November 2018

Southeast asia

november 2018

Vietnam north to south

New Stays in Sydney Raise your travel photo game

Singapore S$7.90 / Hong Kong HK$43 Thailand THB175 / Indonesia IDR50,000 Malaysia MYR18 / Vietnam VND85,000 Macau MOP44 / Philippines PHP240 Burma MMK35 / Cambodia KHR22,000 Brunei BND7.90 / Laos LAK52,000

Has there ever been a better time to visit the Maldives?

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contents

features

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Harbor City Stays A slew of new rooms in heritage hotels, blockbuster brands and baby boutiques offers exciting reasons to hightail it to Sydney right now.

By Ron Gluckman

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84 94 c l o c k w i s e F R O M t o p LE F T: t o m r o s s ; a a r o n j o e l s a n t o s ; s i m o n wat s o n ; c o u r t e s y o f k u d a d o o

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North to South Photographer Aaron Joel Santos has voyaged Vietnam from Chinese borderlands to tropical islands, taking in current and former capitals; ethnic areas; loved traditions; and all that coastline.

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Atoll Tale There are now so many beautiful reasons to visit the Maldives, it’s hard to keep track. We offer a hit-list of some great new resorts.

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In the Still of the Light North of Sicily, the unspoiled Aeolian Islands have been beloved by travelers since Homeric times.

Once you’ve settled into the gentle rhythms, it is tough to leave. By Howie Kahn.

Photographed by Simon Watson

ON THE COVER

In the far southwestern reaches of Vietnam, Hon Gam Ghi, off Phu Quoc Island, remains untouched, for now.

Photographed by Aaron Joel Santos.

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contents In Every Issue

T+L Digital 10 Contributors 12 The Conversation 14 Editor’s Note 16 Deals 78 Wish You Were Here 122

tours offer intimate photography-skills workshops on five-star vacations; a green music festival takes glamping to a whole new level; and more.

24 Homegrown Delights The

artisanal-foodie push happening across the region is combining locally made ingredients with foreign know-how.

28 That Light Though A new

resort in Flores brings luxury to an untouched part of the island and swift access to a unesco World Heritage Site.

30 Grazing Guangzhou Timed to

the debut of the city’s first Michelin Guide, we eat our way through the southern Chinese port town long loved for food.

40 Japan Comes Into Bloom On

an eight-day cruise that visits some of the nation’s lesserknown ports, fall under the spell of cherry-blossom season.

44 Auckland, en Vogue New

Zealand’s North Island gateway boasts chic shops showcasing homegrown talent.

45 The Golden Path A walking

Upgrade 71 Raise Your Travel Photo Game When choosing your ideal equipment, it helps to consider what subjects typically catch your eye. The gear in our guide and tips from some of our favorite pros will serve you well from off-the-cuff smartphone images to DSLR photo shoots, for portraits to landscapes and everything in between.

vacation in Greece is an ideal way to enjoy a balmy climate and empty beaches.

52 A New York State of Wine One of America’s most spectacular wine regions just happens to be in the northeast.

58 A Camp of One’s Own For the best African game-spotting, mobile safaris are becoming more widely available options.

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Special 61 Gift Guide 2018 Whether for hitting the beach, the mountains or the city, or taking a trip with the kids, our holiday gift ideas will suit any type of traveler.

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fr o m l e f t: JD a n d r e w ; c o u r t e s y o f m a n d a r i n o r i e n ta l g u a n g z h o u ; c o u r t e s y o f pata g o n i a ; s c o t t a . w o o d wa r d

21 Reasons To Travel Now New

t+ L d i g i ta l

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Lookout

Where to Dine in Java As compelling as Bali’s culinary scene is, this other Indonesian island is giving its chefs a run for their money.

Plus: must-eat street foods across Southeast Asia.

new Cr aft Cocktail menus Inspired

by Asian Culture Mixologists across the region are putting a distinctly local spin on some exceptionally creative tipples.

A Gourmand’s Journey Through Ker ala After millennia as a cultural melting pot, the southwestern Indian state has become a fertile ground for gastronomy.

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fr o m l e f t: i a n l l o y d n e u b a u e r ; c o u r t e s y o f o r i g i n b a r ; a a r o n j o e l s a n t o s

this month on tr avel andleisureasia.com

A new luxury hotel lands in Luang Prabang; a formerly sleepy suburb of Saigon heats up; new suites at a lodge in Tasmania offer full nature-immersion; an unspoiled corner of Borneo begs to be explored; the latest travel deals, and more.

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Cathy Adams

Aaron Joel Santos

“Grazing Guangzhou” Page 30 — “In Guangzhou, Cantonese food is still very traditional, with soups and TCM elements in every meal,” says Adams, who lived in Hong Kong. Now that Guangzhou has a Michelin Guide, the upscale places are getting more global recognition: “they have better service, English menus, more salubrious options (i.e. no suspicious-looking meat), plus they usually come with a swaggering view. Drawbacks compared with more local places, though, are they don’t have as lively an atmosphere, and cost 10 times the price.”

Three must-eats in the port city? “Dim sum, char siu, and a bun with lotus-seed paste.”

Instagram: @cathyradams.

“North to South” Page 94 — “I lived in Vietnam for seven years, and I wouldn’t even know how to begin counting how many assignments I’ve shot there. Hundreds,” says Santos. “The northern mountains have always done it for me. The valleys of Ha Giang or Mu Cang Chai” offer the most magic. “Northerners and southerners love to talk about how different they are, but I’ve found people across the country to be inviting, open and keen to learn about you.” A favorite personality: the general who posed for a portrait in Hanoi. “He exuded that classic northern Vietnamese élan. Effortlessly cool, confident and graceful.”

Instagram: @aaronjoelsantos.

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Rachna Sachasinh

Ron Gluckman

“Homegrown Delights” Page 24 — “With sheer determination and a great attitude, the team at Laos Buffalo Dairy are producing excellent cheese in Luang Prabang, sharing the economic and nutritional benefits with the community, and developing healthier breeds of milking buffalo,” Sachasinh says. “In Vietnam, Victor Ceano-Vivas Savall is a mad genius. He can MacGyver any contraption. He employs his neighbors, many of whom had no idea what a ‘bonbon’ was; now they work alongside him with passion, precision and lots of laughs.” Watch for Thai kombucha start-ups, like Fresh De Ka and Chiang Mai Kombucha. Instagram: @rachna_sachasinh.

“Harbor City Stays” Page 84 — “I like everything about Sydney: ebullient people, the stunning harbor and beaches, fresh food and fabulous bars.

It’s so green and vibrant,” Gluckman says. “I adore The Old Clare Hotel, with its retro cool and wacky modern design; Ovolo Woolloomooloo for breaking all conventions; and Sofitel for full luxury and incredible views.” Eat? “Thaifood guru David Thompson has come home to Australia with Long Chim, a modern update of his beloved Nahm in Bangkok. Automata has a constantly changing tasting menu at The Old Clare Hotel, whose lobby bar is perfect for beers, cocktails and mingles.”

Instagram: @rongluckman.

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P h o to gr a p h er

W r i t er

fr o m t o p : c o u r t e s y o f c at h y a d a m s ; c o u r t e s y o f a a r o n j o e l s a n t o s ; c o u r t e s y o f r a c h n a S a c h a s i n h ; J o n at h a n P o z n i a k

W r i t er

1400 years of art in one day.

The art of architecture. An architecture for art.

Inspired and inspiring.

Museum of Islamic Art, Doha

Can airplane food ever shake its bad rep? Thai Airways has announced that Jay Fai, Bangkok’s only Michelin-starred streetfood stall, will curate a menu for first-class passengers that emphasizes fresh, high-quality ingredients. Airlines have long been trying to step up the tin-foil mystery meats to more finedining fare—Qantas celebrated its 20th year of collaboration with acclaimed Aussie chef Neil Perry last year—but can an in-flight meal ever really be on par to one from a restaurant kitchen? Here are a few Asia-Pacific airline plates we think make a strong case for the positive.

China Southern

Singapore Airlines

Passengers on flights from Guangzhou can choose from a traditional Lingnan menu, with options including a deluxe beef-shank noodle soup and a Cantonese clay-pot rice with preserved meat and Chinese sausage.

This award-winning airline offers a Book the Cook service to pre-order dishes by eight chefs from its International Culinary Panel. Our pick: the hazelnut-crusted veal by celebrity Italian chef Carlo Cracco.

Japan Airlines

Cathay Pacific

Offering business-class guests an artistic representation of Japanese cuisine, former Iron Chef Jun Kurogi creates a colorful bento box of hors d’oeuvre including cauliflower purée with bonito broth jelly topped with caviar, and sukiyaki braised pork.

Since July, Cathay Pacific has been rolling out its new dining concept, and businessclass menus will soon have six main options to choose from across all flights, including Hong Kong–style char siu, spicy laksa and Shanghai drunken chicken.

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For our photography issue we’ve selected some of our readers’ most unique frames within frames.

#TLASIA

t h e c o n v e rs at i o n

Morning tea by the window at Inle Lake. By @superchinois801.

Swinging into the sea on Nusa Ceningan. By @whereswilsons.

Admiring the Taj Mahal on a misty morning. By @over_globe.

Qantas Announcing its nonstop flight from Perth to London this year, the Australian airline added a healthful menu to nourish tired bodies on the 17-hour flight—think probiotic-infused cold-pressed juice shots, tuna poke bowls, and a bedtime hot chocolate containing the sleep-inducing amino acid tryptophan.

Jumping through hoops at Lok Wah, Hong Kong. By @ikkikevin.

Share an Instagram photo by using the #TLAsia hashtag, and it may be featured in an upcoming issue. Follow @travelandleisureasia

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editor’s note

From My Travels

ew countries in Asia come with as much baggage as Vietnam, and yet few are as alluring. As part of this month’s Photography Issue, we asked Aaron Joel Santos for a portfolio that depicts the country from top to bottom: its vivid colors and unimaginably beautiful settings, people and food. As with any good travel story, the result, “North to South” (page 94), should inspire you to visit the country, every corner of it. Vietnam is changing fast.

Of course, a camera is a great introduction to any destination. So, we asked a few of our photographers for their insider tips when it comes to seeing your journeys through a lens or on a LCD screen (“Raise Your Travel Photo Game,” page 71). Bangkok-based Leigh Griffiths summed up his approach, whether in a big city or off in the wilds: “I want people to feel like they are experiencing the same moment that I have.”

That we’re all photographers these days isn’t lost on Scott A. Woodward, who just won another award for his iPhone photography (check out page 76 for the winning snap). Obviously more compact than a regular camera— though don’t rule those out either—a smartphone is always at the ready. I’ve witnessed Scott take a quick photo of a Japanese priest in full garb on an Osaka subway, the result being worthy of hanging on your wall at home. Another perfect travel memory.

@CKucway chrisk@mediatransasia.com

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In San Francisco for a brief stay, on my last night I met up with a photographer friend who, upon hearing I had skipped the many tourist locales on the map, stopped walking and earnestly asked if I wanted to see any of them. Photographers are like that, especially in a town as fetching as San Francisco.

So, it was no small relief that I was able to backpedal a bit, because I did take in the most Instagrammed site of the city, the Golden Gate Bridge—how could I not?

fr o m l e f t: Irfa n S a m a r t d e e ; c h r i s t o p h e r k u c way

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The Golden Gate Bridge, from below.

editor-in-chief art director Deput y editor Features editor senior DEsigner

Christopher Kucway Wannapha Nawayon Jeninne Lee-St. John Eloise Basuki Chotika Sopitarchasak

Regul ar contributors / photogr aphers Cedric Arnold, Kit Yeng Chan, Marco Ferrarese, Duncan Forgan, Lauryn Ishak, Mark Lean, Grace Ma, Morgan Ommer, Aaron Joel Santos, Stephanie Zubiri chairman president publishing director publishER digital media manager TRAFFIC MANAGER / deputy DIGITAL media manager sales director business de velopment manager regional manager chief financial officer production manager circul ation assistant

J.S. Uberoi Egasith Chotpakditrakul Rasina Uberoi-Bajaj Robert Fernhout Pichayanee Kitsanayothin Varin Kongmeng Joey Kukielka Leigha Proctor Paul Adams Gaurav Kumar Kanda Thanakornwongskul Yupadee Saebea

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Nathan Lump Meredith Long

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Tom Rowland Richard Schexnider Jack Livings Paul Ordonez

meredith Chairman and ceo president and coo chief content officer editorial director, lifest yle group e xecutive vice presidents

Steve Lacy Tom Harty Alan Murray Nathan Lump Brad Elders, Lauren Ezrol Klein

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REASONS TRAVEL NOW november 2018

TO

T+L’s monthly selection of trip-worthy places, experiences and events.

An eagle hunter in Mongolia

by Scott A. Woodward.

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Up your travel photo game with these expert-led photography tours.

s c ot t a . wo o dwa r d

While our photography guide on page 71 is packed with all the tools and tips to raise the bar on your travel snaps, sometimes it’s easier to put yourself in the hands of a pro. These three tours give budding photographers a chance to make the most of their equipment while traveling scenic locales, with top advice from the best in the business.

National Geographic See India from behind the lens with this 10-day photographic rail journey on board the fit-for-a-maharaja, totally Wes Anderson, Palace on Wheels. With guidance from big-league photographers like photojournalist Ed Kashi and intrepid Nat Geo photographer Jonathan Kingston, you’ll take professional shots of the country’s best sites, including, of course, sunset over the Taj Mahal. The tour will also capture the marble palaces of Udaipur’s Lake Pichola on a scenic boat ride, camels trailing the dunes of the Thar Desert, and even a potential tiger sighting in Ranthambhore National Park. nationalgeographic.com; tours in 2019 are scheduled for February 11–21, March 18–28 and September 30–October 10; from US$13,195 per person, double occupancy.

Scott Dunn If traveling in a pack isn’t quite your style, why not bring your own professional photographer on your trip? Luxury tour operator Scott Dunn has appointed its first Asia-based “Flying Photographer,” frequent T+L contributor Scott A. Woodward. Guests on any of their tailor-made itineraries can choose to book Woodward for the full duration of the trip or just for a few days. So you can start your travels with an imagetaking crash course. Whether it’s catching the action at the Pasola festival in Sumba, Indonesia, or visiting the remote hill-tribes in Burma, Woodward can assist with lighting, composition, exposure and more, and can customize each trip to guests’ photography skill levels. prices vary based on the itinerary, for details visit scottdunn. com or call 65/3158-6530.

Monogram Asia This Singapore-based company takes pride in promoting Asian photographers, hosting exhibitions, lectures and workshops around the region. Eager snappers can also join their intimate 12-person tours that hit offthe-beaten-path locations during regularly off-limits hours—a travel photographer’s dream. Spots are filling fast for their 10-day trip in February to Hokkaido, which will capture the snow and icy seas around Cape Notoro and the frozen Oshinkoshin waterfalls and Kussharo Lake; the tour will be led by accomplished British landscape photographer Paul Gallagher. Next year the group will also host journeys to Bali, Burma, Iceland, and the Yellow Mountains in China. monogramasia.com; Hokkaido tour runs February 1–10, from US$4,400.

— Eloise Basuki

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A wellness pioneer is bringing a jolt of fresh energy to Bhutan’s hospitality scene with a new collection of rustic-chic lodges.

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These companies will do the heavy lifting on your next trip to Japan.

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As ski season approaches, many will be beginning the trek to Hokkaido’s frosted mountain slopes. But if the thought of lugging your heavy equipment through crowded stations adds to your chills, there are easier ways to reach the powder.

This year, the Japan Tourism Board launched Luggage Free Travel (luggage-free-travel.com; large bags from ¥2,000), where users can book online to receive a QR code, drop bags off at the airport when

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they land, and begin exploring the city right away knowing their luggage is headed straight for their hotel room. With the website already available in eight languages, including the recent addition of Thai, more of the region can travel lighter in Japan.

Another big name delivery service is Yamato Transport Co. (www.global-yamato. com/en/hands-free-travel; large bags from ¥2,138), run

by Japan Tourism Agency and recognizable by their

black-cat logo. Celebrating their 100th anniversary next year, Yamato has counters at most Japanese airports and popular train stations, and offers options to send all sorts of luggage, from small bags and boxes to heavy golf equipment and bulky snowboards.

Both companies can also deliver your luggage from hotel to hotel, between prefectures and back to the airport, so you can enjoy your entire trip without having to lift a finger.

c o u rt esy o f s i x s e n s es

This month, Six Senses will unveil three of the five intimate lodges it has planned across the Himalayan nation: one located among the rice fields of Punakha, one overlooking the capital of Thimphu, and one near the historic ruins of the Paro Valley. Each resort will have only 16 to 20 suites and a handful of private villas, along with amenities that emphasize health and mindfulness, such as meditation huts and prayer rooms. The remaining two lodges, Gangtey and Bumthang, are slated to open in March. sixsenses.com; doubles from US$1,010.

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Angkorn Fire Show lights up the night; silkscreening is one of many craft workshops on offer; music goes til dawn at the Solar Stage.

Thailand’s premier music festival is big time upping the ante.

Wonderfruit, the annual four-day food-and-wellness artsy dance party that descends on rolling fields near Pattaya, calls itself “hedonistic sustainability.” Next month’s iteration brings boosts to both halves of that phrase. Besides feasts from famous chefs, sound therapy and chakra balancing, and global music acts including Nightmares on Wax, Goldie & the Ensemble, Stars and Rabbit, and Craig Richards, here are three new reasons to indulge in a little pre-holidays hippie-shake.

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+ Already flashing a fairly fancypants rep, Wonderfruit is this year introducing a special ultra-luxury glamping section called Camp Kerela, where guests will stay in carpeted, furnished, Wi-Fi-enabled, air-conditioned Maharaja tents with special access to their own set of bathrooms, as well as a private spa, lounge, and costume-and-make-up tent…say, if you accidentally leave your headdresses and glitter-tights at home. The whopping Bt427,000 price tag also comes with two tickets to the festival, all meals including 24-hour room service, and all drinks. Helicopter-transport from the airport sold separately, but your concierge will be happy to arrange. + Certified as carbon-neutral last year, the event is using both innovative and ancient techniques to stay sustainable. By investing in a cryptocurrency called TreeCoins, they’ve planted more than 10,000 mangroves in Burma’s Thor Heyerdahl Climate Park. Working with the land where they hold the festival to improve its ecosystem, and building with bamboo, they pay homage to, respectively, isolated low-lander Mayans and generations of Asians before them. All water

comes from on-site lakes, all tableware is compostable, and all single-use plastic is banned. We’d call that guilt-free pleasures. + December may be “winter” in Thailand, but that can still make for pretty sweaty middays. This year, Wonderfruit has uprooted all stakes and moved them a few minutes but a lush world away. The new grounds promise to be cooler, with shady

coconut groves and sandy lakefront beaches. And if the real natural surrounds don’t help you get into the forest groove, don a VR headset that will simulate your hopping around through the eyes of woodland animals. Totally not trippy at all. wonderfruit.co; December 13–16; tickets from Bt5,200 for Sunday pass to Bt6,500 for a four-day pass.

– Jeninne Lee-St. John

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Homegrown Delights There’s an artisanal push with food across the region, where locally grown ingredients combine with foreign know-how to create a true taste of Southeast Asia. By R achna Sachasinh . illustr ations By wasinee chantakorn

Chocolate Concierge

Crafted from single-origin cacao beans grown in the Malaysian highlands, the chocolate by this Kuala Lumpur–based chocolatier is proudly “tree-to-bar.” “Malaysian cacao is unlike any other in the world,” says founder Ning-Geng Ong, who credits his sustainable and traceable beans for his Cocoa of Excellence award won at the Salon du Chocolat in Paris last year.

The country’s mix of tropical and highland climate is perfect for growing cacao, and when Dutch colonists introduced the trees here in the 18th century, production took off. Although Malaysia remains one

Laos Buffalo Dairy

When American Rachel O’Shea and Australians Susie Martin and Steven McWhirter left their high-profile corporate gigs in Singapore to become inn-keepers in laid-back Luang Prabang, an insatiable appetite for cheese sidetracked the trio, who launched the country’s first

the world’s top exporters of raw cacao, few farmers pay attention to fermentation and roasting practices, which are critical for coaxing nuances of terroir in bean-to-bar chocolate, something Ong learned through his studies in the U.S. Sourcing premium local cacao meant working directly with the growers. Ong partnered with indigenous Semai and Temuan

artisanal buffalo dairy in 2016.

“Cheese was pricey here,” Martin says. “We saw all these buffalo, and no one was milking them. So, we decided to give it a go.”

Getting their hands on a decent milking herd was a challenge, as most farmers let their buffalo roam wild. Furthermore, the idea of milking the buffalo was a foreign concept: “The farmers thought we were going to barbecue them.”

Martin says. The trio built a small dairy in Ban Thinkeo, 20 kilometers from Luang Prabang, leasing buffalo from local farmers as well as breeding their own herd.

Besides buffalo mozzarella, Camembert, feta and a piquant blue cheese, the dairy also makes sweets, including buffalo-milk ice-cream

communities, learning to grow, dry and ferment the beans alongside the farmers. “When cultivated, fermented and roasted correctly, the beans yield exquisite taste profiles of saffron, nutmeg and dry figs,” Ong says.

His bars are now stocked in the city’s Four Seasons and W Hotel and used in cafés and restaurants around town, but Ong still likes to play matchmaker for his customers at his Bangsar shop, choosing bars to suit their preferred sweetness: “Pairing chocolate lovers with their perfect bar: that’s still the end goal.” chocconcierge.com; bars from RM27.

blended with traditional Lao flavors like roselle and tamarind, and buffalo-milk ricotta doughnuts.

Visitors can drop by for dairy tours and cheese tastings, and should stay for a slice of their creamy New Yorkstyle cheesecake. laosbuffalodairy. com; cheese from LAK125,000 per kilogram; tours and tastings from LAK100,000 per person.

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Caviar House of Bangkok

Launching Thailand’s first homegrown caviar factory has been a personal mission for Russian transplant Alexey Tyutin. “Of course, Thailand is not suitable for breeding sturgeon, but I like a challenge,” says Tyutin, who partnered with Thai developer Noppadon Khamsai to launch Caviar House of Bangkok.

When Tyutin traded Siberian winters for Koh Samui’s balmy beaches, he quickly gleaned the growing market for caviar in Thailand and across Asia. After brainstorming ideas with friends who farmed caviar in the Caspian Sea, Tyutin set out to simulate Russian winters in tropical waters.

Tyutin and Khamsai established their first operation in Chengdu, China, where they refined their cooling and feeding systems. In 2016, the duo began raising sturgeon oscietra, the type of fish best suited for caviar, by the Gulf of Thailand in Hua Hin. While these harvests are still sample-size at this stage—it takes three to four years to begin

harvesting—Tyutin expects to be producing 2,000 kilograms of Thai caviar a year by 2021.

For now, their current Chinesemade caviar—which the Russian proudly declares is free of common preservatives like borax, which can stay in the body for a long time—is harvested from several types of sturgeon, including beluga, oscietra and Russian sturgeon. According to Tyutin, the long gray-brown oscietra, a hybrid of beluga and sturgeon, produces the most popular caviar: “It tastes mellow and nutty,” he says. “Perfect with champagne or vodka.” caviarhouse.co.th; Russian sturgeon caviar from Bt3,600 per 100 grams.

Pop Keo

spent traveling the country as a child with his family.

Savall makes all his lollipops, candies and chocolate bonbons by hand, and uses all local ingredients, such as cane sugar, organic cacao, fresh ginger, turmeric, passion fruit and honey. He also handcrafts his own molds, drawing inspiration from royal insignias of former imperial kitchens and mythical creatures, like the flying dragon candy, a homage to the Dragon Bridge over Danang’s Han River. In just two years, Savall has turned his family tradition into an icon of Danang—his candies are now also available in local cafés, at the Four Seasons Nam Hai and the InterContinental Danang. That smells like sweet success. popkeo. com; lollipops from VND24,000.

In the Vietnamese coastal city of Danang, a Spanish Willy Wonka is creating masterful artisan confectionery just like his grandfather taught him. Barcelonaborn Victor Ceano-Vivas Savall hails from five generations of confectioners, and their family sweet shop, Pastelería Reñé, has been a city legend since 1892, supplying Spanish kings and noblemen their candies. Savall came into the family business at an early age, working alongside his grandfather to prepare the desserts.

After training as a pastry chef, in 2016 the then 21-year-old apprentice decided to set up shop in central Vietnam, enchanted by the scents of market spices and tropical fruits he recalled from regular summers

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That Light Though

A new resort in Flores brings luxury to an untouched part of the island, and swift access to a unesco World Heritage Site. Rather than intrude, it blends and flows. go ahead, just try to stop snapping photos

more special since the property prioritized recruiting locals to train to their top-notch standards. Witness: my own paparazzo, who, unrequested, followed me with my phone lens as I paddleboarded around the bay.

There’s a stellar snorkeling spot off a private island a two-minute speedboat ride around the corner (look out for the deep maroon clownfish), and a glassbottom boat for those who don't want to take the plunge. The pièce de résistance is the custom, ninebedroom, liveaboard phinisi that begs you to plan a grand excursion on it and sail with 100 or so of your nearest and dearest out into the salmon sunset.

I suppose a private diving trip will suffice, too. The showers in some of the cabins have floor-to-ceiling windows, and the master suite has a clawfoot tub— both of which offer divine views for end-of-day awe.

— jeninne lee-st. john

c o u r t e s y o f aya n a

at dusk at the paint-still-drying new Ayana Komodo Resort, Waecicu Beach (ayana.com; doubles from Rp5,097,500), where all rooms are ocean view. Every incremental dip of the sun brings a new wave of Kodachrome, each more dramatic than the last, a fitting curtains down at the first luxury hotel in Labuan Bajo, which is nestled on a hillside, wings stretched to present all the beauty of Flores.

Boarding the back-loading prop plane at dawn in Bali, it started to sink in that I was headed somewhere special. Only so many passengers fit on this wee flight; only so many travelers come to Labuan Bajo, launchpoint to Komodo National Park, home of those giant dragons. An hour up and down and a quick drive to the resort, and I was simultaneously off the grid and swimming in that Ayana embrace. Which felt all the

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Looking out over rooftop Unique bar into Ayana Komodo’s bay at dusk, their luxury phinisi Ayana Lako di’a docked in the middle distance.

dining

Grazing Guangzhou

c o u r t e s y o f t h e R i t z- C a r lt o n g u a n g z h o u

The Michelin Guide may have only just set its stars on this foodie port of southern China, but Cathy Adams finds a city that has long been loved for its hot plates. >>

Lai Heen at The RitzCarlton now has a Michelin star.

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dining

Guangzhou, die in Liuzhou,” which may explain Guangzhou’s other nickname, “Rice City.” The capital of Guangdong is well-known historically as a trading port and in recent generations as a factory floor. While its Cantonese cuisine is lauded among its countrymen, the city is not so much known internationally for its foodie scene. Now that Michelin has launched its inaugural Guangzhou guide, that’s all about to change.

clockwise from top left: Chef Mai

Zhi Xiong at Yu Yue Heen; skyline views from the private dining room; the Michelin-starred Yu Yue Heen’s dim sum selection.

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On the 71st floor of the Four Seasons

Guangzhou, I’m being poured Longjing tea at the hotel’s modern Cantonese eatery, Yu Yue Heen (fourseasons.com; mains from RMB150; doubles from RMB2,000). In this restaurant, now embellished with one Michelin star, even a simple cup of tea turns into an artful gong-fu ceremony. On a tableside trolley, the tea leaves are strained, and the steaming liquid carefully decanted into a miniature cup.

This black lacquer– and red glass–accented fine-dining haven overlooks the glassy towers and pastel housing blocks of Guangzhou’s urban sprawl. It’s the ultimate contrast: the old and the new, the high and the low, the local and the international—a good analogy for Guangzhou’s food scene.

There’s a well-known saying in China: “Be born in Suzhou, live in Hangzhou, eat in

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says Bram van Ooijen, local gourmand and founder of Cycle Canton (cyclecanton.com; tours from RMB350), a tour company on two wheels.

“The food they had yesterday, the food they’re eating now and the food they want to eat tomorrow.” (His favorite Cantonese dishes: whole steamed fish in soy sauce; roast pigeon; and the city’s famous ginger milk pudding, among others.)

Guangzhou has long been the center of gravity for Cantonese cuisine, characterized by its simplicity and lightness—rather than overpowered by spices or sauces. The city’s history as the epicenter of southern China trade meant a range of ingredients and ideas coalesced around the city, and burgeoning wealth meant more emphasis on fresh, premium dishes. Teddy Xiong, a Chinese food expert who grew up in Guangdong province, also credits the city’s “ideal geography”: mountains to the north, perfect for crops; and set at the mouth of the South China Sea, on the banks of the Pearl River, which meant an abundance of fresh seafood.

In late June, Michelin awarded eight of the city’s restaurants one star and countless others a Bib Gourmand. Guangzhou, the second city >>

courtesy of Four Se asons guangzhou (3)

“In Guangzhou, people only talk about food,”

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dining

from left: Lai Heen at The RitzCarlton; Lai Heen's steamed crab custard with caviar.

in mainland China after Shanghai to welcome a Michelin guide, showcases “a great local gastronomic interest,” according to Michael Ellis, international director of the Michelin Guides. He adds: “Guangzhou has a wealth of astonishing restaurants with a strong and historical Cantonese background.”

Note the “local” and “Cantonese background.” All eight of the one-star restaurants serve predominantly Cantonese food—the cuisine best known for dim sum, barbecued meats and fresh fish—while only a couple of the Bib Gourmand–awarded restaurants hint at other cuisines, including Sichuan and northern Indian. Which is somewhat surprising, given that this megacity is home to 14.5 million people and is fast gaining international profile.

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“In Guangzhou, people only talk about food. The food they had yesterday... the food they want tomorrow”

list are Guangzhou’s most swaggering restaurants, including the Four Seasons’ Yu Yue Heen, where executive chef Mai Zhi Xiong was praised for his “skills and attention to detail.” I checked in for a lazy lunch: the siu mai dumplings were juicy and bursting out of their rice paper pockets, the baked pork buns were as sweet as a dessert, the steamed grouper with strands of ginger was both meaty and light. It would’ve been rude to refuse the signature dessert, chilled mango pudding, wouldn’t it?

Other awarded restaurants include intricately decorated Jade River (whiteswanhotel.com; mains from RMB300; doubles from RMB1,000), in the White Swan hotel on Shamian Island, in the former French Concession; the elegant Jiang by Chef Fei (mandarinoriental.com; mains from RMB200; doubles from RMB1,300) in the Mandarin Oriental; and Wisca (86-2/3438-1188; 172 Binjiang Xi Lu, Haizhu; mains from RMB150), most loved for its eel claypot stew (juejuebao), which had five minutes of fame in national television documentary A Bite of China a few years ago.

Local favorite Bing Sheng—a Guangzhou friend told me she would choose where to live based on the distance to her local branch—was also recognized, twice, with Bing Sheng Mansion (bingsheng.com; mains from RMB80) and Bing Sheng Private Kitchen (bingsheng. com; mains from RMB300) both awarded a star.

Why? The crispy barbecue pork is simple but unforgettable, as is the silky three-colored tofu, my friend says. The soups and pork were dishes the Michelin reviewers highlighted at Lei Garden (86-2/8363-3268; 4F Yi An Plaza, 33 >> On Michelin’s one-star

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from left: Wild mushrooms with scallop at Jiang

by Chef Fei; Guangdong-born Fei started cooking in Cantonese kitchens at the age of 16.

Jianshe Liu Ma Lu, Yuexiu; mains from RMB200), while The Ritz-Carlton’s upscale Lai Heen (ritzcarlton.com; mains from RMB200; doubles from RMB1,800) was praised for its contemporary dishes, in particular sunflower seed–fed chicken, fish maw black garlic soup, and poached star grouper.

Guangzhou’s booming status in China’s

“Greater Bay Area”—official figures showed that the economy expanded 4.3 percent in the first three months of 2018—has also meant a shifting urban geography. Zhujiang New Town and Tianhe (the glossy, modern neighborhoods of Guangzhou that are home to upscale restaurants and smart pavement cafés) jut up against Liwan, one of Guangzhou’s oldest districts and a slice of traditional Canton with cobblestone alleyways, low-slung tenements and European-styled shopfronts. Rather than the typical (and uniquely Guangzhou) blend of Mandarin and Cantonese, in Liwan all I hear is the musical notes of Cantonese.

To taste traditional Cantonese cuisine, Liwan is a good place to start, and it’s where the Eating Adventures (eatingadventures.com; RMB529) four-hour food tour focuses. Here, there’s the Huangsha Market (15 Huangsha Dadao, Liwan), the largest seafood market in southern China that shifts 5,000 metric tons of seafood a day. For breakfast, I buy fresh prawns and scallops from a stall, and take them to be grilled in one of the restaurants housed on the upper floors of the central market building.

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Nearby is the Shangxiajiu Pedestrian Street, the oldest commercial street in Guangzhou, a brash boulevard lined with street vendors peddling treats including cheung fan rice rolls (a Guangzhou specialty usually eaten for breakfast), lotus seed pastries from Lianxiang Lou Bakery (67 Shipu Lu, Liwan; cakes from RMB8), which dates back to the Qing dynasty, and fat pork-and-chive dumplings in superlocal eatery Liwan Mingshijia (99 Dishifu Lu; dim sum from RMB10), or “Liwan Famous Eatery” as it’s known anecdotally.

Liwan is also home to the vast Qingping Market, selling all kinds of disturbing things in jars and pots: tiny scorpions, cow penis, shark fin (all for medicinal purposes, naturally). It’s testament to Cantonese cuisine’s link to Traditional Chinese Medicine, emphasized by the focus on soups and herbal teas. I notice this at Liwan’s most-loved yum cha joint, the all-day Dian Dou De (587 Long Jin Zhong Lu, Liwan; dim sum from RMB20): sheeny har gaw dumplings arrive in a little bowl of clear soup. Their 100plus types of dim sum testify to the translation of their name: everything is possible.

But this concentrated Cantonese flavor won’t stay undiluted for long. Estimates put the number of domestic migrants living and working in the city at around five million, bringing with them myriad regional Chinese cuisines: Sichuan; Pekinese; Shanghainese; and, most memorably, the delicious lamb skewers and flatbreads from a Uyghur restaurant in Guangzhou’s gritty Xiaobei district, otherwise known as “Little Africa.”

After three days of feasting across this dizzyingly indulgent city, I have only one answer to the common Cantonese greeting of “Have you eaten?”

Absolutely.

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dining

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Brave New Napa An olive-oil tasting lunch at Round Pond.

VENTURE BEHIND THE SCENES IN THE VALLEY KNOWN FOR ITS VINEYARDS, AND YOU’LL COME AWAY TRANSFORMED BY A SERIES OF TOP-OF-THELINE EXPERIENCES YOU WILL NEVER FORGET.

What a sedan should be: the Lexus LS 500.

LEFT: Rows of ripening vines at the Beckstoffer Estate.

BEHIND THE WHEEL of a silver Lexus LS 500, zipping through the vineyards of Napa on a brisk autumn afternoon is one of those moments when travel is truly exhilarating. You feel like the king of the road, with Lexus LS standing out with it’s elaborate mesh signature grill of no less than 5,032 individual grid facets—something so intricate that it took months from conception to production—a perfect representation of Lexus’ bold aesthetics combined with sophisticated craftsmanship. Inside, the Lexus’ attention to detail becomes more evident in the ornamentation: from hand-folded origami-inspired pleats that adorn the door to the thinly sliced veneered wood panels that are unique to each vehicle, enveloping all the senses in luxury.

Seated in this sedan, the winding Napa roads offer a great backdrop for a drive. This is a valley known for its own artisans, whether at a vineyard or when it comes to the culinary arts.

As we accelerate along the sun-dappled highway, how could we not stop at a vineyard in a land known for wines? We pull into Round Pond Estate (roundpond.

com) for lunch, but not for wines, more for an unexpected experience. Our lunch table is set among the vines, a series of olive oils and syrups, as well as fresh garden produce greet us. Aside from the basil-, rosemary-, and lemon pepper-infused olive oils, are other hand-crafted bottles that have a very local flavor: Blood orange or Meyer lemon olive oils and citrus syrups are like nothing else found outside of Napa. Of course, these are best appreciated as part of our multi-course lunch that includes charred pole beans with cherry tomatoes doused in a lemon-dill vinaigrette, and a grilled balsamic-glazed chicken with roasted beets, figs and arugula. Our chance to enjoy the sweeter syrups comes with local artisanal cheeses and seasonal fruit.

Surprisingly, these oils carry an ideal balance of fruit aromatics and warmth; a possibility achieved only by testing dozens of blends, producing only small lots of each. Trained by Italian mill masters, the craftsmen here use a hammer mill to produce sharper, more robust olive oils: preserving age-old traditions and applying them by hand to modern techniques, which

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Going off road in Napa in the Lexus LX 570.

LEFT: The beautiful coastline near the Napa Valley.

had dawned on me the similarity of Lexus philosophy with this culinary belief.

That evening at the Beckstoffer Ranch, winemaker Jessica Edson hosts us for an elaborate outdoor dinner presented by Michelin-star chef Christopher Kostow and his team from The Charter Oak (thecharteroak.com), a notable Napa address. Along a hillside carpeted in gnarled oak trees, as the sun sets and an oversized barbeque proves its worth, we dine on raw vegetables from the farm, smoked beef ribs that melt on the tongue, hearth-roasted mushrooms native to these hills, and salted grilled corn on the cob plucked only a few feet away. Our entire meal derives from the surrounding, rolling and well-tended landscape, which begs exploring in the muscular Lexus LX 570, an off-road SUV capable of tackling any terrain with finesse literally at the flick of a switch.

Back at the Beckstoffer Estate (tbwines.com), we take a behind-the-scenes look at a working vineyard.

Staff here like to say the estate is a combination of a grower’s history, a farmer’s humility and a vintner’s hand. With that in mind, this is rubber boot, roll up your

sleeves work that results in some of the valley’s tastiest tipples. Edson offers a laid-back but detailed look at the winery best known for its Mockingbird Cabernet Sauvignon. Nestled as it is in the eastern hills of St. Helena, she says this canyon is a grand canvas ripe with possibility. It’s difficult to say whether her enthusiasm for wine outweighs her knowledge of it, but she boils her talk down simply to teaching us how to ask for a wine we enjoy. “Wine is an adventure and it’s fun,” she reminds me in the cool cave lined with French-oak barrels of Beckstoffer’s offerings. While this is a learning experience, Edson is the first to admit that her own wine education is never ending. “When you see something compared to seeing it and touching it, it is so much better than reading about it in a book,” she says of her own travels in the wine world, whether around Napa or on another continent. That’s the same thinking behind the experience in a Lexus. To fully appreciate each of the flagship models, you have to get behind the wheel and feel all those years of passion come to fruition, especially in a place as unique as Napa Valley.

Japan Comes into Bloom On an eight-night voyage that visits some of the archipelago’s lesser-known ports, Eleni N. Gage falls under the spell of cherry-blossom season. from left:

The grounds surrounding Hirosaki Castle offer some of the best sakura viewing in Japan; the 18-deck Diamond Princess cruises across the country and the continent.

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From m y bird’s-e ye perch in the women’s sauna, 15 decks up on the 2,670-passenger Diamond Princess, I watched the Sea of Japan glide by, its deep cobalt waters cut by choppy waves. The ship has the largest Japanese-style spa at sea, and it follows traditional onsen rules in terms of layout and etiquette—men on one side, women on the other, with a sauna and hot pools in each indoor section. A shared outdoor pool sits in between them, but I was content indoors, where the sauna provided warmth away from the chilly spring air and the floor-to-ceiling windows framed impressive ocean views. The steam eased my body, and the endless expanse of sky and sea soothed my soul.

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When I think of cruises, I picture plying the Mediterranean coast or zipping in and out of Caribbean islands, both of which I did in my twenties. It never occurred to me to sail around Japan. I always imagined that some day I would hit up Tokyo for the high-gloss shopping malls, then hop a bullet train to Kyoto to see the temples—in other words, the trip that nearly every first-time visitor to Japan takes. But when I came across this eight-night itinerary, circumnavigating the island of Honshu (with a quick stop in South Korea), a cruise suddenly made a lot of sense. Japan is a maritime nation, after all. Princess Cruises does 77 sailings a year there, from three-day weekend jaunts from Tokyo to Taipei to 22-day voyages that encompass Japan, China and Vietnam. This trip, timed to the blooming of the famous sakuras would dip into lesser-known ports, like Sakaiminato, on the main island of Honshu, best known for the 153 bronze statues of yokai (animist spirits) that line its Mizuki Shigeru Road, and Hakodate, on the northernmost island of Hokkaido, which was the first Japanese city to open to international trade in 1859.

Depending on how far north or south in the archipelago you are, the sakura flowers are in various stages of blooming, and by traveling all corners of the country, you have a much better shot of seeing them at their peak.

My husband, Emilio, and I began with a night in Tokyo, where we spotted young women with hair the

fr o m l e f t: j d a n d r e w s ; c o u r t e s y o f p r i n c e s s c r u i s e s

cr u i s e

courtesy of princes s cruises (2)

color of cherry blossoms strolling through Harajuku in their platform shoes. There, the sakuras had come, awed everyone and gone. After boarding the ship in Yokohama and sailing the Kanmon Straits, past the island of Kyushu, we were able to see a few late bloomers at the Tottori Flower Park outside Sakaiminato, our first Japanese port of call. But they were not nearly as impressive as the kilometers of tulips, planted in star-shaped formations at the front of the park, or the orchids hanging from the hothouse ceiling.

Later on, at the Adachi Museum of Art, home to a dry garden and paintings by modern Japanese artists, we saw remarkable landscapes by the renowned pre– World War II painter Yokoyama Taikan. His pieces were neither abstract nor figurative; Autumn Leaves reminded me of iPhone photos with filters applied, so that the red of the maple glowed against an electric blue, watery background. The paintings exhibited what our guide, Shun Adachi (no relation to the museum’s founder), called yugen, a concept that he translated as “mysterious

profundity.” “A flower has visible beauty,” he explained.

“But its yugen comes from the fact that it survived wind and rain and sun—and from the knowledge of its future, that it’s dying.”

The excursions opened our eyes to Japanese culture, but so did activities on board the ship. The majority of the passengers were Japanese, with the rest a mix of North Americans, Europeans and Israelis. On sea days, as we made our way north through the Sea of Japan, I found myself hopping next to Japanese senior citizens during a folk-dance class and being wrapped in a yukata by women who had volunteered to help me dress in the ship’s collection of traditional garb. During lunch at on-board Japanese restaurant Kai Sushi, the chef taught me how to season sushi properly. (Yes, I finally learned that you don’t mix a soy-wasabi slushie in your dish, but rather place a dab of wasabi on top of the nigiri and then gently tap the fish side only in your soy sauce.)

In Hakodate, a historic port on the northernmost island of Hokkaido, we took an elevator to the top of the 75-meter observation tower next to the Goryokaku, a fortress built in 1864. From there you can see the moats that shape the grounds into a pentagram, and the entire five-pointed star that is planted with sakura groves.

Budding and hung with lanterns, the cherry trees were lovely, but not quite in full bloom. After touring

from left: The

ship does multiple itineraries, covering Okinawa in the south and Hokkaido in the north; the onsenstyle spa on board the Diamond Princess has several pools and saunas.

Cherry blossoms covered branches so completely that the treetops looked like bowls of popcorn

cr u i s e trending

The outdoor onsen on the Diamond Princess.

Going Deep in Asia New cruise itineraries in this part of the world are taking a close look at a single destination or region, immersing passengers in their culture, food and history. Choose the voyage that’s right for you.

Who’s going? a c o upl e or s o lo t r av el er

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How much time do you have? two w eek s or more

How old are the kids?

a w eek to 10 days

w ell- b eh av ed t een s

l i ttl e o ne s a nd tw een s

Do they want to see major cities? yes

China

Viking’s 15-day Far East Discovery voyage on the 930-passenger Viking Orion gives you plenty of time to tour and shop in China’s greatest cities, including Shanghai, Beijing and Hong Kong.

In lesser-known Qingdao, you can visit the former Governor’s Residence and the Qingdao Beer Museum, on the site of the original Tsingtao Brewery, which was founded by German colonists in 1903. vikingcruises.com; from US$4,799 per person.

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India

In December, Pandaw Expeditions will debut weeklong Lower Ganges river voyages on the Orient Pandaw, sailing from Kolkata to Farraka (and vice versa) through the heart of West Bengal.

Experiences along the way include colonialheritage tours in Chandannagar, ruled by the French until 1950; visiting the brass works in the village of Matiari; and taking in the famed terra-cotta temples of Baranagar. pandaw.com; from US$1,700 per person, all-inclusive.

no

Golden triangle

Mekong Kingdoms just launched the twocabin, exclusive-use Gypsy—a vision of wood, thatch, bamboo and vibrant Thai silk that takes small groups between Luang Prabang and the Golden Triangle, where Laos, Thailand and Burma meet. Land options include guided jungle treks and weaving workshops; on board, there are folk dancing, cooking and Lao language classes. mekong​kingdoms.com; from US$5,450 for three nights for up to four people. — Brooke Porter K atz

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the Motomachi district, where the first Westerners to arrive in Japan had built a Roman Catholic church and a Russian Orthodox church, Emilio and I explored the new part of town, ducking into a teppanyaki restaurant for a dish of sautéed snow-crab legs.

The next day, after we had rounded the northern tip of Honshu and headed south again, we docked in Aomori. This city, as our guide Naoko explained, is home to more cows than people (not to mention snow monkeys and black Asian bears in the surrounding birch forest). It was outside Aomori, in the neighboring city of Hirosaki, that I had my Goldilocks moment: The sakuras were just right.

Hirosaki Park, home to 2,500 trees and a 17th-​century fortified castle, was a sea of pink and white. Cherry blossoms covered branches so completely that the treetops looked like bowls of popcorn. Hundreds of picnickers were setting up blankets and buying snacks of fried squid balls, octopus on a stick, and soft serve made with the revered local apples. It took traveling more than 3,890 kilometers from Tokyo, but I could finally experience the beauty of the flowers—and appreciate their yugen. princesscruises.com; eight-night sailings from US$1,399 per person.

a fa mily

Shunkaen Bonsai Museum, Tokyo.

A Yayoi Kusama sculpture “Tsumari in Bloom” at Matsudai Nohbutai, Niigata.

Village of Uonuma.

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Murakami City.

Shibuya crossing.

cultivating life in the Matsudai area of Niigata, the past beguiles the present.

Begin your trip with a mindful meditation at the Shunkaen Bonsai Museum, where bonsai master Kunio Kobayashi has won the Prime Minister’s Award four times. This special place exemplifies the longevity and austerity of nature. You’ll find it a fascinating contrast with trendy Shibuya, home of the famous intersection and the origin of youth culture. After you’ve gotten a good dose of hip in the shops and cafés, take a breather with a stroll along the treelined streets of Daikanyama, and have an upscale dinner in a cosmopolitan setting.

The Shinkansen bullet train ride from Tokyo Station to Niigata Station is only approximately two hours, but transports you to a timeless land. To immerse yourself in its wonders, head to Matsudai Nohbutai, a field museum that fuses art with the traditional satoyama mountain living. It is mesmerizing to experience how people in this snow country have coexisted with nature over the centuries.

Sample a delicious facet of snow country in Uonuma no Sato, where the

traditional sake producers at Hakkaisan Yukimuro use mountain snow to chill their warehouse year-round. Niigata vegetables are also said to taste especially sweet after a month in this natural refrigerator, and you can enjoy such local produce at nearby restaurants.

Before saying goodbye, walk off your immersive drinking and dining experience with forest bathing in the peaceful surrounding nature.

Another exemplar of Niigata’s culture can be found in Murakami, the northernmost tea-growing district in Japan. The connection to mother earth courses through the rivers that flow through the city—particularly in the form of the salmon for which they are famous. Top off your immersive holiday with a Gotokuya Jube photoshoot, where you can dress up like a Geisha in luxurious kimonos.

It’ll be an enchanting • Niigata memory to take with you on the train back Tokyo • to Tokyo... and home.

https://www.hokurikuandtokyo.org

T O P R I G H T: P H O T O B Y O S A M U N A K A M U R A

Tokyo and Niigata are united on a cultural continuum. A trip to this fascinating country should immerse you in the highlights of both, taking you on a journey from past to present and back again.

Auckland, en Vogue New Zealand’s gateway to North Island adventures is a destination in its own right, with great food, a bevy of museums and galleries, and chic shops that showcase homegrown talent. We turned to wunderkind Maggie Hewitt—the designer behind women’s clothing brand Maggie Marilyn—to get the lowdown on the best stops for style-minded travelers. As told to Siobhan Reid

Clockwise from top left: Auckland fashion

designer Maggie Hewitt, founder of the line Maggie Marilyn; Maggie Marilyn Love Unconditionally Jade Stripe pants (NZ$745); Curio Noir, a local perfumery; watches at the Superette store in Takapuna; design concept store The Shelter; Muse, a boutique in Ponsonby.

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One of my favorite

places to shop is Ponsonby, a neighborhood with plenty of boutiques and concept stores. Muse (264 Ponsonby Rd.; 64-9/3788850) is a multi-brand shop from owner Olivia Vincent. She stocks international labels like Stella McCartney along with local names like Georgia Alice, who is known for her impeccably cut, easy-to-wear designs.

From there, I’ll pop in to

the flagship of Harman Grubiša (harman​g rubisa. com), a New Zealand brand that specializes in minimalist silhouettes with feminine details.

Nearby concept store The Shelter (theshelter​ online.com) holds a special place in my heart, as it was the first to carry my line.

I’ll browse the racks of new and established labels like Wynn Hamlyn and MM6 Maison Margiela, then grab a juice at its café.

If I want to treat myself, I’ll pick up a candle or fragrance at Curio Noir (curio​n oir.com), a smallbatch perfumery that sells its scents in bespoke handblown glass bottles.

For a more laid-back retail experience, I’ll head to Takapuna, on the North Shore. The area is known for its beach, so it makes for a scenic shopping trip—especially on a sunny day. The Department Store (the department​of ​n ews.com) was a collaboration between legendary Kiwi designer Karen Walker and local fashion entrepreneur Dan Gosling.

The multilevel space has a beauty counter, a hair salon, a café and an impressive array of Aussie and New Zealand brands, including luxury leather labels like Georgia Jay and Deadly Ponies.

After, I’ll drop in to the Takapuna outpost of Superette (superette.co.nz), a long-standing New Zealand retailer. This location has a fun, quirky vibe and offers a crowdpleasing selection of wardrobe staples. maggiemarilyn.com.

CL o c k w i s e fr o m t o p l e f t: A n g e l a D at r e ; C o u r t e s y o f M a g g i e M a r i ly n ; S i m o n W i l s o n / C o u r t e s y o f C u r i o n o i r ; C o u r t e s y o f S u p e r e t t e ; C o u r t e s y o f T h e S h e lt e r ; C o u r t e s y o f M u s e

i ns i d e r ' s g u i d e

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The Golden Path

Greece may not be the first destination that springs to mind when picturing a walking vacation. But on a low-season tour of Andros, in the Cyclades, Rebecca Rose finds that hiking the island’s historic trails—now newly passable—is an ideal way to enjoy balmy temperatures, empty beaches and a clutch of idyllic places to stay. photogr aphs by Marco Arguello

In autumn, visitors to Achla Beach, on Andros, will often find they have it to themselves.

with walnuts, wild pistachios and mulberries, and I’d been gorging on figs and blackberries. Yet I couldn’t resist picking a couple of low-hanging pomegranates, so ripe they had split, oozing translucent, rubyred juice and glistening seeds. My husband, Nicolas, and I were on the final day of a hiking tour of the Greek island of Andros, and were going to need sustenance for the afternoon

My pockets were bulging

ahead. It was 2 p.m. when we began winding our way down from Vourkoti, a mountain village wrapped in vaporous cloud, via a stone path. As we finished the pomegranates, we could just make out our destination, Achla—a slice of cobalt sea twinkling away on the horizon. We would need to be at the coast in or around six if we wanted an evening dip before dark.

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It was late September, and the days were getting shorter. The light was softer than in the summer months, when temperatures on Andros regularly reach the high thirties and only the truly deranged would set off on a 10-kilometer hike. Greece is predominantly thought of as a summer destination, but it is wonderful in the shoulder seasons: spring, when the wildflowers are in bloom, and autumn, when, as we discovered, the sea is at its warmest and the visitors have dwindled.

Andros, the northernmost of the Cyclades, is acquiring a reputation as a walker’s paradise, luring a crowd that is attracted by the quiet of spring and fall and eager to explore the island’s extravagantly beautiful interior and many secluded coves. This is largely thanks to Andros Routes, a new grassroots initiative to clear the island’s network of kalderimi, or ancient pathways, and signpost them clearly in Greek and English so that even the least experienced hikers can navigate their way without the use of a map.

When Nicolas and I learned that Andros also has a handful of quietly luxurious places to stay—several of which happen to be at the start or end of daylong walks—an off-season walking trip began to seem eminently doable.

So, as the chill of autumn set in at home in London, we packed our brand-new walking shoes and set off.

On the two-hour, early morning ferry ride to Andros from Athens’s Rafina port, we read up on the island’s history. Andros is where much of Greece’s shipping industry began; from the mid-18th until the mid-20th century, it was the country’s second-biggest port. The island’s large, fragrant lemons were its first export (to this day, lemon groves and citrus farms still dot the landscape). Over the centuries Andros became an affluent base for shipbuilders, captains, engineers and crew, and many of their descendants still own second homes on the island.

In the decades following World War II, Andros’s population plummeted from 45,000 to 9,000 as many Andriots headed to the mainland to look for work. While that number swells in the summer with day-trippers and Athenians retreating to their country houses,

tourism has never really dominated, despite the island’s incredible beaches and lush interior. Andros couldn’t be less like its glitzy neighbor, Mykonos—and is all the more appealing for it.

We spent our first two nights at Ktima Lemonies, a boutique bed-and-breakfast nestled in the hillside just outside Chora, the main town. Access to the hotel is via a long, fragrant pathway lined with heaving citrus and fig trees, past a small vineyard (which, we later learned, produces an amazing 800 bottles of dry Muscat per year) and an enviably large, overflowing kitchen garden. We were staying in a pigpen that had been converted into a snug little suite next to a swimming pool framed by olive trees.

The place is owned by Nelly Grypari, a warm, sophisticated Athenian who first came to Andros when her architect husband began designing vacation homes on the island. She employs local gardeners year-round who tend to her crops and produce the incredible array of jams we sampled the next morning. These, along with fresh pomegranate and melon, >>

We set off in the golden sunshine along a cypress-lined cobblestoned path worthy of a Renaissance painting 46

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At Ktima Lemonies, a boutique B&B on Andros, much of the produce served at the breakfast buffet is grown on the property.

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Get the blood flowing with a traditional Muay Thai session at YOKKAO, where living legends Saenchai and Singdam Kiatmoo9 often train, before heading back to Hyatt Regency to cool off in the expansive outdoor pool. Sauna and shower, then explore Baan Kamthieng House, a preserved Lanna-style teak house that was brought from northern Thailand more than 50 years ago. The museum now stands in stark contrast to the modern buildings surrounding it.

Stop by H.R.H. Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn’s Phufah Shop for a one-of-akind souvenir made by rural craftsmen.

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Start with the international buffet at Hyatt Regency’s Market Café. Lunch in the food court at Terminal 21, a “lifestyle mall” with more than 600 boutiques. Try a curry at Punjab Grill, widely considered the best Indian in town, and wash it down with a cocktail at Havana Social, a hip bar offering a glimpse into old Cuba. Still thirsty? Head to Hyatt Regency’s rooftop bar for a tipple and tunes, while taking in the light show that is one of Southeast Asia’s most electric cityscapes.

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Hiking paths signposted by Andros Routes, a nonprofit aimed at promoting walking tours of the island.

house-made cakes and breads, and creamy Greek yogurt, made up one of the most delightful hotel breakfasts we had ever eaten.

It was lucky we had lined our stomachs, as Olga Karayiannis, the passionate, knowledgeable islander behind Andros Routes, had an ambitious day of walking planned. As we set off in the golden sunshine along a cypress-lined cobblestoned path worthy of a Renaissance painting, Karayiannis, a bronzed Athenian with graying hair and intense brown eyes, explained how the project had come about.

A regular visitor to Andros since the early 1990s, Karayiannis moved there permanently in 2004 and started to explore the stone pathways near her house. Each time she went a little farther and discovered extraordinary things—waterfalls, crumbling tower houses, water mills—hidden in the island’s interior.

how to do YOUR OWN andros WALKING tour

Greece

Aegean Sea

Andros

Athens

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Getting there Andros has no airport and is accessible only by boat. Fly in to Athens and take a quick taxi to Rafina Port, where passenger lines like Golden Star Ferries (golden starferries.gr; oneway tickets €13.50) depart for Andros multiple times each day between April and October, and once daily year-round. The trip takes around two hours.

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The routes were often obstructed by fallen trees, and their signposts were derelict or uprooted. Realizing the potential of the ancient pathways, Karayiannis approached the local authorities to get funding to restore them. She was not always met with enthusiasm: “ ‘Why would you want to take a path, when there is a road?’ they asked me.” Since gathering a team of volunteers, Karayiannis has managed to clear and restore 160 kilometers of the island’s kalderimi, about 100 of which have been endorsed by the European Rambling Association. “It’s a huge project and one that needs constant maintenance,” she said, opening up a gate into a lemon farm she wanted to show us, “but it is worth all the effort. It preserves a beautiful landscape and an ancient culture, and makes it valuable for the community.”

We stopped at a rusted water mill once used to grind wheat—one of the biggest mills in the Mediterranean, we learned. The factory building next to it is a skeleton now, but it used to be a prolific producer of spaghetti. As we set off again, Karayiannis explained that no one knows quite how old the pathways are. There has been human presence on Andros since the Neolithic period; the earliest paths probably date from at least A.D. 1200, when they were used to connect two castles by mule. Built by hand with slabs of local stone, now polished by the elements and centuries of footfalls, some >>

WalkING on ANDROS The trails restored

by Andros Routes (andros​routes.gr) are open to the public, free of charge. If you’d like some guidance on your journey, the adventure experts at Butterfield & Robinson (butterfield.com; eight-day trips from €8,492 per person) can curate a guided tour of Andros, part of a larger walking itinerary where you’ll island-hop the Cyclades on a

private yacht.

The inaugural Andros on Foot Festival (androson​ foot​festival.gr) launched last month, where villagers organized activities along the paths.

Lodging Ktima Lemonies (ktima​lemonies.gr; doubles from €119) is hidden in the hills of a sprawling estate covered with olives, lemon trees, and Muscat wine grapes. Open April to September, the

cluster of converted farm buildings can house up to 10 guests. Farther north, you’ll find the stone houses of Onar Villas (onar-andros. gr; doubles from €169), a resort at the confluence of forest, river and the white-sand Achla Beach. The hotel, also closed during winter, showcases local materials throughout—from the reeds in the ceilings to the olive oil in the bath products.

STYLISHLY MEMORABLE

Avista Grande Phuket Karon

EVERY HOTEL IN THE MGALLERY BY SOFITEL COLLECTION TELLS ITS OWN STORY. AND EACH IS INSPIRED BY ITS DESTINATION. UNIQUE AND BOUTIQUE, THESE HOTELS INVITE GUESTS TO ENTER A TALE OF ADVENTURE, ROMANCE, HISTORY, CULTURE, AND NATURE FROM THE MOUNTAINS OF CHIANG MAI TO THE BEACHES OF PHUKET. Perched above the Andaman Sea, Avista Grande Phuket Karon is the perfect blend of European and Sino-Portuguese styles just a two-minute walk from the beach. With modern designs accented by striking references to Phuket’s tin-mining boom, extralarge rooms and suites are bright and welcoming with balconies offering sea or mountain views. An oasis of relaxation, the resort’s saltwater infinity pool features ample loungers, a waterfall, and a fullservice bar.

Hotel Muse Bangkok immerses guests in the glitz and glamour of the golden age of travel. Its playful elegance is seen in opulent rooms with claw-foot

Hotel Muse Bangkok

valley, the infinity pool offers a swim with the ultimate view, while guests can get hands-on learning Thai arts and crafts daily in the cultural pavilion.

V Villas Hua Hin

V Villas Hua Hin is for discerning guests in search of intimate moments.

Inspired by romantic Italian holiday homes, each pool villa is a haven of secluded luxury with world-class touches like Hermes amenities and round-theclock butler service. In the private garden surrounding the pool, guests can breathe fresh ocean air as they enjoy a delicious breakfast al fresco or a barbecue dinner prepared by a dedicated chef.

bathtubs, hand-painted basins, and Venetian mirrors. 1920s Chicago come alive at Babette’s, where premium steaks and fine wine meet Art Deco elegance and live jazz. At The Speakeasy, a variety of unique venues include a rooftop bar, cigar lounge, and private rooms with spectacular views for special occasions.

Tucked away in Northern Thailand’s lush green hills, Veranda Chiang Mai - The High Resort blends the region’s unique cultural heritage with the contemporary Veranda style. The result is a boutique retreat with a Zenlike feel that emphasises quiet relaxation.

On the roof terrace overlooking the

Veranda Chiang Mai - The High Resort

For more information, visit mgallery.com or accorhotels.com.

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A guest cottage built from the local stone at Onar Villas, a resort in northern Andros.

paths even have two lanes—a sort of protohighway. On our hike, however, the only other traffic we encountered was villagers on their way to tend their terraced gardens. As the sun started fading, I couldn’t help glancing at the pedometer on my smartphone: 14,000 steps and counting. By the time we retrieved our rental car and drove off in the direction of our next hotel, I was ready for dinner.

Onar Villas is situated on an isolated cove that is tricky to get to. You need a 4 x 4 to navigate the 40-minute drive along a dirt track peppered with hair-raising bends. But as we crested a hill and caught sight of the turquoise horseshoe bay below, it was hard not to accelerate. The hotel, set back from this sweep of deserted sandy beach, consists of a group of simple yet luxuriously appointed stone cottages. The rustling leaves on the plane trees leading down to the shore were on the verge of falling. Dinner was a candlelit affair in a rustic, alfresco dining area, with good Cretan wine, vegetables from the kitchen garden, and fresh local fish.

We took a break from hiking the next day, basking on the beach in gentle sunshine and swimming in the warm, clear water. It was perfect preparation for the exertions of our final day: the 10-kilometer walk from the misty hills of Vourkoti back down to Achla Beach.

Halfway through the hike, we stopped for another reviving dip in a natural pool at the foot of a small waterfall, and later called in at

the monastery of Agios Nikolaos, the largest on the island. There we met a portly, bearded monk swinging a huge bronze key, which he used to unlock a door to the dark, icon-filled chapel—the monastery’s inner sanctum.

Karayiannis had arranged for us to have a late lunch on a working farm on the last stretch of the walk. There, tended to by the female owner, who seemed quite at ease hosting English-speaking hikers in her tiny, open-air kitchen, we feasted hungrily on slow-cooked goat with homemade cheese and bread. This was followed by “spoon sweets,” a fruity preserve served on teaspoons—just the calorific injection needed for the last hour or so of hiking. When we got back to Achla, it was time to catch the evening ferry to Athens—but not before a good stretch on the sun-warmed white pebbles and a last dip in the glassy sea.

Three more Off-Season Walking vacations in Greece Crete Petros G. Zissimos, a member of the A-List, T+L’s collection of the world’s top travel advisors, crafts Greek vacations with his 46year-old, family-run company Hellenic Holidays. Zissimos can help plan walking itineraries through Crete, including tours that take in its famous Samaria Gorge—a breathtaking canyon in one of the country’s largest national parks. hellenic​holidays.com; 10-day trips from €2,063 per person.

Pelion Peninsul a Arguably the most underrated area of Greece, especially for nature lovers, this mainland peninsula north of Athens is where the Pilio Mountains meet the crystal-clear

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Aegean Sea. Book a self-guided walking tour with Macs Adventure to wander through ancient villages, combining stays at luxurious hotels with smaller heritage inns. macs​ adventure.com; eightday trips from €624.

Santorini Santorini may be best known for its iconic, Instagram-friendly caldera and whitewashed houses, but it has a quieter side.

Christos Stergiou of tour operator True Greece—also a T+L A-List travel advisor— can curate a custom walking adventure to help you discover the lesser-known parts of this spectacular island, from idyllic vineyards to unspoiled villages. true​greece. com; eight-day trips from €2,378.

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A New York State of Wine

One of America’s most spectacular wine regions is in the Northeast. Take a detour from the big city to spend a weekend in New York State’s Finger Lakes, where Ray Isle samples crisp Rieslings and farm-to-table cuisine. photogr aphs by william hereford There are days when life makes you feel as though you’ve been poured into a blender and whizzed into a froth of nervous exhaustion. As a resident of New York City, I find this happens to me with disconcerting frequency. But when it does, I have a solution: hightail it 300 kilometers northwest, to the Finger Lakes.

A patchwork of vineyards, apple orchards, hiking trails and small, thriving towns, this bucolic region of New York State takes its name from 11 narrow glacial lakes between the cities of Rochester and Syracuse that run north to south, like the fingers of an extremely unusual hand. The five largest lakes, where you’ll spend most of your time in the region, are Seneca, Cayuga, Skaneateles, Canandaigua and Keuka. They are quite deep (almost 200 meters, at some points), and because water warms and cools more slowly than air, their immense volume helps moderate the surrounding temperatures. Grape varieties like Riesling and Pinot Noir in turn can flourish, despite the bitter winters.

Add the region’s rocky soil and a new generation of ambitious winemakers to the mix, and you’ve got the ingredients for truly exciting wine. While there are still a fair number of uninspiring bottles produced for the bustour crowds, several top-flight wineries have opened over the past decade or so. (Note: when winery hopping, consider bringing along a designated driver or, if you’re going solo, enlisting the help of Uber.) Most are open yearround, but fall is the ideal time to visit. It’s harvest season, and the weather is cool and breezy. Here’s how to spend three perfect days exploring the region.

Friday

from top: Serenity Vineyards, a family-run winery

bordering Seneca Lake; a sourdough tartine with ricotta, tomato confit, egg and broccoli rabe at Graft Wine & Cider Bar, in the town of Watkins Glen, which serves wines exclusively from New York State.

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A 1½-hour flight from New York City brought me to Rochester, the easiest entry point to the Finger Lakes. I headed 50 kilometers southeast to the town of Canandaigua for a quick lunch at New York Kitchen (nykitchen.com; mains US$12–$21), a nonprofit culinary center that highlights the work of Empire State farmers, brewers and vintners. I tried a few Pinots in the tasting room, then dug in to a decadent “Adirondack”—a pizza named for the >>

E S C APE

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mountains to the east, with wild mushrooms, grilled ham, Gruyère and fresh pea shoots.

I decided to kick off my wine tasting in the place where quality bottlings in the Finger Lakes got started— Dr. Konstantin Frank (drfrankwines.com), on the western shore of Keuka Lake. In the 1950s, this winery’s eponymous founder proved that the region could grow classic grape varieties such as Riesling and Pinot Noir.

I skipped the main tasting room and headed down the road to my reservation at the serene 1886 Reserve Room, which offers a more personal experience, as well as older vintages and food pairings.

A quick swing around the southern tip of Keuka Lake took me to Domaine LeSeurre (dlwinery.com), part of a new wave of ambitious wineries driven by young vintners convinced of the region’s potential. Here, French expats Céline and Sébastien LeSeurre fashion dry, elegant wines that hover between old and new world in their sensibility—case in point, their thrillingly precise, Chablis-like 2015 unoaked Chardonnay.

I next checked in to Geneva on the Lake (geneva​ onthelake.com; doubles from US$245), a grand resort in the lively burg of Geneva. It’s an excellent home base, since Geneva’s downtown has become the region’s restaurant and bar nexus thanks to places like the Linden Social Club (fb.com/thelindensocialclub; small plates US$5–$7), which is renowned for its cocktails. Despite my abiding love of wine, I couldn’t resist the Prescription Julep (Cognac, rye, Jamaican rum and mint). Was it the perfect pairing for the “farmers’ market tostada,” made of marinated and grilled zucchini and yellow squash?

No idea, but the duo seemed like an ideal balance of indulgence and health.

Watkins Glen

Saturday

To navigate around the lakes and avoid endless north-south shuttling, it’s best to concentrate on one body of water a day. For Saturday, I chose Seneca. Stretching for 61 kilometers between Geneva and Watkins Glen, it’s the largest of the five main lakes and is ringed with a number of good wineries. A to-go cappuccino from Monaco’s Coffee (fb.com/monacoscoffee) fueled my drive down Route 14 to my first stop, Forge Cellars (forgecellars.com). A partnership between local talents Rick Rainey and Justin Boyette and acclaimed Rhône vintner Louis Barruol, Forge focuses on terroir-expressive Pinot Noir and Riesling. Their wines could go head-to-head with those from anywhere in the world. I stocked up on the smoky 2016 Forge Leidenfrost Vineyard Dry Riesling.

After Forge, it was time for lunch at F.L.X. Wienery ( flxwienery.com; mains US$3–$18), a roadside shack serving excellent house-made hot dogs and brats. There’s also a surprisingly extensive wine list that features everything from the house Riesling at US$5 a glass to a Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche for US$2,500 a bottle—a classic pairing with a chili dog, right? >>

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At Ravines Wine Cellar, guests can have a multicourse meal with pairings at its Ravinous Table.

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E S C APE

Dozens of wineries line Route 14, so it’s important to choose wisely. One of my favorites is Ravines Wine Cellar (ravineswine.com), just south of Geneva. Winemaker Morten Hallgren’s stony Argetsinger Vineyard Riesling is not to be missed, nor is the winery’s Ravinous Table winepairing experience. This season’s dishes might include a 2008 Blanc de Blanc with a tart of potato and hazelnuts or a 2016 Cabernet Franc with pork loin and plums smoked over grapevine trimmings.

I drove back to Geneva for dinner, as I had scored a much-coveted reservation at F.L.X. Table (flxtable.com; tasting menu US$59), arguably the region’s best restaurant. Owned by the couple behind F.L.X. Wienery—Master Sommelier and chef Christopher Bates and his wife, Isabel Bogadtke—the restaurant has only 14 seats at one long dining table. In addition to sampling dishes such as wild salmon with a red-pepper-and-olive panzanella, you can’t help getting into a lively conversation with your fellow diners.

Sunday

from top: Visitors can take a break from wine tasting at

the Linden Social Club, a craft cocktail bar in Geneva; F.L.X. Table, a 14-seat restaurant in Geneva, pairs local wines with dishes such as chicken royal with Burgundy truffle; the historic E.B. Morgan House, one of the Inns of Aurora, has seven antiques-filled guest rooms.

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I started my day with a three-kilometer hike through the rock gorges at Watkins Glen State Park (parks.ny.gov), where the leaves on the trees were at their scarlet-and-gold peak. Afterward, I nipped around the southern end of Seneca and over to tiny Bellwether Wine Cellars (bellwetherwine​cellars.com), on the western shore of Cayuga Lake. Winemaker Kris Matthewson is one of the region’s up-and-coming stars, and bottles like his violet-scented Sawmill Creek Vineyard Pinot Noir make it clear why.

Dano’s Heuriger on Seneca (danosonseneca.com; mains US$9–$26), a short drive west, is modeled on a classic Austrian wine tavern and probably the only place on the planet where you’ll find a “Viennese bento box” on the lunch menu. And yet the combination of classic Austrian sausages, spaetzle and tapenade served Japanese-style somehow makes perfect sense.

On the eastern shore of Cayuga Lake, Heart & Hands Wine Co. (heartand​h ands​wine.com) is another cult, boutique producer. Husband-and-wife team Tom and Susan Higgins make a tiny amount of Pinot Noir and Riesling from their own estate vineyard. The wines come and go as they sell out, but if their fragrant, top-of-theline Mo Chuisle (pronounced ma-cush-la) Pinot is there, grab a few bottles to take home.

For my final night, I checked in to the Inns of Aurora (innsofaurora.com; doubles from US$165), also on Cayuga Lake’s east. Owned by Pleasant Rowland, the creator of American Girl dolls, this quartet of historic buildings has been stunningly restored. Which of the inns you choose is a matter of personal taste—the furnishings in the Aurora Inn itself are classic, for example; Rowland House feels more contemporary. But no matter where you stay, be sure to sit by the lakefront firepit and have a glass of wine at sunset. Any last vestiges of stress you might feel, from a life anywhere in the world, will soon dissipate.

SPONSORED SERIES

The new resort in its bay home in Labuan Bajo.

Welcome to Flores

THE BRAND-NEW AYANA KOMODO RESORT, WAECICU BAY BOASTS EASY ACCESS TO SOME OF THE WORLD’S MOST SPECTACULAR WILDLIFE.

Clear views of clear seas, from every guest room.

A sunset paddle makes for pure magic.

THE WORLD’S LARGEST LIZARD might not be the first thing you think of when trying to conjure “luxury,” but maybe that’s because there’s never been a five-star gateway to Komodo National Park before. AYANA Komodo Resort, Waecicu Beach is the pampering launchpad to a plethora of natural wonders.

AYANA’s recreation team will guide you to the park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and Man and Biosphere Reserve, where rangers introduce you to the world’s largest lizards, the up-to-three-meter-tall Komodo dragons who offer such rich evolutionary insights. At the juncture of two continental plates, the park has a wealth of unique endemic wildlife, and strong currents bring dolphins, dugongs, sea turtles and whales for your spotting pleasure.

AYANA’s glass-bottom boat was custom-built for this! Before the hotel came along, the highest-end way to access these animals has been via liveaboards.

Though we smugly note that the resort has one of their own: a super-luxe, nine-bedroom, phinisi-style yacht, AYANA Lako di’a, which makes for a magical dive-trip home base (or the most impressive seafaring wedding location ever).

Back on Labuan Bajo, there’s a two-tiered pool for chilling, a plush spa, an ocean-view gym... wait, actually, all the rooms are ocean-view, and most provide a clear horizon sight-line from your tub! You’ll easily spend an entire afternoon at the resort’s private islet, tucked two minutes around the corner, where the bay is a kaleidescopic coral garden, teeming with life. If you need a little break from snorkeling with Nemo and his pals, just swim up to shore and kick back in one of their lounge chairs with an icy beer or roselle tea, on the secluded sandy beach manned by a friendly AYANA lifeguard.

The easiest way to get a sense of place? Paddleboard out past the private pier and about-face. Time it right and you’ll catch a propeller plane taking off through the trees, ascending through the valley, disappearing behind the hill down which AYANA Komodo cascades, and reappearing to soar into the cerulean skies. The smallness of the aircraft will drive home how few people come here, the swiftness of its departure will have you shaking your head in pity for those who leave. Ah, never mind. Eyes on the horizon. Your attention will quickly refocus to the serenity of these little-trammeled Indonesian seas. ayana.com; doubles from US$500 (subject to 21% tax and services).

AYANA Komodo Resort, Waecicu Beach Labuan Bajo, Flores, Nusa Tenggara Timur, Indonesia 86554 (+62) 385 2441000. ayanakomodo.com

f i rs t l o o k The lounge area of Uncharted Mobile Expeditions’ camp in Botswana.

A Camp of One’s Own

after we set out from Uncharted Mobile Expeditions’ mobile camp in the Okavango Delta, Botswana, someone in our vehicle yelled “Lion!” Everybody spun in their seats to see a lioness in pursuit of a baby warthog hurtling toward us.

Zigzagging frantically, the piglet was soon pinned to the ground by a giant paw. There was a collective gasp as we steeled ourselves for the inevitable.

But seconds later, 70 kilograms of protective mother bush pig hit the lioness at full speed, throwing up a cloud of dust. Released by the impact, the squealing piglet sped across the dirt road and away to freedom.

Such thrilling encounters seem to happen with remarkable frequency on mobile safaris—a wildlife trip on which guests stay at a movable camp.

That’s because when it comes to the African wilderness, sleeping in a tent (whether it be a basic fly camp or a slightly more complex, comfortable setup with flushable toilets) is the best way to get close to the action.

Deeply immersive, a mobile

five minutes

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operation puts you in exactly the right place at the right time, which is why it’s currently a big trend in safaris. If the animals travel or the weather changes, simple camps can be packed up after breakfast and set up again in a new location in time for dinner.

Mobile safaris are typically offered on an exclusive basis, meaning they have usually been the preserve of families or large groups.

With the introduction of set-date departures, Uncharted Mobile Expeditions allows guests to book a single tent, rather than the entire camp—opening up the experience to a wider audience and making it considerably more affordable.

I had begun by flying in a Cessna from Maun, northern Botswana’s hub, to the farthest-flung airstrip in the Okavango Delta. My destination was NG12, a remote governmentowned concession that, until recently, was known only to safari insiders. In the Okavango, as in Africa’s other iconic wild places,

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space is the holy grail—the definition of luxury. There are no permanent lodges in NG12, despite the fact that, at 81,000 hectares, it is more than 20,000 hectares larger than Vumbura to the south, where Wilderness Safaris operates two luxury camps. In four days of exploring, we saw only one other vehicle. The surrounding landscapes ranged from open plains dotted with elephants, buffalo, zebras, and giraffes to lagoons where hippos jostled for territory and crocodiles cruised silently in between.

This part of the delta can be reached only by a patchy network of dirt tracks and rudimentary bridges, and this inaccessibility is precisely what appealed to Uncharted’s Ralph Bousfield. Bousfield is a fifthgeneration Botswanan who, in 1992, opened Jack’s Camp—a pioneering lodge on the remote salt pans of Botswana’s Makgadikgadi region— with his late father, Jack, a legendary crocodile hunter. During the early 90s, father and son frequently flew

t h i s s p r e a d : c o u rt esy o f n at u r e s e l ect i o n

Until recently, mobile safaris—widely seen as the best way to get close to Africa’s wildlife—were available only for large, private bookings.

Now anyone can get in on the action. By Jane Broughton

over the delta in the family’s small plane searching for a suitable place to establish a base. They wanted to offer their guests a circuit that combined the wonders of the desert with the delta’s big game. After decades of searching, Bousfield leased the NG12 site at the end of last year. “The distance from Maun, the tricky logistics, and the lack of roads might have been off-putting to some, but it made this site more attractive to me,” he told me with a laugh.

Because the concession is not within an officially designated wildlife reserve, where certain rules have to be followed, Bousfield is able to blur the boundaries between what usually happens in camp and what takes place in the wild. “It’s fun to set up a table in shallow water for a surprise lunch, or to linger after sunset drinks to take a boat trip through the reeds—that’s when the delta really comes alive,” he said.

Positioned under a canopy of fig and jackalberry trees, the little camp of three guest tents and an open-sided mess tent was everything I’d dreamed of in a mobile site. Taking its cue from Jack’s Camp, it channels the glamorous East African safari style of the 1940s: vintage furniture and a front porch decked out with a canvas wash basin, a copper water jug, and a mirror added serious Out of Africa appeal. Each kilim-lined tent has an en suite bathroom with a hot-water bucket shower and a flushable toilet. It was hard to believe that when our group checked out, the entire camp would be packed up and driven across the delta—a journey of almost two days—to the Central Kalahari Desert.

Uncharted Mobile may have nailed the nostalgic aesthetic, but, more importantly, it also employs some of the best guides in the business—such as the legendary Super Sande, who used to work at Jack’s Camp and now heads up the team in NG12. I shared the camp with an American family that ranged in age from a preschooler to retirees, and the two-meter tall Sande was as skilled at imparting bush lore to a four-year-old as he was

Uncharted Mobile Expeditions guests on a game drive in the Okavango Delta.

at explaining the subtle differences between a coppery-tailed coucal and a Burchell’s coucal to me.

On returning to camp after a game drive, we found a table laid under the stars. Kerosene lanterns provided light, along with fireflies dancing in the grass. For dinner, spiced butternut soup was served with rolls still warm from the oven.

Next came steak, mashed potatoes, and cumin-roasted carrots, followed by a rich chocolate tart. The meal seemed even more impressive after I visited the chef in his camp kitchen the next day and saw his oven: an old metal trunk filled with hot coals.

Sitting outside my tent on my last afternoon, perusing a bird book from the camp library, I looked up and realized that my tent was under an enormous sausage tree. What were the chances of one of its hefty, long fruits—some weighing as much as 6 kilograms—falling on my head?

Sipping iced coffee and listening to the rumble of distant thunder, I decided that it would be a fine way to go. naturalselection.travel; from US$2,780 per person for four nights, all-inclusive. Mobile safaris in the Okavango Delta can be packaged with a stay at Jack’s Camp, as well as other experiences in the region.

Mobile CAMPS: THE BEST OF THE REST 1 Zimbabwe In untrammeled Gonarezhou National Park in southeastern Zimbabwe, respected guide Ant Kaschula offers an experience that combines wildlife viewing with guided walks. Small, exclusive-use camps are run mainly during the dry season (April to November) for a maximum of 10 guests. The solar-lit Meru-style tents each have a bucket shower and a composting toilet. gonarezhou-bushcamps. com; from US$690 per person, all-inclusive.

2 Tanz ania Legendary Expeditions sets up mobile camps in the path of vast herds of wildebeests migrating through the Serengeti Plain.

The tents, each of which has an en suite bathroom, are moved around the park according to breeding and weather patterns. Individual tents are available to book; groups of six or more are allocated the entire camp on an exclusive-use basis.

The camps close May 1–15. legendary​expeditions.com; from US$1,025 per person, all-inclusive.

3 Ken ya Kenya is said to be where modern-day mobile camps started, and Royal African Safaris continues the tradition with expert guides and elegantly appointed tents set up around the Masai Mara National Reserve. Locations vary from week to week according to the movements of the animals.

Safaris fill up via word of mouth, and as many as 65 percent of bookings come from repeat guests. royal​ african.com; from US$1,500 per person, all inclusive.

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Hong Kong’s neon-lit skyline.

Tanjong Beach Club, Singapore.

A lobby with charm at The Myst Dong Khoi, Saigon.

c loc kw i se fr o m to p le f t: Ja m es L e yn se / g e t ty i m ag es ; l aury n i s h ak ( 2 ) ; s hins u k e m ats u k awa

GIFT GUIDE 2018 whether you’re hitting the beach, climbing mountains, going urban or on a family getaway, this year’s gift guide has everything the modern traveler needs (plus a few indulgent wants) for their next vacation. Edited by Eloise Basuki Mentawai Islands, Indonesia.

Jawai Leopard Camp, Rajasthan, India.

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gift guide 2018

Half-Full Adventure Maps Find hidden treasures in Tokyo, Melbourne, London, New York and San Francisco with these pocket-sized travel guides. $10; amazon.com.

Patek Philippe Minute Repeater Watch Featuring a Cloisonné enamel center with Lavaux landscape design, this clocks in more than 24 time zones. price available on request; patek.com.

GIFTS FOR CITY SLICKERS Leica M10-P The quiet shutter and clean design is ideal for photographers who aim for snapping candid shots. $7,995; leica-camera.com.

Arlo Skye Polycarbonate Carry-On No-zip closure, removable charger for phones and MacBooks, and an unbreakable yet light shell— this may just be the ultimate carry-on. $450; arloskye.com.

MCM Berlin Cassette Crossbody From MCM’s musical themed A/W 2018 collection, this leather bag is inspired by disco days. $1,740; mcm worldwide.com.

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Container Andes Weekender Bag Arrive in style for any weekend trips with Thai brand Container’s leather overnight bag in sleek dark olive. $551; containerbag.net.

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The Apothecary Omni Solid Cologne Made in Malaysia, The Apothecary’s Omni solid fragrance includes masculine notes of juniper, blackcurrant, leather, wood and tobacco. $18; theapothecary malaysia.com.

*Prices listed are in U.S. dollars for ease of comparison.

c lo c k w i s e fr o m to p l e f t : c o u rt esy o f pat e k p h i l i p p e ; c o u rt esy o f n i m b l e ; c o u rt esy o f H a r d i e Gr a n t P u b l i s h i n g ; c o u rt esy o f c o n ta i n e r ; c o u rt esy o f t h e a p ot h eca ry ; c o u rt esy o f a r lo s k y e ; c o u rt esy o f m c m ; c o u rt esy o f l e i ca

Nimble Wireless Travel Kit Using sustainable bio-plastic materials, this travel kit is both a wall charger and wireless charging pad in a handy travel box. $59.95; gonimble.com.

GIFTS FOR ADVENTURERS Izola Travel Cutlery Set Avoid plastic cutlery when you’re out in the wild (or just the airport) with these foldable utensils that come in their own canvas travel bag. $11; izola.com.

c lo c k w i s e fr o m to p l e f t : c o u rt esy o f m ata d o r ; c o u rt esy o f i zo l a ; c o u rt esy o f h a n d p r ess o ; c o u rt esy o f patag o n i a ; c o u rt esy o f tag h eu e r ; c o u rt esy o f k l e a n k a n t e e n . m i d d l e : c o u rt esy o f lo n e ly p l a n e t ; c o u rt esy o f b eo p l ay

Matador FlatPak Toiletry Bottle Made in Boulder, Colorado, this ultracompact travel bottle uses welded Cordura waterproof fabric, so you can fill it with anything from soap to toothpaste. $17; matadorup.com.

Epic Hikes of the World From the Shikoku Pilgrimage to the Kokoda Track, this book will inspire your next trek. $35; shop. lonelyplanet.com.

Bang & Olufsen Beoplay E6 These lightweight, in-ear, wireless earphones are splash- and dust-resistant and have a snap-on charger that can be used on the go. $328; beoplay.com.

Handpresso Auto Capsule This in-car espresso machine fits most coffee capsules and slots in to your car’s cup holder for an easy road-trip wake-up. $190; handpresso.com.

Tag Heuer Aquaracer Carbon Watch Featuring a 41-millimeter black PVD-covered titanium case with a carbon bezel, this ultra-light and durable dive watch is waterproof to 300 meters. $4,000; tagheuer.com.

Klean Kanteen Insulated Reflect Using stainless steel and sustainably harvested bamboo, this no-plastic water bottle keeps liquids cold for 24 hours and iced for 40.

20-fluid-ounce bottle $41; kleankanteen.com.

Patagonia Lightweight Black Hole Cinch Backpack Protect your gear from the elements with this tough, waterrepellent, 20-liter backpack made from ripstop nylon. $79; patagonia.com.

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gift guide 2018

Patek Philippe Rare Handcrafts 2018 Tropical Plants With a Cloisonné enamel birds-of-paradise face, 113-diamond bezel, rose gold case and turquoise alligator band, the Strelitzias watch is total tropical glam. price available on request; patek.com.

GIFTS FOR BEACH BABES Adriana Degreas Muse Print Bikini Playful ruffles and flattering high-waist bottoms make this feminine swimsuit a poolside must. $608; farfetch.com.

Three Balancing UV Protector Save face with this sunscreen made with 94 percent natural ingredients including rosemary and bergamot fruit essential oils. $38; threecosmetics.com.

Karen Walker Mrs Brill Crazy Tort Sunglasses These frameless sunnies put an edgy spin on the cat-eye trend and are adjustable to fit all face sizes. $267; farfetch.com.

Benton Aloe Propolis Soothing Gel Sun-kissed skin needs hydration—this K-beauty aloe gel contains the anti-inflammatory and soothing propolis extract. $17; bentoncosmetics.com.

Ban.Do Monstera All Around Giant Towel Supersoft and oversized, this terrycloth towel is made for a tropical escape. $68; bando.com.

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Rifle Paper Co. Corkcicle Canteen With stationery brand Rifle Paper Co.’s floral design, Corkcicle’s triple insulated bottles stand out in the sand. From $35; corkcicle.com.

c lo c k w i s e fr o m to p l e f t : c o u rt esy o f fa rf e tc h ; c o u rt esy o f pat e k p h i l i p p e ; c o u rt esy o f b i n a ry st y l e ; c o u rt esy o f fa rf e tc h ; c o u rt esy o f c o r kc i c l e ; c o u rt esy o f b e n to n c o s m e t i c s ; c o u rt esy o f ba n . d o ; c o u rt esy o f t h r e e c o s m e t i c s

Binary Style Scarf This Singaporean brand creates vibrant silk and chiffon scarves that depict the colorful culture of the Lion City.

From $48; binarystyle. myshopify.com.

gift guide 2018

Kenzo Kids Tiger Patch Backpack Too cool for school, this designer backpack will keep kids stylish on family trips. $130; farfetch.com.

Kikki K Canvas Luggage Tag: World Easily spot your bags on the conveyer belt with this cheeky cloud tag. $7; kikki-k.com.

FujiFilm Instax Square SQ6 Gold The first square format Instax camera makes creating inspiring memories fun for everyone. $129.95; fujifilm.com.

Kikki K B5 Feature Journal: Sweet Kids can record their favorite travel moments in this illustrated notebook. $18; kikki-k.com.

Ultimate Ears Wonderboom Freestyle Collection With a new playful design, this 360degree speaker is dropand waterproof. $109.95; ultimateears.com.

Baggu Go Pouch Set We love Baggu’s folding totes, and their new Flora pouch set makes organization a breeze. $36; baggu.com.

Aprilpoolday Twin Collection This Thai brand makes matching swimsuits for the cutest mom-and-mini dips. From $27; aprilpoolday.com.

Izola Gold Flask Give dad a classy way to stash his favorite tipple; this stainless steel flask can also be personalized. $40; izola.com.

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c lo c k w i s e fr o m to p l e f t : c o u rt esy o f fa rf e tc h ; c o u rt esy o f k i k k i k ; c o u rt esy o f f u j i f i l m ; c o u rt esy o f k i k k i k ; c o u rt esy o f i zo l a ; c o u rt esy o f bag g u ; c o u rt esy o f u t i m at e e a r s . m i d d l e : c o u rt esy o f a p r i l p o o l day

GIFTS FOR TRAVELING TRIBES

ADVERTORIAL

Seeking Sanctuary

NEW IMMERSIVE WELLBEING PROGRAMS AT BANYAN TREE PHUKET WILL SEND YOU HOME FEELING FULLY FRESH To refresh, recharge and rediscover our connection to each other, my husband and I flew to Thailand, for Banyan Tree Phuket’s new experience at its Spa Sanctuary. It was one of the best holiday decisions ever. From our luxe spa pool villa with steam room, we marveled at the peace, with quiet lagoons, a beautiful beach—and a lily pond around our floating bedroom.

A Wellbeing Host introduced us to the Sanctuary Wellbeing program.

New to the wellness bandwagon, we appreciated the choice of programs based on what we wanted to achieve from our stay. We chose the New Wellbeing track, for posture alignment work and to reconnect to nature. Other options were Balanced Fitness, Urban Detox and Mindful Awareness. Each had recommended activities, all aimed at life enrichment and relaxation.

During yoga sessions with Master Practitioner, Rajesh, the pace slowed, focusing my mind and senses on being present, with no other goal than to breathe, reach, and take in the moment.

The Conscious Grounding morning walk helped start my day on the right note, heightening my senses. I enjoyed Sole Foundation, as my job requires me to be on my feet for long hours; I have since been using their simple massage tips at home, tremendously helping my sore muscles. We both left our Posture Alignment session with new insights for personal improvement.

We had a local-immersion activity each day. I enjoyed the reverence of Merit Making. My husband took a cooking class, making local delicacies with area young adults. He returned inspired by the positive impact companies can make offering learning

opportunities to their communities.

Speaking of food, a variety of plantbased dishes was served through our stay by Liz, the nutrition specialist, who said they were meant to balance our modern-day dietary patterns. The acclaimed Banyan Tree Spa Academy created three unique massages for Sanctuary Wellbeing guests, which we enjoyed daily. In sum, the Sanctuary Wellbeing program did wonders for my body and mind. We found an energy and lightness that we didn’t know we still had. Heading home, I felt flexible, lively and alert—ready to dive back in.

For booking enquiries, please email Phuket@banyantree.com or call +66 (0) 76372 400. More information about Banyan Tree Spa Sanctuary can be found at www.banyantree.com/en/ thailand/spa-sanctuary-phuket

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UPGRADE november 2018

photo gear special

t r av el sm a r t er

William Abranowicz

Raise Your Travel Photo Game Whether you obsessively Instagram off-the-cuff smartphone images or produce mini photo shoots with a DSLR and tripod, your goal is the same: to take the best pictures you possibly can to commemorate your experiences. While all the gear in our guide will serve you well in a variety of circumstances, when choosing your ideal equipment, it helps to consider what subjects typically catch your eye. Here, we present our picks for four key categories of travel photography, plus tips from pro photographers and social media stars who stoke our wanderlust.

By Eloise Basuki, Sar ah Bruning, David Kukin, Mary Robnett and Mariah T yler

*Prices listed are in U.S. dollars for ease of comparison.

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upgr ade

Investment

Smartphone

Nikon D50 0 DX-Format Digital

People + Wildlife It’s tough to predict when the opportunity for an evocative candid or portrait might arise during your travels, but you’ll be ready for a range of circumstances with gear that excels in low light, has a fast shutter speed, and focuses with precision in both auto and manual modes.

A p p l e iP hone X S

SLR with 16 – 80 mm lens

A go-to model for many travel photographers, this lightweight and long-lasting investment works seamlessly with the types of telephoto lenses you’ll need to snap wildlife from a safari vehicle. Having an impressive 153 points of focus is useful for moments when your subject occupies a tiny area within the frame (think: a pride of lions amid a vast savanna), as well as when your subject is on the move and you’re shooting multiple frames at once to get the shot. nikon. com; from $2,096.

Entry-level Ca non P ow erSh o t SX 7 3 0

Ideal for casual photographers, this sleek point-and-shoot has an adjustable screen that pivots up to 180 degrees, making it easier to take closeups. But a powerful optical 40x zoom framing assist means it’s just as easy to nab faraway shots. Self-portrait and smooth-skin modes adjust hues and brightness levels to save you editing time. canon.com; from $399.

T ip use a prop

“If you’re taking a selfportrait, it can be nice to have an object, like a teacup or tea bag, to hold. It gives your hands something to do and makes the shot look more natural.”

It’s received a fair amount of flak for its eye-watering price, but the newest model from this smartphone giant is built with selfies in mind. Behind the 5.8-inch all-screen design is a powerful A12 Bionic chip and 12mp dual camera with Smart HDR and advanced depth segmentation. This means even beginners can achieve sophisticated-level portraits with that creamy bokeh that professionals aim for. Larger pixels and a faster sensor improve low-light shots and video stabilization. apple.com; from $1,200.

Jessica Sample, S e l f - p o r t r a i t, El Fenn, Marrakesh, M o r o cc o

Mid-tier

The latest update to this top mirrorless option includes face-detection technology, ensuring that any humans or animals in your image are automatically in focus, properly exposed, and white-balanced— and that you don’t miss textural details like fur and eyelashes.

A max ISO of 51,200 improves your chances of obtaining a great shot in low-light situations. A bonus: the design is dust- and water-resistant and can withstand temperatures as low as minus 10 degrees, making it a good bet for a oncein-a-lifetime polar expedition or a more low-key ski trip close to home. fujifilm.com; body from $1,099.

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From Top: Courtesy of Canon; Jessica Sample

F ujif il m X-T 2

T ip Do Your Re se a rch

Action + Adventure

“Try to find reference images before setting off, look at the sun’s path, and allow sufficient time to reach your location to get the shot you want.”

If you’re documenting cars whipping past you at the Singapore Grand Prix or the view while scaling a glacier in New Zealand, you’ll want a rugged, compact camera with a broad field of view and highresolution video capabilities, plus sturdy accessories that help you capture your chosen activity from interesting angles.

Martin Morrell, V i a F e r r ata , Chamonix, Fr ance

Phone accessory EVO SP - P RO G en2

A handheld stabilizing tool that can pivot, this gimbal works with both Android devices and iPhones and can go up to 14 hours without being recharged.

Its handle has a scroll wheel and menu buttons that offer controlled zoom and focus— useful for taking scenic shots mid-hike on Lantau Peak. evogimbals.com; $249.

Entry-level Oly mp u s T oug h TG - 5

Water-, ice- and dustproof, this sturdy model lets you focus on enjoying dune bashing in Dubai without worrying about errant dust particles that might scratch the lens. Its new 4K movie capabilities record vivid details in ultra-high-definition video, even while you’re navigating rapids or snorkeling with schools of fish. getolympus.com; from $520.

360-degree

F r o m T o p : M a r t i n M o rr e l l ; C o u r t e s y o f DJI

R ic oh T he ta V

The four-channel microphone in the latest iteration of this three-dimensional camera picks up omni-directional audio, which comes in handy for recording the sights and sounds of a jungle trek.

Wireless remote playback allows for rapid, effortless sharing, and recently released plug-ins for the Android operating system give travelers the ability to customize software to suit their specific hobbies. amazon.com; $397.

Drone D JI M av ic Pro p l at inum

Upgraded propellers and motors allow this Wi-Fi– enabled, 700-gram quadcopter to fly quieter and longer (30 minutes straight!) than other models. It’s a game changer for capturing scenes from above— say, whale-shark watching in the Philippines or sailing aboard a yacht on the Andaman. store.dji.com; from $1,099.

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Entry-level Nikon C o ol p i x A9 0 0

Blurry, nondescript images— Is that tomato soup? Panna cotta?—often stem from shaky hands and dim lighting. This compact choice combats both problems with vibrationreduction technology. Built-in Wi-Fi also makes the affordable model a solid pick for social media power users: they can send pics straight to their smartphones without a cord. nikon.com; from $509.

Mid-tier Ca n on EO S R ebel T 7i

This next-level interchangeable-lens DSLR camera has a nine-point autofocus system—great for creating sharp, vivid photos of a heaping twirl of chilli oil-laced noodles or the shining scales of a slippery black marlin caught during a fishing trip in the Maldives. canon.com; body from $749, EF-S 18–55 mm from lens kit $899.

Investment Ca n on EO S 5D M a r k IV

The pro-level pick offers superb image quality with 30.4mp, guaranteeing that your photos accurately reflect the cacophony of colors inside Istanbul’s spice bazaar or the colorful layers of a towering Korean bingsu dessert. Its GPS geo-tags images, so you can easily identify all the different bowls of ramen you ate in Japan. canon.com; body from $3,499, with 24–70 mm lens kit from $4,399.

T ip g et centered

Jason Varney, B r i sk e t R a m e n , Cheu Fishtown, Phil adelphia

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Smartphone Sa m s ung Ga l a x y S 9 +

Food + Drink To highlight the hues and textures of your favorite dish, or grapes hanging from vineyard vines, your camera should be equipped with a wide aperture that can handle the challenge of low light.

A full-frame sensor—a component that means none of your image gets cropped automatically—allows for better resolution and ensures you get what you see.

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An impressive dual-aperture lens intuitively switches between bright or dark lighting conditions, making it far easier to snap great pictures as you wander through places like Bangkok’s indoor-outdoor Chatuchak market. Another standout feature: an augmented-reality setting that enables real-time text translation, especially useful for understanding menus in foreign languages. samsung. com; from $1,023.

F r o m T o p : J a s o n Va r n e y; C o u r t e s y o f S a m s u n g

“You generally want to keep your main subject in the middle of the frame, but adding cutlery, glasses and condiments at the edges can create a more dynamic composition.”

Landscape + Architecture When you’re shooting scenic country vistas or towering skyscrapers, scale and detail can make the difference between decent photos and the truly memorable ones.

Devices with wide apertures and wide-angle capabilities will increase your chances of getting the best shots.

T ip G et S ome Heig ht

“One of the most critical factors when taking a landscape photograph is having some form of elevation from which to capture the image. With this particular frame, I positioned myself on an adjacent bridge and stood on the roof of my motor home.”

Simon Roberts,

From Top: Courtesy of Leica; Simon Roberts

The Old Bridge at S l i g a c h a n , Is l e o f S k y e , Scotland

Entry-level Nikon C ool p i x W 3 0 0

If you’ve ever been mesmerized by one of those vibrant 24-hoursin-30-seconds landscape videos, you’ll quickly latch on to this durable pocket-size camera’s 4K ultra-HD capabilities and intuitive timelapse setting. Its GPS includes a mapping feature called Points of Interest that suggests landmark photo ops, including scenic lookouts near you, and can tag even remote locations with precision. nikon.com; from $504.

Mid-tier S on y R X 10 0 III

The key feature of this ultracompact point-and-shoot: a pop-up electronic viewfinder that provides a bright, clear platform for eye-level monitoring. Working in tandem with the camera’s Bionz X processor and Carl Zeiss versatile lens, it helps users compose richly detailed images, especially in bright conditions, whether it’s a beach scene in Thailand or the Hong Kong skyline on a sunny day. sony.com; from $648.

Smartphone G oo g l e P i x el 2

The Internet giant’s Pixel revamp arrived with great fanfare thanks to its camera, which many critics deemed the new best-in-class. If you’re trying to nail exceptional details in dark situations—such as the stained-glass windows of a Gothic chapel—the phone’s widened f/1.8 aperture and HDR+ algorithm will give you an advantage. store.google.com; from $649.

Investment L eica TL 2

Renowned for its craftsmanship, this German manufacturer merges longlasting hardware with essential modern features. In this mirrorless pick, Wi-Fi connectivity enables sharing of those boastworthy #nofilter sunsets via e-mail and social media on your preferred device, and those same smartphones and tablets can also control the TL2 and serve as remote electronic viewfinders—helpful on superbright days when the camera screen is hard to see or when the camera placement puts its viewfinder out of reach. leica-camera.com; from $2,195.

upgr ade

clockwise from top left: Scott A. Woodward’s winning iPhone shot of a Moken elder, on Koh Surin, Thailand; Taktsang

1. be mobile

Sharing Your Work Now that you’ve got the gear, how do you get the likes?

Some of our favorite Instagram travel photographers reveal their keys to a captivating vacation post.

Singapore-based photographer Scott A. Woodward (@scottawoodward) has won awards for his iPhone shots and says there are times it’s a more dexterous choice than his DSLR. “A smartphone is lighter and more compact; use this to your advantage and be on the lookout for dynamic and creative angles. Hold it high to shoot or put it on the ground and tilt it up. Get close to your subjects. And when you think you’re close, get even closer.”

2. Tell a Story

A static image can be pretty, but if your image tells a story it

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will engage more with your followers. From his base in Bangkok, photographer Leigh Griffiths (@leighgriffithslens) chooses his photos to share on Instagram based on their ability to involve the viewer: “I like to choose photos with subjects or action—I want people to feel like they are experiencing the same moment that I have.”

2. Ta l k t o locals

To avoid taking the same clichéd image as everyone else, California dweller Elisabeth Brentano (@elisabethontheroad) chats up people who live in the area to get their insights on angles and scenic spots other travelers might miss, such as

an under-the-radar hiking path or the best watering hole for finally encountering the elusive hippos you’ve been searching for on your safari.

4. EDIT BEFORE YOU POST

A little fine-tuning goes a long way. Woodward uses the Adobe Lightroom CC app (Android, iOS; free) to both shoot and edit his iPhone photos: “I am able to manually adjust my camera settings—just like on a DSLR— such as ISO, shutter speed, exposure and white balance.”

He then uses the editing features to process the photo as he would on a computer, focusing on balancing contrast, highlights and shadows.

fr o m t o p : s c o t t a . w o o d wa r d ( 2 ) ; l e i g h g r i ff i t h s ( 2 )

Monastery in Bhutan by Woodward; morning alms in Luang Prabang, and Yunnan rice noodles, both by Leigh Griffiths.

3 9 SYE D A LWI ROAD, SIN G AP ORE 207630 + 65 6291 6677 H OT E LVAG A B O N D S I N G A P O R E .CO M

deals

t+l reader specials

BEACH CAMBODIA

Pack your bags for a new resort on a far-flung Cambodian island, or book a city stay in Bangkok, Guangzhou or Singapore.

Alila Villas Koh Russey Alila’s Cambodia debut opened on the intimate isle of Koh Russey this month with a special package for its very first guests. Book a minimum of three nights and the third will be free, plus, you’ll get daily breakfast; return Sihanoukville International Airport transfers; 30-minute foot reflexology at Spa Alila; and scheduled shuttle-boat service to the island. The pavilions, and the one- and two-bedroom pool villas are all designed to make the most of the surrounding nature, and the four-bedroom beach estate offers a luxurious, sprawling sea-front space for families and big groups. The Deal Opening Offer: a night in a Garden Pavilion, from US$375, through April 21, 2019. alilahotels.com.

Outdoor living at Alila Koh Russey’s pool villa.

SUPERSAVER Amari Residences Bangkok, Thailand

Book ahead and save up to 20 percent at this central Bangkok hotel and serviced residence. Just book seven days in advance to receive 10 percent off, and 30 days ahead for 20 percent off.

This is a home away from home for travelers needing a longer stay: Amari offers studios, one-, two- and three-bedroom units.

The Deal Advance Purchase Offer: a night in a studio, from Bt2,500, through December 31, 2019. amari.com.

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VIETNAM

JW Marriott Phu Quoc Emerald Bay More than just a beach resort, this Bill Bensley–designed imaginarium on the coast of Phu Quoc is also full of gastronomic delights, and this deal gives guests the chance to feast. The “Dine With Us” >>

fr o m t o p : c o u r t e s y o f A l i l a V i l l a s K o h R u s s e y; c o u r t e s y o f Am a r i

INDONESIA

Ayana Komodo To celebrate the launch of this new five-star haven on the western coast of Flores, Ayana Komodo Resort, Waecicu Beach is offering 20 percent off the Best Available Rate for stays through March 31, 2019, with complimentary return airport transfers. The 13-suite and 192-room resort has two swimming pools, a kids’ pool, a kids’ club, a private pier and a nine-bedroom phinisi. Komodo National Park is accessible by boat and the resort is just an hour flight away from Bali. The Deal Opening Offer: a night in Full Ocean View room, from US$223, through March 31, 2019. ayana.com.

deals

promotion includes a welcome drink upon arrival; complimentary Wi-Fi throughout the resort; breakfast for two adults and two children under 12; US$50 resort credit per night, which can be redeemed against food and drinks at all outlets, including French fine-dining spot Pink Pearl and grill-house Red Rum. The Deal Dine With Us: a night in a Deluxe Emerald Bay View room, from VND9,450,000, through February 27, 2019. Use promotional code: EAT. marriott.com.

CITY

Superior room, from HK$2,318, through February 4, 2019. marcopolohotels.com.

SINGAPORE

Mandarin Oriental, Singapore Discover the Lion City’s lively culinary culture with this food-focused package from Mandarin Oriental. Guests who book two nights in a Marina Bay View suite will get breakfast for two at Melt Café; a welcome nonya kueh cake; a visit to the lively Tiong Bahru Market with the hotel’s executive sous chef, Eric Tan; a rojak culinary class; and a

pandan bliss treatment for two at the spa. The Deal The Singapore Food Trail package: a night in a Marina Bay View suite, from S$1,980, through April 30, 2019. mandarinoriental.com.

FAMILY THAILAND

Angsana Laguna Phuket Parents can take it easy on this beach getaway: the Live for Family Fun package from this Phuket resort keeps kids occupied while adults can indulge. Book a minimum of three nights to take advantage of the special, which includes

free access to the Tree House Kids’ Club; a kayak lagoon exploration tour for the whole family; free access to non-motorized water sports; a complimentary set dinner for two, while kids under 12 eat for free; 20 percent off all restaurants (excluding alcohol); 20 percent off all body massages at the Angsana Spa; two hours baby-sitting service for up to two children; and round-trip airport transfers. The Deal Live for Family Fun package: a night in a Laguna Premier room, from Bt10,900, through March 31, 2019. angsana.com.

CHINA

Mandarin Oriental, Guangzhou Here’s your chance to dine in Guangzhou’s newly minted Michelin-starred restaurant, Jiang by Chef Fei, plus Michelin-Plate restaurant Ebony. This package from Mandarin Oriental includes a night in a luxurious Club Executive Suite; daily breakfast for two; a set lunch for two at Jiang by Chef Fei; a semibuffet dinner for two at Ebony; a 60-minute Oriental Essence massage for two; and Oriental Club benefits. The Deal Escape to the Stars package: a night in a Club Executive suite, from RMB6,888, through March 31, 2019. mandarinoriental.com.

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The Mandarin Oriental, Singapore.

c o u r t e s y o f m a n d a r i n o r i e n ta l

HONG KONG

Marco Polo Hongkong Hotel Enjoy a warm welcome in Hong Kong this winter with a seasonal special from this Tsim Sha Tsui hotel. The deal includes daily breakfast for two; guaranteed room upgrade and late checkout until 2 p.m. when booking directly online; and Piccolo Kids’ Club in-room amenities and benefits when checking in with children.

Discovery members will also receive an extra HK$168 discount per night upon check-in. The Deal Wondrous Winter package: a night in a

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november 2018

with cool new hotel s, there’s never been a better time to visit

sydney p. 84

a s t u n n i n g v i s ua l j o u r n e y f r o m the north to the south of

vietnam p. 94

w h at e v e r yo u r h o l i d ay m o o d , there’s a resort for it in the

maldives p. 102

A l o n g h i s t o r y o f b e a u t i fu l s i l e n c e i n t h e a e o l i a n i s l a n d s o ff

italy

c o u r t e s y o f K u d a d o o p r i vat e i s l a n d

p. 112

Arriving at Kudadoo Private Island by Hurawalhi, Maldives, page 102.

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Harbor City stays

A slew of new rooms in repurposed heritage hotels, blockbuster brands and baby boutiques offers exciting reasons to high-tail it to Sydney right now. Ron Gluckman beds down in the best and the brightest.

Old Clare Hotel updates a former brewery; snacks by the pool, Sofitel Sydney Darling Harbour; one of Paramount House Hotel's 29 rooms; a Victorian veranda in Spicers Potts Point; West Hotel's whiz-bang exterior.

The lobby bar at Primus Hotel. clockwise from left: A junior suite in Ovolo 1888; The

S h a r y n C a i r n s . c l o c k w i s e fr o m r i g h t: c o u r t e s y o f s p i c e r s p o t t s p o i n t; c o u r t e s y o f w e s t h o t e l ; c o u r t e s y o f p r i m u s h o t e l . o p p o s i t e fr o m t o p l e f t: c o u r t e s y o f t h e o l d c l a r e h o t e l ; c o u r t e s y o f s o f i t e l ; c o u r t e s y o f o v o l o

based in Hong Kong, I bounded off the plane, reveled in the clear air and blue skies, kneeled down, and kissed the tarmac. Admittedly, there had been many on-board drinks. Still, excitement had been building from takeoff: like-minded people speaking boisterously, spinning yarns, wearing shorts and loud shirts. I’d felt that I’d finally found my tribe.

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c o u r t e s y o f Ov o l o . o p p o s i t e : T o m R o s s

Sydney was love at first sight for me. Visiting a quarter-century ago, as a young reporter

I quickly obtained immigration papers—which went unfiled, since, like in most torrid love affairs, the spell eventually broke. And, like so many plunges of passion, the end came in the sack. Sydney claimed stately architecture, wonderful parks, wholesome food, and harbor views captivating even a native San Franciscan residing in Hong Kong. But, sorry Sydney, your hotel scene just lacked sufficient world-class stays.

That changed in the run-up to the 2000 Olympics.

Sydney reinvented itself, not only with futuristic stadiums but a whirl of hotel and tourism investment.

Come curtains-up on those world games, Sydney was dolled up, glistening, a global sensation.

The decades since haven’t been so kind. Sydney hasn’t so much declined as failed to keep pace. Attention turned to other Australian cities. Melbourne modernized as Sydney stayed status quo. From Brisbane to Perth, breathtaking new concert halls, airports and football stadiums debuted, and buzzy new hotel brands sustained the momentum.

Then, the tide turned, as Sofitel added nearly 600 rooms to Darling Harbour, following a slew of designoriented and heritage hotels that have greatly diversified

the scene. Sydney claimed an astonishing 17 openings last year, and global hospitality consulting brand Horwath HTL predicts another 4,600 rooms will be added in the next four years. It seemed time to check into some of the latest Sydney properties.

F

irst stop is Surry Hills, a leafy backwater that was the center of Sydney’s rag trade, and also Australia’s own mini-Hollywood. Paramount Pictures and 20th Century Fox had offices here, and many historic buildings survive. Gentrification began in the early 2000s, and Surry has some of Sydney’s most celebrated restaurants. And now, a hip heritage hotel to match.

Paramount House Hotel opened in April, in the World War II–era Paramount building, which has been buzzing for years. The former film screening room in the basement is the art house Golden Age Cinema. On the main floor is the always-packed Paramount Coffee Project, which is run by partners with more than two decades each in the coffee trade who set out four years ago to expand and restore the old film company’s office into a movie-themed hotel.

Their delightfully funky boutique inn reimagines Sydney’s cinematic heyday. Over a cup of his celebrated java, co-owner Mark Dundon explained that much of the hotel is in a new addition above the old Paramount warehouse. Designers had to be as inventive as filmmakers creating sets. Hence, the lovely exterior copper cladding and companion piece in the lobby are new, but look convincing as relics from a Hollywood epic.

The 29 rooms feature a variety of layouts, including lofts. Best are Sunny rooms, with lots of greenery and big windows opening out onto one of the hottest Sydney neighborhoods. As befits a first-time hotel launch, there are hits and misses. The metal tub in the center of the room seems clumsy, overly zen for the cinematic concept.

But I’m bowled over by the exquisite fabrics sourced by these well-traveled coffee traders, and comfy beds with mounds of pillows.

Food options were boosted when Ester, the heralded Chippendale restaurant, opened a wine bar and eatery in the building, Poly (get it: Poly-Ester). Just outside are two of the country’s hottest Asian eateries, Chin Chin and Longrain. Don’t miss visiting gorgeous Golden Age’s bar, with vintage wraparound seating and brown leather

Paramount House Hotel, a new boutique built in and above an old film studio. opposite: A buoyant blend of art and design in a room at Ovolo Woolloomooloo.

stools. The tiny cinema sports velvet-backed wooden chairs from the 1940s. The motto, fittingly, is “The Good Old Days are Now.” paramounthousehotel.com; doubles from A$240.

T

he biggest splash on the Sydney hotel scene in decades came last November with the opening of the A$500 million Sofitel Sydney Darling Harbour, the city’s first new luxury property of the millennium.

Checking into the gorgeous 599-room glass tower was a chore, with long lines in the lobby. But it’s ideally located beside the new International Convention Centre with insanely stunning views, amplified brilliantly by floor to ceiling windows throughout. The fourth-floor pool is compact, but perched over the bustling harbor, outrageously Instagramable.

Rooms are spacious with an uncluttered modern design, although I’d trade the cute mini-bar in the round cylinder chest for a workstation. Better yet, upgrade to some of the most coveted suites in Sydney. My bathtub was tucked into a glass vestibule, cushioned by clouds, hovering over Sydney’s animated harbor. Even drained of water, that throne-like tub was my preferred spot for luxuriating like a king while taking my morning coffee.

The design here is light and airy, walls filled with art, venues bright. Signature restaurant Atelier boasts a big open kitchen and stacks of glassware, but sitting areas sport a backdrop of light wood that matches the floor, with a nice, natural feel. Suites and luxury club rooms include access to Club Millesime, 35 floors up with sweeping harbor views on three sides. sofitelsydneydarlingharbour.com.au; doubles from A$309.

O

volo 1888 is just a short walk from Darling Harbour, but a complete departure. Set inside a 19th-century Victorian warehouse, the rustic design emphasizes its heritage as one of Sydney’s old wool stores. Crisscrossing corridors and open beams make it easy to visualize how sheep were moved around and sheered, and the free happy hour allows guest to mingle in a rough-hewn lobby bar where buyers long ago bargained for bales over brews.

Properties by Ovolo, a quirky, fast-expanding brand, mix zippy design with Pop art, Modern furniture, and blaring party tunes. Opened in 2015, this one is a hip lad’s retreat in the image of CEO Girish Jhunjhnuwala, an unabashed 1980s British pop fan who confides that he personally programs all the music himself: Radio Ovolo.

Sofitel Sydney Darling Harbour boasts the best bathtubs in town.

opposite from top left: By the

numbers in Ovolo 1888; The Old Clare kept to its original make up.

fr o m l e f t: c o u r t e s y o f Ov o l o ; c o u r t e s y o f t h e o l d c l a r e h o t e l . o p p o s i t e : c o u r t e s y o f s o f i t e l

A hotel disrupter from Hong Kong, Jhunjhnuwala decries cookie-cutter design. Rooms are funky, fitting the original layout of the old building. My room is two stories, with a big bed in an upstairs loft, and what feels like a college man-cave downstairs. Unconventional, but utterly comfy, and my loft has a private terrace with stunning views over the business district.

Ovolo aims not only to remake hotels, but also hospitality, with features like free mini-bar, laundry and complimentary bag of snacks. Beyond the free lollies is a formula frequent travelers embrace: just make everything work, and keep the bed comfortable. Hence, there are plugs aplenty bedside, fast and free wireless throughout, and healthy food at breakfast. Nailed it. ovolohotels.com; doubles from A$250.

C

hippendale is another long neglected neighborhood transformed into trendy hotspot. A brewing center in the 1800s, Chippendale became a slum renowned for disease and crime. But it now sports spiffy apartment blocks and bustling shopping towers surrounded by parks, thanks to a massive A$1.5 billion urban renewal scheme. Putting it on the map was The Old Clare Hotel, in the century-old Carlton & United Breweries building and adjacent pub.

Part of the Unlisted Collection, a lively set of properties from imaginative Singaporean Peng Loh, the property matches preservation with modern design. The original brewery’s brick walls and creaky wooden floors in rooms above the pub maintain the flavor of the traditional Australian roadhouse. The décor is fun, risqué, often delightfully goofy. Loh straddles the line between cool and kitsch; every nook offers something like oddball dentist chairs, vintage safes hauled from the basement, and custom lighting.

The original dive bar is now hipster nirvana, with mixologists center stage in circular station with bright yellow and orange panels. Customers choose from retro barstools or a wide array of tables, chairs and couches, all mix-matched with antique fans and stand-up lamps.

In a city basking in sunshine, Sydney has inexplicably lacked knockout hotel pools. The Old Clare’s long rooftop pool has a wide wooden deck perfect for grills and parties. Renowned for award-winning eateries, Unlisted went all-out at The Old Clare, perhaps too much, launching three signature restaurants. Silver Eye has since closed, but scrumptious options remain with Automata by Clayton Wells decked out in scrapyard parts, and Kensington Street Social from Michelin-star chef Jason Atherton. theoldclarehotel.com.au; doubles from A$299. t r a v e l a n d l e i s u r e a s i a . c o m / n o v e mb e r 2 0 1 8

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E

ven amid all the heritage buildings in the business district, Primus Hotel stands out. Set inside the onetime headquarters of the Sydney Water Board, the redesign showcases the Art-Deco glamour of the 1930s building. The reddish-pink columns in the lobby might not appeal to every taste, but I adore how the vibrant shades contrast with the darker-hued Wilmot, the adjacent old-world dining hall. And besides, these original columns were the work of the prolific Melocco brothers, Italian craftsmen credited with 90 percent of the marble, scagliola and terrazzo work across Sydney from 1910 to 1965.

Rooms are big and luxurious, from the fluffy bed to thick rug, which stuns in a rich blue-and-gold pattern.

The décor seems distinctively masculine, like a men’s club from another century. Back in the day, the rooftop actually featured a shooting range, a good-old-boys’ perk for Water Board employees.

If it looks familiar, you may remember the building from Angelina Jolie’s Unbroken. In 1939, it was the tallest building in Sydney—which might make you feel retroactively safer about all those bullets flying around. primushotelsydney.com; doubles from A$300. >>

W

est Hotel is further up the harbor by Barangaroo, another urban redevelopment scheme radically reshaping Sydney. On a previous visit, officials had toured me around cranes at the old docks, and businesses already springing up around the 22-hectare site with big parkland. Now, the waterfront is buzzing with bistros and pubs and, as of a year ago, this chic hotel.

Part of the Curio Collection by Hilton, West features an eye-catching exterior design of giant black panels shaped like faceted edges of a jewel. The striking, dark design extends inside with black glass walls overlooking a vast atrium filled with greenery, a cool nature theme that unfortunately doesn’t carry into the rooms. These are ultra-modern, with blue-black carpet and dark panels. But rooms seem small and cramped, especially in contrast with that airy atrium.

Best to hang at elegant Solander, the fashionable allday eatery slash lobby bar. Named for botanist and early explorer Daniel Solander, it offers botanical-inspired cocktails, and a dark-side vibe whether in the blue or purple lounge chairs, or black stools in that cool atrium. westhotel.com.au; doubles from A$238.

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New-world chic in West Hotel's Solander Bar.

fr o m t o p : j i w o n k i m / c o u r t e s y o f p r i m u s h o t e l ; c o u r t e s y o f w e s t h o t e l

The Primus Hotel roof went from boys' club shooting range to glamazon pool deck.

P

otts Point overlooks the sea east of Sydney, but has too often gotten lumped in the backpacker sprawl of nefarious King’s Cross (itself a neighborhood on the ascendant). Yet it’s quieter, and the large collection of historical homes and cafés have earned more than a few references to Paris. In July, a trio of old Victorians reopened as the utterly charming Spicers Potts Point.

Inside three wonderfully frilly townhouses dating to 1880, the 20 rooms provide an oasis from another age.

Guests sip tea or fruit-flavored water in the library, or sit in the leafy garden. Rooms feature big beds with down pillows, white walls and light décor. Entry-level rooms are small; it is definitely worth upgrading to the spacious suites, some with a private terrace or fireplace.

The atmosphere is friendly, with snacks in the room, and cocktail hours with canapés nightly. spicersretreats.com; doubles from A$439.

The latest incarnation of a historic wharf, Ovolo Woolloomooloo sprawls and buzzes.

A trio of frilly townhouses make up Spicers Potts Point.

Crowe. Called Finger Wharf when it was built a century ago, it laid claim then to being the world’s largest timbered-piled wharf.

Another distinguishing quality: the sprawling site never made sense as a hotel. After boats moved to other piers in the 80s, the plan was to demolish the wharf and replace it with a high-end marina. Protests saved the structure, which was renovated into a 100-room hotel. It launched as W Sydney Woolloomooloo, the first W outside the U.S. Later it became Blue Hotel, managed by Taj. “It really should have been called Yellow,” joked my taxi driver, as we pulled up to the cavernous property.

“Because it’s always been a lemon.”

No longer. After Ovolo took over and reopened the property at the end of 2015, it’s become a trendy address, with a buzzing bar and popular events space. The waterside location is a pull, but hardly anyone comes here to chill. Ovolo is known for its buoyant blend of art, fashion and music, and Woolloomooloo has taken the experimentation—and fun—to a new level.

Check-in is quick and seamless, but pause to survey the art. Over the front desk is a jumble of figures moving relentlessly, an A$300,000 kinetic clock. In the ceiling nest metallic eggs. Hallways are packed with visuals. If it sounds busy, that’s another odd anomaly: it all works. ovolohotels.com; doubles from A$350.

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fr o m t o p : c o u r t e s y o f s p i c e r s p o t t s p o i n t; c o u r t e s y o f Ov o l o

O

volo Woolloomooloo is a total oddity, not only for the tongue-twisting name. It seems far from everything, but is really an easy 15-minute walk to museums or Circular Quay. It looks more like an airplane hanger than hip hotel fronting a high-end residential project for yachties and celebs like Russell

Verdant rice terraces are a signature of Sapa, in northwestern Vietnam. Once a French hill station, it is now a popular trekking base. opposite: A bride

on her wedding day in Saigon wears a formal headband khan dong, and a brocade jacket over her traditional ao dai—which evolved from a courtier’s uniform in the mid-1700s to common fashion in the 1920s.

North to south long and skinny vietnam is only 50 kilometers wide at its narrowest point, but stretches 1,650 kilometers top to bottom. over years spent chronicling the country, Photographer aaron joel santos has voyaged from hill country up by the chinese border to its southern tropical islands, taking in the political, royal and financial capitals; colorful visits with some of the 54 officially recognized ethnic groups; enduring and evolving traditions; and all that coastline.

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A fisherman in Yen Bai province in northern Vietnam.

An agricultural center in the Red River Delta, the area was the site of the Yen Bai Uprising of 1930, a key munity by Tonkinese Riflemen against their French officers.

opposite, clockwise from top left: Bac Ha,

in the north, is the capital of the region of the Flower Hmong, one of the country’s 54 official minorities; A late afternoon song aboard a traditional junk in Bai Tu Long, a quieter section of the karst- and tourist-filled Halong Bay, in the Gulf of Tonkin; A well-decorated general shows his lighter side during celebrations for the 1,000-year anniversary of Hanoi; Son La Province, home of this washed out road, is a practically visitor-free region that shares its southern border with Laos; Bun bo Hue, a beefand-noodle soup specialty of the former central capital, served at the nearby Banyan Tree Lang Co; Laughing yoga is a popular way to welcome the morning beneath Ly Thai To statue on Hoam Kiem Lake in downtown Hanoi.

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On the move in Dalat, a southcentral highlands city that was a cool-weather retreat for French colonials. At 1,500 meters above sea level, Dalat is, to this day, known for its flowers, wineries, waterfalls, gondolas and rolling green links—the Dalat Palace Golf Club, Vietnam’s oldest, was established in 1922.

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Top row from left: Nha Trang,

a city along the south-central coast, is modernizing and drawing more tourists, but life for women such as this seaweed farmer in her traditional basket boat remains old-school; A scenic stroll through the forests of the Tra Su Sanctuary in Chau Doc, in the Mekong Delta; Vietnamese spring rolls come in three versions on a banana leaf at La Veranda Phu Quoc, a French colonial– style beach resort.

Bottom row from left: Looking out

over the peaceful mountainscape of Con Dao, you’d never know the island was for generations the home of a notorious prison;

Small fishing boats make their way out to sea from Con Dao, which is tucked off the southeastern coast; The only part of Vietnam in the Gulf of Thailand, Phu Quoc Island boasts crystal waters, a booming resort scene, highly prized native fish sauce, and the country’s best sunsets.

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Atoll Tale

c o u rt esy o f c h e va l B l a n c R a n d h e l i

sinking? more like sprouting. there are so many beautiful new reasons to visit the maldives, it’s hard for us to keep track. read on for a hit-list of some of the freshest resorts in this far-flung indian ocean paradise nation.

Castaway luxe at Cheval Blanc Randheli.

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A Vintage Vacation

When on a family vacation to the Maldives, would you expect anything else from a new resort named after a favorite wine?

his is exactly how I envisioned it.

Lounging on my deck, chilled glass of wine in hand, I’m doing little more than absorbing the pristine Noonu Atoll that surrounds me. When news hit that Cheval Blanc, one of the only four wines to receive a Premiere Grand Cru Classe in the St Emillion, Bordeaux region, not to mention a personal favorite, was opening a hotel in the Maldives I began to dream. The best image? A resort in the middle of clear Indian Ocean waters with bottles of Cheval Blanc locked away in Louis Vuitton trunks (Cheval Blanc is owned by LVMH). There was no way we were going to miss out on this.

A 55-minute seaplane flight from Male to the Noonu Atoll takes you to the midst of sparkling blue oceans, white beaches and alluring coral reefs. Upon landing at Cheval Blanc Randheli, prepare to be blown away by the hotel’s three islands: the first for the 45 one- and twobedroom villas; another houses the spa; and the third is set aside for the tennis courts. Enjoy the welcome drinks as you are whisked to your private villa on the water.

Now that you are engulfed in Louis Vuitton perfection, expectations of Cheval Blanc Randheli will never fall short. Expect nothing less than sublimity. Step into your secluded Maison and be astonished by the incredible architecture with high ceilings and a view of the shimmering, turquoise water. Sit on one of the several plush couches and nibble on the crispy meringues that melt in your mouth, dip your spoon in the bowl of gazpacho, or dive into the generous bowl of fruits. We needed time to explore the bathroom, thoughtfully divided into sides for Madame and Monsieur, complete with Cheval Blanc amenities, and a giant bathtub against the window overlooking the ocean.

The enormous walk-in closet had several comfortable seating areas. Now, step out to your deck with your very own, private infinity pool, complemented by two in-pool cushions and sunken dining table. Tired of the pool?

Jump off your deck in to the beryl waters and climb back up on the steps. Don’t forget to stop and take a photo. We perfected the art of jumping off the deck and having our very patient private butler take mid-air family pix. We knew this picture would serve as our holiday greeting card so this was our main physical exertion for the trip.

Hungry yet? Hop on to your bicycles and head on over to the White Restaurant for lunch, where they serve just

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c o u rt esy o f c h e va l B l a n c R a n d h e l i

By R asina Uberoi-Bajaj

clockwise from far left: Cheval Blanc Randheli's Garden villa offers sweeping views; getting into the swing of things; the main pool; a lobster tart at fine-dining Le 1947; making new friends just offshore.

about every cuisine you can think of. Crave pizza, sushi, Indian food, pasta, soup, sandwiches, Thai food, spring rolls, burgers, noodles, hot dogs or rice? They’ve got it.

In the charming white room with large, open windows and doors, with views of the main pool and sea, have a seat wherever you like. Staff is there to please you, and only you. Expect to be treated like royalty. Every food allergy or preference will be noted and e-mailed to the kitchen directly. No more cherry tomatoes in my gazpacho—which I had eight times during four days.

The array and choices of food at the property are endless from a Japanese restaurant that houses an outdoor teppanyaki table to a 9-course exquisite culinary journey at Le 1947, named after Château Cheval Blanc’s with the three items that the French take most pride in— baguettes, butter and cheese. Fueling with a heavy dose of carbs every morning gave us the energy to lounge around in our villa for a bit before we began our daily ritual of perfecting our deck jumps.

I was astonished at how everything was in arm’s reach. Delicious snacks, which had been personalized for us from attentive staff at the restaurants, were stocked in our rooms. Outside, we were welcomed by a number of super friendly reef sharks. Jumping off our private deck to greet them gave us treasured memories. The Instagram photos and Boomerangs we left with are about as aesthetic as one can imagine. chevalblanc.com/ randheli/en; villas from US$2,250 plus local taxes.

Grand Park Kodhipparu If proximity to Male is key, this 120-villa resort is a great fit. Only 20 minutes by speedboat from the airport, the Grand Park checks all the boxes, dotted as it is with 65 private pool villas, a large infinity pool, three restaurants, a spa and a kids’ club. The menu here spotlights Asian and Mediterranean flavors, with Firedoor the showcase dining outlet, specializing in smoking, slow-roasting and grilling thanks to its custom-built oven. The spa offers seven treatment rooms that emphasize rejuvenation and renewal. parkhotelgroup.com; villas from US$520 plus local taxes.

clockwise from top: Over the sea,

c o u rt esy o f g r a n d pa r k ko d h i p pa a r u

Firedoor is Grand Park Kodhipparu’s showcase eatery; a floating flower bath in the spa; boardwalk to bliss; sunset from a Lagoon Pool villa; service with a smile.

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c o u rt esy o f w est i n m a l d i v es m i r i a n d h o o r es o rt

Westin Maldives Miriandhoo Resort The resorts in this atoll like to cheekily use the hashtag #itsbetterinbaa, with good reason. Some of the most loved international five-stars call Baa Atoll their home, and now joining them is a new Westin, designed

by PEIA Associati, whose founder has been called the godfather of modern Italian architecture. The one- and two-bedroom suites and villas are all about clean lines and direct ocean access. After a day of snorkeling and tennis, bliss out in the overwater Heavenly Westin Spa, where the glass floor keeps you connected to the beauty of the great blue below. marriott.com; villas from US$1,798 including taxes.

clockwise from top left: Westin

Maldives Miriandhoo’s Overwater suites boast glassbottom floors; private pools outside; and tubs with sea views; while Island Pool suites offer warm tones; and shady groves.

clockwise from top left: Kudadoo

Private Island’s Retreat for socializing and spa-going; bedroom breezes; even your villa deck comes with a glass-bottom floor; dinnertime romance; the resort’s private wings.

If you know the right people, you can stay at this new private island this month. If not, don’t worry as the 15 stand-alone villas here officially open on December 1.

Most are one-bedroom, but a pair of the villas include two and clock in at 390 square meters. Each of the earthtoned, natural-material villas comes with an ample 44-square-meter infinity pool set above the sea and massive outdoor decks to watch the world go by—above and below the waterline. Bang & Olufsen audio systems are wired into both Netflix and Spotify, while the 24-hour personal butler is a bell away.

At three hectares, this atoll is intimate to say the least, with a separate building or retreat housing a restaurant, bar, spa and communal infinity pool. Five minutes away at the sister resort of Hurawalhi is a restaurant located 5.8 meters under the waves, just because. kudadoo.com; prices available upon request.

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c o u rt esy o f ku da d o o Pr i vat e i s l a n d

Kudadoo Private Island

Fairmont Maldives Sirru Fen Fusi “secret water island” is the direct translation of the name of this all-villa resort. Among the mysteries you’re going to want to get to the heart of here are the Balinese artisan–crafted bamboo bar that includes no man-made materials, and the 200-meter pool that traverses the entire island and links up to the wondrous Coralarium, a semi-submerged hybrid of art and nature seamlessly connecting the skyline, tideline and seabed.

Walk-swim-gawk your way through this refuge for both marine life and those intent on viewing them. It’s sure to inspire you to take a dolphin cruise, plant a tree, or create your own art—all of which are, naturally, options. fairmont.com; villas from US$1,230 including taxes.

c o u rt esy o f Fa i rm o n t

clockwise from top left: Kata

Japanese restaurant is Fairmont Maldives’ signature dining spot; the threebedroom Water Sunset villa; the pool traverses the entire island; the palatial Willows Stream Spa; the Tented Jungle villa offers Maldivian immersion.

Mövenpick Kuredhivaru Maldives

to p : c o u rt esy o f M o e v e n p i c k ( 3 ) . b ot to m : c o u rt esy o f j oa l i M a l d i v es

in the lesser-touristed Noonu Atoll, pristine and untouched is the name of the game. Every villa in this precision Swiss getaway (prefer sunrise or sunset views from bed? The rooms are named accordingly) has its own pool, but with such magnificent nature at your front door, you are going to want to spend all your time in the sea. Mövenpick is near stellar dive sites, including Christmas Rock, a towering reef shaped like the holiday tree where white-tip reef sharks and stingrays come out to play. Game on. movenpick.com; villas from US$850 including taxes.

Climb up top in Mövenpick’s Beach Pool suites. Top: Chalet roofs on an Overwater villa. Right: Sea views.

Inside a Joali Luxury Beach villa with pool.

Joali Maldives This is one resort that comes with its own art map. Each of the 73 villas and residences—ranging in size from one to four bedrooms—has its own infinity pool and butler service, but the real innovative features include artisanal amenities, curated in-villa libraries and handpicked art. All of this is meant to take guests on a sensory journey, whether via local artists or celebrated international designers. That creative sense extends to the four restaurants at Joali, including at Saoke, where sake, sashimi and teppanyaki reign supreme. joali.com; villas from US$3,102 including taxes.

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An Ocean villa bedroom, SAii Lagoon Maldives.

In a Raffles Maldives Ocean villa.

c lo c k w i s e fr o m to p l e f t : c o u rt esy o f S i n g h a estat e ; c o u rt esy o f r a ff l es ; c o u rt esy o f S i n g h a estat e ; c o u rt esy o f Bag l i o n i R es o rt M a l d i v es

Hard Rock Hotel’s Rock Star suite.

The pool bar at Baglioni Resort.

In the Pipeline Be on the lookout for these other plush resorts debuting near and far in 2019.

Waldorf astoria maldives ithaafushi

The luxe icon is sauntering back into the Maldives on three islands a mere 20-minute speedboat from Male.

Expect all the brand’s haute service and stylings in its beach and overwater villas, plus treehouse dining and an organic eatery. The star looks to be the spa, which will feature an outdoor bathing circuit and a hammam suite. hilton.com; expected Q2, 2019.

Baglioni Resort

Everything at this Italian-owned resort has a hint of its brand’s native land—a big plus in the dining arena.

Presidential Water villa guests are eligible for the Assoluto Programme, a tailor-made en-suite journey of the best of Italy, including fashion, food and wine. From its April 1 opening date until the end of next June, rates resort-wide (including villas from

US$1,068) represent a discount of 40 percent. baglionihotels.com; expected April 1, 2019.

Raffles Maldives

For those whose definition of paradise means the maximal farflung and a minimum of finger-lifting, the new Raffles is ready for your bucket list. Way down at the south end of the Maldives are two private islands, a natural one for the beach villas and a man-made one stocked with overwater villas; all of the just 38 total residences and bungalows come with 24-hour butler service.

Nearly alone in the remote Gaafy Alifu Atoll, the feeling of exclusivity is palpable. The coddling starts with VIP transfers from Male international airport to your seaplane and extends through to the overwater spa where treatments are inspired by ancient rituals and use native ingredients. raffles.com; expected Q1, 2019.

SAii Lagoon Maldives

Absurdly prolific starchitect Bill Bensley designed the playful, tropical rooms and villas at this Curio Collection by Hilton hotel that’s a quick boat ride from Male. Create your own toiletries in the Aroma Lab, enjoy exclusive access to Café del Mar beach club, and pop over to The Marina @ Crossroads Maldives—the country’s first integrated tourist destination, with restaurants, shops, and a marine protection center. saii resorts.com; expected January 2019.

hard rock hotel

In the same integrated resort lagoon as SAii, this hotel stands out for its musical roots, with its Roxity Kids’ Club and Teen Spirit Club catering to the family. The Sound of Stay program offers use of Fender guitars and Crosley record players. Dining options include a Mexican spot and the iconic Hard Rock Café. hardrock hotels.com; expected Q1, 2019.

It’s no easy feat to reach the Aeolian Islands, a tranquil, unspoiled archipelago north of Sicily beloved by travelers since Homeric times. But once you’ve arrived and settled into the gentle rhythms of the place, Howie Kahn finds, leaving is no easy feat, either.

Photogr aphed by Simon Watson

Alicudi, the westernmost of the Aeolian Islands, seen from neighboring Filicudi.

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Mackerel with tomatoes and wild fennel at Signum, on the island of Salina.

Clockwise from right: The village of

Malfa, on Salina; preparing olives at the restaurant Villa La Rosa, on Filicudi; the harbor of the village of Pecorini Mare, on Filicudi.

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“Should I bring another bottle of wine?” asked Enzo Anastasi.

The two of us had been sitting in silence on the spacious terrace of Hotel La Canna, Anastasi’s 14-room refuge on the island of Filicudi. The water of the Tyrrhenian Sea, a couple of hundred meters below us, looked like gray-green glass. Filicudi is the second-farthest west of the Aeolian Islands, a volcanic archipelago that stretches for 80 kilometers north of Sicily. Several of the other Aeolians were visible on the horizon, and as Anastasi uncorked our second bottle, I watched pink popcornshaped clouds puff up among them, like a luminous island chain of their own.

“People here love silence,” Anastasi told me. He is 55, with serious eyes and a shaved head. “We’re not here to know our neighbors.” Of course, there aren’t many neighbors to know. Filicudi, which has an area of less than six square kilometers, is home to some 200 people.

When I arrived that afternoon, to thunder and lashing rain, I felt like I could have been the only one on the island. Anastasi gave me the key to my room and the run of the place. Despite the weather, he planned to drive down the mountain for his daily swim at one of the narrow, rocky beaches. “Enjoy the view,” he said, sweeping his arm toward the cliff and leaving me to study the islands in the distance.

So I sat on the covered terrace and got to know them. Salina, the twin-peaked island where I’d be heading the next day, was closest at 25 kilometers away. I could see Lipari, too, long in the water like an alligator, and Panarea, which Anastasi would tell me later resembles a floating pregnant woman. But most captivating was Stromboli, a truncated cone 63 kilometers away. It’s a prototypical volcano, and still a very active one. It has served as a geological muse for centuries. The explorers in Jules Verne’s 1864 novel Journey to the Center of the Earth end their adventure on Stromboli after their raft is improbably blown out of one of its fiery vents. J.R.R. Tolkien, it’s been said, used Stromboli as the inspiration for Mount Doom, the perpetually erupting volcano of Middle Earth, to which Frodo is sent to destroy the ring. As the storm passed over Stromboli, the volcano sent trails of white steam up to meet it. I felt a little Frodo-like myself, as if the mountain were pulling me inexorably toward it.

In the summer, Lipari is flooded with tourists, and Panarea is notoriously chic, with families named Borghese and Bulgari ruling an impenetrable social scene. But in the rest of the Aeolians, you’ll find a lifestyle that holds quietude in high regard. Filicudi, Salina and Stromboli are all largely of protected parkland, and since 2000, the entire archipelago has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site, so much of the land cannot be altered and new development is heavily restricted. Still, the islands I visited excelled at hospitality, in no small part because their residents have a natural and generous propensity for knowing when to feed people, when to talk to them, and when to give them space. Homer wrote about this in Book 10 of The Odyssey, in which Aeolus, the mythic ruler of the Aeolian Islands and god of the wind, invites Odysseus to live with his family, so he could rest and—more importantly—feast for an entire month.

Despite their fondness for silence, the Filicudari are also known for welcoming travelers. Over our second bottle of wine, Anastasi told me that in 1971, the Italian government tried to turn Filicudi into a prison without walls, sending 15 notorious mafia leaders to live there as free men in exile. The Filicudari rose up in protest, seeking to protect their reputation as friendly hosts to the generally upstanding citizens who liked to visit their shores. In an act of resistance, they all shuttered their shops and left. The government gave in, relocated the prisoners, and the Filicudari returned home to resume their quiet way of embracing outsiders like me.

On Filicudi, the pace of change is slow (appropriately, the island looks like a turtle from above, according to Anastasi), and the tourism infrastructure is modest. Anastasi’s parents bought La Canna as their home in 1969 and started renting its rooms in the mid 70s. When Anastasi took it over in 2000, it was a simple hotel and tavern. A self-taught architect, he designed the terrace where we were sitting, including the built-in benches covered with bright, hand-painted tiles that lined the perimeter. “It’s now a three-star hotel,” he told me proudly. “The island isn’t ready for any more stars than that. We don’t even have a boutique in the village.” t r a v e l a n d l e i s u r e a s i a . c o m / n o v e mb e r 2 0 1 8

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‘When you’re from this place,’ said a local man eating at the table next to mine, ‘you never want to go’ What Filicudi lacks in shopping, it makes up for in food. With the pink clouds now arranging themselves around Stromboli’s peak like a flower crown, Anastasi and I nibbled on pepi ripiene, the spicy peppers his family grows, roasts, and stuffs with pecorino, parsley and bread crumbs. The smaller the chiles got, the hotter they were.

As I dug around for the olive-size ones—hot!—Anastasi lit up while talking about his favorite Aeolian dishes: spaghetti allo scoglio with mussels, clams, whitebait and wild fennel; cicerchie, a prized local pea, cooked with rosemary; eggplant with carrot, garlic and more wild fennel. He said he’d never bought an onion, since he’s always grown his own. Around the time the sun set, Anastasi’s 82-year-old father, a fisherman and former postal director, walked silently past us, holding a freshly harvested pumpkin. Soon, Anastasi told me, the pumpkin would be roasted, mashed, combined with eggs, flour, sugar and sweet wine, then rolled into balls and fried to create sfinci—a local style of doughnut.

Then Anastasi sent me off to dinner. At Villa La Rosa, a hundred meters up a cobblestoned path from La Canna, I sat to eat among statues of saints. Adelaide Rando, the chef-owner, told me she’d been cooking for me all day. She served sole grilled between lemon leaves, then lasagna made with fennel, preserved tuna, tomato and caciocavallo cheese. There was also black rice topped with tiny, sweet shrimp. When the meal ended, Rando appeared at the table and took a small, dignified bow. There were a few local men eating at the table next to mine, the only other people I’d seen all day besides Anastasi. They looked at me pityingly. “When you’re from this place,” one said, “you never want to go.”

I woke at dawn, feeling as full as Odysseus after his monthlong feast. After watching for a few minutes as the rising sun burned off the fog that had enveloped Stromboli, I headed down to the port to catch the Liberty Lines hydrofoil. Cheery golden seahorses were stamped across the boat’s worn carpeting. The ride to Salina took an hour. Compared with the last-man-on-earth vibes I’d felt upon reaching Filicudi, Salina, which has a population of around 2,000, felt more high-energy. Not a party in any sense, but more like a meditation retreat where you’re surrounded by others who have also shown up to concentrate on their breathing.

Salina wastes no time in announcing its deliciousness. Unlike Filicudi, where the terraced farming operations are largely abandoned, Salina has 11 working vineyards, which grow the Malvasia grapes that produce the wine of the same name. Ten

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Near the port of Malfa, on Salina. right, from top: Gurnard and vegetables at Villa La Rosa, on Filicudi; a guest room at Capofaro Locanda & Malvasia, a hotel on Salina.

minutes off the ferry and I was already winding my way through one such vineyard at Capofaro Locanda & Malvasia, a 27-room resort with a sensational on-site restaurant. It is owned by the Tasca family of Palermo, which has been making wine in central Sicily since 1830 and on Salina for almost two decades. The Tascas opened the hotel, situated in a former fishing village on a bluff, in 2003. This summer, they’ll debut six new rooms in the 19th-century lighthouse that sits amid their Malvasia vines.

They also plan to unveil a museum about the history of the Aeolians inside the lighthouse next year.

Capofaro’s architecture is classical, with arches and columns that curve outward slightly, like barrels. Its walls are washed in a stark Mediterranean white. Bougainvillea veiled my room’s outdoor sitting area, which had a couch and two love seats. Set into a recessed archway of its own, my bed felt like a shrine. Sleeping out at the end of the property, all I could hear was the wind. My view of Stromboli was, again, unobstructed, but now the volcano was closer and, therefore, larger and even more magnetic.

I was grateful to Margherita Vitale, Capofaro’s worldly general manager, for selecting a place for us to have a drink where we could both gaze at Stromboli. She understood the attraction. Raising a glass of Didyme, a dry Malvasia made with grapes grown in Capofaro’s vineyard, Vitale toasted the volcano.

“You will see Stromboli erupting at night,” she said. “You’ll think you don’t need anything else in the world.”

Salina’s best-known export besides Malvasia is the caper. Italy’s Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity, which is dedicated to preserving traditional forms of agriculture, considers the edible, cured bud integral to the local economy, so it tries to protect the farming practices that have been handed down through the centuries. According to Daniela Virgona, a 47-year-old thirdgeneration farmer in Salina, the product is so difficult to grow that only the most dedicated stewards are willing to do it.

The 2,000 thorny caper plants she manages must all be harvested by hand, a task that she and her family pursue from April through October. “I started working here when I was four,” Virgona told me.

Her bushes yield both capers (capperi) and caper berries (cucunci).

The former are salt-cured for 50 to 60 days, the latter for 90 days.

Both are then vacuum-packed and sold in Virgona’s humble showroom, where she also offers her own industriously brewed caper-enhanced pilsner along with caper pesto, caper jam, candied capers, and caper powder.

Translating Salina’s agricultural heritage into a culinary movement for the island is what drives Capofaro’s 36-year-old chef, Ludovico De Vivo. A native of Salerno, in southwestern Italy, De Vivo credits working at Noma in Copenhagen with opening his eyes to the significance of overlooked ingredients. His experience there made him wonder if caper leaves could be made delicious, too. So he began fermenting leaves from the Virgona orchard to use in his cooking. Over the course of a year, he developed a dish for which he places a single leaf (fermented for six months) onto a plate, then spoons on diced raw mackerel and fermented fennel. Finally, he tops it with a second leaf in what he describes as a “style of open raviolo.”

I’d noticed the way his sous-chefs and line cooks all watch him, with the same rapt attention the Noma kitchen pays to its leader, René Redzepi. When I took a bite of the dish, I could tell why. The balance between the acidic zing of the ferment and the fatty funk of the fish confirmed I was in the presence of greatness. It announced the curiosity, creativity and technique of its maker. “I’m just trying to show appreciation for the island,” De Vivo told me. “It’s incomparable.

It could be one of the best food destinations in all of Italy.”

Following the path back to my room, I dipped down a slope and then ascended. The stars were out. The waves whispered, then crashed. Occasionally, a beam of light from the Capofaro lighthouse shot past me, like something extraterrestrial. Stromboli was lost to the blackness of night.

Having not noticed any volcanic activity before bed, I kept waking in hopes of seeing some.

At midnight, I checked.

At 2, I woke and checked again.

At 4, still nothing. By 6, I was starting to take it personally. Did I not deserve this splendor? Sheathed in my robe, I headed out to the porch and looked toward the volcano once more. No glow, no lava, no action.

The view of the Tyrrhenian Sea from Salina, with Filicudi and Alicudi on the horizon. top left: The Immaculate Church on Salina.

Twelve hours later, I was high on Stromboli’s northern flank, looking down on the Sciara del Fuoco, or “stream of fire.” Lava has flowed from Stromboli for much of the past two millennia, blackening the land and carving up the earth. Near my feet, chunks of rock pulsed shades of glowing orange. The steam that had looked from a distance like a cloud of chic Italian cigarette smoke now seemed more menacing. The deep, violent rumbling emanating from the volcano was especially unsettling after the general absence of sound the previous few days. Filicudi had been a place to be alone t r a v e l a n d l e i s u r e a s i a . c o m / n o v e mb e r 2 0 1 8

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and Salina a place to bliss out on the beloved tropes of vacation—sea, wind, food, wine—but Stromboli, I realized, was something more complicated, a place to grapple with what it means to be alive. I couldn’t escape the sensation of being small and temporary in the face of the volcano—but I also felt triumphant, for having climbed it, and lucky, just to be there.

Before my climb, I’d had lunch at Trattoria Ai Gechi. I found it at the end of a narrow, curving street in the village of Stromboli, which sits at the foot of the volcano. The restaurant was elevated, terraced and surrounded by leaves in a way that made me feel like I was in a tree house. Antonino Zaccone, its 41-year-old owner, sat with me at my table before going to pick up his son from school. He told me the dish I’d be eating, pasta a la Nino, got its flavor from the tuna he’d smoked for 36 hours before folding it into the dish along with cherry tomatoes and ricotta al forno. On Stromboli, fire is present even in the food.

He suggested I limit myself to just this one dish before my hike. “Tonight,” he said, “you come to eat.” He advised that the trek would make me hungry for more than just food. “You contemplate,” he said, in his Italian-inflected English. “You stay only with you.” I knew what he meant—that Stromboli, for those who climb it, is a mirror as much as it is a mountain.

After lunch, on the path up Stromboli, I stopped in on Karen, a friend of a friend. Her house sat behind a gate in Piscità, a cluster of homes perched above the sea. She once worked for Tom Ford in Europe, but now taught meditation on Stromboli. We sat drinking coffee and watching the water turn golden in the afternoon light. We’d never met, but we talked openly about our parents and our fears and our humanity, about living and dying, as if engaged in a sudden psychotherapy session. It felt appropriate—cleansing, actually—because we were on Stromboli, and that was, it seemed, just how people on Stromboli talked. When we finished, she gave me a hug and sent me off on my climb with a half-dozen heart-shaped, almond-flavored cookies from the nearest bakery. After a couple of hours of hiking, when I reached the highest point I could reach, I sat down to eat them. Just as I bit into the first one, the ground beneath me began to tremble.

That night, I returned to Ai Gechi, famished, just as Zaccone had said I would. He was standing near the entrance to the restaurant.

He saw that I was smiling. “I love this island,” he told me, covering his heart with his hand.

“You take the island in your soul. You go to the volcano and you feel it. In Stromboli, you come looking for yourself. And you find it.”

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Tyrrhenian Sea

Stromboli

Palermo

Basiluzzo

Catania

Panarea sicily

Alicudi

Filicudi

Salina Lipari

Vulcano

finding peace in the aeolians The islands of Filicudi and Salina offer unparalleled tranquility—as does Stromboli, when you’re not up on its famous volcano. Because the Aeolians are fairly difficult to get to, you may wish to make your visit there part of a broader Sicily or southern Italy itinerary.

getting there Fly in to Palermo Airport (PMO) or Catania-Fontanarossa Airport (CTA), connecting through Rome or another major European hub.

Liberty Lines (eng.libertylines.it) operates ferries to all seven inhabited Aeolian Islands from Palermo and Malazzo, in northeastern Sicily. To get to Malazzo from Catania, about two hours away, prebook a car with Adige (autoserviziadige.it). Liberty Lines also operates interisland ferry service. In high season (June through late August), be sure to book ferry tickets online in advance, since the boats fill up.

Service can be delayed or canceled because of rough weather or a strike.

Filicudi Hotel La Canna (lacannahotel.it; doubles from €142), the island’s best place to stay, has a good restaurant and a pool. Ask the front desk to arrange an excursion into the waters around Filicudi with a local; don’t miss La Canna rock (trips from €29), a basalt tower rising from the sea that is said to possess magical powers.

Villa La Rosa (villalarosa.it; mains €7–€29), up the path from the hotel, features chef Adelaide Rando’s lasagna with wild fennel and an oval-shaped bar with a pink marble top that looks like it belongs in a Wes Anderson film.

Salina I loved the quiet of Capofaro Locanda & Malvasia (capofaro.it;

doubles from €527), a converted fishing village with the sea on one side and vineyards on the other. The hotel can organize tours of the other islands aboard a Hatteras yacht. Its restaurant (mains €31–€42) showcases produce from its gardens and a strong commitment to bread making. Da Alfredo (11 Via Vittoria Alfieri; mains €14–€20) serves Salina’s most popular dish, pane cunzato, a round of grilled bread piled with salad-like toppings.

Signum (hotel​signum.it; mains €43), housed in a fine Salina hotel of the same name, is the island’s sole Michelin-starred restaurant.

Stromboli Il Gabbiano Relais (ilgabbianostromboli.it; doubles from €287) has 11 apartmentstyle rooms, grocery delivery, and a shaded pool. At Trattoria Ai Gechi (12 Via Salina; mains €17– €36), dishes like pasta with smoked tuna, arugula and cherry tomatoes are as memorable as the colorful owner, Antonino Zaccone.

Beach time on the black sands of Spiaggia Lunga is magical and mandatory. You can hike most of the way up the volcano yourself, but a guide is required to summit.

Magmatrek (magmatrek.it; tours from €40) leads group hikes and can arrange private tours. Before leaving Stromboli, order all the deep-dish pizza you can carry from Panificio La Pagnotta (Via Soldato Francesco Natoli)—it’s the perfect lunch for the hydrofoil back to Sicily. — H.K.

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wish you were here

That Hong Kong looks skywards is obvious. The city leads the global list with more than 300 skyscrapers that are taller than 150 meters. This is most apparent on Hong Kong Island, where the 415-meter Two IFC soars over Jardine House, the city’s first skyscraper. Yet, the tallest building in the city remains the 118-story Hong Kong International Commerce Center, which towers 484 meters above Tsim Sha Tsui with views that take in all of Hong Kong, a city that is actually 75 percent green. — Huang suirong

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HEAR M O R E WITH THE AIRLINE THAT FLIES TO MORE COUNTRIES THAN ANY OTHER

SCOTLAND