Welcome at Conde Nast Traveller UK Magazine April 2022 Issue

I arrived at the new six senses fort barwara in Rajasthan on Christmas Eve, a trip I had booked back in August but was half-convinced would not end up happening. I had lost track of the number of tests I took and forms I filled out as I travelled through Europe and the USA in the couple of months prior – along with the symptoms I felt (all imaginary, as it turned out). So, walking into the 700-year-old fort as rose petals were scattered at my feet, I believed that this was indeed a Christmas miracle. My brother-in-law couldn’t make it from Singapore, but the rest of our group were all there: my parents, sister and niece, my boyfriend and his mum. And shockingly, everything went as I had hoped. Rajasthan provided its trademark glorious winter: cold but sunny, blue skies with fluffy white clouds, pink turbans and red saris and green bangles, live musicians and glowing mashaals around which to warm our hands. We had divine massages at the Six Senses spa, set in the ancient temple of the fort, where my treatment began with me burning a scrap of paper upon which I had written the obstacles I’d faced in 2021. Interestingly, I can no longer even remember them. We ate lal maas and sarson ka saag with bajra rotis cooked on hot coals. We walked through the gardens and smelled desi roses, the world’s most intoxicating fragrance. On Christmas morning, we wore the matching pyjamas I had bought for everyone and managed to get a perfect photo – or at least one where all our eyes were open, which is as close to perfection as it gets if you’re not a Kardashian. And when we left, kilos heavier thanks to the mithai and ghevar sweets we were carrying back, the airline checked us in without any fuss. Moral of this story: it was all worth it. Every test, every form, those damn apps, the endless washing of dishes and Zoom calls when you’re isolating. WORTH IT.
Like you, I’ve started 2022 with a new energy, a new attitude, an I’m-going-to-make-this-year-count-no-matter-what-this-virus-throws-my-way zeal. And it’s getting easier. Every day, it seems, border controls somewhere are loosening, a test is being eliminated, a new hotel or restaurant is opening its doors, an artist or designer is creating something irresistible. Like in Puerto Rico, where a sustainability movement is leading to an exciting food scene. I’m finding myself rather tempted by the idea of a cruise in Iceland, and while Paris is always a good idea, a sexy new hotel such as Château Voltaire certainly makes it a better one. I’m all set to travel again, and make this year matter – but I’m only signing up for trips that will be worth any unexpected hassle or inconvenience. Luckily, there are enough of them – and the memories are priceless. A photo of some of your favourite people in matching pyjamas with everyone’s eyes open? That’s definitely worth a few thousand miles.

DIVIA THANI
GLOBAL EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

@diviathani

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