Calcutta: A brew of old and new

Saturday, 10 May 2008

Anywhere else in the world, I'd be in big trouble right now. I've just plonked myself down on an antique chair that's probably priceless. Yet nobody has batted an eyelid, not even my guide Anup."This chair belonged to Warren Hastings, first Governor-General of British India," he says, nonchalantly. "It's nearly 250 years old."

My holiday in: India

Saturday, 3 May 2008

Sri Lanka: a little island with big ambitions

Sunday, 27 April 2008

Five hornets' nests hung down from the cliff. As we reached the plat-eau below, one of the nests began to swarm; a black, irate column buzzing from cliff to ground, a little too close for comfort. "It's OK," my guide reassured me. "We can wait until they've calmed down."

24-Hour Room Service: Natulux, Furano, Japan

Saturday, 26 April 2008

It hits me the moment the lift doors glide open: not the sleek, monochrome corridor or the grey stones artfully engraved with room numbers – but the uplifting aroma of sweet orange that infuses the air.

Spas, stars and the two Rs: what's new in the Maldives?

Sunday, 20 April 2008

The Maldives is not the place to go if you want to worry about facts and figures. Are there 1,196 islands? It depends on what's considered an island and who's doing the counting. Are these tiny slabs of natural perfection south-west of Sri Lanka really, as Darwin suggested, the result of little spurts from underwater volcanoes? Less beautiful theories suggest not, but you don't come to the Maldives to ponder the evolution of this ever-shifting, sparkling and temporal mass of coral atolls liberally specked with Robinson Crusoe islands.

Hotel Of The Week: The Club, Goa, India

Sunday, 13 April 2008

Our trip out to the Leela took us through some of Goa's most idyllic scenery. Serene villages of grand colonial-style casas and whitewashed Portuguese churches bedecked with fairy lights flicked past. At the Leela's grand gates our repose stopped abruptly. This pristine resort of trimmed grass and low-slung pink buildings was more reminiscent of Marrakesh than Mobor, the peninsula which it dominates. Marigold garlands were thrown round our necks as we were ushered speedily into a golf cart by our personal butler, Neville, who pointed out the facilities. It was all a bit overwhelming. Happily, we were headed for The Club, an exclusive enclave set away from the main resort.

Why the Maldives are pure fantasy islands

Saturday, 29 March 2008

Paradise: now I know it looks like. I promise. My husband and I were a bit giddy about our first trip away from the kids since they were born. When I say we were giddy – I felt physically sick with fear and guilt, and he was skipping. Yes, a grown man skipped into Heathrow Terminal 4 shouting, "Come on girl! Let's get the buzz back!".

The Complete Guide To: Rajasthan, India

Saturday, 29 March 2008

INDIA'S MOST ROMANTIC STATE? If romance could be manufactured, Rajasthan would be a good place to locate a bottling plant. With its wild desert scenery, ancient sandcastle forts, pastel-coloured cities, dust-speckled light and its swathes of scarlet, fuschia and marigold textiles, India's largest state is sure to induce a bout of wanderlust.

City Breaks: To find cool Tokyo, tap Marunouchi into a GPS

Sunday, 16 March 2008

Waiting at the kerb with the other obedient pedestrians, I asked a young woman for directions to the Shin-Marunouchi building, one of Tokyo's new breed of urban malls. She pulled out a regular-looking mobile phone, punched in the name and switched to GPS, which displayed a digital map of the area, our location and the destination. Damn, that was good.

Vintage Point: Anthony Rose drinks in Japan

Saturday, 15 March 2008

Sitting in the lofty Peak Lounge of the Park Hyatt where Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson cosy up in Lost in Translation, you can just about make out the distant pyramid of Mount Fuji. From one spectacular peak to another a couple of hours' drive away, I found myself standing at the foot of the sacred volcano itself, in a vineyard planted with tender shoots of the native koshu grape. I was in Tokyo as a judge at the Japan Wine Challenge, a competition to reward the best wines on the Japanese market. It was an unmissable opportunity to find out with my own eyes, nose and palate to what extent a beer and sake-suffused culture is absorbing wine, not least its own home-grown product.