Chilean Patagonia’s Peaks, Up Close (NY Times)

AFTER four hours of strenuous hiking, we had only just reached the bottom of the Torres del Paine. You can see the three granite monoliths from seemingly a hundred miles away (and on just about every postcard of Patagonia), but the full magnitude of their facades was revealed only after the last turn on the …

Drawn to the Magnet of Chile’s Surf Coast (NY Times)

I FOUND Pichilemu through a local’s tip. In planning an itinerary that would start in Santiago and end a couple of hours south in the wine country, I was looking for a low-key weekend spot near the two destinations where I could stop for a few days and recharge with my family. “Well, there is …

Drawn to the Magnet of Chile’s Surf Coast (NY Times)

I FOUND Pichilemu through a local’s tip. In planning an itinerary that would start in Santiago and end a couple of hours south in the wine country, I was looking for a low-key weekend spot near the two destinations where I could stop for a few days and recharge with my family. “Well, there is …

Hotel Rooms With Charm, Off the Radar (New York Times)

Aix-en-Provence, France La Maison d’Aix This four-room hideaway is the kind you might wish for in every tourist-worthy town. Though it is in the heart of the historic center, it is small enough to feel as if you are at a chic friend’s home. Its rooms, impeccably designed by the owner, the architect Laura Juhen, …

36 Hours in Siena (New York Times)

In many ways Siena hasn’t changed much in 800 years. And that’s a good thing. The town’s gorgeous 13th-century main square, the Piazza del Campo, is still the city’s symbolic and physical heart. The twice-a-summer bareback horse race, Il Palio, is still the most anticipated event, and the contrade, or neighborhood associations, still inspire a …

Drawn to the Magnet of Chile’s Surf Coast (The New York Times)

I FOUND Pichilemu through a local’s tip. In planning an itinerary that would start in Santiago and end a couple of hours south in the wine country, I was looking for a low-key weekend spot near the two destinations where I could stop for a few days and recharge with my family. “Well, there is …

Niseko, Japan’s Own St Mortiz (New York Times)

I AM barefoot and naked padding along a stone path in the depths of Japanese winter, surrounded by snow-laden pine trees. I slip into a hot pool fed by natural underground springs. Huge, slow-moving snowflakes gently settle on my hair. In the dusk I can see just a few vague figures across the pond-size area …

Cambodia’s Sweet Spot (New York Times)

ON a sunny weekday in Kep, a seaside village about halfway alongCambodia’s coast, the crab market was heaving. Women in straw hats and rubber boots stood knee deep in the surf shouting out prices, periodically darting into the sea to pull writhing specimens out of wicker baskets. Children of all ages ran through the stalls; it seemed …

36 Hours in Mendoza, Argentina (New York Times)

ARGENTINA’S financial crash in 2002 was actually a boon for the local wine industry. The devaluation of the peso meant that winemakers in this northern region of the country could deliver high-quality vintages to the export market at very low prices, even while the cost of making wine was dropping. Real estate prices also fell, …

THE POETRY OF HANGZHOU, NY TIMES

ON a misty afternoon in February, Lingyin Temple, a fourth-century Buddhist site that is one of China’s most important sanctuaries, felt more like a carnival than a place of worship. In large multigenerational packs, festive families were gathered for the Lunar New Year holiday, tossing fistfuls of ceremonial paper money into huge open fire pits …