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Your guide to hot and happening people, places and products across the Asia-Pacific region
MOVE TO THE MUSIC
Chennai’s annual Dance and Music Festival, held from mid-December to mid-January, cultivates an atmosphere of spontaneity. This is partly the result of its lengthy and diverse line-up of performers, and partly due to its religious undertones. Above all, it’s because the event is so unstructured – there are no fixed venues and performances can be staged just about anywhere. But the 82-year-old festival is no secret either. Aspiring audience members can either find out about performances by word of mouth or seek them out at well-known temples, heritage sites and open-air spaces.
Vocal and instrumental music is featured along with solo and group dance performances, many of them pairing up-and-coming artists with longestablished stars. Songs are performed in various South Indian languages such as Tamil, Telugu and Kannada and featured instruments include the flute, veena (a large stringed instrument) goottuvadyam (similar to the veena but without frets), nagaswaram (pipe), thavil (percussion instrument), mridangam (drum), and even the ghatam (a mud pot). www.incredibleindia.org
Due to overwhelming demand, Tiger Airways has increased the frequency of flights to Chennai. In addition to the existing daily flights, four additional weekly flights to southern India’s gateway city have been added.
Flying can leave your skin oily and your hair limp. Luckily, Australia’s Natio boasts a selection of products specifically designed for travellers. Its skin and hair care products – everything from face mist for women to shaving gel for men – are packaged in sets of four, are sized at less than 100ml and come zipped up in a clear, no-spill bag. www.natio.com.au
Q: In Thailand, why do so many people seem to like wearing yellow?
A: In Thai Buddhist culture, different colours are connected with different days of the week. Yellow is associated with Monday, which was the day on which the reigning monarch, His Imperial Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej, was born. King Bhumibol is the world’s longest-serving monarch (63 years), and is revered by the Thai people. To show their respect, many people wear yellow shirts on Mondays and whenever else they’re feeling especially patriotic (it’s even a policy at many companies). This is most obvious on 5 Dec, the king’s birthday, when hundreds of thousands of yellow-clad supporters flock to Sanam Luang Park outside the Grand Palace in Bangkok to celebrate.
Arty Escape
This waterfront property made up of converted warehouses and a former jam factory is the place to stay if you’re into art. Nearly everywhere you look at the Henry Jones Art Hotel there is a unique treasure to be admired, and the hotel’s curator can help if you’re keen to buy. Guest rooms feature antiques, wood furnishings and silk bed covers, which serve as reminders of Hobart’s colonial-era role as an outpost for traders.
Henry Jones Art Hotel, 25 Hunter St, tel: +61 (0)3 6210 7700, www.thehenryjones.com
Regency chic
If Jane Austen had ever found herself in Hobart, she’d have felt right at home at the elegant Islington Hotel. Set in lovely ridge-top gardens overlooking Mount Wellington, the Islington is about as intimate as they come, with 11 meticulously restored guest rooms. Pull up a stuffed antique chair in the conservatory overlooking the garden, or relax in the snug colonial-style library, where you can curl up with a book in front of the fireplace.
Islington Hotel, 321 Davey St, tel: +61 (0)3 6220 2123, www.islingtonhotel.com
Panoramic
The view of the beautiful Battery Point waterfront is sublime for guests at Lenna, a heritage-listed hotel dating back to 1861. Now, guests can go one better by staying in one of the hotel’s two penthouses, which take full advantage of the scenery thanks to a wrap-around balcony and floor-to-ceiling windows. If you can tear your eyes away, the lively bars and restaurants at Salamanca Place are just steps away.
Lenna, Cnr Runnymede St & Salamanca Pl, tel: +61 (0)3 6232 3900, www.lenna. com.au
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