January 2008

JANUARY 2008

Sin

gapore • H

on

g K

on

g • T

haila

nd • In

don

esia • Malay

sia • Vietn

am

• Maca

u • P

hilip

pin

es • Bu

rma • C

am

bodia • B

run

ei • Laos

JAN

UA

RY

20

08

TR

AV

EL+

LEISUR

E S

OU

TH

EA

ST A

SIA

+

The making of modern Macau

CAMBODIATHAILAND

INDONESIASINGAPORE

MALAYSIA...AND MORE

10 fashion tips for a perfect fi t

travelandleisuresea.com

SINGAPORE SG$6.90 ● MACAU MOP40 ● HONG KONG HK $39 THAILAND THB160 ● INDONESIA IDR45,000 ● MALAYSIA MYR15 PHILIPPINES PHP220 ● VIETNAM VND80,000 ● BURMA MMK32

CAMBODIA KHR20,000 ● BRUNEI BND6.90 ● LAOS LAK48,000

FROM SOHO TO NOHO

Hong Kong’s coolest hotspot *

Issue Index

-20oF 0oF 20oF 40oF 65oF 75oF 90oF

-40oC -25oC -10oC 0oC 5oC 10oC 15oC 20oC 30oC 40o+C

50oF-40oF

SOUTHEAST ASIABali 41

Bandung, Indonesia 50

Bangkok 22, 38, 41, 52, 74

Doi Inthanon, Thailand 83

Hong Kong 24, 34, 36, 38, 74,

100, 142

Indonesia 22, 24, 75

Ko Hai, Ko Muk, Thailand 42

Kuala Lumpur 24, 38

Macau 92

Manila 54

Melaka 51

Penang 64

Phnom Penh 118

Phuket 24, 40

Singapore 36, 38, 40, 46, 62, 74

Vientiane 47

Vietnam 24, 74

ASIAHokkaido 110

Osaka 24

Tokyo 59

THE AMERICASBrooklyn, New York 130

California 34, 60

Hawaii 56

New York 58

Yucatan, Mexico 89

EUROPEMoscow 57

Paris 44

(Destinations)01.08

World Weather This Month

MA

P B

Y E

TH

AN

CO

RN

EL

L

J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 8 | T R A V E L A N D L E I S U R E S E A . C O M8

Indonesia 22, 24, 75

Phnom Penh 118

(SGD) (HKD) (BT) (RP) (RM) (VND) (MOP) (P) (MMK) (KHR) (BND) (LAK)Singapore Hong Kong Thailand Indonesia Malaysia Vietnam Macau Philippines Burma Cambodia Brunei Laos

US ($1) 1.44 7.78 32 9,283 3.31 16,030 8 41.5 6.42 3,960 1.44 9,425

Source: www.xe.com (exchange rates at press time).

Currency Converter

Brooklyn 130Hokkaido 110

California 34, 60

T R A V E L A N D L E I S U R E S E A . C O M | V O L 0 2 | I S S U E 0 1

100 SoHo to NoHo A place where

restaurants and bars buzz nightly,

while art and fashion play against

the worn and faded backdrop

of old Hong Kong. By DAVID

WONG. Photographed by

GRAHAM UDEN.

GUIDE AND MAP 102

110 The End of the EarthOn Japan’s remotest island,

IAN BURUMA encounters a

culture still steeped in the ways

of the frontier. Photographed by

TETSUYA MIURA.

GUIDE 117

118 Phnom Penh’s New VibeCambodia’s tranquil capital is

being speedily transformed into

a hot new travel destination,

and the number of visitors to


>110 The winter landscapesof Japan’s Hokkaido.

(Contents)01.08

TE

TS

UY

A M

IUR

A

the city is soaring. By RON

GLUCKMAN. Photographed

by DAVID PAUL MORRIS.

GUIDE AND MAP 129

130 Brooklyn Bound You can take

Manhattan—PETER JON

LINDBERG finds a refreshing

attitude and energy in the Borough

of Kings. Photographed by

HUGH STEWART and

DAVID NICOLAS.

GUIDE 140

99–130Features

(Contents)01.08

On the streets of Hong Kong. Photographed by Timon Wehrli/Red Dog. Styled by Kampol Likitkanjanakul. Makeup and hair by Denise Toms. Model: Natasha Wilson/Model Genesis. Dress by Shanghai Tang.

33–62Insider34 NewsFlash Asia’s organic restaurants, high style

in Hong Kong and more.

40 Check-inSpecial experiences on offer from

hotels. BY SANA BUTLER

42 EscapeTwo Thai islands offer beauty and

seclusion. BY KEN CHOWDER

44 EatFood and art on the same plate in

Paris. BY MARCELLE CLEMENTS

46 Walk This Block A Singapore side street paved in style.

BY LEISA TYLER

47 The ExpertA local’s lowdown on what’s hot in

Vientiane. BY JENNIFER CHEN

50 DetourThe charm of laid-back Bandung.

BY JOE COCHRANE

51 Preservation In Melaka, a colonial gem is saved

and renovated. BY JENNIFER CHEN

75–92T+L Journal75 Asian Scene

Indonesian art is becoming part

of the big picture. BY JASON

TEDJASUKMANA

80 CruisingPly the seven seas on a round-the-

world cruise. BY JEFF WISE

83 AdventureGet high on Doi Inthanon in

Thailand’s north. BY DENIS GRAY

86 ReflectionsWhen it comes to low-impact

travel, less is more. BY ALEX

SHOUMATOFF

89 DispatchThe vacation home of a drug

lord is now a luxury eco-inn.

BY MARK HEALY

92 Special ReportMacau gambles on its future—

big time. BY KARRIE JACOBS

>44

16 Editor’s Note20 Contributors22 Ask T+L 24 Best Deals27 Strategies

142 My Favorite Place

>64

Cover

63–72Stylish Traveler

14

63 Best BuyThe key to style from Shanghai Tang.

BY FAH SAKHARET

64 Fashion Five perfect looks from Penang.

72 ShoppingFinding the right tailor in Asia.

BY KAY JOHNSON

CL

OC

KW

ISE

FR

OM

FA

R L

EF

T:

JE

AN

-MA

RIE

DE

L M

OR

AL

; A

NG

IE C

AO

; A

HM

AD

DE

NY

SA

LM

AN

; M

ITC

HE

LL

NG

UY

EN

MC

CO

RM

AC

K

JANUARY 2008

+


CAMBODIATHAILAND

INDONESIASINGAPORE

MALAYSIA...AND MORE





FROM SOHO TO NOHO


>60

52 SourcebookBangkok’s design talent in the spotlight.

BY JEREMY SNOWDEN

54 WalkExploring Imelda Marcos’s grand

architectural legacy. BY FLOYD WHALEY

56 Five WaysUnveiling the spectacular beauty of

Hawaii’s Kauai. BY BRIAN BERUSCH

57 Address BookInsider advice from top concierges in

New York, Moscow and Tokyo.

BY MICHAEL ENDELMAN

60 Shopping Top shops in California’s Napa and

Sonoma regions. BY JAMIE GROSS

62 Room ReportA deluxe property with a personal touch

in Singapore. BY HUI FANG

>75

Departments

16

ravel in Southeast Asia is booming, and with that boom comes

redevelopment, reinvention and rediscovery. Such is the case with Phnom Penh

(“Phnom Penh’s New Vibe,” page 118), where bars, bistros and boutique hotels

have recently sprung up—with more to come. At the same time, refugees from

Cambodia’s bloody past are returning to share in the prosperity. Not all the news is

good, though: concern has been raised about the impending destruction of much of

the city’s architectural heritage. Unfortunately, this is often the case. But

responsible development is essential for an area to fl ourish while retaining its

character as tourist numbers mushroom. At the same time, responsible tourism

that is managed in terms of its impact on the environment and communities—the

fates of which are intertwined—can be a real boon to a destination, with much-

needed money fl owing back into local economies. I feel strongly about sustainable

tourism; you’ll see this topic cropping up in future issues of T+L Southeast Asia.

Of course, some places are constantly reinventing themselves while retaining

much of their unique charm. Take, for example, Hong Kong, where the area

around Hollywood Road has undergone a radical transformation in recent years,

from a maze of dark backstreets and alleys to a hip hangout (“SoHo to NoHo,”

page 100). I hope that our guide to the area inspires your next trip to this most

cosmopolitan of metropolises, as it will mine.

Not a city person? Well, there’s no better time than Thailand’s cool season for a

trek up the Kingdom’s highest peak, Doi Inthanon (“Spirit in the Sky,” page 83).

And if you’re yearning for some seasonal snow and ice this month, our lavish

feature on Hokkaido in Japan (“The End of the Earth,” page 110) is certain to chill

you with its stark, wintry landscapes and tales of intrepid bear hunters and

desperate cannibals. Enjoy!—MATT LEPPARD

(Editor’s Note)01.08

TRAVEL + LEISURE EDITORS, WRITERS AND PHOTOGRAPHERS ARE THE INDUSTRY’S MOST RELIABLE SOURCES. WHILE ON ASSIGNMENT, THEY TRAVEL INCOGNITO WHENEVER

POSSIBLE AND DO NOT TAKE PRESS TRIPS OR ACCEPT FREE TRAVEL OF ANY KIND.

CH

EN

PO

VA

NO

NT

✉ E-MAIL T+L Send your letters to [email protected] and let

us know your thoughts on recent stories or new places to visit in Southeast Asia. Letters chosenmay be edited for clarity and space.

T

J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 8 | T R A V E L A N D L E I S U R E S E A . C O M

CHAIRMAN

PRESIDENT

PUBLISHING DIRECTOR

PUBLISHER

VICE PRESIDENT / ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGERS

CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

PRODUCTION MANAGER

PRODUCTION

GROUP CIRCULATION MANAGER

TRAVEL+LEISURE SOUTHEAST ASIAVOL. 2, ISSUE 1

Travel + Leisure Southeast Asia is published monthly by Media Transasia Limited, Room 1205-06, 12/F, Hollywood Centre, 233 Hollywood Road, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong. Tel: +852 2851-6963; Fax: +852 2851-1933; under license

from American Express Publishing Corporation, 1120 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10036, United States of America. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage or retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the Publisher. Produced and distributed by Media Transasia Thailand Ltd., 14th Floor, Ocean Tower II, 75/8 Soi Sukhumvit 19, Sukhumvit Road, Klongtoeynue, Wattana, Bangkok 10110, Thailand. Tel: +66 2 204-2370.

Printed by Comform Co., Ltd. (+66 2 368-2942–7). Color separation by Classic Scan Co., Ltd. (+66 2 291-7575).

J.S. Uberoi

Egasith Chotpakditrakul

Rasina Uberoi

Robert Fernhout

Lucas W. Krump

Michael K. Hirsch

Kin Kamarulzaman

Gaurav Kumar

Kanda Thanakornwongskul

Yupadee Sae-Bae

Supalak Krewsasaen

Arisa Kasempun

Porames Chinwongs

AMERICAN EXPRESS PUBLISHING CORPORATION

This edition is published by permission of

AMERICAN EXPRESS PUBLISHING CORPORATION

1120 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10036, United States of America.

Reproduction in whole or in part without the consent of the copyright owner is prohibited.

© Media Transasia Thailand Ltd. in respect of the published edition.

SUBSCRIPTIONSSubscription enquiries: www.travelandleisuresea.com/subscribe

Matt Leppard

Paul Ehrlich

Fah Sakharet

Jennifer Chen

Phil Macdonald

Ellie Brannan

Wannapha Nawayon

Napamon Roongwitoo

Wasinee Chantakorn

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

EDITOR-AT-LARGE

ART DIRECTOR

FEATURES EDITORS

DESIGNERS

ASSISTANT EDITOR

EDITORIAL ASSISTANT

THE WORLD’S LEADING TRAVEL ✚ LIFESTYLE

MAGAZINE

LUXURY + PHOTOGRAPHY + DESIGN&STYLE + DRIVING + AWARDS

FOOD&WINE + TECHNOLOGY

Travel changes everything

Ed Kelly

Mark V. Stanich

Nancy Novogrod

J.P. Kyrillos

Paul B. Francis

Cara S. David

Mark Orwoll

Thomas D. Storms

Lawrence Chesler

PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER

SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

VICE PRESIDENT, U.S. PUBLISHER

SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

SVP, STRATEGIC INSIGHTS, MARKETING & SALES

EXECUTIVE EDITOR, INTERNATIONAL

PUBLISHING DIRECTOR, INTERNATIONAL

OPERATIONS ASSOCIATE, INTERNATIONAL

LE

FT

CO

LU

MN

, F

RO

M T

OP

: A

HM

AD

DE

NY

SA

LM

AN

; C

OU

RT

ES

Y O

F J

AS

ON

TE

DJ

AS

UK

MA

NA

; C

OU

RT

ES

Y O

F J

IWA

FO

TO

.

RIG

HT

CO

LU

MN

, F

RO

M T

OP

: C

OU

RT

ES

Y O

F G

RA

HA

M U

DE

N;

CO

UR

TE

SY

OF

KA

Y J

OH

NS

ON

; C

OU

RT

ES

Y O

F I

AN

BU

RU

MA

; C

OU

RT

ES

Y O

F R

ON

GL

UC

KM

AN


(Contributors)01.08

W hen Jason Tedjasukmana

and Ahmad Deny Salman delved into the

Indonesian art world for “In the

Picture” (page 75), they were

struck by the buzz surrounding

local artists. “All of the gallery

owners are very hopeful that

Indonesian contemporary art will

break into the international

scene,” says Salman. The

American-born Tedjasukmana,

who is a budding collector himself,

urges art mavens to buy now,

before prices start ballooning.

“This is a great time to jump into

the market as there is something

for all tastes and budgets. Great

works can be had for reasonable

prices if you’re willing to do the

legwork,” he says. Tedjasukmana

is TIME’s correspondent in

Indonesia. Salman has been

published in The New York Times

and Marie Claire.

Kay Johnson is a Hanoi-based journalist who mostly

writes for TIME and has lived in Asia for 10 years.

Writing about tailoring tips in “The Perfect Fit” (page

72) allowed her to share the lessons she’s learned from a

decade of tailoring triumphs and failures. “Having

clothes made just for you is a lost art in most countries,”

she says. “It can end in disaster, but I like the feeling of

creativity to design my own styles instead of being at

the mercy of mass production.”

Ron Gluckman has been visiting Cambodia since

the early 1990’s, when gunfi re was common nightly

in Phnom Penh. So he’s happy to cover a different

kind of explosion in the capital for “Phnom Penh’s

New Vibe” (page 118), where he has been based since

2005. “This is easily one of Asia’s most under-rated

cities,” says the American journalist who has been

living in Asia since 1990. He contributes to T+L, The

Wall Street Journal, Popular Science and Geo.

To writer Ian Buruma, Hokkaido, Japan’s

northernmost island, is unlike any other part of the

nation (“The End of the Earth,” page 110). “It has a

New World feel—you won’t fi nd the country’s ancient

Buddhist temples there,” he says. Buruma, a

contributing editor for T+L, is a Henry Luce Professor

at Bard College, New York. His latest book is Murder in

Amsterdam: The Death of Theo van Gogh and the Limits of

Tolerance (Penguin).

British photographer Graham Uden has been based

in Hong Kong since 1992, but he’s always on the road.

It was a treat, then, to shoot “SoHo to NoHo” (page

100) at home. “It’s such an interesting and constantly

evolving area of Hong Kong,” he says. “Unfortunately,

like so many historical and interesting areas of Hong

Kong, the government is already planning to redevelop

most of it.” His work has appeared in Marie Claire, The

New York Times, Vanity Fair, Vogue and Wallpaper.Indonesia’s Art Beat From top: Statues at Nadi Gallery; Tedjasukmana; Salman.

Q: (Ask T+L)01.08

IF I WANTED TO TRAVEL

OVERLAND ACROSS

SOUTHEAST ASIA, WHICH

WOULD BE THE MOST

LOGICAL PLACE TO START

FROM AND WHY?

ILL

US

TR

AT

ED

BY

WA

SIN

EE

CH

AN

TA

KO

RN

A: Most travelers choose

Bangkok as a base for

overland trips in Southeast Asia

because of inexpensive fl ights and

general convenience. From here,

head north, then east into Laos,

Vietnam, Cambodia and back to

Bangkok before shifting south to

Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia.

Alternatively, starting from either

Bali or Hanoi will limit the need to

backtrack, but that tactic presents

problems such as the high cost of

one-way tickets. Find an airline that

fl ies to both these places and book in

advance. Either way, make sure to

pack plenty of patience and good

humor, keep your schedule open,

and give yourself lots of time.

✉ E-MAIL T+L SEND YOUR QUESTIONS TO [email protected]. QUESTIONS CHOSEN FOR PUBLICATION MAY BE EDITED FOR CLARITY AND SPACE.


—ANNE HYLAND, BANGKOK

What is the best way to get from Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport into the city? —PAUL WONG, SYDNEY

Decline offers from the army of taxi

touts in the arrivals hall, head outside

and you will fi nd taxi ranks at either

end of the terminal building. It’ll cost

around Bt350 (including a Bt50

surcharge, tollway fees and metered

fare) for a trip into the city center.

Airport Express buses leave every 15 to

20 minutes from 5 A.M. to midnight,

also from outside the arrivals hall.

There are four routes to various city

destinations and the fare is Bt150. The

fast and effi cient airport limousine

service is recommended. There are

booths in the arrivals hall. It costs

Bt1,000, and the vehicles are modern

and clean. The construction of a 28.6-

kilometer high-speed rail link—

connecting to the city’s SkyTrain and

MRT subway services—is expected to be

fi nished early this year.

If I’m traveling in Indonesia and find myself in a hotel during an earthquake, what should I do? —ALEXANDRA SMITH, HONG KONG

Dr. Wong Wing Tak, a seismologist at

the Hong Kong Observatory, says if

you’re inside and a quake hits, drop to

the fl oor and take cover (preferably

duck under a desk and grab onto its

legs), or stand fl at against an inside

wall—avoid windows and doors. “You

can’t outrun an earthquake and it’s very

dangerous to try,” he cautions. After the

main tremor and before the aftershocks

hit, Wong suggests making a quick

assessment of the building’s damage.

Has the ceiling buckled? Are there

major cracks along the wall? If the

answer is yes, get out quickly because

the building could collapse during the

aftershocks (don’t take the elevator).

Once outside, remember to steer clear

of buildings, trees and telephone wires.

And given Indonesia’s unfortunate

history with tsunamis, if your hotel is on

the beach, head for higher ground.

Are there any Asian airlines offering carbon emissions offset programs to address global warming? And are such programs effective? —WESLEY HSU, BANGKOK

According to the UN Intergovernmental

Panel on Climate Change, the aviation

industry pumps out 2 percent of global

CO2 emissions (compared to 5 percent

from the cement industry). Though the

total fi gures don’t seem high, for

individuals, fl ying is one of the most

carbon-emitting activities you can

engage in. A number of airlines in the

United States and Europe have

launched voluntary “carbon offset”

programs, whereby you can calculate

how much carbon you’re emitting

during a fl ight and buy carbon

credits—the money from which goes

into environmental programs. It is too

early to tell if these programs are

effective. As of press time, in Asia, only

Cathay Pacifi c, Dragon Airlines and

Malaysian Airlines are planning to

announce carbon offset plans. But if

you’re still keen to fl y green, Australian

airlines JetStar, Virgin Blue and Qantas

offer carbon offset options. ✚

MALAYSIA

Practice your swing

with the Weekday

Golf Challenge pack-

age at The Saujana

Kuala Lumpur (60-

3/7843-1234; www.

thesaujanahotel.com.

my). For US$635,

double, you’ll get two

nights’ accommoda-

tion; one massage;

one round of golf,

including buggy and

caddy; and lunch at

the Golfer’s Terrace,

all for a savings of

50 percent. Avail-

able through March

31 (not applicable

March 20–23). Ask

for the T+L exclusive.

Beat the post-holiday blues by taking a break. Here are a few great ideas■ INDONESIABusiness in Style package at the Alila Jakarta (62-

21/231-6008; www.alilahotels.com). What’s Included

Two nights’ accommodation; round-trip airport

transfer; 20 percent discount for selected treatments

at the hotel’s spa; and a 10 percent discount on

meals at the hotel’s restaurants. Cost US$180,

double, through December 28. Savings

Up to 40 percent.

Introductory offer at the Spa Village Resort Tembok

Bali (60-3/2783-1000; www.spavillage.com). What’s

Included One night free for every night booked

(minimum stay of two nights); three daily meals; and

one daily spa treatment per person. Cost US$400,

double, through March 31. Savings Up to 50 percent.

■ THAILANDExplorer package at the Indigo Pearl in Phuket (66-

76/327-006 or 66-76/327-015; www.indigo-pearl.com).

What’s Included Choice of two activities, including

a 60-minute massage, fi shing, Thai cooking class,

sea canoeing, Thai kickboxing class, yoga class or

snorkeling excursion to Phi Phi or Ko Kai islands.

Cost US$674, three nights, double, US$1,262,

seven nights, double, through April 1 (not

applicable from January 1–11).

Savings Up to 51 percent.

■ VIETNAMCaravelle Signature package at Ho Chi Minh

City’s Caravelle Hotel (84-8/823-4999; www.

caravellehotel.com). What’s Included Evening

cocktails; unlimited Internet use at the business

lounge; use of a private conference room for one

hour daily; and daily fruit basket and newspaper.

Cost US$235, double, through April 20.


■ HONG KONGFestive Holiday Getaway package at the Four

Seasons Hotel Hong Kong (852/3196-8888;

www.fourseasons.com). What’s Included Two

nights’ accommodation; HK$390 to HK$500

credit per night for food, beverages, spa

treatments and other services available at the

hotel; and special offers and gifts from stores at

the nearby IFC Mall. Cost HK$3,090, double,

through February 10. Savings 26 percent.

■ JAPANEveryday Escape package at The Ritz-Carlton,

Osaka (81-6/6343-7000; www.ritzcarlton.com).

What’s Included Reduced room rates for

weekday stays and daily breakfast. Cost Y37,000,

double, Sunday to Thursday, through March 31.


EXCLUSIVE TO T+L SOUTHEAST ASIA

READERS

(Best Deals)01.08

FR

OM

TO

P:

CO

UR

TE

SY

OF

IN

DIG

O P

EA

RL

; T

HE

SA

UJ

AN

A K

UA

LA

LU

MP

UR

The Indigo Pearl in Phuket.

The Saujana’s golf course.

24 J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 8 | T R A V E L A N D L E I S U R E S E A . C O M

THE WORLD’S LEADING TRAVEL AND LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE

A globally influential brand relied upon by more than 5 million readers each month. Now, T+L welcomes its newest member: TRAVEL + LEISURE SOUTHEAST ASIA

A MEDIA TRANSASIA PUBLICATION UNDER LICENSE FROM AMERICAN EXPRESS PUBLISHING CORPORATION.

DECEMBER 2007

25TOP HOTELSWORLDWIDE

REVIEWEDAND RATED

ASIA GUI DE

+Insider’s fashion

guide to New York

Paradise found insouthern Vietnam

Colonial chic: revival in Penang

YOUR ULTIMATE

SINGAPORE SG$6.90 ● HONG KONG HK$39THAILAND THB160 ● INDONESIA IDR45,000MALAYSIA MYR15 ● VIETNAM VND80,000MACAU MOP40 ● PHILIPPINES PHP220 BURMA MMK32 ● CAMBODIA KHR20,000 BRUNEI BND6.90 ● LAOS LAK48,000

LAUNCH ISSUE

Where to go, where to stay, what to doHong Kong SingaporeThailandBaliCambodiaPhilippines...and more

LUXURY � FASHION ��TECHNOLOGY � DRIVING ��DESIGN & STYLE ��PHOTOGRAPHY ��FOOD & WINE

USA

SOUTH ASIA

CHINAAUSTRALIATURKEY

MEXICO

SOUTHEAST ASIA

To subscribe log ontowww.travelandleisuresea.com/subscribe

For many travelers, snapping pictures is as essential as carrying a passport. Here are six tips from professional photographers that will

have you taking great photographs on your next trip. PLUS: The best easy-to-use cameras and hands-on workshops around the globe.

Edited by JENNIFER V. COLE and JENNIFER CHEN

Photography101

(Strategies) 01.08

T R A V E L A N D L E I S U R E S E A . C O M | J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 8 27

TIP 1: CATCH PEOPLE IN MOTION“I was photographing in Yunnan province in China where these

monks were streaming out of a monastery hall and into a courtyard. To capture their movement, I slowed the camera speed down and

shot this monk whirling around me.”—LU K E DU G G L E B Y

A native of York, England, Duggleby has been based in Bangkok for four years. His work has appeared in The Sunday Times Magazine, ESPN Magazine and GEO.

�

28

TIP 3: GET UP CLOSE“After asking permission, I try to create an intimacy and closeness with

my subject. The fi rst seconds are always the most spontaneous—sometimes the person is uncomfortable or tense—but after a few frames, he will usually regain composure and relax. All of these emotions come

through in the image.”—FR É D É R I C LAG R A N G E

Born in France, Lagrange is one of T+L’s inveterate contributors. Between trips to Mongolia (where he took this photo), Bhutan and Patagonia, he resides in New York.

DIGITAL DOWNLOAD: HOW TO POINT AND SHOOT

ASK AN EXPERT

Howard Goldstein, vice president of the Center for Digital Imaging in New York (www.cdiny.com), shares 10 tips for capturing the best photos with your digital camera.

� Take a lot of pictures — digital is free. Often the best image is the one you didn’t plan for.

� Carry an extra battery and your charger with you; the LCD screens of digital cameras use a lot of battery power. If traveling to other countries, you may need a plug adapter, not a converter, to recharge.

� Avoid using red-eye reduction; it gives your subject time to squint, and it often doesn’t work. � Before you buy, try out the camera in a store. The sales staff will be able to walk you through the features — it’s a free one-on-one tutorial.

� Use the highest resolution possible. You can always make smaller-size fi les, but you compromise image quality when you try to enlarge low-resolution pictures.

� Switch to macro mode (a close-up setting for small images, usually depicted by a fl ower on your camera) when zooming in.

� Back up images from your memory cards; external hard drives and photo-sharing websites are great options for storing your favorite photos.

� Use a sharpening fi lter (built into programs like Adobe Photoshop and Elements) to enhance image details when you work with them on your computer. Digital images always need some sharpening to look their best.

� Set your ISO (the measure of the fi lm’s sensitivity to light) to a higher setting when taking pictures in low light.

� Once you’ve mastered the automatic features of your camera, don’t be afraid to experiment with the manual exposure to set the lens opening and shutter speed (you can get dramatic results by playing with focus and light).

TIP 2: TRY LOW LIGHT“This picture was taken during a storm in Bangkok—camera on a tripod with a 30-second exposure. The long exposure gives you a lot more detail of

the scenery ... At the same time your chances of capturing a fl ash of lightning increase the

longer your exposure is.”—JO S E F PO L L E RO S S

Bangkok-based Polleross hails from Austria. His work has been

published in The New York Times, Stern, Paris Match and TIME.

�

�


photography 101| strategies

TIP 4: PAY ATTENTION TO

SCALE“In my photograph

of the Bayon temple in Cambodia, I used scale in three ways: fi rst, by aiming the camera down, I brought out the size of the stone head.

Second, by shooting from above, the

elements from the foreground to the background were

spread out across the image. Finally, I had

a person in the scene.”—JO C K

MO N TG O M E RY

Jock Montgomery, originally from the

United States, has been based in Kathmandu and Bangkok for the past 24

years. His work has appeared in National

Geographic Adventure, Outside and TIME Asia.

�

TIP 5: FIND AN UNUSUAL VANTAGE POINT

“This photograph was taken from a pedestrianbridge looking down Des Voeux Road in

Hong Kong. The higher vantage point allowsa view of the tramway and pedestrians as wellas giving a more dramatic perspective down

the canyon-like street.”—CH R I S TO P H E R WI S E

American photographer Wise once ran his own graphic design agency in New York City, but his life

changed course after a month-long holiday in Vietnam. A resident of Bangkok, he has shot for T+L,

Gourmet and Men’s Vogue.

�

�


TIP 6: LOOK FOR HUMOR“Without the boy taking a picture of his

mother it would have been a beautiful shot of Railey Beach in Krabi. But the young

photographer snapping away adds humor. It’s actually my wife and son. They like to

take pictures. It was not a set-up shot.”—JO S E F PO L L E RO S S

30

T+L Camera GuideHow do you choose the digital camera that’s right for you? T+L put

nearly 30 models to the test. Below are our picks of the ideal cameras, from the fuss-free ultracompact to the professional-

level DSLR and a retro-inspired classic. Happy shooting!

Beautifully designed point-and-shoot that also has manual settings; the easiest of the group to use with one hand; special eBay mode for taking auction-site photos

Short battery life (about 200 still images); no optical viewfi nder, so you have to use the LCD screen to frame the photo (which can be hard in bright sunshine); tiny buttons

So small and handy, you’ll reach for this camera again and again; works well indoors and out; easy to use right out of the box

Big 3-inch screen makes it easy to look at photos with a group of people; excellent Carl Zeiss lens ensures sharp pictures in bright light — for example, on a day at the beach

Screen takes up most of the back, so Sony put most of the buttons on it (beware of messy fi ngerprints); no optical viewfi nder; a little slow indoors and in low light

This point-and-shoot is compact and convenient. With 25 megabytes of internal memory, you don’t need a memory card to get started

Incredibly rugged: water-, freeze-, crush-, and shockproof ; has a built-in nanometer for recording diving depths; lens remains fl ush with the body when turned on, making it very streamlined

Having two lenses means this camera can go from zoomed-in detail shots to unbelievably wide ones; sharp colors ; nifty panorama capability enables you to merge three shots; great for groups, parties, and landscapes; inexpensive

This 10-megapixel camera has more power than most point-and-shoots. Lots of manual functions allow photo buffs to override automatic settings

Smaller screen than other ultracompacts; no optical viewfi nder — a problem on bright, sunny days

No optical viewfi nder; some distortion on the edges of images when lens is used at its widest

No optical viewfi nder; delayed action, especially in low light; costs a little more than many point-and-shoots

A logical step up from an ultracompact, this camera is packed with professional-level features but still fi ts into a pocket

Easyshare lives up to its name, with by far the best “getting started” instructions of all the cameras tested; great for vistas and panoramas, such as sunsets at Angkor Wat

When they say water- and shockproof , they mean it! This is the total road warrior’s camera — perfect for that trip to Mount Kilimanjaro or for tackling the rapids on the Nantahala River

STYLISHCasio Exilim EX-S770

ULTRACOMPACTSony Cybershot DSC-N2

RUGGEDOlympus Stylus 770 SW

WIDE-ANGLEKodak Easyshare V705

ALL-AROUNDPanasonic Lumix LX2

7.1 mp; 3x optical, 5x digital zoom; 2.5” LCD screen; 155 g. www.olympus.com; US$380

10.1 mp; 3x optical, 2x digital zoom; 3” LCD screen; 155 g. www.sony.com; US$350

7.2 mp; 3x optical zoom; 2.8” LCD screen; 127 g. exilim.casio.com; US$300

7.1 mp ; 5x optical, 4x digital zoom; 2.5” LCD screen; 125 g. www.kodak.com; US$350

10.2 mp; 4x optical zoom with 33 mm focal length; 2.8” LCD screen; 185 g. www.panasonic.com; US$500

DA

VIE

S +

ST

AR

R

SPECS PROS CONSCAMERA SUMMARY


According to legendary photographer Ansel Adams, “You don’t take a photograph; you make it.” These globe-spanning expeditions and workshops can teach you how to make your best pictures.

INDIALondon-based outfi t Gecko Workshops (www.geckoworkshops.co.uk; from £1,950) offers numerous tours for shutterbugs in India, from the lushly tropical southern state of Kerala to the austere Himalayan foothills of Ladakh in the country’s north. Travelers can pick programs of varying intensity; the leisurely paced tours usually run for 12 days and include yoga classes while

more avid amateurs can sign up for the year-long course.

PARIS Travelers are familiar with famous Parisian landmarks; Carole Deviller’s Adventure Photo Expeditions (www.adventurephotoexpeditions.com; from US$2,650, per person, double) presents the city in a new light. Deviller leads participants on a nine-day tour of the city’s unusual or overlooked sights, such as the Père Lachaise Cemetery, the Roman Arènes de Lutèce and Islamic architecture in the Latin Quarter.

CHINA Joseph Van Os Photo Safaris takes participants on a 19-day

journey through western China (www.photosafaris.com; US$7,945 per person, double; departs on September 8, 2008). Guided by outdoor photographer James Martin, the group explores majestic Tibetan Buddhist monasteries, glaciers and mountains in remote areas of Yunnan province and Tibet. A major highlight of the journey is a visit to Mount Everest Base Camp.

GRAND CANYON Along the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park, Off the Beaten Path (www.offthebeatenpath.com; from US$80) leads a three-hour excursion, taking participants to Desert View and Grandview Point — the best locations for

capturing sunrise and sunset photos of the canyon. Twice a day, an hour before dawn and an hour before dusk, a tour leaves from the National Geographic Visitor Center in Tusayan. Group leaders will provide water, hats and hiking poles — though not cameras.

VIETNAM California-based photographer Michael Matlach (www.michaelmatlach.com; US$4,671 per person, double) leads a 14-day trip to Vietnam every year. Starting in Ho Chi Minh City, the tour stops at some of the country’s most famously picturesque spots such as Halong Bay, Sapa and Hoi An. Each day ends with a review of participants’ shots.

PHOTO EXPEDITIONS AND TOURS

photography 101| strategies

SPECS PROS CONSCAMERA SUMMARY

An affordable introduction to digital single-lens refl ex (DSLR) cameras; switching from auto to manual is very easy; logical interface; vivid colors; bright screen for viewing photos

Though compact for a DSLR, this camera will not fi t into any pocket; only 6.1 megapixels means poorer image quality than others in its category

Ideal for someone who wants to graduate from point-and-shoot to DSLR; shares lenses with the Nikon D200 if you want to upgrade eventually to a more serious camera

Every click and button on this behemoth is thoughtfully placed for those who make their living taking pictures and can’t afford to miss a shot. Convenient vertical grip with an extra shutter button

This understated, quiet camera will appeal to those who learned 35 mm photography and are slow to get on the digital bandwagon

Weighing more than a kilogram and priced at US$4,000, this model is not for the weekend photographer; lenses (US$200–US$4,000) and camera body (US$4,000) come separately as well

The price. Turns out you pay a lot for the vintage feel and fewer features ; must know basics of photography to use; no auto focus; non-zooming lens; rangefi nder takes some getting used to

It’s back to the future with this retro-inspired digital camera. The M8 lives up to Leica’s excellent reputation among photographers — and its cult following. Try it out at a camera shop before buying

A pleasure to test, this camera is worth the splurge for those who want some serious power and speed. It was easily the fastest one we tested

ENTRY-LEVEL DSLRNikon D40

PRO-LEVEL DSLRCanon EOS 1D Mark II N

6.1 mp; 3x optical zoom; 2.5” LCD screen; 453 g. www. nikon.com; US$600

8.2 mp; 10–600 mm lens length; 2.5” LCD screen; 1.2 kg. www.canon.com; US$4,000

10.3 mp; 35 mm lens length ; 2.5” LCD screen; 544 g. www.leica.com; US$4,800

UPDATED CLASSICLeica M8


DA

VIE

S +

ST

AR

R

NOW IN SOUTHEAST ASIAJANUARY 2008

+


CAMBODIATHAILAND

INDONESIASINGAPORE

MALAYSIA...AND MORE





FROM SOHO TO NOHO


INDULGE YOURSELF

THE WORLD’S LEADING TRAVEL MAGAZINEwww.travelandleisuresea.com/subscribe

(Insider)

Singapore’s chicest street . Your guide to the best spots on Haji Lane <(page 46)

Vibrant Vientiane . An expert’s smart address book to the Laotian capital <(page 47)

Perfect paradise: kick back on two unspoiled Thai islands<(page 42)

Culinary arts: five great museum

restaurants in Paris

(page 44) >

+ • Head for the hills in West Java

• Organic food in Southeast Asia

• California’s wine country

Where to GoWhat to EatWhere to StayWhat to Buy

CL

OC

KW

ISE

FR

OM

TO

P L

EF

T:

LE

ISA

TY

LE

R;

CH

RIS

TO

PH

ER

WIS

E;

JA

SO

N M

ICH

AE

L L

AN

G;

SIN

AR

TU

S S

OS

RO

DJ

OJ

O;

JE

AN

-MA

RIE

DE

L M

OR

AL

Calling all manga and anime fans. Takashi Murakami is frequently called Japan’s answer

to Andy Warhol, Jeff Koons and just about any

famous artist who freely mixes pop culture with

art. Somehow, those comparisons fail to capture

just how big Murakami is in his homeland—or

how much he’s blurred the lines between art and

commerce. The founder of the Superfl at art

movement, Murakami is essentially a one-man

industry, churning out books, postcards and plush

dolls of his whimsical characters. He’s even designed

a wildly popular line of handbags and accessories

for Louis Vuitton, featuring a rainbow-colored—and

much copied—logo. If there were any remaining

doubts about the art establishment’s acceptance of

his work and ethos, the Murakami retrospective at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) in Los Angeles (The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA, Los Angeles; 152

North Central Ave.; 1-213/621-1741), which ends February 11, should put them to rest.

The exhibition contains more than 90 paintings, sculptures, installations and fi lms

by Murakami. True to his embrace of commerce, a shop stocked with Murakami’s

Louis Vuitton bags is located smack in the middle of the show.

34

Mr. DOB, artist Takashi Murakami’s most famous character, left (© 2001 Takashi Murakami).

FR

OM

TO

P:

CO

UR

TE

SY

OF

GA

LE

RIE

EM

MA

NU

EL

PE

RR

OT

IN,

PA

RIS

AN

D M

IAM

I; C

OU

RT

ES

Y O

F J

EN

NIF

ER

CH

EN

; C

OU

RT

ES

Y O

F S

PA

SS

O

insider | newsfl ash


Japan’s Pop Master

ULTIMATE ALFRESCO Forget red-checked tablecloths and candles

stuffed into empty Chianti bottles. Hong Kong’s newest Italian eatery,

Spasso (4th fl oor, No. 403, Ocean Centre, Harbour City; 852/2730-

8027, dinner for two HK$870), pays as much attention to the décor as to the food. It also has the setting

to beat: sweeping views of Victoria Harbor from its 214-square-meter terrace. Spasso’s food is nothing to sniff at either, with offerings

such as pillowy ravioli stuffed with Wagyu beef cheeks and doused in

a Barolo-infused sauce.

E A T

Spasso’s dining room. Above: Harborside dining on the terrace.

Superflat Jellyfish Eyes 1 (right) and Superflat Jellyfish Eyes 2 (© 2003 Takashi Murakami).

A R T

LE

FT

CO

LU

MN

: C

OU

RT

ES

Y O

F T

HE

MA

JE

ST

IC B

AR

. R

IGH

T C

OL

UM

N:

CO

UR

TE

SY

OF

TH

E H

ON

G K

ON

G D

ES

IGN

CE

NT

RE

(4

)

36



With Shanghai and Beijing quickly emerging as centers of creativity in

Asia, the Hong Kong Design Centre (www.hkdesigncentre.org)

—a government-funded, not-for-profi t organization that promotes local

design—thought it was time that the world be reminded of the city’s

treasure trove of talented fashion, furniture and industrial designers. So

last year, it paired 10 prominent Hong Kong–bred designers, including

Vivienne Tam and Barney Cheng, with 10 international design houses

such as Salvatore Ferragamo, Alessi and Georg Jensen, and

tasked them with creating goods that capture Hong Kong’s unique mix

of Chinese traditions and modern-day urban grit. The fruits of these

collaborations—under the banner Creation 9707 (in a nod to the 10th

anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to mainland China)—were unveiled

last December and limited editions are on sale now in Hong Kong,

Beijing and Shanghai, as well as selected cities in Europe and Japan.

Anita Tsang, the director of Creation 9707, says the project’s mission

was more than accomplished: “These designs capture the essence of

Chinese culture, but they’re also very contemporary and worldly, which

I think is very Hong Kong.” We personally covet graphic designer Alan

Chan’s striking scarves for Ferragamo, Lo Kai-yin’s lushly patterned shawl

for Shanghai Tang and Kan Tai-keung’s elegant tableware for Royal Copenhagen. For those drawn to more concept-driven design, consider

architect Gary Chang’s project with Alessi: a suitcase that contains rooms

(bedroom, bathroom—you get the idea) done in miniature—a tongue-in-

cheek allusion to Hong Kong’s notoriously cramped living quarters.

Plenty of bars in Singapore tout their

slick design and creative cocktails, but the

Majestic Bar (41 Bukit Pasoh Rd.; 65/6534-

8800) is probably the only one that can

boast avant-garde art installations. Located

in an 80-year-old shophouse, the bar’s pink façade belies its

otherworldly interiors, which were inspired

by a fi cus tree that had sprouted in the back.

The tree is gone, but in its place is a stunning, one-of-a-kind space.

Lest you forget you’re in a bar, order one of the signature drinks, like the Kampong Glam, a concoction of dark

rum, advocaat and banana.

High Style in Hong Kong

FASHION

ART ON THE MENU

A F T E RD A R K

Designer Alan Chan. Top right: Chan’s scarves. Bottom right: Barney Cheng.

Moody interiors at the Majestic Bar.

38

Organic Dining in Asia Clockwise from top: Inside Bangkok’s Tamarind Café; stacks of goodness at Tamarind; Mezza9’s salad with free-range eggs.

CL

OC

KW

ISE

FR

OM

TO

P:

CO

UR

TE

SY

OF

TA

MA

RIN

D C

AF

É (

2)

; C

OU

RT

ES

Y O

F M

EZ

ZA

9



Wary of eating pesticide- and hormone-

laced food? You’re not alone. Organic

food is fi nally seeping into the

mainstream in Asia. Fueled by rising

alarm about food safety and the

environment, green markets devoted to

selling chemical-free meat and produce

are cropping up all over the region.

Restaurants are also starting to embrace

the back-to-the-land philosophy, albeit

slowly. “The transition is starting to

happen (in Asia) ... but there’s still this

perception that organic means health

food rather than something that simply

tastes really, really good,” says Tony

Chettle, the founder of Bunalun, a high-

end organic food purveyor in Singapore’s

Holland Village. Here are some of the

best places in Asia to dine on food that is

kind to the earth and yourself. Note:

these eateries dish up sophistication along

with their healthy cuisine.

Green Grazing

T R E N D

Mezza9, Singapore

This long-time favorite

now offers organic options.

With an emphasis on

seasonality, the menu—

which features grass-fed

Australian beef and

European vegetables—

changes up to four times

a week. Save room for

dessert: the homemade

organic ice cream nearly

steals the show. The Grand

Hyatt Singapore; 10 Scotts

Rd.; 65/6738-1234; www.

restaurants.singapore.hyatt.com.

ThreeSixty, Hong Kong

Opened in 2006,

ThreeSixty is a 2,140-

square-meter food lover’s

paradise that includes

a grocery store and a

library focusing on books

about health. The store’s

centerpiece is a food hall

where diners can choose

from a dizzying array of

earth-friendly fare from

brick-oven pizzas to sushi.

The Landmark; 12–16 Des

Voeux Rd.; 852/2111-

4488; www.threesixtyhk.com.

Still Waters, Kuala Lumpur

This fusion restaurant

in one of the city’s most

stylish hotels began

adding locally sourced

ingredients to its menu

more than two years ago.

Executive Chef Izzat Lee

says he developed a taste

for organic food while

working in Switzerland.

“It tastes more natural,

like it should taste,” he

says. Hotel Maya; 138 Jln.

Ampang; 60-3/2711-8866;

www.hotelmaya.com.my.

Tamarind Café, Bangkok

Meatless and proud of it,

this serene, airy spot amid

the hustle and bustle of

Sukhumvit Road devotes

an entire page of its

expansive menu to organic

offerings. It also doubles

as a gallery showcasing

contemporary art, so you

can nourish your soul as

well as your body.

27/1 Soi 20, Sukhumvit Rd.;

66-2/663-7421; www.

tamarind-cafe.com.

—J E N N I F E R C H E N


■ THE MARINA MANDARIN, SINGAPOREThe Experience Meet an artist

inside the comfort of your hotel. The

Marina Mandarin Singapore is the

fi rst and only fi ve-star hotel in

Southeast Asia to offer an artist-in-

residence program aimed at

supporting Asian artistic talent.

The Lowdown For six months, the

hotel provides the resident a studio on

the fourth fl oor (across from check-in,

near the row of shops) to showcase his

or her work. Guests are encouraged to

wander in and observe the creative

process fi rst-hand during certain

weekday and weekend afternoons.

“Several guests sit for hours to watch

me draw,” says Joshua Yang, one of

the past residents. Guests enjoy

discussing art in an informal space,

without afi cionado intimidation, says

Yang, whose artwork includes looping

lines drawn with black ink on plain

white paper. “I’ve had someone ask

me how many pens I use [in my art],”

he adds. The answer? Three. 6 Raffl es

Blvd., Marina Sq.; 65/6845-1000; www.

marina-mandarin.com.sg; doubles from

US$345; artist interaction is free.

■ JW MARRIOTT PHUKET RESORT & SPA, THAILANDThe Experience To help keep its

youngest guests busy and entertained,

the JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa

Beyond Room Service. Weary of wine tastings and cooking classes? These four Southeast Asian hotels go the distance to offer their guests special experiences that are worth getting excited about. By SANA BUTLER

FR

OM

TO

P:

CO

UR

TE

SY

OF

JW

MA

RR

IOT

T P

HU

KE

T R

ES

OR

T &

SP

A;

INT

ER

CO

NT

INE

NT

AL

BA

LI

RE

SO

RT

; T

HE

MA

RIN

A M

AN

DA

RIN

SIN

GA

PO

RE

insider | check-in

Holiday Memories Clockwise from left: Circus training at the JW Marriott Phuket; artist Joshua Yang at work in The Marina Mandarin Singapore; the InterContinental Bali Resort.

launched in 2006 a circus training

program for children run by a real

circus crew from the United States.

The Lowdown Open to children

between the ages of four and 12, the

daily program consists of one hour of

training in the morning between 10

A.M. and 11 A.M. Junior can sign up to

learn essential big-top skills such as

trapeze swinging, tumbling, clowning,

juggling and forming a human

pyramid. Class size is determined by

the trainer, but no one is ever turned

away. Advance booking is required.

There are also daily rehearsals in the

afternoon for two to three hours in

preparation for a grand fi nale

performed for parents held on Friday

nights. Any child who has taken lessons

for three consecutive days can take part

in the show. Moo 3, Mai Khao, Talang;

66-76/338-000; www.jwmarriottphuket.

com; doubles from US$242; classes from

US$26 an hour per child.

■ INTERCONTINENTAL BALI RESORT, INDONESIAThe Experience Cultural

performances are run-of-the-mill in

Bali’s hotel scene. But at the

InterContinental Bali Resort, you can

be the performer—rather than just the

spectator—thanks to a raft of lessons

devoted to the island’s vibrant

cultural traditions.

The Lowdown Want to

learn how to move your

hips with the sinuous

grace of a Balinese

dancer? Then try your

hand at ancient dance

moves Monday and

Saturday afternoons

between 2 P.M. and 3 P.M.

and absorb step-by-step

instructions on how to

fl utter your fi ngertips like

a butterfl y. Other favorite

classes include semedi, or

Balinese meditation, on

Saturday mornings at 8

A.M. and bayu suci, a mix

of Balinese self-defense

and tai chi that’s taught every Sunday

and Thursday morning. Confi rm the

day before with the concierge. 45 Jln.

Uluwatu, Jimbaran Bay, Denpasar; 62-

361/701-888; www.bali.intercontinental.

com; doubles from US$131; all lessons

are free.

■ THE PENINSULA BANGKOKThe Experience Any chef worth his

mettle will tell you that presentation is

as important as what’s on the plate.

Break away from the pack of Martha

Stewart acolytes and learn how to

decorate your table Thai-style at

The Peninsula Bangkok.

The Lowdown The Peninsula

Academy offers a cornucopia of

lessons focused on Thai culture,

including vegetable and fruit carving,

an ancient art once practiced by

women of the royal household, and

fl ower arranging. Learn how to

transform watermelons into roses and

onions into chrysanthemums. Or don

an apron, grab some pruning shears

and have a go at fresh fl owers from

Bangkok’s famous Pak Khlong Talat

fl ower market at the academy’s half-

day fl ower-arranging class. 333

Charoennakorn Rd., Bangkok; 66-2/861-

2888; www.bangkok.peninsula.com; doubles

from US$280; fruit and vegetable carving

US$100 per person for three hours; fl ower

arranging US$130 per person. ✚

41

Learning in ParadiseAbove: The JW Marriott Phuket's pool. Left: A staff member arranging fl owers at The Peninsula Bangkok.

FR

OM

TO

P:

CO

UR

TE

SY

OF

JW

MA

RR

IOT

T P

HU

KE

T R

ES

OR

T &

SP

A (

2)

; T

HE

PE

NIN

SU

LA

BA

NG

KO

K

The reception area of the spa at the JW Marriott Phuket.

42

insider | escape

■ WHERE TO STAY Ko Hai, also known as

Ko Ngai, has no roads, no addresses, no stores

and no ATM’s, but it does have four worthy

resort-hotels right on the warm sand. The most

tasteful are basic—the rooms have air-

conditioning, small refrigerators and bathrooms

whose showers are open to the sky. Spend a

night at Coco Cottage (66-7/522-4387; www.coco-

cottage.com; doubles from US$46 ) in an eco-friendly

wooden bungalow or at Thapwarin Resort (66-

7/521-8153; www.thapwarin.com; doubles from

US$70), where interior walls of woven rattan,

vertically striped bamboo exteriors and coconut

roofs (like shaggy toupees) give an immediate

frisson of aesthetic pleasure. Koh Hai Fantasy

Resort (66-2/316-3577; www.kohhai.com; doubles

from US$58) has a maze of cottages with small

gardens and ponds (occasionally loud with

frogs), a candlelit spa, a large tiled swimming

pool, with an adjacent snack bar, and a staff

that coordinates numerous boat and scuba

trips. Another option is the larger Koh Ngai

Resort (66-7/520-6924; www.kohngairesort.com;

doubles from US$44), with modern cottages on

the beach and older apartments in

contemporary wooden Thai houses, plus a

patently perfect crescent cove of beach, though

it is a bit isolated (a 20-minute walk to the other

resorts). On Ko Muk, a more remote island 30

minutes away by boat, the Koh Mook Sivalai (66-

89/723-3355; www.komooksivalai.com; doubles from

US$190) sits on a long spit of beach; rooms have

clean lines, glass doors and beds that look out

over the azure sea.

Spice Islands. Looking for an affordable getaway? Ko Hai and Ko Muk, two tiny islands in the Andaman Sea, offer secluded coves, private beaches and a coastline filled with marine life. By KEN CHOWDER

Photographed by JASON MICHAEL LANG

Tropical Twist A long-tail boat arrives at Ko Hai. Clockwise from left: The restaurant at Sivalai Hotel, on Ko Muk; the day’s trips at Thapwarin Resort, on Ko Hai; the spa at Thapwarin Resort; the view from Pak Meng pier.

THAILAND

GETTING THEREFrom Bangkok,

take a 90-minute flight on Nok Air to Trang; from

there, a van service makes the 45-minute journey to Pak

Meng pier, where hotel staff picks

up guests for the 20-minute

speedboat trip to the beach. Hotels can also arrange transportation

from Krabi, where flights from Bangkok

arrive daily.

✈

DON’T MISSSave time for a daylong

side trip; snorkeling excursions to Ko Rok

(an hour away by speedboat) can be

arranged at any of the resorts. There, crystal-

clear waters contain pink, blue and green

coral gardens teeming with wildlife: longfin

bannerfish, black and white clown fish (just like Nemo) with neon-yellow stripes, parrot

fish clothed in a spectrum of garish electric colors, and

emperor angelfish with painted lips. Picnic on beaches with sand as white and powdery as sugar, while 1.5-meter-

long monitor lizards with sharp-ridged tails lumber about, hoping

for a handout.

Beach ViewsLeft: Rain forest lines the coast at Had Farang, on Ko Muk. Below: One of Thapwarin Resort’s eight beachfront bungalows.

43T R A V E L A N D L E I S U R E S E A . C O M | J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 8

■ WHERE TO EAT Food-wise, Thailand is

the Italy of Asia: the possibility of getting bad

Thai food on Ko Hai is genuinely unlikely.

The only stand-alone restaurant on the island

is a funky and nameless barbecued-fish spot a

few minutes’ walk north on the beach from

Koh Hai Fantasy Resort. It’s a must, however,

as it offers crusted whole snapper (of the-one-

that-got-away size). Pair the shockingly hot

small Thai chilis with a cold Singha beer. At

Koh Ngai Resort, choose the creamy

massaman curry with cinnamon and

cardamom. Order the country’s ubiquitous som

tam (a salad of shredded green papaya, carrots,

peanuts and baby shrimp, zinging with strong-

guy chili-lime dressing) at Koh Hai Fantasy,

then let the staff grill up whatever they’ve

caught that day—it could be barracuda.

■ WHAT TO DO The beach is the biggest

attraction on Ko Hai, as the island and the sea

beyond are protected by the government (the

215-square-kilometer region is a national

marine park and is home to more than 100

species of coral fish). Reefs ring the island,

which makes for astonishing snorkeling: an

excursion on a long-tailed boat to Emerald Cave

on Ko Muk is mandatory. Swim through the

80-meter-long cave (really a tunnel), plunge

briefly into primal darkness, and emerge,

suddenly reborn, on a perfect small sandy

beach surrounded by impressive cliffs

sprouting jungle vegetation. Arrange a full-day

scuba trip in deep water with Rainbow Divers

(www.rainbow-diver.com; full-day trips from US$33)

to spot sea tortoises, whale sharks and sea

horses. After a morning in the Andaman, opt

for a Thai massage under the palms at

Thapwarin Resort. Later, try to spot a long-

billed hornbill (hint: look toward the coconut

palm trees around the swimming pool of Koh

Ngai Resort). But the best option may be to do

nothing at all: find a place on the beach and

relish the vista of islands—their vertical

rock cliffs like limestone candles pop straight

out of the sea. �

44

MUSÉE DU QUAI BRANLYPoised like a giant wood-and-metal

tortoise on the roof of Paris’s newest

museum, Les Ombres (27 Quai Branly,

Seventh Arr.; 33-1/47-53-68-00; dinner for

two US$190), is about as related to an

old-fashioned museum cafeteria as the

International Space Station is to a split-

level ranch. Architect Jean Nouvel

named it for the shadows (les ombres)

cast by the Eiffel Tower, which looms

extravagantly close. And although the

usual vehement Parisian arguments

have broken out over the museum’s

radical architecture and approach to

exhibitions, the new restaurant is a

sensational success. Chef Arno Busquet

spent more than a decade with Joël

Robuchon before opening Les

Ombres. His ingenious cuisine samples

Oceania, Asia and the Americas, but

“fusion” seems a banal way to describe

such felicitous encounters as Angus

beef roasted with Chinese truffles, a

lemongrass-infused mullet served with

steamed seaweed, or apricots and wild

thyme roasted in honey. Lunch will

cost you less, but a late dinner is

spectacle time: starting at 10 P.M., the

Eiffel Tower twinkles for the first 10

minutes of every hour—apparently

just for you.

MUSÉE D’ORSAYThere is no more sumptuous Belle

Époque dining room in all of Paris

than the restaurant of the Musée

d’Orsay (1 Rue de Bellechasse, Seventh Arr.;

33-1/45-49-42-33; lunch for two US$40),

overlooking the Seine and the Right

Bank. The frescoed ceiling alone is

worth the visit. You can imagine

Marcel Proust and his friends sitting

here (when it was the ballroom of the

hotel adjoining the Orsay train station),

gossiping about the rebels not yet

known as the Impressionists, whose

work now hangs in the museum. The

recently renovated kitchen specializes

Paris Museum Restaurants. Art is on the plate at five top spots where the views are as fine as the food and you can keep the security guards up late. By MARCELLE CLEMENTS


insider | eat

Photographed by JEAN-MARIE DEL MORAL

FRANCE

Art and EntréesClockwise from far left: Les Ombres chef Arno Busquet; the Belle Epoque dining room at the Musée d’Orsay; king crab in tom yum at Le Georges at the Centre Pompidou; Le Georges’s dining room, designed by Jakob + MacFarlane.


in simplified versions of traditional

cuisine—grilled sea bream fillet or

duck-and-peach supreme served with

gratin dauphinois. The two-course prix

fixe lunch is a bargain at only US$20.

PALAIS DE TOKYOThe glam-funk fashion-and-design-

crowd mecca Tokyo Eat (13 Ave. du

Président-Wilson, 16th Arr.; 33-1/47-20-

00-29; dinner for two US$136) flaunts the

zanier side of French style—as befits

Paris’s most avant-garde museum. The

big noisy dining room is lit by huge

pink spheres flashing in time to the

booming music. Forget quiet

conversation and focus on food that

gets away with being self-consciously

outré, as in a minestrone of sardines.

The service careens between

imaginatively rude and downright

friendly. Visit the huge Deco terrace if

you need a new favorite place to while

away an hour or so.

CENTRE POMPIDOUA bubble-encased escalator rising up

the façade of the great arts complex lets

you off at the roof and a dazzling 360-

degree view. The other visual feast here

is the vast, playful restaurant Le

Georges (Place Georges Pompidou, Fourth

Arr.; 33-1/44-78-47-99; dinner for two

US$191), designed by Jakob +

MacFarlane and long frequented by

the art world beau monde. The staff is

rumored to be chosen for their looks

(waitresses in tiny dresses carry order

pads in saucy little shoulder bags;

winsome waiters wear well-cut suits

and ties). Undulating aluminum

interior structures (amoebas or molars,

depending on your mood) lead to both

the kitchen and the coat check. Fans of

new wave cuisine will love such dishes

as le tigre qui pleure (grilled beef strips

marinated in Asian spices), and crab

and mushroom mille-feuilles. Or come

for a drink at sunset, when the rooftop

shines golden, and everyone and

everything looks enchanting.

MUSÉE DU LOUVRECafé Marly is scene-ier, with its

coveted tables overlooking the majestic

Richelieu courtyard and the Pei

pyramid, but Le Grand Louvre (34 Quai

du Louvre, First Arr.; 33-1/40-20-53-41;

dinner for two US$136), below the

pyramid, remains cushy and quiet. It

serves reliable, expensive haute cuisine

with contemporary touches: foie gras

with orange marmalade; loin of lamb

roasted in a tea-and-cumin infusion.

On Sunday mornings, chef Yves

Pinard offers an elaborate ambigu—the

18th-century French predecessor of the

English brunch. ✚

Paris OeuvresClockwise from left: Tokyo Eat, at the Palais de Tokyo; the Musée d’Orsay entrance; monkfi sh with a coriander vinaigrette at Les Ombres; a Tokyo Eat waiter; the Eiffel Tower as seen from Les Ombres at the Musée du Quai Branly.


insider | walk this block

Singapore. Tucked inside the Kampong Glam neighborhood,Haji Lane might seem like an unassuming place at first glance. But don’t be fooled. This side street has become one of the city’s most happening spots. Story and photographs by LEISA TYLER

4. Salad

1. Pluck

2. Altazzag

Despite its name, Salad (25–27 Haji Lane; 65/6299-5805) isn’t exactly awash in the color green. In fact, this boutique focuses on household items in primarily two shades: black and white. Pick up some paisley-print cushion covers or, for the more whimsical, stone statues of yogis performing various poses.

Soon Lee (56 Haji Lane; 65/6297-0198) stocks a mix of eclectic clothes—from avant-garde to demure—hand-picked by owners Sharon Cher and Tay Wei-loong on their trips to Thailand, South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong. Wander upstairs and gaze out of the window for some prime people-watching.

Gentlemen, step behind the doors of Know It Nothing (51 Haji Lane; 65/6392-5475; www.knowitnothing.com) and peruse Eugene Yeo and Suraj Melwani’s post-industrial space (think unpolished concrete and exposed wooden beams) for street-smart labels such as Julian Red from Sweden, and Perks and Mini from Australia.

Take a retail break at Altazzag (24 Haji Lane; 65/6295-5024; lunch for two S$30), a no-frills Egyptian café that serves up tasty (though a little greasy) shawarma, shish kebabs, ful madames (Egyptian bean salad), tzatziki and hummus. Iced lemon tea is the perfect accompaniment to this classic Middle Eastern fare.

Pass away the afternoon in pasha-style at Café Le Caire (39 Arab Street; 65/6292-0979; www.cafelecaire.com), where you can nibble baklava between sips of Turkish coffee. The truly indolent can recline on the cushions inside this establishment (which has an entrance on Haji Lane), order a shisha pipe fi lled with fruit-fl avored tobacco and watch life go by.

5. Know It Nothing

3. Soon Lee

6. Café Le Caire

Festooned in 19th-century toile wallpaper, Pluck (31–33 Haji Lane; 65/6396-4048) embraces all things vintage. On sale are brightly colored retro fabrics from the 1960’s and 70’s, handmade Victorian wallpaper and Art Deco brooches. Beware: prices can be steep. Shoppers can also indulge at the in-house ice cream parlor.

Bridge

Roa

d

Bali Lane

Haji Lane

Arab Street

Bussorah Street

Beach Road

Muscat Street

Baghdad Street

Sultan Mosque

Ophir Road

64

35

1

2

SINGAPORE

Photographed by CHRISTOPHER WISE 47

the expert | insider

W HEN CAROL CASSIDY—a

Connecticut-born

weaver—arrived in Laos in

1989, few people outside of the country

were aware of its ancient traditions of

elaborate handwoven silks. Originally

tasked by the United Nations to help

spark international interest in Laotian

silk textiles, Cassidy quickly realized the

potential of this traditional art form and

the country’s incredibly skilled weavers,

and later launched her own workshop

and store, Lao Textiles (Th. Norkeokoum-

marn; 856-21/212-123; www.laotextiles.

com). Focusing on high-quality fabrics

that riff on traditional motifs,

she now works closely with some of

the world’s top architects and interior

decorators. Her museum-worthy

handicrafts are also sold in upscale

stores such as ABC Carpet & Home

and Barney’s, both in New York City.

Here is her guide to the best shops,

restaurants and attractions that

Vientiane has to offer.

■ TEXTILE TIPSOther than her own shop, Cassidy

recommends Vientiane’s largest

market, the sprawling Talat Sao (Th.

Lan Xang), also known as the Morning

Market, where row upon row of stalls

are stuffed with fabrics. “It’s this whole

collage of textures and colors,” she

enthuses. “And it’s just a lot of fun.” For

those looking for a calmer setting, it’s

worth seeking out local weaver Taykeo

Sayuavongkhamdy’s eponymous

Taykeo Gallery (Unit 10, 236, near 103

Hospital in Ban Saphanthongkang; 856-

21/314-031) for its naturally dyed

traditional textiles. Takyeo, who is from

southern Laos, also stocks antique

textiles collected from her home village

and elsewhere. Long-established »

Viva Vientiane. Often overlooked, the Laotian capital has plenty of charming boutiques and restaurants. Textile designer Carol Cassidy reveals to JENNIFER CHEN her favorite spots

LAOS

Woven TraditionsClockwise from right: American textile designer Carol Cassidy, with one of her weavers; the colonial house that’s home to Cassidy’s shop, Lao Textiles; some of the colorful offerings at Lao Textiles.


insider | the expert

Phaeng Mai (117 Th. Nongbouathong;

856-20/540-105 or 856-20/243-121;

www.silk-phaengmai.laopdr.com) is a good

option for contemporary woven silks.

■ STYLISH FURNISHINGSIf you’re willing to arrange and pay for

shipping, Vientiane offers some great

furniture buys. You’ll fi nd exquisitely

elegant pieces at Mandalay Furniture

(011/1 Th. Francois Nginn; 856-21/218-

736; www.mandalao.com). The shop is

run by Frenchwoman Marie Elene

Boute, who combines Laotian designs

with classic European styles.

■ HOME SWEET HOMEWhen it comes to homeware, Cassidy

sends guests to Canadian Sandra

Yuck’s store, Caruso Home Craft (No. 8,

Ban Phiavath; 856-21/223-644; www.

carusolao.com). The store stocks unusual

but striking salad bowls and other

household items carved out of exotic

hardwoods found locally, such as

black-and-white ebony.

■ FASHION OASIS“Clothes shopping is a bit hard in

Vientiane. There aren’t that many

choices,” Cassidy concedes. That said,

she relies on French-educated designer

Isabelle Souvanlasy at Tamarind (Th.

Manthourad; 856-21/243-564) for her

minimalist, Asian-infl uenced styles,

usually fashioned out of airy linens and

sumptuous silks.

■ BEST ROOMSAccommodation in Vientiane has come

a long way from backpacker

guesthouses. Cassidy suggests the

centrally located Chantapanya Hotel

(138 Th. Norkeokoummarn; 856-21/244-

284 or 856-21/241-451; www.

chanthapanyahotel.com; doubles from

US$35), which offers comfortable,

tastefully decorated rooms and modern

amenities at reasonable prices. If you’re

after opulence, head straight for the

stylish Settha Palace (6 Th. Pangkham;

856-21/217-581-2; www.setthapalace.

com; doubles from US$98). Built in 1932,

the hotel was restored to its former

glory nearly a decade ago, and it still

has the plushest rooms on offer.

■ SIGHT WORTH SEEINGBehind Wat In Paeng—one of

Vientiane’s numerous Buddhist

temples—is the T’Shop Lai Galerie (111

Th. In Paeng; 856-21/241-352), which

has recently turned its rooftop terrace

into a center aimed at raising awareness

of the plight of Laos’s elephants. (Laos

was once known as the Land of a

Million Elephants. Today, the elephant

population has dwindled to around

2,000, according to scientists.) Called

the La Maison de l’Elephant, the center

also features a café and shop—all

proceeds from which go toward

elephant conservation programs.

■ COFFEE CORNERThough not as well known as

Vietnamese coffee, Laotian beans

produce a heady, aromatic brew.

Cassidy drops into Maison du Café (70

Th. Pangkham; 856-21/214-781) to

sample some of the local brew. Just

north of Nam Phu Fountain Square,

this spot lacks in atmosphere but it’s

earned the loyalty of European expats

for its strong coffee concoctions.

Another favorite, the stylish JoMa

Bakery Café (Th. Setthathirat, near Nam

Silk Treasures Above: A textile stall at Talat Sao. Left: A chair at Mandalay Furniture.

49J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 8 | T R A V E L A N D L E I S U R E S E A . C O M

Phu Fountain Square; 856-21/215-265)

also does scrumptious sandwiches.

■ LUNCHING IN LAOSMakphet (Th. Setthathhirat, in front of Wat

In Paeng; 856-21/260-587; lunch for two

US$18) serves its version of East-meets-

West cuisine. “The cooking also brings

French fl avor and fl air to traditional

Lao dishes,” says Cassidy, “there’s

nothing like it here.” Not only is the

food delicious, but you’re also eating for

a good cause. Run by Friends

International, an NGO that works with

street children, the restaurant, which

opened in November 2006, also serves

as a vocational school, training

homeless teenagers in the kitchen and

the dining room. Le Silapa (17/1 Th.

Sihom; 856-21/219-698), which is

owned by two childhood friends from

Québec, Canada, offers a lunchtime

prix fi xe option for US$7.50. Still

hungry? Nip into Le Banneton (Th.

Norkeokoummarn; 856-21/217-321) for its

French pastries and art exhibitions.

■ LA DOLCE VITAWhen it comes to fi ne dining, L’Opera

(856-21/215-099), located right off

Nam Phu Fountain Square, is your best

bet. Run by a Roman, Pino Peruzzi,

and a Milanese, Giancarlo Pozzoli, this

local institution has been dishing up

homemade pastas and other Italian

specialties for 15 years.

■ DRINKING IN THE SUNSETThere’s no better way to end a day of

sightseeing than sipping sunset drinks

on the banks of the mighty Mekong.

The place to be is Mekong Deck (Th. Fa

Ngum Quay; 856-21/263-226) in the

center of town. “It’s right on the river;

there’s basically nothing between you

and the Mekong,” Cassidy explains.

■ RURAL RESPITESThough it’s still a far cry from the

frenetic pace of Bangkok or Hong

Kong, Vientiane is becoming

increasingly busy, says Cassidy.

Fortunately, getting to the peaceful

countryside is quite easy. One retreat

is Ban Pako (856-30/525-7937; www.

banpako.com; doubles from US$5), an

eco-lodge situated along the Nam

Ngum River, about 50 kilometers east

of Vientiane. The lodge’s location is

actually an archaeological site, and

excavations have unearthed artifacts

dating back two millennia. Guests

can hike in the surrounding jungle

and bamboo forests, visit nearby

villages, swim in the river or just

kick back. ✚

Vientiane SceneClockwise from right: Bundles of silk thread at Talat Sao, the city’s morning market; outside Le Silapa; sunset by the river at Mekong Deck.

A waitress carrying a latte at JoMa Bakery Café.

insider | detour


Verdant Views From left: A glimpse outside of the train from Jakarta to Bandung; local horse carriage driver,Abah Mumuh, with his trusty companion Arjun; the garden at the Sheraton Bandung Hotel & Towers.

Photographed by SINARTUS SOSRODJOJO

■ WHERE TO STAY

More than 100 years old, the

Savoy Homann Hotel (112 Jln.

Asia Afrika; 62-22/423-2244;

www.savoyhomann-hotel.com; doubles

from US$67) is Bandung’s best-

known hotel, particularly for its

Art Deco décor. A walk through

the lobby is like passing through

time. Want something secluded?

Try the SanGria Resort & Spa

(Jln. Hortikultura, Lembang;

62-22/278-8777; www.

sangriaresortspa.com; doubles from

US$55), located just 30 minutes

from downtown Bandung in the

garden town of Lembang. This

getaway offers hiking and

horseback riding, to name just

a few activities. Or you can

lounge by the pool.

Javanese Jewel. Once the capital of Dutch-controlled Indonesia, Bandung has maintained its charm and slower pace. That might explain why the throngs from Jakarta flock here to escape the rat race. By JOE COCHRANE

■ WHERE TO EAT

Bandung is a great place to try

traditional dishes from the

Sundanese, the indigenous ethnic

group of West Java. Distinct from

other Indonesian food traditions,

Sundanese cuisine uses an old-

fashioned charcoal grill and

spices native to the region. There

are food stalls on the south side

of the train station, but Rumah

Makan Sari Indah (103–107 Jln.

Jen Sudirman) is a more upscale

option. The Sheraton Bandung

Hotel & Towers (390 Jln. Ir. H.

Junda; 62-22/250-0303; dinner

buffet US$15), located on a hillside

overlooking Bandung, has one of

the best buffet dinners in town,

with a variety of Javanese and

Asian choices.

■ WHAT TO DO

If you want to experience local

fl avor, the town’s performing arts

center, Rumentang Siang (1 Jln.

Baranangsiang; 62-22/423-3562),

holds performances of traditional

Indonesian dance and theater,

usually on weekends. The city

has no shortage of shopping,

mostly along Jalan Merdeka, one

of the main thoroughfares. For a

dose of fresh air, visitors can

organize hikes during the day

through the lush green hills and

tea plantations that surround the

town. Cozy up in the evenings at

some of the lively pubs that line

Jalan Braga, including the North

Sea Bar (82 Jln Braga; 62-22/420-

8904), which is popular among

local expatriates. ✚

GETTING THERE Take the

spectacular, three-hour train ride from Jakarta

(US$12 for executive class)

through the rolling hills and rice

paddies of West Java to Bandung. From the centrally

located train station, take a taxi

or, better yet, a horse-drawn

carriage to your hotel.

CO

UR

TE

SY

OF

SH

ER

AT

ON

BA

ND

UN

G H

OT

EL

& T

OW

ER

S

INDONESIA


preservation | insider

In Asia, most developers’ attitudes

toward historic preservation can be

summed up in three words: tear it

down. But Mark Yeoh, the president of

YTL Hotels—a small Malaysian chain

of luxury resorts—is taking a radically

different approach. A self-professed

enthusiast of old buildings, Yeoh was

reading a newspaper while on a fl ight to

London two years ago when a small

article caught his eye. A fi ght was

brewing between the Melaka state

government and local preservation

activists over the fate of the Majestic

Hotel, a gracious, circa 1930’s villa in

the port of Melaka (once called

Malacca) that been left to rot for more

than a decade. The government

wanted to raze it and build a hospital in

its place—a move the local heritage

trust was resisting. Yeoh was intrigued,

especially by a passing mention that the

hotel had been owned by the Lims, a

family of hoteliers who once ran the

storied namesake Majestic Hotel (W.

Somerset Maugham wrote about it) by

Kuala Lumpur’s railway station.

Yeoh—whose company is planning to

restore the Majestic in Kuala

Lumpur—felt compelled to save the

villa. “I never even knew of its

existence, and they were about to tear

it down. So I contacted the state

government as soon as I could,” he says.

More than two years and nearly

US$10 million later, the Majestic

Malacca will be reopening its doors in

the middle of January, with much of its

original structure intact and newly

agleam. Guests, however, won’t be able

to stay in the villa, which now houses

the hotel’s reception, restaurant and

bar. Instead, guest rooms and the

hotel’s deluxe spa are located in a

separate, 10-story building in the back.

Purists can rest easy, though: the new

wing was designed to match the villa’s

colonial style, and the rooms abound

with period detail such as black-and-

white marble tiles in the bathrooms,

antique trunks and four-poster beds.

The project has also inspired Yeoh to

introduce a new line of hotels—YTL

Classic Hotels—which he envisions will

be an exclusive collection of historic

properties. “Someone already owns the

Raffl es,” he laments, “but I’m always

on the look out.” 188 Jln. Bunga Raya;

60-3/2783-1000; www.majesticmalacca.

com; doubles from US$200. �

Malacca Redux. After years of neglect, a faded villa in a centuries-old port in Malaysia gets a fi ve-star makeover. By JENNIFER CHEN

Malaysian Memories Clockwise from right:

The Majestic's old and new wings; the spa's

verandah; a guest room; the bar.

MALAYSIA

CO

UR

TE

SY

OF

YT

L H

OT

EL

S

insider | sourcebook


Made in Thailand. There’s a lot more to souvenirs in Thailand than kitschy sequined elephant pillowcases and baggy kickboxing shorts. Here are some local up-and-coming fashion and design labels that are worth checking out. By JEREMY SNOWDEN

1 MATINA AMANITAJewelry designer Matina Sukhahuta is one

of the three sisters behind Sretsis, the cult

fashion label popular with Hollywood

starlets. Matina’s striking baubles are equal

parts wit and whimsy. Sretsis; 2nd fl oor,

Gaysorn Plaza, 999 Ploenchit Rd.; 66-2/656-

1125; www.matinaamanita.com.

2 THE ODDYSSEEFashion designer Prin Prinssachakul started

his career in textile design, which shows in

the imaginative prints and richly textured

fabrics he uses. The Oddyssee; 3rd fl oor, Siam

Center, 989 Rama 1 Rd.; 66-2/658-1173.

3 JIA LIThese miniature hand-painted bathtubs

were inspired by entrepreneur Jidapa

Varanate’s travels abroad and fondness for

all things vintage. Playground!; 818 Soi 55,

Sukhumvit Rd.; 66-2/714-7888.

4 OLIVIA DIAMONDSDiamonds are a designer’s best friend.

That’s jewelry maker Orawan Ingkhasit’s

personal motto, though she also favors

sapphires, rubies and other precious gems.

Among her fans are Chinese star Zhang

Zhiyi. Olivia Diamonds; 2nd fl oor, Gaysorn

Plaza, 999 Ploenchit Rd.; 66-2/656-1375.

5 ROOM INTERIOR PRODUCTSPioneers in the Bangkok design scene, the

team at Room Interior Products fi nds

inspiration from an eclectic range of

sources: from the Swinging Sixties to

Victorian England. Room Interior Products; No.

417, 4th fl oor, Siam Discovery Center, 989 Rama

1 Rd; 66-2/658-0410; www.

roominteriorproducts.com.

2 Mini-dress with galaxy pattern, Bt3,990

1 Cocktail rings, Bt12,000 to Bt20,000

3 Bathtub incense holder, Bt355

5 Tea light holder, Bt270

4 Fruit bracelet with sapphires, Bt30,000

THAILAND

Photographed by SITTIPUN CHAITERDSIRI

6 TAKE A LUXEGraphic designer Narttawat

Thampipit wanted to steer his family’s

screen-printing business toward a

more contemporary direction. The

result: fl oor and table lamps with

black-and-white optical illusions.

Manga by Playground!; 1st fl oor, Central

World Plaza, 999/9 Rama 1 Rd.; 66-

2/613-1177.

7 EVERY DAY LIFE ELEMENTSFounded by a brother-sister designing

duo, Every Day Life Elements creates

riotously colorful hats and totes out of

canvas and other durable fabrics. Zen

Department Store; 5th fl oor, Central World

Plaza, 999/9 Rama 1 Rd.; 66-2/100

9999; www.everydaylifeelements.com.

8 TAXIDERMYPhotographer Namkarng

Parivudhiphongs began making her

leather accessories in bright, eye-

popping colors when artist friends

asked her to create portfolios for them.

Playground!; 818 Soi 55, Sukhumvit Rd.;

66-2/714-7888.

9 T-RAUp-and-coming designer T-ra

Chantasawasdee specializes in classy

women’s wear and accessories that

display superior workmanship and

playful, unexpected details—such as

this bag’s origami-like shape. T-Ra; No.

109, 1st fl oor, All Seasons Place, 87/2

Wireless Rd.; 66-2/654-3277.

10 ENLEVER SES VÊTEMENTSBorn in Bangkok and raised in New

York, menswear designer Suparerk

Bhasaputra favors high-tech

fabrics from Japan and precise

tailoring. Think Commes des

Garçons, but with a lighter touch.

Enlever ses vêtements; 116/10, Soi 23,

Sukhumvit Rd.; 66-2/640-8088;

www.enleversesvetements.com.�

10 Men’s off-white dress shirt, Bt3,000

Jacquard jacket, Bt10,000Jacquard trousers, Bt5,700

6 Screen-printed table lamp,

Bt8,900

7 Woman’s hat, Bt1,090

8 Leather business card wallets, Bt445

9 Canvas tote, Bt6,990


Inside the main building of the Cultural

Center of the Philippines—a fading but

still stately relic of 1960’s Manila—tour

guide Carlos Celdran gathers a group of

tourists and students around a bay window

that looks out onto the surrounding ocean-

side complex. “This,” he says with mock

grandeur, “is the world that Imelda built.”

“Imelda” is, of course, Imelda Marcos—

the former beauty queen turned first lady

and, quite possibly, the world’s most famous

shoe fetishist. During her husband’s 20-year

reign, Imelda led an infamously extravagant

lifestyle. When she wasn’t amassing more

than a thousand pairs of shoes or tossing off

one-liners like, “Win or lose, we go

shopping after the election,” Imelda built—

specifically, big, important buildings that

projected her ambitions. Among her most

famous projects was the Cultural Center of

the Philippines, or CCP—an impressive

complex of theaters. And it’s where

Celdran, a Manila native who conducts

walking tours in a city that is notoriously

inhospitable to pedestrians, starts his

“Living La Vida Imelda!” walk—a two-

hour stroll through Imelda-commissioned

architecture built in the 1960’s and 70’s.

The tour is just one of several offered by

Celdran, who’s been running his Walk This

Way outfit for five years. Though well

aware of the city’s reputation as a concrete

jungle, Celdran, a rotund, animated

raconteur, enthuses wholeheartedly about

his hometown. “If you want to change the

way Manila looks, change the way you look

at Manila,” he exhorts.

Walking in Imelda’s Shoes.Detached from the overcrowded streets of Manila is a stunning architectural legacy of the country’s most famous first lady—a place one local tour guide delights in showing visitors. By FLOYD WHALEY

insider | walk

Built to Last Clockwise from top left: A staircase inside the CCP Main Building; the façade of the Coconut Palace; tour guide Celdran regales a group with tales of historic Manila; Filipino architect Leandro Locsin’s fl oating concrete structure.

PHILIPPINES


CL

OC

KW

ISE

FR

OM

TO

P L

EF

T:

TE

SA

CE

LD

RA

N;

JU

AN

CA

GU

ICL

A (

3)

;

TE

SA

CE

LD

RA

N;

RIC

KM

EA

SH

AM

;T

ES

AC

EL

DR

AN

TE

SA

CE

LD

RA

N;

RIC

K M

EA

SH

AM

; T

ES

A C

EL

DR

AN

T R A V E L A N D L E I S U R E S E A . C O M | J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 8

As a long-time Manila resident, I am

skeptical. But standing at that window of

the main building of the CCP, I feel my

opinions shifting. The area where the

complex sits is made up of 21 hectares of

land reclaimed from Manila Bay. Wide,

empty avenues—rarely seen in this

congested city—run through it. The

architecture is built on a grand scale; these

buildings were meant to be monuments. It’s

like stepping back into the heady days of the

1970’s, before the Philippines fell into the

upheaval that swept Marcos from power.

Wandering through the CCP Main

Building, which today houses four theaters,

an ethnography museum, galleries and a

library, we learn that it was designed by the

fabled Filipino architect Leandro Locsin,

best known for fashioning concrete

monoliths that seem to float. World-famous

dance and theater troupes, such as the

Kirov Ballet, performed here.

Our next stop is the Folk Arts Theater,

just a short walk from the CCP Main

Building. Back in 1974, Imelda ordered

Locsin to finish the nearly 8,500-seat

theater in just 77 days. The reason for the

rush? The Philippines had been chosen to

stage that year’s Miss Universe contest—a

first for a developing country and a personal

coup for Imelda.

Here, Celdran reaches his full narrative

powers. Knowing that the pageant would

place her country on the world stage,

Imelda spared no expense on the theater.

But at the last minute, a typhoon struck and

devastated the surrounding landscape. With

obvious relish, Celdran details how Imelda

ordered the grass to be painted green and

pieces of white tissue paper to be put into

the trees to give the appearance of

blossoming flowers.

“How many of these stories are myth and

how many are true?” Celdran asks

rhetorically. He then prompts us to our next

destination with a brisk “Walk this way!”

We find ourselves at the Coconut Palace,

which marked the beginning of the end of

the Marcos era. By the time the palace was

built in the early 1980’s, Filipinos were

starting to chafe against the regime’s

repressiveness and profligacy. To recreate

the atmosphere of those days, Celdran hauls

out a portable stereo and blasts Filipino

protest music popular at the time.

Legend has it that the palace—

constructed in honor of Pope John Paul II’s

visit to the Philippines in 1981—was

inspired by a visit Imelda had made to the

provinces. The first lady had been

disappointed that the homes in these

poverty-stricken regions were humble. So,

she ordered a palace made entirely of native

Philippine materials—to show that local

structures could be beautiful.

Not everyone approved, notably Pope

John Paul II. He declined to stay at the

palace, deeming it too showy, especially

given the Philippines’ endemic poverty.

Thankfully, all was not lost, Celdran

confides, and the building did play host to

the likes of actor George Hamilton and

actress Brooke Shields. “Brooke Shields was

A-List back then,” Celdran notes. Walk This

Way Tours; 63-2/484-4945 or 63-920/909-

2021; celdrantours.blogspot.com. �

Baroque splendor abounds inside the Coconut Palace.

55

Chandeliers in the foyer of the CCP Main Building.

Celdran recounts the Coconut Palace’s origins.

insider | fi ve ways

CL

OC

KW

ISE

FR

OM

TO

P:

CO

UR

TE

SY

OF

OU

TF

ITT

ER

S K

AU

AI;

CO

UR

TE

SY

OF

KA

HU

NA

VA

LL

EY

; C

OU

RT

ES

Y O

F G

RA

ND

HY

AT

T K

AU

AI

RE

SO

RT

& S

PA

;

CO

UR

TE

SY

OF

CA

PT

. A

ND

Y’S

SA

ILIN

G A

DV

EN

TU

RE

S

Kauai Discovered. Take in the sea cliffs, pastures and rain-forested valleys of this tropical isle. By BRIAN BERUSCH

1 ECOGo on a guided hike through Kokee State Park (1-808/335-9975; www.

kokee.org), which borders 1,093-meter-deep Waimea Canyon, and see why its

twisting dales and rock formations inspired Mark Twain to call it the Grand

Canyon of the Pacifi c. For a more subdued encounter with nature, try

Allerton Gardens (1-808/742-2623; www.ntbg.org), with 40 sea-cliff hectares

and 268 species of rare native plants.

2 WELLNESSThe 2.4-hectare Kahuna Valley

(1-808/822-4268; www.kahunavalley.org;

doubles from US$159) retreat draws

healing masters from around the globe to

teach Qigong, Taoism, Reiki and

Hawaiian Kahuna healing. At the spa,

choose from hot-stone therapy, deep-

tissue massage or a starlit watsu session

with mineral-rich waters from the nearby

Makaleha Mountains.

4 ADVENTUREIt’s impossible to drive the roadless, 18-kilometer

Napali Coast; instead, take in the dramatic 914-

meter oceanfront cliffs from the sea. Since 1980,

Capt. Andy’s Sailing

(1-808/335-6833; www.

napali.com; US$129 per person

for fi ve hours) has been

navigating Napali’s waters—

home to humpback whales,

spinner dolphins and sea

turtles. On the North Shore,

test your adrenaline

threshold on horseback treks,

Zodiac boat rides and

ziplining at the Princeville Resort (1-808/826-9644;

www.princevillehotelhawaii.com;

doubles from US$565).

HAWAII

The Grand Hyatt’s pool.

Kayakers on the Huleia River.

3 LUXURYSpecializing in lavish private house rentals on the North Shore,

Pure Kauai (1-866/457-7873; www.purekauai.com; four nights from

US$3,200 per person, double) is all about pampering. Your dedicated

concierge will arrange everything from a beachfront luau to sunrise

yoga or private surf lessons. The Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort & Spa

(1-808/742-1234; kauai.hyatt.com; doubles from US$430) unveils a

1,858-square-meter addition to its Polynesian-inspired Anara

Spa—book an open-air hale for a lomilomi rubdown.

5 FAMILYWith Outfi tters Kauai (1-888/742-

9887; www.outfi tterskauai.com; US$98 per

person), you’ll be river kayaking through

mangroves en route to hidden

swimming holes. End the day with a

covered wagon ride across landscapes

you may recognize from Jurassic Park.

Kiahuna Plantation & The Beach Bungalows (1-800/367-5004; www.

kiahunaplantation.com; doubles from

US$260) has plenty of room for family

fun; its 14 oceanfront hectares are ideal

for picnics and pickup croquet games.


Sailing along the Napali Coast.

Lodgings at Kahuna Valley.

Tips from Top Concierges. Three hotel service pros, from New York, Moscow and Tokyo, share their advice, tools of the trade and best-kept secrets. By MICHAEL ENDELMAN

57

Mother Russia Clockwise from

top: Hopf; Uzbekistan restaurant; inside

Dorogomilovsky Market; a statue in front of

the Moscow Museumof Modern Art;

salmon caviar at Dorogomilovsky Market.

MOSCOWMUST-SEE MUSEUM “Everyone wants to visit the

Pushkin Museum or the Tretyakov Gallery, but people

tend to overlook the Moscow Museum of Modern Art (25

Ul. Petrovka; 7-495/694-2890). It’s never crowded and it

has excellent Russian paintings from avant-gardists like

Ivan Puni and Vladimir Baranov-Rossiné. There’s a

spacious courtyard fi lled with some modern sculptures,

which is a nice contrast to the 18th-century building.”

BELUGA FOR LESS “For caviar shopping, I

send guests to Dorogomilovsky Market (10 Ul.

Mozhaysky, Khamovniki), a massive food market about 20

minutes from the center of town. The quality of the

caviar is quite good and you can actually taste it

before they put it in the tin. The prices are fantastic,

about US$120 for a pound of beluga.”

HOTTEST TABLE “Nedalny Vostok (15 Tverskoi Bul.;

7-495/694-0641; dinner for two US$160), which means

‘not-far-East,’ opened in January 2007. The room is

slick and modern, but warm. The menu focuses on

Russian-Asian fusion food; there’s an open stainless-

steel kitchen and an aquarium fi lled with giant crabs—

their specialty. And it’s not fancy; the Russian crowd

will be wearing designer jeans with jackets.”

BEYOND BORSCHT “For reasonably priced

authentic ethnic food, try Uzbekistan (29/14 Ul.

Neglinnaya; 7-495/623-0585; dinner for two US$80). They

serve Uzbek, Arab and Chinese food in an ornate,

Oriental-style space that looks like a Persian palace.”

VODKA SOURCE “A lot of the nightclubs have

something called ‘face control,’ where they will only let

you in if you are attractive or have tons of money. One

place that is easier to get into and less expensive is Vodka

Bar (18B Ul. Lva Tolstogo; 7-495/246-9669; cocktails for

two US$20). They have an incredible selection.”

HARDEST DAY YET “Two Russian clients came

in and wanted to go to the World Cup semifi nal in

Germany—the next day. It was a mad rush, but in the

end, they spent about US$6,500 for tickets and another

US$20,000 for the plane. Sometimes price is no

object—it’s just about getting it done.” »

GREATVALUE

GREATVALUE

Michael Hopf,Hotel Baltschug Kempinski MoscowBACKGROUND Trained in

Berlin, St. Moritz and other

cities throughout Europe,

German native Hopf uses

demanding service standards

and a never-say-never

outlook to help guests get the

best out of Moscow.

FR

AN

K H

ER

FO

RT

/B

RA

INS

TO

RM

MA

NA

GE

ME

NT

address book | insider


insider | address book

Only in New York From top: Trejo-

McDonald; a salesperson at

Rebecca Taylor; musicians at the

Sunday brunch at Camaje; dumplings at Dim Sum Go Go.

NEW YORKMUST-SEE MUSEUM “A lesser-known stop on

Museum Mile is the Neue Galerie (1048 Fifth Ave.;

1-212/628-6200), a Beaux-Arts mansion fi lled with

Austrian paintings. They recently acquired a US$135

million Klimt ... Afterward, you can have Austrian-

style strudel at Café Sabarsky downstairs.”

HOTTEST TABLE “The toughest restaurant to get

into is the Waverly Inn (16 Bank St.; 1-212/243-7900;

dinner for two US$80). It’s a reinvention of a

neighborhood spot, but Vanity Fair editor Graydon

Carter is a co-owner, and the place is very high-

maintenance ... Sure, our guests enjoy the food, but

they’re more excited about being surrounded by an A-

list crowd .”

DIM SUM DEAL “It can be a challenge to fi nd

a place in Chinatown that has a decent

atmosphere but is still authentic. One that manages to

do all that is Dim Sum Go Go (5 E. Broadway; 1-

212/732-0797; lunch for two US$40). The interior is

modern and bright, and everything, from the roast

pork buns to the shrimp rolls, is fresh and yummy.”

TOP SHOP “To the experienced shopper who has

done Madison Avenue and all the big department

stores, I say, ‘Go to Nolita.’ I particularly like Rebecca

Taylor (260 Mott St.; 1-212/966-0406 ). Her dresses are

feminine yet edgy, sophisticated yet whimsical.”

GET YOUR FILL “A really reasonable, charming

Village experience that I love is Camaje (85 MacDougal

St.; 1-212/673-8184; dinner for two US$70), a tiny French-

American bistro .”

DESIGNERS AT A DISCOUNT “Gabay’s

Outlet (225 First Ave.; 1-212/254-3180), in the

East Village, carries overstock from department stores

like Bergdorf Goodman. Soiffer Haskin (317 W. 33rd

St.; www.soifferhaskin.com) is a showroom that puts on

sample sales for brands like Paul Stuart and Loro

Piana; for the schedule, look on their website.”

GREATVALUE

GREATVALUE

JE

SS

ICA

SC

HW

AR

TZ

BE

RG

Maria Trejo-McDonald, Ritz-Carlton New York, Central ParkBACKGROUND After more than two decades in

Manhattan, Trejo-McDonald, a model turned ballet

dancer turned concierge, is agile at steering guests toward

unique Gotham experiences.

TOKYOSUSHI FROM THE SOURCE “Get to the

Tsukiji fi sh market by 5:30 A.M. to see the

massive tuna auction, then have breakfast at the 150-

year-old Sushi Bun (No. 8, 5-2-1 Tsukiji, Chuo-ku; 81-

3/3541-3860; breakfast for two US$45), where a meal

will cost you a fraction of what you’d spend in the Ginza

district. Their menu changes daily, but the dish that

they are most famous for is anago (sea eel). Do as locals

do and have a beer or a sake with your sushi breakfast.”

ESCAPE THE CHAOS “Tokyo is quieter than other

large cities. Still, the sheer number of cars, trains and

people can be exhausting. That’s why I love the peaceful

and often overlooked Asakura Sculpture Hall (7-18-10

Yanaka, Taito-ku; 81-3/3821-4549), the former house

and studio of Fumio Asakura. The outside is stark,

black and modern, but inside there are traditional

tatami-mat rooms fi lled with mother-of-pearl–inlaid

lacquer tables, and the brushes and chisels Asakura

used to make his sculptures. Explore the elegant

wooden walkways around the inner water garden.”

GO UNDERGROUND “Taxis are really

expensive, but the subway system is not as

diffi cult to navigate as people think. The maps seem

overwhelming, but there are English signs in every

station. That said, don’t use the subway before 9 A.M.

Rush hour in Tokyo is crazy.”

SHOP LOCALLY “Savvy guests don’t want to go to

the stores they can see in any city. For smaller boutiques

and cool Japanese clothing lines I send them to the

Daikanyama district, near Shibuya. Everyone loves the

designs of Tsumori Chisato (11-1-1F Sarugaku-cho,

Shibuya-ku; 81-3/5728-3225). She used to work for Issey

Miyake, but Chisato’s clothes are much more feminine,

with bright colors and intricate patterns.”

RAMEN 101 “I recommend Jangara Ramen (1-7-7

Nihonbashi, Chuo-ku; 81-3/3281-0701; lunch for two

US$25) because this chain has menus in English but

isn’t touristy. Ramen is all about the toppings: bamboo

shoots, fi sh eggs and pork slices. And why do the

Japanese slurp their noodles loudly? It’s not rude—it’s

supposed to enhance the fl avor.”

BUZZ ALERT “Japan is an incubator for unusual

trends. One of the latest is the Maid Café, several of

which have popped up all over the Akihabara district.

These are just cafés, except all the waitresses are dressed

up like French maids!” ✚

GREATVALUE

GREATVALUE

Tokyo Uncovered Clockwise from top: Chapin; outside Sushi Bun; tonkatsu (pork) soup from Jangara Ramen; a stroll in the Daikanyama district; the exterior of Asakura Sculpture Hall.

Adam Chapin,Mandarin Oriental Tokyo BACKGROUND A former

Japanese studies major, then

a guest services offi cer at the

Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at

Marunouchi, Chapin was

recruited for his fl uency in

Japanese and understanding

of local customs.


TE

TS

UY

A M

IUR

A

insider | shopping


NAPA VALLEYCALISTOGA THE SHOP Nearly

everything at Ca’Toga Galleria D’Arte

(1206 Cedar St.; 1-707/942-3900) is

hand-painted by the prominent trompe

l’oeil artist Carlo Marchiori: the

folding screens, the ceramic plates—

even the barrel-vaulted ceiling, done

Michelangelo-style with a celestial

mural. T+L TIP Marchiori lives up the

road, in a Palladian villa whose seven

rooms are covered in frescoes. The

shop can arrange a visit (US$25 per

person; May–October).

THE SHOP The region’s best source for

small-scale artisanal wines, Enoteca

Wine Shop (1348-B Lincoln Ave.;

1-707/942-1117 ), also carries hard-to-

fi nd producers that the proprietress,

Margaux Singleton, calls unobtainia.

Be sure to check out the glass cases in

the back, dedicated to rare 100-point

wines, so rated by industry experts

like Robert Parker. T+L TIP Singleton

is an expert on the area and she’s

happy to plot you out a customized

tasting tour, gratis.

ST. HELENA THE SHOP Interior

designer Erin Martin spotlights an

eclectic collection of furniture and

objets d’art from around the globe in

the loft-like Martin (1350 Main St.; 1-

707/967-8787). A recent visit turned up

Moroccan stools made of recycled tires,

and vintage leather wrestling mats from

Russia (“perfect headboards,” she says).

T+L TIP Add your name to Martin’s

mailing list for coveted invitations to

her private warehouse sales (usually in

May and October), where pieces are

sold at or below cost.

THE SHOP With white-gloved shopgirls

standing behind the counter and a

glittering chandelier dangling from the

ceiling, Woodhouse Chocolate (1367

Main St.; 1-800/966-3468) resembles a

fi ne jewelry shop—and for good

reason. Master chocolatier Tracy

Anderson’s handmade confections, in

exotic fl avors like passion fruit and

Thai ginger, are edible gems. T+L TIP

Ask for a peek at the kitchen, where

Belgian machinery whirrs and delicate

truffl es fl oat down conveyor belts.

Napa and Sonoma Style. T+L scoured northern California’s famed wine country to find one-of-a-kind boutiques and charming small-town stores. From Calistoga to Healdsburg, these eight spots are definitely worth a visit. By JAMIE GROSS

Beyond the VineyardClockwise from top: Lime Stone, a kitchen and interiors shop; a Carlo Marchiori hand-painted dish from Ca'Toga Galleria D'Arte; furniture and tabletop items on display at Martin, a design showroom.

CALIFORNIA

Photographed by ANGIE CAO


THE SHOP Owner Jan Niemi designed

more than 200 variations of the ballet

slipper for her tiny boutique Flats (1232

Spring St.; 1-707/967-0480). An avid

traveler who splits her time between

California and Italy, Niemi has her

shoes handmade in Tuscany (“Chanel-

quality,” the shop manager notes).

T+L TIP Call to fi nd out when Niemi

will return from one of her many

scouting trips; her souvenirs (Italian

jewelry, Indian printed fabrics) are

often for sale at the store.

SONOMA COUNTYHEALDSBERG THE SHOP Lisa

Palmer, wife of star chef Charlie

Palmer, opened Lime Stone (315

Healdsburg Ave.; 1-707/433-3080) next

to her husband’s Dry Creek Kitchen

restaurant in early 2006. In addition to

avant-garde pieces (chandeliers made

from wine barrels, buffalo-horn bowls),

you’ll fi nd basics such as the custom

steak knives and table linens used in

Palmer’s 10 restaurants. T+L TIP Stock

up on shatterproof German titanium-

crystal wineglasses—they’re as good as

Reidel, at a fraction of the price.

THE SHOP Marty Murphy has lived all

over the world, and her international

sensibility informs the aesthetic of M

Clothing (381 Healdsburg Ave.; 1-

707/431-8738), which specializes in

ethnic-inspired pieces by West Coast

designers such as Rozae Nichols and

Turk + Taylor. T+L TIP Call ahead and

tell Murphy what you’re looking for.

She’ll prepare a fi tting room full

of selections.

SONOMA THE SHOP In a restored

1880’s bungalow off Sonoma’s main

drag, Être Sonoma (156 E. Napa St.; 1-

707/939-2700) stocks a sophisticated

mix of cult items, from wallets by

Comme des Garçons to Anichini 450-

thread-count hotel linens. Around the

corner, sister store Être Beauté (408

First St. E.; 1-707/939-7010 ), a small

apothecary, has perfumes by Serge

Lutens and Parfums Delrae.

T+L TIP Être Sonoma displays a limited

selection of European antiques. For

more, ask to see a catalogue of the

complete collection. ✚

Wine Country TasteClockwise from top left: Offerings at M Clothing; Être Sonoma; truffl es from Woodhouse Chocolate; a wine sold at the Enoteca Wine Shop; ballet slippers from Flats.

CO

UR

TE

SY

OF

NA

UM

I H

OT

EL


insider | room report

Luxury in Miniature. Raising the stakes in Singapore’s boutique hotel scene, Naumi Hotel promises to deliver all the comfort of an exclusive resort, but with a personal touch. By HUI FANG

OVERVIEW Naumi— Singapore’s newest

boutique property—aims to entice travelers

in search of something other than a cookie-

cutter fi ve-star hotel experience. From the

outside, you’ll be excused for mistaking the

40-suite establishment as a giant piece of

installation art. Metal structures adorned

with green creepers fl ank the building’s

façade. Once inside, the lobby bar’s fl oral

motif is complemented by a fragrant ginger

and lime scent that permeates the entire

hotel. 41 Seah St.; 65/6403-6000; www.

naumihotel.com; doubles from S$390.

ROOMS Though predictably decorated in soothing neutral

tones, Naumi’s rooms abound with an array of thoughtful

elements: double-glazed windows that keep the street noise out;

wooden shutters (only in certain rooms) that you can close for

instant privacy with just a press of a button; and plush king-

sized beds with 300-thread-count sheets in every room. We also

happily noted extras such as yoga mats, huge plasma televisions

and stand-alone bathtubs (except in the premium rooms).

AMENITIES All rooms

come with great perks: iPod

docks, ergonomic chairs, IP

telephones, espresso

machines and toiletries

from cult Australian brand

Aesop. The luxury suites

boast wine chillers and

showers that double up as

steam rooms. You can rent

the video game console of

choice: X-Box 360,

PlayStation 3 or Nintendo

Wii. Downstairs, guests can

tuck into a hearty organic

breakfast, while upstairs,

they can drink in the view

of the Raffl es Hotel,

Esplanade and Singapore

Flyer (the city’s answer to

the London Eye) from the

15-meter rooftop pool.

SINGAPORE

StylishTravelerF A S H I O N . . . 6 4 | S H O P P I N G . . . 7 2

The keys to coolThis Shanghai Tang

keychain playfully brings together classic

Chinese icons.By FAH SAKHARET.

Photographed by SITTIPUN

CHAITERDSIRI

L aunched in 1994, Shanghai Tang staked its claim as a purveyor of

luxury goods with its signature Mandarin-collared jackets cut

from colorful, thick silks. Although it is renowned for taking

traditional Chinese clothing and giving it an upmarket twist, what most

impresses is how this Hong Kong–based brand interprets timeless Chinese

motifs with just the right amount of playful irreverence. Current examples

of this light touch include a wine-stopper topped with a pagoda, Chinese

knots gracing a pair of cuff links and bug-eyed goldfi sh swimming across a

robin’s egg–blue teapot. This silver-plated keychain has dangling from it

classic and modern-day Chinese icons: the Communist red star, the

character for “double happiness” and the qipao (the quintessential

Chinese dress with a high collar). For a trinket that packs in this much

symbolism, it’s a steal at US$80. In Shanghai Tang stores throughout Asia;

www.shanghaitang.com. �


stylish traveler | fashion

Printed silk dress and necklace, Marni;

bracelets and ring, M.C.L.; shoes,

Valentino.

70 D E C E M B E R 2 0 0 7

Chiffon shirt and skirt,

Louis Vuitton;pearl necklace, Chanel; shoes,

Valentino.

fashion | stylish traveler

Cotton knitted top with fl oral-printed silk skirt, Prada; necklace, Chanel; sandals, Tango.


Cotton mini-dress, Kloset; shoes, Louis Vuitton; bracelets, M.C.L.; leather clutch bag, Hermès. Hair and Makeup: Teerayut Chunon. Model: Liane Siebenhaar at Red. With thanks to the Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion in Penang, Malaysia.

stylish traveler | fashion


PH

OT

O C

RE

DIT

TK

M O N T H 2 0 0 7 | T R A V E L A N D L E I S U R E . C O M 000

Slug:Location (Stylish Traveler)

Satin top and wool trousers, Kloset; bracelet, M.C.L.

72

stylish traveler | shopping


Having a few bespoke garments sewn up is a popular way to take home holiday memories. Yet many travelers fi nd the tailoring experience more frustrating than it’s worth. KAY JOHNSON reveals the secrets to getting the best out of your tailor. Illustrated by WASINEE CHANTAKORN

A Perfect Match

73

1Know what you’re looking for. “The most common

mistake clients make is going to a tailor without knowing

exactly what they want,” says Ngo Thai Uyen, an award-

winning Ho Chi Minh City designer who has sold to

Western chains including J. Jill. And if you don’t know what

you want, how can any tailor? Before you begin, make a plan

and think specifi cs: “I want a couple of nice-looking blouses

and trousers for work” puts you at the mercy of a tailor. A

more workable plan: “I want two jewel-neck silk blouses like

this one that I love and two pairs of dark-colored trousers in

a cotton blend with some stretch.”

2 Spend time together. You can’t hurry tailoring.

Simmone Fairhead, founder of Hanoi’s Contraband

Designs, believes rushed jobs are the single-biggest mistake

among tailoring newcomers. “Many tailors say they can

fi nish something overnight, but if you’re fl ying out the next

day you’re more likely to be disappointed,” Fairhead says.

Insist on at least two days and ask the tailor to pre-wash

the fabric to prevent shrinkage later. Fairhead recommends

allowing time for at least two fi ttings. That means giving the

tailor at least three days from start to fi nish, although four or

fi ve days is better.

Some women have romantic fantasies of fi nding the perfect man. Me? I dream of the perfect tailor. After all,

those of us who live in Asia know that the experience of tailoring is actually a lot like falling in love. Consider the similarities.

When you fi nd a new tailor, you are full of hope. You feel the tailor can magically anticipate all your needs. You dream about

your future together, full of fi tted jackets and frocks that hang just right. And as in new love, you think to yourself: “This time,

it will be different.” Fast-forward a few weeks and you fi nd yourself crying over a pile of misshapen garments, wondering

what possibly could have gone wrong. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Knowledge is power, and following a few simple

rules (which apply to both men and women) can go a long way toward achieving true tailoring satisfaction next time you’re

getting custom-made clothes.

3KNOW YOUR OWN NEEDS. Most people have a go-to blouse,

skirt or shirt they pull out when they want to feel confi dent. Study that garment closely and look for the features that fl atter your fi gure. For instance, V-necks or sweetheart-necks look good on full-busted women. If in doubt, go for clean, simple lines.

4HAVE ROLE MODELS. Bring that favorite garment with

you to show your tailor. While not strictly necessary, a sample allows your tailor to study the fabric and the cut herself. A model also allows you to analyze any problems in fi ttings. Doesn’t fi t quite the same? Hold up the new garment seam-to-seam with your model and see if it’s cut bigger or smaller in certain places.

5Are your lifestyles compatible? Fairhead says

many women fall in love with Asian designs like the

fl owing, Vietnamese ao dai only to realize later that they

don’t have any occasion to wear it. So think about your real

life fi rst; then you can splurge on one or two experimental

garments for fun.

6Insist on the right stuff. Selecting the right fabric

can make or break your outfi t. If you have a model,

study the fabric closely—is it lightweight or thick? Does

it have some stretch? How does it drape? Is your new

fabric similar enough? If you’re working from a photo,

ask your tailor. Some danger points for women: Linen

wrinkles unattractively in fi tted trousers, satin silk shows

bulges around the hips (better for shirts than dresses)

and taffeta silk is too stiff for most everything but

jackets (and never, ever for trousers, unless your

name is Kate Moss). Cotton-silk blends or

linen mixed with cotton often drape better

and wrinkle less than 100-percent silk

or linen. Cottons with Lycra are

available but be careful—ask your

tailor whether it will drape well or cling to

any bulges you’d rather downplay. »


74

stylish traveler | shopping


Narin Couture, Bangkok In a neighborhood filled with cut-rate tailors, this store stands out with its tasteful, classic clothes for men and women. 180 Sukhumvit Rd.; 66-2/662-6648.Victor York, Singapore Emphatically English, this Savile Row-inspired shop prides itself on beautifully cut suits and shirts made from quality European fabrics. 40B Boat Quay; 65/6220-5908.Linva Tailors, Hong KongRemember Maggie Cheung in In the Mood for Love? Stop by this classic shop for a show-stopping cheongsam. 38 Cochrane St.; 852/2544-2456.A-Dong Silk, Hoi AnHoi An is renowned for the quality of its tailoring. Though pricier, this long-running establishment consistently gets raves. 40 Le Loi St.; 84-510/863-170—J.C.

7 HAVE A TRIAL RELATIONSHIP. It’s easy to

go overboard and order fi ve of the same shirt (one for every workday!), but doing so risks wasting money on fi ve garments that don’t work. Better to have one sample made and, if you like it, copy it later. This is especially true for people considering an expensive fabric; get the fi t right in a cheaper fabric fi rst.

10DON’T GIVE UP.As with a lot of

relationships, it’s easy to blame yourself when things go wrong with a tailor. After all, like true love, good tailoring takes patience, time—and work. So, if a garment has gone seriously awry, don’t despair. Instead, chalk it up to experience, pick yourself up and try again.

8Discuss your problems and work them out. One common

fi tting issue is the shoulders, says Uyen.

When faced with a large bustline or

broader chest, tailors in Asia often

overcompensate by making a garment

too big in the shoulders—so look there

fi rst. Fairhead says the point of the

sleeve should hang just at the point

of your shoulder and the armhole

should be deep enough to allow free

movement. Also, examine the seams for

straightness and fi nish—double stitching

will make it last longer—and check

whether the linings in jackets and skirts

are too tight. With trousers, a common

mistake is in the rise. Check if it’s too

long or too short.

9Be realistic. Expecting perfection

in any relationship is perilous.

Fairhead says she’s learned to expect a

success rate of around 70 percent even

with the most gifted tailor. Adjusting

your expectations may not be

romantic—but it can also save you a lot

of heartache. Once you let go of the

fantasy, you can actually enjoy the

experience more.

TOP TAILORS AROUND SOUTHEAST ASIA

Collector Deddy Kusuma in front of a painting by Rudi Mantofani. Inset: An exhibit at Nadi Gallery.

T+L Journal~ T R E N D S , C U L T U R E , F O O D A N D M O R E ~

75

CRUISING 80ADVENTURE 83

REFLECTIONS 86 DISPATCH 89

Asian contemporary art is red hot, but if you don’t want to spend a fortune on a painting by a Chinese artist, consider Indonesia’s emerging art scene—before you’re priced out, reports JASON TEDJASUKMANA. Photographed by AHMAD DENY SALMAN

In the Picture

INDONESIA


t+l journal | asian scene

Jakarta’s Art BeatAbove: Outside Nadi Gallery. Right: Nadi Gallery’s owner, Biantoro Santosa (right), and curator Enin Suprianto in frontof a mural by Edy Hara.


WHEN DR. OEI HONG DJIEN, ONE OF THE WORLD’S foremost experts on modern Indonesian

art and an avid collector for 25 years, was asked recently to select the best examples from

his unrivaled collection of local artists for an upcoming book, he didn’t choose Indonesia’s

acknowledged masters such as Affandi and Hendra Gunawan from the last century.

Instead, he submitted a list consisting mostly of painters in their 30’s who he believes are breaking new

artistic ground for the country—if not the world.

“The young generation is producing works that are some of the best in Asia,” explains Dr. Oei, who

displays some of his more than 1,500 modern Indonesian paintings at a private museum in his hometown

of Magelang in central Java. “The prices of Indonesian paintings may be less, but not the quality.”

That may not be the case for much longer. Collecting art has long been a favorite pastime for the rich

and powerful, but from Beijing to Boston, contemporary art in recent years has become a status symbol,

intellectual badge and high-return investment all rolled into one for the world’s newest millionaires. With

Abstract Expressionism Above: Yani Mariani Sastranegara’s sculptures at Edwin’s Gallery.Left: Inside Ark Galerie.

contemporary Chinese art already fetching millions of

dollars at auctions in London and New York (alongside

works by James Rosenquist, Robert Rauschenberg and Andy

Warhol, no less), curators and investors have been prowling

around other parts of Asia, looking for the next big thing.

Though Vietnam and India are attracting interest—and

handsome sums—those in the know say they’re placing their

bets on Indonesia. “Indonesian art is now creating a lot of

buzz like Chinese art was fi ve years ago,” says Jasmine

Prasetio of Sotheby’s in Singapore. “Furthermore, the

number of bidders has increased signifi cantly and many

from the West are also taking a look.”

Why Indonesia when there is so much talent in the region?

Explanations vary as much as the painters’ styles, but the city

of Yogyakarta in central Java may hold part of the answer.

Located near the ninth-century Buddhist temple compound

of Borobudur, the city is home to more than 200 educational

institutions, lending it a bohemian atmosphere that

encourages creative foment. Consequently, dozens of artists,

like internationally acclaimed Balinese painters Putu

Sutawijaya and I Nyoman Masriadi, have settled down in

Yogyakarta. “Yogya is a conducive place for artists because

there is lots of stimulation and it is cheap to live here,” says

Nindityo Adipurnomo, co-founder of the Cemeti Art House,

the city’s premier art space and community center.

The city also has a long tradition of welcoming artists,

craftsmen and makers of traditional textiles like batik.

“Artists have a special place here and [this city] allows them

to live from their art, which would be more diffi cult in a city

like Jakarta,” explains Farah Wardani, director of the

Indonesian Visual Arts Archive in Yogyakarta.

These days, though, Yogyakarta no longer has the sole

claim as Indonesia’s art capital. Jakarta’s art scene is also on

a tear, with young dealers

now jumping into the game.

The latest and one of the

hottest additions to the

scene is Ark Galerie in

South Jakarta. Opened in

April 2007, the gallery saw

its fi rst two shows sell out—

before they even went on

view to the public. The two

owners, both in their 20’s,

have added a sushi bar and

café in the space, which

attracts dozens of young

visitors every weekend.

Another possible reason

why contemporary

Indonesian art has

fl ourished is that it has an appreciative audience that’s willing

to pay for it—a rarity elsewhere in Southeast Asia, where

many people tend to cling to the traditional notion that art

should be representational. Some Bangkok gallery owners

speak longingly of Indonesia’s homegrown collectors of

cutting-edge, experimental art.

One thing that people in the art world can agree on is that

there is something extraordinary about the young

Indonesian artists who are taking the market by storm. Take,

for instance, the Kelompok Jendela, or Window Group—a

collective of fi ve Yogyakarta-based artists originally from

Padang in West Sumatra, whose work is now highly sought

after in the international market. Though each of the artists

in this group has an individual style, they tend to veer toward

austere abstract canvases and installations that slyly »

77

Oei Hong Djien with a painting by Galam Zulkifl i.


78

comment on modern society. “In Indonesian art, I see much

more than I do in new art from China,” says John McGlynn,

who organizes monthly exhibitions of Indonesian art at his

home in central Jakarta for a group called jakARTa

kolektors. “They [the Chinese] seem to be painting for the

collectors and not themselves.”

Whatever it is that distinguishes Indonesia’s latest crop of

talented artists, it’s gaining them a lot of attention beyond

the country’s shores. Works by the Jendela artists are

climbing exponentially from sale to sale at Christie’s and

Sotheby’s in Singapore and Hong Kong, some by as much

as six-fold in just one year. “Every couple years there are new

great artists emerging here,” says Francois Grossas, the

French-born head of investment services at the International

Finance Corporation and a serious collector of Indonesian

art for nine years. “People think the same thing that

happened in China could happen in Indonesia.”

And with more money from China, Taiwan and Australia

chasing a limited number of works by Indonesia’s rising stars

such as like Rudi Mantofani, Eko Nugroho, Handiwirman

Sahputra, Agus Suwage and Yunizar, six-fi gure prices for

artists barely out of art school are no longer unusual.

The artists themselves are at a loss to explain the

phenomenon. “It is a gift that people like our work,” says

Mantofani, 33, who cites Cy Twombly, Rene Magritte and

Antoni Tapies as infl uences. “It wasn’t always like that.”

Indeed, Oei recalls a time not long ago when the Jendela

Art InsidersClockwise from top: Ide Global Art Gallery; Herman Wihardjo (right), Ide Global Art Gallery’s owner, and curator Anton Larenz; paintings by Rudi Mantofani at Edwin’s Gallery; Jason Gunawan, one of the owners of Ark Galerie.

t+l journal | asian scene

Where to see Indonesia’s best new artists and buy their work:

➻ Ark Galerie 92 Jln. Senopati Raya, Jakarta; 62-21/725-4934.

➻ Nadi Gallery Blok G3, No. 4–5, Jln. Kembang Indah III, Jakarta; 62-21/581-8129.

➻ Koong Gallery 1st fl oor, No. 64–66, Dharmawangsa Square, Jln. Dharmawangsa, Jakarta; 62-816/932-770.

➻ Ide Global Art Gallery 3rd fl oor, 91 Jln. Kemang Raya, Jakarta; 62- 21/719-8080.

➻ Edwin’s Gallery 21 Jln. Kemang Raya, Jakarta; 62-21/719-4721.

➻ Langgeng Gallery 8B Jln. Cempaka, Magelang; 62-293/313-338.

➻ The Collection of Dr. Oei Hong Djien (by appointment only) 74 Jln. Diponegoro, Magelang; 62-293/362-444.

➻ Cemeti Art House 41 Jln D.I. Panjaitan, Yogyakarta; 62-274/371-015.

➻ jakARTa kolektors Check www.jakartakolektors.com.

Guide to Galleries


artists used to come to him in the hopes of getting any kind

of payment for their artwork. “Getting one of their paintings

now is hopeless,” he adds.

Yet Mantofani, who helped found the Jendela group back

in 1996, and other artists say they are not falling for the

current hype. “The wind is blowing in our direction but we

have to know how to harness it,” says the painter. “We don’t

just want to be seen as affordable compared to Chinese art.”

That, in fact, is a real risk and one that collectors of

Indonesian art warn of routinely. “This is temporary

euphoria,” says Deddy Irianto, founder of the Magelang-

based Langgeng Gallery. “Only some of these artists are

going to make it really big on an international level.”

McGlynn, whose past fi ve shows have nearly all sold out,

warns of a bubble that could burst. This is especially because

Indonesian art tends to go straight to the market without

passing through the institutions that lend a legitimacy and

imprimatur to artists in the West, where museums, collectors

and dealers set the standard. There is no contemporary art

museum in Indonesia and the discipline of art history is not

even taught at universities here. “One of the reasons

Indonesian painters do not command the same prices as, say,

their Chinese contemporaries is due to the absence of art

criticism,” explains Jim Supangkat, a freelance curator in

Jakarta. “Without proper discourse it will be hard for

collectors to know into what context their work falls and how

to properly assign a price.”


The Indonesian pattern could, in fact, harm the country’s

budding art scene. An artist’s fate depends entirely on

whether he or she is in favor with a group of dealers, which is

still relatively small compared to the constellation of gallery

owners, curators and dealers in the West. The situation, say

some, means only a select few have become the ultimate

tastemakers in the market. “It’s all about instinct and I hope

that people are buying because they feel a connection to the

art and not just because they are hoping it will appreciate,”

says Deddy Kusuma, a top collector in Jakarta.

For the moment, both seem to be occurring, with the big-

time dealers in Indonesia falling in love with gifted young

artists such as Ay Tjoe Christine, Jumadi Alfi and Budi

Kustarto, just to name a few, but also enjoying strong returns

on their investments.

Still, passion, originality and talent are essential to an

artist’s longevity, as one of the country’s old masters will

attest. “I’m just releasing what is inside and trying to

communicate it to others,” says Djoko Pekik, a living legend

at 70. The Yogyakarta-based painter has dozens of his works

hanging in a gallery in his home that would fetch tens of

thousands of U.S. dollars—if he wanted to sell them. “If the

art market wants to appreciate us, that’s fi ne, but if not, I

don’t really care,” he says. That kind of attitude might not be

what investors want to hear. But it’s one that will help secure

contemporary Indonesian art a place in the international art

market in the long run. ✚

Indonesian art is affordable, but

prices are rising. In May 2007,

Christie’s saw three new records:

■ A Rudi Mantonfani work sold

for nearly US$30,000, 160

percent more than the last

highest price paid at Christie’s for

his work in November 2006.

■ A piece by Yunizar sold for

nearly US$60,000, around 600

percent more than the last

highest price paid at Christie’s for

one of his works in May 2006.

■ A Handiwirman Sahputra

painting sold for just over

US$62,400, 470 percent more

than the last highest price paid at

Christie’s for one of his works in

November 2006.

HIGHER AND HIGHER

Edwin Rahardjo, left, owner of Edwin’s Gallery, in front of a painting by Sugiyo Dwiarso.

80

T HE FLORIDA SUNSHINE STREAMS ACROSS the teak-planked balcony outside the living room as

Mary and Laszlo Rendas—surrounded by a small cadre of valises and garment cases—

settle into their new quarters. For the next 105 days, the 34-square-meter Verandah Suite

will be their fl oating home-away-from-home, as Holland America’s Prinsendam sails through

its annual world cruise to South America, Africa, India and the Mediterranean. For Mary and Laszlo,

it will be an epic adventure, but not a novel one: they’ve taken the same type of trip every year for the

past 22 years. “We’re hooked!” Mary says.

They’re not alone. Though around-the-world cruises are the most lavish trips marketed by the travel

industry, running up to US$500,000 per couple, the cruise lines can barely keep up with requests for

them. Fifteen years ago, only one company offered world itineraries; today, fi ve do. In 2007, total

capacity nearly doubled, as Cunard added the Queen Mary 2 to its world-cruising fl eet, Holland

Want to hop all over the map without ever having to repack? JEFF WISE fi nds out what it’s like to go around the world in 80 days (or more). Illustrated by CHESLEY MCLAREN


t+l journal | cruising

Sea the World

America shifted its circumnavigating

cruise to a larger ship, and Silversea

jumped on the bandwagon with its 382-

passenger Silver Shadow. Even so,

demand is suffi ciently brisk that top-end

cabins for these sailings are in short

supply. “We’re already booking cruises

that depart more than a year from now,”

says Eric Maryanov, owner of All-

Travel, an agency in Los Angeles. “And

we can’t always confi rm the cabin that a

client wants.”

This heyday of the ultra-long cruise

has been fertilized by an extravagance

of two essential factors: free time and

disposable cash. “The oldest boomers

are turning 60,” says Andrew Poulton,

Regent Seven Seas’ director of

marketing. “They’re getting to that

phase of their life where they have more

time and money.” They’ve matured in

an age of increasing international

sophistication and curiosity, but they’re

not at a time in their lives when they’re

looking to endure great physical rigors

in their pursuit of new experiences.

Aging boomers aren’t the only

customers, though. “More than 25

percent of our guests taking world

cruises are under 60, and the number

is increasing,” says Mimi Weisband, a

vice president of Crystal Cruises.

That’s good news for the cruise lines,

because once a passenger ascends to

the ranks of world cruisers, he tends to

stay there—Holland America reports

that 50 percent of its world cruisers

are repeat customers. The global

voyage appeals to those who want to

see a lot of the world with a minimum

of effort. Passengers can pack in a huge

range of destinations in a single trip,

with far fewer hassles and for much less

money than if they had to negotiate an

endless string of airlines, hotels and

restaurants on their own. The

experience is almost infi nitely

customizable, with cruises offering a

smorgasbord of shipboard programs

and land excursions. And anyone

hankering for a more autonomous

experience can simply get off, explore

independently for a few days and then

rejoin the ship at its next port of call. In

fact, that’s encouraged.

Nomenclature notwithstanding,

world cruises don’t necessarily go all the

way around the world. The route the

Rendases will follow on the 105-day

“Circle of the Sun” itinerary aboard

the Prinsendam, for example, will turn

left at India, taking them home via the

Mediterranean instead of eastward via

the Pacifi c. (Trips can also be broken

into shorter segments and purchased

individually.) Whatever their specifi c

itinerary, however, they tend to follow

certain parameters: they always leave in

the fi rst half of January, to take

advantage of the most favorable

weather in both the Northern and

Southern Hemispheres. They cross the

equator at least twice and usually cover

more than 48,000 kilometers and 30 to

45 ports in between. As a rule, the ships

are among the most lavish of a

company’s fl eet and command the

highest level of service and amenities.

And the journeys are all very, very long,

lasting from 80 to 126 days.

Thanks to this luxury of time, a

world cruise takes on a rhythm different

from that of a shorter voyage. The ship

spends more days at sea, making long

blue-water passages of up to a week in

length. “On shorter cruises, everyone’s

trying to drain every moment. People

are rah-rah,” says Barbara Burr, a

cruise enthusiast who runs a Long

Island real estate and construction

business with her husband, Carl. »


Fifteen years ago, only one

company offered world cruises; today, fi ve do

81

Berths on cruises are often fully

booked up to six months in advance.

��CRYSTAL CRUISESCrystal Serenity

Los Angeles to London, 108 days,

departs January 20. 1-800/804-

1500; www.crystalcruises.com; from

US$49,800 per person, double.

��CUNARDQueen Elizabeth 2

Round-trip from Southampton, 106

days, departs January 6. 1-800/728-

6273; www.cunard.com; from


Queen Victoria/Queen Mary 2

Round-trip from New York, 105 days,

departs January 13. From


��HOLLAND AMERICAAmsterdam

Round-trip from Fort Lauderdale, 114

days, departs January 4.

1-800/426-0327; www.

hollandamerica.com; from


��REGENT SEVEN SEAS CRUISESSeven Seas Voyager

San Francisco to Fort Lauderdale,

115 nights, departs January 6.

1-877/505-5370; www.rssc.com/

worldcruise; from US$100,665 per

person, double.

��SILVERSEA CRUISESSilver Shadow

Round Trip from Fort Lauderdale ,

110 days, departs January 16.

1-877/760-9052; www.silversea.com;

from US$62,400 per person, double.

2009 World Cruises

t+l journal | cruising

“On a world voyage,

you go at a slower

pace. You have more

time to enjoy things.”

And because they’re

in a relatively safe

environment,

surrounded by the same roster of friends

and well-known staff members, many

passengers feel free to indulge in a more

glamorous version of their usual selves.

Women bring furs, evening gowns and

jewelry normally consigned to safe-deposit

boxes. Some couples, reportedly, bring so

much stuff that they book a second cabin

just to store it all.

On a day-to-day basis, though, living

aboard a world-cruising ship is getting more

and more like living ashore. “It’s a change

in mind-set,” Maryanov says. “You’re not

out of communication or missing life’s

major events just because you’re on a

cruise.” That’s making the whole business a

lot more attractive for the burgeoning

number of younger, working-age

passengers, many of whom still need to

keep in touch with projects back home. “We

have a family business, investing in and

managing real estate,” says Dianne

Schoolfi eld, a Florida real estate investor

who sailed aboard Crystal in 2006 with her

husband, Wayne. “We had our laptop

computer and a printer with us. We were

able to stay in touch with the offi ce almost

every day.” Plenty of world

passengers are like

Schoolfi eld, using the ship as

a second home. “It’s a

lifestyle purchase,”

Maryanov explains. “Instead

of spending the winter in

Florida, they winter on board a cruise ship.

They come back each season to the crew

and the friends that they met during

previous trips. That’s why there’s a loyalty.”

Even devout world cruisers like a little

variety, so the plotting of itineraries is

designed to take advantage of special events.

The Prinsendam timed its arrival off the coast

of Turkey in spring 2006 to coincide with a

total solar eclipse. During last year’s sailing,

Crystal Serenity stopped in Rio during

Carnival. The sailing route, too, has to be

more interesting. Last year, Regent Seven

Seas’ Mariner made a fi rst-ever stop at

Maputo, in Mozambique; Silversea made

maiden calls at Pitcairn Island, Robinson

Crusoe Island and Easter Island. Upon

reaching these distant ports, the ships may

stay for several days, to let guests explore in

depth, or even arrange land-based overnight

excursions. On Crystal’s 2006 world cruise,

passengers took side trips to explore Uluru

in Australia, Victoria Falls in southern Africa

and the Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania,

among other places.

Although it may seem to some that

embarking on a lengthy cruise is too much

of a good thing—a means to checking off

different destinations like options on a

luxury car—consuming travel on this scale

somehow still feels more, well, fulfi lling than

accumulating wine bottles or stuffi ng new

acquisitions into a four-car garage.

Back aboard the Prinsendam, Mary Rendas

is fi nishing up her unpacking and getting

ready to track down all the friends she hasn’t

seen in the past eight months. “We’ve

become like a close-knit family,” she says.

“It’s wonderful to see everyone, and catch

up on news, and relive old memories. It’s

like a homecoming.” �


Jeff Wise is a T+L contributing editor.

With a Lanna king as its guardian—and protected by national park status—Thailand’s highest mountain remains blessed with grandiose beauty, as DENIS GRAY finds while trekking with a Karen guide on Doi Inthanon. Photographed by MATTHIEU PALEY

T HEY SAY HIS SPIRIT will

protect the forest and

the animals of Doi

Inthanon,” remarks

our guide—her palms gracefully

pressed together in reverence—as

we stand in front of a Buddhist

stupa atop Thailand’s highest

mountain. Around and below us

spreads a scene more Alpine or

Himalayan than tropical

Thailand: a forest of pines

streaked by a haunting mist, stark

rocky outcrops brightened by

spots of clinging moss, and visitors

bundled in sweaters and jackets

against a noontime temperature

of 14 degrees. The stupa is a

shrine holding the ashes of King

Inthawichayanon, one the last

kings of Chiang Mai and leader of

the Lannathai of Northern

Thailand. Inthawichayanon—

after whom this mountain is

named—was an environmental

visionary, who realized the

mountain formed a vital

watershed, and he sought to

conserve it. When he died in 1897,

his daughter Princess Dararasmi

carried out the king’s wish that his

remains be placed at its summit.

“Do you think the king would be

pleased if he returned here »

A path winds up the side of Doi Inthanon.

J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 8 | T R A V E L A N D L E I S U R E S E A . C O M 83

adventure | t+l journal

Spirit in the Sky THAILAND

today?’’ I ask our small tour group as we drive down from

the 2,565-meter peak of Doi Inthanon to a roadside

trailhead that abruptly vanishes into an enticing forest—the

place from where we are about to begin our two-day trek.

Led by our young guide, Nongnut “Nut” Klaithin—who

grew up on a farm near the Thai border with Laos before

becoming a tourist guide in Chiang Mai—our party slips

into the narrow trail to a secreted valley and follows the Mae

Klang stream as it cascades down several dramatic

waterfalls. Along the way, sunlight fi lters through

overhanging trees to dapple the dancing, silvery water.

Crossing a precariously strung bamboo bridge, we fi nd

ourselves within a natural amphitheater at the foot of one

of the falls: a jungle Neverland of soaring trees draped

with vines and a torrent of water tumbling into foaming

pools below.

Doi Inthanon—70 kilometers from the Northern

Thailand city of Chiang Mai—has become a major

attraction for nature lovers, bird-watchers and trekkers.

Those who simply want to boast that they’ve been to the

“Top of Thailand” make up the majority of visitors to the

national park. But this is hardly a grand feat, since tourist

buses regularly travel the wide asphalt road that snakes up

the slopes of the mountain to the perpetually cool summit.

The real thrill, sweat and escape comes to those who take

to the many narrow trails carved from the mountain that

crisscross this 482-square-kilometer national park and spend

time at hill-tribe villages within the reserve. We are to stay

overnight at Mae Klang Luang, a hillside home to some 240

Karen hill-tribe people. It is late afternoon when we arrive

and most of the village is laboring in the fi elds, leaving the

place to snoozing pigs, water buffalo and a few elderly

villagers. Our Karen hosts for the night are Po Dee and her

husband Cho Lu Ku, a farming couple who live on a hilltop

above the village. They have opened one of their two stilted

dwellings to clients of Nut’s travel agency, ActiveThailand.

Po Dee is a veritable whirlwind. Dressed in an

embroidered traditional red skirt and purple blouse, and

blessed with a smile that refuses to go away, the 44-year-old

rushes about the place feeding pigs, chopping vegetables,

obsessively sweeping fl oors, and leaping up and down

stairs wielding heavy buckets of water. Fittingly, we dub Po

Dee the “Karen Superwoman.”

That night, after a tasty dinner of potato curry, mixed

vegetables, an omelet and fruit, eaten by candlelight (the

village is without power), Po Dee—her enthusiasm

unabated—tells us how much life has improved in recent

years. In the past, she recalls, her four children were needed

at home to help with the chores. Now all the kids are in far-

off Bangkok, either working or at school.

The next morning, we eat breakfast to the accompanying

piercing howls of a gibbon far off in the forest. Cho Lu Ku is

to be our guide for the day. Like a number of villagers on

Doi Inthanon, Cho Lu Ku and Po Dee earn extra cash by


t+l journal | adventure

We eat breakfast to the accompanying piercing howls of a gibbon far off

in the forest

Mountain High Left: A wide variey of fl ora can be found on Doi Inthanon. Below: Campers taking it easy. Right: The summit shrine of King Inthawichayanon.

opening their doors to trekkers and acting as trail guides. He

says the Bt100 a night per person they get from overnight

lodgers helps keep their children in school and provides

some daily necessities.

“It’s just a short walk uphill,’’ Cho Lu Ku announces

before we set off. Perhaps for a hardy Karen it is, but it takes

us nearly two hours of hard slog to reach the highest ridge

line. But once there, we are rewarded with a panoramic

sweep of richly forested slopes and rooftops of houses in

some of the dozen villages within the park’s boundaries.

Those living on Doi Inthanon after it became a national

park in 1972 were allowed to stay on the mountain and

given assistance through development projects. Farming

methods were improved and the fi elds of opium poppies—

traditionally cultivated by hill tribes on the mountain—were

replaced by cash crops. Tourism also helped bolster incomes

and the lives of villagers improved. Now, more than 10,000

hill-tribe people live on Doi Inthanon; chiefl y the Hmong—

an ethnic group known to be industrious and commercially

minded—and the more passive Karen, who are bound to

their fi elds and retain a peaceful co-existence with nature.

Although eco-tourism has in part stemmed the decline in

recent years, Doi Inthanon’s once profuse wildlife is sadly

depleted. In a nature center near the summit, silhouettes of

animals that roamed the park 400 years ago, 40 years ago

and today are displayed on a wall. In the past four decades

poachers, mostly from outside the park, have decimated

populations of tigers, leopards, elephants, bears and other

species. However, Doi Inthanon still remains one of the best

bird-watching sites in Thailand. Within the park, 386 bird

species have been confi rmed, including such rarities as the

scaly-sided merganser and Japanese thrush.

We rest on the ledge of the ridge, looking out across

uplands and valleys toward the summit of Doi Inthanon,

teasingly veiled by clinging clouds. Up there is the shrine of

King Inthawichayanon. We hope that his spirit can indeed

protect this beautiful mountain’s remaining wonders, and

maybe even restore those that have been lost. ✚


GUIDE TO DOI INTHANON

WHEN TO GOThe fi nest views are on offer in November and December. Keep in mind that from June to October monsoon rains can make trekking uncomfortable.

GETTING THEREDoi Inthanon is about two hours by bus from Chiang Mai. WHERE TO STAYBungalows and tents can be rented. Contact the Royal Forestry Dept.

61 Phanon Yothin Rd., Bangkok; 66-2/562-0760; www.dnp.go.th. TREKKINGActiveThailand 420/3 Chang Klan Rd., Chiang Mai; www.activethailand.com; two-day treks from Bt5,100.

Forest Retreat Above: Streaks of sunlight spear through the forest canopy, adding a mystical feel. Left: A Karenwho lives on the mountain.

DESCENDING FROM A LONG LINE of Russian

naturalists and explorers, it’s not surprising

that I’ve ended up making my living by

traveling to the world’s kamchatki , as Russians

call faraway places—remote, inaccessible corners of the

planet like the Amazon, Madagascar and Tibet—and

writing about them. I learned at an early age to travel

light: my dad was a mountain climber, and in the late

1950’s and early 60’s, he took my brother and me up some

serious routes in the Alps and the Tetons. We had to carry

our own equipment, so naturally we kept it to a minimum.

Traveling light—literally and fi guratively—is a habit that

has served me well over the years.

During a nine-month stint in the Amazon rain forest in

1975–76, I lugged my gear in a canvas duffel bag, using

the strap as a tumpline the way the Indians did. The bag,

which also accompanied me to the Congo rain forest in

1982, where I spent two months running around with

Pygmies, contained a hammock, a mosquito net, a poncho

to put over them in case it rained in the night and my extra

Traveling LightWhen it comes to the things we carry with us—and the impact we have on the places we visit—less is more. ALEX SHOUMATOFF makes the case. Illustrated by BARRY BLITT


t+l journal | refl ections

clothes. If you’re traveling deep into a rain forest, there are

two crucial things to have with you: a bottle of rubbing

alcohol, which cleanses insect bites and reduces the urge to

scratch them, and some powerful antibiotics in case you

come down with a bad infection in the middle of nowhere.

They can make the difference between a sweaty night

and dying.

I took a sidebag with secret compartments that no

security check or customs search ever discovered (it and

the duffel bag are both from

Eastern Mountain Sports) for my

valuables, passport, notebooks,

small cheap camera and tape

recorder, fi eld guides to the birds

and mammals, and background

material on the country I was going

to be casing. I tried hard not to look

like a tourist (although of course

that is what I was) and to blend in

with the locals, to live and move

with them. This is not easy in

Africa, where you arrive in a village

and are swarmed by kids screaming “Mzungu, mzungu! ”

(“White guy, white guy!”).

On all of my trips it’s been the chance encounters, the

experiences I didn’t plan for, which were most informative,

sometimes even transformative. When I fi rst started going

to New Delhi, in 1990, I stayed at the Oberoi, one of the

most exquisitely palatial hotels on earth. But after a dozen

visits, I discovered a small, cozy hostelry in Pajar Ganj ,

the seething quarter near the railroad station, called Lal’s

Haveli. A room there with a ceiling fan, air-conditioning,

hot shower and TV with remote is US$10 a night, and

you’re in the thick of India. Breakfast was on the roof. I’d

watch the sun come up and the city come to life and have

long discussions with my fellow guests, a Nepali horse

trader, perhaps, or a textile importer from Nigeria.

In the 1980’s, I started writing stories that entailed

meeting the presidents of the countries whose indigenous

forest people I had been hanging out with (most of them

didn’t even know they had a president). Government

ministers in Africa and South America are sharp dressers,

so I had to look the part; to carry my dark suits and dress

shirts and cap-toed oxfords, I switched to a suitcase. I

schlepped the same black hard-shell Delco around for 15

years or so, until it was all scratched up and plastered with

stickers and remnants of tape. The more beat-up it got, the

less I had to worry about anybody making off with it. I

also took along a small, cheap guitar to break the ice and

jam with the locals and to pass the inevitable downtime—

like sitting on a platform in Lahore for four hours waiting

for the train to come.

The arrival in the 1990’s of fast-drying, wrinkle-proof

clothing, made of nylon, polypropylene, capilene and

other synthetics, caused a major downsizing of my travel

kit. It was no longer necessary to bring a suitcase, even if I

was going to meet the president. I bought a suit and shirt,

as well as a safari jacket with sleeves that unzipped and a

million pockets, and long pants with zippable legs.

Whichever outfi t I’m not wearing

fi ts into a small bicyclists’ backpack,

so I can carry it on the plane, along

with my diminutive six-string

Yamaha Guitalele, which I switched

to after 9/11, when the gate agents

started to insist that I check my

guitar. Layered with long johns and a

sweater, this expedition outfi t is good

up to 5,500 meters, as I discovered in

the Peruvian Andes last September.

So I have the art of traveling light

down pretty well, just as my dad did

by the time he was my age. He’d started with 22-kilo

packs, but in his later years was taking off for the Pamirs

or the Caucasus with a pack no bigger than mine. The

more you travel, the less, you realize, you have to take.

BUT TRAVELING LIGHT doesn’t mean just reducing

your baggage. It means reducing your footprint or,

rather, footprints: your carbon footprint, your

ecological footprint, your footprint on the local culture.

Most of your carbon footprint comes from the planes you

take. A liter of combusted airplane fuel produces up to 100

times more greenhouse gases than a liter of gasoline. You

can take consolation from the fact that if all of the

passengers on the plane drove to the destination in their

cars, their collective footprint would be greater, but still,

airplanes account for something like 2 percent of the total

anthropogenic (human) contribution to the rising

temperatures that are wreaking havoc on the planet’s

ecology and weather systems.

Driving is not an option, of course, if you are crossing

an ocean, which I’ve done hundreds of times. I would

never have gotten to all those amazing places if it weren’t

for the airplane. I met my wife of 17 years on the

October 11, 1987, Air Ethiopia fl ight from Entebbe to

Rome. We had both changed our fl ights at the last

minute, and if I hadn’t been kicked out of my seat by the

Ugandan minister of youth, culture and sports, and

plunked myself down beside her, our three boys »


Traveling light—literally and fi guratively—is a habit that has served me well over the years


t+l journal | refl ections

would not have come into this world. Our

family’s destiny is entwined with the passenger

airplane, going back to the 1920’s, when my

father was the business manager of fellow émigré

Igor Sikorsky’s aircraft company, which was

developing the Pan American Clipper Ship.

There may not be much you can do about the

airplane-emissions component of your footprint in

motion, but once you arrive, there are plenty of

ways to make yourself a more responsible traveler.

With the advent of ecotourism, numerous

companies and operators are now sensitive to their

environments, and they are the ones you should be

booking. Are the local people getting anything out

of my visit? Is it helping to preserve or to erode the

local ecosystem and culture? These are the

questions I think we should be asking.

In the late 1970’s, I was hired as the expedition

leader of the fi rst adventure cruise up the Amazon.

We would take off into the side channels of the

main river in Zodiac rafts. One morning we came

upon some Tikuna Indians who had had little

contact with the outside world and who sold us an

extraordinary picture of forest animals, painted on

an 20-by-25-centimeter canvas of bark cloth.

Fifteen years later, at the gift shop in Harvard’s

Peabody Museum, I found a stack of “Tikuna

bark-cloth paintings.” Their work had become

worthless, kitschy tourist crap. Tourism can turn

traditional cultures into ersatz replicas of

themselves—look at the way the Hopi’s sacred

kachina dolls are now sold as souvenirs.

But of course, tourism can also do good. The

Amazon Rainforest Conservation Center, in the

Peruvian Amazon, is completely staffed by local

Indians. Jack’s Camp in Botswana offers

“dignifi ed tourism” among the Bushmen. The

Masai of Shompole Group Ranch, in Kenya, are

partners in the conservation business with the

white Kenyan who built a luxurious eco-lodge in

the hills above them, which they own 30 percent

of and staff. They don’t kill the lions anymore,

because they know that a live lion is worth

US$20,000 in tourist dollars, and the money

fl owing into the community has brought running

water to every hut while helping them to

maintain their culture.

For the traveler who can’t be bothered with all

these niggling little green do’s and don’ts, I offer

the following South American folktale (which I

got from Wangari Maathai, the Nobel

Prize–winning founder of Kenya’s Greenbelt

Movement and a powerful and courageous

woman): There is a terrible forest fi re. All the

animals are fl eeing the confl agration except

Hummingbird, who is fl ying back and forth,

scooping up little slivers of water from a spring and

dumping them on the fl ames. “What do you think

you’re doing, stupid little bird?” the other animals

ask derisively, and Hummingbird says, “I’m doing

what I can.”

That’s what we all have to do at this critical

juncture. The way you travel, as an individual,

absolutely does matter, especially when you

multiply your footprint by the 1.1 billion others

who are expected to be in circulation by 2010. So

let’s all tread as lightly as we possibly can. ✚

Alex Shoumatoff is a T+L contributing editor.

The way you travel, as an individual, does matter, especially

when you multiply your footprint with 1.1 billion others

A YOGA CLASS HAS BROKEN OUT in Pablo Escobar’s living room. The

sounds of deep, mindful breathing drift through the spacious foyer like a

mild ocean breeze, while strength and serenity go toe-to-toe beneath the

thatched palapa roof. At a newly tiled counter down the hall, a blender

whirs, smashing mango, ginger and wheatgrass for the heaving, sweaty guests prostrating

themselves on the fl oor. A few choice pieces of driftwood have been casually assembled

on the living-room landing, and Tibetan prayer fl ags hang from the ceiling. Somewhere

someone is dozing off while having her feet rubbed.

Pablo would have hated this.

The pair of grand three-story beach houses that command an impressive stretch of

sand a few kilometers south of Tulum’s primary drag of eco-lodges, restaurants and

beachfront palapas are now known as Casa Magna I and II. Their current occupant—

Melissa Perlman—an American who owns and operates Amansala, a self-described “eco-

chic spa” nearby, has renovated the properties, which are believed to have been built by

the drug kingpin in the mid 1980’s. It is unclear whether Pablo Escobar, the Colombian

cocaine traffi cker who was responsible for moving more of that seductive white powder

than just about any other individual ever, got around to naming the houses or even »

MEXICO

dispatch | t+l journal

Villa Escobar In Tulum, the vacation home of the world’s most notorious drug lord is now a luxury eco-inn—if only the walls could talk. By MARK HEALY. Photographed by MORGAN & OWENS

Laid BackAbove: The beach at Casa Magna. Top: The public-access beach below Mayan ruins.


if their construction was complete when he was gunned

down near his home in Medellín, Colombia, in 1993. It is

also not entirely clear if Escobar actually owned them at

all—it’s a connection the house’s American owner isn’t eager

to scrutinize—but the big white beach houses seem to fi t

squarely into the excesses of Escobar’s lifestyle: what suits an

80’s drug lord better than a pair of grand stucco houses on a

secluded Caribbean beach?

Rising between a dense, vibrant jungle and the as-yet-

untrampled sweet spot of the Mexican Caribbean, it is

hard to imagine a more desirable location in the Yucatán.

Casa Magna has the largest and, by most accounts, sturdiest

structures in Tulum, where low-key palapas and quaintly

hippie rent-a-hammocks are only now giving way to smallish

resorts, spas and a few boutique hotels; the southernmost

section of Tulum’s only coastal road, which includes the

stretch in front of Casa Magna, was been paved for less than

a year. It’s also hard to imagine a more luxurious roof to

put over the heads of you and your 20 closest friends for a

week’s vacation.

Certainly that’s what Pablo would have had in mind. (He

owned as many as 19 homes in Medellín alone and threw

famously lavish and lengthy parties.) In the larger of the

Tulum houses, there are no fewer than

fi ve master bedrooms, each with a private

terrace, a massive poured-concrete tub and

ocean views. The common rooms on the

fi rst fl oor were made for elaborate spreads,

expressions of excessive opulence and

decadence, fi tting a host who once ranked

on the Forbes list of billionaires and who

was wanted by some of the world’s most

persistent law-enforcement agencies. The

living rooms were large, and with their long,

open staircases and mezzanine balconies,

made for spectators. A room now fi lled with

soft sectional couches, candles and Chinese

lanterns was once a private dance fl oor.

It’s easy to picture Pablo here with his

cohorts and lieutenants, and the telenovela stars and pop

singers he coaxed to his beach house. You can imagine

the drugs and bad music, the uneasy tug of respect by

intimidation, the whiff of sexual slavery and riches acquired

beyond the pale. It doesn’t fully jibe with the health and

tranquility offered by the new management, but then isn’t

Pablo’s connection, however tenuous, also part of the

appeal? The source of all this luxury doesn’t coincide with

mere fame—as if it had been the getaway of Merv Griffi n

or Lionel Richie—but genuine, fearsome notoriety. It’s

not merely the home of some anonymous rich man, but a

legendary outlaw. While Perlman stresses that the opulence

of Casa Magna is balanced by “that bohemian-chic thing,”

she understands the power of Pablo. “The history of it just


It is easy to picture Pablo here with

his cohorts and the lieutenants, the

telenovela stars and pop singers he coaxed to his beach house

Clean Living From top: Casa

Magna’s easternterrace; a belly-dancing class in the yoga studio;

a suite in Villa I.

WHEN TO GOSeveral major airlines fl y directly from the United States to Cancún Airport, about a 90-minute drive from Tulum.

WHERE TO STAY Casa Magna Km 9.5, Carr. Tulum-Boca Paila; 52-998/185-7430; www.

amansala.com; US$1,842 per person for six nights, including meals, two massages, yoga and an excursion to the Tulum ruins.

GUIDE TO CASA MAGNA

adds to that.” Indeed, for every colonial mid-Atlantic inn

that claims to have provided shelter to General Washington,

there’s a ranch that was raided by Jesse James. I’ve drunk

shots at a hotel bar where Butch Cassidy supposedly carved

his name after robbing the Telluride bank, and fed quarters

into a jukebox at a Long Island motel where the Rolling

Stones stayed while recording Black and Blue. And what trip

to New York’s Sparks Steak House is complete without

noting that Gambino mob boss Paul Castellano was gunned

down on the street outside?

Gangsters’ life expectancies may be short, but they do

know how to live while they’re still living. Vacationing in

Escobar’s villa comes with a lifestyle seal of approval, an

endorsement by a man who had no budget to stick to and

who knew no limits. The man who had everything built

these houses, chose this stretch of land. The appeal—and

the irony—is just how well-suited the place has turned out to

be for its reincarnation as a small resort hotel. The secluded

location. The slightly decadent ambiance. The grandiosity,

the thick, bullet-proof walls. The privacy and quiet, the

amazing views—or are those lookout turrets? Come to

think of it, might there not be an essential correspondence

between the life of crime and the lap of luxury?

What is clear is that the government documents Perlman

received when they fi nalized the lease described the villas as

“narco-traffi cking seizures,” but, she adds, “We get mixed

stories.” And though the Casa Magna website strikes a note

of certainty—“Originally built by the Colombian Pablo

Escobar”—Perlman concedes that the history is a bit murky.

It’s true that the houses share some curious features:

a tunnel that runs the 100 or so meters between the two

structures and an unusual roof. While a bit too narrow to

act as a reliable heliport, it offers many natural lookouts and

one could imagine it being patrolled by armed guards on the

alert for federales traveling by sea or plowing their Jeeps down

the jungle road. U.S. authorities, however, seem to have no

knowledge of the properties.

Mark Bowden, whose Killing Pablo is the defi nitive book

on Escobar, has no knowledge of the drug lord owning any

Mexican property, though he acknowledges that it would

certainly have fi t his character. “I know Pablo was given to

excesses,” Bowden says, “and building himself grand homes

was something he enjoyed.”

Some locals, however, are happy to provide alternative

theories. They say that they were built not for Escobar but by

Escobar, as an expression of gratitude toward then president

of Mexico, Carlos Salinas de Gortari, who looked the other

way as Escobar’s smuggling operation deployed speedboats

offshore. Others believe that the homes were indeed built by

drug dealers, but none that went by the name Escobar. They

were criminals of lower profi le and less renown. But perhaps

it’s better not to mention that theory, because believing that,

well, that would just ruin everything. �

Sights and Tastes Top: Tulum’s famous

Mayan ruins atop a rocky outcrop.

Right: Fish tacos at Casa Magna.

91

dispatch | t+l journal


t+l journal | special report


Gambling on the Future

HOW CAN YOU BE nostalgic about a

place that you’ve only just gotten

to know? This is the question I

keep asking myself during a lunch

in Macau, the former Portuguese colony that is

now a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of

China. I’m on one of Macau’s two islands,

Coloane, in a splendid Macanese café on the

Largo Eduardo Marques, a square paved in

characteristic swirling patterns of black and

white cobblestones. Nga Tim Café features

open-air dining under an awning expediently

constructed around a couple of giant banyan

trees, and the whole setup is tucked away

behind a Mediterranean colonnade painted

creamy yellow, the signature hue of Portuguese

colonial architecture here. A friend and »

In Macau—fast on its way to becoming the Las Vegas of Asia—spectacular, over-the-top casinos are rising amid surprisingly well-preserved colonial sites. KARRIE JACOBS reports

Before and AfterAbove: The Hotel Lisboa casino, overlooking the construction site of the Grand Lisboa, with the Macau Tower in the background. Left: The fi nished product: the completed Grand Lisboa at night. Below: Inside the Venetian Resort.

DA

VID

HA

RT

UN

G (

2);

FA

H S

AK

HA

RE

T

MACAU




I sit messily devouring jumbo crab and drinking Vinho

Verde, the refreshing young Portuguese wine. Perhaps

the nostalgia is a direct result of the Vinho Verde, but I

prefer to think it’s a product of what I know about

Macau’s immediate future.

My fi eld trip is actually my third quick visit in the space

of three weeks. I’ve been staying in China’s bigger, better-

known SAR, Hong Kong, an hour away by high-speed

ferry. And on my two previous expeditions, I spent time

with the developers that are determined to transform this

once quiet cluster of peninsula and two islands, where the

Pearl River Delta meets the South China Sea, into “Asia’s

Las Vegas.”

Coloane Village, like many sections of this outpost

established by Portuguese traders in 1557 and handed

back to China in 1999, is an intriguing fusion of European

and Asian cultures. It follows the contours of the harbor,

with the vivid red Tam Kung Temple (a Taoist shrine to

the god of the seafarers) at one extreme, shops selling a

curious array of dried salted fi sh at the other and,

somewhere in the middle, Lord Stow’s Bakery, home of

exceptional egg tarts. But when I look past the fi shing pier

at the far end of the harbor, I can see the cluster of cranes

that marks the Cotai Strip, which has been hailed by its

developer, the Las Vegas Sands Corporation, as “the

biggest tourism project in world history.”

COTAI IS A COINAGE FOR the 1 kilometer sliver of

reclaimed swampland that connects Coloane to

Taipa, the next island over. If there’s no traffi c, it’s a swift

fi ve-minute drive from the Macau airport and roughly the

same distance from the border from Zhuhai, China. The

concept—which supposedly came to Sands CEO Sheldon

Adelson in a dream—is simple: “We want to replicate the

Vegas strip,” explains Medardo “Mikki” Estrada, the Sands

Corporation’s director of Cotai design, “but with a more

disciplined approach.” Estrada’s offi ce on Macau’s peninsula

overlooks the posh 15,500-square-meter gold glass–clad

Sands casino that the company opened in 2004 on Avenida

da Amizade (Friendship Avenue), a wide boulevard lined

with vintage 1960’s and 70’s casinos that tourism boosters

sometimes refer to as “the new Macau Strip.”

Estrada uses a laser pointer to walk me through a wall-

mounted plan of the Cotai Strip’s eight development sites.

The fl agship of the development is a new version of the Las

Vegas Venetian Casino Resort, opened in August last year.

The Venetian complex alone features 55,750 square meters

of gaming—the largest in the world, and home to 870

gaming tables and more than 3,400 slot machines; a 15,000-

seat sports arena; 111,500 square meters of convention and

exhibition space; the largest pillarless ballroom in Asia;

catering facilities to provide a fi ve-course banquet for 15,000

guests; a 27.5-meter-tall “wow space” (casinospeak for

“spectacle”) involving tall, curving escalators; a rooftop 18-

hole putting course ringed by lavish VIP suites; and a wave

pool. A Cirque de Soleil franchise will open early this year.

One of the facility’s three indoor canals has dragon boats

instead of gondolas.

A model of the Cotai scheme, kept in a special media

Far East Vegas Above: The artifi cial volcano at Fisherman’s Wharf. Left: The promenade at the wharf. Opposite, top: Senado Square, in the center of Macau. Below: The Casino Lisboa.

AN

DR

EW

RO

WA

T


room adjacent to the Sands casino, suggests that the strip

will be lined with extreme architecture of the sort that

controversial Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas might favor,

but it’s more likely that the development will favor the

established forms of Las Vegas–inspired design. The

Venetian, of course, looks Venice by way of Nevada, and

other casinos on the strip, many built by the Sands, and

hotels managed by the Four Seasons and Shangri-La, will

be “Portuguese-contemporary-colonial” or “Tibetan-feel”

or “Tuscany-maybe.” More avant-garde, perhaps, will be

the City of Dreams, a complex to be constructed by

Melco—a company run by Lawrence Ho, son of local

mogul Stanley Ho. Phase one is targeted for opening by

March 2009, and will also include a 366-room Hard Rock

Hotel and the 295 all-suite Crown Towers Hotel.

A LTHOUGH THE CURRENT FLOOD of international

gaming money is a new development, gambling has

been one of Macau’s attractions since the mid 19th century.

As Hong Kong grew into a booming trading post, Macau, a

backwater run by a lesser colonial power, faded. But after

World War II, its reputation for casinos (and related vices)

grew. In his book Thrilling Cities, James Bond author Ian

Fleming wrote of an evening he spent in the early 1960’s at

what was then Macau’s premier nightspot: “The Central

Hotel is not precisely a hotel. It is a nine-story skyscraper, by

far the largest building in Macau … The higher up in the

building you go, the more beautiful and expensive are the

girls, the higher the stakes at the gambling tables, and the

better the music.”

There is still a Central Hotel, but it is now a seedy two-star

lodging. In the 1970’s, the action shifted to Stanley Ho’s

Hotel Lisboa, a complex marked by a round, neon-covered

tower topped with what appears to be a giant roulette wheel.

Inside, the décor is Morris Lapidus–meets–Louis XIV.

Gambling has been one of Macau’s attractions since the mid 19th century

AN

DR

EW

RO

WA

T



THINK EXCESS AND YOU’VE GOT IT. It is an old-style

Chinese casino, smoky and full of men mainly,

gambling with a quiet intensity, the low rollers playing a dice

game called big/small, and the players in roped-off VIP

rooms focusing on Bond’s game, baccarat. The girls,

expensive and not-so-expensive, reputedly hang out in the

lower-level arcade. The Lisboa, Macau’s premier tourist

draw until the Sands opened its doors, has been superseded

by the Grand Lisboa, a 44-story tower shaped like a Las

Vegas chorus girl’s headdress that Stanley Ho has almost

completed. Its casino opened in February 2007, while the

hotel tower will be completed in the fi rst quarter of this year.

From 1961 until 2002—the years when he had a

monopoly on gaming—Macau was Stanley Ho’s town. He

and some of his 17 children (from four wives) and his various

companies and subsidiaries still own 16 Macau casinos, plus

the high-speed ferries and terminal, part of the airport, and

the landmark Macau tower. In 2002, the Macau

government decided to offer opportunities to several other

casino operators, including Las Vegas’s Sands and Steve

Wynn, as well as the Hong Kong–based Galaxy. The

Nevada operators brought with them the newfound

respectability and over-the-top showmanship that they had

used to reinvent the Las Vegas strip in the 1990’s.

In September 2006, Wynn Resorts opened its casino and

600-room hotel across Avenida da Amizade from the

Lisboa. It’s bronzed-glass wedge is much like the new Wynn

Las Vegas, but surrounded by a two-story liner of faux

Portuguese-colonial architecture. Grant Bowie, president

and general manager of Wynn Resorts Macau insists,

“We are not creating a new Las Vegas in Macau. What

we’re creating is a new Macau.” Steve Wynn is, in relative

terms, a sensitive casino developer. The faux-Portuguese

element, Bowie tells me, gives the building “a level of

sympathy and harmony.”

Personally, I don’t mind Wynn’s semi-Modernist tower;

my real problem is with the pseudo-Portuguese trim. In fact,

it was in Bowie’s offi ce that I experienced my fi rst twinge of

nostalgia. Macau is a wonderfully complex, very real place

with a rich, 450-year history, which is quickly being overrun

Cotai

Macau

-Taipa B

ridg

e

Avenida da Amizade Fish

erman’s W

harf

* Map not set to scale

DOWNTOWN MACAU

MGM Grand

The Venetian Resort

Grand Lisboa

Sands

Fisherman’s Wharf

Wynn Macau

CL

OC

KW

ISE

FR

OM

BO

TT

OM

LE

FT

: F

AH

SA

KH

AR

ET

; C

OU

RT

ES

Y O

F M

GM

MIR

AG

E;

CO

UR

TE

SY

OF

PO

NT

E 1

6;

FA

H S

AK

HA

RE

T;

CO

UR

TE

SY

OF

TH

E W

YN

N M

AC

AU

; C

OU

RT

ES

Y O

F T

HE

SA

ND

S M

AC

AO

; A

ND

RE

W R

OW

AT

Casinos, shopping centers, hotels and more casinos—here are the city’s new developments: planned, under construction or recently built

THE NEW MACAU

Ponte 16

WHEN TO GOOctober, November and December are the best months to visit subtropical Macau, when the weather is cool and relatively dry. Think twice about going in September, when typhoon season is at its peak.

GETTING THERE There are several airlines servicing Macau from other Asian cities, including regional budget carriers such as Viva Macau, Air Macau, AirAsia and Tiger Airways. Most major airlines have fl ights to Hong Kong from cities in Asia, Europe, North America and Australia. From Hong Kong, take a ferry to Macau (or a helicopter — a much speedier alternative).

WHERE TO STAYWynn Macau Rua Cidade de Sintra NAPE;

853/986-9966; www.wynnmacau.com; doubles from US$230.

Hotel Lisboa 2–4 Avda. de Lisboa; 853/2888-3888; www.hotelisboa.com; doubles from US$110.

Mandarin Oriental 956–1110 Avda. da Amizade; 853/793-3261; www.mandarinoriental.com; doubles from US$283.

Crown Macau (the hotel is known as Crown Towers but it is contained within the Crown Macau complex) Avenida de Kwong Tung; 853/2886-8888; www.crown-macau.com; doubles from US$293.

WHAT TO DOSt. Paul’s Church The original façade is all that’s left of the derelict 17th-century church,

an all-important historic monument near Senado Square.


by the purveyors of faux places and fake history. Granted,

the historic core of Macau’s peninsula, named a UNESCO

World Heritage site in 2005, is home to a remarkable

collection of meticulously restored Catholic churches, houses

and public buildings, plus a handful of Chinese temples.

There is the iconic St. Paul’s Church, now just a stone

façade, and St. Dominic’s, a 16th-century church with a

genuinely ethereal sanctuary and a bell tower housing an

impressive multistory display of sacred art. Senado Square,

the center of non-gambling life in Macau, has perhaps been

gussied up a bit too much, but it genuinely feels like a lost

corner of Europe.

FOR ME, THE REAL PLEASURE in Macau is in roaming the

backstreets, stumbling on enclaves of antique houses—

some restored and others crumbling—or the hilltop Guia

Fortress, a 19th-century lighthouse abutting a 17th-century

fresco-decorated chapel. That this all still exists can be

attributed to a massive preservation effort begun by the

Portuguese before the hand over, something that the English

in Hong Kong never thought to do. Sadly, the UNESCO

designation has not proven to be as big a draw as expected,

and the heritage tourists are a mere trickle compared with

the gamblers.

In 2003, a year before the Sands opened its doors, China

changed its tourism policy and, for the fi rst time, allowed

individuals to travel unescorted across the border to Macau.

In the 12 months to July 2007, well over half of Macau’s 24.6

million visitors came from the mainland. The government is

predicting 40 million visitors a year by the end of the

decade. The general assumption here is that Chinese

tourists, besides having a keen interest in gambling, are

suckers for themed attractions. Much of the development in

Macau is elaborate stagecraft, intended to lure the masses

from Zhuhai and beyond. After all, there are 1.3 billion

potential tourists and gamblers just across Macau’s inner

harbor. After lunch and a stop at the beguiling 19th-century

Lou Lim Ieoc Garden, in central Macau, I make my way to

Fisherman’s Wharf, 121,000 square meters of waterfront

shopping mall, developed, in part, by Stanley Ho. As the

afternoon light fades, I blend into mob of tourists and locals

and meander past gift shops and restaurants set in fragments

of ancient Rome, South Beach Miami, New Orleans,

Amsterdam and Lisbon, and wind up standing in front of a

Tang Dynasty gate. Fisherman’s Wharf also boasts a fake

volcano, like the one at the Mirage in Las Vegas, except this

one houses a roller coaster and a Victorian-style hotel. I walk

back to the Macau–Hong Kong ferry terminal, half-

believing Fisherman’s Wharf was conjured up not by Ho but

by some French theorist eager to prove a point about

simulation and the Society of the Spectacle.

Change happens so fast in Macau that it makes my head

spin. There is no telling what will occur when the planned

bridge linking Macau, Zhuhai and Hong Kong is completed

(2010 is the optimistic projection). Dozens of casinos have

debuted or are scheduled to along the old “new Macau

strip,” including the Wynn, the Galaxy and the Grand

Lisboa. The MGM Grand (developed in partnership with

Ho’s daughter, Pansy), opened late last year. The 1,005-

room Grand Hyatt Macau hotel is scheduled to open in

September 2009. And then there is a development (in which

Ho has a controlling interest) called Ponte 16. Another

mixed-use spectacle zone, this one designed by Jon Jerde—

known for, among other things, his work on Wynn’s

Bellagio—is “rich in the spirit of European-urban hubs.” It

opened in late 2007.

I guess it can be argued that casinos are the 21st-century

answer to cathedrals. But I fi nd that I am nostalgic for

the old Macau … Macau as it used to be, back in the fi nal

weeks of 2006. �

MA

P B

Y A

YA

D S

INA

WI

GUIDE TO MACAU

A MEDIA TRANSASIA PUBLICATION UNDER LICENSE FROM AMERICAN EXPRESS PUBLISHING CORPORATION.

Every month, more than 5 million people worldwide read Travel + Leisure, the world’s leading travel magazine.

Now, the newest addition to the brand, Travel + Leisure Southeast Asia, is inspiring its readers to experience the world. In each issue, readers can find stunning adventures, cutting-edge style and fashion, sensational hotels, innovative restaurants and the lavish spas that everyone is talking about.

DECEMBER 2007

25TOP HOTELSWORLDWIDE

REVIEWEDAND RATED

ASIA GUI DE

+Insider’s fashion

guide to New York

Paradise found insouthern Vietnam

Colonial chic: revival in Penang

YOUR ULTIMATE

SINGAPORE SG$6.90 ● HONG KONG HK$39THAILAND THB160 ● INDONESIA IDR45,000MALAYSIA MYR15 ● VIETNAM VND80,000MACAU MOP40 ● PHILIPPINES PHP220 BURMA MMK32 ● CAMBODIA KHR20,000 BRUNEI BND6.90 ● LAOS LAK48,000

LAUNCH ISSUE

Where to go, where to stay, what to doHong Kong SingaporeThailandBaliCambodiaPhilippines...and more

*Terms and conditions: Room nights only for any hotel from the Leading Hotels of the World. Travel to and from the property is not included. Subscriptions need to be submitted before March 31, 2008. Winner will be notifi ed after April 1, 2008 and must use hotel prize before September 30, 2008. Property selected by winner may be different from properties shown. No cash alternative will be given.

To subscribe, visit www.travelandleisuresea.com/subscribe

Subscribe Now!

SUBSCRIBE NOW FOR A CHANCE TO WIN

a three-night stay at any of the 450 Leading Hotels of

the World (www.lhw.com)

45%OFFTHE COVER PRICE USING YOUR

AMERICAN EXPRESS CARD

SUBSCRIBE NOW FOR

20% off for other cards

Winner also receives a one-year Unlimited Leaders Club membership, which entitles the holder to be on the VIP list of 450 of the world’s most spectacular hotels and resorts

99

(T+L)01.08

THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE AND MANHATTAN. PHOTOGRAPHED BY HUGH STEWART

100 A new buzz in old HONG KONG 110 HOKKAIDO: wild winter landscapes 118 Capital pleasures in PHNOM PENH 130 BROOKLYN with attitude and energy

Where restaurants and bars buzz nightly, while art and fashion play against the worn, faded backdrop of old Hong Kong. By DAVID WONG. Photographed by GRAHAM UDEN

Traditional Chinese lanternsat Chow Kee Lantern Store

on Staunton Street.

WA

SIN

EE

CH

AN

TA

KO

RN

102

SOHO, AND ITS COME-LATELY NEIGHBOR

NoHo, have established themselves as hip

alternatives to nearby Lan Kwai Fong,

Hong Kong’s premier dining and enter-

tainment area. What is drawing many to

SoHo/NoHo, and away from its more

famous and predictable rival, are its con-

trasts. It is an area where bars, high-end

restaurants and art galleries share narrow

streets and alleyways with the mottled

shopfronts of some of the oldest businesses

in Hong Kong. Print houses, clanging

metal shops, tiny factories turning out

coffins and cardboard boxes, and pur-

veyors of Chinese knickknacks sit side-by-

side places like bricolage62—where de-

signer-clad girls sip rainbow-colored cocktails—and Joyce Is Not Here, where

incense from a nearby Taoist temple invades while patrons sit bathed in blue

neon listening to soulful jazz.

SoHo (a neat, truncated acronym for South of Hollywood Road) defines an

area of Hong Kong that clambers up a steep incline from the city’s Central

District to the Mid-Levels, while cleverly alluding to more famous namesakes

in New York and London. (NoHo works to the same rule, as in North of Hol-

lywood Road.) Its transformation from a no-name area of stepped streets, dank

alleyways and grimy tenements to an enclave of bars, clubs and restaurants

can be put down to the strangest of reasons: an escalator.

The Central–Mid-Levels Escalator and Travelway (or more simply “the

Escalator”) rides 800 meters from low-lying Central to Conduit Road in the

Mid-Levels. Its purpose when built in the mid 1990’s was to unclog traffic

on the roads that wind up from Central to the Mid-Levels by offering com-

muters a less troublesome way to and from work. It did the trick and, along

the way, slowly transformed a neighborhood. »

WHEN TO GOMay to August in Hong Kong is hot and wet, alternating between sunny and overcast, with very high humidity. December to February can get quite cold occasionally, but rarely drops below 10 degrees. The best time of year is between September and December when both the temperature and humidity drop.

WHERE TO SHOPThe Green Lantern72 Peel St.; 852/2526-0277.

Homeless29-31 Gough St.; 852/2581-1880.

Phoebe’s Designer Bakery25 Aberdeen St; 852/2815-8866.

Rock CandyPremium designer jewelry at its most bling and ostentatious. The giant diamond spinning in the window front must be seen to be believed. 1 Elgin St.; 852/2549-1018.

Spy Henry Lau21 Staunton St.; 852/2317-6928.

Amandarling Women's fashions. 32 Lyndhurst Terrace; 852/2116-0248.

SoHo/NoHo VibeClockwise from above left:

A giant insect looms above the shopfront of

home furnishings store Homeless; the cutesy art

of Hong Kong artist Carrie Chau Wun Ying features at Homeless;

indoors and outdoors at Staunton’s Bar + Cafe,

one of the area's favorite haunts; decked in the lastest fashions

from outlet Amandarling.

103

THE ENERGY SPILLS OUT OF PACKED

RESTAURANTS ONTO THE STREETS

Contemporary Spanish tapas comes with an

Asian infl uence at Boca bar and restaurant.

Above: Cheekay Chow, owner of the designer cake shop and bakery,

Phoebe’s. Opposite, top: Opening night for mainland artist Zhou

Siwei’s exhibition at 82 Republic. Below: A

familiar face draped across the front of the People’s Republic of

Culinary.

106

The Escalator has exits on the streets it intersects, allowing people to jump

on and off en route. A few years back, a handful of entrepreneurs saw the

potential of an area with a daily captive audience of passersby.

“The beauty of SoHo in the early days was that rents were cheap,” says Dan

F, owner of nightclub Yumla, which lies on the now-blurry border of SoHo

and Lan Kwai Fong. “This meant that the bars and restaurants could offer

more personalized entertainment. Because rents weren’t so steep, you didn’t

have to worry as much about creating something with mass appeal like in Lan

Kwai Fong.”

I have spent years exploring Hong Kong’s nightlife scene and grown tired

of over-priced drinks, cheesy cover bands and the high-roller meat-market

crowd. So Yumla is an epiphany. Its design is inspired by the cantina scene in

Star Wars, and compared with most bars in Hong Kong, it’s about as alien.

Finally, I am hearing music that doesn’t make me cringe with a crowd that

isn’t clad in suits or rugby shirts.

SoHo’s bar scene buzzes constantly and while weekdays are busy, weekends

are positively heaving. The epicenter is at the junction of Staunton Street and

the Escalator, on the pavement outside Staunton’s Wine Bar + Cafe. There’s

nothing pretentious going on here; the bar’s décor is clean and simple, and

crowds gather every night to enjoy the lively scene. The place serves good

food, but most people are happy just to come and drink. Crowds spill from

the bar onto the pavement and steps by the roadside serve as impromptu

barstools, while a rusty mailbox is a good place to rest your pint.

A little further down Staunton Street, the Feather Boa is hidden behind

cracked wooden doors and thick curtains. From the outside this unsigned bar

looks like an abandoned warehouse, but once those doors open, glimmering

lamps and gilded antique furniture make you feel as though you’ve stumbled

upon a well-kept secret—even though the place is almost always packed.

A lot of SoHo’s bars double as restaurants, with as many people standing in

and around doorways as sitting at tables. The Havana Bar & Grill exemplifies

this seamless restaurant/bar blend, with Latin rhythms echoing as a young

cosmopolitan crowd sips mojitos beneath Art Deco columns, while an open

balcony upstairs ensures diners don’t miss any of the action on the street.

Restaurants in SoHo/NoHo leave no culinary stone unturned. Tucked on

the steep bank of Graham Street and noticeable by its softly lit archway en-

trance, Le Tire Bouchon offers classic French cuisine with an emphasis on

authenticity and simplicity. The restaurant forgoes the gaudy (which many of

Hong Kong’s French restaurants fall victim to), for an understated elegance,

which has helped it become one of the best-loved French eateries in the city.

Walking along Staunton, Peel and Elgin streets on any night, I feel the

palpable energy spilling out of packed restaurants onto the streets aglow be-

neath the neon signs.

The Thai restaurant, Chedi, serves up sizzling spring rolls and sliced pork

neck, while customers enjoy a great people-watching spot, as human traffic

churns off the Escalator onto Elgin Street. Or you can turn your back on the

nightlifers and soak in the warm colors and relaxed tones. Despite its high-

profile location, Chedi’s prices are reasonable and you can get a table.

My curiosity is piqued by Sichuan restaurant Shui Hu Ju. From the outside,

it looks like the set of an old kung fu movie. Peering through the cracks of the

wooden doorway, the silhouette of a stone Buddha image is about all you can

make out in the small, darkened room. Inside, the food matches the captivat-

ing mood, as dish after dish of Sichuan specialties like spicy crab and

deep-fried black chicken are placed on tables, almost too artistic to devour. »

WHAT TO DOArch Angel GalleriesWith multiple adjacent stores for each of its specialties, this huge outlet runs the gamut, from authentic antiques and Chinese sculptures to contemporary artworks. The staff is knowl-edgeable and helpful, and doesn’t object to browsing. 58 Hollywood Rd.; 852/2851-6882.

82 RepublicA contemporary art space with selections handpicked from art schools in China and around the world. The gallery has a network of young artists and offers them a channel to showcase their creations and share ideas. 62A Peel St.; 852/3521-0300.

Man Mo Temple/Cat StreetGiant incense coils hang from the ceiling inside the 150-year-old Man Mo Temple, offering food for the spirits. There’s also an English-speaking fortune-teller. Across the road, Cat Street — once famous as a haven for the criminal underworld —has outlets selling Chinese bric-a-brac and antiques, both au-thentic and fake. Intersection of Hollywood Rd. and Ladder St./ Upper Lascar Row.

Browsing for fashions at Amandarling.

Dishes and Décor Clockwise from above left:

Seared rare tuna, artichokes, asparagus and

frisée, topped with a poached egg and

hollandaise sauce, at Cecconi’s Cantina; the

rustic interior at Craftsteak; a tangle of tubing and lights hang

from the timber ceiling at Olive Restaurant & Bar; stone and brick feature prominently at Wildfi re

Italian restaurant.

The staff says the restaurant is often pri-

vately booked by Hong Kong celebrities,

who don’t mind paying for the whole res-

taurant for a table or two.

The area is less frantic during the day

when most of the bars take a break, while

restaurants offer affordable lunches.

Fashion designers like Henry Lau, one of

the city’s hottest up-and-comers, have

picked up on the vibe with an interest in

specialized, artistic offerings rather than

banal High Street wares. I step into his

store, Spy, and feel a part of the scene as

I browse rock star menswear amid glit-

tering nightclub décor.

Around the corner at The Green Lan-

tern, it feels more like a chilled-out lounge

than a furniture store. This Asian empo-

rium, run by Irish expatriate Olive Dun-

don, balances oriental inspiration with

European aesthetics—classic Asian fur-

niture ornately carved and drenched in

bright pinks and greens—with an air of modern simplicity and

quiet confidence. “One of the things that’s good about this

area is that even though you get so many international people,

whether they’re living here or not, when you walk around it’s

not all thumping music,” she tells me as we chat on a quiet

afternoon, while a few curious customers stroll in and out of

the store. “It’s very serene, it’s very calm. The restaurants have

a great atmosphere and super value, and a lot of the people in

them are genuinely very friendly.”

Nearby NoHo has the atmosphere of SoHo in its early days,

with an almost bohemian energy bubbling through its narrow,

quiet streets. The small open-front restaurant, Lot 10, on

Gough Street has a refined Continental

menu and tables set up outside for al fresco

dining. The two-story bistro has skillfully

transformed its original shopfront into

what resembles a small Mediterranean

beach house, with snow-white walls of

rough stone lit by hanging amber lamps.

The feeling here is more intimate; patrons

are diners more than drinkers. I find it

hard not be drawn in to it all.

Across the street, a giant insect sculp-

ture looms above designer outlet Home-

less, where you’ll find concept furnishings

and lighting in a gallery setting. It is dis-

playing works by local artist Carrie Chau

Wun Ying, whose art lands somewhere

between cutesy Chinese manga and eerie

children’s book illustrations. No matter

how you swing it, this just isn’t the kind of

street you normally find in Hong Kong.

“There’s a lot of exciting things happening

on Gough Street,” says Cheekay Chow,

who set up Phoebe’s—a designer bakery filled with towering

polka dot and cartoonlike striped cakes—at the top end of the

NoHo about a year ago. “There’s a lot of elderly people living

in the area ... lots of young expats as well. There’s also a lot of

young Chinese people around, so it’s a really good mix.”

With dollar signs blazing in the eyes of property developers,

there’s a good chance that SoHo/NoHo could go the way of

Lan Kwai Fong, with astronomical rents effectively ruining

fringe businesses. But Chow is optimistic that the area will be

able to hold onto its identity a little longer. “There’s a lot of old

businesses and older people in the area. These things take time.

I think it will stay the same for a while.” ✚

WHERE TO EAT & DRINKHop off the Escalator at Staunton Street and follow it until it loops around to become Elgin Street. From here, the restaurants are packed very tightly together.

Cecconi’s Cantina Traditional Italian using quality ingredients; an impressive wine list. 43 Elgin St.; 852/2147-5500.

Chedi 8 Elgin St.; 852/2868-4445.

Enoteca on Elgin An intimate Mediterranean setting with a menu that

emphasizes simplicity and flavor. 47 Elgin St.; 852/2525-9944.

People's Republic of CulinaryNew wave Chinese cuisine presented with attitude and sass. 37 Staunton St.; 852 2975-9788.

bricolage62 62 Hollywood Rd.; 852/2542-1991.

Le Tire Bouchon 45A Graham St.; 852/2523-5459.

Shui Hu Ju 68 Peel St.; 852/2869-6927.

Wildfire Casual Italian fare, with pastas and pizzas baked in a

wood-fired stone oven. 21 Elgin St.; 852/2810-0670.

Craftsteak Choice meat cuts charbroiled to order in stylish surroundings. 29 Elgin St.; 852/2526-0999.

Boca Spanish tapas bar. 65 Peel St.; 852/2548-1717.

Feather Boa 38 Staunton St.; 852/2857-2586.

Havana Bar & Grill 35 Elgin St.; 852/2545-9966.

Olive Restaurant & Bar Greek and Middle Eastern food

in an refined setting. 32 Elgin St.; 852/2521 1608.

Lot 10 Bar & Restaurant 34 Gough St.; 852/2813-6812.

Yumla 79 Wyndham St.; 852/2147-2382.

Joyce Is Not Here 38-44 Peel St.; 852/2851-2999.

Makumba African bar with a stage for singers and drummers to freestyle. 48-52A Peel St.; 852/2522-0544.

Staunton’s Wine Bar + Cafe10-12 Staunton St.; 852/2973-6611.

Dining Options Above: Stone and timber contrasts at Bizou restaurant. Opposite, top: Diners bathed in blue neon inside Joyce Is Not Here. Below: Down-home

black-and-white photographs adorn the walls at Craftsteak.

108

155

IT’S A REALLY GOOD MIX OF PEOPLE

Sakhalin spruces line a road leading to the small town of Abashiri, on the northern coast of Hokkaido.

IAN BURUMA

the end of the earthOn Japan’s remotest island, IAN BURUMAIAN BURUMAencounters a culture still steeped in the ways ofthe frontier. Photographed by TETSUYA MIURA

200112

island, is called Shiretoko, which means

“the end of the earth” in the language of

the Ainu, an indigenous people who have

barely survived more than a century of

Japanese rule. Relatively few humans live

in this wild, bleak, windy place, where

brown bears still roam and sea eagles glide

over the water in search of prey. The first

Japanese to settle in Hokkaido—some of

them worthy idealists, others desperadoes

looking for a new start—came as a buffer

against Russia in the 19th century (from

the end of the earth in midwinter, across

frozen seas, you can easily make out the

rocky shore of Kunashiri, an island administered by Russia but still claimed by

Japan). Hokkaido is the country’s least densely populated island (83,000 square

kilometers with 5.63 million inhabitants), Japan’s version of the Wild West. The

wide-open spaces, the pioneer spirit, the cattle ranches and the lingering presence

of an indigenous tribe make Hokkaido seem romantic to many Japanese. It is a

place where people from a highly stratified society come to reinvent themselves.

Precisely for this reason I was not very interested in Hokkaido during my student

days in Tokyo. Back then, in the 1970’s, I was keener to find “the real Japan”—the

temples of Nara and Kyoto, the snowbound villages of Akita and Aomori, the

historic cities of Kyushu. What little I knew about Hokkaido was from my favorite

yakuza (gangster) movie series, Abashiri Bangaichi (Abashiri Address Unlisted),

starring Ken Takakura as a noble yakuza incarcerated in the famous Abashiri

Prison, which takes its name from its location, a small town on Hokkaido’s northern

coast. (In most episodes, the hero emerges from the prison to start another

adventure, often ending up back where he came from.) From 1890 to 1984,

Abashiri, facing north on the Sea of Okhotsk, was the involuntary home of the

most hardened criminals in Japan. There is still a prison in Abashiri, but the

original one, relocated to the other side of town, is now a museum.

Morbid curiosity, then, and the prospect of meeting a family friend of my

wife’s—a bear hunter and beekeeper named Mitsutaka Hanada, who has lived in

northern Hokkaido for the past 30 years—were reasons to explore Japan’s last

frontier. We decided to begin in Abashiri, as there was one more reason that I was

drawn to this isolated little prison town. Some years before, an American friend of

mine had met a Japanese jazz lover who owned a tiny bar in Abashiri. Japan, like

England, is rich in monomaniacs: this man was fanatical about jazz and about the

saxophone player, Art Pepper, in particular. Pictures of Pepper covered the walls

of his bar; he listened to little but Pepper’s music. One day, he wrote Pepper a fan

letter, saying that his greatest dream was to hear his idol play in Abashiri. Pepper,

the story goes, was so touched that he agreed to come.

We flew from Tokyo to Memanbetsu, the airport nearest to Abashiri, early one

January, when all of Hokkaido was blanketed in snow. Friends in Tokyo had

The northeastern tip of Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost

Snow Views Opposite: The lobbyof the Windsor Hotel, with Lake Toya inthe distance. Below:A snowy streetin Abashiri. M

AP

BY

ST

EV

E S

TA

NK

IEW

ICZ

warned us that many roads on the island might be closed. Winter is perhaps the

most spectacular, but not the easiest, time to travel in northern Japan. But Hanada-

san had reassured us that he had all the requisite equipment to deal with any

weather problem. He was waiting for us at the airport, a wiry, compact man in his

60’s with a friendly smile.

Hanada-san is, in many respects, a typical man of Hokkaido. Born on the main

island of Honshu and a veteran of several trades, he went north to start a new life.

“I have nomadic blood in my veins,” he told us. As a young man, he joined the air

force, hoping to become a fighter ace. But he failed to make the grade and instead

spent some time hunting wild boar near Kyoto. Soon, however, he came to feel

that the Japanese mainland was too tame, too settled, too urbanized. It was on the

wilder shores of Hokkaido that he found his home.

Our first stop was the Abashiri Prison Museum, which was, quite frankly, a

disappointment, except for the bathhouse, where wax models of prisoners with

full-body tattoos were splashing imaginary water on their backs, and the delicious,

fresh, hot ginger-and-sake drink that we were offered in the reception room.

Somehow, without Ken Takakura emerging from its gate, the prison lacked »

113

the dangerous glamour of the movies. However, the lunch at

Sushi Yasu to which we were treated by Hanada-san and

Yaeko, his wife, more than made up for the letdown. Hokkaido

is renowned for its fish, but this place was spectacular. We ate

such delicacies as crab spawn, raw oysters wrapped in hoba

leaves, cod roe and the most succulent prawns’ heads. It was

the kind of establishment where knowledge of Japanese is

essential and an acquaintance with the chef quite helpful.

Hanada-san told us how he always stopped at this restaurant

on his return from travels with his honeybees, which he

transports from Japan’s southernmost major island, Kyushu,

to northern Hokkaido, following the warm seasons, making

honey from a variety of flowers.

“Here, you must try this,” Hanada-san said, as a frothy

white substance was set in front of me. “Cod’s sperm.

Delicious.” I asked the sushi chef if he had ever heard of Art

Pepper’s live performance in Abashiri. It seemed to ring a

bell, but he had to ask his wife. She called an acquaintance in

the area. And, yes, it turned out that my friend had not been

mistaken. Pepper had performed in Abashiri, but it wasn’t

entirely clear where this legendary event had taken place.

Apart from a Japanese recording of the concert, there appears

to be no other evidence of it. Pepper died in 1982, a year

after he played in Abashiri.

We were to spend our first night a bit east of Abashiri, in

Rausu, a fishing village on the Sea of Okhotsk. Yaeko

switched on the radio as we drove through the wedding-cake

landscape of snowed-under fields, white birches, and pine

trees dripping with ice and snow. We listened to a Viennese

waltz by Johann Strauss. Hanada-san told us that we wouldn’t

see any bears at this time of year. They were all asleep. But in

the warmer seasons, he said, hikers are advised to wear bells

around their necks; startled bears can be especially dangerous.

He also described how the Ainu used to hunt. First, they shot

the bear with arrows dipped in poisoned rice paste. Then the

swiftest young men would charge after the wounded beast

while tearing off bits of their clothing as markers for the

others to follow. When the bear was too exhausted to go on,

the men would close in for the kill.

We put up for the night in a Japanese inn. It was minus 26

degrees outside. After soaking in a wooden bath of sulfurous

water from the nearby hot spring, we changed into our

evening kimonos and sat on the tatami floor of the Hanadas’

room around a table laden with dishes. Over venison, pickled

squid, crabs, raw scallops, grilled flounder and a variety of

vegetables in a miso sauce, Hanada-san told us about other

delicacies awaiting us in Hokkaido. One specialty of this

northern region is raw sea lion. (We tried it later: it has the

consistency of liver and the taste of seaweed.) As we washed

down the flounder with some excellent claret, Hanada-san

continued to fill us in on Hokkaido lore. I especially liked the

story about a sea captain who was trapped in the ice with two

of his sailors and survived by eating them. Quite how they

came to their grisly end was never made clear. At the time,

people decided not to probe into this too deeply. But the

captain kept the collarbone of one of the sailors as a kind of

talisman to ward off disasters.

Contrary to the gloomy predictions of our friends in Tokyo,

the roads in Hokkaido were perfectly passable even in

midwinter. Our goal for the second night was to travel about

160 kilometers inland to a famous hot-spring resort on Lake

Akan, surrounded by active volcanoes. On the way, we passed

through some of the most spectacular scenery in the world:

frozen lakes and geysers spouting jets of scalding yellow water

over the snow; rare whooper swans landing on Lake Kussharo

like miniature Concordes; red-crested Japanese cranes (they

used to be served to the Emperor, as his culinary royal

prerogative) dancing for prospective mates in the wetlands of

Lake Akan; and the majestic volcano O-Akan looming in the

deep blue sky outside our hotel window.

The best thing about the hotel was the baths, steaming

outside on a freezing roof with views of the Akan mountains.

There is no sensual pleasure quite like slipping into hot spring

water in the open air at night, watching the stars after a good

meal and warm sake. The saddest thing about the Lake Akan

resort was the phony Ainu village filled with souvenir shops,

where descendants of this once proud people were selling

trinkets and crude woodcarvings of bears and fish. It could

have been worse: we might have been subjected to Ainu

dances put on for the tourists or to a posed photo with men

and women in traditional dress. Hanada-san explained that

people with Ainu blood—there are few, if any, pure-blooded

Ainu left—are desperate now to marry mainstream Japanese;

anything to escape the humiliations of a long-discriminated-

against, and now folkloric, people.

Our last night on the northern coast was spent in a large

resort hotel in Saromako. It was the middle of the week, and

we felt strangely alone padding around the empty restaurant

in our kimonos and slippers. Just as we were about to tuck

into a plate of pickled mackerel, we heard an out-of-tune

violin playing gypsy melodies. A tall, thin musician with a

beaky nose and a drooping mustache, dressed in an

extraordinary pink frock coat with silver glitter, hovered

uncomfortably close to our solitary table. He was Mr.

Kondratzky, from Warsaw, another who had embarked on a

second start near the end of the earth. “I don’t like it much »

Hokkaido delicacies include crab spawn, cod roe and oysters wrapped in hoba leaves

114

115

Cold Comfort Clockwise from left: Whooper swans on Lake Kussharo, on the northeast side of the island; a waiter at the Spanish bar, La Concha, in Hakodate; birches in Shiretoko National Park, also in the northeast; a guest room at the Windsor.

here,” he said, with a look of infinite sadness, “but I don’t like

most places in the world any better.”

We said good-bye to Yaeko and Hanada-san at the nearby

station of Engaru, where we boarded the train to Sapporo,

the largest city in Hokkaido, known chiefly for its fine

university, its ice sculptures in the winter and its excellent

noodle restaurants. Sapporo noodles (ramen), introduced by

Japanese war veterans returning from China in the 1940’s,

are famous all over Japan. There is even a kind of noodle

theme park, Republic of Sapporo Ramen, on the top floor of

the Bic Camera building, next to the railway station. Different

kinds of ramen from all over Hokkaido are displayed in

1950’s settings, complete with 1950’s music and 50’s costumes.

It is kitschy, but the ramen lives up to its reputation.

Sapporo has a vaguely Scandinavian feel: stark, modern

and clean. One of its most famous historic characters was an

American, a man named William Smith Clark. Clark was

president of the Massachusetts Agricultural College when he

came to Sapporo in 1876 to teach at the new Sapporo

Agricultural College, later to become Hokkaido University. A

pompous figure, Clark taught his Japanese students scientific

subjects, but also Christian principles. Before he left Japan, in

1877, he spoke the now legendary words, known to most

Japanese schoolchildren today, that helped define the

modernizing Meiji era: “Boys, be ambitious!”

The man who told us all about William Smith Clark was a

professor emeritus of English at Hokkaido University, William

“Willie” Jones. We were in a bar on top of the JR Tower

Hotel, over the train station, watching the snowflakes smudge

the neon lights outside the large windows. He cut an amiably

eccentric figure in wintry Sapporo, this mustachioed

Englishman who bore more than a faint resemblance to

James Hilton’s Mr. Chips in his brown tweed jacket, crimson

tie, sensible walking shoes and bicycle light worn round his

neck like a magical jewel.

Perhaps, like Mr. Kondratzky, or indeed Hanada-san, too,

Willie had come to Hokkaido a few decades ago for another

start in life. After spending 17 years as an English teacher at a

private school in Shropshire, he’d decided that he needed a

change. Neither an experienced traveler nor an expert in

anything Japanese, he left England with a light heart. When a

schoolboy took his hand to guide him to the gates of his new

university, he felt that “given such trust, I would be all right

here. I knew that this is where I would spend the rest of my

116

Nakano-shima island, in Lake Toya on southwestern Hokkaido, seen from the Windsor Hotel.

life.” Willie took a rather skeptical view of the Clark legend.

He told us how he once observed a Japanese student fall on

his knees to pray to the bronze bust of Clark on the university

campus. “It’s quite easy to become a god in Japan,” he

explained. Clark may be remembered by the Japanese as the

great white father who showed the way to modernity, but

according to Willie, Clark was a greedy man who craved

money and fame. Willie was not sure that the ambition he

instilled in generations of Japanese students was quite as high-

minded as he pretended. In any event, Hokkaido University

is now a hotbed of evangelical Christians.

We plowed through the snowdrifts the next morning to see

Clark’s bust for ourselves before setting off for our final

destination: Hakodate, the southern port city where most

Japanese pioneers in the mid 19th century first landed. The

city lies on a peninsula at the foot of Mount Hakodate. It has

more late ninth-century architecture, in the beautifully hybrid

colonial style, than anywhere else in Japan. Perhaps the most

stylish building is the old government house, made of wood

painted yellow and light gray. It features a spacious ballroom

that was sometimes used as a courtroom. But the highlight,

for me, was the cypress-wood toilet constructed especially for

the crown prince when he visited Hakodate in the 1910’s.

The royal smells were disguised by cedar leaves, and his stool

was carefully scrutinized by his personal physician, before

being disposed of.

Japanese tourists come to Hakodate for the exotically

“foreign” atmosphere, the superb fish restaurants and the

historic interest. For about six months, from 1868 to 1869,

Hakodate was the capital of the independent Republic of

Ezo, founded by idealistic rebels against the new Meiji

government. The insurgency in Hokkaido was led by a

remarkable man in his 30’s named Takeaki Enomoto. He had

studied naval warfare and maritime law in Nagasaki and the

Netherlands before hijacking a navy steamship in 1868 and

making for Hakodate with about 2,500 like-minded men. He

was the republic’s first and only president.

You can still see the ramparts of the Goryokaku Fort, where

Enomoto and his men fought a hopeless battle against a far

bigger force of government troops. Even though the rebellion

failed, the talents of Enomoto were so manifest that the

imperial government of Japan soon pardoned him. Just over

20 years later, he served the Meiji emperor as foreign minister.

Goryokaku Park has a hideous concrete observation tower

filled with pictures and busts of Enomoto—as well as a vast

array of soda machines and fast-food noodle shops. When we

entered, a young woman in a yellow and blue twinset, cream

stockings, high-heeled shoes, white gloves and a white hat

made a perfect 45-degree bow, pointed one gloved hand to

the sky, and told us in a well-trained falsetto that it was time to

board the elevator. Once inside, she lowered her hand and

began reeling off the things we would see at the top. When

we arrived, there came another 45-degree bow and a gloved

hand pointed to the door.

She is what is known in Japan as an elevator girl. Every

movement, every utterance of these women is as stylized as

those of a Kabuki actor. I saw a poster on the wall of the

Goryokaku Tower that celebrated the winner of a contest for

the “number-one elevator girl” in Japan.

The elevator girls take pride in coming as close as is

humanly possible to acting like perfect machines. They are a

curious reminder of another side to Japan, a conformist side

that provokes in some Japanese the spirit of rebellion, of

seeking out new territory, of reveling in space and freedom.

Who is to say which is “the real Japan”? Rebellion and

conformity are in equal evidence. You have to see both to

catch the spirit of this country, and especially of its

northernmost island. ✚

WHEN TO GOThough June to early September is usually considered the best time to visit Hokkaido, its raw, untamed beauty can be most fully appreciated in winter, when temperatures rarely go above minus 1 degrees and snow and freezing conditions prevail. For itineraries and more information, consult the Japan National Tourist Office (www.jnto.go.jp).

HOW TO GET THERESapporo’s New Chitose Airport (www.new-chitose-airport.co.jp) is Hokkaido’s largest and is served by flights from Tokyo and other Asian destinations, including Hong Kong, Shanghai and Seoul. Japan Airlines (www.jal.co.jp) and All Nippon (www.ana.co.jp) offer the most connections to Sapporo from

Tokyo. Other cities in Hokkaido also have airports. Check with the above carriers for connections from Tokyo.

GETTING AROUNDDriving in winter can be tricky. The good news: major highways are kept passable, and most rental cars have snow tires and chains. Japan Railways (www.japanrail.com) connects travelers to numerous locations on the island.

WHERE TO STAYHAKODATEWakamatsu Ryokan Luxury ryokan, or traditional inn, with top-notch spa. 1-2-27 Yunokawa-cho; 81-138/592-171; doubles from US$485, including breakfast and dinner.LAKE AKANAkan Tsuruga Besso Hinanoza 2-8-1

Akanko Onsen, 81-154/673-050; www.hinanoza.com; doubles from US$485, including breakfast and dinner.

LAKE TOYAThe Windsor Hotel Toya Resort & SpaFull-service resort, with skiing in winter and golf in summer. Shimizu; 800/745-8883 or 81-142/731-111; www.windsor-hotels.co.jp; doubles from US$290.RAUSURausu Dai-ichi Hotel Yunosawamachi, Rausu-cho; 81-153/872-259; doubles from US$50.SAPPOROHotel Monterey Edelhof Large city hotel with small but serviceable rooms. N2 W1; 81-112/427-111; doubles from US$145.SAROMAKOHotel Route Inn Grantia Saromako 812 Toppushi; 81-158/722-211; doubles from US$60.

WHERE TO EATABASHIRISushi Yasu S5 W2; 81-152/434-121; dinner for two US$60.SAPPORORamen Yokocho More than 15 noodle shops. S5 W3; dinner for two US$12.21 Club Arthur Hotel, USS10 W6; 81-115/611-000; dinner for two US$180.

WHAT TO DOABASHIRIAbashiri Prison Museum 1-1 Yobito; 81-152/452-411; www.kangoku.jp.HAKODATEGovernment Old Branch Office 12-18 Motomachi; 81-138/273-333. Goryokaku Fort 44-1 Goryokaku-cho; 81-138/512-864.SAPPOROHokkaido University Kita-ku; 81-11/716-2111.

117

GUIDE TO HOKKAIDO

BOUTIQUES AND BISTROS BLEND WITH REVAMPED FRENCH MANSIONS AND A FAIRYTALE PALACE, TRANSFORMING THE CAPITAL INTO A HOT NEW TRAVEL SPOT. BY RON GLUCKMAN PHOTOGRAPHED BY DAVID PAUL MORRIS

PHNOMPENH’SPHNOMPHNOM

NEWVIBEENHSENHS118

A waiter at Phnom Penh’s famous watering hole, the FCC.

200

ROM THE BALCONY OF THE FCC in Phnom Penh, you can

sit under slow-swirling ceiling fans, sip cappuccinos or fi ne

red wine and view fi shing boats fl oating along the Tonle

Sap River. Balloon vendors stroll the riverfront promenade

directly below, and the damp air drips with the scent of

grilled meat and baguettes stuffed with pâté from bicycle-mounted

kitchens, parked before white-shuttered French mansions. One

easily feels propelled back to the heyday of Indochine.

Visitors to Cambodia’s sleepy capital city have felt the same

allure and savored it from the same spot. With its expansive

menu and open-air terraces, the FCC, or Foreign Correspondent’s

Club (not a press club, but rather Phnom Penh’s landmark

watering hole), is ticked for a visit on most tourist itineraries.

Any manager would be pleased, but the smile on Anthony

Alderson’s face has added luster. That’s because for years he has

soaked up the same serene scene, often by himself. Alderson

moved here from Hong Kong in 1992, among the early entre-

preneurs who came to serve workers in the United Nations’

peacekeeping mission. In the long years afterwards, he touted

Cambodia as Asia’s next sure-fi re destination. But something—

be it kidnappings or coups—always held the country back.

His lonely days are gone and Phnom Penh is on the tourist

map. From a barstool overlooking the lazy Tonle Sap, Alderson’s

view up the riverfront Sisowath Quay takes in lots of scaffolding;

lovely old colonial mansions are being refurbished at a brisk

pace. Long an investment wasteland, Cambodia is Asia’s new

tiger economy, roaring to double-digit growth rates.

“Cambodia is booming, no question about that,” says

Alderson, whose FCC group has expanded up country to Siem

Reap and neighboring Vietnam. Now, it’s ratcheting up invest-

ments in Phnom Penh, where it recently acquired a century-old

building adjacent to the FCC for expansion plans. Down the

block, its popular Spanish tapas bar, Pacharan, serves packed

houses inside another lavishly restored heritage building. Fresco

Café, on the ground fl oor under the FCC, recently added a

second outlet. In December, Alderson opened The Quay, a

small, stylish hotel right on the river.

The FCC is only one force in a headlong rush among food

and beverage establishments. The Shop, Java Café, Deli and

Garden Café have all added outlets in recent months. At The

Pavilion—Phnom Penh’s fi rst boutique hotel—guests tap lap-

tops around a tranquil garden swimming pool, but owner Alexis

de Suremain is frantic. He’s opening three new boutique inns all

before celebrating The Pavilion’s fi rst anniversary. “Phnom

Penh has taken off and the growth is going to be explosive for

years to come,” Alderson predicts. “This time, it’s for real.” »

FThe FCC is only one force

120

of food and

F

Capital Pleasures Clockwise from left: A cyclo driver waits for a fare; colonial elegance at the Pacharan restaurant; cuisine at the FCC; FCC operations director Anthony Alderson; the terrace at the FCC; a Cambodian fl ag fl utters outside a temple; green peppercorn scallops at Malis restaurant.

in a headlong rush

beverage establishments 121

Poolside at the Raffles Hotel Le Royal. Above: The Le Royal’s lobby.

123

Greet and EatClockwise from left: A stylish table setting at the Raffl es Hotel Le Royal; the rooftop bar at the Topaz restaurant; shopping at a Phnom Penh market; casual dining at the Anise Hotel; greetings from the doorman at the Le Royal.

Such swagger appears sensible when one departs the FCC

to stroll up the riverfront, where stylish spas and silk shops are

nudging aside the pizza parlors, Internet cafés and CD shops

serving backpackers, who for many years comprised most of

Cambodia’s few tourists.

NO PLACE BETTER ILLUSTRATES Phnom Penh’s new

vibe than Café Metro. An upscale bistro serving

fusion fare (pepper seared tuna, fi sh skewers, Peking

duck pancakes), its bar has a backdrop that shifts color con-

tinually. Not so the waitresses, who wear only black, like those

in a Robert Palmer video. Locals love the martinis. Best of all

is the crowd: a vibrant mix from around the globe, along with

young Cambodians, their hair thick with gel.

Such places and clientele didn’t exist in Phnom Penh two

years ago, testimony to its reinvention. “An edgy destination,”

says Manash, a 26-year-old Londoner, during a recent mar-

tini-soaked night at the Metro. “You really feel like an adven-

turer here.” Even old-timers are agog at the rapid evolution

of the entertainment scene.

“A year or two ago, you just didn’t see any of these people,”

confi des Tom O’Connor, owner of the Metro, himself an

adventurer who came to Cambodia in 1999 after a stint run-

ning a bar in Burma. “Phnom Penh has defi nitely reached a

turning point. I cannot believe how quickly it’s taken off.

Everything is moving forward—and fast.”

Indeed, it was not that long ago when options in Phnom

Penh were very limited: happy hour at the FCC or the

Elephant Bar at Raffl es Hotel Le Royal. Diplomats and expa-

triates—mainly aid workers who maintain a big presence in

one of Southeast Asia’s poorest countries—sustained a hand-

ful of smart cafés in a scene dominated by French bistros and

simple Cambodian kitchens (though there was also a Russian

restaurant and North Korean noodle bar). The best of the

lot, The Shop and Java Café, remain popular hangouts.

But now, entrepreneurial ambitions have expanded along

with Cambodia’s economy, especially over the past year.

Dining options now range from Lebanese and Latin restau-

rants to Italian eateries like Le Duo, soaked in Sicilian

authenticity, from its lavish wine list to the accented welcome

by owner Luigi Savarino, who not only greets every guest

personally, but details recipes and suggests choices. »

City Sights Clockwise from left: Schoolchildren alongside the Tonle Sap River; a suite at the Raffl es Hotel Le Royal; a lotus pond at the Grand Palace; a monk treads a brick-paved footpath; the Happy Painting Gallery sells original work of celebrated local artist Stef Bright; adding the final touches to a street painting; delivering bananason a motorbike.

The fi rst shopping mall opened in

its tallest buildings (six stories).

2

After dinner, the crowd bounces from the Metro upriver to

Pontoon, a lounge bar with huge couches on an old wooden

boat and barge; or the cigar bar at Topaz, the hottest table in

town. It’s run by the same group that spiced the local culinary

scene with Malis, which serves modern Cambodian fare in a

palace-like setting. Then there’s Rubies on Street 240—a wine

bar run by an ex-MTV producer.

This may resemble the party scene in any small city, but it’s

a quantum leap for Phnom Penh, which only got its fi rst

supermarket this century. The fi rst shopping mall opened in

2005, giving Cambodia one of its tallest buildings (six stories)

and fi rst escalator. ATM’s arrived only three years ago. Now,

multistory towers are sprouting around the city.

SLUGGISH DEVELOPMENT LEFT Phnom Penh one of the

best-preserved capitals in Asia. Wat Phnom—a temple

atop the only hill in an otherwise pancake-fl at city—is

a perfect place to start a tour. You climb the hill in the com-

pany of scores of monkeys. At the top, an orchestra produces

spiritual sounds on gamelan-like Cambodian instruments.

Looking over turrets of the fairytale palace poking through

the jungle-draped skyline, it’s easy to imagine that Phnom

Penh has changed little in a century. To be sure, the compari-

son can seem strained. Many buildings haven’t been cleaned

in decades. Poverty is overwhelming, along with pestering

beggars, particularly on the riverfront. Yet, for all the prob-

lems, Phnom Penh offers views of Asia that disappeared dec-

ades ago in other places.

Despite local gripes about increasing traffi c, the city remains

slow paced and easy to get around, on foot or by motorbike.

A nifty treat is touring lazily by cyclo (a bicycle rickshaw)

through neighborhoods of old French villas surrounded by

thickets of frangipani. The area around the Royal Palace and

majestic Royal Museum is especially evocative; its austere

walls off-limits to traffi c, creating vast, empty corridors remi-

niscent of Beijing’s ethereal Forbidden City. From the park

fountain fronting the palace, not a soul passes save for the

occasional orange-robed monks.

A lack of tourist traffi c has long been Phnom Penh’s allure,

although this is changing fast. Until Angelina Jolie put

Cambodia on the map with Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and »

2005, giving Cambodia one of

ATM’s arrived only three years ago

126

her adoption antics, most people likely equated the country

with genocide, if they gave Cambodia any thought at all. An

estimated 1.7 million people, nearly a quarter of the popula-

tion, perished during the 1975–79 rule of the Khmer Rouge.

Fighting raged in the ensuing decades and anarchy gripped

the country even after the UN spent US$10 billion in hope of

disarming all the factions and rebuilding society. Safety con-

cerns scared off tourists, particularly after a number were

kidnapped in the 1990’s. Gunfi re was still common around

Phnom Penh when I fi rst visited in 1993.

Back then, Cambodia hosted fewer than 50,000 visitors a

year. Last year, visitors are likely to have topped 2 million. Yet,

most of them bypass Phnom Penh, fl ying directly to Siem

Reap to visit the magnifi cent temples of ancient Angkor.

“In the old days, people fl ew to Siem Reap and didn’t even

bother with Phnom Penh, which, frankly, was a dump,” says

Riaz Mahmood, area general manager for Raffl es Hotels &

Resorts, which runs the historic Le Royal. “But the tide began

turning in early 2006,” he says happily. “And it’s just contin-

ued to grow and grow.”

Rooms were in short supply last year, long before high sea-

son, as group tours began rolling into town. Tourists swarmed

the Central Market, an amazing 1930’s Art Deco showpiece;

and shopped for bargains at chaotic Russian Market, where

AK-47’s sold beside bales of marijuana only a decade ago.

Normally the capital remains quiet until the end of the

rainy season, marked by the huge Water Festival, which cel-

ebrates the remarkable reversal in the fl ow of the Tonle Sap

River. Swelled by rains, water drains from the Mekong River

into Cambodia, fi lling Tonle Sap Lake—the largest in

Southeast Asia. As the rains subside, the river fl ow reverses,

draining the massive lake.

“This is our best year by far,” notes Mahmood, whose hotel

is steeped in the smell of lemongrass and Old World charm.

When the Khmer Rouge rolled into the city, the Le Royal was

where diplomats and the foreign press took refuge, as depict-

ed in The Killing Fields. With its checkerboard tiles and silk-

lantern lights, the impeccably landscaped property conjures

up colonial bliss. The Elephant Bar is packed on Friday eve-

nings. Mahmood notes that occupancy at his hotel has dou-

bled over the last three years. “I’m extremely positive about

Phnom Penh. The government is fi xing the place up.” »

Around TownClockwise from left: The Romdeng restaurant; one of the city’s many temples; browsing at the Russian Market; an over-sized cappuccino served at the FCC; outdoor dining inthe evening.

M O N T H 2 0 0 7 | T R A V E L A N D L E I S U R E . C O M 000

Slug:Location (T+L Journal)

A long-tail boat on the Tonle Sap River. Below: Cyclo drivers catch some shade and sleep between shifts.

The green strip in front of the hotel has been replanted

with fl owers and joggers pass young lovers on park benches.

Around the city, many public spaces have been reinvigorated.

In November last year, enormous crowds cheered the reopen-

ing of the Independence Monument—a huge, fl amboyant

Khmer pagoda designed by Vann Molyvann, the driving

force behind the celebrated Modernist style that fl ourished

here in the 1960’s.

NOT ALL PROGRESS IS PRAISEWORTHY. Human rights

groups condemn land grabs by developers in pri-

vate deals with a regime widely criticized for cor-

ruption. Many historic buildings around town face the wreck-

ing ball. “There is no preservation program,” laments

Stefanie Irmer, of Khmer Architecture Tours, which tries to

raise awareness of local architecture with guided tours.

“What is left is remarkable,” she says, “but so much of it is in

danger.” Mahmood adds: “Now is the time to see Phnom

Penh. In fi ve years, it won’t be the same.”

Yet, much of the change is for the better, and not only for

visitors. Encouraged by the economy, former refugees are

returning, bringing with them a new sense of style.

Kethana Dunnet left in the 1960’s, long before Cambodia’s

Golden Age melted under the living nightmare of the Khmer

Rouge. She studied in New Zealand, then worked for Air

New Zealand, where she met husband Bruce. In the 1990’s,

while based in Singapore, she began revisiting her homeland.

Five years ago, they moved back and opened Sugar Palm.

Adorned with silk fabrics and antiques, the renovated sho-

phouse’s homey feel makes it a standout among the spas, bars

and boutiques on Street 240—not surprising, since it’s also

the Dunnet home. It also features fabulous home-style cook-

ing, the kind visitors in earlier years might have missed. “My

husband and I ate in many restaurants after we moved to

Cambodia,” she recalls, “but not like I remember from grow-

ing up in the 1960’s.”

Blame, again, falls on the Khmer Rouge and the insistent

fi ghting that followed. Restaurants and schools had been

destroyed; food supplies devastated. Cambodian cuisine is

often lumped together with Thai, understandable since many

restaurants served it to early visitors, knowing they were

familiar with Thailand. Both feature galangal and limes, but

Cambodian food tends to be more sour than spicy. And prac-

tically all dishes feature prahok, a fermented fi sh paste.

Nobody has done more to restore respectability to

Cambodian cuisine than Luu Meng. Head chef at the

Sunway Hotel while still in his early 20’s, he opened Malis

(Cambodian for jasmine) in late 2005, shaking up the local

scene with his modern take on traditional dishes like mango

and dried fi sh, pepper crab (wok-fi red and spiced with chili

and peppercorn) and marvelous deserts (jasmine ice cream

in sweet watermelon soup).

“The easy thing was to copy other places,” Meng says. “I

wanted to do something new and original.” He has since

opened a string of restaurants—Anise (Asian fusion), Bai

Thong (Thai) and Topaz (fi ne French dining)—most in part-

nership with Group TAM, an investment company in

Cambodia. The latest is Café Sentiment, a three-story cof-

feehouse on busy Monivong Boulevard. Forget Starbucks.

Meng plans a homegrown chain of perhaps 20 outlets

within a few years. “This whole town is moving. All of

Phnom Penh is open for business,” he says.

Indeed, Malis is packed nightly, as the capital’s dealmakers

retreat to private rooms, or recline on black couches at a

sleek bar overlooking a lotus pond. Most of the crowd is

Cambodian, proving what Meng set out to show: that locals

are ready for new levels of service and style.

But what about the average citizen, subsisting on less than

US$1 per day? No place better illustrates the trickle-down

effect of tourism than Romdeng, where you can satisfy your

hunger without shortchanging your conscience. Run by the

charity Friends, this is its second restaurant staffed entirely by

street kids. Friends, the fi rst, became a favorite of aid workers

with its wholesome menu and bohemian décor. Romdeng,

on Street 278, is more upscale, but with the same menu.

‘Cambodia is booming, no 128

GETTING THEREThere are daily fl ights from Bangkok, Hong Kong, Ho Chi Minh City and Singapore with the major carriers. Discount airline AirAsia has daily fl ights from Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur. Visas are required, but you can get them on arrival at Phnom Penh International Airport for US$20.

WHEN TO GOThe ideal time tovisit is the dry season, particularly November through February, when breezes coolthe evenings. Temperatures peak in April; May and June can be hot and sticky. The rainy season follows and lasts through October.

WHERE TO STAYRaffl es Hotel Le Royal 92 Rukhak Vithei Daun Penh; 855-23/981-888; www.phnompenh.raffl es.com; doubles from US$290.

The Pavilion No. 227, Street 19; 855-23/222-280; www.pavilion-cambodia.com; doubles from US$50.

Amanjaya Spacious suites furnished with Cambodian antiques, with river or Royal Palace views. 1 Sisowath Quay; 855-23/219-579; www.amanjaya.com; doubles from US$115.

WHERE TO EAT & DRINKMalis 136 Norodom Blvd.; 855-23/221-022.

Romdeng No. 21, Street 278; 855/9221-9565.

Topaz Long-time French favorite, with a cigar bar and great wine cellar. 182 Norodom Blvd.; 855-23/221-622.

Pacharan Authentic bodega in a colonial building, with an open-air kitchen and brass bar. Spanish sounds and sweeping river views. 389 E1 Sisowath Quay; 855-23/224-394.

Sugar Palm No. 19, Street 240; 855-23/220-956.

Le Duo No. 17, Street 228; 855-12/342-921.

FCC (Foreign Correspondent’s Club) 363 Sisowath Quay; 855-23/724-014.

Café Metro Corner of Sisowath Quay and Street 148; 855-23/217-517.

Rubies Warm hosts and a great wine list give this cozy bar a loyal following. Corner of Street 19 and Street 240; 855/9231-9769.

Pontoon Riverbank at Street 108; 855-12/572-880.

WHERE TO SHOPRussian Market Streets 450 and 163.

Couleurs D’Asie High-quality silk, original home furnishings and a wide selection of local crafts in one of the top boutiques on hip Street 240. No. 33, Street 240; 855-23/221-075.

Lotus Pond Silk, statues and custom furniture among the stone-carving shops. No. 57, Street 178; 855-23/426-782.

WHAT TO SEENational Museum Housing a huge collection of Angkorian artifacts, the rust-red museum dates to the 1920’s and is a showpiece of royal architecture with an incredible interior courtyard. Corner of Street 178 and Street 13; 855-23/211-753.

Wat Phnom Corner of Street 96 and Norodom Blvd.

Tuol Sleng Genocide MuseumThis school became the Khmer Rouge’s main torture center, where thousands were sent and only a few survived. Stark pictures of the victims make for a moving memorial. Corner of Street 113 and Street 350; 855-23/216-045.M

AP

BY

ET

HA

N C

OR

NE

LL

GUIDE TO PHNOM PENH

Head chef Sok Chhong recommends specialties like spicy

beef soup with morning glory, fresh pomelo salad with

shrimp, topped with coconut and squid in fresh green pep-

pers (from Kampot, once a world-famous pepper area in

Cambodia). Romdeng also features another local delight:

tarantula. Locals favor crispy spiders, but the Romdeng ver-

sion, like all dishes, is subtlety seasoned (in lime juice) and

artfully presented.

Friends houses and trains homeless street children—so far,

800 of them—rescuing many from the local sex industry.

Chhong came from the countryside to seek work in the

capital, but wound up homeless along the river. Now, he’s

not only Phnom Penh’s youngest chef at 24, but he will soon

have his own cookbook: From Spiders to Water Lilies—Creative

Cambodian Food with Friends.

“Cooking saved my life,” he says. “Someday, I hope to

have my own restaurant.”

Unlike in the turbulent past, in Phnom Penh nowadays,

everything seems possible. “There is just so much creativity

here,” notes the Metro’s O’Connor. “Since we opened, there

have been so many places putting in that extra effort to add

style, to be modern.” Soon, he knows, the Metro won’t be

the hottest pub in town. It’s only natural. Like the fl ow of the

Tonle Sap River, one senses that the tide has fi nally turned

for Phnom Penh. ✚

Café Metro.

question about that’ 129

Trees line Clinton Street, which runs through Brooklyn Heights, Cobble Hill and Carroll Gardens. Opposite: Franck Alexandre, the manager of Bar Tabac, in Cobble Hill.

Brooklyn

You can take Manhattan—PETER JON LINDBERG finds attitude, energy and a refreshing counterpoint to that other borough right in his own backyard. Photographed by HUGH STEWART and DAVID NICOLASH

UG

H S

TE

WA

RT

. O

PP

OS

ITE

: D

AV

ID N

ICO

LA

S

132

WHEN I FIRST MOVED

to New York—that

is, to Manhattan—

in my early 20’s, I

had only the vagu-

est conception of

Brooklyn. There

was Welcome Back,

Kotter, I guess. Alvy

Singer, growing up under the Cyclone in Annie Hall.

Moonstruck and The Warriors. Tony Manero—Travolta

again—strutting through Bay Ridge in Saturday Night Fever.

Egg creams, Ralph Kramden. And the Dodgers, the

Dodgers, always with the Dodgers.

Beyond that, not much. I knew friends who’d grown up

there, but hardly anyone who’d stayed. Brooklyn was a place

people left (Woody Allen, Mr. Kotter, the Dodgers).

Manhattan was where people hoped to arrive. In the

received wisdom of NYC, Brooklyn was the Old Country,

and the East River a vast, roiling Atlantic.

It’s said that one in seven Americans can trace roots back

through Brooklyn. I can’t, but I live here now. I came seven

years ago, for the quiet, a bigger apartment and the novelty

of open sky. I also came with the resignation of someone

forced into the motel down the highway when every hotel in

town is sold out. It wasn’t an entirely happy move. Those

early days in Carroll Gardens felt like exile ... and Manhattan

was right over there, taunting me, taunting all 2.5 million of us.

I spent a lot of time plotting how to get back. Manhattan

... it takes a while to get over a girl like that. I compared

every new experience to what it was like “in the city.” If

Manhattan was the Sun, Carroll Gardens seemed a far-

flung, semi-inhabitable planet. Taxi drivers agreed. Utter

the B-word, and they’d practically hiss. “Hey, I’m not happy

about it, either,” I’d snap.

You can guess where this is going. At some point during

that first spring, something clicked—and I began falling for

Brooklyn. Maybe it was the sudden blooming of a rosebush

beside my steps one morning. But I’d wager it was the old

Polish greengrocer who, when I asked about fresh mint,

plucked me three sprigs from his window box. “Anytime you

need, just take,” he said. “Is for everybody.”

Finally, I was seeing Brooklyn for what it was, not just

what it wasn’t. I still went to Manhattan—for work, New

York Knicks basketball games, dental appointments. But

weekends I spent east of the river, uncovering the mysteries

of Williamsburg, Fort Greene and Brighton Beach. It wasn’t

all spearmint and roses. If I was slow to embrace »

The Wonder Wheel, as seen from the Coney Island boardwalk. Left: Teenagers on Smith Street, in Cobble Hill.

HU

GH

ST

EW

AR

T (

3)

A Hasidic resident of Williamsburg.

Brooklyn, Brooklyn was also slow to embrace me. Every

morning I repaired to the corner café for a macchiato. The

owner was a gruff Calabrian named Tony. (Everyone in

Brooklyn is named Tony, unless he’s Tov or Tung or Tolya

or Tariq.) I only knew his name because regulars always

walked in shouting “To-NAY!” Backs would be slapped,

greetings exchanged.

Me, Tony scarcely acknowledged. Eventually he’d fix me

with a look you might give a bug in your salad and say

“Whattayavin.” No matter that my order was always the

same. Each day I hoped against hope for a “Hey, guy! The

usual?” But always the same ignominy: “Whattayavin.”

Finally, manna from heaven. I walked in. Tony tilted his

chin. Managed a little smile. Said, “Howyadoin.” I blurted

out, “Fine, fine, excellent in fact!”—then savored my mac-

chiato as never before.

In Manhattan, you become a New Yorker within four

hours of picking up your keys. No matter where you’re from,

the city takes you in. Across the river, membership comes

harder. Through movies and postcards and songs, Manhattan

has always belonged to the world. Brooklyn always belonged

to Brooklynites. Well, surprise. In case you haven’t heard,

Brooklyn has become a byword for cool, the epitomic local-

boy-makes-good—suddenly, Brooklyn belongs to everyone.

It’s easy to say when a thing ends, harder to know when it

begins. Most locals date the fall of the old Brooklyn to 1957,

when you-know-who decamped for Los Angeles. (We can

refer to the years since as “A.D.”: After Dodgers.) But other

pillars were vanishing, too—manufacturing, shipping, the

white middle-class—and the borough struggled through the

second half of the century. When did the “new” Brooklyn

emerge? Was it in the 1990’s, when artists transformed

Williamsburg into the city’s creative hub? Was it in 2003,

when Zagat named the Grocery—a tiny room in Carroll

Gardens—the seventh-best restaurant in NYC? Or a year

earlier, when Time Out New York ran a cover headlined

“Manhattan: The New Brooklyn?” Whenever and however

it happened, the Borough of Kings is back. (Welcome back,

welcome back, welcome back.)

It never really went away, of course. Manhattanites always

made pilgrimages to Grimaldi’s and Peter Luger, to Coney

Island and the Botanic Garden (see “Guide to Brooklyn,”

page 139). But they came seeking humble, Brooklyn-y

things: pizza, steak, roller-coasters, trees. They didn’t expect

a salad of braised squid and pea shoots, or a stylish cocktail

bar or a killer music scene. Today, they’ll find all these in

spades, as well as those curious trees. Now friends from

London, San Francisco and even Manhattan’s TriBeCa

neighborhood are eager to discover this “Brooklyn” every-

one’s talking about. They want in like Tony Manero wanted

out. Brooklyn’s renaissance is far enough along that the nov-

elty angle is finally, blessedly moot, so restaurant critics and

fashion editors no longer add “And it’s in Brooklyn!” as a

parent might say “And she’s only a toddler!”

I admit the borough’s new cachet comes as some vindica-

tion. And, sure, I love braised squid and fancy cocktails as

much as the next yuppie arriviste. But I wonder if curious

visitors aren’t coming with misplaced expectations. If some-

one told you Brooklyn is “the next Manhattan,” they got it

dead wrong. Brooklyn is nothing like Manhattan. Brooklyn

looks and feels and is like no place else.

THE FIRST THING YOU NEED to know about Brooklyn

is that it is huge: New York’s most populous bor-

ough, home to nearly a third of its citizens. An

independent Brooklyn would be the nation’s fourth-largest

city. Brooklyn is a vast metropolis blessed and cursed to lie

500 meters from Manhattan. The second thing you need to

know about Brooklyn is that it is small. Big in breadth and

attitude, but intimate in the height of its buildings, the mod-

esty of its storefronts, the compactness of its communities.

Defined by the front steps, the bodega, the bocce or basket-

ball court, Brooklyn has an enduring neighborhood-ness.

Brooklyn has a singular ecology, sustaining a great variety

of quirky or exotic things (and people) that have little or no

place in Manhattan, nor in many other American cities.

Things like bocce courts, lemonade stands and pick-your-

own herb planters. Stickball games and ice cream trucks.

Taquerias (diners selling burritos and tacos) with screened

porches, bistros with dogwood-shrouded patios, Russian

beer gardens, Georgian supper clubs. The city’s only South

African restaurant, its only aquarium, its only carnival-style

freak show. Rock concerts staged in a Polish community

center where old ladies sell stoned kids pierogi (Slavic dump-

lings). An industrial canal that now attracts intrepid kayak-

ers. And, throughout the borough, an incredible range of

architecture, from Park Slope’s Italianate brownstones to the

19th-century carriage houses of Clinton Hill.

With relatively ample space and some creative ways of

using it, Brooklyn offers plenty of room for exception.

Consider the five following examples, each of which could

only exist here. »

Friends from London, San Francisco and even TriBeCa are eager to discover BROOKLYN. They want in like Tony Manero wanted out

{ }

134

OP

PO

SIT

E T

OP

: H

UG

H S

TE

WA

RT

(2

).

BE

LO

W:

DA

VID

NIC

OL

AS

(2

)

Hanging out at Brooklyn Social. Clockwise from left: Local history at the bar; home accessories at Bark, on Atlantic Avenue; hip basics at Bird, in Cobble Hill.

BROOKLYN has become a byword for COOL—and suddenly, it belongs

to everyone{ }

The Brooklyn Bridge and Lower Manhattan, as seen from Dumbo. Opposite: Good vibes at the Good Fork, in Red Hook; anchovy, chili and buffalo mozzarella pizza at Franny’s, in Prospect Heights. H

UG

H S

TE

WA

RT

. O

PP

OS

ITE

DA

VID

NIC

OL

AS

(2

).

{CASE STUDY NO. 1}: THE WORLD IN 189 SQUARE KILOMETERS I write about travel for a liv-

ing, so really, there’s no other place for me to live. Close to

100 ethnic groups are represented in Brooklyn, among them

935,000 immigrants. Some years ago, my wife and I got a

car—a car! In New York City!—and began exploring

Brooklyn as we would Miami or Los Angeles: on wheels.

Now we spend weekends traversing what might as well be

other hemispheres. You want Saigon? Sunset Park will do.

Dakar? Fort Greene. Damascus? Atlantic Avenue. Krakow?

Bedford Avenue. Kingston? East Flatbush.

Then there are the French, who have been flocking to

Boerum Hill and Fort Greene, lured by cheaper rents and an

unrushed, Continental pace. Smith Street is now lined with

francophone hangouts such as Robin des Bois, Provence en

Boîte and Bar Tabac. Every July the latter hosts an epic

Bastille Day bacchanal, when the surrounding streets are

filled with sand for an all-day pétanque tournament.

Gratuitous cultural stereotypes? We’ve got them too.

{CASE STUDY NO. 2}: DI FARA PIZZA AND BROOKLYN CUISINE Brooklyn is especially renowned

for its restaurants. Media darlings like Applewood, the Good

Fork and Al Di Là share a distinct Brooklyn sensibility. All

are disarmingly personal, defined by the whims of the chef,

who usually owns the place. A DIY aesthetic prevails, from

the handwritten menus to the house-cured salumi. Creativity

reigns, but pretense is banished.

Di Fara, a 45-year-old pizzeria in workaday Midwood,

may not appear to have much in common with the above,

but in a way it was a template for all that followed. It’s chef-

run (when owner Domenico DeMarco is sick, Di Fara shuts

down), homespun (no LCD screens, just an ancient brass

cash register), and reliant on, er, local produce (oregano and

basil plants spilling over the windowsill). The kitchen is a

model of inefficiency: DeMarco makes every pizza himself.

Instead of prepping ingredients in advance, he’ll grate just

enough mozzarella and Grana Padana for a single pie,

shreds only a few leaves of basil at a time. Making one pizza

takes, oh, about seven hours. Which is why no one in

Manhattan makes pizza half as good.

{CASE STUDY NO. 3}: BROOKLYN SOCIAL With

its pressed-tin ceiling and faded Deco mirrors, this Carroll

Gardens bar is an uncanny simulacrum of an Italian-

American men’s club. That’s because for 70-odd years it was

one: the Società Riposto, whose tuxedo-clad members gaze

out ghostlike from framed photos on the wall. They’ve been

supplanted by the neighborhood’s new guard—guys in pub-

lishing, dolls in ad sales. Clientele aside, the joint seems »

unchanged. Dino’s singing “Buona Sera” on the juke.

Ceiling fans stir the air while the bartender—that’s Ivan, in

his apron and tie—stirs drinks. Ironic appropriation?

Affectionate homage? Whatever it is, Brooklyn Social works.

Of course it wouldn’t mean jack if the drinks weren’t so

good. Note the planter of fresh rosemary, which will go

nicely with your vodka-and-limoncello, and the bottle of

Michter’s rye, the proper base for a Manhattan. Except here

they call it a Brooklyn.

{CASE STUDY NO. 4}: THE FUTURE PERFECT & WILLIAMSBURG’S DESIGN SCENE Just one L-train

stop from the East Village, Williamsburg has long been

siphoning hipsters out of Lower Manhattan, sucking them

up through subway tubes into a relative vacuum of unex-

ploited space. That was the original premise, anyway. By

now Williamsburg is so coveted that struggling artists are

fleeing for Red Hook, Bushwick or (gasp) Queens. In their

stead has come a new monied class, funky enough to dig the

edgy vibe while throwing down $750K for a condo.

Still, the myth endures, and some of the reality.

Williamsburg remains a creative bastion, and if fewer artists

actually keep their studios here, there is an array of galleries

and shops dedicated to exhibiting and selling their work.

One store, the Future Perfect, has emerged as the de facto

HQ for the borough’s thriving furniture and design scene.

Nearly all of its stock comes from Brooklyn-based firms. The

unifying thread, if one exists, is a sense of humor: take Jason

Miller’s ceramic-antler chandeliers and his seemingly

“dusty” coffee table, clever riffs on suburban motifs; Elodie

Blanchard’s graceful vases composed of rubber bands; or

Tobias Wong’s “I F*ck for G*cci” wallpaper.

{CASE STUDY NO. 5}: THE RED HOOK WATERFRONT There’s a spot on the edge of New York

Harbor that encapsulates everything that once defined the

city and no longer does. From the mid 19th to the mid 20th

century, Red Hook—a 1.5-kilometer promontory jutting off

Brooklyn’s western shore—was among the nation’s busiest

ports. After the 1950’s, much of its maritime trade and

population disappeared. Yet the peculiar light, ambience

and iconography remain. It’s still one of the most atmo-

spheric corners of New York.

Clamber onto the mossy rocks where the city meets the

surf and take it all in: the briny air, the squawking of gulls,

the tugboats under an epic sky. To the left is the Verrazano

Narrows bridge; to the right, the Statue of Liberty. Standing

along Red Hook’s piers, you’re suddenly reminded that New

York was built here for a reason. How easily one can forget

this in the inland parts of the city.

Step back from the water and look around: here are three

antique trolley cars rusting on a patch of grass. (Trolley cars

once ran everywhere in Brooklyn, whose residents were

known as trolley dodgers—hence the baseball team.) Here

are the Beard Street Warehouses, built in 1869 of sandstone

and schist. The storerooms were once piled high with hemp

and tobacco, cocoa and coffee—you can still find beans

wedged between the floorboards. Today, the tenants include

a glassblowing studio, a parachute-design firm and the cos-

tume shop for Blue Man Group.

And here is the abandoned Revere Sugar Plant, a jumble

of chutes and conveyor belts recalling a Rube Goldberg

contraption. Soon it, too, will be gone, replaced by the

world’s largest IKEA.

Such is the way of things now, as Red Hook is (re)discovered

by pioneering home- and business-owners, plucky tourists,

and, especially, developers. Across from the Beard Street

Warehouses is the new Fairway supermarket, a 4,800-

square-meter epicurean temple, drawing shoppers from as

far away as ... Manhattan. Ten blocks north is the Brooklyn

Cruise Terminal, opened in April 2006 as the new port of

call for Princess, Carnival and Cunard ships, including the

Queen Mary 2. Amid the gritty longshoremen’s haunts that

once defined Red Hook are now several acclaimed restau-

rants, a chic wine bar, live-music clubs, art galleries and a

guitar shop–cum–coffeehouse.

And so with Brooklyn’s newfound trendiness has come the

inevitable: a shocking rise in housing costs, a development

boom and battles over how (and how much) the borough

should evolve. There’s hardly a hectare of Brooklyn that isn’t

at stake in one turf war or another. Even here in Red Hook,

preservationists are objecting to IKEA’s proposal to pave

over a historic ship-repair dock and put up—cue Joni

Mitchell—a parking lot.

The fiercest battle, however, centers on Atlantic Yards, a

US$4.2-billion development that would bring 16 residential

and commercial towers and a Frank Gehry–designed bas-

ketball arena to the corner of Flatbush and Atlantic Avenues,

already one of the most congested intersections in the

city. Atlantic Yards would place a significant strain on mass

transit and knot up some 60 intersections in gridlock. It

would also supply 2,250 subsidized apartments for low- and

middle-income residents, create thousands of jobs and relo-

cate the New Jersey Nets basketball team to a legendarily

jilted sports town that’s gone five decades without a big-

league team.

Yet Atlantic Yards seems grotesquely proportioned, the

proverbial bazooka-on-a-quail-hunt. If approved, it will be

the biggest and costliest development in Brooklyn’s history.

Will it happen anyway? Right now it seems inevitable. If

so, I’ll certainly be rooting for the Brooklyn Nets—espe-

cially when they play the (Manhattan) Knicks. Might even

attend a game, if I can actually get to the arena. But in the

back of my mind, I’ll be counting the days until summer,

when I can sit on my steps, sipping 25-cent lemonade, watch-

ing the kids play stickball. ✚

138

139

WHERE TO EAT & DRINKAL DI LÀUnimpeachably authentic northern Italian (braised rabbit, stewed tripe), served in your Nonna’s homey parlor. You’ll wait an hour for a table, then be grateful you did. 248 Fifth Ave., Park Slope; 1-718/ 783-4565; www.aldilatrattoria.com; dinner for two US$60.

ALMACasual, ever-popular spot serving nouvelle Mexican with a side of wow: the view of Manhattan from the covered rooftop is breathtaking. 187 Columbia St., Columbia Waterfront District; 1-718/643-5400; www.almarestaurant.com; dinner for two US$65.

APPLEWOODA folksy, hearth-warmed room sets the scene for farm-fresh cooking at this creative mom-and-pop op (literally — the owners’ child is usually in

the house). 501 11th St., Park Slope; 1-718/768-2044; www.applewoodny.com; dinner for two US$75.

BEASTBrooklyn’s most inventive tapas bar, where the wild things are on the walls (an odd mythological-monsters theme) and the plates (short ribs braised in Guinness, a pickled fennel–and-feta salad). 638 Bergen St., Prospect Heights; 1-718/399-6855; dinner for two US$40.

BLUE RIBBON BROOKLYNRoomier, friendlier and better than the acclaimed SoHo original, with a superb raw bar and a comically diverse menu of American comfort food (fried chicken, Caesar salad, a pupu platter). A branch of the great Blue Ribbon Sushi (1-718/840-0408) is next door at No. 278. 280 Fifth Ave., Park Slope; 1-718/840-0404; www.

blueribbonrestaurants.com; dinner for two US$60.

BROOKLYN ICE CREAM

FACTORYThe obsessives at BICF make only eight basic flavors (hey, remember plain old chocolate and vanilla?) — but take the time to get each exactly right. Bonus: Grimaldi’s Pizzeria (1-718/858-4300) with its coal-oven pies is waiting just steps away. Fulton Ferry Landing Pier, Dumbo; 1-718/246-3963.

DI FARA PIZZAIt’s everything I promise it is … I promise. Don’t come expecting silverware. Or speed. 1424 Ave. J, Midwood; 1-718/258-1367; whole pizzas from US$15.

DRESSLERThe latest from the owner of Williamsburg’s beloved Dumont, this gorgeous bistro goes one better, with bold flavors (striped bass

with chorizo, broccoli rabe and cockles) and equally forceful design (Baroque-style chandeliers, ornately filigreed dark-wood paneling). 149 Broadway, Williamsburg; 1-718/384-6343; www.dresslernyc.com; dinner fortwo US$60.

FRANKIES 457 SPUNTINOBrick walls, plain wood tables, sultry lighting and the occasional Hollywood star (Kate Hudson, Liv Tyler, Leo DiCaprio) set the rustic-yet-urbane vibe at CG’s hippest restaurant. It helps to have great food, from delectable greens to knockout salumi to a perfect cavatelli with sausage and sage butter. 457 Court St., Carroll Gardens; 1-718/403-0033; www.frankiesspuntino.com; dinner for two US$65.

FRANNY’S

Yes, the brick oven–fired pizza is fabulous (try the clams »

G U I D E T O B R O O K L Y N

Inside interior design and fashion outlet Bark, in Boe-rum Hill. Left: David and Laura Shea, the owners of Applewood, in Park Slope.

HU

GH

ST

EW

AR

T (

2)

140

chili, and parsley combo). But the secret weapon is the carefully sourced produce, like the delicate pea shoots served with braised squid, and an unassuming salad laced with powerful herbs. 295 Flatbush Ave., Prospect Heights; 1-718/230-0221; www.frannysbrooklyn.com; dinner for two US$50.

THE GOOD FORKIt’s Korean-meets-French-bistro food (crispy sweetbreads; steak with kimchi, rice and a fried egg) at this tiny, low-key room on Red Hook’s burgeoning foodie strip. 391 Van Brunt St., Red Hook; 1-718/643-6636; www.goodfork.com; dinner for two US$60.

THE GROCERYThere’s no flash or attitude at this 30-seat, husband-and-wife-owned jewel in Smith Street’s crown — just assured, inspired, greenmarket-based cooking that would fetch twice these prices in Manhattan. 288 Smith St., Carroll Gardens; 1-718/596-3335; dinner for two US$90.

JACQUES TORRES

CHOCOLATEFrench expat Torres is New York’s best and most imaginative chocolate maker; this tiny shop attached to his waterfront factory sells — or, rather, exhibits? — his artful creations. 66 Water St., Dumbo; 1-718/875-9772; www.mrchocolate.com.

MARLOW & SONSBracing Malpeques, hearty fish stew and ethereal Spanish tortillas are highlights at this

funky oyster bar/tapas joint/épicerie (there’s a shop in front selling featured ingredients). 81 Broadway, Williamsburg; 1-718/384-1441; www.marlowandsons.com; dinner for two US$55.

THE ORCHARDThe city’s finest fruit selection, bar none (it’s certainly the most expensive). Stop in before the obligatory visit to Di Fara, around the corner. 1367 Coney Island Ave., Midwood; 1-718/377-1799; www.orchardfruit.com.

PETER LUGEREveryone knows Luger’s has the best straight-ahead porterhouse in NYC, but did you know about the fantastic burger served only at lunch? Now you do. 178 Broadway, Williamsburg; 1-718/387-7400; www.peterluger.com; dinner for two US$110.

ST. HELEN CAFÉImpeccable lattes are the lure at this handsome, intimate café. Sip one next to the carp pond in the backyard garden. 150 Wythe Ave., Williamsburg; 1-718/302-1197.

SETTE ENOTECA E CUCINAAn alluring, vine-fringed patio, a reasonably priced wine list and earthy Italian cooking (like a great pappardelle with oxtail) make this a local favorite in the Slope — Steve Buscemi’s here every week. 207 Seventh Ave., Park Slope; 1-718/499-7767; dinner for two US$80.

TANOREENDinner way out in Bay Ridge? Sign us up, if we’re having Rawia Bishara’s revelatory Middle Eastern food (tender

braised lamb, garlicky stewed eggplant, luscious zahtar-topped flatbread), which puts her competition in Manhattan to shame. 7704 Third Ave., Bay Ridge; 1-718/748-5600; www.tanoreen.com; dinner for two US$55.

WHERE TO GO OUTBARBÈSSpeaking of the French: This unerringly hip, Gallic-owned live-music club runs the gamut from washboard swing and Reinhardt-style guitar jazz to quwwali and klezmer. 376 Ninth St., Park Slope; 1-718/965-9177; www.barbesbrooklyn.com.

BAR TABACThe liveliest of several bistro-cum-watering holes jostling for lead position in Brooklyn’s burgeoning Little Paris (actually, the funky feel is more like Little Marseilles). 128 Smith St., Cobble Hill; 1-718/923-0918.

BROOKLYN SOCIALPacked to the pressed-tin ceiling on weekend nights, agreeably lively most others. 335 Smith St., Carroll Gardens; 1-718/858-7758.

LARRY LAWRENCEPrettiest bar in the borough? Could be. The atmosphere recalls an outsized Finnish sauna, with acres of glowing pine and a glass-enclosed deck (except that isn’t steam, it’s cigarette smoke: the deck is one of NYC’s few remaining smoking areas). The crowd, most nights, is just as attractive. 295 Grand St., Williamsburg; 1-718/218-7866; www.larrylawrencebar.com.

PRIMORSKIFunniest club in the borough? Definitely. This glitzy, schmaltzy, Russian–Georgian supper club hosts a nightly bacchanal replete with dinner, disco balls, drinking (a lot of drinking) and supremely cheesy live music that’s hardly changed since the place opened in 1981. 282 Brighton Beach Ave., Brighton Beach; 1-718/891-3111; www.primorski.net.

ZEBULONSome of the city’s hottest jazz and Afrobeat is performed every night — free — in this sultry, low-lit lounge, tucked in beside a motorcycle-

repair shop. Look out for the explosive funk of Amayo’s Fu-Arkest-Ra (featuring the lead singer of the great Antibalas) and Malian talking-drum master Baye Kouyate, who tends bar here on his off nights. 258 Wythe Ave., Williamsburg; 1-718/218-6934; www.zebuloncafeconcert.com.

WHERE TO SHOPBIRDImpeccably curated women’s clothing boutique offering one-stop shopping for hipsters. Stock ranges from denim by Australian cult label Sass & Bide to fancy frocks by NYC’s Philip Lim. 430 Seventh Ave., Park Slope; 1-718/768-4940; also at 220 Smith St., Cobble Hill; www.shopbird.com.

BROOKLYN FLATAn outpost for whimsical, funky design. Ceramic salt-and-pepper shakers in the shape of chicken feet share space with silk-screened pillows by a local graphic artist. 150 Ainslie St., Williamsburg; 1-718/302-2138; www.brooklynflat.com.

BUTTERAn airy showcase for top fashion names such as Dries van Noten and Rick Owens. The shoe selection alone inspires many a pilgrimage from Manhattan. Also: the Butter Outlet (103 Bond St., Boerum Hill; 1-718/260-9033). 389 Atlantic Ave., Boerum Hill; 1-718/260-9033.

DARRA stuffed grizzly bear? Buddhist devotional statuary? Vintage card-catalog drawers? Antique maps? All are under one roof. 369 Atlantic Ave., Boerum Hill; 1-718/797-9733; www.shopdarr.com.

THE FUTURE PERFECTIf you hit only one design shop, make it this one. 115 N. Sixth St., Williamsburg; 1-718/599-6278; www.thefutureperfect.com.

OTTEOnce you get past the staff’s haughty (decidedly non-Brooklyn) attitude, you’ll find racks upon racks of flirty Vanessa Bruno, Ulla Johnson and See by Chloé designs. 132 N. Fifth St., Williamsburg; 1-718/302-3007.

MA

P B

Y S

TE

VE

ST

AN

KIE

WIC

Z.

OP

PO

SIT

E:

HU

GH

ST

EW

AR

T

Alfresco dining at Frankies 457 Spuntino, on Court Street, in Carroll Gardens.

HOW TO SELECT JUST ONE place in a city with

so many options? Hong Kong lives for food,

whether sitting at table in a sophisticated

venue or enjoying local cuisine from a dai pai

dong (small street-side eatery). I fi nd the choices endless.

This has a lot to do with Hong Kong

being at the crossroads of several

culinary traditions: from the mainland,

with its diverse regional cuisines, to

its close Asian neighbors—and even

faraway Europe.

For exciting culinary contrasts, I have

two favorite restaurants. Yan Toh Heen,

in the InterContinental Hotel, has

magnifi cent Cantonese cuisine. Not

even the view from the dining room can

distract me from what’s served on the

carved-jade plates. Dramatically

different is the very local Tien Heung Lau. Founded in the

1950’s, it’s in bustling Tsim Sha Tsui. The restaurant

specializes in Hangzhou cuisine, which is very similar to

Shanghainese cuisine, but slightly lighter in taste. A

speciality is a Shanghainese seasonal dish, hairy crab.

The ones at Tien Heung come from a

lake west of Shanghai called the

Yangcheng. They migrate for breeding

to the Yellow River in the fall, which is

the catching season.

The dish owes its special taste to the

quality of the coral. To bring a special

touch to the rich fl avor, the crab is

served with very acidic vinegar and

a grate of ginger. The entire crab is

presented and then cut up. It’s best

enjoyed with an excellent Chinese

rice wine. �

(My Favorite Place)

TO

P:

© K

AR

IN W

AN

G /

DR

EA

MS

TIM

E.C

OM

; C

OU

RT

ES

Y O

F T

HE

IN

TE

RC

ON

TIN

EN

TA

L H

OT

EL

, H

ON

G K

ON

G;

CO

UR

TE

SY

OF

AL

AIN

DU

CA

SS

E

In Hong Kong, Alain Ducasse, the only chef to have been awarded three Michelin stars in three different countries, sits down with PAUL EHRLICH for some table talk

142

Big Views Above: Hong Kong’s glittering skyline. Right: The Yan Toh Heen restaurant.


HONG KONG

Alain Ducasse.

January 2008

Documents

Transcript of January 2008