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Happy holidays!
Come vacations, where to go and why is often a cause for much debate. Hugh and Colleen Gantzer give you a lowdown on 21 escapes, both in India and abroad, depending on your fascination for sea, mountains or wellness
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India
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MAHABALIPURAM |
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| Chennai’s
beach getaway. A broad beach and superb rock-cut
monuments. Great for paddling and being drenched by surf:
a little unsafe for swimming. Boulders have been
magnificently carved into shrines, and dioramas of epic
tales. Skilled carvers are still at work and icons, images
and sea-based trinkets make great souvenirs. Book in
advance.
Puri
A wide
beach, with the sea a little rough in the monsoon. We last
went to this temple town during the Rath Yatra: a
great experience. A day’s excursion took us out to
Konarak, and its sun temple and also to the unique crafts
village of Raghurajpur. Discover Oriya cuisine:
their vegetarian is good, the non-vegetarian, particularly
seafood, is excellent. |
GANAPATIPULE
Faith and fun
beautifully blended. The hamlet rises up a green hillside
looking down at the Arabian Sea beach made famous by Lord Ganesh’s
idol known as Paschim Dwar Devta. There’s a wide range of
accommodation run by the Maharashtra Tourism Development
Corporation and private owners. Popular with families and young
groups. |
Abroad
SEYCHELLES
An Indian Ocean
fun island with a French accent. Interesting other coral islands
accessed from the main one Mahe, with its capital Victoria. Did
a short flight to La Dique where we toured in a luxury bullock
cart . We also walked through the mysterious forest of the Coco
de Mer: The unique giant coconut. Beaches galore of various
types.
SRI LANKA’S
HIKKADUA
Beaches of soft,
white, coral sand; glass-bottom boats for reef viewing; snorkels
for the more venturesome; scuba for the adventurous. Bright
batiks and sea souvenirs are good buys. Authentic Sri Lankan
cuisine is worth sampling. Budget time for gem shops there and
on the way: our island neighbour produces attractive
moonstones. Also shop for their wide range of fruit-flavoured
teas.
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BONDI
BEACH IN SYDNEY |
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| The iconic
surf and sand destination where white Ozzies try to pick
up the tan we have naturally. If you’re a beach person
this could be a pilgrimage. For more formal fare visit the
famed Opera House within sight of the Sydney Harbour
Bridge which the irreverent locals call ‘The Coat Hanger’.
Sydney is a southern Hemisphere London in shirt-sleeves. |
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India
LEH
A great monsoon
escape because it doesn’t normal rain here. The road up is
long and magical, flying in demands 24 hours flat-on-your-back
rest to avoid high altitude sickness. Visit fascinating
monasteries, snack on fare from all over the world. Shop for
semi-precious stones carefully, carefully! Opt for a trip
on the world’s highest motorable road to Nubra at 18,300 ft..
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MUNNAR |
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| High in the
manicured tea slopes of Kerala is this plantation Town of
the three (Mun) rivers (Ar). Visit a tea
factory to learn how they create your morning cuppa and
buy single-estate tea, like single malt scotch, from the
factory’s shop. Drive up to Eravikulam to see the rare
Nilgiri Tahrs ibex in their mountain sanctuary. |
PACHMARHI
Tiled cottages in
gardens, long walks, and the sound of martial, music: this is
where the Army bands learn their stuff. Visit temples in deep
caves, go for long walks, view sunset over the distant plains in
all its resplendent drama. |
Abroad
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SPAIN’S
GRANADA |
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| Historic town
with the incredible Arab fortress of Alhambra crowning a
hill: Islamic architecture with an unmatched grace and
intricacy. Visit the cathedral, once a mosque, resplendent
with gold and priceless art. Spend an evening with the
gypsy people whose ancestors migrated from India and
evolved the heel-tapping, flamenco dance. |
SWITZERLAND’S
LUCERNE
Beautiful lake
town with its must-see painted bridge. Also a lion carved out of
a cliff commemorating the Swiss Guards, martyred defending the
last French King. The Glacier Park’s a tour through the last
Ice Age. Board a boat and the steepest cog-wheel train to high
Mount Pilatus descend by cable car. Dine on the sunset cruise on
the lake.
NEPAL’S
KATHMANDU
The ultimate,
Great Himalayan Escape hyped in films and fiction. Visit Darbar
Square with its fabulous carved-wood architecture and,
hopefully, see the Living Goddess who leads a childhood but
eventually fades away when her successor is found. A flutter in
the casino is a must even if you have the will to stop when the
complementary chips have been spent. |
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India
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R. V.
CHARAIDEW |
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| Cruise the
mighty Brahmaputra cosseted on the R.V. Charaidew, Loll on
the sun-deck or join the inclusive tours ashore visiting
the great temples and monuments of the Ahom dynasty of
Assam, the world’s largest riverine island with its
dancing monks, the stilt huts of artistic people who
migrated from still further east. The cuisine on board is
varied and memorable. |
WINDFLOWER
RESORT
Mysore’s getaway
and spa, set in sequestered, landscaped, grounds with rooms
overlooking reflecting pools, offers dining in a water-girt
pavilion. Mix and match privacy and discovery:
undisturbed togetherness or urban forays into the wide avenues,
temples and incredible palace of the most regal city in southern
India. A flock of geese also patrols the grounds honking like
friendly feathered sentries.
OOTY
Still known by its
popular name though officially re-christened as Udagamandalam,
Its spread across the famed blue hills of the Nilgiris and is
gentler than the northern hill-stations. Good walks, shopping
for Toda shawls, chunky jewellery, cheese, tea and medicinal
herbal oils. There are flowers everywhere and boating on the
Ooty lake is as romantic as a picture postcard. |
Abroad
MAURITIUS
Island republic
south of the equator where many descendants of Indians still
speak Bhojpuri and English with a French accent. Friendly people
in informal towns separated by enormous sugarcane plantations.
Great beaches, coral gardens and fun activities associated with
the sea. Interesting cuisine with a slight Indian touch and
strong on seafood.
MALAYSIA’S
GEMIA ISLAND
It’s a tiny
coral island in the crystal-blue South China Sea with just one
private resort on it. Live in chalets extending out on stilts
over the sea. A secluded beach, snorkelling and scuba-diving in
a coral bay, de-stressing in a spa. Its greatest attraction is
that it is very exclusive, very quiet.
CHINA’S
GUILIN
You can stay in a
modern hotel built on a promontory in a lake. Take a day-long
cruise through the romantic Lee Valley. Here, every photograph
becomes a delicate Chinese painting. Explore the mind-blowing
Reed Flute caves with their dramatic stalactites and
stalagmites, beautifully illuminated as you walk. |
The best are in India and are favoured even by British royalty
KALARI KOVILAKOM
The ultimate Ayurvedic
resort: no, compromises, no mixture with other systems, Set in
a traditional Keralan palace in manicured green grounds, guests are
sequestered from the rest of the world for the entire period of their
stay, wear made-to-measure kurta-pyjamas-chappals, eat individually
prescribed meals, drink herbal medicated water, have two massages a
day, do yoga, meditation.
SASAWARA
Run by the innovative
CGH Earth who created, and manage, Kalari Kovilakom. It is a more
relaxed, less Spartan, version of KK: wines permitted, good seafood,
the emphasis is on unwinding, self-discovery in the arts and crafts
studio, swimming in the sea
SOUKYA
Guests live in luxury in
a walled and sequestered resort set in beautifully landscaped grounds.
A homeopath, an allopath and an ayurvedic physician deliberate and
prescribe a harmonious course of therapies drawing on all systems
including, if necessary, the ancient Tibetan one. Significantly,
Soukya has admitted, and treated, members of the British Royal family.
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