October 2016 by Travel + Leisure Southeast Asia

Southeast asia

october 2016 Korea season of colors Australiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Great Barrier Reef

Cruises to the heart of Asia Singapore S$7.90 / Hong Kong HK$43 Thailand THB175 / Indonesia IDR50,000 Malaysia MYR18 / Vietnam VND85,000 Macau MOP44 / Philippines PHP240 Burma MMK35 / Cambodia KHR22,000 Brunei BND7.90 / Laos LAK52,000

Bottoms Up

Craft cocktails around Asia

Batam Resort, Riau Islands • Indonesia

Where the true treasure is sunset's gold In a world with many heart-pumping captivations, there is a sense of obligation to overtake all the many earth's challenges. Step into the edge of a magnificent realm where you can undertake Mother Nature's offerings in one swoop. Choose your experience: everlasting mountains, unforgiving streams of gorgeous oceans, fantastic mystical beasts, and fiery lakes. Face the life's many delicacies, because when you truly experience it, only then you can truly experience life. www.indonesia.travel indonesia.travel @indtravel indonesia.travel

Wonderful Indonesia without a Visa The government of Indonesia has extended a visa-free facility to 169 countries and territories.

Aside from the beautiful and exciting destinations, nothing lifts the mood of an avid traveler better than a free visa. After all, a visa-free facility eliminates one more barrier standing between a traveler and his destination. Indonesia, the largest archipelago in the world known for its pristine beaches, lush tropical forests and diverse culture, has recently extended its visa-free facility to no fewer than 169 countries and territories. The policy to grant visa-free facility to a much larger number of countries and territories was made as part of the government’s eﬀorts to boost the country’s economy through tourism. The government has announced its aims to reach 20 million visitors by 2019. Presidential decree no. 21 of 2016, which was signed by President Joko Widodo on March 2 this year, details the policy’s terms and conditions and encloses the list of countries. Visitors from enlisted 169 countries and territories, which include the United States and Australia, are required to have their passports with minimum validity of six months and a return ticket upon entry. Meanwhile, nationals of Afghanistan, Cameroon, Guinea, Israel, Liberia, Niger, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan and Somalia, still need a visa approval from the Immigration Oﬃce in Indonesia prior to their travel. The visa-free facility, which is granted for the purpose of leisure or tourism, family, social, art and cultural, governmental, educational, business meetings and transit visits, is valid for up to 30 days. It is non-extendable and non-convertible.

Gili Air Island , Lombok • Indonesia

Entry and Departure Points There are designated points of entry and departure as well. But visitors need not worry, as, according to the Indonesian Directorate General of Immigration, there are up to 124 immigration checkpoints composing of 29 airports (including Soekarno-Hatta, Tangerang, 30 kilometers from Jakarta; Halim Perdanakusuma, Jakarta; I Gusti Ngurah Rai, Bali; Juanda, Surabaya; Hang Nadim, Batam; and Kuala Namu and Polonia, Medan among others), 88 harbors and 7 land borders. Visitors may enter and depart through all of the listed checkpoints. The full list, along with the list of countries, is available on the Directorate General of Immigration’s website. Indonesia has come a long way in granting free visa for short visits. The government had previously granted visa-free status to neighboring Southeast Asian countries, such as Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei Darussalam, the Philippines, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam, as well as territories and countries, such as Hong Kong, Chile, Morocco, Peru and Ecuador, through presidential decree no. 69 of 2015. Later last year, it amended the policy with presidential decree no. 104 of 2015, which added 75 other countries eligible for the visa-free facility.

CHILLAX TURNS TWO It’s our second anniversary of Chillax and we want to celebrate with you, with special benefits at some of Singapore’s best bars. Be sure to present your American Express® Platinum Reserve or Platinum Credit Card at the time of order and receive a complimentary drink on us. Terms and Conditions apply, please visit amex.co/chillax for more information.

1-FOR-1 FIRST DRINKS

NEW BAR

COMPLIMENTARY WELCOME DRINK

NUTMEG & CLOVE

ANTI:DOTE

In the heritage enclave of Ann Siang Hill, Nutmeg & Clove has taken a historical perspective with cocktails. Embracing the progression from colonial outpost to modern metropolis, they incorporate familiar elements of the diverse cultural and culinary heritage to create avant-garde drinks featuring classics reinterpreted with local inflection.

Anti:dote is a stylish cocktail bar that appeals to the most discerning taste buds. Combining the craftsmanship of traditional bartending and the artistry of experimental mixology techniques, drinks are crafted with premium spirits and housemade bitters, liqueurs and sodas, complementing well the innovative modern tapas.

COMPLIMENTARY BESPOKE COCKTAIL

COMPLIMENTARY WELCOME DRINK

AH SAM COLD DRINK STALL

GEM

Ah Sam Cold Drink Stall specialises in premium cocktails inspired by local flavours. In this fun, unpretentious gem amid the popular playground of Boat Quay, you’re sure to be served up your perfect bespoke beverage. Try their Tak-Giu (Milo infusion) or Liang Teh (chrysanthemum, wolf berry) and see why they are the talk of the town.

At the intersection of Ann Siang and Club Street, Gem Bar rules all three floors of a historic conservation shophouse. Watch the world go by at the streetside tables, or upstairs, dance to DJs and play pool. In any case, the food is tasty and the cocktails are strong and cleverly creative: the rum-ginger-cucumber-citrus Ron Halia is a winning order.

A D V ER T I S EMEN T

COMPLIMENTARY BESPOKE COCKTAIL

1-FOR-1 FIRST DRINKS

COMPLIMENTARY KIRIN OR PURE BLONDE BEER

HORSE’S MOUTH BAR

:PLUCK

THE MAD MEN ATTIC BAR

Cocktails at the Horse’s Mouth Bar are pieces of art and crafted to suit your palate. The comforting Japanese bar snacks run the gamut from steaming ramen to stingray fins.

:pluck credits a good meal to quality ingredients, offering cosmopolitan interpretations of classics that are affordable, creative and delicious.

Designed in a fun, modern industrialist manner, The Mad Men Attic Bar was configured as the Go-To-Post-Work hideout in Boat Quay with stunning skyline with Marina Bay Sands.

COMPLIMENTARY CRAFT BEER (DRAFT OR BOTTLE)

COMPLIMENTARY CRAFT OR DRAFT BEER

1-FOR-1 FIRST DRINKS

INCOGNITO

SHIN GI TAI

THE SECRET MERMAID

In collaboration with Chye Seng Huat Hardware, the hipster café melds into iNCOGNiTO, a craft beer bar, at night. Look out for their selection of special releases and rare cellared beers.

A cosy craft cocktail bar tucked away in the former Catholic High School. Elevate your cocktail experience to an art form with Anthony’s elegant Japanese bartending techniques.

The Secret Mermaid is a tasting room focused on American craft spirits and a great place to try exciting spirits such as unique products that range from Bakon Vodka to hand crafted organic spirits.

COMPLIMENTARY BESPOKE COCKTAIL

COMPLIMENTARY GLASS OF HOUSE WHISKY

1-FOR-1 FIRST DRINKS

MAISON IKKOKU

THE AULD ALLIANCE

WANTON - SENG’S NOODLE BAR

Maison Ikkoku is known for its no-menu bespoke cocktail concept. Master Mixologist Ethan Leslie Leong applies his artistry techniques here.

A beautiful bar in a Heritage Building, the Auld Alliance has an extensive whisky collection with 1,500 labels and a unique range of 40 Absinthes.

This modern venue proudly offers the original Seng’s Wanton Mee with curated complementary drinks such as signature cocktails and craft beer.

Terms and Conditions: • Purchase of at least one item from the merchant’s menu is required. Other terms and conditions may apply to the above mentioned privileges/promotions. Please refer to amex.co/chillax for more details. • American Express and the participating merchants reserve the right to change The Terms and Conditions at any time without prior notice. Should there be disputes, the decision of American Express and the participating merchants shall be final. • You must be at least 18 years of age to consume alcoholic beverages. Individuals with health conditions should consult and heed their doctor’s advice before drinking. Drink moderately, responsibly and do not drink and drive.

October

features

ON THE COVER A crew member of the Alila Purnama dives into the ocean. Photograph by Lauryn Ishak.

Special

Cruisin’ Feeling landlocked? These floating five-stars will drift into your dreams.

The Golden Season South Koreans revere the strange, beautiful mountains east of Seoul for their power to soothe the spirit. Krys Lee takes a hike. Photographed by Frédéric Lagrange

106 83 106

c l o c k w i s e F R O M t o p LE F T: l a u r y n i s h a k ; s e a n f e n n e s s y; F r é d é r i c L a g r a n g e ; r o l a n d b e l l o

128 96

Blue Crush On her visit to the Great Barrier Reef, Amelia Lester finds tourism may be helping to save this natural wonder. Photographed by Sean Fennessy

118

The Way they Cook in Sicily Stephanie Danler eats her way across the Italian island, soaking up the wisdom of its women. Photographed by Simon Watson

128

A Shore Bet Why low-key Nantucket is one of America’s most iconic destinations. By Simon Dumenco. Photographed by Roland Bello

t r a v e l a n d l e i s u r e a s i a . c o m / o c t o b e r 2 0 1 6

In Every Issue T+L Digital 16 Contributors 18 Editor’s Note 20 The Conversation 22 Deals 78 Wish You Were Here 138

departments

27 Manila’s New Star Shangri-La at the Fort, Manila is the epicenter of ascendant enclave Bonifacio Global City.

the fearless chef behind Taiwan’s

32 Taiwan’s Finest Lanshu Chen,

top restaurant of the year, dishes on her culinary influences and hometown of Taichung.

36 My Fabulous World After a tour of Thailand while filming a new documentary, Brooke Shields chats about her travel favorites.

38 Let There Be Light Louis

Vuitton’s innovative new line of rolling trunks.

kid-oriented trips pair

40 Road Scholars Today’s best entertainment with enrichment.

Plus A new retreat on Inle Lake; taxis in India get a hip, high-design makeover; Asia’s top upcoming cultural events; and more.

cocktails are the norm, drinking well has never been easier nor the experimentation more exciting. From Bangkok to Buenos Aires, we’ve spotlighted several cities that best represent what’s happening in mixology now, plus the newest trends to look for on menus far and wide.

Beyond 45 Runway-Ready Fashion maven Farah Khan reveals the design secrets behind her eponymous label’s standout dresses.

lodge near Chitwan National

48 The Great Game A new safari Park ups the hospitality bar, and pulls eco-tourists back to Nepal.

Upgrade 73 Seven Ways Your Hotel Stay is Changing From robots to rooms by the hour, what you should check out before checking in.

52 A Jungle Feast A new tour in deepest Borneo sends diners gliding through seldom-seen waterways in pursuit of wild edibles and adventure.

57 Guide Cocktail Power Now that craft

october 2016 / tr av el andleisure asia .com

F R O M LE F T: c o u r t e s y o f b r o o k e s h i e l d s ; c o u r t e s y o f s h a n g r i - l a at t h e f o r t; c o u r t e s y o f ta j h o t e l s ; p o r n s a k n a n a k o r n

Here & Now

t+l digital

Lookout

3 Over-the-Top Butler Services Art butlers, fragrance butlers, barbecue butlers—these hotels go the extra mile to make guests feel pampered.

The Serene Side of Bor acay It may be one of Southeast Asia’s party capitals, but there are still plenty of peaceful havens on the isle.

7 Beaches for Your Bucket List From Sumba to Sri Lanka, the Maldives to Cambodia, there’s a gorgeous stretch of sand for your every desire.

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fr o m l e f t: i l l u s t r at i o n b y a u t c h a r a pa n p h a i ; s o n n y t h a k u r ; wa lt e r g . s c h m i t

this month on tr avelandleisureasia.com

Where to find the world’s cheapest Michelinstarred meal in Singapore; must-see unesco World Heritage Sites in Asia; stunning hotel suites you have to see to believe; the latest travel deals and more.

contributors

Lauryn Ishak

Shoba Narayan

Cruisin’ Page 83 — Singapore-based photographer Ishak sailed through the “wild, unexpected and stunning” Raja Ampat archipelago in West Papua, Indonesia, aboard the phinisi Alila Purnama. “The staff is top-class and personable.” Simply being aboard was a detox: “When you show up on the boat still carrying your daily routines in your head, you expect some sort of schedule. But as the days go by, you relax, let go and you roll with the laid-back rhythm of being out on the open ocean. Time is told by when the sun rises, when you eat your meals and when the sun sets again. It was hard to leave.” Instagram: @laurynie.

The Great Game Page 48 — “The Himalayas are reason enough,” to visit Nepal, says the Bangalore-based Narayan. “It is also neat to see how the Hindu faith is practiced, as well as shades of both the ancient Chinese and Indian civilizations.” She praises the country’s first billionaire for giving back. “Binod Chaudhary was very unassuming and humble,” she says. “His lodge, Meghauli Serai, combined the warmth of Nepal’s Tharu tribe with contemporary luxury.” Trip highlight? A once-in-a-lifetime meeting: “Seeing my first one-horned rhino. It was massive and had the eyes of a gentle giant.” Instagram: @shobanarayan.

Simon Watson

Stephanie Danler

The Way They Cook in Sicily Page 118 — Watson’s wife refers to him as the Neutron because he is constantly on the move— which may explain why he’s been to Sicily so many times. But on this assignment to capture Sicilian cuisine, he found something new. “I know Sicily well but had never been to Gangivecchio, in Gangi. It is so beautiful inside and out,” Watson says of the 14thcentury abbey and remote mountain village. His advice for first-timers to the romantic southern-Italian isle is not to rush. “There is a lot to see, so pick an area. Trapani is always a great town to visit. It’s surrounded by the sea, and the food is so simple.” Instagram: @simonpwatson.

The Way They Cook in Sicily Page 118 — The debut novelist and former New York City waitress admits that her second trip to Sicily, where she ate her way through Palermo and beyond, was better planned than her first. “I did zero research,” she recalls of that initial visit. “The sophisticated food and energy of new restaurants caught me off guard.” She counts Sicilian capers among the local ingredients she can’t live without and says every return trip will include the town of Gangi: “The quiet in those mountains is like a decompression chamber.” Sweetbitter, her comingof-age story set in a fictional Manhattan restaurant, is out now. Instagram: @smdanler.

P h o to g r a p h er

w r i t er

fr o m t o p : c o u r t e s y o f L a u r y n I s h a k ; c o u r t e s y o f S h o b a N a r aya n ; DAV ID F E R NANDE Z ; NICK V O R DE R M AN

october 2016

p h o to g r a p h er

editor’s note

october 2016

Barrier Reef (“Blue Crush,” page 106). Writer Amelia Lester’s counterintuitive point underscores one of the key reasons we travel: “…after a flight to Sydney and another journey 1,600 kilometers up Australia’s eastern coast, you arrive in one of the reef’s gateway towns of Townsville or Cairns and…see nothing.” Coral reefs, like many aspects of our natural world, do not appear simply when we beckon. Our travels, if they are fruitful at all, require some effort from us other than simply showing up. Lester discovers this on her visit, coming to grips with the threats the coral reef system—and, indeed, our planet—faces today. In other words, her trip becomes a learning experience. In another, not-so-parallel universe, at least as far as our travels go, is this month’s nightlife guide (“Cocktail Power,” page 57) that takes in Bali and Bangkok, Hong Kong and Singapore. Craft cocktails are the rage across the globe or, to put it another way, your father wouldn’t recognize today’s Old Fashioned. Get up to speed on everything from musings on mezcal to the ongoing rum renaissance. Cruises are another trend in Asia, but we’re not talking about oversized ships with shuffleboard. Senior editor Merritt Gurley reports from the cushy confines of a small, new boat (“Burmese Daze,” page 84) and disembarks dreaming of all she missed—and a return visit.

@CKucway chrisk@mediatransasia.com

o c t o b e r 2 0 1 6 / t r av e l a n d l e i s u r e a s i a . c o m

From My Travels

I’ll never tire of Bali, even if it’s only for a quick trip. Yes, two nights is too short but, in a take-it-or-leave-it world, will do. Even then, the underlying aim was to have a good Indonesian meal—call it gado gado dreams—and I managed to do just that at the Four Seasons Jimbaran Bay before dashing off to the airport. Mee goreng, sate campur, gado gado and a collection of varied sambal made my meal both lunch and dinner. I must get back to Bali.

fr o m l e f t: t h a n a k o r n c h o m n awa n g ; c h r i s t o p h e r k u c way

There’s a memorable line in our story this month about the great

the conversation

exotic & idyllic retreat ...where life is a private celebration

If youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve ever wondered who is snatching up the hotel rooms you are trying to book, Hong Kong-based travelers might be the ones to blame. According to Agodaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Travel Smart study, Hong Kongers sweep in earlier than anyone else to reserve accommodations before a trip. Meanwhile, travelers from the UAE dally at the opposite end of the spectrum, making their hotel bookings the latest. Here, the advance planners and procrastinators.

Countries whose residents book accomodations the earliest.

Countries whose residents book accomodations before a trip the latest.

Bottom 5 1. UAE 12 days 2. Indonesia 15 days 3. Saudi Arabia 17 days 4. Vietnam 18 days 5. India 20 days

#TLASIA

top 5 1. Hong Kong 42 days 2. Taiwan 40 days 2. Australia 40 days 2. Russia 40 days 5. Sweden 38 days

Readers share the mouthwatering ways they start their day.

Breakfast for champs, Singapore. By @chickenscrawlings.

Rise and shine with Korean steamed dumplings. By @thewanderingchopsticks.

Morning Times of India. By @bkkmunchkin.

Best part of our mornings next to waking up in Bali! By @ianvillaruel.

Sanur I Ubud I Nusa Dua I Jimbaran

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Share an Instagram photo by using the #TLAsia hashtag, and it may be featured in an upcoming issue. Follow @travelandleisureasia

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travel+leisure southeast asia Vol. 10, Issue 10 Travel+Leisure Southeast Asia is published monthly by Media Transasia Limited, 1603, 16/F, Island Place Tower, 510 Kingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Road, North Point, Hong Kong. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage or retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the Publisher. Produced and distributed by Media Transasia Thailand Ltd., 14th Floor, Ocean Tower II, 75/8 Soi Sukhumvit 19, Sukhumvit Road, Klongtoeynue, Wattana, Bangkok 10110, Thailand. Tel: 66-2/204-2370. Printed by Comform Co., Ltd. (66-2/368-2942â&#x20AC;&#x201C;7). Color separation by Classic Scan Co., Ltd. (66-2/291-7575). While the editors do their utmost to verify information published, they do not accept responsibility for its absolute accuracy. This edition is published by permission of Time Inc. Affluent Media Group 1271 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020 Tel. 1-212/522-1212 Online: www.timeinc.com Reproduction in whole or in part without consent of the copyright owner is prohibited. subscriptions Enquiries: www.travelandleisuresea.com/subscribe ADVERTISING offices General enquiries: advertising@mediatransasia.com Singapore: 65/9029 0749; joey@mediatransasia.com Japan: Shinano Co., Ltd. 81-3/3584-6420; kazujt@bunkoh.com Korea: YJP & Valued Media Co., Ltd. 82-2/3789-6888; hi@yjpvm.kr

LOSE YOURSELF. FIND YOURSELF. It is when we are furthest from home that we most become ourselves.

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This is where we discover new things, grow, share, and unite with others.

D I S C O V E RY P R I M E A , M A N I L A

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debut

Manila’s New Star

Why Shangri-La at the Fort, Manila is the epicenter of ascendant enclave Bonifacio Global City.

C o oto u r t eCsrye d oift STh nay g r i - L a at T h e F o r t Ph ea ek

By jeninne lee-st. john

The hotel’s High Street Lounge has already become a community rec room.

t r a v e l a n d l e i s u r e a s i a . c o m / o c t o b e r 2 0 1 6

bonifacio global cit y is manil a’s

from Top right: Guest rooms are among

the largest in town; firing things up at Canton Road; the commissioned artwork Derive, by Jinggoy Buensuceso; the threecut Chopping Block at Raging Bull.

new promised land, attracting cool young professionals and the hottest bars, clubs and restaurants with its grassy knolls and wide boulevards and, most important, relative lack of traffic. BGC is the nearly miraculous exemplar of what this sprawling metropolis could’ve looked like if civil engineers had the chance to actually plan each neighborhood. And at the heart of this virgin enclave towers Shangri-La at the Fort, Manila. Open just a few months, this complex where Filipino flair stylishly accents imported luxe is already the community hub—just ask all the locals who use the sunny High Street Lounge as their personal den. Staying here is like being dropped into a ready-made clique to which you instantly belong. The first thing to do with new friends? Eat. The steaks at Raging Bull Chophouse fly in from Australia and the U.S. with extensive origin stories—like the grass-fed beef from Cape Grim, the northwest tip of Tasmania, an area that boasts the world’s purest air. Muddle things up at their whiskey-addled bar, where head mixologist Ulysse Jouanneaud infuses his house bourbon with Cohibas. Sumptuous Canton Road will tempt with their bespoke-blend teas and fancy fare such as suckling

october 2016 / tr av el andleisure asia .com

pig stuffed with dried shrimp, but to judge quality, just pop one of head dim sum chef Lin Zong Jin’s perfect har gow, each of which he sends out with 12 tiny hand-crimped folds. Speaking of hands-on chefs, do hope you get to meet Samba’s charming Carlo Huerta Echegaray, who will explain the cultural context of his Peruvian dishes like the pulpo anticuchos, dangling like Christmas ornaments glittering with garlic. By this point you may feel, well, full. Resist the urge to retire to your oversized room—the 45-squaremeter base size is the most generous in town, while the vast suites come with sweeping views and Lush Fresh Handmade toileries. Instead, stay social and get to Kerry Sports, the massive two-floor workout cathedral where you’ll find local pro ballers on the NBA-grade court. Run around with your kids in the rope jungle of Adventure Zone. Book a private pilates torture session with Elijah Africa (yes, that’s his real name). Or burn some calories outside on one of the hotel’s über-sustainable Bambikes: handcrafting the sturdy, handsome bicycles of bamboo and abaca creates jobs in 2,000 locales across the archipelago. Pedaling around the quiet BGC streets, it’s easy to forget you’re in Manila. But then the walls out here covered in commissioned graffiti murals remind you of the walls in the Shangri-La, adorned in huge original works by some of the country’s top artists, all seeming to signify that when it comes to community, bigger is better. And it’s clear that though this may be a new mecca, it pulses with old-school Filipino family values. shangri-la. com; doubles from P14,800.

C o u r t e s y o f S h a n g r i - L a at T h e F o r t (4 )

/ here&now /

/ here&now / from left: A Delhi taxi driver poses with his newly decorated cab; inside a taxi designed by visual artist Namrata Gosavi.

Tell-Tale Taxis

Stories of Indian cultural icons and human kindness are sewn into Mumbai’s cabs through the Taxi Fabric social design project. By Gr ace Ma Until recently, no one gave a

a second glance at the ubiquitous kaali peelis (taxis) plying Mumbai’s streets, but these days keen-eyed commuters are on the lookout for cabs with colorfully outfitted interiors depicting everyday stories of the city. Sanket Avlani, who now runs his own design consultancy, launched Taxi Fabric in April 2015, stitching together a platform to showcase local artists with £11,000 in Kickstarter funds. “I would take a taxi to work every day and wonder if the seat covers could be used as a

relevant, contemporary form that speaks to people,” Avlani says. From a black-and-white rendition of common household tessellations to playful sign language gestures that elicit peals of delighted laughter from deaf-mute children, the taxis loop passengers together with the heartbeat of the city. Artists submit their Mumbai-inspired concepts for review by the Taxi Fabric team before they are printed, cut, stitched and fitted into a vehicle, each of which bears a label with the story behind the print and the designer’s

contact information. During the fabric installation, the taxi owner and driver are compensated for the loss of income during the two to four days the vehicle is off the road. The project has spread to Delhi, where you’ll find an homage to India’s street food hawkers, and an auto rickshaw depicting the city’s rich Mughal heritage in Van Gogh– like brush strokes. It takes a bit of luck to catch one of the three dozen designs, but soon 75 commissioned cabs in collaboration with Google India will roll out, each with six hand-painted posters of iconic Bollywood scenes. The fabrics are available for sale online too: stitches in time that bring vibrant India into your home. taxifabric.org.

Hotel

Breathe Deep Inspired by monastic traditions, a new Burmese resort offers guests an idyllic sanctuary on Inle Lake. By Veronica Inveen Buddhist monks have retreated to the serene shores of Inle Lake for centuries to meditate and reconnect. With its quiet cloistered corridors and emphasis on simplicity, Sanctum Inle Lake, a new boutique near the stilted village of Maing Thauk, draws stylistic cues from such monastic life, but the designers have swapped asceticism for bright and lofty rooms with teak furnishings handcrafted by local artisans and suites with lake vistas. The resort commemorates contemplation, so when you’re not taking walks by the water or exploring the ancient temples in Kakku, swing by the Sanctuary Spa for a Tamarind Scrub using pods harvested on the property, or go for a Burmese-brewed beer at The Cloister Bar. Even monks need to indulge once in awhile. sanctum-inle-resort.com; doubles from US$284.

o c t o b e r 2 0 1 6 / t r a v e l a n d l e i s u r e a s i a . c o m

fr o m t o p : c o u r t e s y o f ta x i fa b r i c ( 2 ) ; c o u r t e s y o f s a n c t u m i n l e l a k e

Tr ansport

DIVERSE CULTURE

Culture

Biennale Blitz A spate of international art festivals across the region is filling up fall’s cultural calendar. by diana Hubbell

fr o m t o p : C h i h i r o M INATO ; c o u r t e s y o f a u r e i n s w i m

Culture-hounds are spoiled

this season. The buzziest of Asia’s boundary-pushing festivals is the inaugural Yinchuan Biennale (moca-yinchuan.com; September 9–December 18), with a lineup of 80 international artists, such as heavyhitters like Anish Kapoor. The art world is already atwitter, both at the caliber of the work and the decision to pull Redline, Ai Weiwei’s piece about government censorship, right before opening. Asia’s original biennale for contemporary art, the Gwangju Biennale (gwangjubiennale. org; September 2-November 6), centers on the open-ended theme “What Does Art Do?” No one seems to have a definite answer, but the exhibits, from Li

Installation at Aichi Triennale by João Modé.

Jinghu’s light installations to Joungmin Yi’s abstract paintings inspired by Seoul, make it intoxicating to ponder. Meanwhile in Japan, the third Aichi Triennale (aichitriennale.jp/english; August 11–October 23) sprawls across Okazaki, Toyohashi and Nagoya, with works from 119 artists from 38 countries. The theme, Homo Faber: A Rainbow Caravan, speaks to mankind’s creative journey and celebrates the diverse, constantly evolving landscape of the modern art scene.

HERITAGE

Swimwear

Mommy and Me

Maternity-wear just got a beachy makeover. “Mothers are so consumed by helping others that they often don’t get to take care of themselves,” says Hong Kong-based entrepreneur and mother of three Angel Tsang. To help new mamas rock up to the pool with confidence, she launched Aurein swim, in high-tech, UVprotective Italian Carvico fabric engineered to flatter those post-baby curves—and be just as adorably versatile on your matching mini-me. “We put the focus back on mom, with a feel good factor sewn in.” The ultracomfy designs contribute to a worthy cause; for each sold, the company donates HK$40 to the Changing Young Lives Foundation, a Hong Kong nonprofit to help underprivileged children. Tsang may act local, but she thinks global: the brand recently announced free international shipping. aureinswim. com; swimwear from HK$920.

Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion

Experience Penang’s enchanting cultural diversity and heritage like none other. Los Angeles Times listed Penang as 1 of 16 Must-Visit Destinations 2016

It’s all in Penang. Experience it. mypenang.gov.my Penang Global Tourism

(State Tourism Bureau)

™

/ here&now / The Dish

Taiwan’s Finest

Lanshu Chen, the fearless female chef behind Taiwan’s top restaurant, speaks with Diana Hubbell about her culinary influences and where to eat in Taichung.

“In Chinese culinary culture,

there is a sixth flavor, which is really more of a sensation,” says Lanshu Chen, who oversees the kitchen at Le Moût (lemout.com; tasting menus from NT$3,500), a high-wire fusion of French and Taiwanese cuisines in Taichung. “For example, ginger and cinnamon leave a warm sensation, a slight heat if you like, at the back of your palate.” That also might be an artful way to describe the treat of eating her cooking. Her avant-garde plates have garnered a string of accolades from international critics. “I use the word jong (balance) to describe my style, because my cuisine is a search for a harmony of tastes and textures.” It’s also a consonance of the wisdom imparted by maternal mentors and the world-famous chefs she has worked under. Growing up in the northern Taiwanese village of Yilan, Chen’s first teachers were her

mother and grandmother, who schooled her on the subtleties of traditional Chinese philosophy, and its interplay with food culture. She studied at both Le Cordon Bleu and École Grégoire-Ferrandi in Paris, then proved herself in the kitchens of some of the biggest names in the business: Patrick Pignol, JeanFrançois Piège, Jérôme Chaucesse and Thomas Keller. Yet as much as she admired these icons, her roots drew her back to her native land. Chen is a fierce advocate of Taichung’s dining scene. A recent favorite is Fore Restaurant (fb.com/ forerestaurant2015; dinner for two NT$2,000), a slick grill house serving hulking wagyu rib-eyes and Australian lamb chops with a side of vanilla-infused creamed corn or a 65°C egg with truffled mushrooms. She’s also excited about Hero Restaurant (fb.com/herorestaurant. tw), an iconic farm-to-table eatery,

october 2016 / tr av el andleisure asia .com

relocating to Taichung this month. “It was originally located up in Nanto mountain area,” she says. “The chef planted his own vegetables and flowers.” Though her own dishes—think goose foie gras layered in a tea cup with marsala caramel, marsala espuma and coffee powder garnished with a whisper-thin lemon chip—might at first glance appear to be textbook nouvelle cuisine, their francophile leanings are underpinned by Chinese sensibilities. Her balanced creations have earned her the respect of fine dining peers, not to mention a growing list of titles, including best female chef in Asia, elevating her restaurant to a top-ranking this year in Taiwan. “Passion, intuition and a sense of aesthetics are key to becoming a good chef,” she says. That, and a little grandmotherly wisdom.

c l o c k w i s e fr o m l e f t: c o u r t e s y o f l e m o ût ( 2 ) ; c o u r t e s y o f f o r e r e s ta u r a n t

clockwise from left: Lanshu Chen; a tea cup of goose foie gras served with coffee, lemon and marsala at Le Moût; mussels, clams and pork belly at Fore Restaurant.

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/ here&now / Trending

Everything Old Is New Again

This season, turn-of-the-last-century grandeur is back.

A Regal Return Much has changed in Paris since the Ritz closed for renovations in 2012. But stepping into the new Ritz is like entering a time warp. The wiring and pipes have been replaced, but the hotel maintains the feel of its heyday, when Fitzgerald and Proust were repeat guests. Even the new spaces—a garden and the world’s first Chanel spa—look like they’ve been around since the 1898 opening. Most important, the intangible details remain the same, like the feeling of arriving at the grand entrance on Place Vendôme and the comfort of seeing Colin Field, who can mix any drink from memory, back in action at Bar Hemingway. ritzparis.com; doubles from US$1,100.

fr o m t o p : k i r a t u r n b u l l ; c o u r t e s y o f b e l m o n d ; p h i l i p fr i e d m a n

Alpha Mail Out this month, the Dempsey & Carroll Grand Tour Collection nods to travel’s golden age. Cotton-paper envelopes, lined with designer John Derian’s vintage hotel prints, come with simple, bordered note cards. dempseyandcarroll.com; US$55 for a set of 10.

Rail Upgrades Air travel may have lost some of its glamour, but high-end trains are in their glory days. This August marked the launch of the first luxury railway in Ireland, the Belmond Grand Hibernian. On the Continent, the restored Venice Simplon-Orient-Express has a new London–Berlin route, with ornate Art Deco furnishings to complete the Jazz Age vibe. b elmond.com; from US$3,100.

Posh Products Victoria Beckham has already conquered the fashion and music industries; this month, she turns her attention to beauty, partnering with Estée Lauder for a limited-edition makeup collection. We fell in love with her two lipsticks—one a sophisticated, office-friendly nude, the other a sexy red, ideal for evening—and the Morning Aura Illuminating Creme, a moisturizing-brightening hybrid that does wonders for tired eyes after a long flight. esteelauder.com; from US$30. — Jacqueline Gifford

A PERFECT ESCAPE An ideal choice for those looking for luxurious facilities, peace and tranquility in beautiful surroundings with personalized service and excellent food MAYARESORTS.COM

/ here&now / My Fabulous World

Brooke Shields

After a whirlwind tour of Thailand while filming the documentary Well Traveled, the actress, author and former model stops to chat about a few of her favorite things.

A LIFE WELL TRAVELED

BEAUTY TIPS

Wellness is about more than getting a massage or blissing out on yoga. My upcoming show, Well Traveled (pbs.org), is not about medical tourism. It’s not about facials or beauty salon spa treatments. Instead, I hope to immerse you in a world of boundless possibilities and show you how to be the best possible version of yourself, wherever you may call home.

It’s not sexy, you just need to keep yourself moisturized and hydrated—there is no secret or trick. I live by

BANGKOK BLISS

I stayed at the (1) Lebua at State Tower (lebua.com; doubles from Bt4,445), had drinks at Namsaah Bottling Trust (namsaah. com; drinks for two from Bt600) and a went for a meal at (3) Issaya Siamese Club (issaya.com; dinner for two from Bt1,400). CHECKING OUT CHIANG MAI AND CHIANG RAI

I was amazed at how cohesive the environment was. In New York, you walk down the street with your head down. In Thai villages, people acknowledge each other with a warm, genuine smile. I found it incredibly rewarding to make friends with the rescued elephants at (2) the Elephant Nature Park (elephantnaturepark. org; visits from Bt2,500 per person) a short drive from Chiang Mai.

(4) Elizabeth Arden’s eight-hour cream

(elizabetharden.com; from US$22), and there is a new skincare line called Lifeline (lifelineskincare. com; from US$190) that I use day and night. Since getting a Thai sak yant tattoo on my trip, Vaseline with aloe (vaseline.us; from US$4) is a must. ON-THE-GO ESSENTIAL

I swapped my four-wheel roller for a (5) North Face duffel bag (thenorthface. com; Base Camp Duffel from US$160) that doubles as a backpack. For a trip where I was moving around often, this bag was amazing. I have a yellow one and a black one that I can fit everything I need in and lug around conveniently. FUTURE FAMILY FUN

I want to teach my kids to be able to go into a completely foreign experience and not feel like a foreigner. I’ve learned while here that if you make yourself available to new experiences and open your heart, you’ll be invited in. — As told to Veronica Inveen

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3 5

c l o c k w i s e f o m t o p : c o u r t e s y o f b r o o k e s h i e l d s ; c o u r t e s y o f i s s aya s i a m e s e c l u b ; c o u r t e s y o f t h e n o r t h fa c e ; c o u r t e s y o f e l i z a b e t h a r d e n ; L i l l i a n C u n n i n g h a m / T h e Wa s h i n g t o n P o s t/ G e t t y Im a g e s

/ here&now /

st yle

Toting a Louis Vuitton trunk once meant contending with its heft—stylish, but hardly overhead-bin-friendly. The brand’s new line, a collaboration with industrial designer Marc Newson, updates the classic with cutting-edge materials for luggage that’s chic and ultralight. Every detail (the polycarbonate shell, the monogram canvas) of the 50-and 55-centimeter carry-ons was engineered to minimize weight. Efforts paid off: the large size (shown here with model Emmy Rappe) is only 3 kilograms but has 37 liters of packing space. What didn’t change, thankfully, is the iconic LV logo— which itself carries a lot of weight . — lil a Battis Rolling suitcase, US$3,100; earrings, US$730; ankle boots, coat and leather pants, prices available upon request; louisvuitton.com.

o c t o b e r 2 0 1 6 / t r a v e l a n d l e i s u r e a s i a . c o m

P h o t o g r a p h e r : C o l i n L e a m a n . m o d e l : E M M Y R APPE At I M G M ODELS . h a i r & m a k e u p : H i r o Y o n e m o t o f o r at e l i e r m a n a g e m e n t u s i n g D i o r s k i n N u d e

Let there be light

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/ here&now /

family

Road Scholars Theme parks might be good for a thrill, but today’s best kid-oriented trips pair entertainment with enrichment and bring schoolwork to life while keeping parents happy. Here are four high-end adventures to make learning (and maybe even your kids) much more interesting. BY Heidi Mitchell

Week

Weeks

weeks

52 weeks

Try...

YOUR KIDS WILL...

Book It Adults from US$5,099, children from US$4,849; adventuresby disney.com

Adventures by Disney

See one of the oldest clocks in the world in Prague, learn about court life during the Hapsburg Empire in Vienna, and tour the dungeons of a 12th-century Bavarian castle. Overnight stays are in top hotels with pools, and coach rides between destinations might feature offbeat historical anecdotes along with a guide’s personal recollections of the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.

Journeys within

Make friends with students their age in a village outside Hanoi; kayak through Halong Bay; and crawl through the Cu Chi tunnels like guerilla fighters during the Vietnam War. Experience Saigon with a personal guide, stroll the streets of Hoi An, and make lasting relationships during a homestay in the Mekong Delta.

Two-week trips for a family of four from US$10, 700; journeyswithin.com

Remote Lands

Practice Chinese daily with a bilingual teacher while touring the country. “You can’t go to classes for eight hours a day,” says Remote Lands founder Catherine Heald. “It’s much better to visit multiple cities and learn the language while also learning about Chinese culture, history and lifestyle.” Flights, meals, drivers and guides are all taken care of, as are off-the-beaten-path experiences, such as entry to a secret room in Beijing’s Forbidden City or lunch with a farmer at his home in Guilin—which leaves plenty of time for your kids to show off their vocabularies over hot-pot dinners.

One-month trips for a family of four from US$45,000 (or US$400 per person, per day); remotel ands.com

for a road trip through Austria, Germany and the Czech Republic.

for a tour of Vietnam’s history, natural beauty and modern culture.

for Mandarin language immersion in China.

Small World Travel to go

country-hopping with a custom curriculum.

Travel the globe on a trip with a specific theme, such as retracing the paths of explorers or visiting endangered monuments. Small World will handle your itinerary, rentals, guides, excursions and lessons. Wait until the kids are in middle school, then plan early, pack light, and don’t buy a round-the-world ticket—too inflexible. “Most families want to miss winter, spend more time in cities and see Africa, Antarctica and the Galápagos when the season is right,” says owner Samantha McClure.

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Twelve-month trips for a family of four from US$10,000 per week; smallw orld. traveler.com

F r o m T o p : A p i s a k K a n j a n a p u s i t/ G e t t y Im a g e s ; M at t h e w K i n g / G e t t y Im a g e s ; B a r c r o f t/ G e t t y Im a g e s ; E d u c at i o n Im a g e s / G e t t y Im a g e s

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Cooking Up A New

ROGER FOK JW MARRIOTT HOTEL HONG KONG Award-winning pastry chef Roger Fok says participating in competitions makes him a better chef—and he couldn’t do it without the support of his hotel team. “It’s like a big family here,” he says. “Having interests outside of work is strongly encouraged, and helps foster creativity.” One great example is an immersive chocolate training course he did in Lyon, where he learned a slew of cool techniques to pass along to his home team. “Our team of 19 pastry chefs is very passionate,” he says. This top 10 finalist of the World Chocolate Masters 2015 has been collaborating with one loyal guest on custom cakes for years, fine-tuning flavors to such scrumptious results that she has given him full freedom to create new desserts for her orders. “We frequently explore ideas inspired by everyday life, such as Instagram,” he says. Desserts that look as good as they taste? How 2016. Our forks—and phones—are at the ready.

jwmarriott.com

Luxury Experience

ADVERT0RIAL

YOU DON’T NEED TO GO TO THE KITCHEN TO FIGURE OUT THE RECIPE TO A DELIGHTFUL JW MARRIOTT STAY. IT’S SIMPLE: MIX EQUAL PARTS JOY, PASSION AND APPRECIATION, THEN SERVE WITH A SMILE. JUST TAKE CHEFS ROGER FOK AND LEO CAO, WHOSE LOVE FOR THEIR JOBS IS AS BIG AS THEIR APPETITES FOR LAUGHS. THEY EXEMPLIFY WHAT WE’VE ALWAYS FOUND IN JW MARRIOTT’S INVITING, SERVICE-ORIENTED, LUXURY HOTELS THROUGHOUT ASIA AND AROUND THE WORLD: INSPIRED, INNOVATIVE, EMPOWERED EMPLOYEES WHO EXCEL AT ANTICIPATING GUEST NEEDS. THAT’S THE JW TREATMENT TM.

LEO CAO JW MARRIOTT HOTEL BEIJING CENTRAL “I make an effort to remember guests’ dining preferences after their first visit,” says the Executive Chinese Chef. That’s a lot to put on the plate of the champion of the recent Marriott International North China Chef Battle, who is developing his own Nine Feasts, a luxe type of Guangdong banquet that will feature his winning dish, Braised Cod Ball in Pumpkin Soup. He has been known to invent special dishes based on guests’ nationalities to make them feel at home. “JW Marriott is a very personable brand. We have a lot of freedom to develop our skills, ideas and thoughts, even if they’re less conventional.” One example is taking a chance on his Vinegared Yellow Croaker, an uncommon, underrated Cantonese dish. Chef Cao uses five types of vinegar to marinate his fish. It is now a popular highlight of his menu, he says, “and I’ve even had a regular order three servings in one sitting.” (Okay, busted. But we are not ashamed—it was delicious!)

m a l ay s i a | n e pa l | k u c h i n g

Runway-Ready Fashion

Creative director and fashion maven Farah Khan reveals the design secrets behind her eponymous label’s standout statement dresses. By Mark Lean

Slinky, scintillating and any thing

but subtle, Malaysia-based designer Farah Khan’s creations make regular appearances on catwalks from Cannes to Singapore. Wallflowers might shy away from her curvehugging cocktail dresses glittering with sequined embroidery and flared, feminine skirts, but these eye-catching numbers are just right for fashionistas unafraid to shimmer in the spotlight. In order to keep up with the globetrotting lifestyle of the It girls who wear them, they’re also surprisingly travel-friendly—even after a long day rolled into a carry-on, they emerge runway-ready.

C o u r t e s y o f fa r a h k h a n

From the Farah Khan Spring/ Summer 2016 collection.

t r a v e l a n d l e i s u r e a s i a . c o m / o c t o b e r 2 0 1 6

That might explain why Malaysia Airlines recently commissioned Khan to design its new uniforms, the brand’s first sartorial overhaul in three decades, and why bombshells like Kimora Lee Simons, Paris Hilton, Mariah Carey and Selena Gomez have been spotted rocking her frocks. While most designers study their trade at school before reaching this level of international acclaim, Khan took a less obvious route to success. After discovering she had a knack for fashion while helping out at her mother’s Orchard Road tailoring business, she launched her own upscale boutique at the age of 17. Khan relocated from her native Singapore to Kuala Lumpur in the 1980s, setting up her luxury retail company The Melium Group, which introduced the city’s budding style-setters to international labels like Aigner, Tod’s and Hugo Boss. “I was buying for over 100 brands,” Khan says. Though local interest was high, she couldn’t help but feel like these collections were missing something. “I found there was a real lack in both cocktail and evening wear.” Sensing a niche, Khan combined her in-depth knowledge of the global fashion scene and her experience with Southeast Asian artisans. In 2007, she launched her eponymous label Farah Khan (farahkhan.com) and began designing outfits that she and her posse of jetsetting girl pals wanted and loved to wear. Nearly a decade later, her creations can be found in 70 locations around the world including Bali, Milan, São Paulo, Kuala Lumpur, Moscow, New York and Dubai. Her sartorial success formula: classic pieces brandishing intricate

october 2016 / tr av el andleisure asia .com

embellishments stylish enough for a gala, but that would also jell seamlessly at resorts from Bali to Boracay. Rather than turn to mass-production, she took a page out of her mother’s business book to emphasize craftsmanship. Her chosen band of artisans consists of specialists in beadwork, whose skills Khan compares to François Lesage’s work for Chanel. “There is a lot of respect for them because each embellishment is handstitched,” Khan says. “There’s no comparison to work done in a factory.” Each outfit takes three to four laborintensive months to complete. An added technical dimension comes into play when Khan and her team intersect conventional pattern-cutting with computer software that determines how the dresses fit and move with the body. Khan likens this process to a “marriage of the traditional and the modern.” Despite all of the sparkle and shine, from top: Khan keeps the focus on the female Farah Khan; figure. “I try not to do too much a bombshell with the silhouette,” says Khan, cocktail dress from preferring to follow designs don’t the Fall/ overpower the body. “Each dress Winter 2016 accentuates the best attributes of collection. its wearer.” As creative director, she tends to steer clear of trends, choosing instead to ground her designs in a specific period, aesthetic or art movement that offers more than seasonal staying power. “We prefer timeless constructs,” she says. A compelling case in point: the Fall/Winter 2016 collection inspired by New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art’s “China: Through the Looking Glass” exhibition, held last year. Khan’s reinterpretation of chinoiserie tropes is awash with light blues and whites reminiscent of Ming dynasty vases, courtly robes emblazoned with an avantgarde spin on your garden variety phoenix motifs, as well as punchy purple and bronze brocaded riffs on the classic qipao. When it comes to rocking these bold looks on the red carpet, she has just one style secret: “If you know you look good, you’ll naturally stand out.

C o u r t e s y o f fa r a h k h a n ( 2 )

/ beyond /f a s h i o n

/ beyond /b a c k s t o r y

The Great Game

I owe totally to my homeland,” says Binod Chaudhary, with a humility I hadn’t expected from Nepal’s first and only billionaire. Dressed casually in a T-shirt and slacks, he stands out from the pack of glitzy Delhi socialites and Nepali royalty gathered to celebrate his 61st birthday. With a gracious smile, he begins describing our surroundings on the edge of the country’s oldest national park and how he’s using the new Meghauli Serai lodge to repay his debt. Not only is his two-year-long passion project the only safari lodge of this caliber that the area has ever seen, but it also is uniquely devoted to sustainability and community development. Managed by Taj Safaris, the lodge borders Chitwan National Park, a unesco World Heritage Site and one of the country’s rare conservation success stories. Prior to obtaining protected status, the region was a favorite of big game hunters, who decimated

“Whatever I am today,

the local wildlife populations in the first half of the 20th century. When the park was established in 1973, just 100 one-horned rhinos roamed this riverine forest. It took an army—a full 1,100-man battalion of Nepal’s finest soldiers, to be specific—to solve the problem. Thanks to exceptional teamwork with rangers and shoot-on-sight orders for poachers, some 600 rhinos, as well as clouded leopards, Bengal tigers, striped hyenas, sambar deer and sloth bears, now roam this thriving ecosystem. In the wake of last year’s devastating earthquake, Nepalese locals such as Chaudhary hope to restore the country’s struggling tourism industry by promoting a more eco-friendly version of the game drives that once drew throngs to Chitwan. Over drinks at the wood-paneled bar, Chaudhary and his two sons explain the group’s involvement with Chitwan. It began with Tiger Tops, a lodge founded in 1964 with camps

october 2016 / tr av el andleisure asia .com

inside the jungle run for 40 years by British naturalist Jim Edwards. In 2012, the Nepali forest department refused to extend the lease for all lodges inside the national park. “Tiger Tops created a new benchmark for hospitality in this region,” says Chaudhary. “When it closed down, obviously there was a vacuum in Chitwan.” By then the Chaudhary Group had partnered with Taj Safaris in all their Indian lodges. Nepal was a “natural entry,” and “probably the best in the portfolio,” says Chaudhary. “It has put Nepal’s wildlife back in the global map.” Wildlife may be the primary draw here, but the warm, welcoming vibe and stylishly rustic grounds are equally appealing. After a flight from Kathmandu to Bharatpur, Rajasthan, and a rather bumpy drive, I’m greeted by khaki-clad staff, who wave with both hands and press cold towels and mint juice on me. Straight away, Pradip Mahato, a naturalist and a member of the

c o u r t e s y o f ta j h o t e l s

A stylish new safari lodge on the edge of Chitwan National Park is raising the hospitality bar and bringing eco-tourism back to Nepal. By Shoba Nar ayan

Tharu tribe native to this region, escorts me to my villa. He spots my birding binoculars and obligingly points out a cluster of scalybreasted munia along the way. My villa, one of 16, is huge, twice the size of my bedroom back home. The thatched roof and mud walls doff their architectural hat at the Tharu tribal homes. The insides, however, are thoroughly contemporary, with silk upholstery, dark wood furniture, remoteoperated lights and Wi-Fi, accented by forgettable curios. In the midst of all this plush modernity, a whimsical brush painting of a pastoral scene across an entire wall by local artist Durga Mahato stands out. More than a mere decoration, it represents part of the lodge’s effort to engage the surrounding community. Complementing it are pastel furnishings supplied by a local NGO, Lahar Srijana. The next day, I visit it and meet its founder, Pratima Thapa, a former foreignservice wife who wanted to promote the region’s indigenous crafts while offering fairly paid employment to

local women at the same time. Her NGO returns tribal women—and some men—to their native crafts. “All these women used to be in construction,” she says, pointing to the dozen or so workers weaving the braided grass mats that will end up on the floor of villas like mine. “Their handwork is exceptional. Thankfully, we can now employ them full-time.” The days have a rhy thm. Oatmeal

porridge at dawn, spiked with Baileys Irish Cream or Grand Marnier for an indulgent touch, followed by a four-hour game drive with a picnic breakfast in the forest. We escape the afternoon sun and rinse off in our private bathrooms, each of which features a claw-footed bathtub, an enclosed indoor rain shower and an outdoor dhunge dhara, a traditional Nepali stone-shower that spouts water with the force of a waterfall. The outdoor shower has an adjoining veranda with a coir bed to sun, sleep or simply tan. If all else fails, there is the plunge pool facing the Rapti River and the forest. >>

One-horned rhinos are a rare conservation succcess story. opposite: A great way to escape the heat: Meghauli Serai’s infinity pool.

Embrace the Wondrous Archipelago

RESERVATION CENTER (62-21)

2700027

www.santika.com Bali - Java - Maluku - Nusa TeNggara - kaliMaNTaN sulawesi -suMaTera aNd siNgapore

/ beyond /b a c k s t o r y

clockwise from top left: An elephant-back safari is the best way to spot wildlife in this region of Nepal; spacious rooms

Lodge manager Ritesh Bhatt hires most of his service staff from neighboring villages. “They may be inexperienced, but they aren’t jaded. Their smiles reach their eyes, which is invaluable in hospitality,” he says. He introduces me to one young waitress, who attends college from 5 a.m. to 10 a.m., works in the lodge all day, and goes home to homework. If her grueling schedule takes a toll on her, you’d never know. Naturalists are also from the area and offer a wealth of knowledge about birds, bees, spiders and mammals. In search of the local fauna, I embark on an elephant safari and jungle walks with Mahato. His enthusiastic female

colleague, Arpita Dutta, who describes the jungle as her “office,” shows me plovers, pittas and other birds on a river walk. In two days, I have seen 100 species of birds and about as many rhinos, as well as wild dogs, boars and a sloth bear. The next day, Dutta accompanies me to what turns out to be the highlight of the trip: an elephant bathing session with Anjali Kali, the lodge’s resident pachydermmatriarch. “Wear a swimsuit—you will be soaked,” she warns. I find out what she means when the mahout guides the elephant into the river with me on top. The elephant kneels and I plunge into the water. To my delight, she lies in the shallows and I

october 2016 / tr av el andleisure asia .com

clamber atop her back. She showers us with her snaky trunk and I burst out laughing. Finally, I rest my face on Anjali’s body, staring into her eyes. We both sigh in unison. The night before I leave, we dine on Tharu dishes such as nettle soup and a dal made with 78 types of legumes. Young local girls and boys dressed in minimalist white costumes sing and dance around a fire. The drumbeat is hypnotic and the dancers graceful. They wave fans and beckon guests to fall in line and join. At the last minute, I rise. Why not? I think. So what if I make a fool of myself. It’s only one night. tajhotels.com; doubles from US$400, all-inclusive.

c o u r t e s y o f ta j h o t e l s

with modern comforts; exploring Chitwan National Park on foot; a Tharu-style thali dinner at Meghauli Serai.

/ beyond /d i s c o v e r y from left: Just around the river bend; traditional bamboo architecture at Peraya Homestay.

A Jungle Feast

A new tour in deepest Borneo sends diners gliding through seldom-seen waterways in pursuit of wild edibles and adventure. by Marco Ferr arese. photogr aphed by kit chen yang

“Welcome to our supermarket,” says Jim, one of our three Bidayuh guides, as he balances on the tip of our bamboo raft. He’s using a long pole to steer us out of the current and towards an alluring rocky beach framed by jungle. Our journey to this remote corner of Borneo’s rain forest started at Kampung Peraya, a tiny ethnic Bidayuh village an hour’s drive southeast of Sarawak’s capital Kuching, where we embarked on a winding river voyage. Before we can ask Jim what he means, the two other Bidayuh guides are already wading waist-deep towards the thicket that extends beyond the river bend.

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“They are going to collect ferns and greens for your lunch,” Jim clarifies, while helping us out of our padded chairs. Careful not to capsize our narrow vessel, we ease onto the shore. We are taken aback, not by the wild plants on today’s menu, but by the seductive sight of weathered boulders and a natural pool shrouded by a crescent of forest in front of us—an unbeatable location for a meal prepared with century-old methods. The Bidayuh riverside lunch is the climax of a river rafting day tour launched earlier this year by Kuching’s Batik Boutique Hotel (batikboutiquehotel.com; doubles from RM280) to help guests get a real taste of Sarawak’s nature and tribal culture. “Most travelers don’t have the time to reach distant longhouses,” says the hotel’s founder and owner Jacqueline Fong, so she designed this tour. “From the raft ride to the lunch extravaganza, it packs all the thrills that travelers expect from Borneo’s rain forest into a day.” >>

/ beyond /d i s c o v e r y Our river journey certainly lives up to her promises. At times, the canopy above our heads is so dense that it feels like we’re cruising through an emerald tunnel. Birds chirp and monkeys chatter from perches unseen in the greenery. In order to give guests the most authentic experience, Batik Boutique Hotel teamed up with former Bidayuh nature tourist guide Valentine “Val” Ritong and his Peraya Homestay (perayahomestay.com; rafting tour RM350 per person), set riverside next to the jungle. Val hoped that by arranging this most unusual of meals, he could put his village on the map. “The forest is our first source of livelihood, exactly like supermarkets are for city people,” he explains. “I want my guests to be amazed by the power of our jungle.” That’s why Val’s well-trained Bidayuh guides set off into the dense undergrowth to forage for edibles, a tribal skill passed down by generations of hunter-gatherers. Even the cooking tools that Jim is setting up around the campfire are not carried along from the village, but carved out of bamboo shoots on the spot with a parang, the Malaysian machete. With a silent smile, Jim hands me a warm, green cup made with the severed end of a

bamboo pole. The tea has an irresistible, wild aroma that seeps directly from the bark. With expert technique, Jim and the other two guides, who have just returned to the beach with hands full of ferns, continue cutting bamboo shoots in half. They fill them with rice, durian and chicken from the village, and then place them next to the fire to cook. The rest of the meat sizzles away on grills over the flames. While the tribal chefs keep busy, we plunge into the natural pool and float in inner tubes, a peaceful reprieve from the rapids gurgling nearby. Lunch is served on the raft itself, placed inside traditional Bidayuh wooden baskets. Seated under the canopy, with the stream sloshing at our right, we dive into the bold, primal flavors of Sarawak’s tribal cuisine. Barbecued chicken in a savory fermented durian sauce and grilled pork pile up on our plates. Pinches of bamboo-steamed sticky rice offer a neutral foil for the grassy, wild taste of the forest ferns. The dishes are rustic, but in this setting our unfancy fare could hold its own against the finest degustation. Val was right: the jungle really does have the power to amaze... especially the tastebuds.

clockwise from left: A junkle trek;

cooking with freshly hewn bamboo; lunch is served in traditional Bidayuh wooden baskets.

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Cocktail Power

c o u r t e s y o f b o i l e rm a k e r h o u s e

Now that craft cocktails are the norm, drinking well has never been easier, nor the experimentation more exciting. We’ve spotlighted several cities that best represent what’s happening in mixology right now, plus the newest trends to look for on menus far and wide. Kudos to today's bartenders, especially in our region—they're really shaking things up.

Gunpowder Treason, at Boilermaker House, in Melbourne.

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Clockwise from far left: Touché Hombre's

open-air upstairs; at Bunker, a French Martini; Kiattikoon Auengkum mans the Bunker bar; stuffed piquillo peppers, new on the Il Fumo menu; Pailin Sajjanit pours a Sherry Flip at Il Fumo; roasted baby carrots at Bunker.

drink, eat, repeat

Touche Hombre

You need to get the chicken. No, not the pollo de habenero tacos— although, get those, too. We mean the chickenshaped pitchers of booze that make the best partypleasers to souse the city this year. The new, hip-hop soundtracked Touché Hombre in Bangkok’s bursting Thonglor 'hood is the first outpost outside Oz of the beloved Melbourneborn taqueria. But it also bills itself as a mezcalería, rocking 15 types of mezcal and so many tequilas that no other bar in Thailand comes close (for more on the agave trend, see page 62), and cheekily tossing a Bloody Maria Oyster shooter on the food menu.

Such liquid ambition shouldn’t be surprising from the Sapparot Group, which basically introduced Bangkok to the craft cocktail (Hyde & Seek) and precision-coffee bar (Rocket) cultures. Here, mixmaster Sebastian de la Cruz has dreamed up 10 delicious, original agavebased specialties; try the Nacho Libre, with El Jimador Reposado, Yellow Chartreuse, vermouth, lemon and pineapple. Two must-eats: the tuna tostadas, and the octopus and chorizo tacos, wrapped in executive chef Patrick Marten’s authenticMexican corn tortillas. As for the big chickens, they hold about 10 glasses of nectar, and options

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range from the easydrinking La Paloma to the intoxicating El Chupa Cabra (or, Goat Sucker), packed with 12-centiliters of tequila and mezcal. For its hefty Bt6,950 pricetag, you could probably buy a real goat, but we doubt it would get along as well with the chicken. fb.com/ touchehombrebangkok.

Bunker

Inventive, exploratory chef Arnie Marcella has run several Michelin-starred kitchens, but he was also a consultant at seminal New York speakeasy Death & Co, a pioneer of the neoretro cocktail movement. His well-rounded CV makes him a living embodiment of this ‘drink

well-dine well’ trend. And when you pair that with the expertise of beverage director Andreas Pergher—a sweetheart of a sommelier who believes in value-for-money wines and more than holds his own with booze and craft beers—you’ve got a drinking dream team. Pergher continually tweaks the alcohol menus to match Marcella’s everchanging Contemporary American food offerings, of which the new, roasted baby carrots are heaven on a plate (also get the veal agnolotti with sweetbread, and the melty smoked wagyu beef rib). But in general, the cocktails in Bunker’s dystopian-chic, concrete-walled,

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As mixing cocktails becomes as complicated as mastering a Julia Child recipe, it’s little wonder that the foodie and quaffer cultures have collided to such delicious effect. Some of the city’s best new bars are found sharing space with the hottest kitchens. Here, three great Bangkok restaurants to get lit. — Jeninne Lee-St. John

glass-lantern-lit, ground-level bar veer to well-done classics newly interpreted; we recommend the Tokyo Rose, starring sweet, fermentationphase nigori sake. The range of bourbons, ryes and mezcals will impress, yet these guys are passionate about gin, and for that we suggest you head up to the third-floor balcony bar, which focuses on the botanical elixir, along with a bunch of taps custom-made for their global selection of craft beers. Pour it on. bunkerbkk.com.

Il Fumo

It’s tempting to call the Il Fumo lounge a mancave, what with the low lights, wood paneling, wall of whiskey, and buttery leather armchairs. But it’s a woman who rules this roost, and a superstar woman at that. The reigning Southeast Asia Bartender of the Year is Il Fumo’s bar director Pailin “Milk” Sajjanit, a firecracker personality with a dapper sense of style and the keenest intuition. She’s put together a tome of a menu highlighting

nouveau classics, such as the whole egg-whipped Sherry Flip that dates as far back as 1874, but you might as well just have a little chat with Sajjanit and let her decipher your desires. To take home the crown from the Diageo World Class awards in Bali this summer, she had to create four cocktails in eight minutes, so you know she’s good at thinking on her feet. While she heads back behind the bar, let yourself sink into the leather and soak in the surrounds. Look into the light— specifically the big, glass meat locker displaying crimson hunks of beef from Galicia, Tuscany, Queensland… New head chef Nelson Amorim has concocted a textured menu, including piquillo peppers stuffed with burrata, marscapone and Parmesan atop eggplant purée, that perfectly complements all those cuts. Savor your Sherry Flip then adjourn to dinner, after which a Bulleit rye-Licor 43-orange bitters Louis Old Fashioned—and that excellent armchair—awaits. ilfumo.co.

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The Bone Marrow Old Fashioned, at Vea in Hong Kong.

New Fashioneds

Timeless classics have never been so timely. Spurred by ubiquitous speakeasies, an obsession with gin and whiskey, and a collective Midnight in Paris mentality, old favorites now occupy prime menu real estate. While the latest incarnations carry hallmarks of the original recipes, some are reborn with experimental, even unorthodox, twists.— Kissa Castañeda-McDermott Old Cuban

Negroni

One-Ninety Bar and Terraza, in Singapore

Bitters, in Manila

Though the origins of this traditional aperitif are steeped in lore, the most widely accepted version is that Count Camillo Negroni, a swashbuckling ne'er-do-well who roamed the American Wild West as a rodeo cowboy, returned to his native Florence and asked for a stiffer version of his usual Camparivermouth-soda drink, the Americano. Bartender Forsco Scarselli obliged him by swapping soda with gin; today, on this side of the world, mixologist Lee Watson, who also helms ABV, makes a fruitful update at his newest bar, Bitters. His Negroni’s Love Child replaces gin with the slightly sweet Asti, before finishing it off with a few dashes of sour cherry bitters. The count would be sated. 63-2/942-9750.

Known as a cross between a French 75 and a mojito, the old Cuban retains some of the latter’s flavor profile, but throws in bitters and champagne. When Audrey Saunders of New York's legendary Pegu Club created this tipple, she served it double-strained, garnished with a sugared vanilla bean. The OneNinety F1, crafted by Proof & Company for the Four Seasons Singapore bar in time for racing season, adds coconut water and raspberries, meant to address the dehydration Formula One drivers feel after a race. fourseasons. com/singapore. Gin Fizz

Julep

Akademi, in Bali

The old-school-elegant julep took over verandas in the 1800s American South first as a breakfast drink, then became popular with everyone from U.S. presidents to Hemingwayera literati. This sweet sipper is synonymous with bourbon, but some barmen are swapping in other regional spirits. No one is more passionate about Balinese liquors than Potato Head Family head mixologist Dre Masso, who helms the open-plan Akademi bar at the new Katamama hotel. Order his Jumping Julep, full of local ingredients like blimbing buluh juice, jack fruit purée, and orange-and-clove-

infused arak (Bali’s favorite rice-based moonshine). akademi-bar.com. Old Fashioned

Vea Restaurant and Lounge, in Hong Kong

Suave, yet simple, classy but unpretentious, this

preferred cocktail of the modern gentleman can trace its roots back to at least 1806. Antonio Lai, the lauded pioneer of “multisensory mixology,” adds another layer of manliness to his version, the Bone Marrow Old

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Fashioned. Featuring umami-rich bone marrowwashed bourbon and dashes of Angostura aromatic bitters, it’s a heady drink that’s meant to be nursed. No need to order dinner; move right on to a digestif and coffee. vea.hk.

An effervescent cousin of a sour first whipped up in 1888 by Henry C. Ramos in New Orleans, this southern staple quickly spread and by the Roaring Twenties was fueling flapper parties across America. Despite its succinct ingredient list, the Ramos gin fizz is a labor of love, needing three to 10 minutes of vigorous shaking to bring it to frothy completion. For a modern version, head to the firstever gin bar in southern China, which stocks 37 types of gin, including house-infused versions like Mandarin Oolong, Korean red ginseng, and goji berries and dates. Ask for the Honey Sage Gin Fizz, with a smoky bacon undertone in tune with the moreish palate of the Big Easy. mandarinoriental. com/guangzhou.

c o u r t e s y o f V e a R e s ta u r a n t a n d L o u n g e

JIN at Ebony, in Guangzhou

Clockwise from left: Get cozy at

Elbow Room; Le Boutier's Ros Sereysothea, named for one of Cambodia's great crooners; a fullbodied red at Oeno Wine Bar.

Local Libations Bars in Cambodia’s capital have long stuck to safe import staples, attempting to win over patrons with heady splashes of liquor and sugary bases. The tide is turning though, as inventive mixologists give their beverages unusual local twists. These new spots incorporate homegrown ingredients, from fish sauce to Kampot’s famed black pepper, to create fresh flavors. — Holly Robertson

c l o c k w i s e fr o m l e f t: c o u r t e s y o f E l b o w R o o m ; c o u r t e s y o f l e b o u t i e r ; c o u r t e s y o f o e n o w i n e b a r

Elbow Room

The menu slides out of a 45rpm record sleeve to reveal Volume One of the city’s most au courant cocktail list. Each drink is either an ode to hip-hop, which plays all night long, or an intriguing story of the capital’s chaotic streets. Mixologists go on predawn foraging expeditions for butterfly pea flowers, which lend a shocking blue hue to house-made syrup. Drink this: Yuz Ya Head:

jasmine tea-infused rum, sesame orgeat syrup, lime, coconut and yuzu foam. fb.com/elbowrm.

Alchemy GastroPub

In the heart of the emergent Russian Market area is a welcome addition to the small but growing nightlife segment. Though there’s plenty of craft beer, you’ll also find appetizing cocktails, each with components found in traditional Cambodian cuisine—from red-hot chili peppers to homemade pineapple palm sugar juice. Drink this: One Hot

Minute: Khmer chilies, Monkey Shoulder whiskey and honey from Mondulkiri province. fb.com/ alchemygastro.

Le Boutier

With hopes of rekindling the spirit of Cambodia’s musical ‘Golden Age’ in the 1960s, it’s fitting that the cocktail list at this stylish three-story bar on hip Street 308 includes nods to icons of the era such as crooner Sinn Sisamouth, and exclusively spins Cambodian rock ‘n’ roll. Drink this: 1,000 Tears of

a Tarantula: Samai dark rum, kaffir lime, curry syrup, coconut, benedictine, pineapple and fish sauce. leboutier.com.

Oeno Wine Bar

Hotel bars often lack inventiveness, but Villa Oeno’s is defying that stereotype with aplomb. Using oak barrels imported from the U.S., the venue produces aged mai tais, negronis and more, before applying a smoking gun to add rich aromas moments before the drinks are served up to customers. Drink this: Ginger

Mojito: light rum, ginger, fresh mint leaves, lime, sugar syrup and hibiscus tea. projects. urbandesign.asia/villaoeno.

Naang at Monsoon

A Cambodian cook would no doubt recognize much of the lineup in Naang’s infused spirits collection, but would probably never have thought about combining them with alcohol, as this street-side watering hole does. The resulting drinks run the gambit from savory to spicy, but are almost always surprising. Drink this: Havana Heat:

galangal- and cinnamoninfused Havana rum. fb.com/NaangAtMonsoon.

POP-UP

PARTIES Creative party throwers are luring the masses to ever more extraordnary locations with the help of social media. In New York City, events by You Are So Lucky (youaresolucky.com) are part rager, part performance art: the group once bused 1,500 revelers to a deserted manor for a Felliniesque night of opera, dancing and champagne aplenty. We Are the Oracle ( fb.com/wearetheoracle) throws themed soirées in Paris, like a Downton Abbey–inspired fête in the abandoned Rothschild mansion or a masquerade ball in the catacombs. And in spite of a Fight Club–worthy commitment to secrecy, Hong Kong–based Bunker (bunker.com.hk) draws crowds for all-night raves. Partygoers can enjoy laser shows and fireswallowing acts in a rural ghost town or, fittingly, a crumbling World War II bunker.—Laura Itzkowitz

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Cocktails

A lively crowd goes into The Woods. Left: Bitters & Sweets serves a moreish S'mores skillet. Above: A Rosie Pink Sheet at Wolf Market.

Craft Concepts

In a city that already boasts some of the world’s most sophisticated sipping options, bars are turning to new and increasingly innovative ways to stand out from the crowd. Here, four examples of bars at their idiosyncratic best. — Helen Dalley BESPOKE BITTERS

Mixology Dégustation

Havana in Hong Kong

Brokerage Bar

Bitters & Sweets

The Woods

Deligator

Wolf Market

Central’s newest hot spot mixes house-made bitters with a menu that’s big on dessert: witness their cayenne-laced-dark chocolate and homemade graham cracker S’mores. The cocktail list is split between signatures and reimagined classics, with popular examples of the former including The Sesame, in which spiced rum and black sesame deliver a boozy take on a traditional Chinese dessert. An imaginative play on an Old Fashioned, The Smokey Joe mixes house-infused coffee bourbon and chocolate bitters while cherry wood smoke adds a final flourish. fb.com/ bittersandsweetshk.

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A jaunt to The Woods today is sure to reveal a big surprise: a culinary take on mixology that appeals to serious foodies. At its eight-seater bar area, the prix-fixe menu is turned on its head as cocktails take center stage and food is relegated to small bites on the side. Its classic menu includes a Beet Negroni, with Barbie-pink houseinfused gin, and the Dirty Dill Martini, with a zesty wallop of pickle brine. Past seasonal shakers have incorporated local ingredients such as snow peas and pea sprouts, as was the case with the ginbased Poddington Pea. No matter what you order, it’s a veritable harvest bounty. thewoods.hk.

With its distressed concrete walls, peeling paint, faux crocodile skin and funky art, this Wanchai newcomer channels Cuba’s faded grandeur. The kitchen griddles up buttery, slowroasted-pork-shoulder Cubanos. A live Cuban band plays on Saturday evenings, but the joint also hosts eclectic entertainment options from pop-up barbershops to Zoolander-themed disco boogie parties. Rum is, of course, a strong suit and appears in many guises. One of the best is appropriately retro: a strong, smooth daiquiri that’ll transport you to sunnier shores. fb.com/ deligatorhongkong.

In his heyday, the real Wolf of Wall Street, Jordan Belfort, would have relished buying rounds for his cronies at this stock market-themed bar, where punters watch an LED screen running across the ceiling with fluctuating drink prices to time their order to market crashes. While bankers may stick to champers, the cocktails at this new Lan Kwai Fong hangout are imaginative, including the Golden Cross (Bulleit bourbon, Courvoisier V.S.O.P, maple syrup and coffee beans). As a bonus, they open at noon, so decadent financial types can play DiCaprio with a three-Earl Grey-infused-martini lunch. wolfmarket.com.hk.

c lo c k w i s e fr o m l e f t : c o u rt esy o f b i t t e r s & sw e e ts ; c o u rt esy o f t h e wo o d s ; c o u rt esy o f wo l f m a r k e t

Tequila’s sultry big sister saunters into our hearts, giving the boot to that shot glass-sloshed, lime-andsalt-leavened, blue agavebased liquor. Mezcal distillers, who use piñas from 150 types of agave, smoke them in pits for days, infusing flavor from the wood used to heat the stones. This means the drink, like wine, can express a broad range of notes, from ash or walnut to citrus or chili. Recent years have seen bars such as Vasco (vascosingapore. com) in Singapore embracing the complex spirit in cocktails like the Mezcal ‘70, with Campari, sweet vermouth and chocolate bitters. A’Toda Madre (atodamadre. com.ph), Manila’s most extensive tequila bar, whips the smoky stuff into a margarita. Hong Kong is in the throes of a mezcal boom, with hotspots like Yardbird (yardbirdrestaurant. com) and Brickhouse (brickhouse.com.hk) churning out serious mezcal cocktails. One of the biggest selections in town is at Chino (chinohk.com), a JapaneseMexican fusion joint with 23 varieties. Sip them neat or order a Mezcal Old Fashioned, with smooth Los Danzantes Añejo, agave and orange bitters.—Diana Hubbell

Unconventional designs woven into Seminyakâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cultured hub.

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Second Line Julep from Boilermaker House.

hit the bottle

In Melbourne, bartenders are taking one of mixology’s latest trends to new heights: cocktails that have been bottled or aged—sometimes both. Though the quest for convenience sparked the craze, it turns out premade drinks have their own special character. “You can achieve an amalgamation of flavors not possible through shaking or stirring,” says Daniel Mason, manager of Joe Taylor. Here, five standard-bearers of the batch-cocktail revolution—all within bar-crawl distance. —Carrie Hutchinson

At its launch party, the bar staff mixed and bottled Palomas, a tequila-grapefruit highball, ahead of time for easy serving. The cocktail was a hit, and since then they’ve tacked on new batch drinks like the Cuba Negra: a blend of vermouths replicates cola, then the blend is carbonated, bottled and served with fresh lime. fb.com/joe taylorbar.

Heartbreaker

Founder Michael Madrusan—the man behind the awardwinning bar Everleigh—cemented his reputation as one of Melbourne’s mixology elite when he launched the Everleigh Bottling Co. last year. At this divey, neon-lit pub, EBC’s “Famous Four”—Manhattan, martini, negroni and Old Fashioned—make up the entire cocktail menu. heart breakerbar.com.au.

Boilermaker House

This intimate bar offers a single aged cocktail, the aptly named From the Solera: Aberfeldy whisky, rum, houseblended vermouth and a chocolate malted orgeat. It’s created in a tiered, three-barrel solera, a centuries-old aging system used by Spanish sherry makers. As the mixture is bottled from the lowest barrel, each level is topped off from the one above, making the final drink a complex blend of batches old and new. boilermakerhouse. com.au.

Noble Experiment

Countertop casks announce the serious aging intentions of this drinking den. Its extensive list includes a page of barrel- and bottleaged specialties, all of which are left to steep for at least two months to let the flavors develop. Try the Spencer Takes Manhattan, a blend of bourbon, vermouth and blackberry liqueur aged in a black-raspberry-andcoffee-seasoned barrel. thenoble experiment.com.au.

Bar Liberty

Co-owner Michael Bascetta prepares four different cocktails daily, decanting them into apothecary bottles for service. The list changes regularly, but the Briny Bay (vodka, olive brine, Murray River salt and bay-leaf oil) is a must-try when it’s on the menu. It’s a stylish, martini -inspired tipple to finish off an evening. barliberty.com.

Savory

Characters Eshewing saccharine cosmos and daiquiris, today’s most innovative bartenders are crossing over to the saline side. Grandma’s favorite panacea gets a less-wholesome makeover with Chicken Soup for the Alcoholic’s Soul, an umami-loaded creation from the mixologists at Hopscotch (hopscotch.sg) in Singapore. Pour the bone broth spiked with bonito-infused vodka warm from a tea kettle to cure what ails you. Over in Bangkok, the Tee Yai at WTF Bar & Gallery (wtfbangkok.com) packs a punch courtesy of three types of hot sauce. Of course, the original and still one of the best of the genre remains the Bloody Mary, the Platonic ideal of which can be found at Bar Mimitsuka (bar-mimi.com), a tiny, invitation-only watering hole in Tokyo. You’ll find no outlandish garnishes here, just a single spartan cube of ice and spicy, liquid perfection. —D.H.

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speak low Over the past decade, speakeasy-style bars have become a hallmark of thriving nightlife—a signal that a city’s after-hours scene is worth the plane fare. And right now Buenos Aires is the epicenter of cool, low-profile hangouts serving bygone-era hooch. —Sorrel Moseley-Williams

J.W. Bradley LTD.

Clamber aboard a replica railcar to enter this new Orient Express–themed watering hole, complete with European-inspired cocktails and wood sleepers repurposed as the bar. Start with the King’s Cross, a gin and Earl Grey mix that’s sure to become a classic. bradleyltdbar.com.

Harrison Speakeasy

Newcomers and nonmembers must first dine at sushi joint Nicky NY, then ask to “see the cellar” to be whisked back to this Jazz Age social club, where barmen sling drinks like the Branca Smash: Fernet Branca with fresh pineapple, lime juice and mint. nickyharrison.com.

Florería Atlántico

A fake refrigerator in a flower shop is the portal to this award-winning basement drinking den. Don’t miss the Tereré Tonic, made with Príncipe de los Apóstoles, a mellow Argentinean gin distilled with regional botanicals like yerba maté. floreria atlantico.com.ar.

L The rise of rum 66

878

The hidden-bar-within-abar configuration—a set of unmarked steel doors in the back lead to a second space—amplifies 878’s cloak-and-dagger vibe. Both rooms serve a mean Cynar Julep, a house favorite that’s at once bitter and slightly sweet. 878bar.com.ar.

ong considered merely a stiff complement to cola—or worse, the preferred drink of spring breakers—rum has finally moved up from the bottom shelf. For a taste of the tiki renaissance that’s helped rum revamp its image, head to Pouring Ribbons (pouringribbons.com), in New York City, for Mondays with Miller. Tiki expert Brian Miller mixes retooled island standbys; his version of the Painkiller is made with pineapple juice, cinnamon syrup and coffee-infused rum. If you're craving a less tropical take on the spirit, pay a visit to Berlin’s Melody Nelson (2 Novalisstrasse; 49-177/744-6751) for a Black Mojito— a tipple of dark rum, blackberries and mint that’s not on the menu, but is legendary nonetheless. In Sydney, the rum bar Lobo Plantation (thelobo.com.au) serves the high-end stuff neat. A seven-course flight lets you sip your way through distilling regions around the world. For the definitive sample, try the High Roller’s Private Jet flight, featuring rare and limited-release rums for a cool US$294. —Erika Owen

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Everything’s better with bacon, so it was only a matter of time before bartenders figured out how to slip a little greasy goodness into your glass. Though it appears everywhere in that quintessential brunch accompaniment, the Bacon Bloody Mary, some bars are getting more creative with concoctions such as the Bacon Blah Blah, a bourbon base with bacon oil, egg white and lime at Wing N’Thing, a funky, Old Town eatery in Bangkok, or the Iberian lard-washed (and bacon-garnished) Stone & Knives at Isono (isono.com.hk) in Hong Kong. Fat-washing, the process of emulsifying fat molecules in liquid that makes these fullflavored, mouth-coating libations possible can be used in even more daring ways. In a clever nod to the Thai palate, Ah Sam Cold Drink Stall ( fb.com/ AhSamColdDrinkStall), a hidden speakeasy in Singapore, shakes up a mean Moo Daeng Cocktail, made with whiskey and blowtorched char siew. —D.H.

s a n t i a g o c i u ff o . i l l u s t r at i o n b y k e v i n s p r o u l s

Cocktails

The main bar at 878.

the

/ guıde /

cock ta il

power

Proof Positive wine—is a perennial favorite, as is Cooks & Soldiers’ (cooksandsoldiers.com) La Lorea, a zippy concoction of Casoni 1814, Cocchi Rosa, lemon, honey and cava. Some choose suppressors because they’re less intimidating than, say, a high-octane martini. But they’re also true drinkers’ drinks, showing what a bartender can do when he doesn’t have the harder stuff to fall back on. That’s what excites Eduardo Guzman, beverage manager for the Atlanta hot spots JCT Kitchen & Bar, the Optimist, and Beetle Cat (fordfry. com), which all serve low-proof cocktails. “Removing the liquor base creates a whole new world of possibilities,” Guzman says. At Ticonderoga Club, those include the Poor Fella—port, sherry, Coca-Cola, sorghum and lime—as well as the Hootchy Cider Punch, with French cider, Amer Ticon (a house-made riff on Amer Picon) and bitters. As lowABV options pop up alongside traditional cocktails, Atlantans often order them without realizing it. “People choose these drinks because they have cool ingredients, not necessarily because they’re low-alcohol,” says Ticonderoga Club co-owner Paul Calvert. —Allison Entrekin

The A RICE stuff

sake revival is under way as bars and breweries the world over experiment with new approaches. In San Francisco, the Michelin-starred Nico (nicosf.com) uses sake in place of liquor in cocktails, infusing it with ingredients like juniper or molasses to re-create the taste of higher-proof spirits. London’s 7 Tales (sosharulondon.com), a Tokyo-inspired

o c t o b e r 2 0 1 6 / t r a v e l a n d l e i s u r e a s i a . c o m

Cocktails at JCT Kitchen & Bar. Below: The bar at Beetle Cat.

cocktail bar, forgoes cheap hot sake in favor of chilled rice wine mixed into drinks such as the Nikkei Martinez, with pisco, edible flowers and black salt. You’ll find a similarly new-school ethos at Sake One (sakeone.com), a brewery in Forest Grove, Oregon, west of Portland. There, varieties such as G Joy Genshu are sipped cold to highlight the nuanced flavor profiles. —E.O.

fr o m t o p : m a r y c a r o l i n e r u s s e l l ; a n d r e w t h o m a s l e e . i l l u s t r at i o n b y k e v i n s p r o u l s

Cocktails made with low-alcohol booze have become increasingly popular, and Atlanta’s at the forefront of the trend. So-called “suppressor” drinks—the antithesis of ultra-potent “revivers”—swap hard liquor for fortified or sparkling wines, layering them with liqueurs, juices, sodas, and fruit for a complex beverage that won't have you stumbling home. And according to Atlanta cocktail pioneer Greg Best, that's exactly the point. He’s now coowner of Ticonderoga Club (ticonderogaclub.com), a Colonial-inspired tavern, but kicked off the trend when he was behind the bar at the upscale pub Holeman & Finch (holemanfinch.com), mixing dry vermouth, Cocchi Americano, sherry, and grapefruit bitters to create an anti-cocktail he called Suppressor No. 1. “Atlanta is a driving town, so having several boozy drinks in a night doesn’t work here,” he says. Barkeeps around the city have followed Best’s lead, adding a low-proof cocktail or two to their own menus. At Ration & Dram (rationanddram.com), bartender Andy Minchow’s Suppressor #7—Pommeau de Normandie, Cynar and sparkling

DURGA PUJA

When Bengal Comes Home to Maa

ACCOMPANIED BY HER FOUR CHILDREN, THE GODDESS DURGA COMES HOME TO HER MATERNAL HOME AND ALL BENGAL IS THERE TO WELCOME HER BACK

teeped in spiritual and societal rituals deeply embedded in the Bengali psyche, the annual celebrations of Durgotsovo is a euphoric reminder of the deepest affinity the great goddess Maa Durga shares with the sons and daughters of West Bengal. The celebrations of Durga Puja—the most important religious and community festival in West Bengal—bring a massive outpouring of pomp and pageantry in state capital Kolkata. The huge Bengali diaspora too is known to plan annual vacations back home for the high-octane bonhomie around their beloved festival. Falling this year between 7 October-10 October 2016, the festival coincides with the last four days of the Hindu religious festivals of Navratri and Dusshera in the month of Ashwin (September/October),

Durga Puja is a frenetic celebration of Bengals’s most venerated deity—the ten-armed, lion-riding Durga—who represents the divine feminine power or Shakti. The lavish proceedings of the festivities, steeped in rituals

associated with the veneration of the Divine Mother, are drawn from ancient Hindu scriptures and oral traditions gathered from generation to generation. Durga Puja is celebrated twice over—once in the privacy of one’s home (barir) and the other in the community (para)… involving community rituals, prayers and pandal hopping The centerpiece of the rituals, the idol of the deity is created by the craftsman from clay or terracotta over 3-4 months. Set in a massive frame (chala) is the life-size statue of Maa Durga astride a lion, flanked by her children Saraswati and Karthika to her left and Lakshmi, Ganesha to her right. The goddess is depicted spearing to death the demon Mahashisura—representing the iconic Dusshera ritual of good overcoming evil.

PROMOTION

On the day of Mahalaya, 7 days ahead of the main festivities, Maa Durga is invited to come to earth by her devotees. Huge crowds gather at the workshops of the sculptors to see the last ritual on the idol before its installation at the venue. Chokkhudaan, the last stroke of the brush to paint in the eyes of the goddess, is said to be once ritually conducted in total darkness by the craftsman. To the inexpressible delight of the burgeoning devotees the installation of the goddess in the pandal on Saptami (the seventh day of Navratri) is conducted with many rituals and rich pageantry. All the deities are accoutered in the richest attire. The city never sleeps during the four days of frantic festive cheer celebration. At sunset the beautiful Sandha Aarti—the evening offering, suffused in aromatic veils of incense —becomes a mesmerizing showcase of chants and gongs, clashing cymbals and the beating dhak during the atmospheric dhunuchi naach. Over the years the frenzied Pujo ritual of pandal-hopping has reached massive proportions—with each pandal ambitiously more illuminated and elaborate than the next. Kolkata’s oldest pandal

ASHTAMI PUSPANJALI

The invocation of the goddess with flowers with folded hands takes place on Ashtami (eighth) morning. Flowers are ritually thrown at the feet of the goddess to seek her blessings. Kumari Puja (celebrating Durga as the virgin) which takes place in front of the idol, on this day is considered the purest form of worship during the Pujo rituals. Belur Math is considered the best place to see this timeless form of worship.

is located in Bagh Bazaar (over 100 years old) and gathers thousands of darshanarthis or pandal-visiting devotees. Top pandals include: the award winning pandal at Bose Pukur Sitala Mandir, Ekdalia Evergreen (since 1943), Deshapriya Park, Suruchi Sangha (50 + years), Badamtala Ashar Sangha (75 +years) Lake Town Adhibasi Brinda (50 + years) and Mohammad Ali Park Durga Puja Pandal On Vijaya Dashami, the last day of the Pujo, serpentine processions wend their way through the streets of Kolkata, dragging the massive idols to a water body for the ritual rites of immersion (visarjan), amidst frenzied chants as Ma Durga’s devotees bid a sorrowful farewell to the goddess till next year. Babu Ghat is one of the most crowded places at this time. The day draws to a close and people greet each other with ‘Shubho Bijoya’, youngsters seek the blessing of their elders and married women get together and bid farewell to the Goddess—and each other, ritually smearing each other with sindhur (vermillion powder) Holi-style in the time-worn the ritual of Sindhur Khela.

West Bengal Tourism Development Corporation Limited (WBTDC) HAS SEVERAL DURGA PUJA PACKAGES ON OFFER. For more, log on to www.wbtdc.gov.in

t r av e l s m a rt e r

7 Ways Your Hotel Stay is changing

From robots to rooms by the hour, what you should check out before checking in.

No.

Concierges Are Getting a Reboot A number of upscale brands are taking their concierge services digital, using texting, social media and custom apps to help guests connect with the hotel. In some cases, they’re replacing people with technology altogether. It’s quite a change for this very traditional hotel role. And while it may dismay travelers who rely on concierges for assistance and advice, there are definite upsides for guests. Many of the new apps provide a central place to make various kinds of requests. At Conrad Hotels & Resorts, for instance, you can book a spa treatment and ask for restaurant recommendations with a few taps instead of multiple phone calls. You can even select your room and order a roomservice meal before check-in, tasks that were challenging—if not impossible —at the hotel previously.

Reporting by Sara Clemence, Melanie Lieberman, Jennifer Murphy and Eric Rosen. Illustrations by SHOUT

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/ upgrade /

Useful for those times when you’re away from the hotel but want a concierge’s local insights, Porter & Sail is a city-guide app used at independent hotels. It offers picks curated by distinguished locals (musician Moby, chef Alan Stewart), and is available at more than three dozen properties worldwide, including several in Asia such as Naumi Hotel, in Singapore. Social-media addicts might appreciate that Hyatt has taken to Twitter—directmessage or tweet the @HyattConcierge handle, and the 24/7 guest-service team will usually respond within 15 minutes. (It’s handy for quick requests, like extra pillows or a restaurant suggestion.) Guests of most Commune Hotels & Resorts don’t have to speak to anyone in person, either—they can use e-mail or SMS to communicate with the hotel, whether they want to inquire about a car service or complain about noise. And a new function in the Marriott Rewards

No.

Airport Hotels are Taking Off

With architectural pedigrees, fitness classes and (believe it or not) good food, you might actually want to stay at one— even if you don’t have to.

app lets guests chat with a concierge before they arrive. Like the world’s best concierges, some of these technological advances are fluent in multiple languages. At Japan’s quirky Henn-na Hotel, guests are greeted by a trio of ‘bots, including an eerily lifelife woman, who speaks Japanese, and a velociraptor who can prattle off in English. Though Connie, the robot concierge unveiled in March at the Hilton McLean Tysons Corner, in Virginia, is monolingual, the AI-powered automaton is able to answer simple requests, so guests don’t have to wait for attention. Connie doesn’t expect a tip—though apps haven’t yet eliminated that practice. In fact, they have made it a bit more challenging. Says George Corbin, senior vice president of digital at Marriott International, “Some guests have made a point of seeking out in person the associate who helped them online.” When an App Just Won’t Do Like humans, digital tools are imperfect— and better suited to some tasks than others. Consult a human professional if: Your request is critical. Don’t trust that a serious food allergy, for instance, will be noted in an app request for room service. Call and confirm with the kitchen. You’re looking for insight. A concierge may know from experience—or from other guests—that airport security lines are running long or that a festival is blocking traffic across town. A problem needs to be solved. If you’ve lost something, a concierge can contact local businesses, coordinate searches, and even help you retrace your steps.

Singapore

Beijing

Sydney

Local architecture firm Woha Designs lent their signature style to the Crowne Plaza Hotel at Singapore Changi Airport in the form of open spaces flooded with natural light and rain forest-style gardens.The spa and the 540-square-meter pool are the ideal antidote to a long-haul.

Countless politicians have passed through the stylish quarters of the 372-room Langham Place, Beijing Capital Airport. Eateries include Ming Court, with haute Chinese cuisine, The Place, with Eastern and Western delicacies, and Fuel, for a casual bite.

With floor-to-ceiling double-glazed windows and comfy lounge chairs, the 229 rooms at the new Pullman Sydney Airport Hotel feel like apartments. The fitness center is open 24 hours, and the restaurant features an open kitchen, and both individual and communal seating.

october 2016 / tr av el andleisure asia .com

No.

They’re Padding Your Tab

Some hotels are adding vague, even questionable charges—like facility and hospitality fees—to bills. Several in Canada are being sued for making a marketing fee look like a tax. If you don’t know what a charge is for, ask. If it’s not an actual tax and you weren’t informed about it, politely request its removal.

No.

Credit Cards Are Paying Off Hotel-branded cards are offering customers these valuable extras. Big Bonuses

No.

Direct isn’t Always a Deal

Hilton

Hyatt

Marriott

Hilton wants you to “stop clicking around.” Marriott says, “It pays to book direct.” Hyatt tells travelers they can save big. Hotel companies are tired of paying commissions to online travel agencies (OTAs) like Priceline and Expedia, so they’re trying to convince customers to cut out the middlemen—they promise you’ll find the best prices on their own websites and apps, with loyalty-program members seeing even bigger savings. But do they deliver? We put the brands to the test, to see what kinds of discounts travelers could expect, and got mixed results. In some cases, prices were lower on hotel websites. In others, the very same room cost 20 percent more. So caveat emptor—but remember that if you’re trying to collect hotel loyalty points, which you don’t get through OTAs, it might be worth paying a little bit more.

Cards have been giving record signup bonuses this year: the Hilton HHonors Surpass American Express and the Chase Marriott Rewards Premier Business cards each offered 100,000 points for meeting the initial spending requirement, enough for a night at a top hotel.

Better Earnings Several hotel cards do better than the usual one mile per dollar spent. The IHG Rewards Club Select card, pays double points on gas, groceries and dining.

Hotel

ota

direct

Spread

the company says...

More Perks

Conrad Hong Kong

$389 < $468

20%

Hilton Universal City, Los Angeles

$277 = $277

The Logan Philadelphia

$266 > $260

Special pricing for HHonors members booking direct isn’t valid in China. Find a lower price on another site? Submit a claim within 24 hours for a price match plus $50.

Andaz Tokyo Toranomon Hills

$916 > $848

Grand Hyatt Santiago, Chile

$214 < $237

11%

While airline cards come with benefits like free checked bags, many hotel cards now bestow full elite status. The Hilton HHonors Citi Reserve and American Express Surpass cards make you a Gold guest—with 25 percent bonus points on hotel stays, free Wi-Fi and late checkout.

Park Hyatt New York

$1,237 = $1,237

Paris Marriott Opera

$439 < $464

Miami Beach Edition

$482 > $469

Ritz-Carlton, Chicago

$566 >

3% $555 2%

If a customer is able to get the same room at a cheaper rate from an OTA, Hyatt will match it and add on a 20 percent discount, per its best-price guarantee.

If, within 24 hours of making a reservation with Marriott, you turn up a lower price elsewhere, the company will beat it by 25 percent. A few hotels are not included.

Annual Freebies IHG cardholders get a free night every year at any of the brand’s properties, even the pricey options. The Hyatt Visa’s free stay includes some luxury resorts.

NOTE: Prices shown are the average per night in u.s. dollars for one room from October 13 to 16, 2016.

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/ upgrade / No.

You Can Stay For a While— in Style You might think of extendedstay hotels as functional-butblah accommodations for businesspeople or families between homes, but a number of properties aimed at leisure travelers are offering rooms that feel like residences, yet with a level of service that you seldom get with vacation rentals. There’s one element travelers might miss. “Some people want to meet the owners and have some hot chocolate with them,” says Skyler Reep, marketing director at Stay Alfred, which has serviced apartments in 11 U.S. cities. “We don’t offer that.” For some, that might actually be a selling point.

Oriental Residence Bangkok | A dead-central locale and

top-tier amenities make for a truly pampered extended stay at this haven kitted out in marble, dark wood and cream tones. Modern kitchens invite guests to play MasterChef, but for those days when you don’t feel like turning on the stove, four different dining venues—try Café Claire for high tea—should do the trick. Minimum stay

Starting Rate

No.

One night Bt4,000/night

Rooms can be had by the hour (or the minute)

Fraser Place Setiabudi Jakarta | Fitness buffs will love the

24/7 gym, which comes stocked with all the latest equipment, plus a sauna, steam room, landscaped swimming pool, jogging track, and both hot and cold Jacuzzis. When you’re done breaking a sweat, you can retire to the comfort of your plush one- to threebedroom abode. Even the smallest size is a generous 65 square meters. Minimum stay

One night

Starting rate Rp 1,470,000 /night

Ascott Raffles Place Singapore | Housed in an Art Deco

1950s heritage building, this place offers serviced apartments catering to all different travelers. The Cutler rooms are ideal for couples, while the sprawling, two-bedroom Elizabeths can accommodate a family. Fullyequipped kitchens and Bose sound systems make this an especially comfy home awayfrom home. Minimum stay Starting Rate

One night S$400/night

Between 9 and 5

6 hourly

Dayuse

Need to unwind during a long layover? With this website, you can save up to 70 percent off of day stays in 50 different countries, including top Asian cities such as Hong Kong, Singapore and Bangkok. Despite the name, times vary widely, making it easy to find one that suits your needs.

A Bangalore-based startup app, 6 hourly (Android) aims to bring the idea popularized by HotelsByDay in the West to hotels across India. Though options are still somewhat limited, you can choose to stay for six, 12, 18 or 24 hours at dozens of places across the subcontinent.

The only global microbooking service, Dayuse (Web, Android, iOS) has an inventory of more than 2,000 hotels in 15 countries. You’ll find plenty of Quality Inns and Best Westerns, but also a few gems. Sort hotels by cost, category and proximity to airport to find the real winners.

october 2016 / tr av el andleisure asia .com

The Jervois Hong Kong | Straddling the line

between hotel and serviced apartment, this Sheung Wan boutique features spacious one- and twobedroom suites complete with pantries, dining areas and a private lobby elevator. Interiors by Christian Liaigre, fluffy goose-down duvets, and views of Victoria Harbour will make you want to stay a little longer.

Minimum stay Starting Rate

One week HK$1,814/night

/ upgrade /

DEALS | t+l reader specials

GREEN LIJIANG

A diamond bracelet in Hong Kong, muay Thai lessons with an Olympic trainer in Bangkok and a lantern- making class in Hoi An are a few of the extra-special amenities on offer this month. Banyan Tree Lijiang’s striking backdrop.

SilkAir and Banyan Tree Lijiang Situated 2,400 meters above sea level and set against the backdrop of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, the Banyan Tree Lijiang is kitted out in classic Yunnanese style. Wander the unesco -lauded streets of Lijiang or go hiking along Tiger Leaping Gorge. When you present your SilkAir round-trip ticket from Singapore, you’ll receive discounts on room rates, spa treatments and gallery purchases. The Deal SilkAir and Banyan Tree Exclusive, Lijiang: a night in a Garden suite, from S$379 for two, round-trip airfares from Singapore to Kunming from S$619 per person, through March 30, 2017. Save 30%. silkair.com/banyantree.

ROMANCE SAMUI

SUPER SAVER Villa Maroc, Pranburi Take advantage of the Arabic-inspired spa with an Indulgence Spa Treatment for two, then while away the afternoon with a Moroccan tea service. The Deal Secret of Spa Indulgence: a night in a Pool Court, from Bt7,900 for two, through December 29. Save 60%. villamarocresort.com.

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Renaissance Koh Samui Resort & Spa Set the mood for love with a glass of bubbles upon arrival, relax from the journey with a 60-minute Couple Aromatherapy Massage at Quan Spa, then settle in with your significant other for a candlelit dinner of local seafood and traditional Thai cuisine accompanied by a bottle of wine at Tawann. Dress to the nines for a free >>

fr o m t o p : c o u r t e s y o f B a n ya n Tr e e L i j i a n g ; c o u r t e s y o f V i l l a M a r o c

KHAO YAI

Dusit D2 Khao Yai Journey out to the fringe of Thailand’s lush Khao Yai National Park for a stay at this design hotel. While you’re there, work up a sweat with a free rock climbing session, then take advantage of a Bt900 dining credit at either Musi Grill or Cocoon, a treetop restaurant with a peerless, 360° panorama of your mountainous surrounds. The Deal D2 Debut: a night in a Deluxe room, from Bt2,999, through October 31. Save 28%. dusit.com/dusitd2/ khaoyai.

/ upgrade / photoshoot with a pro. All the details—round-trip airport transfers, high-speed Internet, late check-out until 4 p.m., and shuttle service to Lamai and Chaweng Beach—are included, so you can focus on spending time with each other. The Deal Our Romance package: two nights in a Deluxe Garden View room, from Bt17,400 for two, through December 20. Save 40%. marriott.com. HONG KONG

Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong Spoil your lover extravagantly with a night overlooking Victoria Harbour, and a Piaget Rose bracelet in 18K pink gold with a brilliant-cut diamond, valued at HK$6,700. Upon arrival, the two of you will be greeted with freshly baked rose madeleines with the hotel’s signature rose petal jam, a chilled bottle of rosé and a Piaget Rose scented candle. The Deal Piaget Rose Room package: a night in a Harbour View room, from HK$9,888 for two, through December 30. Save 40%. mandarinoriental. com.

CULTURE HOI AN

Anantara Hoi An Resort Historic Hoi An is especially compelling on the eve of its monthly lantern festival, when a rainbow of flickering orbs illuminates the old quarter. Cruise down the Thu Bon River by the light of the full moon and craft your own lantern to remind you of your journey. The Deal Full Moon Lantern Festival: two nights in a Deluxe room, from US$200 for two, available October 14-15, or every month during the lunar lantern festival through March 11-12, 2017. Save 20%. hoi-an.anantara.com. BANGKOK

The Siam Decked out in antiques, this design haven on the Chao Phraya River is all about embracing local traditions. Learn the ancient art of muay Thai over the course of three sessions with Olympic trainer Kru Yim, then recover with four 60-minute Opium Spa treatments personalized for you by Ayurvedic doctor Adrish Brahmadatta. The Deal Muay

Thai Boxing Retreat: four nights in a Mae Nam suite, from Bt85,116 for two, through December 25. Save 30%. thesiamhotel.com.

CITY SINGAPORE

Four Points by Sheraton Singapore, Riverview Uncomplicated comfort arrived this July on the bank of the Singapore River opposite Robertson Quay. The hotel’s 476 airy guest rooms have bay windows where you can take in the river or city views. Don’t miss the lobby bar’s Best Brew program, which lets you sample authentic local beers. The Deal Special Opening offer: a night in a Deluxe room, from S$152 for two, through December 31. Save 20%. starwoodhotels.com. HONG KONG

Tuve When a boutique with a serious sense of style celebrates its first anniversary, it’s all but guaranteed to be a classy affair. Tuve is offering curated walking tours of Tin Hau neighborhood, as well as a set

Italian lunch with Asian accents at the Silver Room. The Deal Tuve Deluxe Anniversary package: a night in a Deluxe room, from HK$1,800, through November 30. Save 20%. tuve.hk.

BEACH hua hin

Putahracsa Hua Hin Set away from the bustle of Hua Hin, overlooking the ocean, this pretty design boutique is ideal for families and couples seeking solace from the city. With this offer, you’ll enjoy daily breakfast and a room upgrade. The Deal Deluxe Get Away: a night in a Silksand Deluxe room, from Bt4,500 for two, through October 31. Save 35%. putahracsa.com. LANGKAWI

Four Seasons Resort Langkawi Dense jungle foliage, sweeping sea views and white sands for days—this tropical getaway allows guests unimpeded access to the island’s natural splendor. With this package, you’ll enjoy round-trip airport transfers, as well as daily breakfast for two at The Serai. The Deal Winter Special: three nights in a Garden View Ground Floor Pavilion, from US$1,392 for two, through December 22. Save 20%. fourseasons.com/langkawi.

Colorful lanterns aglow at Anantara Hoi An Resort.

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c o u r t e s y o f A n a n ta r a H o i A n R e s o r t

PHUKET

The Nai Harn Phuket From Thai cooking lessons at a brand-new culinary school to a chocolate-and-pastry-making class at an artisanal chocolaterie, there are plenty of reasons to want to stay an extra day. And since that last night is complimentary, you can indulge in a treatment or two at The Spa. The Deal Stay 3 Pay 2: three nights in a Deluxe Ocean View room, from Bt12,800 for two, through October 31. Save 33%. thenaiharn.com. — DIANA HUBBELL

Junior Suite

AN ENCOMPASSING LUXURY EXPERIENCE At the heart of Saigon, experience the grandeur and Italian-inspired designs of The Reverie Saigon featuring impeccable services, world-class accommodations, and luxury amenities.

Swimming Pool

The Spa

22-36 Nguyen Hue Blvd. & 57-69F Dong Khoi St., District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam T: (84.8) 3823 6688 | F: (84.8) 3822 3355 - E: info@thereveriesaigon.com | www.thereveriesaigon.com

The Reverie Lounge

In celebration of HM Queen Sirikit’s 7th cycle Birthday An electrifying jazz musical fusion. “Shuffle Demons” is genre bending, highly visually entertaining. Together with “The Belgian Saxophone Ensemble”, a new Belgian ensemble consists of 12 excellent young saxophonists

AN EVENING OF

JAZZ

Part I : Shuffle DemonS Jazz, CanaDa

Supported by Embassy of Canada

Part II : BelgIan SaxoPhone enSemBle, BelgIum

Monday 3 October (7.30pm) Baht 1,800 / 1,500 / 1,200 / 1,000 / 600 Acclaimed as one of the three leading classical ballet companies in Germany. “Nutcracker” is a magnificent work by the State Ballet of Karlsruhe, a company ,staged by 82 company-members.

THE NUTCRACKER

Karlsruhe Ballet, Germany Supported by Embassy of Germany, Thai Union Group and SAP Systems

Saturday 8 October (7.30pm), Sunday 9 October (2.30pm) Baht 3,500 / 2,800 / 2,200 / 1,500 / 1,000

Receiving Choreography Awarded at the “Victoires de la Musique” in 1997

ROMEO& JULIET Ballet Preljocaj, France

Supported by the Embassy of France and BNP Paribas

Wednesday 12 October (7.30pm) Hotline 02 262 3191

www.thaiticketmajor.com (24 hrs)

www.bangkokfestivals.com

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

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

Alila Purnama plying open waters in Indonesia.

cruisin’

L auryn Ishak

feeling landlocked? let the following floating five-stars drift into your dreams. plus: what to pack when you sail away.

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cruisin’

Burmese Daze I surveyed the deck. I didn’t know it then, but I was about to make a lifedefining decision: which lounger to recline upon. A few prime spots were taken by fellow passengers, two of whom were nose-deep in George Orwell’s Burmese Days—this struck me as vaguely uncool, like wearing a U2 T-shirt to a U2 concert, but I had Pascal Khoo Thwe’s From the Land of Green Ghosts: A Burmese Odyssey tucked into a pocket of my duffel, where I probably should have also stowed my attitude. This was no time for petty judgments, but rather the perfect moment to reflect on fast-changing Burma, its enduring mystique still the stuff of reverie. I’d need some quiet time to bask in its complexities, and mid-morning light, so I returned to the task at hand. A classic sun chair, partly submerged in the pool? A rattan circular daybed, in marigold? A bench on the edge of the boat, overlooking the Irrawaddy? This choice would lead to the best nap of my life.

When I arrived in Rangoon four days prior, I spent the night at The Strand Hotel, so I could compare what was written up in the 1911 A Handbook for Travellers in India, Burma, and Ceylon as “the finest hostelry east of Suez” to its new sister cruise ship, which just officially launched the Irrawaddy sail from Bagan to Mandalay this January. The brick-and-mortar property has lost a little of its luster in the past 100 years and was undergoing renovations, but its former glory shone through in giant suites with high ceilings, big soaking tubs, teakwood floors, rattan furniture and unfailingly attentive butler service. How, I wondered, would this hotel brand, which has hosted the likes of Rudyard Kipling and Mick Jagger (both very rock ‘n’ roll in their own ways) and depends so heavily on history, personalized service and colonial-era charm, translate to a cruise ship, which I’d always thought of as a paint-bynumber mode of sightseeing?

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I’ll confess my whole concept of cruising was based on what I’d seen on TV: a whale of a ship, swarming with equally orca-sized people waddling in and out of hundreds of cramped rooms and all congregating to chortle at the nightly lounge act. But I suspected the The Strand could switch the script with their custom-built boat, a 61-meter-long 27-cabin cutie, and their signature cruising-à la carte concept. The Strand Cruise captain Molly McBride tells me there are about 30 other boats plying a similar route, and staying lithe and flexible is the brand’s key to standing out. “With a smaller cruise you get more options,” says McBride, who leaves hand-written notes in every cabin each day. “You don’t want that ‘group-tour feeling’ that the itinerary is set and there’s no deviation, which is why we try to do personalized experience.” Embracing the choose-your-own adventure appeal, we cherry-pick the most spectacular out of the thousands of

On a new luxury vessel sailing up the Irrawaddy, the tide of progress carries Merritt Gurley to the well-preserved shores of the past.

spiritual sites to visit on the ride from Bagan to Mandalay, stopping at historical towns like Mingun, Ava and Saging, that you’d miss if you planned your trip by plane. “If you really want to see the sites between Bagan and Mandalay, the river is an unbelievable way to go,” McBride says. “You don’t have to deal with different kinds of transportation and you get four nights where you don’t have to unpack. You just stay in one place and let the scenery come to you.” On day one of the cruise, Bagan was delivered right to my cabin door. We visited the gold-leaf-gilded Shwezigon Pagoda and Ananda, Sulamani and Gubyaukgyi temples. There used to be nearly 4,500 pagodas in Bagan but earthquakes, crumbling riverbanks, and the tightening grip of time have whittled the number down to around 3,000. Just this August another earthquake damaged some 200 pagodas, a reminder not to dally with travel planning, particularly when it comes to Burma, a country in the middle of a fundamental shift. Political turmoil kept it off the tourism trail for years. With the end of military rule in 2011 and the victory of Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy last year, travelers are pouring in and the country is rapidly globalizing. “Nowadays we are all staring at our mobile phones and we’re losing our close-knittedness. I don’t know if it is progress or decadence,” Tin Tin Aye of Bagan Heritage Trust tells

me. “In the world there is always good and bad together.” The recent tourism boom is an everrocking teeter-totter of pros and cons. The appetite for Burma has grown so quickly and voraciously, there hasn’t been time for the infrastructure to catch up. Many hotels are overpriced and underwhelming, and overland travel, while much improved, is still a gamble. The Irrawaddy is a far more picturesque thoroughfare than the National Highway 1, and makes an ideal gully for the new tourism runoff, saving travelers from having to book hotels or organize car rentals. “What’s better?” McBride posits. “Sitting on a deck by a pool drinking a cocktail, or sitting in a hot car with questionable air-conditioning?” I’m not sure what Tin Tin Aye’s answer would be, but as I sip the signature Strand Sunset cocktail poolside, heady with Mandalay rum, I feel confident I’ve made the right choice.

Clockwise from top: The hotel-like

lobby of The Strand Cruise; the ship at sunset; Buddhist monks visit Amarapura's U Bein bridge.

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The metal elbows of the awning buckle as they are shuttered for nightfall and the sun sizzles red like kindling in a campfire, toasting puffs of white clouds into a delicious burnt gold. Wait, am I hungry? I wonder. It is almost impossible to work up an appetite on board as food seems to flow endlessly from the surprisingly well-stocked kitchen, from the flaky pastries and eggs Benedict served up hot at breakfast to the alfresco buffet lunches to the classic Strand high tea with treats like madeleines and scones with cream. Yet somehow I always make room for dinner. That night is a fabulous French affair with terrine de foie gras du Gers, filet mignon and the best baked Alaska I’ve ever tasted. I wonder if somewhere in Alaska there is a cruise serving up crab Rangoon. On day two of the cruise, we set sail for Mandalay. It isn’t a go-go-go itinerary chockablock with shore excursions, but rather a slow meandering upstream affording plenty of downtime to explore the boat. As one of the notes left on my pillow reads: “‘It is better to travel well than to arrive’–

Buddha. Molly.” And we are, without question, traveling well. The rooms start at the 16.5-square-meter Deluxe cabin and balloon to the 40-squaremeter Strand suite, which is fitted with its own balcony and comes with private butler service. The floors are a rich teakwood and most of the furniture was handcrafted in Burma, in keeping with The Strand’s iconic aesthetic. When I manage to tear myself away from my queen-sized bed—a tropical sanctum with a palm-frond runner and hardwood headboard—I book in a massage at the onboard spa, read by the pool, nurse cocktails at the bar, and watch the river run. “The Irrawaddy River is like the Mississippi in the United States,” Tin Tin Aye had told me.

Clockwise from top: A young Burmese girl wearing traditonal thanaka powder;

the temples of Bagan in the early morning sunlight; The Strand Cruise's onboard pool. opposite: A view of the river from the Deluxe cabin.

*Cruise prices throughout are per person based on double occupancy.

“It is the life blood of our country.” And gently does it pump, at a pace that insists I simply soak in the ephemeral dream of Burma slowly drifting past. The beauty of the itinerary is its artful balance—I never feel bored and I never feel rushed. Yes, we hit the broadstrokes of Burma’s best-of list. We climb Tant Kyi Taung Glass and I spend a good 20 minutes just staring wistfully out at Bagan’s panorama of pagodas. We walk the U-Bein Bridge, which spans Taungthaman Lake and is believed to be the oldest and longest teakwood bridge in the world. We tour Sagaing and its hundreds of white, silver and gold monasteries. We trot through the ancient capital of Ava by horse cart. We dock in Mingun, famous for having the largest uncracked hanging bell in the world—I give it a hearty reverberating whack, but its title holds. We hop a tuktuk to the alabaster Paya Hsinbyume pagoda and I shuffle up the steep stairs just in time to watch the sun plunk into the horizon like a coin in a slot. But there are also lots of small experiences woven into the itinerary. We have breakfast at Bagan Lacquerware, where a young craftsman makes me a rattan bracelet and an artist sketches a kinnari woman on my notebook; we drink champagne on a sandbank under the starlight; we share a Shan feast, splitting a dozen dishes family-style, and it is these little lagniappes that memories are made of. The flipside to the freedom of the flexible itinerary was that I opted out of a few excursions that in hindsight I wish

fr o m fa r l e f t: c o u r t e s y o f S t r a n d c r u i s e ; © C u lt u r a R M E x c l u s i v e / y e l l o w d o g / g e t t y i m a g e s ; © S t e v e A l l e n / Dr e a m s t i m e . c o m

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Topmasts Three great new cruises giving us a serious case of cabin fever Cruise: Cunard Kobe to Shanghai Ports: Japan: Kobe, Kagoshima, Hiroshima; China: Shanghai; South Korea: Busan. Why we’re clambering aboard: On this spring sailing trip, skip the floral sarong in favor a puffer jacket—but maybe one with a pretty chrysanthemum print. From incense-filled temples in Japan to serene waterfalls in South Korea to the busy streets of the world’s most populated city in China, this cruise will highlight just how much this trifecta has culturally in common. March 13 to 23, 2017; from US$1,999; cunard.com.

courtesy of Strand cruise

Cruise: Azamara World Journey Ports: 60 ports in 29 countries from Australia to the U.K. Why we’re clambering aboard: Imagine starting your vacation in Sydney and after three months ending in the heart of London without ever having to rush to make check-out time. If you can't spare 102 days, join the cruise for its two-week Southeast Asia leg sailing through Borneo, Vietnam and Thailand to swim with stingrays in Malaysia and eat all the bánh mì in Saigon. March 7 to June 17, 2018, 102 days from US$35,870; 14-night Borneo, Vietnam and Thailand leg, March 25 to April 8, 2018, from US$3,699; azamaraclubcruises.com. I had gone on. Next time, I would gladly fork over the extra US$400 to ride a hot air balloon over Bagan and I’d take the horse and buggy ride through Bagan’s pagodas instead of through Ava, which was lovely but nowhere near as impressive. In the growing pains of being a new operation, a few experiences that were supposed to take place simply didn’t, like a farewell breakfast alms ceremony with monks, and there were a few occasions when passengers accidently missed out on entertainment options because the times were changed without notice. Tin Tin Aye had it right: “There is always good and bad together.” A glass of lemonade seemed to be stalking me as I weighed my loungechair options, so attentively was the waiter clipping at my heels. I decided on

the padded bench nestled against the rails, dropped my bag and spread out. At first the sun and breeze battled for supremacy, then settled into a perfect accord. The slice-of-life tableaus along the riverbank were a Burmese berceuse of lapping waters, fishermen gathering their nets, kids playing tag on the shore, the rhythmic beat of the boat’s churning motor, and the clicking of camera shutters as my fellow passengers tried to capture the gradually shifting scenery. But this time, I didn’t reach for my camera and I didn’t rustle through my purse to find my phone. I let the landscape roll on by and as my lids grew heavy the reverie of Burma seeped into my dreams. thestrandcruise.com; fournight journey from Bagan to Mandalay from US$1,976.

Cruise: Burma Boating Andaman Island Expedition Ports: Port Blair, India; Ranong, Thailand. Why we’re clambering aboard: Sail between Thailand and India’s remote Andaman Islands in the comfort of a fully crewed catamaran with only seven other guests. Swim with marine life and romp on secluded beaches, or tool between islands on a stand-up paddle board, knowing you’ll always come back to a gourmet meal prepared by your very own private chef onboard. March 11 to 23, and April 15 to 27, 2017; from US$5,300; burmaboating.com. —VERONICA INVEEN

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Raja Ampat this indonesian portion the world's most biodiv best appreciated aboa mast, teak phinisi, alil p ho t og r a p he d by L au

he coral e marine he luxuri rnama. ishak

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iangle, itat, is , two-

Clockwise from top left: One of the Alila Purnama's two speedboats; one of cruise director Mario Gonzalez's elaborately drawn dive briefings; rain in the distance; cruise guests take a beach walk while the ship anchors for the night. opposite: The main outdoor deck of the Alila Purnama.

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Clockwise from top left: Diving in Raja Ampat; one of the phinisi's four lower deck cabins; shoal of fusiliers near Raja Ampat; an onboard lunch includes mango feta salad. opposite: The happy-go-lucky crew of Alila Purnama with all sails open. See alilahotels.com for sailings and rates.

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P hoto C r e d i t T e e k ay

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Jabra sport pulse

These adventure-ready earbuds are waterproof, provide highquality audio and monitor your heart rate. jabra.com; US$159.

f1 spacepak toiletry

This toiletry bag is not only perfect for packing, but also has room for full-sized bottles, meaning it’s ideal for traveling by boat where you are not resticted to only 100 milliliters of your favorite products. flight001.com; US$42.

S’well water Bottle

Fill up onboard with this insulated, stainless steel bottle that will keep your water cool for up to 24 hours. swellbottle.com; US$35.

NuUD phone Case

Trudging through the rain forest? Swimming with sea turtles? This case allows you to do it all phonein-hand. lifeproof.com; US$89.

the best part about cruising is that you only have to unpack once. here, eight Sea-worthy essentials for your steamer trunk.

apollo moc sneaker

This urban shoe is comfortable enough for a day of sightseeing, yet durable enough to allow you to tramp through sandy beaches or plod in post-downpour puddles. nativeshoes.com; US$75.

Helen Kaminski Losefa Visor

With this rollable, handcrafted raffia visor you won’t be forced to sacrifice your style for a lid that screams “tourist.” helenkaminski. com; US$165.

EL 50 Binoculars by swarovski optik

These top-notch binoculars are compact, waterproof and cruiseready with 10x magnification. swaovskioptik.com; US$3,110.

october 2016 / tr av el andleisure asia .com

Compiled by Veronica Inveen

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 S pa c e pa k ; c o u r t e s y o f J a b r a ; c o u r t e s y o f s ’ w e l l ; c o u r t e s y o f pata g o n i a ; c o u r t e s y o f N at i v e S h o e s ; c o u r t e s y o f s wa r o v s k i ; c o u r t e s y o f h e l e n k a m i n s k i ; c o u r t e s y o f L i f e p r o o f

Sail Items

Arbor Backpack

From camera gear to beach essentials, this backpack stylishly holds it all. patagonia.com; US$99.

Opening 1 st September 2016 Come camping in our African-safari tented rooms and villas, without giving up the comforts of home. Hugging a blissful whitesand beach, the gentle waters of a blue lagoon, and the beautiful nature of Northwest Bali, Menjangan Dynasty Resort promises an unforgettable, close-to-nature “glamping” experience.

Enjoy Special Rates with promo code “TLSEA”

Book before 30 Nov 2016 & enjoy special discounted ‘glamping’ rates for stays up to 31 Mar 2017

Desa Pejarakan – Gerokgak, Buleleng, North West Bali 81155 Sales & Reservations +62 361 753300 www.menjangandynasty.com | info@menjangandynasty.com

In celebration of HM Queen Sirikit’s 7th cycle Birthday One of Spain’s most famous dance companies, colorful and vibrant show that captures all the emotion, drama and passion of flamenco.

VoceS Sara BaraS DaNce compaNY

SPAIN

Supported by the Embassy of Spain

Sunday 16 october (6.00pm) Baht 3,000 / 2,500 / 2,000 / 1,500 / 800 “One of the most exciting, innovative, and delightful dance companies in the entire world.”(New York Times)

paUL TaYLor

DaNce compaNY New York, USA

Supported by the Embassy of U.S.A.

PROGRAM I (Tues 18 Oct) Black Tuesday, Le Sacre du Printemps, Cascade PROGRAM II (Wed 19 Oct) Mercuric Tidings ,Beloved Renegade, Promethean Fire

Tuesday 18 october (7.30pm) Wednesday 19 october (7.30pm) Baht 2,500 / 2,000 / 1,600 / 1,200 / 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

sean fennessy

Off Orpheus Island, in the Great Barrier Reef, Australia.

/ october 2016 / Autumnal Korea takes our breath away |

How visiting the Great Barrier Reef could actually help save it | Salivating through Sicily | Finding tourism gold on quaint Nantucket island

Sinheungsa Temple, inside Seoraksan National Park, is one of South Korea’s most revered Buddhist sites. Opposite: Seoraksan is also home to Ulsanbawi, a popular rock formation.

Photographed by F r é d é r i c L agr ange

the golden season South Koreans revere the strange and ruggedly beautiful mountains east of Seoul for their power to soothe the spirit. KRYS LEE visits in autumn, the loveliest time of year, in search of renewal.

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Sinheungsa is the head temple of the 1,200-year-old Jogye order of Korean Buddhism.

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I boarded the sunrise train to Gangwon province just before midnight, imagining that it would be full of lonely people seeking the solace of the mountains and the endless blue sea. Though Gangwon is only a few hours east of Seoul, it is another world. It contains Seoraksan National Park, beloved for its dramatic peaks, deep valleys and unparalleled autumn foliage. But until recently, Gangwon was one of South Korea’s most treacherous regions. Folktales abound about farmers being devoured by tigers. In the 19th century, bandits were known to take travelers captive. As late as the 1980s, buses made the evening news by tumbling off cliffs. Today, the roads are much improved, and the area has become more accessible. Visits increased after 2004, when the South Korean workweek was legally changed from six days to five, allowing city dwellers to seek out nature with the same fervor that they devote to company culture. Many South Koreans see wild places like Seoraksan as a remedy for burnout and an antidote to the modernization that has transformed the country over the past five decades. In Seoul, there’s a trend of camping-themed cafés, complete with tents and picnic tables, simulating the outdoors for those unable to leave town. Koreans commit themselves as intensely to nature as they do to every other aspect of life—eating, drinking, working, loving. The Italians of the East, some call them. The sunrise train is a decidedly South Korean invention: it leaves Seoul in the dark of night and arrives in the coastal city of Gangneung in time for passengers to sit on a long, golden beach called Jeongdongjin and watch the dawn lighten the East Sea. I’d heard about it from a cousin, who had taken the train as a melancholy student, while worried about passing his college entrance exams. After an intense period of work, I was melancholy, too, and like so many South Koreans, I turned to the outdoors for spiritual nourishment. I was surprised to find my car full of cheerful couples, mothers and daughters, and groups of hikers dressed as if ready for Mount Everest. Few seemed interested in sleep. Teenagers whispered as they watched movies on their cell phones. In the old-fashioned dining car, an elderly couple drank soda. I bought snacks of fried tofu chips and walnut-and-red-bean pastries and listened to a low buzz coming from the miniature karaoke room. When the door

opened, five teenage boys spilled out of a space meant for two. When we reached Jeongdongjin, salty sea air filled my lungs. I trailed a tidal wave of college students, including one with a rugby player’s build who had wrapped himself in a pink Hello Kitty blanket. These veterans of night trains had come prepared to greet the sun, armed with snacks, fuzzy blankets, and plastic mats. Kids set off fireworks that cut through the mist, then stopped to watch the sea turn from green to blue to coral until the rocks and cliffs began to lose their mysterious mermaid and monster shapes. A soldier appeared to my left, reminding me that I was not only in one of the most beautiful places in South Korea but also just a short boat ride from North Korea. He propped a leg on a rock and gazed at the sunrise that was now a riot of orange and russet. In the distance, dozens more soldiers marched in the mist. Later, I found myself behind a truckload of young men in uniform, many probably college students fulfilling their service requirement. I asked Mr. Choi, my driver, about the military presence in the area. “Soldiers?” he replied. “All we have are soldiers! They come here most mornings as part of their guard duty.” Amid the surreal beauty, I began to notice camouflaged guard posts, evidence of a land divided by history for more than 60 years. South Korea is best known for its information technology and pop culture, but the coast of Gangwon province is a reminder of the country’s complicated past.

ith a population of about 200,000, Gangneung is the largest coastal city in Gangwon province and a cultural center. Nestled among low mountains, lakes and shoreline, it recalls an older, slower Korea. But unlike most provincial cities, it is growing, enticing refugees from Seoul with natural beauty and more humane pace of life. Many traditional buildings remain, including a picturesque Confucian academy and an old city hall complex that has been converted into a library. At the very heart of Gangneung is Seongyojang, a residence constructed for the Naebeon Lee noble family in the 18th century. Within its peaceful grounds is a blooming lotus pool with a wooden pavilion where aristocrats once came to write poetry, drink, and think. The building is a large hanok, a traditional Korean dwelling. With their signature curving, tiled roofs, these wood-andclay buildings arranged around a central

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Centuries-old Chinese characters carved into the sheer face of Ulsanbawi.

opposite, clockwise from top left: The

Seamarq Hotel, in Gangneung; the Seamarq overlooks the East Sea; fresh octopus at the Sokcho Fish Market; the Biseondae Rocks, in Seoraksan.

‘You have the mountains and the ocean minutes from your door. In summer, I drink and eat fresh sashimi by the river. Here, even a poor man feels rich’ t r a v e l a n d l e i s u r e a s i a . c o m / o c t o b e r 2 0 1 6

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courtyard are designed to blend the indoors and outdoors. Each of the sliding mulberrybark doors framed a hill fiery with fall colors. I approached a more modest structure nearby where a 10th-generation descendant of the Lee family lives part of the year. It was offlimits to visitors, but I glimpsed a courtyard with dozens of the earthenware jars called onggi that store sauces and kimchi. Laundry hung from a line; the grounds were silent. For all of its traditions, Gangneung is moving into the future. New buildings have risen in advance of the 2018 Winter Olympics ice events, which will take place in nearby Pyeongchang. One is Richard Meier’s Seamarq Hotel, a modern edifice as brilliantly white as a house on a Greek island. The rooms drink in the light, the air and the azure water. The building so closely hugs the East Sea that from my bed I felt as if I were floating into it. At first the Seamarq seemed conspicuously modern, but I came to see in its clean, sleek lines and lack of extraneous decoration a relationship with hanok architecture. This became even more apparent when I strolled the grounds and discovered an annex called the Hoanjae suite, a stately modern hanok by Doojin Hwang Architects. Later, in the hotel basement, I found the remains of a fortress dating to the Silla dynasty, which ruled Korea in the first millennium. They had been unearthed during the hotel’s construction. Chodang Sundubu Village, a cluster of tofu restaurants a five-minute drive from the Seamarq, is a stronghold of one of Gangwon province’s most distinctive delicacies. Many

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years ago, because salt was not readily available here, cooks seasoned the tofu with well water and seawater, giving it a rich but subtle flavor. Restaurants like Chodang Halmeoni Sundubu (which translates to “Granny Chodang’s Tofu Stew”) still prepare their hearty, humble sundubu in the same way. This being South Korea, where no meal is complete without alcohol, the dish comes with a house-made fermented-corn beverage. I was eager to head to the mountains and view Korean autumn at its apex. But one cannot visit Gangwon province without trying its seafood. At Jumunjin Fish Market, the largest on South Korea’s eastern coast, I sampled a fresh sashimi rice bowl and potato pancakes. Several locals recommended Unpa, a seaside restaurant near the Seamarq, where the most basic set meal consisted of fresh seaweed soup, crab, mackerel, sole, flounder, and a whole medley of sashimi. Each time I thought the feast had concluded, another dish arrived, as if in a procession of honored guests. The meal suggested a culture, so unlike the one I knew in Seoul, that was given to meandering conversations and leisurely contemplation. I felt I was among people who prefer to experience life rather than race through it. On my last day on the coast, I walked to the end of the dock and saw the entire shoreline spread before me like a dream. I fantasized about quitting my job and moving into a house by the East Sea where I could live at the languid pace of the locals. But South Korea’s most famous national park beckoned, an hour to the north.

reached the entrance to Seoraksan at mid-afternoon, and headed for the Biryong Falls Trail along the base of Seorak Mountain, for which the park is named. A short hike that winds past waterfalls, it was an easy but spectacular introduction to the park. There was a bamboo forest, a stream, and mountains crowned by trees that had burst into an autumnal rainbow of scarlet, burgundy, purple and saffron. Hikers had built hundreds of tiny pagodas out of rocks, which, somehow, miraculously resist wind and rain. There are surely Buddhists among the homage-makers, but many visitors erect the pagodas simply to honor the mountains, as if they were living spirits. The only spectacle that competed with the natural beauty was the visitors’ attire. It was easy to understand why so many articles have been written about South Korean hiking fashion. One woman passed me in an oversize magenta beach hat, another in paisley trekking pants. A macho-looking man with wide shoulders and a large stomach wore the sweetest, most whimsical mustard-yellow pants dotted with white clouds, more pajamas than hiking outfit. If any of them had become lost on the mountain, I suspect that the rescue helicopter would have spotted them easily. Early the next day I set out on the Biseondae Trail, which slopes gently upward to a steep staircase that looks onto jagged peaks and bridges hanging precariously over gorges. Not far from the trailhead I found a girl sitting cross-legged on a boulder, talking on her cell phone. This was Korea, after all. My favorite hiker was the woman who approached a squirrel and asked it tenderly, “Did you collect many acorns today?” Everyone was gentler, kinder, in Seoraksan’s gi, or “energy.” Near a collection of large boulders called the Biseondae Rocks, a restaurant serves several hearty dishes typical of the region: seafood and potato pancakes, seasoned-acorn-jelly salad, mixed mountain root vegetables and rice, grilled bellflower root, red-bean ice cream. Early each morning in the dark, I learned, staffers hike

october 2016 / tr av el andleisure asia .com

A hiking trail through the Biseondae Rocks traces the path of a mountain stream. opposite: The 15-meter-tall Great Unification Buddha near Sinheungsa Temple.

There are six distinct peaks in the Ulsanbawi rock formation. Pine trees cling to their sheer faces.

Seorak Mountain with supplies packed into old-fashioned wood-frame packs, much like the ones that were used hundreds of years ago. I sat on the patio, basking in the view of a cascading waterfall and sheer granite cliffs. Across from me, two women poured from a large bottle of traditional sweet rice alcohol called dongdongju.

lcohol is integral to Korean hiking culture. The sensible ones wait til the end before imbibing, avoiding an unpleasant descent. But many are not so sensible. By noon, I had already spotted one hiker sprawled against a rock, his eyes closed and his face the hue of a pink magnolia. Another traveler carried two green bottles of makgeolli, a popular unrefined rice wine, instead of water, tucked into the outer pockets of his backpack.

At Seoraksan, as at most of South Korea’s 21 national parks, vendors set up just inside the entrance offer feasts to weary hikers. I found spicy buckwheat noodles, grilled pork wrapped in fresh seaweed, potato pancakes, Korean beef barbecue, giant chocolate cream pies. I ate until I was bloated, but I saved room for some imported coffee. Heung Sub Lim, the owner of a café whose name translates to “The Hanok That Roasts Coffee,” personifies the trend of urban refugees relocating to the area. He quit corporate life in Seoul and surrendered to an attraction to Seoraksan, bringing Jamaican Blue Mountain and Ethiopian mocha Harrar to an area that had known only plastic packets of freeze-dried coffee. Even the head monk of nearby Sinheungsa Temple drops in each day. When I visited, I found Lim’s slickly dressed employees, who looked more like they belonged in Seoul’s hipster neighborhood of Hongdae than on a mountaintop, serving hikers on a deck overlooking a creek. I spoke with one barista, dressed all in black, with a silver hoop earring and a straw hat. “I didn’t have any dreams,” he told me, “until I met coffee.” Nearby, I found Seoldawon, a teahouse run by Buddhists. In keeping with the Buddhist tradition of offering respite to travelers,

the tea is free. Wandering its grounds, I met a curly-haired woman whose accent suggested that she was from Seoul. She declined to give me her name, identifying herself as a monk’s helper, as if in her new life that was all that mattered. She knew nothing about me, but she took my hand in hers and sat me in a hanok behind the café. “Sometimes I, too, feel empty,” she said. “The mountains have good energy. The places we need to be, the people we need to meet, we will go and meet. That’s what we call fate.” The park abounds with paths that can keep even the most industrious visitor busy for weeks. A short trail leads to Geumganggul Cave, where I happened upon a Buddhist monk who prayed for me. A steep, four-hour climb up to the Ulsanbawi rock formation climaxes with panoramic vistas of the mountains. The park contains major Buddhist sites, such as the ornate Sinheungsa Temple, built in the seventh century, destroyed and rebuilt numerous times. I stopped repeatedly to gaze at the stunning wall paintings. After several days of superlative views, I thought I’d seen all the highlights. Then I hired a guide named Mr. Byeon, who drove me to visit Naeseorak, the innermost part of the park. A 20-minute shuttle ride took me deep into a valley at the foot of Baekdamsa Temple. The sound of a wooden gong echoed through the early morning fog. Incense smoked around the main altar near a wooden Buddha erected in 1748. A line of novice monks wearing wide-brimmed straw hats walked wordlessly into a building, their hands folded, to begin their day’s studies. The dappled mountains surrounding the temple appeared as if painted by Monet. At nine in the morning, the only people I met on the trail were those who had come alone to meditate, think, walk, and walk some more. A gray-robed monk with a backpack passed me, his face somber. We made slight bows but exchanged no words. As the fog lifted, I met more hikers. One pointed out a tree to me and said, “It’s a very old tree, an eight-hundred-year-old tree,” as if making an introduction. This is a country with a brisk market for books that document the famous trees of the peninsula, each with a legend and a history and an age. People talk about trees and stones as if they were animate beings. Observant South Koreans are Buddhist, Protestant or Catholic, but an echo of Taoist tradition remains in their language and psyche. Industry may have ravaged the country in pursuit of the “South Korean economic miracle,” but the people still venerate the land and revere the mountains as a place of retreat. Gangwon province isn’t just an escape, though. It’s a way of life. As Mr. Byeon drove me back to my hotel, he explained the place’s pull: “I did go to Seoul for a few years, then came right back. I mean, you have the mountains and the ocean fifteen minutes from your door. In the summer, I drink and eat fresh sashimi by the river. Here, even a poor man feels rich.”

he local way to end a long weekend of hiking is to visit a bathhouse, so many trips to Seoraksan conclude at Seorak Waterpia, 10 minutes from the park entrance in the city of Sokcho. I headed for the multilevel outdoor pools. In the daytime, this can be a noisy place, but at dusk it was nearly empty. The few visitors were dressed modestly, in shorts, caps and long-sleeved cover-ups. They moved from one pool to another, trying out every kind of bath: green tea, jasmine, lemon, barley stone, and the doctor-fish pedicure, with tiny garra rufa that nibble the dead skin from your feet. In a steaming sauna nestled in a landscape of boulders and pine trees, I met a young woman and her mother sipping coffee from

paper cups. The daughter told me that her father had recently passed away and they were visiting the area to recuperate. When they slipped back into their conversation, I had my own private moment in a rain spa that was larger than many swimming pools. As I took in the illuminated foliage and waterfall, the months of stress and hurry felt remote, like an experience that had happened to someone else. Maybe it’s impossible to heal oneself completely in a few short days, but I felt warmed, and just a little bit hopeful.

The details GETTING THERE Gangwon province, the home of Seoraksan National Park, is accessible via bus and train from Seoul. Buses leave for Gangneung and Sokcho from the Dong Seoul Bus Terminal and the Seoul Express Bus Terminal. Trains depart from Cheongnyangni Station in Seoul. The “sunrise” trains to Gangneung leave before midnight and arrive before dawn. Hotels Hanwha Resort Seorak A 10- minute drive from Seoraksan National Park, this outpost of a respected local hotel chain is good for families. Sokcho; hanwha resort.co.kr; suites from W108,165. Kensington Stars Hotel The British theme may seem slightly kitschy, but the property, only a fiveminute walk from Seoraksan National Park, is clean and comfortable. Sokcho; kensington.co.kr; doubles from W138,272. Seamarq Hotel Many of the sleek rooms at this new high-end hotel have unforgettable views of the East Sea. Gangneung; seamarq hotel.com; doubles from W439,347. RESTAUR ANTS & CAFÉS Chodang Halmeoni Sundubu A lovely restaurant in Chodang Sundubu Village that makes an excellent sundubu, a soft-tofu stew

seasoned with saltwater from the East Sea. Gangneung; 82-33/6522058; mains from W6,690. Jumunjin Fish Market Grab sashimi at this 80-year-old market between Gangneung and Sokcho that sells fresh squid, mackerel, pollock, pike and crab. Keopi Bokkneun Hanok The only café within Seoraksan National Park that serves coffee made from fresh-roasted beans. Seoldawon Run by Buddhist volunteers, this teahouse offers free beverages and a place for weary hikers to rest in Seoraksan National Park. Unpa A popular seafood restaurant known for its wide range of cooked and raw dishes. Gangneung; 82-33/653-9565; sashimi sets from W50,180. ACTIVITIES Seongyojang Once a noble family’s home, this centuries-old complex is one of the best examples of traditional hanok architecture. knsgj.net. Seoraksan National Park The park’s English language site lists trails, itineraries, facilities and sites, including Baekdamsa and Sinheungsa temples. english.knps.or.kr. Seorak Waterpia A water park with a variety of cozy outdoor hot springs, as well as numerous attractions to keep kids entertained. Sokcho; seorakwaterpia.co. kr; day passes from W49,064.

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Blue Crush P H O T O G R A P HED B Y S E A N F E N N E S S Y

Hotels and resorts continue to open along Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, one of the world’s most fragile ecosystems. Yet, as AMELIA LES TER finds on her visit to three of the region’s newest properties, tourism is far from the biggest threat to this natural wonder. It may actually be helping to save it.

Seaplanes—a popular way to travel between islands in the Great Barrier Reef—landing at Whitehaven Beach, on Whitsunday Island.

“Leonie’s our Virgin Mary,” said a man in a Hawaiian shirt, pointing down at a shark circling in a tank. Her three babies came from immaculate conception. He explained that, in an extremely rare event, they were produced with only the genetic material of a female. That Leonie is a leopard shark, so called because of her brown-andcream markings, is what makes you think: Really, Nature? The virgin birth had to happen in a leopard-print coat? Isn’t that a bit much? A trip to the Great Barrier Reef is full of these moments when nature shows off in all its abundant weirdness. It’s a slow reveal, though, because after a flight to Sydney and another journey 1,600 kilometers up Australia’s eastern coast, you arrive in one of the reef’s gateway towns of Townsville or Cairns and…see nothing. The reef—which stretches for 2,300 kilometers—is 65 to 240 kilometers offshore. Most visitors take a day trip out for a brief snorkel. Those who want to fully experience the reef stay on an island, at one of a dozen or so high-end resorts accessible by yacht, helicopter or private plane. The inherent challenge of encountering the reef is where the man in the Hawaiian shirt comes in. Fred Nucifora is the director of Reef HQ, which is the official, government-run aquarium of the Great Barrier Reef. It’s a good preliminary stop where you can get to know the reef’s cast of characters without getting wet and learn about its current state of crisis. Nucifora was remarkably jolly as he ran through the man-made threats to the ecosystem: chiefly climate change, but also declining water quality, coastal development and illegal fishing. The grim headlines about the health of the reef lend a now-or-never quality to the tourist experience. In 2014, U.S. president Obama spoke of its “incredible natural glory” and how he wanted to ensure through global action on climate change that his children and their children could return to see it. One current threat to the reef is the expansion of what will be one of the biggest coal mines in the world and

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from left: A beach villa with a private pool at One&Only Hayman Island; the infinity pool at Orpheus Island, with a view across Hazard Bay.

which will involve dredging close to the marine park. Another crisis, this one ongoing, is mass bleaching—rising temperatures have this year led to the third global coral bleaching since 1998—particularly in reefs located in the Southern Hemisphere. Coral polyps, the minuscule, hard-shelled creators of this extraordinary submarine empire, are resourceful, to a point: they can change sex at will, after all. But when the water is too warm, coral gets stressed and expels algae, both its food and the source of its brilliant color, from its tissue. Nucifora called the bleaching, worriedly, “a sign of things to come.” I’m not a scientist, but I can conﬁrm that a bleached piece of coral, so white it glows like a ghost, is a shocking sight.

A school of blue-green reef chromis off the coast of Orpheus Island. from above left: The airy living room of the Pavilion, one of Lizard Island’s 16 villas; a dish of squid conﬁt, ink crackers and ginger gel, prepared by chef Mark Jensen at Lizard Island’s Saltwater restaurant.

Overboard went prawns proscuitto and crab. Even the sharks here are five-star handful of new properties opened. Sometime in the next two years, Aquis, a massive resort ﬁnanced by the Chinese, will open north of Cairns. These hotels have, for the most part, become ever more luxurious as well as increasingly ecologically attuned. And perhaps their most important role is to allow visitors to see the startling evidence of our warming planet for themselves. As we were leaving Reef HQ, Nucifora and I passed by the aquarium’s hospital for turtles. He stopped to introduce a new patient: a baby turtle he thinks is a hybrid of the green and hawksbill species, “something arguably not seen on earth since the eighties.” It was nice to get some good news before leaving the mainland with two objectives in mind: to check out the reef’s newest and most luxurious hotels and to see how they’re operating against the backdrop of this disappearing natural wonder. What’s much less detrimental, perhaps surprisingly, is tourism, which these days is the least of the reef’s problems. More than 2 million people visited last year, a number that has increased steadily since two devastating cyclones in 2011. Travelers bring in around US$2.9 billion for the country’s northeastern economy. In a recent survey of scientists and conservationists on threats to the reef, tourism didn’t even rank in the top ﬁve. For one thing, the industry is heavily regulated, because the area has been a government-run marine park since the ’70s. Around 85 percent of tourists are funneled into the Whitsunday chain of islands, leaving the rest of the reef virtually untouched. The government regulates the number of visitors to diving and snorkeling sites, and instructors are educated to ensure that visitors have minimal contact with the coral. In addition, each visitor to the reef is required to pay a nominal environmental- management charge, introduced in 1993. Hotel development continues apace in this vulnerable part of the world. After the 2011 cyclones, several resorts renovated and a

The islands from which

the reef is accessible, more than 600 in all, are mostly uninhabited, and those catering to travelers show off just how much beauty is still apparent both above and below the water. Nowhere is this more evident than at Lizard Island: the resort sits on the edge of an island otherwise reserved as national parkland, and is a 60-minute charter flight from Cairns over a storybook landscape of turquoise ocean and green mountains. Lizard, the northernmost resort, is one of only a handful situated on the Great Barrier Reef itself. What this means for a visitor is a much shorter ride out to one of the world’s most famous dive sites—one that’s arguably the jewel in the reef’s crown. Early one morning, I joined a group of five divers, flanked by six crew members and headed out to the legendary Cod Hole on a 17-meter dive boat, the Serranidae. Out at the Cod Hole I saw a mix of hard coral, which can resemble blocks of honeycomb, or sometimes a beehive, and the soft kind, which wave back and forth like ferns. There were t r a v e l a n d l e i s u r e a s i a . c o m / o c t o b e r 2 0 1 6

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The northern end of Whitsunday Island, which is part of the Whitsundays chain. Most resorts, including the One&Only Hayman Island, are in this area.

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Where else will you get to swim in a teeming coral garden, pulsating with color? pastels—which bring to mind flowers, like lavender or heliotrope—as well as traffic-light fluorescents of orange and yellow. There was barely any bleaching. (The area most affected is the reef’s northernmost quarter, which is 93 percent bleached and not accessible to most tourists.) All of a sudden, a potato cod emerged from the depths, pursing its spectacular Kylie Jenner lips. A strange thought drifted by: everyone around me was eating. There were tiny Nemo look-alikes nibbling; two reef sharks cruised for something more substantial; even the coral themselves, undulating in the water, are always feeding. Back on the boat, the Lizard Island staff had read my mind and laid out a spread on white linen not often seen on the high seas. There were tureens of antipasti, juicy Australian prawns, salad, sushi, passion fruit and papaya. When the boat returned to the resort a few hours later, it dropped anchor about 30 meters from the beach. There was still a lot of seafood left over from lunch, so when a tawny nurse shark came to greet the boat, one crew member knew what to do. Overboard went prawns and prosciutto and crab. Other fish joined the feast, but the nurse shark was the star of the show. It even agreed to be scratched on its smooth, flat face while snacking away. “Even the sharks here are five-star,” said the instructor as the sleek gray form glided away.

It sounds strange to

say a resort is up to shark standards, but here we are: Lizard Island is a consummate exercise in discreet, environmentally conscious luxury. (Hidden behind the resort itself are generators enabling full self-sufficiency, both for water and electricity.) After the destruction of the cyclones and a US$50 million renovation, the resort re-opened in 2015 with 40 rooms spread across white weather-board structures, some arranged in pairs along the gentle curve of Anchor Bay and others, featuring plunge pools, on a bluﬀ overlooking boulder-strewn Sunset

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Beach. In the middle is the main pavilion, where outside of mealtimes, petulant seagulls congregate alongside businesspeople desperate for a fix of the island’s Wi-Fi. (There is no signal in the rooms.) The food was much better than I expected, given the obvious logistical challenges. Red emperor, saddletail snapper and coral trout are flown in daily from the mainland, and a barge comes by once a week with other supplies, all from the area around Cairns and its surrounding tablelands, to keep down the total carbon footprint. The executive chef, Mark Jensen, prepared refined, even cautious dishes: oysters with a dash of nahm jim, salt-and-pepper squid, cheese plates and affogatos in place of fruity tropical desserts. The rooms were understated, too, in a muted palette of white, sand and gray, with hidden appliances. While the daybeds in the villas were an inspired touch, ideal for observing the sunset, the minimalist suites seemed designed to encourage guests to go outside and underwater. Even the pool appeared to be an afterthought, set back from the beach. Fair enough. When else will you get the chance to swim into a garden of coral pulsating with color, teeming with life? Orpheus Island, farther south and closer to the coast, is a short helicopter ride from Townsville. Like most resorts, Orpheus is not actually on the reef itself. Instead, the island is surrounded by fringing reefs. Frankly, these smaller, stand-alone reefs are just as spectacular to anyone but the most serious of scuba divers. With a capacity of 28 guests, the service was rapid and attentive. The rooms themselves were cookie-cutter seaside, but the beautiful communal areas encouraged lingering: a 14-by-25meter infinity pool from which to spot baitfish leaping out of the ocean; plentiful hammocks from which to gaze up at the ospreys soaring overhead; a spectacular fixed jetty used for private dinners where the only sound is the gentle splash of the resort’s pet barramundi. Unfortunately for wild barramundi, the chef knew exactly what to do with them, which was to pan-sear them and serve them with a saffron bisque reduction and calamari curried risotto. The resort’s opening chef, Arie Prabowo, worked under Cheong Liew in Melbourne, who is regarded as the father of Asian fusion in Australia. At first, the rotation through a different ethnic cuisine every day at lunch seemed strange. But guests at Orpheus generally stay longer than they would on other islands (up to 10 days), and so the variety of food turned out to be a boon.

Befitting the vibe of determined relaxation, there is only one daily activity offered. One day, the resort’s marine biologist led a walking tour of a giant clam garden just offshore. The tide was low, and most of the 300 clams were completely out of the water, enabling a closer look at their strange, slightly ominous makeup. When opened, the clams displayed a velvety mass of flesh colored emerald green, or indigo, or scarlet. Farther south at Hayman Island, in the Whitsunday Islands, there are so many activities that the staff provides a daily schedule. Hayman is one of the newest resorts from One&Only. Though there are some reasonably priced day trips, a vacation on Hayman is less focused on the reef and more on cultivating relaxation amid what is unquestionably the most attractive terrestrial landscape of the resorts I visited. The sand on the beaches appeared pearly white from a distance; up close, it was dotted with colorful crushed shells that resemble the toppings of an everything bagel. The lush rain-forest setting, kept green thanks to recycled water, obscured the buildings, many of which were built in 1950 and renovated by One&Only when it took over in 2014. One area, called the Hayman Pool Wing, is an enormous geometric marvel crisscrossed with pedestrian bridges; a central lanai with eight beach villas; and the Hayman wing, which retains a midcentury appearance. (Though it doesn’t have the pared-down look of an eco-conscious resort, it makes efforts to minimize waste—even the cooking oil is recycled into biofuel.) When One&Only transformed the property, it reduced the number of rooms from 210 to 160. A spectacular breakfast buffet was included, but

for other meals, a reservation at one of the on-site restaurants was required. Bamboo, an Asian restaurant lit with paper lanterns, lacked atmosphere—I found it hard to remember I was in a remote paradise, even when enjoying an excellent rendition of crispy pork belly. Bar Fifty, a high-end cocktail bar, suffered from a similar problem; better to order a piña colada in a coconut stamped with the resort’s name to sip by the pool. In fact, you might find it hard to leave one of the pool-side cabanas, though the outstanding spa, featuring clinical-grade pedicures by a French technician, was temptation enough to eventually move me. On my final day at Hayman, a stroll along the beach reminded me why we had come all this way in the first place: I saw a tiny, scaly head bob out of the water every few minutes—a sea turtle. The Great Barrier Reef has six of the world’s seven varieties, one of which cannot be found anywhere else: the marine flatback. Environmentalists don’t call them “charismatic megafauna” for nothing. Just that one glimpse of green was enough for reality to come flooding back. The bleaching, the mining, the madness we have inflicted on this turtle and his home. Tourism used to be part of the problem, back in the days when tramping over the coral was permitted, and the bottoms of boats scraped the shallow seabed. These days, a trip to the reef is an educational experience, a stark reminder of what’s at stake for our rapidly warming planet. Its fragile beauty inevitably converts visitors into evangelists, ready to preach the gospel of a more sustainable future long after the sand is gone from their shoes. “The reef my children see will be different,” Fred Nucifora had said, back at Reef HQ. The time to see it is now.

The details GETTING THERE There are three airports serving the Great Barrier Reef area: Cairns, Townsville and Hamilton Island. Each can be accessed via a connection in Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane. Most island resorts will help arrange transportation from airports, either by charter yacht, helicopter or private plane. RESORTS Lizard Island A recently redone luxury resort that’s well suited for serious scuba divers because of its proximity to the famous Cod Hole. lizardisland. com.au;

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all-inclusive packages from A$1,960 per night. One&Only Hayman Island 160 rooms, four restaurants, three pools and dozens of activities attract families to the stunning Whitsunday Islands. oneandonly resorts.com; doubles from A$950. Orpheus Island A boutique property surrounded by small, diveable reefs near the mainland. The pool has great views of the Coral Sea. orpheus.com.au; all-inclusive packages from A$1,390 per night.

Six of the world’s seven marine turtle species live in the Great Barrier Reef, so it’s likely you’ll spot more than one variety. The green turtle, with its smooth, domed shell, is the most frequently seen.

T h e W ay t h e y Cook IN

Sicily

Here in southernmost Italy, every dish is infused with love and tradition, reflecting generations of family and centuries of history. STEPHANIE DANLER eats her way across the island, savoring its humble, African-inflected cuisine and soaking up the wisdom of its women.

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The bucatini con le sarde at La Cambusa, in Palermo. Opposite: Gangi, a medieval village in the mountains of northern Sicily.

p ho t og r a p he d by S I M O N WAT S O N

Clockwise from below: A student pits olives during one of Nicoletta Polo Lanza Tomasiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cooking classes at Butera 28, in Palermo; granitas at Colicchia, in Trapani; the nightlife scene at Vucciria market, in Palermo; the courtyard of the Gangivecchio estate.

My sister, Christina, and I were sitting in a garden in Palermo,

Clockwise from top left:

The Piazza Mercato del Pesce, in Trapani; sociable diners at Fritti e Frutti, in Palermo; caponata at Gangivecchio; fichi d’India, a prickly pear native to Sicily, at La Cambusa.

a few sips into a midmorning Campari and soda, when I began to feel fraudulent. The sea breeze fanned up from the port and onto the terrace as our hostess, Nicoletta Polo Lanza Tomasi, the Duchess of Palma di Montechiaro, recounted the history of the palazzo we were visiting, which was once owned by the Lampedusa family. It was on this very site, Nicoletta told us, that Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, the last of the line, wrote The Leopard, which chronicles the fall of an aristocratic Sicilian family in the late 19th century. “Which of course you’ve read,” she added, “as you are a writer, and are writing about Sicily.” I shot my sister a look that said, Don’t say a word. I hadn’t read The Leopard, which is practically synonymous with Sicily. But I learned that Lampedusa wrote the novel after falling into a depression after his family estate was bombed during World War II. Following his death in 1957, the property was flawlessly restored by the Lanza Tomasi family. Today, Nicoletta oversees Butera 28, a collection of apartment-style guest rooms located inside the palazzo, in Palermo’s once-dangerous, now-trendy Kalsa quarter. She also teaches cooking classes, leads market tours, and is a keeper of local culinary wisdom.

During previous visits, I had fallen in love with Sicilian gastronomy: the heirloom wheat varieties, the recipes for caponata passed down through generations, the indigenous Frappato and Catarratto grapes. What sets the island apart is that, even more than the rest of Italy, it has been invaded and conquered for thousands of years. You can see this history in Palermo’s Arabic and Norman architecture, in the crush of the centro, in the maze of markets catering to different ethnic groups. But most of all, you can taste it in the food, which bears the mark of the many varied cultures that have ruled the island. I wanted to share the meals I’d had here with Christina, and so, on the eve of her 30th birthday, I brought her here, on a long-overdue sisters’ trip, to appreciate the old and discover the new. Over espressos at the airport in Rome, I’d prepped her: Get ready for lots of pasta courses. Bread courses. Fried courses. Don’t ever say you’re full. Don’t turn down a glass of wine at lunch. Don’t expect to sleep too much. We would be traveling without a guidebook, I explained, because although I have visited Sicily many times, I have never owned one and did not intend to change. I just get bossed around by Sicilian women. t r a v e l a n d l e i s u r e a s i a . c o m / o c t o b e r 2 0 1 6

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never o wned a guidebook t o S icily. I j u st g et bossed a r o u nd b y S icilian women I h av e

I had, however, brought a handwritten eating itinerary. Nicoletta looked at it and scoffed. “For tourists,” she said, forgetting, perhaps, that that’s what we were. She made us a dinner reservation at L’Ottava Nota, an example, she promised, of a place where a chef was using native Sicilian ingredients to make modern food. As we were leaving, Nicole, the Australian front-desk assistant, stopped us. “You guys need to go to Vucciria and Aperitivo Alley,” she whispered. “I’m off in ten minutes. I’ll take you.” Nicoletta was eavesdropping. “Vucciria? No, no, no. All right, one aperitivo, fine. But please, please, do not talk to the boys!” The stalls at the legendary Vucciria market are closed at night, but a few bars, like the bare-bones Taverna Azzurra, open onto the street. Cool kids sat on the curb or leaned against the rolled-down steel grates of the stalls. “Well, we found the beards and tattoos!” Christina exclaimed. Vendors sold fried anchovies, panelle (chickpea fritters), sfincione (thick-bread pizza), and pani ca’ meusa (offal sandwiches) to soak up the wine everyone was drinking. Crumpled napkins filled the gutters. At the top of the street was an 18th-century religious statue done up in colored lights that Nicole called “Disco Jesus.” “It’s so Sicily,” she said. Apparently, so is missing your dinner reservation. Between the wine, the fried food, the bearded Sicilian men and the Disco Jesus–gazing, it was nearly midnight before I checked the time. I cursed, but Nicole was unconcerned. (A general disregard for time also seemed to be “so Sicily.”) To my embarrassment, she dialed Nicoletta. I prepared a speech: I’m a fraud, I’m a failure, I’ve never read The Leopard…. Within 10 minutes Nicoletta had secured us an outside table at La Cambusa, an understated restaurant beloved by Palermitans. Despite the hour, children still tore through the lush park in the Piazza Marina across the street. We spotted other Butera 28 guests, who joined us and sipped limoncello while I devoured a perfect bucatini con le sarde—the pasta firm, the wild fennel fragrant, the sardines liquescent. Always listen to Sicilian women.

newsboy caps behind the counter listened patiently as I attempted to speak to them in Spanish, pointing to hanging legs of prosciutto and rounds of cheeses and saying, “The muy salty and the muy fuerte.” We took prosciutto dei Nebrodi and a sharp, young pecorino to a secluded, white-pebbled spot for a swim and a siesta. There is plenty of seafood to be had in San Vito, but for dinner we went to Bianconiglio, named after the White Rabbit in Alice in Wonderland. Located just off the piazza, it specializes in dishes like braised rabbit and steak tartare with quail eggs and has a long list of sophisticated Sicilian wines, a welcome option in a beach town that has mostly gelaterie. The tablecloths and refined food were a lovely contrast to the kids playing soccer in front of the 15th-century church nearby. When the place began to empty out, Daniele Catalano—owner, maître d’, wine aficionado—chatted with us about the summer crush and all the different kinds of jasmine that grow in San Vito. It was past midnight when he left us to buy roses from some children in the street. I was so happy and sunburned it took me a minute to realize it had begun raining.

Before Leaving Palermo in the foggy early

People go to Trapani, a spit of land hanging off

morning, we went to the Mercato del Capo for figs, bread and wet balls of burrata—our version of road-trip fare. We were headed two hours west to San Vito Lo Capo, a place with gorgeous turquoise waters but none of the prestige of Taormina or the convenience of Mondello, and therefore none of those places’ English signs and inflated prices. There is a North African aura to the low, square buildings in rosy neutrals, the beads hanging in doorways, the jasmine and bougainvillea that tumble down shaggy walls. We planned a beach hike among the cacti, fruit trees and flowering bushes of Zingaro Nature Reserve, 12 pristine kilometers of protected coastline. Beach hikes demand picnic supplies, which is why San Vito has Salumeria Enoteca Peraino. The young men in striped

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Sicily’s western coast, for two reasons: to catch a ferry or to eat fish couscous. Closer to Tunis than it is to Rome, it’s a showcase for the ways Sicilian cooking marries the cuisine of its former occupiers—in this case, Arabs— with its own. Here, North African spices and semolina grains, salt from the flats outside the city, and almonds from the hills appear in almost every dish. At Nicoletta’s recommendation, Christina and I went to see Francesca Adragna at Ai Lumi, a bed-and-breakfast in a former palace off Corso Vittorio Emanuele, the main street. Of course Francesca knew where the best fish couscous was—it was at her place downstairs, Ai Lumi Tavernetta, once the palace stables and now a darkwooded, rustic tavern that opens onto the Corso. We drank local beer redolent with orange blossom as the fish

Giovanna Tornabene prepares lunch in her kitchen at Gangivecchio.

Ai Lumi Tavernetta, in Trapani, which specializes in fish couscous. Opposite: White-chocolate-andlemon torta caprese at Cioccolateria Lorenzo, in Palermo.

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couscous came out in three parts: the puffy, airy couscous, the coral prawns, and a broth, essentially a mahogany-colored fish soup thickened with finely ground almonds and softened with cinnamon and saffron. It was true comfort food, and it made us feel healed from our long drive. With its narrow pedestrian lanes and terra-cotta buildings set off against the startling blue of the Mediterranean, Trapani is built for a passeggiata, the evening stroll that is a sacred Italian pastime. Christina and I began ours with jasmine granitas at the famed Colicchia. These granulated ices flavored with fruit, nuts or flowers are another example of a dish brought here by Arabs and perfected, in the centuries since, by Sicilians. The waves sucked at the stones of the old seawall as we window-shopped the coral jewelry, listening to men and women call out to one another from the stores. Near Ai Lumi, we spotted a crowd outside a brightly lit shop. Inside, to my delight, I found wine barrels stacked in a pyramid, the grape varieties written on chalkboards. The wines were priced by the glass and the liter. “What is this place?” I yelled to a man with a ponytail. He gestured to the spigots and glasses. There were Inzolias, Chardonnays, Nero d’Avolas and Frappatos. I had decided to buy a glass of each when I saw, written in English on another chalkboard: vino ambrato: only for strong people, illustrated with a drawing of a flexed

bicep. I pointed to it. The man shook his head and sent over an English-speaking friend. “It’s amber wine, oxidized. You won’t like it.” “Like sherry,” I said, trying to display my wine knowledge. “I’m into sherry.” “It’s not sweet,” he said, rolling his eyes. “Neither is sherry.” We regarded each other until he gave me a glass of perfectly chilled, amber-tinted dry marsala-like wine. Though it had hints of caramel, it was bracingly sharp and salty on the palate. For strong people, indeed. Christina ordered a glass of Catarratto, floral and lush. Outside, we passed through clouds of cigarette smoke and sat on the sidewalk. It was the final minutes of the passeggiata. Kids slept in strollers or in their parents’ arms. Pairs of dolled-up old ladies passed by in white kitten heels and jade-green blouses, their hair and lipstick perfectly set. “That’s us,” I said to Christina as we went home, arm in arm. The next morning, I gave Francesca a full report. “And then we found this amazing place across the street,” I said, “where the wine comes out of a barrel—” “Oh yes,” she said, waving her hand dismissively. “That’s my family’s wine. Our shop.” “Tenute Adragna?” I asked, looking at the card I’d taken from the wine bar. She pointed to her business card. Francesca Adragna. Naturally.

The drive to Gangivecchio follows a narrow

two-lane road that twists, harrowingly, through the Madonie Mountains, east of Palermo. As we climbed and the coastline became a memory, the air cooled and filled with the sweet scent of yellow flowering broom, fragrant pine trees and wild herbs. I told Christina to keep her eyes open at each turn, because when the medieval town of Gangi appears, tumbling down a mountainside with t r a v e l a n d l e i s u r e a s i a . c o m / o c t o b e r 2 0 1 6

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The seawall in Trapani. Opposite: Cauliflower for sale at the Mercato del Capo, in Palermo.

Mount Etna smoking sullenly in the distance, it takes your breath away. Gangivecchio, a richly atmospheric estate built by Benedictine monks in the 14th century, lies just outside the village. Green and gold hills rise beyond its faded pink walls. In the courtyard, fig trees, potted cacti and herbs compete for space. Pigeons roost in the abbey. There is no noise but the wind. The property has been in Giovanna Tornabene’s family for five generations, but it only became famous in 1992 after the restaurant that Giovanna and her mother, Wanda, had opened years earlier was written about in the New York Times. This led to an award-winning cookbook, La Cucina Siciliana di Gangivecchio. Giovanna shuttered the restaurant after Wanda passed away in 2011, but she still offers cooking classes to guests of Tenuta Gangivecchio, the property’s inn. I’d been fortunate enough to take one on a previous visit. We arrived to find Giovanna selecting hazelnuts she had collected from the trees scattered throughout the property. I asked if I could give Christina a tour before lunch. “You know the rules,” Giovanna said with a breezy wave. She was referring to the menagerie she keeps separated in various areas of the old estate. I introduced Christina to the dogs, cats and pigeons, shutting each gate firmly behind us.

We were heading back to the inn, giddy from the disheveled beauty of the place, when I noticed the front gate was open. Pedro and Dolores, two of Giovanna’s beloved dogs, were missing. Giddiness turned to nausea. “You saw me shut the gate,” I said to Christina. “You shut the gate.” “I shut the gate!” I yelled. Giovanna ran up, out of breath. “Pedro and Dolores— they're gone!” As we drove the mountain roads, windows rolled down, screaming the dogs’ names, I said goodbye to our leisurely lunch and plotted my suicide. It was the only honorable course of action. Christina was in tears when Giovanna honked at us to pull over. “Let’s go back,” she said firmly. “I will not cry for them yet. The caponata is waiting.” The thing about Giovanna is, her dogs are her family, but she is also a professional. She would never let us go hungry. On the way to the kitchen, she grabbed a bottle of white wine. “We need this,” she said. If anyone’s caponata can ease a tense situation, it is Giovanna’s. The dish is emblematic of Sicily, utilizing the island’s abundant eggplant, capers and olives, all mixed into an agrodolce, sweet and sour. As Giovanna cooked, she shared one of its origin stories, how first it was part of a sauce for capon (hence, caponata), but the peasants, unable to afford chicken, used meaty eggplant instead. Christina tore up green figs we’d picked from the trees outside and put them into a skillet with rendering pork belly. “This is for pasta?” she asked. “What’s in it?” “Fat,” Giovanna replied as the figs sizzled. She rehydrated golden raisins and prunes for her Arabian chicken, which we braised in cinnamon and butter until the kitchen smelled like a bakery. To make room at the table, we moved aside plates of cheese and jars of hot-pepper jam. Giovanna served a small helping for herself and giant ones for me and Christina, insisting that we were young. We were so full by the time she brought out the limoncello that it felt like an act of mercy. The afternoon dwindled, coffee was poured and reality set in again—it had been hours and the dogs were still missing. We were about to start walking the grounds looking for them when I heard Christina scream, “Pedro? Dolores?” The dogs were sitting on the steps outside the inn, waiting for Giovanna and looking at the two American girls like they’d gone crazy.

when we returned to Palermo, we first headed to the Politeama neighborhood to dine at Fritti e Frutti, one of the places on my original eating itinerary, where we secured a table in the back garden. The small-plates menu begins with the fritti—fried things—and we began with ragù-stuffed arancini, the traditional deep-fried rice balls sold on the streets of Palermo. As the lights strung in the tree above us twinkled, we drank an organic Moscato by Arianna Occhipinti, a young natural-wine producer from southern Sicily, and watched as the restaurant slowly

filled with chic parents wearing tortoiseshell glasses. “A little Brooklyn?” my sister asked. I sighed and recalled dining with Giovanna on a previous trip at a restaurant she’d wanted to try. “Almost excellent,” she said. “But shut your eyes.” I did. “Where are we?” she asked. I heard Rihanna playing. “When I’m here, I want to feel that I’m in Sicily,” she had told me. “With all of my senses.” I shut my eyes again, but at Fritti e Frutti I heard only soft conversation in Italian, scooters on the street, some traffic noises. I kept checking in on my senses as we tasted our way through the arancini, a bowl of steamed shellfish, a plate of salt cod. The manager smoothly refilled my glass of Moscato and complimented me on my choice. I felt very much that I was in Sicily. On our last night, Christina and I again found ourselves under the watchful gaze of Disco Jesus, this time at a place Nicoletta had recommended, the rooftop bar of the La Rinascente department store. We drank perfect negronis while across the piazza the Vucciria filled up and music began playing. Palermo’s rooftops turned a pale shade of lavender as the wind came up off the sea and loosened dust from the buildings. My feeling of fraudulence had faded. I understood now that what makes Sicily irresistible is the juxtaposition of the decaying and the eternal, of what Nicoletta calls “the horror and the beauty.” I looked down at the kids in Vucciria and raised an eyebrow at Christina. “We should go for one, right?” And so we went, arm in arm, for one final passeggiata.

The details hotels Ai Lumi B&B This former palace in the heart of Trapani also serves some of the best food in town. ailumi.it; doubles from €100. Butera 28 Apartments Beautifully designed accommodations in a restored palazzo in the up-and-coming Kalsa neighborhood. Palermo; butera28.it; doubles from €60. Tenuta Gangivecchio Deep in the Madonie Mountains, you’ll find this rustic inn on the ancient property of Gangivecchio, with nine rooms, great wine and fine cooking. Palermo; gangivecchio. org; doubles from €140. restaurants Bianconiglio Dedicated to meat in a seafood town, with fillets, a variety of steak tartares and supple braised rabbit medallions. San Vito Lo Capo; ristorante bianconiglio.it; mains €14– €60. Colicchia Pasticceria Worldfamous granita in flavors like jasmine, almond or lemon in Trapani’s old town. 6/8 Via delle Arti; 39-0923/547-612. Fritti e Frutti This restaurant with a relaxing back garden serves a menu of small plates

and modern takes on Sicilian classics like arancini. Palermo; frittiefrutti.com; mains €5–€23. La Cambusa You’ll find superb pasta con le sarde at this eatery right on the Piazza Marina in Kalsa. Palermo; lacambusa.it; mains €8– €14. Salumeria Enoteca Peraino An exquisite salumeria with local cheeses, prosciuttos, olives and other classic Italian goods. San Vito Lo Capo; 39-0923/972-627. activities Cooking with the Duchess Take a market tour with Nicoletta Polo Lanza Tomasi, then learn to prepare your meal at her kitchen in Butera 28. Palermo; butera28.it. Mercato del Capo Capo is the most atmospheric and impressive of the three major markets in Palermo. Buy what’s in season and make snacks for your drive. Via Cappuccinelle. Zingaro Nature Reserve Sicily’s first nature reserve runs the length of the coast between Scopello and San Vito Lo Capo. Either hike the full 12 kilometers, or start at either end and walk to one of the pristine beaches. riservazingaro.it.

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a Shore bet Merchandise at Spyder Wright Surfboards, in the island’s historic downtown.

Its New England traditionalism, studied unpretentiousness, and astounding wealth have made Nantucket one of America’s most iconic destinations. But, as Si m o n D u m e n c o discovers, the island is also a state of mind—one in which big ideas are the most powerful currency of all.

photographs by R o l a n d B e l l o illustrations by j o e l h o l l a n o

The immaculate lawn of the Wauwinet hotel, an inn built in 1875.

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Incoming ferries pass Brant Point Lighthouse, a century-old wooden tower that is still used today.

Islanders come to Murrayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Toggery to stock up on duds in the distinctive color known as Nantucket red.

A staffer in the wine bar at Cisco Brewers, which rolls a brewery, winery and distillery into a single venue.

Visitors to Ciscoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s expansive patio are frequently treated to live music.

Murrayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Toggery Shop, Nantucketâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most venerable preppy retailer, has been in business for 71 years.

think Nantucket is a romantic notion,” said Kate Brosnan, who has lived on the little island south of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, for 37 years. We were sitting at the White Elephant, a waterfront resort hotel where each September Brosnan helps assemble a new edition of a think-y, TED-style conference called the Nantucket Project. A Wall Street refugee, she arrived in Nantucket in the winter of 1979 and never left. “I thought I had found the perfect little sleepy place,” she said. And then, of course, summer came—and with it, the hordes. Brosnan was, and still is, okay with the tourists, though lately high-season traffic has been heavier than ever. “Nantucket definitely goes through cycles, but right now it’s more popular than I can remember,” she told me. In the summer, the island’s population swells from around 10,000 to nearly 60,000. Many are drawn by an idea of the place that Brosnan has helped nurture as executive director of the Nantucket Project, which was founded in 2010 by Tom Scott, the entrepreneur who made his fortune with Nantucket Nectars. “Nantucket,” as Brosnan put it, “has a rich history of forward thinking.” Think of Nantucket as a kind of nation-state unto itself, whose residents have a long, proud tradition of seeing themselves as extraordinary. Many locals, Brosnan said, refer to returning to the mainland as “going back to America.” I visited at the end of the season, when the Nantucket Project takes place. On the grounds of the White Elephant, next to a row of piers on the harbor, some 400 grandees from the island and around the world gathered for four days in a simple white tent, usually used for weddings, to sit in folding chairs and listen to brilliant people speak. The presenters, mostly boomer-aged, were a curious mix of the ruling class (Tony Blair, Lawrence Summers) and the counterculture (Stewart Brand, Neil Young). The event lets Nantucket quietly signal its enduring economic, political and cultural power, thanks to the elite who have second homes on the island. American Secretary of State John Kerry and philanthropist Teresa Heinz Kerry have a house here. So do Eric Schmidt, executive chairman of Alphabet, Google’s holding company, and his wife, Wendy, who are also active in cultivating the intellectual life of the island. Nantucket is, yes, an idyllic setting. But it’s an idyllic setting for important people with important ideas. It’s been like this since before Nantucket became Nantucket. A 10-minute walk from the White Elephant is the Nantucket Atheneum, the island’s public library, where Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Horace Greeley and Lucretia Mott all spoke in their day. In 1841, Frederick Douglass addressed a white audience for the first time in the original Atheneum, which was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1846, an event that still looms large in the life of the village. The stately Greek Revival building that stands today is a hasty reconstruction of the earlier structure. I stayed a few blocks away at the 171-year-old Jared Coffin House. My elegantly decorated room—floral wallpaper, Queen Anne chairs,

an Oriental rug over a creaky floor—felt pleasantly trapped in time. I wondered who else might have slept in it. Later, I learned that Herman Melville had been a guest in 1852, when he visited the island that helped inspire Moby-Dick, though the hotel makes no effort to publicize this fact. Nantucket wears its history without pretension.

uch of the community’s upper class converted to Quakerism in the 18th century. On a humid Saturday, I stopped by the still-active Quaker Meeting House, a squat, gray, wooden structure that sits five minutes south of the Atheneum. Inside, among the severe oak pews, it was pin-drop quiet and miraculously 5 degrees cooler. The tension between Quaker modesty and material wealth is woven through Nantucket’s history. Continuing my tour of the island’s center, I came to an unassuming structure on Main Street marked with a plaque that reads, “In this building, R. H. Macy, home from the sea, is said to have embarked upon his merchandising career.” After working on a whaling ship, Rowland Hussey Macy, a local Quaker, sold dry goods here. He later made his way to New York and launched a retail empire. (Macy’s red-star logo is based on a tattoo he got on a trip to East Asia.) The building now houses Murray’s Toggery Shop, a purveyor, since 1945, of clothing for ladies and men, including blazers, pants and shorts in the dusty rose shade known as Nantucket red. Farther along Main Street, I grabbed a late lunch at the soda fountain at Nantucket Pharmacy, which has been serving diners since the Great Depression. I had a grilled cheese sandwich and coffee in a paper cup while poring over a copy of the Inquirer and Mirror— “Nantucket’s Newspaper Since 1821.” Nantucket Pharmacy used to have a friendly competitor next door, Congdon’s Pharmacy, which had its own lunch counter. When it shut down in 2007 after 147 years in business, the Inquirer and Mirror pronounced it “the end of a Norman Rockwell era.” Many of the locals who still mourn Congdon’s also remain agitated about the Ralph Lauren store that opened in 2005 just across the cobblestones. While it hardly stands out—the exterior of the historic two-story building,

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Nantucket's characteristic gray-shingled estates, as seen from an upstairs room at the Wauwinet.

many locals, one nantucketer told me, refer to returning to the mainland as ‘going back to America’

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purchased for an eye-popping US$6.5 million, was sensitively restored—its arrival mobilized Nantucketers to resist further encroachment from mainland retailers by voting to ban chain stores. So, by law, you won’t find a Starbucks downtown or anywhere else on the island. Beyond the chain-store ban, the preservation of the soul of Nantucket is manifest in other legal restrictions, like Chapter 139, Article IV of the building code, which limits the height of all new construction to 10 meters. Last year, Nantucket also voted to prohibit the sale of helium balloons. It was ostensibly an environmental measure, but one wonders if the gaudy presence of balloons outside otherwise tasteful souvenir shops might have had anything to do with it. Steps from Nantucket Pharmacy was a miniature greenmarket in the back of a pickup operated by Bartlett’s Farm, the oldest on the island. Locals and visitors milled about, loading up on tomatoes, squash and cut flowers. I ran into Christy Tanner, a CBS News executive I know from New York, on the sidewalk. She was in town to speak at the Nantucket Project, but had arrived early to take in the sights on a rented bicycle. Together we marveled at the historically correct, prim-andproper residential architecture beyond Main Street—a sea of weathered gray-shingled cottage-style homes. “I can’t tell if this is the most liberal conservative community or the most conservative liberal community I’ve ever been to,” she said, laughing. The truth is, Nantucket has always been a curious mixture of establishment and antiestablishment. A couple of blocks from the Nantucket Pharmacy stands a two-story brick building that dates to 1772. A historical marker notes that, beginning in 1854, it was the home of the Pacific Club, a hangout for the “captains of the whaling fleet of the Pacific Ocean.” Before that, it had served as the counting house (i.e., the accounting headquarters) of William Rotch, owner of the Dartmouth, the Beaver and the Eleanor—the three ships involved in the Boston Tea Party in 1773. Rotch and his fellow shipowners had a lot of cash to tally and good reason to rebel against the Crown’s policies on taxation. The great seafaring vessels that docked in Nantucket Harbor were invariably involved in whaling, the spectacularly treacherous—and for shipowners, spectacularly lucrative—trade that financed the island’s early history. The excellent Whaling Museum on Broad Street, near the ferry terminal, documents their exploits. But when whaling collapsed in Nantucket in the mid 1850s—in part because the shallow

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waters off its shores couldn’t accommodate the industry’s increasingly massive ships—the community pivoted to tourism. As with neighboring Martha’s Vineyard, “summering” on Nantucket became a big deal. A 1937 Life magazine feature described the islands as “summer resorts where natives have not completely sold their souls or their independence to the tourist.”

antucketers might argue that they’ve done a better job at not selling out than their neighbors to the west. In peak season, the Vineyard’s population balloons to more than 100,000. For a portion of the summer, however, tiny Nantucket Memorial Airport—clad in weathered gray shingles, of course—is the second busiest airport in New England, after Boston’s Logan, partly because of all the private jets bringing in the superrich. The presence of these one-percenters helps Kate Brosnan and Tom Scott immensely in programming the Nantucket Project. The organization’s “founding circle” includes former Barclays CEO Bob Diamond and his wife, Jennifer, as well as Wendy Schmidt. JetBlue, BMW and U.S. Trust, the private wealth-management division of Bank of America, are among the corporate sponsors. Many of the island’s summering elite make a point of sticking around (or returning) for the Nantucket Project in September. The rest of the crowd consists mainly of semiprofessional thought-conferencegoers who live for the thrill of low-key networking with powerful people who let their guard down in Nantucket. Because, despite all the wealth, Nantucket pretty much forces you to let your guard down. Discussions at the Nantucket Project took place with an absolute minimum of pomp and circumstance. One day I found myself a few meters from Tony Blair, who was having his picture taken by a barefoot photographer. His security detail was invisible to me. Later, Steve Wozniak passed me before going onstage to debunk as “just a myth” the idea that he and Steve Jobs started Apple in a garage. One afternoon at the White Elephant, I got to talking with Barry Sternlicht, a travel industry legend who founded Starwood Hotels & Resorts. He and his wife, Mimi, bought a summer house here in 2004. “Nantucket is my oasis,” he told me. “It’s where I go to be calm. There’s none of the pressure of the Hamptons—like, who’s having the best party? You’re not showing off. It’s a very New England vibe.” This is partly because there is, by design, not that much to do. However, you can credit Sternlicht with bringing a bit more nightlife to Nantucket. He was instrumental in the 2007 renovation and reopening of the Dreamland Theater, which incorporates a portion of a building that, naturally, first served as a Quaker meeting house. The Sternlichts teamed up with the Schmidts and several other stalwart Nantucket couples on the project because, as Barry Sternlicht explained, “we didn’t want to take a ferry just to see a movie.” In addition to first-run films and special screenings, the theater hosts live HD broadcasts from the New York Metropolitan Opera and the Bolshoi Ballet, concerts, dance recitals and other events. It is also used by the Nantucket Film Festival, another of the island’s important summer gatherings of influencers.

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Harissa-spiced littleneck clams at Station 21, a New American restaurant that opened last summer in downtown Nantucket.

The view of Nantucket Harbor from the Wauwinet hotel, a luxury property on the northern tip of the island.

After a movie one night, I walked to one of the hottest restaurants in town, the Nautilus, where I scored a seat at the bar. Liam Mackey, the chef, is known for inventive Asian-Spanish-Latin dishes. My waiter brought me a series of marvels on small plates: first, a salad of kale, wheat berries, roasted squash, pickled corn, kohlrabi, blue cheese and shiitake-soy vinaigrette; next, barbecue pork riblets marinated in lemongrass with a chili-black-bean sauce. While listening to the bartender dish mixology gossip with patrons, I drank two Golden Goose cocktails (citrus vodka, grilled pineapple and togarashi). The atmosphere at Nautilus was low-key, like the rest of downtown Nantucket. But the upscale, high-concept fare would not have felt out of place in the Hamptons. “There are no Maseratis in the driveways here,” Sternlicht had told me at the White Elephant. “The national bird here is the Jeep.” His point was that on Nantucket there is little tolerance for ostentation. There is, however, considerable tolerance for astronomical housing prices. The median home value on the island is more than US$1.2 million, the highest in Massachusetts. While there, I saw a five-bedroom, 4½-bath harborfront estate on onethird of a hectare listed for US$29.6 million.

n my last day in Nantucket, I headed to its eastern edge to truly get away from it all. I walked along the area’s streets and beaches, particularly in and around Siasconset (a.k.a. ’Sconset), a town of about 200. By mid-afternoon, everyone else had disappeared and I had an entire stretch of the beach to myself. I began to have an eerie, last-man-on-earth feeling as I headed north on the ’Sconset Bluff Walk (a.k.a. ’Sconset Foot Path) toward the Sankaty Lighthouse. Even in peak season, the path stays quiet— partly because it is hard to find and partly because its final stretch has been closed thanks to erosion, which has destabilized the bluff. The path is a thin strip of land that was deeded to the people of Nantucket in 1892 by developer William F. Flagg. A small sign marking the start of the walkway—which is little more than dirt and trampled grass—includes the full text of a poem by Abbie Ransom. It begins, Have you ever followed the path along the bluff When the sky is gray and the sea is rough? And ends, To the west the moorlands, above the sky, In all the vast silence, just God and I. Rather bizarrely, the path cuts through the front yards of many beautiful houses. I spotted signs warning against using the rickety old wooden staircases, built into the bluff, that lead to the ocean. One read, danger: path closed d e to erosion—the U in due having been washed away. Certain stretches of the bluff have been disappearing at a rate of one to two meters per year. The Sankaty Head Light Station, as the Coast Guard calls it, first shone its light, powered by whale oil, in 1850. Electrified in 1933 and automated in 1965, it remains in operation to this day. Because the northern portion of the ’Sconset Bluff Walk is closed, to reach the lighthouse I had to detour along Baxter Road, a residential street

that is itself, in places, perilously close to the eroding bluff. With the low roar of the ocean as a soundtrack, I thought of the existential subtext and the strange fact that this playground for the rich will only get more exclusive, given that there’s less real estate to covet with each passing year. Nantucket is literally shrinking. In fact, if Sankaty Lighthouse had remained where it was built, it might have been swallowed by the Atlantic by now. A 2007 preservation project trucked the structure 130 meters northwest of its original location. As dusk fell, I reached the end of Baxter Road and arrived at the iconic red-and-white lighthouse by a dirt path that leads to its stark black door. I was the only visitor, and though I knew it no longer had a full-time keeper, I couldn’t help knocking. I listened too long for stirring within, but there was none. That evening, it really was just God and I.

The details hotels Jared Coffin House A pair of stately, three-story, red-brick mansions with simple, elegant rooms. jaredcoffinhouse.com; doubles from US$395. Veranda House A Nantucket landmark, this wood-shingled hotel has picture-perfect harbor views from its wraparound balconies. theverandahouse.com; doubles from US$409. The Wauwinet Guests in the stand-alone cottages and the beautifully decorated rooms in the main inn have access to two private beaches. wauwinet.com; doubles from US$825. White Elephant This iconic harborside hotel is within walking distance to downtown attractions and provides pampering at its Nantucket Spa. white elephanthotel.com; doubles from US$825. restaurants & bars Black-Eyed Susan’s This diner-style restaurant is best known for its breakfast, but dinner dishes like Macanese coconut chicken curry and

seared beef with poached shrimp are unexpectedly good. black-eyedsusans. com; mains US$16–$28. Brant Point Grill The restaurant at the White Elephant serves hearty fare, including 450-gram rib eyes and one-kilo New England lobsters. whiteelephanthotel.com; mains US$26-$64. Cisco Brewers Go for drinks and live music on the patio at Nantucket’s popular distillery, winery, and brewery. ciscobrewers.com. The Nautilus A downtown destination for dishes inspired by Asia, Spain and Latin America. nautilusnantucket.com; small plates US$9–$24. Station 21 This New American restaurant serves sophisticated comfort food like pizza topped with prosciutto and farm-fresh eggs. station21nantucket. com; mains US$21–$36. Topper’s The formal dining room and casual patio at Wauwinet showcase regional ingredients including Retsyo oysters harvested just 275 meters away. wauwinet.com; prix fixe US$80.

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wish you were here

Shinsuke Matsukawa / Central / Hong Kong

Continual change is the norm in Hong Kong, yet one constant is the unpredictable weather. Rainy season in the southern Chinese city brings massive amounts of precipitation from June to the middle of September as well as off-the-chart humidity levels. During those wet, flood-prone months, black rainstorm signals warn of more than 70 millimeters of precipitation in an hour. But Hong Kong residents take it all in stride, turning to the great indoors, to the underground, and to the blessedly enclosed walkways like the one in Central that acted as photobooth for this shot. Even if the typhoon rating reaches a once-in-a-decade T10—which means gusts of up to 220 kilometers per hour—there’s a silver lining. Just follow the locals somewhere safe, such as a restaurant or bar that hasn’t managed to close in time. This month, happily, marks the beginning of a change, though. Cloudy days start to yield to the dry season, a great time of year to explore Hong Kong’s great beaches, lush parks and, of course, captivating streetlife.

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october 2016 / tr av el andleisure asia .com

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