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2010 Readers' Choice Awards
Which are your favorite hotels and resorts in the Asia-Pacific region? Where do you return time and again for superlative amenities, service, and location? And which are your top picks for airlines, airports, city destinations, spas, and island getaways?

Treasure Island
From its teeming reefs to its hospitable people and—yes—delicious cuisine, Bohol is one of the Philippines’ best-kept secrets.

Goa on a Plate
Among the world’s first fusion foodS, authentic Goan cuisine is getting harder to find these days.

Millennium City
Striding confidently into the 21st century, Hanoi remains a community anchored to its past, harboring a rich artisanal heritage and intellectual life.

Departments

The Guide

Next Stop
Checking In On Hua Hin
This royal getaway boasts the beaches, spas, and restaurants of other Thai resorts, but moves at a much gentler pace.

Flight Check
Singapore Airlines 215
Sampling SIA’s new A330 business-class service on a flight to Western Australia.

Room Report
Holiday Inn Male
Resort-bound travelers can finally look forward to a comfortable layover in the Maldivian capital.

Room Check

A New Niche
The debut in southern Thailand of its first Reserve property marks a bold reinvention of the Ritz-Carlton brand.

Calendar

Feb. 6–14
Mumbai may entice with its big-screen song-and-dance routines, but away from Bollywood, the city spotlights its talents at the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival (kalaghodaassociation.com; Feb. 6–14). For nine days, the Khala Goda precinct is turned into an open-air theater, with everything from music and parades to heritage walks and cultural lectures.

Feb. 14
Guangzhou will be on the radar in 2010, not only for the fact that it will play host to the Asian Games from November 12 to 27, but also for its Lunar New Year (gz2010.cn; Feb. 14) celebrations. Slated to go off with a bang on the city’s Pearl River, the festivities will go down in history as the largest fireworks display ever to be held in southern China.

Feb. 19–24
Spears will fly at Pasola (sumbaisland.com; Feb. 19–24), held on the Indonesian isle of Sumba to spotlight the region’s ancient war rituals. Local horsemen reenact battle scenes in traditional regalia, and a long game of bait and feint ensues. While proceedings can get heated, all is forgotten in the feasts that follow the battle.

Feb. 26–27
If seeing performances from the likes of American artists Eric Bibb or the Rich Harper Blues Band strikes a chord, then you won’t want to miss the Phuket International Blues Rock Festival (phuketbluesfestival.com; Feb. 26–27). A globetrotting group of musicians, including a strong local contingent, will ensure that you keep grooving into the early hours of the morning.

Feb. 27–28
The South Korean island of Jeju is cast aglow at Daeboreum (english.visitkorea.or.kr; Feb. 27–28), a festival to celebrate the lunar new year. The event begins with a torch relay, which moves across the length of the island, and ends with a huge field being set ablaze, all in the name of warding off evil spirits.

March 1–14
Make a splash at Tokyo’s water-drawing festival, Omizutori (jnto.go.jp; March 1–14), an event dating back 1,000 years. The spectacle unfolds at Todai-ji Temple, and sees monks draw “healing” waters from an ancient well before repenting their sins by parading through the streets with pine torches.

March 13
Auckland celebrates its Polynesian community in March with live music and various cultural workshops at the Pasifika Polynesian Festival (aucklandcity.govt.nz; March 13). Foodies will want to make a beeline for the 350 stalls showcasing the best of South Pacific cuisine.

P.S
Hong Kong Arts Festival, Feb. 25–March 28; Jakarta International Java Jazz Festival, March 5–8; Melbourne Food & Wine Festival, March 12–23

Letters from Readers

Publisher's note

Gypsy Tales

Bush Luxe
Six years and US$116 million in the making, Wolgan Valley Resort & Spa (61-2/6350-1800; emirateshotelsresorts.com; doubles from US$1,810, including meals), Emirates Hotels & Resorts’ first property outside Dubai, brings a slice of Emirati-style extravagance to the Australian bush.

Train Travel
Briding The Gap
Newly opened to rail traffic, the Mekong River’s Friendship Bridge will offer a luxurious link between Thailand and Laos with the launch of Voyage to Vientiane

Attraction
Tall Order
The last 12 months have not been the greatest for Dubai. Still, the emirate began 2010 on a high note with the opening of the Burj Khalifa (burjdubai.com).

Hot Spot
Fresh Aer
Designer furniture from Tokyo, Middle Eastern dips, champagne cocktails, global deejays … If you don’t look down from your perch at Aer (114 Dr. E. Moses Rd., Worli; 91-22/2481-8060; fourseasons.com), you’ll never guess that you’re in Mumbai.

Food
STREET SMARTS
The words “food court” don’t usually convey the most appetizing of images, but Kuala Lumpur’s new Hutong (LG/F, Lot 10, Bukit Bintang; lot10.com.my) has come up with a novel way to tempt your taste buds.

Sneak Peek
Universal Appeal
Wrestle villains, witness inter-galactic battles, and travel back in time at the Universal Studios Singapore (rwsentosa.com) theme park, set to open before April as part of the multibillion-dollar Resorts World Sentosa project.

Resort
Haute Hangzhou
Marco Polo is said to have called Hangzhou the “City of Heaven”; now with these two resorts on the outskirts of town, the onetime imperial capital is more paradisiacal than ever.

Music
Sounds Suite
It may have celebrated its 15th anniversary recently, but the Park Hyatt Tokyo is still as à la mode as ever.

Lodgings Update
Overlooking the Gulf of Thailand from its perch on the east coast of Koh Samui, the Langham Place, Samui at Lamai Beach (66-77/960-888; kohsamui.langhamplacehotels.com; doubles from US$242) comes with 77 villas and suites set in traditional Thai buildings with a modern twist, as pictured above.

Traveler's Check
Reaching speeds of more than 380 kph, the world’s fastest train, the Wuguang Passenger Railway, hit the tracks last month, linking the cities of Guangzhou and Wuhan in China. The distance of 1,068 kilometers is covered in less than three hours, rather than the usual nine.