In what seems like prehistory, skiers rode the first and last lifts, stopped for a speedy bowl of soup at midday and partied through the night, arriving home in a state of exhaustion. In the age of mindfulness, both grinding repetition and frivolous fun are out of fashion. Today's winter holidaymakers mix their activities to improve the body beautiful, de-stress the mind and enjoy the pleasures of ever-more-toned and supple flesh.
Snoga
Top of the agenda is well-being super plus. Snoga, as its name suggests, is skiing with a twist of yoga and lashings of pampering. The holistic programme in France, devised by Elite Ski's forceful Aurelia Chretien Pames, includes pre-ski yoga, escorted on- and off-piste adventure and apres- ski osteopathy and massage in lieu of waist-expanding chalet-baked cake. After the pain, the gain: drinks and canapés followed by gastronomic dinners in Chalet Les Brames, a secluded forest hideaway outside Meribel with its own cinema, pool table and spa (five days Snoga, Dh4,092, chaletbrames.com)
Arctic yoga
Too mellow? Go hardcore with Arctic yoga in Swedish Lapland. Expect no mercy from Aurelia's fellow Scandinavian taskmaster, Rebecca Bjork (pictured above), who specialises in nature tourism. Entry level includes three hours of Bikram yoga at the Active North Camp on the frozen Byske River (morning or afternoon, January 1-April 29, 2017, Dh720). Those who get addicted to the endorphin tsunami triggered by vigorous routines in intense cold can sign up for a four-day retreat in the Aurora Safari Camp on Degerselet Lake (February 23-26/March 23-26, full board Dh6,070). The agenda tunes into the silence of nature, with meditation, snowshoe walks, no speaking lunches and group unwinding in a wood-fired sauna. Guests stay in Lapp lavvu tents, eat local produce and learn ice sculpting. Lulea is the nearest airport (arcticnorth.se)
Aqua massage
Seeking gain without pain could involve aqua massage at the Gstaad Palace, a celebrity hideaway on a hill above the Swiss village. Keeping the likes of Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor happy has always involved providing anything and everything any guest could want, ideally before they've thought of it. This is still true a century on, especially in a resort where many guests never ski. After no-limit spending in designer boutiques, guests may return to the hotel in search of self improvement. (palace.com)
Taking well-being a stage further could mean a medically supervised kur at the Parkhotel in Igls, a resort in the hills above Innsbruck, Austria. The clinic follows Franz Xaver Mayr's early-20th-century route to health through diet and exercise. The one-week basic package (Dh4,160) includes three doctor's assessments, a strict eating plan, treatments and group exercise sessions. In winter, it can be combined with downhill skiing and boarding on the village lifts or Nordic cross country expeditions. The clinic has luxurious suites, a panoramic gym, sauna and swimming pool. And the food is delicious, though portion sizes may disappoint (parkhotel-igls.at)
Card-playing ski holiday
If you're thinking mind as well as matter, try a card-playing ski holiday in Champagny-en-Vanoise in the Tarentaise, France. Alpine Bridge, run by enthusiast Trevor King, celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2017. With fast-track gondola access into the huge La Plagne/Les Arcs ski area, there is no shortage of snow action. Cards take over at dusk, with instruction before dinner and duplicate competition afterwards. L'Ancolie is an archetypal small French hotel, friendly and unpretentious with regional food (Alpinebridge.co.uk; 7 nights from Dh3,392).
Alternatives: English international bridge player Andrew Robson offers ski-bridge holidays: January 7-14, Hotel Edelweiss & Gurgl, Obergurgl, Austria, from Dh8,466; March 11-18, Hotel Cristal Palace, Madonna di Campiglio, Italy, from Dh6,400 (andrewrobsonbridgeholidays.co.uk); and Stocken Bridge, January 14-21, Hotel le Chalet Blanc, Mongenevre, France, from Dh5,475 (stockenbridgebreaks.co.uk)
Linked lifts
No ski area can have too many linked lifts, a concept the Austrians have adopted. Legions of Arlberg lovers will be heading to the area this season to try out the Flexenboden cableway that opens on December 2. Starting in the car park at Rauz above Stuben and ending in Zurs, the gondola joins the dots between Austria's most varied and challenging pistes and its top pit stops to create the country's largest ski area. For the first time, enthusiasts can clip in for an Arlberg extremities adventure between Nasserein and Warth by way of St Anton, St Christoph, Stuben, Zurs and Lech without taking road transport (stantonamaarlberg.com)
Gourmet skiing
Such an innovation invariably boosts local investment. With nine super suites, the Blumen Haus is an elite addition to Lech's five-star portfolio. Opening in early December, it is proudly haut design, its exteriors clad in reclaimed local timber, its interiors devised by Tirolean Reinhard Strasser to combine tradition and state-of-the-art technology. Barbara Mairhofer, who trained under Gordon Ramsay, heads up the kitchen team, but Blumen Haus is not all about self-indulgence: the hypoxic chamber allows guests to simulate training at 5,600 metres. No wannabe ironman triathelete should miss it (blumenhauslech.com). St Anton's December addition is the four-star Andino, a fusion between Peruvian and Tirolean values with an Andean décor created by owners Andy and Alejandra (andinohotel.at).
If, like me, your ultimate goal is a three- Michelin Rosette meal with a bedroom on site, look no further than La Bouitte in St Marcel 4 kilometres from St Martin de Belleville in the Tarentaise. Rene Meilleur, born and schooled in the tiny hamlet, celebrates his restaurant’s 40th birthday on December 4. Where glitzy Michelin rivals learned derivatively from top chefs in Paris, London and New York, Rene Meilleur developed his own artisan style. When a kilo of roe from the ombre (char), the most prized of lake fish, arrived unsolicited, he spent the morning devising a starter in time for lunch. I tasted it along the way and it was indescribably delicious, but Rene Meilleurtweaked it still further to achieve perfection.
In 2015, he received his third Michelin star, an accolade that brought the foodie world to his French-speaking door. Heading the rush, two trophy-hunting couples from Hong Kong who took a helicopter from Geneva, ate, slept and went home. After a few weeks, the razzmatazz subsided, leaving Rene Meilleur and his son Maxime to evolve a cuisine a million miles removed from high-profile Michelin superstar glitz. la-bouitte.com
travel@thenational.ae
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Results
2pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 40,000 (Dirt) 1,200m, Winner: AF Thayer, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer).
2.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 40,000 (D) 1,200m, Winner: AF Sahwa, Nathan Crosse, Mohamed Ramadan.
3pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 40,000 (D) 1,000m, Winner: AF Thobor, Szczepan Mazur, Ernst Oertel.
3.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 40,000 (D) 2,000m, Winner: AF Mezmar, Szczepan Mazur, Ernst Oertel.
4pm: Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum Cup presented by Longines (TB) Dh 200,000 (D) 1,700m, Winner: Galvanize, Nathan Cross, Doug Watson.
4.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 40,000 (D) 1,700m, Winner: Ajaj, Bernardo Pinheiro, Mohamed Daggash.
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Biog
Age: 50
Known as the UAE’s strongest man
Favourite dish: “Everything and sea food”
Hobbies: Drawing, basketball and poetry
Favourite car: Any classic car
Favourite superhero: The Hulk original
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final:
First leg: Liverpool 5 Roma 2
Second leg: Wednesday, May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
TV: BeIN Sports, 10.45pm (UAE)
Company%20profile
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Past winners of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
2016 Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-GP)
2015 Nico Rosberg (Mercedes-GP)
2014 Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-GP)
2013 Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing)
2012 Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus)
2011 Lewis Hamilton (McLaren)
2010 Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing)
2009 Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing)
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
THREE
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Nayla%20Al%20Khaja%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%20Jefferson%20Hall%2C%20Faten%20Ahmed%2C%20Noura%20Alabed%2C%20Saud%20Alzarooni%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%203.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
MATCH INFO
Barcelona 5 (Lenglet 2', Vidal 29', Messi 34', 75', Suarez 77')
Valladolid 1 (Kiko 15')
Ibrahim's play list
Completed an electrical diploma at the Adnoc Technical Institute
Works as a public relations officer with Adnoc
Apart from the piano, he plays the accordion, oud and guitar
His favourite composer is Johann Sebastian Bach
Also enjoys listening to Mozart
Likes all genres of music including Arabic music and jazz
Enjoys rock groups Scorpions and Metallica
Other musicians he likes are Syrian-American pianist Malek Jandali and Lebanese oud player Rabih Abou Khalil
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Scorline
Iraq 1-0 UAE
Iraq Hussein 28’
Premier Futsal 2017 Finals
Al Wasl Football Club; six teams, five-a-side
Delhi Dragons: Ronaldinho
Bengaluru Royals: Paul Scholes
Mumbai Warriors: Ryan Giggs
Chennai Ginghams: Hernan Crespo
Telugu Tigers: Deco
Kerala Cobras: Michel Salgado
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
EMILY%20IN%20PARIS%3A%20SEASON%203
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Apple product price list
iPad Pro
11" - $799 (64GB)
12.9" - $999 (64GB)
MacBook Air
$1,199
Mac Mini
$799
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
UAE%20athletes%20heading%20to%20Paris%202024
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The rules of the road keeping cyclists safe
Cyclists must wear a helmet, arm and knee pads
Have a white front-light and a back red-light on their bike
They must place a number plate with reflective light to the back of the bike to alert road-users
Avoid carrying weights that could cause the bike to lose balance
They must cycle on designated lanes and areas and ride safe on pavements to avoid bumping into pedestrians
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20SAMSUNG%20GALAXY%20S23%20ULTRA
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