Condé Nast Traveller India May - June - July 2022

SAUMYA ANCHERI Writer; Creature Comforts; p102 “Goa—if you’re in love or looking for love, and even when love is the last thing on your mind. Maybe it’s something in the sultry air and warm sea, the ease of the lovely locals and the assurance that it takes very little to have a good time. Goa will crack you open with its heart-opening pleasures.” Saumya_Ancheri ANA LUI Photographer; Good Vibes Only; p90 “Pristine white sand beaches peppered between lush pine forests and dusty back roads await all the dreamers and lovers on the tiny Balearic island of Formentera. I think Formentera is perfect for a romantic gateway, for couples as well as for all the solo travellers looking for a summer amour. There is something super sensational about sunkissed skin, salty hair, eating at the local chiringuitos…

Ten years ago, the morning after I discovered an ex-boyfriend had been killed in a car accident, I flew to Ladakh. We were shooting a cover at Pangong Lake, and I managed to supervise the crew, make decisions on locations, outfits, hair and make-up, when we should eat, rest and drive. The sky was a blinding blue, and the sunshine bounced off the Buddhist sayings carved by hand into the mountains, lighting them up as if they were messages from the heavens, reminders that everything is temporary, willing me into acceptance. But as darkness and cold descended, I found myself bereft, staring up at more stars than I had ever seen, anywhere. In the depths of my grief, I noticed they were beautiful; and both the fullness and emptiness of…

There is a paradox at the heart of the hotel bed. When you first enter the room, it tends to be about hospital corners and a very particular sort of Egyptian cotton, fastidiously stretched and tucked. The team at Claridge’s take an almost militaristic five minutes to plump the goose-feather pillows (always placed upright) and get every wrinkle out of the Rivolta Carmignani bed linen. All this crisp starchiness, of course, makes the real point even more delicious. From a state of almost monastic purity, the hotel bed demands to be messed up. And there aren’t many more permissive places than hotel rooms​—liminal betweenspaces where the normal rules don’t quite apply; where two people can connect over tantalising new versions of themselves. The cocooning cleanliness—the softness of the 300-thread linen,…

The Keepers of the Quaich honours Scotch whisky lovers from around the world and this year, there is an India connection. Of the 43 members inducted as “Keepers” at the recent spring banquet, four were from India including Puneet Chhatwal, CEO, The Indian Hotels Company Ltd; Prathmesh Mishra, Chief Commercial Officer of Diageo India; Shatbhi Basu, India’s first female bartender and Manish Pardasani of Living Liquidz. This comes as no surprise since the country is one of the largest markets for Scotch whisky globally. Regarded as the Oscars of the whisky industry, the biannual Keepers of the Quaich banquet recognizes the achievements of those who have served the cause of Scotch whisky over the years by inducting them into this prestigious society. Its founding partners include some of Scotland’s biggest…

ABHISHEK HONAWAR & NAINA SHAH MUMBAI/JAIPUR/NEW YORK Hotelier Abhishek Honawar and designer Naina Shah met in Mumbai in 2007 when Honawar had just opened Woodside Inn at Colaba. They married a decade later. They blended their expertise for the first time for boutique hotel The Johri at Lal Haveli in Jaipur, which opened in late 2020. Their next project is a lifestyle collection centred around Indian craftsmanship and tradition. “We both share a huge love for travel, design, food and hospitality so our interests are aligned when visiting new places, which makes travelling together incredibly fun and inspiring. Naina creates the best itineraries for all of our travels and is somehow able to land impossible-to-get dinner reservations wherever we are! We love the Greek Islands—our favourite place to stay is Skinopi Lodge, which is…

Filmmaker and photographer Sunhil Sippy is out with The Opium of Time (Pictor; available at sunhilsippy.com), a collection of over 100 photographs, captured on his walks across the city of Mumbai. Edited excerpts from an interview: How difficult is Mumbai as a subject? Mumbai is more demanding than it seems. It’s easy to be “exotic” or photograph clichés. But to make images that have a greater depth needs tremendous dedication. [But] the city has a warmth as well as a complexity that is incredibly inviting. The book is largely monochrome. Is that how you see the city? The monochrome image directs the viewer to the content with greater ease. I discovered later that I was trying to create a “temporal haze” with the imagery. I wanted the book to present a city that was…