INTRODUCING HOTEL JEN SHANGRI-LA Hotels has added a new brand to its stable with Hotel Jen created to cater to the whims of the next generation of traveller. Hotel Jen, pencilled in to replace the company’s established Traders brand, will offer “fresh, friendly and fuss-free” accommodation to the “millennials” just starting to influence trends inContinue reading “HOTEL – HOTEL JEN”
Category Archives: Destinations
Raffles comes to Istanbul …
RAFFLES Istanbul, Turkey’s newest luxury hotel, will finally open its doors on September 1 after months of anticipation. The hotel will occupy the heart of the Zorlu Center — a new hub for fashion, food and the arts on the European shore in Beşiktaş — with the opulent five-star address overlooking the Bosphorus, Princess Islands andContinue reading “Raffles comes to Istanbul …”
Population 70 …
THIS must be the most beautiful time of day in the Outback. The sun is plunging towards the horizon, casting a captivating shade of gold on the landscape and forcing long shadows to fall on the red dirt where buildings stand on the gibber plain, and there’s only a sliver of vibrant blue holding theContinue reading “Population 70 …”
Place of prosperity …
I THOUGHT I had a pretty good picture of Tasmania’s convict experience. I had been to Port Arthur and done the ghost tour on a dark night, seen the graves on the Isle of the Dead, walked across Richmond Bridge, stood at Eaglehawk Neck, and talked to Judith Cornish who spent days at Hobart’s FemaleContinue reading “Place of prosperity …”
Which Queensland island is right …
THE Queensland coast is flanked by an abundance of idyllic islands. From the exclusive enclaves on Haggerstone and Lizard islands in the state’s far north, to the empty stretches of sand on South Stradbroke Island close to Brisbane, there are dream destinations waiting for those travellers ready to holiday on a spot that’s surrounded byContinue reading “Which Queensland island is right …”
Grape expectations …
MURRAY Gomm is crazy for apples. Not the everyday varieties found in the over-stacked bins at Coles and Woolies, but the rare and curious versions that only to grow in the well-tendered gardens of old country homes and long-forgotten orchards. It’s this love of apples, a passion the Albany winemaker can trace backContinue reading “Grape expectations …”
Travel back in time …
THE man with the white beanie sits away from the group. He is quiet, listening to the conversation but not joining in, and he rarely lifts his eyes from his work while his relatives stop to stand and stretch their legs or just turn their heads to gaze across the blue water of Lake Titicaca,Continue reading “Travel back in time …”
Australia’s Mr Bean …
CHARLES Bean is one of my heroes. I didn’t think much of the man when I studied Australian history at Melbourne University – he seemed snooty and aloof when I was wading through his Great War histories doing research for essays and exams – but the post-academic investigations that have come with travel revealContinue reading “Australia’s Mr Bean …”
Top chef returns …
CHEF Jim McDougall always knew Mildura was a food bowl but it wasn’t until he left his home town for the big smoke that he realised just how good the ingredients were in the Murray River settlement. The Mildura native, who started his career with the great Stefano de Pieri at the river city’s iconicContinue reading “Top chef returns …”
Go with the flow …
THERE are some boat crews that refuse to drop anchor at night in this wide section of the Mekong River. It has nothing to do with dangerous tides, unpredictable weather, or even concerns about running aground. The Vietnamese mariners are frightened of ghosts, and they suspect the spirits of more than 50,000 Thai soldiersContinue reading “Go with the flow …”
Good cheese and good cheer …
THERE’S no shortage of great places to dine in the Yarra Valley. Almost every winery in this esteemed grape-growing region — said to be Victoria’s first winemaking enclave with a history stretching back more than 160 years — has a restaurant or cafe worth visiting at meal times. So it wouldn’t occur to mostContinue reading “Good cheese and good cheer …”
Liverpool beyond the Beatles …
I HAVE never been a big fan of The Beatles. I know the words to the Fab Four’s biggest hits, learning by osmosis during a childhood when the radio frequently featured tunes by the lads from Liverpool, but that’s about as far as my interest goes. So when I find myself spending a day deepContinue reading “Liverpool beyond the Beatles …”
Sentosa Style …
FOR a small island, Sentosa delivers an impressive array of holiday attractions, hot hotels and beaches lined with palm trees. I’m sitting with my toes in the sand, a cocktail in hand, and peering out from the shade of a palm tree to the cool blue of an ocean lagoon. But I’m having trouble believingContinue reading “Sentosa Style …”
Warsaw, by night …
Where … The heart of Warsaw’s Old Town When … Friday, December 7, 2012 at 10.58pm What … My second visit to Warsaw sees me exploring the delightful Polish settlement a few weeks before Christmas when the squares around the Old Town are wearing lights to celebrate the season. The square in front of theContinue reading “Warsaw, by night …”
Hong Kong Indigo …
INSIDE my hotel it’s cool, calm and quiet but right outside, the streets of Wan Chai are buzzing with activity. It’s the sort of hustle and bustle that defines Hong Kong, as the residents of this prosperous neighbourhood dart around to complete afternoon errands before darkness settles and they retire to the apartment buildings thatContinue reading “Hong Kong Indigo …”
From the ashes of war …
WARSAW has an air of prosperity. The shops are full, the restaurants are busy, only a few people are begging on the street, and there’s lots of construction happening with architectural treasures surrounded by scaffolding and temporary walls around the big dig marking the route of the Polish capital’s new underground line. While Warsaw isContinue reading “From the ashes of war …”
Majestic migration …
IT’S when the weather turns cold that the whale-watching action heats up in Australia as pods of the marine mammals head north to escape the icy chill of Antarctica. Every state plays host to humpbacks and southern right whales from May and November, with destinations from Bruny Island in Tasmania’s southeast corner to Cape LevequeContinue reading “Majestic migration …”
Wanders of the Incas …
I HAVE always been intrigued by Machu Picchu – the ancient settlement built on a peak in the Peruvian Andes and an Inca city hidden from the world for centuries and only revealed by American archeologist Hiram Bingham in 1911 – but I could never imagine getting myself there. I thought the only way toContinue reading “Wanders of the Incas …”
Surf coast …
GEELONG was named in 1827, surveyed in 1838 and proclaimed a city in 1910 with everyone from pastoralists and lighthouse keepers to gold miners and mariners playing a part in growing the port settlement. That history is celebrated in Geelong and around the Bellarine Peninsula with vintage estates and thoughtfully curated museums recalling the daysContinue reading “Surf coast …”
Discover Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula …
THE Mornington Peninsula offers a feast of opportunities for people looking to escape. Sarah Nicholson reports on the best of the best. BEST FOR GOLF FORGET the best in Victoria, or even the best in Australia, the Mornington Peninsula is one of the best places in the world for golf. While it’s hard toContinue reading “Discover Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula …”
Black Saturday survivor …
KIM Rycroft is a Black Saturday survivor. The Narbethong resident, and the force behind Saladin Lodge, one of the region’s most delightful B&B properties, lost her home in 2009 when one of the February 7 fires burst out of the Black Range State Forest and tore across her bucolic block. Rycroft lost the historicContinue reading “Black Saturday survivor …”
Stalin’s building …
JOSPEH Stalin had some strange ideas when it came to giving gifts. Instead of providing his loyal subjects – by that I mean the residents of the Soviet states he intimidated into submission – things they could use like an endless supply of toilet paper or semi-regular deliveries of fresh meat, he gave them buildings.Continue reading “Stalin’s building …”
Warsaw, in winter …
Where … Wandering between Warsaw’s Old Town and my hotel, the Hyatt Regency Warsaw, on a chilly winter’s day When … Friday, December 7, 2012 at 10.35am What … A nighttime blizzard dumps a layer of white on the Polish capital and I bundle up in coat, gloves, hat and scarf to take to theContinue reading “Warsaw, in winter …”
Bosphorus, by boat …
WE finished our Turkish adventure today with a cruise on The Bosphorus to take in the view of this metropolis from the famous stretch of water that divides Asia and Europe. For a peaceful hour we followed the curves of the coast, looking at the elegant old houses that line the shore, and keeping clearContinue reading “Bosphorus, by boat …”
Sacred ground …
ON April 25, 1915, the first young Australian waded ashore at Gallipoli to begin what became one of the greatest episodes in our military history. The first to go ashore were four infantry battalions from the 3rd Brigade, First Australian Division – the West Australian, South Australians, Tasmanians and Queenslanders Charles Bean described as comingContinue reading “Sacred ground …”
Mediterranean fire …
IT’S October in Turkey, which would typically mean the weather was cooling down and giving the locals a breather after a steamy summer, but the autumn days on the Mediterranean are still hot with lots of blue sky crowning those magic water views. Another advantage of these glorious days are perfect sunsets, and we hadContinue reading “Mediterranean fire …”
Cotton on …
THINK you’ve had a hard day at the office? Imagine harvesting a field of cotton by hand. We have seen lots of cotton during the past few days on the road, and most of it’s being harvested by big tractors that spit the fluffy white balls into oversized bins, but this was the first timeContinue reading “Cotton on …”
Becalmed in Bodrum …
ANOTHER day, and night, in Turkey with nothing much to do but enjoy the changing colours of a Mediterranean settlement. We’re in Bodrum, another seaside spot set on the sands of the Aegean Coast, and with a cruise ship in port I decided the best place to be was on the balcony of the hotelContinue reading “Becalmed in Bodrum …”
Colours of Kas …
ALL you need to enjoy a lazy day in Kas is a chair and a balcony to put it on. But make sure that balcony has a view of the water – that’s not hard, as most of the hotels in this tourist town are perched on the hills that rise from the Mediterranean toContinue reading “Colours of Kas …”
Silk Road stopover …
HAVE you ever thought about the evolution of the modern-day hotel? Probably not, and I don’t blame you, as tourist digs tend to look the same after you spend a few days on the road and are hardly worthy of grand anthropological study. But I visited a compound today, Sultanhani Caravanserai on the road southContinue reading “Silk Road stopover …”
Far Near Or Here 