Winter destinations I 67
Clockwise from far left: Nozawa Onsen; Yongpyong Ski Resort; Shymbulak in Kazakhstan; and helicopter skiing in Kamchatka
WINTER HOTSPOTS If plunging temperatures leave you, well, cold, then take your winter break closer to the equator in a couple of less-visited places where the season’s main shift is to bring drier weather. Cambodia: Most people’s first trip to the country revolves around Angkor and a visit to Phnom Penh’s Pol
Pot-era memorials. But rather than focus on what lies behind us, why not look forward, putting your money into projects helping today’s young build a brighter future?
One example is the Song Saa Foundation, supported by the south coast private island resort of the same name that aims to preserve the coastal environment while also supporting education and livelihoods in local villages (
songsaa.com). Inland, Betreed in Kampong Thom is a rustic jungle getaway where you spend your days in the company of sharp-eyed local guides, learning about the forest, the animals that call it home and the Angkor-era ruins that it conceals (
betreed.com). Myanmar: It may seem like everyone you know in Asia has already been, but the possibilities here are just beginning to be tapped. Bagan, Popa and Inle Lake are inevitable highlights for most first-timers, but what about chaining them together by bike with an operator such as Grasshopper (
grasshopperadventures.com) or Spice Roads (
spiceroads.com)? In a country where oxen are more common than private cars outside the biggest cities, pedal power is ideal for moving at the pace of locals. Say hi to farmers and teachers on the way to work, expect to wave more in a day than you do in a year back home, and just try to keep from grinning when an entire school playground runs over to high-five you as you pass by.
huge wealth available to the privileged in this country. Whether in the lift-line or ordering vodkas at the bar, you’ll be brushing shoulders with the scions of oligarchs, usually immaculately suited and booted in the latest ski fashion. Out on the slopes, there are only three lifts but together they take you all the way up to 3,200 metres, higher than almost any other lift-accessed point on the continent. From here the view is as sublime as it is surreal. The serrated peaks of the Tien Shan guard the horizon, immutable and unfazed. Below you lies a kilometre of vertical, typically loaded with a more- than-adequate metre or two of snow. It’s possible that this place may follow South Korea in hosting the Winter Olympics, so what you see is just the beginning: Shymbulak is certain to have plenty more money lavished on it.
shymbulak.com/en
businesstraveller.com
KAMCHATKA – Call of the wild It’s not what most people consider when they think “Asia”, but this vast Russian peninsula offers very exotic thrills indeed. The preferred route to the snows here is from the air, dropping down onto enormous peaks – some still-active volcanoes – from a helicopter. While winter can be bitter with temperatures often dropping below -20˚C, if you have the warm gear, the skills and the bank balance, you can sample some of the most off-the-wall off-piste anywhere. Want to ski inside a volcanic crater? No problem. From a peak all the way to the Pacific? Why not? Expect long, swooping lines where the only other
tracks for miles will be those carved by the others from your chopper. Once you bottom out, it’s back aboard for a lift up another peak, with as much as 10,000 metres of vertical possible in a single day.
skiinginkamchatka.com n
NOVEMBER 2016
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