World Traveller - October'19

INSPIRED BY

ISSUE 138 | OCTOBER 2019 | COMPLIMENTARY COPY

Best in the USA

The 20 cities you need to visit

How to do… epic Iceland

ANIMAL MAGIC

A wild encounter in stunning Zululand

Produced in Dubai Production City

STAYCATIONS GENEVA READER OFFERS SINGAPORE

Royal Penthouse · Breathtaking views & sublime style

Providing 325 square metres of contemporary elegance, the Royal Penthouse features a splendid 175 square-metre terrace with panoramic vistas of snowcapped mountains, the River Rhone and the city’s Old Town.

Mandarin Oriental, Geneva · Quai Turrettini 1, 1201 Geneva · Switzerland · T. +41 22 909 00 00 · mogva-reservations@mohg.com · mandarinoriental.com

Welcome note

From the striking architecture, to the distinctive cultural buzz, and the throngs of locals going about their daily lives, city breaks are our go-to for a dash of excitment – and nowhere does urban thrills like the USA. Whether you want to be

Managing Director Victoria Thatcher Chief Creative Officer John Thatcher General Manager David Wade Managing Editor Faye Bartle faye@hotmedia.me Content Writers Habiba Azab habiba@hotmedia.me Sophia Dyer

bowled over by the Art Deco cool of Miami, soak up the swagger of New Orleans, or check out some of those under-the-radar spots (San José, Austin and Detroit, to name just a few), we've got the skinny on America's 20 greatest cities to add to your wish list (p24).

Keeping cool cities in the spotlight, we follow the Thatcher family to Geneva to discover how a fortnight in the watch-making capital sees them slowing down the pace in order to appreciate its inner workings (p36). Plus, we dig deeper into the sights and sounds of Singapore to offer you a snapshot of how best to spend a long weekend in the Lion City (p60).

If you want to stay closer to home, look no further than the fun-filled destinations on your doorstep, which are springing to life for a jampacked winter of sun, sea and sand. Turn to page 66 for this month's top staycation suggestions that'll get you firmly in the holiday spirit.

Happy travels, Faye Bartle

Editorial Assistant Ronak Sagar

Win!

A three-night stay at Anantara Kalutara Resort in Sri Lanka, p79

Art Director Kerri Bennett

FIVE THINGS WE LEARNED THIS ISSUE: 1

Testing your skills at a new activity is one of the easiest (and most fun) ways to stay fit and healthy while you're away, p20

2

Think you know the Big Apple? Think again, as there are a number of new neighbourhoods on the scene, such as Hudson Yards, on Manhattan’s West Side, to check out, p24

3

All the animals at Thula Thula Private Game Reserve in South Africa have names, such as the cheeky rhino Thabo, p50

4

The barbecued sambal stingray is the dish to try at Singapore's famous Newton Food Centre, p60

5

Senior Designer Hiral Kapadia

Carouge is Geneva’s answer to New York’s Greenwich Village. Go there for bohemian vibes, handcrafted keepsakes... and pizza, p36

Senior Advertising Manager Mia Cachero mia@hotmedia.me Production Manager Muthu Kumar INSPIRED BY

Photography credits: Getty Images and Phocal Media Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission from HOT Media is strictly prohibited.

HOT Media does not accept liability for omissions or errors in World Traveller.

Tel: 00971 4 364 2876 Fax: 00971 4 369 7494

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Contents October 2019 Octola in Lapland

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GLOBETROTTER

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This month's go-to places take us from scenic Sarajevo to the vibrant streets of Santiago de Chile.

Admire autumn's best beauty spots, embark on a pampering spa trek, and get set to scream at these new theme park attractions.

Active travel expert Nadine Du Toit shares some fun and easy ways to stick to your health and fitness goals while on holiday.

Head online for exclusive content and, better still, the chance to win a three-night stay at Anantara Kalutara Resort in Sri Lanka.

Gaze down upon the picturesque V&A Waterfront from the stylish confines of the Superior Suite at The Silo in Cape Town.

TRENDING DESTINATIONS

GLOBETROTTER

THE KNOWLEDGE

DIGITAL DOWNLOAD

SUITE DREAMS

worldtravellermagazine.com 5

CONTENTS

features

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36

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HOW TO DO ICELAND

FAIR GAME

From Uptown NYC to beachside LA, we know the hottest urban holiday spots.

Would a fortnight in the city of high watchmaking prove too much time? John Thatcher finds out.

An epic 10-day adventure or a weekend whistle-stop? Go with the flow thanks to our two expert itineraries.

Lyndsey Steven heads off on a heart-warming wildlife adventure at Thula Thula game reserve in Zululand.

AMERICA'S 20 GREATEST CITIES

TWO WEEKS NOTICE

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A lifeguard tower on South Beach, Miami

AMERICA'S 20 GREATEST CITIES

weekends 58

LONDON'S BESTKEPT SECRET

We've found a suite spot amid Marylebone's pretty streets.

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From its lush green spaces to its hawker fare, the Lion City roars.

Feel in need of a break?

We have a few more reasons to book a weekend escape.

It's time we sent you packing. Choose your next adventure from our exclusive offers.

A LONG WEEKEND IN SINGAPORE

STAYCATIONS

TRAVEL OFFERS

DISCOVER THE PEAK OF WORLD-CLASS LUXURY AND EXPERIENCE THE HEART OF OMANI HOSPITALITY.

Diana’s Point

Cliff Pool Villa

Al Maisan Restaurant

A rare jewel in the rocky contours of the vast Saiq Plateau on Oman’s fabled Green Mountain, Anantara Al Jabal Al Akhdar Resort is the highest five star resort in the Middle East. In this extraordinary destination, the true source of adventure is revealed through Anantara’s distinctive natural luxury and innovative Arabian hospitality.

An exhilarating escape for culture and history enthusiasts, offering 115 guestrooms and pool villas of luxurious authenticity as well as culinary experiences with five dining outlets to choose from. Guests can continue their journey at the Anantara Spa complete with a Hammam as well as a fitness centre, tennis court, kids club and teens club. Bespoke outdoor adventure sports providing cultural, historical, and environmental activities will be widely on offer and available for all of the guests to experience.

Telephone: +968 25218000 Email: reservations.aaja@anantara.com

LIFE IS A JOURNEY. Visit anantara.com

CAMBODIA  CHINA  INDONESIA  MALAYSIA  MALDIVES  MAURITIUS  MOZAMBIQUE  PORTUGAL  OMAN  QATAR  SPAIN  SRI LANKA  THAILAND  UNITED ARAB EMIRATES  VIETNAM  ZAMBIA

TRENDING DESTINATIONS

Emily Williams, dnata Travel’s resident globetrotter, reveals the best places to hop on a plane to this month

Sarajevo

Tourists are flocking to see the scenic landscapes and charming towns of Bosnia and Herzegovina, including its culturally diverse capital, Sarajevo, which is tucked inside a valley and surrounded by mountains. Avoid the crowds by going in the autumn, when the ancient woodlands glow with shades of gold. Discover the museums and sample the lively nightlife before taking the three-hour drive to Mostar, where the iconic Stari Most (Old Bridge) sits.

Highlights 1 For a bird’s eye view of the city, take the cable car up Trebević Mountain. If you’ve energy to burn, you can hike or mountain bike back down again. 2 Pay a visit to the former Olympic Bobsleigh track, and take a stroll along the tubes adorned with funky street art.

3 Admire the neo-Moorish architecture of Vijećnica (the City Hall) and venture inside to swot up on the history of the city and the building itself.

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TRENDING DESTINATIONS

Santiago

It’s springtime in Chile and the country is starting to blossom. Almost half the population lives in the cosmopolitan capital Santiago de Chile, a metropolis surrounded by the peaks of the Andes. Make like a local by shopping for locally-made goods at the popular Santa Lucia Artisan Fair, sampling delicious street foods from the food trucks, and watching the sun set from the tallest building in South America, Costanera Center.

Highlights 1 Watch the Changing of the Guard in front of La Moneda Palace for some historical fanfare. 2 Visit the home of Chile’s Nobel Prize winning poet, Pablo Neruda, and discover the quirky objects the artist collected throughout his life. 3 Foodies can follow their noses to Mercado Central marketplace to sample its famous lunchtime seafood dishes, such as custardy crab pie.

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Yosemite National Park

A scenic four-hour drive from San Francisco takes you to Yosemite, a vast protected area of California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Yosemite is home to granite cliffs, lakes, giant sequoia groves, glaciers, waterfalls and forests, which turn a mishmash of vibrant hues in the autumn months. A paradise for outdoor adventure seekers, it's an idyllic spot for white-water rafting, hiking, rock climbing and horseback riding.

Highlights 1 Visit the Ansel Adams Gallery to view the Martino Hoss fine art exhibition, which captures the beauty of the majestic landscape (from 13 October to 16 November). 2 Hug one of the largest trees in the world, the enormous Grizzly Giant, which is thought to be over 2,000 years old. 3 Be mesmerised by the picture-perfect green foliage and cascading waters of Vernal Falls.

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TRENDING DESTINATIONS

Mauritius

Stretches of white sand, turquoise lagoons and luxury resorts may spring to mind, but Mauritius is so much more than just a beach destination. Its mountainous scenery presents brilliant hiking opportunities, with unforgettable views of Le Morne, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. What's more, its coral reefs and centuries-old shipwrecks offer world-class diving, while its forests are home to precious wildlife, including the Mauritian flying fox.

Highlights 1 Check out the multi-coloured sand dunes of the town of Chamarel, a rare natural phenomenon that's destined to be an Instagram hit. 2 Venture south of Port Louis to Eureka House, an ode to colonial living that’s now a fascinating museum.

3 Head north to the quaint town of Cap Malheureux and watch the fishermen making their living on the beach.

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Discover a Revolutionary Beauty Line!

Renew for the journey ahead.

We have something new and exciting for you.

Behold the mind-blowing, anti-aging and hydrating facial treatments by an innovative Korean product line, which uses Diamonds. Yes, you read that right! Diamonds are known for their ability to deliver ingredients to the deepest layers of your skin.

Want to know the best part? You get to go home with your own box of exquisite products after each treatment.

For more information or to make a booking please call +971 4 414 6754.

JW Marriott Marquis Dubai | Sheikh Zayed Road, Business Bay, PO Box 121000, Dubai, UAE mhrs.dxbjw.spa@marriott.com | jwmarriottmarquisdubailife.com

Globetrotter OCTOBER

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Be informed, be inspired, be there

CABIN IN THE WOODS If you go down to this 300-hectare Lapland wood today, you're sure of a big surprise. Sitting in total isolation, the new Octola Private Wilderness lodge offers unprecedented access to nature's finest moments, including the Northern Lights (October-April), with Michelinstar dining and spa treatments adding a touch of luxury. Comprising 10-suites, the lodge can be booked in its entirety, complete with personal butler and wilderness guide. worldtravellermagazine.com 13

GLOBETROTTER Lulworth Cove in Dorset by Nikky Casana for the CEWE Best of Britain photography competition, cewe-photoworld.com

AUTUMN TRAVEL

Beauty spots to fall for Perfect places to see golden leaves as they fall from trees Jurassic Coast has died down, the cooler winds bring a moody ambience to the stunning natural rock formations here. Perfect for a crisp hike to nearby UNESCO site, Durdle Door.

LAKE KAWAGUCHI, JAPAN Providing epic views of Mount Fuji, this park is revered for its autumnal leaves, so much so that

there's a festival dedicated to it spanning the month of November. The Momiji Kairo (maple tree corridor) is utterly share-worthy.

DOMAINE DE CHAUMONT SUR LOIRE, FRANCE In the heart of the Loire Valley, Chaumont Château's gardens boast an array of expertly-kept flowers and foliage. The annual Autumn

Central Park in New York City looks picture-perfect with its autumnal leaves

Splendours festival, from 19 October to 3 November, showcases seasonal plants while offering educational gardening workshops.

Stop and stare. Photographer and seasoned globetrotter Michael Poliza has visited 170 countries capturing the most stunning natural landscapes along the way. In his new limited edition book, aptly named The World, Poliza reveals previously unpublished images of nature's beauty from all seven continents. books-teneues.com 14 worldtravellermagazine.com

© The World by Michael Poliza, published by teNeues in October 2019. teneues.com

CENTRAL PARK, NEW YORK There are approximately 18,000 trees inside this famous park. See the green leaves transform into rich hues of orange and red with the turning of the season – rent a bike and cycle to your heart's content.

LULWORTH COVE, DORSET, UK After the summer rush to England's

GLOBETROTTER

ON OUR RADAR As Munich welcomes its famous Oktoberfest (21 September to 6 October), the rest of the world follows suit in joining in the Bavarian celebrations. You can still catch The

London Oktoberfest (london-oktoberfest. co.uk), which runs from October to November at various venues, all serving up traditional food and music.

The Chedi Muscat

WELLNESS

Going on a spa trek Traverse the globe in pursuit of relaxation THE EXCLUSIVE ONE THE CHEDI MUSCAT, OMAN Nestled between the Al Hajar Mountains and the azure waters of the Gulf of Oman, The Chedi Muscat places you in the lap of serenity – something that's best experienced while on one of the new and indulgent Luxury Wellness Escapes. Choose from a two-, four- or six-day retreat, each of which begins with a consultation with the spa's director. We say blow the budget on the six-day escape, which offers no less than 10 transformative experiences, including a dolphinwatching cruise, with beauty rituals and therapeutic massages aplenty.

Anantara Angkor Resort

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THE ZEN ONE ANANTARA ANGKOR RESORT, CAMBODIA Feeling lost? The Seven Ways of Enlightenment wellness experiences call upon soul searchers to embark on an holistic journey inspired by the local Khmer healing rituals. Choose the four- or five-hour spiritual quest, featuring treatments including a Chi Nei Tsang massage to tackle energy blockages. Or, settle into a four- to seven-day package designed to push the reset button by inspiring a healthier way of life.

THE SCIENCY ONE ONE&ONLY RESORTS x CHENOT Favour a scientific approach to wellness? The collaboration between One&Only and Chenot is just your speed, giving rise to two wellness experiences for 2020. The Espace Chenot at One&Only Desaru Coast in Malaysia is designed to detox and reset the body while the new One&Only Spa

by Chenot, at the Portonovi property in Montenegro, allows you to dip a toe into the famous Chenot Method.

Need an excuse to book your next trip? According to neuroscientist Dr Michael Merzenich, travel is

scientifically proven to be good for the brain. Breaking the monotony of the daily routine is key, he says – sounds good to us!

The Mandarin Oriental Guangzhou has teamed up with Tory Burch to launch the Bouquet

of Guangzhou experience. The chic new room package includes a Blossom Afternoon Tea, spa treatment and a designer gift to boot.

In need of a bonding break with your besties? Soneva Fushi's BFF package is just the ticket for a short break with the girls (or guys). The itinerary includes wow experiences such as dinner beneath the stars, a yoga class, and a dolphin cruise for a fresh take on Maldives with your mates.

Abu Dhabi’s Finest Urban Resort The St. Regis Abu Dhabi soars to new heights of splendour and service beyond expectation. Located at the vibrant heart of Abu Dhabi with a 200 metre stretch of pristine beach, overlooking the turquoise waters of the Arabian Gulf which is home to the Nation Riviera Beach Club at the finest address in the city.

Š2019 Marriott International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. All names, marks and logos are the trademarks of Marriott International, Inc., or its affiliates.

The St. Regis Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates t. +971 2 694 4444 stregisabudhabi.com

Stay exquisite at more than 40 St. Regis hotels and resorts worldwide. @stregishotels

GLOBETROTTER

Star Wars Hotel, Walt Disney World Resort, USA

t hrills and s pills

Step aboard the starship and set off on a voyage through space that's brought to life by characters and stories that unfold all around you during your stay at this immersive hotel resort. Throw yourself into your role by dressing in Star Wars-inspired attire and peek through the window in your room for a glimpse of the galaxy outside – just keep your eyes peeled for galactic friends and foes. Opening date tbc.

To half-term and beyond... make a break for these upand-coming theme park adventures for the whole family

Disney's Hotel New York - The Art of Marvel, Disneyland Paris A Thor hammer's throw away from the Disney Parks and Disney Village, this four-star hotel is set to be a comic book fan's dream. Featuring over 300 Marvel artworks in the style of a contemporary Manhattan art gallery, it'll be the only Disney Hotel where you can meet Marvel Super Heroes.

Opening summer 2020; booking from 5 November 2019.

Nickelodeon Universe Theme Park at American Dream, New Jersey, USA The hotly-anticipated American Dream is opening on 25 October, bringing a sprawling complex of shops, entertainment, attractions and more to New Jersey.

A flagship attraction, the Nickelodeon Universe Theme Park invites you to test your nerve on the world's steepest rollercoaster, The Shellraiser (it has a 121.5-degree drop), before meeting SpongeBob and friends. americandream.com

TRENDWATCH: MEMBERS-ONLY KIDS' CLUBS 1

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Maggie & Rose, global A London-born family members club concept with healthy cafĂŠs and stunning play scenes. The hip hangout has gone global with branches in Hong Kong, Singapore and China. Plus, non-members can book into Big Kids Camps during the holidays. maggieandrose.com

Wunderhaus, Berlin A tranquil setting where likeminded parents can come to relax while the children play, Wunderhaus offers a cool line-up of classes and workshops for grown-ups, plus childcare to keep the little ones busy. The club is aimed at those with kids aged from four months to four years. wunder-haus.com

Purple Dragon, London A well established club that's welcomed a few famous members over the years, Purple Dragon aims to foster precious family moments.

Kids can take classes such as Michelin Masters (as fancy as it sounds), Mini Maestros and Jedi Training, all with Montessori principles. purpledragonplay.com

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Maggie & Rose, Kensington

E X PR ESSION OF LUXURY Embark on a journey to an exceptional experience at InterContinental Genève.

Satisfy your taste for luxury in one of our Suites.

Live the InterContinental life.

KNOW-HOW

The Knowledge HOW TO...

Smash your health goals while on holiday Don't let your healthy habits slide while you're away. Dubai-based travel and fitness influencer Nadine Du Toit (@glorygirlfit) tells us how You know the drill. You’ve been nailing your gym routine and green juicing like a pro, but the second you set foot off the aeroplane, going on a run is the last thing on your mind. While it can be a challenge to stick to your health and fitness goals on holiday, making good choices doesn’t have to mean drawn-out cardio sessions and skipping dessert. Here’s how to enjoy yourself without acquiring any excess baggage…

PERFECT THE POWER WALK If you’re off to a destination where there’s plenty to see, ditch taxis and public transport in favour of walking from a to b. It's a simple fix, but it works.

“I normally make a deal with myself that I will walk as much as possible when exploring a new place, as it’s a great way to connect with the environment,” says Nadine. “Quite often, walking means you’ll see and experience things you may have missed if you were stuck in a train or a car. If you like running, consider downloading a local trail map or app and exercise alongside the locals.” Be sure to carry a water bottle when you're out and about to help avoid dehydration – even when you're in cooler climes.

STEP OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE “Create memories –and Instagram moments – by filling your days with fun activities,” advises Nadine. "If you’re close to the ocean, get some vitamin D and test your skills at the watersports on offer, such as windsurfing, or rent a bike and explore the natural beauty spots. Taking part in a new activity or challenge, is great for your fitness levels and helps you feel more connected with nature." Not only is it lots of fun, but you’ll be surprised how many sleepy muscles you use.

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DON'T BE AFRAID OF THE BUFFET If buffet style meals are a weakness, don’t fret, as you can successfully balance eating well and a healthy dose of indulgence. “Don’t go in with a mindset of avoidance” says Nadine.

“Instead, start with a full plate of fresh greens, salad and some fruit. The fibre will fill you up and the enzymes in the fresh produce will prepare the digestive system to fully digest the rest of the meal. Remember that you are on holiday so if you really want to eat something, go for it. Don’t miss out on trying the local cuisine, just exercise some portion control and enjoy it – that’s the most important thing.”

CRUNCH DOWN YOUR WORKOUT “Whenever you feel like it, grab your earphones, put on your favourite workout playlist and get moving,” says Nadine. “Workouts don’t have to be complicated or involve using large equipment. I love travelling with my skipping rope, as it’s lightweight and doesn’t take up much space.” Even

15-minutes in the gym, or jogging in the local park, is better than nothing.

“I recommend doing five rounds of three-minute intervals. For example, one-minute skipping, one-minute shadow boxing (trust me, this is hard work) and one-minute abs or core work out,” says Nadine. If in doubt, ask the hotel gym instructor to draw you up a quick and easy 15-minute routine.

GET SOME SHUT EYE “Sleep is an important factor for staying healthy while travelling,” says Nadine.

“On top of helping you to feel your best, it will encourage you to make better choices the next day when it comes to movement and nutrition.”

Of course, when you’re away it can be hard to catch those zzz’s as there’s so much to do but, as Nadine says, “if you can prioritise sleep, it will make a big difference”. Some rules of thumb include setting the thermostat to a slumber-friendly setting (the right temperature for sleep is between 1618°C), and following your usual wind down routine as much as possible.

The Swiss Luxury Apartments are located just two minutes' walk from Lake Geneva and the world-famous Jet d’Eau – right at the heart of the business district and within easy reach of numerous restaurants and the city’s vibrant nightlife.

The exclusive, fully air-conditioned Swiss Luxury Apartments are housed in an historical building in the city centre, which was once home to Simon Wedgwood. The beautifully renovated contemporary apartments offer the latest hi-tech facilities, with some novel luxuries to make your stay a joy.

The superbly appointed suites are the perfect choice for discerning clients seeking luxurious accommodation with an outstanding array of facilities. Each offers: a giant 4k TV; free high-speed secure LAN and WLAN Internet connections; ECO air conditioning; fully adjustable LED lighting in the bathrooms; a power shower and separate bath tub; fully-equipped kitchenette with a Nespresso coffee machine; luxurious rung beds with Frette silk duvets; and a choice of pillows to ensure you have a wonderful night’s sleep.

✔ Reception and concierge service ✔ 24/7 daily housekeeping service ✔ Fully air-conditioned ✔ In-room breakfast available every day from 6am to noon,

✔ Nintendo & PlayStations for your kids ✔ Free well-being and health kit ✔ Massages, body treatments and hair dressing service

priced at CHF39 per person ✔ High-speed Internet access and hi-tech devices (including a giant 4k TV screen, headphones, and speakers) ✔ In-room dining with a private chef for CHF245 per person ✔ Dedicated cell phone with free roaming, local and international calls ✔ Special ladies’ welcome ✔ Free baby kit upon request ✔ Babysitting service upon request

✔ Free transportation card to use on public transport in Geneva ✔ Free, unlimited in-house laundry services ✔ Minibar filled and refreshed every day with complimentary

available upon request

soft drinks

✔ Storage facilities in the basement ✔ Winner, three times in a row, of the Luxury Travel Guide 2017-2019 ✔ Ranked number one out of 109 hotels in Geneva on TripAdvisor, according to travellers.

reservation@swiss-luxury-apartments.ch. | www.swiss-luxury-apartments.ch | +41 (0)22 596 12 00

Natural charm

One of the newest resorts to grace the Kalutara peninsula, Anantara Kalutara Resort unveils untouched natural wonders with plenty of adventure and culture just around the corner

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WORLD TRAVELLER X ANANTARA KALUTARA RESORT Private cabanas on the beach

Take some time to relfect by the Kalu Ganga River

Royal Bawa Suite

Unwind with an Ayurvedic therapy

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arm Sri Lankan hospitality welcomes you the moment you set foot on this beautiful property. Whether it’s a traditional chanting ceremony or a simple friendly smile that greets you, you’ll be instantly immersed in the country’s vibrant way of life.

Tucked away on a peninsula between the Indian Ocean and Kalu Ganga River, the tropical retreat feels a million miles away from the hustle and bustle of the capital, yet by the clock it’s just an hour’s drive. With towering coconut palms, lush botanical gardens and an alluring mix of serene lagoons and white-sandy beaches, the resort hits every holiday mark.

But what immediately draws you in is its dramatic scale and unique architecture that smoothly blends sunlit, breezy structures with nature – a signature style that’s inspired by the vision of the late Geoffrey Bawa, Sri Lanka’s most celebrated architect.

Boasting stunning vistas that serve as a reminder of being in a distinctly exotic destination, the resort has 141 luxury guest rooms, suites and pool villas – each with private balconies offering views of the lush greenery, peaceful lagoon or rolling ocean. For a memorable stay, request the Royal Bawa Suite, which pays homage to Bawa’s unique aesthetic with indigenous artworks and plush textiles highlighting his trademark tropical modernism.

Pause to reflect with a traditional high tea served on the Upper Deck, from which you can admire stunning views of the Kalu River and Indian Ocean.

Get a slice of the action by zip-lining across the lagoon, testing your skills at abseiling, or rock climbing at Glider Adventure Tower. If you prefer to slow down the pace, however, the resort’s serene setting lends itself well to yoga and meditation. Head to Anantara Spa where, after a consultation with the Ayurvedic doctor, you can experience

Royal Bawa Suite

therapies such as Shirodhara, which involves gently pouring liquids over the forehead to lull you into a deep state of relaxation and help restore the flow of energy in the body.

For authentic Thai and Indian delights, head to Spice Traders, which is a treat for the senses with its array of authentic Asian flavours. Or, you can soak up some more of the Sri Lankan culture by tasting signature dishes featuring fresh local ingredients, such as blue mussels, spiny lobster and king prawns.

If you want to learn the secrets of creating such culinary gems, Spice Spoons cooking school is the place to go for some expert tips on mastering the art of the famously zesty cuisine. Let the resident foodies take you on a market tour so you can handpick ingredients to cook back at the resort, marking a delicious end to your Sri Lankan adventure.

To find out more, visit anantara.com For a chance to win a stay, see page 79. worldtravellermagazine.com 23

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AMERICAN CITIES

America’s

20 greatest cities Nowhere does urban thrills like the USA. And from uptown NYC to beachside LA, we know the hottest joints in town

Miami

Why go? Miami is the American beach city, with pale sands, postcard palms and Art Deco cool — plus a Latino pulse to keep you buzzing late.

Pink, baby-blue, canary-yellow — the Art Deco style you came for doesn’t disappoint. Find the highlights along Ocean Drive, where the island of Miami Beach tapers to SoBe (South Beach).

Beside the blue Atlantic, neon-toned lifeguard stations line the shore. Take a walking tour (mdpl.org) for the boomand-bust story, via ’20s excess, the Great Depression and ’80s vice to 21stcentury dynamo.

For lunch, grab a seat on the terrace of the Betsy — Ocean Drive at its most

elegant, with towering burgers.

As the day fades, take an Uber to Wynwood in mainland Miami. Once a forlorn grid of streets, it now has a millennial edge, with graffiti art on old warehouses. Northwest 25th is the street to wander along, and it’s where you’ll find Kyu, an Asian-minimalist concrete box, where friends sip creative cocktails and share soft shell crab buns on high stools.

Next day, explore Coconut Grove, a rich, but real-feeling community of palm trees and sea breezes. Drop by the Mayfair Hotel, inspired by Gaudí, for coconut-crusted French toast at Greenstreet Cafè.

Your afternoon idyll is around the corner: sprawl on the lawns of Barnacle Historic State Park, with its views of Biscayne Bay. After dark, the streets of Little Havana, a 10-minute taxi ride north, beckon. Join salsa fans at Ball & Chain, then walk east to hear songs by Cuban minstrels at Cafe La Trova.

Spend another few days on the beach.

Or, if that's too chilled for your tastes, explore. Downtown is on the up, with Mama Tried bar bound to waylay you.

But come by day, too, for an intriguing tour of the birth of Miami with Dr Paul George (historymiami.org). He’ll show you the ornate skyscrapers and gilt lobbies that put the city on the map.

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San Francisco

WASHINGTON Why go? It’s not just politicos who’ll love the American capital. There’s fiery food, old-school bars, galleries and gossip.

The 17 Smithsonian museums could fill a week alone, covering everything from African Art to the daily mail — the Postal Museum even displays mail-delivering Amelia Earhart’s flight suit. Prioritise the National Air and Space Museum, where you’ll see the Apollo 11 command module and the world’s first aeroplane. Next best is the National Museum of the American Indian, which explores the cultures and practices of indigenous groups across the Americas.

Also free, the memorials lining the National Mall are easy enough to walk around in half a day: the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials are more like temples, while those honouring the Korean War and Martin Luther King Jr are more symbolic, yet incredibly moving. Finish with a tour of the US Capitol building.

But Washington’s not all highbrow. The interactive International Spy Museum lets you into the world of disguises, hidden weapons and double agents. Then there’s the social scene. Capitol Hill’s the spot to overhear juicy gossip, while U Street Corridor, to the north, is an important AfricanAmerican cultural hub.

Marvin bar-resto sums it up best with a loose Marvin Gaye theme, southern-meets-Belgian cuisine, live music and a rooftop terrace.

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Why go? More than 50 years after the Summer of Love, San Francisco is still America’s non-conformist city par excellence, where beatniks and hippies coexist with start-up millionaires.

It’s also the gateway to the Californian wilderness.

Start with the Golden Gate Bridge, the city’s most famous site — best appreciated on a bike. Hire an electric one from Blazing Saddles on Fisherman’s Wharf (blazing saddles. com), then trundle along Crissy Field Beach and up

Detroit Long an automotive powerhouse, Detroit went into decline after the ’50s. But in recent years, the city has seen the rejuvenation of its art deco skyscrapers, the opening of some of the country’s hippest shops and restaurants, and meteoric propertyprice rises. Explore Corktown, with its rainbow, Federalstyle architecture; wander around Belle isle park; or dive into Motown Museum — after all, Detroit is the hometown of Aretha and Diana Ross.

through Presidio Park to the icon. Cross over and wind down to chi-chi Sausalito, where the ferry will return you back across the Bay. Back near the bridge cityside, Golden Gate Park is home to the San Francisco Botanical Garden, a California-in-miniature set of wildflowers and redwoods, with plants from around the world. Nearby is the HaightAshbury neighbourhood, where the Summer of Love lives on in vintage shops.

After dark, you want the hip, grungy Mission district — specifically, cult restaurant

AMERICAN CITIES

Mission Chinese, known for its peppery mapo tofu.

Move on to Foreign Cinema nearby, which screens movies in the courtyard as you drink.

Day two starts with avocado toast at the Ferry Building Farmers’ Market, where locals gather every weekend to buy organic veg. Just up the waterfront is Pier 33, where Alcatraz Cruises will whisk you to the infamous island — former inmates narrate the jail audio tour. Be warned, however, that tours get booked up months in advance.

Finish in North Beach, home of the Beat Generation. Lawrence Ferlinghetti founded bookshop City Lights, which published the Beats’ works; now aged 100, he still pops in. Cross the road for dinner at Tosca, a dive bar-turned fancy Italian; order the off-menu meatballs.

Spend a day at Muir Woods, a redwood grove in nearby Marin County, with a beach where locals paddle in tidal pools by day and light bonfires at night.

This image: Golden Gate Bridge Right: A traditional Philly cheesesteak sandwich

Pittsburgh It has long lived in Philadelphia’s shadow, but Pittsburgh has lots to tempt you.

The Andy Warhol Museum has the world’s largest collection by the artist (a city native), while the Carnegie Museum

PHILADELPHIA

of Natural History

Why go? Philly is hugely historical — it’s where the US was born, in fact — but has plenty of blue-collar friendliness to complement its heritage attractions.

The Independence National Historical Park is the big draw. It includes bighitter buildings — arrive early for tours of Independence Hall, where the Declaration of Independence and US Constitution were signed.

Another standout is the Museum of the American Revolution, with a 3D, timeline-style approach to how the US broke free from colonial control.

Philly also hosts one of the world’s greatest art collections at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Snap a selfie by the Rocky sculpture (yes, that Rocky), then take in the French Impressionists and Chinese porcelain exhibitions, before moving on to see politically charged murals in the city — the best concentration is on South Street. Next, visit Philly’s most impressive sight: the 1829-built Eastern State Penitentiary, the model for hundreds of prisons around the world. Walking its abandoned wings is thoroughly chilling.

Philadelphia is also a brilliant sit-ata-bar-and-get-pally city, and hip East Passyunk Avenue is heaving with sociable joints, including Manatawny Still Works. The central Reading Terminal Market has a similar vibe, but with food stalls. Hop on a stool and dig into a world-famous Philly cheesesteak sandwich, full of tangy, waistlineexpanding provolone cheese and beef.

is old-school.

Sports fans won’t be disappointed — local teams the Penguins (ice hockey) and Steelers (American football) are worshipped and witnessing a game is a truly electric experience.

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This image: A New Orleans jazz band in the city's French Quarter Right: Disney Concert Hall in downtown LA

San José The heart of Silicon Valley has a lot more going for it than the headquarters of Google, Apple and Facebook.

This anythingis-possible burgeoning city has an exciting global food scene, art museums and topdrawer shopping that ranges from makers market to fashionable Santana Row. And if you’re a tech nerd, you won’t be disappointed — the sprawling Tech Museum of Innovation is mind-blowing.

New Orleans

Why go? Jazz... Fried oysters...

Funerals that are also street parties... Street parties that are also ground-quaking 14-day festivals of decadence... New Orleans literally invented these things. And the city’s still a place where they let les bon temps roule with a unique swagger.

Ease yourself into the city with a drink at Longway Tavern, just metres from rowdy Bourbon Street in the prettily historic central French Quarter, to enjoy its sultry plantstrewn courtyard.

Brunch at Brennan’s is an elegant institution, and you’ll never understand this city if you don’t embrace its bring-it-on attitude to food and drink. Come evening,

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catch trad jazz in its purest form at winsomely dilapidated Preservation Hall — no need to reserve seats, as the sociable queue and alfresco tippling make the line part of the fun. Dine at Justine, with street art on the walls, Frenchy stuff on the menu, and some light burlesque between tables.

Next day, see a cemetery: NOLA entombs her deceased above ground in atmospheric stone cities of the dead. Saint Louise No. 1 has some famous graves, but a tour is compulsory (try twochickswalkingtours.com).

Lafayette No. 1 cemetery is free and in the Garden District, where the city’s wealthy live in leafy, porticoed, plantation-era splendour: wander,

AMERICAN CITIES

PORTLAND Why go? Portland’s transformation from backwater lumber town to ultra-cool craft capital has been remarkable.

Surrounded by mountains and wine regions, the city itself is surprisingly flat and easy to explore, on foot or by bike.

For the backstory, the Underground Portland Tour from Portland Walking Tours (portlandwalkingtours.com) combines historic tales of crooked cops and kidnapped sailors. But otherwise, forget the somewhat mediocre attractions — you’re here to eat and drink.

Portland is booming with microbreweries, artisan distilleries, and food trucks.

Unlike other cities, these don’t converge in one particular hip neighbourhood — they’re spread across the centre. So take a tour for an introduction. Forktown (forktown.com) sorts the restaurant-hopping.

Otherwise, an amble through East Portland can thread together much of what makes the city great.

Cartopia at Southeast 12th and Hawthorne is one of the original food-cart pods, with vegan burritos, grilled chicken or wood-oven pizza for less than $10.

Finally, Portland also benefits from Oregon’s lack of a sales tax, making it a cheap place to shop, especially in the flagship Nike store.

Austin Some Texan stereotypes (BBQs and cowboy-boot shops) persist, but these days Austin is a hipster oasis. The live-music scene is superb — the Red River District is geared towards serious musiclovers — downtown Sixth Street is more raucous. For quirky shops, head to South Congress Avenue. The massive, natural Barton Springs Pool and the nightly bat migration from the Congress Avenue Bridge show off the city’s outdoorsy side.

ogle, envy. You’re not far now from the Southern Food and Beverage Museum, but the real draw here is its soul-satisfyingly good restaurant, Toups South. Next, cruise out of town on the charming St Louis streetcar, then walk back up Magazine Street for its quirky boutiques and hip evening options.

Best is Cavan. End your evening (and begin your night) in the Marigny district. On Frenchmen Street, every other building is a stomping jazz bar, and the standard is astonishingly high. Even at 4am...

Over the next couple of days get out into the bayou by kayak (you’ll get a feel for the swamp that you won’t with a motorised boat trip; neworleanskayakswamptours.)

LOS ANGELES Why go? LA is changing, and fast. Steer clear of Hollywood, they used to say — it’s grimy, touristy and has nothing going for it outside the Walk of Fame.

But today, what used to be grim now gleams with rooftop bars, starlet-filled restaurants and only-in-LA nightlife. Take, for instance, Good Times at Davey Wayne’s, a ’70s-themed speakeasy with a secret entrance through a fridge, or Black Rabbit Rose, where you sip drinks to a live magic show.

Then there’s downtown’s major transformation from architectural ghost town to the heart of the city. The Beaux-Arts and Art Deco buildings are coming back to life, thanks to the likes of the Last Bookstore, where second-hand tomes double as sculptures, and Grand Central Market. Here, foodies descend to eat fried chicken at Lucky Bird and egg-and-cheese brioche buns at cult breakfast spot Eggslut.

Don’t forget to check out the Valley. Movie stars have always called this place home, but its so-so food scene meant they often crossed the Hollywood Hills to eat. Not any more: chef Michael Cardenas opened Mister O’s last year to great acclaim, hitting LA’s veg trend hard, with the likes of fusilli with mushrooms, beans and greens. And, right at the other end of the taste spectrum, Ricardo Zarate has opened Los Balcones with a daring menu that includes BBQ beef hearts. worldtravellermagazine.com 29

Clockwise from this image: Historic Acorn Street on Boston's Beacon Hill; Chicago's Art Deco Carbide and Carbon Building, which now houses a hotel; a cowgirl shows off her boots in Nashville

Atlanta Atlanta’s the logical place to start a deep South road trip. But hang around a while first — the vast city greedily hoards top-drawer attractions. The CNN Studio Tour and World of Coca-Cola are at the fun end of the scale, while the brilliant National Center for Civil and Human Rights, plus the Martin Luther King Jr National Historical Site are powerful and hugely evocative.

Boston

Why go? Home of Harvard and JFK; clam chowder capital; tinderbox of the Revolution... Boston blends preppiness and coastal delights with historic sites. And you can do it all in two or three days.

Kick off at leafy Boston Common, starting point of the Freedom Trail, a 4km walk connecting Revolution hotspots, including the grave of John Hancock and Paul Revere’s home.

The trail ends in the North End, an Italian neighbourhood dotted with cannoli bakeries and old-school pasta joints, including Bricco. But, for a first lunch, there’s no beating honey-butter-soaked Johnnycake (cornmeal flatbread) with smoked bluefish at Neptune Oyster Bar. Later, try a whale-watching cruise from nearby Long Wharf (bostonharborcruises.com). Or hop in a cab west and wander past vibrant John Singleton Copley portraits and Tiffany stained-glass windows at the Museum of Fine Arts. As evening falls, wind up with a hot dog and game at vintage baseball stadium Fenway Park.

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Next morning, head to a Boston icon: Harvard, where a free, student-led tour whisks you through the grand buildings and tree-shaded grounds.

Now hop on the subway to the JFK Presidential Library and Museum.

Exhibits explore the late president’s life — worth it even if you’re not a real politics geek.

Later, see Seaport, Boston’s refurbed industrial district, and the residential South End. On Sundays, SoWa market fuses art, street food and lawn games, but every day of the week you can enjoy the edgy Institute of Contemporary Art and the handsome brownstones by Tremont Street.

Nearby are some of the city’s finest restaurants: try Sportello for silky pastas or Row 34 for yummy oysters, clams and buttery lobster rolls.

Beyond the city lie some of Massachusetts’s finest assets, such as scenic Cape Cod, quaint Martha’s Vineyard island and historic Plymouth Rock. Or try Salem, famed for its 17thcentury witch trials. Take the train from North Station to its clapboard houses and Peabody Essex Museum.

AMERICAN CITIES

Chicago

Why go? Chicago is a proper, muscular American city, with skyscrapers that drip with Art Deco details, world-class museums, and a sophisticated food scene. But a walkable centre makes it surprisingly doable in a few days.

Focus your sightseeing on the Loop, Chicago’s downtown core. The quickest way to get to know it is with a free tour guide (chicagogreeter.com). Note an interest in architecture and you may find yourself with Nancy Whitlock, who will whisk you to the Marquette Building’s brass reliefs and Tiffany mosaics. Lunch with the 9-5 crowd next door, at Revival Food Hall, home to stall-sized offshoots of hot city restaurants. The house-made charcuterie from Danke is a must.

Next, head north on a river cruise (shorelinesightseeing.com) for a neckcraning view of the most giddying buildings, such as the Champagne-

bottle-inspired Carbide and Carbon Building, designed as a two-fingered salute to Prohibition. In the evening, raise a glass to its architects at cosy, woodpanelled Coq d’Or bar in the Drake Hotel, the second in the city to obtain a liquor licence after the repeal.

Day two: arrive early to beat the queue for the Art Institute of Chicago, with its A-list line-up, from Edward Hopper to Vincent Van Gogh. Nearby, Miller’s Pub serves American classics beneath the rattling L-traintracks. Finally, take the green L line to leafy Oak Park to ogle the turreted mansion home of a teenage Ernest Hemingway, who couldn’t wait to leave, and to see where architect Frank Lloyd Wright built his first house.

Take another two days to explore Chicago’s neighbourhoods. Wrigleyville is home to the Chicago Cubs, the 2016 World Series-winning baseball team.

You’ll find fans in noisy-but-fun cult

sports bar Sluggers, which even has batting cages installed.

To the west, up-and-coming Logan Square is littered with foodie spots such as Bang Bang Pie & Biscuits. Join the queue for sweet pies — think honey and orange blossom.

San Diego Picture classic California beaches, and you’re almost certainly picturing San Diego. Here, there’s one for every taste. Surfers love Ocean Beach, where the waves

NASHVILLE Why go? The barman in a Stetson, pouring your shot; barbecue chicken thighs so hot they make your teeth hurt; the next Taylor Swift strumming a hard-luck song...

That’s what travellers imagine they’ll get in Nashville, the music capital of Tennessee (if not the world). And you know what? That’s exactly what they get. Visit the city and it’s like stepping into a No.1

pound against the

country album. Take a tour with Songbird to understand how much music truly means to Nashville. On board a customised bus with a small stage, passengers listen to singer-songwriters perform in between stories of big hits and record-label wrangles (songbirdtours.com).

Next up, duck into the Country Music Hall of Fame before nightfall. Here, Dolly

Parton outfits and Elvis’s Cadillac bring the legends back to life. Now hit honkytonk bars on Broadway (Tootsies is the best and grimiest), where unsigned acts are all good-enoughfor-a-Grammy. Then find your spot in the greatest live-music venue of all time: Ryman Auditorium, a temple to acoustics — the audience even sits on wooden pews.

shore. Fashionistas join the yoga-pants crowd at Pacific Beach, with its blue-and-whitecottage-lined pier.

For palm trees and sea lions, it’s chi-chi La Jolla. For wide white sands backed by Golden age mansions, try Coronado.

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Las Vegas

Why go? It’s supersized, gaudy, and — if you throw yourself into it — lots and lots of fun. Las Vegas’s scale, bravado and all-out assault on the senses are unmatched anywhere else on Earth.

The Las Vegas Strip is lined with huge resorts, most with gimmicks — such as the replica Eiffel Tower outside Paris, and the exploding volcano by the Mirage. Spend your first day ambling through them, wideeyed. Some attractions are worth shelling out for, too, including the Titanic exhibition at the Luxor, and the rollercoaster at New York New York.

Top freebies include the Fine Art collection at CityCenter and the fountains outside the Bellagio.

For dinner, obscene buffet-gorging is a quintessentially Vegas experience.

Denver Gateway to the Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado’s big city provides thrills for those who love the outdoors — in summer, rugged hikes, in winter, some of America’s finest skiing within easy reach. But there’s plenty to do downtown, too. Hop between the RiNo, Ballpark and Five Points districts. Follow up with a concert at Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre — the coolest outdoor venue in the US.

This image: The fountains in front of the Bellagio hotel on the Vegas strip Right: A breakfast burrito

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Le Village Buffet at Paris is better value and higher quality than most, with individual cooking stations inspired by French regions. Later, hit a show — one of the best reasons to visit Vegas.

Avoid comedy — overpriced and too US-centric — but for everything else, hunt on smartervegas.com, vegas. com or tix4tonight.com for discounts (on the day you’ll get up to 50% off).

You can’t go wrong with a Cirque du Soleil show, especially the Beatlesthemed LOVE or acrobatics-meetswar Ka. Head downtown. Here, the Mob Museum delves deep into Vegas’s dodgy gangster origins, while classic neon signs line Fremont Street. Mooch for a block either side and you’ll find large-scale street art. When you’re ready to eat, the Downtown Container Park hosts bars, restaurants and indie

AMERICAN CITIES

NEW YORK shops in shipping containers (a bit like Dubai's Boxpark).

In the evening, the Fremont Street Experience — a multi-block LED canopy — puts on a light show, often with live bands. You can fly through it on the SlotZilla Zip Line (vegasexperience. com/slotzilla-zipline) — best done before dinner (try Carson Kitchen for rock meets comfort food).

Vegas is surrounded by awesome desert and mountain scenery — worth a couple more days at least.

Take Sundance Helicopters’ Grand Voyager flight into the Grand Canyon, which includes a boat trip down the Colorado River (sundancehelicopters. com). Otherwise, there’s the multicoloured Red Rock Canyon, 21km west of the Strip — Red E Bike (redebike.com) does tours — or the engineering marvel Hoover Dam.

Seattle Grunge and high tech collide in the coastal, mountainsurrounded home of Nirvana, Microsoft and Amazon. Money from the latter has been pumped into big attractions, including the music and movieworshipping Frank Gehry-designed museum of Popular Culture. But the sprawling, multistorey Pike Place Market channels Seattle’s coffeeguzzling, Pacific Northwest happy, slacker character.

Why go? This year, there are new neighbourhoods to explore. Riverside complex Hudson Yards, on Manhattan’s West Side, has sprung up almost from nowhere, in a futuristic explosion of public art, immaculate plazas and gleaming, glassy restaurants. Get in there for coca flatbreads or sizzling paella at its stylish Little Spain food hall, then climb the crisscrossing staircases of the Yards’ centrepiece, a hive-like Thomas Heatherwick sculpture.

Next, potter down the High Line public walkway to Chelsea. This oncegrungy neighbourhood is now a hotbed of cool. As well as new gallery collective the High Line Nine, in a building designed by Zaha Hadid, there’s the lavish Restoration Hardware interiors store, with a leafy bar-restaurant on the roof, and the minimalist-chic new Moxy Hotel Downtown. Smartly designed affordable hotels are a general trend: the Moxy is rivalled by brand-new stay Sister City, in the rejuvenated Bowery area of town.

Meanwhile, vegan comfort food dominates the city’s hip restaurants: try the bizarrely ‘meaty’ Impossible Burger at Saxon and Parole in the Bowery; vegan dim sum at the East Village’s Fire & Water; or meatless breakfast burritos at Brooklyn’s Hartbreakers. Lastly, one of the biggest sightseeing changes to New York’s iconic line-up in years has recently reopened: a dazzling new museum beside the Statue of Liberty.

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A summer fling with Juilliard saw John Thatcher and family head to Geneva, but would their fortnight engagement in the city of high watchmaking prove too much time?

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GENEVA

ime and Geneva are inexorably linked. The city is home to the world’s finest watchmakers, their horological feats only deemed worthy to bear the coveted Seal of Geneva if they have met strict parameters.

Naturally, then, the city shouts of this proud heritage from its rooftops, on which advertising hoardings bearing manufacturers’ prized names (Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin and all) are loftily positioned so that they are visible from the beautiful Lac Léman.

Time would also define our stay in Geneva. At two weeks we had too much of it, said some of our friends; former residents of the mountain-backed city.

Yet with only a window of six hours per day to explore, we also had too little.

Their belief of the former was built on the fact that as a relatively small city (just over six square miles), Geneva is easy to explore over the course of a weekend – particularly as every hotel guest is given a complimentary Geneva Transport Card when they check in, which permits a free ride on the city’s public transport network (bus, train, tram and boat) for the duration of their stay. The latter thought was expressed because of Geneva’s enviable location, which puts France and Italy within easy reach, not to mention Mont Blanc and the wider, ample attractions of Switzerland. As such, day trips from the city are ripe with adventure.

So why did we only have six hours?

That was on account of the reason we headed to Geneva in the first place: our eldest daughter had won a place at Juilliard’s Summer Performing Arts programme, which meant we had to be in the small town of Pont-Céard (a train-ride from Geneva) at 9am each morning to drop her off, and at 5pm each afternoon to collect her.

When time is of the essence, it certainly helps that Switzerland’s trains run on time. Growing up in the UK you come to believe that scheduled train times are a simple matter of guess work, a wild stab in the dark at when the train will likely roll in, if it actually rolls in it all. Here, they leave on the second.

It also helped that our first hotel, Swiss Luxury Apartments, stands a mere 600 metres from the city’s train station, worldtravellermagazine.com 37

GENEVA

Cornavin, and that staying there made everything a breeze. Take breakfast, for example, which at our designated hour was delivered each morning (right on time, obviously) to our door on a silver platter – a veritable buffet comprised of cold cuts, cheeses, yogurt, cereal, juices and pastries. They also ensured that any clothes we’d consigned to the washing basket – a lot when you have two stainprone kids in tow– were returned clean and neatly folded the following day. And along with leaving our room squeakily spotless they’d also deposit a gourmet treat: not the standard chocolate on your pillow, but genuinely thoughtful things like organic, locally produced honey; a beautifully wrapped box of handmade fudge; and, upon departure, a wheel of raclette cheese to enjoy warm and melted when back home. Little wonder that the apartments were awash with fellow guests from the Middle East.

Within two minutes of stepping out from the apartments we were aside the great lake, its famous Jet d’Eau spurting into a baby blue sky, on our way to Place du Rhône to catch another train, this one more toy-like in size. It took us on a whistle-stop tour of some of the city’s most historic spots: the imposing opera house, with stone figures carved into its façade; the Reformation Wall in pretty Parc des Bastions, a grand monument with the towering figure of John Calvin at its core, a key figure of the Protestant Reformation in Europe and the 400th anniversary of whose birth the long stretch of wall was built to commemorate; and lastly the charismatic old town, at the heart of which is Bourg-de-Four Square, Geneva’s oldest spot where locals traded their wares in Roman times. It now does a roaring trade in coffee shops.

The Gothic-influenced St. Peter’s Cathedral towers above the old town, and a climb up its near 200 stone stairs is a must. The trade-off for burning calf muscles is a spectacular view of Geneva’s blessing from Mother Nature – that stunning, sun-kissed lake and the cloud-shrouded spikes of mountains which frame a vista that’s simply pretty as a picture.

Multiple lanes branch off Bourgde-Four Square, one of which, Rue des Chaudronniers, plays host to a gem of 38 worldtravellermagazine.com

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THE TRADE-OFF FOR BURNING CALF MUSCLES IS A SPECTACULAR VIEW OF GENEVA’S BLESSING FROM MOTHER NATURE

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a fashion find: Vintage Garde-Robe.

While the new season’s luxuries can be purchased from the concentration of designer boutiques along Rue du Rhône, Vintage Garde-Robe has curated an outstanding selection of styles from seasons’ past, including couture (lots of it) from the likes of Chanel and Valentino.

They also deliver to the Middle East.

Vintage of a rarer, stranger kind was also ours to (weirdly) enjoy when we returned to the old town for dinner.

Having chosen an alfresco table, we had ringside seats for an impromptu street performance. I’ve been brought up to believe it’s impolite to ask a lady her age, which has resulted in me being utterly abject at guessing, but I’d put the age of this street performer at somewhere between 90 and 110. Which made her choice of attire, a pink leotard and tutu, somewhat distressing. Having placed a stereo on the cobbled floor, she then proceeded to perform a ballet routine to Delibes’ Flower Duet. Like a car crash, it was something I desperately wanted to look away from yet watched transfixed. Until, that is, she finished with a croisé that almost snapped her twig-like legs and came to our table in search of a performance fee. Knowing I had only a 50-franc note in my wallet, I tried to make for the toilet and hide until she had petit jetéd off, but thwarted by own children whom she insisted on being photographed with, I now have a permanent reminder of why our dinner cost 50 francs more than it should have.

That experience alone was why the very next day we took a one-hour bus ride (free with the Geneva Transport Card) into south eastern France to visit Annecy, the charming town lovingly dubbed ‘Venice of the Alps’ due to its old stone

bridges and winding canals. Besting Venice for sheer beauty however – a result of it having The Alps as a backdrop – Annecy also boasts its own storied old town, one mercifully free of aged ballerinas but rife with farmers selling their prized produce on the morning we were there – cheeses the size of car wheels, tomatoes rose red and ripened to burst, and olives the size of eggs.

There’s a similarly tempting array of farmers’ fare to buy on Saturday mornings in Carouge, billed as Geneva’s equivalent to New York’s Greenwich Village. You may also hear it referred to as ‘Little Italy’, not on account of it having a battery of pizza parlours, but due to its Sardinian heritage, which makes it architecturally different to other parts of the city. This is the bohemian side of town, where branded storefronts give way to quaint boutiques selling the likes of speciality teas and hand-blown glass bottles, into which they’ll deposit your tipple of choice, and where craftsman openly work on bespoke timepieces and jewellery, employing their timehonoured methods while you watch.

Proud locals contribute much to Carouge’s overt charm, with their artistic endeavours to the fore. Wander around and you’ll see one of the side streets shaded by dozens of colourful umbrellas strung between the rooftops, while residents fought hard (and won) to secure the future of a near century-old cinema that shows independent films.

It’s a wonderfully atmospheric place to visit on a sun-soaked Saturday morning.

The little town of Nyon, home to an imposing 13th century castle which once guarded it but is now a porcelain museum, is a beautiful, leisurely cruise from Geneva, during which we floated past hamlets of chocolate-box houses, sloping vineyards, and mountains so striking in hues of emerald and mint the scene looks almost handpainted.

We sailed on the Savoie, the paddle steamer jewell in Lake Geneva's Belle Epoque fleet, which also offers a highquality silver service lunch – the best way to sample the soft-as-butter perch fillet, a Lake fish common to the menus of nearly every Geneva restaurant.

It doesn’t, however, feature on the menu at Yakumanka, Mandarin Oriental’s Peruvian hotspot which is an

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Opening pages: Geneva and Lac LĂŠman These pages, clockwise from top left: Buying freshly-baked goods at Carouge's weekend market; picturesque Parc des Eaux-Vives; Carouge's colourful street; Yakumanka; Geneva Natural History Museum

worldtravellermagazine.com 39

Mandarin Oriental Geneva stands aside the Rhone River

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GENEVA

outstanding example of what Geneva’s generally staid food scene currently lacks but is in the process of acquiring.

It’s bright, buzzy and its dishes a riot of freshness, creativity and flavour. Not that I expected anything less from the Mandarin Oriental, the second hotel we stayed at. Wherever in the world we have stayed at one of their hotels – in London and Boston, Singapore and Bangkok, Miami and Hong Kong – the experience is near faultless, with their staff a cut above when it comes to applying a personal touch. Here, the staff at breakfast were somehow aware that our daughter was at the Juilliard camp and decorated her order of waffles with chocolate sauce and berries shaped into musical notes.

While our eldest daughter brought the hills alive with the sound of music, our youngest was determined to make the most of having our undivided attention, which saw her pitch for (and usually win) ice cream or some sort of chocolate treat (when in Switzerland…) on what felt like an hourly basis, but was probably more like 30 minutes. So her smile was as wide as Lac Léman when we told her we’d enrolled to take a chocolate-making workshop at one of Geneva’s oldest chocolate factories, La Bonbonnière.

Like a scene from Charlie and The Chocolate Factory, La Bonbonnière’s kitchen is all vats full of melted chocolate and shelves piled high with cocoa from South America, the air thick with an intoxicating scent. Over the course of a thoroughly enjoyable hour the three of us were individually tasked with making a chocolate box and almond-flecked chocolates to place inside. We did so with varying degrees of success. While my wife’s was clearly best, mine looked like I’d created it with my eyes closed while trying to fend off an attack dog. My eightyear-old daughter’s was much better, even though she spent much of the hour scoffing the chocolates meant for her box.

That night we rolled ourselves into the InterContinental Geneva, perched high on a steep hill next to the United Nations and home to a line-up of stellar suites headed by The Residence, a magnificently opulent dwelling comprising the Presidential and Royal Residences, the Grand Salon and Grand Dining Room, replete with two full kitchens. No prizes for guessing it’s the city’s largest.

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PROUD LOCALS CONTRIBUTE TO CAROUGE’S OVERT CHARM THROUGH THEIR ARTISTIC ENDEAVORS

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This is the hotel of choice for politicians visiting the UN, and at breakfast we sat next to a delegation from Washington, who five minutes previously we had seen on Sky News. The hotel’s restaurant Poolside (no prizes either for guessing how it got that name) is where the bigwigs relax after a hard day’s debating, enjoying the likes of seabass lightly grilled on a barbecue that’s fired-up nightly. It’s a lovely little spot for dinner.

As is little known, hard-to-find La Vie des Champs. Owner Agathe, who previously worked at a hotel in Dubai, opened the restaurant in what is her grandparents’ old house, and the love that she has for the place radiates from her.

She has never advertised, never wants to, and is happy to serve whomever seeks her out, which on occasion happened to be high-ranking politicians, flanked by their bodyguards. When we found our way there it was in-the-know locals who filled the tables, taking their pick of three dishes from a dinner menu that changes weekly based on what seasonal ingredients the chef has procured from his daily trips to the market. I had a grilled octopus that bettered any I have ever had elsewhere.

In the end, we didn’t have too much or too little time to enjoy Geneva. As a city it doesn’t buzz. Instead, like the sweeping hands of one of its finely tuned watches. It moves stealthily, and to fully appreciate it you have to see its inner workings. Which is why two weeks turned out to be just about perfect. Coming from the taller, faster, everything-you-want-when-you-want-it city of Dubai, it took us a while to adjust, but once we had we discovered a city that is charming, historic, and, in many parts, simply beautiful. A timeless classic.

Inspired to travel? To book a trip, call 800 DNATA or visit dnatatravel.com worldtravellermagazine.com 41

INDONESIA Skógafoss waterfall

An epic 10-day adventure of otherworldly awe? Or a long weekend of discovery? We’ve distilled the highlights into two expert itineraries. No worries — just go with the flow...

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ICELAND

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ICELAND

on’t be fooled by the name. Iceland may be a wild, glaciercrowned island, but it’s far from frigid or inhospitable. Wry locals are as warm as their woollen jumpers and the landscape steams with geysers and hot springs. Its capital, Reykjavík, is a high-energy hub of creativity, and the country’s food scene is blossoming. As well as the infamous fermented shark (hákarl), which is best ignored entirely, you’ll find a new generation of young chefs is putting a sophisticated spin on local ingredients in restaurants that rival Scandinavia’s best. If you know where to look, you’ll find a nature documentary’s worth of wildlife, from mink to minke whales.

There’s also blood-chilling Viking history, spooky Norse mythology and plenty of geothermal activity — which means exploding geysers, outdoor hot pools and steamy, super-luxe spas. There are any number of ways you can tackle a trip here, but the big question is: ‘How long have you got?’ If it’s just a few days, you’ll want our ‘Reykjavík and the Golden Circle’ tour for a slice of city action and a taste of Iceland’s wild, weird landscape over a long weekend. And if you’ve got longer, try our Route 1 road trip, which will take you around the whole island ticking off its most spectacular sights. Either way, strike now while the island’s hot...

Reykjavík and the golden circle

First visit? This three-night trip combines the capital with a selfdrive tour of handy geological treats, says Alex Allen

DAYS 1-2

Raw nature: Blue Lagoon & Golden Circle

Black waves lashing at a basalt-peppered beach; a lone church looking out over a landscape of volcanic rubble — and that’s just what you’ll see from the plane window as you descend into Iceland’s Keflavík airport. For the full ‘moon landing’ experience, rather than heading straight into the urbanity of Reykjavík, rent a car and speed half an hour south to the Blue Lagoon. Approaching along a road rolled 44 worldtravellermagazine.com

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AT GEYSIR, FUMAROLES BUBBLE AND BILLOW LIKE THE SET OF A B-MOVIE HORROR

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flat through a moss-furred lava field, you’ll spot clouds of steam billowing from a cluster of silvery buildings. One of these is the Retreat, an out-of-this-world stunner of a hotel where you should spend your first night. Inside you’ll find rooms that combine stylish, Scandi minimalism with cave-like cosiness. Access to its vast spa — and hotel residents’ own private section of the lagoon — is included, too, so get up early the next morning for a soothing soak before check-out Day two is all about the Golden Circle — a compact loop of three major geological sights: Thingvellir National Park, Gullfoss waterfall and the Geysir hot springs. You can take a basic group bus tour for about $90pp, but being able to stop on a whim to gawp at the landscape or follow signs for hand-knitted souvenirs make self-driving the best way to go. Ignore what the sat nav will tell you, and instead of heading north, via Reykjavík, strike out south, via the fishing town of Grindavík. This route is far quieter and more scenic — a rolling backdrop of vast gravel plains, foil-sheet lakes and stumpy peaks dip-dyed in neon green. Things get more dramatic at your first stop, in Thingvellir National Park, where you’ll hit a ridge that rises out of the landscape like the spine of a book.

This is the Almannagjá ravine, where the Eurasian and North American plates meet in a rocky seam. It’s also the site of the world’s first parliament — the Althing, founded around 930CE. Don’t miss Oxarafoss waterfall, which roars like the echoes of a thousand Viking voices.

By now you’ll be hankering for some lunch, so before heading an hour east to the Geysir Hot Springs — the second stop on your Golden Circle itinerary — make a pit stop at Friðheimar, a geothermally powered indoor tomato farm and restaurant. Watch docile bumble bees drone past as you slurp down bowl

after bowl of delicious all-you-can-eat tomato soup with freshly baked bread.

At Geysir, fumaroles bubble and billow like the set of a B-movie horror. There are several geysers here, from ones the size of a witch’s cauldron to those blasting tower-block-high columns of steam into the air. But Strokkur is the most active, going off every three to four minutes, as if playing to the whooping crowds.

The final stop on the tour — 10 minutes down the road — is Gullfoss, a waterfall of knee-buckling scale. In full flow, it can funnel about 1,400 cubic metres of water per second over its 200-metre-wide crest — making it one of the largest falls, by volume, in Europe. Warm up with a coffee in the visitor centre before the two-hour drive back to Reykjavík, where you should check in at the CenterHotel Midgardur — at the quiet end of the central Laugavegur shopping street.

DAY 3

City scenes: ReykjavÍk

Iceland’s capital is best explored on foot.

With the playful street art, tucked-away boutiques and offbeat museums, a crosstown walk feels more like a treasure hunt than a trek. But you’ll want to load up on a good breakfast first. Brauð & Co, a bakery just off Laugavegur street, is where you can watch sheets of dough turn into custard-filled buns or blueberry and liquorice rolls in the hands of the bakers.

Fill a paper bag with a selection and head up the road to Hallgrímskirkja, the iconic church that looms over the city like a concrete rocket. The lift ride to the top of the steeple costs $9, but it’s worth it for the sight of Reykjavík’s colourful houses laid out like spilt Lego. From here it’s a 20-minute walk to the National Museum of Iceland, where you’ll find the country’s history told with brilliantly preserved artefacts, including grisly Viking remains.

Making your way back into the centre, don’t miss the black building that houses Fischer, a quirky concept store owned by artist Jónsi of the Icelandic band Sigur Rós. You’ll find beautifully packaged products, from perfumes and candles to teas and tinctures.

Reykjavík’s food scene has come on loads in the past few years. At Skál!, for instance, chef Gísli creates pretty, delicious and reasonably priced dishes

Clockwise from above left: A hearty bowl of tomato soup; Northern lights in the skies above Iceland; high angle view of Reykjavik; a geyser spirts high into the blue sky

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from seasonal, local ingredients, such as braised lamb ribs with smoked buttermilk and celeriac.

Kids will love walking beneath life-size models of blue and humpback whales at the Whales of Iceland exhibition by the harbour, the poignant tales of Iceland’s fishing communities at the nearby Maritime Museum are more for parents.

Icelanders love a drink and you’ll find locals doing plenty of it at Bryggjan Brewery (bryggjanbrugghus.is). The food here is good, but better at next-door Matur Og Drykkur, where you should order the ‘from sea’ tasting menu — the creamy mussel soup is wonderfully warming. Next day, a steamy morning dip at Sudhöllin public swimming pool is the perfect pre-flight tonic.

The route 1 drive

Looped by the Ring Road, aka Route 1, Iceland makes for a top driving tour — especially in summer, when roads are ice-free and the midnight sun shines. Sarah Marshall maps it out Working clockwise from southwesterly Reykjavík, your first stop is ‘Iceland in miniature’, the Snæfellsnes Peninsula, which packs some of

the country’s highlights — rugged coastlines and panoramic mountain trails — into a 90km stretch. Roads are even emptier as you go north along fjords where surf fizzes on black-sand shores, trolls lurk in crevices and fishing villages revel in nostalgia. Then, over on the east coast, mighty waterfalls and iceberg-strewn lagoons conjure end-of-the-Earth drama. Here’s how to distil the best bits into a 10-day drive.

DAYS 1-2

Snow and sand: Snæfellsnes

Leaving Reykjavík, mountains grow taller and waterfalls crash harder as you head north along Route 1, turning west onto the 54 at Borgarnes and continuing to Snæfellsnes. The two-anda-half-hour drive is an arthouse movie epic: mossy, mineral-studded lava fields sparkle with lurid colours, and lone houses are spotlit by sunrays blasting through the clouds.

A backbone of snow-streaked peaks stretches along the peninsula, ending in the dome of Snæfellsjökull, a dormant volcano and glacier. Although it is possible to summit on a guided tour, be prepared for a 7-12-hour scramble, armed with an ice axe. Instead, admire the view from

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THE MOSSY, MINERAL STUDDED LAVA FIELDS SPARKLE WITH LURID COLOURS

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the romantically remote Hótel Búðir.

Replicate Jules Verne’s Journey to the Centre of the Earth (it was set in this volcano) by descending 200 metres into Vatnshellir Cave, an 8,000-year-old lava tunnel easily accessed by a spiral staircase (visits only with summitguides. is). Highlights of the 45-minute tour are two coiling rock towers created by an expulsion of gas — and a huge phallic stalactite guaranteed to cause sniggers.

Go for a hike following trails along the coastline. From fishing village Arnarstapi, a key trading port in the 18th century, walk down to the immense stone sculpture of guardian troll Bárður Snæfellsás, and take a right-hand path to Hellnar (2.5km each way). Photograph volcanic monoliths jutting from the surf, then refuel on Icelandic cod ’n’ chips at Arnarbaer Restaurant. Further west, black-pebbled beaches Djúpalónssandur and Dritvík also demand to be snapped. Strewn pieces of rusted metal are the eerie remains of the Epine trawler, wrecked in 1948, and a collection of granite boulders recalls days when burly fishermen measured their might by lifting the stones.

It looks solid, but Iceland’s landscape rocks and rolls with life forms, and folk artist Lúðvík can reveal where the ‘hidden people’ of local folklore hide. His studio, Liston, in Grundarfjörður, is full of stones crafted by their ‘inner spirits’ — and even if the art leaves you cold, a chat with the

ICELAND

bearded boho will spark a smile. Meet more offbeat local characters at nearby slow-food restaurant Bjargarsteinn House of Food, where witty chef Gunnar Gardarsson and his wife, Selma, can explain how their 110-year-old wooden house was transported 140km intact to the waterside on wheels. Brave the sour fizz of fermented shark from their drying shed — or play safe with blue mussels harvested in May and June.

DAY 3

Hiking heaven: Húsafell

Vikings plundered most of Iceland’s forests, but there are still swathes of wind-stunted birch trees in Húsafell, an outdoor playground of hiking, biking, horse-riding and running routes around forests, canyons and crystal-clear rivers.

To get there, drive back along the 54, join Route 1 at Borgarnes and head inland for about 50 minutes on the 50 and 518, where valleys of golden hair grass gaze up at big skies. Signposted, selfguided trails start at the visitor centre, ranging from a 45-minute ramble amid the remains of ancient settlements to a challenging seven-hour glacier ascent.

A 10-minute drive away, Hraunfossar’s impressive wall of waterfalls stretches for a kilometre as they crash into the Hvíta river, with platforms set at key spots.

Stroll for a few minutes in the opposite direction, however, and you’ll find a steep, muddy path to the base — perfect for those wide-angle shots. Even more dramatic is Barnafoss, a narrow channel further along the river, where fast-flowing water has carved tunnels and bridges.

But that’s nothing compared to the 180 litres of boiling H2O spurting every second from Deildartunguhver, the most productive hot spring in the world.

Skip the scorching source and take a civilised, scenic dip at sleek geothermal bath and restaurant Krauma, moving between pools cooled with glacial water, ranging from 37°C to 42°C.

north for 90 minutes through mounds of volcanic rubble, heading inland along gravel road 715 for 10 minutes to Kolufoss. It’s the waterfall that explorers dream of: raw, rugged and mostly people-free. Cross a bridge straddling the zigzagging Kolugljúfur gorge, then climb down rocks to sit in spraying distance of rainbow-generating cascades.

Further north along the Vatnsnes Peninsula, via a 30-minute drive on Route 1 and the 716, is Borgarvirki, a volcanic outcrop with head-spinning views of silky lakes and rust-red valleys sloping to the sea. Wooden steps lead to the fortified basalt walls, which may once have served as a fortress. You can delve deeper into the past at 1238 The Battle of Iceland, a new interactive museum in Sauðárkrókur on the neighbouring fjord. Based on the script of the Sturlunga Saga, it recounts one of the area’s bloodiest battles, with a VR room to indulge Game of Thrones-type fantasies. War weary? Only sweet dreams are in store at cosy 19th-century Hótel Tindastóll, one of Iceland’s oldest wooden houses, with a spring-water-filled hot tub.

DAYS 5-6

History and humpbacks: HÚsavÍk Looping around fjords, hugging clifftops and diving into tunnels, this stretch of the route is a rollercoaster ride. Take the 76 towards Hofsós and continue past turf-

roofed houses to Siglufjörður, once the heart of Iceland’s herring industry. Housed in reclaimed wooden buildings filled with artefacts and ‘climb-aboard’ fishing boats, the excellent Herring Era Museum takes a rose-tinted look at the blood, sweat and fish scales shed until the late ’60s. Luckily, any unpleasant odours have been replaced by the smell of coffee from harbourside bistro Hannes Boy; rev your engine with a caffeine shot and catch of the day.

One of the largest towns in the north, Akureyri will seem like a metropolis, the novelty of traffic lights exaggerated by their heart-shaped stop signals. For an urban fix, explore the bright facades and artistic graffiti along Hafnarstræti, and continue east along Route 1 for 35 minutes to Goðafoss — ‘waterfall of the Gods’. A stairwell leads to the base, but hop across the bridge instead: the view is better, and you won’t get wet. Continue north on the 845 and 85 to Húsavík (40 minutes), book into the Fosshotel Húsavík for two nights and explore the area — it’s magical.

Humpback sightings are a cert during peak season from May to September and you may even spy their flukes from Geosea’s infinity pools. This clifftop super-spring uses seawater heated by volcanic rocks — the bathing is said to be good for skin conditions, and being immersed in nature is sensational for your soul.

DAY 4 Northern exposure: SkagafjÖrður

The northwest is still far enough off the tourist radar to feel like a new discovery.

Here, you’ll find easily accessible waterfalls and geological oddities just as nature made them — without a safety rope or platform in sight. Leave Húsafell and, after reconnecting with Route 1, drive worldtravellermagazine.com 47

ICELAND

DAYS 7-10

The south may have its Golden Circle, but there are precious routes in these parts, too. Taking the 85 and 87 south from Húsavík, drive to Lake Mývatn (50 minutes), part of the Diamond Circle, to pick through a landscape of craters and fizzing vents. Returning to Route 1, head 20 minutes east to reach Hverir, a plateau of bubbling mud pools, and if the stench of rotten eggs (from the sulphur) gets too much, climb Námafjall mountain for breath-reviving views. While you’re in the area, scale the perfectly circular Hverfjall crater and peer into an ashy abyss.

Rejoining Route 1, take the 864 north an hour to hear the thunder of Europe’s most powerful falls, Dettifoss.

Explore both sides, each a 15-minute hike from the car park — east is lower and less busy, but only open from May. Then drive two hours east on Route 1 to lake-view Hotel 1001 Nott.

Make a 30-minute detour to harbour town Seyðisfjörður to see its garish crazy paving, then loop back and take the 953 to reach Klifbrekkufossar, a tier of waterfalls plunging into the remote fjord — the best views are from the car. Cross back over Route 1 for a phenomenon rare in Iceland: a forest with tall trees. Hike through the towering birches of Hallormsstaðaskógur, Iceland’s largest forest, and continue across Lagarfljót lake to Hengifoss, a 128-metre cascade of water in a stratified rust-red canyon, reached via a one-hour hike. Soak up cliff views on the three-hour drive to Höfn, ready for your final day.

A graveyard of baby icebergs bobbing in a blue-green lagoon, Jökulsárlón is a filmlocation favourite. Arrive at dawn for the best light (allow an hour’s drive) and hop over the road to Diamond Beach to admire icy jewels sparkling on onyx-dark sand.

The road skirts Vatnajökull National Park; it’s 50 minutes to Svartifoss, where water pummels over volcanic columns, and a further hour and 45 minutes to blacksand Reynisfjara beach. Stop at Skógafoss (it’s on the way back to Reykjavík) for one last splash, ducking behind rainbows and a wall of water where, legend has it, trolls and treasures lie...

Inspired to travel? To book a trip, call 800 DNATA or visit dnatatravel.com 48 worldtravellermagazine.com

Credit: The Sunday Times Travel Magazine/ News Licensing

Diamonds and ice: east coast

INDONESIA Previous pages, from left to right: Reynisfjara, a worldfamous black-sand beach; a lone house in the tiny fishing village of Arnarstapi These pages: The geothermal area of Krafla

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SOUTHCANADA AFRICA

Across five thousand acres of undeveloped bush in the heart of Zululand, Natal, Thula Thula offers a heart-warming adventure with the wildlife that freely roams through it

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SOUTH AFRICA

s the low winter sun glints on the bonnet of our Land Rover, there is a tangible thrill of electricity in the air. It’s not just because Francoise Malby-Anthony, the formidable ex-Parisian now at the helm of the game reserve, is sitting in front of us for an on-camera interview. Yes, the striking blonde is a commanding presence and a force to be reckoned with, but something else is afoot.

Indeed, as Francoise regales us with stories about Thula Thula, which means “peace and tranquillity,” impetuous rescue rhino Thabo suddenly appears and heads towards us. The sturdy grey tank of a beast means business.

As Thabo – determined to be part of the action – picks up the pace to close ranks, the usually unflappable Francoise appears visibly flustered as she tells head ranger Siya to “DRIVE!” Thabo is neither malicious, nor vicious. He just loves hanging out with humans. “I think he sometimes believes he is a person,” Francoise tells us later in the boma over a braai (barbecued meats). He may have gotten wind of the fact that we were filming and was hellbent on claiming a starring role, I counter. But Francoise is having none of it. “If you’ve experienced some difficult situations in the past you become more wary,” she reasons.

Which is clearly why my wide-eyed kids – both safari novices – seem to handle the situation unfolding before them with remarkable sangfroid. Then again, they’d already encountered Thabo the day before, with my fiveyear-old daughter nonchalantly patting his tough, bristly-haired hide as he inquisitively sidled up to her as she sat calmly in the 4X4.

“Thabo is still our problem child,” says Siya. “He has been known to attack vehicles and turn them upside down,” he continues, as the colour starts to 52 worldtravellermagazine.com

drain from my face. In order to make Thabo feel more settled they’ve been trying to get him to mate with Ntombi, one of the other rhino residents, but Thabo is playing hard to get.

You can’t really blame the “little” one-tonne guy (fully grown rhinos can weigh 2,500kg), whose traumatic introduction to this world saw the fragile new-born, still with umbilical cord dragging below him, stumbling around in confusion after his mother was tragically shot by poachers.

Having spent the informative stages of his life around humans, Thabo feels a kinship with them, but his ambition to scale the unscalable heights of humankind are not being indulged;

he is, after all, a wild animal and must accordingly behave like one. So while his earlier antics were met with a benign smile – including the time he decided to pay a visit to an American couple’s tent, giving them the fright of their lives before being chased away with a hairdryer – now that he is 10, he is expected to obey the laws of the bush.

Everyone who visits Thula Thula will be enraptured by stories such as Thabo’s. Because every animal at Thula Thula has a name and each named creature comes with its own personality and unique tale. There’s Mabula the show-off pachyderm whose party trick is performing yoga asanas; Frankie, the feisty matriarch of the elephant clan;

SOUTH AFRICA

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YOU COME TO THULA THULA FOR A SPIRITUAL ADVENTURE; A METAPHYSICAL EXPERIENCE THAT DRAWS YOU CLOSER TO NATURE

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Opening pages, from left: An African elephant eyes the lens; a white rhino and her baby head for home after a long day of grazing These pages, clockwise from this image: Capturing photos from a four-wheel-drive; a cheetah takes a backwards glance; Mabula and companion walking in step at Thula Thula

loved-up hippopotamuses Romeo and Juliet with their charismatic offspring Chomp and Chocolaat; and jaunty Jacob, the leader of the impalas whose harem never stray too far from him.

This is not a commercial reserve where dozens of khaki-clad, cameratoting tourists are squeezed into an assembly of vehicles to hurtle into the wilderness to tick off as many of the Big Five as possible from their lists. You come to Thula Thula for a spiritual adventure; a metaphysical experience that draws you closer to nature – and all who reside within it.

“Our guests always say it’s magical,” beams Francoise. “The experience they have here with our wildlife –

especially our elephants and our rhinos – is something beyond what they encounter in other places. To begin with, all our animals have names; we even have an elephant family tree,” Francoise says proudly.

Francoise’s story is as fascinating as many of the animals’ themselves, having first moved to this region 32 years ago after meeting “mad South African” bush lover and conservationist Lawrence Antony in a taxi queue in rainy London. The pair bought land on the Nseleni River in tropical Natal, built seven luxury chalets under the acacia and tambotie trees and opened the lodge in 2000. It would be all too glib to add ‘and the rest, as they say, worldtravellermagazine.com 53

A family tent at Thula Thula

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SOUTH AFRICA

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BOUTIQUE IN THE TRUE SENSE OF THE WORD IN THAT IT REALLY IS ONEOF-A-KIND, IT IS ALSO DELIGHTFULLY SMALL WITH JUST 20 LUXURY TENTS

Words: Lyndsey Steven

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is history,’ because the journey has been far from smooth sailing, not least with Francoise having to cope with the shocking demise of her beloved husband Lawrence who, in 2013, suffered a heart attack aged 61.

“Everyone kept asking me after Lawrence passed away how I could carry on without him. I do it because of the animals. There is a love and passion that stays with you forever.

The elephants come back to see me every year on the anniversary of Lawrence’s death to tell me: “You are not on your own, we are here.”

Her faithful, fervent team at Thula Thula also give her the courage to continue. “Working together as a real unit has made Thula Thula what it is today.”

Everybody has a say, and everyone has to be in agreement, there’s no room for autocracy, she tells us. “I am applying the system used by the matriarch elephant of working for the interest of all, with everyone working in unity on the reserve and our conservation projects, and taking decisions together.

We share the same vision and passion: this is what makes Thula Thula.”

The vision includes the re-opening of the rehabilitation centre which has suffered several setbacks, as well as the volunteer academy, which draws in recruits from across the globe. With Thula Thula’s active involvement with its local community, the academy always invites a person from one of the local villages to also get involved. As Siya explains: “Thula Thula is surrounded by five villages with five chiefs, so for each session we chose someone who has been put forward by one of the chiefs. When that individual comes here, he or she is educated about nature and conservation, so that they are able to take vital,

potentially life-saving learnings back to the village with them. Education is key.”

There is a proposal in place to introduce cheetahs to the reserve, along with ambitious expansion plans.

On August 25 this year Thula Thula celebrated the 20th anniversary of a very special heard of seven “rogue and problem elephants arriving. Today there are 29 elephants and they are at full capacity. With long-term goals solely focused on the wildlife and developing and promoting an environmental consciousness, it’s reassuring to learn that the reserve’s wonderful feeling of intimacy and privacy will be kept intact.

Boutique in the true sense of the word in that it really is one-of-a-kind, it is also delightfully small with just 20 luxury tents in the tented camp, and 14 upscale rooms in the adjacent lodge. For an authentic, primal taste of the bush, the stylishly-furnished tents with en-suite bathrooms – complete with a clawfoot bathtub and separate shower – are the place to be. Your private, tree-shaded deck overlooks an open plain regularly frequented by doe-eyed nyalas. Meals at the tented camp are based around hearty, homecooked, African-inspired dishes, while the lodge embraces fine French cuisine. But, while the accommodation is thoughtfully presented and the food is delicious, it is the whispers of the wilderness that keep guests coming – and returning.

We remain optimistic that Francoise’s matchmaking dreams will come alive and that the next time we visit we are introduced to a spirited Thabo Junior, watched over judiciously by a somewhat mellowed Thabo.

Inspired to travel? To book a trip, call 800 DNATA or visit dnatatravel.com worldtravellermagazine.com 55

Weekends

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Staycations and short-haul escapes

HALF-TERM HAPPY Looking for a last-minute half-term break with the kids? Choose a resort that balances lots of opportunities for family bonding with a dedicated line-up of kids' activities and entertainment, so you can factor in a healthy dose of relaxation. We rate the new Kids Buddy programme at One&Only Reethi Rah in the Maldives (for ages 6 months to 12 years), which provides your little ones with one-on-one supervision and a bespoke itinerary, giving you all the chance to thrive.

worldtravellermagazine.com 57

WEEKENDS

Is this London’s best-kept secret?

Next time you’re planning a long weekend in the Big Smoke, consider this suite spot

T

he hustle and bustle of Oxford Street is barely a five-minute walk away, but it feels a whole world apart from the pretty streets of Marylebone and its wonderful mix of independent boutiques and speciality stores (beautiful bookshop Daunt; London’s finest cheesemonger, La Fromagerie; and Kabri, stockist of out-of-the-ordinary jewellery designs).

It’s here, on one of the area’s side streets, that you’ll find The Marylebone, an in-the-know gem 58 worldtravellermagazine.com

of a hotel that contains what we’re happy to hail as the city’s best Signature Suites – no mean feat considering the fierce competition at more storied hotels throughout London. Impeccably styled inside to look every bit like an upscale lived-in apartment, the homely feel spreads to the outside, where a striking terrace with views over Marylebone’s rooftops (bringing Mary Poppins to mind) acts as an extended living room. The Scandi-style sofas, TV and fireplace aside, the finest feature of

these terraces is their retractable roofs and blinds, which allows for year-round, all-weather use.

While the Signature Suites (three in all, headed by The Marylebone Suite) are the headline act, the supporting cast at The Marylebone make for a property every bit as good as its much-heralded sister hotel, The Bloomsbury. It’s a cast comprised of the brilliant, beloved-by-locals 108 Brasserie, which has a buzzing, heated, Parisian-style terrace hotel on the cobbles of Marylebone Lane; the on-site Third Space, one of London’s premium members-only health clubs, to which hotel guests have complimentary access to its facilities (myriad classes included); a unisex spa, and all 18-metres of the city’s largest indoor pool – after all, the one thing The Marylebone can’t guarantee beyond a thoroughly enjoyable stay is a rain-free weekend.

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Book at dnatatravel.com call 800 DNATA (36282) or speak to us in-store Download our app

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Singapore Why this tropical island city-state, bursting with lush greenery, is a breath of fresh air

LONG WEEKEND

From sleepy fishing village to strategic trading hub to cosmopolitan melting pot, Singapore’s transformation is a fascinating tale filled with twists and turns. Many slices of the country’s multicultural, colonial and wartime past have been carefully preserved, making it a top spot for history and culture buffs. What’s more, the Garden City more than lives up to its modern-day moniker, with an abundance of tranquil green spaces including the Singapore Botanic Gardens, which earned its UNESCO stripes in 2015. Even the airport (frequently voted the world’s best) is an experience in itself, with its brand-new Jewel Changi complex home to a lush forest trail. Hit the road in a taxi and make the 30-minute journey towards the distinctive city skyline to discover why this small country always leaves a big impression.

Opposite: Southern Ridges forest walk, photo © Singapore Tourism Board This page, from this image: Merlion Park, with a view towards Marina Bay Sands Below left: Presidential Suite, Raffles Singapore Below right: Bugis Street Market, photo © Singapore Tourism Board

THE MERLION SLEEPS

It’s time to toss some peanut shells on the floor (it's a tradition for patrons of the famous Long Bar), as the storied Raffles Singapore has reopened after an extensive restoration that’s brought a fresh appeal to this national treasure. Book yourself into one of the Residence, Promenade or Studio Suites (the latest additions to the hotel’s plush room line-up) and soak up the history. There’s luxury shopping and

mouthwatering culinary collaborations with top talent (including with Chef Anne-Sophie Pic of the three-Michelin-star Maison Pic in France), thrown in for good measure.

Meet and mingle with fellow travellers and get plugged into local community happenings at the millennial-friendly lyf Funan Singapore.

Situated within Funan Mall in the Central Business District, this newly opened co-living property offers a hip apartment-style stay.

Swap socialising with the youngsters for a luxurious beachfront escape at Shangri-La’s Rasa Sentosa Resort & Spa on Sentosa Island.

Just 15 minutes from the city, you'll get the best of both worlds here.

Bliss out to serene views of the South China Sea – we say splash out on a Sentosa Suite on the upper floor of the resort’s east wing. Get back to nature by tagging along on a garden tour with the resort’s resident gardener.

Beyond the malls Singapore is a luxury seeker’s paradise and while the shiny mega malls beckon, there’s also a rich local style scene to discover. At the flagship TANGS (tangs.com) department store on Tang Plaza, you can shop a curated selection of Asian brands while, for the very best Singaporean design talent under one roof, Design Orchard (designorchard.sg) is your go-to. The incubator for established and emerging creatives is a hub for over 60 homegrown designers, including indie womenswear label Ginlee Studio and leather accessories experts Gnome & Bow. Next, roll up your sleeves and get involved in some street shopping. The bustling Bugis Street Market (3 New Bugis Street) is one of the best, with over 600 stores across three levels selling everything from novel keepsakes to printed totes, with entertainment and alfresco dining spots aplenty. worldtravellermagazine.com 61

Know your stuff See how far Singapore has come since its independence in 1965 with a whistle-stop tour of the country’s most significant historical sites. Aside from visiting the NATIONAL MUSEUM OF SINGAPORE (nationalmuseum.sg) – the ultimate way to immerse yourself in history and culture – a fun way to get an overview is to take a BUMBOAT RIVER CRUISE (rivercruise.com.sg). You’ll sail around Boat Quay, Clarke Quay and Marina Bay, spotting all the major landmarks as you go, from the very place that Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles (who helped to establish Singapore as a British trading port) first set foot here in 1819, to the majestic Merlion statue and the architecturally stunning Marina Bay Sands resort.

Delve deeper into the local culture by exploring the hip TIONG BAHRU neighbourhood, which has an abundance of cool cafés, independent boutiques, small art galleries and bookstores to browse. Stop

by Curated Records, a holein-the-wall treasure trove for vinyl, before photographing the eye-catching wall murals that enhance the area’s creative flair.

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STALLS AND STARS For a first-night meal to remember, head straight to the buzzing Clarke Quay for chilli crab – simply rock up and explore the rows of restaurants on foot before taking a seat at the one that wins you over. It’s a must-have

foodie experience for any visitor. Next, get a taste of the street food culture with a visit to Newton Food Centre, a popular alfresco dining spot serving authentic hawker fare. Home to almost 100 stalls, the choice is immense. A popular

Hit the roof Singapore’s not shy of rooftop venues.

Perhaps the most famous is the Skypark at Marina Bay Sands, which is home to five such elevated spots, including Cé La Vie – go at the weekend for chilled DJ sets. An equally impressive choice for an evening tipple is Smoke & Mirrors (smokeandmirrors.com.sg) at National Gallery Singapore. Kick back and admire the panoramic view of the twinkling skyline while sipping on one of its trademark classic drinks with a twist. And if you feel like partying the night away, loop back to Marquee at The Shoppes – a grown-ups’ playground complete with indoor Ferris wheel and slide.

dish is the barbecued sambal stingray (grilled on a banana leaf in spicy homemade chilli paste), as featured in the film Crazy Rich Asians.

Otherwise, the satay is always a solid choice.

Get your hands on mooncakes outside of the festival times at traditional bakeries such as Tai Chong Kok (taichongkok.com), which has been making them from scratch since 1935. Watch them being shaken free from their wooden moulds and bite into the warm pastry to release the sweet bean paste inside.

If you need an excuse to get all dressed up, head to the newly minted Michelin-starred restaurant Jiang-Nan Chun, at Four Seasons Hotel Singapore. Led

by Executive Chinese Chef Tim Lam, it’s the place to go for authentic Cantonese cuisine, with signature dishes including the mesquite wood-roasted Peking duck served with caviar, double-boiled soups and handmade dim sum.

LONG WEEKEND

FUN AND GAMES

Opposite, from top: Dishes from the summer delights seasonal menu at Jiang-Nan Chun; Cé La Vie at sunset; a mural in the Tiong Bahru neighbourhood, photo © Singapore Tourism Board This page from top: Orangutans at Singapore Zoo, photo by Afur Wong via Singapore Tourism Board; Gardens By The Bay, photo © Singapore Tourism Board

insider tips

Words: Faye Bartle

Jenard Ng, marketing manager at design agency FILTR (wefiltr.com) leads us to the hidden gems…

“Singapore’s unique combination of cultures has resulted in an extraordinary variety of food. Local delights include: Li Xin Teochew Fishball Noodles at Ion Orchard’s Food Opera; Wee Nam Kee for Hainese chicken rice; Katong Laksa for noodles in a spicy curry soup made of coconut milk; and Candlenut, a one-star Michelin restaurant that specialises in Peranakan food.

“Singapore is full of malls but the best one, in my opinion, is Ion Orchard (ionorchard.com). It has everything you need, from luxury brands to first-rate food outlets. For a more edgy retail scene, check out the newly refurbished Funan Mall near City Hall (capitaland.com).

“On Friday and Saturday nights, visit the vibrant Haji Lane, which unleashes its true colours with live acoustic performances."

If you’re travelling with tots in tow, or are simply a big kid at heart, you’ll be won over by the city's playful attractions Thrillseekers can rush to Universal Studios Singapore (rwsentosa.com), which has 24 rides, shows and attractions spread across seven themed zones. Book the VIP Experience for a personal escort though the park, and priority access to the rides and shows, including the tallest duelling roller coasters on the planet. Another big-ticket attraction, Adventure Cove Waterpark is a sure-fire hit with water babies. It’s bursting with rides and slides, such as a giant wave pool, lazy river and a snorkelling reef brimming with 20,000 vibrant fish.

More of an animal lover? Hear the tigers roar on a Night Safari (wrs.com.sg) of Singapore's sprawling nocturnal wildlife park and view Malayan tigers, Asian elephants, Asian lions and more on an experience that will deepen your appreciation of wildlife conservation. Or, you can visit Singapore Zoo in the early hours for a Jungle Breakfast with Wildlife, during which you can tuck into dim sum while being eyed by an audience of orangutans, cotton-top tamarins and slithering snakes.

GREEN DAZE

Forest (a 35-metre tall mountain covered No trip to the Garden in tropical plant life City would be complete and surrounded by without taking a a waterfall) before closer look at the lush taking a stroll along green attractions that the 22-metre-high characterise the island OCBC SKYWAY. Start state. Replete with rare your journey at dusk flowers, vertical gardens, and you'll see the and intriguing sculptures surrounding 'supertrees' from around the world, come alive with GARDENS BY THE mesmerising light and BAY (gardensbythebay. sound shows. com.sg) is a stunning The UNESCO-listed showcase. Explore the SINGAPORE BOTANIC mist shrouded Cloud GARDENS (nparks.gov.

sg) is another green gem, home to the beautiful Swan Lake – so called due to the pair of graceful swans from Amsterdam that have settled there.

Ramp up your activity levels with a hike along SOUTHERN RIDGES, a 10-kilometre stretch of connecting trails that guide you through some of Singapore’s most popular parks and gardens.

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WORLD TRAVELLER X DCT ABU DHABI

THREE WAYS TO EXPERIENCE ABU DHABI...

Island hopping Acquaint yourself with the UAE capital’s lesser-known isles

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The wild one One of the largest islands in the UAE, Sir Bani Yas Island is home to a vast man-made nature reserve. Once a barren dry land, it is now a thriving habitat for some 13,000 animals, including giraffes, cheetahs and the endangered Arabian oryx.

And if you want to stay the night, Anantara has three luxury resorts there.

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The fun one A 10-minute speedboat ride from Saadiyat Island, Zaya Nurai Island is the ideal spot for a glamorous day trip. White sands and crystal-clear waters attract a beach loving crowd to this private island resort. We say go for an exclusive Friday brunch at Frangipani restaurant. Day passes cover beach and pool access, plus boat transfers.

Photo: Anantara Sir Bani Yas Island Al Yamm Villa Resort

The historical one Delma Island pays homage to the UAE's rich history, and fittingly so.

It's one of the oldest known permanent settlements in the emirates, and once an important hub for pearl trading. Today, the island's Al-heerat sites are popular among dive enthusiasts in search of precious gems. Visit Bayt Al Muraykhi for a history lesson at Delma Museum.

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YOUR GUIDE TO DUBAI’S MUST-HAVE VISITOR EXPERIENCES www.dxbcityexpert.com

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WORLD TRAVELLER X INTERCONTINENTAL MUSCAT

STAYCATION

InterContinental Muscat Enjoy a slice of natural serenity in the heart of the city ROOMS & SUITES A room with a view is the premise here, with each of the recently-refurbished guestrooms showcasing the stunning natural landscape. Wake up to ocean, garden or mountain views observed through large windows, and enjoy quiet moments on your private balcony.

Upgrade to an Executive Room and enjoy a private check-in, complimentary breakfast and pre-dinner drinks.

THE FOOD A foodie's delight, the hotel's dining venues each bring a different flavour to the table. Japanese restaurant Takara offers a delicate selection of fresh sushi and sashimi, with added drama courtesy of the dedicated teppanyaki area. For casual bites, Al Ghazal Pub’s traditional British atmosphere is brought to life by classic dishes such as fish and chips and sticky toffee pudding.

THE ACTIVITIES Top attractions on the doorstep include Royal Opera House Muscat, with its impressive line-up of opera, ballet and music performances, and Mutrah Souq, where you can barter for artisan keepsakes. The nearby Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque provides a fantastic opportunity to deepen your knowledge of the spirit of Islam. Back at the hotel, cool off in the Olympic-sized pool.

To find out more, call +968 2468 0000 or visit intercontinental.com/muscat 66 worldtravellermagazine.com

WORLD TRAVELLER X BAB AL SHAMS DESERT RESORT & SPA

STAYCATION

Bab Al Shams Desert Resort & Spa Escape the city in favour of a luxurious desert break ROOMS AND SUITES Traditional Arabian design meets modern luxury at this spa resort, creating an enchanting balance in each of the 115 spacious yet cosy rooms and suites. With either desert, garden or pool vistas to wake up to, being surrounded by natural beauty is guaranteed. We say book a Deluxe Suite for some alfresco relaxation on the terrace with accompanying dune views.

THE FOOD Foodies can embark on a culinary journey around the world, starting at Al Hadheerah for its authentic Middle Eastern cuisine and entertainment. The next evening, head to Masala for a true taste of India complete with a traditional live band. Lastly, stop by Le Dune for tasty Italian fare – and don’t miss watching the sun set over mezze and grills at Al Sarab Rooftop Lounge.

THE ACTIVITIES As the weather cools down, make the most of the abundance of outdoor activities available here, including horse and camel riding, biking and falconry.

Thrillseekers will rush to take part in the Desert Drive, an open-top 4x4 tour that traverses the dunes, giving you the chance to spot wildlife as you go. Those with a sensitive disposition, however, can decamp to Satori Spa for a back massage.

To find out more, call +971 4 809 6100 or visit babalshams.com 68 worldtravellermagazine.com

RARE IS REAL Nestled among the rolling dunes of Dubai, Bab Al Shams Desert Resort & Spa is a haven of rustic charm, luxurious Arabian hospitality, benchmark-setting facilities and a captivating desert environment.

This oasis of pure indulgence offers guests an array of sumptuous dining experiences from Italy to India and the Middle East, desert activities including falconry, camel riding and archery, rejuvenating therapies at the award-winning Satori Spa as well as facilities designed to ensure that every moment is one to be cherished for years to come. babalshams.com

/babalshamshotel

/babalshamshotel

/babalshamshotel

D E S E RT R E S O RT & S P A - D U B A I

WORLD TRAVELLER X DUKES THE PALM, A ROYAL HIDEAWAY HOTEL

STAYCATION

Dukes The Palm, a Royal Hideaway Hotel Prepare for a royally relaxing holiday at this brilliantly British property in Dubai ROOMS AND SUITES Boasting a coveted Palm Jumeirah address, Dukes The Palm has earned its stripes as a top spot for a relaxing break.

Check in to one of the decadent rooms or exclusive suites for a true taste of British hospitality. If you’re planning on staying a while, consider booking into a one-bedroom apartment for spacious accommodation, access to the Executive Lounge, and lots of added extras.

THE FOOD A draw card for foodies, there’s a solid line-up of impressive restaurants here.

The stylish Great British Restaurant serves a themed buffet dinner every evening along with an à la carte menu featuring British classics. For pretty views and delectable cuts, head to West 14th Steakhouse, while fans of traditional Indian cuisine shouldn't miss the authentic flavours of Khyber.

THE ACTIVITIES If your goal is to stay active, you’ll love the array of watersports on offer here, as well as the state-of-the-art fitness studio. Those who prefer to chill can grab a rubber ring and set sail along the lazy river. Last but not least, the infinity pool and private beach, both with panoramic views of Palm Jumeirah, are the ultimate spots for relaxing sunset sessions with a chilled drink in hand.

To find out more, call +971 4 455 1111 or royalhideaway.com 70 worldtravellermagazine.com

WORLD TRAVELLER X DUBAI MARRIOTT HARBOUR HOTEL & SUITES

STAYCATION

Dubai Marriott Harbour Hotel & Suites For a longer stay, make yourself at home in a stylish suite overlooking Dubai Marina THE ROOMS If you're planning on staying in Dubai for a while, or simply appreciate the convenience of having your own kitchen, the stylish suites at this four-star property in Dubai Marina are just the ticket. There are one-, two- and threebedroom suites available, each featuring a modern kitchen and a sleek marble bathroom with an oversized tub. Room service is available around the clock.

THE FOOD Jump-start you day with a cup of coffee and a pastry at Counter Culture CafĂŠ, which, like all the apartments, offers free Wi-Fi so you can stay well connected to the wider world. For hearty British fare with a twist, The Croft is the place to go. On the 52nd floor, Observatory Bar & Grill is where you should head for classic dishes and crafted drinks, with panoramic views of the waterfront.

THE ACTIVITIES Your fitness regime needn't suffer, as all guests enjoy access to the fitness centre.

When you want to unwind, head to Saray Spa, which offers a range of pampering treatments, such as the signature Saray Arabic Coffee Awakener, which includes a body scrub, mask and massage. Get out and explore Dubai, including Jumeirah Beach Residence and Dubai Media City, which are just a short stroll away.

To find out more, call +971 4 414 3000 or visit jwmarriottmarquisdubailife.com 72 worldtravellermagazine.com

C R E AT E SPECIAL MOMENTS WITH US.

DUBAI MARRIOTT HARBOUR HOTEL & SUITES KING SALMAN BIN ABDULAZIZ AL SAUD STREET DUBAI MARINA, PO BOX 66662, DUBAI, UAE T. 971.4.319.4000 | DUBAIMARRIOTTHARBOURHOTEL.COM Dubai Marriott Harbour Hotel & Suites @marriottharbour

Standing tall in the heart of Dubai Marina, featuring incomparable panoramic views of the city, combine the best of all worlds with luxurious accommodation, three contemporary dining destinations and a blissful caravanserai-inspired, Saray Spa.

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THROUGH THE LENS Cappadocia, Turkey "This region of Central Turkey has been on my bucket list ever since I first saw a photo of the magical hot air balloons that take to the sky there, so I felt incredibly grateful to finally have the chance to visit. When the morning rides were cancelled for the second time in a row due to weather conditions, however, I wasn’t feeling too optimistic about my chances of seeing them. When I woke up at 5am on my final morning, to this incredible sight, I had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. If you’re planning a trip to Cappadocia, which you definitely should, be sure to spend at least a few days there to boost your chances of experiencing the same."

Travel and photography fan Kelsey Dennison loves to travel because: "It allows me to constantly learn and grow."

Follow her at @kvdenn, throughkelseyslens.com

EMAIL US YOUR BEST TRAVEL PHOTOS in high-res jpeg format, along with the stories behind them to habiba@hotmedia.me and you may end up being featured on this page

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BE OUR TRAVEL COMPANION

Stay up-to-date with all that’s happening on our social channels and join in the conversation by sharing your experiences. Here’s where you can find us…

@worldtravellerme Double tap our dreamy destination shots and tag us in your images for a chance to feature on our wall. @WorldTravellerME Stay up to date with travel stories as we post them. @WTravellerME Make the most of your 280-character allowance by sharing your best travel moments with us. #WorldTravellerME

A three-night stay at Anantara Kalutara Resort in Sri Lanka Set on a secluded slice of beachfront on Sri Lanka's picturesque southwest coast, this luxury resort teams tropical beauty with delicious dining and the power of Ayurveda for a revitalising break away. We've teamed up with Anantara Kalutara Resort to offer one lucky reader a three-night stay in a Premier Garden View Room, inclusive of breakfast for two. To find out more and to enter, visit worldtravellermagazine.com/win. (Subject to availability, valid until 29 July 2020.

Terms & conditions apply). Follow @anantarakalutara on Instagram

TRAVEL INSPO AT YOUR FINGERTIPS Let our travel news and round-ups, available to read on our website, inspire your next trip…

1

The Knowledge.

Read our handy how-tos, from getting to grips with travel insurance to helping kids beat jet lag, and more.

2

Staycations.

Take a peek inside these top hotels and resorts on your doorstep, and then book your next mini break.

3

Insider guides.

Check out our in-the-know travel edits of some of the most popular holiday destinations on our radar.

worldtravellermagazine.com 79

Suite dreams Our monthly finish with a flourish, delving into a suite that has a character and style all of its own

SUPERIOR SUITE The Silo, Cape Town

Stylishly fragmenting the view of the mountains, the multifaceted windows are a talking point of this luxury hotel that sits atop the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa. Get an insider's perspective on the distinctive design from within this vibrant and eclectic Liz Biden designed suite (one of six of its of its type, showcasing picturesque mountain or harbour vistas), and watch the world go by from the mezzanine-level bedroom or the cosy balcony.

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Inspiration. Expertly crafted.

Comprising two iconic towers, the JW Marriott Marquis Dubai is centrally located beside the Dubai Water Canal and offers a spectrum of facilities and services for a seamless experience.

The hotel features: 1,608 Luxurious Guest Rooms and Suites, Over 15 Award-Winning Restaurants and Lounges, Saray Spa featuring Traditional Hammams, A Dead Sea Floatation Pool and 17 Treatment Rooms, State-of-the-Art Health Club and Fitness facilities, 8,000 sqm of spectacular Meeting Spaces.

JW MarriottÂŽ MarquisÂŽ Hotel Dubai jwmarriott.com/DXBJW Sheikh Zayed Road, Business Bay, PO Box 121000, Dubai, UAE | T +971.4.414.0000 | jwmarriottmarquisdubai.com