John Coles @ Travel-PA

Newsletter 8, November 2019

In September, I was invited to attend the Asia Travel Mart in Astana, Kazakhstan. Organised by the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), the exhibition featured 180 suppliers from 34 Asian countries. This provided an incredible opportunity to speak with travel experts to discuss travel opportunities and learn of the experiences which clients can enjoy in countries as diverse as Bhutan, Papua New Guinea, Mongolia and the Mariana Islands. In this newsletter I share ideas and a recommended itinerary for travel to three of the many Asian destinations. Please call me if you would like to see the full tour itineraries.

This month I will attend the World Travel Market at the Excel Centre in London. This annual trade show is one of the major events in the tourism calendar and expected to attract more than 50,000 travel professionals from across the globe.

Astana (officially Nur-Sultan), the remarkable capital of Kazakhstan.

At the summit of the Baiterek Tower the handprint of Nursultan Nazarbayev, the first president of the post-Soviet Republic of Kazakhstan, is cast in gold. Visitors are encouraged to place their hand into the cast and make a wish. My guide did not know the success rate of Kazakhstan’s curious take on the traditional wishing well, but she certainly knew the height of the tower: 97m, which commemorates the year

when Nazarbayev’s government transferred the capital from Almaty in the south, to the small city of Akmola, located on the vast flat landscape of the northern steppe.

The transfer of the capital echoes the decision of the British Raj, almost a century earlier, to move India’s capital from Calcutta to Delhi. Edwin Lutyens’s creation of New Delhi as a monumental capital was mirrored in Japanese architect Kisho

Kurokawa’s masterplan for an imposing futuristic capital to reflect the aspirations of the newly independent nation.

Renamed Astana (and recently renamed Nur-Sultan) the city was built on an east-west axis with the Baiterek Tower at the centre. To the east is the blue dome of the president’s palace, the parliament, and the supreme court. To the west are the offices of the national oil company, the state broadcaster, and the convention centre. Astana’s growth has been relentless, with today’s population in excess of one million, the city boasts new universities, cultural centres and sporting arenas. (Astana will host Man. Utd. on 28th November in the Europa League.)

In 2017 Astana held an international Expo on the theme of “future energy”, with the central pavilion in a huge glass ball reportedly the world’s largest spherical building. Astana’s portfolio of curious buildings includes two designed by Norman Foster: a steel and glass pyramid to house the triennial Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions, and a curvy tent-like structure to house a shopping centre. Being Astana, this is no regular shopping mall. The upper floor has a beach, complete with sand and palm trees, a thoughtful amenity for residents of a city which is 1,500 miles from the nearest coast.

Quiz: Kazakhstan is the ninth largest country (by land area) in the world. What are the three largest?

john.coles@travel-pa.com

tel: 020 8032 3461, mob: 07973 509910

Island Hopping in Indonesia

Stretching along the equator from the Indian to the Pacific Ocean, the 17,000 islands which comprise Indonesia present a multitude of amazing landscapes and a home to more than 200 ethnic groups. It would take a lifetime to explore the entire archipelago, but highlights can be seen on the islands of Java, Bali and Flores.

Visitors often arrive in Jakarta the vast sprawling capital, or fly direct to Yogyakarta known as the cradle of civilization on Java. Near Yogyakarta are the magnificent Hindu temple of Prambanan and the vast Buddhist temple city of Borobudur.

Bali is well known for its beach resorts of Kuta and Sanur, but the cultural and spiritual centre of the island is Ubud, a city in the central hills, which has been for centuries a refuge for painters, sculptors and dancers. Today Ubud has a selection of smart hotels with magnificent vistas, offering yoga and spa treatments, or hikes across rice field terraces to rivers and waterfalls.

The flight to Labuan Bajo on Flores is followed by a cruise to the beautiful panorama of Padar Island and on to Rinca Island to observe the Komodo dragons, the world’s largest lizards in their natural environment. The tour of Flores might include visits to Melo, Moni, or Wuring villages to learn of the culture and lifestyles of the indigenous people.

The Silk Road through Central Asia

For two thousand years, the Silk Road served as the primary trade route linking Europe and Arabia with the Orient, along which goods and ideas were exchanged. Today the Silk Road evokes the mystique of an exotic past as it traverses the wild landscapes of central Asia.

A typical Silk Road tour comprises three countries; Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan visiting the historic trading ports of Bukhara, Shahrisabz, Samarkand and Balasagun to admire beautiful and majestic Islamic architecture of mosques, mausoleums, fortresses and palaces. The high-light being the three grand madrassas which sit around Registan Square in Samarkand, each displaying delicate azure mosaics and intricate blue and gold decorations, which have survived centuries of political upheaval and seismic activity.

The tour will also capture spectacular and varied landscape, including the dramatic 100 mile long Charyn canyon east of Almaty, the wooded valleys of the Ala Archa national park below the Tien Shan mountains near Bishkek, and the Kyzylkum desert in the west. Tourists will be introduced the traditional cultures of the central Asia including the nomadic skills of horsemanship and the practice of hunting with eagles. By contrast, the major cities are well maintained and present a modern appearance, reflecting the confidence of these newly independent countries, free of the yoke of Soviet rule.

Crossing Southern India

The southern states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala present a quite different flavour of India compared to Rajasthan and the Punjab in the north.

Travel through the south often starts at Chennai (formerly Madras) which was the busiest and wealthiest port of the British East India Company. Here colonial architecture sits harmoniously alongside ancient temples, which sets the tone for the tour. South of Chennai, visit the monolithic stone Hindu temples of Mahabalipuram, before reaching the charming former French port of Pondicherry .

Moving inland, the Brihadeeshwarar temple near Tanjore, with colourful frescos dating back more than a thousand years, is a fine example of the architecture of the Chola Empire. Each evening in Madurai, the mighty Meenakshi temple opens its doors inviting visitors to share in the “bedtime of the God” ceremony, where the image of Shiva is carried in a colourful procession.

Crossing into Kerala the landscape changes to verdant hills and tea estates around Munnar, a town founded by Scottish tea planters. Then down to the backwaters where a gentle cruise on a converted rice barge known locally as a kettuvallam is a pleasant way to relax, passing by coconut groves and paddy fields. The tour ends in the historic port of Kochi (formerly Cochin), a blend of Portuguese, Dutch and British architecture, and today one of India’s most vibrant and prosperous cities.

I support Sarcoma UK, a charity dedicated to funding research, developing treatments, and supporting anyone affected by sarcoma cancer. Tickets for our Carol Concert at St Paul’s Church in Covent Garden may be purchased at https://actorschurch.org/whats-on/ Save the date of Saturday 7th March 2020 for our fundraising gala dinner.