The New Luxury | POSTCARDS
When Torunn Tronsvang left Dubai to work in Bhutan in 2008, she knew a thing or two about luxury. She had wrapped up a role with Jumeirah, whose ultra-extravagant Burj Al Arab hotel - think gold-plated iPads, marble staircases and a revolving bed in the Royal Suite - has become synonymous with modern Dubai. She brought exacting standards of quality and excellence to her new role as lodge manager for Amankora - Aman Resorts’ collection of five lodges spread across the valleys of this Himalayan Kingdom, which had opened lour years earlier - and parlayed them into a different type of luxury travel.
Part of Tronsvang's role involved designing guest experiences. Today guests at one of Amankora's five lodges might find themselves joining young monks at a neighbouring monastery in prayer, lighting butter lamps, taking lessons in traditional Bhutanese painting with local artists, beekeeping and baking khabzey biscuits in a farmhouse.
Tronsvang recalls seeking out a farmhouse where guests could visit for a traditional meal and have the chance to interact with local villagers; cultivating a symbiotic relationship with the host community and the environment has been part of the Aman brand's DNA since it opened its first property, Amanpuri in Phuket, in 1988. She has vivid memories of sitting on the farmhouse floor while Mama prepared the food - including butter and cheese from the cow they had all just milked - and drinking the local liquor. “There was a cat walking around, kids running about and everyone
