Why the Bawah Reserve in Indonesia is your must-visit hotel hideaway INDONESIA “If you want attention, just lower your coconut,” grins the enthusiastic, affable young man who’s just showed me and my boyfriend to our villa. I don’t lower my coconuts for just anyone, but it turns out he’s telling me how my Do Not Disturb sign works, Bawah-style: it’s a pulley system attached to a coconut [...]
Katikies Mykonos is a haven from the craziness of Cyclades’ party island long weekend People have been partying in Mykonos since the 60s, and probably even before that. Today, the bold and the beautiful, from Grace Kelly and Jackie Onassis, to Beyonce and, er, Kim Kardashian, have all washed up on the island’s picture-perfect shores. There they loll around on vast white daybeds, bag a bargain at one of [...]
Heart and Seoul in South Korea, as the nation reopens for tourism The baby octopus floats in its tank, blissfully ignorant, until, all too soon, its time comes. The tiny, wrinkled old woman, who, I later learn, has been manning this particular food stall in Seoul’s colourful, noisy, aromatic Gwangjang market for over thirty-two years, yanks it out unceremoniously and whacks it down onto the steel surface. [...]
Best of travel: Cowgirl fantasies in the Palm Springs desert February 23, 2021 To tide us over until we’re able to travel again, we’re republishing classic travel stories from our archives. Today we revisit Laura Millar’s jaunt to the kitsch Californian town of Palm Springs. ••• The wooden sign swinging in the breeze proclaims I’m at Smoketree Stables, just a short drive south of Palm Springs. Beyond the [...]
Best of travel: Ko Samui is more than a backpackers’ paradise February 12, 2021 To tide us over until we’re able to travel again, we’re republishing classic travel stories from our archives. Today we revisit Laura Millar’s exploration of Thai island Ko Samui’s more luxurious side. ••• The taxi taking me on the ten-minute journey from Ko Samui’s tiny, open-air airport terminal to my hotel on Chaweng beach, one [...]
Best of travel: Coachella’s lesser known Desert X festival February 10, 2021 To tide us over until we’re able to travel again, we’re republishing classic travel stories from our archives. This week we revisit Laura Millar’s exploration of Coachella’s other contemporary art festival. Read more: Jaguar XF P300 review: revitalised luxury at a surprisingly low price ••• The locals were… curious. For the past few weeks, as they’d [...]
Best of travel: Beijing and its surprising contemporary art scene February 9, 2021 To tide us over until we’re able to travel again, we’re republishing classic travel stories from our archives. This week we revisit Laura Millar’s exploration of Beijing’s contemporary art scene. Read more: Jaguar XF P300 review: revitalised luxury at a surprisingly low price ••• Picture the likes of London’s White Cube, the Saatchi Gallery, and the [...]
Best of travel: Vietnam’s Lara Croft destination Hoi An February 8, 2021 To tide us over until we’re able to travel again, we’re republishing classic travel stories from our archives. This week we revisit Laura Millar’s trip to Vietnam’s UNESCO heritage city Hoi An. Read more: Jaguar XF P300 review: revitalised luxury at a surprisingly low price ••• The narrow stone passageway opened into a small stone altar [...]
Best of travel: The town made famous by Bruce Springsteen February 5, 2021 To tide us over until we’re able to travel again, we’re republishing classic travel stories from our archives. This week we revisit Laura Millar’s trip to the downbeat seaside town in New Jersey made famous by Bruce Springsteen. Read more: Jaguar XF P300 review: revitalised luxury at a surprisingly low price ••• On the boardwalk of [...]
Realise your cowgirl fantasies on a trek into the desert surrounding Palm Springs November 29, 2019 Just outside the kitsch Californian town of Palm Springs is a vast expanse of desert, just made for making cowgirl fantasies come true, finds Laura Millar… The wooden sign swinging in the breeze proclaims I’m at Smoketree Stables, just a short drive south of Palm Springs. Beyond the Western-movie-set compound of wooden buildings, stables, saddles [...]
