Zip Magazine

Traveler May/June 2021

WH Y Yo n N e e d a Tr a v e l Specialist

explore the world

Paris Beijing Dubai Moscow Caribbean

NUNGNUNG WATERFALL The Complete Guide photo: Oliver Sjöström by: Ilse

Located right above Ubud this waterfall is a great stop when you travel to North Bali.

From the Canggu and Kuta area it is a 45 kilometer drive which makes your journey around 80 minutes long, depending if you drive a scooter or go by car which mostly takes longer because of traffic. NungNung waterfall ith a visit to Jatiluweh ricend Leke.

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ZIP TRAVELERFOUR

May/June 2021

CONTENT 23

DEPARTMENTS

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17 THE NATURAL Sunkissed blonde beaches, bucolic national parks

17 TIME AND TIDE Each product we found.

17 THE TRAVEL LIST

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Each product we feature has been independently selected and reviewed by our editorial team.

19 BEST TRAVEL PICK Your Travel Companion for the Whole Trip.

FEATURES 21 DUBAI CREEK In a city hurtling toward the future, one brand is looking to the past.

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25 PERFECTING A WEEKEND IN PARIS For those planning a stopover in Paris as part of a larger European trip or maybe just a long weekend, the question is, what do you do if you only have 48 hours?

29 EXPLORING THE PROVINCE OF HUNAN, CHINA Hunan is famous as the birthplace of Mao Zedong but it’s also a place of natural wonders, its unique landscape inspiring James Cameron’s movie Avatar.

33 EXPLORING DAUGAVPILS, LATGALE IN EASTERN LATVIA Latgale, meaning the “Land of Blue Lakes” borders Russia, Belarus and Lithuania, so far from the capital that it still retains its own language.

37 TRAVEL GUIDE TO BARBADOS, CARIBBEAN Barbados was in British hands for almost 400 years and today offers pleasing cultural mix of West Indian and English customs.

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ZIP TRAVELERFOUR May/June 2021

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THE

TRAVEL LIST 2 1

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ZIP TRAVELERFOUR Travel List

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14 13 1 Travel Wallet it’s extra important to stay or-

ganized.Price: (left): $15; (right): $135

2 In-flight Entertain-

ment We also think

Amazon’s waterproof Kindle Paperwhite is one of the most travel-friendly e-readers yet. Price: $130

3 Eye Mask The

light-blocking Bucky 40 Blinks eye mask, and the Slip’s silk sleep mask is a luxurious pick.

PRICE: (LEFT): $13; (RIGHT): $50

4 Caldera 4-Wheel Carry

On Make all of your travels more convenient with a versatile, 4-wheel carry. Price: 469.00

5 Pack-It Essentials set

This is a must-have packing starter set for any traveler who wants to perfectly pack their carry-on bag. Price: $54.95

6 Cargo Hauler Duffel

90L The Cargo Hauler

Duffel 90L/L is a beast of a bag Price: $119.00

7 Protective Face Mask

Since we’ll all be wearing protective face coverings in public for the foreseeable future.

PRICE: $14

8 Kinto Travel Tumbler

Enjoying your coffee on-the-go is easier than ever. Price: $27

9 Sunscreen The altitude can expose you to harmful UVA rays.

Price: (left): $13; (right): $17

10 Blanket Scarf Cozy up on a long flight with your very own blanket scarf. Price: $48

11 Slides Are must-have for any trip, whether you’re on a longhaul flight. PRICE: $45

12 In-seat Pouch Fill

a small pouch with everything you’ll need.

Price: $17

13 Cancelling Headphones It’s crucial when traveling to have a way to tune down noise.

Price: $60

14 Earplugs

Sleep but would still like to drown out the ambient annoyance around you. Price: $10

ZIP TRAVELERFOUR Travel List

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BEST

TRAVEL PICK

CHAI GARDEN ASHRAM FROM $300/PER PERSON

Chai Garden Ashram features yoga and meditation with instructors Laine Hoogstraten and Evan Anderson. Their year-round yoga retreats in Belize take place at their beautiful ashram in Cristo Rey Village. You’ll enjoy daily yoga by: Julia Volk

classes in Hatha and Kundalini styles while surrounded by the stunning beauty of nature.

Guests appreciate the healthy, locally sourced

Specialist

Angela Adto Tepper

vegetarian food, and the opportunity to schedule massages, hydrotherapy, and sound healing treatments. The retreat price includes daily yoga, organic raw vegan meals, and trips to the

“Having traveled to all seven continents and

nearby waterfall and cenote. Accommodations

having an extensive background in seeing a

vary in levels of privacy—included in the cost is a

vast part of our beautiful world, I bring a level

tent under the palapa on site. Couples and peo-

of expertise that can only be acquired by

ple seeking more privacy also have the option of

experiencing other destinations and cultures

renting a semi-private room or a private cabana

firsthand.”

off-site nearby. BY: ALYSSA JAMES

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ZIP TRAVELERFOUR Travel Pick

Dubai Explorer Pass

TREKKING IN MU CANG CHAI

FROM $178 PER PERSON

You can save up to 47% on the standard cost of admission at a huge number of attractions across Dubai – including the aquarium – with the Dubai Explorer Pass. The pass includes admission to each attraction, so there’s no need to pay anything at the gate. All passes are valid for two years from purchase date and only become activated with your first attraction visit. After activation, your pass will be valid for a full 60 days, giving you extra flexibility should your travel plans change.

BY: PAUL JOSEPH

GREAT WALL HIKING: SMALL GROUP FROM $110/ PER PERSON

One thing on many visitors’ to-do lists is a visit to the Great Wall. If this is a priority to you, then select this tour to spend a day hiking the wall, rather than a brief stop on a day tour. This small-group tour is limited to just eight people, hiking from Simatai West to Jinshanling. The route snakes along mountains ridges, it covers both original and restored sections as well as showcasing less-visited parts of the Great Wall and its ancient watchtowers.

FROM $330/ PER PERSON

Not far from Sapa, but a lot less accessible, is the Mu Cang Chai region. This hilly terrain only has one main road running through it and therefore trekking here can be a lot more rewarding in terms of escaping the regular tourist traps that come with accessibility. In this region you will find groups of rural H’mong and Thai people, who live in pretty villages and who mainly farm the rice terraces. The hiking takes in a number of picturesque sites, such as Raspberry Hill, illages. It house the next.

BY: PAUL STAFFORD

BY: ROISIN MCAULEY

ZIP TRAVELERFOUR Travel Pick

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ZIP TRAVELERFOUR

Dubai Creek

Dubai Creek In a city hurtling toward the future, one brand is looking to the past. by: Danae Mercer Photos: COURTESY OF JUMEIRAH GROUP// IAIN MASTERTON/J Shim

ZIP TRAVELERFOUR Dubai Creek

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D

ubai is a place of superlatives: the world’s tallest building, biggest shopping mall, largest tin of caviar. It’s easy to see why Dubai Creek, a waterway running through the oldest part of town, gets lost amid all the shinier attractions. The historic neighborhoods along the saltwater channel, especially on the southern side, are so linked to the roots of Dubai that the city has frequently considered submitting them for inclusion on the UNESCO World Heritage list. Yet until recently, this mostly residential area has been overlooked by tourists.

They’re missing one of the most spectacular spots in the United Arab Emirates. Only at the creek will you find traditional wooden abras sailing between the districts of Deira and Bur Dubai, something they’ve been doing since the 19th century, when the first pearl divers and spice traders headed for India and Iran docked their shows here. For one dirham, or about 27 cents, you can hop aboard. Your captain won’t tell you about the story of the creek — how it declined as a business center with the advent of cultured pearls and the discovery of oil, or how it has been dredged and expanded countless times over the years — but that doesn’t matter. The joy of the ride is in the panoramic views of Dubai’s history: textile and spice souks, an 18th-century fort (the oldest structure in the city), and a warren of coral-andadobe desert dwellings.

Now the creek is getting a second wind, thanks largely to the Al Seefneighborhood project: a mile-long development starting at the edge of the Al Fahidi historic district and unfurling southeast along the waterfront. It’s a mix of retail and cultural spaces, from a purpose-built souk at one end to an ultramodern cluster of shipping containers at the other.

As part of the revitalization project, the Jumeirah Group (the emirate’s famous luxury hotel chain) brought three buzzy hotels to this area last year. In September, the traditionally designed Al Seef Hotel joined the more contemporary Zabeel 23

ZIP TRAVELERFOUR Dubai Creek

House Al Seef and its hostel-like cousin, Zabeel House Mini — both just a 15-minute creekside walk away.

At Al Seef, everything suggests a warm nostalgia. Staff offer cardamom-flavored Arabic coffee and Emirati dates in a lobby decorated in “midcentury Dubai” style, complete with vintage TVs and brass bells at the front desk. The 190 rooms and suites are split among 10 buildings modeled after classic Arabian homes, or bayts. Mod cons like Smeg mini-fridges are hidden behind wooden panels to play up the vintage details, like gaslight-style lanterns and photographs from Dubai’s maritime past. The hotel’s Emirati restaurant, Saba’a, serves classic regional dishes like sticky-sweet luqaimat fritters; salona, a stew of spiced chicken, vegetables, and dried lime; and the moist, rose-scented bread pudding called umm Ali. “I love that it really takes you back in time,”

says Dina M. Bin Masoud, director of operations at the Jumeirah Group. “You feel anchored. It quiets the bustle.”

Surrounding Al Seef Hotel is the new souk, which has been designed to look like those of Dubai in the 1950s. The crowds come at night to enjoy the breeze off the water, perusing the tchotchke-filled market stalls and snapping waterfront selfies beside traditional fishing boats. It’s not Jumeirah’s first foray into building a souk; like the market at Madinat Jumeirah, one of the brand’s other Dubai properties, there’s something almost movie-set perfect about this nod to the past.

With Al Seef, Jumeirah is trying to appeal to a new type of traveler to Dubai — one who is younger, more budget-conscious, interested in history and authenticity, and who seeks to connect

with the city in different ways. In one of the most foundational parts of Dubai, the hotel provides a view past the glitz and glamour to the city’s origins, as well as where it could be going next.

Bin Masoud reflects on this sentiment: “Dubai has become the fastest-growing city in all aspects. But at the same time, it’s going back to remembering its roots and its history, its culture.” For a place so long known only in terms of its extremes, perhaps reflecting on the past—distant and not-so-distant—is the most daring innovation of all.

Zabeel House Al Seef: Jumeirah’s community-focused offshoot marks a shift from its ultraluxe portfolio. Zabeel Housprovides “ next door.

It is a traditional boat made of wood; it is used to transport people in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

You would never feel like leaving.

ZIP TRAVELERFOUR Dubai Creek

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ZIP TRAVELERFOUR Paris

Perfecting a Weekend in Paris

The question is, what do you do if you only have 48 hours? by: Jen Campbell Photos: Getty// Salim Batlouni// Tommy Milanese

ZIP TRAVELERFOUR Paris

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W

ith each visit I make here, I fall more in love with the city.

One of my favorite things about being here is that you don’t need to plan every minute of every day, rather you can simply wander around, get a bit lost and discover a new part of the city just a beautiful and charming as the parts you’ve already visited. Seriously, Paris, how do you do it? But I have my favourites, and this is how I chose to spend my 48 hours.

For this trip, we wanted a hotel with a central location and chose the boutique hotel, Maison Albar Paris Hotel Celine. As soon as we landed at CDG, we took the metro to the Châtelet – Les Halles stop. It’s about a 40-minute ride with a 10-minute walk to the hotel—super easy!

The Maison Albar Paris Hotel Celine has a fun Art Deco vibe and our room had the perfect Parisian balcony for taking in the city views each morning with a cup of coffee. After, we’d venture down to the hotel’s restaurant, Odette, for a lovely breakfast with your choice of eggs, pastries, yogurt, fruit, juice and, of course, coffee—a great and relaxing way to start each day.

Since this was a short trip we didn’t have time to take advantage of their spa, but we peeked in and it looked very relaxing.

For our first excusion, we walked over to Notre Dame—it’s about 15 minutes from the hotel. Notre Dame is a must for every trip here.

This time was pretty magical as there were about 10 giant cherry trees in bloom on one side of the cathedral which made it ethereal.

The line to go inside was pretty long but moved fast. The interior is truly something to see— especially the stained glass.

After walking through Notre Dame, cross back over the Seine and walk along the Seine heading west. You’ll want to head towards Ladurée Paris Bonaparte. This bakery carries my favorite macarons in Paris. There are so many flavors to choose from, so pick an assortment since they have unique flavors here. My fave is the blackcurrant violet. Next stroll down

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ZIP TRAVELERFOUR Paris

the block and stop by Josephine Bakery to pick up some baguette sandwiches and more pastries. I highly recommend the strawberry cheesecake and the ham and cheese baguette.

Then keep walking down Rue de l’Université until you arrive at the Esplanade des Invalides (the lawn by the Eiffel Tower). While walking be sure to pop into a shop and pick up a bottle of wine (be sure to ask for paper cups too). Once you arrive at the Esplanade des Invalides sit down, enjoy the view and a picnic lunch. There is really nothing better! Don’t forget to snap some photos. It will all feel like a dream.

Follow that up with a walk under the Eiffel Tower to snap more photos. It’s the Eiffel Tower afterall and photos don’t get old here. Cross the river to the Trocadéro Gardens side where you’ll see two vintage carousels, and take a ride, because, well, when else would you ride

a carousel by the Eiffel Tower? After the ride, head to Framboise Crêperie, which is just a 10 minute walk from the Trocadéro Gardens side of the tower. Try one of their sweet crepes— I’d recommend either Nutella or the Salted Caramel—along with a cappuccino and sit and enjoy the setting.

From here, take a cab to Papadoom Kitchen for some amazing Indian food. The decor and vibe here is top notch, and the food and cocktails are so good. I’d recommend the butter chicken and chicken korma for dinner and the Bombay Sunrise to drink. Then take a stroll back to the Maison Albar Paris Hotel Celine, while maybe stopping for another drink at one of the many sidewalk cafes.

On the second morning, we took a 15-minute metro ride to Montmartre. In this area, it feels like you’re stepping back in time a bit.

ZIP TRAVELERFOUR Paris

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