November 2014

SOUTHEAST ASIA

2014

GLOBAL VISION AWARDS

SINGAPORE S$7.90 ● HONG KONG HK$43 THAILAND THB175 ● INDONESIA IDR50,000 MALAYSIA MYR17 ● VIETNAM VND85,000 MACAU MOP44 ● PHILIPPINES PHP240 BURMA MMK35 ● CAMBODIA KHR22,000 BRUNEI BND7.90 ● LAOS LAK52,000

NOVEMBER 2014

NEW LOOK SIEM REAP UNDISCOVERED SRILANKA

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BTS Ploenchit Station

Contents Special 68

Goodies for Globetrotters Looking to spoil your favorite jetsetters? T+L rounds up this season’s coolest travel presents, perfect for making the most of any holiday destination.

by ashle y n iedr ingh aus

Features

98

Soul-Soothing Sultanate Driving the northeast coast, in the shadow of milky domes, ribbon-leafed trees and batik kites, m a rco fer r a r ese unveils some of Malaysia’s least-told beachside fantasy tales.

pho t ogr a phed by k it

KIT YENG CHAN

y eng ch a n . gu ide a n d m a p page

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106 Global Vision Awards 2014 The hotels, tour operators, airlines and innovators that are transforming the world. edit ed by n ik k i ek st ein a n d a my fa r le y

114 Northern Exposure A stone’s throw from the Subcontinent and just a few years removed from no-go status, the ancient bastions Jaffna and Trincomalee open to reveal the India-inflected charm of Sri Lanka’s Tamil homelands. by joe c um mings . gu ide a n d m a p page 121

122 Siem Reap Rising Anthropology, hospitality and technology join forces in the ongoing revival of this Cambodian city. m er r it t gu r le y runs part of a marathon, flies in a microlight and cycles hidden pathways around ancient ruins, exploring new ways of touring the temples of Angkor.

gu ide page 127 128 America’s Favorite Cities 2014 New York?

Naturally. But T+L readers also give props to Providence, Kansas City and other less-acclaimed gems in our survey, which this year tallied more than 50,000 votes. edit ed by jacqu elin e giffor d a n d n ik k i ek st ein

The Crystal Mosque in Kuala Terengganu, page 98.

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Contents Radar 36 Kyoto Restored Reviving classic wooden town houses.

38

Outram Outing Singapore’s new trendy playground.

50 Flying Colors Rainbow accessories.

58 Pig Out American barbecue in Saigon.

60 Escape to the Cape Southern Sri Lanka.

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38

60

64

64 MalmÖ’s Moment Sweden’s hippest hub.

Plus Glam outdoor stays; an insiders’ guide to Saigon; and more.

Trip Doctor

79 Travel Solutions Our holiday survival guide; creating great videos; and more.

86 Strategies Air Travel Report 2014— the state of the skies.

92 Deals Discounts from Sumba to Luang Prabang.

136

Decoder

136 Our Definitive Guide to Mumbai

Last Look

142 Tokyo The capital’s poetic gardens.

In Every Issue t +l digi ta l

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e d i t o r ’s n o t e

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con tr ibu tor s

18 i n b ox

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On the Cover Asia goes green, here at Gaya Island Resort in Sabah.

Photographer: Ausadavut Sarum. Assistant: Kaona Nilavajara. Stylist: Alisa Ounsuwan. Model: Atiporn Introatporn/Super Red. Hair and make up: Santipong Kwanseng.

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T R AV E L A N D L E I S U R E A S I A .C O M

C L O C K W I S E F R O M T O P L E F T: C O U R T N E Y K E N E F I C K ; W E I X I A N G L I M ; W H I T N E Y L A W S O N ; C O U R T E S Y O F F I LT E R ; C O U R T E S Y O F C A P E W E L I G A M A

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global vision awards / sri lanka / air travel update / malaysia / kyoto

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november 2014

2014

Global Vision awards

new lOOk siem reap undiscOvered srilanka

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Our Travelers’ GifT Guide

Singapore S$7.90 ● Hong Kong HK$43 THailand THB175 ● indoneSia idr50,000 MalaySia Myr17 ● VieTnaM Vnd85,000 Macau Mop44 ● pHilippineS pHp240 BurMa MMK35 ● caMBodia KHr22,000 Brunei Bnd7.90 ● laoS laK52,000

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travelandleisureasia.com ↓ This Month’s Top Lists 3.

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7 Reasons to Visit Pranburi 6 Delicious Dishes in Tokyo 10 Can’t-Miss Beaches and Islands

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twitter.com/ travleisureasia + facebook.com/ travelleisureasia + pinterest.com/ travleisureasia + instagram.com/ travelandleisureasia 1. Chalok Bay, Koh Tao, Thailand. (@ k r u e l l a d e n f e r ) 2. Chumphon, Thailand. (@ k r u e l l a d e n f e r ) 3. Unawatuna, Sri Lanka. (@ n at e n u r s e ) 4. Kawasan Falls, Cebu, Philippines. (@ t h e wa n d e r i n g d a k i n i)

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Editor’s Note

November 2014

T

Where We’re Going Beijing Sydney Bandung Singapore

The T+L Code Travel + Leisure editors, writers and photographers are the industry’s most reliable sources.

While on assignment, they travel incognito whenever possible and do not take press trips or accept free travel of any kind.

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T R AV E L A N D L E I S U R E A S I A .C O M

N A P AT R A V E E W AT

WHERE TO FIND ME

chrisk@mediatransasia.com @CKucway on Twitter

he questions editors at Travel + Leisure get asked most often—aside from, How great is your job?—revolve around the future of travel. Where’s the next hot spot? What kind of trip can I plan that gives back to the community? We aim to provide answers to these and similar questions in each issue, but this month, we offer a straight-to-the-point response in the form of Travel + Leisure’s 2014 Global Vision Awards (page 106). This is our annual look at travel innovators that are transforming the way we see the world. That’s a tall order, but you will be amazed by who pulls it off and how they do so.

The strong Asia-Pacific influence among this year’s winners—from Cambodia to China with a side trip via an Australian tour operator—is encouraging for this region. Think of Burma, for instance, and you’re bound to conjure a nation only today opening up to the world. Yet, as you’ll see in the Global Vision Awards, the country’s young are proving to be not only in tune with the outside world, but also instruments for positive change. As elsewhere, their goal is to improve their own country, while also making our trips more engaging.

Another emerging, and reenergizing, tourism market is spotlighted in this month’s feature on Trincomalee and Jaffna (“Northern Exposure,” page 114), two areas that were off the map for travelers during the darker days of Sri Lanka’s recent history. Today, the opposite is true, as writer Joe Cummings discovers in one charming corner of that magical island nation.

When planning any trip, the journey itself is pivotal. Preferably it’s quick, comfortable and as hassle-free as possible. That’s where Travel + Leisure’s Air Travel Report (page 86), which uncovers the secrets to air travel today, comes in. Fortunately, our region is home to some of the best airlines in the world, so this guide should only make your flying more enjoyable. Did I mention this is a great job? —c h r i st oph e r k uc way

Discover iconic places of Europe with Europe’s best airline!

Feel the privilege to fly Europe’s cultural icons via Europe’s best airway’s recent flights.

turkishairlines.com

WIDEN YOUR WORLD

Contributors Ashley Niedringhaus ­— Writer Goodies for Globetrotters page 68

EASTERN & ORIENTAL EXPRESS

THE ULTIMATE WAY TO EXPLORE HIDDEN SOUTHEAST ASIA ABOARD ITS MOST ELEGANT TRAIN.

NEW YEAR’S EVE

Celebrate New Year’s Eve in style with our exclusive 3-night journey traveling from Singapore to Bangkok with a celebratory dinner on board and party on the beach.

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Joe Cummings ­— Writer Northern Exposure page 114

Marco Ferrarese ­— Writer Soul-Soothing Sultanate page 98

Northern Sri Lanka is... a vast coastal plain studded with toddy palms bobbing their crowns over calm lagoons.

Any echoes of the civil war there?

You could say the near-complete lack of tourists is a reverberation. Best meal The Jaffna crab curry I had my first night at Villa Margosa in the candle-lit courtyard. I brought back a sack of red-brown Jaffna curry powder, and have been cooking up a storm. Tamil culture CliffsNotes Brightly painted Hindu temple towers popping up everywhere; statues of Shiva and Murugan at traffic intersections; dark faces flipping sombrero-sized dosas over flat round street-side griddles.

The magic of East Coast Malaysia lies in... the complex social puzzle.

After years of cultural jumble, the pieces still lay scattered. It’s a traveler’s job to put the diverse influences back together and look at the new picture. Road trip tip Bring a road atlas and avoid GPS to maintain that sense of exploration.

Pack a... tent as some of the national parks, beaches, waterfalls and hiking trails are so deserted and beautiful you might want to stay and have them all to yourself. Best beach you discovered Pantai Kemasik, south of Marang, has two twin rocks, one set on shore and one into the sea, sheltered by a crescent of soft, brown and alluring sand.

C L O C K W I S E F R O M TO P : J I L L F U T T E R /C O U R T E S Y O F A S H L E Y N I E D R I N G H A U S ; C O U R T E S Y O F M A R C O F E R R A R E S E ; C O U R T E S Y O F J O E C U M M I N G S

With all the products out there, how do you even begin to cull a gift guide? I try to find presents that are a mix of aspirational, jaw-dropping and practical. I want to help readers tune in to the latest and greatest tech, trips and fashion. Trends this holiday season I think we’ll be seeing people spending more on experiences than things, which is why I love the structure of this gift guide. No matter the end destination, we’ve got you covered.

Favorite gifts in the guide I’m a firm believer that everyone must own a nice piece of luggage and the Rimowa suitcase is effortlessly stylish. On your wish list If Santa could bring me anything, it would be an extra week of vacation.

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BALI . BILOXI . CANCUN . CHICAGO . HOLLYWOOD, FL . IBIZA . LAS VEGAS . MACAU . NORTHFIELD PARK . ORLANDO . PALM SPRINGS PANAMA MEGAPOLIS . PATTAYA . PENANG . PUNTA CANA . RIVIERA MAYA . SAN DIEGO . SINGAPORE . TAMPA . VALLARTA COMING SOON HAIKOU . SHENZHEN

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Inbox

“While I enjoyed the 2014 World’s Best Awards (August 2014), I did notice the lack of stops in the Philippines. Come on people, it’s time you ventured to Palawan, Boracay, Banaue or all three. You won’t be disappointed.” —Cedric Pilone, manila

It’s quite amazing to read about the arts in Rangoon (“Changing Tides,” September 2014)— what a difference a few years makes. The attitude and the art on offer must bubble up from decades of being muzzled, while the younger generation’s take on their world is also refreshing. I think I’ll head to Rangoon to explore this scene.

—Stuart Dalhey, hong kong Just the Ticket

Thanks for the breakdown of music festivals in this part of the world (“Autumn Culture Preview,” September 2014). Live, internationalcaliber concerts often seem to be a missing ingredient in Asia, so it’s good to be pointed in the right direction. Maybe make this an ongoing feature of your magazine.

—Arlene Joslin, k uala lumpur

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SOUNDING OFF Where’s the best place in Asia to shop like a local?

“Bangkok’s Talaat rod fai, the vintage night market with bars, food and shopping, is heaven.

In Hong Kong, head to PMQ in Central,” writes Sarah Kate Greene. “In Bangkok check out Chatuchak,” advises Merja Kansi. “Bargaining with few words of Thai, I always feel like a local and forget that I might not look local at all with my blond hair.”

“Anywhere but Singapore,” Ken Ho warns.

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Radar

The Ultimate Travelling Camp, in Ladakh, India.

News. Finds. Opinions. Obsessions.

t+l p i c ks

THE GREAT OUTDOORS

C O U R T E S Y O F T H E C H A M B A C A M P, T H I K S E Y

Forget bug juice and bedrolls. Here are four new ways to experience the wilderness with grown-up flair. india The Ultimate Travelling Camp is a mobile tent compound that brings guests to northern India’s remote but spellbinding events (Nagaland’s Hornbill Festival) and rare cultural experiences (sunrise prayers at Ladakh’s Thiksey Monastery). Under the canvas: en suite bathrooms, suede club chairs, and hand-blocked textiles. theultimatetravelling​camp. com; five nights from US$3,505 per person.

lake burungi, tanzania At Little Chem Chem, French conservationist Nicolas Negre showcases a “slow safari” ethos, where guests track wildlife spoor on bush walks. But you don’t have to venture far from the pared-down-yetelegant tents to view lions and leopards roaming the baobab-filled terrain, and nearby Lake Burungi fairly teems with bathing elephants. chemchemsafari. com; from US$620 per person, per night, two-night minimum; all-inclusive.

labrang, china The eight log cabins and four handwoven tents at Norden Camp, on the Tibetan Plateau, are a significant upgrade from the typical local rendition. The cotton-candy-soft yakfelt bedcovers are made by sister brand Norlha, which produces the fabric for Paris fashion houses. Days are filled with horse treks and visits with local nomads; nights are spent stargazing around the bonfire. nordentravel.com; doubles from US$260.

bali, indonesia Set on the misty mountainside of Jatiluwih, a unesco Cultural Landscape, Sang Giri is surrounded by the thick rainforest and stepped rice terraces of Bali’s outback. Each of the camp’s eight tents has its own jumbo shaded terrace, an orthopedic queen-size mattress and a shower that flows with spring water, bringing natty style to a natural setting. sanggiri.com; doubles from Rp1,700,000.

—cynthia rosenfeld and monsicha hoonsu wan

T R AV E L A N D L E I S U R E A S I A .C O M

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Radar locafile

SPOTLIGHT ON SAIGON How do you find the best of ever-vibrant, ever-changing Ho Chi Minh City? Get an insider guide.

T+L asked three plugged-in residents to open their little black books.

1

5

3

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THE JOURNALIST

THE DESIGNER

Brett Davis Editorial director, AsiaLife magazine Moved from Australia in 2010 favorite neighborhood The corner of District 3 bordered by Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, 1 is filled Dien Bien Phu and Hai Ba Trung ● with old architecture and grand trees. in-town escape When Saigon gets to be too much and I need my whiskey and Miles Davis, I go to the First Bar (23 Huynh Thuc Khang St., District 1), which has jazz and a maestro mixing cocktails. weekend getaway Ho Tram is a beach about two hours away, depending on traffic. It will be the next hot spot, but for now it’s mostly just a couple of resorts. My wife and I recently stayed in a magnificent oceanfront villa at Sanctuary (sanctuary.com.vn; three-room villas from US$595). quintessential saigon bite 2 , crisp pancakes you fill with Bánh xèo ● prawns and sprouts. I get mine from Bánh Xèo 46A (46A Dinh Cong Trang), in District 3, which has been around forever. if saigon were a film, it would be... a David Lynch movie, because you see some weird stuff.

Someone will offer you whiskey in a jar with a baby leopard in it. That really happened to me.

You just have to drink it.

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Linda Mai Phung Art director, Linda Mai Phung fashion design house Moved from Paris in 2009 on friday evenings i’m usually…

3 (thedecksaigon.com; drinks at The Deck ● for two VND320,000), a restaurant in District 2, for a riverside cocktail with girlfriends. in-town escape A head massage-slashshampoo at a local hairdresser. I love L’Apothiquaire spa (lapothiquaire.com), in District 3. weekend getaway Definitely Hoi 4 . I ride a bicycle, get lost in the rice fields, An ● and wander the tiny old city with its ancient houses and plethora of good tailors and shoemakers—important for a designer. hotel recommendation I send friends to the Alcove Library Hotel (alcovehotel. com.vn; US$89), a boutique property in Phu Nhuan that’s hidden and charming, with attentive owners and an extensive collection of books. recent discovery At the District 1 boutique L’Usine (lusinespace.com), I found a great leather satchel by Valérie Cordier, a French expat who makes beautiful pieces from upcycled industrial food bags and textiles by Vietnamese ethnic groups.

T R AV E L A N D L E I S U R E A S I A .C O M

THE POP STAR Kim Khanh Singer, director, actress, talk-show host Born and raised in Saigon what’s underrated Nuoc mia (sugarcane juice). You’ll see the carts on the street, pressing fresh sugarcane through the machine by hand. It’s not too sweet—just frothy and refreshing. last great meal Duck noodles at Bun Vit Le Van Sy (Hem 281 Le Van Sy, District 3; VND100,000).

The meat is soft and has such a nice flavor.

They only sell them for two hours per day, from about 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. If you come at six, they’ll have sold out. what nobody tells you Saigon’s history. South Vietnamese people don’t like to talk about politics, but understanding the past is important; it explains why Saigonese are the way we are.

5 Visit the Museum of Ho Chi Minh City ● (hcmc-museum.edu.vn) to learn some of the backstory. hotel recommendation 6 (saigon.park.

The Park Hyatt Saigon ● hyatt.com; VND7,326,000) is one of the city’s gathering places for drinks, dinner, brunch or even tea. And it’s got a beautifully landscaped swimming pool right in the middle of town—very important in a place that’s always hot. —jeninne lee - st. john

C L O C K W I S E F R O M T O P L E F T: V I N H D A O ; M O R G A N O M M E R ; R I C H A R D C U M M I N S /C O R B I S M ; B E R N A R D O H ; C O U R T E S Y O F K I M K H A N H ; C O U R T E SY O F L I N DA M A I P H U N G ; V I N H DAO ; © L A N C E L E E / D R E A M S T I M E .C O M ; ©X I N G WA N G/ D R E A M S T I M E .C O M

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Radar

Winemaker Matías Riccitelli. Right, from top: Riccitelli Malbec; a tasting at the Vines Resort & Spa, in Argentina’s Uco Valley.

spotlight

t h e ta k e away

MENDOZA, MEET MENDOZA Bruce Schoenfeld finds a wave of authenticity in Argentina’s best-loved wine region.

The swirl-and-sip set are flocking to Mendoza. They gather in hotel lobbies wearing sandals and gaucho hats, bound for Catena Zapata’s Mayan pyramid of a winery or a polo match at Cheval des Andes. Nearly a dozen wine-tourism companies are operating excursions to the large, important producers. There’s even a continental dining scene striving for global recognition.

But I found another side to Mendoza on a recent visit. While the boom of the early 2000’s was fueled by investments from abroad, this new movement is led by young locals striving to put an Argentine face on Argentine wine. Its scale is small: productions of hundreds of bottles, not hundreds of thousands.

These wineries won’t win any style points, but that’s part of the charm.

The tasting table of Matías Riccitelli’s compact spot in Vistalba (matias riccitelli.com)—where I sampled a Malbec full of bright, unadorned fruit—is a plank laid across empty barrels. And one whiff of the aromatic Torrontés the Michelini brothers make at Zorzal (zorzalwines.com), a glorified warehouse at the base of the Andean foothills, made me wonder why I’d ever want to drink Sauvignon Blanc.

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Pablo Gimenez Rilli and his brothers inherited a bulk wine business that was cranking out flavorless, generic plonk. Now they make subtle Syrahs at one of several wineries at the just-opened Vines Resort & Spa (vinesresortandspa.com; doubles from US$85). Also on site is Siete Fuegos, a restaurant from chef Francis Mallmann, who turns out the grilled meats of his native Patagonia. Dinner there felt like a casual, ongoing party.

With my goat slow-cooking in the open kitchen, Gimenez Rilli’s young son scampered between tables delivering toasted marshmallows.

But another dinner was even more emblematic of this emerging, more authentic Mendoza. Like the rest of the region’s new closed-door restaurants, Ituzaingo Restó (ituzaingoresto.com. ar) is located in a private home.

Wine lover and aspiring doctor Gonzalo Cuervo loves to entertain in his airy loft. My meal—cornmeal empanadas and trout with pumpkin purée—was simple and undeniably local. And real life was charmingly evident in Cuervo’s neurology textbooks stacked on a side table. You won’t see that from a tour bus. +

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Legendary jeweler Verdura is holding a retrospective this month to celebrate 75 years on New York’s Fifth Avenue.

“The Power of Style: Verdura at 75” showcases 150 rare pieces along with photos and personal items of the Sicilianborn founder, Duke Fulco di Verdura.

Among the treasures on display: an aquamarineand-diamond necklace and a clamshell compact studded with diamonds and sapphires. Now through December 23; 745 Fifth Ave., New York; verdura. com. —mimi lombardo

F R O M T O P : C O U R T E S Y O F M AT I A S R I C C I T E L L I ( 2 ) ; M I C H A E L E V A N S ; C O U R T E S Y O F V E R D U R A ( 2 )

PRECIOUS STONES

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debut

CENTER STAGE PENANG Art meets accommodation in George Town’s heritage zone. Story and photos by Marco Ferrarese

A new hotel in Penang’s vibrant capital is giving travelers a one-stop shop for culture and comfort. Guesthouse and art space Sinkeh is the new kid on a block of restored 19th-century Straits Chinese shophouses at the western end of Malay Street. This quirky addition to the island’s boutique accommodation boom, aptly named “newcomer” in the Penang Hokkien dialect, is run by theater director Chee Sek Thim and actor Ho Sheau Fung. Their fresh concept is simple yet powerful: to build a symbiotic relationship between refined hospitality and artistic communality. “Our guests become art patrons, because a portion of their expenses go towards sustaining the activities of our art

space,” Sek Thim says. Re-imagined by award-winning Malaysian architect Lillian Tay, Sinkeh’s nine rooms mix contemporary design with original timber beams and luminous limestone walls. The vista from the sky patio takes in the best of George Town’s heritage rooftops, while on the ground floor local artistic types sip cups of red wine in a traditional open-air courtyard. The gallery at the back of the house offers a kaleidoscopic calendar of theater performances, art cinema screenings and book launches. If you want to soak in Penang’s creative scene, Sinkeh is the best place to marinate. 105 Lebuh Melayu, George Town; 60-4/261-3966; sinkeh.com; doubles from RM290. +

Sinkeh’s reception doubles as a gallery.

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www.salasamui.com

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↑ Creative process “It’s really hard to describe how my collection comes into place. The entire process is almost Frankenstein-like. I find myself building the various parts and digging disparate elements from the past to build a harmonious whole.” ↑ Watching style “Popular television shows play a big part, too, as they keep me in touch with what is trending. Lately, I have been watching American Horror Story and Hannibal. It is an entertaining way to feel what current shape and form to go for when designing.”

spotlight

FRANKENSTEIN FASHION ↑ Cinematic vision “A couple of years ago, I watched the Fritz Lang-directed 1927 film Metropolis and the gothic mood of the movie translated to my Autumn/Winter 2014 collection (erbertchong.com). It’s almost like a spark when it happens.”

Hong Kong-based designer Erbert Chong talks to T+L about the inspirations for his latest collection of high-drama gowns—topics that range from glamorous to gruesome.

By Mark Lean

↑ Bugs and bags “I have a strange fascination with taxidermy insects. I love the organic structure of the exoskeleton and the beautiful colors of the shell, both of which have inspired the designs of my bags and accessories.”

↑ Gothic gear “Hong Kong’s fashion scene usually lands on the safe side but I recently discovered pretty interesting subculture movements like the Gough Street Goths, a group that wears a mix of Goth gear with an ingenious play on sportswear. The results can look surprisingly good. I believe this is something unique to Hong Kong.”

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↑ Custom fabrics “I love to use leather, fur and silk as I find these materials very sexy. They are filled with texture—pleasure for the senses.

I source these from Beijing’s oldest fabric shop, Rui Fu Xiang.”

C O U R T E S Y O F R O S E M A R Y C O N W AY

↓ Following the melody “For my latest collection, I was obsessed with Goldfrapp’s album Felt Mountain. It has a smoky, dark tone coupled with a sense of modernity and sensuality that pairs beautifully with the DNA of our brand.”

understated elegance A touch of traditional Balinese warmth combined with the refined service to create a perfect getaway. Treat yourself to a stay in luxurious private villas with butler service, an access to Exclusive Villa and Club Lounge; take an advantage of all the facilities Grand Nikko Bali has to offer. Understated elegance at its best‌ For further information and reservations, please contact: GRAND NIKKO BALI Jalan Raya Nusa Dua Selatan, PO BOX 18, Nusa Dua, Bali - 80363, Indonesia Tel: +62-361-773-377 Fax: +62-361-773-388 E-mail: sales@grandnikkobali.com URL: http://www.grandnikkobali.com

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BITES IN BURMA New restaurants in Rangoon perfect small plating. Story and photos by Fiona McGregor

From top: Far East meets Middle East at Gekko; the Gekko bar counter where yakitori-influenced magic happens; outside Phayre’s Gastronomy; Tex Mex in a cozy setting at The Lab.

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Dinner in Rangoon is an evolving affair. In the wake of Burma’s entering the global stage, its former capital fast has become a center of networking.

Workdays spill into social evenings and quick bites progress into long nights out on the town. This flexible flow has inspired the opening of three new restaurants that offer small-dish dining, to easily scale from a snack to a full meal, depending on where the evening takes you. + Gekko (535 Merchant St.; gekkoyangon.com; dinner for two US$36), a new Japanesestyle eatery, offers a range of small plates, and draws an equally varied clientele. “We get a really nice mixture of people here: Burmese, Western, Japanese, locals, expats and tourists,” says owner Nico Elliott. Based in the Sofaer & Co. building, which dates back to 1906, it retains its original colonial merchant’s exterior. Inside it is an interesting marriage of Far East and Middle East— black and white shots of Tokyo hang above mosaic tiles, made more exotic with bamboo light fittings and oversized fans. The food focuses on a yakitoriinfluenced selection of skewered and grilled bites, while the cocktail list stars fusions like the Hanami Old Fashioned, a concoction that includes Japanese whisky, hanami tea syrup and bitters.

+ The Lab (70A Shwegondaing Rd.; thelabyangon.com; dinner for two K50,000) tapas bar is also luring locals and foreigners in droves with its diminutive dishes. Cozy yet airy with brick walls and high tables, it has a casual vibe that has made it an instant favorite.

Mediterranean tapas and Middle Eastern staples like hummus are offered alongside Tex Mex classics like nachos and quesadillas.

Though there’s plenty on offer, the menu is not overwhelming and the owners are often around to make recommendations. + In the heart of Rangoon, Phayre’s Gastronomy (292 Pansodan St.; facebook.com/ phayregastronomy; dinner for two K15,000) whets the city’s appetite for savory snacks, while tapping into the country’s colonial heritage. Named after the first Commissioner of British Burma, Sir Arthur Purves Phayre, this eatery is inexpensive but still stylish.

It’s cool location, next to the Pansodan art gallery, paired with its finger food like sandwiches and chicken wings, is proving popular with the city’s media-types, as well as tourists visiting the nearby Sule Pagoda.

Like the dishes, Rangoon’s culinary scene may still be on the small side, but it will still satisfy anyone hungry for a great night out. +

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design

KYOTO RESTORED Retired but not retiring, Shigeru Yamamoto lights up when speaking of machiya, the traditional town houses of Kyoto. A master carpenter by trade, he uses a telescopic pointer to conduct his animated tours of an old quarter of the historic city—one that, in bits and pieces, he has helped restore.

Machiya are based on a traditional style of design that uses no diagonal lines.

Instead, these structures are constructed using intricate joinery that sways rather than shatters during earthquakes. During the eighth century, lattice frameworks were the norm.

“The best way to see Kyoto,” Yamamoto tells me, “is to go into the lanes of the old city and see how people live.”

After World War II, as part of the nation’s drive toward modernization, building these wooden houses was prohibited.

Today, though, restoring machiya and preserving their classic architectural tenets is the ultimate aim.

Deepest Kyoto Tours

(deepestkyototour.com; private three-hour tours US$30 per person)—an offshoot of the Kyoto Center for Community Collaboration, a T+L Global Vision Award winner last year—offers walking visits 36

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From top: Inside a machiya that has been turned into a high-end, traditional guesthouse; the garden remains a serene focal point.

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of the narrow streets that best reflect old Kyoto.

Typically, each structure included a daidokoro (living room), tooriniwa (passage garden) and zashiki (a parlor for receiving guests). The interiors are peppered with small, detailed touches; doors, windows and room dividers all follow a traditional design.

To the casual observer, a stroll through these lanes turns up nondescript private façades. Yet through the carpenter’s eyes, a threestory theater dating to 1925 is actually a geisha house, harkening back to a time when the street was more red light than residential. Those ornate Chinese façades from a century ago, Yamamoto shrugs as we continue around a corner, are victim of a poor restoration job. We enter a revamped traditional doll shop where he points out that the area inside is measured by tatami mats.

Next, it’s on to Kikoku-So Inn (kikokuso.com/english; doubles from ¥24,840), a rebuilt machiya that offers visitors a rare chance to stay in one of five rooms that awaken a little bit of Kyoto’s past. There’s a beautiful tooriniwa here and the local meals are some of the best in town, a perfect introduction to Kyoto as it once was. +

F R O M T O P : M AT T H I E U P A L E Y/ C O R B I S ; C L A I R E TA K A C S /G E T T Y I M A G E S

There’s an ongoing movement to refurbish traditional buildings in the historic city, bringing a little bit of former glory back to aging townhouses. By Christopher Kucway

Radar on the map

OUTRAM OUTING Another formerly staid Singapore neighborhood morphs into a trendy playground. By Grace Ma

Despite a restive history that includes being the location of public mass shooting in 1915, Outram Park has long laid low as a staid residential quarter.

But in line with the city-state’s coolness expansion, the charming hood is becoming a go-to destination for drinks, dining and dropping cash. A one-stop shop for this vibe is the new Potato Head Folk, shown here, in which each floor is a different venue. Turn to page 40 for more spots to hit up on your Outram odyssey.

P HOTOG R A P H ED BY W EIXIA NG LIM

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Potato Head Folk → Chill out all night in this fourstory historic building where each floor houses a different venue. Try burgers by chef Adam Penney at Three Buns Kitchen or walk to the second floor for table service amid wall murals at Three Buns Dining. The third floor bar Studio 1939 is perfect for after-dinner drinks, or head upstairs to the Rooftop Garden for the city view. 36 Keong Saik Rd.; ptthead folk.com; dinner for two S$60.

↑ Restaurant Labyrinth Take a counter seat at their open concept kitchen and watch chef Han Liguang and his team whip up unusual and unbeatable renditions of local favorites like chili-crab ice cream.

5 Neil Rd.; labyrinth.com.sg; five-course prix fixe dinner menu S$98.

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↑ The Lokal From hot smoked salmon to homecured bacon and handmade ricotta, you can’t get any nearer to hearty homemade freshness than in this friendly café, famous for its weekend brunch. 136 Neil Rd.; facebook.com/ thelokalsingapore; brunch for two S$45. ↑ Redundant Shop This artisanal gem, started by the Redundant Magazine team, stocks funky accessories from independent labels like Monofold and Bellroy. Check out their Facebook page for accessory-making workshops too. Blk. 5 Everton Park #0122A; facebook.com/theredundantshop.

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↓ Audacious Cakery Don’t expect run-of-the-mill pastry creations in this crazy cake shop. Bold flavors and twists on familiar tastes rule the day. Go for their kirsch-soaked Black Forest cake or rich Chocolate Obsession cake. Blk. 2 Everton Park #01-61; theaudaciouscakery.com; pastries for two S$18.

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← The Study Relax at this quirky British bistro where you can fill up on comfort food. Their version of fish and chips is extra bellywarming. Ask the staff for the password to their mysterious Library cocktail bar next door.

49 Keong Saik Rd.; the-study.sg; drinks for two S$46.

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Radar goods

HARD CANDY Samsonite’s colorful new travel tote holds more than just clothes.

r ec o n

THE LATEST NEED-TO-KNOW OPENINGS Hotels Gaining a foothold in Burma’s fast-growing capital, Kempinski Nay Pyi Taw (kempinski.com; doubles from K200,000) showcases the bygone

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hold an adult’s weight without loosing its shape, so your belongings won’t get squished. It has wheels, but at 3.8 kilograms it is easy to haul around regardless, while its 40-centimeter laptop sleeve is perfect for keeping your gadgets organized. Rocking seventies style in eyepopping colors like lollipop pink, this playful travel accessory is both fun and functional. samsonite.com. sg; rolling carry-on S$680.

brilliance of Burmese architecture, most visibly through its 18th-century Kone Baung dynasty-inspired teakwood Royal Pavilion. But if you are looking for extra space, book the 1,000-square-meter Grand Royal suite—it’s the largest room in the country. + Elsewhere in Southeast Asia, the Sanchaya (the sanchaya.com; doubles from US$720) has 30 villas

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and suites on 9 beachfront hectares of Indonesia’s Bintan island. Expect stunning scenery with stand-alone spa treatment rooms overlooking mangroves, and Downton Abbey-style service— the staff was trained by the British Butler Institute.

Restaurants Last April, French celebrity chef Nicolas Le Bec traded Lyons for Shanghai, opening Bistro 321 in Xuhui. This

month, he expands with the more formal, 100-seat Villa Le Bec (lebec.com.cn; dinner for two RMB520), with a cigar lounge and a champagne bar. Cruises Royal Caribbean’s 4,180-passenger Quantum of the Seas (royal​ caribbean.com) introduces a handful of firsts to the high seas, including a skydiving simulator, bumper cars and an observation pod with panoramic views.

COURTESY OF SAMSONITE

This candy-colored carry-on is even sweeter than it looks.

Part seat, part footstool, part luggage, Samsonite’s new Marshmallow model is a multitasking champ on the road. It has a curved shape, ergonomically designed for sitting on, so you always have a comfortable spot to kick back whether you are waiting around in crowded airport terminal or off on a camping trip. The upright case sports an innovative aluminum frame that can

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ta l k i n g t r av e l

STANLEY TUCCI The Oscar-nominated actor— returning this month as a hammy commentator in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1— speaks to T+L about Italy, vodka and the destination of his dreams.

Your second cookbook, The Tucci Table (Gallery Books), was just published. As a foodie, what do you love most about living in London? The city is a food mecca now.

There are so many incredible local chefs, such as Tom Kerridge and Heston Blumenthal, who’s become a friend—his restaurant, the Fat Duck (thefatduck.co.uk; tasting menu £220 per person), is one of the best in the world.

There’s also such cultural diversity, so you’ll find fantastic Italian, Indian, French—really anything you want.

Name the best meal you’ve had in the last year. My wife, Felicity, and I just got back from Puglia, Italy. At Il Bastione (ilbastionegallipoli.it; dinner for two €40), in Gallipoli, we ate a simple seafood pasta, everything fresh from the sea. Just superb.

If you had to relocate to a hotel for a year, where would you stay?

Venice’s Gritti Palace (thegritti​palace. com; doubles from €599) wouldn’t be too bad.

Place you’re dying to visit. Fårö, Sweden, where Ingmar Bergman lived in his later years, looks gorgeous in the summer and bleak in the winter, but, from what I gather, stunning in both seasons. —andrew goldman

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C R A I G B L A N K E N H O R N /C O R B I S

Upon arriving in a hotel room, what gift would please you most?

The makings for a good martini. I drink vodka and love Sipsmith, made in London’s Chiswick district.

Radar

shopping

CURIOUS KEEPSAKES A new exhibit is bringing uptown style to downtown Bangkok. By Merritt Gurley This month in Bangkok an eccentric and limited edition blitz of fashion is breaking up the mall monotony. A collection of rare designs, jewelry, art, food and photography will be on display at Siwalai and Central Embassy as part of a new exhibit: Le Cabinet De Curiosités of Thomas Erber.

Former fashion journalist Thomas Erber has hosted four of these projects around the world already, but this is the first one in Asia. The concept is built around an almost archaic sense of extravagance, defining luxury as a

con f essions of a b &b host

It’s not just four-posters and fresh-baked scones. As one innkeeper reveals, sometimes those two letters stand for Bad and Badder.

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study in exclusivity—all about the narrative, the lifestyle and savoir-faire.

In collaboration with the concept store Siwalai, Erber has invited the crème de la crème of designers, artists and brands to create something either actually one-of-a-kind or limited edition, specifically for his cabinet of curiosities. Swiss watchmaker Jeanrichard will unveil a new Terrascope watch, one of only eight pieces available worldwide; HCC Motorsport is displaying a custom motorbike; and Officine Generale will

We want you to feel at home, but a few guests get way too comfortable.

One man came down to breakfast in just his bathrobe.

Another family got into a screaming fight at dinner—the wife stormed out.

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reveal a 375-gram jacket, the lightest they’ve ever made. Fashion labels Paul Smith, Ateliers Ruby, Jim Thompson, Maison Takuya and Alexandre de Betak will also make appearances over the course of a month. Touching on all the senses, this exhibit incorporates the multimedia works of visual artists like Elina Kechicheva and Sonia Sieff, and the food by star chefs, including Bertrand Grébaut and Ana Ros. After all, an event like this is all about taste.

November 20 to December 21; Central Embassy, Bangkok; cdc-te.com. +

Some people think they’re staying at a five-star resort and expect gluten-free, vegan meals. You try making a decadent breakfast pastry without eggs, flour or butter!

Booze intake is more apparent in a small property. One couple was drunk from the moment they checked in; they left their room littered with beer cans.

I scrubbed every surface, including the teddy bear on the bed.

Poor little guy saw way more than he ever wanted to.

C L O C K W I S E F R O M T O P L E F T: C O U R T E S Y O F T H O M A S E R B E R ; C O U R T E S Y O F M O N T R E J E A N R I C H A R D ; C O U R T E S Y O F M A I S O N TA K U YA ; E L I N A K E C H I C H E V A ; B E N S C H M U C K

Clockwise from far left: CDC founder Thomas Erber; sketch of a new swiss watch by Jeanrichard; purse

by Maison Takuya; Paul Smith, photographed by Elina Kechicheva; one of chef Bertrand Grébaut’s creations.

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WHAT’S IN YOUR BAGGIE, NIKI LEONDAKIS?

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The stylish CEO of Commune Hotels & Resorts has the 24-hour business trip down to a science. She reveals her carry-on musts. energize.” olehenriksen.

1 House of Creed Royal com; US$9.

Water “The peppermint3 Serge Normant Meta infused citrus scent is Luxe Hair Spray “It refreshing after long provides incredible hold flights.” creedboutique. and has UV filters to com; US$290. protect color.” serge​ 2 Ole Henriksen normant.com; US$12.

African Red Tea 4 Molton Brown Foaming Cleanser Ylang-Ylang “A face wash that Replenishing Hand multitasks (like me): Cream “I handle a lot of antioxidants to soothe; paperwork in-flight; this vitamin C to hydrate; and keeps my pm hands from grapefruit extracts to T+L SEA Ad_OP.pdf 1 6/10/14 6:26

10 drying out.” moltonbrown. com; US$15.

5 Bobbi Brown CC Cream SPF 35 “Three skin-care products in one, it moisturizes, illuminates and protects.” bobbibrown.com; US$15.

6 Tom Ford Ultra Shine Lip Gloss in Peach Absolut “Hydration and a touch of color—the perfect pick-me-up.” tomford.com; US$46.

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7 ML Collection by Mighty Leaf Tea “I make a cup as soon as I take my seat on the plane— Chamomile Citrus to relax and Ginger Twist to ward off the chill.” mightyleaf. com; US$16 for 15.

8 Giovanni Lavender Calm Sanitizing Towelettes “I’m a bit of a germophobe; these disinfect tray tables, remotes and hands.”

8 giovannicosmetics.com; US$12.

9 Perfumeria Gal Red Currant Lip Balm “I love the pretty vintageinspired tins from this Spanish brand.” amazon. com; US$6.50.

10 Zoya in Ryan “Nontoxic and longlasting, so I don’t have to worry about chipped polish abroad.” zoya.com; US$9. —katie james

Radar

style

FLYING COLORS Rainbow-hued accessories make a holiday in the sun even brighter.

By Mimi Lombardo

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1 Cotton scarf, US$125, by Objects Without Meaning.

2 Calf-leather bag, US$2,595, Valentino Garavani. 3 Plexiglass cuff, US$375, Valentino Garavani.

4 Resin-and-brass necklace, US$805, Missoni. 5 Suede flats, US$608, Etro.

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P H OTOG R A P H ED BY A N D R E W B. M Y ERS

M A R K E T E D I T O R : C O U R T N E Y K E N E F I C K . S T Y L I S T: K R I S J E N S E N F O R M A R K E D W A R D

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b o o ks

For those of us who seek to immerse ourselves in a place, photographer Gail Albert Halaban’s Paris Views (Aperture) offers a voyeuristic glimpse into la vie parisienne.

A family celebrates a child’s birthday. A couple shares a bottle of wine. A man wearing shorts plays air guitar. To scout locations and get the perfect vantage points, Halaban invited herself into dozens of homes.

The result, a follow-up to her New York series, Out My Window, is a strikingly intimate vignette of urban life. And, she says, “It’s also a great way to meet locals.”

—david alexander arnold

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©GAIL ALBERT HAL ABAN, COURTESY EDW YNN HOUK GALLERY

THE LIVES OF OTHERS

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Radar fa m i ly

IT’S ALL RELATIVE Asia’s top family resorts, as chosen by Travel + Leisure readers in our annual World’s Best Awards survey. Reported by Helen Zook

1 JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa Thailand 92.94 The 11 hectares of lush gardens and freshwater reflection pools that surround this Zen-inspired property are ideal for both parents looking to relax and kids seeking adventure. In the cool season, you’ll see nesting leatherback sea turtles make their treks from the nearby Sirinat National Park to the Andaman Sea. Parents Love The fourhand Mandara Signature treatment, administered by two therapists using five massage techniques. Kids Love Mastering the flying trapeze at the hotel’s Kidz Sole circus academy.

2 Oberoi Udaivilas Udaipur, India 92.17 3 Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai 90.91 3 The Peninsula Bangkok 90.91 5 Oberoi Amarvilas Agra, India 90.56 6 The Peninsula Shanghai 89.41 7 Taj Mahal Palace Mumbai 89.00 8 Oberoi Rajvilas Jaipur, India 88.46 9 Shangri-La Hotel Bangkok 87.78 10 Sofitel Angkor Phokeethra Golf & Spa Resort Siem Reap, Cambodia 87.37

C OU R T ESY O F J W M A R RIOT T P H U K E T R ESO R T & S PA

For the full list of global winners, contact information and survey methodology go to tandl.me/wba2014.

Biking at JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa.

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Scores shown have been rounded to the nearest hundredth of a point; in the event of a true tie, properties or companies share the same ranking.

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c u lt u r e

A still from Vientiane in Love.

Blue-chair seating at last year’s event.

Here’s a nearby film festival with serious indie cred. For five days in December, all of Luang Prabang, from garden lawns to outdoor markets to hotel lounges, will be converted into viewing space for new independent regional films. There’s no pomp and circumstance, just the natural charm of this Laotian riverfront town. The organizers are aiming for equal access and open all screenings to the public at no charge. The main outdoor site is set up with 800 unassuming blue

plastic chairs that are becoming something of an icon for the festival, but get there early as seats are always at a premium. This year, the fifth anniversary of the Luang Prabang Film Festival, sees more unexpected venues popping up and a sterling marquee of films from 10 different countries across Southeast Asia, including the muchanticipated local favorite Vientiane in Love, a series of romantic vignettes by four Laos directors. December 6 to 10; lpfilmfest.org; free. +

C O U R T E S Y O F T H E L U A N G P R A B A N G F I L M F E S T I VA L (2)

BLUE CHAIR CINEMA

skin care

I L L U S T R AT I O N B Y H A N N A H K . L E E

GALLIC GLOW Is it any surprise that top beauty brands are sourcing ingredients from France—the land of luxury—for their latest antiaging products? Estée Lauder’s Re-Nutriv Ultimate Diamond Sculpting/ Refinishing Dual Infusion (esteelauder.com; US$360) contains extracts of rare black diamond truffles from the Périgord, along with refined 24-karat gold. Nutrient-rich elastic kelp harvested off the coast of Brittany is the hero ingredient in La Mer’s new Intensive Revitalizing Mask (cremedelamer.com; US$160).

And Dior’s limited-edition serum, La Cure (dior.com; US$2,000), available in January, incorporates sap from the vines of Bordeaux’s renowned Château d’Yquem along with pure concentrate from the grapes of its 2013 vintage— quintessential France in a bottle. —katie james

Radar

Clockwise from left: Outside Quan Ut Ut; ode to the oink; a juicy burger; grill master Mark Gustafson; racking up pork ribs.

noticed

PIG OUT An American-style barbecue joint with all the Vietnamese trimmings is hogging the spotlight in Saigon’s restaurant scene. By Duncan Forgan Vietnam’s culinary love affair with the pig is long established. Porcinecentered creations such as bun cha (vermicelli noodles with grilled pork meatballs) and thit heo kho (caramelized pork) are among the nation’s most beloved dishes, and the beast is revered from the mountains of the north to the steamy southern river deltas. Yet few could have predicted that the country’s hottest table of 2014 would turn out to be a humble American barbecue joint whose Vietnamese name, Quan Ut Ut, translates to “Restaurant Oink Oink.”

Located in Saigon’s central District 1, it’s become a phenomenon since opening for business this March.

Owned by long-term Vietnam residents, Frenchman Albin Deforges 58

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and Aussie Tim Scott, in partnership with American Mark Gustafson, the caretaker of the venue’s hallowed grill, the restaurant packs in a mixed crowd of foreign and Vietnamese meat-enthusiasts on a nightly basis.

Bookings are not accepted and waits of up to an hour are common as diners queue patiently to, in the words of the owners, “get their ut ut on” and fill up on barbecue and a selection of local and imported beers, including the Saigon-brewed Platinum IPA. It is a pork-lovers paradise. “The difference is the quality of our meat,” says Deforges, “which we source carefully from suppliers who can provide full traceability of the animal, and the love we show it.” Bacon is cured in-house while items such as the

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signature half-rack cashew-smoked pork ribs are smoked for a minimum of five hours and massaged with Gustafson’s special spice rubs before sizzling on the grill. “I think we’ve created something everyone can enjoy,” says Deforges. “People can come, drink lots of beer and throw their bones onto the floor.”

With space in short supply, the restaurant is building an extra floor on the restaurant to cope with demand, and all the picked-clean bones. Future plans include the addition of new menu items such as beef short ribs. Begging the question: how do you say moo in Vietnamese?

168 Vo Van Kiet, Q1, Saigon; 84-8/39144500; quanutut.com; dinner and beers for two VND450,000. + P HOTOG R A P H ED BY MORGA N OM M ER

Radar Cape Weligama in Sri Lanka.

hotels

Teetering on a cliffside 36 meters above the sea, the Cape Weligama resort sparkles along Sri Lanka’s rugged southern coast.

Opened just last month, the 5-hectare estate, a 30-minute drive east of Galle, is the first beachside destination for Resplendent Ceylon, a new 60

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boutique hotel concept in Sri Lanka. The Fernando family, founders of Dilmah Tea, is behind this soon-to-be collective, which for now includes Relais & Chateaux resorts Ceylon Tea Trails and Cape Weligama. Thai architect Lek Bunnag designed Cape Weligama’s 40

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freestanding villas and suites to pepper the cape like a traditional Sri Lankan village. The service is equally intimate, with personal butlers on-call, private dining and topnotch spa treatments. Resplendent Ceylon also has two tented camps in the works, which

should be ready by 2016, offering a diverse luxury resort itinerary that trails the country. Abhimanagama Road, Weligama, Sri Lanka; capeweligama.com; doubles from US$605, including half-board dining, alcoholic beverages, and one activity per day. —david ngo

COURTESY OF CAPE WELIGAMA

ESCAPE TO THE CAPE

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Macau on wheels High speeds and hairpins on a historic urban circuit

The world desperately needs more madcap schemers like Macedo Pinto Silva. In 1954, he and a group of friends came up with the zany idea of organizing a treasure hunt that involved racing around the narrow streets of the Portuguese colony of Macau. What was meant to be a one-off bit of fun, somehow morphed into an actual car race with a circuit through the streets of the enclave. “We created an organizing committee and thought it was the first and the last race they would arrange for us,” Macedo told friends in 2003. Little did he know.

The initial Macau Grand Prix held in 1954 was an amateur affair that drew just 15 contestants and was won by Eddie Carvalho driving a Triumph TR2 on a track that was said to be “very dirty and of loose sand.”

Fast-forward to 2014 and the 61st annual Macau Grand Prix, which is considered the most prestigious racing event in Asia and the Western Pacific. Showcasing superbikes and supercars, it hosts one of the few Formula 3 races and is the only Grand Prix to feature both cars and bikes on the same weekend.

There is no setting in the world quite like Macau’s 6.2kilometer Guia street circuit where the series take place. The track

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snakes through, around and under a crowd of high-rise buildings, takes in a picturesque harbor and shoots cars out onto long open straights framed with high walls.

When famous drivers talk about the Macau Grand Prix, they focus on the corkscrewed tight circuit that provides drivers just enough room to squeeze by opponents. (The track has a minimum width of just seven meters, barely the standard size of a two lane street.) Champions such as Senna, Schumacher and Sebastian say the key to victory is knowing every unique hairpin and high-speed straight like an old friend. “The danger absolutely makes it more exciting. That’s why we’re here,” said German driver Maro Engel last year. “It’s the greatest track in the world.”

Running this year from November 13 to 16, the Macau Grand Prix has seven races: three headline events plus the Macau GT Cup, Macau Road Sport Challenge, the Macau Touring Car Cup and the Chinese Racing Cup. The competition is expected to attract 211 drivers from 36 countries and territories, and as many as 800,000 visitors, who turn Macau into a booming party town.

The main race is the prestigious Formula 3 Macau Grand, which is essentially a feeder circuit for the elite F1 series and has

produced countless Formula 1 world champions. Although F3 cars are not as advanced or as fast as F1 cars, there’s plenty of what you expect to see from spectator racing: sleek cars travelling at ridiculous speeds.

Another top contest is the FIA World Touring Car Championship.

Here, drivers race in jumpy versions of the sedans you see on any highway. The cars have been tweaked, but teams are expected to keep costs low and engines are limited to 1.8 liter. Joao Manuel Costa Antunes, coordinator of the Macau Grand Prix Committee, calls the race “the most prestigious ‘tin top’ series in the world”.

The Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix is viewed in racing circles as an absurdly challenging street course mentioned in the same breath as the Isle of Man TT and the Irish North West 200. This year, the headline rivalry boasts an international field of drivers fighting it out on the grueling circuit for 12 laps.

Despite its massive success, Macau has not forgotten its roots and has introduced a race that caters to local and regional enthusiasts. This year the new Chinese Racing Cup is open to mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau drivers.

Macedo Pinto Silva and his racing buddies would be pleased.

Radar why go

MALMÖ’S MOMENT This Swedish city across the Øresund strait from Copenhagen is emerging as Scandinavia’s hippest hub. Here, four reasons why.

Because some of the region’s best chefs are setting up shop. Cheap rents and a food-​ obsessed public have lured bright culinary talents. At B.A.R Krog & Vinbar (barmalmo.se; four-course tasting kr400 per person), the tasting menus by Robert Jacobsson—a former sous-chef at Copenhagen’s Noma—push boundaries even by Nordic outside-the-box standards (think ash-and-elderflower sorbet with cucumber). Chef Robin Eriksson recently moved from Stockholm to open Tryne Till Knorr (trynetillknorr.se; dinner for two kr300), serving refined dishes with a local emphasis. Don’t miss the stone-baked cabbage wedge topped with a hunk of aged Comté and a perfectly pan-​fried egg.

Because it has one of Scandinavia’s most progressively designed neighborhoods. The once-gritty Western Harbor is now Europe’s

Clockwise from above: A fresh pint at Söder Om Småland; a Malmö life preserver, found all over town; stone-baked cabbage with a fried egg from Tryne Till Knorr; Santiago Calatrava’s Turning Torso; Belle Epoque’s Femme Fatale cocktail; Old City Hall.

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first carbon-neutral district.

As part of a government-funded competition, architects were tasked with creating statementmaking structures that use renewable sources of energy. A tour led by journalist Catarina Rolfsdotter-Jansson (rolfsdotter.se) also includes the area’s original claim to fame: Santiago Calatrava’s spiraling, white-marble HSB Turning Torso.

Because coffee is considered a high art. Single-estate beans, on-site roasting, cups brewed with high-tech gadgets: Malmö, like much of Sweden, takes its coffee seriously. Our favorite spots: the minimally designed Kaffebaren på Mölla (9 Ystadsgatan), for its expertly pulled espresso, and Solde Kaffebar (solde.se), where barista Dan Stenqvist makes the city’s best cortado (half espresso, half micro-foam milk).

Because there’s a really good nightlife scene.

A cocktail renaissance is taking over southern Sweden. The relaxed lounge Belle Epoque (belle-epoque.se) marries absinthe with sparkling wine and violet liqueur in its Femme Fatale. At the more buttoned-up Rosen Bar & Dining (rosenbaranddining. se), choose from a selection of the country’s acclaimed vodkas.

Prefer beer? Grab an outdoor table at Söder Om Småland (46-40/616-0112), which pours 20 local brews, including cult favorite South Plains Brewing Company. —mat t rodbard

P HOTOG R A P H ED BY W HIT N E Y L AWSON

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Radar

point of view

THE ART OF GRAZING he chef has prepared a degustation menu!

Why does this phrase incite me to bolt out into the street? I have nothing against degustations, or chefs—yet the prospect of four hours trapped at the same table frankly withers my appetite. À la carte is often no better: what if my entrée proves a US$38 dud? What if I over-order, leaving no room for dessert? What if…? What if…? I want to break free.

It isn’t just cranky-critic me. As diners, we’ve all turned commitment-phobic. (Can you blame us?) During a recent stretch in Europe I was surrounded by like-minded souls happy to ditch the Big Meal in favor of grazing, snacking, noshing, progressive dining—whatever you want to call the deliciously DIY act of creating your own tasting menu, at a variety of different spots.

In Istanbul, where I have an apartment, weeks would pass without a straitjacket sit-down dinner. Instead we’d start with drinks and wood-fired pide (Turkish pizza) on the rooftop terrace of the Adahan Hotel; walk two blocks to smoky Canim Ciğerim for sizzling liver kebabs; then prowl the streets for a certain chickpea pilaf cart—before winding down with a glass of çay at a makeshift tea garden near the Karaköy docks with breathtaking views of Hagia Sophia.

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Since Ottoman times, Istanbul restaurants have specialized in individual dishes, so single-plate snacking makes perfect sense. Add a new wave of meyhanes (drinking houses offering little meze) featuring creative young chefs and you’ve got a snackstravaganza by the Bosporus.

In London I found a similar artisanal fast-food revolution under way, after sparking almost a decade ago. Here the chatter buzzed around Pizza Pilgrims’ new spot in Soho (yup, the cult pizza van has settled down!) and the black currant and mint flavor at the Marshmallowists, everyone’s favorite roving confectioner. In Marylebone I hopped aboard a Latin mini–tapas crawl, from crisp pressed pig’s head at the Argentinean Zoilo (run by an alum of El Bulli and Aquavit) to slow-braised country chicken at Ibérica (launched by a chef from a Michelin two-starred restaurant in northern Spain). Small ideas and mono-concepts loomed large. Middle Eastern food diva Anissa Helou, for example, spent a whole year researching the perfect lentil for koshari, the monumental Egyptian street dish of rice, lentils, pasta and spicy tomato sauce under a blizzard of fried onions. It’s the single specialty at Koshari Street, the sleek Covent Garden café that Helou helped to launch.

ST E V EN JOYC E

T

Enough with epic sit-down dinners. Anya von Bremzen is on the move—snacking along with all of Europe.

But the real soul of London resides on the street, at the outdoor markets and clusters of itinerant food trucks. At the Kerb King’s Cross lunchtime market, vendor rotation assures constant new thrills—my pulse raced every time. What would today bring: Mama Wang’s red-braised pork cheeks, or Luardos’s chipotle brisket burritos? The excitement of the snacking hunt sends London gastronauts to Brixton (that Guyanese sweet-potato roti!) and Dalston (that Mussel Man!). And on Saturdays everyone gravitates eastward for St. John Bakery’s wondrous custardfilled doughnuts and Little Bird’s gin cocktails at the Maltby Street Market, a foodie block party under the railway arches in once-obscure Bermondsey.

Because here’s the thing: in our digital age of briefer focus, virtual contact and Twitter-scaled payoffs, these food-vendor clusters (with their own bite-size wares) offer something essential and nurturing: human connection. The reclaimed patches of urban concrete and graffitied old warehouses revitalize neighborhoods and breed vibrant new communities. Or would you rather be stuck all night at one fancy restaurant?

In Copenhagen the latest such agora operates in the light-filled glass sheds of Torvehallerne. This food hall, farmers’ market and social hub opened in 2011 on Israels Plads, a public square previously notorious for its drug dealers. My first day in town, I ran into old friends in the Torvehallerne queue for fried cod at Fiskerikajen, and made new friends with fellow devotees of Ma Poule’s duck confit sandwich.

Surveying the scene from my perch at the Hallernes smørrebrød stall, I felt like I’d lived in the city forever.

Then, after bumping into chef René Redzepi at the Coffee Collective (the world’s greatest roasters), I amblingly composed my own market-tasting menu of tapas, thin-crust pizza and a Danish chocolatemarshmallow-marzipan marvel called flødebolle.

Ah, freedom—no set menu required. +

Small Plates, Three Cities Istanbul Adahan Hotel adahanistanbul.com.

Canim Ciğerim asmalicanimcigerim.com.

London Ibérica ibericalondon.co.uk.

Kerb King’s Cross kerbfood.com.

Koshari Street kosharistreet.com.

Maltby Street Market maltby.st.

The Marshmallowists themarshmallowists.co.uk.

Pizza Pilgrims pizzapilgrims.co.uk.

St. John Bakery stjohngroup.uk.com.

Zoilo zoilo.co.uk.

Copenhagen Coffee Collective coffeecollective.dk.

Torvehallerne torvehallernekbh.dk.

luxurious comfort

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Gift Guide

GOODIES FOR GLOBETROTTERS

LOOKING TO SPOIL YOUR FAVORITE JETSETTERS? T+L ROUNDS UP THIS SEASON’S COOLEST TRAVEL PRESENTS, PERFECT FOR MAKING THE MOST OF ANY HOLIDAY DESTINATION. BY A S H L E Y N I E D R I N G H AU S

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EL 42 BINOCULARS BY SWAROVSKI OPTIK Every explorer needs top-notch binoculars in their arsenal and these are among the best in the market.

The field flattener lenses eliminate peripheral noise for razor-sharp images. swarovskioptik.com; $2,529.

FENIX 2 WATCH This high-tech watch is equipped with fitness tracking, 50-hours of GPS battery life and a “bread crumb” navigation system to find your way back to camp after a long hike. garmin.com; $450.

NOCTURNE 30 DOWN SLEEPING BAG The innovative spoon-shaped bag—extra roomy around the knees and elbows—is soporific. nemoequipment.com; $330.

NIKON 1 AW1 CAMERA This rugged Nikon is waterproof up to 15 meters and has interchangeable lenses designed for under-the-sea snaps. nikon.com; $800.

TALUS 2 TENT This lightweight backpacking tent comfortably sleeps two and has a gear locker tucked under the rainfly to keep muddy boots and clothes at bay. thenorthfacecom; $199.

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T R AV E L A N D L E I S U R E A S I A .C O M

JETSMARTER’S PRIVATE JET SERVICE If crowded airports and economy class rub your jetsetter pals the wrong way, upgrade them to a year of flying in private jets. jetsmarter.com; annual membership $7,000 plus additional cost per flight.

C L O C K W I S E F R O M L E F T: C O U R T E S Y O F F E AT H E R C R A F T; C O U R T E S Y O F G A R M I N ; C O U R T E S Y O F S W A R O V S K I O P T I K ; C O U R T E S Y O F N E M O E Q U I P M E N T; C O U R T E S Y O F J E T S M A R T E R ; C O U R T E S Y O F T H E N O R T H F A C E ; C O U R T E S Y O F N I K O N

AIRONAUT KAYAK Get from the airport runway to the rapids in record time with this high-end sports kayak that fits in the overhead bin and inflates in six minutes flat. feathercraft.com; $2,439.

SUNCARE SUPER KIT Bundle La Mer’s (lamer.com) The Perfect Pair duo ($390) with La Prairie’s (laprairieswitzerland.com) Sun Protection Emulsion Face SPF 30 ($100), Sun Protection Emulsion for Body SPF 30 ($95), and Ultra Protection Stick for Eyes, Lips and Nose SPF 40 ($75) for a custom package of total skin protection.

LIQUID IMAGE HYDRA SERIES HD 720P Snorkeling shutterbugs can take amazing photos and video with this mask’s built-in camera. The lever-style button makes snapping images easy even with diving gloves, and the lens captures impressive HD video. liquidimageco.com; $120.

PERSPECTIVE CAVALIERE BRACELETS

MISSONI BEACH TOWEL For the sunworshipper who knows all the hidden beach spots, this oversized and plush towel in Missoni’s chevron print is a must-have accessory. It will give a pop of color to that white-sand beach. missonihome.com; $232.

OYSTER PERPETUAL ROLEX DEEPSEA

AUDREY BROWN SUNGLASSES When the beachside waiter asks if you’d like another cocktail, channel your inner Hepburn as you casually peer over the brim of these sunnies and answer “Yes, darling.” louisvuitton.com; $867.

Waterproof up to an impressive 3,900 meters, this new watch from Rolex proves that classic style knows no limits. rolex.com; price available upon request.

MINI JAMBOX BY JAWBONE Don’t let the small size fool you; this candycolored Bluetooth speaker can turn a pool party into a disco. Buy two and you can link the speakers for an even greater sound. jawbone.com; $180.

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C L O C K W I S E F R O M T O P L E F T: C O U R T E S Y O F M I S S O N I H O M E ; C O U R T E S Y O F L I Q U I D I M A G E C O ; C O U R T E S Y O F L A M E R ; C O U R T E S Y O F L A P R A I R I E ; C O U R T ESY O F H ER M ÈS SI N GA P O R E ; C O U R T ESY O F JAW BO N E ; C O U R T ESY O F LO U IS V U IT TO N; C O U R T ESY O F R O L E X

From the beach cabana to the resort bar, these bangles look equally stylish when paired with a swimsuit or a cocktail dress. hermes.com; starting at $592.

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APPLE IPHONE 6 Arguably the hottest tech on the market this fall, the new iPhone boasts a bigger screen, thinner body and better camera. What could be better for your tech-savvy sister or hard-to-shop-for father-in-law? apple.com; starting at $649.

CANVAS CUBE GRAIN GOAT This backpack has plenty of room for urban exploration essentials like guidebooks and museum passes. pierrehardy.com; $1,595.

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BEATS BY DRE The frequent traveler will appreciate the newly redesigned lighter weight headphones, which include better noise-canceling performance and a 20-hour rechargeable battery. apple.com; $299.

BOSSA NOVA IN JET GREEN AND BEIGE Travelers with this suitcase will look good and feel good knowing part of the proceeds go to protecting the Amazon Rainforest. rimowa.com; $1,495 for the 73-centimeter bag.

NUBUCK BALLERINAS Pretty and practical, the rubber-pebble outsoles are comfortable enough for a day of sightseeing and the compact design won’t take up precious suitcase space. store.tods.com; $445.

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FRANCESCO MAGLIA UMBRELLA Handcrafted in Italy and finished with a chestnut handle, this smart striped umbrella is a standout. mrporter.com; $318.

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260 TECH LS HALF ZIP Perfect for a day on the mountain or après-ski drinks, this merino-wool base layer has thumb holes to keep hands toasty. icebreaker.com; $120.

GLOVES IN GLAZED LAMBSKIN AND SWIFT CALFSKIN The metal buckle

Ski Resort at the 2013 World Ski Awards, Niseko is opening eight luxury townhouses on December 1. Guests will have a personal concierge and a driver-on-call. kasara.com; $2,000 per night for a three-bedroom townhouse.

FORNIX COMMUNICATIONS SKI HELMET Built-in Beats by Dre headphones will set the soundtrack for rocking the slopes. The system connects with most smartphones and the lightweight helmet has goggle vents and clips. pocsports.com; $240.

BANDEAU FOURRURE LEOPARD This foxy headband, with its iconic Stephen Sprouse leopard print, will keep you feeling warm and looking hot. hk.louisvuitton.com; $120.

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VICTORINOX SWISS ARMY BELMONT COAT A removable insulated vest can be worn alone or zipped into the long men’s coat for an extra layer of warmth. Perfect for chilly destinations with fluctuating climates. victorinox.com; $450.

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This iconic watch displays a second time zone, so the on-the-go user can keep an eye on home while traveling. patek. com; $55,405.

C L O C K W I S E F R O M T O P L E F T: C O U R T E S Y O F I C E B R E A K E R ; C O U R T E S Y O F K A S A R A N I S E K O V I L L A G E ; C O U R T E S Y O F H E R M È S ; N A P AT R A V E E W AT; C O U R T E S Y O F P AT E K P H I L I P P E ; C O U R T E S Y O F V I C T O R N O X ; C O U R T E S Y O F P O C

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perfectly offsets the delicate stitching on these leather gloves. Pair them with a black wool coat for extra panache. hermes.com; price upon request.

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Trip Doctor

Air Travel Report page 86

by Amy Farley

ETIHAD AIRWAYS What We Love This stylish kit is Ferragamo through and through, complete with a 30-milliliter bottle of perfume.

What We Love The traditional woven bag is made by a U.A.E. artisan. Inside: a faux-suede eye mask.

SINGAPORE AIRLINES

It’s in the Bag

Among the small yet profound joys of flying in a premium-class seat is opening the amenity kit to see what’s inside. It’s just one of the many details airlines are paying increasing attention to these days. For more of our favorite in-flight perks, turn to page 90.

QANTAS CATHAY PACIFIC What We Love The mini brush in the Trussardi bag is worth keeping. An Ermenegildo Zegna case holds the men’s comb.

What We Love These business-class amenities come in his-and-hers bags from Jack and Kate Spade.

P HOTOG R A P H ED BY P HILIP FRIEDM A N

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Trip Doctor

Packing

by Mimi Lombardo

MAXIMIZE YOUR WARDROBE WITH THESE STAPLES A cashmere overcoat is chic yet comfortable.

Jane Post, US$1,995.

Add a burst of color with a classic silk blouse.

Massimo Dutti, US$96.

A striped blazer is ultraversatile and can be worn with jeans for more casual outings.

Rebecca Minkoff, US$428.

Doll up your look with a sophisticated mother-of-pearl pendant necklace.

Asha by ADM, US$495.

Anchor your attire with neutrals, such as this gray pencil skirt.

Trina Turk, US$228.

Choose shoes with a lower heel height—they work with most looks.

Roger Vivier, US$625.

Q+A I’M STARTING A NEW JOB THAT REQUIRES A LOT OF TRAVEL. HOW CAN I LOOK POLISHED ON BUSINESS TRIPS WITHOUT CHECKING MY LUGGAGE? linda brenton, via e-mail

Keep it simple: stick to a palette of three colors so your pieces are interchangeable and you’ll be able to fit everything into a carry-on.

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This red leather bag makes a bold statement.

Salvatore Ferragamo, US$2,600.

P HOTOG R A P H ED BY YASU + JU N KO

M A R K E T E D I T O R : C O U R T N E Y K E N E F I C K . S T I L L- L I F E S T Y L I S T: E L I Z A B E T H P R E S S

Tailored trousers are an easy alternative to skirts.

Vince, US$325.

Trip Doctor

The Fix

DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE FOR SURVIVING HOLIDAY TRAVEL?

I’ve been receiving a lot of questions about how to navigate crowded, delay-prone airports this season with your sanity (and schedule) intact.

Here, my best tips.

BEFORE YOU LEAVE Look for direct flights— or those departing in the morning. Last

year, in the weeks around Christmas and New Year’s Eve, 35 percent of flights leaving out of airports in the Asia-Pacific region were delayed by more than 15 minutes, according to research by FlightStats. Not every delay meant a missed

flight connection, of course.

But if you want to keep yourself on schedule, it’s best to skip the stopover— especially since airlines have reduced seat capacity across the board in recent years, making it difficult to find a spot on alternative flights. If you must connect, fly out as early as possible.

And choose an airline with a good track record: last

holiday season (November 1- January 30) Air India had delays on more than 40 percent of their flights, where as Air Busan stayed beneath 10 percent.

Get in the club. Travelers

heading to the United States can apply to join PreCheck (tsa.gov; US$85), the TSA’s expedited security program, or Global Entry, part of U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Trusted Traveler program (cbp.gov; US$100). Asia does not yet have a parallel program, but for the frequent business traveler an APEC Business Travel Card (travel.apec.org; application fees vary by country) can streamline both the airport wait and immigration process in 19 different countries, including most Asia-Pacific destinations, the United States, Canada, Chile, Mexico, Peru and Russia.

Members are granted access to fast-track entry and exit lanes and will not have to apply for visas by individual destination. Instead, travelers are granted multiple entries into participating countries for the duration of the three years the card is valid.

Buy travel insurance. If you miss a connection or your flight gets canceled, it is best to be prepared. Especially if you are planning a vacation to a snowy climate, there’s the chance that a storm or cold snap could interrupt your plans. Protect your travels by buying insurance

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by the numbers .

12

%

The proportion of Asia-Pacific flights delayed by more than 30 minutes in the past year.

F R O M F L I G H T S TAT S . C O M , F O R F L I G H TS D E PA R T I N G D U R I N G T H E 12 M O N T H S E N D I N G J U N E 2 014 .

with good trip-delay and cancellation coverage. You can compare and shop for policies at the websites Insuremytrip and Squaremouth. Both sites also include reviews.

Know your status. Signing

up for flight alerts with your carrier is simply not enough. Use a service such as FlightStats or Flight+, and you’ll likely hear about a delay even before your carrier contacts you. Both apps also offer overall assessments of delays and cancellations at your departure and arrival airports—so you know what to expect.

Get a better seat. Stuck in the middle? Sign up for a free seat alert with Expertflyer.com, which lets you know when a coveted spot (aisle, window, exit row) becomes available. Having trouble keeping the family together without paying exorbitant fees? Itinerary manager TripIt Pro (US$49 a year) will send you a message when a block of up to four seats opens up.

I L L U S T R AT I O N S : B E N W I S E M A N

SPECIAL REPORT

Have a question for T+L’s Trip Doctor?

Send it to tripdoctor@ travelandleisureasia.com.

Follow @TravLeisureAsia on Twitter.

IN TRANSIT Embrace your inner early bird. Check in right at the

beginning of the 24-hour window: not only will you have a better chance of switching to a good seat (that’s when airlines start releasing them) but you’ll also ensure that you don’t get bumped. Airlines often work off of a last in, first out principle when a flight is oversold, with exceptions for travelers in special circumstances and loyalty-​program elites.

And save yourself the stress of running through a crowded airport by arriving early—even if you’ve already checked in online in advance.

Use a skycap. At many

airports all it takes is a small tip per suitcase at the curbside baggage check to bypass the long drop-off lines inside. You can even pay for your checked bags there. Remember: don’t wrap any presents in your luggage, or you may find that airport security has taken off the paper to get a better look.

And if you’re worried about losing your luggage, consider using a tracker such as Trakdot (trakdot.com; from US$49.99), which allows you to follow your bag’s progress on your mobile phone. Check with your carrier though as you’ll need cell coverage at your destination to ensure the device works.

Get happy. Your time at the airport can be enjoyed, rather than simply

endured—especially with all the new amenities that hubs across the region are adding. Use GateGuru to locate stores, restaurants and even spas around you.

Stay powered. Though

airports are getting better about adding charging stations for mobile phones and other electronics, an open one can be hard to find, especially when delays hit. Bring a mobile charger, such as the pocket-size Anker 2nd Gen Astro 6000mAh (ianker.com), which can fully charge most phones twice before running out of juice.

Keep your carry-on to code. Most airlines in Asia

enforce a maximum carry-on baggage size limit of 56-by-36-by-23, or 115 linear centimeters. If you don’t want to get stuck paying a checked-​luggage fee at the gate, be sure your bag meets the guidelines.

TROUBLESHOOTING Use all available resources. If your flight is

canceled or delayed and you

by the numbers .

120 thousand

The total number of flights on Asia Pacific airlines canceled in the past year.

F R O M F L I G H T S TAT S . C O M

FOUR WAYS TO SPEED ALONG YOUR ROAD TRIP 1

Leave early— or day of. Can’t get out before the masses?

Try leaving the morning of the holiday.

2

Have an alternate route mapped out.

Though you can always map on the fly, it helps to know in advance which roads you can take should your preferred route get backed up.

3

Scout out delays or accidents en route with Google Maps.

Better yet, pay it forward by using Trapster, where you (or your passenger) can add your own traffic updates for other drivers.

4

Save money on gas. Use the Waze app to locate the stations around you with the lowest prices.

want to be rebooked quickly, get on the phone and in line at the airport. Struggling to get through on the airline’s international numbers? Try dialing into the alternative-​​​ language line and pleading to continue in English.

Be your own advocate.

When you need to rebook, help the airline agents help you by offering up alternate flights, routes and even destinations: you might be able to rent a car and drive the rest of the way.

(Trip insurance may cover the cost.) The FlightStats website has a great service that actually locates open seats on other flights.

Though airlines are reluctant to rebook passengers on different carriers, it’s always worth a try.

Get comfortable. For US$50, you can usually buy yourself a day pass for an airline lounge, which comes with free food, drinks and Wi-Fi. Agents there may also be able to help with any travel hiccups. The app LoungeBuddy can locate nearby spaces and tell you how much they cost.

Make lemonade. Don’t

settle for an airport hotel (or a spot on the floor) if you’re waylaid by a storm while in transit. You can usually find a stylish, well-priced last-minute room with the Hotel Tonight app or one of its many competitors, including Booking.com and Priceline. —a.f. and m.g.

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Tech

Want to share a travel app or ask a tech question? Tell us at tripdoctor@ travelandleisureasia.com.

1

TRAVEL VIDEOS 101

How to become a top videographer— with nothing but your smartphone.

By Tom Samiljan

SHOOTING Five tips for capturing stellar footage.

1. Hold your phone horizontally.

It’s the only way to avoid having black bars on either side of the frame. Record via Horizon (US$1.99; Android, iOS), and videos will default to landscape mode.

2. Look for sunshine.

Avoid dark settings, which make for grainy videos, and turn on every available light when shooting indoors.

3. Cancel out the noise.

Shoot in quiet places if possible—otherwise, cup your hand around the mic, or use an add-on microphone, such as the Mikey Digital (US$99; bluemic.com), to minimize aural distractions.

4. Use a tripod.

We love the ultra-​ portable Griptight GorillaPod Video (US$50; joby.com), which comes with a tilt-and-pan handle for sweeping shots.

5. Don’t be afraid to overdo it.

Shooting several takes—and including still images—will offer context; it also provides more options during the editing process.

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EDITING & SHARING Tools that take your flicks from amateur to pro.

BEST FOR FILTERS Cameo (free; iOS) Vimeo’s debut filmmaking app—coming soon to Android—stitches together new and existing footage and adds filters with funky themes that extend to the title cards and credits (we love the Wes Anderson–inspired “Royal”).

T R AV E L A N D L E I S U R E A S I A .C O M

BEST FOR SPECIAL EFFECTS Filmic Pro (US$4.99; iOS) Unleash your inner James Cameron with unparalleled manual controls that allow you to tweak cinematic details such as frames per second.

BEST FOR ANDROID VidTrim Pro (US$3.99; Android) Few great moviemaking apps exist for Android users, since video processors vary widely across devices. This app can shorten clips, add a soundtrack and even increase your resolution to HD-quality 1080p.

BEST FOR EDITING ON THE GO Fly (free; iOS) Easy to use and effective; its intuitive swipe and pinch motions let you rearrange images, trim clips and create picture-in-picture scenes.

BEST FOR SOCIAL SHARERS Cinamatic (free; iOS) Ideal for Vine and Instagram addicts, it offers premium controls for contrast, saturation and brightness—all with the goal of producing the perfect six-second clip.

3

STORING The smartest place to store your videos isn’t on your phone— or with expensive cloud services.

It’s officially the era of personal clouds.

These wireless hard drives keep your files private and secure, on servers that only you can access. Shutter (streamnation.com/ shutter; US$19 a month for unlimited storage; Android, iOS) is optimized for both photo and video management—it automatically uploads, consolidates and organizes content from all of your mobile devices, without taking up internal space. Plus, a companion app makes it easy to browse (and share) your media files from your smart phone or tablet.

QUICK-FIX APPS Apps such as Storehouse (free; iOS) and Magisto (free; Android, iOS) turn your existing photos and videos into multimedia stories—no work required. For a no-fuss time-lapse film, try Instagram’s new Hyperlapse (free; iOS).

ILLUSTR ATED BY BEN WISEMAN

Trip Doctor

Planning

Q+A

HOW MUCH SHOULD I PLAN TO SPEND ON AN AFRICAN SAFARI?

F R O M T O P : C O U R T E S Y O F A N D B E Y O N D ; C O U R T E S Y O F H A M I LT O N S T E N T E D C A M P ; C O U R T E S Y O F A F R I C A N B U S H C A M P S

Luxury camps can cost more than US$1,000 per person, per night. But you can still have a great wildlife adventure full of creature comforts for less than half that—if you take the right approach. (And remember: that price includes meals and alcohol, guided game drives and conservancy fees.)

Here, tips from T+L’s A-List travel advisors.

FIND THE RIGHT ACCOMMODATIONS You don’t have to forgo amenities such as high-thread-count sheets and turndown service, even in blue-chip destinations. In South Africa’s Kruger National Park, Extraordinary’s Hamiltons Tented Camp (extraordinary.co.za; $421*) is set in a 10,117-hectare concession. Sarova Mara Game Camp (sarovahotels.com; $247), in Kenya’s Masai Mara, has spacious semipermanent tents with decks, and is a favorite of Leora Rothschild of Rothschild Safaris. More adventure-minded travelers should consider explorer-style camps—with canvas walls and bucket showers (usually with pre-warmed water!). Top picks from the Africa Adventure Company’s Mark Nolting include Mashatu Tent Camp (mashatu.com; $350), in Botswana’s Northern Tuli Game Reserve, and Asilia Africa’s Dunia Camp (asiliaafrica.com), in Tanzania, a steal at $250 during the Serengeti migration in May.

Hamiltons Tented Camp, in Kruger National Park, South Africa.

CONSIDER UP-ANDCOMING COUNTRIES The walking safari was invented in Zambia, where luxury lodges can cost a third as much as counterparts in neighboring Botswana. The two biggest players are Norman Carr Safaris (norman-carrsafaris. com) and Robin Pope Safaris (robinpopesafaris.net).

After decades of financial instability, Zimbabwe is back— and its incredible wildlife and guides are a great value. The country also accepts US dollars, which are easier to exchange internationally. Consider the solar-powered Somalisa Camp, in Hwange National Park, and the 12-person Kanga Camp, in Mana Pools, both from African Bush Camps (africanbush​ camps.com; $415 mid-season).

TRAVEL IN THE OFF-SEASON Low season varies from country to country. Teresa Sullivan of Mango Safaris loves the “green” period, when rain creates a lush environment across Botswana and East Africa from December through May (so you may have to look a little harder to spot wildlife). Wilderness Safaris (wilderness-safaris.com) and andBeyond (andbeyond.com) offer discounts of up to 60 and 44 percent, respectively.

And Machaba Camp (machabacamp.com; $480 in low season), on Botswana’s Khwai River, is a great find.

Another tip: don’t time your trip to the wildebeest migration in the Masai Mara–Serengeti ecosystem. While you’ll miss the enormous herds, you will see the resident game at a better price. Nomad Tanzania (nomad-​tanzania.com) slashes its prices by up to 50 percent.

andBeyond’s newly rebuilt Kichwa Tembo Tented Camp, in Kenya’s Masai Mara.

DRIVE INSTEAD OF FLY To keep costs down, Cherri Briggs of Explore, Inc. suggests road transfers, which are much cheaper than flying between lodges. The four-hour drive from Kasane Airport in Botswana to Hwange National Park is $127 per person; it’s $520 by air. From there, it’s four hours by vehicle to Victoria Falls for $94, or a $286 flight. Bonus: drives take you through some of the most wildlife-rich terrain—which you’d miss from above. +

Our Experts Cherri Briggs cherri@exploreafrica.net Mark Nolting mark@africa-adventure.com Leora Rothschild leora@rothschildsafaris.com Teresa Sullivan teresa@mangosafari.com

Kanga Camp, in Mana Pools, Zimbabwe.

*All are starting prices in US dollars per person, per night during high season, unless otherwise noted.

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Strategies

T+L’s Air Travel Report

Our annual report on the state of the skies examines how airlines are improving the in-flight experience, with new business-class seats, cabin innovations, technology and more. PLUS T+L’s FlightDelay Hall of Fame—and Shame.

Air France’s new first-class La Première cabin Joël Robuchon–designed meals are served on Jean-Marie Massaud tableware with Christofle cutlery.

Fabrics include merino-wool throws and leather headrests.

The 78-inch lie-flat bed comes with a futon mattress and a Sofitel My Bed duvet.

Forget nostalgia for the days of Pan Am. This is the best time to fly.

Plush duvets and down pillows, showers and private vanities, chef-driven menus, enormous private entertainment systems, designer amenity kits. Life at the front of the plane has never been more comfortable than it is right now. In the past seven years, as aircraft such as the Airbus A380 and Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner have come online and carriers have upgraded aging fleets, airlines have been engaged in an arms race for premium fliers, pouring hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars into their cabins. The results are astonishing for both the sheer opulence and the attention paid to the subtlest details of the passenger experience, from Etihad’s over-the-top, three-room Residence suite (see page 89) to the storage areas in

Singapore’s new business seats created specifically for laptops and tablets. (See page 90 for what others are doing.) In the meantime, any world-class airline that didn’t already have fully lie-​flat seats is now introducing them (Air France, above). But the upgrades don’t stop up front. New layouts are making more room for premium economy, which offers a taste of the business experience at softer prices (see page 88). Improved technology—intuitive touch-screen video systems; better Wi-Fi—is also becoming standard across all cabins. The one hitch: as airlines increase capacity in economy, those seats are feeling increasingly pinched. What does this all mean if you’re in the back?

Airlines are giving you more incentive than ever to move on up.

Reported by Nikki Ekstein, Amy Farley, Peter J. Frank, Merritt Gurley, Monsicha Hoonsuwan, Brooke Porter Katz, Melanie Lieberman and Ingrid K. Williams

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I L L U S T R AT E D B Y J A M E S O N S I M P S O N

COURTESY OF AIR FR ANCE

Cabin Fever

Thick curtains, rather than a sliding door, enclose the suite for privacy.

Serenity Now

Airlines are treating international jetsetters to something new: long, uninterrupted sleep. Carriers have been rolling out new lie-flat business-class seats on their long-range wide-body jets to woo passengers flying across continents. Here’s a comparison of the latest offerings.

Air New Zealand Business Premier

Japan Airlines JAL Sky Suite

China Airlines Premium Business Class

Boeing 787-9’s on AKL-NRT and AKL-PVG.

Boeing 787-8’s on NRT-FRA and NRT-JFK.

Boeing 777-300ER’s on TPE-HKG, TPE-LAX, TPE-JFK and TPE-SFO.

The seats

While the width of 22 inches is nothing to write home about, these 18 leather seats have an extra-long pitch of 79.5 inches when folded out into a lie-flat bed, and are dressed with a soft memory foam mattress, two full-size pillows and a cozy duvet.

The smart, staggered 2-2-2 configuration allows convenient aisle access for everyone. Each 25.5-inch-wide flat-bed seat sports a retractable partition and an airweave S-LINE mattress, which is more dense around the waist for better sleep comfort.

Forty seats laid out in a 1-2-1 herringbone arrangement promise both accessibility and privacy.

Every ergonomic seat is 78-inches long, besting JAL’s 74-inch offering, and comes with a wood-grain table, a personal lamp and multiple storage areas.

The experience

Peter Gordon’s fresh dining creations paired with awardwinning New Zealand wines will fill your flight with flavor.

Screens are still just 11-inches, but the revamped entertainment system features new channels like Chick Flicks and Man Cave.

Western main courses designed by El Bulli-trained Chikara Yamada, along with seasonal, healthy Japanese dishes by renown Japanese chefs are on the menu. An à la carte second meal can be ordered via a personal touch-panel controller.

The East-meet-West Sky Lounge in the middle of the cabin serves up selected Taiwanese tea with snack cakes or coffee brewed with locally grown beans. A mini bar, velvet cushions and more than 100 selected shows on an 18-inch screen help the time fly by.

Bottom line

In addition to premium check-in, lounge entry and priority baggage claim, little touches like an extra ottoman that turns a lonely meal into a romantic face-to-face dinner will make Business Premier worth the splurge when it starts flying to Tokyo and Shanghai in December.

We’re looking forward to this airline’s inaugural 12-hour Narita-Frankfurt flight on December 1 and Narita-New York flight starting January 2015. JAL’s attention to detail brings a welcome touch of luxury hospitality and fine dining to the in-flight experience.

The interior facelift, amping up the Taiwanese cultural and artistic touches, makes the aircraft feel like a destination in itself. The fully reclined seat is almost as long as the airline’s firstclass seats, sure to up the comfort factor during the 12-hour Taipei-Los Angeles flight commencing in December.

F R O M L E F T: C O U R T E S Y O F A I R N E W Z E A L A N D ; C O U R T E S Y O F J A P A N A I R L I N E S ; C O U R T E S Y O F C H I N A L A I R L I N E S

Where you’ll find it

FINAL SAY

SO WHAT’S HAPPENING TO ECONOMY?

While premium passengers reap the rewards of competition among airlines, it’s a different story in back. One problem, according to Tim Winship, publisher of Frequentflier.com, is that carriers are flying at near-full capacity these days, so you can no longer count on having an empty seat next to you. At the same time, airlines are squeezing in more seats, using slim-line models

that are narrower and have less padding than previous versions. On the flip side, new planes do offer better in-flight technology both obvious (touch screens) and less so (humidity controls; mood lighting). Whether this counteracts the increasing claustrophobia of economy is up for debate. One thing is certain: those premiumeconomy seats are looking mighty tempting.

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Strategies

A Class of Your Own

Lufthansa is the latest airline to introduce premium economy. T+L takes a look at what your money buys, based on sample fares from Frankfurt to Hong Kong. economy

premium economy

business

SPOTLIGHT

950

*

€

1,300

€

At 17 to 18 inches, economy seats are standard for the industry, and have a seat pitch of 31 inches. Hot meals are served on long hauls, including freshly baked bread.

As for the entertainment: nine-inch seatback screens offer access to on-demand movies, TV shows and live sports. Every other seat has a set of power outlets.

Upgraded service starts at check-in, with a second free checked bag and discounted lounge access. On the plane, seats have 7 more inches of pitch, greater recline, roughly an extra inch of width, and center consoles for extra privacy. Other value-adds: amenity kits, welcome cocktails, enhanced meals served on china, USB ports and fold-out tables.

3,100

€

Multicourse meals, amenity bags filled with high-end skin-care products, designer pajamas: the bells and whistles are practically endless. The adjustable, fully lie-flat seats measure 78 inches in length, with semiprivate cabin configurations and universal power outlets. Lounge access is the icing on the cake.

*Fares reflect the approximate median cost in euros at press time of a round-trip flight from Frankfurt to Hong Kong booked six months out.

HOW-TO

FIND THE BEST SEAT Just because you’re in the back of the plane doesn’t mean you can’t fly in comfort.

88

KNOW YOUR PL ANE MODELS

CONSIDER THE AIRLIN E

CHECK THE SE AT CONFIGUR ATION

USE THE RIGHT BOOKING TOOLS

For long-haul flights, look for the spacious double-decker Airbus A380, used primarily

by Emirates, Singapore Airlines, Qantas and Lufthansa. New smaller aircraft, including the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and Airbus A350 XWB, have larger windows, HD video screens and lower cabin pressure.

Most booking websites, including Kayak, list plane details in the results.

“Some airlines, such as American, are now squeezing 10 seats per row into a Boeing 777 where nine used to be the standard,” says Gary Leff, aviation expert and founder of BookYour​Award.com.

He says that Asian carriers, in general, have more comfortable cabins (both more space and amenities), followed by European airlines—something to keep in mind for long-haul flights.

The quickest way to see the cabin layout for a specific flight is on SeatGuru’s app (free; Android, iOS) or website (which recently launched a flight-search function).

Detailed maps indicate whether there are lieflat seats in business, if you should expect less legroom because of an equipment box, and which seats to avoid so you don’t end up near the lavatories—or get repeatedly bumped by the service cart.

On Routehappy.com, you can search by factors such as nicer planes, entertainment, fast Wi-Fi and roomier seats. A “happiness” score—like Hipmunk’s “agony” index and SeatGuru’s G-Factor— is used to rank flights.

Want to know if the food is palatable on a specific British Airways route?

Or if Cathay Pacific’s Premium Economy seats have outlets? Check out Flyertalk.com forums for reviews from fliers.

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SINGAPORE AIRLINES PREMIUM ECONOMY Singapore Airlines is catching up with its competitors like Cathay Pacific and Qantas in the premium-economy game. The muchanticipated launch, scheduled for the second half of next year, will add the flashy new cabins to its Boeing 777300ERs, Airbus A380s and the upcoming Airbus A350-900s operating long-haul routes. The details are still in the works, but expect even more legroom than the 37-inchpitch Executive Economy seats, the new product's short-lived predecessor; a wider range of food and beverage options; and a pricetag up to 60 percent higher than standard economy.

Comfort has costs.

Open the Google app and say “Ok Google, show me the inside of the 787 Dreamliner.”

The living area includes a supple, Poltrona Frau leather sofa and 32-inch HDTV.

SPOTLIGHT

WHAT DOES A US$43,000 PLANE TICKET BUY YOU? Spread across 12 square meters of the A380’s upper deck, Etihad’s extravagant, two-person Residence suite takes in-flight luxury to a new level.

In the oversize en suite bathroom: a spa-style shower with 60 nozzles.

Made-to-order multicourse meals (boeuf bourguignonne, anyone?) are whipped up in the plane’s galley.

Savoy Academy– trained private butlers can procure anything you could ask for (in advance)—even specific vintages of Merlot.

The extra-long bed stretches 79 inches, with a natural-fiber mattress and custom linens.

Budget Airline Update

Low-cost carriers are on the rise. Here, some of our favorites around the globe. oslo stockholm

edmonton calgary

copenhagen london gatwick

toronto johannesburg

são paulo singapore

cape town

EUROPE Norwegian This carrier is attempting world domination, flying to 126 cities in Europe, North Africa, Thailand, the Middle East and most recently the U.S., with routes to New York; Fort Lauderdale and Orlando, Florida; and a handful of West Coast cities. Its new planes have free Wi-Fi and larger overhead bins.

AFRICA Mango Great perks—updated seats with three extra inches of legroom; a checked-luggage allowance of 20 kilograms (up to two bags); Wi-Fi on most flights for a nominal fee—make up for a somewhat limited route map. It goes to eight destinations in South Africa, plus one flight to Zanzibar.

ASIA Tigerair A favorite among Southeast Asia travelers, it flies to 50-plus cities in Asia and the Pacific.

Carry-on limits aren’t as strict as at many lowcost carriers, and light meals are available for purchase. The downside?

Fees, fees, fees (for checked bags, seat selection and credit card payments).

SOUTH AMERICA Gol With access to free videos and music via a Wi-Fi-enabled laptop or mobile device, keeping passengers entertained is a priority for Gol. Carry-on allowances are not: the limit is 5 kilograms. It reaches 60 cities in South America and the Caribbean; Comfort Class is available on some flights.

NORTH AMERICA WestJet The company’s first transatlantic route (to Dublin) recently launched, joining 90 cities in Canada, the U.S., Mexico and the Caribbean (with more to come). Some planes have seatback satellite TV; others have rental tablets with preloaded shows. All fares include a checked bag.

Maps show airlines’ main hubs.

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Strategies

THE GOODS

Sky-High Amenities In-flight perks we love.

Cabin crew uniforms courtesy of Vivienne Westwood on Virgin Atlantic.

Sheepskin mattresses on Qantas’s first-class seats, which unfold into 71-inch lie-flat beds.

Coffee by Brazil’s master barista, Isabela Raposeiras, on TAM Airlines.

Embellished Ottoman-style samovars for tea service on Turkish Airlines.

The coziest pillows—decked out in a traditional palm print—for fliers in Air Tahiti Nui’s business-class cabins.

CLOSER LOOK

ALL BUSINESS, ALL THE TIME Can La Compagnie, a new business-class airline, succeed?

We’re rooting for it.

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When it comes to the business-class-only model, there have been more tales of failure than success. Eos, Maxjet and Silverjet all went bankrupt. L’Avion fared better, debuting in 2006 before being purchased by British Airways two years later. (It now operates under BA’s OpenSkies.)

Enter La Compagnie (lacompagnie.com).

Cofounded by the entrepreneur behind L’Avion, the airline recently launched service between Paris and Newark. Tickets start at just US$1,800, with flexible fares going for US$4,800. (Compare that to Lufthansa, Air France and British

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Givenchy slippers for Singapore Airlines’ first-class passengers.

Nannies aboard Etihad Airways flights.

Among their tricks to keep kids in all classes entertained: amenitykit sock puppets and service-napkin origami.

Private chauffeured pickups that take Emirates’ first-class passengers to their homes, hotels and beyond.

Airways, whose business-class fares can run more than US$6,000.) La Compagnie doesn’t, however, offer a true business class, with fully lie-flat seats, seatback entertainment and the like. Instead, its 74 seats lie flat, but at an angle—though they do have a built-in massage feature plus a whopping 62 inches of pitch. Other perks include lounge access, two checked bags, Caudalie amenity kits, personal Samsung Galaxy tablets and three-course meals; free Wi-Fi will roll out soon. It sounds almost too good to be true—and it may be, so get your tickets now (and don’t forget trip insurance!).

C L O C K W I S E F R O M T O P L E F T: C O U R T E S Y O F V I R G I N AT L A N T I C ; C O U R T E S Y O F T U R K I S H A I R L I N E S ; © L A R R Y G E V E R T/ D R E A M S T I M E . C O M ; C OU R T ESY O F L A C O M PAG N IE; C OU R T ESY O F J E T B LU E; P H IL IP F RIEDM A N; C OU R T ESY O F A IR N E W Z E A L A N D

cool

amazing!

Flexible SkyCouches on Air New Zealand let you transform three seats into a couch (in economy!).

Self-service snack bars for JetBlue travelers mean all the Terra Chips you can eat.

How to Avoid Flight Delays

Do you trust your luck when it comes to staying on schedule? Neither do we.

Use these stats to make smart booking choices—and maximize your odds for an on-time landing.

The Best and Worst Asia Pacific Airports for holiday travel If we were betting folk, based on last year’s holiday flight traffic we’d put our money on Japan to get you in the air on time. As for departure delays, Chinese airports top the list.

1,118,757 Total number of flights delayed for longer than 30 minutes in Asia Pacific in the past year From July 2013 through June 2014; data courtesy of FlightStats.

Best

OSAKA

92.87%

NGO

NAGOYA

92.37%

HND

TOKYO

89.35%

CJU

JEJU

88.98%

OSAKA

86.92%

ITM

KIX

The most punctual international carriers, and their less dependable counterparts.

PERCENTAGE OF ON-TIME DEPARTURES

SHA

The Hall of Fame—and Shame

SHANGHAI

PERCENTAGE OF DELAYED ARRIVALS

The Top 5

The Bottom 5

Air Busan

China united airlines

8.14%

57.52%

Japan Air Commuter

Xiamen airlines

8.36%

55.53%

Alliance Airlines

Pakistan International Airlines

8.71%

53.73%

J-Air

Tibet Airlines

8.80%

52.55%

Thai AirAsia

Shenzhen airlines

10.06%

51.89%

48.12%

PVG

SHANGHAI

43.08%

CGO

ZHENGZHOU

41.22%

NKG

NANKING

38.76%

SYX

SANYA

35.68%

Worst

Figures indicate the average percentage of flights that departed within 15 minutes of schedule from December 1-31, 2013; data courtesy of FlightStats.

Figures indicate the percentage of flights that arrived more than 15 minutes behind schedule from July 2013 through June 2014; data courtesy of FlightStats.

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Trip Doctor

Deals

T+L RE A D E R S PECI A LS

THIS MONTH’S BEST DEALS From beach breaks to urban shopping sprees, let these sun-drenched destinations inspire your holiday travels. sp ec i a l singapore s$341 p e r n igh t

A Deluxe room at the one-year-old The Westin Singapore.

HONG KONG Stay and Shop package from JW Marriott Hotel Hong Kong (marriott.com), 602 guestrooms with breathtaking vistas. The Deal A stay in an Executive room. The Highlights Special shopping privileges from Harvey Nichols Hong Kong and a bottle of welcome champagne.

Cost From HK$3,800, double, through November 30. Savings 15 percent.

BANGKOK Discovery Awaits from Le Méridien Suvarnabhumi (lemeridiensuvarnabhumi.com), a newcomer featuring one of the region’s best golf courses. The Deal A stay in a Grande Deluxe

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room. The Highlights A shuttle service to Mega Bangna mall and a round-trip airport transfer.

Cost From Bt4,333, double, November 16, 2014-March 31, 2015. Savings 51 percent.

SINGAPORE First Anniversary package from The Westin Singapore (thewestinsingapore. com), a Marina Bay hotel celebrating its one-year anniversary of opening on November 12. The Deal Three nights in a Deluxe room. The Highlight The third night at a special rate of S$1. Cost From S$683 (S$341 per night), double, through December 30.

Savings 33 percent.

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S u pe r S ave r

CHINA Breaking New Ground from Sheraton Zhuhai (sheraton.com), in southern Guangdong’s coastal city. The Deal A stay in a Deluxe room. The Highlight RMB500 cash coupon per stay, applicable at all hotel venues including Yue, Someplace Else and The Pantry. Cost From RMB1,288, double, November 12December 31. Savings 45 percent.

Culture CHIANG MAI Sawasdee Chiang Mai from Away Phucome Villa (awayresorts.com), a contemporary Lanna-style threebedroom vacation house near Chiang Mai Zoo. The Deal Two nights in a six-to-eight-person villa with a private swimming pool. The Highlight A one-day chauffeured trip for six people to five attractions of your choosing: the Tiger Kingdom, an elephant camp, Mae Sa Waterfalls, a strawberry farm, a crocodile farm, a monkey farm or Arts in Paradise Museum. Cost From Bt30,000 (Bt15,000 per night) for six people, through March 31, 2015. Savings 50 percent.

COURTESY OF THE WESTIN SINGAPORE

City

Trip Doctor

Deals

Beach VIETNAM Weekend Offer from InterContinental Nha Trang (nhatrang.intercontinental.com), an upgraded beachfront hotel 40 minutes from Cam Ranh International Airport. The Deal Two nights in a Deluxe room.

The Highlights Hotel credit of VND650,000 per stay and 4 p.m. late checkout. Cost From VND5,800,000 (VND2,900,000 per night), double, through December 24. Savings 20 percent.

THAILAND Super Saver Promotion from X2 Kui Buri (x2lobby.com), 23 stylish villas, each with a home theater, an hour south of Hua Hin. The Deal A stay in a Deluxe Pool villa. The Highlights Daily champagne breakfast, 10 percent discount on food and nonalcoholic beverages, and 20 percent discount on spa treatments. Cost From Bt5,947, double, through December 20.

Savings 60 percent.

Bespoke dining at lebua Resort, in Jaipur, India.

LUANG PRABANG Luang Prabang Escape from Belmond La Résidence Phou Vao (belmond. com), 34 family-friendly suites in an authentic French-Laotian building. The Deal Two nights in a Junior suite. The Highlight A full-day Mekong River cruise to the famous Pak Ou caves, complete with a riverside gourmet picnic for two. Cost From US$998 (US$499 per night), double, ongoing. Savings 20 percent.

RAJASTHAN Royal Retreat package from lebua Hotels & Resorts (lebua.com), operating five luxurious properties in Bangkok, India and New Zealand.

The Deal Two nights in a double room at any of the following properties: the hilltop Devi Garh by lebua in Udaipur, lebua Resort

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in Jaipur or lebua Lodge at Amer in Jaipur. The Highlights A customized, private dining experience and round-trip airport transfers. Cost From US$725 (US$363 per night), double, through March 31, 2015.

Savings 25 percent.

HONG KONG Break-cation package from pentahotel Hong Kong (pentahotels.com), an industrial-chic neighborhood hotel in East Kowloon. The Deal A stay in a pentaroom. The Highlights A round-trip pentamini ride to Nan Lian Garden, Kowloon Walled City or various eateries in Kowloon; and a Hong Kong-style tea set with a choice of local drinks like red bean iced milk and dai pai dong milk tea. Cost HK$1,488,

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MALAYSIA Seven Nights Getaway from Shangri-La’s Rasa Ria Resort (shangri-la.com), in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, surrounded by 162 hectares of tropical rainforest. The Deal Seven nights in a Deluxe Garden View room. The Highlight Fifteen percent discount on food and beverages, water sports activities, à la carte spa treatments, and green fees at Dalit Bay Golf Club. Cost From RM5,677 (RM811 per night), double, through December 31.

Savings 20 percent.

Wellness INDONESIA Special Year-End Promotion from Nihiwatu Resort (nihiwatu.com), 2.5 kilometers of private beach on the island of Sumba, eastern Indonesia. The Deal Four nights in a Deluxe Pool villa. The Highlights A 60-minute traditional Sumbanese massage for one

person; and US$500 credit per couple for activities like boating, surfing or diving lessons, and spa treatments. Cost From US$1,980 (US$495 per night) including full board, double, through December 20. Savings 25 percent.

TAIPEI Luxury Escape from Mandarin Oriental, Taipei (mandarinoriental.com), with the city’s most spacious rooms and suites. The Deal Two nights in a Club Lifestyle suite. The Highlights Spa and wellness facilities access for two; a choice of two-hour Absolute Facial by Biologique Recherche, 90-minute Oriental Essence Massage or a half-day spa journey; an in-room champagne and caviar breakfast for two; and specially designed set menus at the hotel’s signature restaurants. Cost From NT$376,000 (NT$188,000 per night), double, through December 30. Savings 18 percent.

BALI You Stay We Pay from new Courtyard by Marriott Bali Seminyak (courtyard.com), 287 designer rooms and suites with private balconies. The Deal Two nights in a Deluxe room. The Highlight US$100 credit towards any hotel services, including all-day breakfast or a revitalizing body treatment at Zanti retreat. Cost From US$702 (US$351 per night), double, through November 30.

Savings 28 percent.

PHUKET Three Nights Amore package from The Pavilions (thepavilionsresorts.com), adult-only, romance-themed villas with intimate private pools. The Deal Three nights in a Spa & Pool Pavilion. The Highlights Daily champagne breakfast; a welcome foot massage for two; a 90-minute spa treatment for two; a candlelit dinner for two at The Plantation Restaurant; and daily afternoon tea. Cost From Bt44,100 (Bt14,700 per night), double, November 1-December 20. Savings 50 percent. +

COURTESY OF LEBUA HOTELS & RESORTS

double, through December 23.

Savings 42 percent.

A 24/7 ESCAPE. TRANQUIL BY DAY. ELECTRIC BY NIGHT. SITUATED BETWEEN MAENAM AND BO PHUT, IT HAS THE FINEST AND MOST PRISTINE BEACH LOCATION IN THAILAND, OVERLOOKING STUNNING BEACHES AND LUSH FORESTS, W RETREAT KOH SAMUI AWAKENS AS THE SUN GOES DOWN, IGNITING THE UNEXPECTED. ILLUMINATING.. ENVIRONS. TAKE IT EASY. SURROUNDED BY VERDANT FOLIAGE, EACH OF OUR 74 PRIVATE-POOL RETREATS BOASTS A PRIVATE OUTDOOR POOL AND INFINITE ISLAND VIEWS. INSIDE, PREMIER TECHNOLOGY MEETS W SIGNATURE BED, BLISS® SPA AMENITIES AND WHATEVER/WHENEVER® SERVICE. W RETREAT KOH SAMUI T 66 77 915 999 / F 66 77 915 998 EXPLORE WHAT’S NEW / NEXT WRETREATKOHSAMUI.COM WHOTELS.COM/KOHSAMUI

November 2014

Features

EDDIE SMITH

98 Malaysia’s East Coast 106 Global Vision Awards 114 Sri Lanka 122 Siem Reap 128 Favorite American Cities

Carved Khmer history outside of Siem Reap, page 122.

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SOUL-SOOTHING SULTANATE Driving the northeast coast, in the shadow of milky domes, ribbon-leafed trees and batik kites, M A R C O F E R R A R E S E unveils some of Malaysia’s least-told beachside fantasy tales. P H O T OG R A P H E D BY K I T Y E N G C H A N

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Coconut trees rustle on the Beach of Melody, Bachok.

Opposite: The faÇade of Tengku Tengah Zaharah floating mosque, Kuala Terengganu.

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“HONK AGAIN. MAYBE IT’LL SCARE THAT THING AWAY.” Our car’s stopped in the middle of a country road, so there’s no traffic light to be seen. No, a giant monitor lizard has made a pit stop between us and the background of warm ochre and azure sea that locals dubbed Pantai Irama (Beach of Melody), so enchanted were they by the hushing sound of its breeze. We interrupt nature’s song with honking, but to no avail; the green monster keeps still, blocking access to the alluring line of coconut trees spread before us. They jut out of a cake of golden sand like tall spoons with green ribbons at their handles. If we want a slice, we have no choice: pushing on the pedal, I inch forward until Godzilla’s flickering tongue almost licks the dust off our front bumper.

This does the trick. The reptile sluggishly cocks its head and slips off the side of the road, granting us safe passage to a private concert of sighing sea breeze, crashing waves and shifting sand.

This wild stretch of Malaysia’s northeastern coast lies near Bachok, a sleepy fishing village that’s a 30-minute drive from Kota Bharu, Kelantan, and only two hours away from the border with Thailand. From here, hundreds of kilometers of dramatic coastline roll untamed to the south, mostly ignored in the gold rush to the better-known white sands of the nearby Perhentians and Redang Island. I’d like to bemoan that fact, but it leaves these less-praised beaches even more pristine for being empty. An exploring-at-our-own-pace road trip leaves us free to fly kites, wander temples and boat yards, devour soothing Nyonya cooking, and luxuriate in so much un-touristed seafront that we wonder if we haven’t stumbled into a fantasy book about children set free. Indeed, having this downhome side of Malaysian big blue all to our own is a commensurate fairy tale reward for the dragon lizard’s defeat.

Splashing into the warm water feels great, but there’s much more to see around Kota Bharu in the districts of Tumpat and Bachok. This 100

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Clockwise from above: Tengku Tengah Zaharah and its lagoon; Pantai Kemasik, just south of Marang; the sitting Buddha image at Wat Machimarran Varran, in Tumpat; the author’s favorite nasi kerabu served on a banana leaf in Kota Bharu market; fabrics and fashion dazzle up Kota Bharu market.

borderland is renowned for its series of SinoThai Buddhist temples that blend pointy roofs with the blazing reds and yellows of Chinese devotion. Our favorite is Wat Phothikyan in Kampung Balai near Bachok, whose twin dragon-shaped walls protect a 33-meter-tall image of Buddha. The ultimate perk is the temple’s own herbal bath sauna: the aromatic mist and spiritual atmosphere combine to conjure pure soul soothing.

Before we call it a day at luxe Perdana Resort—a collection of terraced beachside bungalows set around a lovely swimming pool just north of the city center on Pantai Cahaya Bulan (Moonlight Beach)—we check the pulse of Kota Bharu. A bastion of Malay culture, the city’s heart beats inside an old circular building home to one of the country’s most famous covered markets. As we enter, a python of fresh smells coils around our necks and bites our nostrils with the sharp fragrance of chopped greens and aromatic curries. The food is delicious; our favorite is nasi kerabu—rice with dried fish or fried chicken over crunchy prawn crackers— served fresh from the wok. A short stroll away, hidden among the nearby traditional wooden houses of Kampung Kraftangan (Handicraft

Village), we find Zecsman Design, a hole-in-thewall studio where Malay artist Zecs teaches us how to handle the batik wax pencil. His studio is cramped but neat, with batik of all sizes hanging from the walls or stashed in piles of wooden shelves and boxes. There’s barely enough space for Zecs to set up the table where he supervises a girl’s attempts to push some color into the scales of a silky tropical fish.

W

e cross the Terengganu state line and drive south along a flaxen thread of sand that tight-knits the ocean with the land. It almost hurts to see how deserted these nameless beaches are, and it’s impossible to avoid making frequent stops to tuck our toes in the sand. After what should have been a threehour drive, it’s already afternoon when the coastal road becomes an elevated bridge, and we cruise over a colored batik of Moorish domes and coconut trees slung across the estuary of the Terengganu River. Almost unsurprisingly, we take a blessed wrong turn, blaze past the central waterfront of Kuala Terengganu, our planned destination, and once again find ourselves magnetized to a vacant corner of the ocean.

Pantai Batu Buruk: the dune buggies cruising up and down the sand give this beach a touch of modernity in stark contrast to the city’s Islamic feel. But we are soon drawn back into Terengganu’s traditions, for the main activity here is flying kites. All along the seafront, Malaysians young and old spread their arms up in the sky to battle against the wind. One of

Clockwise from top left: Traditional Malay stilted houses in Kuala Terengganu; surveying the center hall of Kota Bharu market; threewheeled transport in Kota Bharu; the Crystal Mosque sparkles in Kuala Terengganu.

Kuala Terengganu’s icons, the floating mosque Tengku Tengah Zaharah, is visible in the distance. Opened in 1995 by the local Sultan, it’s a white drop of the finest marble drifting over a green lagoon set against the backdrop of a wet kiss between sky and sea.

The bright pink sunset we see from the top of Bukit Puteri (Princess Hill) at the coastline in Kampung Panglima sets the mood for a change.

Thankfully, Chinatown beckons right around the corner like a smiling China doll nested inside of Kuala Terengganu’s Islamic Matryoshka.

Madam Bee’s Kitchen stands out as the best choice among the 19th-century shop houses lined along the main street. Renovated to a cozy and homey restaurant, Madam Bee’s dishes up Nyonya food Terengganu-style. The taste of their laksa Terengganu—a feast of rice noodles soaked in shredded fish gravy and garnished with cucumber and bean sprouts—stays on our minds and taste buds until we drift off to sleep on Pulau Duyong, a charming islet in the midst of the Terengganu River, and the Malay heartland of the city. Duyong Old Fort stands in effigy to the 19th century, when Pulau Duyong was an important site of religious learning. We spend the night at the Ri-Yaz Heritage, a group of delightful villas with wooden room fittings and airy verandas inhaling a mesmerizing brew of sea and freshwater.

In the early morning light, though, this riverine spot turns into a spooky ghost town of looming stilt houses, a maze-like cemetery of abandoned dinghies and bumboats marooned on the beaches. Where have all the people gone? A sudden hammering sound both scares us and gets the best of our curiosity. We sneak to the back of a ramshackle building and unveil the mystery: it’s just the master craftsmen fashioning the curvy structures of yet more wooden boats. In fact, rather than a burial ground, this is a birthplace, an open-air showroom. Every November since 2005, the Monsoon Cup brings international yachting teams here for a race on the seasonal high tides.

“Meeting skippers from all over the world is very inspiring and boosts production,” says Alim, a boat maker with eyes the color of the dark wood he’s bending. The regatta transformed Pulau Duyong from sleepy fishermen hamlet to quirky global resort setting, and Ri-Yaz Heritage, set on a secluded crest facing the mouth of the estuary, has capitalized on this fact. Today, we lounge at the pool while watching the sun change the colors of the South China Sea. T R AV E L A N D L E I S U R E A S I A .C O M

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B

esides being a destination in its own right, Kuala Terengganu is also the jumping-off point to Pulau Kapas (Cotton Island), a lower key, but not less stunning island compared to her blazoned sisters up north. We drive 20 minutes south to the pier at Marang and board a bumboat for more island diversions. Pulau Kapas lies only 5 kilometers off shore and can be tackled as a day trip. Why rush, though? With powder beaches, tropical rainforest, a sister atoll (Pulau Gemia) to the north, and reefs wriggling with multicolored tropical fish, Pulau Kapas has unquestionably all of the family’s bells and whistles, less the flocks of tourists. The greatest luxury here is submitting to an empty blue sea.

We spend the rest of the day in our swimsuits, dipping and lounging under palm trees with wiry dive master Izzat and his small group of students, the only other guests on the island.

People come here to earn their PADI certification from as far as Japan, Izzat tells us, and it’s not only because the waters are crystalline to a depth of 20 meters—there’s also a World War II wreck site: a sunken Japanese boat that lies upright 25 meters below, off the coast of Gemia. “Divers like it here because they can feel the simplicity and beauty of nature,” Izzat says.

So do we. The night rolls a gripping carpet of blazing stars overhead, taking our breaths away.

On our last day, we leave the shore behind to venture an hour inland through forested back roads to the freshwater beaches of Tasik Kenyir.

This 260-square-kilometer lake, created in 1985 with the damming of the Kenyir River, is the biggest man-made body of water in Southeast Asia. Our cabin at Lake Kenyir Resort is modern comfort on a waterfront sheltered by some of the oldest rainforest in the world.

Setting off on a boat ride to the center of the lake, I persuade the boatmen to steer us towards the enormous cluster of fish farms floating in the middle. Workers stop shuttling about and feeding fish to wave at our dinghy. We can’t help but jump off the boat and onto their platform, clumsily trying our own hand at their rough trade. We dunk two long pond nets into the breeding pools, scoop up squirming fish, and haul them into empty tanks. The workers cross their arms at the small of their backs, smile and rest. We, sweating and laughing, are nowhere close to lounging among the sunseekers on one of Redang’s famed coves. But like that monitor lizard roadblock, this detour has taken us somewhere far more fulfilling. +

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Clockwise from right: Go fly a kite on Pantai Batu Buruk, in Kuala Terengganu; racing down Pantai Kemasik; a fish farm in Tasik Kenyir; Wat Phothikyan’s 33-meter-tall Buddha image is protected by dragon gates, in Kampung Balai; the Chinese Mosque in borderland Rantau Panjang.

+

T L Guide Getting There Fly from Kuala Lumpur to Kota Bharu or to Kuala Terengganu via AirAsia (airasia.com) or Firefly (fireflyz.com.my).

Rent a car on arrival at Kota Bharu Sultan Ismail Airport from Hertz (simedarbycarrental.com; 60-3/7966-7000; four days, unlimited mileage rental from RM750) or Hawk (hawkrentacar. com.my; 60-3/56316488; four days rental approximately RM830).

STAY Perdana Resort On a crescent of sand a stone’s throw from the airport and the main city attractions.

Jln. Kuala Pa’Amat, Pantai Cahaya Bulan, Kota Bharu; 60-9/774-4000; perdanaresort.com.my; doubles from RM188.

Ri-Yaz Heritage Swanky cottages and duplexes face the South China Sea from the mouth of Terengganu’s biggest river. Kolej Agama Sultan Zainal Abidin, Kuala Terengganu; ri-yazheritage. com; 60-9/627-7888; doubles from RM1,100.

Qimi Chalet Natural immersion in cozy wooden chalets on a beach with some of the best snorkeling on the island.

Pulau Kapas; 60-19/6481714; doubles from RM130.

Lake Kenyir Resort Soak

up nature in style in modern wooden villas overlooking a quaint bend of the lake. Tasik Kenyir; kenyirlakeresorts.com; lake view doubles from RM258.

EAT Madam Bee’s Kitchen 177 Jln. Kampung Cina, Kuala Terengganu; 60-12/ 988-7495; meal for two RM25; open 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily.

SEE + DO Zecsman Design Batik Painting Classes Handicraft Village, Jln. Hilir Balai, Kota Bharu; 60-12/ 929-2822; facebook.com/ zecsman; three-hour batik painting classes RM100 for two.

Bukit Puteri Splendid views of Kuala Terengganu’s waterways beckon at the top of this hill. Jln. Sultan Zainal Abidin, Kampung Panglima; admission RM1; open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.

Pulau Kapas visit and diving Catch a bumboat with any of a number of operators at Marang pier; they depart regularly from 9 a.m. daily for RM25 oneway. Plan a dive trip with Aqua-Sport PADI center by contacting the Kapas Island Resort office in Kuala Terengganu. T-009 Blok Teratai, Taman Sri Kolam, Jln. Sultan Sulaiman, Kuala Terengganu; 60-9/631-64 68; kapasislandresort.com.

A fisherman on Burma’s Lake Inle, near the Inle Princess Resort.

T+L’S 2014

GLOBAL VISION AWARDS THE HOTELS, TOUR OPERATORS, AIRLINES AND INNOVATORS THAT ARE TRANSFORMING THE WAY WE SEE THE WORLD, NOW AND IN THE FUTURE.

Edited by Nikki Ekstein and Amy Farley. Reported by Nina Fedrizzi, Stirling Kelso and Melanie Lieberman

For Travel + Leisure’s 2014 Global Vision Awards, we tasked our jury with evaluating the efforts of airlines, hotels, cruise lines, and car-rental and tour companies around the world that are working to preserve and protect the places we travel through. Here, this year’s winners in five categories.

H E A D S H O T S , C L O C K W I S E F R O M T O P L E F T: C O U R T E S Y O F B O N N I E B U R N H A M ; A A R O N S O S A ; C O U R T E S Y O F A N YA A N D J O S E P H S T I G L I T Z ; C O U R T E S Y O F R A C H E L R O Y; S C O T T W I T T E R ; D A V I D C R O O K E S ; L I S A N I P P. Y I N M Y O S U P O R T R A I T: D A V I D D E V L E E S C H A U W E R . O P P O S I T E : D A V I D D E V L E E S C H A U W E R

THE JURORS

Bonnie Burnham President and CEO of the World Monuments Fund

K. C. Hardin Cofounder and president of Conservatorio SA, a company dedicated to historic preservation in Panama

Alyse Nelson President and CEO of Vital Voices Global Partnership, an NGO supporting women’s empowerment

Joseph Stiglitz and Anya Schiffrin Nobel Prize–winning economist; director of Columbia University’s media and advocacy program

Jochen Zeitz Founder of the Zeitz Foundation and owner of Segera Retreat

Rachel Roy Fashion designer, activist and philanthropist

Blake Mycoskie Founder and Chief Shoe Giver, Toms Shoes * Prices throughout are listed in US dollars.

Yin Myo Su, with a Burmese cat from the Inthar Heritage House at Inle Princess Resort.

T+L EDITORS’ PICK: THE VISIONARY

YIN MYO SU

INLE PRINCESS RESORT, BURMA The daughter of hoteliers, Yin Myo Su (or Misuu, as she is known) grew up steeped in an industry that’s now poised to transform profoundly her once closed-off country—for better or worse. So Misuu is using her Lake Inle mini-empire, which includes the 46-chalet Inle Princess Resort (inleprincessresort.net; $225), the Inthar Heritage House and restaurant

(intharheritagehouse.com), and a new hospitality training school aimed at locals, to demonstrate and develop the values of sustainable travel.

At the heart of all her enterprises is a deep sensitivity to the environment, the needs of surrounding communities, and the cultural traditions of this increasingly popular region.

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The people we encounter when we travel are often what make our trips so memorable. And yet they remain on the sidelines of the industry­.

The winners below flip that script by involving locals at their very core, creating experiences for travelers that are all the more extraordinary.

T+L’S GLOBAL VISION AWARDS

COMMUNITY

WINNER

CONSERVANCY SAFARIS NAMIBIA

Himba women in Damaraland, Namibia.

SWAKOPMUND, NAMIBIA

What It Is A locally owned mobile safari company offering an authentic experience of northwestern Namibia.

Runner-up

Runner-up

How It Works Banding together five communal conservancies across some 12,950 square kilometers, CSN has enabled roughly 2,000 seminomadic pastoralists to become conservationists, safari guides and community hosts—putting the lucrative tourism industry in the hands of those who know the terrain best. One result of a national campaign for locally led wildlife management, CSN’s efforts have helped the area’s elephants, black rhinos and lions rebound from near-extinction levels—creating a template that has been replicated across almost 20 percent of the country’s total land area.

SIEM REAP, CAMBODIA

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA

These Bill Bensley–designed sister properties (a boutique hotel and nearby resort) stand out for their Development Center, a free-ofcharge hospitality academy for Khmer youth. Ten years and 215 graduates later, it has also launched a sustainable-farming course and a microfinance arm.

Take the Trip Order the sevencourse menu at Shinta Mani’s Kroya for a taste of Khmer fare. shintamani.com.

With itineraries in 100-plus countries, this small-group adventure-tour operator visits and supports local causes around the world. Its Intrepid Foundation has donated US$3.5 million since 2002 to 69 global initiatives, including Tanzanian orphanages and family planning in Peru.

Take the Trip Shop for embroidered goods in a Hmong village on a 10-day Thailand trip. intrepidtravel.com.

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F R A N S L A N T I N G/C O R B I S

Take the Trip T+L A-List agent Chris Liebenberg books trips through Namibia’s Damaraland and Kaokoveld that include a desert camp stay with CSN. kcs-namibia.com.na.

SHINTA MANI CLUB & RESORT INTREPID TRAVEL

What are travelers seeking? A distinctive sense of place, that feeling of being surrounded by history and local traditions. As these winners demonstrate, we may find this at an archaeological site across the globe—or in a well-designed hotel just around the corner.

T+L’S GLOBAL VISION AWARDS

CULTURE

WINNER

21C MUSEUM HOTELS

A guest room with photographs by Lauren Argo at the 21c Museum Hotel Louisville.

T O N Y S O L U R I / C O U R T E S Y O F 2 1C M U S E U M H O T E L L O U I S V I L L E

LOUISVILLE, KENTUCK Y What It Is An innovative hotel brand turning unexpected American cities into art-driven destinations.

How It Works 21c has helped reinvigorate the declining urban centers of Cincinnati and Louisville, Kentucky, by creating hotels-as-cultural-institutions. Its recipe: breathe new life into a historic building by seeding it with stylish, contemporary guest rooms and a cutting-edge art museum that is free and open to the public and has ample local programming. With five more properties in the works (including two in Oklahoma City and Kansas City, Missouri), the 21c mission is expanding.

Take the Trip In early 2015, the latest 21c will open with 125 guest rooms in a restored early-20th-century bank building in Durham, North Carolina.

21cmuseumhotels.com; US$299.

Runner-up

Runner-up

BOULDER, COLORADO

SIERRA NEVADA DE SANTA MARTA, COLOMBIA

ADVENTURES IN PRESERVATION This voluntourism organization pairs travelers with archaeologists, art historians and preservationists to save notable structures, from a plantation in Virginia to an 18th-century tower in Albania.

Take the Trip Help restore volcanic-stone buildings in Ecuador with architect Juan Diego Badillo this January. adventuresinpreservation.org.

CIUDAD PERDIDA For the first time in decades, the “lost city”—ruins of the ancient Tayrona civilization— is open to travelers, thanks to a careful management plan created by Colombia’s Institute of Anthropology and History and the Global Heritage Fund.

Take the Trip Book a six-day hike with Magic Tour Colombia, one of five operators permitted on the site. magictourcolombia.com.

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A protected landscape can both inspire travelers and preserve ecosystems for years to come.

The winners in this category have taken responsibility for hundreds of thousands of threatened hectares—from savanna to prairie to forest—bringing endemic flora and wildlife under their care.

T+L’S GLOBAL VISION AWARDS

CONSERVATION WINNER

CAMPI YA K ANZI

CHYULU HILLS, KENYA

A Maasai guide from Campi Ya Kanzi in Kenya’s Chyulu Hills.

What It Is A Maasai-owned safari lodge in the shadow of Mount Kilimanjaro.

Runner-up

Runner-up

How It Works The lodge’s smart profit-sharing strategy allots portions of each guest night to a community fund that covers the salaries of 100-plus antipoaching scouts. The trust doubles as an insurance agency for herders, compensating them when lions or cheetahs attack their livestock and deincentivizing the practice of retaliatory killings.

It’s a double win: wildlife populations have grown significantly—and so has the local economy.

NORTHEASTERN MONTANA

JALISCO, MEXICO

To create the largest conservancy in the Lower 48, this American West nonprofit is expanding its nearly 123,500 hectares of Montana grassland. Already, it has restored 450 bison to the prairies, 120 years after they’d disappeared.

Now Kestrel Camp, a complex of luxury yurts, invites visitors to explore the reserve.

Take the Trip Absolute Travel offers Montana itineraries that stop at Kestrel Camp. absolutetravel.com.

While much of Mexico’s Pacific coast has succumbed to big development, this stylish 38-room estate takes a different approach, supporting a sprawling, 10,100-hectare nature reserve— much of it semi-deciduous dry forest, one of the most threatened habitats in the region.

Take the Trip Visit between August and February to assist biologists help baby turtles reach the sea. cuixmala.com; US$500.

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C O U R T E S Y O F C A M P I YA K A N Z I

Take the Trip Micato Safaris, a previous GVA winner, offers a 15-day itinerary through Kenya and Tanzania, including a stay at Campi Ya Kanzi. micato.com.

AMERICAN PRAIRIE RESERVE CUIXMALA

Whether it’s reducing energy use in the country’s most trafficked air hub in the U.S. or bringing tourism dollars to local communities in quiet pockets of the world, the winners in the Leadership category know how to leverage their size and strengths. Their accomplishments are pushing the envelope for the entire travel industry.

T+L’S GLOBAL VISION AWARDS

LEADERSHIP What It Is The busiest airport in America— and also one of the greenest.

How It Works Crowned by a new LEED Gold–certified international terminal, Hartsfield-Jackson has significantly reduced its per-passenger footprint—cutting 8 percent of its energy usage, 16 percent of its water consumption, and 29 percent of waste since 2008. To make it happen, everything from bathroom faucets (all 1,000 of them) to runway lights has received an energy-efficiencyminded overhaul.

Concourse F in the new international terminal at Atlanta’s HartsfieldJackson airport.

Take the Trip Don’t miss the only in-airport 40/40 Club, in Concourse D, one of three sports bars and lounges owned by hip-hop mogul Jay-Z. atlanta-airport.com.

Runner-up

KLM ROYAL DUTCH AIRLINES

C O U R T E S Y O F H A R T S F I E L D - J A C K S O N AT L A N TA I N T E R N AT I O N A L A I R P O R T

AMSTERDAM A champion for renewable fuels, KLM helped to found a company that supplies biofuels to nearly two dozen airlines worldwide.

Last year, the carrier joined forces with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to launch the industry’s first weekly biofuel flight, between JFK and Amsterdam’s Schiphol—an important step in making alternative fuels the new standard.

Take the Trip The carrier’s new business-class cabins feature carpets made from recycled KLM uniforms. klm.com.

Runner-up

G ADVENTURES TORONTO A small-group adventure-tour operator with a big impact, G Adventures takes more than 150,000 people around the world each year, connecting clients with local communities. Its area of expertise: identifying villages and regions with tourism potential and building them up sustainably, through homestay programs, microenterprises and education initiatives.

Take the Trip Explore Guatemala’s Mayan ruins of Tikal—followed by a homestay near Lake Atitlán—on a 16-day Central America expedition. gadventures.com.

WINNER

HARTSFIELD-JACKSON ATLANTA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (ATL) T R AV E L A N D L E I S U R E A S I A .C O M

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It’s one thing to lighten a hotel’s footprint behind the scenes. It’s quite another to incorporate these measures—and the broader values they represent­—into the guest experience.

That’s what these properties have accomplished in subtle, meaningful ways.

T+L’S GLOBAL VISION AWARDS

SUSTAINABILITY The Tree Top Villas at China’s Naked Stables Retreat.

WINNER

NAKED STABLES PRIVATE RESERVE

MOGANSHAN, CHINA

How It Works Built entirely with sustainable, recycled and locally sourced materials, Naked Stables has put environmental concerns front and center from the very start, with green construction a core value. Three years later, it also maintains organic greenhouses, a composting program and dozens of innovative energy-saving initiatives. They all add up to a LEED Platinum certification—the first in China.

Take the Trip During the harvest season (April through October) guests can pick and roast downy leaves of white tea on Naked Stables’ private fields. nakedretreats.cn; US$293.

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Runner-up

Runner-up

CAPE TOWN

SANTA CRUZ ISLAND, ECUADOR

This stately hotel overlooking Table Mountain proves that it’s possible to transform a historic property—that dates back to the 1800’s—into a beacon of energy-efficient hospitality.

Take the Trip A serene escape from the city, the hotel’s 3-hectare gardens include indigenous blooms such as tangerine-colored crane flowers. vineyard.co.za; US$246.

A pioneering model of land-based tourism in the Galápagos Islands, this new 14-room luxury eco-lodge uses solar panels, rainwater harvesting and locally sourced biofuels to minimize its impact on the islands’ fragile environment.

Take the Trip Pikaia’s Land & Sea Safari includes four nights at the lodge and six on a private yacht. pikaialodgegalapagos.com.

VINEYARD HOTEL

PIKAIA LODGE

C O U R T E S Y O F N A K E D R E T R E AT S

What It Is An eco-resort of thatched-roof bungalows and treetop villas in the pristine forests outside Shanghai.

NORTHERN EXPOSURE A stone’s throw from the Subcontinent and just a few years removed from no-go status, the ancient bastions Jaffna and Trincomalee open to reveal the India-inflected charm of Sri Lanka’s Tamil homelands. B Y J O E C U M M I N G S

Outside Nallur Kandaswamy Kovil, the spiritual heart of Jaffna.

P A U L K E N N E D Y/ G E T T Y I M A G E S

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I D R I S A H M E D/G E T T Y I M A G E S . O P P O S I T E : K E V I N C L O G S T O U N /G E T T Y I M A G E S

Fishermen moored on Point Pedro.

Opposite: At Nallur Kandaswamy Kovil.

t took me four visits to Sri Lanka before I finally made it to Jaffna and Trincomalee. These jewels of the Northern Province had been ravaged by more than two decades of civil war.

Jaffna, though one of the oldest inhabited places in all of South Asia, also has been one of the most hotly contested over the last 400 years. Tamil chieftains from India founded a powerful kingdom known as Aryacakravarti here in the early 13th century. Financed by rich pearl and elephant exports, the dynasties dominated the northern peninsula, only to lose it all to the seafaring Portuguese empirebuilders who in 1619 moved in on the calm bays and lagoons of Jaffna, kicking off generations of ownership disputes. Trincomalee has been long-prized territory, boasting a natural, deep-water harbor—the world’s fifth largest—that drew seafaring traders from around the globe for centuries, and battling navies during Europe’s Thirty Years War. Trinco, as it is popularly known, was heavily embattled during the Sri Lankan civil war, and further devastated by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Now, both cities are reawakening to the world.

Descending towards Jaffna’s Palaly Airport aboard a Sri Lankan Air Force-operated MA-60—a vivid reminder that national security remains an issue, in Colombo’s mind at least—I’m awed by the thick carpet of greenery extending between the Indian Ocean and the Bay of Bengal coasts.

War has a way of being a boon for natural conservation wrapped in a curse for local lives and livelihoods. Some 85 percent of Sri Lanka’s palms are found in the Northern Province, one of many ways in which the local geography stands apart from that found in the rest of the island nation.

My first stop in the city, Jaffna Fort, was established by the Portuguese to defend their entrepôt from competing imperialists. Massive stone walls, flaring buttresses and deeply recessed corridors couldn’t stop the Dutch navy from seizing the city shortly after the citadel’s completion. The Dutch, who expanded and strengthened the fort, in turn were usurped by the British by the start of the 19th century. Today, the city’s most emblematic and photographed attraction escapes its historical role on weekends, when the grassy grounds and adjacent beachfront come alive with picnic blankets and Tamil families clad in colorful saris and lungis.

Jaffna’s more ancient, spiritual heart is Nallur Kandaswamy Kovil, a large Hindu temple dedicated to Murugan, one of Lord Shiva and Parvati’s two sons and brother of the elephantT R AV E L A N D L E I S U R E A S I A .C O M

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THERE’S MORE OF INDIA THAN SERENDIP IN JAFFNA. SHIVA AND GANESH GUARD TRAFFIC CIRCLES IN PLACE OF BUDDHA headed Ganesh. The previous kovil, built in the mid-15th century, was destroyed by the Catholic Portuguese in their attempt to rid Jaffna of all Hindu places of worship. The temple was rebuilt several times, most recently in 1807 during British rule, and today is surrounded by red-and-white striped walls in much the same style as its counterparts in southern India.

But, completely at odds with my experience at many temples in India, I’m allowed through the gates of Nallur Kandaswamy without any fuss about my devotional loyalties or birthright. I leave my shoes with attendants, and continue towards the temple’s inner sanctum, topped by a brightly painted tower of entwined deities. Following a small group of old men wrapped in white lungis, and bearing sacred cotton string across their torsos to display “twice-born” high-caste status, I’m stopped by a temple guard. Expecting to be denied entry as a foreign outcaste, I instead realize he’s gesturing for me to remove my shirt in demonstration of humility and openness. Smiling at this reversal, I move through the temple interior past rows of niche shrines framed by carved, gilded arches.

In the hour-and-a-half I spend at Nallur, I don’t spot a single non-Tamil visitor. This turns out to be the case everywhere I go in Jaffna. It’s a striking contrast to my experiences throughout the rest of Sri Lanka where, no matter the season, I’ve always encountered plenty of other foreigners. Here, it’s almost as if I’ve traveled to another island nation apart from the teardrop of tea plantations and the Cultural Triangle.

In fact there’s more of India than there is Serendip in Jaffna—no surprise as the Palk Strait separates Sri Lanka from India by only 35 kilometers. Gaudily painted gopurams replace whitewashed dagobas on the skyline, while statues of Shiva, Murugan and Ganesh stand guard over traffic circles in place of Gautama Buddha. As in India, locals show a keen interest in preserving old British cars, and one sees more Austin and Morris badges on the street here than anywhere else in Sri Lanka.

I

n Jaffna Market, a series of shed-like alcoves and open-air, tin-and-wood pavilions running across several city blocks, the first thing I notice is an overwhelming number and variety of bananas and plantains, for which the Northern Province and Jaffna District in particular are famous. Jaffna mangoes, aided by sandy soils and plenty of sunshine, are also highly regarded throughout Sri Lanka. Jaffna’s fishermen stock the market with a daily bounty of crab, prawn, lobster, mullet, squid, sea cucumbers and crayfish. Arrive by 6 a.m. for the best selection; there is little left by 10 a.m.

Keep an eye out for Jaffna cheroots, a homegrown, hand-rolled staple of the peninsula in colonial times, when they were shipped all over Asia and beyond. Jaffna cigars won a gold medal at the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair, beating the Havana competition. Today, locals say M Chandresakaran, at a stall near the main banana section, rolls Jaffna’s best.

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My initiation into Jaffna’s distinctive local cuisine takes place at Villa Margosa, an impeccably restored 16th-century Dutch villa where I stay for a few days. On the villa’s breezy veranda, resident chef Selvin Durairaj serves Jaffna crab curry, a signature dish made with blue swimmers, fresh from the nearby lagoons, smothered in a rich brown gravy redolent of chilies, fenugreek and curry leaves (only the pungent, fresh leaves are used here, in contrast with the dried leaves popularly used in India).

Even after all the crabmeat has been cajoled from the shells, I’m eagerly spooning the leftover sauce onto fragrant Northern Province rice.

Rounding out the candlelit banquet are delicately fried eggplant slices and a stir-fry of murunga (“drumstick” pods from the moringa or benzoil tree), which mate well with puttu, cylinder-shaped columns of steamed rice alternating with coconut.

Meanwhile, Mangos, an open-air restaurant conveniently close to Nallur Kandaswamy Kovil, offers an extensive menu of Jaffna Tamil, South Indian and Sinhalese specialties, all freshly prepared to order. This is the place to try Jaffna kool, another regional specialty in which fish, crab, cuttlefish, prawns and anything else that swims in local waters are simmered into a seafood broth, to which long beans, purple yams, spinach and other vegetables may be added. The broth is thickened with ground Palmyra root, and lightly acidified with a lashing of tamarind before serving. It’s as rich and delicious as New Orleans gumbo.

Jaffna has the warmest microclimate in Sri Lanka, so one finds ice cream parlors everywhere in the city. The most famous, Rio Ice Cream on Point Pedro Road, serves tasty falooda, a thick Arab-Indian smoothie made with colorful layers of rose essence, cashew nuts, poppy seeds, vanilla ice cream, condensed milk and agar agar.

In the centuries-old seaside village of Point Pedro, one gets another strong colonial whiff.

Rows of crumbling of Victorian-inspired villas flank a shoreline road, facing Burma across the Bay of Bengal. At almost 3,000 kilometers away, it’s not exactly close, but it’s a straight line.

One house stands out from the rest—a crumbling two-story affair with a more squat profile than those of its neighbors. The elaborate, carved-stucco façade, aged to a soft ochre by the sea air, makes me think of Mandalay. When I chat with the fruit-shop owner next door, he says the home’s original inhabitant was a Tamil sea captain who plied his trading ship between Point Pedro and colonial Burma a century earlier.

After the captain retired, he returned here with two wives and a team of builders.

C L O C K W I S E F R O M T O P : J O E C U M M I N G S ; P A U L K E N N E D Y/G E T T Y I M A G E S ( 2 )

Clockwise from above: At the Temple of a Thousand Columns; the north is known for bananas, like these in Jaffna Market; Shiva dominates Trinco’s Koneswaram Temple.

C L O C K W I S E F R O M T O P L E F T: J O E C U M M I N G S ; J O N AT H A N & A N G E L A S C O T T/ C O R B I S I M A G E S ; D I A N A M AY F I E L D/ G E T T Y I M A G E S .

OPPOSITE: COURTESY OF UGA JUNGLE BE ACH

Along the Grand Bazaar in Jaffna. Above, from left: Hoppers, a Sri Lankan staple, await their fillings; a pilgrim at Koneswaram Temple, Trinco.

A

nother air force MA-60 flies me southeast to Trincomalee. Virtually off limits to all but locals, relief workers and the military until the truce of 2009, its healthy endowment of idyllic beaches, coral reefs and seasonal blue whales is once again attracting the outside world. Like Jaffna, Trinco is a Tamil-dominated, Hindu-majority area, and my first stop is Koneswaram Temple, the focus of local religious life. Perched atop a bluff called Swami Rock, overlooking the Bay of Bengal, the temple today lies entirely within the Sri Lankan Army-occupied Fort Frederick, named by the Dutch but built by the Portuguese. Actually: reassembled by the Portuguese. The ancient shrine called Temple of a Thousand Columns was known far and wide in the Hindu world until 1622, when the Portuguese used chunks of it to construct their fort and then unceremoniously pushed the rest into the sea.

Noted science-fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke, who made his later-life home in Sri Lanka, surveyed the temple’s underwater ruins while scuba diving near Swami Rock in 1956. Describing a 10thcentury figure as “among the finest examples of Hindu bronze sculpture known to exist,” Clarke was largely responsible for expanding public awareness of the historic site and its valued artifacts. In 1963, Trincomalee Tamils restored the temple and reinstalled many of its original images. Although it’s much smaller than Jaffna’s Nallur Kandaswamy, it shares a similarly pious atmosphere and is considered one of Sri Lanka’s most potent pilgrimage sites for Hindus and Buddhists alike.

Today’s pilgrims include a steadily increasing number of international visitors seeking out long, pristine beaches north and

+

T L Guide Getting There Fly direct into Colombo from Bangkok via Thai Airways (thaiairways.co.th) or Sri Lankan Airlines (srilankan.com); from Singapore via Cathay Pacific (cathaypacific.com), Sri Lankan Airlines, Singapore Airlines (singaporeair. com) or Malaysia Airlines (malaysiaairlines.com); and from Kuala Lumpur via AirAsia X (airasia.com), Sri Lankan Airlines or Malaysia Airlines. Helitours (helitours. lk) operates domestic flights from Colombo to Jaffna and Trincomalee from Rp4,150 per person one way.

Uga Jungle Beach.

STAY Villa Margosa 40 Kandy Rd. (A9), Chundikulli, Jaffna; 94845/154-1320; expo-pavilionmargosa-jaffna-sri-lanka. lakpura.com; doubles from US$110 including meals.

Uga Jungle Beach Kilometer 27, Pulmoddai Rd., Kuchchaveli, Trincomalee; 94-26/567-1000; ugaescapes.com/junglebeach; doubles from US$189.

EAT AND DRINK Mangos 359/3 Temple Rd., Nallur, Jaffna; 94-21/222-8294; dinner for two US$25.

Malayan Café 36-38 Grand Bazaar, Jaffna; meal for two US$10.

Rio Ice Cream 448A Point Pedro Rd., Jaffna; smoothies for two US$5.

SEE+DO Nallur Kandaswamy Temple AB20, Vembady Rd., Jaffna.

Jaffna Market Hospital Road, Jaffna.

Jaffna Fort Beach Road, Jaffna.

Koneswaram Temple Swami Rock, Trincomalee; admission US$0.50.

south of Trinco. At Kuchchaveli, a wide 4-kilometer expanse of golden sand backed by remarkably well-preserved coastal forest, I settle in at the first resort to open in the area, Jungle Beach by Uga Escapes.

A sturdy timber-and-bamboo bridge, sheltered by palm-thatch, makes a dramatic entry through the native greenery from the parking area. Low-profile yet luxurious villas sit well behind the tree line—I’m told that only two trees were cut during the resort’s construction— so as not to spoil the view from the beach, and they’re comfortably scattered around the 4-hectare estate to ensure privacy when using decks and outdoor rain showers.

A freeform, tropical pool segues into a cozy outdoor bar, which is linked to a dining area where fresh seafood and authentically spicy Sri Lankan dishes keep one from regretting the fact that there are no nearby restaurants.

Inland lies huge Periyakarachchi Lagoon, aflutter with colorful birdlife. Jungle Beach staff can arrange open-ocean boat trips to observe the blue whale migration from March to November, and, off nearby Pigeon Island, shark-viewing dive trips. At last, after decades—nay, centuries— of turmoil, the worst predators here are found under water. +

IN DIA POINT PEDRO

JAFFNA

Sri Lanka BAY OF BENGAL

PALK STR AIT

KUCHCHAVELI BE ACH

TRINCOMALEE

WILPAT TU NATIONAL PARK

BAT TICALOA

LACCADIVE SEA

K ANDY

0

COLOMBO

T+L Tip As the north is still relatively untraveled, consider enlisting the help of bespoke operator Sri Lanka in Style, which creates custom itineraries to Jaffna and

20 K M

Trincomalee (as well as the rest of the country) focusing on cultural immersion and unique, cool accommodations.

94-11/239-6666; srilankainstyle.com.

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Anthropology, hospitality and technology join forces in the ongoing revival of this Cambodian city. M E R R I T T G U R L E Y runs part of a marathon, flies in a microlight and cycles hidden pathways around ancient ruins, exploring new ways of touring the temples of Angkor.

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EDDIE SMITH (2)

SIEM REAP RISING

Flying over Pre Rup temple. Opposite: Lofty views aboard a microlight plane.

Clockwise from top left: Cycling an empty entrance of Angkor Thom; a dancer in Apsara regalia; ancient ruins hidden by jungle; the Park Hyatt Siem Reap colonnade; Khmer-inspired decoration at Park Hyatt Siem Reap. Middle: Engravings in mid-restoration.

O P P O S I T E : C L O C K W I S E F R O M T O P L E F T: J A G O G A Z E N D A M ; C O U R T E S Y O F A N A N TA R A A N G K O R ; E D D I E S M I T H ; C O U R T E S Y O F P A R K H YAT T S I E M R E A P ( 2 ) ; J A G O G A Z E N D A M

t is 4:30 a.m. and I’m surrounded by halfnaked tourists. The bass thuds as Ludacris’s “What’s Your Fantasy” ushers in daybreak.

I wanna li-li-li-lick you from yo’ head to yo’ toes, and I wanna move from the bed down to the down to the to the flo’.

I doubt that in even his wildest fantasies, the rapper imagined his raunchy hit echoing off the pinecone-shaped stone spires of Angkor Wat, painted gold from the dawn’s Midas touch.

The abrupt collision of ancient majesty with contemporary smarm certainly has my head reeling. The music inches down from deafening to merely very loud as the emcee makes an announcement: “It is time for the men’s 42K to line up at the start. Are you ready?!”

This is the first-ever full marathon in Siem Reap, and I am definitely not ready. Just waking up this early has already pushed me to my athletic limits. I’m hoping these spandex-clad strangers assume I’m actually tackling the marathon, or the half marathon, or even the 10-kilometer run. My racing bib, with “3k fun run” printed in giant bold text, is sure to spoil my ruse, so I wait until the final moment to clip it across my chest.

Usually I would argue that this “fun run” should be called a “short run” since running isn’t fun. On this day

though, I am close to a convert. The 3 kilometers are lined by a lake, dotted in vestiges of the Khmer kingdom and the air has that morning smell, fecund with promise. It might be the endorphins I keep hearing so much about, or maybe it’s the chessboard of august 900-year-old architecture as the backdrop, but I’m actually enjoying the jog. Most of the participants are, like me, just out here to be a part of the adventure and to try a less conventional method of sightseeing in this well-trodden territory.

Over the past two years new roads both literal and figurative have been paved to Siem Reap’s glut of ancient architecture. Never-ending renovation projects continue across the expanses, innovative technology has allowed scientists to uncover elements of this medieval site that had been lost to time and, perhaps in acknowledgment of this place’s historic might, Google Maps in April added more than 90,000 photographic panoramas of the Angkor Wat complex to Google Street View. New hotels, tours, restaurants and shops are elevating the temple-hopping town to a multi-faceted tourism destination.

“Siem Reap is going through a boom,” says Daisy Walsh, marketing communications manager at the Park Hyatt Siem Reap. Two years ago this address was the Hotel de la Paix, a swanky brand in its own right, but after a management change and makeover by designer and architect Bill Bensley, the Park Hyatt is now one of the most youthful and stylish five-stars in town. Bensley also led the recent Shinta Mani Siem Reap reboot. (“He knows how to take a great hotel and make it even better,” Walsh winks.)

With the flood of new boutique-style accommodations that have opened in the past year, including the lovely Anantara Angkor, Sala Lodges, Nita by Vo, and Suorskear, it takes that extra edge to stand out.

This kind of hospitality one-upmanship is a welcome change of pace for residents here along the Tonle Sap, where recent hardship, modern development and ancient history strike a cautious compromise. “There have only been 15 years of real peace,” tour guide Yous Sapana tells me. “Only for four years we have had a decent road to Thailand. Before that, with all potholes and land mines, we couldn’t go anywhere.” Sapana was abducted by the Khmer Rouge at age 10 in 1975, and enslaved for three years. His life story, a tale of heartbreak and triumph, would make for a gripping biography, and the current chapter is one of optimism. “We are running 30 years behind and we are still in the process of learning,” he says, “but we are making so much progress. It is not just Thailand that is happy, Cambodia is the land of smiling too.”

“HINDU MONKS HAVE HIPSTER BEARDS,” our guide Samnang Chann tells us, pointing to engravings on a column inside Angkor Wat, where sunrise today was serenely rap-free. Chann is full of quick tricks to suss out which iconography is Buddhist and which is Hindu: “Many arms, it is Hindu; two arms, it is Buddhist,” he tells us.

I keep studying the walls, trying to channel archaeologist Noel Hidalgo Tan, who in May published a study on his use of a NASA algorithm to enhance digital T R AV E L A N D L E I S U R E A S I A .C O M

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I SEE THE TOILS OF DAILY LIFE 1,000 YEARS AGO excitement: “That was so awesome and amazing. What a perfect morning.”

Aero Cambodia owner Brian Naswall, gives me a nod.

“That’s always the reaction,” he says. “They have a permanent smile on their face that they have to go to the doctor to have removed.” The grazing cows and pecking chickens on the airfield belie the serious certification process—created in concert with the Cambodian government—that was required to launch the service earlier this year. “It was about the same as setting up a mission to Mars,” he says. I take it as an encouraging sign that Aero Cambodia is currently the country’s sole microlight operator. Before, “they had tuk-tuk drivers flying these things over the beach. They almost crashed into a group of sunbathers,” Naswell says, but now “Cambodia is one of the safest countries in the world for aviation. Usually money and power will buy you anything you want, but not in aviation here.”

That’s music to my ears as I slide in behind Eddie Smith, the pilot, on this two-seat plane. Naswell tugs on a rope that starts the engine, and it begins chattering like a pull-string

EDDIE SMITH

photographs of paintings throughout Angkor Wat. The technique revealed images that cannot be seen by the naked eye: scenes of animals and gods that are of particular interest because they were drawn during a lesser known time in the temple’s history, straddling the transformation of the monument from a Hindu to Buddhist temple.

Leading our group on a new cycling itinerary launched

by Grasshopper Adventures last year that winds through some of Siem Reap’s most atmospheric temples, Chann teaches us about the tug-of-war between the two religious traditions in each renovation of the monuments. Often these lessons happen in blissful solitude. During long stretches of the day, the six of us are the only people in sight, with the lesser-known entrances and falling pagodas all to ourselves—a damn near miracle at a tourism destination that draws 2 million visitors a year. But that’s the whole point of this bike route.

In Angkor Thom, where The Bayon temple’s menagerie of giant stone faces sits pretty in the center, we ride atop the 8-meter-high laterite wall buttressing the complex, stopping to check out overgrown ruins and jungle clearings and to peer down at the men in canoes fishing the moat below. Back paths and hidden trails snake past the Terrace of the Elephants—a stone wall decorated in a parade of pachyderms, mahouts, garudas and lions—and smaller pagodas like Ta Nei. In Ta Prohm, that monastery half swallowed by jungle, the effect of roots mangling the foundations is rugged, wild and cinematic, but not so great for preservation. The Archaeological Survey of India is rebuilding many of the crumbled main structures and reinforcing the trees to keep them from plummeting and taking down whole chunks of the temple too. Italy, Japan, France, Poland and Great Britain are among the many countries to have pitched in over the years, and New Zealand and China both have committed to multi-million dollar restoration campaigns.

There is a giant appetite for Angkor architecture, and many nations are willing to contribute to its preservation—but time is relentless and the job is never really done.

This fact became glaringly apparent just last year, when archaeologists Jean-Baptiste Chevance and Damian Evans used a revolutionary instrument called a lidar on a sevenday helicopter expedition to uncover the 1,200-year-old Mahendraparvata city, also known as Mount Kulen. The device used laser pulses to see through the jungle canopy, revealing that 36 previously recorded ruins were linked by a grid of roads, waterways and temples segmented into city blocks. The site is overgrown and parts of the terrain pose landmine risks, so the area is still a little dicey for the average tourist, but it is a goldmine for researchers.

Eager to embark on my own aerial archeological exploration, I head to the pastoral Jayavarman Airfield, the base for Aero Cambodia’s microlight tours over Siem Reap.

When we arrive, a young American guy beams as he unhooks his helmet. “I feel like Amelia Earhart.” he yells over the microlight’s still-quieting engine. “It’s like the early days of flying.” He steps out of a craft that looks like the lovechild of a hang glider and a helicopter, jabbering in

Clockwise from left: A monk bathes in a waterfall on Mount Kulen; lotus delivery at the Anantara Angkor; breakfast amid the ruins; cows cast shadows across the countryside.

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C L O C K W I S E F R O M T O P L E F T: C O U R T E S Y O F A N A N TA R A A N G K O R ( 2 ) ; E D D I E S M I T H

Getting There Fly direct to Siem Reap from Phnom Penh with Cambodia Angkor Air (cambodiaangkor​ air.com); from Bangkok with Bangkok Airways (bangkokairways.com); from Singapore with SilkAir (silkair. com) and Jetstar Airways (jetstar.com); from Kuala Lumpur with Malaysia Airlines (malaysiaairlines.com) and AirAsia (airasia.com); and from Saigon with Vietnam Airlines (vietnamairlines.com).

doll. Smith coaxes the craft 500 meters into the sky and off the ground all is quiet. Compared to the thudding racket of a helicopter, this microlight operates at a whisper. Smith points out ruins dotting the plains, and iconic scenes of men and women tilling the rice paddies in Arcadian miniature. From this height the grand design of all the various religious structures takes shape: it is a maze of grids within grids, a mandala of interlocking squares. In my mind’s eye I see the aspirations, reveries and toils of daily life 1,000 years ago.

We fly by the stepped pyramid of Bakong temple, Lolei, Preah Ko, and the itsy Prasat Prei Monti. We can’t fly directly over Angkor Wat, as it is a protected unesco World Heritage Site, but we cruise close enough for a killer view.

“Wave,” Smith instructs me as we pass over a group of girls strolling through the field, perhaps to school. I comply and am met with peals of laughter and enthusiastic arm flapping in return. I wish they could jump aboard and see their home from this perspective, little Amelia Earharts all. She, after all, was the one who said, “Adventure is worthwhile in itself.” She would have loved Siem Reap. +

STAY Anantara Angkor Intimate and elegant, the 39 suites of this boutique property surround a halcyon pool lounge. National Road No. 6, Khum Svay Dangkom; 855-63/966-788; angkor.anantara.com; doubles from US$340.

Nita by Vo Designed by the acclaimed Cambodian architect Hok Sokol, this new resort is all about subtle Khmer style and personalized touches. Sivutha Boulevard; 855-63/767-788; nitabyvo.com; doubles from US$215.

Park Hyatt Siem Reap Sivutha Boulevard; 855-63/211234; siemreap.park.hyatt.com; doubles from US$355.

EAT AND DRINK Cuisine Wat Damnak Led by chef Joannès Rivière, seasonality is the name of the game and the degustation menu changes every Tuesday. Wat Damnak Market Street; 85577/347-762; cuisinewatdamnak. com; five-course menu US$22 per person.

Palate Stop by from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. for happy hour, and you’ll be served two for one drinks and free tapas on a terrace overlooking Siem Reap River. palateangkor.com; drinks for two US$16.

Hive This new bar/café combo serves up hearty breakfast burritos, moist muffins and creamy cappuccino in a buzzy bar atmosphere. Psar Kandal Street, across from Ivy Guest House; 855-97/763-3484; facebook.com/thehive. siemreap; pastries and coffee for two US$8.

SEE+DO Aero Cambodia Microlight Flights Jayavarman Airfield, Airfield Road, National Highway 6; 855-23/469-7690; aerocambodia.com; 20-minute flights US$75.

Grasshopper Cycling Tour 855-12/462-165; grasshopperadventures.com; 30-kilometer, eight-hour temple tour US$75 per person.

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For our annual (and sometimes controversial) America’s Favorite Cities survey, we tallied more than 50,000 votes, ranking 38 cities across the U.S. in dozens of categories, from food and culture to stylish locals. Read on to find out which destinations earned top marks, and to get insider advice on how to tap into the local scene.

NOE DEWITT

EDITED BY JACQUELINE GIFFORD AND NIKKI EKSTEIN

The New York City skyline at dusk.

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* Prices throughout are listed in US dollars.

B U I L D I N G S , C L O C K W I S E F R O M L E F T: C O U R T E S Y O F T H E R I S D M U S E U M ; C H R I S T O P H E R K L E I N / T H E C I T Y T R A V E L E R . C O M ; © T U P U N G AT O / D R E A M S T I M E . C O M ; © W A N G K U N J I A / D R E A M S T I M E . C O M ; M I R A /A L A M Y. O T H E R I M A G E S , C L O C K W I S E F R O M T O P L E F T: C O U R T E S Y O F T H E D O R R A N C E ; C H R I S T I A N H A R D E R / C O U R T E S Y O F T H E D E A N ; L E E S N I D E R / C O R B I S ; C O U R T E S Y O F N A R R A G A N S E T T B E E R ; C H R I S T I A N H A R D E R / C O U R T E S Y O F T H E D E A N

Top Cities Overall 1. Providence 2. Houston 3. Kansas City 4. Minneapolis/St. Paul 5. Los Angeles

Top row, from left: The Dorrance by day; the Dean’s karaoke bar; a view of Benefit Street.

Center: The lobby at the Dean. Bottom row: Historic buildings seen on a Providence Walks tour.

FIVE REASONS TO GO NOW This year’s overall winner has a bit of everything: great food, an exciting bar scene and endless curb appeal.

1. Because the city is a legitimate culinary capital. Queue up for a table at North (foodbynorth.com; $50), a modern Asian hot spot by James Mark, a David Chang protégé, or book at Birch (birch​restaurant.com; four-course dinner from $49), an ambitious chef’s counter with a focus on local ingredients (whelks; quahogs; foraged herbs).

3. Because as much as it’s a college town, the bars are all grown up.

Just stop by the Dorrance (thedorrance.​com), as good for dinner as it is for drinks, in a gilded building that was once the Federal Reserve, or the Eddy (eddybar.com), an intimate jewel box with a rotating cocktail list. Order the Sun and Moon, made with fig liqueur and Galliano.

2. Because downtown has gone from seedy to hip. Westminster Street is booming, thanks to the restoration of the Arcade— the country’s oldest indoor mall, now a retail hub with micro-loft apartments.

Also lining the boulevard: well-​curated boutiques such as Clover (cloverprovidence. com) and Homestyle (home​styleri.com), a design emporium selling prints by Rhode Island School of Design grads.

4. Because it’s brimming with New England charm.

A new city-funded initiative, Providence Walks, lets you discover the area’s historical architecture by following a 4-kilometer trail that starts at the State House and ends at Brown University.

5. Because there’s finally a cool place to stay. The new, 52-room Dean hotel (thedeanhotel.com; $99) is big on both style and attitude, with peekaboo bathrooms and—if you’re lucky—Del’s lemonade shandies at turndown. —nikki ekstein

Galleries

Museums

1. New York City 2. Houston 3. Providence 4. Washington, D.C. 5. Kansas City

1. Washington, D.C. 2. New York City 3. Houston 4. Cleveland 5. Chicago

Historical Sites

Theater

1. Washington, D.C. 2. Philadelphia 3. Charleston 4. Boston 5. New Orleans

1. New York City 2. Minneapolis/ St. Paul 3. Houston 4. Cleveland 5. Providence

ART HOUSES NYC’s top galleries, as distinct in design as in profile.

Park & 75th Larry Gagosian’s most recent opening is his most unusual: a 93-squaremeter storefront with painted tin ceilings evocative of 1960’s SoHo. It showcases the unexpected, such as paintings

by American filmmaker Harmony Korine. gagosian.com.

Galerie Perrotin Frenchman Emmanuel Perrotin—who represents contemporary provocateurs including Takashi Murakami and KAWS—recently debuted his namesake gallery, two floors in a beautifully restored landmark town house at Madison Avenue and 73rd Street. perrotin.com.

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Hauser & Wirth Annabelle Selldorf oversaw the transformation of this former roller rink and nightclub in Chelsea; artist Martin Creed created an installation of brilliantly colored stripes for the grand entrance staircase. hauserwirth.com.

David Zwirner This West 20th Street space, belonging to one of the world’s leading dealers, is a work of art in itself, made with exposed concrete and suffused with natural light. This month, a show of Richard Serra drawings will be on display. davidzwirner. com. —mario r. mercado

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A Paola Pivi exhibition at New York City’s Galerie Perrotin.

Grilled pompano with royal red shrimp at August. Right: A tasting platter at St. James Cheese Co.

Notable Restaurants

NOLA, MEAL BY MEAL Where to get your fix, whether your tastes run toward the classic or the trendy.

R U S H J A G O E (2). O P P O S I T E : G U I L L A U M E Z I C C A R E L L I /C O U R T E S Y O F G A L E R I E P E R R O T I N

C L AS S I C

Breakfast

Head to the frescoed Grill Room (300 Gravier St.; grillroomneworleans.com; $40), at the recently revamped Windsor Court Hotel, for andouille-andcrayfish omelettes and some of the city’s best beignets.

Barbecue T R E N DY

In the emerging Bywater neighborhood, Elizabeth’s (601 Gallier St.; elizabethsrestaurantnola.com; $30) is a down-home place to indulge. Signature dishes: candied praline bacon and bananas Foster–stuffed French toast.

Lunch Chef John Besh’s venerable August (301 Tchoupitoulas St.; restaurantaugust.com; $80) focuses on French-Creole flavors: think chili-spiked soft-shell crab and pecan-smoked beef. Go on Fridays, the only day lunch is served, for one of the city’s most memorable dining experiences.

London-trained fromager Richard Sutton crafts cheese-and-charcuterie boards at his buzzy restaurant and deli, St. James Cheese Co. (5004 Prytania St.; stjamescheese.com; $18), where a crowd snacks in the shaded courtyard.

Dinner At Uptown mainstay Gautreau’s (1728 Soniat St.; gautreausrestaurant.com; $130), Sue Zemanick—a 2014 James Beard Award winner—is the subtle genius behind dishes such as pork cheeks with Korean chili glaze.

1. New Orleans 2. Providence 3. New York City 4. Charleston 5. Kansas City

1. Kansas City 2. Memphis 3. Austin 4. Houston 5. Nashville

Pizza 1. Chicago 2. Providence 3. New York City 4. Atlanta 5. Philadelphia

Sandwiches 1. New Orleans 2. Providence 3. Philadelphia 4. Houston 5. Albuquerque

In-the-know locals are raving about the $20-and-under Italian menu (lardo pizza; green tagliatelle with guanciale) at Mariza (2900 Chartres St.; marizaneworleans.com; $50), another Bywater favorite. —elizabeth beller

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Surfing in San Diego.

Weather 1. San Diego 2. Honolulu 3. Los Angeles 4. Albuquerque 5. Tampa

Affordability 1. Kansas City 2. Oklahoma City 3. Cleveland 4. Pittsburgh 5. Houston

Attractive 1. Miami 2. San Diego 3. Charleston 4. Los Angeles 5. Providence

Friendly 1. Nashville 2. Salt Lake City 3. Minneapolis/ St. Paul 4. Kansas City 5. Oklahoma City

Passionate Sports Fans 1. Pittsburgh 2. Kansas City 3. Cleveland 4. Baltimore 5. Philadelphia

Stylish

SUNSHINE CITY The strategy in this SoCal hub: spend as much time outdoors as possible.

SURF Our favorite place to catch a wave? Black’s Beach, a secluded cove ideal for pros.

Arriving is a thrill all its own: it’s a steep 10-minute hike from the road down to the water. Near 2800 Torrey Pines Scenic Dr.

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EAT

Queue up with the locals at Oscar’s, a divey taqueria in north Pacific Beach where the smoked-​​fish tacos—a San Diegan obsession—come loaded with avocado and three types of house-made salsa. There are only 25 seats, mostly outdoors, at the flagship location, but you can walk a few blocks to the shore for an impromptu picnic. oscars​mexican​​ seafood.com; $30.

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RELAX Find your Zen where the monks do, and head to the beautifully manicured gardens of the Self-Realization Fellowship, in Encinitas. They’re lined with succulents, meditation benches and koi ponds, all overlooking the Pacific. encinitastemple.org.

SEE Whether you walk along the coastal cliffs or settle down with a blanket for a picnic, there’s no wrong way to take in the

spectacular evening vistas—and occasional dolphin sightings—at the 28-hectare Sunset Cliffs Natural Park. Ladera St. near Sunset Cliffs Blvd.

DRINK With a prime boardwalk location, Tower23 Hotel’s sleek bar, Jrdn, draws a perpetually stylish crowd.

Find them sipping mango-chili margaritas facing the westward view from afternoon to when the pink sun slips into the Pacific. jrdn.com. —archana ram

©JEFF HALBACH/DRE AMSTIME.COM

1. New York City 2. Los Angeles 3. Miami 4. Houston 5. Charleston

Nightclubs 1. Miami 2. Las Vegas 3. New Orleans 4. Los Angeles 5. New York City

Singles Scene 1. Miami 2. Houston 3. New Orleans 4. Austin 5. Atlanta

Cocktail Bars

Live Music Scene

Ocean Drive sizzles up South Beach, Miami, Florida, USA.

1. Nashville 2. New Orleans 3. Austin 4. Minneapolis/ St. Paul 5. Los Angeles

Wine 1. San Francisco 2. Portland, OR 3. Houston 4. Providence 5. Los Angeles

SOUTH BEACH SIZZLE Your itinerary for a hedonistic long weekend in the Magic City, the number one destination for nightclubs (and singles).

Check in at the SLS South Beach (1701 Collins Ave.; slssouthbeach.com; $295), the Philippe Starck–designed hub for all things late-night—and get started with a “salt-air margarita,” a frothy signature at José Andrés’s Bazaar. It’s a quick walk to Oolite Restaurant & Bar (1661 Pennsylvania Ave.; oolite​ restaurant.com; $70), where chef Kris Wessel puts a modern stamp on Florida staples, such as grilled swordfish with jackfruit or locally caught white-water clams with safflower aioli. Up next: drinks at the tiki-centric Rum Line (1601 Collins Ave.) and dancing at Amy Sacco’s 1970’s-themed

Rec Room (1690 Collins Ave.; recroomies.com), in the basement of the Gale Hotel. Recharge for another night on the town, kicking off at Juvia (juvia​ miami.com; $100), a high-design, Franco-Peruvian fusion spot on the penthouse level at 1111 Lincoln Road. Then it’s off to Little Havana’s Hoy Como Ayer (2212 S.W. Eighth St.; hoycomo​ ayer.us)—the place to show off your salsa moves. For a nightcap, try the Double Agent, a spin on the classic Vesper created by award-winning mixologist Scott Beattie at the W South Beach’s Living Room (2201 Collins Ave.; wsouthbeach.com). —tom austin

Methodology The America’s Favorite Places survey, developed by the editors of

Travel + Leisure, appeared online from June 2 to September 1, 2014. Respondents rated their choice of 1,209 destinations in up to 57 categories, using a scale of one to five. The final results reflect a subset of the survey data, including the top 38 cities based on votes cast through July 21, 2014. Surveyed cities are selected by Travel + Leisure editors based on reader feedback and tourism statistics.

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Antiques Stores 1. New Orleans 2. Charleston 3. Houston 4. Kansas City 5. Atlanta

Bookstores 1. Portland, OR 2. Houston 3. New York City 4. Seattle 5. Minneapolis/ St. Paul

Specialty Food Markets 1. Houston 2. Seattle 3. New York City 4. Cleveland 5. Los Angeles

Luxury Stores 1. New York City 2. Los Angeles 3. Houston 4. Chicago 5. Atlanta

READING ROOM The rare-books section at Powell’s—the largest bookstore in America—is worth the pilgrimage for these extraordinary selections. powells.com.

De Bello Judaico flavius josephus, $12,500 Bound in parchment and decorated by hand, the oldest book at Powell’s dates to 1480—30 years after Gutenberg invented the printing press.

Carrie stephen king, $2,500 A flawless first edition of King’s 1974 debut novel, inscribed and signed by the author some five years later.

Sailing Alone Around the World captain joshua slocum, $2,000 Inside the 114-year-old book: two handwritten letters from Captain Slocum, the first man to sail solo around the globe, to naval historian Albert Gleaves.

Seven Pillars of Wisdom t. e. lawrence, $5,000 A special 1935 pre-publication printing of the true story behind Lawrence of Arabia, it includes a facsimile page of the original manuscript and four exclusive colorplates.

The Longest Day cornelius ryan, $2,000 One of only 100 first editions of this military masterpiece, with an inscription from the author to none other than Eleanor Roosevelt.

—n.e.

F R O M L E F T: J E R R Y D R I E N D L /G E T T Y I M A G E S ; A D - C H E M I S T R Y. C O M

1. New Orleans 2. Houston 3. Providence 4. Miami 5. Las Vegas

Suitcases on display at Bandra 190, a collection of boutiques in Mumbai’s Bandra neighborhood.

Our Definitive Guide to

With its storied palace hotels and temples, buzzing arts district, and burgeoning restaurant and nightlife scene, navigating one of the world’s largest cities is no small feat.

Sarah Khan reports.  Photographed by The Morrisons

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Left: A Superior Luxury room at Abode. Below: Overlooking the lobby at the Oberoi.

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BRE AC H CA N DY

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6.5 K M

Lay of the Land Bandra/Juhu You’ll find the city’s hippest restaurants and boutiques—as well as Bollywood stars—in these two posh suburbs.

Breach Candy This upscale residential area is known for its historic landmarks, such as the 18th-century Mahalaxmi Temple and the colonial-era Breach Candy Club.

South Mumbai The atmospheric enclaves of Colaba, Fort, Churchgate, Kala Ghoda and Nariman Point make up the city’s financial heart and house some of its most striking architecture.

Worli/Lower Parel Many of the colossal mills and warehouses in these former industrial areas have been turned into glitzy malls and luxury hotels.

Getting Around Taxis are the best and safest way to navigate the city. Luckily, they are ubiquitous and easy to hail; services like Uber (uber. com) and Meru Cabs (meru cabs.com) are also useful for calling a reliable car.

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Stay Eight hotels we love, from a stylish boutique property to a lavish mansion fit for royalty.

TAJ MAHAL PALACE An icon of Mumbai’s skyline, this 1903 Edwardian palace has a revamped lobby incorporating vaulted ceilings, silk carpets, onyx columns and etched glasswork. Upstairs, the Palace Wing’s 285 rooms are filled with period furniture and antiques. tajhotels.com; Rp28,500.

ABODE Tucked away in Colaba, the 20-room Abode hotel pays homage to retro-Bombay kitsch.

There are old-fashioned light switches and locks, handmade wicker chairs, and colorful Bharat tiles. abodeboutiquehotels.com; Rp3,500.

OBEROI It’s hard to match the Oberoi for impeccable service; press the call button in your room and a butler will be at your door in minutes.

Other highlights: postcardworthy views over Marine Drive

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and the Indian restaurant Ziya’s acclaimed chef, Vineet Bhatia. oberoihotels.com; Rp28,500.

THE LEELA Among 4 hectares of landscaped gardens and waterfalls, the Leela is a tranquil oasis in central Mumbai, with a large business center and a prime location near the airport. theleela.com; Rp17,000.

TRIDENT, BANDRA KURLA Oberoi’s business-focused brand brings its tech savvy to Mumbai’s burgeoning financial center (LCD TV’s; electronic blackout blinds). Don’t miss the Mediterranean fusion restaurant 022, with its 1,500-bottle wine library. tridenthotels.com; Rp18,500.

TRIDENT, NARIMAN POINT In the 35-floor tower on scenic Marine Drive, the 555 spacious rooms (oak floors; original art) and 7-meter-long pool share

vistas of the city or the Arabian Sea. tridenthotels.com; Rp20,000 TAJ LANDS END Bollywood royalty live in Bandra, and this slick waterfront hotel is the suburb’s most glamorous address. Public spaces are decked out in dark wood and white marble. Don’t be surprised if you run into the starlet du jour at the new 458-square-meter Jiva Spa. tajhotels.com; Rp12,500.

PALLADIUM Mumbai’s gleaming Palladium is bringing even more prestige to the Lower Parel neighborhood.

The lobby’s grand staircase is flanked by gilded mirrors, the 344 rooms and suites have Rajasthani artwork, and international DJ’s rotate through the 37th-floor club, Exo. palladiumhotel.in; Rp14,500.

Hotel prices represent starting rates for double occupancy.

Shop

Clockwise from left: Outside Bandra 190; browsing the collection at Filter; shorts and tops at Obataimu.

Our picks of Mumbai’s standout boutiques.

OBATAIMU East meets farther East at the Japanese-influenced design studio Obataimu, a showcase for founder Noorie Sadarangani’s made-to-measure line of minimalist peplum blouses, impossibly soft unisex tees, and layered dresses inspired by origami. obataimu.com.

BANDRA 190 Three Bollywood wives teamed up to open one of Mumbai’s hottest shopping destinations, whose striking red-and-cobaltblue façade conceals seven stories of mini-boutiques including Sussanne Roshan’s

décor brand Charcoal Project and jeweler Maheep Kapoor’s statement baubles (ornate chandelier earrings; kundan necklaces). Savanna Court, 190 Turner Rd.; 91-22/​2645-1151.

(massive marble lions; a silver​and-​teak four-poster bed), Big Door is the ideal resource for aspiring decorators seeking to outfit their home like a Rajasthani palace. thebigdoor.in.

FILTER At Filter, you’ll find an eclectic mix of souvenirs—framed vintage concert posters, handmade notebooks, and tomes on specialized topics such as typography and city trains. filtershop.in.

ENSEMBLE For nearly three decades, stylish Mumbaikars have been flocking to Ensemble for shimmering saris, classic lehengas (long embroidered skirts), and churidars (cotton trousers) by India’s top labels.

Look for pieces by New Delhi–​ based designer Rohit Bal and British-born Manish Malhotra. ensembleindia.com.

BIG DOOR A shrine to traditional Indian housewares and accessories

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See Do

Paintings by Pradeep Nerurkar at Gallery 7.

Four spots to get your art fix.

New galleries are vying for space along Kala Ghoda’s crowded lanes, but Jehangir Art Gallery (jehangirartgallery.com) has remained a fixture since 1952. Its three airy rooms display works by Indian artists such as Jatin Das and Manish Sutaar, and the Samovar Café is a local favorite for lunch. + The country’s premier gallery for 20th-century Indian art, Delhi Art Gallery (delhi​art​gallery.com), recently opened a Mumbai outpost in a renovated four-story heritage building. Rotating shows highlight masters including M. F. Husain and Krishen Khanna. + For the best of emerging contemporary artists (Sharanu Alloli; Pradeep Nerurkar), head to Gallery 7 (gallery7.com), a chic, white-walled space in Kala Ghoda. + Artisans Centre on Gandhi Marg (artisanscentre.com) exhibits a wide range of Indian crafts, from Maheshwari saris and colorful Kashmiri shawls to hand-painted textiles.

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MUMBAI

Clockwise from far left: Chef Sinclair Pinto in the open kitchen at Nico Bombay; lunch hour at Café Zoe; jalebi caviar with saffron glaze and pistachio rabri at Masala Library.

Eat Six hot tables across the city.

CAFÉ SUNDANCE Sundance was a city landmark in the 1980’s before falling into disrepair. Then, in 2012, a team of restaurateurs revamped the space and menu. Comfort dishes include the “Sundance Sasquatch,” a 570-gram tenderloin beef burger with crisp bacon, pickles, provolone, fried egg and guacamole, served in a dining room with wooden tables and retro curios from typewriters to Archie comics. Eros Cinema Bldg., 42 MK Rd., Churchgate; 91-22/2202-6212; Rp1,800.

NICO BOMBAY Stylish Nico Bombay wouldn’t be out of place in New York or Paris, but it’s at the forefront of a recent revival in the trendy Kala Ghoda neighborhood.

Chef Sinclair Pinto is an alum of Chicago’s Alinea; here, he serves a sophisticated Italian-inspired menu that includes wood-fired

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pizzas and saffron risotto with calamari and clams. 105 Apollo St., Bombay Samachar Marg; 91-22/2262-4466; Rp1,900.

MASALA LIBRARY Renowned chef Jiggs Kalra’s Masala Library in Bandra East is an ode to molecular gastronomy with inventive takes on traditional Indian dishes: a “chai” infused with dehydrated mushrooms; ghewar cheesecake with pistachio dust and almond chikki. masalalibrary.co.in; Rp2,200.

CAFÉ ZOE You never know what to expect at Belgian owner Jérémie Horowitz’s lively European-style brasserie in Lower Parel. One night, you might find Wile E. Coyote cartoons projected on the walls; the next, a live jazz band serenading diners. Try the mini-​lamb burger or house-​made pappardelle. cafezoe.in; Rp1,800.

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PALI BHAVAN The latticed wooden windows and balconies, vintage chandeliers and colonial-era photographs at the spacious Pali Bhavan evoke 1950’s Mumbai. Start with a chutney martini, followed by Indian staples such as galaouti kebab or paneer tikka. 10 Aadarsh Nagar Pali Naka, Bandra West; 91-22/2651-9400; Rp1,500.

THE TABLE San Francisco chef Alex Sanchez came to Mumbai three years ago to open this elegant bistro in Colaba. The result is fresh, simple home cooking with a distinctly West Coast sensibility: warm chèvre salad; Swiss-chard ravioli; truffle fries with tomato jam. thetable.in; Rp1,800.

Restaurant prices represent approximate cost of dinner for two.

Art on Arrival Thanks to the new Terminal 2 at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (csia.in), visitors can see world-class art as soon as they deplane. The place is filled with some 5,000 ancient artifacts, plus contemporary works by Indian artists (such as New Delhi– based mixed-media talent Vivan Sundaram and painter Nilima Sheikh) that together comprise a nearly 3-kilometer-long art walk.

From left: Topiary inside the Hanging Gardens; vegetable chive dumplings at Yauatcha; the lounge at Blue Frog.

F R O M L E F T: P O R A S C H A U D H A R Y/G E T T Y I M A G E S ; C O U R T E S Y O F YA U AT C H A ; C O U R T E S Y O F B L U E F R O G . I L L U S T R AT I O N S B Y L A U R E N N A S S E F

Local Take Get the scoop on the city from three insiders.

MASABA GUPTA

KELVIN CHEUNG

Chef, Ellipsis

“I try to avoid the restaurant tourist traps, which is why I love King of Iran (Shop #9, Yusuf Chambers, Jijabai Marg; 91-22/2375-5769), in Byculla. A hidden gem that’s been open for over thirty years, it serves simple Mughlai dishes; order the mutton keema with parathas. The fish market at Sassoon Docks, in Colaba, is worth a visit to see where locals buy their seafood. When I need a break from city life, I go for a run in the Hanging Gardens—it’s a beautiful park filled with flowers.”

Nightlife Where to go in Mumbai after dark.

Dome The prize for best sunset views in the city goes to this sexy rooftop lounge at the InterContinental Marine Drive in South Mumbai, which overlooks the Back Bay. ihg.com.

Fashion designer at House of Masaba

“The area around Mohammed Ali Road is predominantly Muslim.

During Ramadan, I like to wander the street at night, when it is illuminated with lights. For dinner, I adore the Chinese food at Yauatcha (yauatcha.com; Rp2,000), in Bandra—they have this chili-oil sauce you can’t find anywhere else.

My go-to shop for fabrics is nearby Anwarally’s (Sona Shopping Center, Hill Rd., Bandra West; 91-22/2642-2534), with a huge variety of silks, cottons and lace.”

The Daily A popular watering hole in Bandra, the Daily serves hearty comfort food and molecular cocktails (get the whiskey-based Gypsy Queen). S.V. Rd., Bandra West; 91-99/2044-6633.

MALINI AGARWAL

Celebrity blogger, missmalini.com

“If you’re looking for trinkets and gifts, Colaba Causeway is your best bet—the market sells everything from Kolhapuri sandals to incense and jewelry. Blue Frog (bluefrog. co.in) is one of Mumbai’s top music venues and hosts frequent live concerts. The interiors are cool, with circular dining pods and high-quality acoustics. For innovative drinks and songs you can dance to, try the Ghetto (30B Bhulabhai Desai Rd., Breach Candy), near Mahalaxmi Temple.”

Local Bombay You need a secret code to enter this hip underground bar in Fort (to get it, e-mail the club beforehand).

Order a masala soda fizz.

Mahatma Gandhi Rd., Fort; thelocalbombay@gmail.com.

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Last Look

Photographed by John Lander

Tokyo

Lunar reflection Engetsukyo Bridge, or “full moon bridge” in Tokyo’s Koishikawa Korakuen Garden, is built in a Chinese style, and takes its name from the perfect circle formed by the arch and its mirror image.

Stepping stones through Japan Kiyosumi Teien sits on a spot developed 400 years ago as the home of a business magnate. A feudal lord changed it into a garden, and, in 1878, 55 rocks were chosen from across Japan and implanted here. It is a favorite place to stroll.

A poetic garden Innumerable paintings and poems have been dedicated to cherry blossoms, for which Rikugien— Garden of the Six Principles of Poetry—is aptly famous. Besides the spring floral viewing ritual, visitors come for the 88 scenes from a classic verse depicted in the design and layout of this garden.

Famous inspirations Tsutenkyo Bridge at Koishikawa Korakuen Garden is one of the city’s oldest and most beautiful.

Like most traditional Japanese gardens, it attempts to reproduce famous landscapes from China and Japan in miniature, using a pond, stones, plants and a man-made hill.

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SOUTHEAST ASIA / NOVEMBER 2014

LANGKAWI UNCOVERED

Digital Destination Guide

PENANG IN 6 DISHES

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Editor’s Note

November 2014

WHERE TO FIND ME

chrisk@mediatransasia.com @CKucway on Twitter

P

enang is one of those treasured destinations that is constantly on the upgrade, managing to lure us back time and again, more often than not to eat dishes that can only be dreamt of elsewhere. Simply sitting streetside in Penang is reason enough to visit. Langkawi, its counterpart to the north, has a similar hold on our travel imaginations. In Langkawi’s case, the island has become a magnet for those seeking to enjoy the outdoors. The island’s green allure is complemented with a strong list of top-notch resorts, addresses most of us have trouble leaving at the end of any break. In both Penang and Langkawi, we uncover the subtle differences found in most corners of Asia. Every return visit offers up the chance to rediscover our favorite stops, while uncovering new gems.

Whether your aim is to get away to a strip of beach like Skull Island on Langkawi or to define the six best food orders in Penang, we’ve got you covered. Yet, your appetite shouldn’t stop there. George Town is a haven for the arts, most noticeable on its aged streets.

Within this e-guide, readers can take a step back in time with writer Jeff Chu who explores Penang with the added bonus or burden of following in his great-grandfather’s footsteps, seeing the island through century-old eyes as well as his own. Given the local history, that might just be the best route for any visit to Penang.

As mentioned, Langkawi is a combination of luxury and green-oriented awareness; a perfect antidote to Asia’s big cities. Take a tour of that island here. In the case of either Malaysian getaway, you’ll come away with one recurring thought: when can I return? That’s a great idea when traveling, particularly in Malaysia. —c h r i s t o p h e r k u c way

The T+L Code Travel + Leisure editors, writers and photographers are the industry’s most reliable sources.

While on assignment, they travel incognito whenever possible and do not take press trips or accept free travel of any kind.

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Deals

T+L RE A D E R S PECI A LS

THIS MONTH’S BEST DEALS From the buzz of Kuala Lumpur to centuries-old trees of Penang, these offers spotlight a few of Malaysia’s essentials.

PENANG Golden Circle: Fourth Night Free in Penang from Shangri-La’s Rasa Sayang Resort & Spa (shangri-la.com), on Batu Ferringhi beach surrounded by centuries-old trees. The Deal Four nights in a Rasa Superior room in the Rasa Wing. The Highlight A complimentary fourth night for Golden Circle members. Cost From RM3,090 (RM1,030 per night), double, through January 31, 2015.

Savings Up to 50 percent.

Taste of Penaga from Hotel Penaga (hotelpenaga.com), in George Town. The Deal Two

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nights in a no-balcony Hutton Deluxe room. The Highlight A 40-minute Penang Heritage Discovery trishaw ride. Cost From RM820 (RM410 per night), double, through December 31.

Savings 18 percent.

LANGKAWI Spa Indulgence from The Danna (thedanna.com), an awardwinning address set in a pictureperfect, Mediterranean-style Telaga Harbour. The Deal Two nights in a Merchant room. The Highlight A signature 3.5-hour spa program for two consisting of a 60-minute Relieving Massage, a 60-minute

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Revitalizing Polish, a 60-minute Nurturing Wrap and a 30-minute Floral Bath. Cost From RM2,645 (RM1,323 per night), double, through December 22. Savings 61 percent.

Live. Bond & Relax package from Berjaya Langkawi Resort (berjayahotel.com), traditional over-water chalets and forestsurrounded guestrooms on Burau Bay. The Deal Two nights in a Family Chalet—a couple interconnecting Rainforest Chalets. The Highlights Up to RM150 sports and recreation credit per stay; a buffet dinner at Dayang Cafe; and daily breakfast

for the whole family. Cost From RM1,860 (RM930 per night), for a maximum of two adults and two children, through April 30, 2015. Savings 16 percent.

KUALA LUMPUR Bed & Breakfast package from Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur (kualalumpur.grand.hyatt.com), 412 rooms and suites within walking distance of the city’s dining and shopping hubs. The Deal A stay in a Standard room.

The Highlights Buffet breakfast at THIRTY8 and 2 p.m. late checkout. Cost From RM650, double, through December 31.

Savings Up to 37 percent. +

C O U R T E S Y O F S H A N G R I - L A’ S R A S A S AYA N G R E S O R T & S P A

The main pool at Shangri-La’s Rasa Sayang Resort & Spa, in Penang.

Pantai Pasir Tengkorak, also known as Skull Sand.

LANGKAWI, MALAYSIA SKULL SAND you won’t see much in the way of undigested sailors, but you will be able to enjoy tremendous northerly views to the Thai island (and national park) of Koh Tarutao. These vistas make Skull Sand Beach a popular picnic destination for local Langkawi-folk, but on weekdays you’ll have the beach entirely to yourself. Pack a book and relax in the shade. On Langkawi’s northwest coast, Skull Sand is part of Pasir Tengkorak Recreational Forest.

Take Jalan Datai until you see the sign for “Hutan Lipur Pasir Tengkorak.” Park within the gate and walk through the forest to the shore.

—stuart mcdonald

RICK Y SOW

he name may sound ominous but Langkawi’s Pantai Pasir Tengkorak is a little-known getaway on the north coast that will enchant rather than scare. A number of legends lie behind the name, but our favorite refers to a whirlpool that once lay offshore, home to a feared monster of the deep. Boats sailing by would be dragged into the swirling waters and, once dragged under, the scaly beast would feast on the seamen. Apparently the beast had dietary issues and needed to regurgitate the skeletons… the skulls then floated ashore. Today, thankfully,

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food

SIX DISHES: PENANG

breakfast Koay teow th’ng at Seng Thor Coffee Shop

lunch Tamarind prawns at Tek Sen

snack Oyster omelette at Lam Ah Kopitiam

Hearty meat broth, silky wide rice noodles, fish balls redolent of the sea and pork two ways—minced and thickly sliced—make this iconic Penang specialty truly the breakfast of champions. Try to resist finishing the bowl to save room for lunch.

16 Carnavon St.; RM4 per bowl.

Plump freshwater prawns, slicked with an irresistible sweet-sour tamarind and black soy sauce glaze, are just one delicious reason you can expect to queue at this friendly, decades-old Teochew-Malaysian restaurant. 18-20 Carnarvon St.; 60-12/981-5117; meal for two RM60.

For a distinctive version of this ubiquitous Southeast Asian dish, the vendor fries the omelettes—made of thin potato starch batter topped with a broken egg—and oysters separately. An omelette with lacy crisp edges and a springy center is the happy result.

194 Chulia St.; RM6 per omelet.

dinner Lor ark at Kebaya

dessert Gula Melaka ice cream at China House

for the flight home Kueh lapis at Sunflower Homemade Cake

Gilded Chinese panels and marble tables set an elegant stage for modern takes on Straits and Indo-Chinese classics, such as this crispy confit duck leg perched atop a sliced breast, served with plum wedges in rich braising liquid heady with star anise and cloves. Stewart Ln.; 60-4/264-2333; 7terraces.com; three-course fixed price menu RM125 per person.

This final course will sate your sweet tooth. With hints of butterscotch and coffee, gula Melaka (Malaysian coconut palm sugar) was made to star in ice cream. A single scoop studded with nuggets of soft sugar pairs perfectly with their buttery macadamia shortbread. 153 and 155 Beach St.; 60-4/263-7299; chinahouse. com.my; dessert for two RM28.

Eighteen sheer layers of buttery batter, painstakingly poured by hand and baked one after the other in the same pan, makes for an edible souvenir as visually striking as it is tasty. Make sure to polish off this moist cake within a week, before it spoils. It packs well, so bring back a few to share. 117A Lorong Hutton; from RM13 for 250 Palace. har dt grams.—roby n eckDalat

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Photograped by David Hagerman

C LOC K WISE FROM TOP: A A RON JOEL SA N TOS (2); COURTESY OF SA NCTUA RY RESORT COMMUNIT Y HO TR A M

Our meal-by-meal guide on where to try the best local fare in George Town, Penang.

Clockwise from left: Travelers mill through KLIA2; the new terminal’s modern exterior; choose from 81 dining options.

Eat Pastamania (Level 2, Lot 125, Gateway@ KLIA2; meals for two from RM25) dishes up tasty Italian food. For healthy vegetarian mains, try Be Lohas (Level 2M, Lot 19; meals for two from RM40).

airports

ONE HAPPENING HUB A new budget terminal in KL is upgrading your layover. Story and photos by Marco Ferrarese Kuala Lumpur’s new airport terminal, KLIA2 (klia2.info), proves that low cost doesn’t mean low class. Launched in May, this flashy LCCT is light years ahead of its predecessor, which was pioneered by Air Asia’s Tony Fernandes in 2006 as the first ever all-budget terminal, but left much to be desired in terms of travelers’ comfort, with leg-numbing waiting chairs and dining options in dire straits. Eight years later, the boom in low cost carrier traffic has led to this snazzy US$1.3-billion upgrade, designed to cater to a whopping 45 million passengers per year. In line with its ambitious “Next Generation Hub” tagline, KLIA2 aspires to be the world’s missing link between low cost and full service flight experience.

The best part? The new terminal is only 2 kilometers 10

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away from KLIA, the main international airport, so transfers are smooth sailing.

The old LCCT was a 20-kilometer slog, and travelers were stuck hopping expensive taxis or waiting through half-hour long bus-rides to switch between the two airports.

Now the entire journey can be blissfully bus-free, thanks to the new terminal’s proximity to KLIA— conveniently linked to downtown KL via rail—and possibly our favorite new feature: 80 new air bridges.

That’s right—gone too are the days of shuttling from gate to plane aboard worn-out airline buses, or, a hated novelty of the old low-cost KUL, trekking the tarmac single-file for kilometers in torrential rain. Now travelers can strut on and off the plane via air-conditioned walkways.

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But with facilities like this and the vast, store-lined main terminal that tempts jet-setters to stop and indulge, you may not be in any rush to board. There are a staggering 81 restaurants, bars and cafés, and 118 shops spread across the 70,000 square meters of retail space, while the relaxation areas are furnished with comfy lounge chairs, laptop charging stations, and baby-care rooms. A hightech skybridge—the first in Asia—crosses over the airside giving passengers exceptional views of the airstrip. It’s a constant dance of lift-offs with more than 200 departures each day, and as plane after plane takes to the skies, KLIA2 also soars into the upper echelons of air travel. +

Drink Grab a cup of coffee at OldTown White Coffee (Level 3, Lot 27-29, departure hall; drinks for two from RM10). For a stronger drink (read: alcohol), swing by the foyer at Capsule by Container Hotel (Level 1, Lot 2/3, Gateway@KLIA2; drinks for two from RM25).

Stay For long layovers and early flights, check into Tune Hotel KLIA2 (tunehotels.com; doubles from RM188 per night), a 10-minute walk from the departure hall.

No-frills travelers can bunk down at Capsule Hotel (Level 1, Lot 2/3, Gateway@KLIA2; single beds available for three, six or 12 hours at RM45, RM70 and RM90 respectively).

Getting There Take the speedy KLIA Transit rail link. kliaekspres.com; 39 minutes to KL Sentral, RM35 per person; three minutes to KL International Airport, RM2 per person.

Ghosts and Gods of Penang

The gilt interior of restored Suffolk House. Opposite: An installation of Art is Rubbish/Rubbish is Art by Ernest Zacharevic, in George Town.

Trying to follow his great-grandfather’s century-old trail through the Malaysian melting pot, JEFF CHU encounters guilds, gilt and guilt—and realizes that the Straits isle still is dancing a delicate quadrille between past and present.

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Penang’s grande dame has modern appeal. Opposite, from top: Architect Laurence Loh; breakfast at Eng Loh coffee shop; tuk-tuk tourism.

he violins had long stopped playing at Suffolk House by the time Laurence Loh arrived.

The Georgian manse stood on a Penang pepper estate created

by Captain Francis Light, who claimed the island for the British in 1786. In the early 19th century, nothing else on Penang matched its prestige. The governor lived here for a time. During balls, the silks of ladies’ gowns swept the wide, wooden verandas, which overlooked riverside lands tamed to resemble English countryside.

When Loh, a Malaysian architect who has restored some of Penang’s finest historic buildings, visited in the 1990’s, the house was dilapidated verging on destroyed, the forest waging a reclamation campaign.

“People said it would be impossible to bring it back to what it was,” Loh says as we sit in his firm’s offices, in a residential precinct of George Town, Penang’s capital. He starts to refer to the house as “she.” “She didn’t give up her favors easily,” he says, shaking his head. “She is a very naughty lady.”

Nobody had the full picture of how Suffolk House originally looked, so Loh played forensic archaeologist.

Meanwhile, over seven tortuous years, she won his heart. Today, he speaks of her with supernatural wonder. “Put it this way, la,” Loh says. “Suffolk House is a secular building, but she is one of the most spiritual also. You just feel the different types of spiritual energy.

Go and see for yourself.”

Later, exploring Suffolk House, I feel mainly sweaty and sad. A droopy floral arrangement sits on a foyer table. The ground floor houses a dusty, usually closed souvenir shop and a restaurant serving British cuisine, an odd nod to colonial times.

Then I climb the stairs to the colonnaded veranda, where my mind runs wild, coloring in the picture. I can smell gentlemen smoking and hear them playing cards in the drawing room. Dancing ladies whirl around the ballroom to a little night music. How is this possible?

Looking around, I see nobody. So I do a spin on the ballroom floor to a

quadrille only I can hear. Then I think, “How very Penang.”

GHOSTS AND GODS drew me to Penang. I’d come in part to retrace my great-grandfather’s missionary journey a century ago. He converted to Christianity as a young man in Hong Kong. Why he then boarded a ship to colonial Malaya is lost to history, but it’s not hard to see Penang as a proselyte’s perfect destination: a marketplace not just of spices and goods but also cultures and ideas, it welcomed hustlers, hucksters and salespeople of all stripes and sectors.

One of the Straits Settlements enriched by the British East India Company, Penang rose much like Singapore and Hong Kong did. All three owed their fortunes and diverse demographics to the seas. In its early decades especially, translators were particularly in demand in George Town: you could hear Armenian and Arabic, Chinese dialects and various English accents, French and German, a dozen languages of the Indian subcontinent and, of course, Malay.

But while Singapore and Hong Kong attained stratospheric wealth in the 20th century, Penang, the oldest by several decades, didn’t. Especially after it lost its free-port status in 1969, the economy foundered. Skylines tell the story: Hong Kong has nearly 300 buildings taller than 150 meters.

Singapore has about 70. Penang? One. Penang’s silver, teak and terracotta lining is an architectural and aesthetic fabric that’s better preserved than Singapore’s or Hong Kong’s. Six years ago, George Town’s charming historic core was declared a unesco World Heritage Site—acknowledging the past’s importance to the place’s present and future.

History matters—that’s why I was in Penang. But change is inevitable too. The unesco status has increased the premium on George Town’s storied buildings, squeezing locals out. How do you honor the old while forging the new? And who gets to decide whether street art, espresso machines, and other markers of globalizing hipsterdom and gentrification belong in a culture defined by intermingling?

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Would Little Girl in Blue have better luck than the author in entering goldsmiths’ guild Ta Kam Hong?

Opposite: Self-guide on two wheels.

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MY GREAT-GRANDFATHER left no diaries. The last time I saw him, he was in his early nineties. I was eight.

Like most kids, I had little sense of history but great awareness of the old.

I remember no conversation, just his wrinkly face and near-toothless grin.

It’s easier to decipher what he couldn’t have done in Penang than to know what he had. My first morning in town, I stand on my balcony at the Eastern & Oriental. A grande dame dating to 1885, the hotel hosted Kipling, Coward and Maugham. As I gaze at the sea that brought my greatgrandfather to these shores, it isn’t lost on me that he couldn’t have afforded a room at the E&O. After breakfast, I meet historian Marcus Langdon at China House, a coffee bar/restaurant/gallery in a restored shophouse. At RM10, coffee is 10 times the price in an old-school café. “This is a good example of what’s happening,” Langdon shouts over a La Cimbal espresso machine. There’s RM12 tiramisu. “Nothing’s local.”

As the midday sun begins to pummel Penang, we loop through the fast-changing historic center, past buildings like the gracious, early20th-century Whiteways Arcade.

Originally a general store, it houses a Subway. “There’s a lot of Western and Singaporean money coming in,” he says. “Maybe you lose the things that attracted you in the first place—the crafts, the noises, the smells.”

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Eventually, we arrive at the Eng Loh, a century-old, open-air coffee shop where the ceiling fans struggle to cut the humidity. Little seems to have changed in decades, except the portraits of Malaysia’s king and queen—new monarchs are installed every five years—who watch us from high on the seafoam-green walls.

The Eng Loh isn’t a place where one uses the term “barista.” As Langdon and I talk, a cleaver-wielding cook chop-chop-chops a chicken and another chef clack-clack-clacks his metal turner against a wok of noodles.

They’re barely sweating, whereas I look as if I’m mid-shower. My glass of iced milk tea—RM1.60—drips puddles onto a chipped marble tabletop that appears old enough to have held my great-grandfather’s tea too.

As rents rise and tastes change, can places like the Eng Loh survive?

“Penang is such an amalgamation of historical and modern,” Langdon says.

“These things have to live together.

The question is how.”

I WANT TO HUG Wazir Jahan Karim when we meet at Jawi House, her gallery/crafts shop/restaurant on Armenian Street. She gets, better than most, the potency of personal history.

“Everyone is tracing roots—maybe you find an Arab great-uncle or a Turkish grandfather,” she says. “This is what it means to be in this postmodern, cosmopolitan city.”

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Wazir, a British-educated anthropologist, opened Jawi House last year to spotlight her roots in the uniquely Malaysian culture of the Jawi Peranakan. It originated with 19th-century Muslim immigrants to the Straits Settlements from South Asia and the Middle East. Mostly prosperous and educated, they often married Malay women. “It was a very upper-middle-class, progressive, proEmpire group,” Wazir says. “Religion was the common factor.”

Over the decades, Jawi Peranakan culture faded. The government cultivated a more strictly Malay identity, and as Malaysia became more diverse, there was a desire to be seen as more singularly Malay—however historically inaccurate that is. Wazir mentions an aristocratic friend who declared: “My heritage is pure!” “The royalty she belongs to is half-Thai! ” Wazir says indignantly, “and the Malay DNA is one of the most plural in the world.”

Wazir sees shifts toward embracing diversity. Especially among the younger generation, she believes, the modern Malay identity—and the modern Malaysian one—doesn’t require homogeneity. “It’s fashionable to be hybrid now,” she says. “By reclaiming our hybridity, we’re also reclaiming our history.”

The Jawi Peranakan’s ancestral lines converge on the Jawi House menu. Hummus echoes Levantine

cuisine. Biryanis summon India. Meat rendang and serabai, a rice-flour cake traditionally served during Ramadan, honor Malay cookery, though the former immigrated too, centuries ago, from Sumatra.

The most unusual dish: lemuni rice.

At Jawi House, this Jawi Peranakan specialty features chicken curry served alongside basmati rice flavored with lemuni leaves. Also called the chastetree, the lemuni has been used for millennia to aid female reproductive health. “Try it!” Wazir prods, promising that men can appreciate it too.

Savory and visually stunning, the rice is studded with blue tualang (butterfly pea) blossoms. The dish— something borrowed, something blue—is quintessentially a Penangite union, like Jawi Peranakan culture itself. “Penang is eclectic. It is messy.

Behind that mess is something of a method,” Wazir says. “We have stories to tell, but we also have new stories to learn. We are people with many different narratives. This is where they come together.”

And, she hopes, where they

continue for generations. While Wazir created much of the menu, she handed control of the kitchen to chef Nuril Karim Raza—he’s her son.

PERHAPS MY CANTONESE great-grandfather, a jeweler’s apprentice at the time, had registered in the logbooks of the Ta Kam Hong, on Muntri Street. Founded in 1832, the goldsmiths’ guild drew its membership from Cantonese families.

The grand temple, built in 1903, honors Wu Ching, patron deity of goldsmiths. When I learned that, I doubted my great-grandfather, given his fervent faith, would have entered its gates. But I’d never know, because I couldn’t enter its gates either; whenever I walked past the building, they were locked shut.

While I only glimpsed history’s facade, present-day Penang teased me through Little Girl in Blue, a mural over the temple forecourt by Lithuanian artist Ernest Zacharevic. He and his girlfriend, the novelist Gabija Grusaite, backpacked to Penang in 2011 and stayed, finding inspiration and a home.

“It’s the community—very unique,

Two Children on a Bicycle. Above: The two children—Tan Yi and Tan Kern—in real life, with parents Ashley Teoh and Adrian Tan. Opposite, from left: Jawi House’s lemuni rice and chicken curry; Wazir Jahan Karim and Nuril Karim Raza run Jawi House; Komtar Tower, Penang’s tallest.

multicultural, laidback,” he says when I visit his studio. “Also, it’s cheap.”

Zacharevic painted Little Girl in Blue, and the more-famous Two Children on a Bicycle on Armenian Street, in 2012. The latter is mixedmedia—the kids are painted, but the bike is real. One day, I go to the Tanjung Tokong suburb to meet the real-life kids, Tan Yi and Tan Kern; their parents, Ashley Teoh and Adrian Tan; and a friend, the artist Ch’ng

Kiah Kiean, known for his impressions of Penang streetscapes.

The family met Zacharevic through Urban Sketchers, an art group founded by Ch’ng. “Starting with unesco, people have been coming in and exploring Penang,” Teoh says. “It’s very encouraging that we’re having this exchange of culture.”

The three adults reminisce about their childhoods, mostly spent in George Town’s historic precincts. All three laugh when Teoh mentions the “toilets” of their youth. Even in the 1980’s, they used modified chamber pots—“buckets, actually,” Tan says— kept in a cubbyhole accessible from the street and emptied by sanitation workers, “usually around 6 a.m.,” Ch’ng recalls. “Our parents would say, ‘If you don’t study seriously, you’ll end up like them!’” Teoh says. (Threats of shameful professional failure survived the journeys of the Chinese diaspora undimmed.)

After lunch, we drive to their old neighborhood. They’re hankering for a coffee at an alleyway café that has endured from their youth. Parking proves pure tribulation—we circle and circle. “We used the streets as our playground. We played badminton.

There were no cars,” Tan says sadly.

“Sometimes I wonder if, with all the foreign investment, we’re actually eroding the culture. Locals have been forced to move out. Sometimes we don’t even want to come here.”

Their original move was born of modernity’s draw; now, suburban living is a practical matter. “We appreciated new things, not old ones,” Teoh says. Tan adds that it wasn’t until foreigners began buying old houses that locals realized their value: “Now that we want to own them, we can’t afford to.”

LANGDON SAID Penang beyond George Town might provide windows to a more pastoral past. So on my last day, I go touring. Within minutes, urban surrenders to rural, echoes of what Rudyard Kipling, who visited Penang in 1889, describes in From Sea to Sea. “We struck into roads fringed with native houses on piles, shadowed by the everlasting coconut palms 20

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heavy with young nuts,” he writes.

“There was a mutter of thunder in the hills which we were approaching.”

As we putter along sinusoidal roads, dodging foraging chickens, I tell my guide, Mr. Quah, a retired cooking-gas salesman, I want to visit a nutmeg farm Langdon had mentioned.

It’s one of the last remnants from the 1800’s, when plantations proliferated in a British attempt to break the Dutch stranglehold on the spice supply.

Mr. Quah insistently narrates the treescape as we drive: “Durian tree.

Rubber tree. Rambutan tree. No nutmeg! Durian tree. No nutmeg!”

Eventually, we find the Ghee Hup farm. Seedlings line the parking lot.

Under a lean-to, a saleswoman gives a five-minute primer in pidgin English about the nutmeg. “Nutmeg mace!

Good for joint pain!” she says. “See? Male seed. Cannot get baby. Female seed. Get baby.”

I buy some whole nutmeg—in foodie-obsessive Brooklyn, I might shave it on spinach and serve with a story—but as we leave the farm, I began to sense the foolishness of chasing Penang’s past. I’m finding only shadows. I can’t know the reality of what my great-grandfather experienced. And it’s both patronizing and impossible to decide what is worth “preserving.”

Yet the foreshadowing of the future seems strangely discomfiting too.

After we lunch in Balik Pulau, Mr. Quah mentions that an acquaintance has asked him to buy bread here. This is apparently no ordinary Malaysian roti. We find the shop, Yin’s, in a strip mall on edge of town. Proprietor Chan Su Yin learned to make sourdough in Portland. Upon returning to Malaysia, she tinkered with recipes to adjust for climate, opening Yin’s in 2013. “I make my own kefir too!” she says, as if from a Portlandia Goes to Penang script.

“When I got back from Oregon, I couldn’t find it anywhere.”

I buy a still-warm coconut bun, the only thing in the bakery that seems vaguely, stereotypically Penang. I swallow it nearly whole, along with my guilt, judgment and confusion.

And as much as I don’t want to say so, it’s delicious. +

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T L Guide STAY Eastern & Oriental Hotel 10 Farquhar St., George Town; 604/222-2000; eohotels.com; doubles from RM930.

Seven Terraces 2-16 Stewart Ln., George Town; 60-4/2642333; seventerraces.com; doubles from RM550.

Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion The famed “Blue House,” this century-plus-old manor of a Hakka magnate and diplomat once housed the Chinese ViceConsulate, as well as Cheong’s favored seventh wife. 14 Leith St., George Town; 60-4/2620006; cheongfatttzemansion. com; doubles from RM420.

Snacking and backpacking on Muntri Street.

Opposite, from top: Nutmeg at Ghee Hup; baker Chan Su Yin and her goods; a temple on Love Lane.

EAT+DRINK Jawi House Café Gallery 85 Armenian St., George Town; 604/261-3680; jawihouse.com; lunch for two RM50; open until 7 p.m.

China House 153-155 Beach St., George Town; 60-4/2637299; chinahouse.com.my; dinner for two RM200.

Yin’s Sourdough Jalan Bukit Penara, Balik Pulau Garden, Balik Pulau; 60-11/2419-5118; yinssourdough.com.

Eng Loh Coffee Shop 48 Church St., George Town; 604/261-5526; tea or coffee for two RM3.

Toh Soon Café 184 Campbell St., George Town; 60-4/2613754; coffee for two RM2.

Patio Opened last year, this indoor-outdoor tapas bar has live music, grilled ribs and signature sangria. 49 Weld Quay, George Town; 60-12/ 311-442; facebook. com/patiopenang; drinks for two RM60.

SEE+DO Suffolk House 250 Jalan Air Itam, George Town; 60-4/2281109; suffolkhouse.com.my; admission for two RM20.

Self-Guided Street Art Tour George Town; tourismpenang.net. my/pdf/street-art-brochure.pdf.

Ghee Hup Nutmeg Factory 202-A Jalan Teluk Bahang, Balik Pulau; 60-4/866-8426; free admission (and nutmeg-juice samples).

THE EMERALD CANOPY

Enchanting Langkawi, land of flying and mischievous monkeys, and million-year-old mountains, pulls M E R R I T T G U R L E Y in

and sends her skipping down the evolutionary brick road.

P H O T O G R A P H E D BY T H A R AT H O R N S I T T H I T H A M S T Y L I S T: T U N V A R D E E J U TA V A R A K U L . M O D E L : N I T H I P O R N L E R T N I T I W O N S A K U L .

H A I R A N D M A K E U P : W I T T H AYA K A E O A I M . P H O T O G R A P H E R ’ S A S S I S TA N T: TA N A W AT A S A S U TJ A R I T

Exploring the ancient jungle of Langkawi (swimsuit, Katarina; skirt, Emilio Pucci).

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Clockwise from above: Practice your swing between soft sands and rolling mountains at The Golf Club, Datai Bay; strolling poolside at The Andaman (dress, Halston Heritage); one of Langkawi’s many small wonders; marine biologist Dr. Gerry Goeden; spotting eagles on a mangrove tour; sail boats dock at Telaga Harbour; mischievious macaques plot their next move.

LUXURY MONKEYS.

B O T T O M R I G H T: C O U R T E S Y O F F O U R S E A S O N S

That’s how naturalist Nurhidayah Hussein describes the spectacled langurs and macaques that, though indigenous to Langkawi, have adapted perhaps too well to a certain invasive species: tourists. “These are five-star monkeys living in a five-star hotel”—namely, the Andaman Langkawi, where the little devils have conjured every trick in the book to break into guest suites and raid mini bars. “You hear a knock on the door. Room service? No! Monkey service!” Hussein warns. “They will send their cutest baby to knock at your balcony, asking for food. When you open the door to feed it, the whole family will sneak in behind you.” Why? “They will have a monkey party. Open your beers, drink your champagne, eat your chips, sit on the couch and watch your TV.”

I S H O U L D B E C O N C E R N E D, but a monkey party sounds fun. Besides, macaques learning to pop champagne corks is just the tip of the evolutionary-oddity-iceberg in this collection of 99 tropical islands off the northwestern coast of peninsular Malaysia that includes some of the weirdest animals, from flying lemurs to walking fish, and oldest landforms known to man.

“Ninety-nine magical islands? You’ve heard this slogan?” ecologist Farouk Omar asks me as we motor through the mangroves. I nod, ready to gush, but he goes on: “They aren’t islands; they’re sea stacks. Just rocks really, but I guess ‘ninetynine magical rocks’ doesn’t sound as good.”

No, Farouk, it doesn’t. But if he’s trying to keep me grounded, he’s failing. The boat tour he’s leading is only gelling my impression that Langkawi is thoroughly enchanting. As we get further into the wetlands, the vines weave into an arch overhead and I can sense the age of the land. It even smells old; millions of years of life and death, flood and drought, growth and rot, have given the earth a rich zoetic cologne. In 2007, Langkawi was awarded World Geopark status by unesco and, according to their research, most of this archipelago rose to the surface 220 million years ago—though the island’s oldest geological formation, Mat Cincang Mountain, T R AV E L A N D L E I S U R E A S I A .C O M

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may have risen from the seabed twice as long ago, following the breakup of the supercontinent Pangea. This would have been during Cambrian era, a period of great proliferation of life on Earth, and modern-day Langkawi still reflects that biodiversity, both in its wide range of topography and its miscellany of animals (there are 503 different species of butterflies alone). Naturally, there’s been an upsurge of luxury resorts that are designed, from architecture to operations, to dazzle visitors with this veritable petri-dish of earthly wonders. It was the mid 1800’s when evolutionary biologist Alfred Russel Wallace reflected, “The very finest field for an exploring and collecting naturalist was to be found in the great Malayan Archipelago.” I’m 150 years behind him, but I intend to bask in those same peculiarities of olden extant species. tells me pointing to the bark of a tree. Every rustle in the kelly tangle hides some furtive animal action. I squint in the direction she is indicating but, though I’ve spotted kingfishers, hornbills, otters and squirrels already in the past hour, now I can’t see a thing. In this dipterocarp jungle the trees fruit and flower at such towering heights that the forest floor is left dimly lit and sparsely populated. Every felled tree spawns a flurry of growth as saplings compete for the prized patch of light and climb eagerly towards the vacant spot in the vertiginous canopy. The whole ecosystem revolves around height, with animals forced to find their way into the treetops in search of food—one result of which is the abundance of more than 230 species of birds. Local folklore has it that the name Langkawi comes from a shortened version of the Malay word for eagle, helang, and kawi, which means reddish brown: Red Eagle Island.

There are a few unexpected additions to the airborne family, as well—creatures that evolved the gift of glide. There’s the flying frog, whose wide webbed feet allow it to drift through the air. The flying lizard relies on an extra membrane around its throat, like a bullfrog, to launch from tree to tree. The flying snake winds up tree trunks, then hurls itself from high branches and flattens its body to catch the draft as it cruises towards its unsuspecting victims below.

And what I’m blinking at? The enigmatic colugo, or flying lemur.

For years nobody was able to classify this animal. It looks like a big squirrel, its long nails allow it to hang upside down like a bat, and it uses the extra flaps of skin between its legs to sail through the heights. In 2002, DNA testing shed some light on the mysterious mammal, revealing that it is, in fact, a primate. But that simple answer doesn’t satisfy everyone. “The DNA does not suit the behavior,” Hussein says. “A monkey does not look like this. A monkey does not fly.”

Monkeys also don’t booze it up, but Hussein says, “I have seen them do it.” And, although snakes are not known to amuse themselves with playground equipment, there, back at the resort, is a giant king cobra slithering from a low-hanging tree down onto the kids’ waterslide. “I have chills,” a young American woman tells me as, in the relentless tropical heat, she tugs up her sleeve and wags her goose-pimply arm at me as proof. I give her a courtesy nod but, like everybody else in the thickening throng, my eyes are glued to the largest venomous snake in the world. Though it’s just a pipsqueak in king cobra terms, it is still thicker than my calf and at least 3 meters long. “Can you imagine being in the pool and having that thing come sliding right at you?” the woman asks me. “Surprise! It’s the Jungle Book, but for real and we’re all going to die.”

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E A G L E , M A N G R O V E A N D B O AT: C O U R T E S Y O F F O U R S E A S O N S

“ I T I S S L E E P I N G W I T H I T S E Y E S O P E N like a reptile,” Hussein

Clockwise from top left: Sunset from the comfort of a catamaran cruise (jumpsuit, Diane von Furstenberg); the name Langkawi comes from the Malay word for eagle, a bird that abounds on the island; an oxbow cuts through the verdant mangrove forest; weaving through limestone karsts; a cave ripe for kayaking; enjoying a morning walk on the beach.

On the bow of the Sea Falcon (dress, Halston Heritage; cuff, Chanel).

‘THERE IS JUST ONE

PIRATE STILL SAILING

THE MALACCA STRAITS,

AND YOU’RE WITH HIM’

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Clockwise from top left: Fishing buoys the island economy; a prehistoric rock formation pops out of the jungle; handling a slithering local; a spectacled langur monkey; dwarfed by giant leaves (dress and hat, Emilio Pucci).

Opposite: Catching rays (swimsuit, Katarina; pants, Diane von Furstenberg; scarf, Bvlgari; sunglasses, Chanel).

F I S H E R M A N B O AT, M O U N TA I N A N D M O N K E Y: C O U R T E S Y O F F O U R S E A S O N S

Thanks, lady—now I have chills. I look to Hussein for reassurance.

I know that she can’t offer much in the way of physical protection, but surely there’s some soothing factoid about the harmlessness of giant poisonous snakes that she can offer. “This is their house,” she shrugs.

“We just rent the space from them.” While that’s one landlord I’d hate to tick off, there’s something life affirming and profound about an island where the divides between man and nature are still blurred, where the wilderness still reigns.

“ W E A R E B L E S S E D T O B E I N T H E M I D S T O F one of the world’s most incredible geological and ecological environments, yet so few tourists realize the extent of the nature that lies beyond Langkawi’s beaches,” says the Four Seasons’ senior naturalist, Aidi Abdullah.

“There’s a lot of mind-blowing nature out there and we just want people to know about it.” To that end, the resort opened Geopark Discovery Centre earlier this year that features exhibition boards, interactive presentations and displays, which showcase Langkawi’s incredible environment.

It’s a perfect setting for responsible adventure tourism—the Kilim Karst Geoforest Park, for example, is ideal for sailing. Rife with secret restaurants tucked in quiet corners of karst-sheltered sea, this limestone labrynth is a playground for sea dogs. The more aerially enamored can board the cable car that summits Mat Cincang mountain for a visual tease of all the captivating jungle below. No wonder backpackers have been wise to the many attractions of the “Jewel of Kedah” for ages. Now the whole vibe is flush with upscale options set to multiply over the next year. A Ritz-Carlton is slated to open in 2015, the luxe Vivanta by Taj is taking over Rebak Island, and there’s a St. Regis in the works, to name a few. Meanwhile stalwarts like the Andaman and the Four Seasons are tweaking their offerings to better highlight the natural surroundings, with scientists and preservationists on call to educate guests on the island’s ecology.

Malaysia has lost 90 percent of its natural fishing resources since the 1980’s, according to marine biologist Dr. Gerry Goeden, but new coral colonies could generate fresh life. The Andaman has launched a protection program to help rebuild the thousands of years of growth that was cleared in the 2004 tsunami and to offset the impacts of commercial fishing.

Working with the National University of Malaysia, the resort is creating artificial reef modules designed to provide the right environment to protect fish eggs and small fish, a system that could lead to an extra 10,000 kilos of fish a year. Currently the Andaman has four modules anchored off its shore, and Goeden has an ambitious end goal of bumping it up to 5,000 by 2020. This would reinvigorate the aquatic ecosystem, as well as bolster the local fishing industry to help meet the increasing demand for seafood that comes with the influx of new resorts and hungry tourists.

No island vacation is complete without at least one seafood feast, but responsible restaurants ban the purchase of adolescent fish, so they can grow to reproductive maturity and propagate before they are pulled from the sea.

After the lesson on marine conservation, a short one-at-a-time snorkeling tour of the 10-by-20meter saltwater coral nursery enclosure is offered, for an up-close look at the colorful sea life. “One thousand kids a year visit and come away with a more sustainable life view,” Goeden T R AV E L A N D L E I S U R E A S I A .C O M

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says. “These are children who come from a privileged background. In 15 years they will be in the position to make a difference.”

T H E C O R A L C O N FA B H A S M E L O N G I N G for a sojourn at sea. I board Captain Todd Fisher’s 14-meter luxury catamaran, the Gone Surfin’, for a sunset cruise. I listen to the wind cracking the sails taut as we breeze through shallow waves, and from my spot on the bow of the boat I have a front row view of Thailand edging nearer in the distance.

“You need to bring your passport if you go swimming—you just may cross the international border,” Fisher tells me.

I ask him how he ended up in Langkawi.

“Sometimes lightning strikes,” he says.

I chuckle.

“No, literally: lightning struck my boat and it jammed all my equipment. I had to sail to the closest shore and that was that beach right there,” he points to Datai Bay. “That was several years ago and I keep coming back.” He’s not the first to get marooned in these waters.

Fisher nods to Koh Tarutao: “That used to be an island of political prisoners.” There were more than 3,000 Thai convicts held captive there and, during World War II, the country ran out of supplies to feed them. “They all turned to piracy,” he says grimly. “Even the guards.”

I ask if there are still pirates sailing the Malacca Straits.

“Just one,” says Fisher, “and you’re with him.”

There are more than a few medicine men in this region, however, and Shaaban Arshad is the resident healer at Kubang Badak, “buffalo wallow”, village. Arshad concocts tropical elixirs that he prescribes for everything from breast lumps to psoriasis. “He goes into the jungle behind his house,” local preservationist Irshad Mobarak tells me, pointing behind the lovely home where we are having lunch, “and that’s where he gathers the plants and spices that cure lung cancer.”

Cure? “His father was a medicine man. His grandfather was a medicine man,” Mobarak explains. “This knowledge is passed down.”

Arshad breaks into a long rant in Malay and Mobarak translates: “Medicine men act from the heart. Very passionate. His grandfather would paddle in a wooden boat across 30 kilometers of ocean every weekend just to see his girlfriend in Thailand.” “Why didn’t he just move to Thailand?” I ask. “Malaysia is between India and China and the herbs are among the oldest in the world,” Irshad says. “There are plants and animals here on Langkawi that you can’t find anywhere else on earth.”

From top: The sun says good morning; toes in the sand (swimsuit, Katarina; scarf, Bvlgari); a clown fish in the sea anemone. Right: Fiddler crab.

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I F OC U S O N T H E B U L L S- E Y E and breathe in. As I exhale, I let my arrow fly. It breezes through the jungle and lands with a thump in the outermost ring of the target. I let out a triumphant whoop, though I can guess from my instructor’s expression that this is not an impressive achievement. Still, I stand proud, bow in hand. It is 2 p.m. and I’ve already swum in the hidden Lengarra Creek; biked through rice paddies and a fishing village; trekked through boscage; climbed a limestone cliff and abseiled down; and now become a master archer.

I’m breathing thick jungle air, sweating out city life and feeling right at home as I tumble backwards into a prehistoric age.

I’m caught in a paradox: the older my surroundings, the younger I feel. Maybe it’s that on an island where fish walk, snakes fly, and one bolt of lightening can change the course of a man’s life, anything seems possible. “In all works on natural history,” Wallace wrote, “we constantly find details of the marvelous adaptation of animals to their food, their habits, and the localities in which they are found.”

Maybe I’m just evolving. +

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T L Guide Getting There There are daily flights from Kuala Lumpur and Penang to Langkawi on AirAsia (airasia.com), Malaysian Airlines (malaysiaairlines.com) and Malindo Air (malindoair.com).

SUNSET AND CR AB: COURTESY OF FOUR SEASONS

STAY Four Seasons Langkawi This sprawling seafront estate has an adults-only swimming pool and a thick 1.6-kilometer-long private beach for multiple lounge options. The concierge can arrange rock climbing and archery in the jungle playground behind their property. Jln. Tanjung Rhu, Mukim Ayer Hangat; 60-4/ 950-8888; fourseasons. com/langkawi; doubles from RM1,780.

Meritus Pelangi Resort & Spa Designed in the style of a Malay village, this tropical resort has 352 guestrooms and suites peppered across 14 well-manicured hectares of beachfront. Pantai Cenang; 60-4/952-8888; meritushotels.com; doubles from RM850.

The Andaman, Langkawi Tucked between the jungle and Datai Bay, the recently refurbished rooms have floor-to-ceiling windows offering exceptional views.

Jln. Teluk Datai; 60-4/9591088; theandaman.com; doubles from RM1,900.

EAT Privilege Restaurant and Bar A mix of modern and classic Malaysian gastronomy, located right on Telaga Harbour. B8, 1F Perdana Quay, Telaga Harbour Park, Pantai Kok; 60-4/956-1188; privilegerestaurant.com; dinner for two RM90.

Kuah Town Seafood Far from fancy but brimming with local flavor, this restaurant is a sister enterprise of the community favorite

Wonderland Food Store and serves up the same high caliber of delicious and fresh dishes in a slightly more upscale setting. Bandar Baru Baron 33, Kuah; 60-12/470-7687; dinner for two RM100.

Ikan-Ikan Restaurant Head to this charming beachfront eatery for the Monday Fisherman’s & Farmer’s Night, featuring delectable choose-yourown-ingredients noodle stations and a lively traditional dance show.

Jln. Tanjung Rhu, Mukim Ayer Hangat; 60-4/9508888; fourseasons.com/ langkawi; buffet RM240 per person.

Eagle Rock Wash down pub food like nachos and wings with a cold beer or killer kamikaze, while you rock out to live music.

Block 5, GF, Awana Porto Malai Resort, Tanjung Malai; eaglerockcafe.com. my; drinks for two RM50.

DO Jungle Walla Explore the secrets of the mangrove forest with naturalist Irshad Mobarak. jungle walla.com; unesco Geopark Cruise RM199 per person.

Cable Car Board Langkawi’s famous cable car for a breathtaking 1,700-meter ride to the Top Station of ancient Mat Cincang Mountain. panoramalangkawi.com; RM35 per person.

Coral Nursery Learn about marine conservation and coral preservation under the guidance of marine biologist Dr. Gerry Goeden. theandaman. com/NA-coralnursery.

Last Look

Photographed by Kit Yeng Chan

Penang Swing kids The street-art trend in George Town started in 2012, when Lithuanian Ernest Zacharevic painted kids at play on the walls of the historic area.

But don’t go looking for these two

by Lou Gan on Step by Step Lane; the sign is part of the installation.

“The real Bruce Lee would never do this” That’s the title—and probably safe assumption—of this mural by the collective Artists for Stray Animals, on Ah Quee Street. Neither curiosity nor kung fu may kill the cat, but the eco-friendly paint with which he was created will fade in about two years.

Mousing away

Hoop dreams A brother and sister play basketball on Gat Lebuh Chulia’s wall, forever suspended between the waters of the Malacca Strait on one side and the travelers’ enclave, Chulia Street.

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A black mouse tries to stay under the radar in one of Armenian Street’s side lanes. Why? There’s a giant feline (painting) lurking right around the corner.

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SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT WITH T+L SOUTHEAST ASIA NOVEMBER 2014

a classic collection of healthy recipes

go hea lth y around asia, dining in all its forms has become an art. the love of good food is a key element of travel these days. that’s why we’ve put together this guide to healthy versions of traditional asian dishes. for Marco avitabile, regional Vice president of food & Beverage— asia pacific for hyatt hotels & resorts, that passion is something that he insists be a guiding force for all the hotel’s chefs. the company’s culinary philosophy “food. thoughtfully sourced. carefully served.” focuses on providing options that are good for guests, good for the community and good for the planet. this idea extends throughout all grand hyatt menus, but don’t think for a minute that healthy dining means limited choice. With asia’s varied flavours, rich culinary traditions and modern flair, that’s simply not an option. think grilled chicken burgers with portobello mushrooms in singapore or a more traditional Tom Yam Goong in thailand made with the freshest organic ingredients. these are recipes that are meant to be delicious, fun and healthy all at the same time. “a good host serves nutritious food to promote a feeling of well being,” Marco says “at grand hyatt we offer tasty, fresh and visually appealing dishes – the kind of food we chefs want to eat ourselves.” so enjoy this healthy and tasteful journey with our hotels across the diverse region that is asia, everywhere from grand hyatt singapore to grand hyatt Beijing. Buon appetito!

s in g a p o r e

“

The key to a nutritionally balanced and a wholesome lifestyle is eating in moderation and using an intuitive approach when it comes to putting a meal together.

Grand Hyatt Singapore Chef Lucas Glanville

Por tob ell o mus hro om, gri lle d chi cke n bur ger (se rve s 4)

”

Burger Ingredients 8pcs Large Portobello (field) mushrooms 2pcs Chicken breast, skin removed, sliced 1 Whole tomato, sliced ½ Red onion, sliced 4pcs Gherkins, sliced ¼ Iceberg lettuce Garnish Ingredients 1 Whole carrot, peeled 1 Stick of celery Both cut into crudités sized batons Yogurt dressing Ingredients 4tbs 0% fat yogurt 1tbs Dijon mustard Preparation 1. Season Portobello mushrooms with salt and pepper. Char grill or dry grill both sides of the mushrooms, until just cooked. These will act as the burger “buns”. Lay them out on a chopping board, with the top side of the mushrooms facing down.

2. On one mushroom, place 2 leaves of lettuce, 1 slice of tomato, 1 slice of red onion rings, the sliced gherkins, and a tablespoon of the yogurt sauce.

3. Thinly slice the chicken lengthways, char grill, season with salt and pepper, then place on top of the salad garnish. Place the second Portobello mushroom as a lid, on top of the burger and then keep it secure with a decorative toothpick or skewer.

4. Serve the vegetable crudités, as an alternative garnish to traditional French fries, with a small ramekin of yogurt dipping sauce.

Ba n g Ko K

TO M YA M GO ON G (sP icy an d so ur Pr aw n so uP wi th le mo ng ra ss ) (se rv es 1)

“

Healthy cuisine is ensuring you listen to your body, it will tell you what it needs, variety of food is the key, balance of all the food groups is the right way to eat, does not necessarily mean just vegetarian cuisine.

Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok Chef Mark Hagenbach

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Ingredients Peeled prawns with tail 80g Straw mushrooms 50g cut in half Lemongrass sliced 10g Galangal sliced 5g 3pcs Kaffir lime leaves Coriander root 1pc head 200ml Prawn stock (Boil shrimp s) herb Yam with Tom 25ml Fish sauce 25ml Lime juice Chilli paste in oil 10g (Nam prig pao) 4pcs Chilli red & green (crushed) Coriander (for ganish) Few

Preparation 1. Boil prawn stock in a pot.

Add lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, galangal, coriander root and straw mushrooms.

2. Add prawns, once stock is boiling, remove from the heat, and season with fish sauce, lime juice, chilli paste in oil, crushed red and green chilli.

3. Pour in a bowl and garnish with coriander leaves.

MelB oUrn e

“

olive oil Poached marron, heirloom baby vegetables, finger lime caviar (serves 4)

Our goal is to have enough variety for all of our diners. In Australia we have a growing number of guests who are challenged by dietary restrictions, as well as those who are taking a lot more care of what they put into their bodies.

Grand Hyatt Melbourne Chef Jason Camillo

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Ingredients 4 Live whole marron (average 160g each) 12 Baby fennel bulbs 8 Baby turnips 12 Heirloom carrots (varying colours white, purple and yellow)

12 1L 5 1 4 1

Baby leeks Light olive oil Cracked peppercorns Orange peeled and juiced Finger limes Punnet of assorted baby herbs and lettuce

Preparation 1. Place the live ma rron in the freezer to send them into hibernation for 20 mi nutes. Remove from freezer and insert a knife into the back of the head.

2. Peel and clean all of the vegetables .

3. Place the marro n into boiling water for 2 minutes and co in ice bath. ol 4. Slowly and gentl y twist the tail and pu ll away from the he 5. Using scissors ad. gently cut down bo th sides of the unde of the tail and gentl rbelly y remove the flesh.

6. Using the heal of a knife gently cra ck the claws and rem the meat from them ove in 1 piece.

7. The marron is no w prepped for poac hing.

8. Place the oil in a pan and bring the oil up to 60째 C, add peppercorns, orang the e peel, fennel and marron tail and cla into the oil. The tem ws perature will drop be low 60째 C so you will need to bring the temperature back up maintain this tempe to 60째 C and rature until the marro n is cooked.

To test if it is cooked the meat should sp ring back when lightly pressed.

9. Remove the fen nel when tender als o. Place the remain vegetables in the oil ing one at a time startin g from the lightest colour to the darke st, remove once ten 10. Cut the finger lim der. es in half and remov e the caviar place in a bowl.

11. Take 2 tablespo ons of the olive oil and mix with the jui the orange and seas ce of on with salt and pe 12. Gently warm all pper to taste. ingredients, slice the marron tail into 4 or 5 pieces and arran ge decoratively on a plate. Dress with finger lime dressing and finish with asso rted baby leaves and lettuces.

ho ng Ko ng

steamed black cod fillet and Preserved vegetables in bamboo basket (serves 4)

“

We like to ensure that we cover as many healthy requirements as possible for the various cultural preferences and requirements.

Grand Hyatt Hong Kong Chef Marcus Mathyssek

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Ingredients 560g Black cod 320g Minced preserved vegetables Chopped spring onion 20g Minced ginger 60g 16pcs Chinese kale Seasoning Oyster sauce 60g Light olive oil 40g Light soy sauce 20g Seasoned soy 20g sauce for fish Preparation 1. Remove bones from black cod.

Cut cod into rectangular shape of approximately 70 grams each.

2. Strain water from preserved vegetables. Mix with minced ginger, oyster sauce, light olive oil and light soy sauce.

3. Add mixed preserved vegetables onto cod evenly. Place two pieces of cod per portion in steam basket to steam for 4 minutes.

4. Boil kale and place next to the cod 5. Add spring onions and seasoned soy sauce onto cod.

B e iJ in g

“

The key to attract guests to healthy food, is to prepare a wide variety of cuisines—Cantonese, northern Chinese, Italian and Japanese—using traditional cooking techniques, original nutrients, aromas, seasoning and ingredients.

Grand Hyatt Beijing Chef Martin Aw Yong

trad ition al beiji ng noo dle with stew ed Pork bean sauc e (ser ves 4)

”

Ingredients 50ml Fragrant shallot oil 150g Minced pork (40% fat meat, 60% lean meat) 120g Water 76g Liubiju dry miso sauce 18g Yingkou miso sauce 12g Ginger 12g Garlic 12g White sugar 24g Chopped green onion 320g Cooked pulled noodles (or other preferred noodles) Condiments 5g Shredded cucumber 5g Shredded carrot 5g Cooked soybean 5g Mung bean sprout 5g Minced Chinese toon vegetable 5g Diced celery Preparation 1. Combine the water with both miso sauces, and mix well.

2 Heat up the fragrant shallot oil and add in the meat.

3. Stir fry until the meat turns white and separates.

4. Add ginger, garlic, cooking wine and the miso mixture.

5. Add in the white sugar. Bring it to a boil and then lower the heat to slow boil, stir continuously to prevent the paste from burning.

6. Stir fry for about 25 minutes and add the chopped green onion, and mix well.

Final Touches 7. Place the cooked noodles in a serving plate and then pour the Beijing Fried Bean Sauce on top.

8. Garnish the condiments over the noodles and sauce, and the dish is ready to be served.

sh an gh ai

Poache d ric e wit h shr imP and sca llo P in lob ste r sou P (se rve s 4)

“

e It’s all about innovativ e ativ cooking techniques, cre d o food combinations, go ts and quality fresh ingredien superb presentation.

Grand Hyatt Shanghai Chef Michael Dinges

”

Ingredients Whole Boston lobster (500g) 1 100g Jinga shrimp Australian scallop 80g Sea shrimp 60g 200g Lean pork loin 500g Pork knuckle 500g Chicken feet Chinese celery 15g Chinese coriander 15g Onion g 200 Ginger 50g Purified water 2L 100g Jasmine rice Butter 50g Salt 2g Sugar 2g

Preparation 1. Deshell the lobster. Poach the Jing a shrimp until fully cooked and mince to paste. Cut the Chinese celery and Chinese coriander into small dices.

2. Poach the pork loin, pork knuckle and chicken feet with boiling water for 3 minutes, then rinse through.

3. Put all the meat into purified water and boil, turn to low heat and simmer for 6 hours, filter the liquid to obtain the clear broth.

4. Heat a large pot with oil, sautĂŠ the lobster shell, Jinga shrimp, ginger, onion, butter until golden red colour, pour in the meat stock, bring it to a boil with maximum heat for 20 minutes, and filter the broth again.

5. Cook 80g of rice and poach the lobster, the scallop and the sea shrimp until fully cooked.

6. Wash 20g of rice with cold water, then drain until it is completely dried. Heat the oil until it reaches 200° C. Deep fry the rice until it is golden.

7. Season the broth with salt and sugar, bring it to a boil.

8. Put the white rice into a large bowl, top with cooked scallop, sea shrimp, Chinese celery and Chinese coriander.

9. Pour in the broth and finish with adding in the golden rice.

she nya ng

“

It’s all part of Hyatt’s holistic approach to treating its guests well. We believe most guests are already health conscious and think our goal is to stress you don’t have to give up taste and satisfaction to eat better.

Grand Hyatt Shenyang Chef Mark Long

brai sed bean curd , drie d shri mPs, chic ken stoc k (ser ves 4)

Ingredients rd 750g Hard Bean cu p im shr ed Dri 5g Dried small shrimp 5g 1000g Chicken stock Salt 15g Preparation into the 1. Place the bean curd d chicken ad d an h dis e rol casse d dried an p im stock, dried shr p. im small shr dish up, 2. Heat the casserole simmer let te, tas add salt for . tes nu mi 30 for

”

“

Speaking with our guests, we found that gluten-free meals are a preference and we’re here to accommodate. We hope that our guests discover that health-conscious items are not only nutritious but also very tasty.

Grand Hyatt Shenzhen Chef Martin Riehl

shenZhen che f’s “ku ngf u sou P” (se rve s 2)

”

Ingredients 50g Fish maw 1pc Fresh abalone from Australia (10 head) 50g Duck 200g Lean pork 1g Wolfberries 5g Conpoy 5g Chinese ham 2g Cordycep flower 2g Honey red dates 1g White peppers 400ml Hilltop mineral water Preparation 1. Bring the mineral water to a boil.

2. Prepare a Boccaro (Chinese clay) bowl. Place the wolfberries, ham, honey red dates, cordycep flower, white pepper, conpoy and fresh abalone in the bowl.

3. Put the lean pork and the duck in two separate small pots and cover with mineral water. Bring both pots to a boil.

4. Remove the pork and duck and place into the Boccaro bowl.

Both meats must still be hot when placed into the soup bowl.

5. Pour boiling mineral water into the Boccaro bowl over the ingredients.

6. Double boil the soup for 3.5 hours, then place the fish maw in the soup.

7. Double boil for another 30 minutes and serve.

more opportunities for earning. we believe your loyalty deserves to be rewarded with Hyatt Gold Passport™ points, whether you’re enjoying a meal at one of our restaurants or the night at one of our hotels.

“Earning based on eligible spend only. No refunds for unused points when redeeming for Dining & Spa Awards.

Some exclusions apply. Not available at all properties or all outlets. For complete terms and conditions, visit goldpassport.com. ©2014 Hyatt Corporation. All rights reserved. Void where prohibited.”

MEMORABLE MOMEnTS AwAIT wITH A COMPLIMEnTARY nIGHT Stay from 1 December 2014 to 31 March 2015 and receive a complimentary fourth night when you stay three paid nights at participating Hyatt Hotels & Resorts in Asia Pacific, when you book and pay with your American Express® Card. To enjoy this offer, book your stay at hyatthotels.hyatt.com/amex and quote promotional code “AX701” between 1 november 2014 and 28 March 2015. Other terms and conditions apply.*

PA R T I C I PA T I n G H O T E L S AustrAliA Grand Hyatt Melbourne Hyatt Hotel Canberra-A Park Hyatt Hotel Hyatt Regency Perth CAmbodiA Park Hyatt Siem Reap GreAter ChinA Grand Hyatt Hong Kong Hyatt Regency Hong Kong, Sha Tin Hyatt Regency Hong Kong, Tsim Sha Tsui Park Hyatt Shanghai Andaz Xintiandi, Shanghai Grand Hyatt Shanghai Hyatt on the Bund Hyatt Regency Chongming Park Hyatt Beijing Grand Hyatt Beijing Park Hyatt Changbaishan Hyatt Regency Changbaishan Grand Hyatt Dalian Grand Hyatt Guangzhou Grand Hyatt Lijiang Grand Hyatt Macau Grand Hyatt Shenzhen Grand Hyatt Shenyang Grand Hyatt Taipei

Hyatt Regency Chongqing Hyatt Regency Dongguan Hyatt Regency Guiyang Hyatt Regency Hangzhou Hyatt Regency Jinan Hyatt Regency Jing Jin City Resort & Spa Hyatt Regency Qingdao Hyatt Regency Tianjin East Hyatt Regency Suzhou

Grand Hyatt Seoul Grand Hyatt Incheon Park Hyatt Busan Hyatt Regency Jeju

indonesiA Grand Hyatt Bali Grand Hyatt Jakarta Hyatt Regency Bandung Hyatt Regency Yogyakarta

miCronesiA Hyatt Regency Guam Hyatt Regency Saipan

JApAn Andaz Tokyo Toranomon Hills Grand Hyatt Tokyo Hyatt Regency Tokyo Grand Hyatt Fukuoka Hyatt Regency Fukuoka Hyatt Regency Hakone Resort & Spa Hyatt Regency Kyoto Hyatt Regency Osaka south KoreA Park Hyatt Seoul

mAlAysiA Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur Hyatt Regency Kinabalu Hyatt Regency Kuantan Resort

philippines Hyatt Regency Hotel and Casino Manila sinGApore Grand Hyatt Singapore thAilAnd Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok Hyatt Regency Hua Hin Hyatt Regency Phuket Resort VietnAm Park Hyatt Saigon Hyatt Regency Danang Resort & Spa

*terms & Conditions Offer is valid for reservations made during the promotion period commencing from november 1, 2014 and ending March 28, 2015 (both days inclusive) (“Promotion Period”) with stay period from December 1, 2014 to March 31, 2015 at participating Hyatt hotels and resorts in Asia Pacific, including Park Hyatt, Andaz, Grand Hyatt and Hyatt Regency. Guest must use the offer code AX701 at time of reservation and pay the ‘Amex Buy 3 Get 4’ rate plan with an American Express Card. Reservations are subject to availability and must be made in advance during the Promotion Period. Offer is not valid for groups or conventions and may not be combined with other promotional offers. Prices are based on double occupancy, standard guestroom accommodations unless otherwise noted. Additional charges apply to room-type upgrades. For the ‘Amex Buy 3 Get 4’ rate plan, minimum four (4) nights length of stay is required. Complimentary night is reflected in rate at time of booking. Promotional blackout periods may apply due to seasonal periods or special events, and normal arrival/departure restrictions apply. Limited to one (1) complimentary night per stay. Two or more consecutive nights at same hotel are considered a stay regardless of whether guest checks out. Complimentary night is not combinable with Family Plan rooms. Offer does not include tax or service charges, or any other miscellaneous charges. Additional guests may be subject to additional hotel charges. Any Hyatt Gold Passport award stay and Suite award are not applicable. A limited number of rooms are allocated to this promotion. Hyatt reserves the right to alter or withdraw this promotion at any time without notice. These Terms and Conditions may be translated into other languages and in the event of conflict between different language versions, the English version shall prevail. Hyatt Hotels & Resorts® encompasses hotels managed, franchised or leased by subsidiaries and affiliates of Hyatt Hotels Corporation. The trademarks Hyatt®, Hyatt Hotels & Resorts®, Park Hyatt®, Andaz®, Grand Hyatt®, Hyatt Regency®, Hyatt Place®, HYATT house™, Hyatt Zilara™, Hyatt Ziva™, Hyatt Gold Passport®, and related marks are trademarks of Hyatt Corporation. © 2014 Hyatt Corporation. All rights reserved.