36 SEPTEMBER 2019 / TRAVELANDLEISUREASIA.COM
FROM TOP: COURTESY OF AMANWANA; COURTESY OF THE ANDAMANAmanwana
A sanctuary on Moyo Island, Indonesia,
has been set up to let the 21 members
of the local rusa deer population
(above), which had been drastically
reduced by illegal hunting and being
made into dog food, roam free in a
protected area. Visit during the deer’s
natural feeding times at dawn and
dusk. aman.com/resorts/amanwana.Fairmont Yangcheng Lake
This hotel in Suzhou, China, has 10
beehives producing fresh honey on its
namesake lake, and is part of
Fairmont’s Bee Sustainable program,
run with Pollinator Partnership. More
than 40 bee hotels and apiaries
provide refuge for wild mason bees,
important regulators of the ecosystem
whose natural habitats are under
threat. fairmont bee sustainable.com.Inle Heritage
Burmese cats were extinct in the
country before Inle Heritage started a
feline sanctuary for them in
partnership with the China Exploration
and Research Society. Now more than
30 cats in brown, champagne, blue
and even lilac roam freely among their
cathouses with a set schedule of
feeding, grooming and health
checkups. This and other
sustainability, heritage and social
impact programs are supported by
Inle Heritage’s accommodation,
restaurant and gift-shop businesses.
inleheritage.org.InterContinental Danang Sun
Peninsula Resort
It’s serious monkey business as the
resort protects the bio-diversity of the
4,439-hectare Son Tra Nature Reserve
in central Vietnam. Initiatives include
wildlife education workshops and
building bridges to help the critically
endangered red-shanked douc
langurs cross safely through the
forest. danang.intercontinental.com.BEYOND TURTLES
Check out these resorts
for how they protect other
less-loved creatures.peristaltic movement to push the
internal organs to the posterior and
develops a new mouth to ingest
nutrients again. Sounds pretty cool,
but there are uncertain factors.
“We found that different
materials contributed to successful
splits such as rubber band for the
golden sea cucumber and cable tie for
the black sea cucumber,” Husein
says. “When we tried other
materials, the sea cucumber either
escaped or died under stress.”
The weekend of the project’s
launch, we gather under gloomy
skies to drop 20 of the 50 regenerated
gamats into the Datai Bay. I take the
tray of water conta ining my
traumatized-but-hopefully recovered
gamat and, together with Andaman
staff, paddle out about 150 meters to
sea in a kayak. I tip the tray over and
the gamat gently disappea rs into t he
waters to fulfill its destiny. We
quickly paddle back to shore, and not
a moment too soon, as the skies open
up themselves for the second time
that day.
During my stay, I try one of
Andaman Langkawi’s signature spa
treatments, the “Song of the Malay
Rainforest” ritual (RM800), which
CONSERVATION
A spa treatment
villa at The
Andaman.includes a Barut Gamat Awet Muda
(Regenerating Gamat Body
Envelopment, ironic I know). The
website states that the “sea cucumber
accelerates the regeneration of cells,
bone, collagen and skin.” I’m
assuming the transformation was
mostly internal as the wrap, a warm
blend of cekur (an aromatic ginger),
kaolin clay, rice flour and gamat
water, left me feeling refreshed and
cleansed, but otherwise not
perceptibly changed.
That said, I do take back my
earlier kitschy souvenir comment
because the gamat cream I bought en
route to the airport is truly
miraculous. The day before, I had
strolled through The Andaman’s new
butterfly garden where, mosquito
magnet me, I was bombarded while
two of my companions escaped
unscathed. The annoying itch I’d
been experiencing disappears within
minutes of applying the cream, and a
few hours later at home, the red
bumps have disappeared completely.
I deliberate whether to stock up the
next time I’m in Langkawi. Looks
like I’ve got to put more gamats back
into the ocean. marriott.com; doubles
from RM645.