Conde Nast Traveller India December 2020 - January 2021
CNT India's Summer Family Travel Issue will focus on Summer Vacations, and provide not just inspiration but specific information on 'How to Make the Most of This Summer'. As more and more people are looking at travel as a way to reunite and spend time with their loved ones, this issue will help covert all that pent-up demand into real, concrete plans and bookings. Look out for 50 Best Villas across India curated for the very first time by CNT, 50 Amazing Family Experiences in India, CNT’s Annual Hotlist of the Best New Hotels in India and Around the World and Features and essays on key Destinations in India abroad, including road trips and culinary expeditions. PLUS Readers’ Travel Awards 2021 are here! All the details on how to vote--and the grand prizes you can win by voting!
in this issue
contributor speak
RIAAN JACOB GEORGE Writer; Royal Rendezvous; p130 A: “The year 2020 has taught me that all the virtual travel experiences and Zoom calls can never compare to the actual thrill of travel.” @riaangeorge NICOLA CHILTON Writer; What’s new in the UAE; p100 A: “I’ve flown once since March, and that first post-lockdown trip was both exciting and disorienting. I was experiencing the miracle of flight as if for the first time, and I never want to lose that feeling again.” @nicolachilton YASHASVINI RAJESHWAR Writer; Can and Able; p162 A: “I’m sure I’m not the only one with a redefined understanding of travel in 2020. This year, a trip to the grocery store around the corner qualifies as a mini-vacation, and crossing city borders makes you a voyager.” @yashasvini.r SAMIRA SOOD Writer; Hunker Down; p154 A: “It’s reminded me to never…
editor’s letter
To travel or not to travel? That seems to be the question on everyone’s minds as 2020 ends and 2021 begins. Now that you can travel, the question is, should you? Everyone on Instagram seems to be doing it. Goa is packed; you can’t find a hotel room in Shimla; flights to Dubai are full; and as Freddy Birdy put it, “Maldives is the new banana bread.” And yet, this is a deeply personal choice with real dangers and, potentially, very hard-hitting consequences. I travelled recently to Dubai, but I met very few people outside the bubble I travelled and lived with, isolated for a week and tested (twice) post my return. Any form of movement—whether on a flight or running down to the supermarket—carries an element of risk, and…
destinations
FAVOURITE LEISURE DESTINATION IN INDIA Udaipur and Jaipur have long featured in your top five vacay spots in the country, and this year, Rajasthan wears the crown. Goa continues to win hearts with its touch of paradise, as do Kerala’s serene backwaters and Ayurvedic massages. The evergreen pleasures of Odisha’s calm beaches and temples and Himachal Pradesh’s quiet mountain views are even more on your mind. 1 Rajasthan 2 Goa 3 Kerala 4 Odisha 5 Himachal Pradesh FAVOURITE OVERSEAS COUNTRY You could probably tell us your top five countries in your sleep, but #1 remains a surprise. This year, France hits the sweet spot, as do Switzerland’s alpine charms and Thailand’s carefree, sunshine vibes. And who wouldn’t wish for the Maldives’ picture-perfect beauty in this whopper of a year! We’ll bet The Crown had its own part to…
hotels
FAVOURITE DESTINATION WEDDING HOTEL IN INDIA Stunning Himalayan views and opulent palace feels are for tying the knot, with JW Marriott Mussoorie Walnut Grove Resort & Spa earning the most love. Rajasthan has all your loyalty: Rambagh Palace, Jaipur and The Oberoi Udaivilas. Udaipur are close to your heart, as are Fairmont Jaipur and Alila Fort Bishangarh. 1 JW Marriott Mussoorie Walnut Grove Resort & Spa 2 Rambagh Palace, Jaipur 3 The Oberoi Udaivilas, Udaipur 4 Fairmont Jaipur 5 Alila Fort Bishangarh FAVOURITE DESTINATION SPA May we count the ways you love unwinding to your heart’s content? You’re clearly head over heels for Ananda in the Himalayas, and you’d fall over backwards for Chiva-Som Hua Hin, Thailand, dive in the deep end for Four Seasons Resort Maldives at Landaa Giraavaru, cross the seas for Banyan Tree Phuket and…
airlines
FAVOURITE INTERNATIONAL AIRLINE Singapore Airlines is your numero uno airline for the second year! Emirates is a staunch favourite, and you’ve been racking up miles on Turkish Airlines, Etihad Airways and British Airways for ages. 1 Singapore Airlines 2 Emirates 3 Turkish Airlines 4 Etihad Airways 5 British Airways FAVOURITE DOMESTIC AIRLINE For the third year in a row, Vistara is your queen of the skies! IndiGo and Air India remain among your top-voted airlines too 1 Vistara 2 IndiGo 3 Air India FAVOURITE AIRPORT We almost can’t remember a time when Singapore Changi Airport wasn’t everyone’s favourite. Dubai International Airport and Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi know just how to keep you smiling too, long layover or not. 1 Singapore Changi Airport 2 Dubai International Airport 3 Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi 4 Heathrow Airport, London 5 Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, Mumbai You voted—and won!✶ How we did…
higher power
What are we to make of elusiveness in an animal? If a creature is difficult for humans to see in the wild, is that nature’s way of hanging a “Do not disturb” sign? When the animal lives in a fragile ecosystem imperiled by human activity, what are the ethics of going there, even when tourism might drive conservation? As I looked out over the Himalayas on my flight into Leh, I found myself picking at these questions. I was on my way to join an expedition that had as its goal the sighting of an animal whose elusiveness has become its epithet. There is the brave lion, the sly fox, and the elusive snow leopard. Beside me napped a young Buddhist monk in burgundy robes and a red, flat-brimmed baseball cap…
