Innholdsfortegnelse for April 2018 i Travel + Leisure Southeast Asia, Hong Kong & Macau

THIS MONTH ON TRAVELANDLEISUREASIA.COM 10 OF OUR FAVORITE PLACES Our writers, editors and photographers share the trips and memories from the past 10 years that make them want to return again and again. WHY YOU SHOULD VISIT JAKARTA NOW With a new modern art museum, a bevy of high-end hotels and a burgeoning dining scene, the Indonesian capital beckons. IN HONOR OF ASIA’S GRANDE DAMES Even after decades of raising the bar, our favorite old-world hotels still effortlessly exude class, and offer fascinating history around every corner. LOOKOUT Venture off the beaten path in Japan with these easy day trips from Kyoto and Tokyo; iconic hotel bars worth staying for another drink or two; Bangkok’s oh-so-cool new creative spaces; teeny, tiny hotels across Australia; how to travel the world like…

IT’S NOT UNCOMMON TO BE treated like royalty at a five-star hotel. Butler service, the finest furnishings, luxury spa treatments and highend dining all come together to make us ordinary folk feel like kings and queens for a few days. At a new brood of five-star-plus villas in Siem Reap, architect Bill Bensley creates a majestic retreat that also takes pride in Cambodian culture. “I need to ensure that our guests, when they wake up in the morning, know exactly where they are,” Bensley says. It’s dark and rainy when I check in to my villa for the weekend, but, as the sun rises, I wake to a Khmer kingdom. Opened in December, the 10 two-story Shinta Mani Angkor Bensley Collection villas are set within a private compound bordered by…

IT WAS MY FIRST DINNER on my second visit to Perth. I had just popped a mouthful of roasted peppers at Ascua, a Spanish-inspired restaurant in the newly opened InterContinental Perth City Centre, and the silky strips were among the sweetest I had ever tasted. “They’re from Gingin,” the waitress said of their origin, a town 67 kilometers north of Perth. “They’re really good, aren’t they?” That was an understatement. Served alongside an equally flavorful beef rump cap, which has been cut from grain-fed cattle from the southeast Stirling Ranges, the peppers were just the beginning. Isolated from the rest of the country, Perth has access to some of the most biologically diverse produce from across Western Australia, the largest Australian state. The opening of the InterContinental last October coincided…

THE PARK RANGER ROBERT RÉGINA and I were hiking along a ridge in the Caravelle Peninsula, high above the sparkling Atlantic Ocean, when he asked me, “What do you know about Martinique?” Then he answered for me with perverse Gallic pride: “Rien, je crois! Nothing, I think!” Well, not quite nothing. I once wrote a book involving Napoleon Bonaparte’s romantic life, so I knew that his legendary amour—Marie-Josèphe-Rose Tascher de la Pagerie, better known as Empress Josephine—was born and raised on Martinique. But Régina was pretty close, which I knew after one look at the lavish beauty of this spectacular nature preserve, where lovely forest cascades down mountainsides to white-sand beaches. I had never heard of the Caravelle Peninsula before. My knowledge of Martinique was indeed almost rien. Régina and…

SUPERSAVER Best Western Thousand Island Hotel, Burma With its prime location on the banks of Nyaung Shwe River this quaint 48-room hotel makes a tranquil base for exploring Shan State’s most impressive draw, Inle Lake. Best Western is offering 20 percent off any two-night stay in this year-old hotel, which boasts a billiard room, riverfront café, rooftop bar and hot tub. The Deal Best Deals: a night in a Superior room, from US$80, through December 31. bestwestern.com. CITY SINGAPORE Mandarin Oriental, Singapore Add a dose of wellbeing to your next stay in Singapore with this deal from the Mandarin Oriental. The two-night Restore & Refresh package includes a stay in a luxurious Marina Bay View room, and will also treat two guests to a 120-minute Abhyanga healing treatment; a Yamuna…

Even in Bhutan, the tiny Himalayan kingdom that has one of the world’s highest standards for strangeness, the question stopped my guide in his tracks. “Who told you about that?” Max asked suspiciously, pulling his gho closer as if to ward off a sudden chill. We were standing on the timeworn stone steps of the Gangtey Monastery, an eerily quiet religious complex perched above a misty valley, where monks slipped like ghosts through a cobblestoned courtyard. Until that moment, Max (his Bhutanese name is Nawang Gyeltshen) had been a polite but disciplined font of information—the sort of guide whose aim is to usher travelers along a well-established path rather than get them behind closed doors. Now he was looking at me with a mix of alarm and curiosity. I explained…

Ten years ago, women like Morey—the boss-lady behind Callie’s Hot Little Biscuit (calliesbiscuits.com), a restaurant where people line up for the Southern breakfast staple—were a rarity in Charleston. Now that’s all changing, as more female chefs and entrepreneurs bring their talents to the table. Here, Morey shares her favorite eateries with women at the helm. “Literally my favorite thing to do on Fridays, after a long week of work, is to linger over lunch at Jill Mathias’s restaurant, Chez Nous (cheznousbistro.org; mains US$12–$40), off Cannon Street. It’s like a minivacation via transportive French food. And I just love how Jill is unapologetic about having only a few things on the menu. She’s breaking all the rules in all the right ways. Verde (eatatverde.com; salads US$8–$10), a delicious salad spot on King Street, is…

When it comes to visiting the Lowcountry’s historic estates, many visitors find themselves overwhelmed by the options, which include the popular Middleton Place, Drayton Hall, and Magnolia Plantation. But McLeod Plantation Historic Site (ccprc.com) is different for its unflinching perspective on both slavery and the struggle for land rights before, during, and after the Civil War. Spread over 15 hectares on James Island, McLeod opened to the public in 2015. Through tours and lectures, guides paint a stark, vivid picture of life for the slaves who harvested Sea Island cotton for McLeod's middle-class farmers. They also trace McLeod’s wartime and postbellum evolution, from a campsite for both Confederate and Union troops to the headquarters of the Freedmen’s Bureau following emancipation. The tours last 45 minutes, but you'll want another hour on…

1/Beads on Cannon The ultimate specialty shop, this two-story emporium carries any kind of gem, stone, bead and bauble imaginable, plus everything necessary to string, weave, or wire-wrap them. beadsoncannon.com. 2/Indigo & Cotton Since 2011, owner Brett Carron has been outfitting Charlestonian men with his smartly edited selection of both Southern (Raleigh Denim, Makr) and non-Southern (Post Imperial, Mollusk) brands in this welcoming, airy space. indigoandcotton.com. 3/Mac & Murphy This intimate shop raises the bar for indie stationery stores. Owner Liz Macpherson has stocked an eclectic array of things you never knew you needed: colorful greeting cards, framed prints, and desk accessories. macandmurphy.com. 4/Candy Shop Vintage Designer Deirdre Zahl’s boutique is a local mainstay for vintage and vintage-inspired accessories. Her Charleston rice-bead necklaces (long, flapper-style chains popular in the 1970s)…

Do you ever wonder what’s around the next corner when you’re traveling? If you don’t, you probably should. Taking that extra step, more often that not, uncovers something unexpected and worthwhile, anything from a great little coffee shop to a grand vista stretching in the opposite direction, not to mention a moment in time that you’ll remember years later. Surprise should be a key ingredient in all our travels, whether in our hometown or on the other side of the world. Throughout this month’s issue, we arm ourselves with an added dose of curiosity and revel in the unexpected. In Hong Kong, for example, we head away from Central to Sai Ying Pun (“Go West,” page 26) for a glimpse of that chic, ever-changing neighborhood. Today, microbrews or avo on…

We’re strong advocates of taking a break, but with the release of Expedia’s latest Vacation Deprivation Study it seems many aren’t booking as many days off as deserved. The survey found that Asia-Pacific ranked highest of the holiday-deprived, with full-time workers in South Korea, Malaysia, Hong Kong, India and Singapore all making the top six. Here are some of the more alarming stats, so—considering we have great beaches, private islands, remote jungles and luxurious resorts on our doorstep—book a flight, leave your desk and read this magazine poolside. 81% of South Koreans feel they don’t take enough vacations, the highest number of all countries surveyed. NORWAY is the most content vacation nation—only 38 percent feel like they don’t take enough holidays. THAILAND is the country with the lowest average amount…

EAT The second branch of popular Sheung Wan café Brew Bros (fb.com/brewbroshillroad), the Hill Road outpost is a quiet corner to start your day. Known as a slice of Australian café culture in Hong Kong, here, you can order smashed avo on toast (choose between the classic or their signature version, which is topped with crab) from their excellent breakfast menu. Their specialty beans come all the way from Melbourne’s boutique coffee roaster Market Lane. For lunch, stop into Qing Zuo (Shop 2–3, Wah Fai Court, 1–6 Ying SHOP Surprise your food-loving friends at home with some of the city’s best locally made sauces: subtly spiked with garlic and vinegar, Yu Kwen Yick (66A Third St.; 852/2568-8007) has made a favorite chili sauce for almost a century. At Mrs. So’s XO Sauce (xo-sauce.com.hk) the…

FROM THE WINDOW I COULD SEE for more than 200 kilometers. Below me, in the near distance, were tiny villages following a winding road, little rivers of houses meandering down the hill. Beyond them the plains of northern Italy spread out as flat as a tabletop, and farther still were the Cottian Alps on the French border. It was something you might glimpse from a plane while climbing away from the airport. Instead, I was sitting down to lunch at the Albergo Bucaneve. The local landscape informs almost everything about this hotel and spa in Bielmonte, a tiny resort high in the hills of Piedmont about 120 kilometers northwest of Milan. The Albergo Bucaneve (bucaneve is Italian for “snowdrop”) sits at the heart of the Oasi Zegna, a 100-square-kilometer park…

Modern Shanghai’s best example of the architectural as political is surely the shikumen. The word literally translates to “stone gate,” but references a type of laneway housing here that in its lifespan has hosted a cultural and economic rollercoaster of residents, depending on the political winds. If you’ve been to Shanghai, you’ve probably strolled the best-known shikumen revitalization projects, the fancy shopping and eating district Xintiandi and its aspiring-hipster cousin Tianzifang. On a leafy street in the former French Concession is an unassuming stone archway cut into a brick façade that leads to a different kind of shikumen compound, this one a tourist-traffic-free haven that has settled serenely its latest role: the plush, homey Capella Shanghai, Jian Ye Li. The architectural style was pioneered in the mid-1800s in Shanghai’s foreign…

GETTING THERE There are direct flights to Paro, Bhutan’s only international airport, from Bangkok, Singapore and various Indian cities including New Dehli. The state-owned Drukair Royal Bhutan Airlines (drukair.com) and the private Bhutan Airlines (bhutan airlines.bt) serve these three cities. The landing in the Himalayan airport was spectacular—and just as hairraising as reputed. TOUR OPERATORS & LODGING Independent travel is all but impossible in Bhutan. You must go through a government-licensed tour operator (they obtain your US$40 visa) and pay the minimum daily tariff of US$250 in high season (September–November and March–May) or US$200 in other months. Most itineraries are about nine days, and can be booked through seasoned, highend companies such as Remote Lands (remotelands.com) and Absolute Travel (absolutetravel.com). Carole Cambata (ccambata@greavestvl.com), a member of T+L’s A-List, our network of editor-approved travel agents, also specializes…

STAY The Dewberry Charleston A hotel with Midcentury design elements off Marion Square. thedewberrycharleston.com; doubles from US$350. 86 Cannon, the Poinsette House Don’t miss the nightly wine and cheese at this inn on Cannon Street. 86cannon.com; doubles from US$349. Wentworth Mansion This downtown inn is classic Charleston, with its Tiffany windows and evening sherry service. wentworthmansion.com; doubles from US$400. Zero George A cluster of 1804 homes and carriage houses make up this hotel in Ansonborough. zerogeorge.com; doubles from US$449. EAT Butcher & Bee Middle Eastern small plates reign at this creative restaurant in Half Mile North. butcherandbee.com; mains US$19–$28. Goat Sheep Cow, North The artisanal cheese shop’s new outpost in Half Mile North doubles as a wine bar. goatsheepcow.com. Husk Chef Sean Brock’s love letter to Southern cooking (shrimp and…

Intricate ironwork can be found throughout the city, in churches, homes, and gardens. Get hands-on instruction in the trade from blacksmith James Irving, who leads a Playing with Fire course on the basics at the Wild Dunes Resort and at his forge on James Island; students may come away with a bottle opener, oyster shucker, or fire poker. destinationhotels.com/wild-dunes; from US$90 for a two-hour class. Ryan Casey is a rising star in the craft-cocktail world, having earned his stripes at Charleston hot spots like FIG. Now he presides over the brass bar inside the Dewberry Charleston, where he hosts private mixology lessons for locals and guests. dewberrycharleston.com; from US$100 per hour. Henrietta Snype’s basket-making lessons are a deep dive into weaving technique, covering topics such as identifying native grass types…

no. 1 The Eastern & Oriental Express is celebrating a milestone in style. Marking 25 years of service, Belmond’s Eastern & Oriental Express now features two carriages with whimsical makeovers. Thai artist Somnuek Klangnok is behind the playful princes and princesses that adorn their exteriors. Also part of the Art & Fashion in Motion program, fashionista Thattaworn Sugunnasil has introduced uniforms notable for the fact they look nothing like uniforms, instead evoking a style that combines Oriental flare with French tailoring. So, female attendants wear solid silks that will leave passengers pondering who is on staff and who requires a G+T? belmond.com; suites on the two-night Singapore to Bangkok journey from US$3,110 per person. no. 2 Become part of the clan at Singapore’s next-generation private club. New to Singapore, where…

“WHEN WE FIRST OPENED, I thought, Who will come?” Kuldeep Kaur recalls, laughing. “Delhi is a conventional city. People would rather go to the mall.” For decades, Delhi has been chastised for its buttoned-down style. Compared to Mumbai, with its colorful film industry, and Kolkata, a hub of modern literary culture—cities where creativity has always been naturally experimental—Delhi’s bureaucratic way of life has led to a more formulaic style, focusing almost exclusively on couture bridal-wear and export garments. Things are pivoting, however, towards the local and the personal, and Kaur, a designer and the owner of Serendipity Delhi (serendipitydelhi.com), a travel-inspired homewares and design shop, is this new era’s biggest cheerleader. “There is an interesting alchemy between Indian-ness and individuality,” Kaur says. In Delhi, where past and present, traditional and modern…

MY MOTHER ALWAYS SAID, “You don’t just marry a man, you marry his whole family.” When I wed Emilio, I got his entire country—Nicaragua. We go there frequently, so I’ve managed to see most of his homeland’s greatest hits: the Spanish-colonial city of Granada, a handful of dormant volcanoes and the Pacific beaches loved by surfers. But I’d been married to my Nicaraguan husband for seven years before we made the trek to Little Corn Island, and I’m still a little resentful about that oversight. To be fair, most travelers can’t fit Little Corn—the smaller of the two Corn Islands, situated in the Caribbean 80 kilometers off Nicaragua’s eastern coast—into their mainland itinerary. “It’s too far,” Emilio always said, what with the hour-long flight in a prop plane from Managua…

Looking out from my Executive Deluxe room on the 59th floor of the golden-ribbed St. Regis Shanghai Jingan, I realize I’ve never had quite this view of the city. I’ve been to the observation decks of towers like the Shanghai World Financial Center, legions higher, but they’re over in skyscraper-central Pudong—which I can see to the northeast, melding into a neon Crayola box with their cousins in the North Bund. From a tall building on that side of town, you feel like a tree in a cacophonous forest; from here, alone at the top of the lower-rise Jing’an district, the CBD looks a peaceful world away, though it’s just a 15-minute drive. Yes, I just called crowded, sprawling Shanghai “peaceful,” but even at ground level, large swathes of Jing’an are…

When I was considering a move to Charleston to edit a new magazine called Garden & Gun in the summer of 2007, my wife and I went to McCrady’s restaurant, just off East Bay Street, which was helmed by a young chef named Sean Brock. Having been spoiled by New York restaurants, we weren’t expecting much, but it was hard not to be charmed by the entrance on a tiny cobblestoned alley, the long walnut bar, and the brick arch that framed the entrance inside. We couldn’t get a babysitter, so we stashed our sleeping six-month-old daughter under the table in her car seat, praying that she wouldn’t wake up and spoil a rare date night. Then the courses started coming—house-made charcuterie, sous vide scallops seared a la plancha, and…

For the ultimate keepsake that celebrates heritage and craftsmanship, look to these skilled artisans. Charleston has been exporting its culture via the products of metalsmiths and basket weavers for hundreds of years. Two of the artisans taking those traditions into the 21st century are Marianna “Mini” Hay and Corey Alston. Hay is the youngest designer at Croghan’s Jewel Box (croghansjewelbox.com), a King Street institution (her great-grandfather opened the shop in 1907). Looking to make her own mark, the 27-year-old took an unusual symbol—the palmetto bug, a.k.a. the humble cockroach—and turned it into her signature totem, placing it on chunky cuffs and delicate pendants. Her Goldbug collection has grown to 40 core designs, from a US$25 napkin ring to a US$530 bib necklace. In Charleston’s City Market, fifth-generation basket weaver Corey Alston…

With their windswept Atlantic beaches and family-friendly vibes, the barrier islands outside Charleston offer a different kind of escape. One of the most popular: Isle of Palms, home to the 650-hectare Wild Dunes Resort (destinationhotels.com/wild-dunes; doubles from US$199) and two golf courses. Many of the area’s most recognizable residents have homes there, including Shep Rose, who stars in the Bravo TV series Southern Charm and a new spin-off series, Relationshep. Here are his weekend go-tos, before and after a long day of surfing. “I get my coffee at the Refuge (therefugeiop.com), a little nautical-themed spot just over the IOP connector. That’s where you’ll find me most mornings. The seafood-focused Long Island Café (longislandcafesc.com; mains US$16–$33) is a gem. It’s been here since the 1980s and is as unpretentious as they come. My dad…