We love a private island here at get lost. And Song Saa is up there at the very, very top. Best part? The hullabaloo of Phnom Penh (and your regular life) feel a world away when at Song Saa.
This resort takes the average overwater bungalow and turns the dial up a notch (or seven). The thatched-roof huts seem humble from the outside, but inside they’re packed with luxury.
Think cushy day beds, indoor and outdoor showers, and private pools. Plus you’ve got that south-east Asian cuisine to feast on, and the knowledge that you’re contributing to a hotel that invests majorly into nearby rainforest and mangrove regeneration.
Mull that over while you’re floating in your choice of luxe body of water.
From AU$900 per night. Click and OMG THIS IS MY FAVOURITE SONG
Dryft certainly has Fast and Furious connotations, conjuring images of Vin Diesel flying around corners in fast cars. But the reality couldn’t be more different.
Dryft is a bed of tranquillity—a getaway of palm trees and purity, without internet and without worry. It is a group of glamping tents on the tiny (almost deserted) Darocotan Island, a 15-minute boat ride from the village of Teneguiban on Palawan Island.
And while glamping is the term, this is something different. They’re sort of elegant treehouses, the kind of accommodation you dream about from your desk on a Tuesday arvo.
This is a glorious part of the world, and when you are in such a glorious location, the best place is the one with the least number of barriers to nature. Dryft is exactly that.
A Venn diagram, with Japanese food as a circle on one side and trains on the other, and you’re in the crossover in the middle.
We’ve tried to simplify this complex, intricate relationship in the diagram below:
The Rokumon is the crossover; a classic style of Japanese train that travels from the quaint city of Karuizawa to Nagano City, a total of two hours, and serves genuinely mouth-watering fare – easily the best food get lost has ever had on a train.
The train is stunning, and there’s a big local vibe coursing through the carriages. For instance, it utilizes timber sourced locally and classic Japanese furnishings which give a luxurious, exclusive feeling, whichever of the three classes you’re in.
It serves local beers, and gets it’s wines from the Nagano area too; it doesn’t get much better than drinking a wine in your own private little booth as you amble past the vineyards where the grapes in that wine were grown.
But then they bring out the food, and it does get better! In an 11 (11!) course meal, get lost were served things like tateshina pork and Shinshu mushrooms, paprika mousse and Shinshu salmon, roast beef, plus a fruit compote which we genuinely think we could get addicted to.
If you’re travelling from Kariuzawa to Nagano, the Tasty Train is the only way to do it.
One of the many underrated things about Bali is it’s food, and brand new opening Tickled Pink has only added to that.
The Melbourne-born café juggernaut has brought its “good food, good drinks and good vibes” ethos with it to Canggu, serving up a western-fusion menu that incorporates the best of two food-loving locations.
It’s like a little slice of Melbourne in another country. Craving a good coffee? Say no more fam.
“Indonesia is a beautiful country with a rich culture, and we’re thrilled to be able to bring Melbourne’s unique epicurean culture, especially its coffee, to this stunning island,” said Rashid Alshak co-founder of Tickled Pink. “Our fusion of these two hospitality worlds will deliver a unique experience for tourists and the local community.”
There’s outdoor seating overlooking a typically tranquil rice field landscape, and private cabanas by a pool. It’s open for breakfast, lunch and dinner and at night, the vibes are super chill, offering a super chill atmosphere at night. It’s the perfect place to relax on a night in between nights at Potato Head or Finns, or at the end of a bender.
Staying at the Rooms Hotel Kazbegi, in Georgia’s incredible northern region, sort of feels as if you’re sat on some shoulders at a gathering of the giants.
With the awe-inspiring Caucasus Mountains looming as a shadow, the hotel would have looked impressive had it just put a tin shed. As it is, the building is a typically Soviet symmetrical thing of beauty, curving slightly if viewed from side on.
There’s a swimming pool for the ages, where you can swim in heated goodness while watching snow doffs the mountain peaks around you through floor to roof windows. There’s fireplaces, leather couches, wooden floors and stylings that reflect Georgia’s unusual place in the world, as a gateway between Europe and Asia.
This is some of the best hiking country in the world in summer, and the trekking – either by foot or by horse – is some of the best you’ll ever do.
The Russia-Georgia Friendship Monument is within reach from here – a very Instagrammable spot, even if Russia and Georgia aren’t always the best of friends.
The rooms at Rooms are plush – ideal for corpsing after a mammoth day of scaling the giants . Georgian recipes handed down from generation to generation are served here – if you’ve never had Georgian food, you’re in for a treat (and some carbs).
The air is clean in this part of the world, so make sure you go out at night and take a big long look at the stars. Some cheeky vodka will warm you up, and word is they roll cigars for you at the lobby if requested. This is living.
Air New Zealand’s have taken out an award for airline innovation at the Crystal Cabin Awards during the week, with their Skynest concept winning the prize for giving the common person business class privileges.
The Skynest is a way to make sleeping more accessible on long haul flights for those that can’t afford business, and it might just pave the way for other airlines to follow suit.
The Skynest is a block of six sleep pods in a bunk bed configuration which can be rented in four hour slots each flight, allowing passengers to put their head down and actually lay flat for a while. Pretty handy for some of Air New Zealand’s flights, like the 17-hour direct flight between New York City and Auckland, which is one of the longest in the world. It’s been received well and
The Kiwis also added the Economy Skycouch to their growing range of ‘things that make your flight way better’.
It’s essentially just a row of economy seats that can change into a couch after take-off, with a special footrest on each set to make it a little more practical. It’s not rocket science, but like the Skynest, it helps you lay down and sleep on a flight – invaluable in our book.
The not so clever
While the Skynest and Skycouch have been hailed as universal winners, we’re not quite sure about the double decker concept, which has been floated in recent days as another potential innovation in the air.
The double-decker conceivably means more seats could be squeezed into a plan, and you would think more leg room down low.
The downside would be having the seat in front of you a few inches from your face at all times. It doesn’t look too comforting.
It is only a concept at this stage, but we couldn’t imagine many things much more claustrophobic than this seating arrangement for a long haul flight.
UrbnSurf is opening the first wave pool in New South Wales at Olympic Park in Sydney, with completion expected in early-2024.
Surfing actually has a higher participation rate in New South Wales than Rugby League (2x), Basketball, Netball, Cricket, Hockey, Squash, Volleyball, AFL, Yoga and Fishing. Yet there are only so many beaches with decent waves, seemingly not enough to accommodate everyone.
The result? Turf wars and kook slams as every man and their dog (literally, see below) fight for a tiny piece of the ocean to get a wave on.
Enter wave pools: waves on cue, to thousands of people every single day, using the Wavegarden technology that closely intimates specific waves over and over again.
Wave pools are not a new thing, and UrbnSurf has actually been pumping in Melbourne since 2019. Prior to that the U.S. had a few of these bad bois before anyone else.
Some purists may turn up their nose at wave pools and yeh, we get it; you get the taste of chlorine over salt water, and you don’t have Australia’s beautiful beaches and rock faces to look back at.
But look at it this way. UrbnSurf in Sydney can take 1,000 surfers every day, which means 1,000 people that aren’t vying for waves in the beach. It’s a win-win, and more waves for everyone.
The Sydney set up will be similar to Melbourne. A variety of six different settings, spitting out waves suitable for everyone – from beginner groms through to Mick Fanning. There’ll be lessons for groms and adults alike, and a bar on-site where you can’t talk about the one that got away…because everyone was there to see it.
Italy has given the world plenty of masterpieces over the years.
The Mona Lisa. The Margherita pizza. Andrea Pirlo’s free-kicks.
Add the Vocablo Mocatelli to those, a hotel of exquisite design in the heart of Umbria, between Florence and Rome, and a concoction of old and new Italy.
The building was previously an ancient monastery, dating back to the 12th century, although we’re pretty certain the monks didn’t have a private sauna, an outdoor jacuzzi and extraordinarily lux furnishings when they were chilling here.
The stone walls remain from the monk days, as well as beamed ceilings, heavy stone fireplaces and wooden floors, a charming contrast with the plushness of everything else.
There’s only 12 rooms, so you don’t feel overran. There’s no set hours for brekky – just wake up whenever, and treat yourself whenever.
There’s a long table outside to enjoy dinner or lunch with a serene Italian countryside setting surrounding you.
A geodesic dome at the heart of the Sacred Valley in Incan territory, Peru.
The dome is designed as a multi-purpose space for social connection, arts, stargazing and meditation, surrounded by lush hillsides, mountains and mystical ruins from centuries gone by.
These are all everyday activities, significantly amplified by incredibly special surrounds.
We’re not breaking any exclusives when we reveal how magnificent this area of the world is, but we can tell you that this extraordinary locale is the ideal place to base yourself, before and after hikes in the area.
There are sand dunes, and then there are the mighty kahunas you’ll find in Oman.
Like the Ramlat Jadilah, a 455-metre peak that’s the tallest in the world.
Magic Camps is the closest to an oasis you’ll likely ever get. And by that we mean a luxury glamping experience in a world-renowned location NOT meeting the Gallagher brothers somewhere in the desert.
You can choose to stay at the permanent campsite in the Wahiba Sands region, or opt for an even more intrepid experience by choosing your own location to explore. Pretty cool.
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