There are seven beaches across the globe that have pink sand – caused by a cocktail of white and red sand, with Ma Nature acting as mixologist – but Komodo is definitely the only place where you’ll find pink sand and dragons. Giant goat-munching beasts aside, Komodo, in Indonesia, is a tropical wonderland where time is an abstract concept and all you really have to worry about is whether to stay lying on the surreal beach or go for a snorkel in the azure ocean.
Originally a sake producer, Kiuchi – located in Naka, one-and-a-half hours by train from Tokyo – expanded production in 1996 and now creates Hitachino Nest beers using many of the techniques developed during almost 200 years of making rice wine.
Play blushing bride in a century-old teak house built in Java as a gift for a lady betrothed to a Javanese nobleman. In the village of Baung, a 15-minute drive from Ubud, Bambu Indah offers eco luxury with 11 restored antique houses and elegant modern guest residences. Each detached room is unique and thoughtfully furnished – some are set on stilts, others include private water features or garden bathrooms, and one even has a glass floor so guests can watch shrimp swimming in the pond below.
Malaysia is a long way from Middle-earth, but the charming family-run lodgings, Time Capsule Retreat, will have your getting your hobbit on. Tucked away in lush forest in the peninsula state of Pahang, the delightful capsule rooms are made from pipe cylinders, with floor-to-ceiling glass at the opening letting light and green views right in. At two metres by three metres, the rooms are cosy and simple but large enough to accommodate a queen-size bed. They are air-conditioned but you’ll have to share a bathroom with your neighbour.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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