December 2017 - February 2018

International Traveller

For the modern explorer

International Traveller2 min read
Editor’s Letter
Ican’t believe how quickly our annual bumper Reasons to Travel›issue has come around again, but its arrival is always welcome here in the office. While magazines are in the business›of tracking what readers are thinking, liking and dreaming of, this›
International Traveller3 min read
The Lowdown
Marrakech and Paris were where the designer Yves Saint Laurent thrived. Paris was the creative epicentre of his career, his fame and legend, while Marrakech was the place where he found respite and repose. Now, two new museums have opened their doors
International Traveller2 min read
What You Need To Know About The Louvre Abu Dhabi
• Back in 2007 when the ambitious joint project between Abu Dhabi and France was first announced, the original opening date for the Louvre Abu Dhabi was slated for 2012. Various factors, from labour issues to global oil prices to the economy, caused
International Traveller2 min read
Souq Shopping 101
• Do your research – many cities have several souqs and markets to shop at specialising in different things, from wet markets to flea markets to gold markets. Decide what you want to buy before setting out so you don’t waste time browsing fresh fish
International Traveller2 min read
Pillow Talk
Located in London’s Fitzrovia, The Mandrake looks more like a›tropical Garden of Eden than a West End bolt hole in the middle of the city. Within an award-winning building are 30 rooms, three suites and a penthouse rendered in vibrant shades, with an
International Traveller2 min read
What’s On
Celebrated artist David Hockney turned 80 in 2017 and this major retrospective at the Metropolitan Museum of Art – via Tate Britain in London and the Centre Pompidou in Paris – is a worthy tribute to his career of nearly 60 years. The works presented
International Traveller1 min readCooking, Food & Wine
EATING OUT (and about)
Architect Peter Marino, Michelin-starred chef Tasuku Murakami and Major Food Group have pooled their considerable talent to create the new underground Japanese restaurant, The Lobster Club. Tucked away in the New York landmark Seagram Building, this
International Traveller1 min read
The Capital Of Cruise (that You Wouldn’t Expect)
THE COMING YEAR is bringing the largest collection of cruising options ever available to Australians from expert outfit Cruise Croatia. There is a huge selection of ships, itineraries and departures across three categories – Deluxe, First Class and T
International Traveller3 min read
The Light Fantastic
Climbing into a taxi at the Bellagio in the heart of Las Vegas’s famed Strip, the irony of my intended destination – the Neon Museum – doesn’t escape me. The whole city is a neon museum; on the way I pass the Flamingo, with its pulsating pink neon si
International Traveller2 min read
San Diego’s Seaside Jewel
Steve Madgwick shares his highlights. The Village of La Jolla (pronounced La Hoya) is the antithesis of California’s mega-mall mentality, perhaps helped by its artist-colony legacy. So while Porsches and exclusive specialty stores catch your eye on
International Traveller2 min read
The Best Of ALASKA And THE YUKON
EVER SEEN A GLACIER? IF NOT, YOU’RE IN FOR A TREAT. A CRUISE TO GLACIER BAY NATIONAL PARK MEANS THAT, FOR A WHILE ANYWAY, YOU’LL BE PART OF THE ECOSYSTEM OF FLORA AND FAUNA THAT MAKES UP THIS FAMED UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE. WATCH ON DECK FROM YOUR
International Traveller4 min read
The Serengeti National Park
Driving into the Serengeti is the closest you’ll get to that scene in Jurassic Park when those colossal gates open to the dodgy dino world before Sam Neill and Jeff Goldblum pass through them in a 4WD, not knowing what they’ll encounter. It really is
International Traveller3 min read
Vintage Voyage
The sight of a cruise ship anchored in Sydney Harbour is always a spectacle: its enormity will make it appear so immobile (until it slips with stealth out past the Opera House), and spying its›passengers high up on deck as they survey today’s new por
International Traveller2 min read
Okinawa’s FOODIE FAVOURITES
OKINAWA, a cluster of Japanese islands with a wonderfully laid-back pace influenced by its tropical climate and sybaritic beach culture, is closer in proximity to China than Tokyo, with its own traditions and unique cuisine. And now it’s much easier
International Traveller3 min read
Breathe In: Tokyo To Aomori
Think Tokyo, think huge. The ever-present, remarkable technology imbuing everything from escalators to toys to toilet seats gives the impression that this megalopolis never stops to take a breath. Yet the lungs of the city – the much loved and surpri
International Traveller5 min readCooking, Food & Wine
Champagne
9AM – Arrive in Reims (pronounced rass for some mysterious Gallic reason) after a 45-minute TGV journey from Paris and dump your bags at Grand Hotel Continental, just a three-minute walk from the train station. 10AM – Grab a coffee and head out for a
International Traveller2 min readCooking, Food & Wine
A Bygone Er A
Moments after entering our room, my friend and I exchange a look before bursting into fits of excited giggles. We survey the space, taking in the black lacquer beds with their embroidered canopies, the strawberry pink walls embossed with roses and th
International Traveller3 min read
American Dream
Ninety minutes north of San Francisco, the Russian River area is home to towering redwood forests, summer camps and hamlets filled with old-fashioned diners and small wine bars showcasing the Sonoma region’s finest drops. It’s also the venue for a ne
International Traveller4 min read
The Atlantic Provinces
Begin your Atlantic Provinces journey in the maritime city of Halifax, the capital of Nova Scotia. This maritime gem gets a warm gust of wind in its sails come summer with seemingly endless events playing out along its waterfront. From film, folk and
International Traveller3 min read
The Yukon
Tip: Do a ‘big’ road trip shop and get a solid night’s sleep before you head off on this grand adventure. For the 25 per cent of Yukoners who don’t actually live in their capital city, Whitehorse is a big city of the likes of Toronto or New York. T
International Traveller3 min read
British Columbia and Alberta
Driven out of Vancouver by high rents, traffic congestion and the fatigue that plagues modern city dwellers, Vancouver Island is now home to cutting-edge technology companies, culinary young guns, third-wave coffee roasters, celebrity chefs and hipst
International Traveller3 min readCooking, Food & Wine
Hygge Days
Denmark has topped the World Happiness Report three times since 2012, which may have much to do with hygge (pronounced hoo-ga); a Danish word with Norweigan roots that translates to cosiness, contentment and wellbeing. It refers to the unique way tha
International Traveller3 min read
Destination South-east Asia Hot-spots For 2018
Going to Bali is a safe bet – it’s warm, it’s beautiful, the temples are breathtaking and the food is out of this world. Whether it’s for a wedding, a honeymoon or a chilled-out break with friends, it never disappoints. For the ultimate in seclusion
International Traveller2 min read
From Go To Snow
ADDING TO its already impressive portfolio of more than 25 snow resorts, the famous resort group will be opening the brand new Club Med Massif Samoëns Morillon – in France’s fourth largest ski domain, where you can literally ski off the roof to the l
International Traveller12 min read
White Hot
One moment she guffaws about the story of a cowboy who was tasered after riding a horse through a bar, the next, a sorrowful solitary tear rolls down her cheek. Erin Simmons Nemec is a Steamboat Springs local now, gifting her privileges to re-tell ho
International Traveller5 min readFashion
Market VA Lue
Back in the days when the French franc was still the ‘lingua franca’, I fell in love with a Louis XV cherry bedside table at the Marché aux Puces in Saint-Ouen, on the northern fringe of Paris. I was living in New York at the time so, of course, buyi
International Traveller6 min read
Stoked For Stoke
There’s almost a Tom Jones effect that happens when you tell women of a particular age that you’re off to visit England’s famous potteries region. My mother, for example, starts shaking me with an excitement I’ve not seen before or since, begging me
International Traveller2 min read
The World At Your Feet
FROM THE ICONIC to the unexpected, Trafalgar takes you through Europe and Britain, the USA, Canada, South America, South Africa and Asia, where you’ll discover the benefits of travelling with the most globally awarded, innovative guided holiday compa
International Traveller3 min read
World Uncovered
LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION Indeed, if ever you needed inspiration to get up and go on a journey, the destinations highlighted here, and the level of depth with which you can explore them, will be motivation enough. The Lofoten Islands of Norway – a
International Traveller3 min read
Time To Tour
GONE ARE THE DAYS of stereotypical coach trips, when travellers would spend their holiday searching frantically for an umbrella-waving tour guide; be content posing for a few happy snaps before being whisked off to the next tourist attraction; or tic
International Traveller3 min read
Footloose Freedom
ONCE UPON A TIME, two friends fell in love with Vietnam and resolved to live and work there by organising easygoing, small-group tours of the place. That humble idea, 24 years ago, became Travel Indochina, which then evolved into the even more widesp
International Traveller2 min read
Wild At Heart
Canada is one of the most diverse countries you can travel to and it’d be easy to spend months exploring the majestic landscapes, pristine lakes and thriving wildlife. But the best way to immerse yourself is to do things a little differently. Get up
International Traveller2 min read
Take On The World
AT WENDY WU TOURS, we pride ourselves on knowing every vibrant, fascinating and incredibly rich corner of Asia. That’s why we are Australia’s leading specialist Asia tour operator. Since 1994, when Wendy personally escorted her first tour to China, h
International Traveller5 min read
Mountain High
After many holidays spent sailing around Spain’s idyllic Balearic Islands, an archipelago of four main islands off the country’s east coast, Brenda Ooteman and her husband Roland Verbeek decided to do a deeper dive into the destination, setting off t
International Traveller4 min read
The New Europe
Why you should head here now: While this gorgeous Mediterranean island is no secret to French holidaymakers, it flies under the international radar; but with so much beauty, history – Napoleon Bonaparte was born in the town of Ajaccio in 1769 – and c
International Traveller5 min read
Kenya Feel It?
Standing atop the Jeep in a safari-style jacket and white surgical mask, a man is lobbing apples at the head of a lion sleeping outstretched underneath the shade of a tree. Thud, it sounds as one hits the lion’s jaw. Thud, sounds another as it makes
International Traveller6 min read
Into The Light
All around me is pitch black. It’s so complete that I almost feel it wrapping around me, enveloping my limbs in its inky grip. With not one star piercing the impenetrable night sky, I am visually oblivious to my surroundings, blind while still seeing
International Traveller5 min read
Hot List
Bordered by Greece, Romania, Turkey, Macedonia and Serbia, as well as a whopping stretch of Black Sea coast, the Balkan nation of Bulgaria is the ultimate triple threat, with sun-drenched beaches, dramatic mountain scenery and pretty cities like the
International Traveller6 min read
Secret Oasis
I’m almost convinced we’re making a water landing when my plane gently bumps onto the runway. Outside I see nothing but blue – just blue sky dissolving into a blue sea – until a steady U-turn brings the tarmac into view. The cabin inhales a rush of h
International Traveller6 min read
North By Northwest
It ’s not every day you can breakfast with celebrated author Margaret Atwood, lunch with Arctic explorer James Raffan and then dine with astronaut Charlie Duke, one of just a dozen men who have walked on the moon. But it’s all in a day’s travel for m
International Traveller3 min read
Sitting Pretty
The fact that Tamburlaine, the new luxury hotel that opened its doors in Cambridge in March, is named after a Persian emperor in one of dramatist and Cambridge alumnus Christopher Marlowe’s 16th-century plays is enough to give it a sense of place in
International Traveller3 min readCooking, Food & Wine
LOUISE PICKFORD & IAN WALLACE
WHERE ARE YOU ORIGINALLY FROM? The UK: I [Louise] grew up on a farm in the West Country, while Ian is from South Wales. However we moved to Sydney (1) in 2000 and spent 13 years living and working there as a food photographer and food stylist team. W
International Traveller4 min read
Bangkok
Bangkok’s markets are world famous – whether that’s for the street food, size, or a side of sleaze. Chatuchak Market; Saturdays and Sundays, 6am to 6pm With over 15,000 booths selling everything from Thai art to antiques to fruit and veg, plan
International Traveller6 min read
Oman
The car swings around yet another hairpin bend and the world drops away on one side revealing a deep chasm in the Earth’s surface. I am torn between squeezing my eyes shut to allay the squeamishness I am feeling about the perilous height, and pressin
International Traveller1 min read
Just For You
WIN A THREE-DAY, TWO-NIGHT STAY IN A NUSA DUA ONE BEDROOM POOL VILLA AT HILTON BALI RESORT FOR TWO, INCLUSIVE OF VILLA AND EXECUTIVE LOUNGE BENEFITS, VALUED AT $1650 Situated in the south of Nusa Dua, sitting atop a 40-metre cliff overlooking the I
International Traveller2 min read
What To Do When It Rains In... JAIPUR
Nurse a classic G&T (or two) and embrace the days of the Raj at the celebrated Polo Bar, in the grand Taj Rambagh Palace hotel. Check out the memorabilia on the walls inside before grabbing a table looking out to the clipped lawns and the Aravalli Hi

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