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i..54 TIPS, TRIPS & TOURS e • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 0 • • • • • • e • e • • e e • • • e • e • • e e e • • e e e I • e e • • • e e e 0 • IJ e • e • e • e I • e • • e • e • • I e • e • O • e e e 0 e e e • * • • • e I e • • • • * e •

SOME OF ASIA'S MOST ICONIC HOTELS ARE OFFERING THEIR GUESTS UNIQUE EXPERIENCES THAT WILL ENSURE THEY CONTINUE TO GROW THEIR REPUTATIONS AS BEING AMONG THE GREAT PLACES TO STAY

..._."n hotel ever wants its guests to leave, but if they must, and of course they should, they'd just as soon they came back. In Vietnam, Sri Lanka and Indonesia, hotels are investing in boomerangs ·· transporting experiences that range from the highly dramatic (microlight aircraft) to the grit ty, but essential

(xich lo). It's t ime to strap yourself in and take a journey on some of Asia's great rides.

ANANTARA HOI AN RESORT

ANANTARA HOI AN RESORT Aboard Anantara Hoi An Resort's quaint, lantern· decorated sampan, fashioned by talented local carpenters, guests putter down the beautiful Thu Bon River and soak up a picturesque new cruise. The daily one·hour journey on the 33.0 CV-powered boat almost 13 metres in length and more than three metres in width opens up one of Asia's most storied waterways in a whole new way.

The cruise offers glimpses into the locals'

fascinating way of life on the river ranging from fishermen in sampans and coracles snaring a catch to f ishmongers spruiking their wares at the bustling riverside markets.

GALLE FACE HOTEL Sri Lanka's most iconic property, the Galle Face Hotel, has been the place to stay in the capital for over 150 years. Now a ride in its 1954 Cadillac is just as coveted. Once used by Lord Louis Mountbatten, during the 1954 Commonwealth tour by Queen Elizabeth 11 and Prince Philip, the classic car came out of retirement earlier this year.

The journey is at the whim of the driver·-who happens to be the hotel's Briti sh general manager· -but will no doubt involve a cru ise alongside the Galle Face Green, the capital 's popular seaside park. Not bookable in advance, the experience itself is offered on a case-by·case basis.

SOFITEL LEGEND METROPOLE HANOI The two vintage Citroens parked in front of the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi may not be as suped up as Doc's DeLorean in Back to the Future, but the brace of vehicles are time· transporting nevertheless. Since 1953 and 1956, these two old time-pieces have plied the streets of Vietnam's storied capital, as private cars initially, and more recently as the Metropole's premier means of taking in the town.

For anywhere between an hour and all-day, a

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white-gloved driver motors guests on plush, white cordovan bench seats to stops as varied as the august Temple of Literature to the monolithic immensity of Ho Chi Minh's tomb.

THE SANCHAYA BINTAN The Sanchaya likens its prist ine and secluded beachfront at Lagoi Bay to the powder white sands at The Maldives, and from the open cockpit of a seaplane, it's tough to argue the otherwise. The 20-minute microlight ride with Air Adventures Flying Club begins with the thri ll of taking off on the water before buzzing the bay, banking over mangrove forests and zipping over dense tropical rainforest blanketing Indonesia's Bintan island, only a 45-minute ferry ride from Singapore.

In I ife, we a re collectors, whether it be memor ies of our past or keepsakes from our journeys. We constantly create, compose and gather our ideas, symbols, stories and travel exper iences, storing them in the recesses of our minds and in our homes. This f light will be stored in a very special place in your memory.

LA RESIDENCE HUE HOTEL & SPA You haven't real ly travelled through a Vietnamese city unless you 've sat in the berth of a cyclo (xich lo), pedaled by a local driver perched up high on a seat behind you. Other countries in SE Asia do traffic in three-

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THE REVERIE SAIGON As far as arrivals go, it doesn't get more auspicious than pulling up to Saigon's hottest new address, The Reverie Saigon, in the hotel's Roi ls Royce Phantom Dragon - one of only eight in the world. The special edition car, a 2012 model to honor the legendary creature from the Chinese zodiac, has a price tag of over one mill ion US dollars. Whether you're travelling to or from the airport or being escorted between the city's art galleries, museums, and cafes, passersby are sure to stare as you watch Saigon from the best seat in town.

From a prime location on Nguyen

wheeled pedicabs, but no place compares with Vietnam, and nothing compares to a languorous ride on sweltering day with a canopy shielding the sun.

In Hue, the one-time imperial capita l of Vietnam, La Residence Hue Hotel & Spa d ispatches guests on half-day food tours with stops at the market and at food stalls for such singular Hue dishes as banh beo, banh nam and banh loc.

LA RESIOENC~ CYCLO

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Hue Boulevard, The Reverie Saigon, a non· smoking hotel, commands the top floors of the multi-purpose Times Square Building in the heart of the centra l business district of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. ·:·

Anantara Hol An Reson boi-an.anantara.com

Galle Face Hotel www.gallefacebotel.com

Solltel Legend Metropole Hanoi www.safitel.com

Tbe Sancbaya Bintan www.thesanchaya.com

La Residence Hue Hotel & Spa wwwla-residence-hue.com

Tba Reverie Saigon www.thereveriesaigon.cam/

www.as1an1ourneys.com.sg I August/September 2016 AsianJourneys

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