Kanoo World Traveller_February2011

THE MIDDLE EAST’S BIGGEST TRAVEL MAGAZINE

fEBRuARy 2011

Where the Buffalo Roam

Brian Jackman returns to Tanzania to find huge herds where poachers once ruled

Ice Breaker

Produced in International Media Production Zone

Bath time

Out and about in England’s fairest city

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Brilliant Boutique Hotels

10% OFF

Your next holiday and car hire anywhere in the world

Jamie Lafferty heads to Antarctica total guide

New England

How to enjoy America’s greatest slice of country, whatever the season

Sample the delights of true local culture, sunny beaches and a fabulous shopping experience at Madinat Jumeirah’s traditional Arabian Souk. As a Middle East resident you can enjoy up to 50% off at the luxurious Talise Spa and up to 10% off our best available room rate (from AED 1,395*) which includes many exclusive complimentary benefits: Buffet Breakfast Sinbad’s Kids Club Complimentary Internet

Wild Wadi Waterpark

Exclusive Beach Access

For reservations, contact your preferred travel partner or call +971 4 364 7555

jumeirah.com/winterbreaksme Terms and Conditions apply*

Life is simply brighter when you add a bit of sparkle to it.

Sprinkle some sparkle onto your holiday this winter with Madinat Jumeirah, The Arabian Resort of Dubai.

Kanoo World Traveller FeBRuARy 2011

CONTENTS Travel biTes

feaTures

07 AgendA

66 city guide: bAth

25 essentiAl selection

All the latest need-to-know travel news.

Discover what the Roman’s really did for us.

Go small at the world’s best boutique hotels.

16 drive time

68 city guide: montevideo

38 AntArcticA

Hit the road along the glorious Amalfi Coast.

Laura Binder cheks out this South American gem.

On the march with the penguins.

17 Ask the expert

70 the detAils

43 totAl guide: new englAnd

Where to head for an individual or artistic retreat.

All the info you need to book your next trip.

Driving through autumn leaves in Connecticut,

18 picture this

71 competition

walking Boston’s cobbled streets, catching lobsters in

Stunning sights in Belize and Turkey.

Win a three-night stay in Corinthia Hotel London.

Cape Cod and tackling Vermont’s snowy peaks.

65 thirty-second concierge

72 suite dreAms

66 tAnzAniA

A chic haven in the Scottish highlands.

Soaring ceilings at The Dolder Grand, Zurich.

Finding peace – and luxury – without the poachers.

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68 On the cover: Lighthouse in Maine, New England.

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66

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Managing Director: Victoria Hazell-Thatcher

Features editor: Laura Binder

Designer: Matthew McBriar

Publishing Director: John Thatcher

laura@hotmediapublishing.com

Production manager: Haneef Abdul

Advertisement Director: Chris Capstick

+971 4 364 2877

Sales Manager: Cat Steele

chris@hotmediapublishing.com

Art editor: Jenni Dennis

cat@hotmediapublishing.com

+971 4 369 0917

jenni@hotmediapublishing.com

+971 4 446 1558

Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission from HOT Media Publishing is strictly prohibited. All prices mentioned are correct at time of press but may change. HOT Media Publishing does not accept liability for omissions or errors in Kanoo World Traveller.

‘Total Guide: New England’ is reprinted with the permission of Sunday Times Travel magazine.

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Jan-June 2010 22,620 BPA Consumer Audit Produced by: HOT Media Publishing FZ LLC

February 2011 Kanoo World Traveller 3

AGENDA Be informed, be inspired, be there

design classic

HoTel Missoni KuWaiT, KuWaiT CiTy Step inside this second hotel from the Italian design powerhouse on March 1 and you’ll be met with a palette of gold, turquoise, beige – and those unmistakable Missoni prints. Its 169 rooms (which include 63 suites) take residence over 18 floors, each one designed by Rosita Missoni herself. While in such stylish surrounds, take time out at the Six Senses spa; bathe in the most glamorous of pools (tiled in signature Missoni stripes); dine in Cucina (try the rabbit with polenta and radicchio) or sup strong espressos at Choco Café. Wonderful. www.hotelmissoni.com

February 2011 Kanoo World Traveller 5

Global Gourmet Canada-bound this year? Make a note of these favoured dining spots from Toronto-born John Cordeaux, Fairmont Bab Al Bahr’s talented Executive Chef.

For a true treat I would go to one of two restaurants in Toronto; Auberge Du Pommier or Scaramouche. Both offer outstanding food quality and service with chefs that I very much respect. The former is an authentic French restaurant with décor that harks back to an 1860s woodcutter’s cottage and is set on Yonge Street, the longest street in the world! The latter is a great pasta bar and grill that’s been around for over 30 years and is a true Toronto stalwart on the food scene.

For casual dining, though, I’d head to Allens in my old neighbourhood of Greektown; an Irish tavern that serves up really good home-style cooking.

Brits abroad

London’s National Portriat Gallery display inspired by UK tourists who have made New York their home New York is home to an estimated 120,000 English people, and since 2003 photographer Jason Bell has captured many of them on camera. They range from that most famous of Englishmen in New York - the singer Sting - to plumbers, cops, models. deep-sea divers and world-renowned fashion journalist Hamish Bowles (pictured). Bell is a renowned photographer who regulary shoots for the likes of Vanity Fair and Vogue, while he also shot film posters for Billy Elliot and Love Actually.

This collection of acclaimed portraits is availeble to view until April 17. www.npg.org.uk 6

Kanoo World Traveller February 2011

sinKing feeling Nearly 100 years since its demise, the Titanic remains the world’s most famous ship. And what’s being billed as the last opportunity for tourists to see its sunken ruins is happening next year. See www.luxuryandmoretravel.com for voyage details.

HONG KONG

Hong Kong is Asia’s leading tourist destination that never fails to amaze you.

Discover the many delights it has to offer from the breathtaking skyline view from The Peak, the delicious fresh cuisine, the abundance of shopping malls and markets and, of course, the luscious green countryside and beaches.

Hong Kong is great for everyone from families to friends, to couples – there is something to suit all.

Immerse yourself in the shopping experience and you’ll find everything from the latest designer fashions to electronic gadgets. Explore the memorable attractions around you and be amazed by the diversity of this exciting destination.

Hong Kong’s vibrant atmosphere and blend of cultures will dazzle you and leave you wanting more.

For further information about Hong Kong, visit DiscoverHongKong.com

Carry on

Red time Just in time for Valentine’s Day, Bloomingdale’s in Dubai is stocking these rather red, rather cool travel bags. which are sized to fit in with the carry-on requirements of all major airlines. You can snap one up for $389. www.bloomingdales.com

Height of good taste The world’s highest restaurant has opened in Dubai. Housed in the towering Burj Khalifa, the appropriately named Atmosphere serves up a menu that fuses imaginative light bites with fine dining fare www.atmosphereburjkhalifa.com

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Kanoo World Traveller February 2011

agenda | news

diy holidays

Tricks of the trade

If you fancy doing more than soaking up the sun and sights on your next holiday, why not learn a new skill?

Take cooking classes in Italy

Learn how to sail in Key Largo

loCation Lazio, Italy.

loCation Key Largo, USA

lowdown Chef Gianfranco Callidona is something of a culinary legend in the rolling hills of Lazio. His fantastic, (fairly) easy-to-follow cooking classes tend to draw budding chefs from across the globe.

lowdown Stay at the Key Largo Cottages and you’ll be given use of a 22ft sailboat, on which you’ll be taught the ropes by an accredited instructor who has previously sailed with an America’s Cup winning crew member.

the Venue You’ll be housed in the beautiful Villa Oria, which dates to the late 1600s, and offers heart-melting views of the countryside. .

the Venue They aren’t the plushest of lodgings, but the beachfront cottages sit only a few feet from the ocean - perfect to get you in the mood for sailing.

highlight Tucking into your first creation - do it right and your handmade ravioli will be brilliant.

highlight Take a lesson just before sunset so you can watch the golden sun slip away as you ride across the water.

details For packages inclusive of hotel and cooking classes, visit www.villaoria.it

details For packages inclusive of lodging and sailing classes, email keylargocottages@keylimesailingclub.com

10%

Fantasy islands...

This month’s offers from Kanoo Travel and american express Vacations.

hilTon seychelles noRTholme ResoRT & spa: 4 days/3 nighTs foR $2,167 experience the stunning seychelles at the luxury Hilton resort. Home to a brilliant spa. shangRi-la macTan ResoRT cebu: 4 days/3 nighTs foR $799 enjoy the perfect family getaway at the Phillippines’ premier five-star resort on the island of Mactan. hoTel sanuR beach bali: 4 days/3 nighTs foR $364 explore Bali’s myriad charms and enjoy the comfort of Hotel sanur Beach, which is set on a sandy stretch of pristine beach.

off all hotel and car hire bookings worldwide

Kanoo Travel is offering its customers a fantastic saving should they book a holiday anytime between March and April. The discount of 10% is applicable to all hotel bookings and car rentals worldwide, giving you a little extra money to spend while on your dream vacation. See page 70 for a full list of Kanoo Travel offices.

February 2011 Kanoo World Traveller 9

HOW MUCH DO YOU LOVE YOUR PARTNER? heart-stopping ideas for Valentine’s day

1. inTeRconTinenTal fesTival ciTy dubai Your experience starts with a ride in a limousine, which you soon swap for a speedboat. On approach down Dubai’s creek to the InterContinental you’ll see your names emblazoned on the side of the hotel, before you’re whisked off for a spa treatment in a VIP room. Come evening, you’ll dine in private at Reflets by Pierre Gagnaire and spend the night in a signature suite, before waking to a bubbly breakfast served by your own butler.

The Cost: $13, 624

2. mandaRin oRienTal geneva Enjoy a flight over the Alps in a private jet, on which you’ll also be served a gourmet lunch. Head back to your suite at the hotel - yours for 2 nights - to recieve Mont Blanc gifts, before dressing for dinner at the Michelin-starred Rasoi by Vineet. And wake each morning to a bubbly breakfast The Cost: $47,000

3. hoTel RiTz paRis Where better for Valentine’s Day than the world’s most romantic city? You’ll be taken from the Ritz in a horse-drawn carriage and trotted down to the banks of the Seine, where you’ll board a luxury yacht for a private cruise. Later that evening you’ll be served an extravagent feast from Michelin-starred Michael Roth in the privacy of your own suite The Cost: $12,300

London Pride For a hefty helping of ‘Cool Britannia’ make reservations at the W Hotel’s latest offering: W London.

It’s set smack bang in the thick of things in Leicester Square and opens its glossy doors on Valentine’s Day. And to enjoy over-the-top extravagence, check out its aptly-named ‘Extreme Wow’ suite. www.wlondon.co.uk

oman opening Feb 1st sees the Millennium Resort Mussanah open up on the banks of the Gulf of Oman, giving guests spectacular sights over a private marina and out to sea. It’s a view you can also enjoy from the four F&B outlets, with more to be added throughout the year along with a very cool crazy golf course. www.millenniumhotels.com

one-minuTe masTeRclass: finnish Hello Hei Two tickets please Kaksi lippua kiitos I’m very cold Mulla on kylmä! Do you have a highchair for babies? Onko teillä lasten-tuolia/lasten-istuinta? Thank you Kiitos Where is the museum? Missä on museo?

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Kanoo World Traveller February 2011

agenda | calendar

FebruarY

From bright lights to citrus bursts; this month’s jampacked with offbeat to-dos...

3-4

chineSe neW Year tsim Sha tsui, hong Kong 2011 is the year of the Rabbit so hop on down to the Tsim Sha Tsui where a stop-and-stare parade dances its glorious way through the district. Expect an endless flurry of bold floats, dragon dancers, street entertainers and music – an awesome sight against the backdrop of Victoria Harbour (which itself gives way to an allout fireworks show). Flowers on display citywide and skyscrapers decked in lights make this an amazing time to visit. www.discoverhongkong.com

1-13

Québec Winter carnival Québec, canada Québec celebrates its bitingly cold climate this month by hosting one of the world’s largest snow festivals, attracting some one million visitors.

Wrap up extra warm (temperatures plummet to minus 10) and prepare for fantasy-like surrounds. The SaintLaurent river provides a surface for dogsled races and costumed balls enliven the evenings. www.carnaval.qc.ca

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6

Super boWl Xlv arlington, uSa Americans would have us believe that this is the biggest sports fixture on the planet, and served with such hype comes a bucketload of razzmatazz - even the halftime entertainment routinely draws a crowd of up to 100 million watching at home. This year’s match up of the season’s top two teams takes place in Dallas. www.nfl.com/ superbowl/45

Kanoo World Traveller February 2011

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dubai deSert claSSic dubai, uae Despite its desert location, Emirates Golf Club provides lush greens for the best in the business to compete.

The players taking a swing for the title have more than hard cash and an outsized trophy to play for, there’s points up for grabs with the top ten Europeans at the end of the season guaranteed a Ryder Cup place. www. dubaidesertclassic.com

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Menton leMon FeStival Menton, France A few carts loaded with oranges and lemons in the 1930s has turned into an over-sized citrus celebration at this sleepy rural town, where hundreds of thousands flock. Of the events, don’t miss The Gardens of Light in Jardins Biovès, a spectacular sound and light show performed around orange and lemon statues by night.

And that’s just a taster... www.feteducitron.com

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eXtreMe Sailing SerieS Muscat, oman Take the entire family down to The Wave, Muscat – the starting point for the 2011 Extreme Sailling Series.

There you can drink-in sights of the some of the world’s best sailors – including Omani star Khamis Al Anbouri. Kids can get a piece of the action by taking part in sailing sessions, and you can enter a competition to take part in a race. www.muscat-festival.com

AgendA AgendA | RoAd RoAd tRip tRip

Drive time: AmAlfi CoAst EAT up ThE ExCITMEnT OF A dAY ABOund ITAlY’S MOST SCEnIC STrETCh – hOnk YOur hOrn IF YOu’rE rEAdY...

Few drives combine the feel of passion in the air with idyllic vistas at every turn – but both can be absorbed as you master the roads along the ‘Costiera Amalfitana’. The narrow, winding route will take drivers from Sorrento south to Salerno and create a colourful experience where you’ll be in a state of jawdropping awe at its beauty one minute and grip-the-wheel terror the next, as daredevil Italians overtake you. The contrast makes it a more exciting drive to the European norm. But, to fully appreciate it, start your engine in mid-September, October or May when you’ll avoid jampacked roads with wobbly tour buses. You’ll then be free to admire pretty villages dotted over vertical terrain, drink-in the twinkling turquoise sea 500-feet below and cast your eyes over mountains dipped in emerald green hues. A true Mediterranean marvel...

Image: Photolibrary

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Kanoo World Traveller February January 2011 2011

Life is simply brighter when you add a bit of sparkle to it. Sprinkle some sparkle onto your holiday this winter with a fabulous getaway to Dubai and stay at the ideal family destination of Jumeirah Beach Hotel.

Relax and unwind on our sun-drenched beaches, indulge in local traditions or partake in exciting water sports whilst enjoying your stay in total luxury. As a Middle East resident you will receive 10% off our best available rate (from AED 1,260*) which includes many exclusive complimentary benefits:

Buffet Breakfast Sinbad’s Kids Club Complimentary Internet

Wild Wadi Waterpark

Exclusive Beach Access

For reservations, contact your preferred travel partner or call +971 4 364 7555 jumeirah.com/winterbreaksme Terms and Conditions apply*

AgendA | trAvel q&A

Ask the expert

Where to go for a sunny getaway with a difference and how to entertain budding young artists.

Q

My kids are budding artists. Where do you recommend I take them to expand their artistic horizons?

Q

I love luxurious, sunny getaways but am bored of lying on a beach. Can you suggest anywhere luxurious yet unique for me to spend my next holiday?

Image: www.slh.com; National Portrait Gallery, London © Colin Streater.

For a beach holiday with a difference, head to the beautiful south coast of Mauritius to the Domaine de Bel Ombre. This part of the island is wild and unspoilt with sheltered lagoons surrounded by rugged mountains and the Valriche Nature reserve. You can explore tropical rainforest, waterfalls and banana plantations by quad bike, 4x4 jeeps, mountain bike or horseback and for watersports lovers there is waterskiing, swimming with dolphins, sailing and surfing. If you’re travelling with your partner, check in to Heritage Le Telfair. Set on the beachfront, it’s inspired by colonial design and absolutely ideal for a romantic getaway. (www.heritageletelfair.mu) Desroches Island in the Seychelles makes for another unique exotic getaway. This time it’s Robinson Crusoe style, where you can soak up the rays on the island’s pristine white beaches (all 14km of them!) as well as explore the paradise island by bicycle, see giant tortoises roaming free in the coconut palm plantations, go kayaking or kite surfing along their coral reef, not to mention Desroches is one of the best snorkeling and dive spots in the Seychelles. There’s big game fishing and boat trips to neighbouring islands for beach bbqs on your own castaway private beach, or you can take a visit to the local Creole village on the island, if you fancy samplimng a slice of local cultire (www. desroches-island.com). Jessica Hudson

The panel JessICa hudson cofounded The Chic Collection’s travel advisory and is tasked with sampling endless luxury hotels.

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Kanoo World Traveller February 2011

RaChel haMIlton is a full-time writer and the mother of two young children whom she travels frequently with.

tIM Woods, the go-to man for all things green, is an international project leader for the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers.

London has an extraordinary range of art galleries and many are free, making them even more appealing. All the larger galleries claim to be child-friendly; certainly none expect your kids to be of that rare ‘seen but not heard’ variety. Both the National Gallery and National Portrait Gallery have kids’ trails, which ensure the whole family can enjoy their incredible collections. Also, particularly during half terms and holidays, the big galleries frequently organize special family-focused exhibitions and workshops, such as last October’s ‘Ghosts in the Gallery’ workshop at the National Portrait Gallery.

Remember, though, you don’t need to rely on externally organized events to excite and inspire your budding artists during their early gallery visits. Consider preparing a list of objects for your kids to find in the pictures and sculptures on display – a horse, a flower, a boat, a baby – and turn the trip into a treasure hunt. Or, if the gallery allows it, let your children take a camera or a sketch pad and enjoy their experience as an artist rather than a visitor. Rachel Hamilton

Pullman Dubai Mall of the Emirates Your shopping hotel in Dubai

Discover a hotel connected to the Mall of the Emirates this DSF. Stay in a luxury of Junior Suite with Breakfast and Dinner for two.

Avail complimentary meals for kids up to 6 years old when with parents.

Shop in frenzy with an AED 100 shopping gift card per day per room. *Valid until February 20, 2011.

New attitude hotels for business travelers.

Your loyalty program**

Ultimate Family Shopping Experience

AED

1,673

www.pullmanhotels.com

For further information, please contact us: +971 4 702 8000

Picture this

GREAT BLUE HOLE Lighthouse atoLL, beLize

What could at first glance be mistaken as another desert island bobbing in turquoise seas, is in fact something of a far deeper ilk: an underwater sinkhole in the peacockcoloured waters of the Lighthouse Atoll. This natural wonder was spawned from an eroded limestone cave in the last glacial period, which was later flooded by rising sea levels. Today, the dark blue circle beckons scuba divers the world over, keen to explore its 300-metre width and 125-metre depth. Once submerged they’re privy to an underwater world where giant troupers, nurse sharks and tropical fish roam the crystal-clear water.

Image: Photolibrary

Picture this

PAmUkkALE turkey

Shrouded in the warmth of an orange sky, by day this mystical natural site gleams bright white – earning it the Turkish name of ‘cotton castle’. The ancient city of Hierapolis was built atop its hot springs, which spouted from the earth, cascaded over the cliff of Pamukkale and cooled to form spectacular travertines of brilliant white calcium pools. The powder-white wonderland’s calceous warm waters have been used as a spa for thousands of years, as people flocked here to soothe their ailments.

Visit today and you’ll find that some of its pools are artificial – since Its recognition as a World Heritage site, some hotels and roads built in modern times were demolished and replaced with these. But, wherever you dip, be sure to remove your shoes – they’re banned to protect the deposits. Image: Photolibrary

EssEntial sElEction | amazing stays

Boutique Chic who says bigger is better? Laura Binder rounds-up boutique boltholes fit for all tastes

you want… a BEacH witHin rEacH cavo tagoo, grEEcE

Bungalow HotEl, usa

cotton HousE, mustiquE

Cavo Tagoo has the kind of clifftop setting and catch-your-breath sea views that will make the stoniest of hearts skip a beat.

Minutes from Mykonos, its highlight has to be its plethora of pools; perfect for drinking-in the most piercing of clear blue seas – and you don’t even have to leave your room. Choose between a suite with a private plunge pool or a Golden Villa where you can bathe on a clifftop verandah. And if that doesn’t present enough reason for a dip, its seawater infinity pool (stunning when lit up at night) most certainly does. Oh, and don’t miss its lounge – drinks are served off a 13-foot long aquarium. www.cavotagoo.gr

Get The Beach Boys on your iPod and head for sand, sea and surf at the only boutique haunt on New Jersey Shore. You’ll get a feel of the beach as soon as you set a flipflop-clad foot inside, where pebbles, birds’ feathers (and the odd animal skull) line the lobby. The hotel’s quirky mix of seaside décor with Miami-worthy twists (gloss-black chandeliers in the bedrooms, cowhide chairs in the lounge) is down to its interior designer owners. Ask them about access to private members’ club Le Beach and mingle with tanned surfer torsos while you’re there. You may have to pay a fee, but it’s worth it... www.bungalowhotel.net

Step barefoot outside this charming Colonialstyle house and your toes will sink straight into the cotton-soft sands of Grenadine’s private island. If you’re dreaming of a getaway with a beach just outside your window, it literally doesn’t get any better than this. Not only do the pristine surrounds surpass even the most vivid of imaginations (picture the most unspoiled private isle, floating in the midst of a peacock–coloured ocean) but its high-end clientele guarantee some fabulous spots to spend your free time – try the Great Room, whose neo-colonial style serves as a stellar setting for afternoon tea. www.cottonhouse.net

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Kanoo World Traveller February 2011

| xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx | BoutiquE HotEls EssEntial EssEntial sElEction sElEction

February 2011 Kanoo World Traveller 23

EssEntial sElEction | amazing stays

you want… picturE-pErfEct countrysidE BaBington HousE, somErsEt

HotElito lupaia, tuscany

cHEz odEttE, cHampagnE

This sprawling country manor house (pictured top left) may look like a scene from a Jane Austen novel, but today it’s been whisked into modern times to serve as the most stylish of retreats for peace-seeking city folk who flock to its designer surrounds. While it carries all the exclusivity of a private members’ club (it’s sister to hip London hotels, Soho and Shoreditch House) non-members can take full advantage of its enviable charms too.

Which, for the record, include rolling lawns for afternoon croquet; suites that look like a tear sheet from British Vogue; Cowshed, an award-winning spa, and even a private cinema for those rainy afternoons.... www.babingtonhouse.co.uk

Arriving here feels rather like you’ve stumbled upon an eccentric Italian’s secret abode. And in many respects, you have. Created by the Murzilli family, Hotelito Lupaia is the prettiest of stone farmhouses tucked in the Tuscan hills and surrounded by ripe olive trees, its façade veiled by creeping vines which burst into pink blooms. Inside, flamboyance prevails. Fancy lime green walls? Book the Bosco bedroom. How about a fairytale fourposter bed drenched in rich red and fuschia pink hues? Suite Rossa is for you. Whether you think its interiors look like Donatella Versace gone mad or are the very essence of enchantment, it’s well worth a stay. www.lupaia.com

Dining at a bistro that’s fed and watered local villagers since World War II brings with it a serving of nostalgia even the most seasoned traveller can appreciate. In fact, it’s positively difficult not to get swept away by the forestflanked surrounds – especially when sat on the terrace eating French fare. Its simple splendour continues inside in a surprisingly sultry way: think monochrome colours offset with dark wood and dim lamplight. We say, leave only to roam this grassy region of Northern France – just don’t forget to ask for a pair of wellies. www.chez-odette.com

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Kanoo World Traveller February 2011

Previous page: Cavo Tagoo. This page clockwise from top left: Babington House; Chez Odette; Hotelito Lupaia. Opposite page: Ice Hotel.

| xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx | BoutiquE HotEls EssEntial EssEntial sElEction sElEction

you want… snowy surrounds tHE lodgE, switzErland

indigo patagonia HotEl, cHilE

icE HotEl, lapland

Make reservations at The Lodge and not only will you be privy to postcard-perfect views of the snow-dipped Swiss Alps, but an ice-rink in your backyard. If you don’t feel ready to brave the chilly climes, though, there are plenty of ways for guests to stay snug indoors: this alpine retreat has just nine rooms (which means you can bag the entire place for yourself if you so desire) and each one is a showcase of exposed beams and roaring log fires – with a hot tub to boot. And when you do feel ready to don your lapels and make for the great outdoors, it’s just a crisp stomp through the snow to Verbier’s ski centre. www.thelodge.virgin.com

Chile may not be the first place to spring to mind when seeking out snowy surrounds, but it’s certainly one you’ll remember after a stay here: the Fjord of Ultima Esperanza (an expanse of ice-cold water) is a feast for the eyes – best seen from the hotel’s rooftop hot tubs – while its pristine Patagonian mountain range is a lump-in-the-throat sight. The hotel has 28 bedrooms and its soaring ceilings, cashmere-soft beds and dedication to allthings cosy ensures the most peaceful of stays. And if you do want to see what Chile in the snow is like, go kayaking on the still Fjord waters or embark on a glacier cruise. www. indigopatagonia.com

For a more literal approach, book into a hotel made entirely of snow and ice. After all, how often do you get to spend the night in a thermal sleeping bag on a bed made of snow, laden in reindeer skins? Head 200km north of the Arctic Circle and that’s exactly what you’ll do. The hotel is set in a tiny Lapland village, where it’s rebuilt every year using ice from the Torne River: which gives you an icy window of opportunuity to stay between December and April, before it melts. Enter its igloo-like façade and you’re sure to feel warm with anticipation – even if the furniture is made of ice. Just one tip: don’t forget your thermals. www.icehotel.com

February 2011 Kanoo World Traveller 25

| xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx | BoutiQuE HotEls EssEntial EssEntial sElEction sElEction

you want… an ultra-cool city sPot GramErcy Park HotEl, nEw york ‘Urban’, ‘edgy’ and ‘cool’ are all words synonymous with New York City and on the city’s east side the Gramercy Park Hotel wears these labels well. Inside it’s the most fabulous muddle of styles – from exposed brickwork fit for a NYC loft, to descending scarlet drapes that plummet past bold artwork by the likes of Damien Hurst. But if you find its heady decorative style a little too much, head up to its rooftop gardens and breathe in New York at its most basic.

Alternatively, savour the city by night in its Rose or Jade lounges; hangouts frequented by only the hippest of New Yorkers. www.gramercyparkhhotel.com

El PalauEt, BarcElona

oPPositE HousE, BEijinG

A break in Barcelona can be a frantic affair; from its vibrant Gaudi architecture to its non-stop nightlife and bustling streets, alive with animated chatter from olive-skinned locals. This six-room hotel – which takes up residence in a 1906 Modernist building – serves as a stylish form of relief with its soothing all-white finish and opulent high ceilings. Read a book by an oversized window in your white-clad boudoir (its cool, mirrored details are the only exception) or head to the spa which peers over the city from the rooftop terrace. And if you want to stay locked up all day (with décor like this, we don’t blame you) just buzz for a butler. www.elpalauet.com

If you like your hotels glossy and glamorous this newcomer has every angle covered.

Floor-to-ceiling glass windows at every turn means you’ll find yourself in a virtual glasshouse; a cube-shaped bubble in which to escape the smog-filled air. Stay in one of its studios, like Studio 95 which has a balcony and day bed; an ideal place to rest up after a day’s sightseeing. Be sure to dine in at least one of its three restaurants before you leave.

Book a private dining room and you can even choose a menu, music and lighting to suit your mood. Now that’s what we call service. www.oppositehouse.com Clockwise from top left: Gramercy Park; Sureno private dining room, Opposite House.

February 2011 Kanoo World Traveller 27

To The ends of The earTh Jamie Lafferty wraps up warm for a march with the penguins in Antarctica

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Kanoo World Traveller February 2011

| xxxxxxxxxxxxxx | AntArCtICA xxxxxxxxxx ICE VoyAgE

W

hen I was younger, my grandfather – to protect my innocence and his own sanity – would only tell us greatly sanitised versions of his war stories.

But perhaps the most enduring tale was about a hellish night on the notorious Russian Convoys. One of his images that stuck clearest in my mind was a warning about grabbing metal railings in the freezing cold. If it was severe enough and you were unlucky, the freeze could rip the palm of your hand clear off.

You’d walk away; your hand print would stay forever.

And almost two decades later, it’s this image that I can’t shake from my head as I head onto the deck of the Antarctic Dream to take a look at the world’s least populated, least visited continent.

Several days previously, while staying at the wonderful Tierra De Leyendas (Land of Legends) in Ushuaia, we spent a good deal of time checking and rechecking everything we might need for an expedition to the

world’s seventh continent. Affable owner Sebastian may have lived within relative proximity to Antarctica, but he’s never been able to get away from his boutique family business for long enough. As such he couldn’t offer us much advice about what to expect when we head off the map. But we needn’t have worried. Having crossed the Drake Passage, between South America and Antarctica, we head to the deck to discover that the grab-rails aren’t frozen at all. And although it’s certainly not warm, being swaddled in Gore-Tex this and Polartec that, I actually feel quite hot. Not exactly what I’d expected from the coldest, driest place on the planet.

It’s December, and though the temperature is barely above freezing, this is the height of summer. For these few months each year, the seas around the distinctive Antarctic Peninsula melt, making passage for tourist ships like the Antarctic Dream possible. The ship is actually a refurbished Chilean naval vessel which now carries a few hundred passengers to Antarctica each season and, owing to the unpredictability of the

February 2011 Kanoo World Traveller 29

weather, ice and behaviour of the animals, no two trips are ever identical. Unlike many of the cruise ships in the region, the Antarctic Dream makes regular landings on the White Continent, during which expert staff guide tourists from all over the planet around the Peninsula. The boat aims to give people two outings each day, either making landfall or taking a zodiac cruise around some truly mind-bending scenery. One of our early stops will be at Paulet Island, the home of some 200,000 Adelie penguins.

For many people, coming here is a life’s dream – and even if not, Antarctica is neither cheap, nor easy to get to. In short, it requires a lot of effort and demands a high reward. The pressure, then, should be on Pablo Brandeman, expedition leader. ‘Actually, I try not to manage expectations,’ he says over a cup of tea on board the ship. ‘My job on that side is easy – once people get up on deck and have a look, Antarctica

children, these little people of the Antarctic world, either like children or old men, full of their own importance and late for dinner,’ so wrote Aspley Cherry-Garrard, when describing penguins on his own voyage to Antarctica with the ill-fated Captain Scott.

On an average trip to the Antarctic Peninsula, there is a virtual guarantee of seeing most, if not all, of the three species of brush-tailed penguin. All of them – Chinstrap, Gentoo and Adelie – have distinctive head markings and no small amount of personality. On rare occasions, guests may also be treated to a sighting of the iconic Emperor and King penguins, though their rookeries are often out of the reach of all but the hardiest icebreakers. For many guests, like Californian artist Beth Hird, these gregarious little birds often prove to be the highlight of their trip and the visit to Paulet Island gives the kind of experience that will stick with her for a lifetime. Antarctic Dream gives express instructions not

‘Almost reassuringly, the scenery in Antarctica is like nowhere else on Earth. the scale, drama and exquisite beauty are very difficult to capture in any medium’ does it all. There are sometimes people who expect a Caribbean style cruise with a musician at night and so on, but what we do more is on the educational side. We want to give everything, from the view to an understanding of the history, the wildlife, the people, the ice...’

Almost reassuringly, the scenery in Antarctica is like nowhere else on Earth. The scale, drama and exquisite beauty are very difficult to capture in any medium; ‘Tongue and pen fail in attempting to describe the magic,’ was Antarctic hero Ernest Shackleton’s famous retort. Even with a high-end digital camera, it is almost impossible to do justice to the snow mountains that plunge into the sea, the town-sized glaciers that slide into the ocean like so much polystyrene, or the myriad personalities of the animals that throng the beaches and cliffs on fantastic islands. For many people, it’s the chance to interact with wildlife that brings them to the ends of the Earth – and there is one creature whose popularity far outweighs the others. ‘They are... like

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to get within five metres of the birds. No one, though, has told the penguins this. ‘I was filming a couple and another one walked right up to me. I shut the camera off because it seemed so much more immediate to be with this little being next to me than with the camera,’ says Beth. ‘It just stood and stared at me for the longest time, cocking its head, opening its wings and eventually walking away. It was the most amazing thing... like being with any animal when you realise that they’re very curious about you too, a little afraid, but that they want to stand next to you and just watch.’

Back on board the ship, we are greeted with a steaming cup of soup before we start moving to another bay, this time in search of Gentoo penguins. As the water becomes a little choppy, guests are treated to a near-acrobatic display by the waiters who daintily skip between tables delivering three courses every lunch and Previous page: Emperor penguins march across the snow.

Opposite page: Climbers venture through the frozen terrain.

| xxxxxxxxxxxxxx | xxxxxxxxxxxx | AntArCtICA xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx ICE VoyAgE

February 2011 Kanoo World Traveller 31

ICE VoyAgE | AntArCtICA

dinner, as well as ensuring that the breakfast buffet is well stocked.

The majority of the crew have years of experience on ships and even the tumult of the dreaded Drake Passage holds few surprises for them. However, for one member of staff, this is all very new.

‘I think I’m still digesting it all,’ says Cristina Trugeda Harboe who, as well as experiencing her maiden voyage, also turned 30 during the trip. ‘It’s hard to be professional at the same time [as seeing Antarctica for the first time]. I need to go again and after that, I think I will have a bit of a better understanding of the logistics of it all.’

Like most of the crew, Cristina has multiple jobs on board, but her real speciality lies in photography. Getting to work in such a place is the realisation of a long-held ambition. ‘To come here was one of my dreams. it’s somewhere animals and the environment are untouched. That was one of the reasons I wanted to come, to try and get the essence of this pristine place.’

Top to bottom: Paulet island; The Antarctic Dream sails through ice; Gentoo penguins face the wind.

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We arrive at Cuverville Island, and are preparing to disembark when the ship is thrown into chaos by the sudden arrival of half a dozen Humpback whales. ‘Being flexible is important,’ Pablo had said to me earlier. At moments like this, it’s essential. Rather than head directly to the island, the crew scramble the small fleet of zodiacs and, within a few minutes, guests are hurtling past icebergs and swimming penguins to await the resurfacing of the huge, black beasts from beneath. It doesn’t take long. Again, we don’t have to drive over the top of the whales to get a close look – they come to us. So close in fact, that we can hear the great snorting of their blow holes; so close that when seeing their white fins flash beneath the crystal clear water, most people get a jolt of adrenaline. How close is too close?

Mercifully everyone stays dry and emerges from the experience jabbering with excitement, with pictures so detailed, it’s possible to pick out individual barnacles on the whales’ bodies. All this before clambering up a snowy hill for another close encounter with the penguins. ‘There must be an intangible something that draws one back to the wild wastes of Antarctica,’ wrote Shackleton on his third and final trip to the continent. And it is nearly impossible to pinpoint just one thing that makes this place so special – we know what he’s talking about though.

Images: Photolibrary, Katy Morrison.

‘Antarctic Dream gives express instructions not to get within five metres of the birds. no one, though, has told the penguins this’

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total guide | new england

TOTAl GUiDE

new england tantalising trips for every season – from fiery fall foliage to sandy summer fun.

PAGE 36 RED DEvilRy Rev up for a classic autumn roadtrip as New England’s leaves turn technicolour PAGE 42 CHill FACTOR Vermont sparkles in the snow – wrap up for a winter wonderland of snug inns and skiing PAGE 46 BlOOM TOWN Cobbled streets, clam chowder and cherry blossom: Boston’s bursting with charm in spring PAGE 52 ESCAPE ClAWS Summers on Cape Cod come with a side order of sailing, sand and supersize lobsters

February 2011 Kanoo World Traveller 35

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Kanoo World Traveller February 2011

total guide | new england Autumn

Red devilry

the satanic shenanigans of centuries past may send a shiver – yet the Fall foliage is supernaturally beautiful on an interstate roadtrip, says Ed Grenby It is Satan’s domain! It is a hideous, howling wilderness! It is death!

Such are the words – the exact words, as recorded in their letters – of my predecessors, those who walked the wooded banks of New England’s swift rivers 400 years ago, who looked upon her silvered lakes and thick-grown meadows, and sought to describe what they saw. These first travel writers were the colonial settlers of the 1600s – although the more colourful stuff comes from the sermons of their Puritan preachers, who were inclined to see the Devil in pretty much anything from singing to sandwiches to… well, you’ve heard of Salem, right? The strangest thing is that they might have been on to something after all, in their barmy, witch-burning way. As the clear,

bright light of summer fades to the old-parchment shades of autumn, New England really does take on a somehow mystical air. Stand at the summit of New Hampshire’s Mount Washington, for instance, where the winds that scourge the (chained-down) observatory reach hurricane force one day in three, and it’s hard not to feel you’re witness to some biblical battle between good and evil. Or watch an eerie earlymorning fog wrap itself around Maine’s Moosehead Lake like a winding sheet, and deny that your spine tingles slightly. Or simply stroll a little too slowly in the woods of the Housatonic River valley in Connecticut – and so finish your walk in the shadow of the pines as darkness falls – to feel the nameless foreboding of a watchful forest.

February 2011 Kanoo World Traveller 37

New England, come the fall, is a supernaturally beautiful place, and yet seeing it is so prosaically run-of-the-mill simple: rental cars can usually be hired open-jaw, hotels are past their peak season and open to walk-ups, and it’s the best and most abundant time of the year for scallops and lobster, so you can expect to eat some of the finest seafood of your life for maybe $10 a main course. I drove up from New York City (it’s 90 minutes from Manhattan before you start seeing fluffy sheep grazing in flower-strewn meadows – who knew?), and made first for the Litchfield Hills of west Connecticut. This is New England as those Puritans intended it. Cleanliness was next to godliness, of course, and not far off – still today, it seems – is neatness of village green, whiteness of picket fences and well-meaning dullness of local museums. Litchfield itself is probably the loveliest example, although pretty Winchester runs it close, especially on the snooze-eum front, with one given over to kerosene lamps and another devoted to

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‘...you can expect to eat some of the finest seafood of your life for maybe $10...’ chairs. Yes, chairs. More importantly, you are now entering Fall Colour Country – and you don’t have to be a Reformation-era religious zealot to wonder if the trees of New England haven’t somehow sold their sap to Old Nick in return for their spectacular new hues. From the most modest, virginal rose-tinted blush to the tartiest of scarlets (and that’s just the reds; there’s molten golds and traffic-light ambers and faded jade(d) greens too), it’s like a living, leafy Pantone chart up here. Indeed, you could walk or drive around at random in Vermont or New Hampshire – any time between late September and the beginning

of November – and see colours that will melt your memory card; but for a one-to-three-day drive that takes in the full neon glory while swerving the worst of the leaf-peeping traffic, try Route 7 north through the Berkshires and Massachusetts, and on up to Bennington, before turning east onto Route 9 (‘The Molly Stark Trail’), which winds through lushly wooded Green Mountain National Forest.

That’ll see you through to Wilmington, where you can turn left to skirt the National Forest’s eastern edge all the way on to Waitsfield, 200km up Route 100.

Looking at the map, I was a little worried about ‘Route 100’ (and the rest), fearing some sort of six-lane superhighway, but it’s a tootling country road with pumpkins growing on either side, so big and round and orange they look unreal, as if they’ve been placed there for a joke like Panorama’s spaghetti trees. Crossing east into New Hampshire, you basically can’t avoid the White Mountain National Forest – which is lucky, because its Kancamagus Highway (Route 112) is a 55km

total guide | new england Autumn

Previous page: Morning fog over Stowe. This page clockwise from far left: Driving through autumnal hues; White Mountains, Presidential Range; Mount Washington Hotel; Pumpkins; Winvian in Litchfield Hills; Migis Lodge.

classic of trees, trails, waterfalls and views so profoundly, soul-satisfyingly good, you won’t want it to end. Unless, that is, you’re staying (or eating) at either of the region’s splendid old dames, the Mountain View Grand or the Mount Washington Hotel. At the former I had an exquisite steak that came with foie gras where you’d expect the fries to be; and at the latter I sat in a rocking chair on the veranda, so pleased with myself and the view that it was all too easy to imagine the patrician sense of contented benevolence that led to the creation of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund here in 1944.

Why, I almost created one myself!

A kilometre or two – and a whole world – away was my next stop, the tripledecker bunks of Zealand Falls Hut, one of several basic-but-bonny hostels run by the Appalachian Mountain Club, each at the end of a good afternoon’s striding. I saw hare,

beaver (and waterfalls flashing like a seam of silver in the sun) among the bog bilberry, mountain cranberry and mountain avens on the walk up there. I missed out on moose, but the maples here were on fire with colour, and the silence was intoxicating – even my footsteps were muffled by the carpet of pine needles beneath them. It was the same further on down the road, over the state border and into Maine. The biggest and emptiest of the six New England states, it’s perhaps the only one where the front page of the newspaper could scream ‘fire leaves little damage’. (Why not just print ‘Nothing much happens. Again’ and be done with it?) The quiet suited me fine, anyway. I spent two nights on deliciously silent Lake Sebago, in Migis Lodge, a hotel that felt like a summer camp for grown-ups (tennis courts, kayaks, campfire cookouts and jumping off jetties into the lake like the people pictured in brochures), and I only left the wide, wooded property once. The rest of the time, I hunkered down in my wooden cottage and

gleefully threw logs on the fire. It wasn’t really cold enough to merit them, but a soft pine-scented rain was falling, the leaves (and their reflections in the mirror-still lake) were quivering precariously in the breeze… And it just somehow seemed the right, perfectly autumnal thing to do.

wHeRe to StaY Standout hotels around the litchfield Hills include Winvian (www.winvian.com; doubles from $750, B&B), where you can sleep in a treehouse or a helicopter, and the more genteel Mayflower Inn (www.mayflowerinn.com; doubles from $550, room only). The Nutmeg Inn (www.nutmeginn.com; doubles from $140, B&B) is a charming 200-year-old farmhouse in wilmington. in the white Mountain national Forest, try Mount Washington Hotel (www. mtwashington.com; doubles from $250, room only). if you wish you can stay right on lake Sebago’s shore at the charming Migis Lodge (00 1 207 655 4524, www.migis.com; doubles from $400, full board).

February 2011 Kanoo World Traveller 39

total guide | new england Autumn

Three more trips to fall for Get ready to bid summer a fiery farewell in the USA’s leaf-peeping hub, says Laura Goodman.

1. SPOT WHALES IN MASSACHUSETTS It’s not often you get to have a deep-sea adventure in a big city, which is why the boats departing Boston’s city-centre aquarium are so packed during summer’s tourist rush. Come Fall, the catamarans bound for Stellwagen Bank Marine Sanctuary empty out, and Boston Harbor Cruises (www.bostonharborcruises. com) departs twice daily until the end of October. Passengers can scrutinise the open seas for two-and-a-half hours, with researchers from the Whale Center of New England on board to help spot humpbacks, right whales and more.

2. LOOK FOR LIGHTHOUSES IN MAINE Pre-GPS, lighthouses beamed hope through Maine’s foggy nights, guiding lost ships safely to shore; there are more than 60 of them along the rugged coastline, including Nubble Light (the world’s most snapped lighthouse). The beacons are a thrill to behold – no more so than from the deck of a traditional windjammer (www. windjammervacation.com).

3. FARM FARE IN VERMONT From maple syrup to pumpkin butter, Vermont is famous for its fresh produce – and come Fall it’s all in rich supply. The best way to get a taste for it is to visit village farmers’ markets. Woodstock (www.woodstockfarmersmarket.com) is stocked with pure maple syrup, apple and pumpkin butters. The market at Stowe is even quainter.

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Chill factor

It may look Christmas-card perfect, but there’s a side of Stowe, in Vermont, that’s more Twin Peaks than twee.

Nick Redman takes (nervously) to the slopes.

I

n the big book of US Landscapes to Stir the Soul and Speed You to the Nearest Travel Agent, there’s one particularly magic image: rust-red clapboard homes smothered in snow. Even if you don’t know it, you’ll recognise it from Yuletide cards, calendars and every movie that’s ever called for a slice of apple-pie America. Stowe, in the Green Mountains of Vermont, New England, is widely held to be the genuine article: it’s the place we dream of when we want to be knee-deep in real snow rather than up to our necks in sage-and-onion stuffing… Rosy-faced townsfolk singing carols, the swish of a one-horse open sleigh to the General Store for a head-turning new muff, and dear old Bing Crosby by the mantelpiece, adjusting his chestnuts over an open fire. Stowe’s not just for Christmas. The season of goodwill, or rather good skiing, runs well into March. I love Europe for alpine pleasures but last year the urge to visit the US struck. America’s like that: you’re happily immersed in a movie when a scene gives you a ‘rush’, nostalgia cut with desire. And so you go, in my case (thank you, Bing) to Stowe.

Vermont was starry – Roosevelts, Vanderbilts, Kennedys – before the word ‘celebrity’ existed. Horse, carriage, limo, plane or ski train out of Boston – you took whatever, just to be part of it. But with the rise of the adrenaline-rush Rockies, Stowe sloped off into the sunset. Well, it has now staged a startling comeback. I laid my hat at Stowe Mountain Lodge, the brand-new base-camp

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resort, to find a fab slab of rustically modified Manhattan: silver birches, clustered in uplit quartets; ceramics by a potter to President Obama, that kind of thing. Part of a $500 million general overhaul, it also comes with the odd eco-nod. Heard of bamboo linen?

It’s fast-growing and antimicrobial, no need to dye. ‘Cotton has so many chemicals,’ shuddered a staff member as I fluttered my napkin. What would Roosevelt make of ‘Stowe Nouveau’ (as I christened the lodge)? The Brussels sprouts at dinner come dwarf-size, flash-grilled on garlic flatbreads; ‘Triple Bypass’ is the name of a severely creamy pudding; and the butter isn’t plain old butter, you understand – it is, your waiter intones, ‘Butter from Vermont Butter and Cheese, which is located in Websterville, just south from here and a little east’. The state is committedly ‘locavore’ – as in, fashionably obsessed with the sourcing of regional ingredients. By the time I’d been talked through the breakfast menu I could have applied for a Green Card, opened a farm and raised the ingredients myself. But in one crucial respect – the skiing – Stowe is vintage.

Stepping out in sharp morning light I downed lungfuls of metallic air. It smelt of America, sweet and slightly burnt. Then I looked up: the peaks were giant crumpled duvets of snow. The powdery runs seemed tailor-made for regaining ski legs, and in a morning, I’d fallen for ‘Easy Street’ (more than once), as well as the swoop of ‘Lullabye Lane’. But again and again I had to stop – to mentally snap the wraparound mountains,

the woods of witches’ broom with no foliage.

As if something nuclear had blown through, quite dead, quite magnificent.

That evening I collapsed in the lodge’s spa and its ‘Sound Chair’, which massages via embedded speakers.’ It stimulates your water molecules in a positive way, added the assistant, and I wished I had a ‘Bring back Bing’ placard to waggle at her, however feebly. Slowly, though, I was settling into Stowe Nouveau. ‘Vermont reminds me a bit of Napa, California, 30 years ago,’ a guy at the next table told me over dinner as I ate a Tres Leche Sponge Cake with vanilla-scented oranges, lemon mascarpone and honey tuille. ‘You know, a relocation place for CEOs who’ve said, “Screw it”. Captains of industry thinking, “This boardroom’s no longer my passion” and opening a cheese co-op’.

Next day, cloud soon stopped skiing, so I motored out in search of famous settlers: the Sound of Music family, aka George and Maria Von Trapp and their gaggle of kids. Fleeing Nazi-era Austria, in 1941 they made their home just up the road from Stowe village.

Today the hills are alive with the sound of fractional-ownership transactions: amid slanted meadows of longhorn cattle you can buy one of the Villas at Trapp Family Lodge. I settled for some Von Trapp maple syrup and continued on my journey, the road delivering simple motifs strangely heavy with omen: bulging tarpaulins over logs, covered wooden bridges over mad streams of mountain Opposite page: The Trapp Family Lodge cuts a warm, welcoming sight amid the pristine slopes. Next page: Stowe Mountain Lodge at the foot of the mountains.

|| new |england ToTal ToTalToTal guIde guIdeguIde uSa IndIan Road IReland oCean TRIP winter

February January 2011 Kanoo World Traveller 43

meltwaters, and green signposts to ‘Moscow’ or some other tiny town. I’d thought Stowe would be fairly ordinary in the flesh, but the road finally reached a Kodachrome dreamscape of small-town America.

Lunch in Depot Street Malt Shop was so Yankee doodle dandy it felt like one of those places they open up elsewhere in the world, desperate to be American: the waitress drawled like Frenchie in Grease, and the day’s special, the ‘Buddy Holly’, came with Swiss cheese on rye. White sunlight poured in on a mom spooning knickerbocker glory to her little poppet in pink. Never mind Buddy, I sensed the creeping advance of David Twin Peaks Lynch. In the Ski Museum I was the only soul among old chairlifts hung overhead.

One held two dummies, the female peering at me through a woollen mask, like one of Vincent Price’s victims in House of Wax. I returned to the lodge and fled to the slopes.

But as the chairlift floated over diamond-glint gullies, a jaw of icicles from a boulder, the

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‘Vermont was starry – Roosevelts, Kennedys – before the word ‘celebrity’ even existed’ frozen world below, I knew I had to get to the bottom of Stowe.

By late afternoon, with a moon forming over Main Street, like the fool in the movie who always returns alone, I was back. And set for the Matterhorn – ‘the premier après spot’ as they call it round here – to investigate, on a dark road out of town. I’d been told all hell could be let loose here, but something just didn’t add up – while it was Deliverance on the outside, it was dangerous-as-a-deli within. My eyes adjusted to lumberjack-look men in baseball caps, not chewing on ribs the

size of banjos but pincering sushi blobs into their gobs.

There was a bit of a wait for the shuttlebus back to the lodge, so I took a last slow stroll alone through Stowe. Was everyone away in Manhattan, toiling to afford the second house here? Porches were black and when I walked with a bell-clingle into Stowe Hardware and Dry Goods, the till was open but nobody home. On through the Old Yard Center cemetery I wandered. Crouching to make out the lichened names, I could just about discern Aaron (1814), Warner (1852) and Phoebe wife of Aaron (1825) – Kelloggs, all three. A cereal killer! The evidence was overwhelming. I stepped back as, just like in the movies, the bus rolled into town.

WHERE TO STAY Stowe Mountain Lodge (www. stowemountainlodge.com) has doubles from $250, room only. Trapp Family Lodge (www. slh.com) has doubles from $270, room only.

TOTAl guidE | nEW EnglAnd winter

Three more wintry wonders Pack some thermals and try your hand at ice-climbing, crosscountry and so much more, says Joanna Walters.

1. BRAVE ICE-CLIMBING IN NEW HAMPSHIRE The clawed boots and scary axes may look murderous, but paired with a frozen waterfall they work like a dream. Worldclass ice-climbers rub shoulders with beginners in North Conway, the small town favoured for its icy cliffs with nooks and crannies for almost every ability. You’ll find friendly instructors from the International Mountain Climbing School who can’t wait to show you how to hack your way up an ice pillar.

2. GET CULTURED IN CONNECTICUT Icy winds whistle across the campus of Yale University in winter but ’tis the season to catch one of the best theatre scenes outside New York. Broadway talent-spotters mass here, desperate to snap up the next bright young actor emerging from Yale Repertory Theatre.

The cultural action in Connecticut is based largely around the university in New Haven, and Yale’s cathedral-like libraries are magnificent places to get lost in. Cosy nooks for escaping the frost include the cafe at The Study hotel near Yale Rep, and Claire’s Corner Copia.

3. SKI FROM INN TO INN IN VERMONT Alpine snobs dismiss it as the tamer form of skiing. But just wait and see what breaking a new trail feels like, uphill, alone, navigating on skinny cross-country skis, just a packed lunch, spare fleeces, a map and a frisson of adventure. Hearty meals and welcomes await at each stop.

February 2011 Kanoo World Traveller 45

Bloom town

Historic, handsome and a tiny bit frisky, Boston blossoms beautifully in springtime, says Josephine Stockman.

A

gaggle of girls is sprawled across the grass on Boston Common, their winter-pale limbs angled towards the midday rays like human sundials. Nearby, a group of khaki-clad Harvard freshmen sneak sideways looks as they flick through biomechanics textbooks, while chattering children on a school outing march past in matching maroon baseball caps. In the distance, white sailboats scud across the Charles river, pinballing prettily between its banks.

After months buried beneath snowy drifts (winters here are not for the faint-hearted), Boston is springing to life: trees swap glittering icicles for magnolia blossom, residents shrug off duvet-thick coats and dig out their flip-flops, and the whole city buzzes with an air of excitement. It’s a wonderful time to visit: the summer hordes have yet to descend, the city’s prestigious universities are still in full swing, and temperatures are in the 20°Cs, perfect for laidback days of pottering and exploring.

Arriving in My, I bring a suitcase packed with snowboots as well as sandals, but the weather gods are smiling and sun is slicing through the avenues of cherry trees as I taxi in from the airport. Ten minutes and a paltry $12 later, I’m deposited downtown and waste no time kicking off my long weekend with a drink at the new Ames hotel, as city workers bustle past on their way home. If you like

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mornings, jet lag works in your favour when heading west across the Atlantic, so next day I’m up smugly early and raring to go.

Boston is the sort of place that seduces you gently, but persuasively. It’s the quiet, brainy one that, when you take off the geeky spectacles, turns out to be every bit as stunning as its showy, look-at-me sister, New York. From the cobbled charm of Beacon Hill’s narrow streets, lit by gas lanterns and lined with genteel brick townhouses, to the allure of the North End, with its hole-in-thewall Italian delis, the city’s neighbourhoods knit together like a giant patchwork quilt.

Throughout them all runs a rich history of revolution and rebellion that gives the city its unique flavour. The best way to get a feel for it is on foot – delightfully doable thanks to its compact size (far less daunting than the Big Apple’s endless blocks). And this being America, they really like to make things easy for you. Accordingly, the Freedom Trail makes ticking off Boston’s must-see sights a doddle. Starting at Boston Common, a red line painted on the pavements plays join-thedots with the city’s historic landmarks. No faffing around with maps and guidebooks – just follow the yellow (or in this case, ochre) brick road and off you go. I join a queue of dog-walkers at a nearby Starbucks, pick up a frothy latte, and set off along the sun-dappled route.

The four-kilometre trail delivers a crashcourse in revolutionary history as it snakes past 16 key sites. I squint at the gold-domed

ToTal guIde | new england spring

February 2011 Kanoo World Traveller 47

Massachusetts State House looming grandly over the Common; I bask in the peace at the Granary Burying Ground, where mossy gravestones have been inscribed with famous names (Paul Revere, Samuel Adams and other heroes of the American Revolution); I marvel at the Old State House, where the Declaration of Independence was first read in 1776, now dwarfed to doll-house proportions by surrounding skyscrapers. At centuries-old King’s Chapel, I duck inside for a breather and take a seat in one of the original high-sided box pews, designed to keep out winter draughts. On this May morning, however, the warm sun is streaming in, flecks of dust dancing in the shafts of honey-hued light. My reverie is rudely interrupted by my growling stomach, so I march onwards in search of sustenance. At nearby Faneuil Hall – a redbrick marketplace that’s been in

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business since 1740 – rows of cheery stalls sell hollowed-out bread ‘bowls’ filled with a classic New England creamy clam chowder.

I polish mine off in seconds, then lumber onwards along the Freedom Trail’s thin red line. I’m regretting my gluttony by the time I make it to the North End. This low-rise district of spaghetti-slender alleys and old-fashioned corner shops is crammed with gourmet goodies. Streets here still resonate with the sing-song of Italian voices (immigrants settled in the area in the 1920s, establishing a tight-knit community). At Maria’s Pastry, I ogle cream-filled cannoli the size of cigars; in time-warped Polcari’s Coffee, I inhale the earthy aroma of freshly ground beans as a young guy behind the till chats to customers in a peculiar Boston-meets-Naples accent.

By the time I make it over the bridge to the Freedom Trail’s finale in Charlestown – a leafy

‘Boston is the sort of place that seduces you gently, but persuasively.’

ToTal guIde | new england spring

Previous page: Downtown Boston at dusk. This page clockwise from left; A city park (by Tim Grafft); Boston’s highrises along the Charles River Harbor; Capitol building; Mandarin Oriental Boston Spa; blossom on a city street.

neighbourhood of colourful clapboard houses – my feet are throbbing from a day spent pounding the city’s pavements. I have barely enough energy left to haul myself up the 294 steps of the Bunker Hill monument, but the knockout view from the top of this towering granite obelisk is just the tonic I need – the sailboat-flecked Charles river uncoiling like a languid python as it exhales into Boston Harbour. In the distance, a clutch of islands are scattered like green marbles across the navy bay, glinting invitingly in the sunshine.

In between herding over-excited school kids up and down the stairs, the warden tells me that I’m looking at the Harbor Islands, 34 uninhabited specks, a handful of which are open to the public each year from late spring

to early autumn. ‘I like to head there with friends on my days off for picnics, Frisbee and fresh air,’ he says. It sounds like the perfect contrast to my day of urban exploration.

The next morning, I’m on the top deck of a little ferry, the salty breeze tugging at my ponytail as we chug towards Georges Island.

Twenty minutes later, I’m unpacking my embarrassingly large picnic (an Italian feast bought in North End earlier) below the grassy ramparts of the island’s 19th-century fort, once home to political prisoners in America’s Civil War. Even out here, there’s no escaping the city’s layers of history. It’s another short hop to Spectacle Island, where eight kilometers of walking trails spiral up to a seabreezy peak. I amble my way up, with clouds of butterflies for company, while ladybugs hitch rides on my T-shirt. From up here, there are sensational views of Boston’s Tetris-like

skyline, but the hubbub of downtown feels a million miles away, the sound of honking traffic carried off on the warm wind. It’s as if someone has switched the city to mute. I absorb the stillness before boarding the last boat home. Come mid-summer, I’d be sharing deck space with dozens of day-trippers, but it’s half-empty today. As we pull in to the pier, I disembark with a spring in my step – and even a hint of freckly tan.

wHeRe To STaY Ames (www.ameshotel.com; doubles from $400, room only) has a top location right in the heart of downtown, sleek rooms and a superb restaurant. Meanwhile, if you’re in the mood to spoil yourself rotten, Mandarin Oriental (www.mandarinoriental.com/ boston; doubles from $480, B&B) has Boston’s biggest spa.

February 2011 Kanoo World Traveller 49

ToTal guIde | new england spring

Three more spring flings Visit New England before summer for bike rides, bookshops and more.

1. GET ON YOUR BIKE IN CONNECTICUT Wildflower-speckled in spring, the Litchfield Hills unravel across northwest Connecticut – perfect cycling terrain.

Coast down gentle slopes, past rustling maple trees and mirror-like lakes. Then admire the frothing Housatonic river that snakes along the valley bottom, swollen by the spring snowmelt. Bikes can be rented from The Bicycle Tour Company (www. bicycletours.com).

2. ANTIQUE-HUNT IN NEW HAMPSHIRE Against horizons of rolling New Hampshire hills, unearth old paisley quilts, china cups and pantry boxes in ‘Antique Alley’ – a shopping experience blending the charm of olde England and the convenience of a drive-thru Starbucks. The Alley’s shops are spread among quaint villages along a 32km stretch of Route 4 between Lee and Chichester (a full list of shops is at www. nhantiquealley.com). Tackle the route by car, passing grazing sheep and hay bales.

3. BROWSE MASSACHUSETTS’ BOOKS The New York Times has called it ‘the most author-saturated, bookcherishing, literature-celebrating place in the USA’, and the Pioneer Valley in Western Massachusetts lives up to its reputation – nearly every town has at least one independent bookstore. Start in Southampton at Sage Books (220 College Highway, Route 10), then continue north to Northampton for a rummage in Raven Used Books (4 Old South St).

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Escape claws

Cape Cod, Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard are perfect for a family seaside getaway, says Ed Grenby.

‘I

’m here,’ I explain, somewhat sheepishly, ‘to meet Lobsterzilla.’ At this the young acolyte nods solemnly, and leads me in silence to the back of the shop. With a glance behind him, to make sure we are unobserved, he reveals Lobsterzilla’s tank – and there, before my very eyes, is what can only be described as quite a big lobster.‘Six kilos,’ whispers the disciple reverentially, ‘maybe $100.’ It is indeed an impressive sight (by crustacean standards, anyway; I mean, I’d still rather see a giraffe, given the choice).

But what impresses me most is that here, on the island of Martha’s Vineyard, where movie stars roam and millionaires routinely make their (second) home, an overgrown crayfish is still the biggest celebrity in town.

Life’s like that, though, in this always-understated corner of this so-rarely-understated country. The Vineyard, plus its neighbouring island Nantucket and their nearest bit of mainland, Cape Cod, form a wholesome trinity of holiday hideaways that are like the deliciously simple vacations of your fondest childhood memories (ie, they’re considerably better than your actual childhood holidays were). Picturebook beaches, gingerbread cottages, messing about in boats… summer at the seaside here is what families were invented for. Take Lobsterzilla’s home village of Menemsha, down in the wild southwest of Martha’s Vineyard, where Amerindian names mix with Anglo ones (‘Look dad, Nobquikket!’). On the little wharf

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here, known as Dutcher’s Dock, the fish markets are so close to the quay that the captains can hurl their stillwriggling catch straight off the boat and into the chillers.

Rusting anchors, frayed nets, dripping oilskins – the place is so perfectly poised between pretty and gritty, I’m not sure at first if it’s a cute clapboard movie set (Spielberg filmed Jaws here) or a genuine working port. Then the smell hits me and I know it’s the real deal – hook, line and stinker. There’s a lovely, family-friendly beach here too – there’s a lovely, family-friendly beach everywhere on the Vineyard, and it’s the same on Nantucket – but a few kilometres up the road there’s perhaps the most perfect of them all. Great Rock Bight Preserve, which I will later fail to find on any map, and which warrants nothing grander than a tiny wooden sign off North Road, offers free parking (unusual round here); a trail leading off into a woodland of oak, greenbrier, blackberry and blueberry; and, best of all, a sign warning people that this trail is ‘a strenuous half-mile walk’. This, it seems, is sufficient to put off the well-heeled Americans who make up most of the holidaymakers round here, because the long beach at the trail’s end is empty enough (with warm waters and soft sands) to lure me into an impromptu skinny-dip.

At the other end of the island – and the emptiness scale – is its ‘capital’, Oak Bluffs. Even here, among the amusement arcades and rib restaurants, you can live a fantasia of old-fashioned family fun: kite-flying in the blustery pierside park, a turn on the beautiful antique

total guidE | NEw ENglaNd summer

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total guide | new england summer

1876 carousel (best not tell the girls that’s real horse hair), and a spin of the hire car past the town’s ‘gingerbread cottages’.

Corniced with fiddly Alpine-style latticework and painted all the pastel colours of a kid’s pencil case, from pretty primrose to lurid lipstick-pink, there’s a whole weird village of these cute(sy) little wooden houses at Wesleyan Grove. Wandering among them, I got lost briefly as identikit snowy-haired couples waved kindly/terrifyingly from the rocking chairs on their porches. I dared not ask for directions for fear their laughing friendliness would turn to cackling menace when I tried to go (‘No, my pretty… you must stay… rest a while… tarry longer… for you can never leave!’). I escaped – via the island’s airport, the only one I know with an honesty parking system – to Nantucket. The plane was so small that one of the seven passengers had to sit in the co-pilot’s seat, and the island was so small that we could see the whole of it laid out before us (even from this low-flying ‘puddle-jumper’).

Jewel-green and edged roughly in yellow, thanks to its forests and beaches, Nantucket looked like a Fruit Pastille dipped in sherbet. Slightly prettier and a little more sophisticated than her sister island, Nantucket has some elegant settlements to complement her rugged beauty and ubiquitous brilliant beaches. Siasconset is a village of 200-year-old cottages strewn with Wedgwood-blue hydrangea and rose trellises, where the smell of sweet honeysuckle and Previous page: Boys catch crabs at Cape Cod. This page clockwise from top left: Gingerbread House; Wauwinet Inn; Lobsters (by Kindra Clineff); Lighthouse; Local restaurant; lobster buoys; The Chatham Bars Inn.

‘There’s a lovely, family-friendly beach everywhere on the Vineyard’ salt sea mingle; Madaket is a wee surfside hamlet that has its own glorious restaurant/ takeaway, Millie’s, where the tilapia tacos with lime sour cream and pineapple mango salsa are as good as the view, and the drinks are served in jam jars; and Nantucket Town is a splendidly meanderable collision of old sea-captains’ trophy mansions and new CEOs’ trophy yachts. Local law prohibits chain stores here; the only two brand names to have got round the rule are Polo Ralph Lauren and Jack Wills, which sum the place up exactly: a town of perfectly turned-out tweens rocking honey-coloured limbs and winsomely wind-tousled hair. The marina isn’t just for show, mind; whale-sized tuna are landed here, and it’s where you catch the ferry to Cape Cod – and some semblance of real life.

On the mainland, at least, people stay year-round (Nantucket largely shuts down for winter). That doesn’t mean it’s any less all-American-idyllic though: I drove straight through to Chatham, the fulcrum around which the Cape’s two perpendicular ‘arms’ revolve – and I found a town where the streets had names like Cockle Cove Ridge and Huckleberry Lane; where there’s a school called ‘A Child’s Wonderland’, a toyshop called ‘The Dolly Lama’, and a beach from

which kids were setting off at the helm of their own hired sailboats (with mum and dad playing the scurvy crew). It was all so Swallows and Amazons Arcadian, I ended up leaving too little time to explore the Cape. Luckily, it’s pretty straightforward: Route 6 runs up it like a spine, with beaches as common as ribs on either side – better groomed, with big breakers on the Atlantic coast; seaweedier, warmer and calmer on the Bay. And on every quiet stretch of sand, from lake to lagoon, I found families walking straight up and down through the shallows, smiling broadly but with brows furrowed in concentration. When I plucked up the courage to ask what they were up to, and had a go myself, I could see why. Squidging the sand with your toes to find clams is the very definition of good clean fun – like a moreproductive, self-administered, no-cost, foot massage. You’re supposed to get a permit for it from the tourist office, but I only ‘caught’ a one-centimetre tiddler anyway. I took a picture, captioned it Clamzilla, and threw him back in for the kids to find.

wHeRe to StaY on Cape Cod, Chatham makes a central base. The Chatham Bars Inn (www. chathambarsinn.com; doubles from $270, room only) is smart, but worth it for its child-friendly beach club. on nantucket, The Wauwinet Inn (www.wauwinet.com; doubles from $220, room only) has semi-private access to beach. on Martha’s Vineyard, the Menemsha Inn & Cottages (www. menemshainn.com; doubles from $220 room only) are set in fantastic woodland.

February 2011 Kanoo World Traveller 55

Three more hot spots Slap on the SPF and soak up the region’s sensational seafood and some knockout scenery, says Joanna Walters.

1. GO RUBBER-NECKING ON RHODE ISLAND The harbour in Newport, Rhode Island, is as much the see-and-be-seen destination for East Coast yachting types as the Hamptons is for socialites and celebs. But you don’t have to take to the water to admire the sight of billowing sails gliding across the cornflower-blue ocean. Start your day with breakfast on the roof deck at the Mill Street Inn; now stride out on Newport’s famous Cliff Walk. In the early 20th century, New York’s millionaires competed ruthlessly to build the finest mansions along this clifftop and you can see the former homes of numerous industrial dynasties.

2. SCALE SUMMITS IN NEW HAMPSHIRE Mount Washington is revered for its rugged character and love-hate relationship with sunshine and people.

The pride of New Hampshire’s White Mountains, at 1,917m, it’s the highest peak in the northeastern US. Only experts should attempt the summit outside summer, but in July and August, ramblers can have a go too, imbibing knockout scenery along the way.

3. FEAST ON LOBSTER IN MAINE Scoffing from paper plates and making a mess is compulsory when eating Maine’s most famous export. Tuck in your napkin and get hammering like a local. Make for Thurston’s Lobster Pound in the hamlet of Bernard in the Acadia National Park, and crack claws.

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total guide | new england summer

GET AROUND

BY TRAIN Amtrak (00 1 800 872 7245, www.amtrak. com) is the main train company in America, and operates four routes through New England – but using rail alone won’t allow much opportunity to explore the countryside as stops are primarily in the cities. Combining train travel with cycling or local car hire is a good option. The key routes are the Vermonter, from Washington DC to Saint Albans, Vermont; the Downeaster, from Boston to Portland, Maine; the Northeast Regional, from Washington DC to Boston, via Providence, Rhode Island; and the Acela Express, a fast service from Washington DC to Boston, stopping at a few major cities en route, including New York. As a guide, fares

from Boston to Portland start at $26 return, and from New York to Boston they are from $50 return.

BY BICYCLE Though you can always a hire a car and drive through the sights, cycling is a great way to see New England, but it is hilly, so you’ll need reasonable strength and stamina for most routes. Some old railway lines have been converted into cycle paths, though, and these can be easier on the thighs. You’ll find that most major cities have bicycle rentals for around $40 a day or $160 a week. The New England Mountain Bike Association (00 1 800 576 3622, www.nemba.org) has detailed cycling information.

BY BOAT New England’s major ports are Newport, Rhode Island; Boston, Massachusetts; and Portland, Maine. It’s possible to take scenic day trips and a few ferries from port to port, such as Boston to Cape Cod: from late May/ early June to October, two 90-minute ferry services (see www.bostonharborcruises. com and www.baystatecruisecompany. com) operate from Boston to Provincetown, Cape Cod, both charging around $85 return.

For more ferries along the coast from Cape Cod, see www.capecodchamber.org, and from Martha’s Vineyard, see www.mvol.com/ directory/transportation/ferries. A good list of New England ferries can be found at www. newenglandtravelplanner.com.

MAINE Bangor

Images: Photolobrary, Shutterstock, Stowe Mountain Lodge, Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing, Migis Lodge, Massachusetts Tourism Board, Relais & Châteaux, www.leonardo.com, www.slh.com, The Chatham Bars Inn, Stowe Mountain Lodge, Mount Washington Hotel, www.discovernewengland.org, Relais & Châteaux.

St Albans Appalachian Mountains

Burlington

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

VERMONT North Conway

Portland

NEW ENGLAND

Woodstock Adirondack Mountain

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Portsmouth

Green Mountains

MASSACHUSETTS

Boston

New Preston

NEW YORK

Chathham

CONNECTICUT

Newport

CANADA USA

New Haven

PENNSYLVANIA WASHINGTON DC

JFK Airport New York City

Newark Airport

ATLANTIC OCEAN

February 2011 Kanoo World Traveller 57

Where the animals In a Tanzanian reserve that had been virtually shot out by poachers, Brian Jackman enjoys huge herds and five-star luxury.

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roam

TANZANIA | AFRICA

I

t is alfajiri – the Swahili word for dawn – and as the sun breaks free of the eastern horizon it floods the plains with amber light, picking out the distinctive shapes of giraffe moving slowly among the flat-topped acacias. At such a time there is no better place to be than Sasakwa Lodge, high on its hill in the Singita Grumeti Reserve.

From here you can see it all: the endless savannah, the herds of game, the distant hills rolling north into Kenya. This is how it must appear to the circling vultures: a view that defines the vastness and unassailable majesty of the Serengeti.

An east wind is blowing, heralding the end of the long rains. Soon the dry season will begin, banishing the anvil-headed storm clouds and scorching the grasslands until they are as brown as an old lion pelt.

Already the wildebeest herds have left their calving grounds in the deep south of the park, forced to move on in search of water.

But at Singita Grumeti the land is still green, the air still rain-washed and diamond-bright, and the great migration – upwards of a million wildebeest accompanied by zebras in their untold thousands – is on its way.

It was in 2002 that Paul Tudor Jones, a Wall Street billionaire commodities trader and environmental philanthropist, leased the Grumeti reserve from the Tanzanian government. At that time it was nothing but a collection of clapped-out hunting concessions bordering on the western corridor of Tanzania’s world-famous Serengeti national park. The land in question – 350,000 acres in total – had been virtually shot out by uncontrolled poaching, but Tudor Jones saw its potential.

He began to turn things around, employing ex-poachers to stop the killing. Then he

built two safari lodges and a tented camp (each one an hour’s drive apart), and went into partnership with Singita, whose South African lodges are the ultimate in safari chic.

The result is the classiest piece of wildlife real estate on the planet Sasakwa, the reserve’s flagship lodge, is built in the image of an Edwardian manor house and furnished to match, with Venetian mirrors, crystal chandeliers, log fires and a grand piano in the lounge. David Shepherd paintings and photographs by Peter Beard add a touch of authentic Africa, as does the life-size bronze of a stalking cheetah on the lawns. And – as if game viewing wasn’t enough – there are also tennis, croquet, archery and horse riding. Its 10 guest cottages are named after the key figures of East Africa’s safari history: Selous, Hemingway, Beryl Markham – and are so secluded that clients are shuttled to dinner by electric golf buggy.

How Tanzania has changed since my first visit three decades ago. In those days such lodges simply didn’t exist, and if you were lucky enough to be given an egg for breakfast there was no bacon; if you had

February 2011 Kanoo World Traveller 59

‘All day long, from blood-red dawn to apocalyptic sunset, we drive with the sounds of the plains in our ears’

This page, clockwise from top left: Bedroom suite at Sasakwa; Lounge at same resort; Lounge at Sabora; Bedroom at same resort. Opposite page: Dusk drive.

bacon there were no eggs; and sometimes there were neither eggs nor bacon.

Today, Sasakwa’s guests are pampered with everything from air conditioning to complimentary Havana cigars, and every cottage comes with direct telephone facilities and internet access, and its own heated infinity plunge pool. Here, safely tucked up each night in your stone-walled capsule of five-star comfort, you live in the sky, far from the savagery of the savannah below.

But while Sasakwa wows you with unrestrained opulence, Sabora is a tented camp that sets you down on the plains at the very heart of the action. At Sabora you

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sleep under canvas, serenaded by lions.

There are no fences to keep animals out, and at the height of the migration you can wake up to hear the sound of wildebeest armies honking and grunting all around you.

Sabora’s nine lavish, airconditioned Bedouin tents are decked out in the style of a Twenties hunting camp, with Persian rugs, silver candlesticks, cut-glass decanters and claw-foot bathtubs. It is so Out of Africa that I half expect to bump into Karen Blixen or find Denys Finch-Hatton sipping whisky on my sofa. In the evenings, under a tree in which oil lamps hang like Christmas decorations, I dine on smoked salmon and fillet of beef while hyenas yowl in the surrounding darkness and the Southern Cross cartwheels in slow motion across the sky. Yet for all its glitz, Sabora is a place in

which to live at ease for a while in the open; to enjoy the space and catch the pulse of an older world that is no longer easy to find.

Outside my tent grows a desert date tree beneath whose canopy stands a bed and an umbrella for extra shade. Here after breakfast I lie one morning, with a herd of impala browsing around me and nothing else but waving grass and the blue faraway hills beyond. I feel the wind rushing over the earth, watch a bateleur eagle rocking and tilting across the sky, and think there is no finer place to be.

Most days, as the bush comes alive to a chorus of doves, I meet Joe Kibwe, my guide and driver, and we set off into the boundless grasslands to look for cats. The herbivores are out in force. Quicksilver gazelles scud away at our approach. Giraffe – ‘the watchtowers of the Serengeti’ – observe our progress and every ridge is adorned with a frieze of zebras. At one point we count 400 eland in a single herd, yet even they are nothing compared with the wildebeest that have finally arrived in unimaginable numbers. For half an hour we watch them and when we leave they are still pouring out of the distant woodlands. ‘The nearest thing to a traffic jam you’ll ever see at Singita Grumeti,’ Joe says. It reminds me of the Mara in its age of innocence 30 years ago,

TANZANIA | AFRICA

February 2011 Kanoo World Traveller 61

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Images; Photolibrary; Shutterstock; Singita Game Reserve .

Text: Brian Jackman, The Interview People, The Daily Telegraph.

TANZANIA | AFRICA

a place where the grass meets the sky at the edge of the world, with nothing but horned heads between you and the horizon. All day long, from blood-red dawn to apocalyptic sunset, we drive with the sounds of the plains in our ears – the sad cries of larks and long-claws, the shriek of crowned lapwings, the squeal of zebra stallions calling to their mares – while all around us the wildebeest are moving in endless, grunting columns.

As always, it is the carnivores that steal the show. First a leopard, lying full length along a bough with all four legs and tail dangling. Then the Sabora Pride, a 15-strong family of lionesses, small cubs and older offspring lorded over by two resident males with luxuriant tobacco manes. A few years ago they would have slunk off at the first sign of our presence. Now they regard us with almost total indifference, and at a time when lions everywhere are losing ground, it is heartening to find such a healthy family enjoying Singita Grumeti’s protection. ‘Seeing how relaxed the animals have become is a joy,’ says Brian Heath, the managing director of the Grumeti Fund, the private conservation trust set up by Tudor Jones. ‘When I first came here eight years ago they would take off as soon as they saw us. They had all been hunted from vehicles.

That was why they were so spooky. Now it is so different. We have so much game and everything has settled down.’

In May, the week before my arrival, there was great excitement when five black rhinos were flown in from South Africa, to be greeted by a welcome party that included Tanzania’s president, Jakaya Kikwete. Black Clockwise from top left: Leopard lounging on tree; Decked dining at Faru Faru; Zebra’s at watering hole; Sabora at night.

‘I feel the wind rushing over the earth, watch a bateleur eagle rocking and tilting across the sky, and think there is no finer place to be’

rhinos, once common in the Serengeti, were so heavily poached that by 1991 only two females remained; their return marks the beginning of a multi-million dollar relocation programme backed by the Grumeti Fund.

Eventually, with GPS chips inserted into their horns and a round-the-clock guard of specially trained rangers to protect them, they will be released into the national park, where they will be joined by another 27 rhinos over the next two years.

‘Rebuilding the biodiversity of the Serengeti ecosystem is our ultimate aim,’ Heath says, ‘and bringing back the rhino is a key part of it.’ How appropriate, then, to discover that Singita Grumeti has a lodge called Faru Faru (Rhino Rhino in Swahili), with a spectacular location unlike any other in the Serengeti.

Just as Sabora belongs on the open plains, Faru Faru hides in an enchanted forest overlooking the Grumeti river.

Here, as in a painting by Rousseau, colobus monkeys peek through the

forest canopy, shy bushbuck wander beneath arcades of flowering creepers and swallowtail butterflies flip through the sunlight on green velvet wings. Into this jungle of shady fig trees and riverside acacias, nine luxury suites have been unobtrusively inserted. Each one has vast plateglass picture windows that slide open at the press of a button, and the décor is a pleasing mixture of cutting-edge minimalism and fullon Africana. The result is more like a penthouse suite than the conventional safari lodge – but with wildest Africa all around you. Penthouse it may be, but it comes with a tented canvas roof and at night, with the moon illuminating the silhouettes of baboons roosting in the trees outside my window, I listen to a lion calling from somewhere up-river.

Wherever you stay in Singita Grumeti there is no disguising the fact that you are living deep in the comfort zone. This is top-end tourism territory with knobs on, and it comes with a platinum price tag. But it also comes guilt-free. Forget the idea that roughing it in a basic bush camp is the only way to prove your green credentials. You can chill out here with a clear conscience, knowing your tourist dollars will support all kinds of eco-friendly initiatives, from bankrolling local schools and clinics to bringing back the mighty rhino.

Of course, what you are really buying into is a Serengeti experience in a wilderness roughly the same size as the Masai Mara.

The difference is that the Mara has beds for 4,000 visitors, while Singita Grumeti draws the line at 70. And that, together with forgotten pleasures such as the freedom to drive off-road and the abundance of animals, is the greatest luxury of all.

February 2011 Kanoo World Traveller 63

Winter Holiday SpecialS ASIA & THE FAR EAST DESTINATION

SAR

BHD

AED

QAR

OMR

REMARKS

INDIA – THE GOlDEN TRIANGlE (7DAyS/6 NIgHTS)

1450

148

1408

1408

148

Package

SRI lANKA-HIll COUNTRy & BEACH (7 DAyS / 6 NIgHTS)

2090

213

2029

2029

213

Package

MAlDIVES (4 DAyS/3 NIgHTS)

1360

139

1320

1320

139

Fullboard & Transfers

BEST OF SRI lANKA & MAlDIVES (7 DAyS / 6 NIgHTS)

3000

306

2913

2913

306

Package

THAIlAND (7 DAyS/6 NIgHTS)

1551

158

1506

1506

158

Package

SINGAPORE (4 DAyS/3 NIgHTS)

1064

109

1033

1033

109

Package

EXPERIENCE MAlAySIA (7 DAyS / 6 NIgHTS)

1900

194

1845

1845

194

Package

EXPERIENCE MAlAySIA (7 DAyS / 6 NIgHTS)

564

58

548

548

58

Package

HONG KONG (4 DAyS/3 NIgHTS)

1638

167

1590

1590

167

Package

Currencies: SAR= Saudi Riyal; BHD= Bahraini Dinar; AED= UAE Dirhams; QAR= Qatar Riyal; OMR= Omani Riyal •

•

• •

Package offers include accommodation, meals as specified, transfers, as well as a sightseeing tour or a detailed itinerary.

These rates are applicable from 10 January to 31 March, 2011, except for certain destinations during specific periods, when these prices will increase. Please check at the time of reservation. Travel after 31st March, 2011, and a supplement may apply.

Single and child rates, as well as other information, are available upon request.

Prices are per person, (starting from), sharing a twin room, and in currencies mentioned above.

•

• •

•

Prices are subject to availability and based on a minimum number of nights stay as specified above.

All prices are subject to change at any time without prior notice.

If any arrival / departure airport transfers are between 2000-0600 hours, a surcharge may apply.

Kanoo Holidays terms and conditions apply to all bookings.

August 2010 Kanoo World Traveller 13

concierge scotland | Montevideo | Bath | Zurich

The 30-second concierge

Willie CoChrane, Jura lodge, SCotland Can you describe the look and feel of the Lodge?

It’s a luxury retreat tucked away in the Isle of Jura, created for those seeking an escape from the hustle and bustle of city life. The lodge was designed by Parisian interior specialist Bambi Sloan (a fitting name considering that the deer on the island considerably outnumber the population of people!). The lodge embodies the laid back character of the island: guests can take a soak in the tub and watch sailboats go by; or play cards in the music room surrounded by historic relics.

We hear it’s tricky to get to you. How do I do it?

That’s right – the writer George Orwell famously spent two years on Jura writing ‘1984’ and described it as an “extremely unget-at-able”

place. You should make your way to Glasgow airport before flying to the neighbouring island of Islay. From there it’s a short drive to the ferry which will take you across to Jura. It’s then a 20-minute drive along the Jura coastline – avoiding the 5,000 free roaming deer – until you reach us.

How would I occupy myself while staying at the Lodge?

Jura is perfect if you love the great outdoors. There’s a wealth of historical sites and natural phenomena to discover including stone circles, standing stones and Iron Age forts. You can watch golden eagles soar through the sky and seals basking in the sun. On sunnier days, head to our sandy beaches and secluded coves and on rainier ones, visit the graves of the Knights Templar. www.isleofjura.com

February 2011 Kanoo World traveller

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ENGLAND

Visit BaTh

Founded by the Romans and crafted by the Georgians, Bath is the UK’s most attractive city with a rich history to discover. Paul James maps out your ideal stay in the city.

I

n the famous Monty Python sketch it’s asked what the Roman’s ever did for us, and to the list of life-altering accomplishments which are subsequently shouted out – and begrudgingly acknowledged yet dismissed as meaningless – one could easily add the English city of Bath. It was the Georgians who built the many stone houses that give the city its period character, but it was the Romans who laid the foundations and the reason why tourists the world over flock here come rain or come shine. Surrounding flower-filled parks and the River Avon which flows next to the city centre, are countless architectural highlights to snap away at; The Roman Baths, The Circus and Royal Crescent are obvious must-sees, but hunt out the beautiful Pulteney Bridge which leads onto the Great Pultney Street, a strikingly long boulevard lined

by Georgian terraces and leafy trees. And remember to stop in at one of the city’s exquisitely quaint tea rooms for a famous Bath Bun.

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Bath must-dos The Roman Baths (1) are incredibly well preserved and were built by the Romans to make use of the city’s naturally hot springs, which still run warm today. The baths – there are four in total – are housed below the current street level, and although you cannot enter the water you can walk aside them while admiring towering statues and mosaics. There’s also a great museum housing other Roman

CoNCIERGE | BATH

HOT STUFF Bath is the only place in the UK where you’ll find natural hot water springs WATER BABY Bath was christened Aquae Sulis by the Romans and the city gets its current name from the city’s famous baths. by. It’s a beautiful building and stands in equally eye-catching grounds – perfect for a predinner stroll. The leisure facilities are plentiful, too. Rooms from $226 per night.

Royal Crescent Hotel (7) www.royalcrescent.co.uk The Royal Crescent is one of the most famous streets in the world, and this elegant hotel is housed within the crescentshaped row of Georgian houses that form it. In keeping with the style of the Crescent, this

property is chockfull of period charm. It also boasts some beautiful gardens. Rooms from $516 per night.

first opened and its popularity has hardly dipped since. Try the roasted king scallops with crispy pancetta. Mains from $18.

The Pump Room (9) The Roman Baths, Stall Street www.romanbaths.co.uk/pump_ room A trip to Bath would not be complete without a visit to the city’s famous Pump Rooms, Come here for an indulgent afternoon tea, served to the sound of a harpist. $28 for full afternoon tea.

where to eat Jamie’s Italian (8) 10 Milsom Place www.jamieoliver.com One of a chain of the Englishman’s good-value Italians – Dubai’s now home to one, too – the queues to eat at this twinfloored restaurant stretched long out of the door when it

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treasures unearthed in the area.

You can, however, enter the water and bath like the Romans at Thermae Bath Spa (2), a day spa where a long list of treatments are fronted by a dip in the al fresco natural thermal waters from where you can see out across the city’s rooftops to the rolling hills beyond.

Though you can do big-brand shopping in Bath, it’s best to browse its many independent boutiques. And if all that strolling amid the city’s period splendour has put you in the mood for all things vintage, try the brilliant Vintage to Vogue (3) on Milsom Street for some designer classics.

Jane Austen set two of her six novels in Bath and later lived in the city. For fans of the famous novelist, the Jane Austen Centre (4) is a real treat, a tiny museum crammed full of memorabilia.

You can also enjoy an awardwinning cream tea while you read some of her works.

A great way to see the city is aboard a boat (5), which sets off down the River Avon from the famous weir beneath Pulteney Bridge. Trips take one hour, cost $8 and include running commentary that points out sights of particular interest.

d Rom an Roa

Images: Visitbath.co.uk, Shutterstock, Photolibrary.

Opposite page, clockwise from top left: The Roman Baths; The MacDonald Bath Spa Hotel; Prior Park; Royal Crescent. This page from left: Great Pultney Street Bridge; Traditional afternoon tea.

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Bath RFC

where to stay Macdonald Bath Spa Hotel (6) www.macdonaldhotels.co.uk/ bathspa This was the city’s original luxury hotel and its current owners have done much to retain its luster as the years have ticked

Theatre Royal Bath

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Sally Lunn’s Historic Eating House & Museum Bath Cricket Bath

2 Green Park Southgate Shopping Centre

n February 2011 Kanoo World Traveller 67

uruguay

Visit MonTevideo

South America’s urban offspring offers up a colourful cityscape for would-be visitors to revel in. Laura Binder delves in…

MONTEVIDEO MUST-DOS Grab your camera and snap your surrounds from the top of Palacio Salvo (1) (next to the Plaza Independencia). As one of the tallest buildings in South America it’s a can’t-miss sight on the city’s skyline and you can head to the top for free to enjoy the view…

S

et foot in the hustle and bustle of uruguay’s capital and chief port and you may find yourself in a giddy state at your newfound surrounds: have you stumbled on Cuba’s doppelganger or are the soaring skyscrapers more akin to rio? The answer is both – and so much more. Montevideo is a multi-faceted city with an eclectic helping of South american style. For would-be visitors, it presents a chance to savour a little taste of everything; from the industrial port to historic, neoclassical buildings and the most modern of beach communities fit for a Copacabana postcard. If you want a real taste of the city, make like a true Montevidean and tuck into salty, succulent meat at one of its infinite Parillas (steak restaurants) or take a pew at a classic Tango bar and sup copious amounts of El Mate (a traditional herbal brew). Wherever you tread, do so with a camera and a sprinkling of Spanish phrases and you’ll be ready to capture the city’s charms.

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Kanoo World Traveller February 2011

Explore Ciudad Vieja (2) on foot – it’s the oldest part of Montevideo where 19th century neoclassical buildings are still visible and you can sample cafe street culture, visit a museum or simply sit beneath a tree and watch the city at full pelt.

Feast your eyes on art of a truly Uruguayan ilk at Museo Torres Garcia (3) which displays tremendous works by the 20th century artist. Alternatively, get your fix from inside an ageing mansion – Museo Blanes (4) in Prado – where works by Juan Manuel Blanes, the country’s most famous artist, are on show.

Give in to the bright charms of Barrio Reus (5) – a quaint neighbourhood that’s worth a visit if only to beam at its candycoloured properties.

If you share the Uruguayans passion for football, take in a match at Estadio Centenario (6): the main stadium opened in 1930 for the first ever World Cup. The fans are immensely passionate so the atmosphere is always intoxicating.

Follow the wafts of grilling meat in to Mercado del Puerto (7) – a not-to-be-missed

ConCIErgE | MonTEVIDEo

4

PRAdO

Opposite page: Montevideo’s neoclassical-style streets. This page clockwise from top left: Savour seafood at El Viejo El Mar; Eat meat like a local at La Chacra; The Palacio Legislativo.

BRAZIL

URUGUAY

MOnTEVIDEO

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FANCY A BREW? The city’s famous drink El Mate is a brew that derives from the yerba herb and was once favoured by the indigenous guaramo who lived in rio de la Plata. BUENOS BOUND Jump aboard the city’s Buquebus (a daily high speed ferry) and you can be in Buenos aires in less than three hours.

LET’S DANCE Tango may have originated in argentina but its most famous dance – La Cumparsita – was created in uruguay. old port market set beneath a wrought iron structure where you can tuck into local dishes and breathe in a heady atmosphere alive with artists and street musicians.

Palacio Legislativo (8) is a

Images: Shutterstock, Photolibrary.

key landmark that’s well worth a closer look. The neoclassical building dates back to 1908 and is sure to stop you in your tracks.

Hot foot it along to The Rambla (9), a road that spans Montevideo’s waterfront.

It’s always alive with activity and makes for great people watching.

There’s many a sandy beach to pose upon but Pocitos Beach (10) is the most popular – tuck into an ice cream from one of its parlours while you’re there.

whErE TO STay Sheraton Montevideo Hotel (11) Calle Victor Solino 349 www.starwoodhotels.com/ sheraton If modern comforts top your hotel checklist, the Sheraton delivers all the mod cons a luxe traveller could need. A pool, spa and beauty salon will keep you occupied inside, while you can admire brilliant bay views from the terrace, overlooking Río de la Plata. Plump for an extra helping of luxury by reserving the Presidential Suite: its living room is the picture of South American polish. From $165.

Casa Sarandi (12) Buenos Aires Street 558 www.casarandi.com For a low key, but no less

atmospheric stay, this intimate boutique haunt in the Old City is well worth a look. It opens its doors to all the cosy charms you’d hope for in Montevideo’s historic district and, when it comes to where you’ll rest your head, it has just four rooms – each set across one floor of a 1930s art deco-style building.

From $75.

whErE TO EaT El Viejo y El Mar (13) Rambla Gandhi 400 02 7710 5704 Totter down to what looks like an old fishing club and you’ll find an authentic dining room that’s decked in titbits and pictures that look as though they’ve been lifted straight off the walls of

an ageing ship. In fact the fish (every type you can imagine) couldn’t be served in a better setting – the lounge is even made from an abandoned boat.

Bag a seat on the patio and quaff fresh sea fare in the open air. Mains from $7.

La Chacra (14) Mercado del Puerto www.mercadodelpuerto.com It may not be fine dining but this great little café, which flanks the bustling market, is a favoured go-to spot for locals who gather to savour grilled meats, South American style. Here you’ll get the best steaks in town. Take a seat and try the tender baby beef or firmer asado. A fuss-free and oh-so-tasty way to dine.

Mains from $20.

February 2011 Kanoo World Traveller 69

Feeling excited about your holiday? Check through our list of the most popular Kanoo Travel offices, find one near you and head down or call up to turn your getaway dreams into reality...

Bahrain Abu Obeidah Avenue Wroad No. 302 Manama Tel. 17 576950 Air Canada/Austrian Airlines/Polish Olympic Airways/Sudan Airways/ Sas/Swiss Int’l/Tunis Mahooz Tel. 17 828770 Air India Manama Tel. 17 220788 Airport Office Bahrain Tel. 17 321325 Al Moayd Tower Manama Tel. 17 220220 Awali Branch Sitrah Avenue Road No. 4522 Tel. 17 756487 British Airways Manama Tel. 17 220701 Egypt Air Manama Tel. 17 220747 Kanoo Holidays Mahooz Tel.17 828802 Kanoo Travel Refinery Tel. 17 755012 Lufthansa Mahooz Tel. 17 828763 Mahooz Tel. 17 828754 Qantas/Jetabout Manama Tel. 17220743 EGYPT Alexandria Booz Allen 1 Youssef El-Shazly Street Roushdy, Alexandria Tel. 002 03 5459265 Alexandria 14 May Str, Sayadlia

70

Building, Symoha Tel. 002 03 424 1050

75009 Paris Tel. +33 1 4282 4181

Aswan Abtal El-Tahrir Street Corniche El-Nil Tel. 002 097 2306983

Foreign Exchange 11 Rue Scribe Paris 75009 Tel. +33 1 5300 9897

Cairo C/O Halliburton Overseas Ltd Kilometer No 10, Land No 30 Ein Sokhna Road North Kattamia, Cairo Tel. 002 02 27591690

Foreign Exchange 11 Cours de I’Intendance Bordeaux 33000 Tel. +33 5 5600 6336

Dr. Kamal Hussin Heliopolis, Cairo Tel. 002 02 26251307 El Areesh C/O Mfo Northern Sinai Tel. 002 068 3502868 Heliopolis Business Travel Centre 33 Nabil Elwakkad St Heliopolis, Cairo Tel. 002 02 4130375/6 Kasr El Nil 15 Kasr El Nil Street Down Town Tel. 002 02 25747991 Luxor Winter Palace Hotel Tel. 002 095 2378333 Nile Hilton Down Town, Cairo Tel. 002 02 25785001 C/O Schlumberger Zeiny Tower 25 Misr Helwan Road Maadi Tel. 002 02 7684700 Ext. 1014 C/O U.N.D.P 4th Floor, World Trade Center 1191 Cornich El Nil Tel. 002 02 25804491 1 Wahib Doss Str. Office No 9 Maadi Tel. 002 02 27513930 FrancE Bureau de Change Kanoo Printemps Dept. Store 64 Boulevard Haussmann

Kanoo World Traveller February 2011

OMan Kanoo Travel LLC PO Box 75 114 Jibroo, Muscat Tel. +968 24700249 QaTar Kanoo Centre Ground Floor, C Ring Road Al Mansoora Area, Doha Tel +974 44016333 / +974 55997272 (24 hrs) Museum Street Corporate Centre Al Hithmi, Doha Tel. 448 3777 Old Al Salatta, Doha Tel. 441 3441 Ras Laffan Commercial Complex Ras Laffan Tel. 474 8772/4 Salam Tower West Bay Doha Tel. 483 7826/483 7297 SaUDi araBia WESTERN PROvINCE Kanoo Centre Medina Road, Jeddah Tel. 02 661 4950 Kanoo Travel Medinah Tel. 02 263 3040 Kanoo Travel Sharafiya Tel. 02 643 9426 Kanoo Travel Rabigh Tel. 02 423 2785

Kanoo Travel Taif Tel. 02 736 4211 Aboobacker Al Siddiq Street, Medina Tel. 04 823 9120 Air Canada Jeddah Tel. 02 263 2996, Ext. 190 Air India Jeddah Tel. 02 668 0303/669 6571 Albishar Commercial Centre King Abdulaziz Street Al Bahar, Yanbu Tel. 04 322 1087 Al Nawa Commercial Centre Al Sinnaiyat, Yanbu Tel. 04 321 3607 Bab Makkah Jeddah Tel. 02 644 9030 Bamaroof Centre Hail Street, Jeddah Tel. 02 653 0541 Gulf Air Jeddah Tel. 02 668 0303/669 Kenyan Airways Jeddah Tel.02 263 2959 Ext. 108 Khamis Abha Main Road Khamis Mushayat Tel. 07 222 3624 Philippine Airways Jeddah Tel. 02 263 2959 Ext. 100/122 Prince Sultan Street Gizan Tel. 07 317 4285 Singapore Airlines Jeddah Tel. 02 657 9898 Srilankan Airlines Jeddah Tel. 02 263 2959 Umalquara Street Hayfer

Makkah Tel. 02 544 7741 United Airlines Jeddah Tel. 02 263 3021/2959 Ext. 196/197 EASTERN PROvINCE Kanoo Building Corniche Road, Jubail Tel. 03 362 2340 Kanoo Holidays Retail Airline Centre, Khobar Tel. 03 882 2206/2601/2249 Kanoo Holidays Wholesale Airline Centre Khobar Tel. 03 8821626/1851/ 8820161 Kanoo Tower King Saud Street, Damman Tel. 03 8355642 / 802 Airport Office Dammam Tel. 03 883 2660/2660 Air India Khobar Tel. 03 882 2478 Air India Jubail Tel. 03 362 3454 Al Quds Street Qatif Tel. 03 851 5009 British Airways Khobar Tel. 03 882 2000 British Airways Dammam Tel. 03 835 5714 British Airways Jubail Tel. 03 362 1069 City Centre Al Mahoob Buidling Hufuf Tel. 03 586 3823 Dhahran Street Damman Tel. 03 833 7694

Gulf Air Khobar Tel. 03 896 8496/ 9393/8493 Gulf Air Dammam Tel.03 835 4194/4917/ 4952 Gulf Air Qatif Tel. 03 852 9384/ 854 5240 Gulf Air Rastanura Tel. 03 667 8041/7972 Gulf Air Hofuf Tel. 03 585 3358/ 4080/2252 Gulf Air Jubail Tel. 03 363 0982/84 Hertz Khobar Tel. 03 882 2005/5597 King Khalid Street Khobar Tel. 03 864 7471 Municipal Street Al Khafji Tel. 03 766 0045 Qantas Khobar Tel. 03 882 3711/2467 Srilankan Airlines Khobar Tel. 03 882 2789/2675/2792 United Airlines/Air Canada/Singapore Airlines/Swissair/ Austrian Airlines/Thai Airways Tel. 03 882 1518/2962/ 2602/03 882 4477/4442 47th Street Rahima Tel. 03 667 0388 CENTRAL PROvINCE Kanoo Tower King Abdul Aziz Road Riyadh Tel. 01 477 2228

concierge | book your trip

win A three-night stAy At corinthiA hotel london If you’re looking for a new spot in which to stay, look no further than Corinthia Hotels’ new flagship venue; a grand London hotel set in the heart of London, just footsteps from famous landmarks like Trafalgar Square. The five-star haunt opens its doors in April and its historic residence makes for an elegant mix of regal lobbies, sky-high ceilings and the kind of intricate suites you’d expect English royalty to stay in – be sure to drink in its River Thames views while you’re there, too. Come the evening, head to one of its supremely stylish restaurants; try Northall for the best in British produce, or Massimo Restaurant and Oyster Bar for the finest seafood.

Alternatively, make pampering your priority and lap up a luxury treatment at its four-storey ESPA spa. Bliss.

ThE PrizE We’re giving away a three-night stay (including breakfast) for two people in one of Corinthia Hotel London’s suites. To be in with a chance of winning this fantastic city break, email your answer to the following question to easywin@hotmediapublishing.com before February 28.

Q. Which river does the Corinthia Hotel London overlook? a) River Thames b) River Nile c) Mississippi River TERMS AND CONDITIONS: Prize to be claimed within 12 months of hotel opening.

Dates subject to availability and at the soul discretion of the Corinthia Hotel London.

Second Industrial City Al Zamel Center Tel. 2653920/34/41 Airport Road Hail Tel. 06 543 0430 Air India Kanoo Tower, Riyadh Tel. 01 477 2228 Air India Buraidah Tel. 06 324 6514/325 0888 Al Kubaih Street Buraidah Tel. 06 325 0888 Gulf Air Olaya, Riyadh Tel. 01 461 0589/462 4902 Gulf Air Hail Tel. 06 532 0280 Gulf Air Buraidah Tel. 06 324 6514/325 0888 King Faisal Foundation Al Khairia Complex Riyadh Tel. 01 463 4454

Qantas Kanoo Tower, Riyadh Tel. 01 477 2228 Ext. 288/305 Sharjah Street Hotat Bani Tamim, Al Hotah Tel. 01 555 0304 Silsilah Road Onaiza, Al Qassim Tel. 06 362 0080 Singapore Airlines Kanoo Tower Tel. 4734102/4734103 Srilankan Airlines Kanoo Tower, Riyadh Tel. 01 477 2228 Ext. 292/293

Kanoo Travel – American Express Hermitage Building Al Karama Tel. 04 334 9219 Kanoo Travel Corniche, Abu Dhabi Tel. 02 631 3900/631 8187 Airport Office Dubai Tel. 04 393 1963 Deira City Centre Dubai Tel. 04 294 1481 Dubai Internet City Building 12 Tel. 04 390 1992

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Green Community Jebel Ali Road, Dubai Tel. 04 885 3321

Wazir Street Al Azizea Building, Riyadh Tel. 01 411 4780

Jebel Ali LOB 16, Ground Floor Jebel Ali Free Zone Tel. 04 881 5050

UaE Kanoo Holidays Dubai Tel. 04 334 1444/315 6624

Karama Al Fathooi Centre, Dubai Tel. 04 334 1222

Main Street Al Khamseen Wadi Ad Dawasir Tel. 01 784 6500

Kanoo Building Khalid Bin Al Waleed Street, Bur Dubai Tel. 04 507 2242

Philippine Airlines Kanoo Tower, Riyadh Tel. 01 477 2228 Ext. 237/238

Kanoo Building Al Orouba Street, Sharjah Tel. 06 561 6058

Marine Travel Services Dubai Tel. 04 335 1314 Najda Street Abu Dhabi Tel. 02 678 0400

UK Birmingham American Express Bank House 8 Cherry Street Tel. 0121 644 5514/ 0121 644 5560 Bournemouth American Express 95A Old Christchurch Road Tel. 07872 600528/ 01202 780 752 Brighton Amex House Implant American Express Ground Floor, Amex House Edward Street Tel. 01273 525 041/040 Bristol American Express 74 Queens Road Tel. 01179 065 107/105 Cardiff American Express 3 Queen Street Tel. 02920 649 305/ 02920 649 301 Coventry American Express 5 Cathedral Lanes Shopping Centre Tel. 02476 225511/ 07872 600 528 Croydon American Express 2-4 High Street Tel. 0208 256 0808/0805 Edinburgh American Express

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Milton Keynes American Express 670 Silbury Boulevard Tel. 01908 608 877

Leicester American Express 1 Horsefair Street Tel. 0116 242 18 05/08 London American Express 84 Kensington High Street Tel. 0207 795 6703

London American Express 1 Savoy Court, The Strand Tel. 0207 240 1521 London American Express Travel Office Cabot Square Canary Wharf Tel. 0207 888 4196

London Holborn Bureau American Express 156a Southampton Row Tel. 0207 837 4416 Manchester American Express 10-12 St Mary’s Gate Tel. 0161 833 7301

Guildford American Express 38-40 High Street Tel. 01483 551 605/607

London American Express 78 Brompton Road, Knightsbridge Tel. 0207 7617 900/908

London Haymarket American Express 30 – 31 Haymarket Tel. 0207 4849 600/674

Nottingham American Express 2 victoria Street Tel. 0115 924 7701/05 Plymouth American Express 139 Armada Tel. 01752 502 702/707 Sheffield American Express 20 Charles Street Tel. 0114 263 9305/08 Southampton American Express 99 Above Bar Tel. 02380 716 805/808 York American Express 6 Stonegate Tel. 01904 676 505

February 2011 Kanoo World Traveller 71

concierge | switzerland

Suite dreamS

It’s easy to feel like you’re the king of the castle in surrounds like this: the ‘Maestro’ suite was inspired by the late classical composer Maestro Herbert von Karajan, whose pursuit of overpowering beauty and precision is mirrored in its intense colours and symmetry. Stay here and you’ll find yourself at the top of the tower in the dark fairytale-esque Dolder Grand. The rich red beams that soar above you form the spire’s original 1899 structure and today creates the most magnificent of living rooms to while away your time. Move beneath them to the tower’s window and the panoramas will captivate your senses with the same prowess as the suite itself: take in the city of Zurich below and, before you, a seemingly endless stretch of glistening lakes and snow-topped Alps. www.thedoldergrand.com

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Kanoo World Traveller February 2011

Image: The Dolder Grand.

THE DOLDER GRAND, ZURICH

The 2011 Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix is the ideal place for some family fun, with magicians, a Kung Fu show, a Michael Jackson Tribute band, a kids’ comedy show, concerts and more! It’s your chance to share special moments at the first race of the season! Got your pulse racing? Imagine being there.

TICKETS: +973 17 450000 / BAHRAINGP.COM TO BOOK YOUR FLIGHTS VISIT: GULFAIR.COM