseat for more than a decade. two years ago, we embarked on our most ambitious journey to date: an open-ended road trip around the world, chronicled on our blog awayishome.com. here, our eight tips to taking the wheel without letting the kids drive you crazy. 1. take your time getting to your ultimate destination, even if that means you'll need a few extra days. plan on plenty of stops along the way and try not to drive more than six hours a day. 2. organize your trip around a theme. It can be as simple as “seashore,” where you collect shells from each beach you pass along the way, or as complicated as “natural geological formations,” where you take soil samples and draw diagrams. 3. scrapbook your vacation in real time— and get the kids to help. It’s really quick to set up a private google+ Community or tumblr blog for your trips. not only will you have all your memories in one spot, you’ll get feedback from friends along the way, which is great motivation to keep the momentum up. 4. pack more food, less clothes. kids will worry more about their next meal than what they’ll wear tomorrow. pack favorite foods but keep it low fat, low sodium and easy to fix. 5. don’t feel bad about mixing business with pleasure. we upload lessons

to the kids’ ipads and I keep a list of vocabulary cards nearby so I can quiz them for “choice points,” which let them choose music for the car, how we’ll exercise or games the family will play. 6. encourage creativity. some of the funniest memories we have of our trips are the stories we made up along the way. not only anecdotes about past trips but fiction on the fly. this will capture your kids’ imaginations while helping build vocabulary and understanding of narrative structure. 7. let your kids know when they’re being good travelers. we use the Beep & Boop app (storybots.com/beep-boop; available on iTunes; free), which lets us communicate when we’re proud and also helps us put the kibosh on bad behavior like elbowing your brother in the back. It makes a sound that expresses our approval and keeps track of how many times we use it. we choose rewards before we leave home and let the kids know exactly what they’re earning. 8. keep an eye on your kids’ health. It’s not always easy to know how they’re feeling, especially if the automatic answer is “fine.” help your kids communicate by keeping a body check journal (bodycheckjournal.com). you can keep tabs on what they’ve eaten and how much they’ve had to drink, which can help you decide if you need to visit a clinic or if you just need to change their diet and move some seats around.

Kid and Kaboodle Next time you hit the road with baby, consider investing in one of these travel-friendly products to make it a little less bumpy. By Naomi Lindt Baby carriers offer the awesome perk of hands-free travel, while also keeping your child close in new surroundings. The Ergo carrier (ergobaby.com and amazon.com; US$135), left, is the gold standard: padded shoulder and hip straps, durable, doubles as a back and hip carrier, and offers a very handy cloth sun/sleep shield. Opt for the breathable Performance model for hotter climates.

All those meals dining out won’t seem quite as hard with the right high chair. The pocket-size, machine-washable Totseat (totseathk.com; HK$298), right, harness attaches to an adult-size chair, while the Italian-made inglesina Fast Table Chair (inglesina.us; US$49.99) easily screws onto any tabletop at home or out and about.

A lightweight portable cot comes in handy at hotels and also as a playpen or place to nap on the beach. At 3.2 kilos, Phil & Teds new Traveler (philandteds.com; US$179.99), left, is the lightest on the market. Sturdy, comfortable BabyBjorn Travel Crib Light (amazon.com; US$245) is only 5 kilos and opens in under a minute.

A well-made, easily compactable stroller makes navigating airports, public transport and city streets manageable and will last through years of travel. City dwellers swear by the 4-kilo Maclaren Volo (US$189.99) and its one-handed collapse system, while the UppaBaby G-Luxe (mobe.sg; S$473.99), right, has cool extras like a 120-degree recline and an SPF 50 pop-out sun shade.

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Packed with Care Destination known. Hotel booked. Tickets ready. The only thing between you and your vacation is a long flight…with children. Here are a few carry-ons that may come to the rescue. By Loren Braunohler inFAnTS: the simplest, most mundane objects provide hours of entertainment. plastic cups, straws, in-flight magazines, the contents of mom’s purse. It is surprising how many things babies manage to get their little hands on, so bring a large supply of kid-safe distractions: Vulli sophie the giraffe teether (sophie.sg; US$39.90); touch and Feel sensory books (US$8.99) that can be crinkled for hours; a Baby einstein take along tunes (babyeinstein. com; US$9.99); and a manhattan toy skwish Classic (manhattantoy.com; US$16).

TODDLERS: Flying with toddlers is a daunting prospect at best. snacks are a must for this age group, but when goldfish crackers lose their appeal, turn to: melissa & doug Color Blast Books and Jigsaw puzzles in

SChOOL-AGED: go classic. Choose a simple deck of playing cards,

a Box (melissaanddoug.com; us$6.99 and us$11.99

go Fish, old maid or Crazy eights; travel board games such as Connect

respectively); usborne sticker books (myubam.com; US$6.99); an

Four, Battleship, Bingo and scrabble; mad libs; and for those who can't

aquadoodle travel ’n doodle (aquadoodle.com; US$19.94); and

live without their digital fix, the nintendo 3ds (nintendo.com;

long-winded paperback dr. seuss books.

US$169.99). want to learn about your destination? this Is . . . books

one-stop shop for children in this group and beyond. By downloading the

PRE-TEEnS: If you have a say in the matter, load up the ipod with a

right apps, movies and e-books pre-flight, your job is pretty much done.

new playlist and kid-friendly podcasts, pick up the adventures of tintin

want the ipad to be the last resort? try the leapfrog scribble and write

series (seven volumes will pass the time), or have a little friendly family

(leapfrog.com; US$24.99), wikki stix (wikkistixasia.com; US$29.90),

competition with Brain Quest quizzes (brainquest.com; US$11.95).

usborne travel doodles (myubam.com; US$8.99) and Crayola Color wonder (crayola.com; US$9.99).

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ae pICtures, InC., get t y Images

(US$12.21) will do the trick.

PRE-SChOOLERS: enter the ipad. love it or hate it, the ipad is a

travel+leisure family

Hong Kong

Leave the skyscrapers and malls behind and indulge the kids with some family fun, from dolphin spotting to cycling. By Helen Dalley

1. CyCLE ThE COUnTRySiDE Ancestral halls and shrines nestle in the shadow of Tai Wai’s high-rises in the New Territories. Hire some bikes at Bikes Corner (rental shops abound just west of the MTR station) and hit the cycling path, a flat stretch that extends along the coast to Tai Po, where the Waterfront Park awaits. This laid-back jaunt will take around three hours. Older kids can stay in the saddle and pedal 16 kilometers north of Tai Po Plover Cove. Bikes Corner GF, Rm 9, Transport City Building; 1-7 Shing Wan Rd.; 852/2668-5131; bikescorner.com; bike rentals HK$160 per person. 2. GO BOATinG On A LAKE Catch bus 6 or 61 from Central up to the Parkview

Complex and spend the afternoon feeding the fat koi and looking for turtles at Wong Nai Reservoir Park, an artificial lake surrounded by idyllic greenery, from the shady confines of a two-or four-seat paddleboat. Surrounded by the mountains of Tai Tam Country Park, it’s difficult to believe that you’re only a 10-minute bus-ride from Central. Tai Tam Reservoir Rd., Wong Nai Chung; 852/2555-0103; boat hire HK$120 per hour for four-seat paddleboat on weekends and HK$100 on weekdays.

3. GET BACK TO nATURE At Hong Kong Wetland

Park, watch egrets, cormorants and herons take flight from the bird hides and witness blue-spotted mudskippers writhing on the mud flats. Little ones can also burn off some energy at indoor play area, Swamp Adventure, at this 60-hectare wetland reserve, a welcoming bolt of green amid the bustle of Tin Shui Wai. Catch the MTR to Tin Shui Wai then the Light Rail Service 705/706 to Tin Sau Station (via pedestrian tunnel) or Wetland Park Station (via pedestrian bridge) to the park. Wetland Park Rd.; wetlandpark.com; admission HK$30 for adults, HK$15 for children.

4. GET EDUCATiOnAL In Tsim Sha Tsui, you can take in several museums at once

including the Hong Kong Space Museum (10 Salisbury Rd., Tsim Sha Tsui; 852/27210226; hk.space.museum; admission HK$10), where budding astronauts can “launch” a rocket from a gyro chair and experience a simulated moonwalk. The Science Museum (2 Science Museum Rd., Tsim Sha Tsui; 852/2732-3232; hk.science.museum; admission HK$25) features a 22-meter-high Energy Machine that demonstrates the stages of energy conversion with dramatic sound and visual effects, while the Museum of History (100 Chatham Rd. South, Tsim Sha Tsui; 852/2724-9090; hk.history.museum; admission HK$10) invites guests to step onboard a life-size replica of a fishing junk or explore the backstage set-up of a Chinese Opera.

5. SEARCh FOR PinK DOLPhinS Book a half-day

boat trip with Dolphinwatch, where you have a great chance of seeing a Chinese white dolphin or two in the seas around North Lantau. If you fail to spot one of these humpbacks on the tour, you can join the next available trip for free. Tours run Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays and depart from Tung Chung at 9 a.m. and return at 1 p.m.; 852/2984-1414; hkdolphinwatch.com; HK$380 for adults, HK$190 for children, HK$50 for children under three.

travel+leisure family

The Flightmare Air travel is a modern miracle and yet one four-letter word can instantly implode the entire flying paradigm like well-placed demolition explosives: Kids. By Christopher Steiner the first rule when taking to the air with a baby or tot is simple: reconsider your decision. Isn’t there another way? Can you perhaps put the trip off for, say, eight years, until the child is old enough to be easily bribed with m&ms and subdued by a saccharine movie on the plane? Can you find a place within driving distance that can stand in for your fly-to destination? If none of these things can replace your need to fly with a little one, if your thirst for twisted penance is so sharp that you must do this— then please ask yourself: are you willing to eat store-bought cookies for dinner and breakfast and sleep just three hours in a medievalthemed motel in the middle of nowhere? my wife, sarah, and I lived through that comedy of errors when we chose to take a onehour flight to see her family during the Christmas holiday with our six-month-old son, Jack. the flight there wasn’t fun, but the plane ride back held enough gems for a lifetime. we decided to take a 6 p.m. flight going home, the idea being that Jack would snooze most of the trip. the flight went by quickly and we were soon flying over our hometown about to approach the airport. But then the captain’s voice coughed from the ceiling speakers: we would have to circle the area while they waited for fog to clear. so we circled. an hour later, the pilot said we had about 20 minutes until, for lack of fuel, we’d have to land in a rural outpost not much closer to our destination than where we began. during this entire in-air drama, Jack mercifully slept, extended on his stomach across our laps. when a baby is asleep on a plane, you do anything to keep him quiet. anything. on the ground at 1 a.m., we waited outside in the december cold for a shuttle bus to take us to a medieval-themed hotel. yes, you read right—medieval-themed, with armor in the hallways, a whumping bar next to reception and a non-existent room service menu. making matters infinitely more stressful, we ran out of formula for Jack to drink. we had assumed—rather stupidly—that we would have

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arrived at our house that evening. But now we were at a medieval hotel in the middle of nowhere with kabob sticks for a crib, no car, no food and no formula for our baby. luckily, my in-laws tracked down a distant relative in the area who trekked to a 24-hour grocery store and drove the formula to us in a feat that still makes us almost cry. this woman, this saint named monica, also brought us store-bought cookies, which we scarfed down with beady eyes and jealous hands. we managed to stop ourselves and save two cookies for a breakfast that came three hours later. Jack, our boy who has been known to have a bit of a cantankerous spirit at times, deserves credit for being the most put-together of all three of us throughout this trip. In the end we learned several things about traveling with tots, not the least of which was to avoid medieval-themed hotels, regardless of where they happen to be. 1. prepare for general humiliation. Ignore people who make comments about your kids on the plane. they’ve never been in your place; the people who have been there understand. 2. dispense with “good parenting” ethos. living clean on the road is impossible, so leverage the benefits of movies, videos and the occasional junkie treat for your kid to give yourself a fighting chance on the flight. a child absorbed in tV at home is unsettling. on a plane, it’s a beautiful thing. 3. Talk to your spouse or partner about how to handle tough situations before you head for the airport. By this, I mean the very basics. Who will be in charge of diapers on which flight, who will hold or sit next to which kid, etc. Having this talk beforehand eliminates some of the stress from the inevitably ugly moments because you’ve already processed them in your head. 4. Buckle your tot to their plane seat like it’s a long car ride, which means they can’t get out of their seat. letting them start the flight by walking around and exploring on their own only sets you up for trouble. 5. Bring too much of everything, from diapers and wipes, to baby formula and grown-up sustenance.

travel+leisure family

May 2013

in this issue

JAGO GA zENDAM

maymyo, Burma 80 melbourne 84 amsterdam 94 theme parks in malaysia 98 los angeles 102 langkawi

Telaga harbour, Langkawi, page 102. t r av e l a n d l e i s u r e a s i a .c o m

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photographed by cedric arnold

a wrinkle in time Maymyo is a beautifully preserved colonial curiosity in northern Burma. sylvia gavin steps into the sepia-tinged town.

Clockwise from above: Local nurses on the move; Feel Café’s nan Pyar salad; inside Governor’s house; Anisakan Waterfall from Dat Taw Gyant Resort. Opposite: Outside the Candacraig. t r av e l a n d l e i s u r e a s i a .c o m

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in 1896 as a home away from home for the British colonialists. In architectural homage to the land they left behind, the English built imitation Tudor houses proudly perched at the tops of long driveways. After the drive from Mandalay, we are suddenly in an Old England of afternoon tea on ivy-clad terraces, horse-drawn stagecoaches and trim Cotswold gardens. It is disorienting to see saffron-clad monks in this setting, as if we have wandered onto a film set. Setting out in the morning in our local taxi—a traditional Victorian horse and carriage—we trot along Circular Road and Forest Road where remnants of Burma’s colonial history abound. I quickly realize that the coach may be charming, but it is certainly not the most comfortable way to travel. I feel like an oversized child squeezed into a carousel ride. The ringing of early morning church bells alerts us of the presence of All Saints Anglican Church— or the “English Pagoda,” as it is locally called. Built in 1912, the church walls are covered in an array of commemorative plaques of the regiments that served in British times. (The final resting place for many of these men is the wildly overgrown and neglected old English cemetery on the outskirts of town, which is worth a visit if you’re looking for their last chapter.)

“don’t worry,” the concierge reassured us, neatly

noting down the time of our wakeup call before we turned in early. “The train to Maymyo is never, ever on time.” Made legendary by Paul Theroux’s The Great Railway Bazaar, the rickety train trip from Mandalay to Maymyo takes three-and-ahalf hours, climbing through a lush tropical landscape of rice paddies and mango plantations, with pagodas appearing from time to time through the dawn mist. For some people, the trip is the train and historic Maymyo more of an afterthought. Still, given that the daily departure from Mandalay is scheduled for 4 a.m., the concierge’s assurances came as welcome news. However, on arriving at the decidedly unromantic Mandalay train station at 4:02, we were greeted by a beaming ticket officer who proudly informed us that the train had left “at the strike of the clock.” “Oh yes,” he said, gleefully gesturing toward the row of minivans parked outside, with whom we would now have to negotiate a fare, “this is the price of progress.”

theroux described the charming curiosity that is Maymyo as

being “like a sepia photograph.” The summer capital of British Burma, named after one Colonel May, the hill station was established 76

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As in British times, the cool climate of Maymyo is a major draw. And it is indeed a huge relief to escape the relentless heat and dust of the plains. Perhaps the most famous of the colonial creations in Maymyo—the Botanical Gardens, now the National Kandawgyi Park—refreshes both our lungs and spirits. Modeled on Kew Gardens in London, it is a beautiful place with winding pathways, placid lakes, a butterfly museum and an astonishing array of flora including no less than 589 species of trees. In its heyday, Maymyo was considered the loveliest hill station in the Far East, with rolling hills and fields of fresh strawberries, plus cream for your tea. In The Forgotten Land, Gordon Hunt referred to it as “a paradise for the privileged.” That’s increasingly the case again, as Burma’s nouveau riche have adopted the town as a weekend getaway, which they visit in their shiny new sports cars. To cater to these boom-time Burmese, the dining scene in Maymyo has upped the ante of late. At Feel Café, a stylish food gallery, a wide variety of Burmese dishes are on offer and the Nan Pyar salad is quite simply perfect. Near

the central market, Golden Triangle Café and Bakery boasts delicious cinnamon rolls and organic products such as jams and ground coffee from local plantations. The most surprising meal we have in Maymyo is at our hotel, the legendary Candacraig (also known as Thiri Myaing). Built in 1904 as the bachelor’s “chummery” of the Bombay Burmah Trading Company—“to keep the lads out of trouble in the hot season after months in remote timber estates” according to Theroux—it’s the oldest hotel in Burma, an impressive mock Tudor house with meticulously maintained grounds. We preorder dinner, which the hotel has stopped serving regularly, and are seated that evening at the sole set table in the dining room, our crisp white tablecloth soon brimming with a feast of succulent roast beef and potatoes. The chef—the son of a Gurkha soldier—has worked at the Candacraig for 24 years, helping the hotel remain noble in its decline. Yes, Candacraig has seen better days. Like The Strand in Rangoon 20 years ago, this is a place crying out to be taken over by a boutique brand

From below: A novice monk; at Dat Taw Gyant Waterfall. Opposite, from left: Kandawgyi hill resort; Purcell Tower.

I quickly realize that the coach may be charming but I feel like an oversized child squeezed into a carousel ride

A hitched ride in Maymyo. Opposite: A bedroom at Governorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s House.

and restored to its former glory. Having been forewarned of its shortcomings, we packed a bottle of wine to sip amid the colonial splendor of the front terrace. The ever-accommodating manager presents us with the hotel’s last two remaining wine glasses. We clink them nervously. despite the nostalgic ambience of Maymyo, what is perhaps most striking about the city today is its vibrant diversity. Caught at the crossroads of history and geography, the town is an ethnic mosaic. At the Shan market, we spot Kerala Roman Catholic nuns mixing with Buddhist monks, veiled Rohinga women buying blankets from Hui Chinese in traditional Central Asia dress, and hill tribespeople selling fresh vegetables to the descendants of the Nepali Gurkha soldiers who settled in Maymyo during colonial times with the British Indian Army. There are also the waves of young military cadets in perfectly pressed Lincoln green uniforms strutting about town, for Maymyo is home to the Defense Services Academy, Burma’s equivalent of Sandhurst or West Point. One treasure trove we stumble upon is La Vie Gallery, the charming and cluttered studio of famed local artist Muu Muu Jim. Paintsplattered bookshelves bend under the weight of tattered art magazines, an assortment of antique opium weights and his personal collection of Burmese puppets. Muu Muu works on traditional Shan paper, which is remarkably durable, like fine blotting paper. He’s well known for his streetscapes and more abstract watercolors. What he is less recognized for, however, are his simple ink-line portraits. He insists I sit for him and, without any hesitation, I happily oblige. The end result—beautifully executed in less than 30 minutes—is an elongated version of me,

somewhat reminiscent of Modigliani, with an ever-so-slight Burmese edge to my features. Purcell Tower, a gift from Queen Victoria, presides over the city center with chimes said to match those of London’s Big Ben. Spreading out from here is the Zay Gyi, the central market, with stalls selling everything from warm wooly sweaters to camouflage toothbrushes. A colonial-era cinema lies up the street past a couple of old-school liquor stores with jaunty swinging doors. As the historian Thant Myint-U said of Maymyo, “the main street is like a Wild West film except for all the people in sarongs.” And like in the Wild West, rules are, at best, murky. Determined not to repeat our train fiasco, we arrive early and eager at the Maymyo station for our return trip to Mandalay. It is a sleepy station, a little too much so for our liking. By 4 p.m.—the declared departure time—there is one monk dozing on a platform bench and one bespectacled elderly gent playing a competitive game of Scrabble with himself. Spotting our puzzlement, an amicable ticket officer comes over to inform us that the train will leave sometime between 7 and 9 p.m., “as usual, almost on time.” It is best never to be in a hurry in Burma. And best never to travel without a Plan B. We amble off again in search of a private minivan to hire for the winding drive out of Old England and back to Mandalay. ✚

t l guide Getting there air asia (airasia.com) flies daily from Bangkok to mandalay. there are also daily flights to mandalay from rangoon on air Bagan (airbagan.com), yangon air (yangonair.com) and air kBz (airkbz.com). pyin oo lwin airport is military only. From Mandalay international Airport you can hire a taxi to maymyo (about us$50), or get a seat in a shared taxi (us$7). the famed train (us$2) runs from mandalay to maymyo and on to hsipaw and lashio.

stay Candacraig Anawrahta St., Quarter 6; 95/852-2047 pyinoolwin.info/candacraig.htm; doubles from US$50; threecourse set dinner, 7,000 kyat, advance booking required. Aureum Palace in the Botanical gardens, and adjacent Governor’s house—a Victorian mansion with an indoor pool, private vineyard and your own staff. Ward 5, Governor’s Hill, Mandalay-Lashio Highway Rd.; 95/852-1901 ext. 2; aureumpalacehotel.com/ pyinoolwin.html; Aureum Palace doubles from US$88, Governor’s

full-house rate from US$1,500 for up to 14 people. Pyin Oo Lwin hotel Charming, lakeside. No. 9 Nanda Rd., Quarter 6; 95/852-1226; hotelpyinoolwin.com; doubles from US$120. Kandawgyi hill Resort ten lakeside bungalows at the onetime home of British Intelligence in Burma. Nandar Rd., Quarter 6; 95/852-1839; myanmartreasure resorts.com; doubles from US$75. Dat Taw Gyant Waterfall Resort outdoor wooden hot tub and views of anisakan falls. scheduled opening, mid 2013. Anisakhan, Nr. Chan Myae Meditation Centre, Mandalay-

Lashio Highway Rd.; 95/1399341; pyinoolwinresort.com; from US$250 per night. eat Feel Café not to be confused with tour-centric Feel lakefront. Sandar St., in front of the golf club, Quarter 5; 95/852-3170; lunch for two US$6. Golden Triangle Café and Bakery Beside Myoma Cinema, Mandalay–Lashio Rd.; 95/8524288; lunch for two US$8. do La Vie, Art Gallery 7-8 AM Block, Central Market, Duwan Rd.; 95/94026-28735.

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Melbourne by the Minute How do you experience the city’s best neighborhoods in just 48 hours? shane mitchell gets the lowdown down under. photographed by marcel aucar

t’s all about the hidden and the hip.” That’s how my Australian food critic friend describes Melbourne, and it certainly seems true: in this cultural wonderland, you can ride the public tramway next to longtime resident Geoffrey Rush, absorbed in his latest script; stumble across young street artists tagging paint-spattered alleys; and eat some of the finest har gow dumplings outside of Guangzhou. Melbourne’s two must-visit neighborhoods are a study in contrasting styles. The Central Business District, or CBD, has the highest concentration of major galleries, art museums and Victorian architecture; edgier Fitzroy, a low-rise precinct to the north, is where hipsters who love cold-brew coffee and surf shops tend to gravitate. Here’s how to see the best of both areas in two action-packed days.

Eighteenth-century- inspired jewelry on display at Metal Couture, in Melbourne’s Fitzroy neighborhood.

day 1

The CBD

morning Rise at the Langham (1 Southgate Ave.; 61-3/8696-8888; langhamhotels. com; doubles from A$275), a 25-story hotel with spectacular views of the skyline, and take an early walk along the Yarra River. Order your first flat white of the day at Switchboard Café (220 Collins St.; no phone), a telephone switchboard turned coffee stand that seats just six at a time and serves exceptional “toasties,” or grilled sandwiches, made with artichoke hearts and chili jam. Then it’s time to hit the shops—Melbournians are dedicated followers of fashion. nevenka (12 Howey Pl.; 61-3/9415-7573; nevenka.com.au) features local designer Rosemary Masic’s brightly colored patterned dresses and tailored jackets, while Pieces of Eight (28 Russell Pl.; 61-3/9663-3641; piecesofeight.com.au) showcases handcrafted jewelry and objets d’art by Melbourne artisans. At Captains of industry (2 Somerset Pl.; 61-3/9670-4405; captainsofindustry.com.au), sartorial partners Thom Grogan and James Roberts have transformed an urban loft into a retro-style gentlemen’s club, including a café and barbershop as well as a bespoke studio for tailored suits.

CLoCKWISE FroM LEFT: NEVENKA, A BouTIquE IN MELBourNE’S CENTrAL BuSINESS dISTrICT; ArT oN HoSIEr LANE; STATEMENT JEWELry AT PIECES oF EIGHT.

afternoon Break for lunch at Dainty Sichuan Food (206 Bourke St.; 61-3/9650-

8588; A$30). Every star chef who visits for the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival each March (David Chang, Anthony Bourdain, René Redzepi) raves about the fiery Sichuan cuisine from the original South Yarra canteen, which recently opened this satellite dining room. Try the ma chicken and cumin-crusted lamb ribs, then start your art crawl at the ian Potter Centre (Federation Square/ t r av e l a n d l e i s u r e a s i a .c o m

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Flinders St.; 61-3/8620-2222; ngv.vic.gov.au), a contemporary gallery that also houses late-19th-century Heidelberg school Impressionists and Aboriginal dreamtime paintings. Melbourne has also embraced graffiti: on nearby Hosier Lane, the layered, constantly changing works have a kaleidoscopic effect. evening Modern speakeasy Brooks (115-117 Collins St.; 61-3/9001-8755; brooksofmelbourne.com) champions a stiff drink and smooth discourse. Eight kilometers beyond the CBD, Attica (74 Glen Eira Rd.; 61-3/9530-0111; attica.com.au; tasting menus from A$190 for two) is well worth the cab: New Zealand–born chef Ben Shewry’s “simple dish of potato cooked in the earth it was grown in” is ringed by coconut-husk ash and saltbush leaves—and it’s unlike any spud you’ve tasted.

day 2

Fitzroy morning The city’s café society congregates at De Clieu (187 Gertrude St.;

61-3/9416-4661), where the house-blend Seven Seeds brew is prepared pour-over or cold-brewed; they also have delectable canelés and fermented-rice pancakes. Afterward, hit Gertrude and Brunswick Streets for a little boutique browsing. Goth meets glam at Metal Couture (122A Gertrude St.; 61-3/9419-2547; metalcouture.com), the moody atelier of cult jeweler William Llewellyn Griffiths, who has collaborated with the likes of Dolce & Gabbana and Vivienne Westwood. His “heavy metal couture” rings, brooches and bangles are inspired by tattoo art

p at r I C k m o r g a n

THE ATrIuM ouTSIdE THE IAN PoTTEr CENTrE, IN THE CBd.

and Baroque architecture. Housewares shop Mud (181 Gertrude St.; 61-3/9419-5161; mudaustralia.com) stocks a rainbow trove of refined Australian-made ceramics; Books for Cooks (233 Gertrude St.; 61-3/8415-1415; booksforcooks.com.au) has an encyclopedic collection of new and vintage culinary titles, including the delightful Mr. Wilkinson’s Favourite Vegetables. Every Australian storm rider worth his salt water takes on the swells along the Mornington Peninsula outside Melbourne. Stop in at Rhombus Surf Shop (85 Brunswick St.; 61-3/9077-9878) for custom-shaped boards, wet suits and other beach essentials.

CLoCKWISE FroM LEFT: PEruSING THE PoTTEry AT Mud; GErTrudE STrEET, IN FITzroy; STACKS AT BooKS For CooKS.

afternoon Housed in a 19th-century factory, Cutler & Co. (55-57 Gertrude St.; 61-3/9419-4888; cutlerandco.com.au) highlights the bounty of regional farms and fisheries—the “Friday Lunch” market menu (A$120 for two) is tailored to whatever is delivered fresh to the kitchen, as in a cured John Dory with turnips, ginger and sea lettuce. The Rose St. Artists’ Market (60 Rose St.; 61-3/9419-5529; rosestmarket.com.au) is the local answer to Etsy—a gathering of craftspeople who specialize in all things handmade, from letterpress cards to ceramics. evening Climb the stairs to the wood-paneled Everleigh (150 Gertrude St.; 61-3/9416-2229; theeverleigh.com) for a Floradora: an effervescent concoction of gin, pomegranate and house-made ginger beer. Recently revamped by restaurateur Andrew McConnell, the Builders Arms hotel (211 Gertrude St.; 61-3/9417-7770; buildersarmshotel.com.au) has a landmark pub serving fish pie with draft lager in the bar. The Moon Under Water dining room—named for a George Orwell essay on his favorite watering hole—takes a more poetic turn, featuring a four-course prix fixe menu (A$150 for two) that, like the city itself, changes by the week. ✚ t r av e l a n d l e i s u r e a s i a .c o m

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Merkelbachâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s executive chef, Geert Burema, with an art installation by Dutch artist Lotte Geeven. Opposite: Edible carrot clogs on a bed of rye bread and black olives at Bolenius, in Amsterdam.

DUTCH RENAISSANCE

Welcome to the new Amsterdam, where the Masters are progressive chefs, the clogs are made of carrots and futuristic architectural wonders abound. anya von bremzen digs in to a city rebornâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and shares the top restaurants no visitor should miss. photogr aphed by r ene va n der hulst t r av e l a n d l e i s u r e a s i a .c o m

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have you booKed your amsterdam trip yet? The canals just turned 400 this year, and the city is celebrating. Two of Europe’s greatest museums—the venerable Rijks and the modern-art Stedelijk—are back after nearly a decade of closures, both with jawdropping starchitect makeovers. Beyond the Museum Quarter and the central Canal Ring, futuristic architecture is creating a waterfront wonderland on both banks of the IJ River. And did we mention Europe’s most exciting marriage of design and dining? This last development might come as a shock to an Amsterdam regular. Sure, the Dutch have a knack for edgy design. But their cuisine—ouch! The butt of European jokes (with hash brownies as the unfortunate punch line), Amsterdam at table just couldn’t shake off that enveloping Protestant plainness, which is why, perhaps, local cooks have historically shunned their own roots. For as long as I can remember, blah Continental and generic fusion passed for “fine dining” here. On the casual end, sandwiches on squishy brown rolls were to be endured along with salads shaggy with hippie alfalfa sprouts. Having spent my summers in Amsterdam for almost a decade, I’d long resigned myself to DIY picnics canal-side. Until a recent dine-a-thon changed my mind, that is. Lo and behold, the city’s younger generation of chefs are at last embracing their Dutchness, to say nothing of luminous homegrown ingredients. Amsterdam’s almost militant eco-commitment assures that bio (organic) is the new dining buzzword. Local butchers, bakers, distillers, brewers and cheese makers are finally getting their due. Amsterdam, in short, is catching up with the world. And the settings—those transfixing settings! Whether a stupendous goat crépinette at a sleek glass house that seems to float on the water, or terrific oysters at a former oil rig with breathtaking harbor views, or a picture-pretty salad in a dreamy restored park manor, or wood-fired bread at a monastic chapel turned locavore shrine—some of Europe’s most singular urban eating experiences lie just a quick tram (ferry? bike?) ride beyond the central canal zone. Don’t wait another nanosecond. Start making reservations right now. the museum restaurants

A demi-hop on the iconic blue-and-white ferry docked behind Central Station whisks you into the Future, to the reclaimed industrial waterfront of Amsterdam’s Noord (North), poised to become the city’s answer to Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Noord’s Guggenheim Bilbao effect kicked in last April with the opening of the breathtaking Eye Film Institute, designed by the Austrian firm Delugan Meissl Associated Architects (DMAA). Looming over the IJ, the building evokes a giant white Cubist panther waiting to leap. Inside the creamy-tile-and-glass 86

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fantasia await film exhibits and interactive 360-degree “image storms”—plus the Eye BarRestaurant, with a terrace that overlooks the zany silhouette of the IJ-Dock complex, another new architectural showstopper. The museum’s curatorial spirit carries over to the simple menu at lunch. A baguette from famous organic bakery Vanmenno joins with silky salmon smoked over beech and oak wood by the boutique Baykow smokehouse. The elegant veal kroketten hail from Holtkamp, Queen Beatrix’s favorite patisserie. For dessert try Holtkamp’s creamy lemonmeringue tart and the fruit-studded apple cake from rival bakery Kuyt. Which wins? Ponder the question on your return ride to the 17th-century Amsterdam of gabled roofs and narrow canals. Or better, compare it with the crumbly, house-baked apple pie served with Medellín Secret brand coffee at Restaurant Stedelijk, inside the renovated museum. A bold design statement of tactile concrete, stainless steel and tomato-red rubber seating, the glass-walled restaurant is just as eye-popping as the museum’s stunning Malevich canvases. Overseen by Ron Blaauw, a local celebrity toque, the kitchen delivers pleasing renditions of cosmopolitan classics, from crab tempura to vitello tonnato. But it’s the Dutch beef—whether as rich, hand-cut tartare seasoned at table, or the awesome burger with truffle mayo served on a feathery brioche bun—that commands the attention. the hotel to watch

Just next door to the Stedelijk, a late-19th-century neo-Gothic bank building turned music conservatory has been revamped into the dramatic Conservatorium Hotel by Milanese designer Piero Lissoni. Its two restaurants, the casual Brasserie & Lounge and the high-concept Tunes, celebrate the triumphant homecoming of local culinary hero Schilo van Coevorden. The unstoppably creative chef (born right in the neighborhood) worked in Japan and Dubai, perfected fusion at Amsterdam’s Blakes Hotel, then cooked up a storm in Marbella, Spain. Now le tout Amsterdam is clamoring to taste his nuevoSpanish bravura applied to local ingredients. Farmhouse goat yogurt? It’s dolloped with Adriaesque beet sorbet and gilded with Dutch caviar in a fetching play of earthy, salty and sweet. Gado gado? Amsterdam’s Indonesian favorite gets reinterpreted as a witty collage of tiny fried eggs, shrimp crackers, schmears of peanut sauce and pickles accenting the crisp-creamy fried sweetbreads. Lissoni’s austere lofty interiors— repurposed industrial lights; chiaroscuro displays of Royal Delft porcelain—are warmed by the open kitchen and the perpetual celebrity buzz of the

The Brasserie & Lounge on the ground floor of the Conservatorium Hotel.

Dutch mackerel with algae, oysters and buckwheat at Tunes.

amsterdamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s young chefs are at last embracing their dutchness, to say nothing of luminous homegrown ingredients

CloCkwise from right: PreParing for dinner serviCe at tunes, in the Conservatorium hotel; a view of the westertoren and the PrinsengraCht; huize frankendael, just east of the City Center; a twist on salade niรงoise at restaurant stedelijk; the dining room at tunes, designed by Piero lissoni. issoni.

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BEyOND THE MUSEUM QUARTER AND THE CENTRAL CANAL RING, FUTURISTIC ARCHITECTURE IS CREATING A WATERFRONT WONDERLAND

room. Madonna recently swept in. Here’s Dutch design wunderkind Marcel Wanders, chuckling over the chef’s cheeky “nostalgia to Andalusia” dessert: a craggy-branched chocolate tree on a soil of pistachio crumbs and olive-oil jelly. And how not to smile at the award-winning gin-and-tonic menu? Don’t miss the No 3. Gin, with elderflower tonic and mint. the urBan gardener

Leave time before your dinner at Bolenius to gawk at the lofty zigzags and madcap asymmetries of the post-postmodern skyscrapers of Zuidas, the futuristic business district in Amsterdam’s south. This architectural eye candy provides the perfect backdrop for the artistic amuse-bouche ahead: a jagged disk of Sardinian cracker bread protruding from a white stone; black-olive choux strikingly set in a garland of actual rope. All blond birchwood, concrete and tented white sail fabric, the two-year-old restaurant was a labor of love for the thirtysomething chef Luc Kusters and his partner Xavier Giesen, your dapper host in the dining room. A bit Spanish deconstructionist, somewhat new-Nordic naturalist, ravishingly pretty and refreshingly personal, Kuster’s “New Amsterdam” dishes are inspired by his urban kitchen garden—improbably planted right under the skyscrapers. Borage and tarragon flowers decorate a shocking-green cube of lettuce gelée. Cauliflower is bewitched into a trompe l’oeil risotto highlighted with herring roe. Even pickled onion—an Amsterdam tavern classic—gets a conceptual makeover as a liquid-nitrogenated sorbet in a cone infused with cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. To close: a Willy Wonka extravaganza of Dutch caramels, waffles and marshmallows.

the high flier

rESTAurANT STEdELIJK.

Even in this city of boffo waterside settings, REM Eiland turns heads. Back in the mid sixties this former oil rig of cubical steel, rising on stilts 25 meters above the IJ, was repurposed into a pirate TV broadcasting station—with its own helipad. Promptly shut down by authorities, it was dismantled and only recently saved from the scrapyard and reassembled into the ultimate dining attraction in the emerging Houthaven port district. Time your arrival for sunset and behold the sweeping harbor views from REM Eiland’s wraparound walkways and decks. Barges chug

along below toward the North Sea, while cranes tower over Amsterdam’s last remaining working ship-repair wharf. Indoors, under exposed ductwork at tables refashioned from scaffolding wood, pretty young things order charcuterie platters and seafood plateaux from the crowdpleasing brasserie menu. The kitchen can’t always keep up with the mad dinnertime crush—but you’ll do just fine with some briny fines de claire oysters, crisp brain-and-veal croquettes and, from the cool, affordable wine list, a Barbera from Walter Massa, Piedmont’s eccentric-genius vintner. Next in Amsterdam’s woolly reclamation department: a luxury three-suite hotel is set to open soon inside a 1958 industrial crane. the locavore temple

The fabulously round concrete Brutalist building on the edge of Beatrix Park once housed a monastery chapel. Now at Restaurant As, stylish, rough-hewn oak tables in former prayer nooks host blond hipsters worshipping the slow-leavened breads baked in chef Sander Overeinder’s outdoor Tuscan oven. An Alice Waters disciple and high priest of the locavore faith, Overeinder romances Dutch produce in his short, Mediterranean-inflected prix fixe menus recited by servers. Tonight’s inspiration might be a gorgeous salad of shaved zucchini with curry crumbs and heartbreakingly tender North Sea squid flash-fried in a crunchy coating of cornmeal. Delicate favas braised in a basil butter add a fresh jolt to the veal shoulder slow-cooked in a stove inherited from the good brothers. Outside, puzzling totem poles and colorful lights strung over a rusting fence give the overgrown grounds an air of an arty-boho summer camp. As darkness descends, votives glint, pearwood smoke tickles the nostrils and you realize that bliss rhymes with Van Wees, the cult distiller of that profoundly complex malty genever you can’t stop sipping.

I l l u s t r at I o n s B y w a s I n e e C h a n ta k o r n

the corner café, reinvented

In Amsterdam, “coffee shop” still connotes cannabis, while a “brown café” is a pub. And an eet (eating) café? It’s a neighborhood joint dishing up bitterballen (meatballs) and sandwiches on hippie brown rolls for a nosh while you booze. On a multiculti street in southern De Pijp district, Café Reuring redefines the genre so brilliantly that a recent rave from a powerful local restaurant critic caused a stampede. Book ahead for your plastic chair at this no-frills corner storefront across from a graffitied Turkish grocery store. The ultra-brief seasonal menu might kick off with a pretty still life of mozzarella, figs and rhubarb-jus marshmallows, progress to an epic steak tartare with a clever pankofried egg, and crescendo with an unimpeachable North Sea plaice, roasted on the bone and served in nutty brown butter. Come dessert, the chef might pop out with news that the cherry-size blueberries for the yogurt bavaroise were picked by his wine guy. And this being Amsterdam, architectural epiphany awaits a mere minute away. Cross Lumastraat walking south and there’s De Dageraad, the visionary 1920’s Amsterdam School housing development. Who knew that brick masonry could curve and billow like fabric? the manor life

To escape the clutter and stench canal-side, wealthy 17th-century burghers built summer residences in idyllic Frankendael Park, east of the city center. Now the only period buiten (garden manor) remaining is the stately Huize Frankendael, where since 2008 the terrific restaurant Merkelbach has occupied the coach house. A glass of rosé at a patio table. Sunlight dappling the extravagant patches of daisies and heathers in the restored 18th-century garden. On your plate: a picture-perfect salad of

don’t leave without trying...

h E RRinG the short nieuwe haring (new herring) season, which begins in June, sets off a pescatorial frenzy. Buttery and delicate, the little fish are inhaled raw at Stubbe’s haring with a sprinkling of juicy white onions. Singel Haarlingersluis; 31-20/623-3212.

C ROQU E T TES these crisp breaded béchamel fritters—served on a white roll—are the national snack. Food critic Johannes van dam recommends those at Café Luxembourg, a parisian-style grand café on spui square. order the veal or shrimp with fried parsley. 24 Spui; luxembourg.nl.

hOT DOGS the iconic hEMA shop isn’t just for tea towels and baby clothes. Behold its miracle hot dog: rotisserie-sizzled, smoky, juicy, taut—and stuffed into a hollowed-out baguette tube. 212 Kalverstraat; hema.nl.

PAnCAK ES dutch pannekoeken aren’t just for breakfast. the price of a meal on the Pancake Boat, docked by the ndsm ferry landing, also buys you a cruise on the IJ. M.S. van Riemsdijkweg; pannenkoekenboot. nl; cruises from €16.

Genever serious oak-aged genevers—grain spirits flavored with juniper—can rival the best single malts. a. van wees distillery de ooievaar produces 17 types of artisanal marvels; try them at De Admiraal, an atmospheric pub decorated with old distilling kettles. 319 Herengracht; proeflokaalde admiraal.nl.

APPLE Pi E somewhere between tart and cake, the local appelgebak packs in a full five centimeters of cinnamon-scented apples. the caramelly version at Café Papeneiland is made from a recipe by the owner’s aunt, hennie. grab an outdoor seat overlooking the water. 2 Prinsengracht; papeneiland.nl.

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CLoCKWISE FroM FAr LEFT: BoLENIuS CHEF LuC KuSTErS IN HIS urBAN GArdEN, IN zuIdAS; LoBSTEr WITH GoLdEN BErrIES AT BoLENIuS; rEM EILANd, AMSTErdAM’S rESTAurANT oN STILTS, HoVErS ABoVE THE IJ.

pink and yellow heirloom beets assembled by Slow-Foodie chef Geert Burema. The spicy shaved aged cheese in the salad? That’s clove-studded nagelkass (“nail cheese”), the chatty server explains. Today’s zucchini? From a garden plot run by the local elementary school. Up next: ravioli filled with velvety cauliflower purée, dressed with dusky chanterelles and rich Dutch country butter. Walk off the calories exploring the park’s narrow allées fringed by private gardens. Citizens diligently prune peony bushes outside their brightly painted dollhouse-scaled cottages. Here’s hoping someone invites you in for tea. the riverside idyll

Booking a hot table outside the Canal Ring is a great chance to discover untouristed neighborhoods you’d otherwise miss. Who knew that the residential district around Amstel Station harbored such a lovely riverside path? Who knew the path led straight to Riva, a panoramic new brasserie with such a jazzy design and swoon-inducing location you’d happily come here to eat a boiled clog? Outside the huge windows, willow trees bend low over the Amstel River, and fat swans glide past giant luxury houseboats. Inside, burnt-orange leather banquettes are arranged under cool ceiling panels evoking a river current, and a fantastical chandelier chimes with porcelain fish. In this setting, Riva’s 92

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chef, a young, worldly Australian, fries up a peppery soft-shell crab, dishes up a sassy hoisinglazed quail and slow-cooks a seriously soulful goat-meat crépinette. Take your croissant-andbutter pudding out to the deck and watch as the lighting gets moodier, the river grows glossier and Riva’s regulars unmoor their boats and sail home. the design atelier

Marjolein Wintjes (social scientist/textile artist) and Eric Meursing (industrial designer/chef) weren’t interested in a conventional restaurant. Instead the pair, known for such provocations as a wedding dress fashioned from edible rhubarb paper, call their De Culinaire Werkplaats “eat’inspirations.” Book one of their themed dinners—say, “Eat the City” or “Postcard from Shanghai”—take the tram to the emerging Westerpark neighborhood, and prepare to bus your own plates from a long table shared with regulars. It all feels like crashing a dinner party

at the airy design atelier of a hip, arty friend with food that’s surprising, provocative and shot through with that Dutch ecoidealism. The walnut pesto is pounded from nuts grown in Amsterdam’s sports park. A starkly beautiful dish called “guerrilla garden” pairs black quinoa with strawberry-infused cherries—the imagined result of throwing a seed bomb. From a faux earth of black lentils, tender green pea tendrils sprout—a poetic evocation of greenery shooting through urban pavements. The bill? You’ll be charged for the wine and asked to contribute what you find “fair” for the five-course tasting menu. Be generous—won’t you? the ultimate riJsttafel

Rijsttafel (literally, “rice table”)—a feast of rice with myriad trimmings—is the colonial Dutch vision of an Indonesian banquet, more authentic to Amsterdam than it is to Jakarta or Bali. The current favorite is the new-school Restaurant Blauw, near the Vondelpark, which keeps its spicing just right while steering refreshingly clear of saggy “ethnic” clichés—no gamelan music; no sarong-wrapped servers. In a modern space decorated in Mondrianesque reds and a nostalgic portrait of the owner’s Javanese forebears, order the rice feast, and soon enough a slew of spicy stews and spicier condiments will land on your table. Here’s an intriguing egg dish with a chili-spiked sambal; a mini-stick of caramelized goat satay; pork-belly nuggets in a dark, syrupy ketjap manis sauce. Eat them with helpings of fragrant rice, dabs of vinegary-sweet cucumber atjar, roasted coconut sprinkles and crunchy forkfuls of sambal goreng kentang, the addictive caramel-fried shoestring potatoes. After five minutes your mouth vibrates with turmeric and galangal, and throbs with chilies. Thank heaven for the

houthaven

Amsterdam n noord

westerpark

iJ riv e r Jordaan

pri n s e n g r ac ht

vondel park

museumplein

am st

de piJp

el riv

frankendael park

Beatrix park

zuidas

0.4 km

soothing-sweet bite of plush pisang goreng (fried banana) that comes to the rescue. the italian dream

Trends come and go, riverfronts and skylines transform, but scoring an 8 p.m. reservation at Toscanini, the urban-rustic trattoria of everyone’s dreams in the hip Jordaan district, never gets any easier. Start dialing now for the night when you’ll find yourself—hallelujah!—in the sprawling whitewashed, skylit dining room, draping petals of Friuli’s prized di Oswaldo prosciutto around skinny grissini or drizzling chestnut honey over slices of young pecorino. Here, regulars stroll from table to table doublekissing one another, pastas are always faultlessly elegant (grab the spaghetti pungent with lemon and bottarga di Orbetello), and the slender chops of Dutch lamb are a red-meat Platonic ideal. With a conspiratorial wink the waiter might pour you an edgy off-the-menu Nebbiolo. So who needs Venice, when after dunking biscotti del Prato into a sweet aromatic passito you can roam along Prinsengracht, the city’s most gorgeous canal? Seventeenth-century gables reflect in the moonlit water, lovers embrace on dark benches and only the crazy bicyclists whizzing past at ungodly speeds threaten your happiness. ✚

t l guide eat Bolenius 30 George Gershwinlaan; 31-20/ 404-4411; bolenius-rest aurant.nl; set from €59. Brasserie & Lounge 27 Van Baerlestraat; 31-2 0/570-0000; conservator iumhotel.com; €80 for two. Café Reuring 99 Lutmastraat; 31-20/ 777-0996; cafereuring.nl; €60 for two. De Culinaire Werkplaats 10 Fannius Scholtenstraat; 31-65/464-6576; deculinairewerkplaats.nl; meal price discretionary. Eye Bar-Restaurant 1 IJpromenade; 3120/589-1402; eyebar restaurant.nl; €60 for two. Merkelbach 72 Middenweg at Frankendael Park; 31-20/665-0880; huizfr ankendael.nl; €75 for two. REM Eiland 45-2 Haparandadam; 31-20/688-5501; remeiland.com; threecourse set from €31. Restaurant As

19 Prinses Irenestraat; 31-20/644-0100; restaurantas.nl; threecourse set from €40. Restaurant Blauw 158 Amstelveenseweg; 31-30/240-0580; restaur antblauw.nl; €65 for two. Restaurant Stedelijk 10 Museumplein; 3120/573-2651; restaurant stedelijk.nl; €50 for two. Riva 1 Amstelboulevard; 31-20/760-2030; caferes taurantriva.nl; €60 for two. Toscanini 75 Lindengracht; 31-20/623-2813; restauranttoscanini.nl; six-course set €47.50. Tunes Restaurant by Schilo 27 Van Baerlestraat; 31-20/570-0000; conservatoriumhotel.com; set from €68. do Eye Film institute 1 IJpromenade; eyefilm.nl. Rijksmuseum 1 Museumstraat; rijksmuseum.nl Stedelijk Museum 10 Museumplein; stedelijk.nl.

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Bumper cars at The Little Big Club. Left: Sanrio hello Kitty Town. Right: The Comaroffs chug through Legoland.

LIttLe StePS In WonderLand At three new theme parks in Malaysia, some young friends help melanie lee recapture the magic of childhood. photographed by darren soh

Four-year-old Mila Comaroff is breathless. She’s been running in circles at the Legoland ticket line excitedly admiring the primary-color castle towering over us, so that before we’ve even begun our day at the theme park, I’m exhausted simply from watching her. “Is this, like, real Lego?” Mila asks her mother, Ker-Shing, who nods yes. At that, Mila and her younger brother, Leo, charge forward towards Miniland, where they let out a series of “Wows!” at the 17 down-sized Asian landmarks, from the Great Wall of China to Angkor Wat to the Petronas Twin Towers, recreated with 30 million Lego bricks. My own childhood idea of heaven involved the land of make-believe come to life, where my favorite cartoon characters and toys roamed freely and the trolley seats and ice cream cones were small and the signs spoke directly to

me: “No one taller than yeah-high may ride.” (So beat it, parents!) In the sacred confines of theme parks, magic was legitimate, and it was possible to live happily ever after in— what else but?—a shimmery castle. Some of my fondest memories are based in theme parks—waving at dolls frolicking to “It’s a Small World” in Disneyland, California; or half-laughing, half-screaming on my first roller coaster ride, the Corkscrew, at Alton Towers in England. But for most of my youth, I lived in Singapore, so visiting a theme park meant traveling far afield. These days, kids in Southeast Asia have it good: there’s Disneyland in Hong Kong, Universal Studios in Singapore and Ocean Park Water Adventure in Jakarta. And now making a bid for theme park central is Iskandar, a half-hour drive into Malaysia from Singapore, which boasts Legoland, Sanrio Hello Kitty Town t r av e l a n d l e i s u r e a s i a .c o m

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and The Little Big Club (home to Bob the Builder, Thomas the Tank Engine and other popular TV cartoon characters). Just seven years ago, the 2,217-square-kilometer area now marked out as Iskandar—a special economic zone in southern Johor Bahru—was all palm-oil plantations and mangrove swamps. Today, it is a metropolis attracting foreign investors with property developments, a buzzing education hub and a range of business and medical facilities. The place’s utopian aura is highlighted by the brand-name theme parks—this is the first Hello Kitty Town outside of Japan and the first Legoland in Asia, with a Legoland hotel slated for a 2014 opening. Iskandar, it seems, has aspirations of becoming the Orlando of the Orient.

oy, this is going to be intense,” says Mila and Leo’s dad, Josh, trotting behind the kids, trying to catch up, wiping beads of perspiration from his forehead. The sweltering heat and Katy Perry blasting over the sound system are already giving me a migraine. It was my brilliant plan to do some reconnaissance with other people’s children before bringing my own son, now a toddler just starting to walk. On this day, the big questions are what to ride, and when. For example, should the Comaroffs take the Legoland Express train that tours the entire 31-hectare theme park, or go on the revolving Observation Tower to get a bird’s eye view of Iskandar? Mom’s pushing for the latter, but two-year-old Leo asserts, “We go on the train now or we’re going to miss it and we are going to be stuck here.” Ah, the wisdom of youth. Mila and Leo get sidetracked by The Shipyard, a massive adventure playground with a fourlevel Titanic-like centerpiece where small kids can climb and crawl freely. The parents catch their breath, and are able to take in the surroundings. As landscape architects, Josh and Ker-Shing appreciate the scale and ergonomics of this playground, which they describe as “superb.” Josh gets nostalgic as he watches his kids shimmy through the tunnels. “When I was growing up in the U.S.,

t l guide Getting There From singapore (30 mins): Cross the border to malaysia via tuas Checkpoint. after the tollbooth, take exit 312 right. Follow signs to legoland and/or puteri harbour. wts travel (65/6467-8588; legoland.wts travel.com.sg) runs five to seven round-trips to Iskandar daily. From kuala lumpur (five hours): take the north south plus highway, exit 253 to senai airport/tuas, then exit 311 to kota Iskandar. Follow signs to legoland and/or puteri harbour. or, take a 30-minute flight to singapore and drive from there.

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do LEGOLAnD Malaysia requires at least a full day’s exploration with more than 40 rides, shows and attractions. Besides bringing lots of water, hats and sunblock, warn your kids that they’ll have to take regular rest in cooled areas before heading out to new parts of the park. 7 Jln. Legoland, Bandar Medini, Nusajaya; 60-7/ 597-8888; legoland.com.my; RM140 per adult, RM110 for children three to 11, free admission for children under three. The Puteri harbour Family Theme Park Inside a nondescript office-type building, there’s hello Kitty Town, on the first floor—a small place with activities similar

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to kid programs offered by shopping malls during festive periods. The Little Big Club takes up the second and third floors, and is suitable for kids three and under who may not be able to take the scorching sun at legoland, but love rides and running around in huge playgrounds. Persiaran Puteri Selatan, Puteri Harbour, Nusajaya; 60-3/2203-9668; playtime.com. my; RM110 for a combined pass to both parks, free admission for children under three. eat and drink Food in these theme parks is functional at best. Fortunately, there’s the Mall of Medini

nearby, with a wide range of decent outlets such as absolute thai, manhattan Fish market and secret recipe. 4 Lebuh Medini Utara; 60-7/509-9493. stay Pulai Springs Resort 20 Km Jln. Pontian Lama, Johor Bahru; 60-7/521-2121; pulaisprings. com; doubles from RM330. Traders hotel Puteri harbour Persiaran Puteri Selatan, Puteri Harbour, Nusajaya; 60-7/5608888; shangri-la.com; doubles from RM300. Thistle Johor Bahru Jln. Sungai Chat; Johor Bahru; 60-7/2229234; thistle.com; doubles from RM259.

theme parks were a big annual tradition and something I always looked forward to,” he says. “It’s important for young kids to visit a place of total fantasy—no matter how commercial or contrived—because these are environments that have been designed exclusively for them to enjoy.” The kids take the wheel at Boating School, steering battery-powered Lego-brick dinghies around obstacles that include animals squirting fountains of water. “It’s fun getting peed on by a rat,” Mila says. Four rides, two playgrounds and two rounds through Miniland later, exhaustion and dehydration set in for Mila and Leo, and they both seek shade in the pram, guzzling bottles of water with drooping eyes. Their parents tell us they are going to come back in a year or two, when the trees have grown out to provide more shade, and both children will be big enough for more rides. “Hopefully,” says Josh, “they’ll love roller coasters as much as me.” As we bid farewell to the Comaroffs, Mila is quick to defend her fatigued state. “I really love this place, but it’s just too hot,” she says with a little sigh. “My eyeballs hurt.”

ur next trip to Iskandar is in a blessedly milder environment: the air-conditioned, four-story Puteri Harbour Family Theme Park housing Sanrio Hello Kitty Town and The Little Big Club. This time, our young companions are three-year-old twins Ashley and Kieran Lim, along with their parents Michael and Cami. The shy kids generally remain silent when my husband and I are around, but this time, Darren and I are surprised to hear high-pitched joyful squeaks emanating from them as we reach the heart-shaped, pinklit entrance of Hello Kitty Town. The indecipherable, chirpy Japanese songs sustain the twins’ upbeat mood, and they explore the indoor park with a skip in their steps. Cami is a little more critical as she scans the place, which takes up the first level of the Puteri Harbour Family Theme Park building. There’s a Tea Cups ride, Hello Kitty’s House, a stage where Hello Kitty and Dear Daniel perform and an

Above: Legoland’s Putra Mosque. Right: hello Kitty Town draws big kids. Opposite: Deep in play at The Little Big Club.

interactive castle. The rest of Hello Kitty Town revolves around activities such as jewelry-making, photo-taking and decorating Hello Kitty cookies. “This doesn’t feel like a theme park,” she says a little indignantly. In fact, the biggest hit with the twins here is the Nail Salon. “Look at my nails, Mummy!” Kieran shrieks about his lacquered fingertips, innocently oblivious to gender stereotypes. Ashley bashfully spreads her fingers out in front of my face, and though I coo in appreciation, Cami mutters, “I could have easily done this at home... with better quality nail polish.” Her friends who’d been here before had enthusiastically told her they’d spent “one whole day” with their kids, and Cami’s wondering what she is missing. “Maybe,” she says, “I’d expected it to be Disneyland.” We get into bad dream territory at Black Wonder, a dark castle maze where kids have to solve a series of puzzles in order to save Hello Kitty and Dear Daniel, who have been kidnapped by Kuromi, a Goth rabbit. The sight of their cartoon pals in cages sends Kieran and Ashley over the edge. There is bawling. Lots of bawling. The twins are carried out of the castle by their parents.

appy screeching resumes, though, at The Little Big Club, where the twins ride on Thomas the Tank Engine, meander through giant tunnels of the Bob the Builder Play Structure and take a spin on Harold’s Helitours Ride. “OK,” Cami concedes, “at least now, this part feels like a mini theme park.” As we witness the unadulterated glee Ashley and Kieran display at shaking hands with Angelina Ballerina, I recall Mila and Leo boogying down to the snake dance tune played at the Miniland Taj Mahal, back in Legoland. It’s these simple things, I think, that are magic. So, while Cami and Michael are skeptical of making a repeat visit to Puteri, the twins are already pestering them about wanting to return. “I guess at the end of the day, it’s all about our children having fun,” Cami says, “even if we grown-ups don’t get it sometimes.” ✚

CLoCKWISE FroM FAr LEFT: EHud SHIMoNI AT HIS AIrBNB-LISTEd GuESTHouSE IN THE HoLLyWood HILLS; THE FrANKLIN & CoMPANy TAVErN, NEAr THE AuTHor’S AIrBNB rENTAL IN THE HoLLyWood HILLS; AN AIrBNB-LISTEd CABIN oN THE SAGE HILL rANCH, IN MALIBu.

Be My Guest

As locals in cities around the globe play innkeeper, tour guide or landlord, aimee lee ball travels to Los Angeles to assess the pros and cons of peer-to-peer travel, social media’s latest trend. photographed by jessica sample

’m about to do something that would horrify my mother: I’m at the door of a private house in the Hollywood Hills, California, where I have arranged to stay for the night in the guest cottage of a man I have never met. And tomorrow I’ve hired another stranger to lead me around Beverly Hills, showing me where and how the local luminaries live and photographing me as if I were one of them—a personal paparazzo. Both arrangements were made in the unique world of peer-to-peer, a new approach that is revolutionizing travel. P2P is a gateway to unique, noncommercial and often more affordable alternatives to hotels, car rentals and experiences away from home. People—yes, complete strangers—rent out their homes, lend their vehicles, lead guided tours and meet out-of-towners for meals, all set up via the Internet. It’s couch-surfing writ large, and the pioneering website Airbnb has transformed itself into a formidable rental-by-owner behemoth that’s giving established agencies a run for their money and inspiring a legion of followers. Just as eBay and Craigslist made it possible to bypass Ye Olde Antiques Shoppe or Ye Olde Home Depot when looking for a vintage watch or cordless drill, these P2P sites provide one-on-one connections to the owners or offerers of various goods and services, be it a flat in London, a convertible and/or its

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parking space in Miami, or a customized bar crawl through Berlin. The pleasures and potential of the “anti-hotel” (a.k.a. the home-tel) are manifold: anyone opening up a private residence to travelers is likely doing it for the income, but he or she may also relish the role of innkeeper, sharing insider-y information about the area. And you get to feel like a native, perhaps exploring a neighborhood where lodging for out-of-towners is usually unavailable or prohibitively expensive. Of course, the pitfalls are potentially manifold, too: you could end up with a lumpy mattress, a cat lady as proprietor, or worse. The P2P industry is still experiencing growing pains. After early incidents of vandalism, Airbnb established a limited guarantee (although not an actual insurance policy) for hosts, and the company emphasizes that its detailed profiles and authentic reviews (after confirmed stays) help protect guests. In some cities, zoning and shortterm rental laws make P2P hospitality illegal. For my maiden voyage, I chose Los Angeles. The search parameters at Airbnb allow you to specify amenities (washer/dryer; doorman) and

CLoCKWISE FroM ToP LEFT: AN AMATEur GuIdE ANd ProFESSIoNAL PHoToGrAPHEr oN A VAyABLE.CoM BEVErLy HILLS WALKING Tour; LooKING SKyWArd AT BEVErLy HILLS PALM TrEES; INSIdE SHIMoNI’S JAPANESE-STyLE ProPErTy; AT THE TASCHEN BooKSTorE, A LoCAL FAVorITE oN BEVErLy drIVE; THE TooLS oF PEEr-To-PEEr TrAVEL.

the type of property, from house, apartment or yurt to villa, castle or boat. (Regrettably, there were neither castles nor yurts available during the period when I wanted to visit.) The site requires some due diligence, ferreting out hidden costs such as cleaning services and navigating through real estate hyperbole, where “charming” is code for inconvenient and “cozy” for small. I rejected a “luxury tree house” whose only claim to that term appeared to be branches outside the bedroom window; a “designer” apartment that was smoke-free “except for incense”; and an “architectural gem” that seemed to be decorated with my grandmother’s furniture. But you can read recommendations from previous guests, watch a slideshow of the facilities or see if any of your Facebook friends have a connection to the renter. And this is a two-way street—the hosts get to size you up, too, through your online account. I reluctantly posted a photo (feeling slightly uncomfortable with the obvious parallels to match.com) but declined to describe my “life motto.” Ultimately, I settled on spending one night at a “cabin in the Malibu

pines” (for us$200 it sounded like an inexpensive way to visit the exclusive beach community) and one night at a private Hollywood Hills guesthouse. The vertigo-inducing route into the mountains above Malibu felt like the Grande Corniche of southern California. Views from the hairpin turns were lovely, but a hint to arrive in daylight would have been helpful. The cabin was almost monastically simple, part of a ranch and vineyard whose owner, Gabrielle Harris, was out of town, leaving an obliging neighbor to heat the hot tub and pile wood by the stove. (My loss: the absentee hostess had mentioned the possibility of leading guests through yoga classes and on horseback rides.) There was no mobile phone reception, no TV nor even a radio, but there was a chilled bottle of Harris’s own Sauvignon Blanc. If I’d been hoping to bump into Tom Hanks jogging on the beach, the location was much too remote, but as a retreat from civilization, it did quite nicely. The next day, I polled the local cognoscenti for brunch recommendations via the P2P app Forkly. They guided me to decadent pancakes at the Griddle Café, on Sunset Boulevard, where bananas are baked in brown sugar before being added to the batter. If insider access is the ultimate goal of peer-to-peer travel, my next booking delivered in spades. The one-bedroom Japanese guesthouse in the Hollywood Hills was landscaped t r av e l a n d l e i s u r e a s i a .c o m

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regrettably, there were neither castles nor yurts available with waterfalls, pebbled pathways and vintage moviehouse seating around an outdoor theater. For US$245 a night, I had a panoramic view of the famous Hollywood sign and Moby as a neighbor. I could have prepared a dinner party in the restaurant-quality stainless-steel kitchen, but the convivial owner, a designer named Ehud Shimoni, happily introduced me to the neighborhood choices for French, Thai or burgers (at the friendly Franklin & Company Tavern). It was clear that Ehud was motivated by more than the rental income—he’d renovated the place according to his own designs, in some cases with his own hands, and took pleasure in his guests’ appreciative oohs and aahs.

he portal at the website Tripping reads, enticingly, “Where do you want to go?” and suggests “Paris is nice.” Whatever city you select, the site connects you with local hosts who might be interested in anything from renting out a spare bedroom to simply meeting for coffee. I wasn’t exactly encouraged by 36-year-old Erik, whose profile boasted, “I’m friggin’ awesome,” or 43-year-old Cynthia, a “simple girl” with six children, three grandchildren and a devotion to decriminalizing marijuana. But 36-year-old Annabel was a rose among the thorns, a grad student in historic preservation and fellow globe-trotter who described herself as “happiest on a train or a plane or a boat.” She had used Tripping to make friends in Mexico and liked the “karma” of P2P—meeting new people on her travels and showing off her hometown to visitors. We chatted over cappuccinos at her favorite Urth Caffé, in Beverly Hills, sitting outside next to Jon Voight. Peer-to-peer travel is becoming more mainstream, but many services are still in beta mode, with limited coverage; new cities are added only as the sites roll out (not surprisingly, many of them launch in the Bay Area). Some start-ups fold before they even get off the ground, and others, I discovered, are full of kinks. On Vayable, a “marketplace” for tours and experiences booked directly from local “providers,” a few of my queries were met with the enigmatic response: “Did not copy. Over.” But Vayable did lead to one winner: for US$45, Doug offered me a bespoke walking tour of Beverly Hills—a response, he told me, to the mass-market tour-bus rides that seem to entice people like his Midwestern relatives. His selection of shops and sights was thoughtful, elegant and fun, such as the Philippe Starck–designed bookstore/gallery Taschen and the Brighton Coffee Shop, which has provided eggs-over-easy and meatloaf to the famous and the not-so since 1930. As an added bonus, Doug snapped photographs of me all morning and sent an edited selection (including one where I am posing with a “borrowed” Ferrari on Rodeo Drive). Although I’d be glad to promote him, Doug requested

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a pseudonym: he’s a successful cinematographer and felt that his reputation would not be enhanced by this sideline. In a way, P2P is an antidote to the impersonal nature of today’s online communication and social media. We used to talk and meet; now we tweet and Skype and friend and link in. But connecting with peers in cyberspace can lead to more intimate traveling, around a world that seems a little smaller and friendlier. Of course, I’m never going to use campinmygarden.com to pitch a tent in a stranger’s backyard. There isn’t enough money in the world. ✚

Peer-to-Peer Resources accommodations Rent directly from a homeowner. • airbnb.com • bedandfed.com (U.K., Ireland) • campinmygarden.com (private gardens as micro-campsites) • couchsurfing.org • ficalaemcasa.com.br • homeexchange.com (as the name suggests, you don’t pay, you exchange) • housetrip.com • 9flats.com • onefinestay.com (London, New york) • roomarama.com • travelmob.com • wimdu.com

cars/parking Borrow a car and share a ride/find a parking space. • drivemycarrentals com.au • getaround.com (San Francisco Bay Area; Portland, Ore.) • justshareit.com (offers boats, motorcycles, snowmobiles) • parkatmyhouse.com • parkingpanda.com • relayrides.com • ridejoy.com • spride.com • whipcar.com (U.K.) • zimride.com

eating Get recommendations for food and drink. • chowhound.com • foodspotting.com • forkly.com experiences hire a guide, meet for coffee, fly a kite… • canaryhop.com • dogvacay.com (board your dog in a private home) • gidsy.com • kitchensurfing.com (a chef comes to your house to cook) • rover.com • sidetour.com (New york, Chicago, Washington, D.C.) • tripping.com • uniiverse.com • us.zilok.com (sporting equipment, boats, electronics) • vayable.com

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Throw

off the

Bowlines

ÂŠ k e vi n m i l l e r / g e t t y. c o m

During an exhilarating live-aboard sailing course, Merritt Gurley spots a stingray, kicks the donkey and catches the trade winds from Langkawi to Penang.

Sailing the Strait of Malacca ruins all other travel.

AN IroN-CLAd ruLE oF THE AeoluS: ANyoNE WHo rEFErS To CHArTS AS “MAPS” MuST Buy THE CrEW A rouNd oF BEErS.

Jago ga zen da m (2)

i’d only Been on the Boat for 15 minutes when the skipper confirmed what i’d long feared: i was incompetent. “You are the lowest rank on board— incompetent crew,” Simon Read, the boat captain and instructor, cheerfully informed me. Luckily, I wasn’t alone in this diagnosis. Two other sad souls were labeled with this same affliction, but we were about to spend a week at sea under Simon’s tutelage to remedy the situation. Over the course of the journey, we would learn the language of the sea, get comfortable with the boat from stem to stern, do our best to master the essential knots and earn more than a few calluses from working the rigging and sails. We’d find out the difference between Trusty Shellbacks (sailors who’ve crossed the equator) and Slimy Pollywogs (those who haven’t). We’d also tackle meteorology, helmsmanship and even etiquette (no shoes on board). With a bit of luck, we’d actually impress Simon, and emerge as certified competent crew. Two yachts from the Langkawi Sailing School embarked on this six-day course: The Aeolus XC, a 10.7-meter sloop named for the Greek god of wind, and the Kay Sira, a 12.8-meter cruising ketch. The founders of the school, Barry and Lynette Wickett, were on the Kay Sira, the same ship they’d sailed the better part of the world on. My husband, Jago, and I were on the Aeolus, along with Simon, our fearless instructor, and Thomas Buchan, an oil-rig engineer from Scotland. We also had a young Kyrgyz man on board, let’s call him Nicolai. Thomas had the most experience of us students and he masterfully navigated the ship out of the harbor as we set sail the first day. Once out of the marina, it was the moment of truth— time to turn off the engine. Under Simon’s direction, we worked together, tugging on ropes and guiding canvas, to hoist the main sail to the top of the mast. Just like that we were sailing. Well… we were floating. In the spotty wind, we spent an hour bobbing about in the water before a strong gust finally poured into the overlapping jib. The mainsheet snapped taut, the rigging rattling at the effort, and the whole ship heeled over as the sail bellied out. Suddenly we were slicing across the Strait of Malacca at six knots, watching land and sea cruise gently by. I let out a whoop, and my excitement was matched by every man on board. As we clipped along, I drank in a stunning panorama. Malaysian islands to our right—er, starboard—and Thai islands on the port side.

Some had nothing but a few leafy shrubs, others were lined in white sand and posh resorts. Every hundred meters ushered in an entirely new seascape, different configurations of emerald isles, shifting gradients of blue. The roar of a motor replaced by the sound of waves lapping at the hull, we were gliding across the briny deep, lambent sunlight playing on the water and the wind in our hair. The sky was eyeaching blue, with white clouds strewn across the expanse like the stuffing of a torn toy. Sailing in good weather is an exquisite, unbeatable way to move around. In those first moments, every other form of travel was ruined for me. after our first day at sea, we docked at Rebak marina, a private island home to a Taj Resort. As automatic members of the Rebak marina, students of the Langkawi Sailing School have full use the facilities and, let me tell you, nothing washes down a day at sea better than an icy beer from the comfort of a sprawling swimming pool. The group dynamic gelled that evening as we knocked back cold ones at the hotel’s beach bar. “What’s it take to be a good sailor,” I asked Barry. “All you need is adventure in your soul,” he answered without hesitation. Simon jumped in with a couple of other necessities: “a good attitude, a willingness to learn.”

THoMAS BuCHAN uSES A CoMPASS To TrIANGuLATE THE SHIP’S PoSITIoN.

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THE CrEWS doCKEd THEIr FIrST NIGHT AT THE rEBAK ISLANd MArINA.

Most of us worked hard to meet those criteria out on the ocean. Jago would make lunch, for example, while Simon explained the charts to Thomas, and I worked the sails to extract maximum thrust from the gentle breeze. We all pitched in, alternating who would cook each meal, who would clean the dishes and who would take the helm. Nicolai quickly became the black sheep of the boat. He excused himself from all the chores on board, showing the band-aids on his fingers as evidence of his grievous blisters from rope work. The rest of us—with blisters to match—were not impressed. One day he attempted to dog-paddle to an island more than a kilometer away from the boat, requiring a search-and-rescue effort that set us two hours off-schedule, and then was unapologetic as we hauled him in. “The ocean is too salty for anyone to drown in,” he insisted—in his thick Russian accent, which, now that I think about it, taken in combination with his obsession with all things military, his receding hairline and jaunty ponytail, gave him a real Bond-villain vibe. And just like a Bond film we faced seemingly insurmountable catastrophes head on. Sure enough, on the third evening disaster struck: We were out of beer. Simon and I jumped in the rescue boat for another emergency mission. Motoring through a gorgeous patch of ocean ringed with karsts and mangroves called The Hole in Wall, we came upon a floating restaurant where we restocked our supply of Tiger Ale. Crisis averted—just in time for sundown. 106

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C o u r t e s y o F ta J r e s o r t

the Aeolus was the only boat on the horizon—its proud sails keeping secrets of journeys past

the next morning the crew of the Aeolus piled in our dinghy and puttered over to the Kay Sira, which had dropped anchor not far from us. Barry sat on the deck and shouted a greeting to us. “So what’s our plan for the day?” I asked the two instructors. “Plan?” Simon asked, as if the whole idea was a foreign concept. Barry chimed in, “Ah you know what they say—a plan should fit on the back of a cigarette pack. If it can’t, it’s too complicated.” Our immediate goal was breakfast and an exit. As we raised the sails, the sea bubbled with flying fish and a stingray breached with such force that at first we thought it was a giant bird. I squealed like a schoolgirl as I spotted the culprit—a pod of about 30 dolphins. We all ran to the bow for a better look as they darted through the inlet like bouncing balls on a karaoke track. After a few glorious moments, a long-tail boat packed with photo-snapping tourists spotted our bottle-nosed buddies, and beelined our way. Their motors made such a racket that the dolphins dove into the depths. I clucked with disapproval. Days earlier, I’d been on a motorized long-tail boat myself, but I felt very much enlightened in all matters of the sea since then. By god, I was halfway to competent. As a blanket of afternoon heat settled upon us, we pulled over for a swim. I was glowing pink through a thick layer of sunblock, wondering why it was called “fair” skin when burning so easily seemed very unfair indeed. I was in desperate need of a dip and landed a splendid cannonball off the back of the boat, shivering on impact with the cool reprieve. Jago and I swam 200 meters to Pulau Timun where we sat on a small stretch of deserted beach. The Aeolus was the only boat on the horizon—its proud sails keeping secrets of journeys long-since past. Back on the boat, I squatted on deck fussing with ropes as we prepared to set sail. Nicolai was hanging up a towel behind me and kept backing his rump into my face. “Kick the donkey!” Simon suggested. I looked at Nicolai, then back at Simon. “Kick the donkey,” he repeated. I thought perhaps we were about to have the most delightful man-overboard drill. I gestured towards Nicolai to make sure I’d understood the order, as I readied myself, with childlike excitement, to kick him off the boat. Simon erupted in throaty laughter and said, “No Merritt, ‘kick the donkey’ means ‘turn on the engine!’ We’re going to motor out of here.” I sagged with disappointment but orders are orders, so I turned the key and the engine reluctantly shook alive. We were off.

i was the corsair of the andaman sea, the Bay of Bengal buccaneer. i was master of things maritime 108

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BArry ANd LyNETTE WICKETT MAN THE KAy SirA.

t l guide Getting there Internationally, direct flights are available to Langkawi from Singapore on Singapore Airlines (singaporeair. com) and SilkAir (silkair. com). Flights are also available from Penang and Kuala Lumpur on Air Asia (airasia.com) and Malaysia Airlines (malaysiaairlines.com). The Langkawi Ferry (langkawi-ferry.com) operates from Kuala Perlis (75 minutes; RM18), Kuala Kedah (105 minutes; RM23), Penang (165 minutes; RM60) and Satun, Thailand (75 minutes; Bt300).

the sailing program Langkawi Sailing School Three yachts sail between Malaysia and Thailand from october to April every year, led by a team of expert instructors at Malaysia’s only ryAcertified program. The school has plans to explore Burma at the end of this year. Telaga Harbour Marina, Langkawi; langkawisailingschool.com; six-day competent crew course, including board and most meals, RM3,000.

stay Traders hotel, Penang Located in Penang’s city center, this high-value hotel has 443 rooms and suites with views of the city and Penang Bridge. Magazine Rd., George Town, Penang; 60-4/2622622; shangri-la.com/ penang/traders; doubles from RM300. Rebak island Resort The sole resort on the privately owned 160-hectare rebak island. Rebak Marina, Langkawi; 60-4/966-5566; tajhotels. com; doubles from RM500, for members of the marina. The Danna Langkawi A boutique resort, with high-design suites overlooking the ocean. Telaga Harbour Park, Pantai Kok, Langkawi; 60-4/9593288; thedanna.com; doubles from RM960. Four Seasons Langkawi A peaceful spot with 91 luxury villas and pavilions dotting a landscape of cliffs, jungle, mangroves and beachfront. Jln. Tanjung Rhu, Langkawi; 60-4/950-8888; fourseasons.com/langkawi; doubles from RM2,050.

Jago ga zendam

we made the long haul from Langkawi to Penang in darkness. Midnight brought the roughest waves of the week, breaking in a flurry of phosphorescence against the hull of the yacht. What is it about the sea at night that fires up the imagination? Suddenly I was Santiago in Hemingway’s The Old Man and Sea. I was the Malacca Strait marauder, corsair of the Andaman Sea, the Bay of Bengal buccaneer. I was an animal of the earth, master of all things maritime. I was discovering new lands on my vessel powered only by wind and sails. I was the horizon, the mirror between the moon lighting up the sky above and the strange magic that lit up the ocean below. I was only 10 minutes into my first two-hour shift at the helm. This was the final test: I had to pilot us through four total hours of night sailing to earn that coveted certificate and the proud title of “competent crew.” But by the time an hour had passed, the magic had morphed to comic tragedy. These were the angriest seas of the voyage. I’d long stopped trying to come up with my pirate name (something with “Mad” in it?) and was more preoccupied with not throwing up, or accidently steering us towards the wrong country. I struggled to keep my footing as the boat heeled violently across the blackness. We’d jury-rigged a headlight to an empty can of cola positioned over the compass, so I could make out the reading, but just barely. “Keep it between 40 and 60,” Simon said, gesturing to the dial. It was much easier said than done. I gripped the wheel so tightly my knuckles blanched—not that I could see them. During my second shift, the sun rose, and with it, my spirits. An orange-and-yellow butterfly flitted onto the deck and I said, “Means land’s near.” I could say that kind of thing now— I’d made it through the night. I might still be a Slimy Pollywog, but I was a sailor. We all cheered as Penang’s peninsula finally came into sight, but the celebration was tempered by a nagging melancholy, the same kind that hits you at the last chapter of a great book. “I don’t want the trip to end,” I said to Jago as we neared the final marina. “Don’t worry,” he said. “We’ll buy our own yacht and sail the world.” That plan, I thought, would fit neatly on the back of a cigarette pack. ✚

our definitive guide to

Art nouveau and Baroque palaces, experimental art and high-design hotelsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and, of course, mouthwatering cuisine. Peter J. Frank hits the streets. Photographed by Luis GarcĂa

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The rooftop terrace and bar of Downtown M茅xico hotel, in Centro hist贸rico.

mexico city

n centro histÓrico polanco

roma chapultepec park

condesa

santa fe

Clockwise from left: Vintage vinyl records on display at Local, in Roma; shoes by Amaranto at Local; serving platters depicting Mexican personalities from DFC.

1.6 km

Lay of the Land At 1,480 square kilometers, D.F.—as chilangos, Mexico City residents, call it—is vast. here are a few key neighborhoods. Centro histórico anchored by the zócalo plaza, the historic center is a mix of monuments and hivelike commerce.

Condesa In mexico City’s answer to new york’s west Village, shops, restaurants and apartments radiate out from the parque méxico. Polanco one of the city’s poshest districts keeps expanding north: “nuevo polanco” is being colonized by galleries and shopping malls. Getting Around Safely taxis are plentiful, but you may feel more secure having a private car (journey mexico.com). For the latest safety information, go to travel.state.gov.

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Shop Four boutiques we love. carla fernandez one of mexico’s top designers, Fernandez makes clothes that marry traditional patterns and textiles to a modern silhouette. her bias-cut ponchos and cotton minidresses might include a pointillist print of a mayan warrior or an armadillo embroidered in silk. carlafernandez.com.

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common people the city’s most exhilarating concept store inhabits a 1940’s mansion in polanco. a circular staircase connects three floors packed with cuttingedge merchandise from both near (vintage-style bikes from rock&ruedas) and far (thVm jeans from l.a.). commonpeople.com.mx.

dfc

local

a neon-lit alcove in roma shows limited-edition objets designed by new york transplants tony moxham and mauricio paniagua, who inject a big dose of camp into classic mexican motifs. Chaquiras, beaded dolls traditionally made by huichol Indians, for example, get drag-queen eyelashes and hairdos. totaldfc.com.

this pocket-size roma boutique is an ode to all things mexicanmade. look out for skull-shaped rings by l’Impératrice; handstitched leather duffels by paolo angelucci; and mancandy’s geometric clothes for men and women. local.blogspot.com.

p l at e s : C o u r t e s y o F d F C

Roma hipsters, artists and boutique owners have revived this once-bourgeois neighborhood of art nouveau mansions.

eat

The hottest tables right now.

puJol It opened in 2000, but pujol, in polanco, is still the city’s most innovative showcase for mexican cuisine. though chef enrique olvera is serious about using market ingredients and newfangled techniques, he has fun, too: there will be tacos, but they will be filled with baby lamb, avocado-pea purée and hoja santa, an aromatic herb. pujol.com.mx; M$1,780.

Quintonil the newest hit in polanco is a bright room where 31-yearold Jorge Vallejo creates dishes that look like floral arrangements and taste unexpectedly delicate. Huauzontle, a broccoli-like vegetable, is fried and served with tomato salsa and a crumbly cheese from Chiapas; curlicues of chilacayote squash and charred tortillas are drizzled with mole. quintonil. com; M$1,400.

contramar a high-ceilinged, blue-andwhite dining room is the setting for long, loud, convivial lunches, especially on weekends. Fashionable locals

come here to see and be seen, but the food is better than you’d expect. the ideal meal: oysters and pescado a la talla, grilled porgy painted with green and red sauces. contramar.com.mx; M$750.

romita comedor the top two levels of an early-20th-century mansion on Álvaro obregón have been turned into a theatrical greenhouse-like space with checkerboard floors and a retractable glass roof. the food takes a backseat to the scenery, but you can’t go wrong with the taco del río, made with langoustines in a tomato-and-morita-chili sauce. romitacomedor.com; M$600.

Clockwise from top: Lunch hour at Romita, in Roma; Contramar’s main dining room; fried huauzontles with Chiapas cheese and tomato sauce at Quintonil, in Polanco.

Belmondo stylish members of roma’s creative class line up for tables at this unpretentious café with midcentury chairs and lighting fixtures. the menu is straight: salads, pitch-perfect sandwiches (try the grilled cheese with caramelized onions) and a well-edited list of wines by the glass. belmondo roma.com.mx; M$300. restaurant prices are for dinner for two.

see do antiguo colegio de san ildefonso once you’ve seen diego rivera’s historical murals in the palacio nacional, walk a few blocks north to this 18th-century former Jesuit school, whose placid porticoes are lined with bitingly satirical works by his contemporary José Clemente orozco. sanildefonso.org.mx.

The Antiguo Colegio de San ildefonso’s 18th-century courtyard.

casa luis Barragán the former residence of the great mexican modernist is a must for architecture fans.

The city is filled with lesser-known gems. Below, four that top our list.

Barragán created intensity by distilling color and structure: a long wall of intense pink, for example, or a window positioned so the shadow aligns with the wall opposite. casaluisbarragan.org.

museo del Juguete antiguo Japanese-mexican architect roberto shimizu began collecting toys in 1955; now his son oversees the exhibition of 45,000 pieces in a space wedged between auto-body shops south of downtown. the displays of

soldiers, Barbie dolls and more are sure to induce joyful nostalgia. museo deljuguete.mx.

museo nacional de antropología among the pre-Columbian treasures housed here is the piedra del sol, a stone disk whose carvings reveal the cosmological sophistication of aztec beliefs. But there are quieter riches, such as a jadeite mask from palenque and a toltec armored vest made from seashells. mna. inah.gob.mx.

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Clockwise from left: A room at the Red Tree house hotel, in Condesa; the street entrance at Downtown México hotel, in Centro histórico; overlooking the courtyard of Downtown México’s Padrinos Cocina de Barrio restaurant.

Stay downtown méxico a converted 17th-century palace, the latest from grupo habita is an island of chic in workaday Centro histórico. It seamlessly mixes the old (stone walls; high ceilings) with the up-to-the-minute (a sexy rooftop bar and pool). on the mezzanine, well-curated boutiques sell local goods such as mezcal, chocolate and talavera pottery. downtownmexico.com; US$140.

hotel Brick the creative energy of roma seems to swirl around this architectural mash-up of a century-old former mansion (which

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Mexico City’s hotel scene is booming. here, the splashy openings and longtime favorites.

also housed, in turn, a bank, a brothel and a locksmith) and a glass-and-steel annex. expect a warren of restaurants, bars and 17 rooms with houndstoothupholstered chairs and wood paneling. at night, well-dressed chilangos gather at the terrace café to watch the comings and goings on Calle orizaba. hotelbrick.com; US$220.

las alcoBas this 35-room sanctuary in the heart of polanco is marked by rich yabu pushelberg–designed interiors and thoughtful touches—a full-length three-way mirror; coffee that arrives minutes after your wake-up call.

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Its buzzy restaurant, dulce patria, is joined this spring by anatol, run by Justin ermini, former chef at the mayflower Inn in Connecticut. lasalcobas. com; US$349.

red tree house a small garden draped with fairy lights and a yellow lab named abril welcome guests to this 17-room B&B with a winning location just off parque méxico. Inside are walls painted in bright jewel tones and mexican art; rooms range in size from the tiny treehouse to a two-bedroom suite with a private terrace. theredtreehouse.com; US$115.

four seasons hotel méxico, d.f. It’s all about gracefulness here, from the polished concierge staff and colonial-inspired interiors to the courtyard with its parterres and burbling fountain. Insider tip: follow hotel staffers to the street-food stands on Calle Burdeos, off the hotel entrance, where you’ll find some of the area’s tastiest tacos. fourseasons.com; US$465.

live aQua BosQues about 50 minutes from downtown, near the santa Fe neighborhood,

is this stylish new luxury hotel. rooms include such niceties as 420-threadcount sheets, an espresso machine and motorized drapes—and each floor has a dedicated concierge to secure everything from dinner reservations to shoeshines. feel-aqua. com; US$421.

st. regis the city’s most elegantly modern hotel occupies the first 15 floors of a Cesar pelli–designed building on paseo de la reforma. rooms are large and plush (yabu pushelberg again), but the showstopper is the panoramic view from the spa and fitness center. stregis.com; US$465.

Hotel prices are for double occupancy.

From left: Trayectos, a retrospective at the Museo Tamayo of works by the museum’s founder, Rufino Tamayo; a taco campechano from Taquería Los Cocuyos; the Plaza de la Ciudadela, in Colonia Juárez, near Roma.

Local Take Get the scoop on the city from four insiders. tony moxham and mauricio paniagua

Co-owners, DFC design

I l l u s t r at I o n s B y l a u r e n n a s s e F

Our favorite museum is Anahuacalli (museoanahuacalli.org.mx), a modern pyramid of volcanic rock built by Diego Rivera; it houses the artist’s quirky collection of preHispanic works. The Museo Tamayo (museotamayo.org) was recently renovated—it has our favorite design shop. And the legendary Centro candy store Dulcería de Celaya (dulceriadecelaya.com) is an Art Nouveau gem; we always get the panqué de elote (cornbread pudding).

Best Spots for Viewing Art

carla Jorge valleJo

fernandez

Chef, Quintonil

Fashion designer

My go-to lunch spot is Las Cazuelas de la Abuela (52-55/5683-8720), a traditional fonda that serves delicious peneques. It’s a kind of deep-fried quesadilla with pipián (pumpkin-seed sauce). For tacos, don’t miss Centro’s Taquería Los Cocuyos (52-55/ 5518-4231; M$80), where the specialty is offal, or El Califa (elcalifa.com.mx; M$300), in Condesa. Another must-stop: the Mercado de xochimilco

(60 Avda. Morelos) for farm-fresh produce and the city’s best barbacoa de borrego (slow-cooked lamb).

My boutique is in Polanco, but Roma is where I live. The neighborhood is full of small design shops and quaint bookstores. Sangre de Mi Sangre (sdemis.com) sells beautiful jewelry by designer Mariana Villarreal; she uses offbeat images such as skulls to make one-of-a-kind pieces. Vintage hOE (52-55/6275-5424) is a wonderful spot for cocktail dresses and leather purses. On weekends, I take my kids to Plaza de La Ciudadela to watch the danzón, a traditional dance from the eastern state of Veracruz.

hilario Galguera (galeriahilariogalguera.com), in san rafael, shows international stars such as Damien Hirst, as well as Mexican artists (Bosco Sodi; Daniel Lezama). • A hangar-like space, Luis Adelantado (luisadelantadomexico.com), in nuevo polanco, is known for largescale installations. • Labor (labor.org.mx) hosts contemporary exhibits across from the Casa Luis Barragán. • Mexican artists including Gabriel Orozco are championed at Kurimanzutto (kurimanzutto.com). • Opening this fall: the David Chipperfield–designed Colección Jumex (lacoleccionjumex.org), with works by olafur eliasson, tacita dean and dieter roth.

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STRATEGiES Savings Survey 118…Recover in Style 119…SciFi Surgeries 120…The Best in the Biz 121…and more

let’s get medical Bill Bredesen investigates the top destinations, most popular procedures and biggest savings in our look at medical tourism in Southeast Asia. “Sun, Sand and Surgery.” For years, it’s been the clichéd headline of choice for articles on medical tourism, as though patients who undergo heart bypass surgery in an exotic foreign country can hardly wait to unhook themselves from their hospital monitors and plop down underneath a beach umbrella, frosty daiquiri in hand. The reality is typically more complicated. Yes, people travel the globe in search of more affordable health care, but that isn’t their sole motivating factor. Increasingly, quality drives this booming worldwide industry, and it’s the combination of the two (reliability and low price tags) that has made places like Thailand, Malaysia and India the destinations of choice for international medical tourists. According to the International Medical Travel Journal, Asia-Pacific’s medical tourism industry likely hauled in more than US$4.4 billion in 2012. By 2015, the region could represent more than one-third of the global market. Whether patients are seeking a new knee, a new face or even a new gender, hospitals across Asia are not only equipped to provide these services– they’re often the best in the world at what they do. And, yes, beautiful beaches and magnificent cost savings often help to clinch the deal.

Illustrated by Wasinee Chantakorn

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medical tourism savings survey

They say travel can be transformative, and with medical tourism that’s not just a figure of speech. Here’s a look at some of the most popular procedures and how Asia’s prices stack up to those in the U.S. Rates are estimates, as costs are affected by a number of factors and vary by facility. Blepharoplasty (eyelid surgery) U.S. $4,500

Laser Eye Surgery

Thailand $1,200 (upper and lower)

Malaysia $1,000

U.S. $4,400

Facelift U.S. $10,000

Coronary Bypass

Malaysia $3,300

U.S. $144,000

U.S. $12,400

India $6,500

U.S. $35,000

India $9,000

hip Replacement U.S. $50,000

Thailand (Yanhee Hospital) $18,780

India $8,000

Knee Replacement

Sex Change (M2F)

U.S. $48,000

Thailand (Yanhee Hospital) $7,770

India $7,000

Lipoplasty U.S. $3,000

U.S. $100,000

Gastric Bypass

Singapore $8,000

Sex Change (F2M) U.S. $50,000

Spinal Fusion

India $5,200

Fertility Treatment

U.S. $7,00024,000

Korea $2,000

Korea $2,500

Breast Augmentation U.S. $7,000

nose Job U.S. $4,500

chaching

how much can you save? Using U.S. costs across a range of popular procedures as a benchmark, here are the average ranges of savings in the region. india 65-90 percent malaysia 65-80 percent thailand 50-70 percent turkey 50-65 percent taiwan 40-55 percent korea 30-45 percent singapore 30-45 percent

Thailand $2,000

*source: patients Beyond Borders * prices are listed in us dollars.

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Recover in Style The allure of Asian hospitality is undeniable: What better place to relax and recuperate than a tropical beachfront? To capture a bigger share of Asia’s booming medical tourism market, hospitals and hotels now regularly team up to provide travel packages pre- or post-treatment.

india

DIY at ho

R A D i S S O n B L U P L A z A D E L h i — Last year, the Radisson Blu’s R the Spa became the first spa in a major hotel to be accredited by the National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers. radissonblu.com; doubles from Rs8,750. T h E L E E L A G OA—The Indian beach resort is set on 30 pristine hectacres. The Leela’s spa offers a range of Ayurvedic treatments and daily yoga sessions, as well as in-house recovery therapists. theleela.com; Rs10,000.

malaysia

G h O T E L P E n A n G — An urban retreat in George Town, G Hotel is noted for its privacy and comfort. The hotel is conveniently located near two of the city’s main hospitals. ghotel.com.my; doubles from RM450.

thailand

R OyA L P h U K E T yAC h T C L U B — A hideaway on Phuket’s southwest coast, the yacht club is secluded, peaceful and enjoys marvelous views of Naiharn Beach. The hotel recently partnered with Phuket International Hospital. theroyalphuketyachtclub.com; doubles from Bt8,500. J W M A R R i OT T h OT E L B A n G KO K— For patients who might need follow-up medical attention in Bangkok, this luxury hotel is just a few blocks from Bumrungrad International Hospital, one of Thailand’s top medical tourism facilities. There’s no beach here, but the bustling area has plenty to see and do. marriott.com; doubles from Bt7,400.

korea

philippines

Set in the city’s wealthy Gangnam district (yes, that Gangnam district), this 375-room luxury property has long catered to cosmetic surgery patients. Possum Prestige, an antiaging clinic and spa, made headlines last year when they offered a US$88,000 medical tourism package at the Ritz. ritzcarlton.com; doubles from W270,000.

The hotel recently opened a first-of-its-kind health and aesthetic institute providing services like advanced weight-management tools (such as Calloblock, which naturally binds carbs and fats in food, and helps speed up metabolism), anti-aging courses, skin treatments, facials and more. sofitel.com; doubles from PHP5,850.

T h E R i T z- C A R LT O n S E O U L

h OT E L S O F i T E L P h i L i P P i n E P L A z A

indonesia

C O n R A D B A L i — Indonesia’s medical tourism industry is still in a development phase, but the Conrad Bali is a magnet for after-care rest and recuperation. The hotel recently joined forces with Bali International Medical Centre (BIMC) to attract a larger number of overseas medical travelers. conradbali.com; doubles from US$233.

singapore

OA S i A h O T E L S i n G A P O R E — Located amid the Novena Medical Center, Novena Specialist Center, Tan Tock Seng Hospital and the Mount Elizabeth at Novena Hospital, Oasia is as modern as it is convenient. stayfareast.com; doubles from S$238.

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medical tourism SciFi Surgeries Asia is leading the medical technology race: Robotic doctors perform surgeries, genders are reassigned and faces are contoured to look like Korean pop stars. if it all sounds like a futuristic movie, well, we can only agree.

robotic surgeons

At India’s Apollo Hospitals, futuristic surgery theaters are outfitted with four-armed robotic surgeons, part of the Da Vinci Si Surgical system, the world’s most advanced platform for minimally invasive surgery. They provide 3-D high-definition images, with up to 10 times magnification, visible through tiny incisions of just 2 centimeters. The machines are used for a range of advanced cardiology, urology, gynecology and neurology procedures. apollohospitals.com/ robotic-surgery.php.

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gender Benders

In recent years, Southeast Asia has gained a reputation as a leader in male-to-female and (yes, they can) female-to-male sex change operations. One of the region’s best-known treatment facilities, Yanhee Hospital in Bangkok performs some 300 operations each year. Male-to-female procedures cost US$7,770, while female-to-male operations, which require multiple stages and more than a year to complete, are twice that, around US$18,780. yanhee.net/ treatment-procedure/ srt-mtf.

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the Face of k-pop

The world-renowned BK Plastic Surgery Hospital in Seoul offers to give you an entirely different, well, you. You’re especially in luck if you want to replicate the look of your favorite Korean pop star. The facility performs a staggering array of cosmetic procedures, including some you probably didn’t know existed, from non-incisional double eyelid surgery to square jaw reduction, forehead contouring to short nose extensions. english. bkhospital.com.

Back me up

Using a small instrument known as an endoscope, doctors at Bumrungrad International Hospital in Thailand are at the leading edge of minimally invasive spine surgeries. Requiring just an 8-millimeter incision, the endoscope works by visualizing a patient’s spine from the inside-out using light and water, and it’s primarily used to treat disc herniation and lateral spinal stenosis. Recovery times are vastly improved and healthy surrounding tissues are less vulnerable to damage. bumrungrad.com/en/ institute-spine-surgerythailand/endoscopiclumbar-discectomy.

hip Check

Fortis Hospital in Bangalore was named the world’s top hospital for medical tourists in 2012 by the Medical Travel Quality Alliance, praising the facility for its “excellent surgery options for medical travelers seeking orthopedic procedures including hip resurfacing and replacement.” The report added that Fortis “has exemplary follow-up care and services to monitor American medical travelers once they return home.” mtqua.org/providers/top10-worlds-best-hospitalsfor-medical-tourists-list.

the Best in the Biz

medical tourist arrivals 2012

The Medical Travel Quality Alliance ranked the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s best hospitals for medical tourists in 2012 and Southeast Asia dominated the top 10 list:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Thailand 673,000

Fortis hospital Bangalore, India Gleneagles hospital singapore Shouldice hospital thornhill, Canada

Malaysia 600,000

Wooridul Spine hospital seoul, korea Asklepios Klinik Barmbek hamburg, germany Bumrungrad international Bangkok, thailand

Singapore 500,000

Barcelona Medical Centre Barcelona, spain Bangkok hospital Bangkok, thailand

South Korea 150,000

Clemenceau Medical Center Beirut, lebanon Anadolu Medical Center Istanbul, turkey

Turkey 130,000

(special mention to Prince Court hospital Centre and Sime Darby Medical Centre Subang Jayaâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;both in kuala lumpur).

nip, tuck

doctors in Asia perform the highest number of plastic surgery procedures each year, out-competing all other continents. And just what are people having done? Here, a snapshot of cosmetic surgeries in the region.

numbers are estimates, drawn from a variety of sources.

procedures per 1,000 population, 2011 0

south korea taiwan japan

non-invasive skin and hair

thailand

invasive Breast Face

china

Fat rest of body

india sources: International society of aethetic plastic surgeons; un; The Economist

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Last Look

Photographed by Alex Treadway

Mount Everest

One Careful Step at a Time one of the most treacherous sections en route to the summit comes early on: the khumbu Ice Field, where climbers must traverse seracs, crevasses and constantly shifting blocks of ice.

Mother Goddess of the Earth may is the best month for attempts on mount everest, the highest mountain on earth, a peak that has been reached by more than 3,000 climbers—the vast majority since 2000.

“Eastern People” Indispensible when it comes to ferrying climbing gear and setting the route on mount everest are nepal’s sherpa mountain guides. apa sherpa, here, has reached the summit 21 times.

Camping on high night falls over everest Base Camp in nepal, which is located at 5,380 meters and marks the starting point of the serious climbing at the bottom of the khumbu Ice Field.

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