Kanoo World Traveller_March2011

THE MIDDLE EAST’S BIGGEST TRAVEL MAGAZINE MARcH 2011

Produced in International Media Production Zone

Caribbean Queen

Is St. Lucia the most treasured

island of all?

Eastern Promise

The lowdown on Japan’s cultural

heartland

bLue FOr YOuAmrit Dhilon falls for India’s painted city

Roar of the LionWhy Singapore is now a leisure destination to be reckoned with

10 MagniFiCent HOLidaY ViLLas

10% OFF

your n

ext

holiday

KWT Cover March.indd 1 2/24/2011 6:21:04 PM

(R) J00532 HIME leisure phs2 kanoo dps.ai 1 1/18/11 6:45 PM

Untitled-5 2 2/24/2011 3:29:29 PM

(R) J00532 HIME leisure phs2 kanoo dps.ai 1 1/18/11 6:45 PM

Untitled-5 3 2/24/2011 3:29:42 PM

Untitled-13 1 2/24/2011 7:25:26 PM

March 2011 Kanoo World Traveller 3

Travel biTes feaTures

CONTENTSKanoo World Traveller MARCH 2011

Managing Director: Victoria Hazell-Thatcher

Publishing Director: John Thatcher

Advertisement Director: Chris Capstick

[email protected]

+971 4 369 0917

Features Editor: Laura Binder

[email protected]

+971 4 364 2877

Art Editor: Jenni Dennis

[email protected]

Designer: Matthew McBriar

Production manager: Haneef Abdul

Sales Manager: Cat Steele

[email protected]

+971 4 446 1558

Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission from HOT Media Publishing is strictly prohibited. All prices mentioned are

correct at time of press but may change. HOT Media Publishing does not accept liability for omissions or errors in Kanoo World Traveller.

Jan-June 2010 22,620 BPA Consumer Audit

Produced by: HOT Media Publishing FZ LLC

On the cover: Sky Park pool, Singapore.

THE MIDDLE EAST’S BIGGEST TRAVEL MAGAZINE MARcH 2011

Produced in International Media Production Zone

Caribbean Queen

Is St. Lucia the most treasured

island of all?

Eastern Promise

The lowdown on Japan’s cultural

heartland

bLue FOr YOuAmrit Dhilon falls for India’s painted city

Roar of the LionWhy Singapore is now a leisure destination to be reckoned with

10 MagniFiCent HOLidaY ViLLas

10% OFF

your n

ext

holiday

KWT Cover March.indd 1 2/24/2011 6:21:04 PM

34 43 665546 62

05 AgendAAll the latest need-to-know travel news.

16 drive timeThe drive of a lifetime through the Canadian Rockies.

14 Ask the expertDone Paris and Rome? Head to romantic Damascus.

20 picture this Postcard-perfect sights in Yemen and Germany.

25 essentiAl selectionInside the world’s most incredible holiday villas.

65 thirty-second conciergeA centuries-old retreat in stunning Tuscany.

66 city guide: kyivLaura Binder checks out Ukraine’s famous capital.

68 city guide: cAnnesAerin Rose hits the French Riviera.

71 competitionWin a two-night stay at Dubai’s Meydan Hotel.

72 suite dreAmsStunning Sri Panwa in Thailand’s Phuket.

32 singAporeThe rise and rise of a modern city.

38 st luciAParadise found on the Caribbean’s treasured island.

44 jodphurAmrit Dhilon gets the blues in India’s walled city.

50 new ZeAlAndHitting the tracks for the most scenic journey on earth

58 kyotoSimon Horsford explores Japan’s cultural heartland.

KWT Contents March.indd 3 2/24/2011 6:24:15 PM

Untitled-2 1 2/21/2011 11:38:36 AM


AGENDABe informed, be inspired, be there

The W brand has spread its wings to Eastern Europe for the first time in its history to make the most modern of nests in the heart of St Petersburg. Stay from March 1 and you’ll find yourself split between two worlds: one of cutting-edge suites and swanky restaurants inside the hotel – check out the exhaustive tapas menu in the Living Room – and one of old-school romance outside: you’re just a skip away from the wonderful Winter Palace and Mariinsky Theatre. www.wstpetersburgh.com

russian revelation

W sT peTersburgh, russia

KWT Agenda opener March.indd 5 2/24/2011 12:53:08 PM

6 Kanoo World Traveller March 2011

ONE-MINUTE MASTERCLASS: pOLISh Where can I go to get warm? Gdzie moge pojechac, zeby sie ogrzac? Do you accept US dollars? Czy mozna placic w dolarach? Where can I get a dish of bigos? Gdzie moge dostac talerz bigosu?

Empire strikes backJumeirah’s latest hotel opening – this time on Dubai’s Palm Jumeirah – evokes era of the Ottoman Empire. Though it doesn’t fully open till next month, Jumeirah Zabeel Saray has already created a bit of a buzz. A magnificent, palatial resort, it stands on the western wing of Palm Jumeirah, looking over a private beach to the sea and the ever-expanding Dubai Marina skyline beyond. Inside it’s instantly impressive – soaring gold pillars and chandeliers dominate the lobby and it houses some of the best suites in town (look out for its Turkish tubs), plus a superb 42-room spa. But for something different we’re looking forward to the opening of its restaurant Voi for cuisine inspired by 1920’s French-colonial Vietnam. www.jumeirah.com

4 ALTERNATIvE WAyS TO ENjOy

Las Vegas1There’s some great art on

permanent display in Vegas. You’ll find works by Picasso and Renoior hanging in the Bellagio’s Gallery of Fine Art, while more modern marvels – 25 art installations to be precise – are on show at CityCenter.

2Another permanent exhibition that’s well worth checking

out is Titanic. It displays artefacts recovered from the wreckage of the famously doomed ship – including personal belongings of its passengers – and a recreation of the ship’s Grand Staircase.

3Head an hour out of town along roads flanked by desert

and you’ll come to the spectacular valley of Fire. Here red rock formations – shaped by a millenia of water and wind – appear otherworldly and make for a stunning holiday snap.

4 Las Vegas is a city that never rests on its laurels when it

comes to offering state-of-the art hotels and, as such, when a hotel passes its supposed sell by date it is flattened. Its neon sign, though, is kept and lives on, displayed in the city’s fantastic Neon Museum.

KWT Agenda March.indd 6 2/24/2011 6:00:35 PM


agEnda | nEws

Global GoUrmetIf you’re making for Argentina, there’s one standout spot you simply won’t want to miss, says Chef Norberto Palacios of Asado, The Palace – The Old Town, Dubai. To me, the best food in my hometown of Cordoba is my mum’s beef ragout or my grandfather’s homemade spaghetti but for visitors, I’d like to share an amazing place in a countryside town called Agua de Oro, meaning Water of Gold. Take a long walk by the river and you’ll discover

a restaurant called Rio Arriba, meaning ‘Up the River’. There’s a beautiful terrace with tables set beneath a pergola made of natural tree leaves and branches. It’s a perfect oasis for lunch – expect an entire menu with food that families typically prepare in their own homes in Cordoba. We ate a white bean puree and fresh warm bread, straight from the wooden oven. It was simply perfect. Also try ‘milanesa con papas fritas y ensalada mixta’. Milanesa is a veal beef, coated with a breadcrumb, egg and parsley mixture, and deep fried. It was wonderfully crispy, and the beef has a perfect pink colour inside.

No, really, a temporary hotel in Madrid has been built

out of nothing but rubbish and waste washed up on

beaches by German artist Ha Schult. Why? Schult wanted to show what wouid happen to our holidays if we don’t keep our beaches clean.

a rubbish hotel



pack it in

It’s easy to miss news stories when you’re working every hour of daylight, so if you want to use your holiday time to catch up with what’s gone by, bag yourself a copy of Delayed Gratification, which distills three months of news into one handy-sized magazine of record. www.dgquarterly.com

home is where the art isIf you’ve always planned to browse the world’s greatest galleries, Google has developed a website which takes visitiors on an incredible virtual tour of 17 top galleries from the comfort of their own home. www.googleartproject.com

Read all about it



agEnda | nEws

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

lowdown though you’d be hard pushed to find a US city that doesn’t celebrate St. Patrick’s Day wholeheartedly, nowhere does it quite like Chicago.

the Venue all over the city. but the two main parades – we’re talking marching bands, dancers and super-sized floats – take place in Downtown and South Side. both are even bigger than Dublin’s own parade.

highlight When the city’s famous river is dyed green in celebration. Head to the district of Columbus for a bird’s eye view.

Staying there try the very grand trump International Hotel & tower. www.trumpchicagohotel.com

lowdown england is home to a huge Irish population with the main concentration being in the midland’s city of birmingham.

the Venue like Chicago, birmigham goes big on its street parade – it’s the largest in the UK. but the party isn’t confined to the 17th, with a whole week of events staged throughout the city.

highlight leprechauns marching through the city aside, the myriad events that take place include some superb music and family-focused events.

Staying there birmingham isn’t blessed with a lot of luxury hotels, so best choose a lodging based on its location the Hyatt regency is slap-bang in the centre.www.birmingham.regency.hyatt.com

Come March 17th everyone seems to be Irish. But where will you go to celebrate the big day?

going greenSt. patrick’S day

Chicago, USA Birmingham, EnglandKENyAN SAFARI

7 dAyS/6 NIGhTS $1,555

Experience the ultimate safari experience by taking in five game drives and four

superb lodges.

pRAGUE 4 dAyS/3 NIGhTS

$874Check out one of Europe’s oldest and architecturally

impressive cities.

MALdIvES4 dAyS/3 NIGhTS

$1,739 Enjoy the ultimate getaway

in magical Maldives.

Safari, so good...

This month’s hot offers from Kanoo Travel

and american Express Vacations.



agenda | calendar

3vienna opera ballvienna, austria Mix high society with old-school glamour and a swirl of Vienesse waltzes and you’ll have yourself a ball; literally. This is the socialite’s event of the year, when thousands gather in their finest at the State Opera. But, it’s not as inaccessible as it sounds; mere mortals can apply for tickets too, though competition for them is rife and only handwritten requests are accepted. www.viennaoperaball.com

16hong kong art walkSoho district, hong kongArt-lovers will be in their element on this most cultured of crawls. Step out in oh-so-trendy Soho and you’ll have your pick of 60 galleries, all of which open for the evening, presenting you with a view of all the city’s art in a single night – all proceeds go to charity. Expect everything from urban photos to bold prints. www.hongkongartwalk.com

19 red bull craShed iceold Quebec, canada Feel the need for speed? Head down to the Old Quebec district and you’ll see adrenaline junkies strap on their skates and take to an oversized ice track that throws up hairpin turns, plummeting drops and jumps to boot. The atmosphere’s electric as well, with up to 85,000 spectators gathering to cheer on the speed-loving skaters. www.redbull.com

2726 QantaS auStralian grand prixMelbourne, australiaThe season-opening F1 Grand Prix revs into gear as Melbourne gets the honour of dropping the chequered flag for the first time. Last year’s championship witnessed the emergence of Sebastian Vettel, with the flying German crowned the youngest ever winner of the F1 title (by a matter of days). And he’s likely to be the man to beat this year, too. www grandprix.com.au

dubai world cupdubai, uaeForget what you think you know about racing; this is the richest event on the equine calendar, worth a cool $25 million. Held at Meydan Racecourse, it includes eight races each of which make heart-stopping viewing thanks to the world’s top horses, jockeys and trainers. The course seats 60,000 and the luxe Meydan Hotel serves as an alternative spot to celebrate. www.dubaiworldcup.com

Marchthis month’s events serve up a seriously stimulating pick for jet-setters everywhere...

5-8 rio Carnival rio de Janeiro, Brazil It’s impossible not to have heard of the mother of all carnivals: Rio. Samba dancers showcase off-the-scale spirit as they shimmy through the streets in a stop-and-stare stream of bright outfits with glitter galore. Make for the arquibancadas (terrace seats) or camarotes (boxes) for the best views or shake your tail feather to Brazilian beats in a public bandstand. www.rio-carnival.net

KWT Calendar March.indd 10 2/23/2011 6:57:06 PM

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

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

Hong Kong is great for everyone from families to friends, to couples – there is something to suit all. Immerse yourself in the shopping experience and you’ll find everything from the latest designer fashions to electronic gadgets. Explore the memorable attractions around you and be amazed by the diversity of this exciting destination.

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

For further information about Hong Kong, visit DiscoverHongKong.com

HONG KONG

Untitled-3 1 2/23/2011 6:49:56 PM


AgendA | in depth

For fashionistas everywhere just the word Missoni is all it takes to conjure up a burst of excitement strong enough to rival the designer’s explosions of multi-coloured hues. For design-loving travellers, meanwhile, it prompts visions of what can’t fail to be one very stylish stop-over.

Missoni Kuwait is the brand’s second city hotel, following in the footsteps of its Edinburgh sister. But the Middle Eastern sibling is far from a carbon copy, as Director of Marketing, Rose Kutzil, explains: ‘Each hotel was designed individually and took inspiration from its environment. While Edinburgh is a UK city hotel with a base colour palette of black and white, Kuwait’s far more colourful, inspired by the hues of the sand and sea and the sun’s golden tones.’ With 169 rooms (including 63 suites) it surpasses the size of a boutique hotel but its dedication to design and, what Rose describes as ‘a truly authentic Italian hospitality experience, portraying the Missoni way of life’ means an individual touch graces each of its 18 floors.

‘The design is all about pleasing the eye but also

making you feel instantly comfortable, says Rose. ‘Guests can expect style without show and comfort with style.’ As with all designer labeled hotels, one has to wonder whether the designer themselves played much of a part in the creative process: ‘Rosita Missoni was involved in every aspect of the hotel’s design. She personally chose everything from the wall colours and fabrics to the furniture, tiles, textures and artwork – she even chose the crockery and finer details, like the soaps in the bathrooms.’ And Rose’s favourite feature? ‘The swimming pool; it’s just stunning, It’s made from almost one million mosaic tiles which portray the iconic Missoni print. Look down on it from the 18th floor and you’ll have the best view in the house!”

With the ever-passionate Rosita taking a hands-on approach, there’s no fear of Missoni-lovers leaving disappointed. Not that you have to be a slave to the brand to really enjoy a stay here. ‘It’s not all Missoni,’ insists Rose. ‘If you share its (Missoni) passion for life, for design, comfort and excellent food you’ll love the hotel.’ And in true Italian spirit, its dedication to food is one aspect that’s well worth exploring. ‘For Cucina (the hotel’s Italian restaurant), Rosita worked in close collaboration with the renowned chef Giorgio Locatelli to create a concept and menus’, explains Rose. The result is a menu that includes a mouth-watering array of Italian-spun classics, like Barolo and Castelmagno cheese risotto, and sea bass baked with a salt crust. Then there’s the Choco Café: ‘It’s inspired by the Italian Gran Caffè legend and there’s a permanent buzz inside,’ enthuses Rose. ‘It’s a place to savour great coffee, fine chocolate and decadent pastries – all the more enjoyable eaten on the fabulous outdoor terrace.’ That’s all the encouragement we need to pay a visit. Now, if we can just find our Missoni scarf…Missoni Kuwait is open for reservations. Visit www.hotelmissoni.com

The Italian fashion dynasty Missoni has left another beautiful mark in its wake; this time a new hotel in Kuwait City. But what should we expect besides those signature stripes? Laura Binder finds out.

‘With the ever-passionate Rosita taking a hands-on approach, there’s no fear of Missoni-lovers leaving disappointed’

City SliCker

Above: Inside a suite at Missoni Kuwait.

KWT Missoni interview March.indd 12 2/24/2011 3:35:33 PM

SOF KanooAd 210x255 v1.indd 2 23/02/2011 14:14


Q My partner and I want to book ourselves a romantic spring city break but have both

been to Paris and Rome previously. Can you suggest anywhere less obvious? Head to the Old City in Damascus for a romantic city break where the weather in spring time is perfect for exploring its ancient Roman ruins, magnificent Umayyad Mosque, and the vast souks famous for rosebuds, spices and silver. Dating back more than 4,500 years, it is the oldest continually inhabited city in the world. There are a handful of beautiful boutique hotels tucked away along the winding alleys that open onto courtyards of lemon trees and fountains, such as Beit Al Mamlouka, a lovingly restored 19th century house, or The Art House just outside the Old City walls, where each suite is named after famous Syrian artists. Straight Street is full of fashionable cafes and boutiques – including Villa Moda which you’ll know from its branches in the GCC – and you can easily spend a weekend away there shopping and exploring the city. Alternatively, take a trip up into the hills to the wildly atmospheric Krak des Chevaliers, the world’s best preserved crusader castle, for breathtaking views that look out over the mountains and city. Jessica Hudson

Q I want to take my husband to a football match in the

Middle East as he’s never been to one here. Which fixture has the best atmosphere?

There are two or three matches in the region that would have all the passion and support to match any game in world football. But the Cairo derby between Al Ahly and Zamalek can rightly be considered up there with Real Madrid versus Barcelona. It is the biggest football match in Africa, and was once considered so fierce that the Cairo derby is now held at the neutral Cairo International stadium in front of close to 80,000 fans. The match has had a political dimension too, with Al Ahly claiming the mantel of Arab nationalism; Zamalek forever connected with the old deposed king. But the revolution that toppled President Mubarek saw rival fans of both teams coming together and their next match will be fascinating. James Montague

This month our experts suggest a romantic city break that eschews the norm and a football match that all fans of the beautiful game should see.

Ask the expert

Rachel hamilton is a full-time writer and the mother of two young children, Jodie and Dylan, whom she travels frequently with.

James montague writes for CNN.com and The Guardian and is the author of ‘When Friday Comes: Football in the War Zone’ (Mainstream).

Jessica hudson co-founded The Chic Collection’s travel advisory and is tasked with sampling endless luxury hotels and resorts.

The panel

AgendA | TrAvel q&A

Imag

e: B

eit A

l-M

amlo

uka

KWT Ask the expert March.indd 14 2/24/2011 6:39:04 PM

Untitled-2 1 2/20/2011 12:53:21 PM

AgendA | RoAd tRip

16 Kanoo World Traveller January 2011

Drive time: IcefIeld’s parkway, alberta

With baited breath is the only state in which to drive the route from Banff to Jasper National Parks and behold those Canadian Rockies. It’s one of the most scenic mountain drives in the world and – as you cruise Icefield’s Parkway, flanked by soaring pine trees – you’ll understand why. The road itself (all 230km of it) is the best stretch of tarmac from which to behold the awesome vistas. In fact, as it runs alongside the main Canadian Rocky Mountain ranges, you’re literally riding the continent’s spine. As you do, you’ll be privy to panoramas of sky-bound peaks that soar beyond 11,000 feet. But that’s not all; ancient glaciers, glassy lakes, dipping valleys and head-turning wildlife (think moose, black bear, elk and even the odd grizzly) all exist in this alpine wonderland. Image: Photolibrary

CATCh youR BReATh ANd Behold CANAdIAN CouNTRy AT ITs MosT sPeCTACulAR...

AgendA | RoAd tRip


KWT Drivetime March.indd 16 2/23/2011 4:23:32 PM

Untitled-5 1 2/20/2011 1:57:43 PM

C

M

Y

CM

MY

CY

CMY

K

kanoo 210x255 sand.pdf 1 2/21/11 3:38 PM

Untitled-2 1 2/23/2011 2:41:07 PM


AgendA | hotel picker

Spring’s the perfect time to visit the Big Apple, so take your pick from these Manhatten hotel hotspots...

Where to stay

New York City

Great Spa Great Food

Central Park Fifth Avenue

Uptown Downtown

New Cool Old School

Famous Lady Famous Man

Setai Fifth Avenuewww.setaififthavenue.com

Size matters at the Setai Fifth Aveune, with the tower soaring

some 60 stories to be noticed on Manhatten’s famed skyline and the rooms among the largest

in the city. Stay here and you’ll also be given a peronal assistant

who’s an expert on the city.

Hotel On Rivingtonwww.hotelonrivington.comNew York is of course well

known for being constantly at the cutting edge of style and this all-glass hotel is standing proof. You’ll enjoy a superb view of the Empire State Buiding from your bed, while Manhatten’s skyline is

also visible from your shower.

The Greenwich Hotelwww.thegreenwichhotel.com

Robert De Niro is the man behind this characterful abode in the fashionable Tribeca district, which feels distinctly

more members’ club than hotel.

Ritz-Carlton, Battery Parkwww.ritzcarlton.com

While enjoying some of the best service in the city, guests can also peer

out from their rooms for unbroken views of the Statue of Liberty.

Jumeirah Essex Housewww.jumeirah.com

US celebrity chef Kerry Heffernan heads up the super chic South Gate here, where an ever-changing menu offers the season’s richest pickings.

Mandarin Oriental, New Yorkwww.mandarinoriental.com

Undoutedly the best spa in the city, the serene vibe here actually manages to convince you that you’re anywhere but one of the world’s busiest cities.

OR

OR

OR

OR

OR

START

KWT Where to stay March.indd 19 2/23/2011 4:16:06 PM

Berchtesgaden

Cast your eyes over this idyllic snow-clad town and it’s hard to imagine it serving as anything other than a picture-perfect ski retreat. But while its natural beauty will stop you in your icy tracks – mountainous terrain dotted with fairytale forests – this area of the Balvarian Alps is shrouded in infamy. Formerly a favoured leisure spot of The Nazis in the 1920s, it played host to haunts like The Berchtesgadener Hof Hotel – frequented by political figures like Eva Braun (Hitler’s companion) and Joseph Goebbels. While post-war years saw the demolition of such buildings, Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest – a mountain-top retreat built for his 50th birthday – remains. Head there (via a brass elevator, 400 feet up) and you can bask in Berchtesgaden’s beauty from an altitude of 6017 feet. Image: Photolibrary

Picture this

Germany

KWT Picture this March.indd 20 2/24/2011 3:40:49 PM



socotra Island

‘Dragon blood tree’ (or Dracaena cinnabari, to be precise) is the name given to these mushroom-like trees, which sprout up peculiarly across Socotra Island’s dry terrain. Each one bleeds a red sap, (once a sought-after means of medicine), that’s now used as a rich paint or varnish. To say that these fantastical trees and sand-ridden surrounds look fit for a scene from Star Wars is no understatement; the island is in a pure state of isolation, and together with its desert climate, has spawned a breed of bizarre plant life – a third of which cannot be found anywhere else on the planet. In fact, Socotra has been described as the ‘most alien-looking place on Earth’. And we tend to agree...Image: Photolibrary

Picture this

yemen



Essential selection

After more thAn just A hotel

room? lAurA Binder mAkes for

the most BeAutiful villAs on

the plAnet for some seriously

stylish seclusion.

The World’s FinesT Villas


essential selection

KWT Essential selection March.indd 24 2/24/2011 3:52:41 PM

EssEntial sElEction | world’s bEst villas


AlilA villAs uluwAtu, BAli Stood on a cliff top plateau faced with a seemingly endless horizon that sweeps across the Indian Ocean is a moment that’s sure to evoke an awestruck gasp: Which is exactly what you’ll do after making reservations here (pictured). Choose from one- to three-bed villas with a cliff or hillside setting – each with the kind of pool you’ll want to while away an entire sun-soaked day aside. Calm-inducing interiors make it easy to relax inside, too; an open-plan design is just made for meandering; lava rock roofs allow the sea breeze to caress you; and to die-for-beds are rivaled only by the vistas before them. Sleeps: Up to six in a three-bed pool villa. Best for: Those who don’t want to lift a finger: butlers tend to your every whim and restaurants CIRE and The Warung have meal times covered – be sure to try Indonesian dishes like Sate Lilit. www.alilahotels.com

mAlAkiyA royAl villA, uAeIt’s easy to mistake the castle-like turrets that decorate a slice of Dubai’s skyline for an ancient Arabian palace. But, these caramel-coloured rooftops in fact form the magnificent Malakiya Villas at Madinat Jumeirah: the sprawling resort which flanks a jewel-green river where guests are ferried from one point to the next on gently-cruising dhows (Step off to a giddying array of restaurants). The Royal Villa is the crème de la crème here: grandiose surrounds open onto private terraces and manicured gardens fit for a fairytale. Plus, of course, a private pool and Jacuzzi (just try and resist a dip). A private lift, meanwhile, will take you to ground-level in a flash. Sleeps: Maximum of six adults and two children. Best for: Arabian opulence. Rooms decked-out in rich red tones look fit for royalty and spacious layouts provide room for all the family. www.jumeirah.com




Untitled-7 1 2/24/2011 4:08:57 PM



AlfAjiri Cliff VillA, KenyA

One hour’s drive from Mombassa airport will bring you here: a plush tribal-esque retreat that’s home to three properties dotted across the East African Coast. Ivory floors look as slick as ice, Makuti roofs soar skyward and African artefacts set the tone. If you’re a sucker for sea views, the Cliff Villa is unbeatable. Its turret suite’s floor-to-ceiling windows place you within virtual reach of each crashing wave, while its infinity pool looks at one with the sea. Its décor is equally look-at-me, with wild animal prints on the floor and featherweight nets cascading from four-poster beds. For a taste of that ocean, just request fresh seafood – bought from local fishermen daily – served in your villa. Sleeps: Up to eight. Best for: Families. The owners have two daughters and designed the villas with mini imaginations in mind. ‘Ayah’s (nannies) are on call 24/7. www.alfjirivillas.com

VillA MArgot, MoroCCo A flamingo-pink façade that stings of South America greets you on arrival to this most glamorous of villas on the cusp of Marrakech. At first glance it’s more Mexico than Morocco but head inside, beneath head-raising arches fit for a Turkish palace, past steaming hammams and through the sweet waft of local cuisine and you’ll be straight back to North Africa. Its marble white bathrooms and sleek figure-of-eight pool, flanked by seductive day beds (a truly romantic setting for a candlelit meal) may not make it one for grubby-fingered tots but will prove nothing short of irresistible for sun-seeking couples. Sleeps: Sixteen across eight double rooms. Best for: A sublime steam for two – its Moroccan baths are just sensational. Plump for a massage while you’re there, which use home-made plant and herb oils that feel like hot liquid silk on your skin. www.villamargotmarrakech.com




Untitled-4 1 2/22/2011 1:59:09 PM



Villa Bordoni , italy There’s something instantly romantic about this villa; a duck egg-blue Renaissance abode set in the heart of Tuscany’s Chianti Classico region. The 16th century property opened in 2006, after its new owners stumbled upon it quietly decaying in the grey-green hills, tortoises roaming its wild gardens. Since then its received a Florentine overhaul. Each room is a delight; from the beige and cobalt blue Mezzuola to the crimson Montefilli (you’ll coo over its carved Venetian boserie), right down to the plump, goose-feather pillows and quirky design finishes that echo a time of Tuscan peasantry – look out for the chicken coop door that now serenades as an ornament. Sleeps: Twenty across 10 double bedrooms. Best for: An Autumn break when its Tuscan pastures burst into flame red, burnt orange and golden hues; there’s no better time of year for crisp, country strolls. www.villabordoni.com

rahimoana Villa, EaglE’s nEst, nEw ZEaland It’s no exaggeration to dub Eagle Nest’s setting ‘paradise’. Rahimoana (left) is one of five villas perched on the Russell peninsula’s tip – which means you’ll find yourself gloriously abandoned in the tropics, lost somewhere between emerald green tree-tops and a peacock-blue sea. But what’s truly special about this villa is its private pool; 25metres of horizon-edged infinity, it appears beautifully poised to drift you blissfully out to sea. Undoubtedly the ruler of the Eagle’s roost, a stay here will lend you four bedrooms (white gloss finishes throughout), a private powder-soft beach and cool extras like a home cinema. Sleeps: Up to eight. Best for: Heart-stopping vistas. Rahimoana’s 320 degree view over the Bay of Islands can’t fail to send you into a silent state of wonder... www.eaglesnest.co.nz

‘you’ll find yourself gloriously abandoned in the tropics, lost somewhere between emerald green

tree-tops and a peacock-blue sea’




ParadisE island Villa, CrEtE Villas named after Greek mythological heroes will send you into a Mediterranean mindset from the moment you check-in here (right). While the names (and mountainous views) are mighty, each abode exudes a Med-chic rather than extravagant Greek theme (no gold laurel wreaths here). Terracotta tiles, stone-wash walls and earthy hues will pass you by as you make for your illuminated dipping pool, set in an idyllic private garden. Step out further to sample the hotel-style amenities; from laundry and babysitting services to more indulgent restaurants and pools. Its poolside lounge, with tree-top tables and bright white loungers against turquoise waters, is startlingly cool. Sleeps: Up to seven. Best for: Those after privacy and services alike. Be sure to dine at Ambrosia and save room for ‘loukoumades’ – a delicious doughnut-like dessert with ice cream and honey. www.luxuryvillascrete.com

PrEsidEntial Villa, six sEnsEs samui, thailandWith its thatched roof spouting from broccoli-like terrain, your arrival to Six Senses Samui may feel a little like entering an indigenous desert island. You’ll find the resort’s presidential villa here – it’s one of 66 sweetly scattered villas – constructed from trademark conker-brown Thai wood, all the way down to its staircase which invites you onto the sunbathing deck and daybeds that await patiently below. Once there, you can let the sun touch your skin in solitude. Bliss. Sleeps: Up to four. Best for: Seclusion without self-catering: the villa’s sprawling ocean-facing terrace and table for ten is shaded by an expanse of jungle-like vegetation – the perfect tropical setting in which to feast on in-villa dining or barbecues – served by a personal butler, naturally. www.sixsenses.com/SixSensesSamui

‘its poolside lounge, with tree-top tables and bright white loungers set against turquoise

waters, is startingly cool’





lE PEtit moulin, FranCEDeep in the Charente Maritime countryside sits the most charming of watermills to call your own – at least for a week or two. The house itself (pictured) is the prettiest vision of quintessential French country-style with its white shutters, creeper-clad façade and stone walls that hug rooms of antique-style furniture. Its real allure comes from an original waterwheel that still turns – you can see the mill stream trickle through the house under a glass-viewing panel (magical when lit-up at night). But a stylish restoration means there’s nothing ancient about its finishes – rather an eight-person Jacuzzi, huge heated saltwater swimming pool and a 50-inch plasma TV in the lounge. Sleeps: Eighteen across eight double bedrooms and a garden room. Best for: Food-lovers: the stone kitchen’s long island just begs to be cooked upon and the room opens onto the front and back, so you can take freshly baked fare outside and dine on a sun-dappled terrace. www.lepetitmoulin.com

Villa amiZadE, moZamBiquE You’ll be even more in awe of your luxury digs here on realising it was built by the hands of the Island’s local community – making its mothering Azura Resort Mozambique’s first eco-retreat. The newest villa is Amazade (meaning ‘friendship’) whose creature comforts blend the on-trend with the natural (bold Missoni fabrics against soft driftwood details) while evoking a sense of island life through its shaggy, thatched roof and beachfront garden – where a hammock forms the dreamiest spot for a daytime doze. But its setting is the real selling point; nestled inside Bazaruto National Park, you’re in for an unspoilt treat of pure, cotton-soft sands and crystal clear, salty waters. Sleeps: Up to four. Best for: Barefoot escapism. If the water babies among you are game for dipping more than just your toes in the Azure Sea, immerse yourself in scuba diving, snorkelling, fishing or dhow sailing. www.azura-retreats.com

Imag

e: w

ww

.rog

erm

oss.

com





KWT Singapore March.indd 32 2/23/2011 3:18:58 PM

lion city | singapore


Singapore is trying to rebrand itself as a leisure destination. It might just work, says Claire Wrathall.

LION PRIDE






t here can’t be another hotel in the world that looks out on three countries. But from the SkyPark, 600ft up on the new Marina Bay Sands hotel in Singapore, you can see not just Singapore, but the skyline of Johor Baharu in Malaysia

and across the Strait of Malacca to the Indonesian island of Sumatra. It’s an arresting sight by any standard, but what really took me by surprise was how green so much of it looked. Not just the 60-odd outlying islands, many of them jungle-clad; nor the extravagant SkyPark itself, which is home to more than 900 species, including 250 types of tree; but also Singapore itself, verdant with public parks and bosky avenues. And it stands to become yet greener. Next year, for example, the Botanic Gardens, where botanists from Kew first propagated the Brazilian rubber trees that spawned the industry on which much of Singapore’s wealth was based, will open a 250-acre extension on the reclaimed land that forms the eastern edge of Marina Bay, complete with two modern glasshouses.

For the moment, however, the only way to view this work-in-progress is from the skypark, itself the newest – and by some distance the strangest – green space to have opened in years. shaped like a boat that’s run aground on the roofs of three 57-storey tower blocks, like a sort of glass-and-steel stonehenge, it’s the length of three football pitches and has a swimming pool on its western perimeter that looks across the marina to the central Business District.

Most of the park is accessible only to hotel guests, though there is a public observation deck, a 19-second elevator ride from the street. a better ruse, though, is to book a table on the terrace of one of the two restaurants up there: Ku dé ta (pretty ordinary cooking, but the food is hardly the point), or sky on 57, an about-to-open restaurant run by singapore’s most celebrated chef, Justin Quek. Built at a cost of £3.7 billion, the hotel has claims to be a wonder of the world, at least in terms of scale. When it’s finally fully open, there’ll be 10,000 staff, 21 restaurants and 2,561

bedrooms in 18 categories. there are also 10 immense art installations by the likes of antony gormley, sol leWitt and ned Kahn, and an arcade featuring just about every major luxury brand (plus a canal along which you can cruise on flat-bottomed sampans).

But while Marina Bay sands is an extraordinary architectural feat, i wouldn’t necessarily choose to stay there. Better to opt for the even newer Fullerton Bay Hotel, which opened just across the water in July. it has marvellous views of the skypark, as well as the armadillo-like theatres on the Bay, but with just 105 very attractive, comfortable rooms, a fine restaurant and its own rooftop swimming pool, which is surrounded by luxuriant foliage and adjoins the lantern, which is swiftly establishing itself as the most modish lounge in the city. like its sister hotel, the Fullerton, converted from the imposing neoclassical post office HQ built in 1928, the Fullerton Bay is part of Fullerton Heritage, a development of two hotels, galleries, shops and restaurants

‘you can see monkeys and monitor lizards on pulau Ubin as well, perhaps the most atmospheric of all the excursions that singapore has to offer’

Previous page: Marina Sands;

Pool at top of same hotel. Opposite page, clockwise

from top left: Pool at viewing

platrom Sky Park; China Town.

Next page: The Fullerton Hotel.



in a waterfront area that strives to make use of listed buildings.

the Fullerton Bay may be an unexceptional glass-and-steel newbuild, but it incorporates clifford pier, a huge hall spanned by a red corrugated-iron roof supported by fancy ribbon-like trusses, the place where many immigrants first set foot on the island. now it houses a fashionable chinese restaurant, one on the Bund. and it’s flanked by Waterboat House, a marvellous example of nautical art Deco, and customs House, a low linear structure from the sixties which, when it opens this year, will house cuban, Japanese and italian restaurants together with an oyster bar.

i laughed when one of its developers called it a ‘heritage’ building. But it predates independence, he pointed out, and that makes it historic. However, if singapore is essentially a modern megalopolis, roaring as befits a lion city (which is what singa pura means in Malay), where the economy is expected to have grown by 13 to 15 per cent in 2010, there are equally pockets that feel very ancient and untouched. the Bukit timah nature reserve, for example, 400 acres of primeval rainforest bang in the centre of the city, remains home to 500 or so species of fauna, fabulous butterflies, pangolins and long-tailed macaques. you can see monkeys and monitor lizards on pulau Ubin as well, perhaps the most atmospheric of all the excursions that singapore has to offer.

Bicycling around this island in the Johor strait (a 10-minute bumboat-ride from changi point), it feels as it must have done in colonial times: a place of rubber plantations, shrimp farms and stilt-houses. Best of all, there are undeveloped sandy beaches lapped by unexpectedly clean water, just as there are on the islands of st John’s and Kusu, south of Marina Bay. in terms of atmosphere and pace, Ubin couldn’t be further from the energy and dynamism of downtown. proof indeed that singapore has far more to offer those on holiday than simply a place to change planes.

‘Best of all, there are undeveloped sandy beaches lapped by unexpectedly clean water, just as there are on st John’s and Kusu islands’




THE BEST RESTAURANTS The Banana Leaf Apolo

an institution since 1974, this no-frills canteen in little india (at 48 serangoon road) serves outstandingly good food, the dark aromatic peppery mutton Mysore in particular, which you eat off banana leaves rather than plates (006297 1595).

Harvest Seafood Restaurant the 19th-century shophouses that line Boat Quay on the singapore river are now mostly restaurants, of which this is one of the best. ask for a table by the water and order singapore’s national dishes chilli crab and black pepper crab; mop up the sauce with tiny sweet bread rolls. (006532 6731).

The Blue Ginger peranakan is the term used to describe descendants of chinese immigrants who intermarried with Malay. their cooking fuses traditions from both cultures, hence spring rolls, sambals and soupy coconut curries. located like most peranakan restaurants in the Katong area, this three-level former shop-house at 97 tanjong pagar is probably the best (006222 3928).

THE BEST HOTELS Hotel 1929

its chinatown location is not ideal, but this is one of singapore’s most eccentric boutique hotels. it’s a stunning stucco structure with boxy chinese art Deco balconies and louvred shutters. it was built as a hotel in 1929, when rooms were smaller and en-suite bathrooms a rarity, hence the bathroom-in-the-bedroom arrangement in some rooms (www.hotel1929.com; rooms from $137).

Fullerton Bay Hotel Modern décor that reflects singapore’s many cultures (chinese, Malay, indian, peranakan and colonial); beautifully designed; highly recommended (www.fullertonbayhotel.com; from $605 per night).

Raffles the most famous hotel in singapore, perhaps in asia, and a national monument since 1987; its attributes include 18 restaurants, an elegant shopping arcade, a 388-seat Victorian theatre – it even has its own museum. Have afternoon tea in its tiffin room, even if you don’t stay here (www.raffleshotel.com; from $500 per night).

Imag

es; M

arin

a Sa

nds

Hot

el, w

ww

.leon

ardo

.com

, Pho

tolib

rary

.Te

xt: C

lair

e W

rath

all \

The

Tel

egra

ph \

The

Inte

rvie

w P

eopl

e.


38 Kanoo World Traveller March 201138 Kanoo World Traveller March 2011

KWT St Lucia March.indd 38 2/24/2011 4:24:14 PM

caribbean queen | st lucia


Which is the most perfect island in the Caribbean? Claire Wrathall explains why St Lucia, in the Lesser Antilles, gets her vote.

Show me a tropical beach and I’ll lie on it gladly. But the pleasures of an afternoon’s idling in the shallows and soaking up warmth redouble after a morning’s exertions.

to my mind, this makes st lucia the most perfect island in the caribbean. For this is a place rich in things to do, from riding creole thoroughbreds through the waves on cas-en-bas beach to zip-lining through the rainforest canopy. it’s also paradise for walkers as st lucia abounds in trails. the obvious challenge is to climb the Pitons, the almost perfectly conical twin lava spikes designated a World Heritage site. the reasonably fit can get to the summit of the Gros Piton (2,618ft), in around two hours, from which the views, as far as Martinique to the north and st Vincent to the south on a clear day, more than justify any breathlessness you’ve suffered on the way up. at 2,408ft, the Petit Piton ought to be easier, but it’s a very steep, much tougher ascent that involves knotted ropes and officially the path, or what exists of one at least, is closed for safety reasons.

if Gros Piton sounds a trek too far, there are plenty of less strenuous options in the hinterland around st lucia’s highest peak, Morne Gimie, and through the edmund Forest reserve, an area cloaked in the sort of improbably beautiful

jungle imagined by the painter Henri ‘le Douanier’ rousseau: of waterfalls you can bathe under (the enbas saut Falls feed a sequence of three idyllic pools), cloud forest, stunted ‘elfin woodland’ and extraordinary trees. immense chataigniers, for example, their buttressed trunks bound by strangler figs; spidery tree ferns, whose woody stems sprout parasitical bromeliads; and sprays of heliconia thronged by humming birds no bigger than your thumb. no wonder Derek Walcott, the more famous of st lucia’s two nobel Prize winners (the other was the economist arthur lewis), makes repeated references in the opening chapter of his epic novel-in-verse Omeros, to laurier-cannelles, the bark of which is revered as a kind of forest Viagra when made into a tea – our guide winked knowingly – and gommiers, whose highly flammable sap smells of fire lighters. indeed, in the 1790s a band of escaped slaves known as the brigands used it, along with hollow shafts of the giant bamboo that also grows here, to construct makeshift cannons, the roar from which frightened their French rulers into thinking they were well armed. the uprising led to the abolition of slavery in 1794 - at least until britain regained control of the island and brought it back. Few places have been as fought over as st lucia, which changed hands between the French



it’s a jungle out there






and british 14 times before it secured independence in 1979. but it makes for a fascinating fusion of cultures: amerindian, african, european and indian, thanks to the 6,000 indentured workers shipped here from bihar and uttar Pradesh after slavery was abolished.

For those who prefer their vegetation ‘colonised’, as Walcott put it when he spoke of the ‘civilising decency [of] botanical gardens’ in his 1992 nobel lecture, st lucia has several notable public gardens to explore. the best known are the Diamond botanical Gardens near the old French capital soufrière, part of a defunct sugar estate bestowed on its owners by louis XiV. but after the rainforest, it all feels a little tamed and over formalised, the incongruous Japanese water garden in particular. by contrast at Mamiku – a creolisation of the name of its first châtelaine, Madame de Micoud, the st lucian-born wife of a 18th-century French governor of the island – you’ll find a dozen acres of what its now septuagenarian creator,

Veronica shingleton-smith, calls ‘controlled jungle’. it may look natural, but this dazzling array of brilliantly coloured anthuriums, crotons, flamboyants, hibiscus and orchids was every bit as planned and contrived as the orderly garden of creole medicinal herbs.

shingleton-smith came to st lucia from england in 1952 when her father was stationed here, married into a family who’d arrived in 1906 and has lived here ever since. in addition to growing Fairtrade bananas for Waitrose, she has designed gardens across the island for hotels such as cap Maison and Discovery at Marigot bay, and residents such as the great russian pianist and conductor Vladimir ashkenazy. Her latest venture, however, is the 100-acre grounds at Jalousie Plantation. established by the late lord Glenconner when he moved to st lucia from Mustique in 1992, Jalousie stands on the

beach that stretches between the Pitons and is currently in the midst of an expensive makeover that will see the resort rebranded next year as the tides sugar beach.

Paradoxically its work-in-progress status is a compelling reason to come here this winter, for though the building work is ongoing, the majority of its 85 new luxury villas are open and its rates are a bargain compared with what they will be. certainly in terms of comfort and design, i can’t think there is lovelier, more luxurious accommodation on the island than these pale pastel-painted, quintessentially caribbean ‘gingerbread’ cottages with their ornately carved bargeboards, wraparound verandas and understated white interiors.

nor is there a more promising spa than the one that’s just opened here, accessed by a private trail that winds though woodland, its six elevated coconut-thatched treatment rooms set amid the tree canopy.

the staff, too - our butler, tyson, in particular -

couldn’t have been kinder or more attentive. but then i sensed this was a good place to work. Other hotel managements might have taken the decision to close while they renovated; here the decision to stay open was driven primarily by a reluctance to lay off any of the 250 staff, even temporarily, at a time when jobs are scarce. inevitably, though, there are caveats. though the new villas categorically count as five-star, as do the restaurants, much of the place still feels a bit run down, the pool area in particular. i loved the creole additions to the menu at bayside on the beach, but not the pretentiousness of the gloomy Great room.

the beach - one of the few, incidentally, off which the snorkelling is first rate – could do with new sunloungers and more parasols. and the hotel as a whole is crying out for a fleet of golf carts. For the moment, guests have to rely on an infrequent service of shabby shuttle buses to get about the huge hilly estate. usually i’d advocate walking, but if you’ve been trekking all day in high humidity, the last thing you want is a 20-minute hike to your villa.

‘this is a place rich in things to do, from riding creole thoroughbreds through the waves on cas-en-bas beach

to zip-lining through the rainforest canopy’

Previous page: View of the Pitons. Opposite page, clockwise from top left: White sandy beach; Lounge at Jalousie Plantation; Exterior of same hotel; Saffron prawns at same hotel; Lounge at same hotel; Grand luxury villa at same hotel; Orchids.



THE BEST HOTELS Fond Doux

locally owned working organic cocoa plantation that now supplies Hershey’s, whose 130 acres of orchard are dotted with 10 carefully restored traditional wooden one-and two-bedroom cottages, some dating back to the early 19th century. www.fonddouxestate.com; doubles from $153.

Jalousie Plantation if you go before the resort’s full transformation into the tides sugar beach in november 2011, you will find great deals at both the older cottages and the new luxury villas, which all come with butlers. www.jalousie plantation.com; half board from $276.

Anse Chastanet Jade Mountain’s less expensive, less extraordinary, less exclusive but still alluring rustic older sister sits right on the beach; family friendly. www.ansechastanet.com; doubles from $358.

Jade Mountain its uncompromising concrete exterior may be a bit of an eyesore, but inside this hotel has a wow factor like no other. each of its 29 expansive ‘sanctuaries’ has an open fourth wall with uninterrupted views of the Pitons. and the staff couldn’t be kinder. www.jade mountain.com; doubles from $1,000.

THE BEST RESTAURANTS Chateau Mygo House of Seafood

Popular with yachties, this is an informal airy terrace overlooking the water and a great place for freshly-grilled mahimahi (00758 451 4772).

The Coal Potestablished in 1968, this st lucia institution rests on pontoons in Vigie Marina; you won’t find better st lucian crab backs (stuffed crab) or a fresher catch of the day (00758 456 8000).

Rainforest Hideaway an idyllic overwater setting at the foot of

car hire is an option, but st lucia is hilly, its roads are steep, sometimes winding and not always in the best repair. better to stick to taxis (negotiate a fixed price before you set off). if you’re staying on the coast, it’s often quicker to travel by sea than by road, so consider the taxi boats that ply their trade from most beaches (again, rates are fixed).

GETTING AROUND

Clockwise from top left: View from Luxury at Jalousie Plantation; Pool at same hotel; Cottages at Fond Doux Estate; Kayaking.

‘the cliff at cap’s open-sided cliff-top gourmet restaurant is the best

on the island for fancy cooking’

the steeply rising, densely forested northern shore of Marigot bay, accessible only by boat, this place serves cooking that fuses european and creole styles to great effect. (00758 451 4485).

The Cliff at Cap there are better-designed hotels than cap Maison and better locations, but its open-sided cliff-top gourmet restaurant is the best on the island for fancy cooking and luxury ingredients: foie gras, lobster, Kobe beef and so on (00758 457 8681)

Imag

es; S

hutt

erst

ock,

Pho

tolib

rary

.Te

xt:

Cla

ire

Wra

thal

l / T

he S

unda

y Te

legr

aph

/ Th

e In

terv

iew

Peo

ple.




Imag

es: P

hoto

libra

ry, S

hutt

erst

ock,

The

jalo

usie

Pla

ntat

ion,

Fon

d D

oux

esta

te




KWT Jodhpur March.indd 44 2/23/2011 3:33:41 PM

blue city | jodhpur


Chaotic, crowded and humming with life, Jodhpur’s walled city is modern India in miniature, says Amrit Dhilon.




If you want to experience India in a concentrated dose – intense and intoxicating – you have to visit a walled city. Here you will find life lived as it always has been in the mansions, courtyards, winding lanes and ancient markets that arose around a city’s royal palace.

The best of the walled cities, to my mind, is Jodhpur. It is a microcosm of the miracle that is India, a country where people live together in harmony despite violently conflicting faiths and serried living conditions. Every inch of the walled city hums with life and activity. In a five-minute stroll around the sprawling bazaar under the Clock Tower, I see a pile of bulbous clay pots for storing water, of which artist Subodh Gupta would be proud; a bangle maker using hot coals and tools dating back five generations; a beautiful girl carrying ice home in a pail; a deformed “Elephant Man” striding along, challenging anyone to stare at him; women removing petals from roses for garlands; and a man selling antique locks with a side business in dentures (his roadside stall displays two hand-painted smiles).

There are no pavements. Homes and shops abut the narrow alleyways. I can see children on the rooftops flying kites, while from the mosques comes the haunting sound of the azan. I also pass the crumbling old havelis (mansions), with their great entrance gates and carved balconies, offering a glimpse of how Jodhpur’s nobility once lived in the shadow of Mehrangarh Fort, home to the city’s maharajas since the 15th century. The fort itself is quite


blue city | jodhpur


simply breathtaking. There is plenty to see inside – including gilt palanquins and bejewelled daggers – but it is the view of the city spread out below that is sublime.

Standing on the ramparts, I am dazzled by the Brahmins’ blue houses, which are dotted all over the city (Jodhpur is often referred to as the Blue City). One theory suggests these houses were painted with indigo to demarcate the high-caste Brahmin quarter and distinguish it from the rest of the city. Another offers the more mundane explanation that indigo deters mosquitoes. Whatever the truth, today they shimmer in the sunshine following a monsoon shower.

On the horizon stands Umaid Bhawan, an Art Deco palace of red sandstone that can rival the greatest of European cathedrals in its lofty grandeur. This imposing and expensive hotel is a must-see if you are to understand the lifestyle of Rajasthan’s maharajas, which used to leave European royalty gasping. I have always had a soft spot for Jodhpur’s walled city, but the problem used to be where to stay. After my shot of Indian essence, I need a comforting sedative – but the only places inside the old quarter used to be guesthouses of varying degrees of undesirability. Fine

Previous page: Aerial view of the blue-soaked city. Opposite page, left to right: A colourfully dressed woman walks the city’s narrow passageways; A marble memorial bulilding. This page: Street life.




for backpackers, but not my cup of chai.One of Jodhpur’s gilded youths, the polo-playing Nikhilendra

Singh, has solved the problem. Like a doctor delicately inserting a stent into an artery, he has tucked Raas, a luxurious hotel with beautifully designed interiors, into a crevice of the walled city.

In 2007, Singh, who arranged Elizabeth Hurley’s wedding at Umaid Bhawan Palace, the smartest hotel in Jodphur, bought a 150-yearold haveli lying in ruins at the foot of Mehrangarh Fort, restored it, and added rooms, restaurants and a pool using local materials that mesh perfectly with the original structures. It’s a striking juxtaposition of international chic with antiquity.

From the entrance, you enter a narrow, high-walled passage that opens on to a Mughal garden and there, right in front of you, is the fort, which Rudyard Kipling called “the work of giants”, on its rocky escarpment. The balcony of every room has this spectacular view – it’s a vista of which you never tire. The other great appeal of the densely congested walled city is that, after a 10-minute drive, you can be in the open, semi-arid scrubland outside the urban sprawl. There you can visit the Bishnoi tribe. Often referred to as “the

world’s first environmentalists” owing to their love of wild animals and protection of the environment, the Bishnois are now widely known. Arjun Ram Bishnoi and his splendidly bejewelled wife, Devi (Bishnoi women wear chunky tribal jewellery even when working in the fields), show me a blackbuck antelope grazing near their hut. As we chat, the laconic Arjun strokes the goat that lives inside his hut and remarks: “Some animals give you more affection than your own children.”

Another 30 minutes’ drive from the Bishnoi villages, the desert proper begins. Here you will find the Rohet Garh Wilderness Camp, run by Siddharth Singh, which comprises six tents on a sand dune in the Thar Desert. The sand dune is the highest point in a flat landscape, so it offers spectacular views. At night, there is nothing but silence, moonlight, infinity, stars and a soft breeze. The word

tent, however, is a misnomer. This is how the maharajas lived, in considerable splendour, with the entire court in attendance, when they travelled across the desert. Still, in the midst of such luxury, there is something elemental and primeval about it all.

Siddharth Singh also owns Rohet Garh itself, the palace where Bruce Chatwin spent six months writing The Songlines in 1985 before the estate was turned into a hotel. Madonna and Guy Ritchie were more recent visitors. Siddharth Singh and his wife, Rashmi, have just opened another resort, a fantasy fortress made of mud on a high sand dune at the desert’s edge from where, as far as the eye can see, there is no human or animal life, just scrubland and then desert stretching into the horizon. Mihirgarh, or “Sun Fortress”, boasts all the accoutrements one expects of a luxury establishment, but also celebrates the crafts of Jodhpur – virtually every object in the nine palatial suites has been handmade by Jodhpur artisans.

Reclining by the pool on the terrace, I watch the sun set over the wilderness. All is tranquil and still, and it’s as if I am dreaming. Then an attendant appears to replenish my Darjeeling and I realise I am very much awake. What a relief.

‘Standing on the ramparts, I am dazzled by the Brahmins’ blue houses, which are dotted all over the city... they shimmer in the

sunshine following a monsoon shower’

Left: Pool at the Raas hotel.

blue city | jodhpur


Untitled-10 1 2/24/2011 5:25:04 PM


KWT New Zealand March.indd 50 2/24/2011 5:36:54 PM


Rail life StoRy

New Zealand’s trains, like the country itself, offer a glimpse of an older world. On South Island, James Owen relishes

the chance to slow down and take stock.




Waiting in Picton’s station – all trim white wood and red brick – brought to mind the cliché that travelling in New Zealand is like being in England in the Fifties. On the bench beside me a young boy kept glancing

up from his copy of Thomas the Tank Engine at the stout, blue-painted train we were waiting to board.

The carriages beside the only platform had old-fashioned handles on their doors, and farther down I could see porters loading baggage, and even an observation car. There was a sense of occasion among the locals queuing to buy tickets. Yet that stemmed, I had learnt to my surprise, not from any feelings of nostalgia but from novelty value.

We were not, it seemed, about to rattle back into the past on a

piece of the nation’s heritage ousted by a more modern service. The attraction of this train was more basic. New Zealand has no passenger network to speak of, and while air travel was a regular experience for most of the youngsters who were taking their seats, few of them had ridden by rail before. ‘Here, you travel by train for the journey, not to get somewhere,’ explained Raewyn, who was guiding a tour group of Australians.

A combination of mountainous topography and a small population had meant that the British Empire had never constructed an extensive railway here. In recent times, what services there were had been greatly reduced after several changes of ownership and much asset-stripping. Now, all that remained were a few commuter lines, mainly around Wellington, and a track – chiefly aimed at tourists – that slid slowly down the country from Auckland



to Christchurch and then over the Southern Alps to Greymouth. Once a day, a train sets out along a 200-mile stretch of this that the marketing men have named the TranzCoastal: the journey from Picton, a harbour town on the northern rim of the South Island, to Christchurch.

Soon we had left behind the hills above Picton, and were running down to Blenheim, through a flatter landscape of orchards and then past rows of vines smudged by an early tinge of autumn. Across a table from me was Chris, an architect. He had flown up from farther south for a meeting and was taking the chance to go back by train. Beyond the window were the images I had expected of New

‘If the lowering hills beyond were reminiscent of Scotland, then it was a Scotland basking in near-tropical sunshine’

Previous page from left: Cattle; Coastal Pacific train crosses the Southern Alps. Clockwise from top left: View over the grapevines of Blenhien; Coastal Pacific train; Southern Alps; Classical English Tram in Christchurch.

raIl journey | new zealand



Zealand – a farmer repairing wire, newly shorn sheep white against the yellowing grass – but talking to Chris and others of his generation made me appreciate that a new identity was emerging here, one that looked less to colonial Britain and more to the once-shunned native culture. It was noticeable, for instance, how those under 50 used Maori rather than English names for local trees. Even sheep are no longer big business: farmers now favour dairy herding. Another influence in the past 20 years has been immigration from Asia and the Mediterranean. New kinds of cooking have thrived, the coffee has become drinkable and chardonnay flourishes on the fertile plain across which we were trundling. If the lowering hills beyond were reminiscent of Scotland, then it was a Scotland basking in near-tropical sunshine.

I leant over the rail of the open-sided observation car to feel the cool of the air against my face. I let my thoughts drift, lulled by the sluggish rhythm of our progress. Then a long blast of the hooter woke me from my reverie. The red-and-yellow diesel engine was beginning to curve through Dashwood Pass, and the driver had to alert workmen on the track. The carriage swayed, and we lunged for handholds.

Soon the breeze smelt of salt, not from the ocean but from Lake Grassmere, a shallow lagoon among the dunes where seawater is allowed to evaporate and the residue is harvested for domestic use and for bleaching paper. Now we could see the grey sand of a beach, and the spare white limbs of trees on the foreshore, gaunt survivors of the desiccating effects of wind and sun. About two hours and 80 miles out from Blenheim, the train began to run alongside the blue of the Pacific. Propelled by a light swell, frothy spume flecked boulders beside the line.

Joe came from Hawkes Bay, on the North

Island, and was giving his children their first taste of the South. They knew it had a harder climate than where they lived, but they were surprised by its more varied and wilder landscape, especially its rocky spine. ‘This has been the best part of the trip for us,’ he said, as we pulled into Kaikoura, in the shadow of those same mountains. ‘Doesn’t everyone like trains?’

We waited a while as Joe and others disembarked. The sun picked out a piping of snow that ran along the range and I savoured the sound of the syllables of its highest peak, Tapuae-o-Uenuku, or ‘footprint of the rainbow’. Offshore, its mirror image, the 10,000ft-deep Hikurangi Trench, is the larder of the whales, dolphins and marine birds – albatross, petrels and even blue penguins – that are Kaikoura’s great attraction.

The engine hefted its load once more and we followed the coast, rolling through a bucolic landscape of lightly wooded hills coursed by swift brooks. For much of the way, the road ran beside the line, disappearing into its own tunnels as we slid through ours from light into darkness

and back again. A bus, not travelling at any great pace, overtook us easily. A succession of smooth, grey sandy coves was soon a memory as the track started to weave inland, darting back occasionally to the water to rinse off the heat. The late afternoon sun blew fire into the glassy surface of the waves. Through stubby spinneys of akeake I saw the bend of a river, as silvery as the underside of a fern.

‘They say it’s the last place God made,’ an Australian voice said beside me. ‘He put in all his favourite bits from elsewhere.’ Not far away is the farm where for 40 years Charles Upham, the only soldier to win the Victoria Cross twice, lived quietly. The voice belonged to Dennis, who was relishing the abundance of nature visible from the observation car. ‘In Oz there’s just bush and it just keeps on going.’ His wife’s people used to own 50,000 acres ‘up on the place where Waltzing Matilda was written’. There, drought was a fact of life. One year they had lost almost half their sheep. By comparison, as a New Zealander would say, this well- watered land was ‘all good’.

The sound of the train startled a blackfaced herd, which scurried toward the hills. Shorn of their cloak of trees, the bare ridges stood out sharply as we dropped down to the Canterbury plain, another major grape producing region about 40 minutes’ drive from Christchurch. ‘The Garden City’ has the reputation of being the most English in New Zealand and as we neared it order began to reassert itself in the countryside. Lines of pines, planted for regeneration, gave way to a Midsomer Murders notion of England: a neat cemetery; gabled cottages. Only the long, long bank of white cloud in the distance held a hint of the exotic. Right on time, after four hours and 21 minutes, we drew into Christchurch station.

‘The sky was sullen, two parts copper to one of lead, but the scenery majestic. either side of the carriage rose near-sheer hot, grey, rugged rock.’

Right: Arthur’s Pass at sunset.


March 2011 Kanoo World Traveller 55February 2011 Kanoo World Traveller 55

TANZANIA | AFRICARAIl jouRNey | New ZeAlANd






The stretch of line from Christchurch to Greymouth has been dubbed the TranzAlpine; the next day I set off to travel a stretch of it that train buffs rate as being among the top 10 of short railway journeys: the descent from the Southern Alps back to Christchurch. A minibus whisked me from the hotel up to Arthur’s Pass, at some 3,000ft the highest point on the road-and-rail crossing over the mountains, where I found the train waiting.

The sky was sullen, two parts copper to one of lead, but the scenery majestic. Either side of the carriage rose near-sheer hot, grey, rugged rock. The absence of other life was almost total. In winter, the station can be snowed in for several days, but even though the sun now bore down on the high slopes around us, the train itself was deep in shadow.

Bucking occasionally on the rail, we began to cross a series of viaducts built a century before over the bends in the river. Their sections had been prefabricated in Britain and then sent by sea. Light flittered through the wooden slats at the sides of the bridges, put there to protect the trains from the 200mph winds that can barrel down the canyon in stormy weather. Most of those on the train were tourists. The service, which was only instituted in 1987 in place of a failing passenger line, is the most profitable in New Zealand – indeed, one of the few that makes any money. More than 200,000 people a year travel by it and around me were visitors from Malaysia and Canada, as well as a group of Saudi engineers who had flown in for a conference on public utilities.

Below, the cliffs fell straight to the valley

floor, and as we jolted over the bridge I remembered nervously being told that it was high enough to fit Christchurch Cathedral beneath it. The mountains descended swiftly and after about two hours we began to wind through a series of tunnels and viaducts known as the Staircase. The train bent in a series of C and S shapes, hastening now as if trying to keep pace with the faltering sun. The light on the Waimakariri river fell more subtly, a change matched by that in the steadily more domesticated world beyond the window. Moraine gave way to flat grasslands, pine to palm. Windbreaks appeared, then wheat, and finally clapboard houses behind manicured hedges. The line of hills grew more distant. A sign on a vast metal shed, used for seed storage, told us we were at Darfield. The day had gone, leaving only vestigial traces of pale orange in the sky. As the dusk thickened, the tilled earth beside the train turned from mauve to black. A twinkling of fairy lights could be seen on the heights behind us, while ahead Christchurch already shimmered with neon.

I thought back to the calm of that journey the following evening, when somewhere over the water between Auckland and Sydney the captain informed us that an engine had failed and we would have to turn around. There is something of a bygone age about the train, but it is all of a part with what I discovered in a New Zealand entirely comfortable with itself. What I found was a place where the striving that drives life elsewhere in the world was virtually absent. There seemed to be no urge among those I met just to accumulate more stuff, to get somewhere ahead of everyone else. For the first time in many years I had had the time, and had felt the need, to reflect. I had taken life, like the train, at its own pace, and enjoyed it for what it showed me.

There had been a moment, too, on that afternoon ride from Picton, when I had felt more in harmony with the world than for many years. I had been watching what I thought must be deer, standing half-hidden in the shade of trees a hundred yards from the track. Some instinct had startled them, and they turned their backs on the train and began to bounce away through the grass, their motion as graceful as any ballerina’s. I followed their movement with my head, and my eye caught that of Joe, the man from the North Island. He had been watching the same thing. For an instant, we had been admitted to an older world, one that still existed if you knew where to look and if you gave it room to breathe. We had come into it only for a short time, but for just long enough to still the ticking of the clock. I had forgotten how good it was just to be, to float on the water rather than to seek to part it. ‘All good, mate?’ Joe said.

‘Yes,’ I replied, ‘all good, mate. it’s definitely all good.’ Im

ages

; Pho

tolib

rary

; Shu

tter

stoc

k; T

ranz

scen

ic R

ailw

ays.

‘the deer turned their backs on the train and began to bounce away through the grass, their motion as graceful as any ballerina’s’

Clockwise from top left: Sheep graze in Canterbury; TranzAlpine crosses bridge; Deer bouncing through grass; TranzAlpine train passes through Canterbury.

rail journey | new zealand



KWT Kyoto March.indd 58 2/24/2011 5:48:26 PM

kyoto | japan


With graceful geishas,

toWering buildings

and manga mania, it’s

little Wonder that

this ancient city, the

heart of Japan, is also

its cultural core, says

Simon HorSford.

From the heart



‘Harrison Ford, Harrison Ford...’ bellowed my taxi driver into his mobile. We were on our way to a shop in downtown Kyoto and he was giving instructions to the manager.

It was only after I inquired why he was uttering the name of the Hollywood actor that we established he thought I was Harrison Ford or, rather, that was how he pronounced my surname. When we arrived at the shop there was a distinct air of disappointment. Lost in translation, indeed.

The experience captured the strange sense of unreality that often pervades Japanese culture, at least to a foreigner’s eyes. I’d arrived in Kyoto after an effortless transfer from Tokyo airport to the main station and on to the ‘bullet’ train for the journey south – 320 miles in just two and a quarter hours. Super slick and right on time, too, with the bonus of a glimpse of Mount Fuji in the distance. Kyoto was Japan’s capital for more than 1,000 years, until 1868, when a power struggle between the shogun and Emperor Meiji swung the way of the latter and the country’s political focus moved to Edo, now Tokyo. In many ways the city still represents old



kyoto | japan


Japan. Yes, you are never far from the cutting edge – witness the stunning steel and glass of the main station, the National Museum of Modern Art and the fact that the city is the headquarters of Nintendo. But ancient and modern are never far apart and there’s a definite awareness of the benefits of preserving the past, and not just for the sake of visitors – height restrictions on new buildings, for example, and strict rules on billboards.

Kyoto has been described as the most Japanese part of Japan and the centre of its culture. And no wonder, with mesmerising buildings such as Ginkaku-ji (Silver Pavilion) and its beautiful garden, or Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion), which shimmers in the adjacent lake.

Then there’s the 13th-century Sanjusangen-do, which houses 1,001 wooden statues. Such buildings aside – and there are 1,600 of them – Kyoto is a city that lends itself to being explored on foot or by bicycle. For a start, it’s laid out on a grid, it’s flat (locals call the city tray-land) and lies between three mountains (Arashiyama, Higashiyama and Kitayama).

Kyoto’s districts form a loose rectangle and each offers contrasting insights into local life. In Higashiyama, I made for the Tetsugaku-no-Michi, a lovely, cherry tree-lined canalside walk known as the Path of Philosophy, dedicated to the 20th-century thinker Nishida Kitaro. Residents by the canal not only make sure the path is litter free, but also clear the water of rubbish. It was a sight I found common in Japan where cleanliness is an essential part of the culture.

To the west, the district of Arashiyama and Sagano offers something different: a wander through a towering bamboo grove just outside the north gate of Tenryu-ji; it can get busy, but a walk among these incredible photogenic trees, with their strange, smooth trunks, is enchanting. Nearby, the Hozu-Gawa river is dotted with flat-bottom boats, their boatmen armed with poles steering passengers along the steep-sided valley; down river, cormorant fishermen can be seen using their birds to catch fish.

I lunched late at Kurama Onsen (hot spring), tucking into a beautifully prepared bento box lunch, before stripping off and venturing outside to immerse myself in one of the sulphur spring baths – being sure to shower and rinse first (it is considered impolite to get soap in the bath). The springs are meant to help with rheumatism, high blood pressure, backache and much more, but I simply felt cleansed and refreshed, if a bit flushed and slightly conspicuous.

Opposite page clockwise from top left: Ginkaku-ji garden; Classic Japanese architecture; Geisha posing in the street. This page: Boat on the Hozu-Gawa river.

‘The Hozu-Gawa river is dotted with flat-bottom boats, their boatmen armed with poles steering passengers along the steep-sided valley; down river, cormorant fishermen can be seen using their birds to catch fish’

kyoto | japan



Back in town, as the light began to fade, I hopped on a local bus and headed for the Nishiki food market, a riot of weird Japanese delicacies, the oddest of which was an octopus head stuffed with a quail egg, dyed red and served on a stick – I declined. Even though the street was crowded everyone was unfailingly polite. It was the same at pedestrian crossings: hordes of people waited patiently for the green light, then crossed in unison.

A while later, I was among the busy, narrow streets of Gion, lined with traditional small shops, an area once known as the city’s ‘pleasure district’ but now the place for entertainment and exquisite, kimono-clad geishas who shuffle demurely down the road. Later that night, the right connections at my hotel, the Hyatt Regency, got me into a teahouse to watch a performance by a maiko (an apprentice geisha). We were led into a simply decorated backroom where I sat cross-legged as she introduced herself, offered sake and then sang and danced accompanied by an older geisha playing a three-stringed samisen. It was a delightful, slightly surreal experience during which – again – everyone

was incredibly well mannered.Alongside the onsen, the geisha and manga (a visit to the Kyoto International Manga Museum didn’t get me any closer to fathoming Japan’s obsession with cartoons and animation), the tea ceremony is also traditional to Japanese life, as I discovered the next day in the pristine setting of the Nishinotoin Tea House. Here, as I sipped from chawan (cups) of powdered bright green matcha and viscous koicha, I was tutored in the medicative roots of this strictly choreographed and ritualised event.

Suitably refreshed, I took a final wander through a city that is synonymous with all things green – despite the traffic and many visitors. With 200 gardens, 17 UnescoWorld Heritage Sites and the legacy of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol on climate change, it is a place of obvious beauty, history and culture. And yet an evocative contrast to all this refinement was provided by my YouTube-obsessed taxi driver, who, as we sped past another revered building, captured the flip side of the Japanese character by showing me ever more ridiculous clips.

Clockwise from top left: Profile of a Geisha,

The Golden Pavilion; Colourful bento box;

Japanese lanterns.

Imag

es: P

hoto

libra

ry; S

hutt

erst

ock;

Kyo

to T

rave

l Gui

de.

Text

: Sim

on H

orsf

ord

/ Th

e D

aily

Tel

egra

ph /

The

Inte

rvie

w P

eopl

e


August 2010 Kanoo World Traveller 13

:

Into the wIld

The prices are valid till 30 April, 2011 and subject to change without prior notice, rates for other dates will be provided on your request.Please call or contact any Kanoo Travel or Kanoo Holidays office for more details on the package and your specific requirement.Kanoo Holidays terms and conditions apply to all bookings.

KENYA SAFARI (7 Days/6 Nights) - USD.1555

Day 01 - Arrive in Nairobi, assistance for transfer. Check in at your specified hotel.Day 02 - After breakfast depart for Samburu Game Reserve. Lunch. Afternoon game drive. Dinner and overnight stay at Samburu Simba Lodge.Day 03 - Breakfast. Depart for Nyeri. Lunch at Aberdare Country Club. Afternoon transfer to The Ark. Dinner and overnight stay at The Ark.Day 04 - After breakfast depart for Lake Nakuru Lodge. Lunch. Afternoon game drive. Dinner and overnight stay at Lake Naivasha Simba Lodge. Day 05 - After breakfast depart for Masai Mara Game Reserve. Lunch Afernoon game drive. Dinner and overnight stay at Mara Simba Lodge.Day 06 - Breakfast. Morning and afternoon game drives. You can also take an optional ballon safari. All meals and overnight stay at Mara Simba Lodge. Day 07 - After breakfast transfer to Nairobi airport.

PLEASANT PRAGUE (4 Days/3 Nights) – USD.874

Day 01 - Arrive in Prague. Met and assisted, then transferred to a five star hotel. Ultimate body massage in a couple suite at The Spa for about ninety minutes. Overnight stay.Day 02 - After breakfast a private walking tour for 4 hours. Overnight stay at the hotel.Day 03 - Breakfast at the hotel. Entire day at leisure for shopping or just relaxation.Day 04 - After breakfast, check-out and transferred to the airport.

Terms and Conditions

PlUS! Get 10% off hotels and car rentals worldwide!

(offer valid from 1st March to 30th April 2011)

KWT Kanoo advert March.indd 13 2/24/2011 6:26:21 PM

Mayfair is the heart of LondonBrown’s is the heart of Mayfair.

This chic hotel offers the perfect home-away-from-home.Boasting luxurious rooms and suites that you will never want to leave,

outstanding dining that you will never forget and heavenly spa treatments,Brown’s is the only address you need in London.

Albermarle Street, London, W1S 4BP Tel: 020 7493 6020 Fax: 020 7493 9381E-mail: [email protected] www.roccofortecollection.com









Brown's resized 3.indd 1 31/12/2009 17:15:20

How would you sum up the hotel and its setting? It’s a medieval Italian castle surrounded by gardens in the middle of the Maremma countryside which dates back to 1100. Its restoration has been long and every piece inside is authentic; either inherited from the owners’ families or travels. Today the private home serves as a beautiful retreat where people can forget about the stresses of everyday living.

Which is the best room in the castle? Suite Chiesina; a two-story, 18th century-style cottage. It has a kitchen, living room and bathroom (with a great tub) as well as a grand master bedroom whose balcony peers over the Tuscan hills. Its terrace also has incredible panoramas – the perfect place to sit beneath the stars at night.

If I booked a stay here, how would I spend my time? We have a fantastic spa and beautiful travertine infinity pool to relax in. Or, for something different, Mrs Aurora Baccheschi and our castle chef offer tailor-made cooking classes so you can learn how to create your dream Italian menu or bake fresh bread, pasta and focaccia.

What can I expect at meal times? Home-cooked Tuscan meals using our own grown vegetables and seasonal produce. Come in summer and you can eat out on the terrace or in our charming gardens or, during cooler months, pick a cosy corner in our intimate 18th century-style dining room or sit at the long, 17th century table in our castle courtyard. www.castellodivicarello.it

The 30-second concierge

Michela Di Marcello, castello Di Vicarello

conciergeTuscany | cannes | Kyiv | Phuket

March 2011 Kanoo World traveller 65

KWT Concierge opener March.indd 65 2/23/2011 4:00:40 PM


Through Russian rule and German invasion, Kyiv has emerged as an independent, European capital and – as Laura Binder finds – there’s plenty to write home about.

Ukraine

Visit Kyiv

KYIV MUST-DOS For carefree days, make for

the water. Dnipro River (1) is a prime sunbathing spot where you can sail in summer or ice-fish on its frozen surface come winter. But the best beaches can be found on Trukhaniv Island (2) or Hydropark (3).

If you fancy a shopping trip, go underground to the Globus Mall (4) (the biggest around) or go to Kreshchatyk Street’s (5)

boutiques for quirkier buys. Kyiv was virtually destroyed

during the invasion of World War II and history-enthusiasts can get a hold on the turbulent time with a visit to the Motherland Statue and War

memorials (6). While you’re there, make for The Museum to the Great Patriotic War (7) which you’ll find at the statue’s base – its artifacts and original photos can’t fail to move you.

Drink-in the city’s greenery at the Central Botanical Gardens (8); its manicured grounds are fairytale-like and quaint paths lead to hidden vistas that you’ll want to capture on camera.

Spend a day perusing an art gallery: the best of the bunch being the Da Vinci Gallery (9) where Kyiv’s finest sculptures reside. Alternatively, head to the Bereznitskiy Gallery (10), where you can cast your eyes upon works by Ukraine’s finest artists.

a rriving in Ukraine’s capital, you may be forgiven for expecting a somewhat grey scene – it is one of

the oldest cities in eastern europe, after all. But what you’re met with is something quite spectacular; gold domes pierce the skylines; lush hilltops overlook the Dnipro river; and sea and sand can be found at the city’s plentiful beaches. Trying to navigate your way around kyiv, though, can be tough – most signs here are written in Cyrillic script – but don’t let that stop you. Jump on the metro (it’s swift and easy-to-use) and stop by street vendors for ‘kvas’, a staple brewed bread drink (you’ll love it or hate it) and bites like Borscht and Mlyntzi. Oh, and select your season of visit wisely: summer brings climes of 24 degrees , while in winter it dips to minus 19. So it’s a choice of basking on the beach or wrapping up warm to explore the streets as snow falls, when the city looks prettier than ever.

KWT Concierge Kyiv March.indd 66 2/23/2011 4:02:37 PM


concierge | kyiv

Grand Russian style sums up the look of this 20th century hotel – as spellbinding from the outside (it’s huge façade looks amazing when lit up at night) as it is glamorous inside. There’s gold finishes at every turn and luxe fabrics in deep tones make it an easy place in which to relax. When it comes to where to spend the night, plump for a room on the Executive Floor – suites here feel like your own private (and grand) residence. From $365.

where to eatComme II Faut (16)Velyka Zhytomyrska Street 2A044 219 1919Barely-there blue walls, checkered floors, white linens and crystal chandeliers make dinnertimes spent here feel almost Parisian. Its hopelessly

chic surrounds are mirrored by the menu; a mouthwatering display of French fine dining. A fabulous stop-off for fashionable diners, find it on the first floor of the InterContinental Kiev – and dress to impress. From $14.

Khutotok (17)Ul. Naberezhno, Khreshcatskaya 044 416 8039It doesn’t get much more authentic than this; a restaurant aboard a wooden houseboat docked on the Dnieper. While it draws an eclectic clientele, its offerings remain the same: old Ukraine through and through, even the waitresses don traditional Ukranian peasant-wear. Take the chance to sample ‘real’ food, like vareniki; a Ukrainian dumpling plump with potato, meat and vegetables. From $10.

Opposite page: Colourful houses.Clockwise from left: Dumplings; Funicular; Imperial Square; The Premier Palace Hotel.

Imag

es: S

hutt

erst

ock,

Pre

mie

r Hot

els.

MOTHER TONGUE ‘Surzhik’ is the name of the dialect widely-spoken by kievans – russian with a few Ukranian words added in WHAT’S MY NAME? The city’s old spelling of ‘kiev’ is still often used but, since 1995, the official spelling of the capital was changed to ‘kyiv’.

Grab your camera and snap the strangest building in town: House of Chimeras (11). Stone animals and animated gargoyles cling to its roof, making it a somewhat fantastical home for a presidential administration office, as it’s now used.

Maydan NezalezhnostI (12)

is a fountain-filled square that’s alive with activity; from vendors selling food to jam-packed side-street cafes and locals chattering – all beneath statues of winged angels. Listen out for the free, open-air summer concerts which draw big names like Elton John.

If you’re drawn to all-things sparkly, you’ll love the Historical Treasures Museum (13). It’s home to a spellbinding selection of precious Ukranian stones and metals – plus a glistening collection of gold jewels.

where to stayHyatt Regency Kiev (14)5, Alla Tarasova Street www.kiev.regency.hyatt.com Make reservations here for five-star luxury. Its views span Kyiv’s Old City and seem to quite literally soak-up its historic aura. Inside, though, contemporary design reigns and – if you really want to push the boat out – its Presidential Suite is unbeatable (you can virtually lose yourself in its master bathroom). Its butler service means you barely have to lift a finger either but, if you do step out, make the hotel’s Grill Asia your first port of call: a swanky eatery that’s arguably Kyiv’s finest. From $364.

The Premier Palace Hotel (15)5-7/29 T Shevchenka Blvd, Pushkinska Stwww.premier-palace.com/en

n

KYIV

MATvEEvSKyI zALyv

ARSENALNAKHRESHCHATyK STREET

PALATS SPORTU

PALATS “UKRAINA”

PECHERSKA

RESPUBLIKANS’KyI STADION

1

2

3

Naberezhne highway

Metro bridgeLesi Ukrainky boulevard

7

45

6

8

911

10

12

1416

17

15

13

UKRAINE

SERBIA

LATvIA

RUSSIA

ROMANIA

BELARUS

POLAND

KWT Concierge Kyiv March.indd 67 2/24/2011 5:52:52 PM


Aerin Rose jets into Cannes to soak up the sun, glitz and glamour of the French Riviera’s prized jewel.

france

Visit CAnnes

Cannes must-dos A simple stroll down the

beautiful Boulevard Le Croisette (1) grants you an opportunity to walk the length of a seafront lined by restaurants, designer stores, super yachts and the odd Ferrari, capturing Cannes in a nutshell.

Though most of the seafront hotels offer their own stretch of private beach, you will pay extra for the privilege of sitting on it, hotel guest or not. If that rankles with you, there’s always the public beach (2) further on down the coastline where you can soak up the same sun, albeit without a lounger and waiter service.

for ten days of the year, the lenses of the paparazzi are trained on the stylish, seaside city of cannes as

it hosts its annual film festival. for that short spell as the glitterati take over the town, you’ll be hard pushed to find an available hotel room anywhere within a mile of the city’s famous promenade – and if you did, your stay would cause considerable damage to your credit card – but come here outside of that silly season (May) and you’ll find a city that doesn’t need Hollywood razzmatazz to boost its charms. a jewel of the french riviera, cannes is a playground for the rich and famous and their transport of choice, the outsized yacht, is more visible than the car. They come here for the sea and sun, old-school opulent hotels, brilliant boutiques and, if you eschew those on the waterfront, great restaurants - the best of which can be found either side of steep streets in the city’s old town.

Take a boat over to neighbouring island Saint-Marguerite, a tiny forested atoll where the mysterious ‘Man in the Iron Mask’ was imprisoned. The island is now home to a museum, which displays a few fascinating Roman artifacts recovered from sunken ships in the area.

Another nearby island, Saint-Honorat, is a great place to spend an afternoon walking amidst ruins, gardens and an old stone fortress. There’s a great restaurant here too that’s perfect for lunch.

Head to Le Suquet (3), the city’s old town, where you’ll find medieval buildings and

KWT Concierge Cannes March.indd 68 2/23/2011 2:25:26 PM


concierge | cannes

Imag

es: S

hutt

erst

ock,

Pho

tolib

rary

, IH

G, w

ww

.lead

ingh

otel

soft

hew

orld

.com

.

MEAT MARKET everyday but Monday cannes hosts a fantastic food market where locals farmers and artisans sell their wares. if you love french food, you’ll adore the offerings here. LITTLE SISTER cannes is known as the sister city of Beverly Hills because of its celebrity crowd.

below, and enjoy in-house comforts that include a private beach and the soon-to-open La Petite Maison de Nicole, a branch of the famous – and mighty fine - Nice eatery. Rooms from $300.InterContinental Carlton Cannes (6)Boulevard de la Croisettewww.ichotelsgroup.comThere are few more beautiful buildings along the French Riviera than that which houses this plush hotel. In fact, it has been registered as a ‘historical monument’ and is a much-treasured landmark, resplendent

on the edge of the ocean. Here, as a means of celebrating the city’s Film Festival, suites are named after famous names from the silver screen. Rooms from $195.

where to eatZplage (7)www.hotel-martinez.comMartinez HotelBoulevard de la CroisetteSet on a private beach, this is the place to be seen in Cannes, so don’t be surprised to see a celebrity or two at the tables next to you. Given its ocean-side location, it’s a fantastic place

to enjoy a spot of lunch and if you’re in the mood to sample fresh catches from the sea, try the outstanding sushi. Mains from $32. Le Manoir (8)www.lemanoircannes.fr4 Rue Saint-Antione, Quartier Le SuquetYou won’t go far wrong wherever you choose to dine on Rue Saint-Antione with all of the restaurants here offering good value set menus and great food in cosy surrounds. But it would be rude not to sample somewhere French. Set 3-course menus from $45.

steep, winding walkways that come alive at night with street performers. This is also a great place to eat – restaurants stand cheek by jowl and most are excellent. Take a post-dinner stroll to the top of the hill and you’ll be rewarded with a stunning view over the starlit bay.

If you don’t want to blow a small fortune in one of the city’s countless designer boutiques, check out the great flea market (4) which is held every Saturday aside the city’s old port. Flowers are also sold here and the scent that fills the air on a sunny morning makes it a great place to browse.

where to stayHotel Majestic Barriere (5)Boulevard de la Croisettewww.lucienbarriere.comIf you want to make like a celebrity and sample a slice of the high life Cannes is famous for, be sure to book a suite here. You’ll overlook the sea and the palm tree-lined boulevard

Opposite page: Cannes harbour. This page from below: Zplage; Room at InterContinental Carlton Cannes; exterior of Intercontinental Carlton Cannes.

ncannes

France Italy

Spain

Germany

7

6

2

31

548

Saint-Marguerite(4km) &

Saint-Honorat(5km)

Palais des Festivals et des

Congrès

Boulevard de la Croisette

Rue d’Antibes

Boulevard de LorraineRue Jean Jaurès

La Pantiero

KWT Concierge Cannes March.indd 69 2/23/2011 2:25:40 PM


BahrainAbu Obeidah AvenueWroad No. 302ManamaTel. 17 576950

Air Canada/Austrian Airlines/Polish Olympic Airways/Sudan Airways/Sas/Swiss Int’l/TunisMahoozTel. 17 828770

Air IndiaManamaTel. 17 220788

Airport OfficeBahrainTel. 17 321325

Al Moayd TowerManamaTel. 17 220220

Awali BranchSitrah AvenueRoad No. 4522Tel. 17 756487

British AirwaysManamaTel. 17 220701

Egypt AirManamaTel. 17 220747

Kanoo HolidaysMahoozTel.17 828802

Kanoo TravelRefineryTel. 17 755012

LufthansaMahoozTel. 17 828763

MahoozTel. 17 828754

Qantas/Jetabout ManamaTel. 17220743

EGYPTAlexandria Booz Allen 1 Youssef El-Shazly StreetRoushdy, Alexandria Tel. 002 03 5459265

Alexandria 14 May Str, Sayadlia

Building, Symoha Tel. 002 03 424 1050

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

Cairo C/O Halliburton Overseas Ltd Kilometer No 10, Land No 30Ein Sokhna Road North Kattamia, Cairo Tel. 002 02 27591690 Dr. Kamal Hussin Heliopolis, Cairo Tel. 002 02 26251307

El AreeshC/O MfoNorthern Sinai Tel. 002 068 3502868

Heliopolis Business Travel Centre 33 Nabil Elwakkad St Heliopolis, Cairo Tel. 002 02 4130375/6

Kasr El Nil 15 Kasr El Nil Street Down Town Tel. 002 02 25747991

Luxor Winter Palace Hotel Tel. 002 095 2378333

Nile Hilton Down Town, Cairo Tel. 002 02 25785001

C/O Schlumberger Zeiny Tower 25 Misr Helwan Road Maadi Tel. 002 02 7684700 Ext. 1014

C/O U.N.D.P 4th Floor, World Trade Center 1191 Cornich El NilTel. 002 02 25804491

1 Wahib Doss Str. Office No 9Maadi Tel. 002 02 27513930

FrancEBureau de Change KanooPrintemps Dept. Store64 Boulevard Haussmann

75009 ParisTel. +33 1 4282 4181

Foreign Exchange11 Rue ScribeParis 75009Tel. +33 1 5300 9897

Foreign Exchange11 Cours de I’IntendanceBordeaux 33000Tel. +33 5 5600 6336

OManKanoo Travel LLCPO Box 75114 Jibroo, MuscatTel. +968 24700249

QaTarKanoo CentreGround Floor,C Ring RoadAl Mansoora Area, Doha Tel +974 44016333 / +974 55997272 (24 hrs)

Museum StreetCorporate CentreAl Hithmi, DohaTel. 448 3777

Old Al Salatta, DohaTel. 441 3441

Ras Laffan Commercial ComplexRas LaffanTel. 474 8772/4

Salam TowerWest Bay DohaTel. 483 7826/483 7297

SaUDi araBiaWESTERN PROvINCEKanoo CentreMedina Road, JeddahTel. 02 661 4950

Kanoo TravelMedinahTel. 02 263 3040

Kanoo TravelSharafiyaTel. 02 643 9426

Kanoo TravelRabighTel. 02 423 2785

Kanoo TravelTaifTel. 02 736 4211

AboobackerAl Siddiq Street, MedinaTel. 04 823 9120

Air CanadaJeddahTel. 02 263 2996, Ext. 190

Air IndiaJeddahTel. 02 668 0303/669 6571

Albishar Commercial CentreKing Abdulaziz StreetAl Bahar, YanbuTel. 04 322 1087

Al Nawa Commercial CentreAl Sinnaiyat, YanbuTel. 04 321 3607

Bab MakkahJeddahTel. 02 644 9030

Bamaroof CentreHail Street, JeddahTel. 02 653 0541

Gulf Air JeddahTel. 02 668 0303/669

Kenyan AirwaysJeddahTel.02 263 2959 Ext. 108

Khamis Abha Main RoadKhamis MushayatTel. 07 222 3624

Philippine AirwaysJeddahTel. 02 263 2959 Ext. 100/122

Prince Sultan StreetGizanTel. 07 317 4285

Singapore AirlinesJeddahTel. 02 657 9898

Srilankan AirlinesJeddahTel. 02 263 2959

Umalquara StreetHayfer

MakkahTel. 02 544 7741

United AirlinesJeddahTel. 02 263 3021/2959 Ext. 196/197

EASTERN PROvINCEKanoo BuildingCorniche Road, JubailTel. 03 362 2340

Kanoo HolidaysRetail Airline Centre, KhobarTel. 03 882 2206/2601/2249

Kanoo HolidaysWholesale Airline Centre KhobarTel. 03 8821626/1851/ 8820161

Kanoo TowerKing Saud Street, DammanTel. 03 8355642 / 802

Airport OfficeDammamTel. 03 883 2660/2660

Air IndiaKhobarTel. 03 882 2478

Air IndiaJubailTel. 03 362 3454

Al Quds StreetQatifTel. 03 851 5009

British AirwaysKhobarTel. 03 882 2000

British AirwaysDammamTel. 03 835 5714

British Airways JubailTel. 03 362 1069

City CentreAl Mahoob BuidlingHufufTel. 03 586 3823

Dhahran StreetDammanTel. 03 833 7694

Gulf AirKhobarTel. 03 896 8496/ 9393/8493

Gulf Air DammamTel.03 835 4194/4917/ 4952

Gulf Air QatifTel. 03 852 9384/854 5240

Gulf AirRastanuraTel. 03 667 8041/7972

Gulf Air HofufTel. 03 585 3358/ 4080/2252

Gulf AirJubailTel. 03 363 0982/84

HertzKhobarTel. 03 882 2005/5597

King Khalid StreetKhobarTel. 03 864 7471

Municipal StreetAl KhafjiTel. 03 766 0045

QantasKhobarTel. 03 882 3711/2467

Srilankan AirlinesKhobarTel. 03 882 2789/2675/2792

United Airlines/Air Canada/Singapore Airlines/Swissair/ Austrian Airlines/Thai AirwaysTel. 03 882 1518/2962/ 2602/03 882 4477/4442

47th StreetRahimaTel. 03 667 0388

CENTRAL PROvINCEKanoo TowerKing Abdul Aziz RoadRiyadhTel. 01 477 2228

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

KWT Kanoo details March.indd 70 2/23/2011 4:08:28 PM

concierge | book your trip


Second Industrial CityAl Zamel CenterTel. 2653920/34/41

Airport RoadHailTel. 06 543 0430

Air IndiaKanoo Tower, RiyadhTel. 01 477 2228 Air India BuraidahTel. 06 324 6514/325 0888

Al Kubaih StreetBuraidahTel. 06 325 0888

Gulf AirOlaya, RiyadhTel. 01 461 0589/462 4902

Gulf Air HailTel. 06 532 0280

Gulf AirBuraidahTel. 06 324 6514/325 0888

King Faisal FoundationAl Khairia ComplexRiyadhTel. 01 463 4454

Main StreetAl KhamseenWadi Ad DawasirTel. 01 784 6500

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

QantasKanoo Tower, RiyadhTel. 01 477 2228 Ext. 288/305

Sharjah StreetHotat Bani Tamim, Al HotahTel. 01 555 0304

Silsilah RoadOnaiza, Al QassimTel. 06 362 0080

Singapore AirlinesKanoo TowerTel. 4734102/4734103

Srilankan AirlinesKanoo Tower, RiyadhTel. 01 477 2228 Ext. 292/293

United Airlines/Air CanadaKanoo Tower, RiyadhTel. 01 477 2228 Ext. 289/290

Wazir StreetAl Azizea Building, RiyadhTel. 01 411 4780

UaEKanoo Holidays DubaiTel. 04 334 1444/315 6624

Kanoo BuildingKhalid Bin Al Waleed Street, Bur DubaiTel. 04 507 2242

Kanoo BuildingAl Orouba Street, SharjahTel. 06 561 6058

Kanoo Travel – American ExpressHermitage BuildingAl KaramaTel. 04 334 9219

Kanoo TravelCorniche, Abu DhabiTel. 02 631 3900/631 8187

Airport OfficeDubaiTel. 04 393 1963

Deira City CentreDubaiTel. 04 294 1481

Dubai Internet CityBuilding 12Tel. 04 390 1992

Green CommunityJebel Ali Road, DubaiTel. 04 885 3321

Jebel Ali LOB 16, Ground FloorJebel Ali Free ZoneTel. 04 881 5050

Karama Al Fathooi Centre, DubaiTel. 04 334 1222

Marine Travel ServicesDubaiTel. 04 335 1314

Najda StreetAbu DhabiTel. 02 678 0400

UKBirmingham American Express Bank House 8 Cherry Street Tel. 0121 644 5514/0121 644 5560

BournemouthAmerican Express 95A Old Christchurch Road Tel. 07872 600528/01202 780 752 BrightonAmex House Implant American Express Ground Floor, Amex House Edward Street Tel. 01273 525 041/040 Bristol American Express 74 Queens Road Tel. 01179 065 107/105

Cardiff American Express 3 Queen Street Tel. 02920 649 305/ 02920 649 301 Coventry American Express 5 Cathedral Lanes Shopping Centre Tel. 02476 225511/ 07872 600 528 Croydon American Express 2-4 High Street Tel. 0208 256 0808/0805

Edinburgh American Express

69 George Street 0131 718 2508/2505

EssexLakeside Bureau American Express Lakeside Shopping Centre West Thurrock Grays Tel. 01708 890 654

Glasgow American Express 66 Gordon StreetTel. 0141 225 29 05/08 Guildford American Express 38-40 High Street Tel. 01483 551 605/607 Leicester American Express 1 Horsefair Street Tel. 0116 242 18 05/08

LondonAmerican Express 84 Kensington High Street Tel. 0207 795 6703 LondonAmerican Express78 Brompton Road, Knightsbridge Tel. 0207 7617 900/908

LondonAmerican Express 1 Savoy Court, The Strand Tel. 0207 240 1521 London American ExpressTravel OfficeCabot Square Canary Wharf Tel. 0207 888 4196

LondonHaymarketAmerican Express 30 – 31 Haymarket Tel. 0207 4849 600/674 LondonHolborn Bureau American Express 156a Southampton Row Tel. 0207 837 4416 Manchester American Express10-12 St Mary’s Gate Tel. 0161 833 7301 Milton KeynesAmerican Express670 Silbury Boulevard Tel. 01908 608 877 Nottingham American Express 2 victoria Street Tel. 0115 924 7701/05

Plymouth American Express 139 Armada Tel. 01752 502 702/707

Sheffield American Express 20 Charles Street Tel. 0114 263 9305/08 Southampton American Express 99 Above Bar Tel. 02380 716 805/808 York American Express6 Stonegate Tel. 01904 676 505

win A two-night stAy At the meydAn hotel, dUBAiThe Meydan race course sets the scene for the most prestigious (not to mention glamorous), event on the horse-racing calendar: the Dubai World Cup. And, when it comes to where to stay, there’s only one name worth knowing: the 285-room Meydan Hotel. Its course-side location places you on the edge of the season’s action – making it one of the most exciting spots in the city. But, you don’t have to be part of the racing glitterati to sample its delights. Head there any time of year and you’ll find yourself in the most stylish of surrounds; suites are luxurious (you can soak-up views of the racetrack from its big bath tubs); a rooftop infinity pool provides the coolest of settings on which to relax; while four lounges and restaurants serve-up the most mouthwatering bites – from succulent sirloins at the decadent Prime Steakhouse to fresh Italian fare at Bas Pasta. And that’s just a taster...

ThE PrizEWe’re giving away a two-night stay (including breakfast) for two people. To be in with a chance of winning, email your answer to the following question to [email protected] before March 31, 2011.

Q. Which famous event takes place at Meydan race course?a) Dubai Desert Classic b) Dubai World Cup c) Dubai Tennis Championship

TERMS AND CONDITIONS: Prize excludes November 12 to 17 2011, inclusive. All other dates are subject to availibility.

KWT Kanoo details March.indd 71 2/23/2011 4:08:33 PM

concierge | thailand


You may have to pinch yourself on waking up to the seemingly endless expanse of sea unravelling before you at Sri Panwa. But, the good news is, you’re not dreaming – the pool villa’s fantasy-like views are a reality due to its enviable position atop Cape Panwa, 60metres above sea-level. It’s hard to pick the suite’s best gazing-spot when its entirety – warm sunset hues, bamboo-like wood, fresh linens; all encased by floor-to-ceiling windows – holds you in the lap of tropical luxury at every turn. But, wherever you choose to recline, the oh-so-blue Andaman Sea that laps beneath a balmy Thai clime is sure to seduce you. We say dive on in – but not before you try the suite’s personal infinity pool, bubbling Jacuzzi or rainfall shower. And if you can bear to leave altogether, we suggest you step aboard a yacht and make for one of the Phuket archipelago’s eight nearby islands – and prepare to pinch yourself all over again... www.sripanwa.com

Suite dreamSsri panwa, phuket

Imag

e: S

ri Pa

nwa.

KWT Suite dreams March.indd 72 2/24/2011 5:54:04 PM

Untitled-1 1 2/24/2011 9:30:40 AM

Untitled-3 1 1/27/2011 6:48:23 PM

Date post:	23-Mar-2016
Category:	Documents
Upload:	hot-media
View:	218 times
Download:	2 times

Kanoo World Traveller_March2011

Documents