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92 TIMESeptember 3–10, 2018

Shipwreck

Lodge is the

irst resort

to open in

Namibia’s

Skeleton

Coast

National

Park

A SUPERIOR SPA

OBEROI SUKHVILAS RESORT & SPA,

NEW CHANDIGARH, INDIA

SLEEPING IN A ‘SHIPWRECK’

SHIPWRECK LODGE,SKELETON COAST

NATIONAL PARK, NAMIBIA

Sukh meanshappiness in Hindi,

and this 12,000-sq.-ft. wellness

center, nestled among 8,000

acres of forested Himalayan

foothills, is designed to make guests feel

just that. Opened in December 2017, it

offers Ayurveda courses up to 21 days

long, plus digital detoxes and personalized

itness programs. Once they’re done with

the spa, guests can wander the tranquil

Siswan forest, guided by an in-house

naturalist.—Eli Meixler

With its expansive dunes and

beaches, Skeleton Coast is

among Namibia’s most stunning

natural parks. It’s also among its

least visited. This all-inclusive lodge, which

opened in June, may change that. Its name

and design pay homage to the region’s

reputation as a hazard for boats, thanks

to its coastal fog. Once there, guests (who

generally arrive via car) can take guided tours

of the Namib Desert, a seal colony and more.

—Merrill Fabry

There are few Senegalese towns

more remote than Sinthian,

which is more than seven hours

from the nearest major airport in Dakar.

And yet, it has recently emerged as a

vibrant cultural center, luring artists,

musicians and ilmmakers from around

the world. Their destination: the

Thread, a multipurpose facility built by

community members—in collaboration

with architect Toshiko Mori and

backed by the Josef and Anni Albers

Foundation—to facilitate the exchange

of art and ideas across cultures. In

designing the structure, Mori eschewed

her usual materials—it would cost too

much to bring aluminum, steel and

glass to the site—and instead took cues

from local experts, who helped fashion

a superstructure from bamboo and mud

bricks and rig the roof to double as a

rainwater collector (to aid during the dry

months). The result, she says, is an iconic

building that “relates to its own culture”

instead of superimposing “another value

on the community.” —Julia Zorthian

BUILDING CONNECTIONS

THREAD,SINTHIAN, SENEGAL

LODGING

ON A LANDMARK
RETREAT AT
BLUE LAGOON,
ICELAND

HAUTE CUISINE

WITH HUMOR
DEN,TOKYO

After its economy
melted down in the
late 2000s, Iceland
invested heavily in
tourism, which may
be why your Insta-
gram feed is dotted
with people dipping
into the creamy alien
waters of the Blue
Lagoon. Now the
country’s most popu-
lar attraction has its
own hotel, carved
into an 800-year-old
lava low. It features a
gourmet restaurant,
a subterranean spa
and 62 rooms, four
of which are suites
with access to private
pools of the lagoon.
—Kaitlin Menza

It’s no surprise the
son of a geisha
should master the
Japanese principle
ofomotenashi, or
selless hospitality.
But don’t expect
stuffy formality at
Zaiyu Hasegawa’s
Den, which
recently moved to
a larger location
and reclaimed its
second Michelin
star. In Hasegawa’s
playful repertoire:
“Dentucky” fried
chicken wings in a
container bearing
his face and a salad
with emoji-shaped
carrots, hiding an
edible ant or two.
—Joseph Hincks

THE WORLD’S GREATEST PLACES 2018

THE THREAD: IWAN BAAN; AMANYANGYUN: SUI SICONG; UNDERWATER MUSEUM OF AR

T: COURTESY UNDERWATER MUSEUM OF ART