Innholdsfortegnelse for October 2019 i Travel + Leisure Southeast Asia, Hong Kong & Macau

1 Craig Sauers WRITER “Change is Brewing” Page 40 — “Craft beer in the West has been dominated by bearded white dudes—like me, for example. But the scene in Asia is younger, and evolving alongside our views on gender and culture issues. With their Long Island Iced Beer, Taiwan-based Taihu has done a remarkable job of replicating the flavor (and strength) of the world’s classiest cocktail.” Next on tap? “Spontaneously fermented ales aged in sake barrels, Sichuan peppercorn–laced stouts aged in bourbon barrels, and salty-sour gose infused with indigenous ingredients like yuzu and shekwasha. Basically, funky beers.” Instagram: @cksauers. 2 Stephanie Zubiri WRITER “Pride of Place” Page 70 — “I’d never been to Batanes before this trip but I’ve always wanted to go. It’s known to be this magical place…

ANYONE WHO CHECKS pale pink luggage is basically asking for trouble. But those nasty scuffs from riding in the bottom of the plane magically vanished from my suitcase by the time merry doorman Mahendran delivered it to my room. “We cleaned it right up for you,” he said with a wide, infectious grin. This homey and intuitive opening salvo, I quickly realized, cut right to the soul of The Capitol Kempinski, the long-awaited hotel within two heritage buildings in the historic center of Singapore. Stamford House was built in 1904 in Venetian Renaissance style; the neoclassical Capitol Building went up next door 26 years later. You may recall that a hotel by Pritzker Prize–winner Richard Meier was supposed to open in this space back in 2015. An ownership reshuffle and…

MY CHAUFFEURED Jaguar XJ steers in off the street, ascends a cobblestoned arc, circles Henry Moore’s Three Piece Reclining Figure, Draped and rolls to a stop that offers a postcard view of Victoria Harbour. Welcome to Rosewood Hong Kong, a piece of the city, yet simultaneously apart from it. As I enter through an ornate bronze facade into a space that doesn’t look or feel like a hotel lobby—stop to study the beautiful Chinese stiched silk centerpiece—I’m whisked by my butler Della into a stealth elevator that takes silent seconds to ascend 28 floors. As soon as the doors open, she welcomes me to my room for the next two nights. She’s only partly kidding. From the 24th floor up, the open space between the lifts and the suites is…

Lezzet Craft Beer Bar, Osaka “My good friend Artie Kure runs this bar in Osaka. She’s a draft system line technician and beer judge, so she really knows her stuff—she also speaks Turkish fluently! There are over 30 kinds of beer on draft, including Minoh.” fb.com/lezzetcraftbeerbar. Craft Beer Base, Osaka “Ai Tani is a beer judge and a true pioneer of beer in Japan. She runs this excellent bar in Osaka. She always has hundreds of beers from Japan and beyond to purchase, and she always has exciting beers on tap.” craftbeerbase.com. Vaneheim Brewery, Seoul “Jungha Kim makes traditional German beer styles at this cozy brewery on the eastern outskirts of Seoul. Her beer has won medals at big competitions in Japan and Australia, too.” fb.com/pg/vaneheimbrewery. Harvestmoon Brewery, Chiba “Brewmaster…

HERE’S AN IDEA that’s more subversive than it sounds: go to Sonoma County for a weekend of Chardonnay tasting. I know—Chardonnay, subversive? Come on. We all know that big, rich, oaky, buttery Chardonnay is the most popular and consequently least cool wine on the planet—the mom wine, the drink no one touches at a dinner party. But the truth is that over the past several years Chardonnay has stopped being one of California’s most predictable wines. It got a tattoo or two and acquired a little edge along the way. And Sonoma County is right at the forefront of that change. Admittedly, for most of the 20 years or so I’ve been visiting the region, Pinot Noir has been Sonoma County’s big draw. It’s also justly famed for its robust…

YOU’LL FIND A WARM WELCOME AMONG THE YAKHERDING, MOUNTAINDWELLING BROKPA OF LITTLE-VISITED EASTERN BHUTAN P. 80 THE FOOD, WINE AND LEGENDS FLOW IN A REGION THE ROMANS ONCE CONSIDERED THE END OF THE WORLD. GO BEYOND THE PILGRIMAGE PATH IN GALICIA, SPAIN P. 88 THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE IT IN THE PHILIPPINES. DANCE ON LUSH EMERALD CLIFFS AND IMMERSE IN THE TIGHT-KNIT COMMUNITY CULTURE OF BATANES P. 70 MINAS GERAIS WAS A 17THCENTURY BOOMTOWN AND IS STILL FULL OF GRIPPING HISTORY. ALL THAT GLITTERS IS GOLD… AND SILVER AND DIAMONDS IN BRAZIL P. 98…

TRAVELERS FROM BHUTAN OFTEN COME BACK WITH TALES of a land and a people untainted by modernity. It is the kind of place, they say, where a Buddhist saint rides a flying tigress, and where enlightenment for all sentient beings remains a daily wish. However, as a frequent traveler in these parts (I’ve visited every year since 2012), I’ve witnessed this small Himalayan kingdom develop at an impressive rate. Prayer flags still fly above its cities and towns, but are now accompanied by 4G and the sound of pop music. Not surprisingly, much of this “progress” is concentrated in the western region—the country’s seat of commerce and government, and home to its most popular tourism sites. Recently, I went way off the beaten path, to Bhutan’s rugged eastern side. With a…

The sun seared my shoulders as I climbed the sandy banks of an imperial topaz mine in Ouro Preto, Brazil. All around me, men were digging with picks and shovels, in the hopes of plucking a prize from the earth. Miners greeted me with palms full of crystals colored like hard candy—cherry, lemon and butterscotch. Imperial topaz, believed to bring prosperity, is my birthstone, so I couldn’t resist buying a few pieces to take home. Ouro Preto “lives off the sweat of other brows,” observed the explorer Richard Burton in 1869, when he was Britain’s consul in Brazil. For three centuries, men have dug the veins of Minas Gerais, the fourth-largest state in Brazil. The name means “general mines”—a tribute to the industry that once made Ouro Preto, the state’s…

SINGAPORE WAS TOP OF THE GLOBAL TABLE WHEN IT COMES TO PERSONAL SECURITY, followed by Copenhagen, Hong Kong—before the current troubles, no doubt—Tokyo and Wellington. AS FAR AS THE GROWING CONCERN OF DIGITAL SECURITY GOES, the best options were Tokyo, Singapore, Chicago and Washington, D.C., with Los Angeles and San Francisco tied for fifth place. IF HEALTH IS FOREMOST ON YOUR MIND WHEN TRAVELING, the top cities in the world were Osaka, Tokyo and Seoul, with Amsterdam and Stockholm tied in the fourth position.…

At the long, mahogany table next to me, a group of Tibetan monks unwinds, picking the best strips of yak meat from a sizzlinghot platter, the maroon of their robes contrasting against a background of soft, green hills and blue, cloud-patched sky. We’re sitting in the Sky Bar, a wooden cottage with a magical atmosphere that sits atop a tongue-shaped rock, which, I’m told, is sacred to nomadic Tibetans. Floorto- ceiling windows and a wrap-around balcony help guests survey their surrounding kingdom of green meadows, traversed by a slow-flowing stream where wild horses stop and quench their thirst. There is powerful beauty in the Sangke Grasslands, a remote corner of the Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Amdo, which marks the northern fringes of ancient Tibet that today are part of…

Get total skin protection with zero guilt from the wellness experts at Banyan Tree Essentials, which has launched its first reef-safe sunblock. The Banyan Tree Coconut & Seaweed Mineral Sunscreen SPF 30 PA+++ (essentials.banyantree.com; US$32.90) is a paraben- and sulphate-free formula that blocks UVA and UVB light without absorbing into the skin—or dissolving harmful chemicals into the ocean. Featuring ethically harvested organic Thai coconut oil from Koh Samui alongside other nourishing natural ingredients (algae extract, spirulina, red seaweed and peppermint oil), it protects, hydrates and soothes both during and after a day in the rays.…

MOST OF US EQUATE a chance to travel the world with a plane ticket. Author Viet Thanh Nguyen, on the other hand, sees literature as integral to any journey. It’s not that he disagrees with the first premise, but rather that his travels of late, especially to Asia from his California home, have taken on a more detailed, exploratory search for his work—emotional and cultural obligations, he calls them—particularly Pulitzer Prize–winning The Sympathizer and The Refugees, a collection of short stories that also deals with the Vietnamese experience of America. In fact, the final tale in that book touches on tourism in Vietnam in a way few of us ever experience. For anyone not knowing his story, the thumbnail version is that Nguyen fled Vietnam as a four-year-old with his…

SUPERSAVER Angsana Lang Co, Vietnam Take off on an all-ages beach vacation to the breezy shores of central Vietnam. This oceanfront resort an hour south of Hue has a special family package that includes daily breakfast for two, free children’s meals, a family picnic, kids’ club access and a host of other activities. The Deal Live for Family Fun. Rooms start at US$144 per night, minimum two-night stay, available until 31 December. angsana.com. BEACH THAILAND V Villas Hua Hin Live large in a beachside villa in Thailand’s royal resort town. Book a villa package by the end of October for stays until December 20 and enjoy daily champagne breakfast for up to six guests (depending on the villa) and floating afternoon tea in your private pool. Stay a second night…

TAI KWUN Opened for a little more than a year now, Tai Kwun (taikwun. hk) is one of Hong Kong’s largest revitalization projects to date—a buzzing cultural center converted from the old Central Police Station. Considering the high bidding war over prime real estate, the F&B mix here is remarkably well considered. Over at Aaharn (aaharn.hk), Thai-food missionary David Thompson dishes up the unadulterated flavors of his adopted homeland, from thrillingly complex curries to fiery relishes best tempered by a tropical cocktail downstairs at Bar at Armoury (fb.com/armouryhk). Craving Chinese? Pick a genre. Sample creative Cantonese fare at the mysterious Madame Fu (madamefu.com.hk); visit Old Bailey (oldbailey.hk), where Jiangnan cuisine is distilled to a core selection of masterfully executed classics; or head to The Chinese Library (chineselibrary.com.hk), for ageold recipes such as “thousand cut” silken…

THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG with me when, earlier this year, I visited Kamalaya Wellness Sanctuary & Holistic Spa on Koh Samui. But there wasn’t a lot right, either. I had given birth months earlier and was feeling depleted. I was planning to take part in Kamalaya’s Structural Revival Program, designed to improve posture and realign the body. This sounded good. My default position since becoming a mother was a defensive crouch, the result of many hours spent nursing a baby while scrolling through Twitter. I was nervous about being away from home. Could I sleep in? Were phones allowed? Would there be wine? The answer to all those questions turned out to be, Yes, if you’d like. Kamalaya doesn’t do rules. “We’re not a boot camp,” said Karina Stewart, a…

Great Leap has several locations in Beijing, but the best place to try the beer is at the original brewery located in a 110-year-old hutong. There are 20 beers on tap, including the popular Honey Ma Gold, which is made with Sichuan peppercorns and honey procured from an apiary near the Great Wall. greatleapbrewing.com; No. 6 Doujiao Hutong, Di’Anmenwai Ave., Dongcheng Dist., Beijing; 86-10/6406-0510. Taihu has several taprooms: one in Taichung; two in mainland China, in Xiamen and Chengdu; and three in Taipei—including an 18-tap mobile bar in a vintage Airstream. Visit the original Chuoyinshi Da’an location to try more than 20 kinds of Taihu in a low-key atmosphere. taihubrewing.com; No. 34, Alley 27, Ren’ai Rd, Sex 4, Da’an Dist., Taipei; 886-2/2773-5565. The Minoh brewery in suburban Minoh, Japan—about 30…

WHILE AT SEA on a cruise, jumping overboard is generally discouraged. But one blazing hot morning not long ago, on a flat, glassy sea west of the Maldives, the engines of Le Lapérouse, a new ship from the French expedition line Ponant, went quiet. My friend Bobby and I looked up from our books. Our morning was already a success: we’d nabbed prime real estate by the pool, shaded chaises usually claimed by early risers before we even woke up. The French-speaking passengers, a majority on the bilingual ship, were at a mandatory destination briefing, leaving their territory vulnerable. “Maybe they’ll let us swim,” Bobby said. “No way,” I said. “That would be insane.” But crew members were already releasing boundary ropes behind the ship. Soon we and our fellow…

WHEN I FIRST VISITED Lisbon seven years ago, the city was going through an existential crisis: bruised by the recession, young people were moving to Berlin or Brazil. Solitary men huddled around tiny ginjinha bars that served cherry liqueur shots for one euro. Alfama, the city’s oldest neighborhood, was little more than a down-at-the-heels flea market and a few melancholy fado joints. How times change. When I returned to Lisbon this spring with my six-year-old son, I found a city aglow. Creative start-ups have reinvigorated the economy, while canny property developers (and a major increase in flights, especially from the U.S.) have sparked a surge in tourism. MAAT, the Museum of Art, Architecture & Technology, sits like a ceramic spaceship on the waterfront. Abandoned warehouses are now co-working studios where…

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As one of the major Naga tribes in northeastern India, the Konyak were among the last to bridge with the outside world. A former warrior and headhunter, Nyemwang Wangshu earned his facial tattoos: each one represents a successful headhunt. After a hunt, captured heads were kept as trophies in the baan, or communal house. The tattoos on his chest were done of his own free will. “We didn’t wear shirts back then,” he explains. “I felt naked and needed something to decorate myself.”…