TRAVELTRAVEL ++ LEISURE LEISURE / JANUARY 2017 / JANUARY 2017 2321
Some 28 million
additional visitors will
pass through Oslo’s
airport in the next 12
months, thanks to its
new swooping, Scandi-
chic wing. Many of these
travellers are here to
participate in one of the
world’s most thriving
coffee cultures. Two
great spots are in the
Grünerløkka area:
Supreme Roastworks
(srw.no), where a
world-champion brewer
helms the bar, and
Tim Wendelboe (tim
wendelboe.no), whose
owner is so obsessed
with quality beans that
he bought 17 acres
of Colombian farmland.After nearly 10 years of
construction , the Panama
Canal expansion has
opened. Giant cruise
ships—like the Caribbean
Princess—can now pass
through via the 180-foot-
wide locks. Princess
(princess cruises.com) is
one of the first lines to
take advantage, with six
sailings in 2017. On land,
a sleek W Hotel
(starwoodhotels.com)
will open downtown and
a new boutique property,
La Concordia
(panamahotelcollection.
com)—where rooms have
private balconies and
claw-foot bathtubs—is
near completion
in historic Casco Viejo.Cambodia has some
of Southeast Asia’s most
stunning islands,
but getting to them has
always been arduous
(a flight to Phnom Penh,
a four-hour drive, then
a choppy ferry ride).
Luckily, there are now
direct flights into the
coastal Sihanoukville
airport via Ho Chi Minh
City, Vietnam. That
means a smoother
journey to the island
escapes coming this year:
the wellness-minded
Six Senses (sixsenses.
com) on Krabey Island
and the Alila Villas
eco-resort (kohrussey.
com; doubles from
US$350) on Koh Russey.This city on the western
coast of Honshu has seen
a boost in visits since
a bullet-train extension
shortened the trip from
Tokyo to just 2½ hours.
Go for the old wooden
teahouses of the Higashi
Chayagai district,
the beautiful samurai
residence in Nagamachi,
and the contemporary art
museum (kanazawa-
tourism.com). Then have
your pick of sushi that’s
just as good as, and much
cheaper than, what you’d
find in Tokyo. Try it at
Sentori, Kagayasuke,
or Omi-cho market—a
favourite of sushi
master Masa.Getting Here Just Got Easier
Infrastructure and transportation updates have made travel to these four destinations
a much smoother process. Go now, before the secret’s out.Fast Track
KANAZAWA, JAPAN OSLO PANAMA CITYCAMBODIAN COASTThe Nomura Samurai
Family Residence,
a museum in
Kanazawa, Japan.By Lila Battis, Jane Broughton, Govind Dhar, Adam Erace, Nicholas Gill, Adam H. Graham, Mary Holland, Selena Hoy, Diana Hubbell, Carrie Hutchinson,
Raphael Kadushin, Melanie Lieberman, Eimear Lynch, Archana Ram, Aoife O’Riordain, Krista Simmons, Paola Singer, Sara Toth Stub, and Stephanie Wu.COURTESY OF NOMURA HOUSE