IT is peak frangipani season in Darwin, the huge waxy blooms gleaming white in the dusk, a scent of almonds in the warm air. We are strolling back to our ship through this modern city, capital of the Northern Territory at the top end of Australia, after a day of top moments.
That morning, we were privileged to catch an exhibition of powerful and moving work by Aboriginal and islander artists. These were the winners of this year's national art awards, each piece redolent of the stories, totems and dreamscapes of the artist's own country. And this evening, at a tiny, tuckedaway Sri Lankan restaurant called Ella by Minoli, I tasted one of the most sublime dishes in a dedicated epicurean life: cured snapper in a painterly pool of coconut cream and curry-leaf oil-together with the flakiest, most succulent and plump roti any of us had ever eaten.
We are now three days into our voyage; we have toured Lombok, fragrant with honey scents of mimosa and ripening mango, and visited the island home of the komodo dragon, largest and most venomous of lizards. Tomorrow's excitement is a trip down a crocodile-infested river. By now, however, I'm longing for what I've learnt is called a 'sea day' of sailing with no stops. I want to explore this ship thoroughly, because I've never been on a cruise before. I'm on my maiden voyage.
Veterans of life aboard are astonished: 'Oh you'll love it,' they say. When we meet again, they ask how I am liking it.
Let me count the ways: the Nordic-designed interior is civilised, elegant and thoughtfully curated; there is original art on the walls (you can do your own tour with headphones) and little niches of books—almost wherever you sit, there is something within reach to read. I worried I hadn't brought enough frocks, but it's not that sort of ship: no captain's table, no casino (the soft click of mahjong tiles is more the vibe), only a small nightspot for a late cocktail and a boogie.
Denne historien er fra September 04, 2024-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Denne historien er fra September 04, 2024-utgaven av Country Life UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Happiness in small things
Putting life into perspective and forces of nature in farming
Colour vision
In an eye-baffling arrangement of geometric shapes, a sinister-looking clown and a little girl, Test Card F is one of television’s most enduring images, says Rob Crossan
'Without fever there is no creation'
Three of the top 10 operas performed worldwide are by the emotionally volatile Italian composer Giacomo Puccini, who died a century ago. Henrietta Bredin explains how his colourful life influenced his melodramatic plot lines
The colour revolution
Toxic, dull or fast-fading pigments had long made it tricky for artists to paint verdant scenes, but the 19th century ushered in a viridescent explosion of waterlili
Bullace for you
The distinction between plums, damsons and bullaces is sweetly subtle, boiling down to flavour and aesthetics, but don’t eat the stones, warns John Wright
Lights, camera, action!
Three remarkable country houses, two of which have links to the film industry, the other the setting for a top-class croquet tournament, are anything but ordinary
I was on fire for you, where did you go?
In Iceland, a land with no monks or monkeys, our correspondent attempts to master the art of fishing light’ for Salmo salar, by stroking the creases and dimples of the Midfjardara river like the features of a loved one
Bravery bevond belief
A teenager on his gap year who saved a boy and his father from being savaged by a crocodile is one of a host of heroic acts celebrated in a book to mark the 250th anniversary of the Royal Humane Society, says its author Rupert Uloth
Let's get to the bottom of this
Discovering a well on your property can be viewed as a blessing or a curse, but all's well that ends well, says Deborah Nicholls-Lee, as she examines the benefits of a personal water supply
Sing on, sweet bird
An essential component of our emotional relationship with the landscape, the mellifluous song of a thrush shapes the very foundation of human happiness, notes Mark Cocker, as he takes a closer look at this diverse family of birds