October 2014 by Travel + Leisure Southeast Asia

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Contents Special

pho t ogr a phed by r ich a r d

90 Dream Trips We asked our followers on Facebook and Twitter, as well as other seasoned travelers, to share their ultimate getaways. Here, our advice on how to turn a wish into a reality. Plus The trips that are on T+L editors’ bucket lists.

mcleish . m a p a n d gu ide

Features

COURTESY OF SIX SENSES L A AMU

108 Blue Crush The Maldives isn’t all tranquil lagoons: its atolls rock some gnarly waves carving a burgeoning surf culture. Top to southern tip, cain nunns catches a break or two. guide page 113

Hang ten at Laamu Atoll, in the Maldives, page 108.

114 New Zealand Grand Cru On a wine-soaked road-trip through the North Island, j en in n e lee st . joh n uncorks a deluge of new world vintages, panoramic Pacific vistas—and a latent love of Chardonnay.

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123

124 Infinite Solitude Sprawling and enigmatic Mongolia is a land of steppes, deserts, cliffs and more than a handful of intriguing characters. m a delin e gr essel tracks the country’s conservation efforts, along with the omnipresent ghost of Genghis Khan. pho t ogr a phed by m a rc ch a fii a n . m a p page

130

132 Aloha, Maui! Driving around this classic island destination, j u li a ch a plin finds a New-Age melting pot of roadside organic farm stands, bohemian-chic artist communities and sustainable luxury resorts—Hawaii for the next generation. pho t ogr a phed by mish a gr av enor . m a p a n d gu ide page

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Contents Radar 25 Palawan by Paraw Cruising on an ancient Philippine craft. 34 Bali’s Bounty Locavore eateries. 36 Spirits of Old Siam Boutique hotelhopping through Thailand’s northeast. 48 Beach Bound Style for the sand and surf.

Plus Phuket by gyrocopter; what flying reveals about your seatmates; a perfect moment at a new Great Barrier Reef resort; eco-friendly transport; and more.

Trip Doctor

66 Travel Solutions Making the most of a layover; green sporting gear; road-trip apps; planning a child-free getaway; and more. 76 Strategies Business Travel Trend Report: T+L and Fortune teamed up to look at the world of today’s road warrior. 84 Deals Hotel specials.

Decoder

140 Our Definitive Guide to Taipei

Last Look

146 Tibet The annual Litang Horse Festival. In Every Issue t +l digi ta l

e d i t o r ’s n o t e

con tr ibu tor s

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140 12

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On the Cover In Lhasa, Tibet, among the 50 Dream Trips we feature this month, sunrise shadows stretch over the Potala Palace. Photographed by Merten Snijders.

C L O C K W I S E F R O M T O P L E F T: S A N N E M E I J B O O M ; P H I L I P F R I E D M A N ; K AT H E R I N E J A C K ; C O U R T E S Y O F S P O T H U A S H A N C I N E M A ; C O U R T E S Y O F L O C A V O R E

52 Local Living Close-up cultural encounters.

T+L Digital #MyWGF Readers and editors shared their favorite snapshots of the 15th World Gourmet Festival on Instagram. — instagram.com/travelandleisureasia

Download Us T+L Tablet Edition

1. 2 T+L SOUTHEAST ASIA 50 DREAM TRIPS / NEW ZEALAND WINE TOUR / MONGOLIA / TRENDY TAIPEI / MALDIVES / HAWAII

A trip around the world ending on a private island with the whitest sand beaches and the clearest ocean water with luxury surrounding me!

↑

What is your ultimate dream trip?

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—@SHAKITA DENNISCHAIN

SOUTHEAST ASIA

OCTOBER 2014

NEW ZEALAND UNCORKED SURF’S UP IN... THE MALDIVES

FEELING THE BUZZ OF TAIPEI

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

DREAM TRIPS

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Land+air+sea. Ride in a hot air balloon or go skydiving, cruise in Europe, and take an African safari.

9/12/2557 BE 11:50 AM

Available on IOS, Android, Win 8 and Zinio Desktop Reader.

↑ Get the October issue now.

—@DHEARLIE BALBA

A few weeks split between Turkey and Greece! Start in Istanbul exploring the old mosques and baths, drinking wine and socializing with locals at trendy cafés. Then, hop over to Greece to be a beach bum on the shores of Mykonos and Santorini, and to take in historic Athens.

— Visit Us

travelandleisureasia.com ↓

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This Month’s Top Lists 4 Affordable Beach Hotels 6 Places to See Live Music in KL 6 Delicious Dishes in Siem Reap

—@RYAN MCHARDY

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Adventure in the Philippines, sightseeing in Thailand, Bali beaches, taking in Malaysian culture... and a selfie in Cambodia.

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Visit the Southeast Asian countries I haven’t been to: the Philippines, Brunei, Laos. I’d see more of Indonesia and Vietnam, with layovers in Singapore for eating and Bangkok for exploring. —@SCOTT MCINTIRE

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5 6.

1. Chef Hideaki Sato’s Peach Candy. (@ p p g a l l e r y) 2. Black cod, Batata Brava and Cod Cheek Emulsion by chef João Rodrigues. (@ p e t e _ p e r a pat) 3. Capturing the evening. (@ n i n g w o r l d) 4. Egg custard with aori squid and radishes from chef Sato. (@ f s b a n g ko k ) 5. Four Seasons’ mandarin jelly. (@ k u g e n e r s e r g e ) 6. Chef James Viles brings the sweeter side of science to dessert. (@ f s b a n g ko k )

—

Share your favorite food photos on Instagram and tag them with #TLAsia for a chance to be featured in the magazine.

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Editor’s Note

October 2014

Where We’re Going Kyoto Mumbai Siem Reap Sri Lanka

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.

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N A P AT R A V E E W AT

WHERE TO FIND ME

chrisk@mediatransasia.com @CKucway on Twitter

t’s never too early—or too late—to plan a dream trip. In fact, our ethos is that you always should be plotting your next great escape. This year at Travel+Leisure, we’ve asked readers from around the world to tell us where they’ve always wanted to go, and the list of vacations couldn’t be more mouthwatering. Covering every corner of the globe, 50 Dream Trips (page 90) includes what you might consider usual suspects but there are also a few curves. A safari in South Africa always sounds like a great idea (and it is), but have you ever pictured wandering around Jaisalmer in colorful Rajasthan? Getting lost in that fascinating desertencircled medieval outpost is an experience I can recommend highly. Of course, the list of such journeys is as expansive as our own imaginations, so please let us know your own personal travel goals. That’s always a great conversation. Elsewhere in this, our annual green issue, we look at conservation efforts taking place in Mongolia (“Infinite Solitude,” page 124). You might not think that one of the world’s most remote nations needs the help, but as writer Madeline Gressel finds while wandering this vast wilderness, Mongolia is in an ongoing battle to protect its way of life, while becoming part of the modern world. The challenge of balancing old world and new is a fitting segue to talk about southern hemisphere wines. In “New Zealand Grand Cru” (page 114), features editor Jeninne Lee-St. John showcases a delectable tour of vineyards that we should all take at some point—though don’t be surprised when the architecture, local characters and natural beauty all play on your imagination as much as that last glass of Pinot Noir. Preserving the paraws of Palawan, surveying Phuket from a gyroplane and eating your way through Bali’s new-look local restaurants are a few of the other stories to whet your appetite this month. Wherever it is you always thought you wanted to go, new horizons are always welcome and, if you’re like me, it’s just a question of narrowing down exactly which trip to take first. Once you do, please let us know how it turned out. We may need to add it to our own wanderlust wish list. —c h r i st oph e r k uc way

exotic & idyllic retreat

Contributors

...where life is a private celebration

Madeline Gressel — Writer “Infinite Solitude” Page 124

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Paul Ehrlich — Writer “Flights of Fancy” Page 32

Julia Chaplin — Writer Aloha Maui! page 132

Aerial Phuket Everything looks better from this high. The familiar becomes extraordinary. What a thrill being in an open-air flying machine—it’s as close as you can be to a soaring bird without growing feathers. Gyropilot-to-be? It actually isn’t that hard to steer, but a lot of technical training is required, of course. “A sexy motorcycle”? Those are dangerous words in motoloving Thailand… Perhaps it could help Bangkok’s traffic problem if more people had gyrocopters to get around! Next excursion Just got back from Maldives, where the fish-filled waters are clear as glass. Next: Manhattan to write—and to fill up on pastrami, knishes and bagels.

Maui’s allure lies in... The coexistence of luxury and nature. Cool hotel design The sandpit lobby at the Andaz Maui. It has all the playfulness of retro tiki without the kitsch. Don’t leave Hawaii without... Going on a barefoot hike. Worth a taste Maui Kombucha, in Haiku, serves wacky flavors of homemade kombucha like pineapple-chili and ginger-lilikoi. Souvenir A 1970’s photograph by John Severson of a man wearing a loincloth in the Maui outback, from the Puka Puka gallery in Paia, which makes my house in Brooklyn feel a bit more aloha. A perfect day in Maui involves... Swimming in the ocean, eating lots of fresh fruit and getting a lomilomi massage.

C L O C K W I S E F R O M T O P : C O U R T E S Y O F M A D E L I N E G R E S S E L ; D A N I E L E A L B R I G H T/ C O U R T E S Y O F J U L I A C H A P L I N ; C O U R T E S Y O F P A U L E H R L I C H

Mongolia feels like... The end of the world. It’s answered to the same rhythms for centuries. The steady austerity of a nomad’s days is incredible. Eco-hero Tsetsegee Munkhbayar, like Genghis Khan, was raised herding yaks on the Onggi River. Now he’s responsible for revivifying the Gobi’s water systems and launching a national movement. Fond memory One night, the kind staff at Three Camel Lodge put on a documentary about a baby bactrian rejected by his mother, The Story of the Weeping Camel. We ate sugar-dusted pastry straight from the oven and they helped me choose a cashmere sweater for my mother. Culinary surprise I became addicted to khuushuur, fried lamb dumplings.

Inbox “Sleepless in Seville” [August] transported me to the year I spent in that city—a whirlwind of late-night dancing, delicious tapas and unforgettable people. —Ashley Horne

Bella Napoli

Malaysian Melting Pot

While the ultimate measure of a pizza is not in how it looks, the pie from Bangkok’s mobile-oven Pizza-Aroy [“Meals on Wheels,” April] looks pretty darn fine. I’ll check it out this week. —Greg Anderson

Thanks for highlighting Penang’s Little India [“Hidden India,” April]. Malaysia is very underrated; it has so much to offer. —Colin King

Delightful Debauchery

I want to do a Sunday Nikki Beach brunch [“Sunday Fun Day,” May] soon when it cools down! —Olivia Maskof

Glad you talked to Mark Callahan [“Asian Libations: Singa-Pours,” April]. Oh, this guy is a legend. And I love Singapore. —Vivek Nair

Land on the Rise

Airport Advice

I’m happy to see Kyoto is this year’s top city [“World’s Best Awards,” August 2014]. Immersing in a world like Japan... what’s not to love about it? It’s where you can be somewhere modern and historic all at the same time. Don’t even get me started with the food. Pure heaven. —Car Chua

I love the design of KLIA2 [“One Happening Hub,” August]—but the interior flow needs looking into, and the proof is in the quality of maintenance. —Juliana Mohn Hashir

C H R I S T O P H E R T E S TA N I

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Metamorphosis, an Hermès story

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Radar News. Finds. Opinions. Obsessions.

The hand-built Balatik ship sets sail through Palawan.

a dv e n t u r e

PALAWAN BY PARAW

The aged craft of paraw boat building is coming alive again in the Philippines. Isobel Diamond boards the just-finished Balatik for a voyage through Bacuit Bay and Palawan’s remote northerly islands. ➔

P HOTOG R A P H ED BY K AT H ERIN E JAC K

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Radar

Clockwise from above: Cruising Palawan’s waters; local carvers etch detailed traditional motifs into the Balatik; night sails are lit from stars above and marine phosphorescence below; relaxing on board.

I first met this ship a year ago. She was little more than wooden bones docked in the mouth of the Babuyan River, in a jungle clearing on the outskirts of Puerto Princesa. It was a thrilling sight: her bare, coffee-brown timber engraved in intricate patterns by the local Palawan tribe. Built entirely by hand, the exquisite craftsmanship hearkens back to the 11th century when 22-meter paraws were an invaluable commodity in Palawan, transporting cargo on pre-Hispanic trade routes. The skills to build, sail and navigate were vital art forms handed down through generations. But as engines came, sailing went, and the full-sized paraw vanished from the seas. As the centuries passed, marine artistry faded from the mainstream, but a niche group of craftsmen kept sailing and boatbuilding skills alive. One

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such artisan, Gener Paduga, ran expeditions on a small, self-built paraw in Honda Bay, Palawan’s eastern shore. In the quest to build a large-scale version of this native double-outrigger boat, and bring this lost chapter of Filipino history back to life, he joined forces with local expedition company, Tao, and the Balatik (Orion) was born. From a stately skeleton, Paduga and his team have built a vessel so striking it turns heads. As sleek as a Viking ship, her creamy sails billow from the 13-meter mast and the outriggers outstretch three meters across the ocean like giant insect legs. Today, I’m embarking on a three-day expedition aboard the Balatik, which began tours this May. It is a peerless adventure on the only sailboat in Palawan taking guests to both the secluded islands of the remote north and across the karst-studded landscapes of Bacuit Bay.

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Palawan Province is a unesco Biosphere Reserve; its ecology is astounding and diverse. As annual visitor numbers increase, protection and care of the region become all the more important, making sustainability central to Tao’s tourism approach. Sailboats can play a part in protecting Palawan’s environment by reducing pollution caused by engine use. Out of season the Balatik will be a tool to teach local communities sailing and boatbuilding skills, reigniting a passion for lost traditions. On the Balatik journey, accompanied by three fellow guests, I cruise among karsts and forest-capped islets and lie on bone-white beaches in empty coves. On Daracaton, a tiny fishing island, we greet villagers and watch children racing toy boats in the shallows. In Bacuit Bay we clamber through cool, dark caves and snorkel among

Jurassic coral gardens and schools of brilliant fish. We swim in the evenings, dazzled by plankton glowing brighter than disco lights against the inky sea. Each night I sleep as if soothed by a lullaby. We stay both on board the ship in cabin bunks below deck and in wooden cabanas in Tao basecamps dotted across the archipelago. It is the snapshot of an era past, the drama of prehistoric scenery and the thrill of sailing that should point every explorer towards this Palawan voyage. Aboard the Balatik, plucked from antiquity, a gentle calm sets in, and the ageless splendors of nature seem closer, somehow, within reach. Book the five-day, four-night Paraw Expedition through Tao Philippines; taophilippines.com; P26,500 per person, including full board and a donation to Tao Kalahi Foundation projects, the company’s charitable arm. +

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ON ISLAND TIME Catching a blackfin tuna in the Caribbean. Right: Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward at Jamaica’s Round Hill.

Escape: The Heyday of Caribbean Glamour (Rizzoli) chronicles the birth

of the palm-lined playgrounds and extravagant, colonial-style resorts that fueled fascination with the tropics in the United States. Ernest Hemingway poses with the day’s catch (swordfish) in Bimini; the Duke and Duchess of Windsor play cards in their tassel-andtoile-filled Nassau living room; Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward take a straw-hatted holiday at Jamaica’s Round Hill. All of it proves that elemental truth: tans may fade, but the lure of paradise is forever. —k athryn o ’shea-evans b e au t y

SCENTS OF PLACE

Our favorite new fragrances are inspired by destinations near and far. 1 The windswept shores of

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England lie at the heart of Jo Malone’s Wood Sage & Sea Salt collection: a driftwoodand-white-musk base evokes rugged cliffs and ocean breezes. jomalone.com; from US$60. 2 Van Cleef & Arpels’ California Rêverie combines jasmine with beeswax, vanilla and mandarin orange for a sunbaked scent that channels Big Sur.

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neimanmarcus.com; US$185. 3 Acqua di Parma cultivated a special centifola rose in Piedmont, Italy, for Rosa Nobile Eau de Parfum. Added in: lily of the valley, peony and violet, plus bergamot and pepper notes. saks fifthavenue.com; from US$120. 4 On a trip to southwestern France, the founders of Fresh fell in love with the eponymous flower in Honeysuckle Eau

de Parfum, blending it with magnolia, black currant and peach. qvc.com; US$88. 5 The Turkish damascena rose in Armani/Privé’s Rose d’Arabie Swarovski Edition transports you to the Middle East. The extract is mixed with hints of vanilla and Arabian woods. giorgioarmanibeauty.com; available in November; US$460. —k atie james

F R O M T O P : E M O R Y K R I S T O F/ N AT I O N A L G E O G R A P H I C C R E AT I V E ; C O U R T E S Y O F R O U N D H I L L H O T E L & V I L L A S ; C O U R T E S Y O F J O M A L O N E ; C O U R T E S Y O F VA N C L E E F & A R P E L S ; C O U R T E S Y O F A R M A N I ; C O U R T E S Y O F F R E S H ; C O U R T E S Y O F A Q U A D I PA R M A

Movie stars, heiresses, tycoons— in the early to mid 20th century, they turned the Caribbean into the American Riviera. Hermes Mallea’s

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BACKYARD BIA HOI All the fun of a street-side bar transported to a beautiful bamboo beer garden. Katie Jacobs swings by for a swig and some seasonal snacks.

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Em oi, mot bia nua! This phrase, meaning “another beer please,” is practically the motto of Hanoi’s popular sidewalk beer culture, better known as bia hoi. Every evening these street-side establishments hawk cheap ales and snacks to revelers in tiny plastic chairs thronging the pavement. And though part of the fun is kicking back at the waitress’s knee level among discarded peanut shells and all the city bustle, there’s a new spot aiming to bring you a tall, frosty glass of upscale serenity without losing the communal vibe. Set in a veggie patch in the heart of West Lake district, BackYard Bia Hoi “is really more of a beer garden than traditional bia hoi: it’s a place where people can relax, meet friends and feel nourished,” says Pete Wilkes, founder of TET Lifestyle Collection, a boutique hospitality company rooted in responsible tourism. That nourishment comes tangibly in the form of seasonal drinks and Vietnamese dishes made from ingredients that are locally sourced or grown on the company’s private 65-hectare organic farm just outside the capital. “Right now we are offering

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some great summer noodle salads as well as a mojito of pressed sugar cane juice and fresh pomelo-infused rum,” Wilkes says. But BackYard Bia Hoi is also aiming to feed the soul. The hand-hewn seating is accented with textiles created by local minority women who attend the Collection’s regular life-skills and handicraft workshops. The tranquil setting, flanked by towering palm trees, includes an outdoor bar as well as a koi pond complete with noisy frogs. In fact, stepping through the bamboo gate entrance and walking past the flickering light of kerosene lamps, patrons get the sense they’re entering a lush garden paradise—one in which the temptations include drafts of not just classic Hanoi lager but also microbrewed black stout and honey pilsner. “We wanted to reinvent the bia hoi experience,” Wilkes says. “We want to offer more than just a meal; we want there to be a connection.” Fused over another beer, of course. BackYard Bia Hoi; 15/50 Quang Khanh St., Hanoi, Vietnam; tet-lifestylecollection.com/backyard; dinner and beers for two VND350,000. +

C O U R T E S Y O F B A C K YA R D B I A H O I (4)

Clockwise from below: Afternoon drinks at BackYard Bia Hoi; pull up a stool and help yourself to a... banana; the local noodle salad is a favorite; festive outdoor movie screenings draw a crowd.

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escape

FLIGHTS OF FANCY Sometimes great adventures come in small packages. Paul Ehrlich boards a pint-sized gyroplane to experience the newest way to see Phuket. I am 300 meters in the air in a gleaming, canary yellow, outsize toy plane. Below, the scenic scope of Thailand’s largest island, Phuket, is spread out in spectacular views of stately villas, luxury resorts, sun-glinting swimming pools and green hillsides. “Even the party town of Patong looks good from this height,” quips the pilot. We now cruise at a slow speed along a soft-sanded beach low enough to look right into sunbathing faces, and then take a graceful turn out over the aquamarine Andaman Sea. The view is arresting, spectacular. By The Air, the country’s sole distributor of the German-import AutoGyro Cavalon, provides 30-minute trial flights over Phuket and 60-minute flights to the nearby islands, including Khao Phing Kan, better known as James Bond Island, where it just so happens that 007 flies an autogyro nicknamed Little Nellie in the movie You Only Live Twice. The diminutive craft can fly up to five hours—or

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650 kilometers—on a full tank of gas, so it also can be booked for longer aerial adventures, such as to Koh Samui or any nearby island with an airport, but since you can’t bring any luggage, it is better suited to sightseeing tours than practical transport. Also called a gyroplane or gyrocopter, the two-seats-side-by-side, high-tech Cavalon, winner of the 2012 Red Dot Design Award and 2014 German Design Award, is a hybrid helicopter and fixed-wing aircraft, using an unpowered rotor to develop lift and an engine-powered propeller to provide thrust. The Rotax engine is considered more environmentally friendly than some other types of engines and can reach maximum speeds of 160 kilometers per hour. The sensation? It’s like riding on waves of wind, or astride a big, sexy motorcycle on a road of air. While the Cavalon, the craft I flew in, has no doors, the tandem MTOsport,

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another model in their fleet, also has no roof, just a windshield in front for the ultimate one-with-the-sky experience. The adrenaline-fueled, extreme-sport rush is sky high, so for those who find the flight addictive, By The Air has an aviation school for full gyro pilot licenses and a mini starter course that can be continued. Who says only Bond gets all the great gadgets? T+L TIP Everything is photogenic, so go fully charged with extra camera batteries and memory-card space. Or even better, ask By the Air to add a GoPro Hero camera to video your flight, at no additional cost, freeing you for heavenly views. + By the Air; 66-93/592-7558; facebook.com/ bytheair; 30-minute flights Bt9,000, 60-minute flights Bt14,000; gyro pilot aviation starter courses from Bt28,000.

P HOTOG R A P H ED BY JOH N H .

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BALI’S BOUNTY + Merah Putih is named for Locavore’s philosophy is as the colors of the Indonesian clean and green as its flag so it makes sense that aesthetic. Eelke Plasmeijer, chefs Kieran Morland and one of the chefs and coWayan Mustika source their owners, says about 95 key ingredients, barring percent of their ingredients only the red meat, from all are sourced within across the archipelago. This Indonesia, much from Bali. may be the most stunning Using produce from their place on the island to try gardens and their own Balinese specialty babi free-range pigs—plus some guling (suckling pig) but items from Java, Lombok leave room for desserts such and Sumbawa—meals such as the tart with young as pork loin with coconut panna cotta and caramelized pineapple, mango sorbet. With a local mulberry jus and spinach fruit focus, dessert and are wowing crowds.“We drink menus change simply don’t believe guests regularly. merahputihbali. are traveling to Bali to eat the ingredients they can find com; dinner for two Rp490,000. + From the team at home,” Plasmeijer says. behind Ku De Ta, Mejekawi restaurantlocavore.com; degustation menu, Rp425,000. offers five- and 12-course

tasting menus that and honey to get into the showcase Bali at its best. We island mood. cucaflavor.com; love the Balinese-style pepes, tasting menu Rp480,000. + Penny Williams opened a charcoal-singed banana Bali Asli near the island’s leaf packet of barramundi highest peak, Gunung and slipper lobster mousse. Agung, in homage to the Acclaimed pastry chef Will Goldfarb works his magic on local cuisine. Williams says freshness is key to creating desserts: think caramelized Earl Grey tea with cinnamon, the complexity of flavor in pomelo and red wine. kudeta. Balinese cooking: “It was an obvious choice to source all net/mejekawi; five-course my produce from the local tasting menu Rp590,000. + Cuca uses exclusively local morning market, our garden, ingredients to create a global my staff’s gardens or my variety of tasty tapas. We’re neighbors’ gardens.” Expect fans of their honey-baked to see fresh young fern tips pumpkin salad with yogurt, plucked from nearby gullies, wing beans, coconut granola locally made tofu and and tarragon. And while the neighborhood gardenfood is fab, the drinks are grown sweet potatos on the even better—try the “iced menu. baliasli.com.au; nasi rose” of hibiscus, brandy campur for two Rp260,000.+

Clockwise from top left: Produce at Locavore is locally sourced; pretty plating at Mejekawi; menus change regularly at Merah Putih; “iced rose” from Cuca; on the terrace at Bali Asli.

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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 L O C A V O R E ; C O U R T E S Y O F M E J E K A W I ; C O U R T E S Y O F M E R A H P U T I H ; C O U R T E S Y O F C U C A ; C O U R T E S Y O F B A L I A S L I

Forget the fois gras; toss the truffles—higher-end restaurants in Bali are pivoting towards the island’s plentiful local produce for fresh flavor. Here, five new favorites. By Holly McDonald

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SPIRITS OF OLD SIAM

Clockwise from top: On the mighty Mekong; a playful pair of Phi Ta Khon puppets; tea with dragons at Supanniga Home; a fireball festival in Dan Sai.

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Shake clean the mental Etch a Sketch of flip-flop clad tourists, powdery beaches and turquoise waters that you picture when you think of Thailand; Isan is a different world. In the country’s largest region, the culture revolves around farming, the ebb and flow of the Mekong, the changing cycles of the moon. Each month is celebrated with a different festival to appease the ghosts and honor the gods, daily life is guided by the strictures of superstitions and spiritualism, and meals are fueled by the hot and sour flavors that mark Isan cuisine as some of Thailand’s most fiery. In a territory still largely uncharted by your Agodas and Airbnbs, finding accommodation in Isan has always been a challenge. Now, three small-scale properties have teamed up to form the Isan Boutique Collection, taking the guesswork out of building an itinerary across this sprawl of terrain and offering travelers a chili-rich taste of old Siam. My four-day expedition begins with a 450-kilometer drive from Bangkok to Dan Sai. Along the way we stop for lunch, a feast packed with Isan specialties: larb ped (spicy minced ➔

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 M E K O N G V I L L A S ; J O D Y C H E N ; N AT H A L I E G U T E R M A N N ( 2 )

Three boutique hotels have partnered up to offer an insider’s tour of Thailand’s largest territory. Merritt Gurley travels the northeast.

Clockwise from top: Charm and style at Supanniga Home; miang kum salad at Phunacome Resort; a resident buffalo grazes at Phunacome; traditional stilted houses at Mekong Villas; clicking on a kayak.

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duck salad), gai yang (grilled chicken served with hot chili sauce), pla som (sour fish), and khao niew (sticky rice). Though the food is phenomenal and the highways are smooth sailing, a six-hour road trip in Thailand is not for the faint of heart. To speed things up you can fly into the airport at Loei, but it is still an hour’s drive from there to my first destination: Phunacome Resort (461 Moo 3, Ban Doen, Dan Sai District, Loei Province; 66-42/892-005; phunacomeresort.com; doubles from Bt3,000), a 20-bungalow property set on bucolic farmland. Water buffaloes graze on rolling green hills and there’s a pervasive calm that soundly slakes the city-dweller’s thirst for quiet. This dreamy outpost is all about sustainability, with organic handmade soaps; an onsite garden that supplies the restaurant; and educational programs on water conservation and waste reduction. The rooms are bright, decorated in Thai motifs, with verandas overlooking the scenic countryside. The style is basic, but brimming with warm touches like handcrafted welcome gifts. “The beauty is in the simplicity,” owner Neeracha Wongmasa tells me. Before dinner—a delectable medley of pea-flower blue rice, grilled fish, and a tart sauce made of fermented Sathorn tree leaves—Wongmasa sits me down with a group of fellow travelers for a lesson on Phi Ta Khon. This is a revered spirit in Dan Sai, where the belief system is a blend of Buddhism, Brahmanism and Animism. There’s an entire museum dedicated to Phi Ta Khon masks, which are made of rice steamers and coconut husks, sporting long curved noses and ghoulish smiles. A local artist gives us a quick tutorial, brushes, blank masks and paints. An hour later he appraises our work and offer us each a psychoanalysis based on the finished product. The girl to my right has fashioned a mask with full red lips. “Very creative,” he says, “you are cute and lovely.” The man to my left has painted a face with black stars and a Cheshire cat grin. “Very imaginative and funny,” the artist says. “You have a good sense of humor.” He picks up my mask, looks at it and frowns. “Inside you are deeply horrifying,” he proclaims. Well, damn.

C L O C K W I S E F R O M T O P : C O U R T E S Y O F S U P A N N I G A H O M E ; J O R D Y C H E N ; C O U R T E S Y O F P H U N A C O M E R E S O R T; C O U R T E S Y O F M E K O N G V I L L A S ; J O R D Y C H E N

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The next day, I go on a bike trip through Dan Sai, stopping at the home of Jao Por Kuan, the village’s spiritual leader, to try to shake this bad juju. “When I need help, I ask the spirits for their guidance, and they let me know how to make things right,” our guide translates. The spirits tell Jao Por Kuan when the festivals should fall each year and who should be involved in the celebrations. In a province where many villagers struggle to make ends meet, Joa Por Kuan says the monthly festivals help bring the community together and elevate morale. Phi Ta Khon is the biggest of the annual festivals, spanning three days, and includes firing rockets, bathing in mud, diving the river for polished stones, speaking to spirits, dancing, and all manner of merrymaking. Before leaving Dan Sai I buy a rainbow-hued Phi Ta Khon mask, to replace my own failed handiwork and bring a little countryside magic to my city center apartment. Maybe looking at it every day will elevate my morale too—it might even make me a little less horrifying inside. Next I’m shuttled farther north, to Pak Chom, for a night at the intimate six-room Mekong Villas (96 Moo 6, Leab Mekong River Rd., kilometer 53, Ban Kok Pai, Loei Province; 66-2/2221290; mekongvillas.com; doubles from Bt3,370), built on the riverfront. These Isan-style wooden houses, elevated on stilts with decks overlooking the water, appear quite traditional, but inside there are modern bathrooms, western kitchens and plush furniture. It feels more like a summer vacation home than a resort, and all of the amenities have been tailored for daily convenience. I make a beeline for the kayaks hitched along the embankment and paddle out into the mighty Mekong—which quickly proves too mighty, so I succumb to the current and float back to the villas for a leisurely read. “Isan is still relatively untouched,” Mekong Villas co-owner Narisa Chakrabongse says of the region. “It is somewhat like Thailand was 30 years ago.” Lounging in a gazebo at sunset and squinting at Laos, glimmering in the distance, I

imagine the scene wouldn’t have been much different back then. Finally, circling back down south to Khon Kaen, I end the trip with two peaceful nights at the high-design Supanniga Home (130/9 Potisarn Rd., Muang District, Khon Kaen Province; 66-89/944-4880; supannigahome.com; doubles from Bt3,840), with its three luxury villas spread across six hectares of garden land. Picture a private park with groves of fruit trees, dotted with fish ponds, and mapped in pebble walkways that lead to cottages where every detail has been accounted for, from the antique Thai furniture to the outdoor showers and waterfall walls. This stunning property is only 10 kilometers from the Khon Kaen airport and is by far the easiest of the three to access from Bangkok. Khon Kaen is a university town known for its dinosaur museum, organic silk village, and the nearby Nam Phong National Park, where you can see prehistoric cave paintings said to date back 4,000 years. The rich history of the region is almost palpable as we pull up to this impeccably manicured estate where I’m welcomed with an ancient Chinese tea ceremony. Owner Phajongkitt Laorauviroaj offers me a dainty cup and in succession pours three different varieties of Pu-erh tea, aged two years, 10 years and 25 years. “Drink quickly and drink loudly,” she says. “That is polite.” She nods to a family of dragon figurines that sits on a tray on the table. “If the tea gets cold in your cup, feed it to the dragons,” she says and pours a little of the 10-year Pu-erh over one of the small statues. “This dragon is for making money,” she tells me, then shifts her attention to another, “This dragon is for keeping money.” She spills some on to its head too: “I better share my tea with both.” Honestly, I can’t taste the difference between the three vintages, but the ritual is elegant and meditative, a perfect reflection of the setting. As I slurp my tea, I forget the mask-painter’s diagnosis and feel utterly calm.I don’t need to feed the dragons; I’ve got everything I need. To book a tour through Isan contact info@isanboutiquecollection.com. +

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THE PLANE TRUTH You don’t really know someone till you’ve flown together. By Peter Jon Lindberg

he first argument I had with the woman who became my wife concerned not punctuality, past romances, who pays for what, or any of the usual early-relationship bones of contention, but the proper response to a 3-3 seat configuration on a transcontinental flight. I’m partial to windows, meaning I need a damn window seat, while Nilou is an aisle person. This being a full flight, I’d booked us a window and a middle, stupidly assuming she’d want to sit together. “Wait—you didn’t get me the aisle?” “And put a stranger between us? What good is that?” “Good for my sanity is what it is.” “But don’t you want to cuddle?” “Not now I don’t.” 40

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the ground. But issue them an airline ticket and they’re suddenly exposed as shorts-wearers, line-cutters, duty-freedawdlers, nail-biters, nail-clippers, headphone-shouters, leg-bouncers, Bloody Mary–bingers, Jujyfruitgobblers, Two and a Half Men–cacklers, and landing-clappers. You’ll cringe at their buffoonery, recoil at their gall—and scarcely consider what they think of you.

Nilou and I have since figured it out, now that we know each other’s weird tics and flying rituals. We don’t accept them, but we know them. I, for instance, am a firm believer in visiting the lounge before any flight, even if I’m running late, just to get my money’s worth in free Babybel cheeses. This drives my wife crazy. “You don’t even eat them!” she’ll say. “Last week I found three more in your jacket pocket!” But she doesn’t understand. Flying is stressful, and we need to take comfort in the little things. Also, I can’t sleep on planes, while Nilou can hardly stay awake. She’ll nod off even as we’re taxiing, then spastically jerk her head up whenever chin hits sternum, like one of those bobbing-bird toys. This is understandably distracting, so now while she dozes I use a pashmina to tie her head to the seatback. She looks like a narcoleptic sherpa lugging a It was our first trip together, and chair, but she sleeps soundly, and I can it seemed destined to be our last. I love read My Struggle in peace. my wife to pieces, and think she feels So we’ve managed a certain détente, the same, but at that particular moment, she and I. Traveling with friends is on that particular plane, it’s safe to say another matter. Certain acquaintances we loved each other a little less. seem to view flying as a chance to I always found it baffling that the “catch up”—not on work or e-mail but first thing couples do after they’re “with each other,” which apparently married is board an airplane together— entails talking and nodding and as if matrimony weren’t talking and nodding until daunting enough. Still, I you get a kink in your neck suppose relationships are from looking sideways and forged in trauma, and flying nodding so much. This is more writers is the defining trauma of our not for me. On planes I want on flying age. Our hidden selves are to be left to my literal Read Gary Shteyngart’s devices. Give me my iPad revealed in that bizarro essay “Fly Me to the world between baggage and Audio-Technicas and Moon” at tandl.me/ check and baggage claim. I’m down the rabbit hole for gstravl and Molly Friends, lovers, family, Jong-Fast’s essay “Into days. I actually prefer longcolleagues: sure, they may haul flights to short ones, Thin Air” at tandl.me/mollyjf. seem cool and collected on grateful for a 12-hour ➔

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I L L U S T R AT I O N B Y Z O H A R L A Z A R

point of view

Radar stretch of uninterrupted Me Time. (I was an only child, if that explains anything at all.) Air travel is of course rife with disappointments, and flying with others illuminates how differently we all deal with them. Upon learning that “chicken or beef” is now just “beef,” some merely shrug; others react as if Noma has lost their reservation. And then there are the delays. Traveling in Brazil with friends during an air traffic controllers’ strike, our group endured countless reroutings and cancellations, culminating in a seven-hour wait in an unventilated São Paulo departures hall. At this point we just lost it, all of us stomping around and taking turns yelling at the gate agent. All except Susan, who wore headphones and a blissful grin, obliviously rocking out to Justin Timberlake as they announced yet another two-hour delay. Her grace would’ve been enviable if it weren’t so annoying. “Why isn’t she sulking?!?” I fumed to her husband. She was so happy it made me angry. (By now it’s probably clear that you don’t want to fly with me.) You know how some people think eating two ice cream sundaes doesn’t count on a plane? Air travel has a way of rearranging logic, while encouraging the basest, most boorish behavior. I’m talking not just about unbridled nose-picking, but about negligence, impatience and gross self-indulgence, all of which are somehow excused in the air. (To his credit, Alec Baldwin appears to be consistently belligerent both on and off the ground.) But that’s the nature of flying: it turns our earthbound selves topsyturvy. It causes hard-core cineastes to weep at Bridget Jones. It causes discerning gourmands to pay through the nose for SunChips. It causes well-adjusted adults to order nine vodka cranberries. And it thwarts accurate assessment of your

seatmates, since they too have likely slipped out of character. On airplanes the creepiest-seeming people turn out to be thoughtful and kind, while the outwardly normal turn out to be crazies. I’ve never had a seatmate undergo a schizophrenic break and try to jimmy open the exit door (a friend once watched that happen), but I’ve shared armrests with all types, pleasant or otherwise; it’s usually 50/50. There was the posh dowager in the lavender hat who sweetly offered me a Smint, then mumbled racist epithets all the way to Fort Lauderdale. En route to Delhi I sat beside a man who did nothing for 14 hours but stare blankly ahead. The TV stayed off; his seat stayed bolt-upright. Across nine time zones he ate nothing, drank nothing, read nothing, said nothing. He even declined the hot towel. Fearing he’d murder me in my sleep, I stayed awake, too, and tried not to panic. When we landed, he turned to me, smiled, and said in a gentle voice: “It was very nice flying with you. I do hope you enjoy your visit.” Then there was the shifty teenager on a flight to Thailand who used a nail file to saw the handset off the armrest and stuff it in his ratty knapsack. I guess he thought he’d scored a free phone/ Nintendo/TV remote, and I hadn’t the heart to disabuse him. (Karma: on the flight home, my seat was missing the handset.) And there was the skittish seat-gripper who spent the duration of our ride to San Francisco tuned into United’s cockpit-audio channel. The chatter of the pilots reassured him. He’d listen intently, nodding along, then loudly offer me status updates: “OKAY, LOOKS LIKE WE’RE ASCENDING TO THIRTY-NINE THOUSAND— STORMS UP AHEAD.” Sitting beside that guy, for whom flying must feel like a five-hour MRI, it struck me that air travelers divide into two basic groups: those who take it seriously and those who plainly don’t.

IN MY VIEW, FOR INSTANCE, SHORTSWEARERS LACK A FUNDAMENTAL RESPECT FOR THE MIRACLE OF AIR TRAVEL. BUT THAT’S JUST ME

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I don’t mean business versus leisure travelers, or veterans versus amateurs. I mean the manner in which people carry themselves, be it on work or holiday, an overnight flight or a puddle jump. In my view, for instance, shorts-wearers lack a fundamental respect for the miracle of air travel. But that’s just me. Maybe they think my carry-on’s too big, or the queen-size pillow I brought from home too much. Flying brings out our best and our worst. Nilou and I found our crucible 11 kilometers above the Gulf of Tonkin, midway through a flight from Hong Kong to Hanoi. Out of the blue, the cabin lost pressure, oxygen masks dropped, and suddenly we were plunging toward the sea. I don’t wanna I don’t wanna I don’t wanna, I kept shouting through my mask at Nilou, who held me—or held me down—as I kicked and flailed in my seat. I’m not ready I’m not ready I’m not ready. My too-short life telescoped into 90 agonizing seconds, until all at once the plane leveled out and everything returned to normal. Normal, but for the scowls of my seatmates, who glared at me for the remainder of the flight, as if I’d reacted inappropriately in the face of certain death: Boy, THAT guy needs to pull his shit together. I’m still not sure what the correct reaction would’ve been. Yet I do recall how oddly stoic my fellow passengers were as we plummeted into oblivion. Nilou, too, was eerily calm. She even had the foresight to tuck my passport into my shirt pocket as we dove, to ensure I’d be properly identified. How sweet is that? I, meanwhile, went on kicking and screaming in her face. You think you know someone, but you don’t. Not until you’ve flown on an airplane side by side. At some fateful point, the seatbelt sign will ding, the earth and all pretense will fall away, and you’ll find yourself hurtling through the air with 237 strangers—none stranger than the person beside you. Luckily, she’s sticking with me anyway. Two seats over, of course. +

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GREEN MY RIDE

Down the Road

There are many wonderful benefits of world travel, but shuttling humans across the globe takes a toll on the environment. Diana Hubbell investigates the latest developments in eco-friendly transportation. If only there were a way to hit the road without hurting the road. Eco-conscious scientists have been trying for years to shrink the carbon footprint and hefty fuel costs of getting from Point A to Point B. Although there’s still a long way to go, all of that effort is starting to pay off with advancements that could forever change the way we travel. For instance, since biofuel, a cleaner burning, renewable form of energy, was approved for aviation in 2011, more than 1,500 commercial flights have used it in combination with traditional fuel sources. Taking things a step further, Etihad Airways successfully flew a 777 plane solely on 46

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biofuel this past January. It may take a while before biofuel is a commercially viable option for airlines since it currently costs three to four times as much as fossil fuel, but the incentive to make it work is high: air travel generated 705 million tonnes of carbon dioxide in 2013, so any improvements would make a huge impact. In our region, clean waters are tantamount to tourism dollars. Luckily, cruise lines are scrambling to up their game as well. Carnival Corporation, which is responsible for 10 major brands including Princess Cruises and Cunard, has already budgeted up to US$400 million to implement a high-tech exhaust gas

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cleaning system on 70 percent of its fleet to reduce the company’s emissions by 20 percent by 2015. Back on dry land, South Korea has found a clever way to encourage electric cars and buses: get them charging on the go. Online electric vehicles (OLEVs) power up through electromagnetic induction while still moving. OLEVs use batteries three times smaller than those in normal electric vehicles, making them lighter and more efficient. The city of Gumi has a 12-kilometer road wired to charge such vehicles, as well as several OLEV public buses. It’s one more promising sign that the future of travel is getting greener by the day. +

The Double Bubble D8 This 180-seat, MITdesigned, NASAcommissioned aircraft is projected to burn 70 percent less fuel than a Boeing 737, thanks to its longer wingspan, an upturned nose and repositioned engines. As a bonus, the plane makes less noise and offers extra legroom in coach. More extensive testing of the design is already underway and the commercial models are slated to take to the skies in 2035. The Sky Whale Spanish designer Oscar Viñals came up with the concept for a super sci-fi 755-passenger aircraft that maximizes efficiency with micro solar cells and “active wings” with a hybrid turbo-electric propulsion system. Although the idea has been turning heads in the aviation world in the last year, it could be a long time before this whale gets off the ground.

IL LUST R ATION BY WASIN EE C H A N TA KORN

Radar Lilly Pulitzer cashmereand-silk Murfee scarf in Sea Soiree. lillypulitzer.com; US$118.

From Top: Eastern & Oriental and Save Wild Tigers partner to help Malaysia’s tiger population.

TIGER TRAIN

Lafont marbled sunglasses. viziooptic.com; US$675.

essentials

BEACH BOUND From Mexico to the Maldives, these six pieces will look chic on any shore. By Mimi Lombardo Canfora lizard sandal with hand-stitched leather sole. canfora.com; US$334.

Lisa Marie Fernandez Aqua terry boyfriend tunic. net-a-porter.com; US$285.

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j o u r n e ys

Nars lip gloss in Wonder. narscosmetics.com; US$26.

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This month, orange is the new black. All through October, the global non-profit organization Save Wild Tigers (savewildtigers.org) is rolling out events to increase awareness of the dwindling number of Malaysia’s tigers. There are only 3,500 wild tigers left on earth and it is going to take a significant boost in conservation efforts to rebuild the population. A highlight of the campaign is a five-day adventure from October 2 to 6, including two nights aboard the Eastern & Oriental Express (easternandorientalexpress.com/ tiger; tickets from £2,960), riding the rails from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur. Thirty percent of profits from the ticket will go directly to wildlife preservation programs like The Born Free Foundation (bornfree.org.uk) and MYCAT (malayantiger.net). This is a chance to pair philanthropy with wanderlust, so all aboard.

C L O C K W I S E F R O M T O P R I G H T: C O U R T E S Y O F E A S T E R N & O R I E N TA L E X P R E S S ( 2 ) ; P H I L I P F R I E D M A N . M A R K E T E D I T O R : C O U R T N E Y K E N E F I C K . S T Y L I S T: S Y LV I A N A G Y

Tommy Bahama reversible bikini with polka dots and stripes. tommybahama.com; top, US$63; bottom, US$94.

THE FINEST OF ASIAN HOSPITALITY ON THE BEAUTIFUL ISLAND OF LANGKAWI

Take advantage of a value-packed family getaway right on Langkawi’s famed Cenang Beach. Package includes complimantary dining for the family, use of children’s club and return airport transfers. For more information, please call (604) 952 8888 or email resvn.pelangi@meritushotels.com. *Term & Conditions apply. www.meritushotels.com

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the moment

HAYMAN ISLAND, AUSTRALIA 6:24 p.m.

A cabana at the One&Only Hayman Island, on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.

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You’re on the verge of sensory overload. It’s golden hour at the new 160-room One&Only Hayman Island, a green haven on the Great Barrier Reef, and you’re reliving the day’s adventures. It began with a seaplane flight over this, the world’s largest living structure, touching down to snorkel in a pristine lagoon that exploded with color: rainbow-hued parrot fish bobbing among forests of staghorn coral, glowing purple and pink; green turtles and manta rays commuting casually by. (And don’t forget the giant clams, whose magenta lips slowly closed into contented grins as you swam past.) Lunch was a picnic and a chilled Barossa Valley rosé on the blazing-white sands of

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Coconut Beach. Now you’re back in a breezy cabana, met by a server with a tray of passion-fruit daiquiris to cleanse your palate for the evening ahead. What next? Take a short hike to Sunset Peak to catch the day’s last light? Maybe. Book an “Ocean Dreaming” massage, performed as you float on the warm tides of the Coral Sea? That sounds more like it. Then you remember you’ve planned a kayak trip tomorrow morning to one of Hayman’s secluded coves, and decide it’s best to tuck in early. So you head back to your suite, order up a platter of Sydney rock oysters and count the shooting stars. hayman.oneandonlyresorts.com; doubles from US$795. — tony perrot tet

P HOTOG R A P H ED BY P E T RIN A TINSL AY

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Click for Culture Clockwise from left: Trucking to a homestay in Thailand; harvesting tea leaves in the hills of Sri Lanka; fishing in Burma; hanging out with a guru in India.

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LOCAL LIVING New websites and social media platforms are opening up intimate ways of experiencing cultures across the globe. By Madeline Gressel There’s nothing like a little on-the-ground expertise to breathe life into a trip. More travelers are on the hunt for personalized, authentic exchanges rather than the traditional resort-and-tour model, and a rash of online services are popping up around Asia to bridge the gap between savvy locals and intrepid tourists. “Traveling offers you a very quick peep into another culture. You only see the superficial,” says Sanne Meijboom. “I wanted to find a closer approach.” Meijboom, a former business consultant, found herself spending so much prevacation time researching ways to dodge tourist traps that she has launched her 52

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own travel startup, I Like Local, which allows global travelers to book locally led and organized activities across Asia. “The best experiences I had were with local people,” she says, and hopes to share the intimate activities that illuminated her own itineraries. Throughout Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia and Nepal, I Like Local clients can try their hand at organic farming, teaching English, and taking cooking classes, for example. Featured activities range from the US$42 week-long volunteer program in a Delhi school that lets travelers get up close with curious kids, to the pricier US$1,800

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two-week trek in Nepal through the icy rivers and rhododendron forests of Everest’s Base Camp. Sure, there’s some profit to be made, but the sweet spot is when you can provide insight into cultures without exploiting them, while also protecting travelers from the stress of time spent bartering and making payments. I Like Local users book online and all the proceeds, save a small admin fee, is paid directly to the hosts—whom Meijboom says truly deserve it: “Insight into someone’s life: a dinner at home, fishing with a fisherman, joining women making handicrafts—these are things a local community can offer.” i-likelocal.com. +

Hive focuses on conservation and creating positive change in emerging markets. Hive offers activities across Thailand, including a marine conservation dive course alongside PhD students on how best to interact with the marine environment. hivesters.com; six-hour marine conservation course Bt2,000 per person. WithLocals uses the Airbnb model to offer glimpses into local life across Asia. Hosts post their offers directly and travelers submit reviews. In Hanoi, you can party like a rock star with local girl Anh N. until the wee hours. withlocals.com; eight-hour Hanoi nightlife tour €15 per person. BeWelcome is a non-profit site that leverages a large network of volunteers who invite travelers into their homes to help facilitate “friendship and better understanding across boundaries.” The offers vary by host but could include free cooking classes, guided tours or language lessons. Safety is always an issue, so do your research on the hosts in advance. bewelcome.org; free.

P HOTOG R A P H ED BY SA N N E M EIJBOOM

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The Bibbulmun Track, Australia.

t+l p i c ks

WALKS BY THE WATER The best trails come with an oceanfront view. Here, four of our favorites. By Diana Hubbell australia The Bibbulmun Track Go for the ultimate walkabout on this 966-kilometer route. Or try just the shorter, particularly scenic jaunt between Denmark and Albany: the Track’s final 85 kilometers pack in breathtaking ocean vistas and are dotted with campsites where you can mingle with fellow trekkers. bibbulmuntrack.org.au.

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vietnam Son Tra Peninsula Even novice hikers can easily undertake this four- to five-hour stroll along Vietnam’s verdant shores. An easy 10-kilometer hop from Danang, this trail climbs to 693 meters above sea level through tropical jungles and down to both sand and rock beaches—perfect for taking a quick dip to cool off after all that exertion. hikingvietnam.com.

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japan The Jogasaki Coast With some of the best natural onsen springs in the country and hundreds of quaint ryokans to choose from, the Jogasaki Coast offers plenty of excuses for a train ride from Tokyo to Izu Peninsula. But to add a cherry to the sundae: the nearly 10-kilometer, eastern coast-hugging walking trail is pure eye-candy. japan-guide.com.

philippines Palaui Island Only a few hundred meters off the coast of Luzon, Palaui Island is worlds away from the mainland. Forged from molten lava, this dramatic, biologically diverse speck is surrounded by a marine reserve. Hike, camp and snorkel your way from sandy shores to craggy cliffs topped by an abandoned lighthouse. unchartedphilippines.com. +

P HOTOG R A P H ED BY NIC K GOODY ER

t the racha, luxury doesn’t come at a price.

At The Racha, guests rest easy knowing that the resort embraces the highest standards of eco-responsible tourism. The resort is also a recognized leader* in its field. Some of the resort’s initiatives - All the buildings are built in harmony to the island’s natural topography; no land was cut or filled in the process. For every coconut tree that was felled in building the resort, two were planted in its place. Instead of a concrete pier, The Racha utilizes an environmentally sound floating pontoon to preserve underwater ecology. Priceless practices. To sustain the island’s natural beauty for years to come. www.theracha.com

X O

P R I VAT E

all pools at the racha are ozone-treated. not only is it gentler on your skin, it’s also kinder to the environment.

A menber of Small Luxury Hotels of the World

85 luxurious villas • 3 ozonated pools (excluding private ones) • 3 signature dining establishments & bar

world-acclaimed anumba spa • club del mar for chilling • personalized sea and land experiences • to-die-for-views complimentary tel: 66 76 355 455 fax: 66 76 355 637 email: reservation@theracha.com www.theracha.com *as awarded by the Thai Ministry of Natural Resource & Environment and the Ministry of Energy 2014

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t r av e l u n i f o r m

BUSINESS CLASS Hotel executive Katherine Melchior Ray knows how to stay stylish on the fly.

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H A I R A N D M A K E U P : K R IS T I N A M A R I E W I T H FAC TO R A R T IS TS

Although Katherine Melchior Ray, the vice president of luxury brands at Hyatt Hotels, is on the road at least twice a month, she never forgets to pack a touch of home. “I bring my own coffee mug. That way, I don’t feel like I’m in a hotel, especially if I’m in bed and the sun’s coming in.” A former strategist for the fashion industry, Melchior Ray now shuttles from hotel openings (including the new Park Hyatts in New York and Vienna) to Park Hyatt’s headquarters in Chicago to her home in Portland, Oregon. To stay polished, she opts for understated pieces that transition easily from airport to meeting: stretchy, cropped 7 for All Mankind jeans, a solid blazer by Façonnable, a Narciso Rodriguez clutch, and a pair of favorite Elie Tahari pumps are all sophisticated yet comfortable. A Louis Vuitton carryall emblazoned with a bright Stephen Sprouse print provides a counterpoint. “It’s classic yet irreverent,” she says. Melchior Ray has already clocked an estimated 110,000 air miles this year. “Ever since I was a child, I’ve loved to fly. I feel a sense of opportunity when the wheels lift off.” —rachel felder

P HOTOG R A P H ED BY K E VIN J. MIYA Z A K I AT T H E PA RK H YAT T C HICAGO

POINTS Stay at one of 500 of the most celebrated hotels in the world and earn points redeemable for free nights.

Enjoy VIP rewards including free Internet, priority early check-in/late check-out, and upgrades.* Visit iPrefer.com to explore the collection.

REWARDS

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ROYAL PLAZA ON SCOTTS Singapore

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THE LATEST NEED-TO-KNOW OPENINGS

biking

CHINA IN THE SADDLE

The Middle Kingdom is taking to two wheels. Cycling is great for the environment and fabulous for fitness, so it is no wonder that people across the globe are sharing the health. According to the Bike-sharing World Map, 60 percent more bike-share programs launched in 2013 than the previous year, and the numbers keep climbing with an estimated 68 more cities setting out sharable cycles this year. But the blaze of two-wheeled verve isn’t centered on the iconic pedal-pushing populations like those in London and New York City. The main player in this growth is none other than China, and Hangzhou is leading the charge with 78,000 bikes on the road. In fact, of the world’s top 20 bike-share cities, 17 are in China. Some of the momentum is tied to the sheer volume of the population, of course, but another factor is price. Unlike similar programs in the United States and Europe that charge fees, the China system is government subsidized and the bikes are available at no cost. It turns out there is such a thing as a free ride.

Hotels Rosewood Hotels is making a splashy entrance to the Chinese market with the new five-star Rosewood Beijing (rosewoodhotels.com; Time to Discover opening package from RMB2,188, double), offering luxury residentialstyle guest rooms and Asia’s first Rosewood Sense spa.+ Le Méridien Suvarnabhumi, Bangkok Golf Resort & Spa (lemeridien.com/ suvarnabhumi; doubles from Bt3,500), opens this month with 223 guest rooms and a picturesque 18-hole golf course designed by hall-of-fame-golfer Nick Faldo. Restaurants British chef and cookery correspondent for the Financial Times, Rowley Leigh heads the talented culinary team at The Continental (swire properties.com) in Hong Kong, serving European café-inspired dishes made with fresh local ingredients.

Culture At long last, the Musée Picasso Paris (museepicassoparis.fr) reopens in the Marais district after a five-year, US$69 million renovation. Among the additions are a 95-seat auditorium and 13 new exposition rooms, the better to hold one of the world’s largest collections— 5,000 pieces!—of works by the prolific artist. + When “Egon Schiele: Portraits” opens on October 9 at the Neue Galerie New York (neuegalerie.org; through January 19, 2015), it will be the first American museum exhibition solely devoted to portraiture by the Klimt protégé. Cruises Aqua Expeditions has been making waves in the Amazon with its panoramic cabin windows and access to remote parts of the river. Now the concept comes to Southeast Asia with Aqua Mekong (aquaexpeditions. com; four nights from US$7,000 per person, double, all-inclusive). Sailing through Cambodia and Vietnam, the 20-suite ship has a movie room (screening such themed classics as Good Morning, Vietnam and The Quiet American) and an outdoor plunge pool.

HOW TO BUY A RUG IN MARRAKESH Haggling for a carpet is a lively cultural tradition in Morocco—but it takes some savvy. Local hotelier Maryam Montague, who also runs the online textile shop Red Thread Souk (redthreadsouk.com), shows us the ropes.

1 Head to the Souk Zrabia, in the medina, where you’ll find the largest selection of handmade carpets. Comparison-shop among the options hanging outside the interconnected storefronts.

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2 Local hucksters are notorious for markups, so know your rugs: shaggy and knotted types are piles; flatweaves are flat, woven and less expensive. No matter the style, opt for wool (the highest quality).

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3 Have fun with the spectacle: accept a mint tea, give a customary shukran (thanks), and banter with the merchant while he showcases a stockpile of carpets—each with its own story.

4 Don’t get scammed. To verify authenticity, dab the material with a wet napkin—if the color bleeds, it’s a knockoff. And don’t trust anything touted as pre-1960’s; it’s probably fake.

5 Be ready to leave. Drive a hard bargain to see how far the price drops, then head for the next outlet. The vendor will chase you if there’s room to negotiate; otherwise, he’s made his best offer. —sarah khan

P E T E R C H A R L E S W O R T H / G E T T Y I M A G E S . I L L U S T R AT I O N S B Y J O E M C K E N D R Y

tutorial

understated elegance A touch of traditional Balinese warmth combined with the refined service to create a perfect getaway. Treat yourself to a stay in luxurious private villas with butler service, an access to Exclusive Villa and Club Lounge; take an advantage of all the facilities Grand Nikko Bali has to offer. Understated elegance at its bestâ&#x20AC;Ś For further information and reservations, please contact: GRAND NIKKO BALI Jalan Raya Nusa Dua Selatan, PO BOX 18, Nusa Dua, Bali - 80363, Indonesia Tel: +62-361-773-377 Fax: +62-361-773-388 E-mail: sales@grandnikkobali.com URL: http://www.grandnikkobali.com

a r c h i t ec t u r e

SKY LIGHT

In Paris, the Fondation Louis Vuitton provides a luminous new home for contemporary global culture.

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The latest must-see attraction in Paris floats like a cloud of glass above the treetops of the Bois de Boulogne. The Fondation Louis Vuitton, devoted to contemporary arts and culture from France and beyond and supported by the luxury fashion conglomerate LVMH, opens on October 27. The building, designed by Frank Gehry, has galleries for its art collection (Daniel Buren; Rineke Dijkstra; Ellsworth Kelly), spaces for site-specific works and an auditorium for music and dance.

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Gehry, who was inspired by the greenhouses and pavilions of the Haussmann era, created a dozen curved glass canopies, comprising 3,600 panes. “I imagined Albertine and Proust playing there,” Gehry says, a nod to the neighboring Jardin d’Acclimatation’s past as a 19th-century children’s park. It’s that exuberance that makes the foundation one of the architect’s most magnificent designs since the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao. fondation louisvuitton.fr. —r aul barreneche

TODD EBERLE

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Radar obsessions

UNLOCKING THE PAST

or much of the 1970’s, my father was a traveling salesman, moving across the country by car and plane. Upon returning home, he’d empty his nicked hotel keys into a green wooden crate. The box lived on the top shelf of my parents’ closet, and I used to pull out a chair and stand on my tippy-toes to reach it, then lie on the floor and sort the 200 or so keys by fob shape, destination or hotel chain. For a little girl in a one-bedroom Brooklyn apartment, that box of keys was a window to the exciting world outside. Each key tells a story. There’s one from the Host Motel, in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, where Dad found himself during the historic flood of 1972. There’s another from the scary Rodeway Inn in Little Rock, Arkansas, where he knew to put a chair under the doorknob at night. (“But they had great ribs,” he insisted.) There are the many Ramada Inns, from exotic places like Portland, Oregon, and even more Howard Johnsons and Holiday Inns, whose purloined 62

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towels hung neatly in our bathroom—I imagined the stylized star to be our family crest. One lone cast-iron key from the King David Jerusalem was pilfered during my parents’ honeymoon; the Quality Inn in Omaha was from the night I was born, Dad off to chase a deal. My father would rave about the gym at Chicago’s Hyatt Regency O’Hare because it was such a luxury—those keys signified boom times. Four decades later, I still get little-kid butterflies when I take out the dusty collection and conjure those nostalgic images of business travel in the seventies: paper maps, coin-operated televisions, security-free airports (“two steps from the car rental kiosk and you were on the plane in Kansas City,” my dad recalls). Travel, even for a man selling telephone systems, was glamorous and full of adventure. One relentless decade of it gave my father a lifetime of memories, and inspired a wealth of fantasies in his daughter. + P HOTOG R A P H ED BY VIC TOR P R A DO

S T Y L I S T: B I L L L A U G H L I N

The hotel keys brought home by a peripatetic father opened a world of possibilities for his daughter. By Heidi Mitchell

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Trip Doctor BEST BUSINESS

TRAVEL

2014

HOTELS 56% Say the cost and speed of

Wi-Fi is one of the most frustrating parts of staying at a hotel

20%

Say poor in-room lighting is one of their biggest hotel pet peeves

BUSINESS TRAVEL SPECIAL 2014

What do some of the most experienced travelers think of life on the road? T+L and Fortune surveyed them to find out. Here, a few highlights. (For more, turn to page 76.)

48 1 66 53 Would rather be getting a root canal

Say exposure to new places and cultures is one of their favorite parts of a business trip

94%

Are satisfied with PreCheck

Report that being away from home and family is among the hardest parts of traveling

61%

Say seat comfort/ configuration is important when choosing an airline

TECH

jet lag

Are members of the U.S. TSA PreCheck

Usually enjoy their business trips

Admit that

AIR TRAVEL 63%

LOVE/HATE

41%

by News Editor Amy by Amy Farley Farley

and interrupted sleep are among the most difficult parts of business travel

33%

Say late checkout and early check-in

©VA D I M G OZ H DA / D R E A M S T I M E .C O M

are some of the most valuable amenities a hotel can offer

30%

Have booked a flight or hotel using a mobile device

53%

Consider Google Maps one of the most important apps for business travel

33%

Have used in-flight Wi-Fi

EXPENSES 79% Say their travel allowances have increased or remained the same compared with five years ago 7% Have gotten creative with expense reports

23%

Say inefficient boarding is one of the worst parts of air travel

23%

Have not removed liquids, laptops, etc., at security when required

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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Trip Doctor

The Fix by Diana Hubbell

WHAT’S YOUR PROBLEM? I GET SEASICK, BUT I STILL WANT TO CRUISE.

Do...

Avoid rough waters

(the Bay of Biscay; around South America’s Cape Horn). Instead, try river cruises or tours of the Norwegian fjords.

Don’t...

Book smart

I’M TRYING TO PLAN A ROMANTIC VACATION AND I’D LIKE THIS TRIP TO BE FAMILY-FREE. WHAT SHOULD I DO TO AVOID THE PITTER-PATTER OF LITTLE FEET?

With bit of ingenuity, an adults-only getaway—even in family-oriented Asia—is definitely doable. The trick is to do your research and find the destinations, resorts and airlines that weed out the wee ones. Calculate timing

The easiest way to avoid the tiny travelers is to hit the road while they’re still bogged down with homework. “There are always some people who take their kids out of school for vacations, but for the most part your best bet is to avoid school holidays,” says Diane Embree, one of T+L’s A-List travel agents specializing in Indonesia. 66

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Of course, the dates of those holidays will vary slightly from country to country. In general though, stay well away from big breaks such as the Lunar New Year and Christmas, as well as the summer vacation in July and August. To be on the safe side, says Laura Woo, a T+L all-star agent, just plan for “September, October and early November, when most kids are in class.”

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If you really want a child-free environment, you’ll have to head to the right hotel. For example, at The Balé (Jln. Raya Nusa Dua Selatan, Bali; 62-361/775-111; thebale.com; pavilions from US$668), a Japanese-minimalist 29-pavilion retreat in Nusa Dua, guests must be 16 and older to stay. That means you can enjoy your personalized, multi-course dinners without interruption. Also in Bali, Kayumanis Nusa Dua Private Villas & Spa (BTDC Area Nusa

Dua; 62-361/770-777; kayumanis. com; villas from US$555) has the same policy, along with private butlers and a beach club for sunning. Over in Sri Lanka, the stately nine-suite Kahanda Kanda (Habaraduwa Dikkumbura Rd.; 94-91/4943700; kahandakanda.com; doubles from US$365) welcomes guests age 12 and over. It’s a ➔

Be deterred.

Most new ships have stabilizers for extra steady sailing.

Do...

Book a room at the ship’s center

and on a mid-level deck, where you’re less likely to feel movement.

Don’t...

Forget your remedy of choice:

ginger; Sea-Bands; Dramamine. When in distress, go to the top deck and look toward the horizon.

Q+A

RIMBA by AYANA Enjoy two unique experiences at Bali’s only integrated resort: • 90 hectare estate above Jimbaran Bay, with the ocean-front AYANA Resort and Spa (awarded by Conde Nast Traveler readers as World’s Best Spa Hotel and Asia’s Best Hotel) and the forest setting of new sister hotel RIMBA Jimbaran Bali • Spectacular sunsets, 15 world-class dining venues and bars, 11 swimming pools, Thermes Marins Spa including Spa on the Rocks, priority access to the iconic Rock Bar, and secluded white-sand beach www.rimbajimbaran.com

• Unique experiences and private dining including Kisik Jetty, exclusively for just one couple every night

www.ayanaresort.com

Trip Doctor

The Fix

Have a question for T+L’s Trip Doctor? Send it to tripdoctor@ travelandleisureasia.com. Follow @TravLeisureAsia on Twitter.

beautiful British-owned colonial residence set on one of Galle’s rolling tea plantations, complete with antique teak furniture, blue-and-white china and local curries made with vegetables and herbs grown on the premises (no need to worry about picky eaters here). You can also get a feel for what age groups a resort caters to just by checking out their website. The more kids’ clubs you see, the better the odds that you might want to book elsewhere. “I recommend that adults stay away from the main resort areas and look for smaller boutique-style hotels that are in less developed areas,” Embree says. “Focusing on smaller hotels that don’t offer activities for children might not guarantee a childfree environment, but at least there probably won’t be quite as many kids.” Alternatively, you could opt for a resort that offers separate areas for children. The allinclusive Club Med (clubmed. com) branches are familyfriendly, but have designated swimming pools for grown-ups in their resorts in Phuket and in Cherating Beach, Malaysia.

Of course, if you spring for the private villas or perhaps even relatively secluded suites at any hotel that offers them, you should secure yourself a reasonable amount of privacy, even if there are little ones playing down the road. Fly right

If you’re looking to minimize the number of crying babies you run into on the plane, think about investing a little extra for your ticket. Malaysia Airlines (malaysiaairlines.com) and Thai Airways (thaiairways. co.th) both ban children under 12 from the upper decks of their A380 jets. But even low-cost carriers are trying to keep the peace. AirAsia X (airasia.com) offers a Quiet Zone on their A330 flights between rows seven and 14, where all passengers must be at least 12 years old. Singapore’s budget carrier, Scoot (flyscoot.com), is also crusading for quiet with a ScootinSilence zone—five rows that are off-limits to travelers under 12—plus they do not offer bassinets at all, to discourage bringing infants on board. Get off the beaten track

Traveling with children can be

a logistical hassle under the best of circumstances and most parents don’t want to complicate things further. Families tend to opt for destinations with wellestablished infrastructure. That means that by going to places a little rougher around the edges, you can dodge most of the kids. “Choose activities that are more rigorous or a bit harder to get to. For example, if you want to see the Great Wall, avoid Badaling and Mutianyu, because those sections of the wall offer cable car rides, hence families are likely to be there,” advises Mei Zhang, the founder of WildChina. “If you can, hike the wilder sections of the wall.” The same idea goes for other destinations too. Anything that requires a serious trek, athletic skills or even a long drive down bumpy roads is likely to deter anyone with a five-year-old in tow. Stay away from major urban museums and landmarks, or beaches within a two-hour radius of a metropolitan area. “The more famous a place is,” Zhang says, “the more kids you’ll see.” +

HOW BIG CAN MY CARRY-ON BAG BE THESE DAYS? Though some airlines give you a few extra centimeters here and there, the major carriers are all in agreement: the maximum allowable carry-on bag is 56 x 36 x 23, or 115 linear centimeters. This standard has been in place for years, but in the past airlines were lenient about ensuring bags adhered to it. United, however, started enforcing its size limits in March. So to play it safe, invest in a suitcase that doesn’t exceed those measurements. (See “Carry-on Champs,” page 83, for our favorite picks.”)

THE FINAL SAY

IF I’M PAYING FOR HOTEL PARKING, DO I STILL NEED TO TIP THE VALET?

When you’re spending as much as US$30 a day for hotel parking, tipping the valet each time he or she retrieves your car can seem like an unnecessary investment. That 30 dollars, however, goes only toward the valet’s base pay, which—much like a waiter’s—is calculated assuming that he or she will receive gratuities. If you don’t want to hand out money each day, ask the concierge if it’s possible to leave a total tip at the end of your stay: many hotels pool and distribute tips evenly to the valets. 68

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T R AV E L A N D L E I S U R E A S I A .C O M

SUBSCRIBE NOW TO OUR DIGITAL EDITION Available at www.zinio.com 1 year / 12 issues for US$29.99.

Trip Doctor

Planning

Check out our slideshow of the best airports for layovers at tandl.me/layovr.

Q+A

Quick access to a city center via public transport makes it easy to steal away for a few hours and take in some sights—and even a meal. Here are six airports we love, all with convenient luggage storage. TRAVEL TIME TO CITY CENTER

lhr

Heathrow, London Minimum layover needed for two hours in the city center: 5 hours

15 to 20 minutes

ams

Schiphol, Amsterdam Minimum layover: 5 hours

13 to 17 minutes

dxb

Dubai International

25 minutes

Minimum layover: 6 hours

sin

Singapore Changi Minimum layover: 5 hours

20 to 25 minutes

hkg

Hong Kong International

24 minutes

Minimum layover: 6 hours

sfo

San Francisco International Minimum layover: 5 hours

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30 to 35 minutes

HOW TO DO IT

WHAT TO DO

Heathrow Express to Paddington (£34 round-trip; trains every 15 minutes)

A short ride on the Tube gets you to Waterloo, where you can walk along the South Bank for views of Big Ben, St. Paul’s Cathedral and the Shard’s glass spire. End with a tagliolini with clams at Gordon Ramsay’s Italianinspired Union Street Café.

Netherlands Railways to Amsterdam Centraal (€9 round-trip; trains every 7 to 16 minutes)

Rembrandt’s Night Watch and other Dutch masterpieces are a quick ride away via the GVB train system. From Centraal, take Tram 2 or 5 to the Rijksmuseum, which reopened last year after a 10-year renovation.

Dubai Metro Red Line to Burj Khalifa (AED8.20 round-trip; trains every 10 minutes; no service Friday mornings)

An aquarium, an ice rink, 1,200 shops: there’s plenty to keep you busy at the Dubai Mall. Next door, the world’s tallest building, the 828-meter Burj Khalifa, has a tour that whisks you to the 124th floor (from AED125 for adults).

Changi offers a free Singapore bus tour (five times a day) that leaves right from the airport; register in Terminal 2 or 3.

The excursion covers major sights, including the Singapore Flyer Ferris wheel, the futuristic Marina Bay Sands resort and the 101-hectare Gardens by the Bay park. There’s a stopover in Merlion Park to see the iconic half-lion, half-fish statue.

Airport Express Line to Central (HK$200 round-trip; trains every 10 minutes)

From Central, it’s two MTR stops to Wan Chai, home to chef Alvin Leung Jr.’s renowned Bo Innovation. After sampling experimental Chinese cuisine, visit the nearby Flagstaff House Museum of Tea Ware, with items dating back to the 11th century B.C.

BART Pittsburg/ Bay Point train to Embarcadero (US$17.30 round-trip; trains every 15 to 20 minutes)

Set right on the water—and just one block from the BART stop—the Ferry Building Marketplace is home to dozens of local food purveyors and restaurants. Don’t miss Cowgirl Creamery Cheese Shop and the recently expanded Hog Island Oyster Bar.

T R AV E L A N D L E I S U R E A S I A .C O M

F R O M T O P : S Y LV A I N S O N N E T/G E T T Y I M A G E S ; K E V I N S T E E L E /G E T T Y I M A G E S ; © P AT R I K D I E T R I C H / D R E A M S T I M E ; © P R E S T O N I A / D R E A M S T I M E . C O M ; C O U R T E S Y O F B O I N N O V AT I O N ; © B R U N O S E A R A / D R E A M S T I M E

HOW CAN I MAKE THE MOST OF AN AIRPORT LAYOVER?

Trip Doctor

Packing

by Mimi Lombardo

Merrell, known for

Q+A I’M VISITING THREE EUROPEAN CITIES OVER 10 DAYS AND NEED A RELIABLE PAIR OF WALKING SHOES. WHAT DO YOU RECOMMEND?

Jambu’s waterproof leather version (US$119) has a memoryfoam insole for extra cushioning.

adventure shoes, brings dependable traction to a colorful slip-on (US$110).

maria oma, via e-mail Good news: sneakers are trending right now, so there are plenty of lightweight, comfortable options for strutting in style.

Italian brand Etro puts its iconic paisley on a leather, nylon and suede running shoe (US$640).

A seamless neoprene upper makes Reebok ’s jogger (US$70) flexible and easy to pack.

Stretchable mesh gives these Asics trainers (US$80) a socklike and secure fit.

This Nike style (US$125) offers ample breathability and a supportive rubber sole.

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T R AV E L A N D L E I S U R E A S I A .C O M

P HOTOG R A P H ED BY P HILIP FRIEDM A N

M A R K E T E D I T O R : C O U R T N E Y K E N E F I C K . S T Y L I S T: S Y LV I A N A G Y

New Balance

teamed up with J. Crew to create a classic rubber-soled sneaker (US$80) that’s perfect for pounding the pavement.

Trip Doctor

Tech

Want to share a travel app or ask a tech question? Tell us at tripdoctor@ travelandleisureasia.com.

BEST APPS FOR ROAD TRIPS

Hitting the highway? These five tools—vetted by Tom Samiljan—will help you make the most of every kilometer. AUTO CONNECTION

FOR ON-ROAD ENTERTAINMENT

FOR QUIRKY ATTRACTIONS

TUNE IN RADIO FIELD TRIP You’re unlikely to get playlist fatigue listening to the app’s 100,000-plus radio stations from all over the world, but if you do, Tune In also offers streaming access to an inexhaustible number of concerts, podcasts and talk shows on a clean, user-friendly interface. Whether you’re looking for news updates, local traffic alerts or sports scores, this all-purpose radio app delivers. (FREE; ANDROID, BLACKBERRY, IOS, WINDOWS PHONE)

You’re in for some surprises with this Google app. Like a friendly tour guide, it gives fun facts on landmarks and offbeat attractions— like the mysterious giant rooster statue in a small Vietnamese village (hint: it crows of a mythical Romeo and Juliet plotline)— based on your location and past favorites. Choose how often to receive the notifications, and program the app to read the backstories aloud while you focus on the scenery. (FREE; ANDROID, IOS)

ILLUSTR ATED BY BEN WISEMAN

FOR TIME-SAVING ROUTES

FOR HANDS-FREE SHARING

FOR GPS (AND MORE)

TRAPSTER

GLYMPSE

WAZE

The open road is often riddled with unseen delays that can suck the fun right out of your joy ride. This app is designed to clear your path with up-todate warnings on road hazards, from accidents to construction to dangerous curves, co-generated by the Trapster community. There are also a few useful alerts on upcoming road blocks, speed limits and detours.

Texting and driving isn’t just dangerous—in many countries, it’s illegal. That’s why Glympse, which automatically relays your GPS location to family and friends, is invaluable when you’re sticking to a schedule. Your information is sent only to predetermined contacts in your phone book, for select windows of time—making it easy to keep your eyes on the road.

Millions of drivers team up to keep this app updated with traffic tips and money-saving info like where to find the cheapest gas station on your route. The live map is so cool that Google forked over US$966 million to acquire the tech, integrating its real-time updates into Google Maps. It’s also tied into Facebook, so you can see which of your friends are nearby to coordinate meet ups and sync everybody’s arrival times.

(FREE; ANDROID, BLACKBERRY, IOS, WINDOWS PHONE)

(FREE; ANDROID, IOS)

(FREE; ANDROID, IOS, WINDOWS PHONE)

T R AV E L A N D L E I S U R E A S I A .C O M

Thanks to new connected-car technology, your favorite mobile apps are now being optimized for in-dash touch screens. Carmakers from GM to Audi are introducing built-in apps, while platforms from Apple (CarPlay) and Google (Android Auto) are being integrated into select Audi, Honda and Volvo models, among others. What to expect: voice-activated Web search and messaging, and maps showing how far you can go at current gas levels.

TECH WATCH

Meet the next generation of public Wi-Fi: Hotspot 2.0. These secure networks offer an automatic connection—simply walk within range and voilà, you’re online. Two cities and 23 airports in the U.S. have wired up, a handful of European countries are following suit, and in Australia it may soon be deployed as the national Wi-Fi network.

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Trip Doctor

Gear 5

Sporting Sustainability

New lines of eco-friendly equipment and apparel are constructed to preserve the environments they are designed to explore. Cole Pennington suits up.

1 2

Learning to ski may inspire a deep admiration for the mountains, but at what cost to the mountains? Skis, like bicycles, helmets, fleeces and polyester packs, are almost always made of petrol-based composites that drain resources in their construction and stay around long after we’re done using them. Now, a handful of companies is putting out gear that’s both good for the environment and performance-oriented. 1. PraNa Madera Collection What more fitting way to eco-up your game than by adding the quintessential “green” material: hemp? PraNa’s Madera line, engineered for yoga, experiments with what

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the company describes as an organic-textileindustry game-changer— hemp requires no pesticides and is drought resistant, and the fiber derived from the plant is surprisingly durable. prana.com; US$60 to US$75. 2. WebbWorks Bamboo Bicycles Bamboo is the magic ingredient. Its benefits as a bicycle frame go well beyond steel-like rigidity and springy handling, for this material produces a virtually non-existent carbon footprint. It’s fast growing and abundant in the forests of northern Thailand, where WebbWorks Cycles is based. Phil Webb founded the operation with a two-fold mission: build

T R AV E L A N D L E I S U R E A S I A .C O M

high-quality bamboo bicycles and combat poverty by employing the local hill tribes at fair wages. bamboobike maker.com; US$1,449 for the frame. 3. Veleco Cyclewear Complement your bamboo bicycle with a wardrobe designed for guilt-free riding: Veleco’s caps, jackets and bags are made from organic cotton and recycled plastic. The signature soft-shell cycling jacket is made from 12 recycled plastic bottles, and treated with the eco-friendly waterproofing agent Nikwax. The bike tires don’t go to waste, either— they’re turned into stylish wallets and belts for cyclist fashionistas. veleco.cc; £75.00.

4. Flow State Surfboards Many mainstream surfing manufacturers seem to have adopted a “disposable” philosophy, using foams, resins and epoxies to create surfboards that get tossed after every season and take nearly 100 years to decompose. But Mathew Farrell, proprietor of Flow State, a small surfboard builder based in Perth, uses recycled timber to craft custom boards based on the rider’s preference. Farrell says the advantages of the boards extend past the muted environmental impacts, including a higher spring rate and a snappier response than their synthetic counterparts. surfboards.flowstate. com.au; A$2,000.

5. Patagonia Yulex Wetsuits Ever consider the irony that to immerse yourself in nature, you’ve got to ensconce yourself in supremely unnatural gear? Traditional wetsuits are made of the synthetic material neoprene, but Patagonia has moved to a new biorubber made from the plant guayule, a crop that needs little water, uses no pesticides, and goes through a very clean manufacturing process when compared with the petroleum-based neoprene. This new material emits a pleasant scent that is reminiscent of pine—proving that even in small-scale eco-innovations, you should be able to smell the forest for the trees. patagonia.com; US$529. +

F R O M L E F T: C O U R T E S Y O F P R A N A ; C O U R T E S Y O F W E B B W O R K S ; C O U R T E S Y O F V E L E C O C Y C L E W E A R ; C O U R T E S Y O F F L O W S TAT E S U R F B O A R D S ; C O U R T E S Y O F P ATA G O N I A

A 24/7 ESCAPE. TRANQUIL BY DAY. ELECTRIC BY NIGHT. SITUATED BETWEEN MAENAM AND BO PHUT, IT HAS THE FINEST AND MOST PRISTINE BEACH LOCATION IN THAILAND, OVERLOOKING STUNNING BEACHES AND LUSH FORESTS, W RETREAT KOH SAMUI AWAKENS AS THE SUN GOES DOWN, IGNITING THE UNEXPECTED. ILLUMINATING.. ENVIRONS. TAKE IT EASY. SURROUNDED BY VERDANT FOLIAGE, EACH OF OUR 74 PRIVATE-POOL RETREATS BOASTS A PRIVATE OUTDOOR POOL AND INFINITE ISLAND VIEWS. INSIDE, PREMIER TECHNOLOGY MEETS W SIGNATURE BED, BLISS® SPA AMENITIES AND WHATEVER/WHENEVER® SERVICE. W RETREAT KOH SAMUI T 66 77 915 999 / F 66 77 915 998 EXPLORE WHAT’S NEW / NEXT WRETREATKOHSAMUI.COM WHOTELS.COM/KOHSAMUI

Trip Doctor

Strategies

BEST BUSINESS

TRAVEL

2014

Business Travel Trend Report

For the first time, Travel + Leisure and Fortune teamed up to survey readers of both magazines about the ins and outs of how they travel for business today. These experienced travelers, who average nine trips a year, offered incredible insights into the best—and worst—parts of life on the road. We wanted to know about their priorities and pain points, what they love about business trips and what drives them to the brink. We also asked them to reveal which apps and websites they’re addicted to and the hotels and airlines that make life away from home easier and more productive. The result: the inaugural Best in Business Travel survey—a look at the world and mind-set of today’s road warrior. By Greg Oates, with additional reporting by Mimi Lombardo, Brooke Porter Katz, Bree Sposato and Marguerite A. Suozzi.

TRAVEL HABITS Besides work, here’s what business travelers have done while on the road.

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71%

48%

35%

I usually enjoy it

Some trips I like, others not so much

Feelings About Business Travel

9% 1%

I’d rather be getting a root canal

54%

68%

I relish my road warrior status

More than half of respondents have extended a work trip for leisure 40% 23%

Snuck in sightseeing between meetings

T R AV E L A N D L E I S U R E A S I A .C O M

Maintained my regular exercise and eating habits

It’s a necessary evil

Ordered room service

Have not removed liquids from bag at security

7% Got “creative” with my expense report

53%*

22%

Google Maps

Kayak

Top Apps 21%

Expedia

17%

Yelp

15%

14%

Skype

SeatGuru

12%

Orbitz

The most important digital tools for road warriors, according to T+L and Fortune readers.

TripIt

Uber

4% GateGuru

Flight Club Flying is the most stressful part of a business trip, according to respondents. Here, the most frustrating aspects.

TIPS FROM THE PROS

23%*

Inefficient boarding process

20%

MELISSA BARNES Head of global brands, Twitter

Lack of space for carry-ons

How often do you travel? Between 50 and 60 percent of my time is on the road.

42%

Delays/cancellations 10%

16%

Lost/delayed luggage

Airport security 26%

12% Poor food choices

Cramped legroom 51%

COURTESY OF T WIT TER

Poor customer service

19%

11%

Top packing tips I have two sets of toiletries, two pairs of running shoes, etc., so I always have a bag that’s 75 percent packed. Never bring a hair dryer; every hotel has one. Airport lounge perk you can’t live without? Showers. They make you feel instantly human when you come off a long flight and have another leg to go. Who are you loyal to? American Airlines. I’m not loyal to hotels. I think when you stay at the same chain in every city, you start to forget where you are. Give me a boutique hotel in a great neighborhood every time. Favorite hotel indulgence The Charlotte Street Hotel, in London, has these grapefruit candies that are addictive. I can’t not eat them.

Restrictive loyalty programs

28%

Annoying fellow passengers

Say scrutiny of expense reports has increased from five years ago

*Percentage of respondents who selected the answer among their top three choices. 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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Trip Doctor

Strategies

For expanded survey results on the top business hotels and airlines, visit travelandleisure.com/bestinbusiness.

BEST BUSINESS

TRAVEL

TOP 5

Hotel Brands

1. RITZ-CARLTON 2. LUXURY COLLECTION 3. KIMPTON 4. WALDORF ASTORIA COLLECTION 5. FAIRMONT ROOM DESIGN + AMENITIES 1 Four

Seasons 2 Luxury Collection 3 Ritz-Carlton

CUSTOMER SERVICE

Ritz-Carlton 2 Kimpton 3 Four Seasons 1

How does a hotel brand renowned for service and tradition remain relevant with business travelers who prioritize savvy design and digital tools as much as grand cru Darjeeling tea? For Ritz-Carlton, it begins with a new design ethos that puts an emphasis on chic, modern aesthetics with a strong sense of place. Take, for example, the recently opened Ritz-Carlton, Kyoto, which combines panoramic views of the Kamogawa river and Higashiyama mountains with a Meijistyle minimalism in the natural-wood interiors.

LOYALTY PROGRAMS

Marriott Rewards 2 Starwood Preferred Guest 3 Hilton HHonors 1

At the same time, new club floors in cities such as Tianjin, China, are offering apartment-like ambience and amenities (residential kitchens; TV rooms; reading salons) to help business travelers feel rooted while abroad. On the digital front, Ritz-Carlton has relaunched its app, which now handles mobile check-in/checkout as well as housekeeping and valet service requests at many of their properties. The company is also testing ordering in-room and poolside dining via the app—an attractive option for today’s increasingly DIY-minded traveler.

Most Valued Hotel Amenities

55%*

THE HOTEL-ROOM WORKOUT Four quick but effective exercises from fitness guru Josh Holland, of New York’s Core Club.

In-room technology or Wi-Fi

54% Room comfort and design

41% Loyalty program

Stationary Chair Step-Up Plant right foot on a stable seat and step up, lifting your left knee into a slight bend. Repeat for one minute, then switch sides.

Bed Push-Up Put hands in line with shoulders, slightly turned out. Bring feet together behind you. Lower chin to bed, and push up. Repeat for one minute.

33% Late checkout/ early check-in

Bed Squat With feet hip-width apart and back straight, lower into a seated position. Jump out of it to add difficulty. Repeat for one minute.

29% 4.

Customer service

Pillow Squeeze Oblique Twist With a pillow between your knees, lie on your back, arms out, palms down. Lift legs to a right angle. Squeeze knees and lower legs to the right. Return to center, then lower left. Repeat for one minute.

*Percentage of respondents who selected the answer among their top three choices.

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T R AV E L A N D L E I S U R E A S I A .C O M

F R O M T O P : C O U R T E S Y O F R I T Z- C A R LT O N ; C O U R T E S Y O F K I M P T O N . 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

2014

Trip Doctor

Strategies

BEST BUSINESS

TRAVEL

2014 CLOSER LOOK

Room Service 101

TIPS FROM THE PROS

We asked Bonnie Taub Dix, a New York City–based registered dietitian and author of Read It Before You Eat It, how to start your day the healthy way.

KATY TUR NBC News correspondent How often do you travel? At least four months a year.

Breakfast

Go-to travel app Running apps that map routes as you go. I hate to run, but doing it in a new city, with all new sights, makes it slightly less terrible.

Served from 6:30 to 11:00 a.m.

Red-eye survival tactics A couple of glasses of wine, an over-thecounter sleeping pill, a dull article (anything finance-related) and a window seat I can lean my head on. Airport likes and dislikes Cincinnati has a branch of the great wine bar Vino Volo. Perth, Australia, and Venice have customs officers who must be male models in their off-time. Swoon. LAX is, and will forever be, a grimy mess, but it’s in my hometown and I love it that way. Favorite terminal LaGuardia Airport’s Marine Air Terminal. Everyone’s a business traveler and you can show up five minutes before a flight. What drives you crazy when you travel? Slow people in security. Where are you going next? Who knows?! (But if my bosses are reading this, may I suggest Venice or Perth? I may have left something in customs.)

53%

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Say one of the hardest parts of travel is staying healthy

“I’d choose the raisins or cranberries for natural sweetness. Unless you’ll truly use just a sprinkle of brown sugar, ask if they can bring you some cinnamon.”

Choice of pastry, bagel or toast with butter and preserves; orange or grapefruit juice; coffee or tea. STEEL-CUT OATMEAL

Golden raisins, sun-dried cranberries, brown sugar. YOGURT WITH HOUSE-MADE GRANOLA

“Greek yogurt provides double the protein of regular yogurt, which keeps you going longer. It also has carbs—good for energy—and it’s easy to digest. Granola may wear a sign that says ‘healthy,’ but it can be very sugary. If the restaurant can accommodate, ask for chopped almonds or other nuts instead, which add fiber and protein and can stabilize blood sugar.”

T R AV E L A N D L E I S U R E A S I A .C O M

Greek yogurt, seasonal berries. THREE-EGG OMELETTE

Choice of three fillings: ham, bacon, spinach, onions, mushrooms, red peppers, cheddar, Gruyère or American cheese. Served with herbed potatoes.

“Carb-heavy breakfasts will give you a burst of energy—followed by the desire for a nap. Go for whole-grain toast, but ditch the butter and preserves and use nut butter instead. (No, that doesn’t mean Nutella!) I travel with packets from Justin’s. Juice is a good source of nutrients if it’s made from 100 percent fruit.”

“Vegetable omelettes are an excellent source of protein and can keep you full for hours. (But beware of calorie traps such as oily sautéed veggies.) Skip the cheese (you’re getting enough protein already), and request fruit salad in place of potatoes. If you plan on having a cholesterol-filled meal later in the day, go with egg whites here.”

COURTESY OF NBC

CONTINENTAL

Must-pack items The New Yorker and one physical, hold-it-in-myhands, smell-the-pages book.

“Bollywood meets ancient Indian tradition in this eye-popping theatrical train trip from Mumbai to Agra.” Time Out, Singapore

TAJ EXP TAJ EXPRESS BOLLYWOOD MUSICAL, MUMBAI Saturday 11 October 7.30pm Sunday 12 October 2.30pm

Baht 3,000 / 2,500 / 2,000 / 1,500 / 800

Hotline 02 262 3191

www.thaiticketmajor.com (24 hrs)

www.bangkokfestivals.com

VENUE: Thailand Cultural Centre. Free shuttle from MRT station Thailand Cultural Centre, Exit 1, during 5.30-7.00pm

Trip Doctor

Strategies

BEST BUSINESS

TRAVEL

2014 TOP 10

SETH ROGIN Chief revenue officer, Mashable Last time I stayed an extra How often do you travel? 40 minutes before picking About one trip per week. My nephew recently pointed up my luggage. I arrive early to shop at the airports in Zurich out that I’ve flown enough and Milan. And I love the cigar miles to take three trips bar at the Nashville airport. between Earth and the moon. Must-pack items Extra international plug converters and a solar phone charger. Power is power.

Airline lounge perk you can’t live without? Being connected is everything, so strong, reliable Wi-Fi is key.

Money-saving trick Favorite airport amenities You may get a better rate I love the new Delta lounge at a casino than at a at JFK’s Terminal 4. It has an outdoor deck with loungers— money-exchange shop since perfect for a preflight cocktail. they want to lure international players. Just make The Austin airport has sure you leave with the a branch of the Salt Lick, a cash you changed. dangerously enticing option.

HIGH-FLYING WI-FI It’s easier than ever to stay connected in the air. OnAir is on airlines ranging from All Nippon to Etihad; Singapore Airlines is the latest to sign on, with Wi-Fi on its A340’s, A380’s and Boeing 777-300ER’s (US$10 for 10 MB, or US$12 per hour). British Airways recently joined up with Inmarsat, which plans to roll out Europe’s first ground- based (as opposed to satellite) 4G broadband network by the end of 2016. Speeds will be in excess of 70 mbps. Early next year, North America

will speed ahead in onboard Wi-Fi with Gogo—offered on nine carriers, including Alaska, American/US Airways, United and Delta— increasing bandwidth to 70-plus megabits per second on 800 planes. It’s the difference between surfing the Web and streaming an HD movie. Also on tap: an app for texting in flight. JetBlue has launched Fly-Fi, a proprietary 20-plus-mbps service (free; US$9 per hour for streaming video); all A320’s will be equipped by early 2015.

International Airlines

1. SINGAPORE AIRLINES 2. VIRGIN ATLANTIC 3. EMIR ATES 4. QANTAS 5. CATHAY PACIFIC 6. KOREAN AIR 7. AIR NEW ZEALAND 8. SWISS INTERNATIONAL AIR LINES 9. LUFTHANSA 10. TURKISH AIRLINES Travel + Leisure/Fortune online reader survey conducted by Wylei, April 2014.

F R O M L E F T: S L A V E N V L A S I C / C O U R T E S Y O F S E T H R O G I N ; © G O R D O N T I P E N E / D R E A M S T I M E . C O M

TIPS FROM THE PROS

DESIGN + AMENITIES

C L O C K W I S E F R O M T O P : T H O M A S W H I T E S I D E / C O U R T E S Y O F YA B U P U S H E L B E R G ; C O U R T E S Y O F B R I G G S & R I L E Y; C O U R T ESY O F RIM OWA ; C O U R T ESY O F B RIC ’S; C O U R T ESY O F BI AGGI; ©T E A /D R E A MSTIM E .C O M

Airlines Emirates 3 Virgin Atlantic

CUSTOMER SERVICE

Qantas Singapore Airlines 3 Emirates

Best airport gy: Munich. It’s efficient, clean, easy to understand and thoughtfully designed.

LOYALTY PROGRAMS

1 Singapore

Virgin Atlantic Singapore Airlines 3 Qantas

Even as long-haul carriers enter a sort-of arms race to lure business travelers, piling ever more luxuries into their cabins (or “residences,” in the parlance of Etihad), Singapore Airlines continues to stay ahead. Legendary for its in-flight service and culinary program, the carrier began installing new cabin amenities last fall that will be rolled out to the entire 101-aircraft fleet by the end of next year. Every seat is getting a new entertainment system, with video touch screens that start at an industryleading 11.1 inches in economy; multitasking handsets; social media functionality; and content recommendations based on user preferences. In business class, 78-inch lie-flat beds come with improved storage for personal items, including laptops, and smarter placement of lighting and outlets. BMW Group Designworks developed the new first-class seating with a curvy shell shape for added privacy, a mattress layer and an 82-by-35-inch bed that is now one of the industry’s largest. The airline is also creating a premium economy cabin, which will launch in the second half of 2015 on Boeing 777’s and soon after on the Airbus A380. Expect it, like everything else Singapore develops, to reset the bar.

TIPS FROM THE PROS

Best airline seat gp: The new Lufthansa first-class cabin has a proper bed next to your seat—so great! gy: Cathay Pacific’s extra-wide premium economy seats.

GLENN PUSHELBERG AND GEORGE YABU Founders of design firm Yabu Pushelberg How often do you travel? At least twice a week. Must-pack items gp: A sweater for the plane, comfortable sneakers and my Mophie iPhone batterypack case.

Who are you loyal to? gy: We are at the top tier of Cathay Pacific, Air Canada, Air France and British Airways. Most valuable perk of airline status? gp: Getting on and off the plane fast. The Air Canada concierge service at LaGuardia is extraordinary; they look after us like rock stars.

Any good packing tips? gy: I always bring a full change of clothes in my carry-on in case of spills on the plane or lost luggage. How do you fight jet lag? gp: Don’t try to fight it. Roll with it, have a nap, and sleep when you can. Exercise is also incredibly rejuvenating.

71%

Favorite room-service indulgence? gy: A bottle of wine and potato chips.

Only bring a carry-on

Carry-on Champs

Four great bags you won’t have to cram into the overhead compartment.

Biaggi foldable roll-aboard. US$170; biaggi.com.

Bric’s leather-trimmed polycarbonate trolley. US$525; bricstore.com.

Rimowa lightweight overnight business case. US$625; rimowa.com.

Briggs & Riley wheeled garment bag. US$499; briggs-riley.com.

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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Trip Doctor

Deals

T+L RE A D E R S PECI A LS

THIS MONTH’S BEST DEALS From a Balinese massage lesson in Indonesia to a weeklong trip through India, T+L serves up culture in comfort. sp ec i a l bangkok bt5,500 p e r n igh t

A Premier Deluxe room at Hua Chang Heritage Hotel, in Bangkok.

TAIPEI Wired Plus from W Taipei (wtaipei.com), in vibrant downtown, just steps away from Taipei 101. The Deal A stay in a Wonderful room. The Highlights A three-piece pressing service per stay, in-room high-speed Internet access and a white noise machine for sounder sleep. Cost From NT$10,800, double, through December 30. Savings 50 percent. SAIGON Delicious Escapade from Pullman Saigon Centre (pullman-saigon-centre.com), 306 spacious guestrooms near Ben Thanh Market. The Deal

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Two nights in a Superior room. The Highlight VND150,000 dining credit per stay, valid at the hotel’s bars and restaurants. Cost From US$230 (US$115 per night), double, through December 31. Savings 33 percent. SHANGHAI Suite Special from Four Seasons Hotel Shanghai at Pudong (fourseasons.com), with interiors inspired by the 1920’s, Shanghai’s golden age. The Deal Three nights in a Junior suite. The Highlight A complimentary third night for every two consecutive paid nights. Cost From RMB6,300 (RMB3,150 per night), double, through December 31. Savings 30 percent.

T R AV E L A N D L E I S U R E A S I A .C O M

Wellness S u pe r S ave r

BANGKOK Leisure and Pleasure package from Hua Chang Heritage Hotel (huachangheritagehotel. com), an elegant entry in the city’s central Siam shopping district. The Deal Two nights in a Premier Deluxe room. The Highlight Sri-Tong traditional Thai afternoon tea set for two. Cost Bt11,000 (Bt5,500 per night), double, through October 31. Savings 50 percent.

KUALA LUMPUR Journey to Holistic Wellbeing from Mandarin Oriental, Kuala Lumpur (mandarinoriental.com), set between the Petronas Twin Towers and Kuala Lumpur City Centre Park. The Deal Two nights in a Deluxe City View room. The Highlight Five complimentary treatments from The Spa for one person, including Mandarin Oriental Signature Spa Therapy, a freshwater mud wrap, an anti-aging facial, a 50-minute in-room massage and The Art of Relaxation session. Cost From RM1,692 (RM846 per night) per person, through December 23. Savings 42 percent.

C O U R T E S Y O F H U A C H A N G H E R I TA G E H O T E L

City

Trip Doctor

Deals

which is known as “the Chinese Hawaii.” The Deal Three nights in an Ocean Front Pavilion. The Highlight A complimentary third night for every two consecutive nights booked. Cost RMB5,658 (RMB1,886 per night), double, through October 7. Savings 38 percent.

past as a Thai royal summer retreat. The Deal A stay in a Superior Twin room. The Highlight Entry vouchers to Santorini Park Cha-Am for two adults and one child, inclusive of six rides. Cost From US$160, double, through October 31. Savings 24 percent.

SAMUI Cheers to You from InterContinental Samui Baan Taling Ngam Resort (samui. intercontinental.com), 9 hectares of tropical sanctuary. The Deal A stay in an Ocean View room. The Highlight A daily credit of Bt2,500 applicable at Baan Thai Spa towards food and beverages or spa treatments. Cost From Bt10,530, double, book by November 30. Savings 20 percent.

HONG KONG FUN-cation Specials from Cosmopolitan Hotel (cosmopolitanhotel.com.hk), a Michelin-accredited hotel in Causeway Bay shopping district. The Deal A stay in a Family Quad room. The Highlight A set of complimentary services and goods focused on kidfriendly fun including children’s premium bath and skincare products; use of a mobile storybook library, toy cart, PlayStation, Wii and Nintendo; a welcome gift; and a snack box. Cost From HK$2,500, double, through December 31. Savings 23 to 30 percent.

Premier Lake View rooms at The Oberoi Udaivilas, in Udaipur, India.

SOUTH AND WEST ASIA Oberoi Exotic Vacations from Oberoi Hotels & Resorts (oberoihotels.com), a group of 17 extravagant properties across six countries in Asia, the Middle East and Africa. The Deal Six nights in a Premier room at one Oberoi property in India or the United Arab Emirates: The Oberoi Rajvilas, Jaipur; The Oberoi Udaivilas, Udaipur; The Oberoi Amarvilas, Agra; The Oberoi Vanyavilas, Ranthambhore; Wildflower Hall, Shimla in the Himalayas; The Oberoi, Mumbai; The Oberoi, New Delhi; The Oberoi Grand, Kolkata; The Oberoi, Bangalore; or The Oberoi, Dubai. The Highlights Complimentary daily yoga session, and 25 percent discount on spa therapies. Cost From Rp231,000 (Rp38,500 per night), double, October 1, 2014,

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through April 10, 2015. Savings 35 to 45 percent.

Beach THAILAND Good Morning Sunshine from Le Bayburi Pranburi (lebayburi.com), four themed vacation houses on one of Thailand’s quietest shores. The Deal Two nights in a three-bedroom beachfront pool villa. The Highlights One complimentary breakfast basket, and one mini bar replenishment per stay. Cost From Bt28,800 (Bt14,400 per night) for a maximum of eight people, through October 31. Savings 60 percent. CHINA National Day Escape from Mandarin Oriental, Sanya (mandarinoriental.com), taking up a private bay on Hainan Island,

T R AV E L A N D L E I S U R E A S I A .C O M

BALI Learn with the One You Love from Sheraton Bali Kuta Resort (sheratonbalikuta.com), on the island’s most popular surfing spot. The Deal Three nights in a Deluxe room. The Highlights A 60-minute tailored Balinese massage for two followed by a 30-minute Balinese massage lesson for two. Cost From US$645 (US$215 per night), double, through December 27. Savings 30 percent. CHIANG MAI Romantic Escape from Lanna-style Dhara Dhevi (dharadhevi.com), with serene suites and villas hidden in 24 hectares of green countryside landscape. The Deal Two nights in a Deluxe villa with outdoor Jacuzzi. The Highlights A dinner for two at Farang Ses and an 80-minute spa treatment of choice for two at The Dheva Spa. Cost Bt84,798 (Bt42,399 per night), double, October 1, 2014, through March 31, 2015. Savings 30 percent.

Family HUA HIN Family Getaways with Santorini Park from Dusit Thani Hua Hin (dusit.com), a stylish property that reflects the city’s

PHUKET First Class Family Getaway from JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa (jwmarriottphuketresort.com), on isolated Mai Khao beach, 15 kilometers north of Phuket International Airport. The Deal Two nights in a Deluxe Sala Garden View room. The Highlights Thirty percent discount on à la carte spa treatments and 10 percent discount on Elemis treatments at Mandara Spa. Cost From Bt11,400 (Bt5,700 per night), double, through December 24. Savings 20 percent. SINGAPORE Family Fun package from Shangri-La’s Rasa Sentosa Resort & Spa (shangrila.com), the country’s only beachfront resort. The Deal A stay in a Deluxe Pool View room. The Highlight A full-day, with lunch and dinner included, at Cool Zone, the largest hotelprovided children’s club in Singapore, for kids aged five to 12 years old. Cost From S$485, double, through December 31. Savings 55 percent. +

COURTESY OF OBEROI HOTELS & RESORTS

Romance

A New National Landmark is Rising in Thailand… Spectacular Beyond Imagination

A new Thai legacy on the legendary Chao Phraya River A mega project emerges as a beacon of a prosperous future Prime location connecting to 40 prominent destinations along 10 km of Bangkok’s historic riverbank, including world heritage sites, commercial centers and world-renown tourist attractions. Surrounded by over 50 luxury hotels and 200 upscale residential projects with convenient access to citywide transportation options: Park&Ride, BTS, and over 650 daily boat shuttles

Prepare to witness 7 new wondrous world-class attractions for the first time in Thailand • 750,000 sqm of prime development area on over 50 rai on Charoen Nakorn Road • A Transcendent World-Class Destination. Curating a New Paradigm of Excellence with breathtaking design and cutting-edge technology. The st unparalleled experience of 21 century lifestyle • River Park – the Kingdom’s largest riverside promenade that will be the ultimate venue to host year-round, world-class events and national activities • Adorned with a dazzling, Multi-Media Water-andFire Feature that is the longest in Southeast Asia for enthralling shows of water, fire, light, and sound • 2 Exclusive Piers for private yachts and shuttle boats, and convenient access to 73 other piers along the river

• 2 Most Prestige Waterfront Residences of Asia designed to be among the world's best residential properties with the Bangkok skyline rising above the river. An Icon of the futuristic living quality • 2 Unrivalled Glamorous Retail & Entertainment Complexes - where the best of world-class brands meet the best of Thailand's exquisite products: 500 shops and 100 of the finest restaurants from around the world • State-of-the-Art, World-Class Auditorium, ready to serve ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) Seminars, International Trade Exhibitions and cultural performances • The Museum of Treasures, featuring Thailand's Heritage and Wisdom

Ready to enchant the world in 2017

Tel.+662-118-2211

www.ICONSIAM.com

October 2014

Features

MARC CHAFIIAN

90 50 Dream Trips 108 Surfing the Maldives 114 New Zealand Wine Drive 124 Mongolia 132 Maui

The undulating sands of the Gobi Desert, Mongolia, page 124.

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If you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be? That’s what we asked our followers on Facebook and Twitter and the frequent travelers we interviewed on the streets of New York. Their answers spanned the globe, from an overwater bungalow in Bora-Bora to the ski slopes of Japan to the beaches of Brazil. Here, our advice on how to make these dream getaways a reality—plus, the trips that are on T+L editors’ bucket lists. EDITED BY JACQUELINE GIFFORD AND BROOKE PORTER KATZ

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M A R C A U X /G E T T Y I M A G E S

50 DREAM TRIPS

An iconic balloon ride among the thousands of temples of Bagan, in Burma. For more Asian trips, turn the page. â&#x2020;&#x2019;

DREAM TRIPS

ASIA

A deck leads into the ocean at One&Only Reethi Rah, in the Maldives.

THE MALDIVES “Those crystal-clear blue waters are a sight, and I’d love to escape for a week…or two… or three!” Christian Smith f

“This destination is great for couples and families; you can be as ‘busy’ as you want with activities such as fishing, snorkeling, scuba diving, and sailing on a traditional Maldivian dhoni,” says T+L Super-Agent Valerie Ann Wilson, who advises homing in on two hotels (island-hopping isn’t always easy here). Her picks: Four Seasons Resort Maldives at Landaa Giraavaru (fourseasons. com; $$$$$), where guests can indulge in an ayurvedic massage or swim with manta rays in a unesco Biosphere Reserve, and One&Only Reethi Rah (oneandonly resorts.com; $$$$$), whose 32 recently renovated overwater villas now have private pools.

Shwedagon Pagoda, in Rangoon. Right: The new Sanctuary Ananda. T+L Editor’s Pick

RAJASTHAN, INDIA

CHINA + TIBET

C L O C K W I S E F R O M T O P L E F T: P H I L I P P E N G E L H O R N ; J A M E S F I S H E R ; F R É D É R I C L A G R A N G E ; C O U R T E S Y O F S A N C T U A R Y R E T R E AT S ; C H R I S T O P H E R K U C W AY; C O U R T E S Y O F C U I S I N E W AT D A M N A K ; C O U R T E S Y O F S H I N TA M A N I R E S O R T; D A N I V E R N O N . O P P O S I T E : C O U R T E S Y O F O N E & O N LY R E E T H I R A H

“I want to experience the ultimate wellness escape in China: spa days, drinking tea and more!” Kate Bellin f

Here, four unique experiences from T+L Super-Agent Guy Rubin, founder of Imperial Tours (imperialtours.net). + Rubin can schedule a morning consultation with a traditional Chinese medicine doctor in any of the major cities. If you’re in Beijing, your practitioner will lead a short session of qigong, which coordinates slow movements with breathing. + Hong Zhi Cha Zhuang (10 Maliandao St., Xicheng; 86-10/6328-6015), a shop in Beijing’s Maliandao Market, specializes in high-grade, hand-processed teas from Anhui province in eastern China. Taiping houkui may lower blood pressure, Huangshan maofeng reduces stress, and Liuan guapian is said to prevent heart disease. + While formally a martial art, tai chi is appreciated for both its physical and mental health benefits in controlling chi (energy flow). Rubin recommends a private tutorial with a 21st-generation master on the beautiful grounds of Beijing’s Temple of Heaven. + A detoxifying tsampa massage at the new Shangri-La Hotel, Lhasa (shangri-la.com; $$$), in Tibet, stimulates circulation. It ends with a gentle barley flour scrub, which exfoliates and absorbs excess oil.

BURMA “I want to take a boat trip around Burma. I would love to see that part of the world before the Golden Arches spoil it.” Eleanor Clark Larsen f

Start your days with yoga on an Irrawaddy River voyage from Sanctuary Retreats (sanctuary retreats.com; 11 nights from $5,214 per person). The new 20-suite Sanctuary Ananda will take you from Mandalay through lush rice paddies to Rangoon, with a hot-air ride above Bagan’s temples along the way. The Chindwin River sailing on the Belmond Orcaella (belmond.com; 11 nights from $6,900 per person) provides a deeper glimpse into rural life, with stops in Sittaung, Mingin and other towns.

“I’d join a camel safari through the Thar Desert with INDIA BEAT (india beat.co.uk; from $135 per person) and sleep in tents among the dunes at the SERAI JAISALMER

(sujanluxury. com; $$$$), where Manganiyar tribesmen sing during firelit dinners. The finale? A behind-thescenes tour with COX & KINGS (cox andkings usa.com) of Chandni Chowk’s spice market in Old Delhi.” Shane Mitchell, Lifestyle Correspondent

CAMBODIA “Touring Angkor Wat tops my #travelbucketlist. Any advice to help me plan?” @little_ducky T+L Editor’s Pick

JAPAN “First, skiing Nagano’s HAKUBA HAPPO-ONE

(happo-one.jp) on slopes once graced by the likes of Picabo Street. In Tokyo, I’d indulge my food fantasy on an izakaya crawl that includes MARU (81-3/64185572). Kyoto would be my last stop, for a tour of the Imperial Palace and nights in a restored IORI MACHIYA

(kyotomachiya.com; $$) town house.” David Alexander Arnold, Photo Editor

Stay Designer Bill Bensley has been busy in Siem Reap, with two recent redos. Shinta Mani Resort (above; shintamani. com; $$) offers rooms with mirrored walls, cooking classes and sightseeing tours, while the Park Hyatt Siem Reap (park.hyatt.com; $$)—set right downtown—is filled with Khmer-inspired art.

Prices throughout are listed in US dollars. Please see page 107 for hotel pricing key.

Eat Located in a traditional house outside of central Siem Reap, Cuisine Wat Damnak (cuisinewat damnak.com) showcases hyper-seasonal FrenchKhmer dishes (sanday fish in galangal leaf with coconut-tree-heart salad) from chef Joannès Rivière. The garden is the perfect setting for the six-course menu—a steal at $28.

Do ABOUTAsia (aboutasia travel.com) knows how to avoid the crowds at the temples of Angkor, so a private tour with them is a must. Get a little more off the beaten path with Indochine Exploration (indochineex.com), which can arrange excursions by foot, bike and kayak to surrounding villages and temples.

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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DREAM TRIPS

A luxury suite at Saffire Freycinet lodge, in Tasmania.

AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND, SOUTH PACIFIC “I would take a dream tour of Australia, from Queensland to Tasmania, hug koalas, play with kangaroos and swim with turtles.” @ck_laughlin DAYS 1–2 T+L A-List advisor

Cassandra Bookholder (cassandra@camelbacktravel. com; 14 days from $14,247 per person) can arrange wildlife

encounters in Cairns, Queensland, including stops at Hartley’s Crocodile Adventures to feed kangaroos and Kuranda State Forest to hang out with koalas. You’ll love the oversize lagoon pool and apartment-style rooms at Pullman Sea Temple Palm Cove Resort & Spa. DAYS 3–5 Helicopter from

Cairns to Orpheus Island

Orpheus Island, in Queensland.

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Resort, in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area. Green sea turtles might join you during a dive or snorkeling session. DAYS 6–8 Spend three

nights in Sydney; the Park Hyatt Sydney has unrivaled views of the harbor and Sydney Opera House. DAYS 9–10 In Hobart, Tasmania, the Henry Jones Art Hotel—located in a former jam factory—is your base for a couple of days. Don’t miss the legendary Salamanca craft market (Saturdays only) and the avant-garde Museum of Old & New Art (MONA). DAYS 11–14 Luxury lodge Saffire Freycinet will pick you up in Hobart in a town car for the scenic, 2½-hour drive. Hiking to the white-sand Wineglass Bay beach is one of the many activities included in your stay.

T+L Editor’s Pick

FIJI +NEW ZEALAND “I’ve been dying to hit the beach in Fiji and taste wine in New Zealand. At NAMALE RESORT

(namalefiji. com; allinclusive; $$$$$), I’d splurge on a villa facing the Koro Sea. In New Zealand, the South Island’s OTAHUNA LODGE

(otahuna. co.nz; $$$$$), set in a Victorian mansion, is an hour from Waipara— prime Pinot Noir country.” Gabrielle Blitz, Associate Social Media Editor

CHRISTMAS ISLAND “I’d like to visit Christmas Island and see the red crab migration.” Karin Gardner f

The annual migration on this Australian territory—a 3½-hour flight from Perth—is nature at its most wondrous, ending with millions of crabs releasing their eggs in the ocean at low tide. This year’s predicted spawning dates are Dec. 17–18. If that timing doesn’t work, Indian Ocean Experiences (indianocean experiences.com.au) can book culture and wildlife tours. Hotels are limited; our pick is the Sanctuary Adult Retreat (thesanctuary christmasisland.com; $$$), a private, modest two-bedroom bungalow.

C L O C K W I S E F R O M T O P : C O U R T E S Y O F S A F F I R E F R E Y C I N E T; D A N I V E R N O N ; S T E P H E N B E L C H E R / M I N D E N P I C T U R E S/C O R B I S ; C O U R T E S Y O F O R P H E U S I S L A N D R E S O R T

AUSTRALIA

FRENCH POLYNESIA

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 T. R E G I S B O R A B O R A ( 2 ) ; C O U R T E S Y O F S U G A R B E A C H , A V I C E R O Y R E S O R T; C O U R T E S Y O F T H E F A I R M O N T B A N F F S P R I N G S ; B E N O I T P E V E R E L L I ; D A N I V E R N O N

“An overwater bungalow in Bora-Bora is at the top of my bucket list.” Mindy Muniz Findley f

For an up-close look at Bora-Bora’s lagoon, T+L A-List advisor Robin Turner (robin.l.turner@aexp.com) can arrange a tour with the très genial Christophe Poch (reefdiscovery.pf; from $112 per person), a French navy veteran who’ll take you swimming with leatherback sea turtles and a family of manta rays. Follow it up with a dinner of French-Tahitian dishes (seared ahi in vanilla oil; bananas flambé) at the cozy Villa Mahana (villa mahana.com; $$$$). When it comes to hotels, Turner recommends the Four Seasons Resort Bora Bora (fourseasons.com; $$$$$) for its 100 overwater bungalows with soaking tubs; the wellness-focused InterContinental Resort & Thalasso Spa (inter continental.com; $$$$$); or the St. Regis Bora Bora (stregis.com; $$$$$), spread out over 18 lush hectares.

Above and below: The St. Regis Bora Bora.

CANADA “From Banff to Lake Louise, there’s so much to see and capture on my camera in the Canadian Rockies.” Pesca R. Langley f

Few hotels are as photogenic as the Fairmont Banff Springs (fairmont.com; $$$), a 768-room castle. It’s set within the national

park, which offers naturalist-led alpine hikes, canoeing and horseback riding. Between Banff and Lake Louise, you’ll find a jaw-dropping panorama at the glacier-fed Moraine Lake, whose iridescent water mirrors 10 snowcapped peaks. It’s an Instagram-worthy stopover en route to the chalet-style Post Hotel & Spa (posthotel.com; $$) in Lake Louise.

Fairmont Banff Springs.

CARIBBEAN T+L Editor’s Pick

T+L Editor’s Pick

CUBA

ST. BART’S

“On an art tour with

“As a card-carrying Francophile with an elemental yearning for sun, water and whitesand beaches, I would spend a week at the iconic

GEOGRAPHIC EXPEDITIONS

The Rainforest Spa at Sugar Beach, a Viceroy Resort, in St. Lucia.

ST. LUCIA “My husband and I would relax by our in-room pool with a view of the Piton mountains, and then enjoy a couples massage.” Jen Christiansen f

At the Piton-facing Jade Mountain (jade mountain.com; $$$$$), all but five of the 29 open-air suites come with private infinity pools. (You’ll have to tear yourself away to make it to the beach.) As for that massage: we suggest the neighboring Sugar Beach, a Viceroy Resort (viceroyhotelsandresorts. com; $$$), where the Rainforest Spa has seven tree-house treatment rooms.

(geoex.com; from $5,680 per person), I’d get an insider take on traditional printmaking, explore the Museo de Bellas Artes with a curator, and meet painters. Also on my list: Jaimanitas, a fishing village whose houses are covered in wall sculptures by native artist José Fuster. In between, I’d eat in family-run paladares— and try a fabled Cuban cigar.” Patrick Sheehan, Production Director

EDEN ROCK

(edenrock hotel.com; $$$$$). Glamorous hotels, hidden coves, real croissants: this is my French Caribbean fantasy.” Luke Barr, Features Director

NATIONAL PARKS “If money was no object, I’d hit up every U.S. National Park, A–Z.” Jean Elliott Boyer f

The obvious favorites are Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon—but we suggest starting with more underthe-radar parks. Here, our top three. Sequoia National Park, in California, has all of Yosemite’s High Sierra grandeur—soaring mountains; steep canyons; wildflower-covered

foothills—and only a fraction of its crowds. Highlights include the 84-meter-tall General Sherman tree (the world’s biggest living thing) and overnights at the Sequoia High Sierra Camp (open June through Sept.; sequoiahighsierracamp. com; $$$$), a luxe, hike-inonly tented camp. Our favorite way to experience Texas’s Big Bend National Park is on a gourmet rafting trip with Far Flung Outdoor Center (bigbendfarflung.com; three days from $875). Look up at Santa Elena Canyon’s

460-meter walls as you travel down the Rio Grande by day, then fill up on rack of lamb or fish at the campsite before nightly stargazing sessions. Join Austin Adventures (austinadventures.com; six days from $2,998 per person, double) on a one-week multisport exploration of Montana’s Glacier National Park—one of the Lower 48’s largest intact ecosystems. It’s not uncommon to spot grizzlies, mountain goats, wolves, elks and moose as you hike to alpine lakes, bike across the Continental Divide, and more.

Big Bend National Park, in southwestern Texas.

MASSACHUSETTS “Sailing near Cape Cod, ending at a B&B in Nantucket.” Roxanne Price f

On a crewed sailboat from Swift Yacht Charters (swiftyachts.com; from $1,000 per day for six people), head from Padanaram to the Cape’s southern coast before reaching Nantucket. Stay at the year-old Regatta Inn (above; theregattainn.com; $$), which has eight individually decorated rooms. It’s an easy ferry ride back.

HAWAII “Two weeks to see volcanoes and Pearl Harbor.” Elizabeth Yanska f DAYS 1–5 T+L A-List advisor Ed Phillips (Frosch Travel, trvaler@gmail.com; 14 days from $3,500 per person) suggests kicking things off in buzzy Honolulu, “to have the high-energy part first.” Get to the Pearl Harbor Visitor Center early (it opens at 7 a.m.); it’s crucial to beat the crowds for a calmer experience. Stay at the Kahala Hotel & Resort, with an open-air lobby, koa wood floors and a secluded beach. DAYS 6–9 On Hawaii Island, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park has more than 240 kilometers of trails and a walk-in lava tube. Stay in the 540-room Fairmont Orchid, on the Kohala Coast. DAYS 10–14 End in Maui, and see the sunrise at the top of Haleakala Crater and paniolos (cowboys) upcountry in Makawao. Phillips is a fan of the beach at Makena State Park, close to the elegant Grand Wailea, a Waldorf Astoria Resort.

F R O M T O P : C O U R T E S Y O F T H E R E G AT TA I N N ; © L U N A M A R I N A / D R E A M S T I M E . C O M

UNITED STATES

EUROPE

The Condé Museum at Domaine de Chantilly, in Oise, France.

“I WOULD VISIT THE BERLIN WALL AND TRY NEW FOODIE HOT SPOTS.” VICTOR AU YEUNG,

C L O C K W I S E F R O M T O P : B E AT R I C E L E C U Y E R B I B A L /G E T T Y I M A G E S ; W H I T N E Y L AWSO N ; ©A E T H E R I A L /D R E A M ST I M E .C O M ; S P E N C E R H E Y F R O N

28, Doctor

The former West is buzzy thanks to Bikini Berlin (bikiniberlin.de), a new cool-kid shopping center full of local high-design brands such as Gestalten. Next door, there’s the whimsical 25 Hours Hotel Bikini Berlin (25hours-hotels.com; $), whose rooftop restaurant Neni and Monkey Bar lounge are the city’s hardest-to-get reservations. November 9 marks the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. See it via a new food-focused tour from Berlinagenten (berlinagenten.com), which includes meals at three restaurants along or near the wall.

FRANCE I want to go to…

GREECE

“I want to see Chartres Cathedral, Château de Maintenon, with its old Roman aqueducts, and Château Pierrefonds—the list goes on!” Cindy Corrello Hilke f

Château de Maintenon (chateaudemaintenon.fr)— where Louis XIV’s second wife lived—is 88 kilometers southwest of Paris, a beautiful drive through an old oak forest. A little farther south, the medieval Chartres Cathedral (chartrescathedral. net) is known for its French- Gothic architecture and 13th-century stained glass. About 96 kilometers northwest of Paris, combine a visit to Château Pierrefonds (once owned by Napoleon) with a stop at the resplendent Domaine de Chantilly (domainedechantilly.com), with 47 hectares of gardens; the Condé Museum, dedicated to the old masters; and historic stables.

T+L Editor’s Pick

TUSCANY “On my splurge short list: a week with my family at CASALE DI FIESOLE (home baseabroad. com; from $13,500 per week), a renovated farmhouse set in the hills outside Florence. We’d shop and eat in local markets, and take an after-hours tour of the Uffizi Gallery, courtesy of T+L A-List advisor Andrea Grisdale (andrea@ icbellagio. com).”

“I’d bring a few friends on a private chartered sailboat and explore the beautiful Greek islands.” Maria Leach f

T+L A-List advisor Mina Agnos (mina@travelive.com; seven days from $35,000 for up to four people) recommends a weeklong sail from off-the-map Amorgos, in the Cyclades, to Santorini, with stops in Mykonos (below) and the untrammeled beaches of Folegandros. Two couples can share the 20-meter motor yacht Lou Lou with a crew of two—including a skipper who cooks with ingredients picked up along the way.

Jennifer Barr, Executive Editor/Content Strategist

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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IRELAND “I’m dreaming of castles, wild ponies and pubs full of raucous live music.” Charmaine Grills f

DAYS 1–3 Start in Kinsale, a harbor village near Cork. “It’s the culinary capital of Ireland,” Cornell says. Fishy Fishy is perfect for a lunch of local oysters; stay at the 22-room Perryville House, a short walk from the pubs.

Life in the Irish capital of Dublin. Above, from left: A pony in Connemara; the 83-room Ashford Castle.

“I would visit the country’s famous tea shops.” Cheryl Strait f

Sally Lunn’s Historic Eating House & Museum (sallylunns. co.uk), in Bath, earns raves for its light-as-air bun—a cross between a brioche, bread and cake; the closely guarded recipe dates back to the 17th century. In London, you’ll find quality blends at Fortnum & Mason (fortnumandmason.com), a food-focused specialty store with a royal warrant. Sit down for champagne and a pot of Queen Anne in the Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon. Founded in 1919, Bettys (bettys. co.uk) now has six locations across Yorkshire; if you’re a traditionalist, visit the original in Harrogate and have afternoon tea in the chandeliered Imperial Room.

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DAYS 6–7 Near Connemara, a west-coast region of farmhouses and emerald green hills, Ashford Castle is unveiling a new look in March, updating its 83 unique rooms and adding a pool. There’s also clay shooting, falconry, and the Dungeon Bar for Irish karaoke at its best. DAYS 8–10 End in the capital, where you can take a pub crawl of the Temple Bar district led by two musicians. The grand Shelbourne, a Renaissance Hotel faces St. Stephen’s Green.

I want to go to…

ENGLAND

DAYS 4–5 Fringed by rugged cliffs, the Dingle Peninsula has gorgeous scenery. Dingle Horse Riding offers guided mountain or beach rides for

all skill levels. Book a sea- view room at Dingle’s intimate Pax House.

T R AV E L A N D L E I S U R E A S I A .C O M

“IT’S THE IDEAL CITY FOR ROMANCE. I’D LOVE TO VISIT MUSEUMS AND EAT AMAZING FOOD.” ANGELA HARRY, 47, Patient-Care Technician

The city’s smaller museums are quieter, and much more romantic. A short walk from the Jardin du Luxembourg, Musée Maillol (museemaillol.com) is a love letter to the artist Aristide Maillol founded by his muse, Dina Vierny; you’ll also see works by Henri Matisse and Paul Gauguin. The gardens of the Musée Rodin (musee-rodin.fr) are intimate and peaceful—and right next door to Alain Passard’s L’Arpège (alain-passard.com; $$$$), which offers a poetic and refined twist on farm-to-table eating. And the Jacquemart-André Museum (musee-jacquemart- andre.com)—set in a 19th-century mansion— has works by everyone from Botticelli to Boucher.

C L O C K W I S E F R O M T O P L E F T: H O L G E R L E U E /G E T T Y I M A G E S ; C H R I S T O P H E R C H U R C H I L L ; C O U R T E S Y O F A S H F O R D C A S T L E ; S P E N C E R H E Y F R O N

Here, an itinerary from T+L A-List advisor Carol Cornell (carolc@covington travelinc.com; 10 days from $5,100 per couple).

C L O C K W I S E F R O M T O P L E F T: © R A Z V A N J P/ D R E A M S T I M E . C O M ; C A M I L L E M O I R E N C ; C O U R T E S Y O F FERME CAMPO DI MONTE; ©JONINGALL /DRE AMSTIME.COM; JAMES MERRELL; COURTESY OF HOTEL TRESANTON

DREAM TRIPS

CORSICA, FRANCE “It seems amazing, with hiking, turquoise water, great food and varied scenery.” Joanne Papineau f

TOUR DE FRANCE “The race goes past beautiful villages. What an experience that would be, to travel the same roads as those athletes!” Dan Mclean f

Follow in the foot pedals of legendary cyclists with Trek Travel (trektravel.com; six days from $5,599). On the itinerary? A top-of-the-line Domane 5.9 bike to ride on the course, stays in historic inns, and VIP finish-line passes.

Hotel Tresanton, in St. Mawes, England. Right: A sailboat in St. Mawes.

Stay On almost 2,500 hectares of fields and forests in southern Corsica, an estate with 16 former shepherds’ houses has been transformed into Domaine de Murtoli (murtoli.com; from $2,975 per week); options include a luxurious villa with a private beach and a cottage surrounded by oak and olive trees.

Eat At La Ferme de Campo di Monte (fermecampo dimonte.com; $$$), near the northern village of Murato, Pauline and Jo Julliard serve family-style meals of Corsican cuisine—house-made charcuterie; sweet beignets with fig jam— inside a 17th-century stone farmhouse.

Do Dramatic cliff-top vistas and sleepy beach towns dot the Sentier des Douaniers, a 19-kilometer coastal trail around the northern Cap Corse peninsula. The secluded Capo di Feno is a surfing hot spot—but the soft, chalk-white sand is ideal for a solitary, sun-drenched snooze.

CORNWALL, ENGLAND “Visiting St. Michael’s Mount in Cornwall, then taking in a play at the Minack Theatre.” Mollie Smith Waters f

First stop: the fishing village of St. Mawes and the chic 30-room Hotel Tresanton (tresanton. com; $$$), overlooking the Fal Estuary. Just 90 minutes south in Porthcurno, the open-air Minack Theatre (minack.com) is set on a cliff; plays run May through September. Stay at the Old Coast Guard (oldcoastguardhotel.uk; $$), whose 14 cheerful rooms have views of St. Michael’s Mount, a family-owned island with a tiny village.

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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Tapas at El Rinconcillo, in Seville, Spain.

SPAIN “I would love to go to Andalusia, to the provinces of Granada, Seville and Málaga, to visit the places where my ancestors are from.” Eva Molina-De Vilbiss f

T+L A-List advisor Virginia Irurita (virginia@madefor spain.com; 10 days from $8,000 per couple) highlights insider spots and classic sites. GRANADA Some say that Queen Isabella I was the world’s first art collector;

her pieces are housed in the Royal Chapel. At the workshop Laguna Taracea, learn about the intricate wood marquetry used in traditional furniture. Don’t miss The iconic Alhambra, an 11th-century Moorish palace complex. SEVILLE Tour the private Casa de Pilatos palace, which mixes Italian Renaissance and GothicMudejar styles, before sampling tapas at El Rinconcillo and buying jam and cakes made by nuns at Monasterio de Santa Paula.

Don’t miss The tomb of Christopher Columbus at Seville Cathedral. MÁLAGA You can’t leave Spain without eating some jamón ibérico; try it at El Pimpi Bodega Bar, a local favorite that now has an adjacent cocktail and seafood restaurant. Don’t miss The Picasso Museum, home to more than 230 works by the Málaga-born artist, and the Alcazaba (or citadel), a vast Moorish fortification overlooking the port.

C L O C K W I S E F R O M R I G H T: S P E N C E R H E Y F R O N ; O B E R T O G I L I ; © A N N W O R T H Y/ D R E A M S T I M E . C O M ; © F R A N K R O E D E R / D R E A M S T I M E . C O M ; © D M I T R Y I S A I C H E V/ D R E A M S T I M E . C O M ; C O U R T E S Y O F V I L L A O R S U L A . O P P O S I T E : C H R I S T O P H E R T E S TA N I

DREAM TRIPS

CROATIA “I would like to go on a cycling tour of Plitvice Lakes National Park, explore Dubrovnik, drink unknown wines in Korčula and visit the beaches of Hvar.” Jennifer O’Leary f

1 PLITVICE LAKES NATIONAL PARK

About two hours south of Zagreb, discover the waterfalls and caves of Plitvice Lakes National Park on a daylong guided cycling trip with Huck Finn Adventure Travel (huckfinncroatia.com; from $70). More independent travelers can rent a bike to explore this storybook landscape solo.

S LOV E N I A Z AG RE B

2 HVAR

Off the Dalmatian Coast, Hvar (below) is known for its relaxed lifestyle, lavender fields, olive groves and sublime beaches. It’s where you’ll find Dubovica Beach, with pebbles in place of sand, gin-clear water and a waterfront restaurant.

PLIT V IC E L A K ES N ATION A L PA RK BOS N I A A N D H E R ZEGOV I N A

4 DUBROVNIK

H VA R KORČU L A DU BROV N I K A DRI ATIC SEA

3 KORČULA

On the island of Korčula, sip hard-tofind local varieties such as Pošip and Grk at Vinum Bonum (385-20/715-014), a wine bar that also offers rakija (a Croatian grappa-like spirit) and antipasto-style plates (below).

The tony, 13-room Villa Orsula (above; adriaticluxuryhotels. com; $$$) is an ideal base for a stay in Dubrovnik. Sample Adriatic-prawn ceviche at Azur (azurvision.com; $$), an alfresco restaurant inside the famous stone walls of the old city, before stocking up on traditional hand-painted silk from the Konavle region at AR Atelier (antonia ruskovic.com).

“I’D BIKE AROUND THE NEIGHBORHOODS, STOPPING IN A BRUIN CAFÉ FOR BEER AND BITTERBALLEN.”

I want to go to…

JOHNNIE DAVIS ,

25, Courier/Cyclist

Cherry-red bicycles are available for rent at MacBike (macbike.nl), which has seven locations across the city. Route maps offer self-guided art- or architecturethemed tours. Refuel on beer and bitterballen— a croquette-like Dutch specialty made with minced beef, broth and flour—at the recently reopened waterfront spot Loetje aan de Amstel (ouderkerk.loetje. com; $$). The new Waldorf Astoria Amsterdam (waldorfastoria.com; $$$$), set on the Herengracht canal, was carved out of six Golden Age houses. It contains 93 luxurious rooms, a Guerlain spa and an indoor pool. For a dose of culture, the Rijksmuseum (rijks museum.nl) is just a five-minute bike ride away.

LAKE COMO, ITALY “Would love to be surrounded by the small-town charm and beautiful scenery of Lake Como.” @michellempanzer

Following a 12-year restoration, the 17th-century Palazzo del Vice Re (palazzodelvicere.com; $$), in Lezzeno, has finally debuted as a five-suite hotel. For lunch, fisherman Claudio Abaterusso serves simple platters such as perch drizzled with butter and sage at the no-frills Ittiturismo da Abate (ittiturismodabate.it; $$). 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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AFRICA+ THE MIDDLE EAST

I want to go to…

“AS A FORMER ANTIQUITIES TEACHER, I’VE ALWAYS LOVED THE SUBJECT OF ANCIENT EGYPT. I’D VISIT MUSEUMS AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL DIGS.” HELENE JORGENSEN, 65, Teacher

T+L A-List advisor Malaka Hilton (malaka@authentescapes.com; 10 days from $5,950) suggests starting in Alexandria with a tour of the underwater excavations at Pharos Lighthouse, one of the original Seven Wonders of the World. Other highlights: the largest known Roman burial site in Egypt and the Royal Jewelry Museum. It’s a six-hour drive to the Siwa Oasis—which Alexander the Great visited in 331 B.C.—for an unplugged stay at the desert eco-lodge Adrere Amellal. Just outside Cairo, Hilton can arrange private viewings of the ongoing digs at the Great Pyramids of Giza.

SOUTH AFRICA “To experience South Africa’s natural beauty and the wine, and a safari.” Charlotte Livingston Piotrowski f

T+L A-List advisor Tamsyn Fricker (tamsyn@ travelartistry.com; 13 days from $13,685 per person) recommends the following journey: DAYS 1–2 Arrive at stylish Birkenhead House, in Hermanus, on the southern coast. From June to November, keep an eye out for southern right whales, visible from the pool deck. DAYS 3–4 Head to Richard Branson’s new wine country estate, Mont Rochelle Hotel & Mountain Vineyard, in Franschhoek. You can ride horses in the valley and dine at chef Chris Erasmus’s new spot, Foliage.

DAYS 5–7 Your Cape Town stay includes a white-onwhite suite at the Cape View Clifton, hiking Lion’s Head mountain, and the vibrant art scene in Woodstock. DAYS 8–10 The revamped 12-suite Singita Boulders Lodge is breathing new life into the game-rich Sabi Sand Reserve. A dining pavilion hovers over a river where hippos and elephants gather. DAYS 11–13 At the 100,000-plus-hectare Tswalu Kalahari Reserve, a favorite of Bono, you’ll track the black rhino, hear the majestic Kalahari lion roar and, if you’re lucky, see an elusive armadillo-like pangolin.

C L O C K W I S E F R O M T O P : A D R I A A N L O U W ; © B E N N Y M A R T Y/ D R E A M S T I M E . C O M ; S P E N C E R H E Y F R O N

Singita Boulders Lodge, in South Africa.

DREAM TRIPS

MOROCCO PETRA, JORDAN

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 K I R A T U R N B U L L ; C O U R T E S Y O F A N S O N S M A R T; M O N I C A S H A W/ F L I C K R . C O M ; A L A N K E O H A N E ; T I M B A R K E R / G E T T Y I M A G E S

“Ever since seeing Indiana Jones, I’ve wanted to visit the historic sites of Petra.” @sarahjenksdaly

You should follow Indy’s footsteps through the slot canyon, or siq, that leads to the Treasury building, hewn by hand from a sandstone cliff. But there are many worthwhile sites, including cave dwellings and a massive colonnaded Monastery that sits atop the highest peak (it’s a steep hike, so hire a horse or donkey). Our tips: start early to avoid the afternoon heat; use a guide, who can explain Petra’s architecture and mysterious history (we love Mahmoud Ahmed, mat65petra@yahoo.com); and stay at the Mövenpick Resort Petra (moevenpickhotels.com; $$$$), with a pool and prime location just outside the entrance.

“I’m dying to go to Morocco, with time split between a stylish desert camp and shopping in Marrakesh!” Maggie Gavigan f T+L Editor’s Pick

MADAGASCAR “For an adventureminded traveler like me, nothing would beat seeing a ring-tailed lemur jumping across branches; visiting the legendary pirate vessels on Ste. Marie; and scuba diving off coral reefs. I’d stay at the ANJAJAVY L’HOTEL

(anjajavy. com; $$$), accessible by private plane. The property lets you plant your own baobab tree.” Kira Turnbull, Photo Assistant

Stay How about sleeping among the rolling dunes of the Sahara? The romantic Dar Ahlam (maison desreves.com; $$$$$), a restored casbah turned 14-room hotel in the Skoura Oasis, can arrange overnights in one of its luxurious bivouac tents. Combine this with Marrakesh’s iconic La Mamounia (above; mamounia.com; $$$$), famous for its lake-size swimming pool.

Eat Come lunchtime, head straight to the roof deck at Un Déjeuner à Marrakech (2-4 Rue Kennaria; $$), which offers excellent quiches, terrines and panoramic city views. For fine Moroccan cuisine in a beautiful riad, try Le Tobsil (above; 22 Derb Abdellah Ben Hessaien; $$$); your multicourse meal may begin with shared salads, and move on to pastilla (pigeon pie) and chicken tagine.

La Porte D’Or (115 Souk Semmarine) is a treasure trove of antique doors, jewelry and Berber carpets, while Aya’s (ayasmarrakech. tripod.com), in the Jewish Quarter, is known for its made-to-order linen tunics (ready in a day or two). Attika (34 Rue de la Liberté), in Guéliz, specializes in colorful loafers (above)— for less than $100.

The Treasury building at Petra, in Jordan.

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GALÁPAGOS ISLANDS “The wildlife-filled archipelago in Ecuador is more alluring thanks to the carbonneutral PIKAIA LODGE

A macaron with ice cream flavored with rica rica, a flowering shrub that grows in the Atacama Desert.

SOUTH AMERICA ARGENTINA + CHILE

PERU

“I could really get into a #SouthAmerican #food tour.” @IMJPRO

“Hike the Inca Trail, see Machu Picchu, experience the Amazon, eat authentic food.” @worldbefore30

We’ve narrowed it down to two culinary capitals. Here’s how to tackle them, one meal at a time. + BUENOS AIRES In Monserrat,

Gonzalo Aramburu puts a “Nueva Cocina” spin on traditional dishes such as gnocchi soufflé and suckling pig at Aramburu Bis (aramburubis.com.ar; $$), while Sucre Restaurant Bar & Grill (sucre restaurant.com.ar; $$$) reflects chef Fernando Trocca’s global sensibility (think risotto with Black Angus osso buco). + SANTIAGO, CHILE Boragó (borago.cl; $$$) is the top table in a city that’s just

beginning to celebrate its culinary roots. Chef Rodolfo Guzman turns native ingredients—shellfish, mushrooms, herbs and highland flowers—into edible bonsai. 99 (99restaurante.com; $$$) is young, radical and market-fresh. Don’t miss the wild-boar caldo if it pops up on the three-course lunch menu.

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T+L A-List advisor Marisol Mosquera (marisol@aracari. com; 14 days from $5,690 per person) suggests starting in Lima, home to the country’s best restaurants. Our pick: Astrid y Gastón, which chef Gastón Acurio recently relocated to a converted hacienda. Spend a few nights at the eco-lodge Refugio Amazonas, where biologists lead hikes through the rain forest. Those treks are nothing compared with the Inca Trail. You’ll cover 43 kilometers in four days; campsites are set up along the way. The reward? Two days at the spectacular Incan ruins of Machu Picchu.

T R AV E L A N D L E I S U R E A S I A .C O M

(pikaialodge galapagos. com; three-night minimum; $$$$$), a luxurious property that is pioneering a hybrid land- and sea-based experience. I’d spend the day visiting nearby islands. Or I’d cruise with SILVERSEA CRUISES

(silversea. com; seven nights from $5,450 per person) on the refurbished 100passenger Silver Galapagos.” Jennifer Flowers, Hotels & Food Editor

I want to go to…

ROSEMARI HERRERO, 30, Investment Manager

The best Patagonia experience combines the Argentine and Chilean sides, according to T+L A-List advisor Jordan Harvey (jordan@knowmadadventures.com; 14 days from $7,000 per person). His itinerary includes a stay at Estancia Nibepo Aike, a sheep and cattle ranch near El Calafate, Argentina; guests hike on the massive Perito Moreno Glacier and experience hacienda living. Across the border and through the Andes, Explora Patagonia is ideal for its location within Torres del Paine National Park and horseback-riding program (it’s the only hotel in the area with its own stables). You’ll canter with the cowboys across vast grasslands— and even trade stories over maté. For something newer and more modern, Awasi Patagonia offers similar park excursions—as well as a visit to Otway Sound, home to a colony of Magellan penguins, during the transfer out of Torres del Paine. C L O C K W I S E F R O M T O P L E F T: M A C A R E N A A C H U R R A ; W H I T N E Y L A W S O N ; S P E N C E R H E Y F R O N

T+L Editor’s Pick

“I WOULD LOVE TO SEE PENGUINS, GO HORSEBACK RIDING AND MEET GAUCHOS IN PATAGONIA. THE MOUNTAINS ARE SO BEAUTIFUL.”

C L O C K W I S E F R O M T O P : © E K AT E R I N A B E L O V A / D R E A M S T I M E . C O M ; B O N J W I N G L E E ; A L E X R O B I N S O N / G E T T Y I M A G E S ; C O U R T E S Y O F T H E L O D G E AT C H A A C R E E K ; © P A U L W O L F/ D R E A M S T I M E . C O M ; C O U R T E S Y O F P E L I C A N B E A C H B E L I Z E . C O M

DREAM TRIPS

BRAZIL

Praia de Ipanema.

“My ultimate fantasy: relaxing on Brazil’s stunning beaches by day; sipping caipirinhas & eating fresh seafood at night.” @JoeDudas

Ubatuba, three hours east of São Paulo, has 74 beaches, some so deserted that sea turtles come to lay their eggs on the sand; surfers prefer buzzier Praia do Félix, where stiff prevailing winds create challenging breaks. + Vehicles are banned on Ilha Grande, a Robinson Crusoe–

style island that’s home to Praia de Lopes Mendes, a prized 3-kilometer swath of deserted shore. Hitch a ride in a fishing boat or hike a forest trail, ravines and serrated peaks to get there. (It’s worth it.) + Something is always happening at Rio de Janeiro’s Praia de Ipanema, cradle of bossa nova and Brazilian bohemia, where perfectly sculpted youths sip coconut or sweetsop juice at Polis Sucos (70A Rua Maria Quitéria; 55-21/2247-2518) and plot their next bout of excess. + At Bahia’s Ponta do

MEXICO+ CENTRAL AMERICA 2 SOUTH

BELIZE “I want to explore the mountains, caves, rivers, cashew fields and, of course, the coral reef and beaches. It has a bit of everything all in one small country.” Mary Sheridan Faubion f

1 CROOKED TREE

Home to the country’s best cashew farms, the town hosts a festival in May where you can even taste wine made from the meaty nut. Look for monkeys and endangered tropical birds at the Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary.

G U LF OF HON DU R AS

M E X ICO C ROOK E D TRE E

BE LIZE C IT Y

WATER CAYE MARINE RESERVE

This tiny island is off the beaten path, even for Belize—and you’ll be rewarded with incredible diving. Pelican’s Island Paradise (pelicanbeach belize.com; $$) offers five bungalows and night snorkeling along the reef.

BE LMOPA N

MOU N TA I N PI N E RI DG E FOREST RES E RV E

SOUTH WATE R CAY E M A RI N E RES E RV E TIG E R CAV E

HOK E B H A CAV E

3 MOUNTAIN PINE

RIDGE FOREST RESERVE

The Lodge at Chaa Creek (chaacreek.com; $$) has 23 palm-thatched cottages and a

hilltop spa set on a 148-hectare nature reserve along the Macal River. Sign up for a guided tour of the neighboring Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve, blanketed with orchids and surrounded by waterfalls.

Corumbau, 48 kilometers south of Porto Seguro, visitors snorkel an 11-kilometer coral reef, then pair fresh-caught prawns with organic mango salad at the 10-room oceanside Fazenda São Francisco do Corumbau (corumbau.com. br; $$$$). + Things get lazier still on Brazil’s sultry northeastern shore at Praia do Iguape, near Fortaleza. Lunch on grilled grouper and caipirinhas at nameless, tumbledown beach shacks— and doze away the afternoon in a beach hammock.

MEXICO “I want to go to Oaxaca for cooking classes and San Miguel de Allende for the art.” Tara O’Leary f

Start at Casa Oaxaca Café Restaurante (below; casaoaxacacafe.com; $$) for a nouveau-Oaxacan brunch in the garden terrace before heading to Casa de los Sabores cooking school (casadelossabores.com; $75), run out of chef Pilar Cabrera’s house. Classes include a visit to the local market and mezcal tastings. A sevenhour drive is the easiest and most direct route to San Miguel de Allende. See the bounty of the colonial town’s art at Fábrica La Aurora (fabricalaaurora.com), a collection of almost 40 galleries, shops and studios. Hotel Matilda (hotelmatilda. com; $$) has an unrivaled contemporary collection and a posh infinity pool.

4 HOKEB HA

AND TIGER CAVES

Tide Tours (tidetours.org; $80) will take you through the pools of Hokeb Ha Cave and into Tiger Cave (left). Stay nearby at Belcampo Lodge (bel campobz.com; $$$), which has its own organic farm.

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The Seabourn Quest plying the waters of Antarctica.

“Antarctica and South Georgia Island, to see the penguins.” Karin D. Beebe f

Seabourn Cruises (seabourn. com; 21 days from $12,999) recently began sending its 225-suite Seabourn Quest to Antarctica. Expect daily Zodiac expeditions (weather permitting) and photography workshops. Expert naturalists—on ornithology, marine biology, climatology and local history—are the

hallmarks of Abercrombie & Kent’s cruises (abercrombiekent.com; 12 nights from $9,995) through the ice floes of the Antarctic. Each of the 199 passengers on the Le Boréal gets a private veranda. For active travelers, Hurtigruten sailings aboard the 276-passenger Fram (18 nights from $7,299; hurtigruten.us) offer kayaking, hiking, snowshoeing and overnight camping on the ice. Extremeweather gear included.

ANTARCTICA

F R O M T O P L E F T: C O U R T E S Y O F S A N J AY P U R I A R C H I T E C T S ; T U C K E R B A I R ; S T E F A N I E K E E N A N / G E T T Y I M A G E S ; C O U R T E S Y O F M U S É E D E S C O N F L U E N C E S ; C O U R T E S Y O F N AT I O N A L M U S E U M O F M O D E R N A N D C O N T E M P O R A R Y A R T; C O U R T E S Y O F I N H O T I M . O P P O S I T E : S T E FA N R U IZ

DREAM TRIPS

NEW DESIGN CAPITALS “I’m an architecture buff, and I want to go on a design pilgrimage. Where can I find the next Bilbao?” @TheAbbyVoice

MUMBAI

Indian architect Sanjay Puri’s new building for the 123-year-old Bombay Art Society (bombayartsociety. org) has a sculptural quality, with a curving concrete façade interrupted by a huge, glassfronted trapezoid. STAY The Taj Mahal Palace (tajhotels. com; $$$$), the city’s historic grande dame hotel, is located right by the Gateway of India.

WILLIAMSTOWN, MASSACHUSETTS

MEXICO CITY

Tadao Ando’s addition to the venerable Clark Art Institute (clarkart. edu) is stealth architecture: the brilliance of its low- slung, ultramodern concrete and granite structures, located on a reflecting pool, sneaks up on you.

With its striking four-peaked roofline, the travertine-covered Museo Jumex (fundacionjumex. org) is one of David Chipperfield’s signature achievements. What’s more, it holds a world-class collection of contemporary art.

STAY The clapboard Porches Inn at MASS MoCa (porches.com; $), in nearby North Adams, is traditional New England on the outside, retroindustrial inside.

BRUMADINHO, BRAZIL

SEOUL LYONS, FRANCE

STAY The boutique

Condesa DF (condesadf.com; $) is tucked away on a tree-lined street; don’t miss the rooftop bar.

Set to open by the end of the year, Musée des Confluences (musee desconfluences.fr) is a science and anthropology museum that its design firm Coop Himmelblau likens to an “immense spaceship.” STAY Rooms at the Mama Shelter Lyon (mamashelter.com; $) are playful—and affordable.

Korean architect Mihn Hyun-jun went for openness and light-filled transparency with his spare design for the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (mmca.go.kr). STAY The new and LEED Gold–certified JW Marriott Dongdaemun Square Seoul (jwmarriott.com; $$) offers views of the historic Great East Gate.

The latest addition to the sprawling, 2,020-hectare contemporary art center and garden Inhotim (inhotim. org.br) is a simple, glass-fronted building devoted to 26 works by Tunga, one of Brazil’s most important living artists. STAY The 14-room Pousada Nova Estância Inn (nova estancia.com; $), which overlooks the Atlantic Forest.

REPORTED BY

Richard Alleman, Colin Barraclough, Nikki Ekstein, Peter J. Frank, Frances Hibbard, Sarah Khan, Peter Koch, Ted Loos, Alexandra Marshall, Sarah Miller, Shane Mitchell, Jenna Scatena, Peter Schlesinger, Emma Sloley, Valerie Waterhouse, Gisela Williams, Ingrid Williams, Jane Wooldridge

T+L DREAM TRIPS CHECKLIST ASIA

Burma 93 Cambodia 93 China + Tibet 93 Japan 93 Maldives 92 Mumbai 107 Rajasthan, India 93 Seoul 107 AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND + THE SOUTH PACIFIC

Australian Tour 94 ora-Bora, B French Polynesia 95 Christmas Island, Australia 94 Fiji 94 New Zealand 94

UNITED STATES + CANADA

Banff, Alberta 95 Hawaii 96 Nantucket, Mass. 96 U.S. National Parks 96 W illiamstown, Mass. 107 THE CARIBBEAN

Cuba St. Bart’s St. Lucia

95 95 95

EUROPE

Amsterdam 101 Berlin 97 C ornwall, England 99

Corsica, France 99 Croatia 101 England 98 Florence 97 French Châteaux 97 Greek Islands 97 Ireland 98 Lake Como, Italy 101 Lyons, France 107 Paris 98 Spain 100 Tour de France 99 AFRICA + THE MIDDLE EAST

Egypt Madagascar Morocco Petra, Jordan South Africa

102 103 103 103 102

MEXICO + CENTRAL AMERICA

Belize 105 Oaxaca and San Miguel de Allende, Mexico 105 Mexico City 107 SOUTH AMERICA

Buenos Aires 104 Brazil 105, 107 G alápagos Islands, Ecuador 104 Patagonia 104 Peru 104 Santiago, Chile 104 ANTARCTICA

106

hotels $ Less than $200 $$ $200 to $350 $$$ $350 to $500 $$$$ $500 to $1,000 $$$$$ More than $1,000 Starting price in US dollars for a standard double.

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Surf’s up at Laamu Atoll.

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Blue Crush COURTESY OF SIX SENSES L A AMU

The Maldives isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t all tranquil lagoons: its atolls rock some gnarly waves carving a burgeoning surf culture. Top to southern tip, C A I N N U N N S catches a break or two.

Go ahead—you try keeping your

balance on Yin Yang. Inside Laamu Atoll, it’s a nasty 2.4-meter barrel that splits in two and is, on the best of days, one of the premier reef breaks in the entire Indian Ocean. “I flew 18 hours from L.A. to get here. It’s barreled all day—just a beautiful wave,” Mike, a 28-year-old Californian who looks like he sauntered out of a Hugo Boss catalogue, told me. “There was a guy from Colorado who was getting slammed. I think he’d surfed for about a week total. Every time he got hammered, he got straight back up. What a rock star.” As for me, I am a rapidly aging and weightballooning amateur, who hasn’t been out on a board in years. I’m pretty sure I’m getting rolled out there. I may not like my chances on the waves, but I’m reveling in finding yet another way to enjoy the so-fine waters of the Maldives. Sure, this nation of nearly 1,200 isles built its reputation on an ocean that runs the blue-green spectrum of paint-shop color swatches. But those coral-filled waters are famous for comprising one of the planet’s premier dive destinations, life and history teeming beneath the placid teal lagoons, not for breakneck activity above on the waves crashing against the atolls. As it turns out, swells in the Maldives are some of the most consistent in Asia, and serve up some truly sublime longride point breaks. The best of these occur during the monsoons from March to October, when the Roaring Forties that also whip up Indonesia’s surf-tastic storms and swells roll in.

nly a 30-minute speedboat ride from the international airport, North Malé Atoll hosts enough quality breaks for an entire vacation. There’s Honkys and Sultans, which both break off the government-owned Thamburudhoo Island. Separated by about a meter, Sultans breaks right, while Honkys, a super-long left-hander that has a jacked-up inside section, dishes up superb 2.4-meter barrels on perfect days. Elsewhere you’ll find the famed Pasta Point, as well as Ninjas, Jailbreak, Chickens and Colas throughout the atoll. Access to these waves, plus its frangipani- and hibiscusscented resorts, make North Malé ground zero of the Maldives’ flourishing surf industry. “There certainly are more guys in the water than there used to be,” says Aussie surf coach Matt Lindsay, who has seen an uptick in newbie tourists taking his classes recently, but adds, “surfers have known about the Maldives for years.”

C O U R T E S Y O F F O U R S E A S O N S M A L D I V E S . R I G H T: D A R A A H M E D

From Left: Sunny Garcia and Dave Rastovich at this year’s Surfing Champions Trophy; a tribe of Atoll Adventurers.

Or, since 1973, to be exact. That’s when two 20-something Sydneysiders, Tony Hinde and Mark Scanlon, were working as crew on a yacht heading from Sri Lanka to South Africa. Before long, their boat lay battered and broken on one of the pristine Maldivian reefs that, though boasting blindingly bright beaches and luminous waters, were then a no-go zone for foreigners during the country’s oft-troubled 30-year dictatorship. The many-months-long salvage of the vessel gave the pair time to realize they’d stumbled upon one of the world’s last great surfing secrets. “I paddle into the see-through waves. The coral bottom seems to bend up to meet me,” Hinde once described his daily baptism. “Carving my first few waves, I have to tear my eyes away from the reef below in order to beat the curl above. Not that I’m complaining.” With the exception of locals he taught to surf to keep him company in the water, Hinde kept the secret closely guarded until the late 1980’s, when he opened Atoll Adventures, where his son, Ashley, now works. This is the man to meet if you want to conquer Pasta Point, a long barreling left-hander wrapped around a multi-colored reef in North Malé Atoll. For his is the in-house surf operator to Chaaya Island Dhonveli, a resort that owns the exclusive rights to (and keeps surfer numbers capped on) this most consistent and classic of Maldivian breaks. It’s five minutes from Pasta Point to Thamburudhoo. Uninhabited and open to all, its end is wrapped by the long right-hander Sultans, the most surfed break in the chain. One look at Sultans, with 20 liveaboards buzzing around it like moths to a light, sends Ashley Hinde into a fit. “Surfing needs to be regulated,” he says. “It’s not the 70’s anymore—all love and freedom. It’s critical to make a sustainable product by limiting the numbers and charging a higher premium.” 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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Clockwise from top left: A Tropicsurf client winds down his day; soak your sore surfing muscles in a Six Senses Water villa; learning to pop.

Enter the Four Seasons, which is taking the concept of premium surfing and really running with it. The Four Seasons Explorer is the world’s premier surfing vessel, a 39-meter, three-deck catamaran that sleeps up to 22 guests in 11 absurdly opulent rooms. The Australian-built super yacht, which you can cruise on multi-day surf safaris as it hunts the archipelago’s outer atolls for secret breaks, comes stocked with surf photographers; wind, wave and swell forecasts; a wine cellar, a fine dining restaurant and two bars; and, of course, an onboard masseuse. But if that’s too languid and not rockstar enough for you, you can charter the resort’s Seaplane Surfari. Take off from the hotel and break-hop out in the middle of the Indian Ocean with no one but up to seven of your intrepid surfer pals and a guide to witness your wave-riding glory. Not that Dave “Rasta” Rastovich shies from attention. In August, the 34-year-old won the Four Seasons Surfing Champions Trophy, an annual event that pits six of the world’s best surfers against each other. But you don’t have to

Paddling into the see-through waves, the coral bottom seems to bend up to meet me.—Tony Hinde

O P P O S I T E : 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 O N S U R F A R I . C O M . A U ; C O U R T E S Y O F S I X S E N S E S L A A M U ; D A R A A H M E D

be a pro to appreciate these waves. That’s why you hire Matt Lindsay, a flaxen, bushy haired lookalike for Mike Hynson from seminal surf classic The Endless Summer who remains unflinchingly upbeat despite the limitations of even his least proficient students at Tropicsurf, the go-to luxe tour operators who run a school out of the Four Seasons’ 4.8-hectare, thatched-roof-villa-laced, Maldivianvillage-inspired property. On this particular morning, I witness a honeymooning Korean couple in matching outfits, a 30-something Japanese salaryman who doesn’t speak English, and a chain-smoking and overweight (not that I’m judging) Kiwi all flail about in the electric-blue waters of Four Seasons Kuda Huraa lagoon. But Lindsay is a grinning picture of Zen-like patience. He doles out kind words of encouragement while putting the rookies through their awkward paces. Watching him brings to mind a story local surf legend Abdulla “Fuku” Areef told me about the elder Hinde—“Tony taught us to stand up. Before that the old-timers would use lumps of wood to boogie board the waves. I miss him. We were really close”—and I realize that it’s not just the coral that Ashley Hinde wants to protect, but also this intimate, close-knit surf culture.

t’s a rackety 40-minute flight on one of Maldivian’s aging Dash 8s from North Malé to central Laamu Atoll. The low-slung tree house-y, ultra-sustainable Six Senses is the lone resort in the atoll. But there are three waves: a learners’ break, offshore Jetty C—a pumping offshore left-hander that holds up well up when there’s enough offshore wind—and Yin Yang. “There are guests that come all the way out here just for the surf,” says Marc Zaalberg, a fiftysomething New Zealander who has spent decades in the Indian Ocean and runs surf trips here via Ocean Dimensions. Stalking a southern trek, Maalifushi by COMO in the Thaa Atoll has also teamed up with Tropicsurf to offer packages from beginners to more advanced riders looking for a respite from the crowds up north. There are four breaks near Thaa, including Farms. Farms churns out a 180-degree wrapping right-hander equally suited to both long and short boards. Even farther south (a 70-minute flight from Malé) at Addu Atoll, the last finger of the island chain and, until recently, underdeveloped, hundreds of spinner dolphins and swordfish dominate what locals say are the country’s richest waters. Tony Chen, a Singaporean banker, who picked up surfing to break the monotony of boozy weekends in Jakarta, has come back to Shangri-La Villingili Island Resort since discovering the waves here a few years ago. “My wife and daughter were out with the dolphins, while I got to feel mortal and old for a week or so,” he says of the clean right-hander that has hammered him over the reef wrapping around the east coast of the island. “The waves are democratic. They don’t care where you work.” Looking out at Yin Yang breaking over a multi-hued reef of epic proportions, my back to swaying palms and beaches surpassing the ‘Best of’ reel of tourism-board marketers at every turn reminds me of a quote from The Shawshank Redemption, when long-suffering Andy

Dufresne tells Red that the right ocean at the right time washes away the troubles of yesterday, and the days before that. “They say it has no memory,” he says. “That’s where I want to live the rest of my life. A warm place with no memory.” Maybe I’ve found exactly that kind of place, because these waves, the ultimate equalizers, live only the present. They don’t care how well you think you know them; familiarity is no match for mortality. The godfather of Maldivian surfing died in 2008 apparently from a heart attack he suffered right after surfing Pasta Point at age 55. It was perhaps the most fitting way to go for Tony Hinde, who had converted to Islam and stayed among his beloved waves, and once said: “Hardly a sunrise goes by that I don’t thank Allah for that shipwreck.” All the surfers who ride in his wake most certainly give thanks as well. The warm waters of the Maldives, swelling with the promise of untold adventures, are not meant to hold memories, but to create them. +

T+L PICKS: BEST BREAKS LEVEL

BREAK

ATOLL

Beginner

Four Seasons

North Malé Atoll

Learner

Learner’s Break, Six Senses

Laamu Atoll

Intermediate

Shangri-La

Addu Atoll

Pro (tie)

Yin Yang; Honkys

Laamu Atoll; North Malé Atoll

T L Guide Four Seasons at Kuda Huraa North Malé Atoll; 960/664-4888; four seasons.com; doubles from US$1,050; Tropicsurf takes surfers to local breaks for US$150 per person; Four Seasons Explorer rates vary across seasons, check with the hotel; Seaplane Surfari US$9,500 to US$14,000 for up to eight people. Shangri-La Villingili Resort Villingili Island, Addu Atoll; 960/689-7888; shangri-la.com; doubles from US$620; from US$100 per hour for boat transfer to the surf breaks. Six Senses Laamu Olhuveli Island, Laamu Atoll; 960/680-0800; sixsenses.com; doubles from US$985; seven-night surf package from

US$9,639 for a Laamu Water villa with pool, return domestic airfares, breakfast and transfers to Yin Yang and local breaks. Chaaya Island Dhonveli and Atoll Adventures North Malé Atoll; 960/644-0055; atolltravel. com; seven-day bespoke packages from US$4,220 per person for Garden Bungalow accommodation, speedboat airport transfers, meals, surf transfers and guide. Maalifushi by COMO Thaa Atoll; 960/678-0008; comohotels.com; doubles from US$650; week-long Learn to Surf package from US$6,170 per person and Surf Pro package from US$7,390 per person, both including half-board accommodation.

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The bluffs of Cape Kidnappers are as dramatic as the story behind their name. Clockwise from right: Mission Estate, birthplace of New Zealand viticulture; Black Barn Vineyards; a morning tasting at Ngatarawa and Farmgate Wines.

NEW ZEALAND

GRAND CRU

On a wine-soaked road-trip through the North Island, J E N I N N E L E E-S T. J O H N uncorks a deluge of new world vintages, panoramic Pacific vistasâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and a latent love of Chardonnay. PHOTOGRAPHED BY RICHARD MCLEISH

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From top: Touring Art Deco Napier in a vintage Packard, with a vintage guide; morning light graces the dining room of The Farm at Cape Kidnappers. Opposite: Fresh-pressed Pinot nectar at Brodie Estate in Martinborough.

How do you feel about wine for breakfast? After three straight days of non-stop sampling North Island wines in multi-stop tours and multicourse meals, after waking up this morning in this high-ceilinged modern farm house still tasting last night’s peachy, desserty Mission Reserve Noble Harvest 2012 that went down so smoothly with the localcheese-and-Damson-plum platter, well, wine for breakfast doesn’t seem such a bad idea. You know what they say about a little hair of the dog, after all. But first, a little egg of the chicken. We ‘laid’ on breakfast for you. —From the Black Barn chooks, Pen, Jen and Gwen What a glorious morning. It had rained every day since we got to New Zealand, but today the sun has broken free, basking the rows of grapevines surrounding this cottage in an ethereal light. Spring out of bed and pad into the kitted-out kitchen, where fresh rashers of bacon await in the fridge, fresh ground coffee waits to be French pressed, and flower pots

overflowing with potatoes, mushrooms, fruit and brown eggs wait with a tongue-in-chook note from their layers. Nearly a week of three gourmet meals per day has us giddy at the task of a self-made breakfast fry-up in an old-school cast iron pan. Thank you, Pen, Jen, Gwen and the rest of the Black Barn Retreats team for knowing exactly what greasy cushion of deliciousness we’ll need in our stomachs before we start filling them with wine. Did I mention what a glorious morning it is? Jenny Ryan from Takaro Trails fetches us from the cottage and in 20 minutes we’re cycling along a flat, dedicated bike path bisecting fields and farms and vineyards in the heart of big-sky Hawke’s Bay, itself the heart of the North Island wine industry. First stop: the beyond picturesque— seriously, a lab bounds out to greet us—white barn with red trim and green doors of Ngatarawa and Farmgate Wines. They’ve got eight vintages lined up on the counter, from an award-winning, small-batch 2008 Chenin Blanc adorably adorned with the photo of a local bread maker to an award-winning reserve 2009 Shiraz. Glasses at the ready. It’s barely 11 a.m. But it’s five o’clock somewhere. That’s pretty much the No. 1 tenet to live by if you’re on a weeklong North Island wine and food drive. Marlborough, in the South Island, put New Zealand on the global wine map, but its compatriots north of Cook Strait—the melting-pot-of-minerals Wairarapa, the Mediterranean-like Hawke’s Bay, and even dry-farming Gisborne—have equally fertile terroirs that mature all range of grape varietals, many of which go into producing stellar vintages you can’t get outside of the country. This passionate wine culture is matched by a culinary one that’s Made-in-New-

Zealand-proud, heavy on game and seafood and handcrafted cheeses. And these locavore leanings extend to the very best hotels scattered along the New Zealand Wine Trail that, whether full-service, helicopter-accessible resorts or intimate B&Bs, seem totally devoted to your comfort, of course, but also your indoctrination into Kiwi viticulture. All of which makes it incredibly difficult to not just jump in and drink all day. It also makes the occasional lack of pampering feel like a real treat. That morning at Black Barn, it was a surprising relief to walk in the kitchen and find nobody there but us chickens.

“ S C R E W S A U V I G N O N B L A N C .” That’s the No. 2 tenet of drinking your way through the North Island. Steve Nathan said this to us on that glorious morning as we sat in the backyard of his Salvare Estate cellar door, his yellow lab rolling at our feet and his Sauvignon Blanc-free range of wines teasing our lips. But nearly everyone we met voiced some version of this disdain for the new world wine king. It’s not that North Islanders don’t appreciate the renown Marlborough’s star has brought to

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Palliser Bay has a parabolic black-sand beach. Opposite from top: Only a few Victorian houses on Napier’s Marine Parade survived the 1931 quake; breakfast at Wharekauhau.

their country. It’s that they want the world to know that they’re capable of so much more complexity. I’ve been to Marlborough, where I learned how well this country does Pinot Noir. Throughout the North Island, we tasted heaps of them, as well as everything from Cabernet Sauvignons to Gewürztraminers. But I’m a devoted Sauvignon Blanc girl. Bangkok, where I live, is hot and tropical, and I want something cold and passion fruity that’s going to be a reliable pour. And here I am in New Zealand with people constantly trying to pour Chardonnay down my gullet. Chardonnay! Doesn’t everyone feel about Chardonnay the way Paul Giamatti’s character in Sideways feels about Merlot? And how North Islanders feel about Sauvignon Blanc? 118

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Well, here’s the thing: Chardonnay grapes thrive in places with ample spring showers, long and dry summers, and heavy clay soil. That’s the maritime North Island, which seems on a mission to prove that Chardonnays don’t have to be overly oaky and taste like buttered wood. In fact, they don’t have to be oaky at all. Some of the best examples we had in on this trip were unoaked. I guess if anyone can win my heart, it’s these determined North Island oenophiles. Let the wooing begin. It’s a verdant, alternately calm- and nerve-inducing drive from Wellington through the winding mountainous roads of Kaitoke Regional Park and Pakuratahi Forest to the Wairarapa region. We emerge at Greytown, finding the incredibly comfortable but

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completely unobtrusive hospitality that we quickly learned was signature Kiwi at Briarwood—part B&B and part Airbnb, with kitchens in each of its suites pre-prepped for fresh-fruitand-muesli breakfast. The Studio Suite, in a carriage house separated from the main building by a sweetly symmetrical French garden, feels like a tech-savvy metrosexual’s loft, with leather furnishings, an entertainment system pre-loaded with music and movies, and, in the bathroom, a heated towel rack—which I am overjoyed to discover is a standard feature in the chilly-at-night-North-Island hotels. Driving into neighboring Martinborough and its clapboardencircled grassy square is like entering a quaint New England town. The bucolic nature spills over to the

Here, people are constantly trying to pour Chardonnay down my gullet. Chardonnay!

characteristics of the wineries, all of which seem to have taken an oath of humility and down-hominess: it’s as if each is purposefully trumping the last in shedding any pretense whatsoever, so that we finally found ourselves in an endearingly crabby old gentleman’s garage tasting wine sporting labels that looked like they’d been clickwhirred out by a dot-matrix printer. The No. 3 tenet of understanding Kiwi wine (and, in fact, Kiwi history, topography and architecture, among other things) is you better care about tectonic plates. The country sits at the uneasy juncture of the Pacific and Indo-Australian plates, making earthquakes a way of life. One collision of the two plates millions of years ago gave literal rise to the hills of volcanic and limestone soil that surround Martinborough, and in which the vines of Murdoch James Estate are planted. Here, the geological contrast is obvious: the grapes grow on a relatively arid rise, looming over a dry riverbed valley in

which cows graze beneath incongruous weeping willows. The loose soil of this terrace limits how much water reaches the plantings, creating stressed vines— actually a good thing. The vines are forced to focus their energy away from foliage toward smaller, more concentrated berries, making for better wines, particularly Pinot Noirs. It wasn’t until the 1970’s that meteorologists discerned that Martinborough’s climate was similar

to Burgundy’s—and we all know how good they are at making wine. A geology lesson, a tasting and a tour of the family-run but, for the Wairarapa, relatively industrial Murdoch James vineyard and winery was followed by lunch in their cozy Bloom restaurant, a splurge on their Blue Rock Pinot Noir 2011, and then a drive—courtesy of our amiable guide Simon of Martinborough Wine Tours—back and forth across the town square to several more vintners. At Brodie Estate, proprietor James Brodie, a rugged silver fox in his knit cap and holey sweater, looked like he should’ve been a mid-century French yacht captain. They were pressing Pinot grapes with a hand plunger. We sampled the skin-filled juice, pungent and sweet. We walked away with bottles of Angel’s Sigh rosé and 2010 Pinot Noir. Later, in a triumph of taste over packaging, from our last stop, Cabbage Tree, we left with a bottle of 2011 Chardonnay. By day two, I was already beginning to get it.

From top: The Black Barn cottage nestles among vines; compare tasting notes in Wharekauhauâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s great room. Opposite: Pinot grapes at Brodie Estate.

After that day’s education in terroir, Wharekauhau (place of knowledge) Lodge beckoned for the night. Wharekauhau is pronounced “Forry-ko-ho” and it is a fairytale of a functioning ranch, seaside cottages and a noble manor into which we rolled just in time for complimentary bubbly, whiskey and canapés. In the billiard room, airy country kitchen or great room warmed by a roaring fire (there’s one in your cottage, too, along with local-wool carpeting, a bay-view tub and deck, and homemade cookies) compare notes with the other guests about their wine drives, then adjourn for private, candlelit dinners. The onproperty-sourced elements—Palliser Bay alphonsino fish, Angus beef, garden veggies—pair precisely with Martinborough vino. The dry Riesling by Te Kairanga smelled oh-so slightly of beeswax; the Alexander Vineyard Merlot was plummy and earthy.

surrounding towns—make it a prime spot for expert-led touring, and the night before our tipsy bike ride with Jenny was a winery-hopping dinner

Mission Estate, birthplace of Kiwi viticulture, maintains headquarters in a restored clapboard seminary high on a bluff typical of the texture of this area’s land. Hawke’s Bay is the second largest wine-growing region in the country because the missionaries happened to be stationed on astoundingly diverse and versatile soil, in warm, sunny, grape-friendly environs. Just off the Pacific and threaded by five rivers, Hawke’s Bay has sand, silt, clay and gravel—notably the Gimblett Gravels, whose shingle soil is perfect for peppery Shiraz and, to my surprise, the creamy yet delicate Viognier I bought at Trinity Hill. We had an inkling of the majesty that was in store for us next, so on the approach to the famed Farm at Cape Kidnappers, we stopped at a milk bar for some stay-grounded fish and chips and ate them straight from the newspaper, salty-wind splattering our

Belly-painted stud rams mark amorous ewes, so ranchers can predict spring lambs As helicopter-over-fromWellington-for-lunch-luxe this hotel is, the property also manages to be true salt of the earth, a working sheep station that stretches 2,000 hectares from the black-sand beach on Cook Strait up through forests filled with eel ponds and pastures grazed by thousands of head of cattle. Polkadotted among them in the paddocks are belly-painted stud rams who leave their telltale color markings on amorous ewes so the ranchers can estimate the arrival dates of spring lambs. Much like the cuttings-tobottling wander through a winery we took, immersion in Wharekauhau really is a farm-to-table experience.

T H E I N T E N S E C O N C E N T R AT I O N O F wine producers and cellar doors in Hawke’s Bay—the area four hours north of Wairarapa composed of Napier, Hastings, Havelock North and

with Gareth. Gareth Kelly’s Twilight Odyssey is a relaxed, three-part meal with each wine-soaked course at a different restaurant. An ample assortment of meats and cheeses accompanied a 10-varietal tasting at the buzzy watering hole Vidal, followed by fanciful mains (think: Merino lamb loin and belly with celeriac, plum and gingerbread) and flights at the sweeping nouveaux-barn Terrôir at Craggy Range, with the night properly capped by sweets and savories at Mission Estate. Of all the tasting advice and notes on New Zealand that effusive Gareth offered, none was more useful than the origin story of this place. Like in California and Chile, Catholicism brought wine to New Zealand. It all started in Hawke’s Bay, with a group of French Marists who in the mid-1800’s began planting vines for sacramental and table wines.

sunnies on the black pebble beach of Haumoana. It was a highlight. Then, we took a deep breath and headed for the mountaintop. The “driveway” to The Farm leads you across streams, to cliffs’ edges and through the grazing grass of so many sheep you wonder how they keep track of them all. Above the clouds, the lodge, suites and spa take in the expansive eastern view so that sunrise is a true delight. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Because the Ridge Suites, where we stayed, with complimentary mini-bars and excellent audio systems, are cocooning any time of day. And, that night in the restaurant, in front of the fire on the glassed-in lanai, I’m happy to say, I ate one of the top five meals of my life. Silver serving platters and succulent roasted poussin were involved. Not that the more humble pancakes, berries and crispy bacon for

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breakfast were anything to shake a stick at. The Farm also has a helipad so, after breakfast, Bay Heliwork picked us up for an eagle-eye survey of the 2,400-hectare property and the ocean, river valleys, hills and dales beyond. I was already awed by the lush golf course, the squawky colony of monogamous gannet seabirds, the clay-shooting range and all that pasture. Then we took a dip over the Pacific and rounded a corner, coming upon a set of overwhelmingly dramatic cliffs, straight out of Lord of the Rings. Towering above the water, the jagged slices of loam look like a giant took a fork and stabbed the earth, pulling chunks away into the sea. In fact, dramatic things did happen on this cape. Kidnappers was named by Captain Cook himself after a comical-in-the-recounting double-

Mission houses on the hill. Then your guide from the Art Deco Trust reminds you that the style symbolized flight, freedom, newness and, with its use of Maori design, appreciation of ancient culture, and you realize this is an extraordinarily fitting theme for the peripatetic citizens of this nation at the end of the Earth, taking liberties to shape old-world grapes to new world new heights. Actually, maybe I should say “at the beginning of the Earth.” Jutting out into the Pacific a three-hour drive northeast of Napier is Gisborne, the first place on the planet to see sunrise. The best spot to catch first rays is supposed to be from the summit of Mt. Hikurangi—a sacred site for Maori, who believe it was the first part of the North Island to emerge when mythological hero Maui pulled it from

of our hosts, Kay and Kees Weytmans, whose Knapdale Eco Lodge is a working farm, a sustainable B&B, and an exercise in worldly banter—ask this man about the health of trees in Nepal, and you’ll soon find yourself talking South African politics. Kay puts together an impressive and rich dinner spread (feijoa with blue cheese, and venison steaks stand out), while Kees pours loads of wine and is somehow up in time to feed the farm animals before feeding you a full breakfast in the wee hours. Then it’s show time. While eating, we watch exuberant Kees bound around the pastures corralling cattle, separating one cow from the herd that was bullying her, calling to deer, and handfeeding horses. In this much more rustic area of the country, we sample all manner of

The history of Hawke’s Bay is writ in the water, as well as the wine and on the walls kidnapping: Maori spied a Tahitian cabin boy aboard Cook’s ship and believed him to be a compatriot being held captive. So the Maori “rescued” the boy. Cook then fired on their canoes, and the boy jumped into the ocean and swam back to the English ship, un-rescuing himself, I suppose. The history of Hawke’s Bay is writ in the water, as well as the wine, but also on the walls. The seaside city of Napier holds one of the largest collections of Art Deco architecture in the world, having been built in a supersonic two-year frenzy following a 7.8 magnitude earthquake in 1931. Yes, like so much else in New Zealand, this place is defined by plate tectonics. We cruised the sunburst- and zigzag-adorned streets in a vintage Packard with its original fittings. At first, it’s confusing how downright Miami the whole place feels, from the palm-lined Grand Esplanade to the low-rise Classical-façaded pedestrian boulevards to the pastel Spanish

the ocean—but the rain had returned by the time we got to Gizzy, so we skipped the hike but dutifully drove to the beach at 4:30 a.m. The drive back was, alas, in near-equal darkness. No amount of cloudbursts, however, could hinder the enthusiasm

apple alcohol at The Cidery and then head for happy hour at local dive Smash Palace. Judging by the number of people here at 4 p.m. on a weekday, this place must be a serious party on a Friday night. And why not? It’s the coolest junkyard ever, in which planes, bikes and automobiles take flight, psychedelic murals and musical instruments are stapled to the walls, and more than a dozen beers flow from the taps. But this is still wine country, and here in wet and wild Gisborne, silt and clay loams nurture citrusy Chardies. It took a fair amount of persuasion to swindle one of his last bottles of crisp, pineapply 2011 Unoaked Chardonnay from Bushmere Estate owner David Egan. As it turned out, that was the last bottle of wine we bought in New Zealand. It’s still in my fridge, waiting for the perfect occasion. The Sauvignon Blancs I lugged home? Long-ago drunk. Okay, Chardonnay, consider me wooed and won. +

Surveying Hawke’s Bay from the famed Gimblett Gravels. Opposite: On the go with Takaro Trails.

M A P B Y W A S I N E E C H A N TA K O R N

T L Guide Getting There Fly direct into Auckland from Bangkok via Thai Airways, from Hong Kong via Air New Zealand and Cathay Pacific, from Kuala Lumpur via Malaysia Airlines, and from Singapore via Singapore Airlines. Air New Zealand flies from Auckland to Wellington, Hawke’s Bay and Gisborne. Visit newzealand.com for airline and travel information.

The Farm at Cape Kidnappers 446 Clifton Rd., Te Awanga; 64-6/875-1900; capekidnappers.com; doubles from NZ$760 per night, including evening drinks and canapés, à la carte dinner, full breakfast, complimentary mini-bar, and all activities except golf and spa. Knapdale Eco Lodge 114 Snowsill Rd., Waihirere, Gisborne; 64-6/862-5444; knapdale.co.nz; doubles from NZ$398 per night, including pre-dinner local wines, full breakfast and laundry.

STAY Briarwood 21 Main St., Greytown; 64-6/304-8336; briarwoodgreytown.co.nz; doubles from NZ$249. Wharekauhau Country Estate Western Lake Road, Palliser Bay, RD3, Featherston; 64-6/3077581; doubles from NZ$400 per person per night, including evening drinks and canapés, four-course dinner and full breakfast. Black Barn Retreats Black Barn Road, RD12, Havelock North; 64-6/877-7985; blackbarn.com; two-bedroom vineyard cottages from NZ$390 per night, two-night minimum.

SEE+DO Martinborough Wine Tours Martinborough; 64-6/301-8032; martinboroughwinetours.co.nz; six-hour Martinborough in a Day tour from NZ$475 for two people, including chauffeured visits to several local wineries and to Olivo Grove olive oil farm, all wine tasting fees and lunch. Odyssey New Zealand Hawke’s Bay; 64-6/211-3116; odysseynz.co.nz; A Twilight Odyssey NZ$199 per person, including wine tastings, threecourse progressive dinner with paired wines at three different restaurants, guide and transfers. Takaro Trails Hawke’s Bay; 64-6/835-9030; takarotrails.co. nz; Takaro Tasters Winery Cycle

New Zealand N

private tours from NZ$250 per adult for two, including bike rental, guide and transfers. Bay Heliwork Hawke’s Bay; 64-6/879-9705; helicopterrides. co.nz; flights from NZ$90. Art Deco Trust 7 Tennyson St., Napier; 64-6/835-0022; artdeco napier.com; Vintage Car Tour NZ$160 for up to four people.

Gisborne Cycle Tour Company 64-6/927-7021; gisbornecycletours.co.nz; Guided Gourmet Vineyard Tour NZ$200 per person for two, including bike rental, all wine tasting fees, picnic or vineyard lunch, guide and transfers. The Cidery 91 Customhouse St., Gisborne; 64-6/868-8300.

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In the vast plains of the Gobi Desert, Mongolians continue their nomadic traditions.

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Infinite Solitude

S P R AW L I N G A N D E N IGM AT IC M O N GO L I A I S A L A N D O F ST E P P ES, D ES E R T S, C L IF F S A N D M O R E T H A N A H A N DF U L O F IN T R IGU IN G CH A R AC T E R S. MAD ELI N E G R ESSEL T R ACKS T H E C OU N T RY ’S C O N S E R VAT IO N E F FO R T S, A LO N G W I T H T H E O M N I P R ES E N T GH O ST O F GE N GH I S K H A N.

PH OTOG RAPH ED BY MARC C HAFI IAN

FROM ABOVE, Mongolia seems to exist in three colors: blue, white and brown. Sky, clouds, snow, earth. On the ground, the palette remains the same, but the gorgeous, infinite variations in earthy hue boggle the mind. I am walking through Yolyn Am ravine in Gobi Gurvan Saikhan National Park, a 27,000-square-kilometer wilderness of mountain and sand that offers sanctuary to charismatic endangered species, such as the curly-horned Argali sheep. On either side of the ravine rise jagged, ancient hills, furred with the gold of dried grasses and leopard-spotted with sweet smelling juniper. Yolyn Am is named for the yol, or lammergeier, a large vulture of national pride whom I spot circling lazily overhead. “Birds can curse,” is the somber warning of Baagi, my informative guide and constant companion. The largest, most alluring animal in the park is the reclusive and graceful snow leopard. The silver-spotted 126

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leopard lives on the high cliffs of the Gobi, scaling sheer slopes daily in search of prey. Poaching, hunting, climate change and habitat destruction have decimated the animal’s numbers—fewer than 1,000 remain in the wild. The Gobi park rangers, with training support from international groups such as the U.S.-based Snow Leopard Trust, work to protect the regal cat. I ask a ranger why he chose his career path. Baagi translates to English from Mongolian, a gently guttural language, to the ear far closer to Russian than Chinese. “I didn’t,” says the ranger. “It chose me. It was karma.” Baagi explains: “This is traditional conservation—not fear, but deep respect for nature.” That could be the mantra of Epic Road Safaris, which runs bespoke journeys in Africa, the Arctic and now Asia and is part of a niche tourism segment offering ecologically minded travelers luxurious trips that nonetheless engage in such immersive activities as rhino tagging or distributing solar-powered electric lanterns in remote villages. I am in Mongolia with Epic Road to learn about the efforts and challenges of safeguarding the environment in a place that is practically all environment. In this huge land where cashmere was once king, I will visit paleontological sites, camp on the famed Eastern Steppe, meet modern-day nomads and

Goats, long a source of cashmere, on a sweep of plains. Clockwise from top left: Genghis Khan is a looming presence in modern Mongolian life; a young nomad’s traditional boots; ger hospitality includes tea and biscuits; at Three Camel Lodge.

search out the rare Przewalski’s horses—all of which are endangered by manmade tolls such mining, deforestation and urban expansion. So as not to compound the damage, the safari aims to be a low-impact, sustainable window to the country’s still rich and unique biospheres. Like the one surrounding this ravine. Fluffy pikas, a relative of the rabbit, overrun the grass, hopping from hole to hole. “Pika Fifth Avenue,” observes Baagi.

M O N G O L I A I S M E L D I N G into a goldmine. Mining, which now

accounts for 80 percent of Mongolia’s exports, has drastically changed the face of the nation. By some estimates, Mongolia is sitting on trillions of dollars’ worth of recoverable gold—only discovered in the past two dozen years—as well as copper and coal, and average Mongolians, mostly traditional nomads, want a piece of the prosperity. “Ninja miners” dig small, illegal holes in search of gold, tearing up the terrain and using chemicals that create dangerous runoff, to earn US$10 a day. Ninjas move quickly. Non-Gobi ninjas are easier to catch, but the local nomads, who know the desert intimately, are near impossible. The rangers chase them and they disperse, always to return again. Sometimes there are gunfights. What has happened to traditional

Mongolian conservation—not fear but respect? “Their spirit is blocked by the gold,” Baagi explains. We depart the national park office, a white wooden house with a red roof and green lintels on the dust-swept, yellow plains of Dalanzadgad, Gobi’s fast-growing frontier capital. It’s springtime. Across the desert creeps the green of growing grasses. Herds are everywhere: cows, goats, sheep, camels and horses, all roaming freely, each herd flush with kids, lambs, foals and calves. Baagi says you can taste the freedom and happiness in the meat and cheese. Aren’t their owners afraid they’ll be stolen? “No,” Baagi says. Every animal knows its owners. Mongolia is a nation of livestock—at more than 30 million, that’s 10 animals per person. My guides are amused by my delight. Each time we see a herd I beg to stop. As dusk falls like a purple rain over the desert, Three Camel Lodge, Mongolia’s only luxury lodge, appears before us like a mirage, nestled cozily in the shadow of a hill, spilling a welcome yellow light. On the outskirts we pass the large well, where sheep and goats wine and dine on water and long grasses, escorted by a pensive young boy with a stick. I’d been warned about Mongolian cuisine (meat, meat, meat) but I am served a delicious variety of food—pumpkin soup, fried lamb dumplings, salad and

cupcakes—while Baagi spins ancient tales of Genghis Khan and his queen, Börte. Three Camel is composed of a main lodge and 20 gers, traditional tents built from beautifully latticed wood and bound in felt, each with an en suite bathroom. My homey ger is warm from the little wooden stove that has been lit in my absence. The walls are soft and round, and held up with intertwined orange beams, each painted with flowers in the traditional Buddhist style. There’s a skylight, through which I can see a sparkling smear of constellations. I settle into my fluffy bed and quickly drift off to the softly crackling flame.

W E A R E O N T H E L O O KO U T for dinosaur bones. Few places on

Earth hold as rich a fossil record as the Gobi Desert. Not only is there a great diversity of species, the specimens unearthed are often well-preserved, offering fascinating glimpses of prehistoric daily life. In the 1920’s, paleontologist Roy Chapman Andrews, said to be the inspiration for Indiana Jones, found the first dinosaur eggs. Later came the discovery of two creatures locked in combat, perfectly preserved. Mongolia’s epic proportions make long stretches of driving a necessary and interesting evil. The desert’s emptiness is an illusion. Pikas and ground squirrels scurry past. Larks glide and snap in their wings. We pass a young cowboy, his mouth hidden behind a black bandanna, training his horse to race—perhaps for the annual

1,000-kilometer Mongol Derby, the longest race in the world. Gers dot the distance, none too close together. We reach a stretch of barren white cliffs where fossils are often found. Five minutes walking and… there it is, the white skull and spine of a small dinosaur, just poking out of the sand. Why doesn’t someone just spirit this away? To quote Dr. Jones, this belongs in a museum. Baagi explains there are simply too many, with no new insights to impart to the world. I am flabbergasted. Today, the weather can’t decide. The sky shifts from sunny and crisp to grey and ominous. Fat raindrops hit the ground as we pull up to the muddy remains of Ulaan Lake. It used to be the largest lake in the region, and the final destination of Onggi River, a large waterway supporting 60,000 people and one million livestock. Thanks to desertification—the result of deforestation, overgrazing, and the depletion of water that comes with unregulated hydraulic mining—it’s now tessellated with deep cracks. Every year, the Gobi expands at alarming rates, encroaching upon the rich grassland lining Mongolia’s southern border with China. Within the last 20 years, 1,500 rivers and 300 lakes have disappeared. In ways large and small, Mongolia’s nomads are fighting to protect their lives and their livelihoods. There’s the country’s most famous conservationist, Tsetsegee Munkhbayar, whose Onggi River Movement is slowly helping to heal Ulaan Lake—but this year he was sentenced to a startling 21 years in prison for “terrorist acts” after bringing firearms to a protest. And there are people like the old woman who lives in this ger, standing out in the windy wilderness, beneath a crop of black cliffs. She invites us in, offers us yak milk tea, shows us family photos and tells us about her life. She has a herd of goats a hundred strong; like many nomads, she ekes a living from their hair, which is woven into cashmere. Outside the ger, a kid is wagging its tail furiously while nursing. She has begun planting trees nearby, as part of a government incentive to create a greenbelt to contain the spread of the desert. At first she planted for money. But now she has come to treasure the trees, for their shade, for the protection they provide from the wind, for the vegetable garden growing beneath the boughs. Our final destination of the day is the flaming cliffs, a crimson wasteland of peaks and gorges. The Gobi is far from monolithic. Here it is yellow, flat and tufted; here red, hot and jagged, spiked with cliffs; here green and brown, with soft, rolling hills and a cool sense of idyll; here golden and undulating pure sand dunes, like Arabia. This is a landscape of return, at once ancient and apocalyptic. We trek the canyon and then sit and sip white wine, watching as the setting sun sets the cliffs on fire.

L O C A L S T E A S E T H AT T H E N AT I O N A L A I R L I N E , MIAT, stands for

“maybe I’ll arrive tomorrow.” As if in on the joke, our flight to Ulaanbaatar is canceled. Instead, we make the arduous, but scenic, drive from the Gobi. Our route takes us out of the desert through kilometers of muddy steppe, into the

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THE DESERT’S EMPTINESS IS AN ILLUSION. PIKAS AND SQUIRRELS SCURRY PAST. GERS DOT THE DISTANCE, NONE CLOSE TOGETHER

On the Eastern Steppe, young boys practice wrestling, the national sport. Opposite: Once exclusively for men, Nadaam, Mongolia’s midsummer games, allow women to compete in archery.

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puffed-up neoclassical buildings, statues of Lenin, and terrible, terrible traffic. The lifestyle that has served Mongolians for nearly a millennium does not translate well to the city. So used to infinite space and solitude, Mongolians do not adjust easily to close quarters. They are not team players, Baagi tells me: “Everyone wants to be a Chinggis Khaan.”

O N E O F T H E L A S T T R U E W I L D E R N E S S E S on Earth is the Eastern Steppe. Here on the world’s largest expanse of unspoiled grassland, stretching 246,000 square kilometers (about the size of Laos) from Ulaanbaatar to Shenyang in China, we spend two days luxe camping. The steppe isn’t exactly featureless, but one can tally its features fairly quickly on one hand: grass, sky, ungulates, and the fluffiest clouds I have ever seen. Every once in a while, enormous herds of gazelle fly over the plains in a current, like a striped tsunami. In autumn, the gazelles undertake one of the planet’s great migrations, across here and the larger Eurasian Steppe, which extends one-third of the way around the globe. Most of this land is government owned, swaths patrolled by a Nature Conservancy-supported corps of local rangers, who fend off ninja miners. Our tented campsite is on the golden crest of a grassy hill. I’m a child again, infinitesimal against the vast reality of nature. A plane drones overhead, distant and alien. I feel sad for its passengers that none of them can enjoy the wild tranquility below. Overcome by wanderlust, I strike out for a lake on the horizon. Baagi gives me a reluctant glance. “It’s hard to navigate the steppe!” he warns, in the world’s biggest understatement. I never reach the lake. The distance is impossible to divine. But I am content simply walking among the happy cacophony of buzzes and chirps. With all the untamed terrain spread out before me, begging to be explored, I just want to be Chinggis Khaan. +

Mongolia

Epic Road; 1-646/580-3080; epicroad.com; “Endless Mongolia and the Gobi Desert” trip from US$600 per person per night including all accommodation, intra-Mongolia flights, transfers, meals, translators, private guides, and activities such as camel- and horseback-riding.

M A P B Y W A S I N E E C H A N TA K O R N

snowy mountains flush with birch and conifers, and through the open plains west of the capital. We drive for hours without encountering another car. On the way, we search for the Przewalski’s horse, or takhi, in the rolling golden fields of Hustai National Park. Przewalski’s horses are the world’s only surviving wild horse subspecies; they are also the most critically endangered animals in Mongolia. Possibly fewer than 300 remain in the wild. We catch a herd of 12 roaming the valley at sunset. From a distance they seem like stout, cuddly ponies, all reddish fur, spiky manes and round white muzzles. Up close, however, they exude palpable power and grace. As we watch them canter and graze, a rainbow stretches overhead. Our second stop is Karakorum, the ancient capital of the Mongol empire. It is mostly empty space now, with a lovely little museum and a large Buddhist monastery, but it has a glittering history. Built in 1235 by Genghis Khan’s son and successor Ögedei, the palace encircled a legendary silver tree, twined with golden serpents, hung with silver fruit, and topped with a mechanical trumpeting angel. When the Khan wanted to summon his guests, the angel raised his trumpet, and out gushed alcohol from the serpents’ mouths. Genghis Khan, pronounced Chinggis Khaan locally, is a name on every Mongolian’s lips, every day. Every toast, proverb and platitude leads back to him. It seems odd that such an ancient figure holds such deep relevance in modern Mongolian culture; imagine if Europeans were constantly invoking Charlemagne. After a week here, however, I begin to understand. The average Mongolian nomad’s life has changed little since the time of Genghis Khan. They still live in the same gers Genghis Khan did, herd the same animals, battle the same winters. They are mobile, self-reliant, weathered and free. In a country with little global influence, Genghis Khan is a symbol of national character and strength. Few chapters of recorded history have matched him or his empire, the largest contiguous empire ever—the majority of humans alive today live in countries conquered by the Mongols. To name a few examples of Genghis Khan’s brilliance: he revolutionized warfare, promoting his soldiers on merit, making gunpowder more explosive and assigning a dedicated medical corps; he built one of the first international post systems; his was the first empire with religious freedom. His rule shaped the modern world. Entering Ulaanbaatar, or UB, the striking quality is newness. It’s a city still wobbling on its first legs, in a perpetual state of frenzied construction. Inside the city center, it’s glitzy and cosmopolitan, with international restaurants, karaoke bars, and a skyline sliced down the middle by the shark fin-shaped Blue Sky Hotel. The young dress in black skinny jeans and boots. I expected the city to look like a mini Beijing, but it’s remarkably Soviet, complete with charmless apartment blocks, Cyrillic signs,

“An impressive portrayal… beautifully made duets for the two leads.” Luke Jennings, The Guardian, UK

ONEGIN

ONEGIN STUTTGART BALLET, GERMANY Saturday 25 October 7.30pm & Sunday 26 October 2.30pm

Baht 5,500 / 4,500 / 3,500 / 2,500 / 1,500 Supported by the Embassy of Germany, Bosch and Thai-German Cultural Foundation

Hotline 02 262 3191

www.thaiticketmajor.com (24 hrs)

www.bangkokfestivals.com

VENUE: Thailand Cultural Centre. Free shuttle from MRT station Thailand Cultural Centre, Exit 1, during 5.30-7.00pm

Coconut Glenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, a vegan ice cream shop near Hana, Hawaii. Opposite: The Montage Kapalua Bay, in Lahaina.

ALOHA MAUI!

P L I N FIN D S T A H C IA L U J , D D ESTINATIO NN DS, BO H EM IAN-CH IC ARTIS N A L IS IC S S A L ARM STA E N EXT G EN ERATIO N . D TH IS C F N U IC O N R A A G R IP O R E T ID O N A D R IVIN G E M ELTIN G POT O F ROADS Y RESO RTS—HAWAII FO R TH A N EW-AG D SUSTAINAB LE LUXU R AV E N O R Y M IS H A G R B D N E A H P S A IE R IT G PH OTO COM M UN

THERE’S NO FRONT DESK AT HALEMANO, A SORT OF GLAM-HIPPIE RESORT IN KIPAHULU, ON MAUI’S RUGGED EASTERN COAST.

Clockwise from top left: The Laulima Farm stand, on Hana Highway near Kipahulu; ahi tataki at the Andaz Maui at Wailea Resort; local surfer Monyca Eleogram; a guest room at Halemano; cocktails by the pool at the Andaz Wailea; a Balinese-style cottage at Halemano.

But I hadn’t expected a clipboard with a treasure map and a flashlight. Gamely, I dragged my luggage along the winding dirt paths past several Balinese-style huts and funky Modernist cabins until I found my quarters, a yurt outfitted with a queen-size bed and little else. “Congratulations! You’ve found your room,” another clipboard hanging by the front door flap read. Was this what Emerson meant when he wrote about self-reliance? Despite the communal kitchen stocked with Bragg Liquid Aminos spray, the bongo drums and flutes, and the shared bathrooms (alfresco showers and concealed toilets), the place oozed a certain luxury. It was choice real estate, set on a hillside shaded by prehistoric trees and promiscuous flowers on a cliff overlooking the charging Pacific Ocean. A manicured lawn as plush as a palazzo carpet sprawled out in the center. If jet-set photographer Slim Aarons’s trust-funded subjects had lived on a tropical ashram it might have looked like this. In fact, Kipahulu, a remote, off-the-grid farming community, could easily have been in one of his books about monied hideouts, had he been able to find the place. The jungly seaside properties have long moonlighted as home to wealthy eccentrics and incognito celebs including Oprah, Woody Harrelson and Charles Lindbergh, as well as Georgia O’Keeffe, who shacked up for a while in nearby Hana, painting her version of plein-air exotica. Not much has changed in Kipahulu over the years, but the rest of Maui sure seems to have. The “other side” of the island, once the sterile zone of hotels and golf resorts, has caught on to the idea that sustainable living, organic farming and a reverence for Hawaiian traditions can be made over as premium luxury. My plan was to drive—or rather have my sister, who was traveling with me, chauffeur us around the island. My sister is a weird combination of macrobiotic and race-car aficionado and was the obvious choice for this trip. We would start at the rainy hinterlands of Kipahulu in the foothills of the Haleakala volcano and hug the coast counterclockwise, ending up on the sunny, temperate and touristed west side. The idea was to see how a once-fervent philosophical divide has morphed into one big 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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progressive nuovo New Age, a term I use favorably to describe a more stylish, high-end take on 1960’s idealism. You know, crystals but not armpit hair. Organic kale but arranged as a delicate Caesar. And it goes the other way, too. While at a swank resort, I’d prefer my AC helped along by solar panels and the eggs Benedict procured from an on-site chicken coop. I’m pleased to report that Maui has reached a state of luxury nirvana—as long as you know where to look. At first Kipahulu seemed like the absolute nowhere. No shops or electricity and just one narrow, pocked road. But then among the bananas and banyans I saw a parked van selling organic Thai food to scores of diners at shaded picnic tables. Adding to the lost-civilization irony was a 1920’s car buried in the weeds that we were later told belonged to local resident Theo Firestone (an heir to the Firestone tire fortune). Farther on was Laulima Farm, a bustling fruit-andvegetable stand where tanned and nubile wwoofers were sipping freshly harvested coffee and discussing GMO’s (genetically modified organisms) and ride-share apps. (wwoof stands for World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms, an organization that connects volunteers with host farms around the world.) “Living out here is a protest in itself,” said Nick Vaca, a 23-year-old former wwoofer who works at Ono Organic Farms, down the road. “It’s one more person not pulling from the power grid.” Vaca showed us the subtle differences between ice cream bananas and apple bananas, and then invited us to Café Attitude, a weekly hootenanny held Sunday evenings at the estate of Jeanne Angelheart. Angelheart bought the farm, marked by a purple shipping container with a flying saucer sign on it reading cargo ship, from Mike Love of the Beach Boys. The Café Attitude party was exotic in a vintage, beatnik kind of way. We paid a US$15 “donation” for heaping plates of homegrown specialties with names like “radical renegade ratatouille” and “Shiva luscious greens” and gathered around a campfire by a stage stocked with solar-powered Christmas lights, microphones and amps. A young wwoofer from Brazil dressed in a Peter Pan minidress sang an emo bossa nova number. Next up was Angelheart’s boyfriend, wearing an embroidered vest and no shirt, who gave a Farmers’ Almanac–style news bulletin accompanied by bongo drums. “We’ll be driving to Costco next week if anyone wants a lift,” he announced. Sustainability has its limits, after all. Days are spent surfing in Hana. And that’s where we meet Monyca Eleogram, 24, who lives on an organic farm here when not traveling the world surfing for her sponsor, Roxy. We follow Eleogram, short board under arm, over green fields and mounds of lava until we reach the red-sand beach, Kaihalulu. “Where else can you surf next to grazing cows?” she says, pointing to a herd of horned creatures lazing our way. The road back to civilization begins in the north-shore town of Paia. Usually it takes half a day to get there on the Hana Highway, the famed 84 kilometers of hairpin turns and one-lane bridges clogged with mini tour buses and people in Mustang convertibles Instagramming waterfalls and the Middle Earth vistas. But emboldened by our off-the-grid sabbatical and a full moon, my sister managed it at night in under two hours as I played DJ, tuning our rental-car radio to an independent station playing old psychedelic B sides. Paia is a funky former sugar plantation town with tanned travelers and surfers roaming the sunbaked main street and filing into coffee bars and shops like Mana Foods, a progressive shrine with organic offerings procured and labeled with laboratory precision. Old 136

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From top: Alizé de Rosnay and Nathan Howe at Puka Puka boutique and gallery, in Paia; overlooking Hamoa beach, south of Hana. Opposite: Ono Organic Farms’ Nick Vaca, holding an apple banana plant.

NE OF O Z E IL R E T S E O N C E TH TH E ID EA , D N A L IS E H T XU RY. TO ’ OF U E L N O ID M S T IU H R M G E E U H R T A P C ‘O S TH E RT S , H A S C A N B E M A D E O V ER A O S E R F L O G D H OTELS AANT SU STAINAB LE LIVIN G TH

surfboards line fences, including some that say blame it on laird, in homage to big-wave rider Laird Hamilton, who frequents the breaks at nearby Jaws. Puka Puka, a boutique and art gallery on the edge of town, is total nuovo New Age. Curated for the stylish, jet-set planetarian, there’s organic surfboard wax, Hussein Chalayan dresses and 1940’s Tahitian music produced by Yves Roche. The opening exhibition showcased local artists, including John Severson, a photographer who started Surfer Magazine in the 1960’s (and the grandfather of Alizé de Rosnay, 30, who runs Puka Puka with her boyfriend, Nathan Howe). The clientele includes a who’s who of the local intelligentsia, people like Katie McMillan, a young Maui transplant who recently chartered the TEDxMaui conference, and Garrett Lisi, a renowned theoretical physicist and surfer who runs a free-of-charge hostel for scientists on the grounds of his property nearby. Afterward, the party moves on to the buzzy new restaurant Nuka, discreetly tucked into a strip mall in Haiku, where diners in the latest après-surf fashions share izakaya-style fusion fare followed by a nightcap at the Maui Kombucha bar around the corner, which sells homemade drink flavors like pineapple-chili and “GMO-OMG-MOG”— mango orange guava.

Above: The lobby at the Andaz. Below: Nuka waitress Jazmin Repollo with a “Nuka bowl,” featuring shio koji salmon, rice, carrots, onion and cucumber.

I L L U S T R AT I O N B Y H O L LY W A L E S

here’s a labyrinth out back.” We’re staying at Lumeria Maui, an upscale wellness retreat in the paniolo (Hawaiian cowboy) town of Makawao in the hills above Paia. The receptionist is pointing to a map. “It will help you understand where you are in life and where you need to go.” We’re all standing barefoot, among Frenchcolonial antiques and display cases of rare crystals, in the lobby of a former 1910’s plantation-style home for retired pineapple-company execs that has been transformed by a Los Angeles–based interior designer into lodgings worthy of a yogic Citizen Kane. I wander around and stop at Whispering Pines—an open-air lounge area with dozens of plush rope hammocks swishing in the breeze—and then on to an Olympic-pool-size meditation lawn ornamented by an imposing stone Buddha. I finally find the labyrinth (is that an oxymoron?), with stones arranged in intricate circular paths that remind me, neurotically, of an airport security line. “Well, that’s exactly the sort of perception you can work on changing here,” the receptionist said later. That evening, guests crowd into the thatchedroof yoga shala for a performance by Lily Meola, a 20-year-old singer who has toured with Willie Nelson, another Maui resident. (Meola met Nelson because her brother, Matt, a pro surfer, was homeschooled here with two of Nelson’s sons.) Afterward, several of Meola’s entourage head into Paia for a nightcap at Charley’s Restaurant & Saloon, where Nelson occasionally performs impromptu jam sessions. This was the type of wellness I could get behind. In need of a retreat from our retreat, we drive northwest past the surf breaks of Lahaina and the West Maui Mountains to the resort community of Kapalua Bay. It feels like a well-to-do, country-club cousin of the unruly eastern coast, with expensively landscaped golf courses and condominiums. Our destination is the new Montage Kapalua Bay, from a luxury brand with properties in Laguna Beach, Beverly Hills, and elsewhere. Greeters in Hawaiian dresses rush out with orchid leis, cold face towels, and fresh pineapple. The 10-hectare property, once the site of the 1970’s grande dame Kapalua Bay Hotel, fans out majestically over the ocean with black-lava rocks and a

K A PA LUA

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grotto-like swimming pool with secret nooks and the occasional Jacuzzi. My sister and I beeline it to the spa for traditional Hawaiian lomilomi massages that involve sliding techniques with elbows and hands that are the tactile equivalent of a slack-guitar solo. A good chunk of the US$15 million renovation seems to be concentrated in a massive wooden outrigger-style atrium that also houses the Cane & Canoe restaurant. When chef Riko Bartolome

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sends us to visit Napili Flo Farm, one of his main suppliers, we are surprised to end up in a suburban cul-de-sac five minutes away, where Hawaiian native Monica Bogar runs an intricate permaculture operation consisting of fish, microgreens, and edible flowers growing out of PVC piping affixed to a fence. It certainly felt like the future. The next day we drive farther down the west coast to Wailea, a mellow aloha stretch with calm, secluded, sandy coves. Hotels began to go up here in the 1980’s, and now the area has several large properties including a Fairmont, a Marriott, a Four Seasons and the Grand Wailea. The Andaz, owned by Hyatt, opened last year and is on the cutting edge of Maui’s new holistic luxury. It was awarded a LEED Silver certification for environmental practices such as composting and a solar-powered hot-water system. You feel it as soon as you check in. Well, you don’t really check in in the traditional sense at the Andaz: we sat barefoot in a Zen sandpit in the middle of the lobby on tribal wooden stools, pushing our toes through the sand while the receptionist typed our data in on her tablet computer. The neo-Polynesian design courtesy of the Rockwell Group exudes a playful sophistication. In place of kitschy tiki totems and hula-girl figurines was an upgraded Hawaiiana of Noguchiesque carved sculptures and low- slung Midcentury-style furnishings in rope and raw woods. Not that the guests at the bar were particularly concerned. It was sunset, and after a dip in the three-tiered swimming pool we joined them. Mixologists were shaking up artisanal takes on South Seas standards such as the Mai Tai Trader Vic’s 1944, updated with fresh lime and toasted-almond orgeat, and a nonalcoholic piña colada redux called the Coconut Wired, with fresh coconut cream. Maui’s two disparate sides seemed to coalesce over dinner at the Andaz’s innovative Ka’ana Kitchen. The menu referenced not just New York, Honolulu and Asia but also Makawao, Hana and Kipahulu. I ordered the Makawao farm chicken with malasadas (Portuguese beignets, a staple of the immigrant paniolos) in homage to our stay at Lumeria, and I noted that the ahi tataki contained lilikoi (passion fruit) from Ono Farms, where our wwoofer pal Vaca worked. Dining at Ka’ana was much like my trek around the island. It was high and low with yurt-shaped vertical integration. It was new, nuovo, and nouvelle all at once. +

STAY Andaz Maui at Wailea Resort Wailea; andaz.com; doubles from US$569. Halemano Kipahulu; halemanomaui.com; doubles from US$140. Lumeria Maui Makawao; lumeriamaui.com; doubles from US$329. Montage Kapalua Bay Kapalua; montagehotels.com; doubles from US$775.

EAT AND DRINK Cane & Canoe 1 Bay Dr., Kapalua; montagehotels. com; dinner for two US$120. Charley’s Restaurant & Saloon 142 Hana Hwy., Paia; charleysmaui.com; dinner for two US$65. Coconut Glen’s Marker 27½, Hana Hwy., Nahiku; coconutglens.com. Ka’ana Kitchen Andaz, 3550 Wailea Alanui Dr., Wailea; andaz.com; dinner for two US$150.

Maui Kombucha 810 Kokomo Rd., Haiku; maui kombucha.com. Nuka 780 Haiku Rd., Haiku; nukamaui.com; dinner for two US$60. DO Laulima Farm 40755 Hana Hwy., Hana; laulimafarm.com. Napili Flo Farm Napili; 1-808/357-0648. Ono Farms 149 Hana Hwy., Hana; onofarms.com.

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Our Definitive Guide to

The library inside the French brasserie at the Mandarin Oriental Taipei, in the Zhongshan district.

Taiwanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s capital has an artful soul, creative energy, and ultramodern landmarks that are redefining the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s landscape. Howie Kahn reports. Photographed by Algirdas Bakas

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N Left: The lobby at Humble House. Below: The reading room inside Mandarin Oriental’s Presidential Suite.

DATON G

ZHON GS H A N TA M SU I RIV E R XINYI DA A N

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Lay of the Land Daan Wide, tree-lined boulevards, the city’s largest park, and an endless array of restaurants and boutiques make the Daan district Taipei’s most coveted address. Datong Once a mighty economic center, Datong is now home to Japanese colonial architecture, the Ningxia Night Food Market and the resurgent Dihua Street. Xinyi Skyscrapers continue to rise in what used to be the quiet western part of town, as Taipei’s financial and retail hubs move into the area. Zhongshan Not to be confused with neighboring Zhongzheng, this area is known for its upscale fashion flagships, the Fine Arts Museum and the National Revolutionary Martyr’s Shrine. Getting Around Taipei’s mass rapid transit system (english.trtc.com.tw) is fast and convenient, with signs in English on trains and in stations. Taxis are also plentiful and easy to hail.

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Stay Taipei’s hottest new hotels, and some classics. VVG BB+B In nondescript residential buildings, these three flats designed by local impresario Grace Wang are part of the VVG (“Very Very Good”) mini-empire of beautifully curated restaurants and shops. Furnishings reflect Wang’s obsession with comfort and craft, from the Chiang Mai–made four-poster bed in the Francia suite to the deep copper tub in the London-inspired June room. vvgvvg.blogspot.tw; US$230. MANDARIN ORIENTAL Taipei’s newest big-ticket hotel has walk-in closets in every room, a 50,000-crystal-bead lobby chandelier, a Yabu Pushelberg–designed spa, and a patisserie serving chocolates by World Chocolate Master Frank Haasnoot. mandarin oriental.com; NT$17,480.

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HUMBLE HOUSE The much lauded Humble House, with its welcoming staff and notable work from international artists such as Zadok Ben-David, has already become one of Taipei’s most desirable places to stay. Rooms come with high ceilings, modern furniture and silk velvet bathrobes. humblehousehotels.com; NT$12,000. REGENT The Regent has hushed, dimmed hallways and formal accents of marble and wood—and the 20th-floor spa, with its suitesize treatment rooms, is an oasis of light and calm. Beneath the hotel, there’s the Regent Galleria, full of high-end shops, including a Goyard boutique. regenthotels.com; NT$7,740.

W This hotel in Xinyi has all the signature W touches—thumping bass in the lobby; shag rugs and tilde-shaped leather chaises; a pool scene that doesn’t quit— and a young staff in slick black suits. whotels.com; NT$11,800. WXYZ The “W” in WXYZ stands for Woolloomooloo, the artisanal hospitality company named for a Sydney suburb by its founding architect Jimmy Yang. A former love hotel, this boutique feels like an updated, DIY ryokan—only six rooms with wood headboards and vintage maps on the walls— catering to long-term guests. facebook.com/woolloomooloo. snooze; NT$30,000 per week. Hotel prices represent starting rates for double occupancy.

From left: Browsing the book selection at VVG Something; shirts on display at Shiatzy Chen; a leather bag from Shiatzy Chen.

Shop Five treasure troves across the city.

Cans Tea & Books House Sip house-made oolongs in private, bamboo-lined nooks built into the walls before browsing the one-of-a-kind Chinese book collection on tea culture, photography and other fine arts. cansart.com.tw.

Deco Collect In a renovated shop-house dating from the end of the Japanese occupation, this design emporium is a must-see in the vein of New York’s ABC Carpet & Home. Locally made pottery and decorative leather objects occupy the first floor; the upper levels showcase high-end Asian furniture. 251 Nanjing West Rd.; 886-2/2796-8276.

Shiatzy Chen Taipei’s best-known luxury fashion house stands out on a prime Zhongshan block, thanks to its Jaya Ibrahim– designed latticed façade. Inside, five floors of stylish pieces (slim-cut cotton shirts and blouses; silk evening gowns) seamlessly combine Eastern and Western fashion sensibilities. shiatzychen.com.

VVG Something Equal parts boutique and bookstore, this hidden gem in Daan stocks an idiosyncratic array of design curios (smallbatch copper pencils; vintage typewriters). Look for limited-edition craft magazines and rare art titles such as Andy Warhol’s Red Books. vvgvvg.blogspot.tw.

See Do

A black-and-white photograph by Japanese photographer Hiroshi Sugimoto, at Xue Xue Foundation.

Xiaoqi Chifeng 28 The slim, airy Datong district boutique is a one-stop shop for cult Japanese lifestyle brands—Studio M ceramic vases; Fog Linen Work tablecloths. There’s also an on-site florist, Takako Mine, who hosts flowerarranging workshops every month. 28 Chifeng St.; 886-2/2555-6969.

Leave time to explore these cultural stops.

The hot springs of Beitou, a quiet northern suburb, have been famous for their healing properties since the late 1800’s, but Villa 32 (villa32.com) brings the revivifying soak to a thoroughly modern level. Eight slick indoor and outdoor pools aid in everything from skin detoxification to enhanced circulatory health. + One of Taipei’s foremost centers dedicated to creative arts education is located in an unremarkable Neihu District office park. Meaning “Learn Learn” in Mandarin, Xue Xue Foundation (xuexue.tw) houses public libraries, test kitchens, and classrooms that host lectures on Taiwanese music and philosophy as well as interactive workshops for children. + The National Palace Museum has countless gems, but you can also view and even buy classical art at Ye Classical Art Gallery (No. 1, Section 1, Bade Rd.). Ceramics are the main draw here, ranging from delicate Song dynasty porcelains to antique tea utensils used by samurais. 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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Clockwise from far left: Hot pot aplenty at Lau Jio; quinoa tabbouleh at Nonzero; pork-and-shrimp dumplings at Din Tai Fung.

Read on for the city’s top tables. CHA CHA THÉ The local fashion house Shiatzy Chen is the brains behind this teahouse and restaurant in Taipei’s Eastern district. A retail section features several poetically named blends (“thick emptiness”; “heavy embrace”) while the dining room beyond serves sophisticated dishes such as handmade green linguine with spring onion, seafood and sakura blossom. chachathe.com; set menu from NT$1,760. DIN TAI FUNG What started as a cooking-oil retailer 56 years ago has evolved into one of the most soughtafter dining experiences around the globe, with outposts in 10 countries. Guests line up for the popular xiao long bao (juicy, steamy, one-bite soup dumplings), but the deep and

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delicious menu includes a variety of dishes, from pickled cabbage and pan-fried pork cutlets to the most full-bodied chicken soup. dintaifung.com.tw; NT$700. LAU JIO Director Ang Lee’s favorite spot for traditional Taiwanese hot pot may also be yours. A bubbling vessel is set in the center of the table. The hot coals beneath keep it warm, and over the course of a couple of hours the flavors all mix: the fermented cabbage, the marbled beef, the soy bean curd and the broth. 307 Fuxing North Rd.; 886-2/2718-1122; NT$1,200. NONZERO Open and airy, with an inviting menu to match, Nonzero follows a Slow Food philosophy and caters to a crowd of regulars with its soups, stews and

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small plates. “It’s comfort food from all over,” owner Tan Yee Ming says. Order the seductive Tunisian chorba lamb with house-made harissa and sea bass in a lemongrass-infused broth. nonzero.com.tw; NT$2,000. SI ZHI TANG With its shabby-chic, mismatched décor and focus on homegrown ingredients, the secluded yet intimate Si Zhi Tang recalls similar spaces in Bangkok, Brooklyn and Portland, Oregon. The food is Taiwanese fusion: loofah in bonito broth to start, followed by a medley of dishes in pots—spicy, stinky tofu; rice-noodle soup with taro root; star fruit; and fish balls. tuaculture.com; NT$2,500. Restaurant prices represent approximate cost for dinner for two, unless otherwise noted.

Worth the Trip Just a 45-minute drive from downtown, the densely forested hills of Yangmingshan National Park (english. ymsnp.gov.tw) feel centuries away. Shi-Yang (shi-yang. com; set menu NT$1,250), a monastic, glass-and-wood restaurant, specializes in vegetarian. The soup, whose dried-lotus-flower garnish captures steam and blossoms on the table, is a highlight. After, head to its sister Tea House at No. 6, an open-air modern vision overlooking rolling hills where monklike servers brew leaves from a 200year-old Pu-erh tea tree.

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Eat

From left: Enjoying a morning brew at Fong Da Coffee; clothing and accessories at Mogu; indie offerings at Spot.

Local Take Three insiders share their favorite places in Taipei.

PING CHU

AMBER LIN

Chef/TV presenter

“Near Taipei International Airport,

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Addiction Aquatic Development

(addiction.com.tw) is a fish market and food hall popular with foodies seeking quality, affordable seafood. For the best traditional Taiwanese breakfast, the little-known Fu Hang Dou Jiang (886-2/2392-2175; NT$140 for two) serves sweet soy milk and fried doughnuts. The minute you walk into Fong Da Coffee (fongda. com.tw), you can smell the beans roasting. Get your cup of coffee with the walnut-and-sesame cookies— they’re mind-blowing.”

Coffee Culture Where to get your caffeine fix.

Fika Fika Café On a quiet street in Zhongshan, minimalist Fika Fika specializes in single-origin Nordicstyle brews and is a favorite among Taipei chefs. fikafikacafe.com.

Founder of Canmeng, Canbran and Canlove

“For great shopping, go to Mogu (mogu. com.tw), a stylish store opened by young fashion and graphic designers that sells everything from notebooks to canvas totes. Ask to see their working studio in the back. Nearby, owner He Jian’s peaceful Yeh Tang Culture Research Institute (886-2/ 2356-7841), in a timber-framed building, draws the city’s literati. Don’t miss the events at Red Room (redroom. com.tw) on the third Saturday of every month; a creative crowd gathers to chat in Chinese and English about topics such as politics and art.”

GaBee Owner Van Lin, Taiwan’s reigning barista champion, treats visitors to Italianstyle roasts and expert latte art at his brownwalled coffee shop in Daan. 886-2/2713-8772.

CRYSTAL WANG

Designer-owner of Crystal Wang

“Catch a movie at Spot (spot.org.tw), a colonial-style mansion turned theater that shows indie and art-house films. The charming café next door is the perfect place for afternoon tea. In the Dun-Hua area, the recently opened Arcarts Gallery (wukon002.so-buy.com) has wonderful exhibitions of up-andcoming artists. On weekends, I take my dog to Dajia Riverside Park, where locals like to bike and go for picnics. It’s not as crowded as the famous Daan Forest Park, which makes it a relaxing escape.”

Woolloomooloo Xinyi It seems everyone has a favorite slow-drip pour at this industrial-chic café owned by Jimmy Yang. The brunch is one of the city’s best. 886-2/8789-0128.

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Last Look

Photographed by Kit Chan

Tibet Litang Horse Festival Each summer the nomadic Khampas gather in what is now Sichuan, China, with their bright ribbon- and rug-bedecked horses. The results of equestrian events like horseback acrobatics and racing determine social hierarchies among the groups.

Cheerleading, Khampa-style Tibetans recite their mantras while spinning their prayer wheels, which send their wishes floating to the sky. Throughout the Horse Festival, attendees direct their prayers toward the competition, asking for the success of their favorite riders.

Path to enlightenment A thangka is a composite artwork of painting or embroidery, and silk or leather. Here, a monkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s nine stages of development, from distraction to concentration, are symbolized in part by monkeys and elephants.

Ganden Thubchen Choekhorling Nestled among the hills of Litang, this monastery is the beating heart of Tibetan religious life in the region. When theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re not studying mantras, young monks, like the boy here, mix with locals in the meadows.

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