Innehållsförteckning för December 2023 - February 2024 från International Traveller

TOKYO CONFIDENTIAL, JAPAN Get ready to be slapped around the chops at Tokyo Confidential, a dimly lit discreet drinking den that is shaking things up in the city's Azabu-Juban neighbourhood. The intimate bar draws inspiration from a house party that gets suitably loud and lairy. It also serves as a place for salarymen and women to escape from the confines of society over high-quality drinks and high-end bar bites created by two-Michelinstarred chef Daniel Calvert (of French restaurant SÉZANNE). tokyoconfidential.com Molti Amici, Sonoma County, USA Molti Amici translates to ‘many friends’. It is a nod to the fact the co-owners of this Italian eatery are alums who pulled together from a SingleThread, the three-Michelin-star restaurant in the heart of Healdsburg. It also honours the fact the restaurant is a hub…

Islands of Tahiti | NOMAD Heimata Hall strides towards us with all the con? dence of an actor walking onto a stage. He's wearing mirrored shades, a shirt patterned with tropical leaves and flip-flops. “Oh hey… ia orana,” he smiles, which we learn means ‘hello’ or ‘be well’ in Tahitian. Heimata has arranged to meet us near a small market stall outside the main ferry terminal in Moorea, which is the first stop on his small-group Tama'a Street Food Tour of Moorea. “The whole idea behind my food tours is to give visitors access to what and where locals like to eat on a day-to-day basis,” says Heimata, founder of Tahiti Food Tours. “We've got three cultures involved in the food scene here. We have the local Polynesian culture, and…

Grass Routes Conscious travel | POSTCARDS Rushing ahead, my kids flitter around the back of Sherwood Queenstown, a renovated 1980s motor inn. They dash over a picture-book bridge and into a wild garden to inspect modest rows of purple kale, clumps of apple-green spinach and tiny seedlings in a hot house. Painted stones mark the blooming rows. Surrounding grass is unkempt. Although the view of a reflective Lake Wakatipu is pretty, the garden is anything but. It's practical, purposeful; exactly the way it should be. And the motel-turned-hotel feels much the same, which is exactly why I love it. Sherwood is the epitome of sustainable tourism and an example of what Queenstown's future may look like. By 2030, the local council hopes to have a carbonzero tourism industry. The strategy aims…

Los Angeles | POSTCARDS A metonym is afigure of speech for when a place or thing denotes a concept larger than itself. For example, Hollywood signifies the American film industry and all celebrity culture, whereas Beverly Hills functions as a stand-in when speaking of the rich and famous. Los Angeles is almost a metonym in and of itself; so much has it been carved into our collective consciousness as a symbol of artifice, glamour and hedonism – as a psychological landscape just as much as a physical one. The fact that L.A. encompasses so many places that can be considered metonymic is only fitting for a city where things aren't quite what they seem. L.A. springs from the desert, dreamlike and dazzling, like a mirage that threatens to dissolve the…

Our shaky pinpricks of head-torch light succumb to the fast-gloaming horizon, unveiling vast forested valleys behind sheets of diaphanous atmosphere. The climbing wall-of-light turns marble-white Virgin Mary, unbudging on her fenced-off plinth against a hand-numbing gale, a divine shade of peach. From the summit of Mt Ramelau (2986 metres), the apex of Timor-Leste's mountainous core, the entire midriff of this half-island nation reveals itself, piecemeal, at the whims of zooming clouds. An outline of its north coast here, an inkling of the south there. A lone Japanese trekker enraptured by the majesty and our small group are the only humans braving Timor-Leste's highest point this sunrise. Reaching this statue on immense Tatamailau (in the Tetum language) seemed insurmountable in the drama of the prior evening's waning dusk, outside a guesthouse…

PASSPORT | Museums A day at the museum WHAT'S IT ALL ABOUT? Opened in 2021, Qaumajuq (pronounced KOW-ma-yourk) projects from the Winnipeg Art Gallery (WAG) like a glittering granite iceberg; the interior is equally evocative of Canada's sparsely populated northern territories. Both galleries are flooded with natural light (hence the name, which means “it is bright, it is lit” in Inuktitut) and close to 14,000 pieces of contemporary Inuit art span everything from stone and whalebone carvings to geometric prints, icon-like textiles and mixed media installations (the inaugural exhibition even featured a spacesuit made of sealskin). As a result, there's no better place in the world to get an overview of the major themes running through contemporary Inuit art, as well as the sheer variety of artists and styles. EXIT…

Places | NOMAD “Watching the sun rise over Mt Nilgiri while the wind rushes through the traditional Tibetan prayer flags at Shinta Mani Mustang is awe-inspiring,” says photographer Elise Hassey. She captured this image at Nepal's new 29-suite resort, which has been designed by architect Bill Bensley and Jason M. Friedman as a luxe base camp from which visitors can explore the isolated and ancient kingdom of Mustang, on the border of the Tibetan Plateau. “The magical kingdom of Mustang is a photographer's dream,” she says, “with beautiful, kind people, lunar-like landscapes and incredible hiking on offer. But it's the cultural adventure and spiritual nurturing that really sets travelling here apart as a life-changing experience.” shintamani.com…

Te Mānia, New Zealand/Aotearoa Te Mānia by Black Barn Retreats is oriented towards the curves and creases of Tuki Tuki Valley in Hawke's Bay. It's a rustic mix of glass, solid concrete and linear structures clad in Corten steel and soft shades of green and pink that tie the spaces together. Te Mānia sleeps two couples. blackbarn.com PULLMAN SINGAPORE HILL STREET, SINGAPORE Pullman Singapore Hill Street provides a platform for the brand to tell a story about the George Pullman sleeping car and the brand's roots in luxury train travel. Each of the 350 rooms at the hotel are modelled after private railway cabins invented by the US industrialist who indirectly inspired the brand. pullman.accor.com Skove Canggu, Bali The Luxe Nomad, Asia Pacific's largest villa management and marketing company, has…

The State of Washington gracefully mixes some of the Pacific Northwest's most stunning national parks with award-winning wineries, epic adventure sports and a sophisticated tech hub. Any holiday to this part of America, just one stop from San Francisco, Los Angeles or Honolulu, should include a little bit of everything. RELAX INTO NATURE Known as the Evergreen State, Washington is home to three beautiful national parks: Olympic National Park, North Cascades National Park and Mt Rainier National Park. Plan a day trip with experts Evergreen Escapes. Discover a plethora of rivers, rapids and spectacular waterfalls statewide, including the 80-metre-high Snoqualmie Falls and the canyon-brimmed Palouse Falls. In Seattle, kayak Elliott Bay or birdwatch at Discovery Park. Road trippers can't beat scenic byways such as The Cascade Loop, Chuckanut Drive and…

On the scene | POSTCARDS Milan has a whole new energy and is emerging – or re-emerging – as a design, architecture, art and food hub. The city has long been a fashion centre – this is the birthplace of Armani, Prada and Dolce & Gabbana after all – but that design energy has spread. Contemporary arts centres including the Fondazione Prada, located in a former gin distillery and designed by starchitect Rem Koolhaas (including a startling four-storey building clad in 24-carat gold), and the Museum of Cultures, MUDEC, are putting Milan on the world stage more than just sartorially speaking. The ambitious Porta Nuova district urban redevelopment, with its focus on sustainability, innovative new park and sleek architecture by Zaha Hadid and other high-profile figures, is imbuing the whole…

Canada is a wildlife paradise and the best time to glimpse its bears, wolves, moose, arctic hares and abundant birdlife is in autumn, when the country's foliage is aflame. The icing on the cake? Migrating beluga whales and the Northern Lights. Here's the Canadian wilderness-lover's bucket list. 1 CHURCHILL, MANITOBA Churchill is the polar bear capital of the world. In mid-October and November, Hudson Bay freezes over and the bears’ hunt for food – primarily seals – begins. Tour operators such as Frontiers North Adventures, Lazy Bear Expeditions, Great White Bear Tours and Churchill Wild are experts in the habits and habitat of the world's largest carnivorous land mammal, in all its playful and predatory glory. Polar Bears International, based in Churchill, is the epicentre of polar bear research, sharing…

Zermatt is a snow globe-esque skiing village nestled at the base of the world-famous Matterhorn. Completely devoid of cars, transportation is strictly delegated to electric taxis and horse-drawn carts that only add to the enchanting atmosphere permeating the town year-round. With its sprawling views and charming chalets, Zermatt has quickly made a name for itself as one of Switzerland's – if not the world's – most beautiful locations. Catering to avid skiers and families alike, there's no place quite like Zermatt that bridges the gap between a fairytale wonderland and a premium skiing destination. THE SYMBOL OF SWITZERLAND Towering over Zermatt is the Matterhorn, considered the most photographed mountain in the world. The summit of nature's very own pyramid stands 4478 metres high and can't be missed when you visit…

There's a sense of occasion when we step foot on the Rocky Mountaineer station, where the gleaming midnight blue and gold train awaits like a vision in the morning mist. It's 7.30am on a brisk April day in Vancouver, British Columbia's charming coastal city. The cherry blossoms have started to blush after a long winter, but there's still a bite to the air. A bagpipe player dressed in the traditional Scottish kilt (the Rocky Mountaineer's tartan has been officially registered in Scotland) serenades – well, welcomes – us onto the platform. Between his tuneful blasts and a hot cup of coffee, I'm very much awake. I gather with the other rugged-up and rosy-cheeked travellers and there's a tangible feeling of excitement growing as we count down to departure. Ask any…

Backstreets Neighbourhoods | PASSPORT If you find yourself overwhelmed by Tokyo's constant bustle, the city's oldest district provides a welcome respite from the onslaught to the senses. Centred around a 7th-century Buddhist temple (which has been rebuilt many times), Asakusa predates Tokyo by centuries. And despite sustaining significant damage in the Second World War, it still caters abundantly to the spiritual and secular needs of its residents. Pilgrims once arrived at Sensō-ji temple via the Sumida River, but four railway lines now bring more than 30 million visitors a year. The people-watching is reason enough to visit Nakamise-dori, a 250-metre walkway in front of the imposing red and gold temple that's lined with souvenir shops and stalls tempting sweet tooths with glutinous kibi dango (mochi balls), piping hot taiyaki (fish-shaped cakes…

TREAD LIGHTLY IN BAWAH Bawah Reserve, known for its Earth-first sustainable philosophy, has applied for B Corp Certification. The reserve in Indonesia's lesser-travelled Anambas Islands is managed by a committee that has coordinated green initiatives such as a state-of-the-art solar set-up, turtle conservation program and beach clean-ups. The biodiverse reserve has six islands, 13 beaches and 100 hectares of pristine forest. bawahreserve.com ABOVE ANDBEYOND andBEYOND Suyian Lodge has partnered with global conservation charity Space for Giants in Kenya's Laikipia region. The luxury experiential and conservation company will increase its footprint in Kenya by about 18,000 hectares of prime wilderness. The Suyian Conservancy is home to the country's second-largest population of elephants and the partnership will ensure the region's natural ecosystem survives. andbeyond.com CHRISTMAS IN NEW CALEDONIA New Caledonia's national carrier…

In partnership with Tourism Malaysia With signs of human existence dating back more than 40,000 years and a complex history that includes Chinese, Indian, Dutch and British influence, Malaysia is a melting pot of culture, flavour-packed cuisine and pristine natural beauty. 1 WORLD-CLASS DIVING ADVENTURES Often ranked one of the best dive sites in the world, Malaysia's Sipadan Island is home to leopard sharks, barracudas, parrotfish, manta rays, turtles and more. Strictly controlled for preservation, all divers must register as there are only 120 permits given out each day. Just 20 minutes away by boat is the island of Mabul, where macrodiving is popular. Divers can spot pygmy seahorses, cuttlefish, harlequin shrimp, frogfish, blue-ringed octopus and leaf scorpionfish. For longer stays, divers can enjoy the scenery from stunning Sipadan Kapalai…

Hotel to home WHERE IT IS Hôtel Juana, part of the Small Luxury Hotels of the World portfolio, sits pretty on France's Côte d'Azur in the resort town of Antibes. The locality was the former stomping ground of the likes of Pablo Picasso and F. Scott Fitzgerald. And, in fact, Hôtel Juana's sister property, The Belles Rives, was The Great Gatsby author's own residence. Guests at Hôtel Juana will receive discounted access to the Belles Rives’ private beachfront, located just a pen's throw away. slh.com WHY WE LOVE IT Much like the creatives who once frequented the 1930s mansion during the Jazz Age, Hôtel Juana possesses a larger-than-life character. The hotel retains much of its Art Deco charm, from the facade to the ornate ’30s cage lift. The interior takes…

In partnership with Collette Many travellers think of the European Alps in terms of a single-nation destination, such as Switzerland or Austria. Yet the Alps straddle numerous countries – including Italy, not a destination usually associated with alpine peaks, let alone such splendid ones. The Alps should be seen simply for their outsized natural beauty, but humans have contributed wonderful extras too, like pastel-painted old towns, quaint chalets and flower-lined promenades. This region is also dense in history and culture which, despite differences in languages, outlooks and cuisines, has many intriguing, shared influences. Collette's 12-day Peaks of Europe: The Alps to The Dolomites escorted journey features five alpine nations – France, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria and Italy – and highlights what makes each region distinctive and also what unites them. The…

Cities | POSTCARDS DAY ONE 8AM Wake up and luxuriate in your surrounds at Casa San Agustin, a gorgeous 31-room hotel spread across three whitewashed houses in the heart of the old city. Freshen up in the pool that runs beneath an aqueduct before grabbing a light breakfast of pastries across the street at LA ESQUINA DEL PANDEBONO. 9.30AM Hire a guide and driver to take you to CONVENTO DE LA POPA, a 400-year-old Augustinian convent atop the highest hill in Cartagena. It's no Everest but affords panoramic sea and city views. A revered statue of the Virgen de la Candelaria, the city's patroness, is housed here. 11AM Next, the hulking CASTILLO SAN FELIPE DE BARAJAS, the most impressive of South America's forts. Built in the 17th century, it was…

Sumbawa | POSTCARDS The first plump drops of rain arrive like clockwork around noon in Lakey Beach. The rain quickly turns torrential, falling in silvery sheets until the sea has been hammered into a piece of polished, corrugated metal. Although the downpour is over not too long after it began, it is the signal for the congregation of archetypal surfers to wriggle back into boardies or bikinis and paddle out for their second session of the day. Not much has changed in Lakeys, or Lakey Peak as it's most commonly known, since I first visited the remote surf beach on the Indonesian island of Sumbawa 25 years ago: not the faded images of waves torn from surf mags and pinned to the walls of the restaurants; not the rustic bars…

Before a single saddle has been sat on, the group has already bonded over evening drinks at our pleasingly cheesy medieval-themed hotel in Saint-Ursanne. Twelve of us, including our guide Valérie Chételat, clink glasses and laugh about tricky train connections from Zürich and discuss the three-day cycling journey ahead here in north-west Switzerland's Jura Mountains. We'll be on the 2023 BMC Roadmachine AMP Two – a carbonframe hybrid electric road bike. Th e overall route is approximately 150 kilometres long, ascending some 2000 metres and descending 3000 metres. Jura is a 360-kilometre-long mountain range within Switzerland and France that, at its highest, is 1720 metres; moderate by Swiss standards. A walking tour the next morning teaches us that Ursanne was named for an Irish monk who gained saintly celebrity in…

Australians know they can find luxury resorts beside aquamarine waters, friendly locals and a vibrant food culture less than four hours’ flight time from Sydney, all in beautiful Fiji. But perhaps what's lesser known is that Fiji's 333 islands are also teeming with heart-stopping adventures and experiences. Here are some of the best to explore. 1 SURFING Thanks to its world-class reef breaks and crystal-clear water conditions, Fiji's islands – particularly Namotu and heart-shaped Tavarua – have long been a magnet for surfers. Home to Cloudbreak (considered among the top 10 challenging waves in the world), the best way for pros to make the most of the location is by staying at Tavarua Island Resort or Plantation Island Resort. Meanwhile, nearby Namotu Island isn't only located right by some of…