Lonely_Planet_Asia_February_2017

GLOBETROTTER

african wildlife may move to its own

unshakeable timetable, but the rest of the

safari experience is open to tailoring:

that’s the idea behind Timbuktu Travel’s

new bespoke trips. Travellers design their

own safaris based on budget, destination,

lodges and preferred activities, saving on

expensive agent fees in the process. Among

the endless options on offer are a stay in

Kenya’s Maasai Mara to see these topi

antelope; a horseback safari in Botswana’s

Okavango Delta; and a hot-air balloon ride

over Namibia, with desert elephants

plodding over the dunes far below

(timbuktutravel.com).

As Myanmar closes itself to the

outside world, the hotel is

nationalised and falls into disrepair.

Staying in the 1970s, Lonely Planet

founder Tony Wheeler wrote in the

first edition guidebook, ‘By 11pm you

are likely to be feeling pretty lonely in

the lounge, just the occasional Strand

rat scampering across the floor to

keep you company.’

After a major facelift at the end of

the 1980s, The Strand in the

following decades welcomes a

trickle of famous international

visitors, including Baz Luhrmann

and Mick Jagger.

The Strand is restored to its full

former glory, with inlaid marble

flooring, lacquer ceiling fans and

antique Burmese furniture. The

bar, with its teakwood panelling and

leather seating, is renamed The

Sarkies, in honour of the hotel’s

founding brothers.

During World War II, the

hotel is used to stable horses

of the Japanese cavalry. A

bomb plunges through the

roof but fortunately fails to

explode, leaving the décor

largely intact.

NEW WAY TO SAFARI

Animal magic

19 4 0 s 1960-70s 1980-2000s 2 016

PHOTOGRAPHS: BETTMANN/GETTY, MARIUS COETZEE, GEORGE KARA

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HALIS/GETTY