Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2015 i Travel + Leisure India & South Asia

the 26th of November. Seven years ago, on this day, I was on a holiday in Bali when I heard about the terrorist attacks in Mumbai. We lost a very dear family friend that day at The Oberoi, Mumbai. I remember spending the days during the attack not knowing whether he was alive or not. We only got to know when the last of the bodies were brought out. It’s hard to describe the mix of fear, dread, unease and hope that swims in your stomach during such a time. A fortnight ago, when the attacks happened in Paris, I had a similar sense of fear. I had lived there, had friends, teachers, my old landlady, colleagues from previous jobs—I hoped everyone was safe. One of the attacks had taken…

In Florence, the south bank of the river Arno has been a center for artisans since the Renaissance. More recently, the men’s-wear and leather ateliers around Palazzo Pitti have attracted a discreet fan club of fashion insiders. Now, in an effort to lure more travellers to Oltrarno, the Florentine government has been pumping money into the neighbourhood (the once traffic-clogged Piazza del Carmine got a makeover earlier this year). Boutique hotels have opened, along with innovative places to eat. Perhaps most notably of all, a new wave of artisans is modernising and organising Oltrarno’s dynamic craft culture, making it more appealing to visitors than ever before. Matteo Perduca, a lawyer and designer who is also one of the area’s most prominent entrepreneurs, says, “What’s really drawing people is the energy…

Five recipes that Hoevenagel suggests you must try at the Tunes Bar: Rhubarb Royale It is the most popular drink and made with Rabarcello and champagne. Rhubarb is a forgotten local vegetable in The Netherlands. “We try to bring it back to life in this luxurious cocktail prepared with Louis Roederer Champagne,” says the bar manager. + Lucky Ms H Ladies that order this drink are the lucky Ms H (no points for guessing that H stands for Hoevenagel). This secret recipe works like a charm. + Nutmeg Symphony A cocktail recipe with nutmeg (one of the main trade products from V.O.C.) that is very much in ‘symphony’—this cocktail looks back to the history of The Conservatorium (a music school). This one works well as an after-dinner cocktail. + The…

PRADA CANDY FLORALE Very feminine, it comes with a caramel, musk, and benzoin base, sparkling cedrat of Italy, and a heart of cosmos. 5,950 for 80 ml. VERSACE EROS POUR FEMME Peony for a velvety touch, lemon flower for vibrance, and creamy sandalwood with heady musk for the subtle mystery. 7,700 for 100 ml. ISSEY MIYAKE PLEATS PLEASE This limited-edition perfume by Aurelin Guichard has a floral base and luminous accords of raspberry and lychee. 6,300 for 90 ml. DUNHILL ICON For the suave world traveller, the Italian Bergamot is intertwined with black pepper, and lavender de Provence, and a leathery finish. 5,515 for 100 ml. NARCISO RODRIGUEZ BLEU NOIR A seductive smell with spicy top notes of cardamom and nutmeg, and seductive woody notes of blue Atlas cedar for…

SUPER SAVER The Carlyle Dupont Circle, Washington, D.C. This Art Deco–inspired newcomer will help you maximise your time at the Downtown Holiday Market, featuring more than 160 artisans, by providing cab fare and a gift certificate to kick off the fun. The Deal Two nights in a Deluxe room, US$312 for two, through January 31 . Save 37%. carlylehoteldc.com. EUROPE AVALON WATERWAYS The cities on this Danube cruise, from Prague to Vienna, are magical when draped in snow; take in the view with seasonal treats, like mulled wine and gingerbread biscuits. The Deal Two nights in Prague and six nights aboard the Impression, from US$1,659 per person, double; book by January 31 . Save 30%. avalonwaterways.com  . BELGIUM CROISIEUROPE Belgium has some of Europe’s finest markets, with skating…

Whether in times of need or times of plenty, Havana has never lacked for rum, music, and parties fuelled by both. But that doesn’t necessarily mean the city has always had a vibrant nightlife scene; Cuban bars, like virtually every other Cuban enterprise, have long been under state control. For the past few years, however, the government has been allowing would-be entrepreneurs to open private businesses, and Havana is now seeing an explosion of homegrown bars—dynamic venues that break out of the bureaucratic uniformity. “Cuba has such a long cocktail tradition,” says Havana-based tour guide Jesus Noguera. “There have always been bares clandestinos— essentially speakeasies —and now private bars are opening up all over because they are finally legal.” Many feel like classed-up house parties, since they’re run out of…

For the Lazybirds Philippines Laid-back cuddlers who are most likely to have had a fuss-free, intimate wedding ceremony in a gorgeous ancestral temple are not going to be in the mood to micromanage a high-voltage honeymoon either. You fantasize melting sunsets and hand-in-hand walks over white sandy beaches looking over lush tropical forests, but are adventurous enough to bypass the Bali-Krabi-Phuket trap. Pack your flip flops and fly down to the Philippines, the verdant 7000+ islands archipelago that’s often tagged as the ‘Pearl of the Orient’. Splash out on a Deluxe Seaview Room at the Shangri-La Boracay (shangri-la.com/ boracay) for the pampering privacy it affords, from rainfall showers and rose-petal covered bath tubs in the suite to its two private beaches outside. The cuisine is divine—if you’re seafood lovers, the D’Talipapa…

1 Amish Tripathi CONTRIBUTOR Penning Sorjouns We remember Amish Tripathi as the author whose debut book, The Immortals of Meluha, followed by two others, broke all records by becoming the fastest selling book series in the history of Indian publishing, making over 70 crores in sales. A member of the Eisenhower Fellow, the exclusive programme for remarkable leaders around the world, and one of the top 100 celebrities in India three years in a row, Tripathi grew up in Rourkela, Odisha and earned a degree at IIM Calcutta to pursue a 14-year-long career in financial services before writing took to him. He talks about the journeys that inspired his books. 2 Kanika Tekriwal CONTRIBUTOR The Jet Setter An intriguing woman with a story that inspires many, Kanika Tekriwal is the…

Stefano Bemer | Handmade shoes in every thing from hippo to 18th-century reindeer skin. stefano bemer.com. Campucc10 | One-off art, jewellery, and leather goods designed by young artisans. campucc10.com. Signorvino | A new store and tasting room whose mission is to bring Italian wines to a broader audience. signorvino.com. Castorina | Wood-carving workshop from 1895 that still produces over 5,000 objects, including photo frames and adorable miniature animals. castorina.net. Black Spring | An alternative bookstore founded by a gardener that sells unusual nature-themed publications. 10r Via di Camaldoli.…

1. Vista Alegre tableware in porcelain for your Christmas table; vistaalegre.com 2. Well-crafted KitchenAid enamel kettle to serve seasonal drinks and delicious soups; kitchenaidindia.com 3. Elvy cake stand and cup for your sweet treats; elvy.in 4. Cook and serve in Fujihoro casserole and coffee pot; fujihoroindia.com 5. The simple beauty of Le Creuset will liven up your evening; lecreuset.com…

Between drawing applause to his culinary rhapsodies abroad (at all his restaurants including Ananda in Ireland, Indian Essence in Kent, and Benaras in London) and lending quirky spins to traditional recipes, the two Michelin-star chef unveiled his first Indian gourmet crucible, NRI (Not Really Indian) in Mumbai. His food journey that started on a humble note in Jamshedpur soon catapulted him into a globetrotting world-class chef. 1974 Jamshedpur, India “I was introduced to food through my dad’s bakery—I remember the heady smell of yeast and flour, and sourcing trips to the local market. At a neighbour’s house here, I first tasted a meat pickle. It was packed with red chillies, vinegar, coriander, and lamb—I can still smell it.” 1991 New Delhi, India “While studying in Delhi, I had prepared the…

OVER A 100 YEARS OLD, this beautiful building had served as one of the Austrian capital’s grandest banks until, in 2008, when it closed. It has now emerged after a five-year conversion as a five-star hotel, with no expense spared inside its marble walls. The Art Nouveau cashier hall is now an elegant restaurant, the offices have been transformed into hi-tech guest rooms and the former bank’s underground vault could only become one thing: a gold-lined swimming pool. Looking onto the pool through the original armoured door – still with its huge antique locks – before tip-toeing into the water and standing on tiles shimmering with gold leaf, I couldn’t feel anything but grand. The pool is one of Park Hyatt Vienna’s most nakedly upmarket attractions. And yet, this is…

LUXURY RESORTS are like theater companies, stage-managing the untidy business of life to create moments of magic. The road to the hill town of Ubud is typically Balinese, a thoroughfare of colour and chaos full of chickens, kids flying kites, and stalls selling fuel . But you leave it all behind when you turn down a quiet lane and reach the stone entrance of Mandapa, the newest Ritz-Carlton Reserve. Like a scrim, it gives away nothing of what’s to come. After walking through the entrance, I found myself on a platform with daybeds and onyx pools, perched on the rim of a plunging valley. I had to look past my shoes to see the rest of the property, an array of gracious buildings and gardens, descending 325 feet to the…

DINNER & DRINKS Chances are, unless you’ve visited the O2 Arena, you’ve never thought of partying in Greenwich before—it is, after all, at least a £40 cab ride from anywhere. Save your pounds and hop the Jubilee Line to kick-start your evening at Craft London (craft-london.co.uk), celebrated chef Stevie Parle’s latest venture. The Tom Dixon–designed space is rich and sexy, all copper, tweed, and limestone, with impressive views of the city. Parle uses almost exclusively local produce in his New British menu, which includes such dishes as langoustines with lardo and clay-baked duck with broad-bean-and-barley ‘miso .’ While you’re in the area, don’t pass up a visit to Meantime Brewery Tasting Rooms (meantimebrewing.com). Sample four of its 10 brews with a flight poured straight from the maturation tanks and kegs…

A subcategory of what is known as sour beer—a centuries-old style that also includes Berliner Weisses and Lambicsartisanal Gose is marked by a well-balanced mix of salt, coriander, and wheat, and is actually neither tart nor very sour. “It’s a little more complex and well-balanced than your typical sour beer,” says Jimmy Carbone, beer aficionado and proprietor of Jimmy’s No. 43 (jimmys no43.com) in New York's East Village. Gose was born in Leipzig, Germany, and had all but disappeared until a few producers brought it back in the 1990s. Craft-beer bars like the Porter Beer Bar (the porterbeerbar.com) in Atlanta, Brü (bruphilly.com) in Philadelphia, and ChurchKey (churchkey dc.com) in Washington, D.C., typically have some bottles stocked. For an authentic taste, look for German imports such as Ritterguts’s Gose and Bayerischer Banhof’s…

First, high-end tequila captivated the cocktail world; next came smoky, earthy mezcal. The agave drink of the moment? Raicilla, a spirit that, like tequila, is made in the Mexican state of Jalisco. Unlike tequila, however, raicilla can be distilled from many species of agave, and every expression is unique, with flavours that range from vibrantly acidic to Gorgonzola-like funky. The first brand to cross the border is La Venenosa, imported in four styles; each is made from a different species of agave. Order some from Astor Wines & Spirits (astorwines.com).…

BOSTON GET IN THE HOLIDAY spirit at Hanover Theatre with Troy Siebels’ lavish and innovative adaptation of Charles Dickens’ classic tale, A Christmas Carol. The show (starting December 18) is performed to the music of the Mighty Wurlitzer organ. This eighth annual showing is revised each year and features an array of special effects such as four kinds of smoke and fog as well as flying stunts. IF FIREWORKS don’t thrill you as much, maybe this will—Faneuil Hall Markeplace and Marketplace Center will be hosting the fourth season of Blink!, a free light and sound show where over 350,000 LED lights blink and dance to the music from the Holiday Pops. MARVEL AT THE lovely tree near the Boston Public Library presented by the Friends of Copley Square. Be there…

Shell Tower in Amsterdam-Noord with Sander Groet, a boyish-looking 46-year-old dressed in a faded T-shirt and jeans, a construction helmet placed jauntily on his head. The view overlooked all of Amsterdam; below, the IJ River flowed past, sun glinting off the surface of the water in the late summer light. The legendary canals and historic architecture, with its red gabled roofs and steeples piercing the sky, looked quaint in miniature. “I was born about 20 kilometres outside the city and I could see the tower from my window and think, ‘There is Amsterdam,’ ” Groet said. Now, he is part of a team of four entrepreneurs responsible for transforming this iconic 22-storey building—which was once home to Royal Dutch Shell but was abandoned in 2009 after the financial crisis—into a…

QUICK QUESTION Eating by yourself in a restaurant is quite uncomfortable for some people. So what do you do when you’re dining alone in a foreign country? Stay busy with your phone, laptop, or book to avoid pitying glances from diners. Get into conversation with other people eating alone, and may be share a table. You gobble down your food quickly and get out of there. Email (travelandleisure@emmindia.com) or tweet us (@TNLIndia) your answers, and we’ll publish the sharpest ones in our next issue. HARRY POTTER GOES TO FLORIDA Muggles in the US are picking up their broomsticks and heading to Florida this spring when Universal Studios finally opens doors to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Butterbeer and Every Flavour Beans, anyone? RESPONSE In our last issue, we asked…

I LEAN TOWARDS EXPLORING the depths of the past, delving into what has happened hundreds and thousands of years ago. And travelling is a deep passion, it feeds my mental appetite. So, the two blend perfectly as I choose places to move through for the best learning. It was in pursuit of a sense of the ancient that I visited Hampi in Karnataka almost 10 years ago. The sheer scale of the city, even in its ruins, is absolutely baffling. What I found most intriguing was the layout: the mammoth scale of the entire township from the breadth of the roads to the access to the temples—these were more than places of worship; they were centres of congregation for all the inhabitants, bringing in a sense of cohesion amongst the…

Rum Shed at Nira Resort’s Shanti Maurice A shabby-chic rum bar seeped in Mauritian culture Mauritius is a lot about rum. While here, you have to find your way to an authentic rum bar. Rumshed in South Mauritius is a natural choice. Echoing the style of the traditional rum shops found across the island, Shanti Maurice’s Rum Shed helps you take a delicious sip of the island’s rum history. With over 180 types sourced from 36 countries, the Rum Shed’s collection is not only the largest but the most impressive, too. Rum Dawa—a cocktail made with lime, honey, sugar, lemon and ginger-infused rum, is a signature here. It had even a non rum-drinker like me hooked. The very friendly bartender took me through the many, many different rums on offer,…

For consumers ever more interested in small-batch products, Jura wines are something of a revelation. The French region near the Swiss border produces wines made from grape varieties and styles that are not often used elsewhere, such as the intentionally oxidised vin jaune, whose flavours can range from nutty to curry-like. The less daring can still appreciate the Jura’s pale red wines—earthy and herbaceous, made from Poulsard and Trousseau grapes. Order online (sherry-lehmann.com) or ask the sommelier anywhere with a sizable French wine list, such as McCrady’s (mccradysrestaurant.com), in Charleston to school you on the bottles…

1 Orphanage Cocktail Emporium Vintage glam is what's on tap at this Victorianesque, speakeasy-style bar: a chandelier strung with old keys, oil lamps, and waistcoated barmen theatrically presenting retro cocktails, like the rum-based Daddy Warbucks. theorphanage.co.za. 2 Door 221 The newest kid on the lively 200 block of help you choose among more than 150 gin offerings, sourced from places ranging from the American South to South Africa. facebook.com/mothers ruincpt. 4 Tjing Tjing/Torii In June, popular scarlet- toned rooftop bar Tjing Tjing introduced Torii, its blue-hued sister lounge downstairs, with Bree Street opened in late June. Come early to the intimate bar on Taco Tuesdays for some of the best Mexican dishes in Cape Town—paired with Don Julio tequila. facebook.com/door221. 3 Mother’s Ruin Gin Bar Connoisseurs looking for something new can…

From California to Cuzco, Peru, ingenious bartenders are altering the flavour profiles of classic cocktails, infusing spirits with unusual ingredients, creating some deliciously avant-garde results. At L.A.’s speakeasy-style Walker Inn (the walker inn la.com), you might find beet-steeped vermouth or a strawberry-infused cognac-and-mezcal blend, both made in a centrifuge. At the new Broken Shaker (broken shaker.com) in Chicago, indulge your inner tween with the Cocoa Puff Old-Fashioned, which uses bourbon infused with the chocolaty cereal as its base. Portland keeps it weird at Kachka (kachka pdx.com), where the menu includes whiskey flavoured with caraway in the Jewish Rye. The trend isn’t limited to the States: In Cuzco, the pisco sour served at the Qespi Bar (jwmarriott.com) is made with your choice of pisco steeped with purple corn or coca leaves.…

The hush of surprise that comes with every unexpected corner, that roar of delight over a perfectly rendered meal, the deep sigh of bliss at that first intoxicating whiff of fine vintage, the flow of sensations as they mark themselves out in your box of memories… they’re all co-conspirators in one giant rock opera of wanderlust. Seated in the plush living room of the Drappier family estate, warmed by the crackling fireplace and a steady diet of rosé-heavy cuvées, I find that very melodicism to be at its sparkling best. A DOSE OF MEDIEVAL MAGIC But I digress, and as with most good stories, this one probably deserves to be rendered from the very beginning. I’m in France to savour its sparkling white wines—or champagnes—and their many accompanying pleasures, as…