PUBLISHER’S NOTE

I’m of the opinion that the journey matters just as much as the destination—and I don’t mean that purely as an airline enthusiast. To pause and look back in retrospect, to understand the road we’ve taken is only natural, especially as we are mere weeks from the close of 2019 and the dawn of a new decade. How did we get here? And from a traveler’s perspective, how do places end up the way they are now?

In Indonesia, intrepid surfers have often been the first to bring tourism to the shores of remote islands and even not-so-remote locales. Bali’s Bukit Peninsula was a hot spot for wave-riders long before hotels and day clubs staked their claim to the cliff tops of Uluwatu. For our cover story, Claire Knox charts the evolution of the Uluwatu surf scene and meets some of its prominent figures.

Over on the far side of the Pacific, Joe Yogerst takes us on a tour through his hometown of San Diego, which celebrated its 250th anniversary in 2019. We learn about the quirks of a city that grew out of the oldest European settlement in California, and hear stories of decline and regeneration along the way.

History buffs will also delight in our feature story from England, where editor-in-chief Christopher P. Hill divvies up his reporting with London-based contributor Will Hide to check in to four recently opened country-house hotels. All provide a glimpse into how the nobility of previous generations would have lived, and come fitted out with 21st-century comforts.

The outlier perhaps is the narrative piece on walking in Nepal, shot and written by Christopher Wise, whose account is good news for those of us who aren’t quite at the required level of fitness to tackle a high-altitude Himalayan trek.

Now, as 2020 approaches, I wish you another year—and another decade—of enriching travel experiences that will leave you with precious memories, no matter how far from home they may be.