One more night in Bangkok Saigon to market One more

M AG A Z I N E F O R C E B U PAC I F I C
•
NOVEMBER 2014
Saigon to market
One more night in Bangkok
RETAIL MANIA IN
VIETNAM'S BIGGEST CITY
WHAT'S NEW AND WHAT'S COOL
IN THE THAI CAPITAL
Our crew this issue
Shaira Luna
Photographer
For this issue shot our cover and cover feature (in between
meals!)
Manila-based Shaira has shot magazine covers, numerous fashion
editorials and lifestyle photography for most publications in
Metro Manila and various brand campaigns. She is self-taught
and is booked mostly for fashion editorials, magazine covers and
food photography. Her spare time is devoted to dreaming up,
producing and shooting her own little cinematic stories with her
brother Von. Now that's a
loving gaze from
a cat to her
human
THE USUAL
SUSPECTS
Navin Kala and Luisa Dorr
Photographers
For this issue took photos of people taking photos (of
themselves)
Luisa is based in São Paulo, Brazil; Navin stays in Varanasi
in northern India. Luisa branched into photography from
the design world three years ago while Navin, from the art
world, began shooting professionally five years ago.
Dave Tacon
Writer and photographer
For this issue walks us through a hairy (crab) situation
Based in Shanghai, Dave has worked with some of the most
prestigious publications in the world, including Rolling Stone,
Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Stern, GEO, Der Spiegel
and ELLE. Some of his photos appear in the permanent
collections of the National Portrait Gallery of Australia.
Simon Ostheimer
Writer
For this issue makes a quick getaway to Sabah
Simon is a former editor at The Phuket News, Bangkok
101, Vision KL and Time Out Hong Kong. He regularly
contributes travel stories to a number of publications
including Condé Nast Traveler China, Condé Nast Traveller
India, DestinAsian and Dwell Asia.
David Terrazas
Photographer
For this issue captures the essence of trendy Bangkok
David, who is based in Bangkok, regularly shoots fashion
portraits and travel coverage for magazines including Fah
Thai, Jetstar and Dusit Thani’s Eight.
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KRISTINE FONACIER
Writer
The editor of travel mag GRID and
Entrepreneur knows an urban movement
when she sees it — and for this issue it’s all
about boomtown Bangkok
LESTER LEDESMA
Writer and photographer
Follow Lester on a shopping adventure
across five of Saigon’s markets
RUBEN V. NEPALES
Writer
For this issue our Hollywood
correspondent talks to multi-talented
Neil Patrick Harris
Enjoy a drink
at The
Alchemist
This
month in
Smile
Siem Reap
delights
Discover why the city has
become a favorite foodie spot
Street regal
Find out what makes Bangkok a top
destination for travelers from
around the world
p35
p100
hong kong
p90
Life’s a breeze
NEIL
PATRICK
HARRIS
TALKS
ABOUT
GONE GIRL,
THE MEDIA
AND HIS
MARRIAGE
p40
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Learn about the history and
legends of Sabah,
the Land Below the Wind
Wait,
there's
more...
Autumn harvest
All things big and stall
Scour five of Ho Chi Minh City’s
best markets for bargain hunters
Shanghai’s hairy crab season has begun.
Find out why some are willing to shell out
big money for this delicacy
p80
p70
Trip journal, p131
Heading for any of the
28 international or 33
Philippine destinations
on the Cebu Pacific
network? Get some
recommendations from
the locals.
Airline news, p183
p113
p58
Selfie syndrome
Pride of plate
People of all ages head to Hong Kong’s Avenue
of the Stars to take photos — of themselves
We make our way to the heart of
Bicolandia and into the province of
Albay for a culinary tour
Read the latest news
from the airline and get
updates on destinations
and routes. Plus: find
out the latest seat
promotions and score
great deals.
Hungry?, p188
If you can't
beat them,
join them!
Check out the onboard
menu for the latest foodand-beverage offerings.
www.cebusmile.com /
11
Amazing escapes
LIFE’S
A BREEZE
On a quick tour of Kota Kinabalu by train, in a speedboat and
on foot, Simon N. Ostheimer discovers the life and legends of
Sabah, the “Land Below the Wind”
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Amazing escapes
W
hoever came up with
the phrase “the Land
Below the Wind”
must have been a
genius — the wording conjures up
a magical, tropical idyll, a serene
place where palm trees sway in the
barely-there breeze, and exotic smells
and spices tease you from the beach.
The evocative description is most
commonly attributed to ancient
seafarers, who were referring to the
territory that lay beneath the typhoon
belt, and so was safe from the terrible
storms that assault much of the rest
of South-East Asia. For a long time
this place was called North Borneo;
today it’s better known as Sabah, the
easternmost state in Malaysia.
On our first morning in the capital
of Sabah, Kota Kinabalu, we joined a
cultural tour with local Grace Leong,
a third-generation Chinese who is the
founder of KK Heritage Walk (www.
kkheritagewalk.com). Grace is on a
mission is to educate tourists about
the colonial history of the city and
that morning we were happy to trail her
around here.
“You’re probably wondering why
we were meeting here,” she asks
rhetorically as we stand under the
shade of a large tree, while people
in sports clothes stand close by
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Clockwise: Speeding past
a floating village; seafood
at the market; steamboat
dinner; inter-island transport
Amazing escapes
Clockwise from top left: Urban graffiti;
the famous pau with pork and egg filling;
a local coffee shop
stretching on a small field. “Well, this
is where Sabah declared the end of
colonial rule!” In one of the quirks of
history that dot the region, the British
North Borneo company ran this corner
of Borneo as a corporate possession
from the late 19th century up until the
Japanese arrived in 1942 to occupy the
island. Reclaimed by Britain, it became
a colony in 1946 before joining up with
a newly independent Malaysia in 1963.
As Grace explains, due to waves of
Chinese immigration encouraged by
the British, there is a preponderance
of Sino-style cuisine in KK, as locals
call it. Amazing steamed dumplings
are to be found at Keng Wan Hing
(80 Gaya St; tel: +60 16 849 4708),
including the Hainanese Polo Bun
made with pineapple marmalade, and
the sang nyuk pau, a filling, rich blend
of pork and egg. We order takeaway
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and eat them on the go. After a stroll
down the street — pausing to pop our
heads in the colonial-era Jesselton
Hotel (69 Jln Gaya; tel: +60 88 223
333; jesseltonhotel.com), where the
door is manned by a slight, helmeted
bellboy, and the bartender Aji has been
pouring Bloody Marys since 1959 — we
head back to Yee Fung (127 Jln Gaya;
tel: +60 88 312 042) for a bowl of their
famous Sarawak laksa.
Almost every part of Malaysia has
its own take on laksa, from the creamy
coconut Nyonya variety found in
historical Malacca to the sour Assam
style most popular on the island of
Penang. Malaysian Borneo — which
includes Sabah, Sarawak to the west
and the tiny island territory of Labuan
— shares one style, the Sarawak laksa,
which consists of a laksa soup base
covered in bee hoon egg noodles, hard-
Amazing escapes
From top:
Diners pack
the local laksa
restaurant;
Sarawak laksa;
cooking big
batches of
noodles. At
right:
Downtown KK
boiled egg, shredded chicken, a handful
of bean sprouts, a sprinkling of cilantro
and locally caught prawns. Once your
steaming bowl is served, squeeze half
a lime over it, and add a spoonful of
sambal belacan (shrimp paste) for
taste. It tastes excellent, especially
when washed down with a hot glass
of their signature drink, teh madras
— layers of evaporated milk, black tea
and foam.
The next day, we make our way
down sleepily to the lobby of The
Pacific Sutera Hotel (1 Sutera
Harbour Blvd; tel: +60 88 318 888;
suteraharbour.com), a sprawling 384acre property, with two onsite hotels
(the other is The Magellan Sutera
Resort), a 27-hole golf course, and a
marina from where you can explore
the surrounding islands. The sound
of a bell ringing across the marble
interior snaps us awake. The source
of the commotion is a shy young man
wearing khaki shorts, a starched white
shirt and a pith helmet adorned with
the logo of the North Borneo Railway
(www.northborneorailway.com). It is
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Sarawak laksa tastes
excellent, especially when
washed down with a hot
glass of their signature
localtea, teh madras
Amazing escapes
time to take the tropical express.
With five carriages, each named
after one of the stops, the train is
hauled by a British Vulcan steam
locomotive fuelled not by coal, but
by wood. While the carriages were
actually built in the 1970s, they have
been renovated to re-create a train
journey in the early 1900s, when the
line provided a vital link between
the interior and Jesselton — now
Kota Kinabalu — transporting goods
such as rice, tobacco, sugar, silk, and
pineapples for export. Now almost 120
years old, the North Borneo Railway,
a collaboration between the state
government and the Sutera Harbour
Resort, provides a nostalgic experience
for tourists.
After an amazing train trip through
stunning scenery, we are on the move
again, this time aboard a speedboat
heading north-west to Gaya Island.
This small isle 15 minutes off the coast
of KK had housed the first settlement
of the British North Borneo company,
before it was razed to the ground in
1897 by a local folk hero by the name
of Mat Salleh and the British set up
shop on the mainland instead. As Kota
Kinabalu thrived and expanded, the
villagers on Gaya Island maintained
a simple life, until it was declared a
national park in 1974. These days,
Gaya is a central part of the state’s
eco-tourism push, and is home to the
Gaya Island Resort (tel: +60 18 939
1100; www.gayaislandresort.com),
where luxury villas peek out between
lush jungle, and tropical fish swim in
abundance right off the hotel jetty.
Looking around, it’s easy to understand
the importance of preserving the area’s
natural beauty. It’s a green message
that’s further driven home the next
day by the resort’s resident naturalist
Justin Juhun.
“I was raised in the jungle,” says
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From top:
Experiencing
the romance
of 1900s
train travel;
onboard food
in tin cups
Amazing escapes
Clockwise from top: Sunset views from
Gaya Island; one of the restaurant
attendants; the island jetty; and one of
the more colorful residents
Justin, when I ask where his passion
for the wilderness comes from. “My
dad worked on a plantation some
60km outside of Tawau, a small town
on the south coast of Sabah,” he tells
me. “As a young boy I remember seeing
injured animals and wanting to help
them. Soon, people were bringing
me all sorts of creatures — hornbills,
monkeys, squirrels, wild pigs — and
our home became like my own
personal zoo!” We’re walking along a
narrow track through deep bush in the
hills above the Gaya Island Resort, part
of a series of tracks that Justin himself
created. “I spent two weeks up here by
myself looking for the best routes. I’d
hack through the jungle during the day,
and camp at night.” What’s meant to be
a 45-minute walk becomes a two-hour
odyssey as Justin pauses to point out
wildlife we would have otherwise have
missed. “Thankfully no cobra or python
today,” he says.
Our guide’s knowledge and passion
are infectious, and soon we’re all
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pointing out wildlife, swapping
photography tips, and sweating in the
jungle’s sweltering heat. A few hours
later, after a refreshing swim, we
make our way along the beach, where
a young Australian couple strike up
a conversation with Justin . “I was
having a drink at the pool, when I saw
something in the water — a python!”
the tourist tells us.
They whip out photos of snake
five feet long, swimming in the water
we’d only just left. Just then, a wild
pig emerges from the bushes. Justin
seemes unfazed, and the rest of us
can only laugh at just how much
normal life in Kota Kinabalu seems
intertwined with the wilderness that
surrounds it. This Land Below the
Wind truly is a magical place.
Cebu Pacific flies to Kota
Kinabalu from Manila.
www.cebupacificair.com