Innholdsfortegnelse for October 2020 i Travel + Leisure India & South Asia

BREATHTAKING SUITES, world-class dining, vibrant nightlife, and regal hospitality define a stay at Caesars Palace Bluewaters Dubai. As the hospitality industry gradually resumes operations, the hotel is all set to welcome guests. To ensure a safe experience, the hotel has put in place The Chariot Program, developed in alignment with the COVID-19 directives issued by local authorities. In addition, the resort has been awarded the Bureau Veritas SafeGuard label for following the highest safety and hygiene measures. The first venture of the legendary Caesars brand in the Middle East, Caesars Palace Bluewaters Dubai is an immersive destination, perfect for travellers seeking sheer indulgence. When you’re here, begin your day by lounging in a private cabana, followed by a pampering session at Qua Spa, where luxurious treatments infused with Japanese technology…

ABU DHABI IS AS FLAMBOYANT AS IT IS UNPRETENTIOUS, as avant-garde as it is traditional. When I visited the capital city of the United Arab Emirates, it left me awestruck with its rich history and dramatic evolution—from being a pearling and fishing town to the biggest oil repository in the Emirates to a cosmopolitan hotbed of creativity in the making. Today, Abu Dhabi is recognised not just for its centuries-old heritage and mind-boggling oil reserves, but also for its urban art and design, groundbreaking architecture, and many avenues of leisure. Although there are countless ways to dive into this contemporary yet traditonal city, here’s a brief guide to its most amazing delights. GRANDEUR AT ITS BEST I’M NOT HAPPY about being woken up before the sun has even risen. But…

How did you become a YouTube influencer in multiple domains? It started with a fluke when Facebook launched its live streaming feature. People used to ask me about the science behind my workout routine, as I used to take part in a lot of state-level and national championships while being in a full-time job. One day, a friend randomly started live-streaming my workout routine, and in the evening, I got many calls of appreciation. So, I grew a little confident and started going live during my workout sessions. Soon, I began to make packaged videos, talking about workout plans and fitness tips. Cut to December 2016, FitMuscleTv was born. And a year later, I launched Flying Beast, my channel on lifestyle and travel. Recently, Rasbhari Ke Papa—my live gaming channel—has…

MY EYES SQUINT UNDER the brilliant sun, trying to focus on something moving on the horizon. We’re cruising on a wooden dhow on the Strait of Hormuz, the inlet of water separating Oman from Iran. Before I know it, the distant creatures on the horizon have become co-travellers—scores of dolphins are now swimming alongside our boat. Indo-Pacific humpback and bottlenose dolphins delightfully porpoise in the waters as I am reminded by the boat’s captain to not give in to the temptation of reaching out and touching them. As they swim swiftly in the cerulean waters, I have to constantly remind myself: these are dolphins, and we are, in fact, in the Middle East! I am exploring the Musandam Peninsula, a mysterious exclave of Oman, separated from its home country by…

THERE IS NO QUESTION THAT Dubai is the fashion capital of the Middle East. The city loves to dress up and is home to one of the world’s largest and most luxurious shopping centres, The Dubai Mall. Most tourists inevitably indulge in fashion shopping here. After all, you can find the best of Milan and Paris in Dubai. But you must also look out for some responsible homegrown brands on your next trip. THE NEW WAVE With Middle Eastern brands waking up to the need to be sustainable, you can now find some unique conscious buys in Dubai. The recent lockdown has only spurred this movement on. Local brands are usually found in smaller malls, studios in Dubai Design District (D3, dubaidesigndistrict.com), or boutiques around the upscale residential area of…

Historic Durga Temples in India This Navaratri, revisit some of the legendary Durga temples of India and unearth the many folklores attached to them. travelandleisureindia.in/ durga-puja-2020 How Bonedi Bari Durga Puja Will Be Celebrated This Year Shorter idols, home-cooked bhog, sanitised pushpanjali flowers, and limited visitors—learn about the new norms of Bonedi Bari Durga Puja in Kolkata this year. travelandleisureindia.in/bonedibari-durga-pujas-in-kolkata Soulful Navaratri Recipes Here is a curated list of easy and delicious Navaratri recipes for you and your family. Let these nine days of fasting be filled with simple yet delectable flavours. travelandleisureindia.in/ navratri-recipes Download Travel + Leisure India & South Asia digital editions, and follow us for the best in hotels, food, style, culture, and trends. travelandleisureindia tnlindia tnlindia traveleisurein linkedin.com/company/travel-leisure-india-south-asia NOTE: ALL PRICES MENTIONED IN THE MAGAZINE ARE…

ENVISIONED BY ITALIAN designer Giorgio Armani in his signature style, Armani Hotel Dubai occupies the concourse level through to level 8, and levels 38 and 39 of Dubai’s iconic skyscraper, Burj Khalifa. Right from the property’s design to restaurant menus and in-room amenities, all of the offerings have been carefully picked by the global fashion icon himself. With a total of 160 tastefully done rooms and suites, six innovative dining options, exclusive retail outlets, and a holistic spa, the hotel crafts a unique ‘Stay with Armani’ experience for its guests. The restaurants, all hugely popular with guests and walk-in diners, offer global cuisines ranging from Japanese and Indian to Mediterranean and authentic Italian. The three exclusive retail outlets here further add to the charm—Armani/ Galleria is the first and only…

1. HEADPHONES Sony WH-1000XM4 The latest version of Sony’s top-of-the-line ANC headset offers larger and lighter ear cups, a proximity sensor for auto-pause, Bluetooth 5.0, quick charging, GPS-based Adaptive Sound Control, and AI-powered DSEE Extreme audio upscaling that makes compressed audio sound even better. ₹29,990; sony.co.in 2. ACTION CAMERA GoPro HERO9 Black GoPro’s latest flagship might be the perfect action camera: the HERO9 Black is built around a new sensor that delivers 5K video (at 30fps), 240fps slow-motion, and 20MP photos. The new front display should help vloggers get better footage—there’s improved stabilisation and time-lapse recording. You can also pick up the optional Max Mod lens to shoot super-stabilised wide-angle footage on your travels. ₹49,500; gopro.com 3. HEALTH TRACKER Fitbit Sense Fitbit calls the Sense an ‘Advanced Health Watch’ for…

Were you always keen on carrying forward your family legacy? While tea has been an integral part of my life, I didn’t think of carrying forward my family legacy in the tea business. I have always been very entrepreneurial. Even in the early days, I wanted to create value and do something of my own. In college, I founded two student start-ups. Soon after I graduated, I started looking for my ‘big idea’. While I was brainstorming, incidentally, I ended up going to my family’s holiday home in Darjeeling—the land where the world’s finest teas grow. I visited the tea estates and got a chance to interact with various stakeholders in the industry, including veterans, tea growers, and even the customers. It was then that I realised there was something…

What does your organisation do? Wild Otters Research (wildotters.com) is committed to understanding ecosystem dynamics and community ecology, with current emphasis on otters, bats, and humans in different habitat types and landscapes in Goa and Karnataka. Our projects aim to fill data deficiencies for various species. Although we primarily work outside of protected areas in semi-urban, human-modified, or human-dominated landscapes, we also work in protected areas in the Western Ghats of Karnataka. Besides pure research, both education and outreach are integral components of what we do. This includes internship programmes and training workshops for students, professors, and even the government. What are the volunteerism opportunities with Wild Otters Research? We run an online course every three weeks for people who are interested in learning about ecological research and gaining new…

IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN only a handful of horses; seven to be precise. Nothing compared to the guttural roar of hundreds packed in a V8 engine. But as steel-tipped hooves pounded into soft earth, leaving clumps of soil flying through the air and emitting a low but ferocious rumble, it was hard not to feel an immense primaeval power. The horses thundered past, manes flying, leashes straining, muscles rippling. In a flash, the first race of the day was over at the Jebel Ali Racecourse (emiratesracing.com) in Dubai. A ripple of excitement coursed through the crowd. The races had begun. Built in 1990, the 2,200-metre-long racecourse is laid out in the shape of a horseshoe. This innovative thought process extends to the track surface, which was made by mixing desert…

Overnight camping at Jebel Harim or Jabal Bil Ays is recommended in Musandam. A tour operator’s permit isn’t needed, however it helps to hire someone (contact Salim Al-Maawali; erc.salim@gmail.com) who can set up the tents, barbecue, and running water, and also arrange a four-wheel drive to get to the camping spot. Be prepared for mountain goats who come foraging for food in the dead of night! Enjoy a scenic 27-kilometre drive from Khasab to Bukha that offers spectacular sea views on one side and mountainscapes on the other. The Al Harf village en route offers a peek at Iran. The winds in Musandam are perfect for paragliding adventures. Sign up for one at Zighy Beach, from where you can enjoy views of the Hajar Mountains, fishing villages, and the Gulf…

THE MOST STRIKING thing about Afghanistan was its epic landscape, lush and fertile when we arrived in spring. The snow-capped mountains of the Hindu Kush, and the cascading layers of crumpled and velvety peaks that lay staggered beneath them, inspired an overwhelming reverence. The peaks played with light and shadow, creating a rolling spectacle from daybreak to dark, always with an ethereal luminosity. Vast valleys of bright green grass and crops stretched out like gently rolling oceans. The country wrapped us in a warm embrace, as if it had been permanently imprinted with the memory of seeing us come into the world. Many things seemed strangely familiar—from the worn, but still kind, features of its people and the social mannerisms to the sweet smell of the spring air. It was…

I AM STARING INTO THE turquoise waters of Dardanelles, the strait that connects the Aegean Sea to the Sea of Marmara. My car and I are on a ferry across the waterbody, from Çanakkale to the Gallipoli Peninsula. Today, the waters of these narrows are peaceful and sublime, but in 1915 this was a war theatre, playing out a long and bloody campaign that caused half a million casualties. Eager to beat the stalemate on the western front that had already left a million men dead, Winston Churchill, serving as the First Lord of the Admiralty at the outbreak of the First World War, suggested an attack on Istanbul through Dardanelles. This would clear the way for supplies to Russia from the Mediterranean Sea through the Bosporus and across the…

1 Hong Kong Wine & Dine Festival The Hong Kong Tourism Board is exploring new frontiers to bring this popular annual culinary event to its audience in a new digital avatar this year. Since this will also allow it to reach a larger audience, unrestrained by geographical boundaries, the festival will be held for several weeks in November this year, instead of four days. The full programme hasn’t been released at the time of printing this magazine, but the digital festival promises as much excitement as its real-life version, with exclusive offers from wine merchants, which you can avail once you pick out your favourite wine from themed wine-tasting classes by sommeliers. You can also learn to whip up delicious cocktails with top mixologists, and cook gourmet meals with chefs.…

Xbox Series X Vs. PlayStation 5 At a time when people are spending more time in their homes, both Microsoft and Sony have unleashed new consoles. The Xbox Series X (₹49,990) and Sony Playstation 5 (USD499.99; India pricing yet to be announced at the time of going to print) are on their way with pretty evenly matched specs. Both come with new ergonomic controllers, powerful processors and graphics chips, support for 8K TVs, and backwards compatibility for games. Sony might have the edge with its platform exclusives, but for some gamers, the Xbox Game Pass subscription service (from ₹489 per month) might nudge Microsoft ahead.…

How was your experience of a digital fashion show? The Blenders Pride Fashion Tour (blenderspridefashiontour.com) has come around in the digital format for the first time, and I completed 25 years in the industry—it was the perfect timing to celebrate the pride we share in using Indian craft in contemporary ways. Fashion has taken me to places I never thought I’d go and taught me things I never knew. It gave me my identity and pride. So it was a wonderful opportunity to celebrate that with INFINITE: My Identity, My Pride. A lot of work went into creating it—taking vintage pictures from the past (including that of my mother’s), shooting close-up photographs of embroideries, throwing in poetry, questioning identity, showcasing heritage. It wasn’t just models walking up and down like…

I NE LEFT TURN PAST THE Ranaghat Bridge and the pitched National Highway 513 is all but gone, leaving us to navigate a mud trail. The jeep Sukumar Tayeng is driving, rattles. To break the silence of the green overgrowth around us, I ask Tayeng, “How far do we have to go?” He replies, “It’s a very old car.” I look up inquiringly, spot a hearing device plugged into his ear, and fall quiet, musing about the age of the vehicle, even more aware of the rattles now. It’s finally not raining today after a week of torrential downpours. As the car struggles over wet mud, I think aloud (really loud this time), “I hope we don’t get stuck in this slush!” The wheels squeal, and the vehicle dramatically sinks…

“TAKE ONE STEP AT A TIME to the left till you reach the ladder,” said my guide Efraim Katzir. I was gingerly perched on the thin edge of a protruding rock. A few careful steps later, I made it down the ladder of metal rungs firmly fastened to the rock. As we walked on the dry, meandering riverbed of River Nahal Shani, steep rocks formed 30-metre-tall walls on both sides. The further we hiked, the narrower the trail became, with the rocks closing in on us to a point where the route was just one-metre wide. When the sunlight hit the reddish rocks, it was clear why they called this place the Red Canyon. My outing had begun in the resort city of Eilat, located 20 minutes away on the…

FOR THE MAGHOOT 15 drops yellow food colouring 4 tbsp cornstarch Bring 2 cups water and the yellow food colouring to a boil in a saucepan. Stir the cornstarch with 3 tablespoons of cold water to form a smooth paste, then mix in 2 tablespoons of the boiling water to make a slurry. Slowly add the tempered cornstarch to the boiling water, stirring continuously to prevent lumps. As soon as the mixture begins to boil again, pour it into a shallow heatproof dish. Refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours or until set. Cut the jelly into small cubes and set aside. FOR THE ROSE SYRUP 1 cup sugar 1 tbsp rose water 20 drops pink food colouring Add the sugar and 1 cup water to a small saucepan over high…

THIS AERIAL PHOTOGRAPH WAS TAKEN at Baldiha Dam, which is nearly 17 kilometres from Baripada, a city in the Mayurbhanj district of Odisha. The construction project on River Palpala was undertaken during the rule of Maharaja Sri Ram Chandra Bhanjdeo and finished in 1912 by the then state engineer Jarnold Martin Loe. The best time to visit the dam is monsoon, when it looks ethereal. -DEBASISH MISHRA ON HIS PHOTOGRAPH, SHOT ON A DJI MAVIC 2 PRO IN AUGUST 2020 Debasish Mishra was an entrant in our ongoing ‘Your Best Shot’ contest. Submit your best shots at tplusl@burda.in, or hashtag #telltnlindia and tag @travelandleisureindia on Instagram, to stand a chance to get featured on this page.…