Innholdsfortegnelse for March 2020 i Travel + Leisure Southeast Asia, Hong Kong & Macau

THIS MONTH ON TRAVELANDLEISUREASIA.COM THIS MIGHT BE BANGKOK’S WILDEST HOTEL SUITE A new set of rooms in a beloved boutique hotel lets you feel the call of the wild in the middle of Bangkok. SNORKELING WITH SHARKS IN THE MALDIVES Beyond the overwater villas and sparkling lagoons, the friendly giants of the Maldives inhabit a paradise of their own. OUR FAVORITE NEW(ISH) BAR OPENINGS From a funky wine spot in Hong Kong to a bar inspired by Indian heritage in Singapore, these hot spots are where you’ll find us drinking now. +LOOKOUT Japan’s Sado Island is a trip back to the country’s golden age; slow life in Bhutan; Macau beyond the neon; the latest travel deals and much more. travelandleisureasia.com DOWNLOAD US T+L TABLET EDITIONS Available on iOS, Android, Win…

YOU KNOW YOU MUST be doing something right when our annual IT List (page 47) comes out and you’ve already been to several of the world’s top hotels, as I have in the past year. Perusing the 73 new and renewed properties that make this year’s cut, you’ll see there’s never been a better time to start spoiling yourself. There’s something for every taste: last year, I had wonderful stays at an off-the-radar 10-room retreat in the Japanese countryside and at a big-budget option in Kyoto. If you’ve never been to Japan, either would be a perfect entrée to the endlessly fascinating country. On the other side of the planet, I escaped Asia last November for the unparalleled experience of a walking safari in the Serengeti with Alex Walker’s Serian…

THERE’S A CLAIRVOYANT reading palms in room 1107, an opera singer on the mezzanine and a roulette game happening in the boardroom. Next door, Muslim comedienne Hannan Azlan is killing it with a highinnuendo ukelele act, after which there’ll be a drag show, then margarita-fueled karaoke until someone pulls the plug. Earlier on, Tony Fernandes of Tune Group had given a reluctant speech on the central staircase. This titillating grab-bag of an event is in honor of The Chow Kit and its sibling Momo’s—the first two properties to launch from Ormond Hotels, a sister brand to Tune Hotels. Momo’s next door is more your contrarian millennial brand, whereas The Chow Kit is a nostalgic take on the locale’s gambling dens and cathouses—a tribute to the late-night laneways of the Chow…

FILIPINO FOOD has everything going for it: a dazzling array of produce, endlessly creative chefs and lipsmacking flavor profiles. With more than 7,000 islands, the Philippines enjoys an endless bounty from land and sea, while centuries of Chinese, Malay, Spanish and American influences create a vibrant cuisine that uses the best of indigenous ingredients heightened by the most delicious global accents. Unfortunately it also has, as some locals would say, a bit of a chip on its culinary shoulder. They point to the vestiges of colonialism that have resulted in the collective psyche valuing imported over homegrown. “Many middle- to upper-class Filipino households still serve steak and mashed potatoes or ‘continental’ food to guests as opposed to adobo, sinigang or tinola,” says chef Stephan Roxas Duhesme of newcomer Metiz (fb.com/metizresto; prixe-fixe…

Camissa House Cape Town, South Africa WHAT GIVES THIS eight-room bolt-hole an edge in a town packed with great hotels? To start, an exclusive address in Oranjezicht, one of Cape Town’s loveliest residential neighborhoods, right at the foot of Table Mountain. Then there are the quirky design details, including custom wallpaper depicting Cape flora and fauna in each room, and rows of black-jacketed books in the library. Before heading out each morning, I feasted on banana-bread French toast, omelettes, or pumpkin pancakes with maple syrup and cinnamon-coconut cream. A complimentary shuttle service whisks guests to the beach, cableway, V&A Waterfront, or any of Cape Town’s host of excellent restaurants—and the general manager has many of the top spots on speed dial, which makes snagging reservations a breeze. Service, meanwhile, strikes…

INDONESIA Samsara Ubud Inspired Balinese eats A boutique jungle stay with just 17 architecturally designed villas, this Ubud escape invites guests to reconnect with both each other and nature. And while the lush setting is more than enough to entice you here, it’s the dining that makes a visit next-level. The Kelusa restaurant has made a name for itself independent of the hotel, with modern Indonesian fine dining based on traditional flavors and seasonal produce. The menu, created by chef Iwan Sutrisno, might offer up such delights as Buntut Strozzapreti, hand-twisted pasta with local oxtail, and Balinese Bouillabaisse spiced with kaffir lime and turmeric. It’s not just what but how you eat at Samsara—cozy up in a candle-lit cabana for two at The Kelusa, or go for a literal raft…

1 Scott A. Woodward PHOTOGRAPHER “The Place Where the Land Runs Forever” Page 92 “The Serengeti is one of the oldest and most important ecosystems on the planet with its weather, flora and fauna staying virtually unchanged for more than one million years. I envisioned having to search to spot animals, but the sheer volume of them on the plains was astounding. On our first morning, we came upon a tower of giraffes. Time seemed to stand still as the sun crested the horizon and we gazed in silence at these statuesque creatures bathed in the day’s first soft light; it was a photographer’s dream.” Instagram: @scottawoodward. 2 Jessica Kozuka WRITER “Game On” Page 78 “Fun fact I learned during my Energizing Tokyo adventure: There’s often a fish-shaped wooden drum…

OUR FIRST NIGHT in New Zealand, there was hooting in the darkest hours, from nearer and farther around the flowering gardens of suburban Auckland. Come dawn, more of a chorale than a chorus. I got up, leaving my 12-year-old son, Felix, sleeping the sleep of the jet-lagged preteen, and ran along streets of pastel-painted wooden houses, down through a park whose trees I couldn’t name, to the shore of the Pacific Ocean, which I was seeing for the first time. I was making stops in Auckland and Wellington on a book tour, and had decided to slip a week’s vacation with Felix in between. We took the train 650 kilometers across the North Island, with a visit to Tongariro National Park along the way. There were some locals onboard the…

SINGAPORE Ascott Raffles Place Singapore Location, location, location Ascott Raffles Place is right in the heart of Singapore’s central business district, with Raffles Place MRT station at the doorstep. From here, it’s easy riding to Marina Bay Financial Centre and Marina Bay Sands, and a hop, skip and a jump to Chinatown. Elegant serviced suites in studio, one- and two-bedroom layouts are available, with all the attendant amenities required and then some for a comfy extended stay—fully equipped kitchens, Bose homeentertainment systems, a business center, 24-hour gym, infinity pool, and even babysitting and grocery services. the-ascott.com; doubles from S$340. — G.M. Ascott Orchard Singapore Fashionably functional Situated in Singapore’s luxury brand–studded shopping belt, Ascott Orchard offers easy access to a multitude of high-fashion brands and restaurants, not to mention proximity…

WHEN I TRAVEL, I seek out those rare moments when I forget I’m far from home—sitting in a restaurant so inviting, I immediately feel like I belong. Perched on a stool at the long wooden bar of a little Montreal restaurant named Le Diplomate, I felt it. Perhaps it was the passion with which chef Aaron Langille described how he spikes butter with Laphroaig. Or maybe it was the joy one of his sous-chefs took in telling me about roasting a whole pig. Or the house-made hoshigaki—an air-dried persimmon that Langille described as “a very elaborate Fruit Roll-Up”—that he cut a piece of and insisted that I taste. It was a January evening, and I know you would laugh in my wind-whipped face if I told you that Montreal is…

Coming in at No. 2 were the pristine coastlines found in and around Palawan. This part of the Philippines is home to stillundiscovered shores leading to crystal-clear waters, perfect for diving—or anyone’s idea of an idyll. Taking third was sleeper-hit Adelaide, both a great stop on its own for its laid-back vibes and food culture, but also a smart base for exploring Australia’s southern coast, or entry to the outback. Maybe it’s the summer Olympics: Tokyo was rated sixth globally. Once you exhaust your senses trying to explore the endless entertainment options in this buzzing world center, you’re in prime position to dive into the rest of Japan. In the 14th spot overall was Chiang Mai, still the hub for all things creative in Thailand. It’s also a pretty tasty…

A BRIGHT SPOT on the climate-change front: we’re making more sustainable choices as travelers. A Booking.com survey showed that 73 percent of us plan to stay in at least one eco-friendly property in the next year, and 70 percent would be more inclined to book a hotel if they knew it was eco-friendly. Many hotel companies have pared down the use of plastics, increased energy conservation, and launched turtle-hatchling and coral-reef protection programs, but few heavy hitters have mounted as broad an effort as InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), which has 16 brands to its name. Kimpton Hotels, which joined IHG in 2014, are known for restoring and converting existing buildings into new properties. And last year, IHG acquired Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas, which has been cutting-edge green since 1995.…

"YOU SEE THAT FIRST POOL at the bottom of the staircase? And the five waterslides next to it? Behind that, the third pool is actually the giant aquarium they built Koral restaurant in.” I was balancing precariously on the edge of my own glass-walled plunge pool on the balcony of my 10th-floor suite trying to explain to my friends where on this massive estate on Bali’s Nusa Dua seaside we were going to have dinner. Counting pools is the handiest metric at the new Apurva Kempinski (kempinski.com; doubles from Rp3,353,000) because the place overflows with them. On the other side of Koral—a fine-diner submerged in an aquarium where we ate blue crab with green apple and oohed every time a shark swam by—is a fourth pool, the main resort pool with…

Every month, more than 5 million people worldwide read Travel+Leisure, the world’s leading travel magazine. Travel+Leisure Southeast Asia is the most widely distributed international edition of the magazine, offering readers around the region a chance to experience the world. Timely and trusted advice on where to go now, need-to-know travel tips and service details we all need, and a bold new look are what sets the magazine apart today. It’s your indispensable guide to Southeast Asia and the world beyond, a must-read for today’s cosmopolitan and sophisticated traveler. To subscribe to either the print or digital edition, please visit www.TravelandLeisureSEA.com/subscriptions For more information e-mail travelandleisure@mediatransasia.com. Contact us at Circulation Department, Travel+Leisure Southeast Asia, Media Transasia (Thailand) Ltd., 14th Floor, Ocean Tower II, 75/8 Soi Sukhumvit 19, Klongtoey Nue, Wattana, Bangkok…

SUPERSAVER Chatrium Riverside Bangkok Stay in newly renovated digs on the Chao Phraya River with a family offer that includes a complimentary upgrade to a Grand Suite One-Bedroom Riverview room; daily buffet breakfast; welcome fruit; welcome drinks; in-room Wi-Fi; a shuttle service to Saphan Taksin pier; and early check-in and late checkout. The Deal The Family Package for 3 starts from Bt4,920 per night, valid until December 31, 2020. chatrium.com. ROMANCE SRI LANKA Haritha Villas + Spa This new resort in Hikkaduwa, a two-hour drive south of Colombo and just a hop-skip to UNESCO-heritage fort-town Galle, features just seven private-pool villas and two colonial-style mansions hidden in lush vegetation. A perfect romantic retreat, the property is offering a special threenight package for couples that includes return airport transfers; a bottle…