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Cambodia seeps with rich history, spectacular architectural delights and natural beauty a cynosure to all eyes. In the recent past the place has witnessed a luxury revolution, which is a far cry from its turbulent past, like the “killing fields” of Choeung Ek. Cambodia is ready to embrace visitors from around the globe to admire the magnificence of Angkor Wat (declared by UNESCO one of the seven wonders of the world), Thom and the colonial capital Phnom Penh. Cambodia is slowly coming of age and aims at becoming every luxury traveler’s paradise.

One such example of Cambodia’s luxury paradise is the Koh Rong archipelago. Most of the islands – scattered across the sapphire waters of the Gulf of Thailand – remain undeveloped and offer deserted oases of virgin rainforests, tropical reefs and glistening white beaches. The unspoiled islands present a unique opportunity to create a truly ecologically sustainable large-scale resort community. Koh Rong, Cambodia’s largest island covers 78 square kilometers, about a third of the size of Thailand’s Koh Samui. The island remains virtually untouched with its 28 white sand beaches stretching up to 6 kilometers and crystal clear water.

Within the Koh Rong Archipelago, two pristine islands Koh Ouen and Koh Bong lie side by side. They are locally known as Song Saa – Khmer for ‘The Sweethearts’. The Song Saa Private Island resort the two islands, connected by a footbridge over a marine reserve that has been established to safeguard the islands’ reefs and marine life including dugongs, seahorses and exotic species of tropical fish.

A private luxurious retreat in an undiscovered paradise.
The Song Saa Private Island resort is as seductive as the name implies. Think intimate. Think luxurious. But above all think harmony – with all the elements of nature that make this place so special.

Choose from twenty-seven luxury overwater, oceanview or jungle villas (all villas have private plunge pools) on the first of the two islands. From the moment guests set foot on Song Saa’s exquisite islands, they won’t have a care in the world. Adopting a ‘rustic chic’ design, the resort is inspired by Cambodian fishing villages with features such as over-water buildings, thatch roofs, rough-hewn natural timbers and drift wood furnishings.

At the resort’s heart is a world-class restaurant and lounge spectacularly positioned over the ocean to take in dramatic sunsets, seascapes and starry nights. A spa & wellness centre is situated on its own island with a Yoga & meditation centre on the eastern shore and a host of guest activities are on offer to showcase the surrounding archipelago, the staggering scenery and innately friendly people.

Robinson Crusoe experience
This is one’s chance to spend the night on what is considered to be one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. The guest is whisked around to the other side of Koh Rong, where he can find himself on his own deserted beach – complete with a stunning waterfall as a backdrop.

The food is prepared for the guest over an open fire and served by one of the friendly team members. The guest is then left in privacy for the night with a crackling fire, a fully equipped bar and a beautiful four-poster bed. With an open air shower and bathroom, the experience is topped off with an amazing freshly cooked breakfast n the morning.

Five Mile Beach excursions
Explore the amazing Five Mile Beach with its beautiful powder white sand. A trip by long tail boat will take one along the coast of Koh Rong to an untouched mangrove creek. Kayak to the end of the creek, from where it’s a short hike to this amazing beach – definitely one of the favorite spots. Walking at one’s leisure along the beach to the end, where a speedboat will be waiting to bring the guest home.

Treasure hunt
Pirate fans both old and young will enjoy the chance to follow one of the unique treasure maps. Find clues around Koh Bong and Koh Ouen, race against each other or in teams, but always remember X marks the spot.

Other adventurous activities include the kayak mangrove tour, snorkeling around Song Saa Islands, going for a bioluminescence swim, sea kayaking, tour Prek Svay, the nearby fishing village or go on a nature safari excursion.

How to reach here
The main Cambodian airports of Siem Reap and Phnom Penh have direct daily flights from Asia’s airport hubs such as Bangkok, Singapore, Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur. Sihanoukville is a 3 hour drive from Phnom Penh and private car transfers can be arranged. Song Saa is a 30-minute private speedboat ride from the coastal city of Sihanoukville.

Best time to visit: The dry season of October to March.
Room rates: From US$670 to US$1,300

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She is regal. She is an imperial beauty inspired by the Golden Age of the Ottoman Empire. And she sits like a pearl beckoning with an abundance of splendid treasures.

Live Like A Queen. The royal lady we are talking about is none other than the Jumeirah Zabeel Saray resort and spa located at the west crescent of the Palm Jumeirah, the celebrated man-made island in the shape of a palm tree. This goddess in all her grandeur once played host to the filming of Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. Transformed into an Indian palace and praised by actor Tom Cruise as having “a real elegance and beauty on camera”, this spectacular resort is famed for the movie’s impressive “black tie” scene. It is of the essence then that even Hollywood royalty cannot resist this sparkling marvel.

When you step into the Jumeirah Zabeel Saray, her interior is draped with hand-painted frescoes, Turkish artworks and lavish murals that lend an air that is quite honestly out of this world. The ocean blue larger-than-life curtains reflected into a thousand images in the intricately cut mirror at the lobby entrance is a romantic prologue at the very tip of the manifold secrets that await you. In true fashion of its Stay Different brand promise, Guest Relations Executives will welcome you with their theatre-inspired uniforms offering traditional Turkish coffee and Turkish delights.

The door then opens to another realm of opulence. The 38 villas come in Four Bedrooms and Five Bedrooms making the perfect oasis for a family vacation. The Pool Villas, Beach Villas, Garden Villas and Royal Villas surround a grand lagoon pool at the same time giving you utmost privacy. The villas are perfect for a private retreat for those looking for a home away from home and a butler is always available at your beck and call. With direct access to a private beach, the Royal Residences is set in lush tropical gardens making it ideal for grand parties and private events.

For couples, one is spoilt for choice with the 405 elegant guest rooms at the Jumeirah Zabeel Saray. The one and only Grand Imperial Suite is the most glorious. It has a Turkish bath, showers, steam room and an oversized terrace with a breathtaking view of the island. Most importantly, the Imperial Floor offers an exclusive experience that is not offered to other guests. However, there are also a slew of other rooms that give the Imperial a run for its money. They range from the Superior Double and Deluxe King to the Junior Suite and Two Bedroom Suite. The rooms come with the most comfortable beds with plush cushions, flat screen television mounted on the walls designed classical style and pristine white bathrooms.

Top on the list is delectable cuisine that satisfies the palate as well. The award-winning Al Nafoorah is famed for its grilled veal fillet prepared using an authentic Lebanese method. The Ottoman Afternoon Tea at the Sultan Lounge is also delightful to set a relaxing disposition for the day. For a treat before bedtime, a visit to the Voda Bar is a must. This bar is dressed in white and bathed in cooling azure lights giving a soothing ambience that further please the senses with chill out tunes and deep house music played by the resident deejay on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.

An Imperial Touch Jumeirah Zabeel Saray is home to the Talise Ottoman Spa, one of the biggest spas in the Middle East. This spa was awarded the prestigious title of United Arab Emirates’ Leading Spa Resort 2011 by The World Travel Awards. It is reminiscent of fair maidens serenading in the olden days in a palace where your journey of wellbeing is centered on the art of ancient healing. Nestled within the heart of this palatial spa is the Talise Hammam, the most well-liked amongst guests. The Hammam or Turkish Bath is a blend of Roman tradition with Moslem requirement and the Talise Hammam is a tribute to the vast majority of hammams which were built during the Ottoman Empire. First, you don a pestemal, a cotton wrap in the warm room and savor the gentle heat from the goebektas, a low marble platform that softens your skin and relax your muscles. Next, you rinse off with water and prepare for the Hammam ritual.

The lavish hour-long Royal Ottoman cleanses your skin with a body polish that uses the kese mitt or more popularly known as an exfoliating washcloth. A foam massage using hand-made olive oil soap follows, coupled with shampooing your hair and conditioning. A facial cleansing and a cream masque soothing your body complete the ritual. The other Hammam rituals include the Traditional Turkish, refreshing Foam Massage and Turkish Scrub. At the Hammam, guests can also enjoy aromatic tea with Turkish delight, figs or dates at the lounges, majlis or outdoor pavilions. The Hammam at the Talise Ottoman Spa is designed for men only, ladies only and a couples section is available too.

Alternatively, newly weds and honeymooners can opt for the Talise Couples Spa which is the signature “spa within a spa”, an entire floor dedicated to couples. This VIP section is located on the Mezzanine floor, both romantic and exclusive. Another beautiful environment for a spa treatment is the outdoor Thai-style pavilions that are surrounded by lush gardens and float above waterways. This serene outdoor sanctuary is reserved for Thai massages. Other massages that can be conducted in the indoor treatment rooms include the Sultan’s and Aromatherapy suitable for ladies and Indian Head Massage and Sports Massage for men. The indulgent Caviar Age Defying Facial and Vitamin C Facial are highly recommended for women while the unique Gentleman’s Facial is catered specially for men.

There is an array of specially designed rooms to enhance your idyllic retreat at the spa. The Hydrotherapy Room uses an age-old tradition that is naturally healing, stimulates circulation, soothes pain and revitalizes the skin. The Snow Ice Room kept at four degrees Celsius is cooling, a contrast to the desert temperature in Dubai. There is even a Cold Jacuzzi which is used to keep the heat away. The Adventure Shower is especially popular with men with its multiple jets and an overhead rain shower that provide excellent rejuvenation. After their spa treatment, guests head to the Ixir Spa Cafe which offers a concoction of spa-friendly whole food meals, vegetarian dishes and diet friendly cuisine. The detox salad and smoothies are invigorating delicacies.

With such majestic enchantment to capture your imagination and a beautiful assortment of gifts to shower upon you at the Jumeirah Zabeel Saray, it is indeed a chance to live like royalty. So the next time you are in the land where mystery and desert tales preside, check in to this luxurious palace. The grande dame might set your standards so high up; she will whip you into a true connoisseur who only stays with the very best. 

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The huge and merciless brown mountains, large lumps of snow carelessly dumped on their tops, the blazing sun and pregnant clouds playing hide and seek, Indus and Shyok rivers merrily wading through the barren territory, creating oases and civilizations of their own,

serpentine and lofty roads, as if suspended from heaven, endless and awe-inspiring panoramas, stunning kaleidoscopic lakes, strange grasslands and seductive sand dunes. Countless constellations that adorn the night and a clear sky that could define the colour blue – Where does one even begin to describe the miracle on earth called Ladakh!

Although it was a second trip to the ‘Moonland’ yet the feeling before and after the trip was that of heightened intrigue and mystery – Yes, the more one tries to know Ladakh the more one gets mired in questions, the attempt to unravel is futile. Our group chose the simpler path – And submitted ourselves to these magnificent highlands of Ladakh, no questions asked!

A tour to Ladakh is no child’s play – for starters, courtesy the altitude, one has to contend with the lottery of getting adjusted to low air pressure (and consequently low oxygen supply and everything else associated with it!), physical demands of climbing virtually everywhere, sometimes misplaced adventure of driving on roads that are at best narrow strips of tar menacingly accompanied by deep gorges, piercing rays of the sun and often chilly harsh winds in the open lands, the list is long!

Ladakh is more about a sense of struggle and consequently a sense of achievement; of challenging the status quo of a comfortable life and of giving one’s comfort zone a quick by-pass.

Our eyes were set on experiencing all of the above – it was more a question of when than whether!

We chose the month of September as by that time the tourist population starts dwindling and Ladakh is more like the desolate heaven often portrayed.

Extensive research on the internet made us choose three directions in Ladakh – Westwards towards Srinagar on the NH1, Northwards to Nubra via Khardung La in the direction of Siachen base camp and finally Eastwards to Pangong Tso via Chang La. Finally after having settled all the loose ends of travel, boarding and logistics, we set ‘sail’ for the travel of our lives… to Ladakh, the Moonland!

After acclimatizing for a day (a word of caution here– it is perfectly normal for a person to take two days to acclimatize so do not fret you breath heavily at the end of day one) to the high altitude at Leh, we started our week long road trip by tracing the National Highway One, the road to Srinagar.

We paused to take a glimpse of the Sangam, the confluence of Zanskar and Indus at Nimmu and then proceeded on the beautiful NH1, accompanied by the mighty Indus River to our first two stops, Likir and Alchi monasteries. The monasteries, as a structure and as an institution have always amazed me and the fascination continued as we explored the deep, quiet recesses of each of these.

Rest of the day was spent in a camp at Ullay on the banks of Indus nestled inside an apple and apricot orchard. The beautiful tents were our home for the night in which we saw probably the most breathtaking night sky we have ever seen!

We proceeded to a quaint town called Lamayuru in Kargil district the next day. Lamayuru is famous for extraordinary sediment rock formations that give the surface of the region a moon like feel! The strangeness of these rock formations haunts one for days together.

The most beautiful part of the journey is, surprisingly, not the road trip. The Indus, flanked by huge mountains, is a beautiful companion all through the way and at places we stopped our vehicle and trekked our way down to touch the water – divine!

The second night at Leh was perceptibly chillier than the previous one. We woke up the next day to discover the snow cover on the Ladakh ranges in front of us being much more than what it was a day before – it was snowing at the peaks, and we were headed towards Khardung La (K-Top), world’s highest motorable pass. Our excitement knew no bounds!

The road from Leh to K-top launches the traveler from 3500 to about 5600 mts above MSL over a distance of mere 45kms – making it one of the steepest climbs we have come across. The road is great at some places and absolute rubble at some others! We reached K-top with our heads in pleasant but dizzy states due to the climb and the very high altitude. Since our gang is very comfortable traversing mountainous terrains we still enjoyed every moment of the ascent, especially since it came with an added incentive of, yes, the snow-fall!

A refreshing cup of black tea and countless snaps later we started for yet another wonder at Ladakh – The Nubra Valley located en route to the Siachen Base Camp. The picturesque route took us along the Shyok River to Khalsar where out of the blue the surroundings turned into silver sand – Lo and behold, we were in the cold desert of Ladakh!

We spent the day at the breathtaking Tirit camp (on way to Panamik) reflecting over the number of changes of landscape we saw in the course of the 6 hours of travel from Leh, not to mention a temperature change in the range of plus 15 to minus 10 degree Celsius!

We set off to Hunder the next day to see the famous sand dunes of Nubra and be a part of the historical Silk Route. We could scarcely find time to blink… The trip was just half way through and we were already experiencing the pinnacles of natural beauty – we stood in the middle of the desert and looked around – miles of silvery sands, flanked by snow capped mountains and resplendent sunshine – I felt like crying in disbelief!

We saw the beautiful 14th Century Diskit Gompa and marveled at the 35 meters statue of Maitreya Buddha dwarfing everything else in its vicinity! Our eyes feasted on the huge panoramic views of the Diskit valley perched on top of the Monastery. We would not have returned if we didn’t have to!

But we had to return, in the quest of the climax of beauty… The Pangong Tso (lake)!

The last leg of our journey took us to Pangong Lake through a typically multi-hued, long, rough and dramatic road trip.

The first sight of the lake can leave you numb – 135 kms of saline water body with about 40 kms in India and the rest of it in China, seemingly endless stream of water that takes as many shades of blue in the day as there are moods in our mind, perched at 4350m above MSL and flanked by majestic jaw-dropping scenery!

This was indeed a time of reflection for that’s exactly what you do when a trip like this nears its end and you are confronted with a seemingly unreal piece of magic ‘someone’ up there decided to conjure for mortals like us – the Pangong Lake.

We stayed the night in freezing cold but pleasant conditions at the Water Mark camp adjoining the lake and took time to come out in the open, look up at the sky and thank the stars who had turned up in millions to bless us.

We have since, returned from Ladakh, still dazed whether we actually went there. Still coming to terms with our minuteness and irrelevance in the large scheme of things called Nature, still marveling at the miracle this place is.

Still wondering whether there can exist another place like Ladakh… Still wondering if Ladakh exists.

By: Soma Bolar & Saumya Shanker
Soma writes poetry and dabbles with dance, loves books, an avid traveler,a native of Shillong. Saumya composes and performs music, recently launched a band ‘Dwi’ and has released albums with Times Music in his earlier avatars, loves driving, traveling …and writing.

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