Innholdsfortegnelse for January 2016 i Travel + Leisure India & South Asia

I just want to say, at T+L, we really love the start of a year. There’s so much charged energy, so much we want to do and achieve; 800 watts of enthusiasm and ideas that are buzzing around in our heads like fireflies just waiting to get out of the jar. There are places to go. People we want to talk about. We’re like Duracell bunnies high on all the Christmas candy in the office! You get the picture. It’s my role then to channel all this energy in the right direction and in a way that we don’t resemble a flying-crashing car from a Rohit Shetty film. I’m delighted to share with you the first of these big directions in 2016 for us: Our new website: travelandleisureindia.in and our…

More and more, technology companies and hotels–from tiny boutiques to the biggest chains–are partnering to bring guests modern services across myriad digital platforms. Whether you’re whizzing by the queue at the front desk to go directly to your room and open the door with your Apple Watch; streaming Pandora from your iPhone via in-room, wireless speakers; changing your room temperature and getting hotel announcements from fellow guests via an app; it’s clear that card keys and wi-fi were just the beginning. The hotel industry, courting millennials and other technology lovers, is implementing cutting-edge updates–fast. Novotel München Messe, Munich Here, guests are not only welcomed by a real concierge, but also a virtual one. There are impressively large touch screens distributed around the hotel, offering accessible information on local attractions, weather…

Two new bags from Victorinox promise to make weekend breaks and short business trips light and easy. The VX One Traveller Bag is inspired by the brand’s iconic original Swiss Army Knife and is an all-in-one carry on. There’s zippered accessory pockets for laptop wires or underwear, compression straps to keep things tight and neat. Their second new release Spectre adds to the hardside luggage line by coming in a carry-on size with an dual access construction that allows you to pack two ways – through the front quick access door or through the main compartment opening, so you can quickly get to your tablet, passport or documents.…

We never did imagine that stocks and bonds would inspire food. But there’s a new themed pub in Delhi -- Café Dalal Street started by Himanshu Gupta and Vidit Gupta and inspired by their finance background. Guests can trade in cocktails instead of commodities as CDS has live screens all across the pub that show prices of drinks going up and down. Here a market crash is a good thing! It means you could possibly drink single malts at the price of cola. M89/90, Outer Circle near Shankar Market, Connaught Place, New Delhi T: 9953345902…

CHAMOMILE The national flower of Russia and a favourite of elderly English ladies. JASMINE Said to be Robert De Niro’s favourite drink, it has both anti-ageing and weight loss benefits. WHITE TEA The hottest ingredient for cocktails doing the rounds in London this season. FRUIT TEA From Raspberry to Fig, fruit teas got a facelift when they dressed eclairs by pastry god Jordi Roca this year. SENCHA The tea that sparks the most debate on Japanese vs Chinese Green Teas.…

Along with the Botlr pilot programme (a hotel-industry robotic butler) and implementing SPG Keyless technology, where your Apple Watch or other devices can open your door, Starwood hotels has been testing many tech features at the Starwood Hotels Concept Lab. There are mobile-controlled room features, such as curating your streamed music playlist and jumpstarting your morning with a bright orange—or mellow blue-hued shower or lighting that offsets jetlag to reset your circadian rhythm. Smart mirrors are equipped with a touchscreen so you can read the headlines while brushing your teeth. There are also virtual reality experiences of concerts, bike rides, touchscreen cookboks on the walls in kitchen-equipped guestrooms, and Smart Floor Tiles that light a path from your bed to the bathroom in the middle of the ngiht or alert…

Royal Caribbean launched their Royal Suite Class experience recently – it’s like living in a swanky apartment complete with Butler service and sharp contemporary interiors – but out on the water. The Suite’s Royal Genie is certified by the British Butler Institute and will make your stay onboard infinitely smooth. The experience also includes ‘an ultimate beverage package’, complimentary specialty dining, the fastest internet at sea, preferred seating at select onboard venues and upgraded room amenities. Available on sailings Spring 2016 onwards on Oasis, Harmony, Quantum, Anthem, Ovation and Allure of the Seas.…

AFTER MY STINT IN Masterchef Australia, I wanted to open a restaurant but I never really thought that my first would be in Goa. When Ashish Kapoor called me with this opportunity, I flew down to Goa to see the property—it looked amazing with the sun setting in front of the restaurant and a direct beach access, I couldn’t say no. I was born and raised in Queensland near the Great Barrier Reef, all the time relishing tropical ingredients and seafood. So the location, as well as the produce in Goa seemed all quite similar to my hometown. The elements kind of fit in nicely. Around the world, you wouldn’t find many Australian restaurants and that is because we never really had a distinct cuisine and the little we had,…

DO The tiny twisting lanes of Mykonos are full of great shops decorated with beautiful flowers and blue doors (almost all of them) making it a visual treat. I remember picking up some Greek honey and jewellery with Greek patterns and designs. Matoyianni Street has some excellent boutiques that stock jewellery, home décor items, and souvenirs. It also has very cute boutique stores, one of which sells amazing boho-chic dresses and tops. Besides shopping, Super Paradise is where all the action is. It is a pretty beach with great music and luxurious sunbeds to relax on. Luisa Beach as well is a great place to go for a relaxing spa treatment and pick up Greek designer clothes and jewellery. EAT I love the Greek appetiser ‘Flaming cheese’. I am a…

MOROCCO Palais Amani A beautiful Riad with intricate zellige tilework and a rich history that features wealthy owners such as the Fassi family. The Deal Romantic stay for two in a suite strewn with flower petals, candles, champagne and house pastries; a candle-light dinner served in the citrus garden, in-room breakfast, guided tour of the medieval city, a hamam experience for two, and complimentary airport transfers— € 295 per night. Save 32% palaisamani.com ISTANBUL W ISTANBUL Set within a 19th-century row house but with contemporary Ottoman-inspired interiors and innovative lighting. Fun vibe, with a buzzy 24-hour lounge bar and a nightclub-style lobby. The Deal Indulge in a romantic movie and fondue night in your personal cabana. Take a glass of whipped crème vodka, dip your strawberry fondue and get a…

Now, anytime my wife and I GO SOMEPLACE, IT’S LIKE we’re producing our own PERSONAL ad campaign. NOT LONG AGO, I had only the vaguest knowledge of Santorini. Somewhere in the Mediterranean, right? One of those islands off the coast of Spain where beautiful, underemployed people go to dance to deep house? Now, I am a mine of information about Santorini, and want desperately to go. What changed? I’ve been enticed by that digital-age travel agent: Instagram. You know how five people on your feed will all post from the same Napa winery within a week and you’re like, Is this a conspiracy? Well, it was that way for me with Santorini. Everyone was vacationing on the island, which I learned from a brief Google search is Greek, and in…

1. IN AIRLINES, SMALL WILL BE THE NEW BIG. Sometimes it seems like airline news is all about large carriers merging into even larger ones. But the next couple of years will be about the rise of niche airlines—new regional networks, commuter carriers, and even flying clubs. Their main focus is on business travellers, but vacationers who live far from the huge hubs can benefit, too. In the US, expect airline service to come back to cities that have lost it, and the introduction of new commercial flights between some locations for the first time, says Henry Harteveldt, founder of the travel advisory firm Atmosphere Research Group. Last April, OneJet (onejet.com) began taking on medium-size cities in the Midwest and South, with direct routes from Indianapolis to Nashville, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh,…

IF ALL YOU KNOW OF JAPAN’S COUNTRYSIDE IS WHAT YOU SEE OUTSIDE YOUR BULLET-TRAIN WINDOWS on runs between Osaka and Tokyo—a picturesque banality managed to within an inch of its life—Hokkaido will surprise you. This northernmost of Japan’s main islands is also the harshest, coldest, and least settled, accounting for 22 percent of the nation’s landmass yet only 4 percent of its population. There are a couple of marvelous cities and lots of picturesque (and slowly dying) towns. But its real draws are its vast primeval forests (which cover 70 percent of the island), its volcanic peaks (some ring-of-fire active), its mild summers, its fecund Western-style farms, and above all else its winter, which lasts a good six months and brings lovely snows (191 inches a year). Hokkaido in winter…

QUICK QUESTION A travel dating website Miss Travel compiled a list of pet peeves in 2015. We want to know what are yours from this mix of their findings and our additions. Smelly food on airplanes Sick people on plane, buses, metros not covering their mouth Selfie sticks People running, shoving, pushing to exit the plane Fellow passengers monopolising overhead luggage compartments Chatty co-passengers Email (travelandleisure@emmindia.com) or tweet us (@TNLIndia) your answers, and we’ll publish the sharpest ones in our next issue. INK ME WANDERLUST Are you planning to get a travel tattoo? If yes, then you’re not alone. According to Pinterest’s 100 Forecast, travel tattoos are going to be the next big thing in body art in 2016. More predictions in the fashion and beauty category included coffin-shaped nails,…

Making the most of this time of the year—Vana Retreats has a stellar wellness programme scheduled from January to February. The months are marked by Uttarayana -- a phase believed to be an ideal time for introspection and spiritual pursuit as the sun moves from the southern hemisphere to the north. The Retreat’s wellbeing calendar has new moon meditations, a Lohri bonfire, farm visits, and more that pays homage to nature and fosters stillness and introspection. In residence will be Ashish Nanda known to be a skillfull practitioner in teaching mind management and meditation-based well-being.…

THE BRITISH LOVE GOING FOR CURRY, and this is reflected in over 8,000 Indian restaurants dotted throughout the land, with London, in particular, being a mecca for connoisseurs of Indian cuisine. In recent years, many Indian restaurants have eschewed the traditional image of flock wallpaper, silver bowls of curry swimming in oil, and lager, in favour of designer interiors and fusion cuisine combining the best of sub-continental cooking with the qualities of European restaurant traditions. Now some Indian eateries are top-end Michelin-starred restaurants, here’s five favourites to spice up your next London visit. Brilliant After more than 30 years, the Brilliant continues to accumulate accolades including The British Curry Award’s Best Indian Restaurant in the London Suburbs, and the only Indian restaurant in the United Kingdom to receive a special…

I CLAMBER UP A LADDER to the upper chamber of the priory, where through narrow slit windows I am treated to a panoramic sweep of Fermanagh’s verdant countryside, swathed in a curtain of mist. I am in Fermanagh in Northern Ireland, which translates from Irish as ‘men of the monks’; because of numerous monastic settlements on the islands of Lough (meaning lake) Erne in the middle ages. “Fermanagh is all about water. Today one third of this county is covered in water, with 434 miles of rivers, canals and lakes,” explains my guide Billy Scott. The water that has gouged the soft limestone hills into the Cuilcagh mountain range runs deep beneath the ground, to create enormous cave systems, and in hillsides, creating a bog habitat that is home to…

Aries (MARCH 21-APRIL 19) TRAITS Aries are youthful, courageous and enthusiastic. Those born under this sign are first to venture into new lands and experiences. They also have a need to conquer fear and show their courage. THE TRIP As an Aries, you’re likely to go to places that are unexplored, promise adventure and thrills. But these thrills could come in different forms. For one Aries, it might be jumping out of an airplane for the first time, or going on a nature expedition and learning how to survive in the wilderness for a night. For another Aries, it might be going on a gourmet journey through South East Asia and eating new and strange things. For yet another, it’s climbing mountains, deep-sea diving—things that get the adrenalin pumping and…