Get Lost

Apple Vision Pro

“Welcome to the era of spatial computing,” says Apple.

get lost says: welcome to the era of no-more shitty headphone, poor image-quality movies. Welcome to the end of boredom on long-haul flights, for an exorbitant cost.

“But what is an Apple Vision Pro?” you say.

The Apple Vision Pro is an oculus-rift, ski-goggle style piece of headwear that would look kind of cool even if it didn’t do anything, says get lost. But the fact is that it does heaps – a spatial operating system that is kind of like having your Macbook projected onto thin air. Use your hands, your eyes or your voice – you do you – to navigate between Sleepless in Seattle and Maid in Manhattan.

Reactions to the Apple Vision Pro have been mixed; it does look like another step away from the real world, and toward the virtual, which is hardly what we need right now. There are also reports of motion sickness on planes, including one dude who experienced a nauseating combination of Avatar and turbulence.

It remains to be seen if the Apple Vision Pro will become a fixture of our daily life, although most Apple products do. They’re retailing at AU$7,000; you’d want to be taking a lot of long haul flights to get your money worth here.

Check out the guide below, and make your own mind up.

ULUM MOAB

The red rock of outback Utah is something get lost have covered in depth. Why? Coz we’re addicted to the otherworldly feeling of this special part of the planet.

ULUM®Moab might be the best place to situate yourself in this ethereality. White, glamping style tents are dotted throughout the Moab Desert, and their interiors provide a luxurious refuge from what can be a harsh and unforgiving environment.

During the day you can go canyoneering, hit the trails or charge the Colorado River in a kayak, Christopher McCandless-style. ULUM® Moab is a solid place to base yourself for outdoor adventure.

This is not some over-built monolithic mega-complex; ULUM® Moab does what great accommodations in great landscapes—blend into the environment, and bask in it.

From AU$992 per night

Click for FAB IN THE MOAB

Remember the Chilli Queens

The year is 1836, and the cry Remember the Alamo!

…is ringing out across the nation, laying the foundation for the soon-to-come Mexican-American War and battle for Texas. San Antonio, then a relatively small outpost, begins to rebuild after a brutal battle and the hard work is fuelled by… chilli.

We’ve all fallen in love before and, at some point, have probably fallen in love with a bowl of chilli. Spicy, rich and hearty, chilli comes in many varieties and tops some of the most primo of foods. Quick way to level-up a hot dog? Add chilli.

It doesn’t matter whether you take it with beans, cheese or breadcrumbs, chilli is enjoyed by people all over the world. Well, except for iconic food traveller Anthony Bourdain, for whom it was reminiscent of “a warm bag of crap”. But don’t listen to him on this one—even legends make mistakes occasionally.

In Southern United States, it’s a distinct kind of street food that’s made all the more amazing when you know the history of San Antonio’s chilli godmothers.

Chips and chilli, a classic combo.
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A band of women boldly named the ‘Chilli Queens’ once made their way to Alamo and set up shop in its open air market. While mostly Mexican, there were some African American and First Nations women in their band, and together they served up their grandmothers’ secret chilli.

Dressed in colourful dresses, singing songs, and usually accompanied by roving musicians, they would fill the square with song and spice, offering their homemade chilli to a hungry city.

For decades, this band of Queens served their chilli daily from the market, providing a cheap and hearty meal not just to the people of San Antonio, but to travellers who caught wind. Tales of the Chilli Queens were featured in newspaper articles and travel guides, they were mentioned in several novels, including O. Henry’s The Gift of the Magi and Katherine Anne Porter’s Pale Horse, Pale Rider, and soon chilli was spreading across the nation, becoming a popular fixture on menus coast to coast.

Friends and family ready to be served.
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Sadly, resentment and racism towards Mexican culture forced the Chilli Queens out of business. The city government predominantly to blame after they passed an 1918 ordinance that banned street vendors from selling food. However, the Chilli Queens’ legacy lives on as a San Antonio street staple, slightly reinvented. Enter the Frito Pie.

At some point someone started serving chilli in a chip packet, giving birth to the Frito Pie—a charmingly lowbrow culinary combination that sees corn chips paired with their natural chilli allies. Like yin and yang or Simon & Garfunkel—they’re naturally better together.

No one seems quite sure where this originated. Some say it was a man on his lunch break at a convenience store while others reckon it was the Doolin family (inventors of the Fritos corn chips brand). There’s even talk of the Frito pie originating in the 1960s thanks to a woman named Teresa Hernandez who worked at the Woolworths lunch counter.

What we can all agree on, however, is that this is a distinctly southern American culinary invention, and a San Antonian street snack for the ages.

BEST PLACES TO GRAB A FRITO PIE IN SAN ANTONIO

THE ORIGINAL RUDY’S COUNTRY STORE AND BAR-B-Q
A beloved, if basic, BBQ joint with multiple locations across San Antonio.

CHUNKY’S BURGERS
As well as offering a delicious Frito Pie topped with chilli and cheese, you can also get the 4 Horsemen burger here, famously dubbed the ‘Hottest Burger on the Planet’ by Man vs Food.

SAM’S BURGER JOINT
A classic burger joint where you can catch a band while you munch on your chilli.

ANY SAN ANTONIO FOOD TRUCK
This is where the purists will tell you to go, find them at any sports stadiums or fairs around the city.

Level 8 Los Angeles

We separate travel experiences by category on this website: do, stay, drink and eat. Level 8 probably ticks all four of these boxes, and then some.

It’s the new behemoth that has transformed downtown Los Angeles.

It’s sprawled across 30,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor space on level 8 of the brand new Moxy Hotel and AC Downtown Hotel, right across the road from where the Lakers play.

It’s a labyrinth that includes a Japanese restaurant, a South American restaurant, burlesque, an opulent poolside party area that looks like a modern Great Gatsby scene, and a luxurious Mexican church-themed bar that includes a confessional booth, which you’ll surely need to visit more than once. There’s even a 24 hour supermarket downstairs.

The cool thing about Level 8 is that it’s everything you need in one – a night out from dinner to a raucous party, to a filthy club boogie and right through to kick ons – without ever leaving the building.

AMBIENTE™ SEDONA THE LANDSCAPE HOTEL

Ambiente™ Sedona describes itself as the first ‘landscape hotel’ in North America. What’s that mean? They allow the environment to take centre stage.

We’re not arguing given the way the hotel blends seamlessly into the dramatic red rock of its surrounds. Staying here feels less like looking at pretty scenery and more like you’re an active participant in the landscape.

Floor-to-ceiling windows bless each room with epic vistas of ancient waterways and the Brins Mesa mountain range. This place is stunning, and so cool. FYI we really thought ‘ambiente’ was going to be Spanish for ambient, but it’s Spanish for environment. Makes sense we guess.

From AU$1,300 per night

Click if I AM-BEIN INTO THAT

Hawaii wildfires: What you need to know

Global travel favourite Hawaiʻi has been hit by some of the most devastating wildfires ever seen in the United States in recent weeks.

There aren’t many destinations in the world as universally loved as the Aloha State.

If you’re a traveller heading to Hawaiʻi, or you know someone who is, here’s what you need to know.

Where are the fires, and how bad are they?

Wildfires are still currently burning on the island of Maui, particularly in West Mauʻi, including one in Lahaina, a major tourist destination on the island. They have been burning for around two weeks.

Over 100 fatalities have been recorded and losses are estimated at over U.S. $6 billion. The fires have been labelled “the worst natural disaster in the history of Hawaiʻi.”

Can I still go to Maui?

No-one should consider travelling to West Maui.

Travellers are still able to visit other areas of Mauʻi, according to Hawaii Governor Josh Green.

“No one can travel to West Maui right now…but all of the other areas of Maui, and the rest of Hawai‘i are safe,” Governor Green said.

“When you come, you will support our local economy and help speed the recovery of the people that are suffering right now.”

Hawaii Tourism is advising travellers to continue visiting the areas of Kahului, Wailuku, Kīhei, Wailea, Mākena, Pāʻia and Hāna, as well as the other Hawaiian Islands of Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, Lānaʻi, Molokaʻi and Hawaiʻi Island.

Is there any way I can help?

Paying heed to the areas you are advised not to visit is the most important thing any travellers to Mauʻi can do, as well as treating with the island and it’s people with an appropriate understanding of the situation. Around 2,000 people are sheltering at the Kahului Airport on Mauʻi, which remains open.

Visit mauistrong.info for information on where you can make financial donations to support wildfire relief.

Where can I get more information?

The State of Hawaiʻi website is constantly updating with information and news on the wildfires.

The Australian Government’s Smart Traveller website is always a solid choice for travel information for Australian travellers.

AMAN

On Aman New York’s website they give ‘how to get here’ directions from Teterboro Airport. An airport that only serves private jets…

And private jet people are exactly the sort of people that are gonna be frequenting the Aman, which has been dubbed ‘the most expensive hotel in New York’ at an eye-watering AU$3,400 per night.

What does this price get you? Absolute total luxury in Manhattan’s famous Crown Building (around the corner from Central Park), including a spa which takes up three entire floors, and suites of extreme opulence that look straight out of HBO’s Succession.

From AU$3,400 per night

Click to PRETEND YOU’RE IN SUCCESSION

TRIXIE MOTEL

Trixie Mattel ain’t just a pretty face.

The former winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race has turned a run-down old motel in Palm Springs, California into a queer paradise—the Trixie Motel.

The refurbished mid-century motel contains seven rooms of whimsical, Barbie-style fabulousness, located in the heart of inimitable Palm Springs.

Until it’s time to sashay away, guests can enjoy over-the-top everything from wild wallpaper and art installations, to retro furnishings like flamingo lampshades and heart-shaped beds, all of which make you feel as if you’re actually on a RuPaul set. The neon motel sign, which is visible from the road, would normally be the loudest thing at a motel, but remarkably, it feels almost understated here.

From US$781 per night.

Click to COME SLAY THE NIGHT

A Fresh Air Break in New York State

Imagine telling your grandparents that a holiday in the future would be going to a farm, collecting eggs from the chooks for breakfast and foraging for your own vegetables for dinner. Working, in other words.

But this is 2023, not 1923, and we can see why the fresh air of Wildflower will appeal to those over in the Big Apple only 90 minutes away.

This is a stay that offers break from the grind, the fresh food on your plate – you know it’s fresh when you pick it yourself. Wellness tourism is a growing trend and, although this has traditionally seen as spas and exercise, eating is obviously a major part of being healthy.

This isn’t any old farm, either. No sleeping in hay stacks here; rooms of bespoke luxury are tucked neatly beneath sweeping tree canopies or within wildflower fields, where it gets its name.

Whether you’re into this sort of holiday or not, it is refreshing to see hotels placing a premium on the most basic of human pleasures – like the crisp air of the Hudson Valley.

Mountain High Magic

There's an evil-looking horse that stares you down as you flee Denver Airport right after you land. It’s the sort of statue that immediately makes you rethink your decision to visit Colorado at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

My friends all gave me strange looks when I told them I was travelling.

“You mean, like, out of the house?” they said to me. My mother actually stopped talking to me when I told her, and after just a few days away, I could sense she was sitting next to the phone in a semi-manic trance waiting for my call.

The Maroon Bells in Aspen
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All the signs – including the horrific sculpture of an iron horse from hell – were telling me that coming to the mountains of Colorado was a bad idea.

Although I did enjoy this horrified drama from my loved ones, the illusion of danger quickly melts away once you’re in the Mile High City.

Denver is a bright, clean place with a pleasant mix of history and modernism. My city hotel is in the Cherry Creek neighbourhood, which by all accounts is corporate but not sterile, with cheerful beer halls and an upmarket shopping district. My first stop is downtown, where I’m greeted by the majestic Union Station in the heart of the city, a landmark which once stood as the launching pad for brave settlers heading west.

eTuk driver in Denver
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In a move that couldn’t be more contrasting, I hop in an ‘eTuk’, which is Denver’s new answer to clean tourism and COVID-19-friendly transportation. These open-air electric tuk-tuks zip around the city offering a far superior view then any tour bus. What’s more, your guide knows all the sweet spots and local lore to get your mind salivating about diving deeper into this unclaimed jewel of the west.

Small and zippy, these little pregnant rollerskates zip through traffic like it doesn’t exist, and I find myself seeing the best that Denver has to offer at almost light-speed. I visit the Brown Palace, which is a regal old dame of a hotel that has a functional artesian well you can actually drink from. I get lost in City Park with its 1.2 square kilometres of greenspace, and I’m introduced to the hip RiNo (River North Art) district of the city, which is covered in street art and rife with hip eateries that I wish I had more time to see.

But there’s not enough time in the world because Colorado is big. Damn huge. And because I’ve been stuck in the house in lockdown for six months straight and I’m now free to travel, I naturally make my way toward the cool mountain air around Aspen, to see what the rich and famous claim is America’s answer to St. Moritz.

Mountain Village near Telluride during golden hour
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Aspen is the personification of affluence in America. But it’s also a place laden with art, culture and fine food. On the way to my hotel, I pass the famous Anderson Ranch Arts Center, where some of the best and brightest artists from around the state come to nurture their passions. Then I cruise downtown, gazing up at the famous Little Nell Residences where you can ski from your bedroom onto the slopes.

But it’s in the Bauhaus-inspired Aspen Meadows Resort that I find myself not so much staying in a resort but more sleeping in a philosophy. If you can imagine that the best hotels in the world think of every detail as something to inspire an emotion or an experience – then dial that up to max volume – you start to understand the sublime feelings you succumb to while staying here.

While on the surface the Meadows can seem to be a bit out of place in this town, its celebration of farm-to-table dining and world-class shopping definitely still fits the mould of a town that strives for excellence at every corner.

The historic Jerome Hotel Downtown Aspen
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Madeline Resort Specialty Cocktail
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Excellence is what I found that night at Bosq: a funky eatery with mad-scientist-slash chef Barclay Dodge at the helm, who turns out exquisite dishes that inject intense global flavours into these remote mountain peaks. “This is a special corn that I got from a farmer in a small town in Mexico,” he tells the table. “It doesn’t exist anywhere in the United States, and because there was a frost coming, we had to harvest it.

So this is the first and last time we will ever eat this dish here.” Needless to say, I chewed it very slowly.

As delightful as Aspen is, the call of Colorado had me hitting the road early the next morning to reach Telluride. Both Telluride and Aspen attract big names and big money, but the truth is that the two towns couldn’t be more different.

Telluride resembles an old mining village inside a deep gorge, with houses lined up symmetrically as though on a Monopoly board, all surrounded by impossibly tall mountains. The people (and personalities) that call Telluride home are as tall as these mountains. Enter ‘Telluride Tom’, who is the unofficial mayor of this snow-capped canyon hamlet.

Telluride Tom has a mess of white hair and a voice that is both velvet and Gatling gun at the same time. Like an old frontier cowboy, he doesn’t walk but rather slides through town, usually with a drink in hand or on the way to get one.

Tom would be my spirit guide while I’m in Telluride and on our first meeting he hands me a Chair Warmer, which is basically a shot of locally-made peppermint schnapps. “This will make the day settle in better,” he tells me.

Kemo Sabe Western clothing shop, Aspen
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Red Onion historic tavern in Aspen
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Now that I’m inoculated against the cool mountain air, together we meet with Pete Wagner who crafts legendary custom skis in a handsome shop in Mountain Village. Mountain Village is the other town here, and the special hack that gives Telluride its unique character. It’s in this town – rather than Telluride – that you’ll find all the burger joints, chain restaurants, familiar resorts, and family fun that isn’t permitted in the picture-perfect postcard town in the valley below.

“You know how we keep out the big chains?” Tom asks me with his crooked smile. “We have a law [in Telluride] that doesn’t permit large signage. Corporations can’t handle it. Imagine a Starbucks without a sign? You can’t, neither can they.”

The gondola gently lowers us to Telluride in just eight minutes.

Once below, I find a vibrant city, full of little bars, hip local restaurants, and locals that truly love their town. The energy in Telluride is electric. Immediately I want to get lost in the summertime fray, but Tom insists that we must go do the Via Ferrata first.

“Trust me, you’ll earn your drink, and you’ll feel better,” he says.

Living in Manhattan I’m used to heights. That being said, I found myself soon appealing to a God I didn’t believe in as I precariously dangled off the sheer face of a cliff about 300 metres off the ground, with nothing below me below me but a thin metal rung that someone put there half a century ago.

“Um, are you sure this is rated for Italians? We’re dense people,” I ask our guide of my perilous footing.

Scaling the Via Ferrata in Telluride
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I’m assured it is impossible to fall while strapped into the dubiously thin safety cable. The Via Ferrata is a hiking trail that runs horizontally across a rock wall. These were originally invented in the Dolomites of Italy to quickly move troops through the mountains, but some genius thought it was a hoot to put one here in Colorado for tourists.

I’ve jumped from planes, zip-lined in the Philippines, and even risked a tattoo in a Shanghai bar, but nothing ever made me feel like this. The combination of terror, adrenaline and views were unlike anything I’ve ever witnessed before.

About an hour later, back on terra firma, I’m in a bar called the Fat Alley with Tom.

“Here, put this in ya,” Tom says as he slides over a greasy shot glass filled with bourbon and topped with a piece of bacon. “It’s called a Mitch Morgan and it’ll straighten you out.”

I’m told that the trick to drinking a Mitch Morgan is that you really have to concentrate to pick up the grease-lined glass (which does calm your nerves) just as much as the fat from the bacon blocks your arteries to slow down your heart rate.

Doctor Tom was right again – one gulp and my faith in life was restored. Now elated to be alive, I finally start to understand the magic of this tiny mountain town. “You see,” Tom said sliding deep into his chair. “People go to Aspen to be seen, they come to Telluride to hang out.”

It was then I realized that the evil hell horse at the airport isn’t there as a warning for incoming visitors – it’s there to warn you that you’re leaving paradise.

WHICH LETTER DOES YOUR DESTINATION START WITH?

region: North America