Asia VietNam: Take the Coast Road
The sinous coastline of Vietnam provides
a natural haven of calm with spas nestled amongst bays, forests and beaches
ConSown
Island
Even those who normally prefer to limit
their holiday adventures to sunbathing and spas will want to climb the stone
steps at one end of Six Senses Con Dao’s (sixsenses.com) mile- long sweep of
beach to the top of beach to the top of Elephant head cliff. Once there
adramtic panorma awaits of azure waters, golden sand, abundant mangrove forest
and the coral reefs of ConSown Island, one of 16 in the Con Dao Island
Archipelago at Vietnam’s futhest southeastern point. Encompassed by the richly
– forested Lo Voi Moutains, this aleek 50- villa beachfront retreat makes the
ideal starting point for expliring Con Dao National Park. Six Sensex Leads day
hikes in to the tropical forest to vistit the green and hawkbill turtle to
visit the green and hawksbill turtle for rest sanctuary, considered Vietnam’s
most fretile egg- laying groung for turtles. Elsewhere in the park, don your
swim fins to scuba dive among 1,300 marine species including dolphins ancient
mariners mistook for mermaids.
Come back to the re sort for the Six Senses
Spa’s three and a half hour Vietnam Journey where time files between the Hat
Bang indigenous almond and youhurt body polish, huney milk and white clay mask,
Oriental stretching massage and traditional hair wash.
Mekong
River
For an entirely different perspective on
Vietnam, get behind the wheel of an SUV.organised by Aspera Explorations
(asperaexplorations.com), starting along the Mekong River in Laos and entering
Vietnam at sleepy Cau Treo- Nam Phao border post to follow the dramatic
coastline from Vinh to Phan Thiet. As thevehicles approach Sun Spa Dong Hoi
(sunsparesortvietnam.com), drivers have to navigate their way throu constantly
shifting sand hunes. Rewards await down the coast at the historic city of Hue
with an imperial 12- course spicy Vietnamese meal before winding up for the
night among the morden indulgences at the Nam Hai (ghhotels.com) on China
Beach.
Asia Indonesia: Enter the Dragons Den
Tackle the mighty point breaks of Bali
or be a man for all seasons and snorkel and scuba Indonesia’s balmy waters
Bali, Indonesia
Bali’s great pont breaks, like Dreamland
and Imposssibles, challenge the serious surfers enough but the guys behind
Tropicsurf (tropicsurf.net). asia’s most experienced surf instructors, state
their happiness to ‘sacrifice a little wave quality’ by surfing the only slightly
less hectic Isle of the Gods. Visiting surfers will get a pretty good idea of
the kind of swells that the first surfers to discover these shores in the 1970s
would have had to contend with.
Those who prefer to get their thrills
underwater can scuba dive the warm equatorial waters around Indonesia’s Raja
Ampat region while sailing aboard the Damai and Damai II (dive-damai.com).
attractions include 1,300- plus species of reef fish, half of the world’s soft
coral species and over 70 percent of all the world’s hard corals. These boats,
known as phinisi, are gaff- rigged schooners constructed by Sulawesi
shipbuilders out of ethically harvested Kayu Ulin ironwood and teak to resemble
those that pliet the Indonesian archipelago in ancient times. The six cosy cabins,
however, are decidedly 21st century with the amenities of a floating
five- star hotel for only eight passengers per launch.
Asia
Indonesia: Enter the Dragons Den
Another exceptional ship that cruises these
marine rich waters around the Wallace Line, where the distinct Asian and
Australasian ecosystems overlap, is Amanikan (amanresorts.com). a custom-
built, three- cabin cruiser refurbished by Aman.
This old spice trading vessel brings divers
and land adventurers to Komodo National Park, a Unesco World Heritage Site,
where the Komodo dragons roam freely. Morning is the best time of day to see
these living anachronisms as they slither along Pink Beach, one of the park’s
most popular stes to snorkel amongst giant trevally fish and kaleidoscopic coral.
Asia South Korea: Change of Korea
There are spiritual ‘inner adventures’
on offer at Korean temples, but sybaritic indulgences are also never far away
View
of Samseong from my tub at the Park Hyatt
Wake up at 3:30 am to the sound of a wooden
percussion ‘moktak’ or thunderous temple bell, eat a few salted root vegetables
and sip a drop of water before spending the day meditating by a flickering
candle. This is a decidedly inner adventure offered by Tempestay
(eng.tempestay.com) and created by the Jouye Order of Korean Buddhism to help
foreigners ‘search for their Original Nature’ through the stillness in a cup of
tea and the practice of 108 prostraditions before dawn in one of 50 moutain
temples around South Korea. But then feed your sybaritic side at Park Hyatt
Seoul (seoul.park.hyatt.com) where Japan’s SuperPotato interior design company,
best known for their rustic chic Zuma restaurant interiors, use stone, oak wood
and running water to confer the same soothing atmosphere as the temples on
Seoul’s largest guest rooms. They also feature elegant pillow- top beds and
captivating panoramas from floor- to ceiling windows.
Cambodia Asia: Angkor Down
Angkor
Wat
As the massive influx of camera- toting
tourists makes it quite a challenge to find one’s footing at Angkor Wat, follow
the Oxford- educated scientists behind AboutAsia Travel (aboutasiatravel.com)
away from Angkor’s well- trodden path. Kayak into Prek Toal Core Bird Reserve
on Tonle Sap Lake in search of spot- billed pelicans, black- headed isbis and
the elusive masked finfoot. Then stay overnight with a Khmer family on
afloating willage or return to the regal refinements of Amansara, the former
guest villa of King Norodom Sihanouk near Siem Reap (amanresorts.com)
Explore like Indiana Jones on on
AboutAsia’s three- day trek to rarely- seen temples along the historic
Angkorian Highway inside Khulen Promtep Wildlife Sanctuary where the loacls
have agreed to stop hunting and logging in exchange for guide training by eco-
conservationist at the Sam Veasna Centre. Through the centre, guests can visit
the 700- year old façade of Phnom Sondarl Temple.
Wat
Vihear Sour, Prey Veng Cambodia
Camp on the baks of an Angkorian baray, or
reservoir, a few hundred metres from Prey Veng Temple, on the same scale and
significance as Beng Melea, the main temple complex at Angkor, yet virtually
unknown.
