Innehållsförteckning för Apr/Jul 2020 från DestinAsian

I write this note at an unprecedented moment in modern history, when an increasing number of countries are closing their borders and advising against all travel in light of the Covid-19 pandemic. Flights are being canceled, cruise lines are suspending their operations, and national lockdowns are threatening to keep everyone at home. I know the world will recover from this, and I fervently hope that the tide will turn in the months ahead. Until then, though, we must all brace ourselves for major disruptions to our lives. For DestinAsian, this means the cancellation or our annual June/July Islands Issue. The magazine you’re holding in your hands will regrettably be the last one you see until August, when I hope our regular publishing cycle will resume. This has not been an easy…

“I have seldom heard a train go by and not wished I were on it.” So wrote American novelist Paul Theroux in the opening lines of his 1975 classic travelogue The Great Railway Bazaar. The romance of riding the rails has not diminished in the decades since, and luxury travel operators are taking things up a notch on two classic Eurasian train journeys. Belmond (belmond.com) is debuting three new Grand Suites on the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express named after Vienna, Prague, and Budapest, three of its destinations. Global firm Wimberly Interiors drew inspiration from each city to design spaces sympathetic to the 1920s train carriages they inhabit. Cubist-inspired mosaic patterns adorn the Prague Grand Suite, Vienna’s imperial heritage is expressed in the ornate details and a headboard with silk fabric panels in…

• EAT For Indonesian cuisine, you can’t go wrong with Kaum (kaum.com) by the Potato Head Group—order the wagyu sate maranggi and anything with seafood or fish. The seasonal cocktails are interesting too; I recently tried the Cici Petak 9, a gin-based concoction inspired by Glodok, Jakarta’s Chinatown. For home-style Peranakan food, Restoran Trio (Jl. R.P. Soeroso No. 29A) in the Menteng area is a classic. It’s been around for more than 70 years and the service, music, and decor hasn’t changed in decades. Hunter and Grower (fb.com/hunter andgrower) in Kemang is a new venue that repackages traditional recipes into something modern; its deconstructed sayur asem salad tastes very authentic. • SHOP The store at Kemang’s Dia.lo.gue (dialogue-art space.com) gallery stocks a wide range of clothes by high-quality local brands.…

“All our raptors have special powers,” says Ingrid Albion as she introduces me to Patchy, a one-eyed Tasmanian masked owl endemic to Australia’s island state. “Patchy’s is hearing—he can hear mice running under the snow.” Patchy is one of the resident birds of prey at Tasmania’s Raptor Refuge (raptorrefuge.com.au), an eight-hectare rehabilitation and conservation center established in 2001 by local veterinary nurse Craig Webb. Webb and his team take in wounded eagles, goshawks, falcons, and owls and nurse them back to health before returning them to the wild; Patchy was injured when he flew into a power line. Thanks to volunteers like Albion, an environmental educator with the Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service, Webb now welcomes visitors to the center. But we’re not here to pet or feed the raptors,…

Sustainability-minded travelers looking to avoid air-conditioning on their next trip to Bali should check in to Sarinbuana Eco Lodge (baliecolodge.com; bungalows from US$79), a jungly retreat perched 700 meters above sea level on the slopes of Mount Batukaru, the island’s second-highest peak. Originally intended as a family vacation home for Australian–New Zealander couple Norm and Linda vant Hoff, it has grown into a nature-based playground, with a bamboo bale (pavilion) for yoga and other activities, a new swimming pool where the water is devoid of chlorine or other chemicals, a restaurant, and six naturally cooled cabins. Families will want to book the two-story Tree House and Jungle bungalows; each can accommodate up to five guests, and both feature knockout vistas. The cozy upstairs lounge at the Tree House looks out…

INDONESIA STREGIS BALI Understated elegance and barefoot luxury define The St. Regis Bali Resort, a tranquil beachfront property on the fine white sands of Nusa Dua. Travelers can unwind here in the utmost privacy, cooling off in the resort’s own 3,668-square-meter saltwater lagoon and enjoying the sweeping vistas of the Indian Ocean from a shaded daybed. Spread across nine hectares of lush tropical gardens, the 124 suites, villas, and residences on the property all feature a Balinese-inspired design with a modern residential feel. Lagoon Villas enjoy direct access to the namesake central pool from their terrace, while Strand Villas open out onto a private beach. The distinctive lineup of on-site restaurants, bars, and lounges range from signature venue Boneka—known for its sumptuous international breakfasts and Sunday brunches—to the glamorous Kayuputi,…

Singapore MANDARIN ORIENTAL, SINGAPORE Stays of at least four consecutive nights at the long-standing Mandarin Oriental in Marina Bay now come with a host of benefits, not the least of which is that the fourth night is on the house. Running throughout the year and applicable to any suite-level accommodation, the hotel’s Suite Temptations offer gets you not only a complimentary night, but also breakfast for two at Melt Café and a spa credit of S$60 (about US$43); parents traveling with a child under the age of 13 can also request a rollaway bed for no extra charge. Similarly, the Mandarin Oriental’s One Night More deal delivers just that—a fourth night free in any regular room category, until September 15 (mandarinoriental.com). Indonesia THE RITZ-CARLTON, BALI Travelers seeking out a deluxe…

Getting There South African carrier Airlink (flyairlink.com) flies daily from Johannesburg to Kasane airport, right on the doorstep of the national park. Where to Stay The sole safari property in the park’s northeastern sector is the riverside Chobe Game Lodge (chobegamelodge.com; from US$590 per person), which operates a fleet of electric 4x4 vehicles and solar-powered boats. What Else? Chobe extends to where Botswana’s borders meet those of Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. As such, it’s possible to visit Victoria Falls, just a 90-minute drive from Kasane, on a day trip. When it comes to seeing African elephants in the wild, few safari destinations can top Chobe National Park, a Qatar-sized wildlife refuge in northeastern Botswana. Some estimates put its resident pachyderm population at 120,000—more than a quarter of the total number…

1 /Qatar MUSEUM OF ISLAMIC ART At the request of Qatar’s ruling family, Pei emerged from semi-retirement to design one of his last major projects, located on a small man-made island off the Doha Corniche. Its austere, angular forms were directly inspired by the 13th-century ablutions fountain at Cairo’s Ibn Tulun Mosque, creating a play of light and shadow that changes with the movement of the desert sun. Artifacts representing 1,400 years of Islamic art are housed in galleries around a soaring five-story atrium capped by a stainless steel dome. mia.org.qa 2 /United States EAST BUILDING, NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART This sleek, sculptural addition to a popular museum on Washington, D.C.’s National Mall was widely hailed as a modernist masterpiece when it opened in 1978. Pei overcame the constraints of…

ROUTE UPDATES A leading Gulf airline expands its reach to northern Malaysia with services via the Lion City. Carrier: Emirates Launch date: April 9 Aircraft: Boeing 777-300ER Distance: 6,446 kilometers Flight time: 10 hours 40 minutes Frequency: Daily Jakarta–Tokyo Garuda Indonesia’s low-cost subsidiary inaugurates its first Japanese route, touching down in Narita. Carrier: Citilink Launch date: May 2 Aircraft: Airbus A330-900neo Distance: 5,825 kilometers Flight time: 7 hours 30 minutes Frequency: Daily Manila–Seattle Nonstop flights are about to make traveling between the Philippine capital and the U.S. Pacific Northwest even easier. Carrier: Philippine Airlines Launch date: May 3 Aircraft: Airbus A350-900XWB Distance: 10,719 kilometers Flight time: 12–13.5 hours Frequency: Thrice weekly A streamlined, contemporary Arabian aesthetic defines Qatar Airways’ newly opened Premium Lounge at Terminal 1 in Singapore Changi Airport.…

WHAT ARE THE THREE ESSENTIAL ITEMS WE SHOULD PACK IN A PLASTIC-FREE TRAVEL KIT AND WHY? A reusable water bottle, reusable coffee cup, and wooden cutlery. This way, you can avoid a lot of waste at airports, bus and train stations, and while you’re en route. Many airports have installed filtered water taps. You can empty your bottle before security, then refill it on the other side for free. WE’RE TRAVELING WITH AN INFANT. WHAT GOOD ALTERNATIVES ARE THERE FOR WET WIPES AND DIAPERS? Nowadays there are great compostable and biodegradable disposable diapers made from natural materials like bamboo, so you don’t need to hand-wash dirty cloth ones in hotel rooms. It’s worth remembering that the polyester disposable diapers that currently dominate the market each take a cup of crude…

When young Indonesian entrepreneur Ronald Akili returned to his native Jakarta after 13 years in Hawaii, he was a man on a mission. “Back then, there was so little exposure of Indonesian contemporary art and architecture, or even Indonesian food, on the global stage. So the first thing I wanted to do was to put Indonesia on the map.” He would get his chance in 2009 through Potato Head, a pet project with business partner Jason Gunawan that began as a casual Jakarta restaurant before branching out to Bali, where the two acquired a three-hectare beachside plot in Seminyak. The dream, Akili says, was to create an international lifestyle brand out of Indonesia, starting with the launch of Potato Head’s now-legendary beach club, which opened in 2010 below a Colosseum-like…

AS THRILLING AS IT IS to ride an explosively flatulent camel alongside a derelict Star Wars film set on the edge of the Tunisian Sahara, I’m more taken by our visit later that day to the date-palm oasis at Tozeur, where we trot on horseback under a canopy of outstretched fronds, sparrows chittering overhead. The palms—there are 260,000 of them, according to our guide, Shedly Bakhta—are fed by ancient irrigation channels that also water all manner of fruit trees: peach and pomegranate, lemon and orange, fig and banana. Wildflowers grow in their shade. It seems almost ludicrously lush, given the blinding salt flats that lie just beyond this island of greenery. Dismounting, we sit with Shedly and one of his colleagues on a Berber carpet laid out on the ground, a…

AUBERGE DU VIEUX-PORT Nostalgic charm comes to the fore at this restored 1880s warehouse overlooking the St. Lawrence River and the parklands of Montreal’s Old Port. About half of its 45 rooms face the water; the rest look out onto a cobbled section of Rue Saint-Paul, the oldest street in town. Most feature antique wrought-iron beds, while those in the signature category are characterized by exposed stone or brick walls and original wood-beam ceilings. En suite bathrooms even have heated floors and, in the case of premier rooms, a soaking tub with whirlpool jets. Terrasse Sur l’Auberge, the rooftop bistro and bar, draws locals and tourists alike for the views and its creative cocktails and tapas, which showcase the culinary bounty of Quebec. Downstairs, complimentary breakfasts can be ordered off…

1 Summer holidays in the Maldives come with an educational edge at Six Senses Laamu (sixsenses.com), which offers a unique learning experience for budding conservationists through its annual Junior Marine Biology program. Aimed at guests aged between six and 16, the scheme provides a taste of real-life scientific work via multiple sessions throughout their stay. Children have the chance to get involved in ongoing research projects, like expanding the resort’s turtle database of 420 individuals, and enjoy one-on-one mentoring with 10 marine conservationists. A “choose your own adventure” structure helps kids decide which fields to pursue, from coral restoration to the study of turtles and manta rays. 2 In Langkawi-bound Malaysia, families staying at The Andaman (marriott.com), a member property of Marriott’s Luxury Collection, can pitch in to help at…

“February in Jerusalem is an especially beautiful month of spring-like weather and blossoming almond trees,” says Andrey Shmatnik, an Israeli-Canadian architect who resides in Toronto. “With the heat of summer still months away, it’s the perfect time for exploring the ancient city by foot.” On a visit last year, his wanderings took him to Ein Kerem, a peaceful neighborhood in the Judean Hills of southwest Jerusalem. Identified by many scholars as the biblical village of Beit Hakerem, Ein Kerem (the name means “spring of the vineyard”) is the birthplace of John the Baptist and home to several splendid churches as well as a stone-encased spring where the Virgin Mary is said to have drawn water. In this ink and watercolor sketch, Shmatnik chose the golden-domed Cathedral of All Russian Saints…