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Let the tide lull your senses into a state of relaxation at The Floathouse River Kwai. Hidden in the tropical depths of western Thailand, this luxurious lodge floats on the gentle waves of the famous river. Artfully constructed from teak and bamboo, each room oozes opulence and opens onto a private terrace by the water.
Spend your days mountain-bike riding, kayaking or exploring nearby waterfalls, before enjoying a delectable spread of international and local cuisine at Pontoon, the floating restaurant. When darkness falls, plonk yourself down on your terrace with a glass of wine and listen to the gentle lapping of the water.
region: Asia
Take a Buddhist journey
For an enlightening spiritual retreat join Buddhist scholars, and occasionally the Dalai Lama himself (there are tentative dates for the beginning of 2017), on tours to places of great significance and holiness in mainly India, but also Myanmar, Nepal and Bhutan. Trips range from three days to 18, and the group size is kept small to ensure the essence of mindful travel is never lost. These are unique journeys, designed to explore both the cultural and spiritual aspects of the destination, and offer the traveller new insights, personal discover and the chance to meet local people they perhaps wouldn’t on a normal tour.
Some of the trips include a sojourn to the painted caves at Ajanta in Maharashtra and an exploration of ancient Buddhist sites and palaces and forts in Andhra Pradesh. Accommodation ranges from five-star hotels to home stays in more remote areas.
Posh, not pricy, at Adler Hostel
Most people don’t think luxury when it comes to backpacker-style lodgings, but Adler Hostel proves that you can go a little bit posh without the hefty price tag. Located in the bustling heart of Singapore’s Chinatown district, the hostel’s dorms are furnished in a range of elegant themes. Each capsule-style bed is surprisingly spacious and houses all the right creature comforts – think plump pillows, universal power points, clothes hangers, a personal locker and a curtain for privacy.
The tea and juice bar offers an ever-changing breakfast menu and leads to a cosy lounge area perfect for relaxing or meeting fellow travellers. If you can bring yourself to leave your cocoon of comfort, there’s a plethora of restaurants and shops just outside the door. You’ll be hard pressed to find better bang for your buck.
Relax, it’s island time
Yes, the 4000 hectares of limestone karsts bursting from the ocean make it look like Krabi in Thailand, but you won’t find nearly the same number of gawkers in the Caramoans, about 500 kilometres south-east of Manila.
There are 10 principal islands with pristine white-sand beaches and lush peaks where you can snorkel, kayak, trek and rock climb far from the tourist hordes. There is one main spot, Gota Village Resort, where you can rent rustic cabanas and more upscale villas on a private cove, but there aren’t any discos to frequent when the sun goes down. If watching fireflies lights up your life, though, this could be your idea of heaven.
Crazy House
Get set for a kooky kip at the Crazy House in Dalat, the charming French-inspired mountain city popular with Vietnamese honeymooners. Described as a work Gaudi may have created if he’d dropped some acid, the Crazy House (its original name is Hang Nga Villa) stretches the boundaries of architectural creativity, then abandons them altogether.
Tunnels, walkways and ladders connect a labyrinth of rooms brought together using wire, wood and a generous coating of concrete to resemble a whimsical tree house. It all sounds a bit ramshackle, but has architectural credibility. Owner Dang Viet Nga, daughter of former Vietnamese president Truong Chinh, has a PhD from the University of Architecture in Moscow, and her guesthouse is a continually evolving labour of love.
Diver’s Delight
Love the idea of a remote liveaboard dive adventure where you can truly get away from it all, but don’t quite have the sea legs? Avillion Layang Layang is an isolated diver’s paradise unlike any other. Laying Layang Island was used by the Malaysian military as a naval base back in the 1980s and has since been transformed into a dive resort, spectacularly positioned on 13 coral reefs that rise two kilometres from the floor of the South China Sea.
The 20-metre-deep lagoon – 300 kilometres northwest of Kota Kinabalu in Sabah – is teeming with seahorses, dolphins, hammerheads and manta rays, and even attracts the occasional whale shark and orca. The airstrip dominates the island and the time you’re on it is the only period during which you’re likely to be dry (aside from when you’re sleeping).
Get Nerdy about Noodles in Japan
Get ready to redefine the phrase ‘experience your food’ at Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum, a noodle-based theme park. Honouring one of Japan’s national dishes – it was, in fact, appropriated from a Chinese meal – this museum boasts rides, shops, tastings and historical information completely devoted to the soupy goodness that is ramen.
Take a stroll through the refashioned dagashi-ya (old-fashioned sweet shops) or challenge a friend on the 30-metre slot-car racetrack. While you’re there, be sure to get slurping, since a whole swathe of varieties is being dished up.
Trek to Tiger’s Nest
It’s one of the most thigh-burning climbs to a temple you will ever endure, but Bhutan’s Tiger’s Nest Monastery (Paro Taktsang) is worth the effort. Perched on a cliff face 600 metres above the valley floor, the Tiger’s Nest is the kind of traveller’s eye-candy your body will forgive you for. After you’ve finished the trek, follow in the footsteps of Guru Padmasambhava (the founder of Tibetan Buddhism) and meditate. Legend has it he meditated for three years, three months, three weeks, three days and three hours, but he also purportedly reached the monastery by catching a tigeress there.
Zip-line to Lobster Lovin’ Island
Imagine a land completely surrounded by succulent lobsters? Such a place actually exists and it’s called Panjang Island.
But the most fascinating feature of this rocky outcrop, which juts out from the ocean about 100 metres offshore of Yogyakarta, is not the delicious bounty roaming near its base but the unusual mode of transport the lobster catchers use to get there. Hooked up to a series of ropes and pulleys is a rickety cage that fishermen clamber into before hauling themselves across the churning sea.
If you’re plucky enough, slip some cash to the owner, jump on board and hurtle over massive waves smashing into the rocks below. Be sure to wait around to see the trappers return, and if the sight of fresh seafood gets your stomach rumbling, swap some rupiah for a feed then chill out on nearby Timang Beach.
Decorated Death in the Londa Burial Caves
The Toraja ethnic group of South Sulawesi has some of the most elaborate death customs in the world, and the Londa burial caves, the region’s oldest, provide the best opportunity to encounter these fascinating traditions up close. After an expensive, intricate funeral – held months or even years after death – the deceased’s coffin is either laid in a stone cavern or hung on a cliff face. Upon approaching the caves, visitors can observe the hanging coffins and tau tau (carved wooden effigies of the dead) tucked into crevices in the cliffs.
At the entrance, be sure to buy a lantern since there’s no lighting inside, and negotiate with a tour guide for the best deal. Inside, the cavern extends for hundreds of metres, and the low ceilings can make it difficult to navigate. Watch your step – there may be a centuries-old skeleton underfoot.
