written by the talented David Farley.

The May-June 2012 cover of Afar magazine photographed by Andrew Rowat in Hoi An, Vietnam.

You can check out the whole story here as a PDF: rowat_afar_may2012_vietnam_cau-lau

If you can’t make it to the newstand check out the PDF of the story here: Bon Appetit – May 2012 – Mission Sichuan

And I was blown away.

The folks behind the concept and execution of the resort have created something pretty unique in China – certainly unlike any other properties that I have visited in the country. Some of the Banyan Tree properties in Yun’nan province have a similar feel to them, but this is on a much larger scale, and so close to Shanghai to boot.

The ‘Naked’ bit is to underscore the natural element of the place and ‘Stables’ to let you know that before long there will be horses there that you can take for trail rides through the bamboo forests. There were no horses when I was there but I expect that they can’t be long in arriving. Plus if you go in April you can watch the tea being harvested on the gorgeous manicured hills that surround the resort.

Moganshan has always been a country retreat from Shanghai – in the late 1800s and early 1900s the glitterati of Shanghai would retreat to the air-conditioned shade of the Moganshan bamboo forests. And today is no different.

In any case you can check out the piece in this month’s (Feb 2012) issue of Conde Nast Traveler USA: http://www.cntraveler.com/daily-traveler/2012/01/eco-resorts-in-moganshan-china-lodge-retreat#slide=1
You can also check out some the same photos below in the gallery. Enjoy!

Oman did not disappoint.

I knew about the desert of course, but was not prepared for how verdant the South of the country was – in particular Salalah and its surrounding areas. In the North near Muscat you could head out into the Arabian Sea and find yourself surrounded by hundreds of dolphins. Or get up early to visit the fish market where tuna, swordfish, and all manner of creatures were being pulled out of the ocean.

But the physical beauty of the country is complimented by the incredible warmth of the people themselves. In many ways the country is the anti-Dubai of the region in how it is charting its development course. Slow and steady seems to be the mantra. And that more measured, less frenetic, push forward seems to mean that the whole community is benefiting from the progress – not just a privileged few.

As for tourists – where were they? Certainly not anywhere that I could see. Occasionally you would run into a couple tourists here and there in the souks, but by and large the country is empty of tourists. So that means for the traveller who decides to go now they will have the country all to themselves. I suspect that this will change in the near future.

In any case, enjoy the  photos and make sure to book your next trip to Oman. In the meantime, you can take a look at how the story ran here: Oman Travel PDF – Gourmet Traveller Australia – Andrew Rowat

Four Seasons at Vail? Check. Ritz Carlton at Bachelor Gulch? Check. Skiing with Wolfgang Puck down the slopes at the Ritz? Check. The Viceroy at Snowmass? Check. Hanging out with amazing horse wranglers at the C Lazy U Ranch in Granby? Check.

And to make everything that much more amazing – this was an epic snow season for all of Colorado and Utah. So much powder that you needed a snorkel to get down the slopes. And there are worse ways to start your day than dropping in at Aspen’s Highland Bowl with fresh tracks and then darting into the trees. Simply amazing.

On the final Sunday when we were at Aspen we stumbled into a slope-side party that was closing down one of the outlets for the season – and it was like stepping onto the set of Hot Tub Time Machine if you had drawn your cast from St Tropez. Snowball fights going on inside (it was a blizzard outside), a DJ spinning tracks, champagne freely flowing, dancing on the tables…nothing to do but join in (ok, we were actually a bit bewildered at first and stood around dumbly before grabbing our cameras)

The issue is on stands now (Nov 2011) so go grab a copy and take a look – or check out the PDF here: Colorado Ski Story – Conde Nast Traveller UK – Nov 2011 – Andrew Rowat

To access the camp we needed to ride reindeer for three days from the nearest village and sleep outside – without tents mind you – in temperatures that plummeted below -50C. One morning I awoke to find my water bottle frozen solid against my body inside the sleeping bag.

Homer and his team were game for any and all ideas that I had, so it made my job easy. The only tricky part was all the reflections in the window because we had very little space to work with and the walls were shiny metal – so if you look carefully you can see the my Pocket Wizard hanging off the light on the left of the opening shot.