Travel | GlobalSalsa: travel writer Belinda Jackson

Aug

Tonga: pitch perfect

Tongan Beach Resort PHOTO: Belle Jackson

“We Tongans party today, and there’s nothing on the table tomorrow,” a
Tongan woman tells me as we queue at Tongatapu’s airport. It’s 2am, I
haven’t even set foot in the country and already I’ve been warned that
Tongans are hardened socialites.

Looking around, I realise it’s true. You’re nobody if you’re not
kissing a staff member. Customs officers, passport controllers, baggage
handlers – they’re all wrapped in warm, loving embraces from the
passengers from our plane, all serenade by a tuneful, live ukulele band.
I guess there’s a reason why Captain Cook called them the Friendly
Islands.

My recent story in Air Niugini’s inflight magazine, Paradise,
finds the song of Tonga, from ukulele bands at the airport to the
ancient, deep and almost mournful whalesong that reverberates through
the water and into my bones.

It’s not a country high on the tourism radar, and I can’t work out
why. Surely the great Aussie tropical getaway is the new one-two – first
stop Fiji, second stop Tonga (the whale-loving archipelago of Vava’u is
now connected by direct flights to the Fijian capital, Nadi).

Aug

Tonga: pitch perfect

Tongan Beach Resort PHOTO:Belle Jackson

“We Tongans party today, and there’s nothing on the table tomorrow,” a Tongan woman tells me as we queue at Tongatapu’s airport. It’s 2am, I haven’t even set foot in the country and already I’ve been warned that Tongans are hardened socialites.

Looking around, I realise it’s true. You’re nobody if you’re not kissing a staff member. Customs officers, passport controllers, baggage handlers – they’re all wrapped in warm, loving embraces from the passengers from our plane, all serenade by a tuneful, live ukulele band. I guess there’s a reason why Captain Cook called them the Friendly Islands.

My recent story in Air Niugini’s inflight magazine, Paradise, finds the song of Tonga, from ukulele bands at the airport to the ancient, deep and almost mournful whalesong that reverberates through the water and into my bones.

It’s not a country high on the tourism radar, and I can’t work out why. Surely the great Aussie tropical getaway is the new one-two – first stop Fiji, second stop Tonga (the whale-loving archipelago of Vava’u is now connected by direct flights to the Fijian capital, Nadi).

Aug

From Rajasthani fortress to boutique hotel

Oh I’ve been bad – this poor blog! But the reason for my neglect is good: I’ve been tromping around the wilds of Rajasthan, specifically Bishangarh, a little village about an hour north of Jaipur.

Photo: Belle Jackson

The lure was the opening of the new Alila Fort Bishangarh, a fortress turned boutique hotel. I went crazy on instagram – take a look.

It took seven years to convert the 230-year-old fort, and it still retains a tang of military austerity. Happily, the dungeon is free of bats, snakes and gunpowder: it’s now an Alila spa, and staircases lead to rooftop restaurants or a little yoga platform. I did a little housework, cooking flatbread over an open fire in a mud-floor house, I cycled past camel carts and flocks of goats and took a brief pilgrimage to a Hindu temple – interspersed with cool, scented towels, sugared lime juice and dips in this pool (below) because hey, it’s monsoon season in this part of the world, and why suffer if you don’t have to?

My first review is out, for the Sydney Morning Herald/Sunday Age Traveller: click here to read it. If you’re planning a sojourn to Jaipur in the near future, this hotel absolutely must be on your list.

Photo: Belle Jackson

Jul

Hotel review: Hilton Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia

It’s peak season up in Darwin, as southerners rush north to escape winter (and hey, I’m not blaming anybody here). The Hilton is the city’s only official five-star hotel, and the pool is one fine reason to check in.

The 236-room hotel has held this city-centre position for years: old Darwin hands will remember the Hilton Darwin as a Crowne Plaza. The hotel is just behind the mall, and should you feel the need to swim with crocs, the croc hotpot of Crocosaurus Cove is just a few steps away.

Click here to take a look at the review I wrote for the Traveller section of the Sydney Morning Herald/The Age.

Jul

Hotel review: Hilton Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia

It’s peak season up in Darwin, as southerners rush north to escape winter (and hey, I’m not blaming anybody here – anyone notice that this is the second hotel pool shot I’ve blogged this week?)

The Hilton is the city’s only official five-star hotel, and the pool is one fine reason to check in.

Click here to take a look at the review I wrote for the Traveller section of the Sydney Morning Herald/The Age.

Jul

Hotel review: Four Points by Sheraton Melbourne Docklands

Looking for a well-priced stay in Melbourne? Take a look at the new Four Points by Sheraton, in the Docklands district. It’s superbly connected to the CBD by free trams, has a rooftop pool and 11am check-out. Nothing wrong with this picture!

Click here to take a look at the review I wrote for the Traveller section of the Sydney Morning Herald/The Age.

Jul

Hotel review: Four Points by Sheraton Melbourne Docklands

Looking for a well-priced stay in Melbourne? Take a look at the new
Four Points by Sheraton, in the Docklands district. It’s superbly
connected to the CBD by free trams, has a rooftop pool and 11am
check-out. Nothing wrong with this picture!

Click here to take a look at the review I wrote for the Traveller section of the Sydney Morning Herald/The Age.

Jun

Three of the best: inflight gear

State of Escape totes.

Some people fill their carry-on luggage with ginormous headphones
(I’m more of an earbud person, myself). For others, it’s bags of snacks
(handy if you’re doing it lean, and on a low-cost carrier). I find that
between a camera, laptop and big scarf, the corners of my inflight bag
are filled with face spritzers.

I mean, my spritzer obsession really has gotten out of hand.

But I do love a pick-me-up of lemongrass, especially when that person
behind me whips off their hot shoes to reveal socks that can stand up
by themselves, or when the fug of reheated food just won’t leave the
cabin.

Here, I’ve rounded up three more inflight essentials, including the latest colourways in the top tote from State of Escape (pictured), some damned fine eye patches by US cosmeceutical company Nerium and a truly fantastic salve from those clever Kiwis, Antipodes.

Click here for my feature in the first issue of the relaunched Essentials magazine, which is now national, around Australia.

Jun

3 of the best: Inflight gear

State of Escape totes.

Some people fill their carry-on luggage with ginormous headphones (I’m more of an earbud person, myself). For others, it’s bags of snacks (handy if you’re doing it lean, and on a low-cost carrier). I find that between a camera, laptop and big scarf, the corners of my inflight bag are filled with face spritzers.

I mean, my spritzer obsession really has gotten out of hand.

But I do love a pick-me-up of lemongrass, especially when that person behind me whips off their hot shoes to reveal socks that can stand up by themselves, or when the fug of reheated food just won’t leave the cabin.

Click here for my feature in the first issue of the relaunched Essentials magazine, which has just gone national, around Australia.

Jun

Light shines on Red Centre

Australia’s Red Centre is the dictionary definition of remote – scattered hamlets of humanity, vast cattle stations and long, open drives. Perfect for the baby roadtripper. No, really. It’s just a three-hour drive on sealed roads between Uluru and Ayres Rock Resort to Kings Canyon, add on another leg and you’ve hit the heady delights of our favourite outback town, Alice Springs.

If it piques your interest, take a look at my story for BNE magazine on the Red Centre Way, a classic route for a cruisy long-weekender roadtrip, which can easily stretch out for a week.

Click here to read more.

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