SECRETS OF SPLIT | TORONTO’S LAND OF OZ | A TASTE OF NOOSA
april 2013 issue 141
The
Shanghai Story
THE PEARL OF THE ORIENT WILL TAKE
YOU FROM THE 14TH CENTURY TO
THE FUTURE IN ONE RIVER CROSSING
BUSINESS BREAKS
Put the holiday back
into travelling for work
BEAUTY ESSENTIALS
FOR THE TIMESTRETCHED TRAVELLER
ROMAN FEAST
The way to this city’s heart
is through its cuisine
BE YOUR OWN BOSS
Want to turn your big idea
into profit? Here’s how
SURF CITY
San Diego offers the
best of both worlds
{business breaks} TRAVEL
SOLOin the
CITY
?
All alone on a business trip in a foreign city? Extend your stay
with a weekend itinerary and explore more than just your hotel
room. Here are four places with plenty to offer the solo traveller.
WORDS BRIAN JOHNSTON
virginaustralia
APRIL 2013
| 087
{business breaks} TRAVEL
LOS ANGELES
Pink mansions, stylish boutiques, palm
trees, rollerblading blondes and strutting
superstars: thanks to the movies and TV, LA
really does blur fantasy with reality. And
where else to start the weekend but on
Hollywood Boulevard, where you can check
out the Walk of Fame stars and buy movie
memorabilia? The entrance to the old
Grauman’s Chinese Theatre — now TCL
Chinese Theatre (6925 Hollywood Blvd;
+1 323 465 4847; www.tclchinesetheatres.
com) — is home to the stars’ handprints.
Academy Awards venue the Dolby
Theatre (formerly the Kodak Theatre)
is part of the sprawling Hollywood &
Highland Center entertainment complex
(6801 Hollywood Blvd; +1 323 467 6412;
www.hollywoodandhighland.com), where
you’ll find souvenir stores, fashion
boutiques and a retro bowling alley. Have a
long lunch in old-Hollywood surrounds at
The Musso & Frank Grill (6667 Hollywood
Blvd; +1 323 467 7788; www.mussoandfrank.
com), where F Scott Fitzgerald hung out
and movie deals are sealed over meals.
Want to look around, keep fit and
socialise at the same time? Off ’N Running
Tours (1129 Cardiff Ave; +1 310 246 1418;
www.offnrunningtours.com) offers a fun
6.4-kilometre sightseeing jog from
Wilshire Boulevard to Rodeo Drive, taking
in the sights of Hollywood and Beverly
Hills, or a more challenging eight-kilometre
run up the hills past the famous Hollywood
Sign. Feeling lazy? Relax poolside instead
at The Beverly Hills Hotel (9641 Sunset
Blvd; www.beverlyhillshotel.com), where
Marilyn Monroe and Faye Dunaway swam,
and movie stars still congregate. The rent
on the poolside cabanas isn’t cheap, but
attendants offer chilled towels and happily
polish your sunglasses, which will make
you feel even more like a movie star.
Late afternoon, head down to Sunset
Boulevard for gigantic music stores, strip
malls and a quick bite. Hang out at the
legendary Comedy Store (8433 Sunset
Blvd; +1 323 650 6268; www.thecomedy
store.com), where Sunday and Monday is
amateur night if you feel like a new career.
Then check out The Viper Room (8852
West Sunset Blvd; +1 310 358 1881; www.
viperroom.com), where rock stars often
drop in for a late-night performance.
Next morning, join savvy locals looking
for bargains in Chinatown and the Fashion
088
| virginaustralia
District. North Broadway is particularly
jammed with rows of little shops, while
intriguing local artists’ galleries abound
on Chung King Road. Get a glimpse of
Latin America at Grand Central Market
(317 South Broadway; +1 213 624 2378;
www.grandcentralsquare.com) and grab
lunch at one of its Mexican stalls. Olvera
Street also offers plenty of goods from
south of the border — it’s a great place to
hang out on the weekend, when mariachi
bands provide a festive atmosphere.
boasting fine local dishes such as Welsh leg
of lamb, smoked eel and lemon tart.
London has some of the best museums
on the planet, and you’ll have to choose
between them for the afternoon: cultural
treasures at the British Museum (Great
Russell St; +44 20 7323 8299; www.
britishmuseum.org), canvases at the
National Gallery (Trafalgar Square; +44
20 7747 2885; www.nationalgallery.org.
uk), or mystifying contemporary art at the
controversial Tate Modern (Bankside;
LA blurs fantasy with reality, and where better to
start your weekend but on Hollywood Boulevard?
”“
The beach suburb of Santa Monica makes
for a perfect place to spend a sunny
afternoon. Its much-filmed pier includes a
Ferris wheel, aquarium and roller coaster,
while Main Street has offbeat boutiques
and more general shopping fare. On nearby
Montana Avenue, home decor, designer
fashion and shabby-chic vintage clothing
take over. Make a special journey to quirky
Puzzle Zoo (1411 3rd St Promenade; +1 310
393 9201; www.puzzlezoo.com) for toys,
gifts and brain teasers galore.
If you’d rather focus on food, A Taste
of Santa Monica (tasteofsantamonica.
tunestub.com) offers three-hour culinary
tours, a great way to sample a variety of
local fare in a chatty group. You’ll learn
about the history of Santa Monica, and
enjoy the food and wine of well-known
local outlets, from French pastries to
Italian cheese and artisanal chocolates.
Otherwise, try Border Grill (1445 4th St; +1
310 451 1655; www.bordergrill.com), where
the crowd is loud and friendly, and the bar
has a happy hour you can enjoy with tasty
tacos and other excellent Mexican food.
LONDON
Portobello Road (www.portobelloroad.
co.uk) hosts London’s best street market,
and is in full swing on Saturdays in Notting
Hill. Apart from antiques and country
furniture, you can rummage among
armour, maps, brassware and more. For
lunch, head to nearby gastropub The Cow
(89 Westbourne Park Rd; +44 20 7221 0021;
www.thecowlondon.co.uk), specialising in
Guinness, oysters and Cuban cigars, and
(clockwise from left) The
Beverly Hills Hotel’s famous
pool in Los Angeles; London’s
Portobello Road antique and curio
market; Brick Lane street art in
East London; cooking classes
at the city’s La Cucina Caldesi
restaurant; LA’s feted Border
Grill; the iconic Hollywood Sign.
+44 20 7887 8888; www.tate.org.uk). If
you’re a return visitor, Alternative London
(1–3 Rivington St; www.alternativeldn.co.
uk) shows you the city beyond the
guidebooks, with a sociable walking tour
of the East End’s street-art scene. It
provides insights into the area’s history
and culture while touring the graffiti and
other works of some 40 artists.
A Saturday evening outing to a big West
End musical or theatre production is a
London highlight. Book online, or queue
on Friday afternoon at Leicester Square’s
ticket offices. If you want company, the
London Cultureseekers Group (www.
cultureseekers.org) organises excursions
to theatres, concerts, historic homes and
museums. The online social group is
normally for members, but you can attend
two functions before signing up; frequent
get-togethers cover a huge range of cultural
interests. After that, only your stamina is
the limit: blues bars, jazz lounges, ultracool nightclubs and dance parties await.
Need to impress? Swanky champagne bar
Vertigo 42 (Tower 42, 25 Old Broad St; +44
20 7877 7842; www.vertigo42.co.uk) is the
haunt of London financial types. It oozes
chic and has simply staggering views.
It’s hard to resist a day’s sightseeing
around London’s iconic sights. Beat the
queues by starting early the next day at the
Tower of London (+44 84 4482 7777; www.
hrp.org.uk/TowerOfLondon), where the
guides delight in tales of decapitations and
the ghosts of unhappy queens, and you can
check out the gaudy Crown Jewels. Then
head along the Thames towards Big Ben, ▶
APRIL 2013
| 089
{business breaks} TRAVEL
AUCKLAND
Aim to spend your weekend outdoors:
Auckland’s magnificent harbour setting
and ancient black-sand volcanic islands
are exceptional, and there are 20-odd golf
courses and more than 100 vineyards on
the urban doorstep. Take the 35-minute
morning ferry ride to Waiheke Island’s
cafes, craft stores and vine-clad hills. The
Bordeaux-like terroir produces fine red
wines, giving you a good excuse to drop in
at cellar doors before rolling back to the
city. Tour on the public bus (www.fullers.
co.nz) that circles the island three times
a day — a convivial way to fall in with
090
| virginaustralia
(clockwise from above) Singapore’s
Soul bar; the Chinatown Heritage Centre;
catch a sugar glider on Night Safari;
explore city on foot with Original Singapore
Walks; set sail on Auckland Harbour.
+64 9 358 0868) awaits. It’s surreal, utterly
cool, and might even get you dancing.
other travellers. Mudbrick Vineyard &
Restaurant (Church Bay Rd, Oneroa;
+64 9 372 9050; www.mudbrick.co.nz)
effortlessly brings together vine and views
if you’re after a steak or lamb lunch.
On a sunny afternoon, soak up Auckland’s
watery beauty along Tamaki Drive, which
leads around the eastern bays to Saint
Heliers. You can walk, jog or take to the
water with Fergs Kayaks (12 Tamaki
Dr, Okahu Bay; +64 9 529 2230; www.
fergskayaks.co.nz). Mission Bay provides
restorative cafes, while Bastion Point offers
splendid views of whale-haunted waters.
If you haven’t been to Auckland before,
explore the city’s heritage, history or arts
scene with Auckland Walks (www.
aucklandwalks.co.nz). The City Heritage
Walk takes you through both European
and Maori history along the waterfront,
while Art of the City calls in at art galleries
and dealers. Several local meet-up groups
(www.auckland.meetup.com) also organise
walking, photography and other socialising
events — many are open to non-members,
with meeting locations posted online.
In the evening, head to Viaduct Basin
for a beer or white wine as the sun sets.
The after-work crowd gathers here on
weekdays, especially gravitating to the
corporate chic of Soul (Viaduct Harbour;
+64 9 356 7249; www.soulbar.co.nz) and
friendly Italian restaurant Portofino (13A
Customs St West; +64 9 356 7090; www.
portofino.co.nz). Need live music? Danny
Doolans (204 Quay St; +64 9 358 2554;
www.dannydoolans.co.nz) won’t get going
Explore Chinatown, the most traditional
part of the city, where Singapore’s sedate
image frays at the edges. The Chinatown
Heritage Centre (48 Pagoda St; +65 6221
9556; www.chinatownheritagecentre.sg)
traces the city’s early history. Amble down
China Street for souvenir shopping,
followed by two temple visits: incensesmoky Thian Hock Keng and the ornate,
multi-hued Sri Mariamman.
Smith Street (nicknamed Food Street) is
the place for lunch. The choice is vast and
informal: Malay curries, chilli crab, spicy
bowls of laksa or Hokkien noodles. If you
prefer interaction, consider Cookery
Magic (117 Fidelio St; +65 6348 9667; www.
cookerymagic.com), where you can learn
to cook Malay, Indian or Chinese food. It
could turn you into an expert on curries,
laksa, sambal or stir-fried vegies. You also
have the option to visit a local wet market
for ingredients prior to cooking.
In the afternoon, the Asian Civilisations
Museum (1 Empress Place; +65 6332 7798;
www.acm.org.sg) showcases fine arts,
furniture and porcelain — and it has an
excellent gift shop. The museum sits in the
colonial heart of Singapore, an area well
worth a walkabout afterwards. For an
informal dinner, stroll to Clarke Quay — its
hawker centre is air-conditioned, but carry
your meal out to a table along the riverbank
and admire the view and the never-ending
parade of passing people as you tuck into
barbecue satay sticks.
Tired of wildlife docos in hotel rooms?
The evening Night Safari (80 Mandai Lake
SINGAPORE
until late, but the in-house band keeps the
atmosphere alive until the wee hours.
Auckland tops the world in per-capita
boat ownership, so enjoy it like a local the
following morning. Few amateurs can ever
hope to sail a magnificent America’s Cupstandard yacht, but Sail NZ (+64 9 359 5987;
www.sailnz.co.nz) is the real deal. Be
shown the ropes (literally) and have a race
briefing, then crew one of two competing
yachts in a frenzy of race action as the
spray hisses, sails crack and the wind
whips across the gulf. If this doesn’t destress you from work, nothing will.
The ferry ride to charming Devonport
is another classic weekend excursion.
While others enjoy Devonport’s chintzy
shops and galleries, go on a two-hour
cycling tour instead and enjoy good
Photography: Alamy, Getty
the Houses of Parliament and Westminster
Abbey, which contains monuments to
monarchs and other notable Britons.
From here, it’s a long walk past
Buckingham Palace and across Green Park
to The Wolseley (160 Piccadilly; +44 20
7499 6996; www.thewolseley.com) for a late
Sunday lunch of roast beef and Yorkshire
pudding in a grandly ornate cafe haunted
on weekdays by business executives and
media types. You could squeeze in some
shopping afterwards in elegant Burlington
Arcade off Piccadilly, or along Regent
Street and Old Bond Street. But if you have
a special interest — whether it’s Victorian
London, indie music or classic films
— London’s meet-up groups (www.london.
meetup.com) could help you round off the
day. The online forum links visitors and
residents who share particular interests,
and organises regular outings and events.
You could also do your own tour with
the eccentric Hidden London app (www.
hidden-london.com).
Nobody wants to dine with just their
iPhone for company. La Cucina Caldesi (4
Cross Keys Close; +44 20 7487 0750; www.
caldesi.com), run by BBC television chef
Giancarlo Caldesi and his English wife
Kate, hosts pizza, pasta, risotto and other
cooking classes, including “Quick Italian
Suppers” on Sunday evenings, where the
wine flows and the atmosphere is convivial.
For something completely different,
the world-renowned Natural History
Museum (Cromwell Rd; +44 20 7942 5011;
www.nhm.ac.uk) has after-hours programs,
including murder mysteries, dining with
dinosaurs and night safaris.
company with Cycle Auckland (+64 9 445
1189; www.cycleauckland.co.nz). You will
pass period architecture, museums and
reserves along the way, and enjoy the city
view from Mount Victoria, reckoned to be
the best viewpoint in Auckland.
Hit inner-city Ponsonby Road’s cafe strip
on your second evening. SPQR (150
Ponsonby Rd; +64 9 360 1710; www.spqrnz.
co.nz) is a favourite local people-watching
perch for tucking into pizza. If you have to
impress with a business dinner, mingle
instead with corporate leaders at The
French Café (210 Symonds St, +64 9 377
1911; www.thefrenchcafe.co.nz), where the
polished European nosh includes roasted
quail and seared duck breast. If you want to
linger late, the 1930s-themed Chinese
restaurant Shanghai Lil’s (311 Parnell Rd;
Rd; +65 6269 3411; www.nightsafari.com.
sg) is a nocturnal zoo with real leopards,
fishing cats and other night-time animals
seldom seen elsewhere. After the zoo, go
wild at Clarke Quay’s bars and clubs, or
head upriver to Zouk (17 Jiak Kim St;
+65 6738 2988; www.zoukclub.com). The
legendary nightclub has an outdoor wine
bar and also incorporates the intimate and
soulful Velvet Underground venue.
Next day, start in Little India, a terrific
ethnic neighbourhood full of colour and
bustle. If you want company, The Original
Singapore Walks (+65 6325 1631; www.
journeys.com.sg) does a great Little India
tour, taking in sari shops, wet markets and
colourful temples (other walks focus on
Chinatown, Changi Museum or colonialera Singapore). Then get your shopping fix
at nearby mall-lined Orchard Road before
indulging in the famous Sunday brunch at
Mezza9 in the Grand Hyatt (10 Scotts Rd;
+65 6732 1234; www.singapore.grand.hyatt.
com), with its Thai, Japanese and western
choices, and free-flowing champagne.
Looking for an afternoon of relaxation?
Take the cable car to Sentosa and head to
one of the world’s best spas, the luxurious
Spa Botanica Sentosa (2 Bukit Manis Rd;
+65 6371 1288; www.spabotanica.sg) for
a tropical treatment, or simply chill out at
the new Tanjong Beach Club (120 Tanjong
Beach Walk; +65 6270 1355; www.tanjong
beachclub.com) and enjoy cocktails on the
sand. You can also get into the swing on
Sentosa Golf Club’s (27 Bukit Manis Rd;
+65 6275 0090; www.sentosagolf.com) two
world-class par-72 courses.
Back in the city, the Esplanade Theatres
on the Bay (1 Esplanade Dr; +65 6828 8377;
www.esplanade.com) is home to everything
from symphony orchestras to dance
ensembles. You can also just linger outside,
where the free street acts are terrific against
a backdrop of skyscrapers. Walk along the
shoreline to the Singapore Flyer (30 Raffles
Ave; +65 6333 3311; www.singaporeflyer.
com), which at 165 metres is the world’s
largest observation wheel, and the views
are especially stunning at night.
GETTING THERE To book your
Virgin Australia flight to any of these
destinations, visit www.virginaustralia.
com or simply call 13 67 89 (in Australia).
APRIL 2013
| 091