Copyright: Aske Munck

Her back is straight in the big dress, which almost covers the pavement in front of the old colonial building. Her black hair is pulled tightly back and arranged in a sculptural pony tail, and around the big, dark eyes is black kohl liner. She smiles happily in her wedding dress, while her groom peers into the photographer's lens and, turning to her, smiles equally happily.

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When one crosses the Pearl River in the centre of Guangzhou and reach the small island Shamian Dao the first thing that meets the eye is the many shops offering wedding pictures.

Quite unsurprisingly, because Shamian Dao is different from the rest of Guangzhou. This was the place of the French and the English colonialists in the 18th century, and their influence is still apparent. The colonial architecture is well kept, the streets lined with trees and there's almost no traffic around the shaded parks, where people play badminton, mah-jong or sit and talk on the benches in the shade.

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Because of its obvious charm the island has become the most sought after haunt for newly weeds eager to have a picture perfect setting for their wedding photos, and it's almost impossible to go for a stroll without seeing numerous couples of newlyweds, all having their special day immortalised by professional photographers, who give them minute instructions and almost have them enact little one-frame dramas.

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A stunning woman in her 50'ies dressed in a huge white dress poses next to her husband, who's wearing a crisp white suit. A few steps away a young couple is told to sit down on the ground and pretend to play with the falling leaves. And further down the road a young woman is smiling in a traditional Chinese dress and her groom with bleached hair and beard is posing proudly by her side, as if they were the last heirs of a long gone dynasty.

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The most stunning, tall bride forget all about her instructions and the professional team of make up artists and photographers surrounding her and her husband and instinctively gives us the obligatory Asian V-sign as we pass by and take a photo.

Even though the Guangzhou urban planners did their best to ruin the small islet's peaceful air  by surrounding it with motorway flyovers, it's still a romantic walk in a historic place, and if the hunger strikes, there are lots of restaurants and cafés in Shamian that offer food under Chinese lanterns, many of them with a Pearl River view.

Go further: In the mood for more romance? Then read about where William Thirteen took actress Tilda Swinton on a magical date in Berlin. 

Pahar Ganj Photo: 4ocima

New Delhi has so many different faces that two travellers would easily be able to have completely opposite experiences of the huge Indian capital. If you head for Pahar Ganj, the somewhat seedy neighbourhood behind the central train station, you will see the hectic metropolis, teeming with loudmouthed touts, squeaky cycle rickshaws, hoards of international backpackers, beggars and street children all accompanied by the incessant cacophony of honking cars and ear piercingly high pitched Bollywood evergreens.

Move on down to the safer and less dubious area around Delhi's central roundabout Connaught Place, and you will find upscale restaurants and shops that attract a constant flow of local shoppers and travellers alike.

However, after several weeks in India, we're in desperate need of a quiet and placid retreat, far away from Delhi's high paced pulse and noise, without succumbing to the anonymous rack luxury provided by many exuberant hotel chains.

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We hail a rickshaw that whisks us southwards to Sunder Nagar, a small enclosed residential area, where 42 year old Amit Khanna runs a guesthouse that has been in his family since the 50ies. Mr. Khanna, who is happily married and has two twin 9 year-old daughters, is a pleasant, humorous, and polite host who speaks fluent English after several years working in New York, New Hampshire and Toronto. He inherited the guesthouse from his grandfather, and the very centrally situated place consist of five cozy rooms with an attached garden, all fairly well hidden (not signposted) behind a small plush driveway where he keeps his vintage-Vespa.

He greets us in the large and sumptuous sitting area, tastefully adorned with huge leather sofas sculptures and a couple of laptops at the guests' disposal. A small flight of stairs leads to a small but well appointed library, and in the room next door there's a large kitchen where the guests from the five rooms can enjoy a breakfast of scrambled eggs, toast, espresso and freshly squeezed orange juice.

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The small apartment, we've chosen comes fully equipped with kitchen, work space, a nice bathroom, TV, a small balcony (and even a microwave oven and a washing machine). The bed is delightfully big, with crisp white sheets and a mattress long enough to fit even tall Europeans.

Sitting with us in the living room is an Indian-born painter from Chicago, along with a French shopkeeper from Paris, and in the garden a couple of Spanish designers are enjoying the first rays from the harsh morning sun. We discuss everything from international politics to Danny Boyle's hugely hyped adaptation of Vikas Swarup's novel 'Slumdog Millionaire' over the coffee table newspapers and the orchid arrangement, and everything feels very homey indeed.

Homestays and guesthouses are available widely throughout India, but rarely have we experienced so welcoming and utterly pleasant and relaxing an atmosphere.

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Amit Khanna and his family don't live in the building themselves, although there's always somebody from the small staff around, so you don't feel that you're imposing on them.

On top of a very nice and quiet place to sleep Amit provides top notch advice on where to shop and eat, and one night he even surprises us by taking us to his own gentleman's club in Friends Colony, a quarter of an hour away. The club is situated in a large mansion like villa, where the members come to catch up on news, meet friends or rewind after a hard days work by playing a game of tennis, squash or taking a few laps in the huge outdoor swimming pool, surrounded by lavish flower arrangements. The club's restaurant whips up mouthwatering Indian dishes like sesame chicken, stuffed potatos and naan bread and mutton kebab, while men in suits sip single malt and giggle cheerfully and sari clad women are engulfed in a lively discussion. Such experiences we would never had had if we had chosen to stay in a regular hotel.
 
AMIT KHANNA'S GUESTHOUSE, 10 Sunder Nagar, New Delhi 110003. Reservations: Tel.: +91 (0) 112435741. email: globalvision1@vsnl.net

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Find more places to stay in New Dehli

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"Lodi Garden is my favourite place in all of Delhi", the little girl in jeans cries happily, before she runs down to the pond to feed the quacking ducks.

The girl and her parents are not the only ones who find this place worth visiting. This Sunday the huge park is full of families picnicking on their multicoloured blankets that look like giant pieces of puzzle on the green grass.

A picnic is definitely not something to be taken lightly in a food-lover's country like India, and the impressively elaborate food-baskets are filled to the brim with everything from roast chicken, koftas and vegetables to gulab jamons (Indian doughnuts) and loads of chapatti-bread everything of course accompanied with loads of hot masala chai. People are talking, laughing and relaxing in the mild winter sun.

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Lodi Garden is situated on the main Lodi Road a crowded traffic spot fifteen minutes from Connaught Place, the thumping heart of Delhi.

The park is a pleasant mixture of beautiful large trees, clutches of huge bamboos, artificial streams, and old monuments that rise proudly above fountains and small ponds.

In the middle of the park lies Bara Gumbad, a beautiful mosque that was built in 1494 during the reign of Sikandar Lodi, surrounded by tombs. However, the atmosphere is all but gloomy or graveyard-like, and women in colourful saris sit on the temple roof tops and chat, while their children eat hot chestnuts or run after the salesmen who pass them blue, green, yellow, purple and red air-balloons in exchange for their small creased rupie notes.

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We stroll slowly past a birthday party where a large group of small children are engulfed in a break neck sack race. And a bit further down the lawn a father is trying to teach his son how to hit a cricket ball, but his tiny arms can hardly lift the bat, and he misses the bowler's every pitch.

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We sit down in the grass and watch a small group of squirrels that scurry about in a big tree, peering with great anticipation at a young couple who seem more interested in each others' eyes than in their sumptuous picnic basket.

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Something grumbles, but it is not a storm brewing, but our stomachs that remind us that we too should start to think about lunch. We head for Lodi restaurant, which lies at gate nr. 1. hidden behind a big and well trimmed hedge. European and American expats hiding Saturday's hangovers behind big sunglasses and well to do-locals sit at stylish wooden tables or lounge idly in lavish white bed like booths in the restaurant garden.

Tastefully arranged between two lounge-areas and decorated with flowers sits an impressive brunch buffet with everything from fresh fruit and juices to continental dishes and more traditional Indian cuisine not to forget huge platters of cheese and an even bigger mountain of diet defying cakes.

Go further: Read about Marusha's secret garden in Moscow

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"Ah, your timing is impeccable. We're just about to have a small tea tasting", says Mr. Mittal, the owner of Mittal Stores, as he greets us in his small tea shop, hidden behind wooden boxes and crates in the middle of the bustling Sunder Nagar Market in New Delhi.

Outside people are chatting and browsing through antiques, snacking on tasty fastfood or even getting a haircut. But inside Mittal's shop you enter a realm of calm, tranquility and tea, of course.

The soft spoken shopkeeper corrects his spectacles, and shuffles around the wooden desk. Behind him the shelves are packed with neat stacks of Indian teas, porcelain pots and all sorts of teamaking paraphernalia.

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A couple of Japanese businessmen regulars, it would appear fill their shopping bags with their favourite flavours. And Mittal does have a wide although personally picked selection: from masala and Assam tea, to green tea and even some mango and Japanese teas.

"Let me serve you a nice white tea with a deep character", Mr. Mittal says, reaching for at large glass jar. "It's from Darjeeling. They make such wonderful teas up there", he mutters as he prepares the tea in a couple of shiny white handleless cups.

Copyright: Aske Munck

"Not many people know this by the way, but the white tea actually has three times more anti-oxidants than green tea". Very healthy for your digestion, he emphasizes with a serious air.

Mr. Mittal took over the shop from his father, and ever since he was a child he has been interested in tea and teamaking, and he has plowed through numerous tomes of erudite tea-theory and tasted teas from everywhere across the globe. But even though it's probably never wise for an expert to reveal his personal penchant he quickly admits to a soft spot for the Himalayan teas.

"It's a combination of a unique climate, the fresh mountain air and their unsurpassable teamaking skills, acquired through generations. You simply don't find teas as rich and full in body as the Darjeelings", he insists.

Behind the softspoken voice hangs a small framed picture. It's a greeting card from the US president's airplane Air Force One, and is living proof that his customers truly come from all over the world.

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Whilst we sip our delicious white tea he lets us in on some of his infinite knowledge from the leafy realm of teamaking. How Indians used old medicinal plants that they knew before, and how the ancient Chinese in all probability used tea both as a means to give taste to stale water and to make sure the servants boiled the water thoroughly to avoid disease, as the water would only acquire the right colour if it was steaming hot when poured over the leaves.

We listen and sip our tea and completely forget the time, while he pours both tea as well as anecdotes from a seemingly bottomless well of knowledge.
 
MITTAL STORES, 12 Sunder Nagar Market, 110003 New Delhi.

Copyright: Aske Munck

Imagine yourself in the middle of Tokyo sitting stark naked in front of a panorama window.

Certainly not conducive to relaxation for most people. But add 37 storeys, a sauna and a stunning view over the city with Mount Fuji in the background and there you go: you instantly let yourself go, and the tensions evaporate like droplets of water in the overheated eucalyptus steam room on the 37th floor of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Tokyo – without a doubt the city’s top five star luxury temple, occupying the nine uppermost storeys of starchitect Cesar Pelli’s imposing but lonely Mutsui Tower skyscraper in Nihonbashi, Tokyo’s business district.

So here I am, sweating away in the sauna, whilst enjoying the sparkling display of lights from the ever churning metropolis below that seems light years away from up here.

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Apart from me, there’s almost nobody here. Only a Japanese businessman, idling in one of the huge Jacuzzis facing up to a gigantic window, giving the impression that you’re floating in a stream of water splashing unto the street a couple of hundred metres below.

Well, actually there could probably be loads of people around, as the über classy five star spa takes up an entire floor with several private spa suites and hot tubs, individual massage rooms, saunas, steam rooms and jacuzzis (non guests can also access the spa).

Photo: The Other View

After an hour long ‘heat and water therapy’ that has transformed me from sooty to soothed, I return to the room – well, 60 square metre apartment to be precise – to change for supper.

Mount Fuji stays with me, however. Because one of the absolute advantages of dwelling at this top notch address is that all the rooms come with a view, no matter the price tag (even the men’s restrooms in the top floor foyer has one).

Photo: Shamam

We marvel at the sight of the sun setting behind the legendary mountain as we contemplate whether to go out for dinner or staying in – in this case meaning having to choose from one of the hotel’s three Michelin awarded in-house restaurants (all with stunning views again, of course) or ordering room service while enjoying a movie on the big ass 45 inch HD-flat screen (with DVD), or just reading a book while lounging on the couch or the bed’s Egyptian cotton linen, listening to our own I-pod that easily plugs into the room’s own sound system.

Photo: Sunday Driver

Spoilt for choice we run into the only real problem when staying at the Mandarin Oriental in such a cool city as Tokyo: you never really feel like leaving the hotel. Ever.

MANDARIN ORIENTAL TOKYO, 2-1-1 Nihonbashi Muromachi, Tokyo Chuo-ku.