When it comes to roller coaster construction, surely the general rule of thumb is that the track should be fully complete ‘with no obvious gaps’ before it gets the green light for real-life human passengers? Apparently not, according to the crazy people behind the Gravity Max at Taiwan’s Lihpao Land theme park.
The thrill (if you can even call it that) of this ride is that it ascends dizzyingly fast to the very edge of a seemingly track-less horizontal platform, before tilting forward to a 90-degree angle pausing for dramatic effect and maximum scares, of course and magically reconnecting to the downward track. It then proceeds to shoot through a pitch-black tunnel and straight into a 360-degree vertical loop, reaching a max speed of 90 kilometres an hour and 3.5 Gs of force.
The Gravity Max is the world’s only tilting roller coaster, is the first with a true 90-degree drop, and it goes for a blood-curdling two minutes and 26 seconds. Ride at your own peril.
When you’ve been making one dish for 75 years, you’re sure to have it perfected. Tonkatsu Tonki in Tokyo is the epitome of understated eateries, with its white-clad chefs who prepare, while all the customers are watching, the three dishes they are famous for: pork cutlet in three different styles.
Breaded, deep-fried pork cutlets, known as tonkatsu, are a Japanese favourite, and Tonkatsu Tonki is the type of eatery people from all over Tokyo travel to. It’s not just the three types of pork – toasted tonkatsu, tonkatsu fillet and skewer tonkatsu – that sets this place apart. It’s the authenticity, the ambience, the customers crammed around the u-shaped bar, and the owner who remembers every order without jotting it down. Think Midnight Diner in Tokyo Stories.
What differentiates this tonkatsu from the rest of the pack is that the pork is not overcooked and chewy, but has a delicate, crispy outer layer with thick flavoursome juicy meat. The sauce is excellent, and the accompanying miso soup is to die for.
It’s often quite crowded, so you’ll be directed to a chair to wait before being shown to a spot at the bench surrounding the kitchen. It’s here you can really soak up the convivial atmosphere and process – the chef who covers the tonkatsu with flour, the cook who does the deep frying, another who cuts them up. Then there’s the chef who delicately places your tonkatsu on the plate. Watching this systematic flow is like watching the creation of art.
For between US$13 and US$19 you can have tonkatsu served with a piece of tomato, spicy wasabi and unlimited servings of sliced napa (cabbage) and rice. Wash it down with a bottle of Asahi and you’re night will be fulfilled.
For those who like a good spooking, can’t wait for Halloween to come around or are sick of Friday the 13th re-runs, Tokyo has opened the first drive-in haunted house. It’s spook city all year round.
Japanese folks love a good scare and, oddly enough, haunted houses are one of the more popular attractions for groups and couples. With the current Covid-19 restrictions, design company Kowagarasetai has ingeniously created a genuine haunted house experience in central Tokyo that you don’t even have to leave your car for. The 20-minute immersive experience comes complete with zombies and blood-soaked figures.
Park your car inside a dark and dingy garage, the doors close and you wait like a sitting duck for the nightmare to begin. Victims – oops, we mean drivers – receive a set of Bluetooth speakers and the narration begins: There’s a legend that there’s a ghost that attacks humans. This is no passive scare fest – it’s all interactive and drivers honk the horn to hear more. As the ghoulish tale progresses actors dressed as ghosts and zombies attempt to scare the living beejesus out of you. And they will!
Just when you think you’ve made it out alive, a figure covered in blood launches its gruesome body on your car’s bonnet in classic jump-scare fashion. You’ll be glad you locked all the doors and the windows are tightly wound up.
And this is Japan, so all the fake blood and zombie fingerprints are cleaned off when the ordeal is over.
Come face to face with Japan’s oldest living trees. The UNESCO World Heritage-listed forests of Yakushima are inhabited by flourishing yakusugi, also known as Japanese cedar, some which are believed to be more than 7,000 years old. To ensure the natural growth of these magnificent trees remains undisturbed – they’re also the habitat of many animals including Yaku macaque monkeys and sika deer – trails have been created to wind around the tangled roots and mossy stones. With miles of terrain to cover, you have every chance of getting a glimpse of these local creatures in this magical place. To access the island, you can either jump on the ferry or fly directly into Yakushima airport. For adventurous visitors who want more than a day trip, there are cabins available within the forest that can be used by night hikers and campers.
Along the ancient paths of the infamous Silk Road lies the untouched beauty of Kazakhstan. Far from the tourist trail, these lands have remained a well-kept secret, none more so than the mystical Lake Kaindy, which sits 2,000 metres above sea level. In the early 1900s, when a vicious earthquake struck and a limestone landslide ensued, the gorge became blocked and eventually water cascading down from the mountains above formed the 400-metre-long lake, swallowing dozens of Asian spruce trees along its banks. Infused with limestone deposits, the water’s seemingly unnatural greenish-blue hues are punctured by stark white tree trunks that cast eerie reflections in the glassy surface. Below the surface leaves still cling to their branches, preserved by the lake’s cold temps. With multiple companies offering tours to Lake Kaindy and the breathtaking sights surrounding it, this forest is well worth the hike.
The peculiar trees in Poland’s Crooked Forest in Krzywy Las look more like an upside-down question mark – it’s a fitting shape for the puzzling place. Shrouded in mystery, the trees were planted in the 1920s and 30s, however the question behind the warped shape of these pines, while largely debated for decades, remains unknown. Some theorise tanks passing during World War Two pushed them aside and they have been stuck ever since. Others believe they were covered by a heavy snowstorm in the early years of their lives and, when spring came, they could no longer stand tall. Surrounded by a larger forest of straight growing pines, the true reason is likely to remain a secret. A half-hour drive from the city of Szczecin in Poland’s northwest, the forest is easily accessible for those who are keen walk among the unusual formations and ponder the theories of this fascinating enigma.
Sculpted by water over many millennia, gouging the earth’s rock and soil, Tsingy de Bemaraha is a forest unlike any other. Vast caverns and jagged limestone karsts pucker the land, some peaking at a hundred metres tall, like something straight out of an Indiana Jones movie. While the landscape appears unforgiving, this geological phenomenon and UNESCO World Heritage Site on the west coast of Madagascar is home to a range of wildlife – simply peer down into the cavernous depths of the tsingy where vegetation has taken root for a glimpse of lemurs, birds and reptiles, many of which don’t exist anywhere else in the world. The unfriendly terrain and its location also means much of the forest has remained mostly untouched by humans, which has ensured the preservation of this stunning landscape. Don’t fret though; this doesn’t put it out of your reach. Despite the tough environment, a series of ladders, suspension bridges and trails have been laid out, each with varying levels of difficulty. There are also guides for hire at the park’s entrance to help keen adventurers tackle the peaks. Just don’t look down.
Although unassuming from the surface, La Jolla Cove hides more than just a colourful array of marine life. Sprouting from the rocky reefs that blanket the ocean floor, with stalks reaching between nine to 25 metres in height, is a stunning kelp forest. Swaying dreamily in the underwater currents, flashes of red and orange-hued fish and colourful reefs are a vibrant contrast against the green and brown kelp. If you’re lucky, you might even spot an excitable sea lion twirling through the tall stalks. The only way to truly experience it is to suit up and take the plunge. As you glide between the long, rippling ribbons of kelp, you’ll feel as though you’ve left the world behind and entered the pathway to Atlantis – not bad for a place just a 20-minute drive from the busy streets of downtown San Diego. There are a number of dive companies that offer guided scuba tours of the spectacular aquatic world, so you’ve got plenty of opportunities to experience it.
You must first weave through a shop selling bartending equipment before you can enter this multi-storey venue, concealed behind a sliding bookcase. The first floor – accessible via a tunnel and a flight of stairs – plays host to a lively, standing-room-only bar that pumps out cocktails. New York staples pepper the drinks list, interspersed with Asian-influenced libations such as the Eastern Paris, which combines brandy and aged Pu-erh tea.
To access level two, find the antique map on the stairs and put your orienteering skills to the test. Once you’ve located Shanghai and given it a poke, you’ll gain access to an intimate and slower-paced bar that serves up more elaborate, less classic cocktails. Patrons who drink here often enough will find themselves ushered past the ‘employees only’ sign on the stairs where yet another bar awaits.
India is known as for its deep spirituality, entwined with the country’s culture. It is also the birthplace of yoga; the spiritual, mental and physical practice that has been well and truly embraced by the western world.
To gain a deeper understanding of the fundamentals and background of this physical and mental practice, there’s no better place to try a yoga retreat than India. Set in beautiful natural surrounds on the stunning Malabar beach in Kerala, enjoy a full wellness program under the tutelage of expert teachers. Among six hectares of verdant greenery, the Somatheeram Ayurveda Retreat allows you to reconnect with your core, using traditional Ayurveda techniques. Ayurveda is the essence of Somatheeram, which has been providing Ayurvedic treatment in the traditional way for more than 30 years.
Somatheeram has been awarded the Best Ayurvedic Centre in Kerala ten times so you know your in good hands. Each stay includes a personalised wellness program and consultations by experts who have provided treatment in this traditional way for over 30 years. The retreat combines a beach resort with mindfulness and yoga, with accommodation in quaint bungalows and cottages set back from the tranquil blue waters of the sea nearby.
From afar this hotel appears abandoned to rainforest. Greenery engulfs the walls and flows over curved balconies like a layered rice terrace. But within the organic sculpture lies an eco-friendly hotel offering all the trimmings of a five-star stay. Splurge on an orchid club room and enjoy champagne breakfasts, afternoon tea and cocktail hour (it actually lasts from 6–8pm) each day in the exclusive club on the top floor, where there’s a 360-degree view.
The hotel’s just a brief walk from Clarke Quay, Chinatown and the CBD, so you won’t have to travel far on the hot, concrete streets before finding respite in the 300-metre garden walk. And when you really need to chill, perch in a colourful birdcage cabana by the infinity pool.
Venture through the veil on an expedition to Mongolia’s north to experience the life of the nomadic Tsaachin tribe. On the way, explore monasteries, museums and markets in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia’s capital, then strap in for a drive through the rocky mountain ranges of Ulaan-Uul to the town of Tsagaannuur. Saddle up your Mongolian steed and ride towards Taiga, home to part of the Tsaachin.
Here, you’ll experience everyday life of this nomadic tribe, from milking reindeer and making cheese to witnessing shamanic rituals. After a full day, you’ll slumber in a tepee before waving goodbye in the morning as you head to Jigleg Pass for a boat ride along Khövsgöl Lake and a hike among the surrounding mountains before returning to the capital, feeling a little more blessed and humbled.
On a deserted beach in Sri Lanka’s Yala National Park – the best place in the country to spot leopards – site a chilled luxury camp. With 28 super-cool, air-conditioned tents offer state-of-the art amenities arranged around ponds to attract birds and butterflies, Wild Coast Tented Lodge is set to be at the top of bucket lists.
Located where the jungle meets a pristine beach, overlooking the blue waters of the Indian Ocean, Wild Coast Lodge’s cocoon-like design utilises arched fabric structures that camouflage into the surrounding rocks and boulders.
Sister properties Cape Weligama and Ceylon Tea Trails set the bar high but Wild Coast Tented Lodge’s superb restaurant and spa is world-class and the real treat and point of difference is the safari experiences. Wild Coast operates silent hybrid vehicles to track elephants and leopards, plus an on-site dive centre allows underwater explorers to observe the wrecks of Portuguese galleons.
If you were asked to make a wish list of tropical island destinations, chances are Japan would not be on it. That’s about to change as word spreads about Okinawa, a string of hundreds of islands stretching almost a thousand kilometres from the southern-most tip of the mainland toward Taiwan.
Miyako Island is at just about the centre point, favoured with long stretches of white sand like Aragusuku and Yonaha-Maehama beaches. It has many of the same natural attractions as everyone’s favourite beach destinations, like Thailand and Hawaii, but with a fraction of the crowds. It’s also a major destination for snorkelling and diving in the coral reefs…and don’t forget to sample the Miyakojima cuisine, start with the Miyako soba, and finish with the Miyako beef.
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