Indice dei contenuti per March/April 2016 in AFAR

WHILE ON MATERNITY leave last year, I started thinking about solo travel. (I recognize the irony that I chose the moment I surrendered my solitude to reflect fondly on the trips that had afforded me freedom and autonomy—my favorite parts of traveling on my own.) I adore having a toddler, but ask any new parent about alone time and you’ll get nothing but a long, loud chuckle in response. I thought back to my trips to Oaxaca and Mexico City after college, and to Paris when I was weighing a job and a relationship. At the time, I took my solitude for granted, not anticipating that later, when my only solo trips would be for business, I would look back wistfully on those precious weeks when my time was truly…

What’s the first thing you notice when you set foot in Hawaii? People just dress, look, talk, and act so differently. They aren’t rushing around on their phones and sending emails. Everything around you says, You’re in Hawaii now. Chill. Where’s your memory lane? My mother is Native Hawaiian– Chinese. I used to visit Honolulu’s Chinatown with my grandmother when I was a kid. She went there every day to shop and would haggle with the vendors to get the best price. I definitely picked up some of that. Sounds like the making of a chef. Yeah, growing up in an intense daily market environment made me so comfortable in that world. It taught me not to think of food as something that you buy large amounts of for a…

2:00 P.M. Your Caffeine Fix Cardinal was the first shop in town to take coffee really seriously. Unlike the vibe in many cool cafés, handpoured cups aren’t served with a salty attitude. It’s a friendly neighborhood spot where you can read the paper in peace and enjoy a solid cappuccino at the same time. Calle Córdoba 132 3:00 P.M. Get Lit Here English-speaking locals come to Under the Volcano, the city’s most celebrated Englishlanguage bookstore, to practice their skills. Discover books by obscure Latin American authors and American writers on Latin America (e.g. Kerouac’s apt B-side, Mexico City Blues). Celaya 25 4:30 P.M. A Time-Warp Museum Housed in an art nouveau mansion, MODO—Museum of the Objective of the Object—is an odd keyhole into everyday pre-21stcentury life. You’re up close with…

1. THE VIOLET HOUR The excited murmuring you hear when you walk into this sanctuary-like space? Call it the sound of reverence. The bar jumpstarted Wicker Park’s resurgence, not to mention the drinking culture of the entire city. Order the Daisy 17, a spin on an old-fashioned they’ve been mixing since the doors opened in 2007. 2. THE AVIARY Mad-scientist chef Grant Achatz, of Chicago’s Alinea and Next, doesn’t actually man the shakers or chip the ice at Aviary, but it’s clearly his brainchild: Behind the bar there’s more lab equipment than stirring spoons. The menu changes all the time, but the Carbonated Negroni is imperative if available. 3. SCOFFLAW Think of it as the designated corner bar of Logan Square, where cool kids still underpay for a full-floor loft.…

1 FUKUJUEN This well-known tea vendor has been selling matcha since 1790. It recently launched a kiosk in the Kyoto train station near the Hachijoguchi exit with an onsite stone mill that ensures the matcha is as fresh as it gets. fukujuen.com 2 NAKAMURA TOKICHI HONTEN The famous Kyoto tea merchants opened their landmark teahouse in Uji, 10 miles outside the city. It serves their brand of tea as well as matchabased sweets. Traditional tea ceremonies, including a leafgrinding tutorial, are offered four times a day. tokichi.jp 3 KAGIZEN YOSHIFUSA Kyoto has many matcha dessert cafés, but Kagizen, located in the historic Gion geisha district, is one of the most impressive. The treats are as fun to look at as they are to eat: chewy strips of bamboowrapped kanrotake, a…

More than two decades ago, the safari company Singita set a new standard for luxury with the debut of the opulent Ebony Lodge, tucked away on a 45,000-acre reserve next to Kruger National Park in South Africa. The lodge recently reopened with a refreshing new feel, thanks to Cape Town–based contemporary design team Cécile & Boyd. Natural canvas and floor-to-ceiling windows have replaced brick walls, and vintage trunks and canopied beds are a nod to African safari camps of yore. Doubles from $2,450, all-inclusive.…

Let’s just get this out of the way: Yes, this custom St. Regis Christofle stainless steel saber, with its hand-etched sterling silver handle and its $25,000 price tag, is over the top. Yes, there are much simpler ways to uncork a bottle of champagne. But there isn’t a more dramatic gesture to celebrate a special occasion. If you’re unsure how to wield one of these, don’t worry. Every purchase comes with a hands-on master class, the same demo St. Regis butlers receive as part of their training.…

Eremito, a 14thcentury residence turned sustainable solo retreat in central Italy, offers extreme travel for the soul. Amidst some 7,000 acres on an Umbrian hillside, the lodging has 14 stone-walled rooms that are defined by what they lack: TV, Internet, phone service, and double occupancy. Dreamed up by fashion designer and hotelier Marcello Murzilli, the hotel is part monastic retreat (daily meditation sessions and Gregorian chants) and part aesthete’s delight (chairs cut from stone, elegant cave pools). Keep in mind that Eremito (meaning “hermit,”) takes its name literally. Inspired by ancient monasteries nearby, the hotel asks that you eat its candlelit organic vegetarian dinners in total silence.…

In 2014, Nastasia Wong was looking for a travel fantasy. Injured while working as a nurse, she was confined to bed rest, and boredom was setting in. “I needed a project, and I figured, ‘I love travel, and I love photography, so let me see if there’s a female community online that I can live through,’” she says. “But all I found were fashion and beauty blogs. So I decided to create my own.” Nastasia started by uploading her own photos from previous trips to Instagram, with the hashtag #dametraveler, and then began posting photos submitted by other women traveling solo. As stories and positive feedback started to flood in, she created the website Dame Traveler to profile women and their adventures. Blown away by the response, she quit her…

When the walls of day-to-day life feel like they’re closing in on me, I head to a place where my mind has space to unwind. For me that’s the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve in the Flint Hills of eastern Kansas. It may appear monotonous and monochromatic from a distance, but if you hike in and stand quietly, its colors, smells, and sounds seep into your consciousness: the gentle rustle of the ocean of grass and the hum of bees in the violet wildflowers; the songs of meadowlarks that daintily perch on the slenderest of twigs; the aroma of hot earth, dry grass, bee balm, and clover. On one solitary winter day, I grew so contemplative, hearing only the wind and the crunch of my boots on the frozen ground, I…

I had my quarter-life crisis at 21. So, like countless rudderless youth before me, I decided to take a road trip, my first ever by myself, up the Pacific coast from L.A. to Seattle. I learned many things during those two weeks. Like that you have to pay a premium to rent a car if you’re under 25, which might wipe out much of your savings and require a humbling call home. Or that if you don’t make reservations in high season, your car may be the only vacant room for many miles. I learned that camping alone in a deserted campground by the Pacific ocean sounds romantic, but that if you let your mind wander back to the a little advice Blair Witch Project even once, you’ll spend the…

Travel to the Balkan region is looking way up since the dissolution of Yugoslavia, notes Greg Tepper, president of tour agency Exeter International (exeterinternational.com). Flight connections are good and getting better for Croatia and Slovenia, and visa restrictions are minimal. Montenegro, Serbia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina were slower to rebuild after the war, but they have opened their borders. The best way to get around, he says, is to hire a car and driver. CROATIA Croatia has reemerged as a big-time vacation destination. Visitors can enjoy a well-developed travel industry, an improved highway system, a balance of luxurious hotels and homey accommodations, and a national cuisine similar to Italy’s, with excellent wine and fresh seafood. Dubrovnik teems in the summer, so get off the beaten path and head to the sea. Visit…

IMAGINE SEEING these headlines scroll across the bottom of the screen as you watch CNN: “Millions of Moroccans go to work, return home, eat dinner with their families.” “Tourists visit Jordan’s ancient ruins, take photos.” “Citizens of Dubai respond to pleasant weather by following their usual routines.” At a time when the news is dominated by dramatic, scary events, it can be hard to remember that these incidents are still quite rare. For nearly everyone on the planet, ordinary life goes on. Yet we often let fear keep us from living life to the fullest. In the last couple of months, I’ve been to Morocco and the United Arab Emirates, and I will soon be going to Jordan. These countries have been relatively unscathed by terrorist attacks. Millions of people…

1 PLATE LUNCH A base of two scoops of white rice, topped with meat (say, Portuguese sausage or Kalua pork) and gravy, with a side of macaroni salad. Try it at Sugoi’s. 2 LAU LAU Pork, chicken, fish, or veggies wrapped in several layers of taro leaf and then steamed. Ravi’s favorite is served at Ono Hawaiian Foods. 3 PIPIKAULA Beef short ribs that are salted, then dried like beef jerky. At Helena’s Hawaiian Food, they make it even better by panfrying it.…

FOCUS ON . . . BREATHING “Claustrophobic? Try breath awareness, scientifically proven to chill you out. Get inhales to five seconds and exhales to six for two and a half minutes. You’ll slow down the heartbeat and lower blood pressure.” FOCUS ON . . . CHOCOLATE “Put a square on your tongue. Get curious about the flavors but also all the energy it took to make the bar and deliver it to you. You won’t just appreciate chocolate more. The brain thrives on novel thoughts.” FOCUS ON . . . MUSIC “Turn on an album by Brian Eno, Garth Stevenson, or anything ambient. Zero in on any swelling peaks and valleys or other changes in the soundscape. It’ll help tune out all the other noise.”…

1 Wait outside the tearoom until the host signals you, then wash your hands and bow to enter. 2 When all guests are seated, the host wipes the teacups and tools with a silk cloth, then prepares thick matcha koicha. The host will then hand the cup to the first guest, who bows and takes it with both hands. 3 The first guest turns the cup, takes a sip or two, then wipes the rim of the cup before handing it to the next person. Each guest repeats the ritual. The whole ceremony takes place in slow motion—think of it as a meditation in tea form.…

1 SAFARIS In Tanzania, the Four Seasons Safari Lodge Serengeti recently introduced a Lone Ranger package that includes walking safaris and game drives with other solo travelers. At their lodges all over Africa, Singita waives supplements for single travelers. 2 OUTFITTERS With 50 nosupplement tours and perks like roommate matching, Overseas Adventure Travel is so good at solo travel that 40 percent of guests come alone. Meanwhile, the UK outfitter Solos Holidays just launched Solos Vacations in the U.S. (check out their 120-day aroundthe-world tour). 3 CRUISES Norwegian was the first line in the industry to offer studios and social lounges designed for solo guests without charging extra fees. Now, smallship river-cruise lines such as Viking and AmaWaterways have also joined the club.…

One mom I know finds it at Target, when her husband’s home with the kids. That feeling of freedom that, for parents, is fleeting; when you can ponder subjects other than keeping those little people alive. I had a weekend. My wife and son were across the country. I was on the road by 5 a.m., and at the Yosemite campground before 9. I started on the trail. I watched birds.I got a little lost. Around a bend, El Capitan appeared, and I stopped and ate my lunch. On the way back, I found a pool of clear, frigid water. I took off my clothes and soaked in it. Parents, don’t squander your moments of freedom. They frown on public nudity at Target. business + leisure = bleisure I always…

Tristan Willey, of Brooklyn’s Long Island Bar, is as well versed in the art of conversation as he is in the art of cocktail making. So who better to advise travelers on the fine art of drinking solo? “Avoid opening lines. It makes for a better interaction. One of the best parts about being alone is that you’re not forced to interact, and you can wait for the right moment to strike up a conversation. The world gets to revolve around you for a little bit when you’re sitting by yourself at the bar, and usually a natural entry point comes along. You shouldn’t force it. “In New York, so many travelers have this idea of what the city should be like. They try to react to that idea instead…

1 VEGGIES for FOODIES Grassroots Pantry is a rare find: a high-end, food-criticapproved restaurant devoted to vegetarian cooking. Come for the lemon chia-seed pancakes, stay for the pan-fried gyoza with Sichuan peppercorns. G/F, Shop D, 108 Hollywood Rd. 2 THE GREAT MALL of CHINA A renovated police barracks, PMQ is 197,000 square feet of art exhibits, fashion boutiques, and design shops where goods are made with sharp aesthetics and the environment in mind. 35 Aberdeen St. 3 A TOTAL SLAM DUNK Thanks to a canopy of trees, Blake Garden feels miles away from the traffic and crowds despite being quite small. Stroll its pedestrian-only paths or jump into a pickup game at the basketball courts. Near the Pu Xing Fang and UN Fong junction 4 GO DUTCH in CHINA A…

THERE IS A SMALL city in central Japan called Nishio. To get there by train, you take a scenic three-anda-half-hour ride from Tokyo, past Mount Fuji and the rippling Pacific coastline. Nishio itself looks unremarkable: quiet residential blocks that could be found anywhere in Japan, a few restaurants, all surrounded by flat parcels of green farmland. But mention the city to tea aficionados and they will immediately respond: matcha! As Maine is known for lobster and Kentucky for bourbon, the fields of Nishio are famed for growing a variety of Camellia sinensis, the mother plant from which most teas (green or black) are made. The leaves from this plant are eventually stone ground and turned into some of the world’s finest matcha, a bright-green, powdered tea. What makes this brew…

SOUTH CONGRESS started out as a grand avenue. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, it was the main road between Austin and San Antonio, and the surrounding area was filled with huge live oak trees, which are still standing today. But in the ’40s, a new highway started directing traffic away from the area, and by the time I moved to Austin from West Texas in the mid-’80s it was basically abandoned. In 1995, when I moved to Travis Heights, a residential area nearby, South Congress was a red-light district. There were prostitutes, junkies, a handful of insurance agencies, and maybe a sandwich shop. One place that continued to thrive, however, was the Continental Club, a legendary music venue that opened in 1957. It’s the reason I bought a…

“From the moment you step into Paris’s Bar Hemingway, which dates to 1921, you’re steeped in history. It’s where Hemingway spent many evenings, and he was followed by other notable writers and photographers. The bar is still a key part of the city’s nightlife. When I was hired in 1994, I got carte blanche to create the space, and I introduced a new cocktail menu. I built relationships with our loyal clients, and during the Ritz’s recent closure, I hosted dinner parties at my home with these ‘Hemingway Orphans’ as we called them. They wanted reassurance that the Ritz wouldn’t change. Obviously many things have—the bedrooms are larger, the bathroom floors are heated, the garden is more epic than ever. The Ritz’s soul though? Completely intact.” The Most Famous Cocktail…

Tell us about your latest hotel. Suján Rajmahal Palace is a perfect example of what we do. This palace in Jaipur has a living connection to the destination because it’s the only hotel in the Pink City that still belongs to the Maharaja. In the restaurant, we serve the family’s original household recipes. How do you help connect guests to a destination? Having relationships with local communities enables us to share another side of India. Jawai Leopard Camp in Rajasthan is known for its remarkable wildlife sightings, but we have also created cultural encounters in the area’s exceptional temples. We work with priests so that guests can observe practices that don’t exist anymore in urban India. How do you build those relationships? At Suján properties our staff is made up…

The road is blocked by goats again. It really is the last straw. I’m two months into a 10,000-kilometer cycling trip across Europe and the Middle East, and I’ve just chugged over a truly enormous hill (let’s call it a mountain) between Montenegro and Albania, only to run out of paved road. And food. And water. And then the rain arrived. Right before the goats. I am saved by a kindly man with a van. The track is just rubble, hemmed in tightly by cliffs and plunging ravines, and we stop regularly to wait for bulldozers to clear the way. The nail-biting journey takes three hours, and when we arrive at my destination it’s pitchblack and pouring. But the guesthouse is charming: a 150-year-old haven of hospitality, where I am…

where to dig deep Farm stays are not the easiest vacations, with their early mornings and physical demands. But learn to drive a tractor, forage for mushrooms, or care for sheep, and you’re instantly immersed in local life. —CELINE KAGAN, A WRITER WHO FINDS HER FARMS VIA HELPX.NET As a woman traveling alone in South America, I was prepared for piropos— compliments that trail a woman like an all-male chorus through machismo country. “Marry me!” went the refrain. My comeback, learned from a friend in Senegal: “Thank you, sir, but I already have five husbands.” But what could prepare a woman for the tour guide who corners her with serenades? Or the policeman who takes the report on her stolen wallet: “Name? Birthdate? Most important: single or married?” He detained…

We’ve all been there: sitting at a restaurant alone, feeling out of place. “To be alone in a restaurant often looks and feels somewhat sad,” says Marina van Goor, founder of Amsterdam’s design firm MVGCA. “I wanted to create an attractive place where eating out alone is accepted and even cool.” So she launched Eenmaal, the world’s first pop-up restaurant for solo diners, which serves seasonal fourcourse menus with natural wine pairings (all for about $40). Here, at your own personal table, there’s no chance of being pressured into ordering something you don’t want—or sharing something you do want—and, as van Goor says, “Since everybody sits alone, it is not awkward.” On the flip side, you can forget about eavesdropping for entertainment, and as much as we appreciate the notebooks…

I recently spent six days buzzing through Tokyo, population 13 million. And on the seventh day, I needed rest. Unconstrained by anyone else’s schedule, I booked a ticket to Hakone, a village of onsen (natural hot springs) resorts near Mount Fuji. The weird part of slowing down in Japan: It happens fast. Over the course of an hour, I gazed out a train window as the city faded to fog-cloaked trees—like those in the Pacific Northwest, but with the drama turned up. When I arrived, I hiked. I sipped matcha. I tied on a traditional yukata (robe), untied it, and slipped into the steaming baths. Fifteen minutes in, my shoulders sat lower. The silence verged on eerie until a pack of sloshed businessmen killed the mood. White boy, where are…

“My friend and I travel together every year. Our only requirements are that the destination should be warm and have good food, and we can’t know the language well (just to keep it interesting). This year, that led us to Colombia. We drank coffee at Franca, a café in the Chapinero district of Bogotá, saw horse-drawn carriages in Cartagena, and took in the view of Medellín from a hillside park. Cartagena was the biggest sensory overload. We stayed in the historic center, at the Casa San Agustín, a respite from the busy city. The street names are different on every block, so you can’t really go looking for places. Instead, we took the days as they came. One night, we joined a spontaneous street party. Everyone from college kids to…