Smouldering volcanos and mummies sound more like what you’d find on the set of an Indiana Jones film rather than an island holiday, but a trip to remote Papua New Guinea offers more than snorkelling and beautiful beaches – although it has plenty of those, too. Head to Rabaul, on the island of New Britain, for a two-week volcano-viewing adventure with filmmaker and photojournalist Ulla Lohmann and climbing instructor Basti Hofmann. This once bustling city was destroyed by violent eruptions more than 20 years ago, and while soot-covered ruins remain, so does a resilient community.
Learn about the region’s seismic activity with a volcanologist, meet local foragers who gather megapode eggs buried two metres under volcanic ash, and spend your nights in simple guesthouses and tents pitched within view of the chugging cone. For one night you’ll sleep on a deserted island surrounded by an incredible reef, where you’ll practise your sunset photography and capture shots of the Milky Way. Jet back to Lae on the mainland for the second week and travel into the jungle to see the mummies of the Anga clan. In remote villages the bodies of the deceased are smoked for up to 30 days to preserve their flesh and are then cared for to ensure their spirits don’t misbehave. Toward the end of your trip you’ll bid sunlight goodbye and enter a vast limestone cave full of stalagmites, rock paintings and a burial ledge scattered with remains. It’s an experience unlike any you’ve ever imagined, and one you’ll never forget.
Pack your camera and adventurous spirit, because this is Mongolia, where wild grasslands, thriving markets and diverse culture are the perfect setting for anyone interested in photography. Here, a tutor will teach you to navigate your camera’s intricate functions and share techniques to craft the best shots. Learn the rules of composition while snapping the sunset over the Khongoryn Els dunes, experiment with shutter speed at the waterfalls of Ulaan Tsutgalan, and master portraiture when photographing nomadic families.
You’ll visit ger (yurt) camps along the way, immersing yourself in nomadic life and sampling traditional dishes like khorkhog (slow-cooked mutton and vegetables). You’ll even get out from behind the lens to construct a ger, distil your own vodka, and ride horses across the countryside. As stars dot the night sky, relax beside the campfire and compare the day’s shots with your fellow snappers.
The idea of a cruise is enough to make us want to jump overboard, but we’d make an exception for this beauty. Once this pinisi (a traditional Indonesian sailing boat) named Al likai carted backpackers around the Indonesian islands, but with a change of owner – Amanda Zsebik used to run private villas and a restaurant in Bali – came a complete refit. Now there are just five king-size bedrooms, all with an en suite, plus one family bunk room, to accommodate a maximum of 16 people. But it’s the places you’ll see – itineraries include a cruise to West Nusa Tengarra, Komodo or around the uninhabited islands near Lombok and Gili – that will take your breath away. There’s plenty of time for snorkelling, lying on deserted beaches or visiting far-flung attractions like pearl farms.
Epic doesn’t always have to equal expensive. These simple bamboo raft houses in southern Thailand, about halfway between the Andaman and Gulf of Thailand coasts, are about as basic as you can get (no hot showers, shared bathrooms, electricity for only a few hours each evening), but the vast expanse of Cheow Lan Lake outside the door and the jungle beyond are like another world. There are kayaks aplenty for exploring the shoreline, where karsts erupt from the lake, waterfalls cascade in the jungle and the rainforests – home to elephants, deer, gibbons and bears – are some of the oldest in the world.
Remember being a kid and wishing the stairs in your house could be swapped with a slide? Live the dream at the new Soneva Jani, where you can select a deluxe overwater bungalow with a chute that takes you from bed to lagoon in an instant. From Malé airport in the Maldives, a private seaplane will whisk you over some of the nation’s 1190 coral islands to your own wooden castle perched out over crystal-clear water. Here the hardest decision you’ll have is deciding between an afternoon in your private pool or joining the fish in the ocean.
Forget crowded supermarket aisles and checkout queues. At the Phong Dien floating market grocery shopping is a delight, not a downer. From dawn, the Hau River heaves with small rowboats laden with fresh fruit, vegetables and fish from producers in the Mekong Delta food bowl.
Haggle over a bunch of bananas and grab a meal at one of the floating ‘restaurants’ on this remarkable river of trade. The market is smaller than its touristy big cousin at nearby Can Tho, and offers a more intimate experience with fewer motorised boats.
Get off ground level and head to the roof at Loof. A long-time favourite for both Singaporeans and visitors, the sleek outdoor space focuses on everything around it for inspiration: beers are of the Asian variety, cocktails feature local ingredients (its Singapore Sour, made with vodka, sour plum and kalamansi juice, is a spin on the island’s most famous drink, the Singapore Sling) and the kitchen takes classics and makes them new again.
Chilli crab cheese fries and hoisin duck spring rolls, anyone? It’s a great spot to chill early on, with excellent views of Downtown, but things certainly ratchet up a notch as the night ages and the beer pong table goes off. Local DJs play at popular nights like Pops of the Top and Flidays at Loof. Love it sick? You can pick up a cute souvenir – an old-school game or anodised tea flask, for example – from the Mamashop.
Strip everything away and the mind begins to clear. That’s the thinking behind Sri Lanka’s first wellness retreat, where the doors opened in 2016. Located in the countryside about an hour from overlooks lush hills and terraced tea plantations.
The design is minimalist in the extreme, although the concrete bunker styling of the saltwater soaking room and sleek lines of the infinity pool will dazzle lovers of architectural form.
There’s no wi-fi or televisions, encouraging guests to reconnect with their sense of self and the world around them. Days are filled with hikes, yoga, swimming in the river, mountain biking and indulging in massages, reiki and Ayurvedic treatments.
If you’re suffering from asthma, consider joining the thousands of pilgrims who gather every year at Hyderabad in India to take part in a mass fish-guzzling ceremony. The Bathini Mrugasira Fish are stuffed with a special secret medicinal paste, apparently given to a local family by a holy man more than 150 years ago. The family continues to administer the herbal cure to patients for free, claiming their asthma will be cured after just three years’ of treatment.
Ever wondered how an Indian family spends Holi, the Hindu festival that welcomes spring with a splash – OK, many splashes – of colour? Find out on an exclusive trip that begins in Delhi before heading to Jaipur.
First, you’ll visit the stunning pink Palace of the Winds, Amber Fort, the Royal City Palace and the city’s astronomical observatory. The next day the preparations begin. You’ll shop for water pistols, glitter, dry colours and water balloons at the market, take in a Bollywood movie then go to Holika Dahan, the bonfire that kicks off the celebrations the night before. Then it’s time for dinner with a local family and an early night because the next day you’ll need all your energy for the pelting of water and colour that symbolises this amazing festival. The tour finishes with a day in the rural village of Karauli and a visit to the famous Taj Mahal.
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