FROM THE OUTSIDE, the Colombo house of Geoffrey Bawa, the late Sri Lankan architect and pioneer of tropical modernism, does not command much attention. Bleary-eyed from our long-haul flight, my friend Maia and I nearly walked past the white, cube-shaped building, which is partially obscured by trees. But we were soon warmly greeted by an attendant, who slid open a mahogany door to reveal a garage, complete with Bawa's 1934 Rolls-Royce. We slipped off our shoes and began speaking in hushed tones: even Bawa's garage called for a templelike reverence.
No. 11 (doubles from $143), named after its address on Bagatelle Road, is located in the genteel Kollupitiya district. It's open to the public for tours; a two-bedroom suite - Bawa's guest room is also available for overnight stays for design devotees like me. The room was still occupied when we arrived, so we padded down a white corridor, the eggshell paint reflecting sunlight and creating a mini hall of mirrors. At the end, a sitting room looked out to a small garden that lulled us with the sounds of rustling palms and trickling water.
Bawa, who died in 2003, believed in bringing the outdoors in, blurring the line between these two realms. In the more than 40 buildings he designed in Sri Lanka from 1948 until 1998, he made certain that they were built in harmony with the surrounding landscape. Bawa studied law and traveled the world before becoming the country's most celebrated architect. He married traditional Sri Lankan architecture with the more formal qualities of European Modernism to create a style that remains popular today. His sun-mottled courtyards, shaded verandas, and vaulted ceilings are perfectly suited to the country's tropical climate.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة September 2023 من Travel+Leisure US.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
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هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة September 2023 من Travel+Leisure US.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
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The Luxury of Silence - Grieving a dissolved marriage, Nora Walsh seeks peace and compassion at a meditation retreat in California.
My decade-long marriage to a man I deeply love had dissolved, and I had come to the Spirit Rock Meditation Center, in the secluded hills of Marin County, north of San Francisco, to steady myself. Led by the author and meditation teacher Oren Jay Sofer, the seven-day silent retreat focused on the four brahmavihāra, or Buddhist virtues: loving-kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity.
Family Values - Gay father and blogger Jonathan Bailey shares his proudest moments of traveling with his partner and daughters.
My partner and I grew up in families that didn't travel a lot, so we've always had a sense of wanderlust. Before we had kids, we traveled together, and it was life-changing-travel opened our minds to different ways of life.In 2000, Triton and I decided to have kids. At the time, my mom had terminal cancer, and we were all about connecting with family. We wanted to adopt, because we felt like there were so many children in the world who needed love and a good home. In 2002, my mom passed away, and Sophia was born two weeks later. We welcomed our second daughter, Ava, in 2004.
Back to Sri Lanka - The past few years have not been easy on this alluring South Asian island. But on a return visit, Prasad Ramamurthy finds a place-and a people-on the upswing.
I was at the end of a five-day journey that had begun in the UNESCO World Heritage site of Galle Fort, in southwestern Sri Lanka, and taken me across the southern tip of the island to the leopard reserve of Yala National Park. In between I had taken in the dramatic coastline of Weligama and had stopped for some beach time in Hiriketiya. Sri Lanka is a country I'm particularly fond of, so when I was asked to revisit to report this story, I seized the opportunity. Yes, I was dying to go back, but I'd had another motive for coming: I wanted to see if the island nation was ready to welcome international visitors again.
Experiences: Hands On - Single-malt whiskies and triple-cream cheeses are the stuff New York's Hudson Valley is made of.
The Hudson Valley has long drawn New York City dwellers in search of clean air, spectacular hikes, and upstate culture. Now a budding community of artisans-young farmers, bakers, vintners, distillers-is turning the region into a modern breadbasket.It is a tightly woven ecosystem that also extends to restaurants and hotels. At Tenmile Distillery, in the town of Wassaic, for example, the grain used to make whiskey comes from a farm in Tivoli, 30 miles away, while the gin and vodka it produces are served at stylish addresses like the Troutbeck (doubles from $580), a hotel in Amenia, and the restaurant Stissing House (entrées $22-$155), in Pine Plains.
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The most nautical Four Seasons has to be this scuba-centric ship, which sails a rarely visited corner of the Pacific.
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With deep pockets and mighty ambitions, Saudi Arabia is building a high-end resort area with serious green cred.