I spent 2 months working remotely in Bali. I didn't unwind until I visited another island nearby.
I had already visited Bali many times, and I'm a big fan. But over the years, as its fame has spread, it has become busier. Bali's iconic charm and unique energy are still there, but they now coexist with big crowds and heavy traffic.
During my time there, I relished much of what Bali has to offer: yoga, massages, sound baths, authentic spiritual traditions, gorgeous style, and delicious food. I found pockets away from the crowds in the less-developed regions of Bangli and Sidemen. But after a few weeks in Ubud and south Bali, I found myself craving peace and quiet — specifically, a break from the ever-present sound of motorbike engines.
Luckily, I had planned to wrap up my time in Indonesia with a weeklong side trip to the nearby island of Sumba with a friend.
Overpopulation was no longer a problem
Sumba is a 90-minute direct flight from Denpasar International Airport. It's about twice the size of Bali, has one-sixth of Bali's population, and a fraction of its tourists.
It's also known for limited WiFi and cell service across large swaths of its undeveloped territory. There's no signage on the main roads indicating the island's scenic spots, making it hard for visitors to find them without a local guide. We hired a guide my friend found through Facebook, and we're glad we did.
Sumba's natural beauty lived up to our expectations. The rock-framed sandy coves, the turquoise lagoon, the landscapes of velvety green hills, and the waterfalls left my friend and me in awe. We were charmed by goats lounging by the side of the road and by horses meandering across expanses of golden savannah.
And most of the time, we had the sights all to ourselves. Sometimes, groups of local kids would come over to talk to us. The roads were free of traffic.
Along with the absence of tourists and traffic came the absence of extensive food and massage options, which we had grown accustomed to in Bali. I never found wine or cocktails anywhere in Sumba, though I imagine they're available at the handful of 5-star hotels on the island.
Most people in Sumba didn't speak much English, including our guide, so we needed translation apps to communicate most of the time. When there was no cell service, we had to resort to hand gestures.
And punctuality? We found out that it's not a thing in Sumba. Our driver tended to show up 15 to 20 minutes after our agreed departure time, then order himself a coffee before we left, then stop to pick up his breakfast at a roadside shop or get gas. He was an excellent drone videographer and photographer, though, which helped make up for his relaxed sense of time.
A true mental reset
Our four-day guided Sumba road trip covered a lot of ground.
After the road trip, we spent three nights at a boutique hotel on a deserted stretch of white sand beach in East Sumba, about an hour from the airport, and it was there that we found total relaxation.
Shaded by tall cemara trees, the temperature was perfect both day and night. We were lulled to sleep every night by the sound of gentle ocean waves lapping the shore.
Our hotel, Cemara Beachfront Suite, was $80 per night and came with great service. The staff brought us tea with little desserts every afternoon and were always ready to provide any extras we asked for to make our stay more enjoyable. Except wine. Next time, I'd bring a bottle or two in my suitcase, along with a good book.
The attentive care of the staff and the idyllic setting allowed us to completely unwind and fully enjoy just being there. We could have happily stayed much longer.

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Newsweek
42 minutes ago
- Newsweek
Chaos As Cruise Ship Window Shatters Raining Glass Onto Busy Pool Deck
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Travel + Leisure
43 minutes ago
- Travel + Leisure
A 118-year-old English Manor Hotel on British Columbia's Vancouver Island Just Reopened With 1,500 Antiques and Set Pieces From Your Favorite TV Shows
Rosemead's quiet, forest-like setting gives it an English countryside feel, yet it's only a 10-minute drive from downtown Victoria. The owner collected antiques from movie and TV sets, his favorite London hotels, and at least 50 manor estates. Janevca's dining room is anchored by a huge faux tree 'blooming' with cascading pink cherry blossoms; the leaves will change out seasonally. Modern amenities co-exist with heritage—think clawfoot tubs and classic mantle clocks, but also self-flushing heated toilets with high-tech Kohler bidets. The cushy king beds are topped with $23,000 mattresses from 100-year-old luxury Swedish label Duxiana. The magnetism of Rosemead House begins not inside, but at street level. To reach the hilltop hotel in Esquimalt, British Columbia, guests pass through the actual Buckingham Palace gates used on the London set of Netflix's The Crown and climb the tree-lined driveway to a regal porte-cochère and a large manor door. The Edwardian mansion, originally designed as a private home in 1906 by architect Samuel Maclure, has lived many lives. Most recently it was the Old English Inn: cherished by locals who got married or honeymooned there, chastised by a few as the Fawlty Towers of the area, and universally known to be showing its age. In 2015, Lenny Moy, president and founder of real estate development company Aragon Properties, purchased it and the surrounding land for a master-planned community of heritage-inspired condos called Oakwoods, located behind the manor. Turns out, the hotel restoration would become Moy's decade-long, antique-fueled passion project, and it began while visiting one of his daughters in London who was attending fashion school there. 'I started going to auctions, mostly virtually, and buying furniture slowly,' Moy says. 'At first, it was just a few 18th- and 19th-century accent pieces.' Eventually, he'd purchased from more than 50 manor estates, movie set sales, and legendary London hotels The Dorchester and The Savoy. 'I knew I had to buy 130 percent to get to a solid 100 percent.' Crate by carefully packaged crate, a couple thousand treasures crossed the pond, filling an 8,000-square-foot warehouse at least twice over. Today, around 1,500 of these antiques decorate Rosemead House where Moy and interior designer Karen Wichert followed the phrase 'Heritage Meets Discovery' as their north star, blending past with present everywhere. The result is a decadent, fearless, money-is-no-object historical rebirth painted with a maximalist brush. Interior of the hotel lobby. I'm Rosemead's very first guest, staying in the Lancaster Room, which I reach by climbing two sets of staircases, one thrillingly narrow. With maze-like hallways and no elevator, a guide to one's room is essential at first. ('This way, Miss Nanton…') With peekaboo ocean views, a reading nook, and countless antiques—including a tiny vintage Royal Crown Derby China seal paperweight from England that I desperately want to take home to my toddler—the 433-square-foot room is comfy, not stuffy, despite its heirloom touches and ancient bones. At once I'm wrapped up in the step-back-in-time fantasy of it all. That energy hits deepest in the Crown Mezzanine library, just above the lobby. I sink into a coral-hued chesterfield chair and look up at a gargantuan faux 17th-century Rembrandt, which doesn't look fake at all. The red curtains and podiums adjacent, as well as my seat, are all from the original Queen's bedroom set of The Crown. (As Moy tells me later, the painting was also purchased from a set; Kevin Hart's 2024 heist film, Lift , I learn . ) Quickly at home in my new manor life, I explore the manicured grounds—complete with a small amphitheatre that will likely host future music performances—before pulling up a barstool at in-house restaurant Janevca's busy lounge for a pre-dinner cocktail. Sipping a bright Amalfi Stone Sour mixed with London dry gin and limoncello, a restored stained-glass window to my left catches the golden hour light. It's one of the original manor windows, making it easy to imagine a century's worth of guests sitting right here before me doing just the same. Here, my full review and everything you need to know about Rosemead House. There are 14 rooms in the Manor Collection, located inside the historic building, and another 14 in the Grove Collection, in a new building behind the main house. The latter are slightly more accessibly priced and five are pet-friendly. Long-stay suites with kitchens will open in due course. The most opulent room at Rosemead? The Manor Collection's Dynasty Suite, decorated in a full Chinoiserie theme with a vaulted ceiling, staircase leading up to a second-floor bedroom, and private balcony. 'Each suite is like a real-life museum,' says Moy while touring me through a handful of the 28 rooms, each with its own UK-inspired name. Edwardian writing desks with intricate inlays, gilded-framed mirrors, and reupholstered vintage furnishings live in tandem with patterned William Morris wallpaper on the walls, Ann Sacks basketweave motif tiles on the bathroom floors, and minibars concealed inside sideboards from The Dorchester auction (this way, you don't hear them hum). It's a detailed mash-up of hues, textures, and patterns, but doesn't feel overwhelming. 'We really set out to respect the original design, adding modern elements and layers of color to evolve it,' Moy adds. To that end, each room's unique, sometimes quirky, architecture is taken into account, like the Oxford Loft's sharply slanted ceiling balanced by adjacent bell-shaped chandeliers, or Canterbury Corner's exposed timber trusses complemented by a vintage wooden globe (open it up to find a secret bar inside). The interior of Janevca by Chef Andrea Alridge. Alchemic wood-fired cooking is the culinary core of Janevca Kitchen & Lounge, which opened well before the hotel in fall 2024 (and is a portmanteau of Moy's children's names: Janelle, Evan, Cailee). It's helmed by executive chef Andrea Alridge, who previously cooked at Vancouver's coveted Savio Volpe. Downstairs there are two event spaces as well as a private-dining Granite Room with a rock wall showcasing racks of fine wine in front of it. Moy has plans to grow Rosemead's collection to upward of 6,000 bottles. The bar inside the Janevca lounge. Back at Janevca, chef Alridge's Filipino and Jamaican roots shape the menu and a stainless steel Argentine-style grill burning maple, alder, and applewood is the genesis of most dishes. When I head down to dinner, the fully booked restaurant buzzes while wine director Jacques Lacoste pours me a smooth glass of beaujolais and a gas fireplace 'crackles' nearby. The Hokkaido scallop crudo with calamansi citrus and pops of smoky pyanggang sauce was exceptional, while the signature half-chicken with siu haau sauce and Janevca crisp is one of chef Alridge's personal favorites. For dessert, the Peach Melba is a sweet storytelling triumph, because not only does pastry chef Brian Bradley encase it in a thin layer of marzipan to look just like a peach, complete with leaves and a chocolate-formed pit, he serves it on historic dinnerware purchased from The Savoy, where Peach Melba was invented in the late-1800s. Are they, perhaps, the same plates the first Peach Melbas were eaten off of? The staff cannot confirm nor deny, but as I eat my dessert, I think yes. Rosemead has a two-story Wellness Centre complete with a state-of-the-art gym and Peloton bikes. At Salt & Ivy spa, decorated with Himalayan salt walls and antique mirrors, I opt for an Oceanic Renewal face and body treatment using local Seaflora products. My therapist buffs and moisturizes my tired skin with nutrient-rich seaweed body polish and a firming mask before laying shiver-inducing strands of detoxifying fresh seaweed across my back. It's all harvested in nearby Sooke, known for its high diversity of 500+ seaweed varieties. Rosemead has future plans to offer seaweed-foraging experiences there in its pristine intertidal zone with Seaflora. Off-property, a 10-minute drive away, check into Havn, a WWII-era barge converted into a wellness spa docked in Victoria's Inner Harbour. After checking in, I sip a superfood-based Majik Algae Aloe elixir, turn completely numb from a four-minute cold plunge, then slather myself with a ladle full of exfoliating salt to warm up. For the next three hours I rinse, sauna, hot tub, lounge, and repeat before walking to dinner at Rabbit Rabbit wine bar, where executive chef Billy Nguyen (a good friend of Janevca's chef Alridge) plates excellent French-Asian fare in a room full of vibes and vinyl. If you go, ask for a booth with a Champagne button. Given its more-than-100-year pedigree, the manor house itself is a heritage-designated property, so those suites are only accessible by stairs, but the Mayfair Room in the Grove Collection is ADA-compliant. As for sustainability, the hotel's park-like setting with 100-year-old heritage trees were what first attracted Moy to the land, so it was key to hold on to as many as possible during renovations and the condo development. To that end, Garry Oak meadows were preserved, an on-site nursery was created to transplant trees, and felled heritage trees were repurposed for Janevca's dining room tables, wooden accents in the spa, and more. Reclaimed bricks from the manor's previous retaining walls show up in the driveways and yet more brick was repurposed from a building in Victoria. To get to Rosemead from Vancouver, I recommend the fastest and most scenic route, a 35-minute Helijet flight direct from Vancouver Harbour to Victoria Harbour. It flies you over green Gulf Islands before a stunning, get-your-camera-ready coastal landing near downtown Victoria, from which a car or Uber whisks you to Rosemead in 15 minutes. Alternatively, guests can fly directly into Victoria International Airport or take BC Ferries from Tsawwassen (Vancouver) to Swartz Bay (Victoria). Located in the quiet Saxe Point neighborhood, a stay at Rosemead lends itself to nature walks, not unlike a British country estate. I stroll five minutes to reach the craggy cliffs of Macaulay Point Park where rare maritime meadows grow, found only in a few coastal habitats along southeastern Vancouver Island. Dense-flowered lupin and purple sanicle pop up amongst long-abandoned gun battlements, and I breathe in the salty Salish Sea air as small fishing boats chug by. Back in my room later, I play into my historic fairytale by writing a note longhand on light pink RH-embossed stationery before propping myself up on pillows in my reading nook. Sure, I'm scrolling on my phone, but it feels like I'm scrolling while time-traveling and I'm very into that. Rosemead House will open fully to guests in July 2025, and bookings are now open online. Nightly rates start at $515 for the Manor Collection and $440 for the Grove Collection. The hotel is not yet part of any loyalty or credit card reward programs. Every T+L hotel review is written by an editor or reporter who has stayed at the property, and each hotel selected aligns with our core values.


San Francisco Chronicle
5 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
It's impossible to have a bad time at this S.F. restaurant specializing in meat on a stick
Two years ago, Zibo became China's hottest tourist destination. In March 2023 alone, the city of 4.7 million doubled in size, welcoming 4.8 million visitors. When train tickets from Beijing to Zibo were released for the May Day holiday, they sold out in one minute. What was drawing these hoards of merrymakers to a mid-sized city in Shandong Province best known for petrochemicals? Barbecue, specifically skewered meats grilled over charcoal. The country, newly released from COVID restrictions, was in collective search of cheap amusement, conviviality and community. Gathering with friends and family around Zibo's open-air grills checked all the boxes. Is it possible to have a bad time while eating food on a stick? No one is having difficult conversations over corn dogs or paletas. It's an inherently playful food format, enhanced by company and almost certainly by beer. If you'd like to get in on the fun and a quick trip to Zibo is not part of your summer plans, you can get reasonably close at Northern China BBQ in San Francisco. There will be several key differences. Northern China BBQ is not a grill-it-yourself style restaurant, which, frankly, is fine with me since chef-owner ZhiChao He is far more adept than I am at manning the flames. While Zibo's style of barbecue involves coddling the grilled meats inside flour tortilla-like wraps, He's cuisine is representative of his home province of Jilin, situated just above North Korea, and where, some would argue, the barbecue is even better than in Zibo. All ordering at Northern China BBQ is done, either in English or Chinese, via QR code, a convention that is rarely my preference. Here, however, it's ideal. Your entire party can add to the ticket and send it through piecemeal; you'll know your request has been received when you hear an aggressive 'ding' chiming from the kitchen. It's smart to order your skewers over the course of a few rounds since they come out quickly, and you can add more as your hunger level demands. There are meat options aplenty, ranging from cubes of lamb ($5.98) and spicy pork spareribs ($6.99) to tender frog legs ($6.99) and tiny duck tongues ($8.99), stacked one on top of the other, 10 to a stick, and looking very much like, well, tongues. If you like duck liver, you should give them a try. Crispy chicken skin ($4) folds back over on itself in ribbons like old-timey Christmas hard candy and adheres stubbornly to the bamboo skewer. If you're sharing this one, prepare to crunch and pass. Sweet Taiwanese sausage ($6) is scored on the bias, a many-petaled meat flower. Skip the chicken. It's possible to turn an outing at Northern China BBQ into a carnivorous orgy, but many of my favorite — and notably economical — skewers are vegetarian. Cauliflower florets ($2.99) and string beans ($2.99), tidily lined up in a row, were wonderfully charred and well-spiced, and the discs of burnished potatoes ($2) give even the finest home fries a run for their money. Rectangles of nearly translucent tofu skins ($5.99 for 10) look like banners welcoming you to a theme park. The item listed as 'gluten' on the menu ($5.99 for 10 skewers) is seitan, served in rings that resemble Chinese coins — or, you might muse while marveling over their chewiness, peach gummies. The skewers, all forcefully seasoned with a variety of spices including cumin, chiles and garlic powder as well as a touch of sugar, are the main draw, but the non-skewer portion of the menu is ripe for exploration as well. I'd advise starting your meal — and showing off your dexterity with chopsticks — with an order of spicy, málà peanuts ($9.99). Roasted eggplant ($8.99), charred and served split open, ready to be scooped, is a garlicky, custardy marvel. Large-format options include an excellent beef dish ($35.99), served in an iron pot set over a burner and loaded with cabbage, cauliflower, black fungus and potatoes, all blanketed by fresh and dried chiles and sesame seeds. And there's a whole section of braised dishes served in round tinfoil takeout containers. The choice of vessel remains a mystery to me, but the duck blood ($18.99) is well worth ordering. The slabs of congealed blood resemble tofu in texture, and the fortifying spicy broth in which they're served begs to be spooned over a side of rice or simply slurped. He's wife, Ling Ye, oversees the two dining rooms — one with booths, the other with tables — and a variety of other family members will run your skewers from the kitchen or refresh your beverage. She's also behind much of the decor, which includes bold word art on the walls. One, in Chinese characters, reads, 'When the sun sets, it's time to drink.' (Northern China BBQ is open until 11:30 p.m. with the exception of Mondays, leaving plenty of time to tie one on, even during long summer days.) On the facing wall are more characters with their rough English translation underneath: 'In the same city, why haven't we seen each other for a long time?' On each of my visits, there was a poignancy to the question as I swapped skewers with friends and family members whom I hadn't seen in a month or two. Let this be your nudge to get on the group text. It's time to reconnect with your loved ones over chicken gizzards on a stick. Northern China BBQ 294 9th St., San Francisco. Noise level: Quiet to moderate Meal for two, without drinks: $50-90 What to order: Lamb, duck tongue and pork sparerib skewers ($6-9 each); potato, cauliflower and string bean skewers ($2-3); spicy peanuts ($10); iron pot beef ($36) Drinks: Tsingtao beer and a wide variety of bottled soft drinks, including snow pear juice, iced teas and soymilk Best practices: Come with a group and place your order in rounds rather than all at once. Try some offal — beef aorta will appeal to squid lovers, duck tongues to fans of duck liver mousse. And those bamboo cylinders on each table? They're for your spent skewers.