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

SIMON CLAYS Luxury and style exploded off the scale for me the time I drove James Bond’s Aston Martin DB5 from the movie Goldfinger. Not a look-alike, but the actual silver machine that shot to fame back in 1964. To thrash it around the English stately home of Beaulieu; a boon, to slide out the driver side and straight into an interview with my favourite Bond, Roger Moore, who was seated sedately next to his ocean-going Lotus from The Spy Who Loved Me— an experience that left me shaken and stirred. ANWESHA SANYAL November 2015, I was at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, sipping on my cocktail in the first row of the VIP zone of the Yas Marina Circuit. Behind me, was a corridor where you could spot famous…

Everyone told me not to take my three kids to Egypt. A friend from Pakistan said I was bananas. A half-Egyptian colleague confided she wouldn’t be visiting her paternal grandparents for…ever. My mother begged me to go anywhere else. (“But, please, honey, at least register with the embassy.”) Foolish? Perhaps. Defiant? Yes. Even with terror attacks and unrest in the Middle East dominating the news cycle, I was determined to see Egypt, a place I had dreamed of visiting since I first spied King Tut’s funerary mask at the Met as a four-year-old. For more than a decade, I’ve dragged my kids to every major Egyptian museum exhibition in Chicago, New York, and London. On road trips we listened to corny recordings of the myths of Osiris and Ra (“You…

With the iPrefer guest loyalty programme from Preferred Hotels & Resorts, travel planning has become easier than ever. By combining the best possible rates and amenities, iPrefer eliminates the need to search elsewhere. The member rate programme further enhances member rewards. With access to savings of three per cent or higher on top of the best available rate, members can get a great deal. Furthermore, iPrefer rewards loyal travellers with points that can be exchanged for Reward Certificates, redeemable towards free nights and hotel experiences. In addition to receiving points for every US$1 spent on net room reservations booked through eligible channels, members can receive additional benefits based on their tier status—Insider and Elite—such as priority early check-in and late check-out, room upgrade based on availability, and complimentary access to…

VW Beetle Engine 1400 cc turbocharged (petrol) Power 148 bhp Price 28.73 lakh Mumbai denizens scorn a life of leisure. And egregious displays, such as the one presented by two dishevelled middle-aged gents, silly grins pasted on their faces, donning wayfarers (undoubtedly to obviate evidence of nocturnal excess) driving enthusiastically out of town in a bright red coupe on a Friday morning, grates on commuters’ sensibilities in the city. Make that three grins: if cars could smile, then the VW Beetle does so from ear-to-ear. And its infectious enthusiasm is transmitted to its occupants, who, ensconced in the pop-art interior of the cabin, basking in the shaded light filtering through the sunroof, step on the gas keeping time with the jazz standards streaming from the Bug’s eight-speaker extravagance. The car…

The petite filet mignon comes on a minimalistic white ceramic plate, with a generous pouring of the luscious wine-based bordelaise sauce. The steak is perfectly seared on the outside, and the delicate crust gives way to tender, juicy meat. Added to this are sweeping ocean views with not a man-made structure in sight. This is easily among my most memorable meals. And it’s not on land, but at Chops Grille, the American steakhouse onboard the Royal Caribbean’s Mariner of the Seas. The cruise, which has more eateries than a beach resort (17 restaurants, bars, clubs and lounges), promises a culinary journey to its guests. The breakfast buffet at Windjammer dishes out 15 types of breads. It’s a good life when the only choice you have to make is between warm,…

1 / BABAZUF Tucked away on a street near Siena’s central plaza, this osteria is famous for its delicate house-made pastas-particularly the five-coloured gnocchi and tagliatelle with black truffles. Entrées US$8–US$21; osteriababazuf.com 2 / IL BACCHINO Don’t bother reading the menu at this tiny enoteca in Massa Marittima. Just ask the owners to bring you their best local cheeses and cured meats. Small plates US$4–US$11; 8 Via Moncini; +39-0566/940-229 3 / DIVERSUS At this warm and friendly spot on the central plaza in Greve in Chianti, owner Bernard Buys pairs his vast selection of Tuscan wines with exquisite cured meats. Entrées US$12–US$22; diversusrestaurant.it 4 / LA BOTTEGAIA This osteria in Pistoia serves flavourful, hearty dishes like duck macaroni and artichoke tart in Parmesan sauce. Try the lardo, sliced paper-thin and…

Hotels and resorts have been hopping aboard the ‘mindfulness’ bandwagon by expanding their spa menus far beyond traditional yoga and massage. At the Post Ranch Inn in Big Sur, California (Doubles from US$875; post ranchinn.com), guests seeking to let go of their exes or welcome someone new into their lives can schedule a fire ceremony with a shaman (90 minutes for US$365). The Tri, in Sri Lanka (Doubles from US$325; tri lanka.com), offers Quantum Yoga, which combines ancient Indian healing with the concepts of quantum physics. And Canyon Ranch, in Lenox, Massachusetts, and Tucson, Arizona (From US$925 per person, all-inclusive; canyonranch.com), hosts workshops in building spiritual character, crystal sound activation treatments , and clairvoyant readings.…

WHEN PSY SANG KOREA’S UNOFFICIAL ANTHEM GANGNAM STYLE, HE SPOKE OF THE DUAL personalities of his ladylove. By day, she’s warm and put together, enjoying a cup of coffee. But at night, she is transformed—she lets her hair down and embraces her wild side. Seoul is a lot like that. I was discovering this uninhabited side of the city on a Friday evening, when we drove to the high-on-energy Hongdae area, known for its edgy underground music and art scene. The district was brought to life in the early 1990s by the artistic souls at Honkig University—Korea’s top fine arts college (from which Hongdae gets its name). We walked past the Wall Art Street or Picasso Street, close to the back gate of the university. The area is a live…

In the well-heeled Hietzing neighbourhood of Vienna there stands a two-storey villa the colour of bone, framed by twin staircases with baroque railings. The garden is verdant, thick with wildflowers and fruit trees. Handsome, carved-wood furnishings dot the building’s interiors. This is the Viennese painter Gustav Klimt’s last surviving studio, where he retreated in the final years of his life to focus on his erotically charged paintings of women and vibrant nature scenes. As a particular fan of Klimt’s, I had always been curious about his secluded studio practice. Still, I braced myself for a collection like so many I’d seen before—a stale exhibit peppered with textbook facts and a tourist-packed gift store hawking branded souvenir coffee mugs. Instead, the workshop’s unadorned rooms hosted dozens of lesser-known, unfinished works and…

Uncover local food secrets with the hop-on, hop-off Makan Bus. Originating on Orchard Road, it winds through great food neighbourhoods that are off the beaten track and recommends the best dishes at small eateries, iconic restaurants and hawker centres. makanbus.com A+B Edu Tour’s Makan food tour is a great introduction to Singapore’s history and philosophy of food in areas away from the Central Business District such as the Peranakan and Indian-Muslim food culture of Joo Chiat and the Malay culture of Geylang. abedutours.com.sg Melding street food with swanky surrounds, the dozen curated food stalls at Makansutra Glutton’s Bay offer an upmarket hawker-centre experience right on the harbour front. Across the water, Marina Bay Sands and other high rises light up the skyline. makansutra.com…

TWO TREASURES OF WEST BENGAL WE WISH YOU KNEW Travelling beyond the City of Joy, we bring you two treasures of West Bengal that should be on the bucket list if you’re visiting the state this month. travelandleisureindia.in/ travelandleisureindia.in/two-treasures-west-bengal-wish-foreign-travellers-knew/ two-treasures-west-bengal-wishforeign-travellers-knew/ IRON CHEF MORIMOTO’S CULINARY SECRETS REVEALED Read inside stories from Japan’s Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto’s culinary extravaganza on the 10th anniversary of his restaurant, Wasabi by Morimoto, at The Taj Mahal Hotel, New Delhi. travelandleisureindia.in/ chef-morimoto-in-delhi ON OUR RADAR: THREE PORT TOWNS OF ANDHRA PRADESH Explore the country’s most impressive ports and the unique eco-system of the Godavari delta in these three towns of the state. travelandleisureindia.in/andhrapradesh-on-our-radar 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/…

Sure, crossing a remarkable restaurant off your bucket list is satisfying. But many people are looking for more than a good meal: they want to forage for ingredients, understand how those ingredients are connected to the land and sea, and take part in the creation of their dishes. Alaska, which provides some of the most dramatic scenery and wildlife in the world, is also an unexpected culinary treasure trove. Access Trips, a food-focused tour operator, has created an eight-day itinerary around the state’s bounty of fresh seafood and seasonal vegetables. Starting in Fairbanks, travellers can partake in a range of activities, from taking cooking classes with James Beard Award–nominated chef Laura Cole at 229 Parks, her restaurant outside Denali National Park, to tasting organic birch syrup in Talkeetna and watching…

Beyond the windows of the gently swaying dining car, darkness descended. The heaviness of the rain and our speed were increasing at roughly the same rate—optimal conditions for cocktail hour on a luxury train. With an Irish gin and tonic in my hand, I watched the manager of o the Belmond Grand Hibernian place a line of small electric lamps on the long table. As the author of a number of books about trains, I had hoped for just this kind of nod to railway history when I’d put this journey on my travel to-do list. Table lamps in the restaurant cars, often shaded in pink silk, were symbols of the trains de luxe of the late 1800s and 1900s, especially those of the Wagons-Lits company, whose sleepers—including the various…

Researching your family tree is nothing new. But modern resources, from DNA-testing kits like 23andMe to websites like ancestry.com, have prompted a growing interest in genealogy. And many tour operators are responding to this trend with heritage-themed trips. Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection (nine-day sailings from US$3,799; uniworld.com ) offers Jewish heritage excursions on its Remarkable Rhine itineraries. Passengers can tour Amsterdam’s Jewish Historical Museum and, in Frankfurt, learn about the legacy of the Rothschilds, the wealthy banking family. Some operators, like the Ireland-based Adams & Butler (genealogical consultations from US$956; adams andbutler.com) have genealogists on staff. Just provide your personal history and the researchers will incorporate a visit to your ancestral village (or even your actual home) into a larger, bespoke Ireland itinerary. Similarly, in…

Hanging from a 3,000-foot granite wall in Yosemite might sound impulsive to most, but for Los Angeles-based photographer Christian Pondella, it’s his life and works. The adventure lover’s Instagram handle @christianpondella is full of award-winning images of skiing, base jumping, downhill mountain biking, motocross, wake boarding, and other thrilling sports for his 78.4K followers. A climber, skier, and athlete himself, he goes to any length to get the right frame.…

A crop of young local Instagrammers have taken it upon themselves to document Copenhagen’s coolest spots. Scandinavia is well ahead of the curve on architecture and design. Copenhagen is testament to this fact, with its modern glass-and-steel behemoths blending seamlessly with ornate neoclassical structures, swank new bicycle-only bridges extending over canals, and colourful backyards that house secret cafes and art galleries. In this landscape of urban cool, every split second is an Instagram moment. My Insta feed is flooded with photos of futuristic buildings, bridges, and bicycles in the weeks leading up to my visit to the Danish capital. In an effort to go beyond the tourist sights and uncover the ‘real’ vibe of a city, I turn to Instagram to unearth local gems in a new place. Amongst the…

As I pressed the ignition button on my white Vespa, I found myself seized by panic. My heart beat like a jackhammer, and a faint tremor crept into my fingertips. Judging from the facial expressions of my girlfriend, Stephanie—raised eyebrows, pursed lips—it was clear that she, too, was battling jitters as she fired up her own Vespa, a contrasting cherry red. What on earth had we gotten ourselves into? We were in a parking garage on the outskirts of Florence, readying ourselves for a six-day road trip in search of the sort of divine culinary experiences Tuscany is so famous for. Zipping from town to town, from enoteca to trattoria, we would sample the gooiest stracciatella, the boldest Brunellos, the lardiest lardo. In other words, we would do what everyone…

“Whether it’s a few minutes with a meditation app or a sun salutation, a moment of calm sets the tone for the day.” —Sylvia Betesh Lebovitch , senior travel consultant at Ovation Vacations…

ANYTIME FITNESS FOR THE WORLD TRAVELLER Members can visit any of its 3,700 franchised locations in 30 countries. Facilities and amenities vary, though most locations have personal training, as well as Zumba, cardio, and conditioning classes. The cost of a membership depends on where you live, but averages about US$40 per month. anytime fitness.com CLASSPASS FOR THE WORKOUT SAMPLER Members can buy a package (options starting at US$25 per month for three classes), which can be used at thousands of gyms and fitness studios in 41 cities in the US, as well as in nine cities abroad, including London, Sydney, Toronto, and Vancouver. Partners include Dailey Method, Fly, Corepower Yoga, Exhale, Extend Barre, and Barry’s Bootcamp. classpass.com BARRY’S BOOTCAMP FOR THE HARD-CORE EXERCISE FANATIC Members at Barry’s Bootcamp can get…

ASIA 1 OPEN DOORS Weligama Bay Marriott Resort & Spa, Sri Lanka Marriott’s debut hotel in Sri Lanka features 198 sea-facing rooms and suites, bringing the ocean to your balcony. With an all-day diner, Weligama Kitchen, a seafood speciality restaurant, Big Fish, and poolside Surf’s Up, the resort scores big on the culinary front If you’re travelling with family, then the kid’s club, kiddie pool and activities, and babysitting services will definitely win you over. marriott.com The Ritz-Carlton Langkawi Set in the lush rainforest overlooking the Andaman Sea, this hotel borrows a lot from local cultures and traditions-the Walkway of Wishes, a fountain inspired by the Lake of Pregnant Maiden, tarian payang dance performances on the beach, jungle walks and visits to local markets are some examples. Stay in the…

Within a converted warehouse in what used to be one of the most dangerous parts of Johannesburg, you can eat gelato made by an Italian who had the machines shipped over from his family’s store in Rome. You can taste golden fish from Mozambique cooked in the Congolese style, with rice and plantains, sample corn cakes with four kinds of sauce made by a Zulu bohemian who describes his style of dress as ‘funky Amish,’ or try ginger roti made by Rastafarians who, when you ask where they hail from, will tell you they are citizens of the ‘celestial paradise of the fifth dimension.’ Nearby, on a rooftop, you can dance to salsa music. On the street below, you can watch a drunken Frenchman wave his hands like a rhythmically…

NATIONAL GALLERY The gallery is a new institution featuring the world’s largest public collection of modern Singaporean and South East Asian art. nationalgallery.sg MOUNT FABER PARK One of the oldest parks in Singapore, it sits on the city’s second highest hill. Singapore’s cable car system links Mount Faber to Sentosa Island, and is a fantastic way to see both the island and reach the dining and entertainment complex that now occupies its peak. mountfaber.com.sg GARDENS BY THE BAY Whimsical sculptures, futuristic ‘supertrees’ and bio-domes form a part of the 100-hectare fantasy land that is Gardens by the Bay. Walk on the OCBC Skyway suspended between two supertrees, with knockout views of the gardens, city and South China Sea. gardensbythebay.com.sg UNIVERSAL STUDIOS Southeast Asia’s only Universal Studios theme park at Resorts…

St Jorome’s Laneway Festival MONTH January Australia’s most popular indie music export, Laneway returns to Singapore for its eighth year, with an electrifying line-up of 15 bands. Big names, including Anderson, Paak, Mac DeMarco, Bonobo, The War on Drugs and others play at the massive outdoor location, The Meadow at Gardens by the Bay, at this much-loved daylong music festival. Goes well with… Explore Gardens by the Bay, downtown Singapore’s green lung, where an elevated walkway connects the futuristic supertrees. singapore.lanewayfestival.com Chinese New Year MONTH February Singapore welcomes the Year of the Dog with parades, lantern-strung streets, lion dances and a festive vibe. Sample traditional food like pineapple tarts, shrimp rolls and bak kwa (pork jerky). Don’t miss the Chingay parade, where colourful floats make their way down the street.…

TERMINAL VELOCITY The airport’s very latest edition is its super-shiny, state-of-the-art Terminal 4. Billed as ‘fast and seamless’, the new terminal employs a facial recognition system to check-in and print baggage tags. You can also kiss goodbye to the horror of partial undressing and bag-emptying at security, as CT scan technology uses its x-ray eyes to check your bags through. If the ergonomic design of the terminal or hypnotic kinetic artwork don’t float your pre-flight boat, then the 80-plus bauble packed shops and stalls littered around T4 are bound to. GARDENS OF FIVE SENSES Feel like a little fresh air? Then, a gentle stroll around one of Changi’s five concept gardens could be just the thing to get your lungs pumping. Flit through a 1000 butterflies, send your olfactory senses…

Growing up in rural Illinois, I developed a passion for wide-open spaces, which can be hard to come by now that I live in New York City. Craving a physical challenge in a beautiful setting, I found a Canadian outfitter named CMH Heli-Skiing & Summer Adventures, which has been providing access to the mountains of British Columbia for more than 50 years. Though familiar with heli-skiing, I had never heard of heli-hiking, in which guests are zipped off to otherwise inaccessible trekking locations by helicopter. After viewing CMH’s images of raging glacial rivers, rugged mountain landscapes, and ziplines, I was sold. I flew to Calgary, Alberta, and drove about three hours west to CMH’s helipad near the small town of Parson, British Columbia. There I met the international, 34-person group…

1 Hear the Forgotten Stories of World War II in the Pacific For the first time, the National WWII Museum is leading a 10-day journey to important locations in the Pacific theatre, including Iwo Jima, Pearl Harbor, Guam, and more. The trip is led by military historians Richard Frank and Jonathan Parshall, along with museum curators, but you’ll also be joined by veterans who will recount the events that took place on those battlefields generations ago. March 2018; from US$13,999; nationalww2museum.org 2 Discover Ancient Mayan Kingdoms Join Jeff Karl Kowalski, a Maya expert from the Archaeological Institute of America, on this 14-day journey through the jungles of Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras. When you’re not exploring famous sites like Palenque, Tikal, and Copán, use your free time to bird-watch or unwind…

The sprawling white desert of the Great Rann of Kutch turns into a canvas during the four-month cultural extravaganza, Rann Utsav, that starts this month. Bejeweled camels, dancers in ornate costumes, and huts adorned with ethnic motifs will decorate Dhordo village in Kutch and revellers from across the world will come to join in the fun. What began as a three-day event in 2008 has since grown to become one of the most spectacular festivals in the country. So, come and be a part of the festivities that bring together the best of food, art, and culture of Gujarat. TENT CITY During the Rann Utsav, the Rann of Kutch transforms into the Tent City. The largest conglomeration of its kind in the country, it houses more than 400 luxury tents…

There was a key moment when Bertrand Kern realised that the fortunes of his gritty little town were about to change. Kern is the three-term Socialist mayor of Pantin, just north of the Périphérique, or ring road, that marks the outer boundary of Paris intra muros —Paris within the walls. Pantin lies beyond that, in a landscape of run-down housing projects and abandoned factories that Parisians refer to as la zone. Almost exactly 11 years ago, disillusioned young men and women from around the city spent weeks rioting there, as a way of expressing frustration with their dead-end lives. Historically, it hasn’t been a place Parisians want to hang around in, for reasons of snobbery, fear, and common sense. Kern’s revelation came during a meeting with Thaddaeus Ropac, an Austria-born…

You’ve probably never heard of the world’s best-selling beer. It’s called Snow, and it’s from China, the largest beer market on the planet. Snow is a typical Chinese brew—which is to say that it’s a mass-produced, watery lager whose primary appeal is its affordability. But more sophisticated beer styles have emerged lately in China, thanks to the rapid growth of a movement Westerners know well: craft brewing. Chinese consumers traditionally favour weaker beers and sweeter, less-bitter flavours. But palates have been changing. Carl Setzer, the American-born co-owner of Beijing’s Great Leap Brewing (greatleapbrewing.com), one of the first craft-beer pubs in China, told me that many young women in Beijing have become quite fond of strong, hoppy IPAs, like Great Leap’s Little General and Hop God 120 Imperial. “They find them…

1 / FIND A LOCAL OUTFITTER Florence-based Central Italy Motorcycle Tours (cimt.it) will map out a manageable route; a rental costs US$220 to US$350 per week. Novices can do this trip, though it’s smart to take a practice spin (or two) at home. 2 / PACK LIGHT A carry-on-size duffel is the way to go, since it can rest comfortably between your feet while riding. A small satchel with valuables can be stowed in the lockable compartment under the seat. 3 / DRIVE SAFE On country roads, you are subject to the same rules as cars, but in some towns and cities you can take a Vespa onto streets that are off-limits to automobiles. Parking is a cinch: as long as you’re not blocking traffic, you’re good. 4 / DRESS…

1 Don’t want to waste precious time with a sit-down breakfast? Try Grab & Go Cereal Cups. These gluten-free, vegan, and organic servings of cereal are equally good alone or with milk. The seven varieties, such as the sweet, salty, and crunchy blueberry-hemp, are lightly sweetened with coconut sugar and will keep you sated for hours of sightseeing. US$2.49; purely elizabeth.com 2 Sakara is an organic-meal-delivery programme with plant-based dishes that are gluten- and dairy-free. The menu changes weekly, but past specialities have included jungle-curry noodles with coconut rice and a harvest bowl with roasted brussels sprouts, sauerkraut, brown rice, and kale. Five-day meal plans can be delivered to your hotel or Airbnb throughout the US for US$420. sakara.com 3 Pick up an Epic Bar, a low-carb, high-protein snack that…

VIVO CITY A one-stop retail and entertainment destination. High-street shops abound, from Ted Baker to Zara, and La Senza to Timberland. A large Toys R Us and several children’s clothing stores will keep those with young families happy too. THE SHOPPES AT MARINA BAY SANDS Head here for high-end luxury brands such as Burberry, Cartier, Chanel, Dior, Hermes and Miu Miu as well as high street favourites Guess, Miss Sixty and Banana Republic. After you’ve had your fill of luxury, explore the vast atriums, central canal and restaurants from the world’s leading celebrity chefs. HAJI LANE Haji Lane, in the Arab quarter, is a hip and trendy shopping destination for young Singaporeans, who come here looking for cult labels and vintage clothing in the offbeat boutiques that line the lane.…