Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2017 i Travel + Leisure Southeast Asia, Hong Kong & Macau

ONE OF THE BEST THINGS ABOUT ASIA IS THAT IT IS CONTINUALLY CHANGING and usually for the better. In cities, the forward-thinking innovations tend to be design centric or at least have some element of style to them. This month’s issue offers up Hanoi as a prime example (“Capital Improvements,” page 64), and it’s a version of the Vietnamese capital you’ve never seen. Its current-day panache comes from the city’s ability to blend modern elements into its rich history, the trick being to not cede too much of the latter. Fans will find much diversity in the new vibe—provided they know where to look. As writer Connla Stokes observes, when visiting Hanoi these days, a good way to keep cool is to stay under the radar. A smaller version of that…

THE ENDLESS KNOT NECKLACE, made of gold and diamonds, is a grouping of eight interlocking auspicious symbols, and the amulet certainly brought luck to its designer, Sonam Ragbye, whose eponymous jewelry brand is putting Bhutan under a halogen limelight. Since childhood, Rabgye aspired to be a fashion designer and was always filling sketchbooks and doodling in the margins of notebooks during class. “My conservative family encouraged a more stable career, so I decided to sketch on the side,” she says, but after spending years on the business and developmental sides of environmental NGOs—work she describes as “bureaucratic”—she returned to Bhutan in 2014 with the goal of improving the lives of her compatriots through jewelry. “I am Bhutanese at heart,” says Rabgye, though the 33-year-old spent her childhood relocating every half-decade…

NEWER ISN’T ALWAYS BETTER. Yes, opening a hotel in a shiny steel skyscraper may cost less than retrofitting an existing building, but as Vue in Beijing proves, in the hands of the right designer, there is considerable charm in sprucing up historical architecture. The 80-room boutique property sits in a hutong neighborhood on the edge of one of Beijing’s most scenic pit stops, Hou Hai Lake. The owners—the Orange Hotels Group, which runs a chain of three-star hotels across China—immediately saw the potential of the cluster of disparate buildings that date to the 1950s, and tapped Ministry of Design for the job. For Colin Seah, the principal of the Singapore-based studio who was also responsible for the hotel’s branding, signage, landscaping and even the staff uniform design, the Vue was…

“WHEN THE UMBRELLA Movement happened, there was just so much going on in terms of creativity. Hong Kongers are known for being somewhat subdued and it was inspiring to see young people finding their voice and picking up loudspeakers,” remembers gallery co-founder Chantal Wong. When the prodemocracy protests that brought parts of the SAR to a screeching halt in 2014 dispersed, she wanted to build a platform to continue the dialogue they started. “It wasn’t so much about creating an art space as making sure that people still had an opportunity to communicate. The Umbrella Movement was so divisive and, naturally, when something like that happens, there’s a rupture in society that needs to be addressed.” Thanks in part to the presence of Art Basel, art in Hong Kong has…

1 Hotel Quickly Find deals on accommodations in more than 250 Asia-Pacific destinations. The thousands of hotel listings range from luxurious to no-frills. You can book a year in advance, but deep discounts are offered on next-day and same-day bookings. hotelquickly.com. 2 Waygo Use this visual translation app in China, Japan or South Korea. Point your phone’s camera at foreign text—menus, street signs, store names—and it instantly serves up an English translation and an audio pronunciation. waygoapp.com. 3 Zomato This restaurant-finder app is a must for travelers in India, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia in search of memorable meals. The hundreds of options range from tandoori and noodle joints to fine dining. zomato.com. 4 Traveloka Save up to 40 percent on flights and score deals on lodging. Traveloka…

THIS MONTH ON TRAVELANDLEISUREASIA.COM ESCAPE TO A PRIVATE ISLAND RESORT It might only be a short hop from Singapore’s urban jungle, but this paradisiacal eco-friendly retreat might as well be another world. ADRIAN ZEC HA OPENS UP ABOUT HIS PROJECT IN LUANG PRABANG He may be in his eighties, but the man who launched Aman and revolutionized the hotel iandustry isn’t done yet. WHY YOU SHOU LD GO TO TANGA LLE NOW Sri Lanka’s southern coastline has remained sleepy despite its abundant charms. We share extra incentive to head there before the developers do. LOOKOUT Vietnam’s new green getaway; where to go on your next Kuala Lumpur bar crawl; all aboard Hong Kong’s last true junk boat; the latest travel deals and more. travelandleisureasia.com DOWNLOAD US T+L TABLET EDITIONS Available…

Hailing a taxi in any city around the world is a game of local idiosyncracies. Need a lift during shift change in Singapore? Good luck. Want to go to a particularly busy street in Bangkok? Go ahead; just try convincing the driver. When it gets down to simply the cost on the meter, Carspring surveyed 80 cities around the world, with a number of Asian cities leading the least-expensive way—just don’t mention the traffic. Cairo is the cheapest city in the world to hail a taxi, with flagfall at 23 cents and a three-kilometer journey available for 55 cents. 2 Mumbai 3 Jakarta 7 Bangkok 9 Kuala Lumpur 10 Hanoi The rankings of Asian cities that make the top 10 list of cheapest taxi rides. In Mumbai, a three-kilometer ride…

THE CRAFT GALLERY Located in central Thimphu, this creative hub is a marketplace for crafts and locally made items— including Sonam Rabgye jewelry—run by the Gyalyum Charitable Trust, who give a portion of the proceeds to marginalized people of Bhutan. gyalyum.org/organizations/craft-gallery. VAST (VOLUNTARY ARTISTS’ STUDIO THIMPHU) Art lovers will find the mix of traditional and contemporary works of Bhutanese art at reasonable prices appealing. The shop is a vocational training center for young artists, and they promote social awareness through exhibits and local events. vast-bhutan.org. CRAFT BAZAAR More than 80 huts line the street, selling a range of handicrafts, including silk textiles, embroidery, wood sculptures, handmade paper products and traditional souvenirs. The initiative that runs the market has a socio-economic bent that promotes the sustainability of local crafts. Nordzin Lam,…

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—it’s a massproduced, 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 that’s been marching across the drinking world of late: craft brewing. Chinese consumers traditionally favor weaker beers and sweeter, less-bitter flavors. 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…

“IN THE AVENGERS, the Norse god Thor is sent to Earth to protect us from evil,” Sven Almenning says. “But he’s homesick so he builds a restaurant that pays tribute the ancient feasts of his home Valhalla. And he names it after his magical hammer.” Such was the inspiration behind Mjølner (mjolner.com. au; mains A$28–$35), the seventh Australian venue by Almenning, a Norwegian migrant who made headlines in 2011 when his flagship establishment Eau-de-Vie, Sydney was named World’s Best New Cocktail Bar at the Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards in New Orleans. Squirrelled away in a basement behind a thick wooden door in the roughshod suburb of Redfern, Mjølner is a theater restaurant that could’ve gone tragically wrong in less experienced hands. But Almenning pulls it off with elegant touches…

5 Things to Know Now 1 NEW VISA RULES China has implemented a 144- hour rule covering Shanghai and the adjacent Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces that allows travelers to remain in those areas for up to six days without a visa—as useful for cruisers as it is for air passengers. INCREASED SERVICE FROM ASIA TO THE WEST Singapore Airlines increases its service to Paris at the end of October to 10 flights a week, while Cathay Pacific now has three daily flights from Hong Kong to San Francisco. Budget airline AirAsia X now has approval to fly to the U.S. through Hawaii and will operate five times daily starting later this year. 3 NEW HIGH-SPEED TRAINS A bullet train tunnel connecting to Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido has shaved the…

SUPERSAVER Shangri-La Hotel, Jakarta As part of their campaign to celebrate the 50th year of ASEAN, Shangri-La Hotels is offering serious discounts throughout the region. In Jakarata, take advantage of 40 percent off a spacious room in the heart of the city, and don’t forget your swimsuit; their garden pool is gorgeous. The Deal ASEAN is More: a night in a Deluxe room, from US$176 for two, through December 31. Enter code ZASEAN40 when booking. shangri-la.com. CULTURE RANGOON Belmond Governor’s Residence Yangon This colonial mansion tucked away in Rangoon’s quiet embassy quarter is a historical landmark. Although built in the 1920s as a home in the capital for the ruler of Burma’s southern Kayah State, the mansion today sits in modern elegance with swish rooms and amenities that suit the…

AS YOU APPROACH BALTIMORE on the I-95 highway, you pass through a ring of weathered smokestacks and mechanical stalagmites that tell the story of a town shaped by the rise and fall of industry. Then the skyline appears, the logos atop the buildings a testament to newer economies: finance and health-care giants, digital insurgents and the sportswear behemoth Under Armour. The impression is vaguely forboding, until you exit the freeway and the city’s quaintness catches you off guard, like a lily sprouting from the pavement. Hiding in plain sight is a world of genteel row houses giving way to working-class food markets, of enclaves of Greek Revival magnificence abutting scrappy quarters where plastic flamingos graze on lawns the size of beach towels. Suddenly nothing sounds so delicious as a shot…

1 Morgan Ommer PHOTOGRAPHER Capital Improvements Page 64 “Hanoi recently turned 1,000. I don’t feel the city changes much. It modernizes, gets mobile phones, more cars, Wi-Fi, but it doesn’t actually change. The autumn is still wonderful, Hanoians still make the most delicious pho on Earth, and it remains the place to meet the country’s most interesting artists. For instance, Mat Ca (“Fish Eye”) is a collective of young happening photographers, behind @everydayvietnam on Instagram. They are talented, prolific and have a very good sense of humor. In other words they are the perfect representation of the new Hanoi.” Instagram: @morganommer. 2 Connla Stokes WRITER Capital Improvements Page 64 “I moved to Hanoi at the turn of the century and remember the Old Quarter at night. There was no one…

IT IS TIME I RETURN TO HUA HIN. Bangkok’s worst-kept secret, the weekend retreat has undergone a rebirth of late. This stretch of coast a few hours’ drive from the capital has been the chichi escape of the Thai elite since the 1920s, when the royal family built a summer palace called Klai Kangwon (“far from worries”) on these shores. Today’s Hua Hin, not surprisingly, has better roads, more direct flights and fewer empty beaches. There’s been a 65-percent climb in visitors since 2011 to nearly five million in 2015. A ferry from Pattaya launched in January, run by Royal Passenger Liner Co. (royalferrygroup.com; oneway fare Bt1,250), with a journey time of 90 minutes on smooth seas. And a high-speed train is in the works that will reduce the rail time from…

“I MAKE CLOTHES FOR ANYBODY,” Haziq Shahbudin tells me, “not just Muslims.” Schoolteacher by day, this soft-spoken stylist started moonlighting to create independent menswear label ZIX Brunei (fb.com/zix.brunei), and he’s now Brunei’s leading independent menwear fashion designer. It may sound like a dubious honorific, given that the tiny sultanate is a far cry from a fashion hub, but rather best known its oil reserves and the extravagant spending habits of Jefri Bolkiah, the current sultan’s infamous high-life-loving brother. Very few would expect to find an rising independent clothing brand here. Even Haziq was surprised by his success—he started making clothes just for fun, without any notion of selling them, until his friends began hounding him for his designs and encouraging him to expand. “Their interest pushed me to think that maybe…

‘I hate anything that’s too trendy. I like timeless pieces that I can wear year after year, and I love dressing for the occasion’ BRIGHT SIDE A heat wave during the Biennale opening made chic sunnies essential between cloudbursts. With their classic shape and soft, not-toosaccharine shade of pink, these L.G.R Turkana sunglasses ($310, lgrworld.com) complemented Amos’s dip-dyed green do. RAIN CHECK A gray afternoon called for a vintage Hermès trench, Vetements jeans, an Indian pashmina, a vintage Veronesi Antonella bracelet and a slouchy Iacobella Sacred & Naked bag ($588, iacobella.com). “I love dressing for the occasion,” Amos says. “Having green hair helped me fit in with the art crowd at the Biennale without having to try too hard with the rest of my look.” COMFORT CLASS “The Gritti Palace…

1 DRESS RESPECTFULLY Many Asian cultures prefer modest dress. In Buddhist or Muslim areas, low-cut blouses and short skirts don’t go over well. 2 BE AWARE OF PERSONAL SPACE Remain conscious of body contact. Out of respect, men do not touch women in public in India. Allow about an arm’s length of space from others. 3 DON’T BE A CRITIC If you are invited to a meal in China, it’s likely that there will be more food than you can possibly eat. It’s polite to try everything and impolite to critique anything you don’t like. 4 OPT FOR FORMALITY It is considered rude to greet new acquaintances in Asia by only their given names. Often, the English courtesy title—Mr., Mrs. or Miss—or the local equivalent is the best bet. 5…

COMPRISING MORE THAN 7,000 tropical islands scattered in the azure waters of the Pacific, the Philippines is one of Southeast Asia’s most individualistic and rewarding travel destinations. A great place to start is Palawan. This slender slice of paradise was once one of the last frontiers. But its popularity has burgeoned in recent times. Last month, Travel+Leisure readers ranked it the best island in the world for the second year in a row, and it’s not difficult to see why. Glorious nature abounds near the laid-back capital Puerto Princesa. Check out a firefly-watching tour on the Iwahig River, the limestone scenery and hiking at Ugong Rock, or the white-sand beaches dotting Honda Bay. Up north is spectacular El Nido, the gateway to the fabulous Bacuit Archipelago, a karst-studded marine wonderland…

IF YOU HAVEN’T BEEN TO MANILA in a while, you’re due. This is a town on the rise; it’s near impossible to recognize the cityscape from even five years ago. Case in point: one neighborhood, Bonifacio Global City, commonly known as BGC or The Fort, sprung from basically nothing and has evolved into a major hub, with skyscrapers and tree-lined, pedestrian-friendly streets filled with some of the hottest tables in town. Even the old Makati CBD has gotten a facelift. The rise of Uber and GrabTaxi has also altered the landscape, rendering some previously difficult-to-reach districts now fully accessible. Poblacion, for example, which used to be downright dodgy, is now an exciting enclave where young restaurateurs and entrepreneurs have set up shop, attracted by the low rents. This is but…