Food_amp_amp_Travel_Arabia_Vol3_I7_I8_2016_vk_com_ENGLISHMAGAZINES

Photos by Italian Tourist Board; Wildebeest by Murray Macdonald;
Nathan Horton; annabellabetts.com; Colin Sinclair; Ryan Murray
KHMER REVOLUTIONS
Siem Reap is best known as the gateway to the temple complex of
Angkor Wat. Now it has another treat for visitors: a daily four-hour
cycling tour nibbling wonderful (and sometimes weird) Khmer
dishes. Pedalling off as the soupy heat relents and food stalls and
cafés set up for the evening, the route lets you taste everything from
barbecued beef and chargrilled giant snails to edible lotus flowers,
along with traditional curries and soups. The 18km ride ends with
dinner in a vegetable garden hosted by locals, all washed down with
rice grape and ice-cold Angkor hops. $66. grasshopperadventures.com
GOINGGeisha
Japan’s culture can be daunting
but a new tour lets independent
travellers delve into the country’s
south-west. The 11-day itinerary
includes a stay at Mount Koya and
a peek at geisha culture. $3,925pp,
including accommodation, tours
and seven-day rail pass (excludes
flights). insiderjourneys.co.uk
WHAT LIES BENEATH?
What kind of aquatic creature would you like to rub noses
with on your holiday? A Mexican jackfish or a Mozambique
bottlenose dolphin? How about a South African fur seal or
a Maldivian manta ray? It’s all possible thanks to a range of
breaks launched by freediver Hanli Prinsloo. The week-long trips
combine tuition in the sport’s basic skills with yoga – a natural
partner for freediving that breeds calmness, improved breathing
and increased lung capacity – and the chance to dive alongside
remarkable marine creatures. You’re in safe hands. Along with
Prinsloo, who has established or broken 11 South African
freediving records, the instructors include swimmer Peter
Marshall, who set eight world backstroke records, and topnotch
film-makers, so you return with proof of your adventure.
Ten days from $4,190pp with full board, accommodation and
freediving (excludes flights). hanliprinsloo.com
Mumbai
in six stops
Ian Belcher sings the praises of the
city’s king crabs, Bollywood star
hangouts and incredible lunch boxes
1
Prepare for a dazzling riot of seafood. For more
than 40 years, Trishna, on one of Kala Ghoda’s
labyrinthine lanes, has served lobster 13 ways,
22 different crab dishes – king crab in chilli garlic is
epic – and 17 types of jumbo prawn. trishna.co.in
2
Head
to the colonial city centre for excellent
shopping. Bombay Electric bombayelectric.
in on Best Marg (Mumbai’s answer to Bond
Street) sells everything from vintage Bollywood
posters to contemporary Indian fashion. For
jewellery, try D Popli & Sons in nearby Battery Street.
3
With its sci-fi multitiered atrium, the Oberoi
Hotel offers clean monochrome design on
exclusive Marine Drive with memorable views
of the ocean and Queen’s Necklace – the night-time
golden crescent of light along the shoreline. The
contemporary rooms are a stark contrast to the city’s
teeming multicoloured streets. oberoihotels.com
4
Fancy appearing in a Bollywood movie? The
morning recruitment hot spot for European
extras is outside the Salvation Army Red
Shield hostel on Merewether Road in the Colaba
district or nearby Leopold Café leopoldcafe.com
where scouts hunt for fresh celluloid meat.
5
As bright and light as a Mediterranean café,
the Olive Bar & Kitchen is punctuated with
pops of colour and leafy foliage in hip Bandra.
A magnet for movers, shakers, sports stars and
movie types, including Salman Khan, it has a serious
cellar, nifty cocktails and a TGIT night every Thursday
with cutting-edge music. olivebarandkitchen.com
6
Head
to the central office district just before
lunchtime and witness an extraordinary daily
ritual: the dabbawallas delivering (and later
collecting) more than 150,000 home-made lunches
for their clients. Remarkably, deliveries are said to be
99.99 per cent accurate. mumbaidabbawala.in
FOOD & TRAVEL ARABIA
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