Blog

Sep

Flowery prose on capturing flora

‘Telopa speciosissima’, Miss Maund & Benjamin Maund
(1837-42) Engraving on paper, hand coloured.

This beautiful image is the hero picture for the Art Gallery of Ballarat’s upcoming exhibition, Capturing Flora, which opens this Tuesday. Ballarat is in the midst of a spring fling, with its botanic gardens about to bloom, spring racing at the start gates and a flurry of farmers markets and design exchanges.

Details: Tuesday, September 25, 2012 – Sunday, December 02, 2012, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM

Timken Foundation Community Gallery, Mars Gallery, Ian Potter Foundation Gallery, Victor Gordon King Gallery

Admission: $12, Concession $8, Child and Gallery Member Free

capturingflora.com.au, visitballarat.com.au

Sep

Judi’s India, wild things and skydiving: travel deals 16 September 2012

Judi Dench does India

Channel Judi Dench in India, throw yourself out of a plane in Torquay or take the kids to where the wild things are.

NSW

Sydney’s biggest hotel, the Four Points by Sheraton
Sydney, is celebrating a $20 million refurbishment with its new rooms
introductory package. The 682-room behemoth on Sussex St overlooks Darling
Harbour, so make sure your rooms have a water view for Friday night fireworks
followed by dinner down on the Cockle Bay strip. Save $365 a night, costs from
$235 a night on stays in its new premium rooms until December 27.Includes
accommodation for two, as well as free wi-fi and breakfast for two, worth $80.
(02) 9290 4000, fourpoints.com/sydney.

TASMANIA

Being the start of the Bay of Fires lodge walk and the Cradle Mountain huts walk are two reasons to visit Quamby Estate. Two more great reasons may be the ten sweetly restored guest rooms of the historic 1830s Launceston hotel, and the 50 per cent discount tag. And when you learn it’s the sister property to Sir Richard Branson’s Makepeace Island, in Queensland, you know you won’t be slumming it. Expect immaculate golf links, top Tassie produce on the table and world-class local wines in the glass. Normally from $190 for a standard room, costs from $95 a room until September 30. (03) 6392 2135, quambyestate.com.au.

Kids go wild and free on Kangaroo Island, South Aus

SOUTH AUSTRALIA

Children go wild and free on Kangaroo Island during the
school holidays and October long weekend. Up to three kids between 3-14 years
travel free on the SeaLink ferry, saving up to $144 when travelling with two
paying adults and a vehicle, and the adults get a discount voucher booklet
thrown in, with savings at cellar doors, restaurants and attractions on the
island. Travel until December 14. Costs from $96 an adult return and $184 for a
car return. 131 301, sealink.com.au.

WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Save $1200 per couple when you book four nights at the
Kimberley’s newest resort, the Berkeley River Lodge. The only way there is by
float plane from Kununurra, and its eco-villas, fishing tours and river
cruises, included in the price, are worth the trip. For travel now until March
31 (the lodge closes for wet season October 16 –January 31, 2013). Costs $5976
a couple or $4488 for solo travellers (saving $1100) for four nights. 1300 851 800,
abercrombiekent.com.au.

VICTORIA

Skydiving above Torquay ,Victoria.

Get a birds-eye view of Victoria’s magnificent coastline – if your eyes are open – when you leap out of a perfectly good plane at 3050 meters, and save up to $225. Book an ‘Escape to the Skye’ package which includes a night in a studio room at the Peppers The Sands Resort and one or two tandem skydives, and get breakfast, a free upgrade to a view room, a bottle of wine and chocolates, noon checkout and free car parking. Available from Wednesdays to Mondays, until November 30. Costs from $550 a couple, one person jumping or $899 a couple, for two people jumping. (03) 5264 3333, peppers.com.au.

SWITZERLAND

Hot chocolate, hot cheese: two good reasons to love Switzerland.
Explore both on its two-for-one deal on its four-day Swiss Pass, for unlimited
rail, bus and boat travel through the mountains in all their autumn glory. Book
until November 27 for travel between September 1 and November 30. Costs from $246
for two people for four days. From travel agents or raileurope.com.au

NEW ZEALAND

Feeding time at Wellington Zoo

Wellington is wooing junior jetsetters with a splash of kids’ activities during September and October. Become a world explorer at Wellington Zoo, while Zealandia takes kids through a wildlife sanctuary after dark. They can explore the planets at Carter Observatory, or go crazy at Capital E National Theatre for Children. Accommodation deals include one night at the Amora Hotel Wellington for two adults and two children, with breakfast, and a family pass to Wellington Zoo, from $199, until January 20, 2013. +64 4 473 3900, wellingtonnz.com.

MALAYSIA

An hour’s flight from Kuala Lumpur, looking over the
South China Sea, the newly scrubbed-up Club Med Cherating Beach offers jungle
walks and rock climbing for adults and kids. The resort now includes a new
adults-only Zen Space and a baby welcome for littlies up to 23 months. Book
until November 18, travel November 1 – April 30 2013. Adults save $345, kids
save $137. Costs from $915 for adults, $372 for children (4-11 years), twin
share, for five nights. 1800 258 263, clubmed.com.au.

CENTRAL AMERICA

You can spot a toucan on this nine-day journey through Guatemala,
Mexico and Belize. There are macaws to be glimpsed, old Spanish towns and Mayan
ruins to explore and lolling in the waters of the Caribbean is compulsory.
Departs Antigua, Guatemala, on October 29, book by October 24 and save25 per
cent. Costs $1365 a person. 1300 018 871, intrepidtravel.com.

BOTSWANA & ZAMBIA

Walk the plains of the Kalahari Desert and cruise the
Linyanti waterways in this 11-day safari, staying in tented camps and lodges.
Book now for travel between November 10 – March 20 (excluding December
20-January 10, 2113) and save $3048 a person.
Kids 6-14 years also get half-price accommodation in a family room.
Costs from $8994 a person, includes international flights ex-Sydney, full
board, all transport, night game drives and most drinks. 1300 363 302, africanwildlifesafaris.com.au.

TOURWATCH

Doing India a la ‘The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel’

Do a Judi Dench and check into the ‘Best Exotic Marigold
Hotel’, which is actually a former rural palace an hour from the Rajasthani
city of Udaipur. The hotel, which is now
an equestrian hotel, is not quite as dilapidated as in the movie of the same
name, assures TravelManagers, which is leading a 12-day private journey through
the movie’s colourful film locations. Must-see destinations are ticked off – e
Taj Mahal, Delhi’s Udaipur’s Red Fort and Udaipur’s picturesque lake, starting in Delhi before moving
to Agra, Jaipur, Pushkar and Udaipur. See elephants wandering the roadsides,
run a sea of vivid orange marigolds through your fingers at a flower market and
take a horse safari in rural Rajasthan. Costs from $2020 a person, twin share
(four-star) and $2127, twin share (five star), excluding international
airfares. travelmanagers.com.au.

Source: Belinda Jackson, Sun Herald newspaper

Sep

London canteens and Indian tea houses

Today, I’m relying on photos to tell the story, rather than words. These are two beautiful spaces that crossed my desk this week:

Pop Up Canteen is, as the cafe branding suggests, in London, a feature of design junction, the London design festival now in its second year, from 19-23 September 2012. Here’s what they say about the space:

“Pop Up Canteen, a special
collaboration between the Canteen group
of restaurants, Transport for London
(TfL), with furniture supplied by Modus
and lighting from Very Good &
Proper. Canteen, which has a number of permanent sites across London, draws
heavily on TfL’s utilitarian chic for its interiors, which is what made this
collaboration such a perfect fit. The canteen will be designjunction’s largest
eatery on the top floor and the space will be art directed by Michael Sodeau.”

And my second-favourite image this week is the Best Exotic Marigold Tea House, at Floriade, Canberra’s own celebration of Spring, running 15-23 September 2012.

“Floriade visitors can enjoy a selection of exotic Indian teas and treats whilst being swept off their feet by the beautiful Indian inspired surrounds,” promises the press release.

Sep

Five-star kids: Cinderella and sugar overload at the Langham

Proving that it’s never too early or late to start Disnifying your life, my diary now includes a date for the Langham hotel’s Cinderella Children’s Tiffin. It is the ultimate date for Melbourne’s five-star kids.

The menu includes Tiara cookies, Kiss the Frog in Jelly, Love Heart cupcakes and, of course, there’ll be Fairy Bread. Groan-ups may gravitate toward the scones, jam and cream. Oh yeah!

The tiffin will be featured at the hotel during the upcoming school holidays. I’m expecting plenty of pink frocks and fairy wings. I don’t believe I’ll be disappointed…

Sep

Shake it, spa it, catwalk it: Travel deals 9 September 2012

Four-Diamond Hyatt Regency Waikiki Resort & Spa

Nostalgic surfer chic meets Miami swim catwalk on the Gold Coast and learn to shake what your mama gave you at the home of samba, salsa and tango.

VICTORIA

Quest’s five new studio apartment properties in
inner-urban Sydney and Melbourne include a kitchenette, workspace and free
wi-fi. They’re kicking off with deals such as $175 a night, down from $300, at
Quest Studios East Melbourne, close to the shopping strip of Bridge Road and
Melbourne’s top sports arenas. Includes breakfast for two at a local café. Stay
until October 30, quote ‘SHSO’ when booking. (03)
9413 0000, questapartments.com.au.

TASMANIA

Save 40 per cent when you book a night at Launceston’s
Country Club Tasmania, on the edge of the state’s second city. A night in a 4.5-star
deluxe room for two includes a bottle of Tasmanian wine, 18 holes of golf and a
30-minute massage as well as breakfast in the Links restaurant. Go horse
riding, take a wine tour or fish for trout in its private lake. Costs $299 a
night, until September 30. 1800 635 344,
countryclubtasmania.com.au

QT Gold Coast

QUEENSLAND

Get the party started on the Gold Coast with a two-night
stay in the slinky QT Gold Coast, self-described as ‘nostalgic surfer chic
meets Miami swim catwalk’. That’ll help you choose your wardrobe. On top of a
saving of $384, you’ll get breakfast, an exploratory dinner for two in its hugely
popular signature restaurant, Bazaar and $50 spa credit or a party starter at
the happening Stingray Lounge. Costs from $450 a room for two nights until
November 30. (07) 5584 1200, qtgoldcoast.com.au.

Seashells Resort Mandurah

WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Mandurah is only an hour south of Fremantle, which is
gearing up for the return of the replica Dutch ship Duyfken, the first European
ship to reach Australia in 1606, on Sunday 23 September. Stay three, pay for
two nights in a one-bedroom apartment at the 4.5-star Seashells Resort Mandurah
until November 30. Costs from $210 a person, three nights, twin share. 132 757, harveyworld.com.au.

NORTHERN TERRITORY

Watch the sun rise on Uluru, discover galleries of
Aboriginal rock art and visit the Royal Flying Doctor Service. Book 12 months
advance for your journey into the red centre, saving up to $450 a couple on a
six-day Red Centre Discovery. Included is a dinner and a discovery tour of the
Earth Sanctuary World National Centre, airport transfers and guiding. Deal
valid on departures until December 28, 2013. Earlybird special costs from $1689 a person, twin
share. 1300 228 546, aatkings.com.au.

NSW

Spring has sprung so put a wiggle in your walk with a
visit to the town of love and light, Byron Bay. Normally $780 room only, the
sleek Byron at Byron resort’s spring package gets you 10 per cent off in the
spa, restaurant and bar, as well as free yoga, wifi, daily breakfast buffet and
bike hire to cruise the rainforest trails down to the beach. Valid for stays
until December 10. Costs $794 for two nights in a standard suite. 1300 554 362, thebyronatbyron.com.au.

FRANCE

B&B,
Île Saint-Louis, Paris

You may still be shopping for the wardrobe to suit your
Parisian jaunt, but your apartment will certainly come up to scratch. Set on
the Île Saint-Louis, an island in the middle of the Seine, the B&B is on
the third floor of a traditional Haussmann building, and despite its antique
interiors, its owners welcome kids. There are two rooms, great for families or
two couples. Save from E44 a night on stays between November 1 and March 30.
Costs from E175 a night. petiteparis.com.au.

HAWAI’I

Hit the sands of Waikiki beach and stay eight nights at the Four-Diamond Hyatt Regency Waikiki Resort & Spa, with breakfast, flights and airport transfers. Kids under 17 stay free, under-12s get free lunch and dinner with a paying adult. Bonuses include a tour of Pearl Harbour and Honolulu city and one entertainment show or catamaran dinner cruise. Costs from $1990 a person, twin share, eight nights and return airfares with Hawaiian Airlines. 1300 00 42 92, myholidaycentre.com.au/hawaii.

Semara Resort & Spa

BALI

Hot to shop and the island’s best dining strip, Seminyak
is the fast-beating heart of Bali. The Semara Resort & Spa’s Winter Escape
deal saves $438 on stays until September 30. Book a two-night stay in a
superior poolside room, get daily buffet breakfast, dinner for two at Finns Beach Club, two hours
for two in the spa, wifi, yoga and
meditation classes and airport transfers. Costs from $484 for two people, two
nights. +62 (361) 847 6661, semararesorts.com.

MALAYSIA

Koto Kinabalu, Malaysia

Get a double dose of the tropics and a free Darwin stopover
on your way to Malaysia’s Kota Kinabalu. Price includes return flights to KK via
Darwin with Singapore Airlines and Virgin Australia, two nights at Darwin’s
Travel Lodge Mirambeena Resort and four nights at Novotel Kota Kinabalu.
They’ll throw in a free tour of Litchfield National Park, worth $149, full
breakfast daily and one free nightBook by end September, travel November 1 –
December 7. Costs from $1459 a person (land and air). 1300 747 400, creativeholidays.com/asiaonsale.

AFRICA &
MIDDLE EAST

Blend African wildlife with the craziness of Cairo and
Jordan’s deserts over 26 days from Cape Town to Cairo. Book before December 31
and your friend flies free (paying only taxes of $795), saving up to $2040 per
couple. Departs August – October 2013 and includes all flights within Africa,
two charter flights in Kenya, 4WD game viewing and accommodation in private
game lodges and luxury camps. Costs from $18,995 a person, twin share. 1300 229
804, aptouring.com.au.

TOURWATCH

Learn to shake what your mama gave you, and where better
than the home of samba, salsa and tango, South America? This 14-day dance-themed tour starts in
Santiago, Chile, where you’ll tackle the cueca and rumba, lubricated with wineries
visits, before hitting Buenos Aires’ La Boca district for up-close-and-personal
tango workshops. There’s samba and salsa classes in Rio de Janeiro as well as
visits to Copacabana Beach and Corcovado Mountain, to stand at the feet of
Christ the Redeemer, and the tour includes a trip to the Argentinean and
Brazilian sides of the magnificent Iguassu Falls. Departs March 3, 2013. Costs
from $3995 a person, twin share and includes some meals and all South American
flights. 1300 558 987, tempoholidays.com.

Source: Belinda Jackson Sun Herald

Sep

War on paper: North Vietnam’s artistic legacy

Independence Day posters on Hanoi’s streets.

A new art tour in
Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) traces the work of combat artists in Vietnam’s modern
wars.

[This is a transcript of a World Report for RTE Ireland, broadcast 2 September 2012. To listen, click here: http://www.rte.ie/news/player.html?worldreport#programme=World%20Report]

We’re
familiar with the pictures taken by foreign news photographers stationed in the
south of Vietnam during the Vietnam War, most famously the iconic ‘Napalm Girl’
photo of a nine-year old child, her clothes burnt from her body, as she flees
her bombed village.

But at the same time, the Communist north of
Vietnam was cut off from most of the world, its supplies coming from Russia and
China, and such luxuries as cameras and film were hard
to come by. Instead, artists sketched the days of Vietnam’s involvement in two
Indochina wars, from 1954 to 1975. They depicted frontline
combat and developed information posters that became Vietnam’s propaganda posters,
in a Soviet style that is still used today.

The second of September is not only Vietnam’s National Independence
Day, it is also the 43rd anniversary of the death of Communist leader and Vietnam’s first
president, Ho Chi Minh, in 1969, so the country is spattered
with its flag – a yellow star on a red background – and banners and posters
celebrate both events.

Sophie Hughes explains a propaganda poster, Saigon
sophiesarttour.com

Art guide Sophie Hughes takes me through
Saigon’s galleries, explaining the posters’ history, and their ancestry, and
Vietnam’s transition from colonialism to independence.
The simplistically styled posters began as an information campaign from
communist North Vietnam’s battalion of artists, to inform a largely uneducated
population about the perils of Vietnam’s enemy.

They documented the girl soldiers of the so-called
‘Long-Haired Army’, the fall of
Saigon in 1973, and the harsh life on the jungle tracks of the Ho Chi
Minh trail that traversed the country, from north to south.

As we walk past the
charcoal sketches and watercolours that document two Indochina wars, Sophie
recounts how artists resorted to making paint from gun oil and crushed stone,
used berries and leaves to create their colours, and how the metal flare cases
from the US Army became impromptu carriers for their artwork, much of which was
hidden in friends’ coffins for the journey back from the front lines to the
cities, where it was copied and distributed among a suffering population.

As the wars
dragged on, sketches of the front lines morphed into propaganda, and it’s not
subtle: in one poster, bloodied bombs fall onto a sleeping baby with the question,
“Is this Nixon’s target?”
Much is aimed at raising national pride with such slogans as “What the
ancestors started, the children will continue.”

In the propaganda
poster shops on Saigon’s streets, you can pick up an historic print from as
little as 6 American dollars.

A Saigon resident leans on a 2012 Independence
Day poster while he texts.

There are plenty
of posters of the South American guerilla leader, Che Guevara, and a whole wall
devoted to Uncle Ho, as Ho Chi Minh is lovingly, and respectfully called. In
every school in the country, there is a portrait of Ho, and every morning the
schoolchildren pay their respects. And
on Independence Day, when the country’s Uncle is revered even more than in
daily life, it’s clear a picture can speak a thousand words.

For World Report,
this is Belinda Jackson in Saigon.

TRIP DETAILS:

Sophie’s Art Tour, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam: costs from 950,000VND/A$43 a person (four or more people), includes air conditioned transport, entrance fees and refreshments. All tours are given by art guide Sophie Hughes in English, sophiesarttour.com

Getting there: Vietnam Airlines flies daily from Melbourne and Sydney to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), costs from $1180 return, vietnamairlines.com

Staying there: The five-star Caravelle is the grande dame of Saigon’s hotel scene, and will be relaunching a new look over the coming year. Costs from VND660,000++/A$299 deluxe room/night (84-8) 3823 4999 caravellehotel .com Newest kid on the blog, the four-star Novotel Saigon Centre, has an opening
deal which includes free wi-fi and 10 per cent off spa treatments until October
30. Costs from USD$100++ superior room/ night. +84 (0)8 3822 4866,
novotel.com.

Photos: Belle Jackson

Sep

Strange and wild ghouls and snow: travel deals 2 Sept

Morning at Machu
Picchu, Peru (Intrepid Travel)

It’s all strange, wild and ghoulish in Tassie and Dracula’s Romania, and the locals say it’s puking in Victoria’s Falls Creek (translation: it’s snowing heavily, so get on down!)

SOUTH AUSTRALIA

Mantra on Frome, in the centre of Adelaide, is throwing
open the doors on its new balconies, with a weekend package that includes
dinner for two and a bottle of wine at Mantra Hindmarsh Square’s Sq
restaurant as well as late check-out,
saving $197. Costs from $219 a night for stays on Friday, Saturday and Sunday
nights until December 2. 131 517, mantra.com.au.

QUEENSLAND

Melt the ice in your bones with a quickie getaway to Palm
Cove, a hop-skip north of Cairns. Stay four nights at the Reef House, a
colonial-style beach house, pay for only three. You’ll also get 20 per cent off
hotel meals, free wifi, breakfast, and a sunset Brigadier’s Punch in its Brigadiers
Lounge as well as free DVDs. Mention this page and get $25 credit in the
hotel’s spa. Stay until October 1. Costs from $129.50 a person per night, twin
share. (07) 4080 2600, www.reefhouse.com.au

NSW

Hit the big smoke with a budget stay in town and catch
one of the many festivals keeping the city alive including Crave food festival
throughout October. Stay three nights at the 3.5-star Travelodge Hotel, near
the Thai strip on Wentworth Ave, close to Hyde Park and Oxford St, and save 20
percent when booked by October 7. Costs
from $95 a night, minimum three-night stay. 1800 846 835, hotels.com

TASMANIA

Eerie Port Arthur, Tasmania

It’s a strange and wild corner of the world, down there
in Tassie, and the Theatre of the World, a collaboration between the Tasmanian
Museum and Art Gallery’s Pacific bark cloths and Museum of Old And New Art’s
(MONA) treasures should have you panting to head south. A four-night Art &
Place package includes accommodation at the Mercure Hobart, priority access to
MONA Theatre of the World tickets, 30 per cent off its catalogue (normally
$80), Mona Roma fast ferry tickets, a bottle of Moorilla Muse chardonnay and a
Tasmanian Attraction ticket. Save $793, costs $662 a couple. (03) 6277 9900,
mona.net.au/short-breaks.

VICTORIA

The snow has been falling thick and fast in the ski-in,
ski-out Falls Creek resort. Catch the last few weeks until the season ends and
save up to 50 per cent on peak season rates. Stay five nights at Trackers
Mountain Lodge White Space for $1130 an adult including bed, breakfast,
dinners, ski lift pass, ski lessons and snow equipment hire. Kids up to 14
years cost $720 and also get free Kids Club from 6-9pm. Also includes afternoon
tea, Winter Christmas on Wednesday nights (with turkey, eggnog and all the
trimmings) on stays September 7-30. 1800
453 525, skifalls.com.au.

WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Shoot the breeze in Broome, with sunsets over Cable Beach
and the Indian Ocean at your doorstep. Stay seven nights in a Shinju studio the
Pinctada Cable Beach resort and get airport transfers, welcome drink, daily
buffet breakfast, a five-course spice trail dinner and a one-hour couples’
treatment at the resort spa. Save up to $525 on stays before September 30.
Costs $2086 a room for seven nights. (08) 9193 8340, pinctadacablebeach.com.au.

Novotel Saigon Centre

VIETNAM

Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) is a city of extremes,
with a wild street food scene and ultra-glam sky-high bars. The 4-star Novotel
Saigon Centre is the newest digs in town, with a gorgeous open-air pool and
breakfast buffet worth the trip alone. Snap up an opening deal which includes
free wi-fi and 10 per cent off spa treatments until October 30. Costs from
USD$100++ for a superior room a night. +84 (0)8 3822 4866, novotel.com.

NEW ZEALAND

Pop in on the neighbours and see what’s going down in
Auckland. Stay three nights, pay for two at the five-star Langham Hotel
Auckland in a Classic room. The hotel is a short amble from the waterfront and
the main shopping areas. Includes buffet breakfast each day as well as a free
tour of Auckland’s city sights and wineries as well as airport transfers. Book by January 17, 2013, travel until
September 30 and December 14 – January 20, 2013. Costs from $489 a person for
three nights, twin share. 1300 130 485, travel.com.au.

ROMANIA

Brasov, Romania

Explore an untouched corner of Europe on a Taste of
Transylvania’s six-day private tour. Sleep with Dracula in medieval Sighisoara,
lunch with local farmers, visit the castles of Bran and Peles, explore the
gothic charms of Sibiu and Brasov and lunch at Romania’s two top wineries. In crazy
Bucharest, your address is the historic Athenee Palace Hilton. Book by
September 30 to save $150. Costs $2032 a person. 1300 668 844, eetbtravel.com

PERU

Home of Machu Picchu and
Paddington Bear, Peru gets all the South American gems: tracts of Amazon
jungle, ancient civilisations and roasted guinea pig. There’s pisco sours to be
drunk, sand dunes to be climbed and the tour includes a homestay with a local
family on Lake Titicaca. Sign up for Intrepid Travel’s 21-day Peru Encompassed
journey, departing Lima October 18, and save $952. Costs $2828 a person, 1300 018 871, intrepidtravel.com.

ITALY

If the blue waters of Capri are beckoning, answer the
call on an 11-day Bellissimo tour that starts in Rome then works its way down
to Pompeii and the divine coastline of Capri and Naples before delving into the
mysteries of Assisi, Venice, Florence and Siena. Includes first-class hotels,
dining in a Tuscan olive grove and a farewell dinner to say ‘ciao’ in Rome.
Book the September 24 tour to save $485 a person. Costs $3050 a person. trafalgar.com

TOURWATCH

Chelsea Flower Show

Next year, the Chelsea Flower Show celebrates its 100-year
anniversary. Australian-owned Botanica World Discoveries takes you to the show,
with five and 10 day tours of London’s premier floral display. “While the site
at the Ranleigh Hospital gardens is compact, the displays are just
sensational,” says Botanica founder Judy Vanrenen, who has been taking
Australians to Chelsea since 2005. “It’s a full-on floral experience.” The
five-day tour starts in London on May 20 and includes tours of London’s private
gardens, as well as four nights’ accommodation in the four-star Crowne Plaza
London, St James. The 10-day tour includes entrance to eight other beautiful
gardens in southern England and Wales. Costs from $2,655 a person, twin share (5
days) and $5795 a person, twin share (10 days) 1300 305 202 botanica.travel.

Source: Belinda Jackson, Sun Herald

Aug

Vietnam on famil, en famille

Playing with restaurant staff at Temple Club, Saigon.

Last week, I travelled in Saigon and Hanoi for work, with a 17-month-old in tow. News flash: we survived.

It’s not often I do a blog about the family, mainly because the term ‘mummy blogger’ makes me cringe, and also because I think most people would be bored with twee tails of my junior assistant. But if you’re not, here goes:

Living in Australia and wanting to holiday with kids, conventional wisdom says you holiday either at your local beach, in Queensland or, further afield, in Bali or Fiji. Lovely places all of them, but hello? How limited is that?

What little advice I read about babies and Vietnam was a truism in the Lonely Planet that the main problem is controlling what they put in their mouths.

So true, especially when I watched her throw her dummy onto the ground in Saigon’s main wet (very wet) fish market. A kind trader hosed the dummy down with cold water and then watched carefully to see if I’d reinsert. I diverted the awkward situation by pausing to give the baby a drink of water after thanking the trader and walking off, mid-drink.

Fiji trades on its affinity with children: the same should be said for Vietnam. The staff on Vietnam Airlines played with her curls incessantly, taking lots of photos and trying to stuff her with chocolate cake, and it was no different throughout the country. As another traveller said to me recently, “Asia is far more patient with children than our Western countries.”

Chilling out in a bassinet aboard the Vietnam
Airways flight to Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City).

The minute we walked into hotels, restaurants, galleries or shops, a smiling person would drop to their knees and say hi to the baby, leaving me free to shop, check in, or check out the menu. Baby chairs were everywhere (compared with the icy reception I received from a Sydney maitre’d recently: ‘No, madam, we do NOT have high chairs’), and people, you could order off-menu to suit the child!

I stayed in four and five-star hotels, so paid accordingl: the going rate for babysitters was $8/hour, comparable to Bali’s five-star hotel rates. Thanks to the three-hour time difference, the baby slept around 7 or 8pm, as the sun was going down, and I organised babysitters to co-incide when she’d be sleeping: easier on her, easier on them. I also spotted plenty of shops in the big cities selling bottles, dummies, wipes and nappies: babies are big business in Vietnam.

The main issues were the same ones we adults encounter: keeping hydrated and avoiding the hottest and most humid times of the day. In August, Saigon was cooler and drier, whereas the noise and heat of Hanoi’s Old Quarter meant two hours outside at the most. Any more than that, and there were tears. I thought rooftop cafes would be a good, breezy escape, except there were so many escape routes – mainly over the side of unfenced terraces. Not so good.

A few pointers:
Most milk sold in Vietnam is sweetened, so ask for non-sweetened for babies’ bottles.
I have had success with night flights, as the baby is so exhausted, she’ll sleep all the way home, unless another kid starts bellyaching (which happened recently coming home from Bali. No fun for anyone, especially his parents).
In Hanoi, I used our pram for cool, early morning walks around the lake to watch the locals play badminton and do martial-looking exercises. Otherwise, the sidewalks are almost non-existent, so baby carriers make more sense, though kids do get hot if squished against you for a long time.
Gorgeous tropical fruit is everywhere – the usual rule applies to peel everything.

Essential packing items:
Dummy cord (see fish market above).
Baby food tubes (Rafferty’s Garden etc – they’re not packed in glass so they’re unsmashable, and sometimes kids like a taste of home such as spag bol or lamb casserole, no matter what the age. They’re great squirted over rice for a bigger meal.)
A toybag with short colouring-in pencils, books for the plane and favourite soft toy. 101 Dalmations, on Disney Channel, was invaluable, with plenty of time spent woofing at the screen.
Photos of family from home, so she didn’t miss her papa or nana.

(PS: if you’re wondering about the headline, ‘famil’ is short for ‘familiarisation’, slang for a press trip.)

Aug

Travel deals 26 August 2012

Masai
Mara tribe, Kenya

Meet the Masai, the 12 Apostles or the hamlets of the Nullabor Plains on an epic trans-Australian journey.

QUEENSLAND
Pay $111 a night – a discount of 33 per cent – when you
book three nights at the Novotel Twin Waters Resort on the Sunshine Coast until
December 20. Located close to beaches and popular attractions like Australia
Zoo and Aussie World, the resort also provides free catamarans, kayaks, bikes
and mini putt putt golf, plus a water trampoline on the resort’s man-made
lagoon. Kids’ Club and babysitting services are available. 1800 072 277,
novoteltwinwatersresort.com.au.

VICTORIA
For many, the highlight of Victoria’s beloved Great Ocean
Road are the 12 Apostles near Apollo Bay. For others, it’s the local waterfalls
and rainforest walks. Check into the YHA and grab a winter special: stay three
nights, pay for two, saving $95. Costs $190 a double/twin room for three night stays
before September 20. (03) 5237 7899, yha.com.au.

NSW
Tootle down to Merimbula, on the south coast, to
rediscover what holidays used to be like when you were a kid. Cute villages,
broad sweeps of empty beach, jetties for dropping a line off and dolphins and
whales cruising by. Book two nights in an apartment or townhouse at the
4.5-star Coast Resort before September 21 and save almost 50 per cent. Facilities
include heated pools, tennis courts and big balconies. Costs from $360 for two
nights. 1300 130 483, travel.com.au.

WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Quay West Resort, Bunker Bay

Trade your Weet-Bix and morning news for views of Bunker
Bay, three hours south of Perth in the Margaret River region. The vista from
the terrace of the Quay West Resort is of the blue waters of the Indian Ocean,
and brekky is drawn from local produce, with a splash of sparkling wine, as
befits the locale. Save $65 on bookings before September 30. Costs from $478
for two nights for two people, midweek (Sun-Thurs), includes breakfast for two.
13 15 15, quaywestresortbunkerbay.com.

TRANS-AUSTRALIA

Cross the continent in four days, from Perth to Sydney on
The Ghan, stopping at historic crossroads and watching the scenery of desert,
mountains and the Nullarbor Plain pass your window. Red Sleeper cabins sleep
two, with beds that fold into day lounges, and the trains feature newly
refurbished Matilda Cafés and new Red Gum lounges. Take a friend for free when
booking Perth to Sydney in a Red Sleeper before October 31. Costs $1510 for two
people, 132 147, greatsouthernrail.com.au.

TASMANIA

One of the country’s top lodges, Saffire Freycinet, on
the Freycinet peninsula, comprises just 20 beautiful suites looking out to the
Hazards Mountains. Book a deluxe suite for four nights, pay for three and get
all meals and dinner drinks, activities including guided walks, fishing, golf, wine tasting, canoeing, cooking demos
and learn to mix the perfect cocktail.
The deal also includes $100 to spend in the spa until end September.
Costs $5400 a suite, 1800 723 347, saffire-freycinet.com.au.

Slick and sweet: Eurostar

FRANCE
It’s easy to slip a little ski weekend in on your British
adventures – the Eurostar runs from London to over 40 ski resorts in the French
Alps, including Courchevel, Tignes, and Les Arcs. Book now for travel between
December 21, 2012 – April 13, 2013. Costs from $123 a person (standard class)
or $190 (standard premium class). Travel agents or raileurope.com.au.

THAILAND

Stay eight nights, pay for just four at the Kata Palm
Resort & Spa, in southern Phuket, down past Karon Beach, and you’ll also
get breakfast daily, return airport transfers, one dinner and a 30 minute
traditional Thai massage for each person. The deal runs until October 31, in a
superior pool view room. Costs from $245 a person, twin share. 1300 138 755,
travelindochina.com.au.

FIJI

You deserve sun: specifically, you
deserve Fijian sun. Book five nights at The Westin Resort & Spa and save up
to 50 per cent. Includes return flights with Air Pacific, airport transfers and
daily breakfast. Book by September 28, stay between November 1-December 27 and
January 6-March 31. Costs from $1169 a person for five nights, twin share,
including flights. 1300 358 382, coralseas.com.au.

ENGLAND

Though the Olympics are now over, London will always have
Wimbledon, from June 24, 2013. Book before November 30 and get 5 per cent off
three-night packages, which include a reserved seat for two days at The
Championships on Centre and No. 1 court, three nights’ accommodation, breakfast
daily, London Travel cards, programs, admission into the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis
Museum and lunch at The Wimbledon Experience Club. Costs from $2049 a person,
twin share, 1300 730 023, keithprowse.com.au

SOUTHERN
AFRICA
Wildebeest migrating across the Masai Mara, flamingos on
Lake Nakuru, sunrise over Mt Kilimanjaro. Scenic Tours’ ultimate African small
group tours spend 31 days on a Grand African Adventure, from Cape Town to
Jo’berg via Tanzania and Kenya. Save up to $1600 a couple on 2013 tours when booked
by December 31. Costs from $15,695 a person, twin share. 1300 723 642, scenictours.com.au.

TOURWATCH: TRANS-SIBERIAN
RAILWAY ADVENTURE
High on many people’s hit list, the Trans-Siberian
railway crosses from Vladivostok, in Russia’s far east, to the capital, Moscow,
over 15 days. The Golden Eagle is a luxury train that covers the epic 10,600-kilometer
journey, its highlights including the onion domes of St Basil’s Cathedral in
Moscow and Lake Baikal, the world’s deepest lake, in remote Siberia. Forget
rough sleepers – cabins have underfloor heating, DVD players, power showers and
there’s fine dining in the restaurant. The package includes $700 air credit per
person, two nights’ accommodation before the trip, tour guides in nine stops,
all meals, transfers and tipping. Costs from Book before November 30, 2012 for
travel on February 24, 2013. $14,495 a person, twin share. 1800 044 066, www.travel-associates.com.au.

Source: Belinda Jackson, Sun Herald

Aug

Midnight marathons and trekking in Bhutan: travel deals 19 August

Anantara Dhigu Resort & Spa, Maldives

Midnight marathons, trekking in Bhutan and the London Design Festival; great international and domestic travel deals.

SOUTH AUSTRALIA
The great thing about Adelaide is the wineries on its
city fringe including the granddaddy of them all, Penfolds’ Magill Estate,
where you can stop for a drop or dinner. Book two nights at the Oaks iStay Precinct,
in the centre of Adelaide, and get an upgrade to a one-bedroom, fully
self-contained sky view apartment with free parking. Costs from $119 a night,
two night minimum. Book by August 31, stay by September 30. 1300 721 514, oakshotelsresorts.com.au.

VICTORIA

Footy fever is about to hit Melbourne in earnest, when
the AFL grand final wraps up in September. Stay at Melbourne’s designer sports
hotel, the Middle Park Hotel, and they’ll serve up a pre-footy frothy, a
counter meal by the city’s top meat man, chef Paul Wilson, and a gourmet brekky
to set you to rights, the next morning. The Finals Fever package is available
throughout September. Save $49, costs $209 a night for two people. (03) 9690
1958, middleparkhotel.com.au.

Skyview apartment, Oaks iStay Precinct, Adelaide

TASMANIA

With snowy Mt Wellington overlooking Hobart, it may be
cold, but it’ll always be picturesque. A destination in its own right, the
harbourside Henry Jones Hotel has been a jam factory and a whaling station and its
current reincarnation is as a sleek art hotel. Stay until September 30, save 28
per cent on your room rate. Costs from $234 a night (standard room) or $328
(deluxe spa harbour view room). 1800
420 555, thehenryjones.com.au.

QUEENSLAND

Far North
Queensland is one of the best vantage points to view the total solar eclipse
that will take place around 14 November, when the sun is completely blocked by
the moon. Stay at Peppers Beach Club & Spa in Palm Cove, and save 20 per
cent on your room. Book until September 9, stay from November 12-15. Costs from
$1530 for three nights in a lagoon spa room, includes breakfast for two daily.
1300 737 444, peppers.com.au

NORTHERN TERRITORY

Just 170km south of Darwin is one of Australia’s natural
gems: Kakadu National Park. Explore the
eerily beautiful landscapes, from croc rivers to ancient galleries of
Aboriginal rock art, and the floodplains spread below you at Ubirr. The
three-day Kakadu and Litchfield small group tour includes 4WD transport, guide
and a stay at the Wildman Wilderness Lodge. Book before September 7, travel
from August 31-November 3 and get $600 toward your airfares. Costs $1559 a
person, twin share, land only. 1800 228 546, aatkings.com.au.

15th annual midnight run, Bangkok

THAILANDTake to Bangkok’s streets at night, when the temps are
cool and the traffic’s taken a breather, with the 15th annual charity
midnight run, to be held on October 20. Runners in the 6km and 12km races will
raise money for local causes. Stay two nights at the Amari Watergate, get two tickets
to the marathon (worth $11 apiece), an upgrade to a Grand Deluxe room, free
wifi, 2pm checkout and 20 per cent off spa treatments and food. Costs $347 a room
for two nights. +66 (0) 2653 9000, amari.com.

BHUTAN

Trek to Taktshang Monastery, 900 meters above the valley floor, where it’s said Buddhism came to the Land of the Thunder Dragon. Gay tourism operator Gay Globe will lead a 10-day tour of the Kingdom of Bhutan from January 5, 2013, exploring the cultural and natural aspects of this secretive land. Book before September 30 and save 10 per cent. Includes accommodation, meals and private guides. Costs from $2691 a person. (02) 8005 1690, gayglobe.com.au

VIETNAM

Chen Sea Resort & Spa, Phy Quoc, Vietnam

Detox in style at the four-star Chen Sea Resort & Spa Phu Quoc, on the
southern holiday island of Phu Quoc. The deal, valid until September 30,
includes an hour-long Vietnamese massage for two people, daily breakfast, a
three-course lunch or dinner for two, free meditation and private tai chi
classes. Costs from USD$552 for four nights. +662 101 1234, centarahotelsresorts.com

ENGLAND
Glowing London is still hot, post-games, with the London
Design Festival (September 17-23) the next cab off the rank. Get in on the good
vibes and stay five nights in a Falconers two bedroom suite at the five-star 51
Buckingham Gate, a Taj hotel. Stay until September 30 and save 20 per cent,
that’s $1339. Costs from $3495 for five nights. (02) 9331 9000, tajhotels.com.

MALDIVES

Have the kids been good? Treat them with a holiday in the
Maldives. The Anantara Dhigu Resort & Spa is every kid’s dream, with one
Dining by Design dinner, a dolphin cruise, unlimited ice cream (for genuine kids
only!), babysitting, kid’s cooking classes and seaplane airport transfers.
For travel until January 9. Costs from $5368 for two adults and two children
under 12, for four nights. +66 (0) 2365 7500, anantara.com.

TOURWATCH

Singapore sizzles to the sound of smokin’ engines from
September 21-23 when the 2012 Formula 1 SingTel Singapore Grand Prix hits town.
It’s not all about crazy cars, the entertainment includes Katy Perry, Noel
Gallagher and Maroon 5. If you’re an 80s tragic, Bananarama, The Proclaimers
and The Pretenders are also strutting the stages. A three-day Premier Walkabout
ticket costs around $115 a day with access to all zones, singaporegp.sg. Or stay in four-star accommodation and get
transfers, breakfast and a three-day Grandstand ticket. Costs from $892 a
person, four nights. 1300 747 400, creativeholidays.com.

Source: Belinda Jackson, Sun Herald

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