China is a country of contradictions and contrasts. Where else can you find communist soldiers sipping Coca-Cola? But it’s also a country of surprises. Cities like Shanghai may be the poster children for shopping and new-world decadence, but the other extreme – sedate, rice terrace-laden countryside and lush jungle-like hinterland – can still be found.
Living history – Tiananmen Square, the Terracotta Warriors and much more beyond – can be witnessed around every corner. After all, this is China, a country that has been continuously settled for around 4000 years. In a country this size, the regional cultural differences are as supremely varied as is its cuisine, so traversing the vast land is an adventure in itself. From the stark beauty of the Gobi Desert to the white beaches and coconut palms that dot the coast of the South China Sea, there’s more to China than a little red book and a bloody big wall.
With its low-key beach resorts, dense rainforest and mystical ancient temples, Cambodia is fast replacing Thailand and Vietnam as the South-East Asian destination du jour.
Sure, there are plenty of sobering reminders of the country’s dark past under the brutal Khmer Rouge regime, and much of the country is steeped in poverty, but that’s all the more reason to visit – to lift the veil on this unique corner of the world, discover the beauty of its wilderness and people, and explore far beyond famous Angkor Wat and the Killing Fields.
Pleasures include the seaside town of Sihanoukville and the deserted beaches which lie beyond it. Access lesser-known ancient temples at Kampong Thom. Hang about in the chilled river town of Kratie, where you can take in the vista of the Mekong and its endangered river dolphins. Cambodia is a country that may well tempt you to stay longer than you thought you would.
It’s easy for once uncharted corners of the world to suddenly become overrun by tourists searching out the next big thing. That’s not going to happen in this tiny Buddhist kingdom tucked into the Himalayan mountains. There’s a limited number of hotels and tours within the country, and while you can organise a trip independently, there’s a minimum spend of US$250 a day (the price includes accommodation, food, guides and transport). Most would say it is worth every cent.
The landscape is jaw-dropping: rugged mountains topped with snow have spectacular, gravity-defying monasteries clinging to them. Deep, lush valleys carved by rivers provide pastureland for cows and other livestock. And when you travel here, you do it slowly, following mountain passes through forests to towns like Paro, where there’s a impressive dzong (a fortress that serves as an administrative and social centre) and the National Museum, and Punakha, the former capital that sits where the Mo Chhu and Pho Chhu – or Mother and Father Rivers – meet. Along the way, there are friendly faces aplenty – Bhutan does, after all, value its Gross National Happiness – vibrant markets and festivals, and some fairly crazy species of wildlife to spot. The national animal is the takin, a kind of goat–antelope hybrid that lives in bamboo forests.
Sail around one of the world’s most picturesque island nations aboard a traditional Maldivian fishing boat with G Adventures. The dhoni will take you to some of the most beautiful of the Maldives’ 26 atolls during this week-long cruise. All you have to do is lie back, relax and enjoy the sensation of floating through paradise.
It’s likely you’ll spend more time in the water than on the boat as you explore turquoise lagoons, coral reefs and uninhabited island beaches. But hey, that’s what visiting the Maldives is all about.
Rise above reality in this lofty haven, 2,438 metres up on the flanks of the Indian Himalayas. With no mobile phones, no television and virtually no contact with the outside world, Shakti 360° Leti provides the ultimate escape. Enjoy beautiful walks, fantastic food and spectacular views of the world’s most impressive mountain range. Or just take in the rare air.
When it comes to a skiing break, those located in the Pacific region can’t do much better than Japan for diversity, location and affordability. Niseko, on Japan’s north island, provides a plethora of powder possibilities, whether you’re a novice dabbling in the white stuff or an experienced snow hound. The region has four main ski resorts offering all the snowboarding and skiing action you could ask for, from gentle groomed powder and steep runs to terrain parks (jibs and jumps) and off-piste thrills.
When the sun goes down the lights come on and Niseko’s luscious curves invite after-dark exertions (we’re talking night-skiing here). The resort has the best-lit runs in Japan, and who could resist a moonlight meander on the mountain?
To celebrate the beauty of winter and Gangwon-do Province’s abundance of mountain trout, tonnes of the plump silver swimmers are released into the river during January to be captured and cooked at the Hwacheon Sancheoneo Ice Festival. Dubbed one of the “seven wonders of winter” by Lonely Planet, this South Korean festival lures hundreds of thousands of visitors each year with sledding, snow slides, ice hockey and fish, glorious fish.
If wielding a rod isn’t thrilling enough, wade into a frigid pond wearing a T-shirt and shorts and test your skills on a barehanded hunt. Once you’ve snagged the Queen of the Valley, swap your catch with a vendor serving sashimi or trout that’s been cleaned and cooked. Devour with plenty of warming soju (rice liquor).
Hunting for lunch on a frozen river sounds like a macho way to fill your belly. Not in Japan, where ice-fishing oozes cuteness and culminates in bowls full of crunchy wakasagi (tempura smelt fish). Colourful tents rise from Sapporo’s solid Barato River, some with portable heaters offering respite from the cold (find one and make friends with the owners).
Grab a teeny-tiny rod, settle on a low-rise stool and dangle your line in a hole carved in the very thick crust. Once you’ve reeled in a feast, dip your snacks in batter, plunge them into a bubbling pot of oil and give them their marching orders straight to your gob.
Are thoughts of razor-sharp blades through splayed fingers too much for you to consider ice-skating? Then this might just be the new winter activity for you. Take a normal bike, replace the front tyre with a blade and find yourself a good stretch of frozen ice.
Ice-biking seems to be particularly popular in China, where you can hire the unusual contraptions at South Lake in Changchun (capital of the north-west province of Jilin) and in Beijing, either at the Zizhuyuan Park skating rink or on Lake Houhai. While you’re attempting to pop slick monos, you might also notice another unusual mode of transportation: the chair sled, which basically consists of two wooden seats strapped together and propelled forward using fire pokers.
As the sun sets over the ocean in front of Bali’s chic Potato Head Beach Club, Leo Boys and Anya Montague place the finishing touches on their creations. A pink beach umbrella, whipped cream, a slice of orange and some ‘edible sand’ – actually crushed biscuits – accompany the bright-blue Hi Life rum cocktails. The couple, who call themselves the Travelling Bartenders, believe the name of the cocktail perfectly sums up what their life has become.
Both from England, they have spent the past couple of years working in bars around the world and helping set up new venues. Twenty-two-year-old Boys began bartending in clubs four years ago and met Montague, now 21, when he hired her to work in a small cocktail bar in his home town of Brighton while she was doing her teaching degree there.
Montague had travelled extensively with her family as a child, even living in a yoga ashram in India for a few months when she was eight years old. On a trip to Borneo, she’d tried her hand at making cocktails for guests at a small resort, but it was Boys’s passion for concocting new mixes that really drew her to a career that is about as far away from blackboards as you can get. “Seeing someone so passionate about making drinks is magnetic,” she says. “It awoke a fire in me to be the best I could be.”
Boys started altering the roster each week to ensure they had the same shifts, giving him time to work his charms and teach her the tricks of the trade. During the coming months love blossomed. Boys, however, had already committed to a job in Hawaii, helping set up Tiki Iniki on the north shore of the island of Kauai for musician Todd Rundgren and his wife Michele. “I was heartbroken when I had to leave Anya at the airport,” he says. “I was meant to open the bar with two friends of mine from London, but they had a mix-up with their visas and couldn’t come so I went it alone at first.
“Anya always planned to come out, so in the end I asked the owner if I could hire her again and she said yes. She flew out a week a later. Somewhere down the line we decided to just stay on the road – we haven’t looked back since.”
The couple started a blog on Tumblr (www.travellingbartenderslog.tumblr.com) to document their travels. Originally about them, it now features bartenders from all the corners of the globe, the amazing places they work and the incredible creations they concoct.
As well as the bar in Hawaii, Boys travelled to Puerto Rico with Don Q Rum last year for a distillery tour and the couple spent a few months travelling around Thailand – doing “research and development” in a lot of Bangkok bars – before arriving in Bali last October. Montague clearly remembers the first time she entered the doors at Potato Head: “You walk through this huge colosseum made from vintage Balinese shutters into an incredible metropolis of bars, restaurants, beds, an infinity pool, the beach and the most incredible pink, purple and red sunsets.”
They then helped Potato Head owners Ronald Akili and Jason Gunawan set up a new concept in Jakarta, doing a few guest shifts at the Potato Head brasserie there, before heading to Singapore for another new project with the same people and the occasional night behind the bar at 28 Hongkong Street.
Employers have come to see them as a package deal and are attracted to their energy and creativity. “We like using interesting flavours, fresh ingredients and quality spirits and we don’t like using stuff that’s not necessary,” Boys says. “It’s all about using what’s local – the drinks are always inspired by where we are. Anya made this unreal caramelised banana puree in Bali and we used it to make a bourbon milkshake.”
Sometimes it’s not just the drinks attracting attention, with the couple admitting the clientele will often sit at the bar intently watching them work together. “Leo will be pouring rum into my tin while I put straws into the drink he’s just made,” Montague says. “Sometimes I hear him call my name and without thinking I know to step back and suddenly there’s dragon fire blowing past my nose!”
While there are certainly times when the duo misses home, Boys admits he loves being able to live in warmer climates and experience amazing countries. “You get a lot of inside knowledge from staff about places, and bartenders in Asia are so grateful for giving them new skill sets and helping them improve,” he says. “It’s really satisfying seeing them grow.”
On the research trip to Thailand, the couple also spent a few days relaxing on an island in the north called Koh Mak. “We saw maybe five other tourists the whole time we were there,” Montague says. “It was how you imagine the Thai islands back in the early 90s. But don’t tell anyone.”
It hasn’t all been smooth sailing during their travels. They ran out of cash in Hawaii and had to go for around a month with little money for food. “We literally lived off the land,” Boys says. “I learned to bake bread and Anya picked kale and fruit – basically whatever we could find. At the time it sucked, but now, looking back on it, it was so much fun. I have fond memories of foraging on the Garden Island.”
Also not entirely idyllic was the very un-touristy market Boys found himself in at the end of the train line in Bangkok. Nobody spoke English and there were animals being slaughtered everywhere. “The poor guy spent the day dodging puddles of blood and overly keen lady boys,” Montague says.
Taking an easy-going approach to money and plans, Boys and Montague nevertheless can’t see themselves returning to the UK any time soon. “We could end up working for Potato Head at one of their new ventures, or setting up a gin bar in the Himalayas,” Montague says. “Who knows?”
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