Luxury Private Train Trans-Siberian Journeys On Sale

This is a luxury private train on the Trans-Siberian Railway… This is how it’s done, fellas

We’re a little bit wild about the idea of taking the Trans-Siberian Rail, have we told you? It’s on our bucket list, along with 5 star sushi in Tokyo and shaking our booty in Brazil. So hear ye, hear ye! MIR Corporation is offering 2013 pricing for early birds targeting 2014 travel on select Eastbound Trans-Siberian Rail Journeys and Silk Road by Private Train departures aboard the Golden Eagle.  Savings range from $1,000 per couple in Gold Class up to $7,800 per couple in an Imperial Suite, with higher per person savings available for singles.  Take note: the tours must be booked before March 31, 2013 so get on it, guys.

Hungry for a luxury adventure yet?

Early birds who book the following 2014 tours by March 31, 2013 will enjoy this substantial discount. Private Train tours are in a class of their own, offering the opportunity to experience remote destinations in unparalleled style. These all-inclusive tours feature specialty train cars that were not available to the public until recently. That’s right, you’ve probably heard it here first… ’cause we’re connected like that (and, um, yeah… we’re really modest too).

Choo choo wanna see Mongolia?

Trans-Siberian Classic Route

From Moscow to Vladivostok

http://www.mircorp.com/tour_tsib.asp

Trans-Siberian Mongolian Route

From Moscow to UlaanBaatar with the Naadam Festival

http://www.mircorp.com/tour_tmong.asp

The Silk Road by Private Train

From Moscow to Beijing via Central Asia

http://www.mircorp.com/tour_tsilk.asp

The Silk Road by Private Train: Russia and Central Asia

From Moscow to Almaty via Central Asia

http://www.mircorp.com/tour_tsilkstans.asp

Anantara Opens a New Resort in China: Anantara Xishuangbanna

Anantara Xishuangbanna Garden Walkway

Anantara, taken from the Sanskrit word meaning ‘without end’ symbolizes the sharing of water and heartfelt hospitality that is at the core of the Anantara experience. Located throughout Asia and the Middle East, from the seaside town of Hua Hin to Koh Samui, the Golden Triangle, Maldives, Bali, and Abu Dhabi, these properties are some of the finest resorts for complete R&R in the world. And now, they have opened Anantara Xishuangbanna Resort & Spa, Anantara’s second Chinese establishment, the first and only five star hotel and pool villa destination experience in the Yunnan Province.

Anantara Xishuangbanna Guest Room

Located an hour’s drive from Jinghong International Airport, the resort is set within lush gardens and water, the resort consists of 80 deluxe rooms, as well as 23 one-, two- and three-bedroom Pool Villas. A luxe blend of contemporary and local culture, authentic influences are drawn from the textures, colors and flavors of the region to deliver a bewitching blend of Chinese, Thai, and Burmese accents. Cultural aspects of the local tribes including the Dai, Jinuo and Hani people will feature not only in the resort’s design, but also in its culinary concepts. The also resort offers plenty of indigenous experiences, such as a tea picking journey with the Jinuo tribe, or tours of the Hani and Dai villages. Xishuangbanna also boasts more than 95% of its territory occupied by mountainous and hilly areas, creating awesome opportunities for mountain hiking, bird and wildlife spotting, and boat trips along the Luosuo River.

Anantara Xishuangbanna Lobby

Once you’re done experiencing the natural environs, plunge into an expansive outdoor swimming pool set amidst extensive landscaping, use the 24-hour fitness center, enjoy a treatment in one of eight suites at Anantara Spa, or use complimentary iPads in the guest library. There are plenty of 5 Star modern amenities to choose from, including Anantara Xishuangbanna’s several gastronomic opportunities accompanied by a lobby lounge bar and poolside bar. Think the perfect marriage of local Indo-Chinese cuisine.

Anantara Xishuangbanna Pool View

The resort’s Dining by Design and in-villa dining concepts also invite guests to create their perfect menu (since people like me often want to create my own unique twists). The best part is that Dining by Design is able to incorporate the local Dai cooking style, in collaboration with a personal chef.

Anantara, take me awayyyyyyy….

www.anantara.com

Antarctic Adventures and Beyond with Amazing Experts!

AdventureSmith Alaska Cruise

We love the idea of brain (and heart) inspiring cruise expeditions, so, we think, what better way to get off the beaten path then to really get off the beaten path?

To that end, small ship, expedition cruise expert AdventureSmith Explorations has announced a stellar lineup of academicians, Pulitzer Prize-winning authors, travel writers and professional photographers as experts in residence for upcoming cruises as far-flung as Antarctica and Borneo. Yes, Borneo (because your brave and edgy like that).

Founded in 2003, AdventureSmith Explorations is based in Tahoe City, California along the northern shore of Lake Tahoe and, in 2012, it joined the ranks of Conde Nast Traveler’s prestigious 13th Annual Travel Specialists List.

Offering a deeper understanding of a particular topic and global perspective to the regional experience, small ship cruises with onboard experts can help bring a unique take to the most unique destinations.

So, get cruisin’ because Smith suggests booking one of these special departures well in advance as they sell out quickly:

Antarctic Explorer: Jonathan Shackleton (cousin of Sir Ernest Shackleton) and Falcon Scott (grandson of Robert Falcon Scott) will be guest lecturers aboard the 189-passenger Ocean Diamond Feb.9-19, 2013 from Ushuaia, Argentina.

http://www.adventuresmithexplorations.com/itinerarydetails.php/advid/172

Just a few little penguins chillin’ in Antarctica…

Land of the Ice Bears: Arctic Svalbard:  Jared Diamond, Pulitzer Prize-winning author and professor of Geography at the University of California, Los Angeles will travel aboard the 148-passenger National Geographic Explorer June 21-July 1, 2013. He is the author of Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed and the widely acclaimed Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies, which won him a Pulitzer Prize as well as Britain’s 1998 Rhone-Poulenc Science Book Prize. He is a founding member of the board of the Society of Conservation Biology and a member of the board of directors of World Wildlife Fund/USA and Conservation International.

http://www.adventuresmithexplorations.com/itinerarydetails.php/advid/69

National Geographic The White Continent: Ed Larson, who won the Pulitzer Prize forEmpire of Ice, travels aboard the National Geographic Explorer to Antarctica Feb. 5, 2013 and Feb. 5, 2014 . A Pepperdine University professor, his latest book was published in May 2011, An Empire of Ice: Scott, Shackleton, and the Heroic Age of Antarctic Science. He places the famed voyages of Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen, his British rivals Robert Scott and Ernest Shackleton, and others in a larger scientific, social, and geopolitical context in this terrific new history, much enlivened by his own Antarctic travels.

http://www.adventuresmithexplorations.com/itinerarydetails.php/advid/68

Orangutans in Borneo

Ancient Sites, Rain Forests & Coral Reefs: Sandra Noble, executive director of the Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies, Inc. joins guests on the 138-passenger Yorktown Jan. 26-Feb. 2, 2013 for a tour of the natural and archaeological wonders of Belize and Guatemala. On a Feb. 2-9 departure she will be joined by Sandra Brooke, director of Coral Conservation at the Marine Conservation Institute. For the Feb. 16-23 departure the guest speakers are Stephen Whittington, director of the Museum of Anthropology and adjunct associate professor at wake Foerst University, and Susan Perkins, an associate curator in the Division of Invertebrate Zoology and the Sackler Institute for Comparative Genomics at the American Museum of Natural History.

http://www.adventuresmithexplorations.com/itinerarydetails.php/advid/464

Baja’s Bounty: Ellen Barone joins a March 16, 2013 departure aboard the 86-passenger Safari Endeavour. She is nationally recognized travel writer and photographer. http://www.adventuresmithexplorations.com/itinerarydetails.php/advid/39. Giovanni Malagrino shares insights on a March 30, 2013 departure. He is a full professor in the Marine Biology Department at University of Baja California Sur, La Paz and devotes his time to Coastal Zone Management. http://www.adventuresmithexplorations.com/itinerarydetails.php/advid/39

Another Stunning Hawaiian Sunset

Hawaiian Seascapes: Peter West Carey, a Seattle-based professional photographer, is aboard the 36-passenger Safari Explorer for a cruise beginning April 6, 2013. Patient and resourceful with a wide range of brands, equipment and techniques, he loves to help others learn first-hand how to bring back stunning images that tell the true story of the exciting journey they have experienced. http://www.adventuresmithexplorations.com/itinerarydetails.php/advid/200

Alaska Unleashed: Amy Gulick is aboard the 60-passenger Wilderness Adventurer for a June 8, 2013 departure. She is an award-winning nature photographer and writer, and a founding Fellow of the International League of Conservation Photographers.

http://www.adventuresmithexplorations.com/itinerarydetails.php/advid/22. Joe Upton is aboard for an Aug. 10, 2013 sailing and will share his experience as an author. His many books and illustrated maps, including Journey’s Through the Inside Passage andThe Coastal Companion, have shared the wonder of The North with Alaska visitors since 1993. In 2009 Upton teamed up with Alaska commercial fisherman and filmmaker Dan Kowalski to produce The Alaska Story Project, a collection of videos about places up and down the Alaska and BC coasts. http://www.adventuresmithexplorations.com/itinerarydetails.php/advid/22

Camp Leakey Borneo will feature Dr. Birute Galdikas on board the 100-passenger Orion II for the October 25, 2013 departure. Scientist, conservationist, educator: for almost four decades Dr. Biruté Mary Galdikas has studied and worked closely with the orangutans of Indonesian Borneo in their natural habitat, and is today the world’s foremost authority on the orangutan. http://www.adventuresmithexplorations.com/itinerarydetails.php/advid/289

The Hempel – a touch of Zen in London

The Facade of The Hempel

By Erik Bigalk – www.erikbigalk.com

If you’re a fan of unique designer hotels, then you’ve likely heard of Anouska Hempel and her impact on London’s hotel landscape. She is famed for her “Dark & Opulent” hotel, The Blakes in Kensington, which earned global recognition as the world’s first luxury boutique hotel in 1978 with its dark, eclectic and sensual interior. Then in 1996, the Russian-born Australian-raised British designer went to the other end of the spectrum with her Zen-inspired Hempel hotel.

The Hempel Foyer

Located in Craven Hill Gardens, The Hempel was purpose-built behind a white-washed Georgian facade. Yet once behind the anonymous milky glass doors, the foyer offers a calm ambience with its open, clean lines and sunken sitting areas with bold cushions that lead toward the No. 31 Lounge Bar – a minimalistic, yet charismatic haven serving modern variations of all the classic cocktails. Highly recommended is the cucumber martini.

Among the Hempel’s best suites is the “Lioness’ Den”, featuring a caged bed suspended above the room. With stunning views over the garden, it’s surely one of the most unique suites to be found in London – unfortunately it was book before we arrived. Nonetheless, our Zen Room offered us a friendly welcome with its minimalistic white walls, blonde wooden floors and ultramodern furnishings.

Superior Room

Our bed sat elevated on a split-level and dressed in the finest Egyptian linen and feathery pillows, it swallowed us up like a fluffy cloud – providing the most comfortable sleep in all of England. All rooms at the Hempel overlook the Zen garden allowing a birds-eye view of the symmetrically trimmed lawns, pebble paths, water features and shaped scrubs. In case you missed it, the Zen Garden was featured in the closing scenes of the hit movie “Notting Hill” starring Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant.

The Hempel offers 44 hotel rooms and suites of varying sizes from a small Zen room to an elaborate top floor penthouse as well as 6 full-sized apartments neighbouring the manicured Zen garden. Centrally located, quiet, arty and stylish, The Hempel remains an icon on London’s hotel scene and is well worth a stay…

Where – The Hempel, London
Rating – 5 Stars
My rating – 7.5 out of 10 pillows