Innholdsfortegnelse for April 2017 i Travel + Leisure India & South Asia

PLACES ARE LIKE PEOPLE. SOME MAKE YOU FEEL A WAY THAT OTHERS JUST DON’T. I wrote this edit note on the back of a used, old postcard I bought in a little shop down Shagani Street in Stone Town, Zanzibar. It reminded me of how, a century before me, the famous missionary Dr David Livingstone recycled old newspapers, bills, and scraps of other paper into a journal to chronicle his travels amidst these very islands. It was nearly six in the evening, and we were sailing back on a dhow to our hotel in Zanzibar. We had spent the day shooting on secret islands that are essentially stark-white sandbanks that rise from the blue-green waters like breasts in a renaissance painting. Seriously, they do look like that. The sun was…

How does an image consultant pick himself up on a bad day? By meditating, being with himself, and getting engrossed in a good work-out regime. IMAGE CONSULTANT NEERAJ GABA INDIAN REALITY TV HOST | YOUTH MENTOR You’ll recognise Neeraj Gaba as the sassiest panellist on MTV India’s Next Top Model. The celebrity image consultant who is known for his witty remarks on the show and quirky fashion on the red carpet began his career, in fact, in the corporate world. Gradually, as the anxieties of work life began to creep in and the lure of a good pay package lost its charm, he turned to align himself to being happy ‘inside-out’. Driven by passion, he began helping peers who were stuck in “imposed circles of self-loss” find their core strengths.…

In 2013, Belgian photographer Johan Lolos took his love for the wilderness to Australia, where he traversed 25,000 miles within the country to document its gorgeous landscape on Instagram. Today the globetrotter’s Instagram account @lebackpacker and johanlolos.com are breaking the Internet to give adventure explorers a fresh cue on world travel. His strong fan base of over 415K, photo features in leading world publications, and the fact that he was the biggest travel Instagrammer in New Zealand when he lived there, add to his weighty portfolio. 1 Embark on a kayaking tour of the Whanganui River gorge, New Zealand, one of the longest waterways in the country. 2 You can call this little German-speaking province of South Tyrol in northern Italy by its local name; Alto Adige. The charming villages…

1 / LONDON In 2007, Brompton became the first of several London neighbourhoods to rechristen itself as a design district. Mint (mintshop.co.uk) sells housewares from emerging talents, while 10 Thurloe Place hosts pop-up exhibitions. 2 / DALLAS Renewal efforts have turned the showroom and warehouse area around Dragon Street into a shopping and gallery zone. Visit Lula B’s (lulabsdallas.com) for vintage furnishings and Ceylon et Cie (ceylonetcie.com) for global décor. 3 / ZURICH In the 1990s, cheap rents drew designers and artists to then-dodgy Districts 4 and 5. Now the area is home to Im Viadukt (im-viadukt.ch), a corridor of 46 boutiques and restaurants tucked under the arches of an elevated rail line. 4 / DUBAI The D3 district was purpose-built in 2015 at the behest of the sheikh as…

DELHI NATIONAL GALLERY OF MODERN ART A must-visit for art lovers, this gallery run by the Ministry of Culture has a collection of paintings dating back to the 19th and 20th centuries. ngmaindia.gov.in PHOTOINK A photography-based gallery in Vasant Kunj, it presents exhibitions from contemporary artists and digitally catalogues photographs and creates archives. photoink.net INDIA HABITAT CENTRE Delhi’s favourite venue for workshops, exhibitions, poetry recital and book readings, movie screenings, and talks. Many interesting events are hosted here for free; check the website for calendar. indiahabitat.org AKSHARA THEATRE Founded in 1972, Akshara is to Delhi what Prithvi is to Mumbai. It houses four performances spaces, a library, studios, and a classroom to conduct workshops. Some of the best theatre artists in the country take the stage here. aksharatheatre.com THE PEOPLE…

What was Jodhpur like when you were young? It was a lovely city; quiet, peaceful and without tourism. In those days, people pursued the Golden Triangle of Jaipur, Agra, and Delhi; 'Jaipur' being 'Rajasthan'. When I came back in 1970 after attending university in England, I thought I’d try and make some changes and put Jodhpur on the map. It started with the opening of the Umaid Bhawan Palace as a hotel and also a museum at Mehrangarh Fort. How did you veer towards classical and Sufi music? I like to experiment with all genres of music but I’m particularly fond of Indian classical and jazz. There was a time when Indian classical music didn’t mean much to me. It was when I attended a concert featuring Ali Akbar Khan,…

1 Link your accounts to match status and transfer points. If you’re a member of both programmes, link your accounts. Your status will be matched, and you’ll be able to transfer points between programmes at a 3:1 ratio—that is, three Marriott Rewards points for every one SPG Starpoint. If you’re Starwood Platinum, you’ll immediately become Marriott Platinum (which normally requires 75 nights). More important, Marriott’s RewardsPlus programme will also qualify you for Silver Elite status on United Airlines. 2 Pick which account you’ll accrue points in. Even if you’re elite in both programmes, you can only credit nights to either Marriott Rewards or SPG, which is an important consideration if you’re tempted to try out your newfound elite status. 3 Look at both points currencies to find the best value.…

I confess I came late to Bordeaux . My experience with wine began as a kid growing up in Buffalo in the 1950s. My paternal grandfather, Gaetano, who emigrated from Sicily, concocted a rough-edged wine in the backyard every fall. One year red; one year white. He ‘aged’ it for a few months in old whiskey barrels to give it a bigger bite and watered it down for me and my siblings to sample. During my first decade living in France, I mostly avoided visiting the Bordeaux wine region. To many, the very name means old-fashioned, snobbish, and unaffordable. For centuries, its winemakers have created some of the world’s most prized and expensive wines—Thomas Jefferson was famously devoted—and they devised a system of classifying them that hasn’t changed since…

OH WOMAN: WHERE CAN YOU TRAVEL? From traversing the Great White North to enjoying a street festival in central Europe, these nine fabulous destinations are safe for solo women travellers. http://travelandleisureindia.in/  destinations-for-women-travellers 10 BIZARRE HOTELS YOU HAVE TO VISIT NOW When a regular hotel stay just won’t do, take a look at these bizarre hotels where guests sleep in coffin beds and furniture hangs from the roof. http://travelandleisureindia.in/  bizarre-hotels 5 MUST-VISIT DESTINATIONS FOR NATURE LOVERS If raising funds for environmental nonprofits or volunteering with conservation agencies is your idea of a holiday, then bookmark our nature lover’s guide. http://travelandleisureindia.in/ destinations-for-nature-lovers/ DOWNLOAD US T+L Tablet Editions Available on iPad, Android, and Windows Tablets. FOLLOW US INSTAGRAM/ TRAVELANDLEISUREINDIA FACEBOOK.COM/ TNLINDIA PINTEREST.COM/ TRAVLEISUREIN TWITTER.COM/ TNLINDIA SPECIAL SUBSCRIPTION OFFERS EMMINDIA.COM THE STATS…

A little understanding goes a long way. This simple idea lays the groundwork for Hyatt’s new global platform, World of Hyatt. The new loyalty programme, which launched on March 1, is supported by an unprecedented integrated marketing campaign, ‘For a World of Understanding.’ The campaign debuted with an anthem spot during the Oscars. The spot is set to a rendition of the song What the World Needs Now is Love, from Hal David and Burt Bacharach, by GRAMMY-nominated recording artist Andra Day. Shot in Thailand, Morocco, and Spain, the film explores how people from different cultures unite through simple human connections. The global campaign will extend across TV, digital, social, out-of-home, in-hotel, print, and events throughout 2017. “World of Hyatt is an expression of who we are,” says Mark Hoplamazian,…

NEW RESTAURANTS DELHI DEL AT ROSEATE HOUSE DEL, named after Delhi’s airport code, is an all-day diner with different menus for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and after-hours. The best part? Each dish has the aerocode of the city it is from. roseatehotels.com ARRIBA A Mexican restaurant with snazzy décor and al fresco dining, Arriba has Mexican skewers, tortillas, and guacamole on the menu. Don’t miss its tequila shots and cocktails. Tabula Rd, Siri Fort; +91-11/2649-7706 CIRCUS A quirky restaurant that recently came to Cyber Hub, Circus is a casual diner that reminds you of childhood. From Indian snacks and tiffin meals to pizzas and rolls, the menu offers a lot of variety. Cyber Hub, Gurugram; +91-11/3958-5921 LADY BAGA Lady Baga is inspired by a Goan beach shack and recreates the…

The Romans would have gotten it, I thought as I took handfuls of lavender-infused ice and rubbed it over myself, wincing a little. They themselves did not get around to developing the technology needed to cause this stuff to spill out from a carved-stone lion’s head set into the wall of a spa. But they would, surely, have loved the sheer opulence of it. It turns out that massaging oneself with lightly scented ice isn’t such a bad thing when the next move might be to slip into a steam room or, better yet, to immerse oneself in the naturally hot, faintly sulphurous waters that rise here in the city of Bath, in southwestern England. I was in the Gainsborough Bath Spa, a hotel that, I suspect, provides the most…

Travel + Leisure India & South Asia hosted a Masterclass in Kebabs at K3, JW Marriott New Delhi Aerocity recently with Chef Mohammad Usman of Lucknow’s famed kebab restaurant, Tunday Kababi and Executive Chef Vivek Bhatt. Chef Usman shared his trade secrets with 15 guests who tried their hands at making his most famous galawati kebab and gobhi musallum. After the culinary session, guests exchanged travel anecdotes over lunch with hosts Ruchira Bose, Editor, Travel + Leisure India & South Asia, Antony Page, General Manager, and Ananya Sinha, Director of Sales & Marketing, JW Marriott New Delhi Aerocity. Each guest was felicitated with a certificate of participation, a souvenir apron, and a beautifully curated box of spices and ittar from Lucknow that are essential to creating Chef Usman’s kebabs and…

London After the controversial Brexit vote, the pound slid against the dollar, making the United Kingdom more affordable. The Langham is offering four nights for the price of three until September 30. The Athenaeum is offering seven nights for the price of five for stays booked by April 30. Paris A weaker euro and continued terrorism worries have made the City of Light a destination for luxury-seeking visitors on a budget. Le Bristol’s I Love Paris offer includes a room upgrade, cocktails, and dinner at Michelin-starred Brasserie 114 Faubourg, all for US$1,150 per night. Rio de Janeiro A lot of new hotels were built to accommodate the influx of tourists for the 2016 Summer Olympics, and now there’s an abundance of empty rooms. The Miramar Hotel by Windsor in Copacabana…

One day last summer chefs Tom Adams and April Bloomfield splashed through a stream and then crossed a field behind Coombeshead Farm, their 18th -century Cornish farmhouse. Adams, of London’s celebrated Pitt Cue, and Bloomfield, a British native best known for her New York City restaurants the Spotted Pig and the Breslin, have turned the property, which is set on 66 acres of gently rolling hills near the village of Lewannick, into a five-room inn and restaurant. They were expecting a dozen dinner guests that evening, and the afternoon’s mission was to forage ingredients—wild sorrel, blackberries—for the meal. We stopped under an oak tree reputed to be well over 600 years old. “I wonder what this tree has seen since day one,”…

Anew Xanadu for fragrance lovers sits on Paris’s Rue du Faubourg St-Honoré, across the street from the famed Le Bristol hotel, in an 18th -century hôtel particulier previously owned by Christian Lacroix (and before that, Louis Roederer). It is Le Grand Musée du Parfum, perhaps the most ambitious and immersive museum ever devoted to the art of scent making. Supported by the Syndicat Français de la Parfumerie, a consortium of 66 French fragrance houses, the institution offers a four-story journey through the history of perfume, beginning with the ancient Egyptians in the basement (which was once a champagne cellar). There, you can push a button to inhale the aroma of kyphi, an incense used to invoke the gods and ward off evil. As I sniffed my way through the halls,…

no. 1 Because you can spend the night with some of your favourite chefs. Over the past decade, every celebrity chef under the sun established a restaurant in a hotel (and then promptly left the cooking to someone else). Now some culinary stars are turning that idea on its head by opening their own properties—albeit on an intimate scale. James Beard Award winner Alex Roberts recently reopened Restaurant Alma (menu from US$58; doubles from US$166; almampls.com) along the riverfront in Minneapolis. The restaurant, which serves a three-course prix fixe—perhaps yellowtail crudo to start, then chicken and foie gras with leeks and black-truffle sauce—is complemented by seven contemporary bedrooms with gold-accented bathrooms. Last summer, British chef April Bloomfield unveiled Coombeshead Farm (menu from US$61; doubles from US$215; coombesheadfarm.co.uk) the inn she…

When Maharaja Sardar Singh of Jodhpur built the Jaswant Thada in 1899, he could not have imagined the transformation it would go through a century later. At a short distance from the Mehrangarh Fort, the historical landmark has welcomed musicians from around the world to participate in its Sufiana music revelry for ten years. This February marked a milestone anniversary for the World Sacred Spirit Festival (earlier known as World Sufi Festival) and Jodhpur assumed frivolous colours to celebrate this occasion. The sunset draped the blue city in shades of pink and yellow as Ustad Irshad Khan, the majesty of sitar and surbahar, sat affront the calm Devkund Lake and sang of love, loss, and longing. Above him, flocks of homebound birds dramatically flitted past at regular intervals in approval…

SnapTravel Tell this start-up what you’re looking for via Facebook Messenger, and a bot will present you with three hotels in seconds, sometimes with better rates than you’d find on websites like Kayak or Expedia. Use the filter to adjust preferences for location and star rating, or a pinch-and-zoom map for a particular neighbourhood. Do you want a room with a view, free wifi, or a hotel with a pool? Just tell the bot. But SnapTravel isn’t just a bot. It also has teams of customer-service reps available 24 hours a day to answer unusual requests that its computers can’t address. On the day of your arrival, a human will call your hotel directly to ensure any special requests will be guaranteed, such as early check-in or a room on…

“City of stars, are you shining just for me? City of stars, there is so much that I can’t see…” I remember sitting on the wooden walkway outside my water villa, head raised in reverence to the silvery blackboard of stars, following their rays as they touched the inky ocean. I was most calm, most still that night, not worried about the world outside of this panorama. It’s not often that this happens to me; I travel with a vengeance and that can be exhausting sometimes, but the island caught me unawares. In the Maldives, I finally got a chance to catch my breath and the clocks stopped. An exclusive resort with 84 villas, suites, and bungalows, JA Manafaru is located on the northern most atoll in the Maldives Haa…