Picture perfect

Lose yourselves in the deep gorges of Norway's fjords

By Kishore and Smitha Iyengar/NORWAY
Our otherwise comfortable coach ride down straw-thin, 18-
degree mountain road twists had us grizzle at the slow motion.
We were silent as our driver whistled his way down with
expertise to the base port of Gudvangen, at the head of
Norway's fabled fjords. A light drizzle gradually inched up as we
ducked inside the timber canopies of the boutique selling
traditional souvenirs.

Gudvangen is small, but instantly welcoming. This port was the

starting point of our Aurland fjord cruise. The Fjord Tours
cruiser, already brimming with chirpy passengers heading out to
the upper deck balconies, set silent sail over mirrored waters of
one of Norway's most picturesque inlets.

As chilly winds dipped the mercury levels down to almost 3 degree Celsius, hot coffee offered welcoming pep. The gentle
cruise on the Aurland fjord sliced over the placid waters, and glided across towering mountain ranges and cloud-caressed
peaks.

These natural wonders called fjords are deep, furrowed inlets of the sea waters into the landmass, etching across
mountain ranges, indented consistently and gradually by moving glacial ice over centuries of abrasion and deposition.
The panorama offers stunning vistas of melted ice waters catapulting down the slopes as waterfalls, creating surrealistic
lakes along the fjords. Not surprising that UNESCO has declared this photographer's paradise a World Heritage site.

The 20km-long fjord cruise is arguably the most spectacular in the world, displaying shades of nature's inimitable
creations. Our cameras whirred ceaselessly, capturing the hundreds of snaky trails of cascading waterfalls indenting the
jagged cliffs of the grand fjords. The sights are endless-huge clouds blanketing summits across the skies and quaint
miniature villages. We were stilled by the tranquillity, soaking in ?the abundance of the panorama around us.

Our cruiser glided past delightful one-cottage villages, some topping precariously over cliff sides and others fencing the
water's edge. There was no one in sight, except the occasional tern and noisy seagulls swooping over marshy waters. It
was, to say the least, a dream world, enchanting and meditative. We went past the ancient village of Otternes, a
farmstead unchanged in character and identity for ages, the fairy-tale hamlets of Aurland, the smallest Scandinavian
stave church in Undredal, and the high mountain farm in Stegen with bright white fencing.

The Aurland fjord's fabulous limit ends at Flam, a pretty village railhead of the legendary mountain train, the Flamsbana.
Flam is populated by cheerful lemon groves, rolling hillsides and splendid views of the Aurland fjord headland. Our
connection to Myrdal from Flam, high up on the Norwegian slopes and then onwards to Oslo, was to commence on the
Flamsbana. As we stood by the ledge and looked out to the sunny canvas across the majesty of the fjords of Norway, our
senses were filled with the permanence of a lingering memory.

How to reach the fjords

The more convenient and shorter way to reach the fjords in Norway is by Finnair with its non-stop seven-hour flights five
days a week from Mumbai to the Finnish capital Helsinki and daily flights from Delhi. From there, regular Finnair
connections will take you to Stockholm or Oslo, from where Fly Nordic will bring you to UNESCO World Heritage City of
Bergen. From Bergen, a 90-minute train ride will connect you to Voss, then a 45-minute coach ride to Gudvangen. The
Fjord cruise to Flam takes about two hours. The Fjord Tours cruiser is spacious and has a cafeteria-cum-bar.

Alternately, you can also fly to Oslo and take the train to Bergen, alighting at Myrdal, and then going to Flamsbana, and
then down to Flam. Norway deals in Norwegian Kroner (1 NOK=Rs 7.2) and is 3.5 hours behind IST.
 Holidaying for a cause
- (30-12-2007)

TRAVEL
Philanthropic vacations are catching on among
wealthy, global tourists
By Jennifer Alsever
Doing charity work while on vacation no longer
means back-breaking labour or dorm-like
accommodation. A new kind of philanthropic travel
lets wealthy vacationers do some good work, while
enjoying plush hotel suites and fine restaurants.
Luxury tour operators now offer philanthropic trips to
Kenya, Cambodia and Vietnam that incorporate
visits to local schools, hospitals or wildlife centres.
Travellers also go on traditional sight-seeing tours
and safaris that cost $300 to $1,000 a day, excluding
the airfare.

Even in the remote African plains, tour operators make sure their guests, who stay in deluxe cottages, are
pampered and taken care of well. Travellers can leave these grand lodges, for a part of their stay, to visit
charitable institutions and get a first-hand look at how financial donations are put to work. The idea is that the
travellers, who meet the people and see how they live, can become long-term passionate donors and
proponents of change. "Just one person can make a world of difference for a community," said David
Chamberlain, owner of Exquisite Safaris, a tour operator based in San Francisco that offers top-of-the-line
services, while incorporating visits to schools, health clinics and neighbourhoods. He hopes that clients will
donate or become more involved in the cause. Ashley Isaacs Ganz, president of Artisans of Leisure, luxury
tour operator, says requests by wealthy travellers for philanthropic trips have grown by 15 per cent over the
last two years. Ganz attributes this increase to the swell in media attention for international causes, and to the
awareness generated by celebrities such as Angelina Jolie and Bono. While Jolie advocates the cause of
Afghan refugees and people of Darfur, Bono lobbies to end Third World poverty. Ganz's company includes
information on local orphanages, health projects and aid groups along with the client's trip confirmation.
Rhonda Wolfond and her teenage daughter Alexandra will be on seven-day trip worth $50,000 to Paris and
Morocco at the end of December 2007. The package organised by Artisans of Leisure has incorporated three-
day trips to local orphanages where they will meet children and deliver needed supplies. Wolfond, who lives in
Toronto, takes three to four such trips every year with her daughter. Ultimately, she said, she spends several
thousand dollars per trip on supplies for local orphanages and centres for people with disabilities. "My
daughter needs to see more than the luxury side of the world," Wolfond said. "I want her to experience life as it
really is, and see that she can make a difference."

Chuck Ebeling, retired vice-president of the McDonald's Corporation, had a similar goal in mind when he took
a nine-day tour of Tanzania in the spring of 2006. He paid $500 a day to stay in a tented camp, where a chef
prepared dinners and staffers delivered coffee at dawn. His trip inspired him to become involved in the
country's wildlife conservation efforts, and led him to pay $500 to help a conservation group raise a bongo, a
rare mountain antelope, with the goal of reintroducing it into the wild. Some travellers, who work charity into
their trips, prefer to rough it alongside the people they are helping. "I don't just travel to help others," said
Ebeling, 64. "I enjoy some of the comforts and luxuries. I enjoy seeing the world."

For many years, international aid groups organised their own tours for big supporters. "Those people who
have actually been in the field are our biggest donors," said Lisa Giaretto, managing director of the Village
Enterprise Fund, a group based in San Carlos, California, that offers entrepreneurship training to people in
Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. By July 2008, the Village Enterprise Fund will be part of Exquisite Safaris' tours
of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. Guests will visit farmers, tailors and bike-repair workers, who have benefited
from training provided by Village Enterprise Fund.

The strategy has paid off for other groups. Travellers who toured Botswana with the luxury tour operator
Abercrombie & Kent have contributed at least $100,000 over two years to the Living with Elephants
Educational Outreach Programme, a group that protects local elephant herds. Abercrombie & Kent also
encourages buying of seeds to plant trees on their trips to Kenya, and to financially support the Gijedabung
primary school while visiting Tanzania.
John Kay, the lead singer of the band Steppenwolf, was so inspired by his vacation to Cambodia in 2003 that
he started his own charity, the Maue Kay Foundation. Kay, who lives in West Vancouver, British Columbia,
was struck by the lingering devastation from Cambodia's Khmer Rouge regime, which left 1.7 million people
dead in the late 1970s. He donated $50,000 to build a primary school there, and also paid for teacher salaries,
books and computers with satellite email access. Later, Kay and his wife, Jutta Maue Kay, gave thousands of
dollars to support the Gijedabung school, to protect African wildlife and to support food banks in Puerto Rico.
"The old cliché that 'travel broadens the mind' is very true," Kay said. "We were able to have a glimpse of
certain things that go beyond staying in a hotel and enjoying a day's excursion."
Valley of joy
- (27-01-2008)

DETOUR
Wines, caves and classic buildings-Saumur in
France is the place for unwinding
By Tathagata Bhattacharya/Saumur
Photos: Tathagata Bhattacharya
"A young man goes to Paris, as every young man
should. There's something in the air of France that
does a young man good.
Ah! les fraises et les framboises et les bon vins [que]
nous avons bus.
La, la, la, la .... Raspberries, strawberries, the good
wines we brew.
Here's to the girls of the countryside, the ones we
drink 'em to."

Kingston Trio was still playing in my head as the vehicle moved out of Paris en route to Bordeaux. My
destination was Saumur, a quaint town of the Bouvet Brut cuvée fame, right on the Loire, the country's longest
river. Saumur used to be the summer retreat of French kings. The chateau, situated on the highest point of the
town of 30,000, overlooks the river and the elegant bourgeois townhouses. Saumur is a curious mix of typical
18th and 19th century French architecture-full of medieval castles and churches-and friendly people.

I am no authority on wines, but would certainly recommend Vin de Vale de Loire to every wine lover. The
sparkling whites and the sparkling ruby of Bouvet Ladubay are among the best wines produced in Europe. The
Loire valley offers the right mix of sunlight, shade, wind, rain, soil and slope for the choicest and juiciest
grapes. Bruno Paumard, an oenologist at Bouvet, says that keeping artificiality away and preserving the
essence of nature has been the hallmark of wineries here. The Bouvet Brut Instint cuvée is a standout, and
can take on the best stuff that Champagne district offers.

The Bouvet tour takes you back to 1851, when Etienne Bouvet founded it. Since then, it has changed many
hands including that of champagne producer Tattinger. The winery has a basement that was part of a 12th
century monastery. It is today a UNESCO World Heritage site-a must visit for wine and history lovers.

The wine casks and the cuvée are left in the damp basement for the essential fungi to act on it. No doubt
every sip of these wines takes you back in time. There are lights in select corners of the basement. I walked
into it, and found it to be perfect setting for a quiet reading of General In His Labyrinth or The Name Of The
Rose. But then Umberto Eco could easily unsettle a weak heart in such a setting. The labyrinth of passages
opened into a river, and was designed to allow monks and abbots an escape route from attacking bandits.

You can be proud of the success of Indian enterprise abroad as today Bouvet Ladubay wines belong to Vijay
Mallya's UB group. If you are lucky, then the charming Patrice Monmosseau, the man behind Bouvet, will
explain the intricacies of the takeover and give a ride on his Citroen concept 'wave' vehicle, his 116th car.

The ever-courteous Jean Maurice will narrate to you how the legendary actors Gerard Depardeux and Jean
Morreau freak out on the Bouvet bouquet. Maybe you can catch a glimpse of the in-house art collection
Bouvet holds or go for a phaeton ride (an open four-wheeled horse-drawn carriage) cutting through the
vineyards. The horses are old thoroughbreds and the coachmen the friendliest. Medieval churches dot the
lines of green, and a 15-minute silent stay at one of them can be the calmest experience.

Saumur being a prime tourist destination, hotels here are expensive. The city is well-connected with others by
SNCF, the French railways. For commuting within the city, there are city buses.

The town of Angers, site of the famous ancient battle, is just a half-hour drive from Saumur. Just in case you
do not wish to slip into the yesteryear, Le Mans, an industrial town, famous for its 24-hour endurance car race
held every summer, is another option to explore.

After you have downed a few Saumur Champigny and Anjou Les Nonpareils, the gastric juices in your
stomach will make you feel hungry. A suggestion will be to head for the Troglodytic cave restaurants to taste
the best of Loire cuisine. Here one can savour the 16th century French writer Francois Rabelais's favourite
courses including the famous goat heart and liver.

L'Escargot, an old-world laid-back place that serves excellent fish and mushroom preparations, is typical of
Saumur. Grilled meat and the fare at Les Forges de St-Pierre should make one very happy. For real haute
food though, the restaurant at the chateau is a wonderful but expensive option.

Coming back to Troglodytic caves; it is reckoned that in the 12th century half the local population here lived in
homes carved out of the rock. Today, some of the rock dwellings have surprising uses, along with the more
predictable Troglo bars and restaurants.

Troglodyte villages were built by digging holes like large craters and then carving out the walls. The best
example is at Rochemenier, northwest of Doue-la-Fontaine and about 20 km west of Saumur, where an
underground village housed a small farming community with its own underground chapel. It was abandoned in
the 1930s. The visit includes a typical Troglodyte dwelling, along with a museum, which sells curios and wines.

Just 3 km north, at Deneze-sous-Doue, there are underground carvings, sculpted by a secret 16th century sect
of libertarians. The cartoon-style figures mock religion, morality, the state and the ruling class, with scenes of
sex, strange deformities and perverted Christian imageries.

If that is too Rabelaisian, perhaps, you can head for the Ecole Nationale d'Equitation where the Cadre Noir,
French cavalry officers, train their horses. I had been admiring the two black stallions that took me around the
grapevine the other day, and you can understand the source of carriage horses in Saumur.

Another attraction is the Musee de Champignon. Here you can see, eat and learn all about edible mushrooms.
The place is dark and damp and boring, but then it fits a place that supplies the country with over 70 per cent
of the total produce.

Saumur will be a big disappointment if you are an adventure-loving person. Here you hire a boat, cruise down
the Loire, reading that book you bought three months back but never had the time to read. It is a place to
unwind, to enjoy life at a leisurely pace, to refurbish you for the grilling of everyday big city life.

Saumur is that sort of a place that is completely at peace with itself. So when it was my turn to leave Saumur
and get back to the clutter of Kolkata via Paris, I turned to William Butler Yeats.
"Wine comes in at the mouth
And love comes in at the eye;
That's all we know for truth
Before we grow old and die.
I lift my glass to my mouth,
I look at you and sigh."
Rooms with a wow
- (23-12-2007)

Detour
Wake up to a slice of spicy history at the
boutique hotels of Fort Kochi
By Mathew T. George
Photos: SIVARAM V.
Sailor R. Brown of the HMS Ganges would be thrilled
to know that his flat-crowned, tasselled sailor's cap is
now displayed in the erstwhile residence of Jan Van
Spall, once governor of the VOC-the Vereenigde
Oostindische Compagnie-the Dutch East India
Company. But the director board of the VOC-the
legendary Lords Seventeen or Heeren XVII-would
definitely rise from their graves if they knew that their
former governor's residence is now a hotel! Today, Van Spall's house is Le Colonial, a boutique hotel in Fort
Kochi.

The quaint quarter, some 30 minutes from the city centre, is spice-scented and bears three heritages- Dutch,
Portuguese and English. And the boutique hotels, too, reflect these cultures.
Our first stop was The Malabar House on Parade Road-Fort Kochi's first boutique heritage hotel. Joerg
Dreschel from Germany and his wife Txuku Iriarte Solana bought this 16th century mansion in 1994 and
opened the hotel in 1997. The earliest recorded history of the building points to 1755, when Jan Herman
Clausing, a Dutch citizen, bought the house from Mathew Henrich Beyls. Spice traders, tea traders and
bankers owned it during different periods.
The first thing that strikes a guest is the play of light and shadows that immediately whispers of cosiness and
homeliness. From the masks on display to the art that adorns the walls and the antiques that grace each room,
Joerg's training as an exhibition designer comes through everywhere. Who else would turn a test tube into a
bud vase?

"We wanted to provide an experience with different vibrant layers," says Joerg. "I didn't want my guest to wake
up in the morning to an experience that could be in the mid-western United States or any other part of the
world. It should be classic India, Kerala, Fort Kochi." The house lives up to Joerg's benchmark. The rooms
have an individual character of their own like the one, which has a cosy and very private patio. And another
where one can soak in the sunken bathtub and watch the monsoon drizzle just within arm's reach.

Another of Joerg's ventures is Trinity, a VOC house converted into a three-bedroom boutique hotel. This, too,
carries the classic Malabar art signature. You could have a shower in the semi-open bathroom, standing in a
huge bronze vaarpu, a traditional cooking vessel. One room even has a loft just under the eaves-perhaps, for
those with the child still alive in them.
A few minutes away is the Old Harbour Hotel on Tower Road. Once upon a time Kochi's oldest hotel, the 300-
year-old building was made predominantly in the Dutch style with hints of Portuguese influence. Later it
became a residence to employees of English tea-broking firms before being boarded up. Then the current
owner, Edgar Pinto, took up the place and the glorious days were restored.

The 17 rooms here are named after streets of Fort Kochi like Princess, Peter Celli, Ridsdale and Burgher.
Pinto added a few garden cottages to the main building, for those in need of an ultra-private experience. Most
of the rooms overlook either the huge tree-shaded courtyard with a fountain or the walkway along the sea with
the Chinese fishing nets.
Designed and decorated by Karl Damschen and Tanya Abraham, the Old Harbour is a classy lady who carries
the modern comforts and the dated furniture and antiques with equal flair.

Just next-door is Koder House, erstwhile house of the inimitable Sabatai Samuel Koder-fondly called Sato-the
leader of the Cochin Jews. History calls him a Freemason, historian, philanthropist, legislator, businessman
and humanist. But Sato was all this and more. The house, too, absorbed the charms of its illustrious owner.
Structured and gabled in Europe and shipped to Kochi in 1808, Koder House witnessed an open house every
Friday-the day before the Sabbath-when Sato and wife Gladys would preside over the mixed gathering of
friends or friend's friends! Now owned by Vicky Raj and wife Praveena, the house is still a magnet for the Jews
visiting Fort Kochi. Says Praveena, "We try to retain the essence of the house. All Jewish festivals are
celebrated and the authentic recipes are from Queenie aunty, a member of the Koder family."

Vicky has retained the bridge that connected Koder House with the next-door house of Lily, Sato's sister. With
six high-ceilinged rooms furnished in antique furniture, the chessboard lounge and the split staircase, Koder
House still looks ready for a Friday night event. Reportedly, even Rajiv Gandhi was once an open-house guest
of the Koders during his piloting days!
On Princess Street is The Old Courtyard hotel. With eight rooms spread over three floors, it is a lesser cousin
to the others. True to its name it does have an old courtyard with arched niches in the wall and the space
doubles up as an alfresco dining area. The hotel does keep up the authenticity and a board on the creaking
stairway gently reminds to tread softly as you are walking on history.

So it is full circle and we came back to where we started-Le Colonial on Church Road. The church that lends
the name to the road is the St Francis Church where Vasco Da Gama lay buried for 14 years.
The house, which was initially with the Portuguese, later fell into the hands of the VOC. Legend has it that
there were secret passages connecting the church and the house and that Da Gama breathed his last in one
of the rooms here. Owned by French businessman John Persenda, the house was developed by Francis
Wacziarg's Neemrana group. And it is still a house, inside and out.

The art collection here is an attraction in itself. From an easel, Chitira Thirunal Balarama Varma, the last
maharaja of Travancore, gazes majestically. On another wall Robert Clive in a scarlet coat smiles smugly. On
yet another wall it is Queen Victoria, in her Empress of India finery. On the wall bordering the wooden
staircase is a collection of pen and ink drawings of Dutch governors. Even the eight rooms are named to
portray a slice of the house's history-Vasco Da Gama, Jan Van Spall, Mahe de la Bourdonnais and the like.
The cuisine in all these places varies. The Koder House special is the traditional fare of the Cochin Jews, while
the Old Harbour Hotel specialises in delectable seafood and a fusion of both Continental and Indian fare. At
Malabar Junction, the Malabar House's restaurant, it is Malayali and Mediterranean. That is anything from
Kuttanad duck to meen muringa curry (fish with drumsticks) to seafood lasagna.

Now what does it take to change a derelict house into a heritage boutique? Ramesh Tharakan, ace architect
and restorer of both Le Colonial and The Malabar House says, "Very few go the full way to restore a building
but these people have not taken any shortcuts. And it is challenging to restore a heritage building; nothing
must change its original character." An active member of INTACH, Tharakan's grouse is that the state
government is not ready to lease out the old beauties on government land for developers interested in
preserving history.

Brothers and furniture restorers Antony Kamal and Joseph Kapil have done the furniture for many such
projects. They say that the biggest challenge in restoring or recreating old furniture is not to mar its antiquity
and identity.
Why do people choose boutique hotels over luxury hotel chains? Chantal Camous, a Le Colonial guest, says it
all: "These places take you to a twilight zone where you know not if history is asleep or forever awake by your
side."
Royal redux
- (23-12-2007)

Detour
Fort Unchagaon is the perfect destination ?for
those seeking solitude
By Neha Sharma
Anchored by history and heritage, Fort Unchagaon's
white facade is a museum of memories. The
majestic structure stands frozen in silence; the
occasional creak of the old doors being the only
reminder of human presence.
Three hours from Delhi, this heritage hotel is a
dream that the inheritor of the fort, Raja Surendra
Pal Singh, has been married to for the past three
years. Singh and his brother wanted to spruce up the
old-world charm, preserve the past. When they decided to open the fort to tourists-with add-ons like air-
conditioned suites, badminton court and billiards room-they created spaces where bygone centuries continue
to be alive. Imperial furniture, old transistors, bell jar-shaped lamps and fascinating family portraits... everything
exudes the class and essence of the colonial period.

For those seeking solitude, this is the place to be. There are a million and one nooks and crannies one can
disappear into with a book or a cup of coffee. The bedrooms, though modernised, have no TV sets. The décor
of all 27 rooms is in harmony with the period theme. Huge poster beds, old cupboards and large windows
conjure up the atmosphere of homes during the Raj. Beyond the rooms, large balconies beckon gently to idle
away. Sauntering through the house is like chancing upon a delectable nugget from the past. Countless
staircases lead onto many little terraces, all nicely done up with colonial armchairs and artistic side-tables.

The fort is divided into two branches-the old residence, a section of which is still reserved for the Raja, and the
Collector's Court, which used to be the main office of the jamindars in the 18th century. Today, it has a
conference hall and seven bedrooms that display the grandeur of the past. On the walls are pinned old
photographs, etchings and water-colour paintings depicting the sporting lifestyle during the Raj. Portraits of
wolf traps, keepers leading out dogs, deer-hunting, tiger-shooting and elephant safaris narrate stories of the
life of royal hunters.

Spread across 180 acres, the fort gives an opportunity to be part of an era that continues to wield magic,
mystery and awe. The old residence area has been modernised with a huge snooker table and a badminton
court. The living room is a mini museum, with imposing portraits of the ancestors, tiger skins and a rare
collection of swords. Sharing space with these are photographs of Jawaharlal Nehru and many other VIPs who
had visited the fort.

Although there is a lot that one can do within the premises, Leisure Hotel offers many more for the restless
souls. From horse-riding to boat-cruising, activities are plenty, and a day or two will not be enough to explore
all. If you happen to be in Unchagaon on a weekend, a stroll through the vibrant Saturday haat is a must. From
colourful bangles to fresh jaggery and traditional artefacts, you can take a unique souvenir back home. Pottery
enthusiasts can try moulding a diya at the nearby potters' village.

A bumpy tractor ride through sugarcane fields lands you on the banks of the Ganga, where, if you are lucky,
you might just spot the Gangetic dolphins. Sitting under mud roof and savouring the smoky preparation of gur
is another fascinating experience in the village. The people in these rustic factories make sweet slabs that
gradually harden into jaggery, within minutes. The hotel makes arrangements for Twenty20 cricket matches.
Together with the hotel staff, guests and family members, you can spend afternoons in the field right next to
the main residence, and win another exciting vacation as prize.

The gong bell reminds one of the passing hours, and, as dusk sets in, the fort gears itself for a cultural
evening. Folk singers and dancers from the village present a splendid evening under the starry sky.
What makes the stay at the fort a memorable affair is the excellent service by the bearers and staff. Chefs
offer a huge spread-from dadi ma's recipes to traditional Indian, Mughlai, Continental and Chinese. Baked
beans, potato wedges, idli sambar, chhole bhature, veg cutlets, Mughlai toast, tandoori chicken-Chef Vir
Bahadur Adhikari and his team offer the best that you have ever tried at a hotel. "We specialise in Mughlai
food, especially non-veg. Everything that we use in the kitchen-vegetables, fruits and dairy products-are from
our own farms, and this adds to the taste," says Adhikari.

The British handed over the fort to the Singh family during the 1857 mutiny, a gift for their loyalty. Since then
the family has been upgrading their abode every second year. Although the heritage hotel boasts of the best
from the past and the present, Raja Surendra Pal Singh plans to make it a top-class hotel, with all the
imaginable comforts. "We have a huge place for a golf course near the orchards. We plan to develop a nine-
hole golf green there. The fort will also have a swimming pool and a spa very soon. We have been developing
the fort in our own ways, and would continue to do that," says Singh. He has plans about introducing village
tourism in Unchagaon. "I have been talking it out with the government, as this would benefit the villagers in
more ways than one," says Singh.
Allure isle
Sri Lanka offers many options for tourists
By Payal Saxena/Sri Lanka
One exclusive snapshot that a visitor to Sri Lanka
can take home is that of the stilt-fishermen of
Weligama village. Close to the fortress city of Galle,
the village presents this vignette of all that is Sri
Lankan-natural beauty, indigenous culture and that
special brand of exoticism.

Recently the stilt-fishermen were in the news, by

lending their name to the world's most expensive
dessert. A Galle-based luxury hotel launched the
$14,500-a-serving 'The Fortress Stilt Fisherman
Indulgence'. Made of gold leaf, Italian cassata
flavoured with Irish cream, mango and pomegranate compote and Dom Perignon sabayon, the dessert is
decorated with a chocolate carving of a fisherman clinging to a stilt and-hold your breath-an 80 carat
aquamarine! No one has ordered the dessert yet.

But the exotic country has more charms than that pricey mouthful. From lovely beaches in Colombo and
Bentota, to rugged Kandy, cool Nuwara Eliya and wild Habarana, a tourist has options galore. And who said
that animal lovers have to hotfoot it to Africa? Perhaps, the 24-acre Pinnawela elephant orphanage, near
Kandy, is the most popular stop for animal lovers. But there are many more destinations to catch a glimpse of
the feathered and the four-legged.

Habarana has the Minneriya Sanctuary, which offers evening safaris to spot wild jumbos. At the Yala National
Park one could catch a solitary leopard sunning himself. Interestingly, the park is reputed to have one of the
highest densities of leopards in the world. Yala is also home to sloth bears, four species of deer, several
species of monkeys and the Loris.

Perhaps nowhere is Sri Lanka's incredible biodiversity more evident than among its birds, with almost 450
species-counting residents and migrants. To say that the island is a bird watcher's paradise is an
understatement. Around 23 endemic species can be spotted in locations such as the Sinhara rainforest-a
UNESCO world heritage site-and the Kelani Valley Forest Reserve. Rare endemics include the Dusky-blue
Flycatcher, Yellow-eared Bulbul and Whistling Thrush.

Besides the wildlife circuit, the tea country is becoming another popular destination. When James Taylor, a
Scotsman, planted the first saplings in Loolacandoora, he would never have thought that the island would later
grow some of the best teas in the world. In the 1870s, a blight destroyed the island's coffee plantations, paving
way for widespread tea cultivation. Today, tea aficionados revere Ceylon as much as cigar fans glorify
Havana. With many of the larger estates turning their bungalows into heritage hotels, the Hill Country is abuzz
with tourists.

Another highlight is the Buddha circuit, on which the most important stop is Kandy's Temple of the Tooth,
which houses a tooth of the Buddha. During the ten-day-long Esala Perahera festival, a caparisoned elephant
carries an illuminated howdah with the replica of the relic. Also on show is the stuffed remains of the nation's
most celebrated elephant-Raja-who was declared a national treasure after being the relic-carrier for 51 years.
Another stop on the circuit, Polonnaruva has the Gal Vihara, a cluster of gigantic Buddha statues carved out of
rock, the most impressive being the monolithic Reclining Buddha.

With the coral reefs off Hikkaduwa attracting snorkellers and scuba divers, the marine life, too, is becoming a
crowd-puller. Sea-turtle hatcheries on the coast are blending conservation and tourism. Who would not want to
release a hatchling and watch it flop away on tiny flippers to the waterline, from where the waves carry it to its
true element?
Spiritual journey
- (23-12-2007)

The divine district of Nashik gets a makeover as

the wine destination
By Rekha Borgohain Dixit
Photos: Amey Mansabdar
It is late afternoon on a nippy December Monday.
Two goblets, raised in toast, sparkle a brilliant ruby in
the fading sunlight. Amit and Vaishali Boop smile as
they take sips of the molten gem, and wish each
other a happy wedding anniversary.
The Boops are at Sula's wine lounge, bang in the
middle of the sprawling 30-acre vineyards, on the
outskirts of Nashik. The sunset hour is still away, but
the lounge is already crowded. There are groups of
tourists who have just taken a tour of the vineyards and winery, and are now chilling over sips of Chenin Blanc
and Cabernet Shiraz.

Another group stands entranced at the bar, as Mari Juhasoo, the resident wine tasting expert demonstrates
the finer aspects of wine appreciation. "Swirl the goblet so that the air mixes with the wine and releases its
flavours," she says, and then dips her dainty nose deep into the goblet. "I can smell fresh cut grass, a hint of
lemon, and there's a whiff of oak too. Do you?" she asks.

A little earlier in the day, we were at the India Wine Show, in Nashik, where we met Ulhas Chaudhari, bar and
beverage manager at the local Amro Institute of Hotel Management, giving similar tips to visitors. "See, these
are the tears of wine," he said, after giving a goblet of rose an expert swirl, and pointing to the droplets that
trickle down towards the meniscus. "The speed of the tears tell you about the alcohol content in the wine," said
Chaudhari. There were farmers who gaze in amazement at what their crop has been turned into. There were
housewives mesmerised by the way red and white wines are being used to cook juicy chicken and mushroom
morsels. There were experts sniffing at the wines and evaluating them.

At the other end of the city, on Chateau Indage's Tiger Hills Wine Resort, there is frenetic activity. Workers are
busy setting up a spa that will offer vinotherapy. Meanwhile, officials mull over the blueprint of a winery that will
be installed at the resort itself, for guests to make their own bottle of wine to take home.
Nashik, Maharashtra's divine district, has had a makeover in the new millennium; as the wine district. The
gateway to pilgrim spots like Shirdi, Tapovan and Trimbakeshwar, and one of the venues of the Ardh Kumbh
mela, Nashik has never had trouble pulling crowds. But now, it is wooing an altogether different type of
devotees, the neo-converts to the cult of Dionysus.
If the 1990s saw Nashik emerging as a wine producer, the mantra for the decade is to evolve a wine culture. It
makes business sense for winemakers to expand their client base. But it makes even better business sense to
rake in income from a fringe industry, dependent on their major enterprise. And that is exactly what the
pioneers in this field are doing.

Sula has the advantage of a strategically located vineyard, around a dozen kilometres from the city. It has got
a team in place, which takes visitors around the vineyards, giving interesting insights about the history of the
place as well as about viticulture. For instance, Juhasoo tells us that in the tropics, the vines are higher so that
the grape bunches are not damaged by too much ground heat. "In Europe, they'd be hanging much lower,"
she says.
Then, there is the winery, where tourists can watch the wine making process, right up to the bottling stage. A
tour plus tasting session costs Rs 100 to Rs 150. "As the harvesting season draws near, there'll be much more
activity. Visitors will get to see the harvest, as well as the crushing of the grapes," says Chaitanya Rathi,
tasting room manager. Sula is planning a slew of activities for what it will call the Wine Festival, in February.
On the planning board are plays, dance and music shows, perhaps even a grape stomping session in barrels.

Sula has also made its first tentative step towards wine hospitality with Beyond, a luxurious bungalow set
amidst the verdant vineyards, overlooking a lake, with the rolling Sahyadris in the backdrop. There are bicycles
for guests to tour the countryside, and kayaks to take to the lake. This luxury comes at a premium, with a night
costing Rs 20,000. "But then, it's only for group bookings of up to nine people, and includes three meals a day,
too,'' says Rathi.

Those on a more modest budget can head to Tiger Hills Resort, managed by Chateau Indage. Just off the
highway, it has 20 well-appointed rooms. Resort manager Ajay Singh is passionate about his wine, too. We
discover this as we sit for another wine tasting session and journey from dry whites to delectable roses to
sweet reds, and end up with popping a bottle of the bubbly Marquis de Pompadour, the winery's flagship
product. "The word champagne has been patented for sparkling wines produced in Champagne, France. But if
you use the same procedure, you can call your product Method Champagne, and the Marquise is the only
method champagne produced in India," Singh explains. Watching the tiny bubbles rising in the champagne
flute, Singh says, "You know, there are 15 billion bubbles in a bottle of champagne. The smaller they are, the
better is the quality of the wine."

Unfortunately, the crowd is not all that discerning. The youngsters are more interested in the pub with its laser
lights and blaring music. The others prefer their drinks minus the extra ceremonies. But either way, there is a
steady clientele of winers here. "It'll take time to build up a wine appreciating culture," Singh says. "Nashik is a
small town, and wine is only just becoming popular in India."

The resort, with much hope in the vinotherapy spa under construction, has tied up with Kerala Vaidyashala,
and will offer massages with grape seed oil and wine infused oils, the ayurvedic way. In a small plot nearby is
a recently planted bed of young vines. "We plan to harvest the grapes here and make a boutique Tiger Hills
wine at the resort itself. Guests will then be able to take part in the wine making process, be it harvesting the
grapes or sticking labels on the bottles," says Singh. In the pipeline is another resort, for the higher segment,
near Pune.
Meanwhile Indage's vineyard and winery at Narayangaon, on the Pune-Nashik highway, too, conducts tours
and tasting sessions, though its restaurant does a more bustling business for travellers breaking for lunch.

Even smaller players are testing waters. Vinsura's winery at Niphad, quite away from the main tourist circuit,
regularly gets inquiries from holiday makers, many of them keen on driving down the extra kilometres for a
different experience. "We are now planning to offer organised tours and tastings," says Nitin Mohite, director,
sales and marketing.
Rathi points out that as more wineries begin wooing tourists, business will only get better. "Once there are
enough destinations and activities across the district, holiday makers will come in greater numbers,'' he says.
For someone who has done the circuit of Napa Valley or Bordeaux, Nashik's wine trails may seem quite pale
in comparison. But, everyone would agree that this is just the beginning of what promises to be an intoxicating
future.
A trip down tea lane
- (23-12-2007)

The Darjeeling cuppa isn't simply good. It's about

the best in the world
By Matt Gross
The Himalayas rose almost out of nowhere. One
minute the Maruti hatchback was cruising the humid
plains of West Bengal, palm trees and clouds
obscuring the hills to come; the next it was
navigating a decrepit road that squiggled up through
forests of cypress and bamboo. For an hour or more,
as we climbed ever higher, all I saw was jungle-trees
and creepers on either side of us, with hardly a
village to break the anxious monotony.
Finally, though, somewhere around 1,200 metres,
the foliage opened just enough to allow a more expansive view. From the edge of the road, the hills flowed up
and down and back up, covered with low, flat-topped bushes that looked like green scales on a sleeping
dragon's flanks. Tiny dots marched among the bushes and along the beige dirt tracks that zigzagged up the
hillsides-workers plucking leaves from Camellia sinensis, the tea bushes of Darjeeling.

Flying to a remote corner of India and braving the long drive into the Himalayas may seem like an awful lot of
effort for a good cup of tea, but Darjeeling tea isn't simply good. It's about the best in the world, fetching record
prices at auctions in Kolkata and Shanghai.
In fact, Darjeeling is so synonymous with high-quality black tea that few non-connoisseurs realise it's not one
beverage but many: 87 tea estates operate in the Darjeeling district, a region that sprawls across several
towns (including its namesake) in a mountainous corner of India that sticks up between Nepal and Bhutan,
with Tibet not far to the north.

Each has its own approach to growing tea, and in recognition of increasingly savvy and adventurous
consumers, a few have converted bungalows into tourist lodging, while others are accepting day visitors keen
to learn the production process, compare styles and improve their palates.
Still, such a trip requires a certain amount of fortitude, as I discovered when I set out on a trail from estate to
estate, during the "first flush" harvest, said to produce the most delicate, flavourful leaves. (The second flush,
in May and June, is really just as good.) It wasn't just the roads-once marvels of engineering, now tracks of
terror that produce daily news reports of fatal plunges-that made the journey a challenge. It was the egos.

The men who run the estates are royalty-and they know it. When visiting their domains, you are at their
disposal, not the other way around. At times, this can be frustrating; at others, delightfully frustrating. I had my
first such encounter-the latter sort-at Makaibari, an estate just south of the town of Kurseong. Founded by G.C.
Banerjee in the 1840s, during the region's first great wave of tea cultivation, Makaibari remains a family
operation, run by Banerjee's great-grandson Swaraj-better known as Rajah.
Rajah is a Darjeeling legend: He's arguably done more for Darjeeling tea than anyone else in the district. In
1988, he took the estate organic; four years later, it was fully biodynamic, the first in the world. Today, it
produces the most expensive brew in Darjeeling, a "muscatel" that sold for Rs 50,000 a kilogram (about
$1,200) at auction in Beijing last year.

After checking into one of the six no-frills bungalows he has erected for tourists, I marched into the Makaibari
factory (opened in 1859), climbed the wooden steps to Banerjee's office and sat down across the desk from a
vigorous patrician with thick grey hair, a clean-shaven angular jaw and black eyebrows in permanent ironic
arch. What, he asked, smoking a borrowed cigarette, did I hope to accomplish at Makaibari?
"Well," I began, as the smell of brewing leaves wafted in from the adjacent tasting room, "I guess I'd like to see
how tea is made."

"Ha! You've come to the wrong place for that," Banerjee declared with an eager grin. "This is the place to see
how tea is enjoyed!" Then he poured me a cup-bright but mellow, with a faint fruity sweetness that lingered on
my tongue. It was to be the first of many perfect cups.
Enjoying tea at Makaibari was an involved business, one that began before I had even woken up. At 7.30
every morning, a knock would come at the door of my bungalow, and Lama, the grandfatherly caretaker,
would present me with a cup of fresh, hot "bed tea," which I would sip groggily before leaving my woollen
blankets for the chilly mountain air.
At breakfast in the glassed-in common room, more tea, after which I would march down to the factory.
Eventually, in the tasting room, Banerjee would inspect the day's production. No tea bags here-this was
"SFTGFOP," the labels noted: super-fine tippy golden flowery orange pekoe, the healthy, unbroken leaves
from the very top of the bush. Earlier, an assistant had weighed out precisely two grams from several batches,
steeped them in nearly boiling water for five minutes, and strained the tea into white ceramic bowls.

As with wine, tasting tea is no simple process of gulping and grading. Banerjee first inspected the infused
leaves for colour and nose, and only then sipped from each bowl, inhaling sharply to oxidate the liquid and
release its flavours, and sloshing it loudly around his mouth before spitting it into a nearby tub. Then, with
hardly a moment's hesitation, he'd move on to the next bowl, and the next, and the next.
Then it was my turn. "Taste those two," Banerjee ordered the first day, "and tell me which you prefer." I did as
he said. Both had the gentle floral aroma typical of first-flush Darjeelings, but the second had a pronounced
strength and astringency that appealed to me, even though I knew that Darjeeling growers try for subtlety over
punch. I told him my decision.

"Bah!" he said after resampling them. "That one only has undertones of peach. The first one has peach
flavours and is much more complex. It's far superior!"
I blushed-I had much to learn. And for the next few days, I studied hard. First, I followed the tea pickers-mostly
ethnic Nepali women-into the fields, where they spent all morning and all afternoon moving across the steep
slopes like mountain goats, with bamboo baskets on their backs. "Dui path, ek suiro" was what they
plucked-"two leaves, a bud"-slowly transforming each bush from bright yellowish green to the deep sheen of
the older leaves.

In the factory, massive steel machines were turning the harvest into drinkable tea by the "orthodox" method.
After 16 to 20 hours in withering troughs that remove much of their moisture, the fresh leaves go into rollers
that curl them into precise formations once achieved only by hand. Then comes the fermentation, during which
the tea develops its flavour, becoming a half-fermented oolong or a fully fermented black tea. Next the tea is
fired-baked-to stop the fermentation, and the leaves are sorted, graded, packed and sent to the tasting room
for Banerjee's approval.

After a few days of studying tea, it was time to move on. For one thing, other teas were awaiting my taste
buds, but I was also growing uncomfortable in my bare-bones bungalow, with its low-wattage lamps and
frequent water problems. (Banerjee is in negotiations with hotel companies to turn the bungalows into an
upscale eco-resort.)
One day during my visit, on a slow internet connection, I received an instant message from a friend in New
York: Could I bring her some first flush? "It's for a dear friend from Darjeeling," she wrote. "He's dying, and he
hasn't lived in India for more than 60 years, but he still dreams about the tea."
King-size splendour
- (23-12-2007)

Detour
A resort that stretches the limits of imagination
By Kishore Iyengar
Once a sleepy fishing village, Macau is now the
world's biggest gaming and entertainment
destination. This tiny special administrative region of
China is home to many dazzling architectural
structures. Its Portuguese and Chinese lineage adds
to its unstoppable verve, which is heightened by a
behemoth that catapults it to dizzying summits of
fantasy.
The Venetian Macao Resort Hotel is the world's
largest 'integrated resort', with everything imaginable
in the world of leisure, gaming and entertainment
under one sky (roof seems inadequate!). Rather than a gambling den, it's the accomplishment of Sheldon
Adelson, chairman and CEO of the Las Vegas Sands Corp., and his desire to recreate the essence of the
romantic Italian city, Venice. Adelson, on a honeymoon trip, was completely enamoured by the sheer
architectural artistry and romantic aura woven into the unique canal-furrowed urban setting of Venice. He
fuelled the creation of a living replica across continents; his Las Vegas model onto Chinese territory. So was
born The Venetian Macao Resort Hotel...the only gaming destination in China.

The resort is on the Cotai Strip, a stretch of land extending into the sea that hosts global hospitality biggies like
Four Seasons, St.Regis and Shangri-la. A land mass of 10 million square metres, it is the biggest integrated
high-end luxury destination in the world.
It took me a whole day to stroll through the various sections of the resort, as I took in the profusion of
Renaissance Italian art expressions reflecting Medieval glory in gilt-sheened columnades, cupolas, domes and
magnificent installations. Thrilling Murano glass craftsmanship, intricate custom-designed chandeliers, filigreed
glass objects and mammoth installations radiated pure Venetian glory.

My Edwardian split-level suite overlooked the wide sweep of Macau airport and the Cotai Strip looming
progressively over the horizon. Within the room, two plasma TV sets shared company with brocade-tasseled
cushions, silky-soft linen, a King-size bed and luxurious headboard-draped jacquard and tassels canopy.
Outside, the facades and Baroque design reflected in the meticulously replicated identity of Venice; the sky-
scraping clock tower replica on San Marco Square, the elegant Cathedral and the hand-plastered and
tempered canal-ridged edifices of wealthy Venetian merchants of yore.

Italian Gondoliers, in their striped and red-scarved best, yodelled amorous tunes to crooning romantic couples
on a swing through the bubbly, quaint Venetian bridges and ponds. The cobbled walkways and fantastic
streetscapes, handsome floral balconies and the simulated giant sky and cloud-scattered spread are a sight to
behold. You can take your pick of the world's finest designer labels from the endless array of speciality
boutiques. Jesters and comics, barons and princesses, courtesans and free-wheeling pogo stick mimics
entertained all of us.

My amateurish gaming skills proved costly at the Casino, as I quickly withdrew to safer enclaves. On the giant
courtyard outside, a gentle breeze and a full moon lit up the boulevard, and the resort's resplendent
architecture came alive in crisp cinematic wide angle. I raised my glass in salute.
 Dining in Iceland
- (23-12-2007)

Travel Bites
By Nirupama & Santhosh G.
It was a friendly soul in Amsterdam who told us to
expect a culinary shock in Iceland, even in those
restaurants which are far and few between. We
thought the friendly warning came because we are a
semi-vegetarian couple! Forget clichés about fairer
and weaker, it is the spectacled one among us who
is the carnivore! [That's Santhosh-Ed.] The other half
is a pure vegan.
So we packed a few fruit and cereal bars and
hotfooted it into Reykjavik. The first day brought us
croissants and both of us happily bit into it. Then the
non-veg told the vegan, "Baby, spit it out. The filling
is raw meat." Whoever heard of croissants stuffed with meat? Well, welcome to Iceland, a land of rugged
beauty, endless glaciers and absolutely no choice of cuisine.

The dishes that followed were straightforward: whale and dolphin steaks and an assortment of raw seafood
sans any hint of spice or garnishing. The non-veg tried to act nonchalant and took a bite or two. But the vegan
nearly fainted in horror and survived on chocolate and ice cream-all when the barometer said minus 12
degrees!
Our sources in Iceland said that some traditional recipes had fermented fish as the main ingredient. Raw food
became a staple because fuel was scarce until global warming melted the glaciers and unleashed massive
reserves of hydroelectric power.
Even in department stores, the hunt for vegetables or fruits proved futile. Walking into a restaurant, the vegan
told the waitress, "No fish. No meat. No egg." The waitress replied, "No food". What else do you expect in a
country where the nearest fair-priced sandwich is four-and-a-half hours away by air?

(Nirupama and Santhosh run Cinema Paradiso, the DVD library chain.)
As told to Mathew T. George