Tabla de contenidos para August 2023 - September 2023 en DestinAsian

“TRAVEL IS NEVER A MATTER OF MONEY, BUT OF COURAGE.”—Paulo Coelho For me, unforgettable journeys don’t have to involve long spells away from home or a concerted effort to reach far-flung locales; it could be an eye-opening side trip from an already familiar destination, a relaxing small-ship cruise with old friends, maybe even a spontaneous holiday to a new place served with direct flights from the nearest airport (Kuching, I’m looking at you). Whatever your interests in travel, I’m sure you will find something that piques your curiosity within these pages. Following a repeat visit to Mauritius, DestinAsian’s longtime editor-in-chief Christopher P. Hill gets his first rendezvous with Réunion, a French overseas département in the Indian Ocean. It’s an island seemingly custom-made for the adventurous, with landscapes that are as…

A James Beard Award–winning food writer based in Spain, Jeff Koehler is no stranger to North Africa, having explored the Maghreb region on countless trips over the past two decades. His extensive time spent with home cooks and food producers there has culminated in his authoritative new North African Cookbook (Phaidon), which traces the stories and culinary history of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya. Packed with more than 400 recipes, there’s a lot to digest in the richly photographed book. For a quick taste, here are five of the author’s go-to dishes in the region — and where to find them. 1 Roasted Sea Bream “The wild sea bream swimming off Tunisia’s Sahel shore are much sought after for their firm meat and sublime flavor, and they’re best prepared quite…

NEW ZEALAND Given the country’s plethora of geological wonders, it was only a matter of time before New Zealand landed on UNESCO’s Global Geoparks list. Waitaki Whitestone Geopark (whitestonegeopark.nz), which officially joined the network of geologically significant sites in May, spans 7,200 square kilometers in the Canterbury and Otago regions of the South Island, stretching from the windswept Pacific coast to the base of the Southern Alps. Shaped by volcanoes and glaciers, the area is full of unworldly formations like the chiseled clay cliffs at Omarama and the limestone outcrops of Elephant Rocks, which made an appearance in 2005’s The Chronicles of Narnia. As this landscape was once an ancient seabed, there are marine fossils to explore as well: a deep gulch near the farming town of Duntroon has offered…

“I would hate for life to be boring,” says Gail Curley, co-owner of Lisbon’s Palácio Príncipe Real (palacioprincipereal.com; doubles from US$430). And this pink-walled 19th-century palace that she and her husband have recently transformed into a playfully pretty boutique hotel is anything but. Stepping through the hidden doorway into an oasis of jacaranda and lemon trees inset with a pool, I feel as though I’ve tumbled down Alice’s rabbit hole. Outside the high walls, wooden trams clatter along cobbled streets lined with striking tiled buildings. I half expect to see a peacock strut past, so lush are the grounds. Indeed, Curley wanted guests to feel a frisson of surprise when checking in to one of the 28 rooms here, each individually designed with open fireplaces, freestanding baths, and large balconies with…

Dusk in Tangier. People drifted in waves through the downtown streets. Blue and yellow taxis whizzed by, crammed with passengers sharing rides home. At a table outside the venerable Gran Café de Paris on the Place de France, a bow-tied waiter served my drink on a silver tray and I quickly fell into the local pastime of watching the world go by over glasses of mint tea or nus nus (half espresso, half milk). Inside, the timeworn decor looks unchanged from the days when writers such as Tennessee Williams and Jean Genet drifted through. If someone told me café culture was invented in Tangier, I’d believe them. It’s rare to see an empty table at the city’s network of coffee houses, where literary figures invariably stare back at you from…

For the longest time, I had supposed that the Indian Ocean island of Réunion would be much like nearby Mauritius, a place I have visited on half a dozen occasions. On a map, both are of a similar size and shape, looking like two peas in a big blue pod somewhere to the east of Madagascar. Both are volcanic in origin, having been created eons ago by the same hot spot in the earth’s crust. They share a not dissimilar history. So my first glimpse of Réunion is a revelation. As the Air Mauritius turboprop banks toward Sainte-Marie, I look down on an unexpected landscape. Unlike the comparatively gentle contours of Mauritius, Réunion slopes quickly up from the sea toward a jagged, mountainous interior dominated by three vast calderas, called…

The Nakasendo or “Central Mountain Road” was part of feudal Japan’s network of highways. Back then, it would take travelers at least two weeks to walk between Kyoto and Tokyo, stopping overnight in juku post towns. Today’s visitors can still walk sections of the original route, one of the most popular of which traverses the Kiso Valley, which is easily reached from Tokyo by limited express train via Matsumoto (from where the Shinano Express runs the length of the valley). Those spending a night or more in the valley have a number of traditional inns to choose from, not least of which is Tsumago’s Ryokan Fujioto (tsumago-fujioto. jp; doubles from US$70), where the handful of tatami-style rooms book up well in advance. For something more ambitious, specialist outfitter Walk Japan…

MALAYSIA A celebration of Southeast Asian culinary culture, the Kita Food Festival (kitafoodfestival.com) kicks off this September with the biggest lineup since its inception in 2021. Held across the key Malaysian food cities of Kuching (September 27), Penang (October 13–16), and Kuala Lumpur (October 26–30), the program will feature a series of fine-dining and more casual events hosted by both Malaysian and international chefs. Among them are Vaughan Mabee from New Zealand, Hans Christian of August restaurant in Jakarta, and French chef Julien Mercier, who helms the kitchen at Singapore’s Claudine. Other highlights include the Big Sunday Barbecue, which will see a coterie of grill masters cooking over open flames at a century-old former train depot in Kuala Lumpur; and The Great Mezze, where cocktails and music mingle with a selection of…

Perhaps no destination is better suited to finding balance than Bali. The confines of its size mean opposing energies constantly commingle. The island’s commanding volcanoes can humble, while its sweet floral breezes uplift. Bright and sunny Bali mornings turn into wet and stormy afternoons. And expat enclaves like Canggu and Ubud bring Western culture right alongside the Balinese-Hindu rituals of traditional village life. This yin-meets-yang quality draws throngs of visitors to the island each year fleeing stress, burnout, and other symptoms of our frenetic world. To cure what ails them, the average wellness resort won’t cut it. They seek a more spiritual brand of self-care, purveyors of which have proliferated here of late. And while there’s plenty of snake oil to watch out for, some new spaces have managed to…

SINGAPORE When discussing architecture, Wong Mun Summ likes to reference “systems thinking” — a holistic form of organizational analysis that asks how systems act and influence one another within a larger system. It’s an approach that informs much of the work produced by WOHA, the much-laureled Singapore-based architectural studio Wong cofounded with Richard Hassell in 1994. His latest project, the 347-room Pan Pacific Orchard (panpacific.com; doubles from US$340), is no exception in the way systems thinking is folded deep into the design. Looking for all the world like the love child of a one-night stand between an Escher print and a Jenga block, the hotel rises 23 stories above the western end of the Orchard Road neighborhood, its perspective-defying silhouette a stark contrast to the more staid skyscrapers around it. And…

Revīvō Wellness Resort Nestled in a three-hectare teak forest in the hills of Nusa Dua, this 16-suite property provides a tranquil setting for reviving guests through movement, mindful practices, and nutrition. As well as the regular spa offerings, there’s IV vitamin infusion therapy, a hydrotherapy circuit, and a far-infrared and dry charcoal sauna (revivoresorts.com). Fivelements Retreat Its verdant riverside grounds near Ubud are rejuvenating in their own right. But Fivelements also blends traditional Balinese healing philosophies with a modern, holistic approach to wellness, with specialists on hand to guide guests through meditation, yoga, somatic therapy, vibrational healing music, and more (fivelementsbali.com). COMO Shambhala Estate This longstanding five-star refuge above the Ayung River combines a natural jungle setting with expert spa and wellness facilities. Programs include yoga, Pilates, meditation, rice field…

Rolex has supported pioneering explorers pushing back the boundaries of human endeavor. The company has moved from championing exploration for the sake of discovery to protecting the planet, committing for the long term to support individuals and organizations using science to understand and devise solutions to today’s environmental challenges. This engagement was reinforced with the launch of the Perpetual Planet initiative in 2019, which initially focused on three main pillars: the Rolex Awards for Enterprise, an established association with Mission Blue, and a long-standing partnership with the National Geographic Society. An expanding portfolio of other partnerships embraced by the Perpetual Planet initiative now include: Steve Boyes and the Great Spine of Africa series of expeditions, exploring the continent’s major river basins; the Monaco Blue Initiative, bringing together experts on solutions…

While the Concorde is no more, the iconic delta-winged aircraft left an indelible mark on aviation history as the world’s first supersonic passenger jet. But it is remembered in the annals of astronomy too. Fifty years ago this past June, just months before the Concorde rocketed from Washington, D.C. to Paris on its first nonstop flight across the Atlantic, a prototype of the airplane was used by a group of international scientists to observe the solar corona during the 1973 total eclipse. Taking off from the volcanic island of Gran Canaria in the Canary archipelago, the airborne mission chased the eclipse’s umbra — the darkest part of the moon’s shadow — across West Africa at more than twice the speed of sound, enabling those onboard to witness the longest totality…

At a clearing in the forest, the path brings me to an old timber lodge built from the cedar and cypress that grow abundantly around here. A wisp of smoke curls up from the chimney, and the eaves are hung with strings of drying persimmons that glow as golden as the morning sun that warms them. Two hundred years ago, this building served as a checkpoint where travelers were searched for contraband or charged levies. These days it’s a teahouse (tateba-chaya) called Ichikokutochi, offering refreshments to passersby. A couple of volunteers keep the log-fire burning, sweep the packed-earth floor, and pour complimentary beakers of tea. The interior is smoky from the sunken hearth, but light splashes in through the open doorway and onto walkers resting on wooden benches. And at…

London-based architect and illustrator Christian Coop draws what he loves, architecture — a process he says allows him to better understand why a building was composed in such a way, or to notice details that few other see. “Each building has a narrative in its form, but also in its history,” he explains. And Pulteney Bridge in the English town of Bath is no exception. One of only four bridges in the world to have shops across its full span on both sides, the 18th-century structure over the River Avon is a classic example of Georgian architecture. “Most bridges take you from one place to another, but this one is a destination in and of itself,” Coop says. “When painting it, I noticed the pared-down decoration and realized the grand…