Innholdsfortegnelse for November 2015 i Travel + Leisure Southeast Asia, Hong Kong & Macau

THIS MONTH ON TRAVELANDLEISUREASIA.COM 18 OF THE BEST NEW RESTAURANTS IN BANGKOK From tasting menus by Michelin-starred chefs to casual eateries, these foodie havens are making waves. 6 JOURNEYS THAT INSPIRED CHEF ANDY RICKER Andy Ricker, the Michelinstarred American obsessed with northern Thai cuisine, shares favorite journeys. 6 ESSENTIAL BEIJING DISHES From Zhajiang noodles with creamy avocado to the quintessential roast duck, join local expert Lillian Chou on a culinary tour of the capital. LOOKOUT A new private-island resort in Indonesia; traveling in Burma just got easier; foraging tours in Australia; the latest travel deals; and more. travelandleisureasia.com DOWNLOAD US T+L TABLET EDITIONS Available on iOS, Android, Win 8 and Zinio Desktop Reader. FOLLOW US TWITTER.COM/TRAVLEISUREASIA FACEBOOK.COM/TRAVELLEISUREASIA PINTEREST.COM/TRAVLEISUREASIA INSTAGRAM.COM/TRAVELANDLEISUREASIA KEEP UP WITH US Sign up for our newsletter for monthly…

Yes, it’s true, not all routes are created equal. Take the Hong Kong to Bangkok journey, where Cathay Pacific awards 1,048 miles for the flight, while Thai Airways counts 1,065 miles. Randy Peterson, the U.S.-based frequent-flyer guru (insiderflyer.com), says this can make all the difference come December when you’re trying to qualify for a certain status in an awards program. “Falling short by 83 miles is never forgotten,” Peterson says, adding that Cathay and Thai fly “the ‘great circle route,’ basically the shortest distance between two points on the globe.” So why the discrepancy? Bottom line: airlines calculate their total distances in different ways, using a range of factors that might even include which terminal they use. No, really. “We’ve all been on flights that seemed like we were driving…

It’s a good thing overalls are back in style because, at this year’s Wonderfruit, all you on-trend hipsters are going to transition seamlessly from the sound stage to the pumpkin patch. In a go-green move that’s in line with their partying-with-a-conscious ethos, Wonderfruit is bringing peace-and-love festivals full-circle to their roots in Woodstock, which was held on a New York dairy farm. The organizers have taken enviable eco-advantage of owning a lush spread of land in Chonburi, three hours southeast of Bangkok, and partnered with Thailand Young Farmer collective to plant an operating organic farm on-site. So attendees can pick your own melons, berries, asparagus, mushrooms, corn, salad leaves, herbs, pumpkins and—if you really want to plunge knee-deep—rice. A resident farmer and chef will teach you about where your food…

Wrap Star “The teddy-bear fabric is so playful and luxe,” says Coach creative director Stuart Vevers of this mohair toggle coat (right, US$1,495). Inspired by “the way cool girls in New York dress in the winter,” it’s suitable for any cold-weather spot, particularly one of Vevers’ favorites: the Lake District (above) in the U.K., where he has a country house. He spends his holidays ice-skating and hiking in the snow. Make your home base the Samling Hotel (thesamling hotel.co.uk; doubles from £220), a 27-hectare property with a Michelinstarred restaurant. Camp out at the outdoor hot tub for the Beatrix Potter–worthy views of Lake Windermere. Warm and Fuzzy “The teddy-bear fabric is so playful and luxe,” says Coach creative director Stuart Vevers of this mohair toggle coat (right, US$1,495). Inspired by…

BANGKOK’S BUCOLIC backyard and UNESCO World Heritage wildlife refuge Khao Yai has a new crop of hotels, eateries and craft markets set up by eco-conscious locals to reinforce the place’s deeprooted ties to nature. With the building of new highways that could pave the way for a Phuket-like boom within a few years, these rolling hills are worth visiting now before mass tourism unearths this counterculture gem. Friday 4:00 p.m. Hitting the Road It is a 2½-hour drive northeast from Bangkok to Khao Yai, so we leave a little after lunch to beat weekend traffic. As the concrete jungle blurs by, cowboy-country steak houses and dairy farms start popping up on both sides of the road signaling Thailand’s wine region. 6:30 p.m. Private Pool Villas at Civilai Hill A bumpy…

ONE OF MALAYSIA’S MOST CLUED-IN fashion insiders, Kuala Lumpurbased stylist Min Luna (minlunaonset.com) says that her projects are all about play and passion. Her sleek and creative work for brands like Mimpikita (mimpikita.com.my)—think J. Crew with a local edge—and Innai Red (innaired.com), known for its perfect tailoring and red-carpet-worthy outfits, as well as Fizi Woo’s (fb.com/officialfiziwoo) body-flattering collection at Singapore fashion week are all about matching her clients’ personalities with international trends in seasonal advertising campaigns for fashion brands and projects where she dresses Malaysia’s best-known stars for premieres and award shows. Cue a set of recent images from her portfolio: a crisply cut pastel batik jacket draped casually on the shoulders, punk-inspired costume jewelry accessorizing a simple white kebaya top, and a close-up of extralarge sunglasses shot in black and white, all…

* Prices throughout are listed in US dollars.…

These days, it’s rare for economy-class travelers to feel like they’re getting more instead of less, but Airbus’s new A350 XWB (“extra wide body”) promises to change that. Because it has a carbon-composite fuselage—like its main competitor, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner—the plane is lighter and more fuel efficient than older planes. Perhaps more important for long-haul passengers, it offers a more comfortable ride. Some 40 airlines have ordered a total of nearly 800 aircraft; the first few are already crossing the skies for Vietnam Airlines and Qatar Airways. Here’s a closer look at how people in coach will get to live a little larger.…

The Vietnamese have a saying, cuoi ngua, xem hoa, which literally translates to “ride a horse, look at the flowers,” but idiomatically means that if you’re not paying attention, you may take in the general scenery but miss the important details. Anyone who’s read the international news coverage of this year’s 40th anniversary of Vietnam’s reunification will be aware that reporters from all over the world galloping through Saigon were struck by the glitzy skyscrapers, highend malls, citywide development and general whiff of opportunity. The takeaway snapshot was of a boomtown enraptured with consumerism and American fast food— supposedly ironic ideals in a nominally communist land that spent a generation battling the United States. But while McDonald’s and Starbucks are, yes, new beachheads here, the voracious Vietnamese appetite for the…

HUA LI, A TWO-YEAR-OLD PANDA, bounds across the hillside she calls home. She then climbs up to her modern, concrete house, disappearing from view. A flirt, seconds later she pops her head out as if to determine if her audience is still present. It is, so her encore begins as she clambers up the grassy knoll in the cool Sichuan rain, stopping to lean on her rear paws, arching backwards against a shrub and then rolling her head in some pilates-for-pandas move that I assume is how the cub scratches her back. In an instant, Hua Li is back on all fours, coiling herself into a 35-kilogram, black-and white fur ball and rolling down the steep, grassy hill at speed. At the bottom, now below the milling crowd of umbrellas,…

Put your packing under padlock with Samsonite’s latest luggage line, which not only protects your valuables, but also tells you exactly what they weigh. The built-in battery-powered scale of the True-Frame collection, available in stores this month, estimates the weight of the bag when you lift it up so you can avoid surprise fees at the check-in counter. The ridged hard-shelled luggage, which comes in six different colors and three sizes, also has a built-in ID tag and two combination locks for double-fastened closure. Bags packed to perfection, valuables totally secure: now the only thing weighing on you will be which guilty-pleasure movie to watch onboard. samsonite.com.sg; from S$650. OBSESSION If your airline doesn’t have a practice of collecting foreign change for charity, track down a TravelersBox at the airport.…

DON’T JUST UPDATE your travel wardrobe, upcycle it. Asia’s best eco-designers are issuing jaw-dropping collections made from salvaged fabric, recycled plastic and washed-up driftwood—in other words, items that typically end up in the dustbin. This style trend helps the planet stay green and puts eco-fashion brands on par with luxury labels. Here are five of our favorite Asia-based ecodesigners who are churning out pieces that will whisk you from touring temples to sipping cocktails in high style and low impact. Beijing | NEEMIC Neemic’s ramie collection makes you rethink what it means to be made in china. Six thousand years ago, ramie was all the rage, dressing everyone from peasants to princesses. Also known as Chinese nettle, ramie is a glorious and glamorous weed—a fashion vanguard long before cotton and…

ON A SAUNA-HOT AFTERNOON in Yucca Valley, a town 19 kilometers west of Joshua Tree National Park, Ryan Schneider, a painter from Brooklyn and a recent transplant to the area, was standing in the backyard of his rental house, showing me his work. His colorful, primitivist, abstract paintings (currently on view at Santa Monica’s Richard Heller Gallery) were affixed to the wood siding on the back of the house, which had that weathered, faded patina you find everywhere in the desert. In the early mornings and late afternoons, when the light falls just so, Schneider has been using the spot as a makeshift, open-air studio. Enticed by such easy living, he and his partner, Dana Balicki, a life coach, came to Joshua Tree in February to escape the harsh New…

CHANCES ARE, YOU’RE STUCK IN A FLIGHT-SEARCH RUT. And chances are even better that it’s costing you money, time and energy. For years, the online travel-booking space has been dominated by a handful of brands: Expedia, Kayak, Orbitz and Priceline.com. They revolutionized the business, giving anyone the ability to book airline tickets without the help of a travel agent or airline rep. Now comes a new crop of powerful flight-finding websites and apps. Armed with machine learning, natural-language processing and big-data capabilities, they offer novel ways to find cheap fares, plan better trips and save time. Here are the ones you need to know about the next time you log on. DEALRAY | INTEL FOR IMPULSIVE TRAVELERS The promise For US$9.99 a month, DealRay sends users a text whenever it…

SUPER SAVER: Phuket The Naka Island, A Luxury Collection Resort & Spa Your stay in a spacious pool villa on Naka Yai Island includes daily set lunch and dinner, plus 50 percent off à la carte spa treatments, any other meals and the roundtrip airport transfer. The Deal Full Board: two nights in a Tropical Pool villa, from Bt26,000 for two, through November 30. Save up to 50%. luxurycollection.com. CITY ASIA PACIFIC Hotel Jen From Beijing to Brisbane to the newly renovated Tanglin property in Singapore, the choices of where to book a roomy Hotel Jen suite are dizzying. No matter the city, your room comes with Club Lounge access, where you can enjoy made-to-order breakfast and high-speed Internet. The Deal Jen’s Suite Life: a night in a suite, from…

VISITING ASIA’S GREAT OUTDOORS ALWAYS SEEMS AN IMPROBABLE VENTURE when, midweek, you’re sitting at your desk amid the skyscrapers and traffic snarls. But, this, our annual look at green travel, should have you considering distant horizons. Most striking to me is writer Duncan Forgan’s journey through Bhutan (“On the Wings of a Tiger,” page 112), a kingdom spartan by choice yet overflowing with bliss. Bhutan is a magical place, something you realize as soon as you step off the plane: where else in the world do you inhale the rich scent of pine forests on an airport tarmac? Having been to this remote nation, I can attest to its pervasive natural beauty myself. In a similar vein, sharing your favorite travel experiences is exactly what we’re asking readers to…

CHEF JULIEN ROYER’S EYES are like lasers, locking on to every detail in the kitchen. Out among diners, he’s specific, a man of few words. With Gallic flair, he prefers to let his plates do the talking. Only once a sitting is done does Royer explain what he’s aiming for with his new restaurant, Odette, opening this month in Singapore’s National Gallery. Dive into his 55-minute organic egg and, at first, the savory chorizo ibérico and crunchy smoked potato are what stand out, but as the bolder flavors subside, I realize this is exactly how all eggs should taste. Royer’s dishes insist that flavor, scent, texture and even touch be perfect. Modern and French, now with an Asian twist, Odette is meant to change the way we think of haute…

I VISITED LANGTANG village last year, before the earthquake and resulting landslides shook the area to rubble. This outpost in Nepal, bordering Tibet, was possibly the most devastated of the region. The town itself was destroyed and will take a while to rebuild, but Langtang National Park sprawls beyond Langtang village and many hikes that weave through this rarefied mountain range are open once again. Now, more than ever, travelers should return to Nepal and trek this striking patch of the Himalayas as tourism is essential for the rebuilding of the country’s economy. On my trip, I hiked the Tamang Heritage Trek, much of which has already reopened, following a route through the Laurebina La pass, from the sacred lakes of Gosainkunda to Helambu. According to Hindu mythology, Gosainkunda Lake…

TRAVERSING THE 135-KILOMETER TRAIL between Cape Naturaliste and Cape Leeuwin is by no means a cakewalk, but with the new Walk into Luxury tour (walkintoluxury.com.au; two-night package from A1,500), I was pampered every step of the way. The journey through Margaret River, Western Australia’s stunning wine region, crosses some of the world’s most breathtaking landscapes, from beach-lined coasts and limestone cliffs to vineyards, riverfronts and forests, with stops at top-flight villas and restaurants. The tours don’t span the entire trail, instead tackling key sections of Australia’s sole biodiversity hot spot—one of only 34 in the world—at a leisurely pace. Approximately 99 percent of the species in this area are found nowhere else on earth, like rare forests of balga grass trees. Walk into Luxury offers two-, three- or seven-night trekking…

OLD Cabaret Michou A pillar of the Montmartre community, Michou has hosted everyone from Liza Minnelli to Jacques Chirac in his drag cabaret. 80 Rue des Martyrs; michou.com; cover charge starts at €33. Fromagerie Chataigner Yves Chataigner and his wife, Annick, have run their small shop for 50 years. 3 Rue des Martyrs. Gillery Laurence Gillery is one of the only remaining mercury-barometer specialists in Paris. Her workshop is a veritable museum. 97 Rue des Martyrs; gillery.com. Guy Lellouche Stunning antique furniture, the Rue des Martyrs. 6 Rue Notre Dame de Lorette. Librairie Vendredi For a hundred years, there’s been a bookstore at this address. Stop by to get in touch with your inner existentialist. 67 Rue des Martyrs. NEW Chinemachine New York native Martine Chanin stocks many surprises in…

“Are you sure you want us to take the door off the plane, mam?” Marissa, the mayor’s assistant, asked me after our truck had skidded onto the airstrip and discharged us directly under the wing of a six-seater Cessna surrounded by no fewer than a dozen downright jovial people waiting partly to help but mostly to watch us take flight. Uh, definitely. In fact, there’s no way we’re getting in that plane unless the door is off. We want to stick our heads out over the ocean. We require a doorless Cessna. Out came the power tools and off came the door. Being able to risk your life with such easy abandon is one of the thrills of charting the lesser-visited reaches of the Wild-Wild-West Philippines, but it’s also a…