Melbourne hotels, you’re on notice. This new stay is literally setting the standard.
The StandardX, Melbourne is nestled in the heart of Fitzroy: a vibrant suburb bubbling with live music, street art and cafes that’ll sell you an $8 latte.
The cultural pulse is high here and the hotel’s interior, designed by firm Hecker Guthrie, reflects that. The revolving doors are bold, the ceilings are lofty, the columns are wrapped in macrame, the furniture is antique, and that’s before you’ve even checked into your room.
Whether you’re relaxing in the Cozy King or you’ve hit the Suite Spot, your senses are treated to an aesthetically pleasing colour palette, a focally placed bed you could easily get 10 hours in, a killer view of the city skyline and artwork spread across the walls by local talent.
That’s already gold standard kinda stuff, but with the addition of all-day Thai restaurant BANG, retail store The Box for all your lifestyle needs and luxe drinking spot The Roof (try and guess where it’s located), the hotel goes from above-par to off-the-charts.
Led by Executive Chef Justin Dingle-Garciyya, BANG bursts onto the culinary scene with a menu of dishes made from traditional recipes and locally sourced ingredients to bring you and your tastebuds some hibachi pork and octopus skewers, blue swimmer crab donuts and slow-cooked Wagyu beef short ribs.
The Roof is reserved exclusively for hotel guests. You’ll find all the regulars on the menu plus a few buzzworthy cocktails inspired by the hotel’s energetic surroundings.
From defrosting your car’s windshield in the morning to cranking the heater 24/7 (in this economy?!), winters are the worst. But don’t get angry at the drizzly weather and your skyrocketing electricity bill, get even.
Introducing Kathmandu’s newest winter-withering creation, the Any Time Down Vest.
Gone are the days of layering clothes ‘til you look like the Michelin Man or Joey in that Friends episode (you know, the one where he puts on every single piece of clothing he owns).
The Any Time Down Vest is specifically designed for fresh mornings (and fresher evenings) thanks to its 600-fill power down construction. In normal people terms that means it’s toasty, lightweight and durable. A.k.a perfect for your various adventures during the day and getting up to mischief at night – did someone say, ‘let’s go to the pub?’
It also has pockets! Two of them! For your hands! Throw out your gloves!
You don’t even have to worry about coming last in the style stakes because the vest has a cool diamond-quilted design (it’s giving wardrobe staple status) and comes in colours inspired by the wilderness in New Zealand.
If the vest’s not your thing, the same style comes in a hooded parka version and a short jacket version (for women only).
Moon Bay, Slovenia at number three. Stokes Bay Beach, Australia at number two. And coming in at number one—inserts drum roll—is Piha Beach, New Zealand.
An unlikely, but not unworthy, first placer on Enjoy Travel’s Best Beaches in the World list for 2024, Piha Beach boasts sparkling black sand, whipped white waves and the impressively shaped Lion Rock. Which may or may not look like an actual lion (it doesn’t).
While the water might entice you with its gorgeous blue colour and perfect clarity, don’t be fooled. This beach has many charms, but being swimmable isn’t one of them. Read: there’s no early-morning recovery sessions or late-night skinny dips happening here. The waves are formidably rough (sadness) and the currents are strong, like Dwayne Johnson strong, so swimming without the supervision of a lifeguard is dangerous.
But despite the conditions, it’s an epic spot to surf. It’s also a pretty good-looking one, thanks to the rugged cliffs at either end of the beach. Settling down for a picnic on the sand or abseiling down the Piha Canyon are popular ways to spend time here, along with surf fishing and taking surf lessons.
You might even see some blue penguins if you’re there after the sun goes down. Yes, Piha Beach gets to have the world’s smallest penguin species and be crowned the world’s best beach. Some beaches just have it all.
If you’ve got enough sand in your shoes (and in other places to last you a lifetime), you can wander the streets of the small coastal village behind the beach or go bushwalking through the surrounding wilderness to make your visit a full-day thing.
Hate hibernating in Winter? Got some spare annual leave? Feeling far too close to a full-on burnout? Sounds like you need to swap your day job for an Odd Job.
We don’t mean cleaning out gutters, pulling out weeds or replacing tiles in the bathroom that have been cracked for longer than you care to admit.
This winter Tourism Tasmania is offering Aussies the chance to step away from the desk in favour of doing something a little more hands-on.
And by hands-on, we mean donning a pair of waders and venturing out into Great Oyster Bay as an Oyster Organiser (apparently a thing). Or keeping temperatures warm and toasty as a Sauna Stoker (also, apparently a thing). Or Truffle Snuffling, which sounds more like a creature from The Fantastic Beats franchise than an actual job. And don’t get us started on the role of Wombat Walker, whose sole responsibility is to take them on a morning waddle.
If anything’s for certain it’s that someone in the Tassie Tourism office clearly froths alliteration. But all jokes aside, you don’t have to hibernate in front of the telly ‘til September.
Replace the daily grind for one or two days of volunteering for a local business and reconnect with nature, the community and your own sense of enjoyment; something a 9 to 5 job inevitably sucks out of us. Too dark?
As if all that wasn’t convincing enough, successful applicants also receive a selection of fine Tasmanian produce or goods, specially picked out by their Odd Job host as a ‘you did such a good job organising oysters/stoking saunas/snuffling for truffles/walking wombats’ present. Honestly, sign us up.
Is it too much to ask for a delicious pizza with a view? Not at Blossom Rooftop Bar. Melbourne has got a few to choose from, but not many can say their bar wraps around the building. So maybe it is a wrap-around bar more than rooftop as per se, but let’s not get bogged down in semantics.
Pullman City Centre is where you can find this beauty. Aptly titled, given its location on Swanston Street in the heart of Melbourne. If you’re wanting to sample their beautifully crafted cocktail menu, it is handy to know you can get home safely with a tram stop located right out front. Or treat yourself and stay the night – being a 5-star hotel that was renovated in 2019, you’ll get to enjoy their exceptional hospitality and uniquely designed spaces.
Blossom Rooftop bar impresses as soon as you step out of the elevator of the 14th floor with its industrial interiors and breathtaking mural by acclaimed artist Lisa King. Sure, you can cosy up inside and perch yourself close to the bar or, step outside and choose a view that best suits you. Bask in the daytime sun, savour the glow of a glorious sunset or marvel at the night sky by the heaters they’ve placed around the rooftop – this really is a bar you can get around at any time.
Their menu caters to just about everyone as well, with gluten-free and vegan options – or go all in with 250g Black Angus Striploin. If pizza is what you’re after, then you’ve come to the right place. We can vouch for their mouth-watering woodfire pizzas and on Tuesdays, you can buy one and get the second half price. They’re helping pizza enthusiasts through cozzie livs.
Weekends are where the party is at with a DJ from 6pm on Fridays and Saturdays. Keep an eye out for some of the parties they host throughout the year, including their legendary NYE party! With the STUH NING backdrop of Melbourne’s skyline coupled with their impeccable food and drinks menu plus some of the best DJs to boot, this is a great place to ring in the new year.
The brand-new adaptation of James Clavell’s novel, Shōgun, which you can watch on Disney+ and Hulu, can actually be experience in-person in Japan.
If you want to be a passenger princess on holiday for once, not having to organise everything – Inside Japan Tours Shogun campaign is for you. They can curate a tailored adventure that allows you to learn more about 17th century Japan and the Edo period.
The Shōgun trail entails learning about samurai culture of Kyushu in Nagasaki city. Surrounded by a bay and mountains, it isn’t just a picturesque place to visit but one oozing in history, most notably with the reconstructed man made island of Dejima. For 220 years this was the sole region of Japan accessible to Europeans, and for a limited number of locals, a unique chance to engage with the outside world before their country opened up in 1853.
You could get your steps up and walk where the Samurais and Daimyo Lords did, along Nakasendo. The entire route spans 534km through central Japan dating back to the 17th century, sprawling with tree-lined paths and mountain towns through central mainland Honshu….but you don’t have to walk the entire length like Samurais did, obviously.
What about a two-hour kenbu class in Kyoto? A dance with a katana sword and a fan, you could be just like samurai who would gather strength before a battle in a kenbu ritual.
Speaking of swords, you could also visit a workshop in one of Japan’s last-remaining traditional sword-smiths. See if you can figure out the traditional way to fold steel, and see first-hand some of their older blades.
As Shōgun says ‘Lose yourself in the music, the moment…’ wait sorry, wrong lose yourself.
‘Lose yourself in it, make yourself one with nature…’.
A second teamLab Borderless has opened in Tokyo at Azabudai Hills, another immersive visual art installation showcase from the absolute weapons who brought you the first.
Technically, this is art, but it’s not like you’re sniffing someones armpit trying to get a half-decent shot of the Mona Lisa, nor is it staring at a picture of an apple which is apparently worth US$274,000, which just quietly, you reckon you could have painted.
At teamLab Borderless, you don’t so much as move from room to room but flow that way.
Each room is an experience, designed to make you feel a certain way. Mirrors, lights, cutting-edge technology and plants alike are used to create different universes, blowing your mind constantly from one room to the next.
In the new edition, one room features countless wobbling lights which run continuously through a space that infinitely expands, meaning you can’t really get your head around depth perception. The lights also shimmer beautifully, just managing to straddle the line between trippy and incredible.
If you went to the old teamLabs borderless at Odaiba, there’s a couple of things you should know. The first is that this new site at Azabudai Hills in the city’s south is bigger…way bigger. No less than 50 (!) the world renowned independent installations are featured in the 8.1 hectare site (where tf did they find eight hectares in Tokyo from?). One of these is an adaptation from the room of lamps that featured in teamLab mark I, which has evolved into a room of light bubbles.
Is there a more aesthetically pleasing mountain than Mount Fuji?
Forever a landmark of the Land of the Rising Sun, Fuji’s snow-capped peak is an active stratovolcano that raises it’s head majestically above mist, or on a clearer day standing in full visibility from the capital Tokyo.
Japan is the number one trending global destination for 2024 according to Tripadvisor, aptly crowned ahead of this year’s Mt. Fuji Day on Friday 23rd February.
Fuji Day commemorates and promotes the iconic mountain, with towns surrounding the 3,776-metre mountain getting ready to party. Lake Kawaguchiko Winter Fireworks have been happening through January and February but are set to go out with the biggest bang on Mt. Fuji Day.
And yeh sure, you could climb it…OR you could go full get lost and paraglide around it, taking the Big Boy in from mid-air.
For more adrenaline, there’s a half-day rafting experience. Fly along the Fuji River you’ll get to splash your way through the 6km course and maybe even tip one of your mates out hold on for dear life. For those who prefer to stay dry, there’s a few cycling tours that allow you to take in the views of Japan’s tallest mountain as well as the stunning countryside.
“Welcome to the era of spatial computing,” says Apple.
get lost says: welcome to the era of no-more shitty headphone, poor image-quality movies. Welcome to the end of boredom on long-haul flights, for an exorbitant cost.
“But what is an Apple Vision Pro?” you say.
The Apple Vision Pro is an oculus-rift, ski-goggle style piece of headwear that would look kind of cool even if it didn’t do anything, says get lost. But the fact is that it does heaps – a spatial operating system that is kind of like having your Macbook projected onto thin air. Use your hands, your eyes or your voice – you do you – to navigate between Sleepless in Seattle and Maid in Manhattan.
Reactions to the Apple Vision Pro have been mixed; it does look like another step away from the real world, and toward the virtual, which is hardly what we need right now. There are also reports of motion sickness on planes, including one dude who experienced a nauseating combination of Avatar and turbulence.
It remains to be seen if the Apple Vision Pro will become a fixture of our daily life, although most Apple products do. They’re retailing at AU$7,000; you’d want to be taking a lot of long haul flights to get your money worth here.
Check out the guide below, and make your own mind up.
‘The Black Pool’ is a 40 metre, 40℃ infinity pool that is arguably the highlight of the stunning Botanical Pool Club, near Chiba, Tokyo.
It’s amazing that a place like this could even exist in Tokyo, comprising of 21 rooms, a bunch of swimming pools and a jungle-inspired sauna stretching out over some considerable space.
Tokyo is a city of vastly variable climate, and so this is a place to come whether it’s a desert oasis or warming up you’re requiring.
It is so at odds with the Tokyo we all know and love, in fact, that we at get lost think it’s a masterstroke. A refuge from the chaotic, beeping energy, leaving you with more energy to charge this city’s weird beauty during the day and at night.
(
