Sleepy Capital Rich with Pleasures
VIENTIANE
Laos
Although it reflects the laid-back, friendly nature of the country that surrounds it, it is hard to believe that tiny, drowsy Vientiane on the banks of the Mekong River is the capital city. Nearly all of Vientiane was razed in 1828 by the Siamese in response to Laos’s failed attack on neighboring Siam. The oldest structure that remains today is Wat Sisaket, completed in 1824, which houses thousands of Buddhas in small niches carved into the temple’s walls. One of its newest structures is the Australian-engineered “Friendship Bridge” connecting Laos to Thailand on the other side of the coffee-colored river, and bringing Southeast Asia–circuit tourists who come to slow down, chill out, and recharge.
Though it lacks the obvious charm of Luang Prabang (see p. 600) and there are no must-see sights in the city (although the Nam Phou Palace, the gold-gilded stupa Pha That Luang, and central market are well worth a few hours of your time), Vientiane is a joy to explore. It boasts a host of atmospheric hotels and restaurants serving excellent Laotian and French cuisine. Try the stylish and elegant French-managed Ansara Hotel, whose fresh breakfast croissants served on the outdoor terrace may be the best in town. The Settha Palace is big and rambling, with simple but luxurious Colonial-style rooms outfitted with four-poster beds, ceiling fans, and plenty of hardwood details. Its popular Belle Epoque restaurant is convenient for when you’re homesick for good continental cuisine. Otherwise, head to the thatched bars along the Mekong for a meal of barbecued chicken and spicy green-papaya salad with a cold Beer Lao at sunset. For an authentic dinner with a refined touch, Kua Lao is a favorite among travelers and affluent locals. In addition to providing excellent service and intensely flavorful Lao specialties, the restaurant often features a performance of traditional music and dance.
The image of Pha That Luang is visible on Laos’s national seal.
ANSARA HOTEL: Tel 856/21213-514; www.ansarahotel.com. Cost:$120. SETTHA PALACE: Tel 856/21-217-581; www.setthapalace.com. Cost:$165; dinner at Belle Epoque $30. KUA LAO: Tel 856/21-215-777; www.kualao.laopdr.com. Cost: dinner $20. BEST TIMES: Nov–Mar for cooler and drier weather; mid–May for Bun Bang Fai (Rocket) Festival; Oct for Ok Phansa Boat Race Festival.
Epic Diving in the Celebes Sea
SIPADAN
Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia
“I have seen other places like Sipadan—forty-five years ago—but now, no more,” said Jacques Cousteau. “Now we have found again an untouched piece of art.” Part of the Semporna Archipelago, off the coast of Borneo, tiny mushroom-shaped Sipadan sits atop a submerged volcano in a protected conservation zone. With a cap of only 120 visitors a day and no overnight accommodations, this speck of an island in the Celebes Sea appears on every diver’s dream list.
Walk 15 feet out from the soft white sandy beach, stick your head in the water, and be prepared for the treat of a lifetime. Incredibly clear and calm waters enable even novice snorkelers to enjoy the wonders of the underwater kingdom. Experienced scuba divers can choose from 12 dive locations with seawalls that plunge 2,000 feet into a deep blue abyss, all less than a few minutes from shore by boat.
Sightings of green and hawksbill turtles, various species of shark, barracuda, and manta are practically guaranteed. And that’s on top of the thousands of other species of fish and hundreds of different multicolored corals, sea fans, and sponges that brighten these parts.
Borneo Divers, the outfitter that pioneered diving on Sipadan—and introduced Cousteau to the archipelago—relocated their dive center and resort from Sipadan to the nearby island of Mabul, 20 minutes to the north by speedboat. Guests stay in semidetached mahogany bungalows and enjoy a pool and beautiful palm-fringed private beach—plus, of course, great shore and boat diving.
More luxurious is the eco-conscious Sipadan-Kapalai Dive Resort, on a barely-above-water sandbar called Kapalai. Located a few minutes by boat southeast of Sipadan, its 50 stilted bungalows resemble those inhabited by the local Baja Laut (or Sea Gypsies). While waiting for your Sipadan dive slot, you can explore sites around Kapalai and the islands of Mataking and Sibuan. And the snorkeling and kayaking are guaranteed to keep nondivers content.
Schools of redtail butterfly fish dazzle divers in the Celebes Sea.
WHERE: 22 miles/36 km off northeast coast of Borneo. BORNEO DIVERS: Tel 60/88222226; www.borneodivers.info. Cost: 1-night package from $765 per person, inclusive. SIPADAN-KAPALAI DIVE RESORT: Tel 60/89-765200; www.sipadan-kapalai.com. Cost: 3-night package from $800 per person, inclusive. Diving extra. BEST TIME: May–Oct for nicest weather, but diving is good year-round.
Island of Incredibly Big Adventures
BORNEO
Sarawak and Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia
Ginger-haired orangutans swinging through tropical rain forest and communal longhouses once home to legendary headhunters are the images commonly associated with Borneo. The world’s third largest island, territorially shared by Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brunei, boasts a super-rich biodiversity—more than 15,000 varieties of flowering plants as well as 200 mammal and 420 bird species. It’s also home to a fascinating tapestry of tribal and ethnic groups.
The Malaysian part of Borneo is comprised of two states, Sarawak and Sabah. Start your exploration in Kuching, Sarawak’s historic capital and a picturesque spot from which to organize expeditions to the hinterland. Kuching-based Borneo Adventure is expert at getting visitors from chugging riverboats and puddle-jumper planes to remote areas, such the Danum Valley, the Kelabit Highlands, and Gunung Mulu National Park, where limestone pinnacles poke out of the steamy jungle and massive caves are the cathedral-like hangouts for armies of bats.
The river rides and primeval beauty of the encroaching jungle may make Borneo the adventure of a lifetime, but learning about local cultures and sharing gifts and tuak (hooch made from fermented rice) with the inhabitants of a longhouse isn’t something you’ll soon forget either. Many longhouses welcome overnight guests, including Nanga Sumpa, on a remote, vine-covered tributary flowing into the vast Batang Ai reservoir. Though most longhouses are communal, this one provides visitors with separate accommodations at the end of the evening. (Borneo Adventure will make arrangements.)
Over in Sabah, the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre (SORC) is one of only four such sanctuaries in the world. Homeless, orphaned, and injured primates are brought here and raised in a natural setting before being released into the forest. Stay at the Sepilok Nature Resort, within walking distance of the orangutan center, and learn about these shaggy tree dwellers found in the wild only on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra.
The 2-day climb up 13,435-foot Mount Kinabalu, Southeast Asia’s third highest peak, is stamina-sapping but manageable if you are accompanied by a guide from Mountain Torq. They have constructed a via ferrata, a series of iron rungs and bridges anchored to the rock, to facilitate the climb.
Afterward, soothe aching muscles in the spa at the Gayana Eco Resort, with 52 villas perched over waves lapping gently on a coral reef. This luxurious tropical retreat on Gaya Island, in the Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park, is a short boat hop from the state’s coastal capital, Kota Kinabalu.
WHERE: Sabah and Sarawak cover the northern side of Borneo. Kota Kinabalu is 1,009 miles/1,635 km east of Kuala Lumpur. HOW: U.S.-based International Expeditions offers a 20-day tour that covers Mount Kinabalu, Sepilok Forest Reserve, and the Danum Valley. Tel 800-234-9620 or 205-428-1700; www.ietravel.com. Cost: from $6,850. Originates in Kuching, Sarawak. When: Jun. BORNEO ADVENTURE: Tel 60/88-486800; www.borneoadventure.com. Cost: 2-day tour from $155. SEPILOK NATURE RESORT: Tel 60/89-535001; http://sepilok.com. Cost: from $90. MOUNTAIN TORQ: Tel 60/88-251730; www.mountaintorq.com. Cost: from $255 for a 2-day tour. GAYANA ECO RESORT: Tel 60/88-271098; www.gayana-eco-resort.com. Cost: from $310, all-inclusive. BEST TIME: Mar–Oct for dry season.
Jewel of Kedah
PULAU LANGKAWI
Langkawi, Kedah, Malaysia
Located where the Andaman
Sea meets the Straits of Malacca, this picture-perfect archipelago of 99 islands is officially known as Langkawi the Jewel of Kedah, a title the Sultan of Kedah bestowed in celebration of his golden jubilee in 2008. Even though it has been heavily promoted for years as a travel destination, Langkawi is remarkable for remaining the genuine article: a tropical paradise of pure white sand, primary rain forest, magical sunsets, and sun-filled days.
Only two of the archipelago’s islands are inhabited, the main one being mountainous Pulau Langkawi, approximately the size of Singapore. In its remote northwest corner is the Datai, one of Malaysia’s most stylish and fabled resorts. Inspired by the local Malay kampong-style structures, and made from native balau wood and local white marble, the Datai snuggles unobtrusively between its own private white sand cove and an ancient rain forest that you can explore in the company of the hotel’s resident naturalist.
Aesthetic influences are at times Thai and Indonesian, at times hinting of Japanese. The tasteful guest rooms, spacious lobbies, walkways, and elevated Thai restaurant are all open-sided, letting in the jungle and creating a cool, exotic cocoon that envelops guests who are generally happy to stay put—except, perhaps, for those who make it to the hotel’s adjacent 18-hole championship golf course, not your average rain forest attraction.
Close to Pantai Cenang, the island’s most commercial beach strip, is the delightful boutique Bon Ton Resort and Restaurant, which has relocated eight antique Malay wooden houses, some on stilts, to a lovely site amid swaying palms. Decorated with brilliant colors and interesting patterns and textures, this villagelike compound is irresistible, not least because of the fine cooking at its Nam Restaurant.
The Australian owner has recently upped the ante on intriguing hotel offerings by devising Temple Tree, a neighboring property of eight historic houses of Chinese, Malay, Indian, and Eurasian provenance. Salvaged from across Malaysia, these buildings proudly bear the patina of time but are equipped with contemporary fixtures, creating a charming architectural park.
WHERE: 19 miles/30 km off the northwest coast of Malaysia. THE DATAI: Tel 60/4-9592500; www.langkawi-resorts.com. Cost: from $465 (off-peak), from $865 (peak). BON TON RESORT AND TEMPLE TREE: Tel 60/4-9551688; www.bontonresort.com.my. Cost: from $220. BEST TIME: Nov–Apr for driest weather.
A Melting Pot of Cuisines
FEASTING ON KL’S STREETS
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Don’t let the dazzling, steel-clad Petronas Towers and slick shopping malls sidetrack you: It’s the authentic array of edible delights that makes Kuala Lumpur such a great city to visit. Commonly known as KL, Malaysia’s cosmopolitan capital offers a feast of dining options from streetside hawker stalls and brightly lit night markets to white-tablecloth restaurants with world-class chefs.
The range spans the globe, focusing principally on the many delicious permutations of Chinese, Indian, and Malay kitchens. Becoming acquainted with these myriad tastes is as simple as taking the elevator up to Seri Angkasa, the revolving restaurant atop the 1,380 foot KL Tower, where the tempting buffet competes with a bird’s-eye view of the city.
Back on the street, the hawker stalls and outdoor restaurants lining the Jalan Alor, in the city’s Golden Triangle district, are the star attraction. It’s impossible to go wrong here. Among the choices: the famous barbecue chicken wings at Wong Ah Wah, spicy Thai grilled pork skewers, and crispy oyster omelets fried up in sizzling woks. Around the corner is Changat Bukit Bintang, a sophisticated buzzing strip of restaurants and bars. The pick of the bunch is Frangipani, where chef Chris Bauer concocts inventive contemporary French-fusion cuisine, served in a chic dining room centered around a small reflecting pool.
It was Chinese tin prospectors who literally carved KL out of the jungle in the mid-1800s, some of them becoming fabulously wealthy in the process. The culinary heritage that generations of these immigrants brought to the city can be sampled in KL’s Chinatown. For breakfast, tuck into freshly made noodles or stuffed tofu from the stalls on Madras Lane, behind the lively wet market. At night, push through the jam-packed market stalls along Petaling Street to reach the Old China Café, where tasty Nyonya (the fusion of Chinese and Malaysian) dishes from Malacca and Penang are served in what was once the guildhall of the Selangor & Federal Territory Laundry Association.
For a real treat, sign up for one of the cooking courses offered by food writer and cook Rohani Jelani, who teaches out of her former house, which also serves as a charming bed-and-breakfast, Bayan Indah. Perched on the edge of a rain forest, it is just a halfhour’s drive from the city center. But if you’d rather be more centrally located, the longtime accommodation of choice is Carcosa Seri Negara, a pair of Colonial mansions atop a hill in the lush Lake Gardens district. Afternoon teas on the veranda are a local tradition.
SERI ANGKASA: Tel 60/3-2020-5055; www.serimelayu.com. Cost: buffet lunch $22, dinner $50. FRANGIPANI: Tel 60/3-2144-3001; www.frangipani.com.my. Cost: dinner $65. OLD CHINA CAFÉ: Tel 60/3-2072-5915; www.oldchina.com.my. Cost: lunch $18. BAYAN INDAH: Tel 60/3-7729-0122; www.bayanindah.com. Cost: room plus cooking class $140; 1-day cooking class $74. CARCOSA SERI NEGARA: Tel 60/3-2295-0888; www.shr.my. Cost: from $330; afternoon tea $25.
Malaysia’s Historic Cradle
MELAKA
Malaysia
Half a millennium before the Petronas Towers and other skyscrapers rose in Kuala Lumpur, Melaka (also known as Malacca) was the Malay Peninsula’s greatest city. Located opposite the Indonesian island of Sumatra, in a pivotal spot on the lucrative spice route between China and Europe, the busy trading port was ruled by sultans who converted the population to Islam and developed a courtly culture. Such was Melaka’s wealth that a succession of colonial powers fought for and won control over it.
Melaka’s glory days may now only be a page in Malaysia’s textbooks, but the town’s stock of monuments and historic buildings attracts ever-growing numbers of visitors. The Catholic St. Paul’s Church dates back to 1521 and the rule of the Portuguese, when St. Francis Xavier was a regular visitor. The most representative building of the ensuing 150 years of Dutch rule is the rosy pink Stadthuys, the former governor’s residence and town hall. At its doorstep, trishaws festooned with tassels and fake flowers wait to take tourists to the lazy Melaka River where boats ferry them to neighboring Chinatown.
Chinatown is a vibrant warren of narrow streets lined with colonial-era shop houses, some still home to ancient trades, such as cobblers who make the beautifully beaded shoes worn by Baba Nyonyas, the daughters of intermarriages between Chinese men and Malay women. You can visit a preserved shop house at 8 Heeren Street, a two-story building constructed in the 1700s. Other houses have been converted into boutique hotels such as Heeren House, a former warehouse. One of the most atmospheric places to stay, it features a café and craft shop on the ground floor and six traditionally furnished rooms, with river views.
For more luxury, have your trishaw driver head to the Majestic Malacca, whose public spaces are housed in a faithfully restored 1920s Colonial Chinese mansion. Behind it, sumptuously appointed guest rooms are found in a new annex; the pair of top-floor suites provides sweeping views of the river and charming Kampung Morten, a neighborhood of traditional wooden houses.
Make sure to return to Chinatown’s Jalan Hang Jebat for the Jonker’s Walk Night Market, held every Friday and Saturday. It’s touristy, but a fun place to pick up souvenirs and sample local dishes from any of the countless hawker stalls—try chicken rice balls or the fonduelike satay celup and Melaka cendol (shaved ice desserts). And if you’re wondering what’s next on your horizon, you can have your fortune told as well.
Florally decorated trishaws wheel passengers through the city.
WHERE: 90 miles/145 km southwest of Kuala Lumpur. HEEREN HOUSE: Tel 60/6281-4241; www.melaka.net/heerenhouse. Cost: from $50. MAJESTIC MALACCA: Tel 60/6-2898000; www.majesticmalacca.com. Cost: from $250. BEST TIMES: Fri and Sat for the Jonker’s Walk Night Market; Jan–Feb for least rain.
PANGKOR LAUT RESORT
Pulau Pangkor Laut, Perak, Malaysia
Word has it that Luciano Pavarotti cried when he first took in the beauty of this 300-acre island. Covered by primary rain forest that’s home to macaque monkeys and more than 100 species of exotic birds, Pangkor Laut was once the domain of the Sultan of Perak. Still privately owned, it has only one hotel, the Pangkor Laut Resort, fashioned after a kampong (Malay village), with dozens of bungalows built either on stilts over the sea or nestled in the hillside. One of Asia’s most luxurious and beautifully situated hotels, it offers a host of enticements, including sandy white beaches, an award-winning spa, and a marina filled with sleek yachts and cruisers for visiting neighboring islands in the storied Straits of Malacca.
Plenty of guests spend their entire vacation on their private balconies overlooking the water, or in villas lost amid the ancient treetops. And for those who crave complete exclusivity, there’s the Estates, nine mini-homesteads with their own staff to take care of your every need, even helicopter connections to and from the mainland.
The resort’s excellent restaurants serve everything from Chinese and Malaysian to East-meets-West cuisines in handsome open-air pavilions or under a canopy of stars.
Pangkor Laut’s big brother island Pulau Pangkor may not be as high-end, but it is relatively low-key and crowd-free during the week. The best place to stay is at Tiger Rock. The eco-friendly retreat is cocooned by the jungle and feels both friendly and very exclusive, offering just eight rooms spread across two houses, a studio, and a pool-house chalet. The staff is happy to drive guests to the best beaches, markets, and local places to eat, though it’s the hotel’s “nonhotel” vibe and amazing home cooking that account for the large number of return guests.
1,000 Places to See Before You Die Page 96
