The Yukon p72

Iceland p42

Derry/Londonderry p114

Amsterdam p106

Carinthia p84

Montreal p130

Corsica p60

San Francisco p102

Campania p96

The Gulf Coast p80

Dominican Republic p50

Ecuador p30

Chachapoyas & Kuélap p76

Puerto Iguazú p138

Beijing p118

South Korea p26

Inland Sea p92

Mustang p68

Hyderabad p110

Palawan p88

Sri Lanka p18

Solomon Islands p38

Hobart p126

Christchurch p122

Slovakia p34

Montenegro p22

Turkey p46

The Negev p64

Addis Ababa p134

Madagascar p54

MALAPACAO ISLAND IN THE
BACUIT ARCHIPELAGO,
THE PHILIPPINES

SALAR DE UYUNI, BOLIVIA

TOP TRAVEL LISTS 142

BEST-VALUE DESTINATIONS 144

BEST BACK-IN-TIME ENTERTAINMENTS 148

THE UNLUCKIEST PLACES IN THE WORLD 152

CITIES WITH BIKE-SHARING SCHEMES 156

BEST PLACES TO SEE ELEPHANTS (UP CLOSE) 160

BEST PLACES TO DO SOMETHING NEW 164

THE BEST CAPITAL CITIES BUILT FROM SCRATCH 168

MARVELLOUS METEOROLOGICAL SITES 172

BEST PLACES TO GET A TATTOO 176

SNAKES ALIVE! 180

BEST PLACES TO GET FIT 184

GREAT WALL WALKS 188

LEGENDARY LAST STANDS 192

BEST PLACES TO HUNT FOR BURIED TREASURE 196

ODDEST FOOD MUSEUMS 200

INDEX 204

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 206

BEST IN TRAVEL PLANNER 2013 208

2013 is full of amazing travel
opportunities but it will also be a year
in which lonely planet celebrates 40
years of travel. we’ve asked co-founder
tony wheeler and FIVE other travel-guide
gurus for their take on what the last 40
years have meant.

TONY WHEELER

CO-FOUNDER, LONELY PLANET

Why do I travel? Because it’s never boring.
It can be uncomfortable at times – but
never boring.

The ‘I want to go there’ list just keeps
getting longer. The more places you go the
bigger the world seems to get.

Travel doesn’t really start with your first
trip, because every kid discovers that travel
with parents is never real travel.

It’s only when you get out on your own
that you really travel and those first solo

teenage expeditions never leave you.

I lived in Pakistan with my parents
when I was very small and there are so
many clear memories – camels, beggars,
magicians, jellyfish on the beach, fishing
for crabs from a dhow on Karachi harbour,
monsoon floods, vultures, an episode with
a rabid dog – and all those memories must
have been by the time I was five years old,
because that’s how old I was when I left.

My Dad – who was an RAF pilot –
worked for BOAC (which became
British Airways) so I was definitely
going to be a pilot. I never did, but I can’t

TONY WHEELER

understand why I never got around to at
least getting a pilot’s licence.

Sir Joseph Banks was the rich, young
and endlessly curious scientist who
accompanied Captain Cook on his first
great voyage. So many times that amazing
trip was like a real-life Close Encounter
of the Third Kind. If I had a time machine
that’s where it would take me, back on
board HMS Endeavour.

Travel starts when you leave the airport,
dump the pre-booked hotel and get off the
tour bus, when there’s nobody holding your
hand any longer. Up to that point you’ve
been a tourist.

I SOMETIMES THINK
ANTARCTICA TOPS THE LOT. IT’S A
CONTINENT OF ABSOLUTES,
EVEN THE COLOURS ARE UTTERLY
ABSOLUTE, EVERYTHING IS EITHER
BLUE OR BLACK OR WHITE, NOTHING
FALLS IN BETWEEN.

TONY WHEELER

Today’s technology doesn’t change travel
into mere tourism. Recently I’ve crossed
from one country (the Solomon Islands)
to another (Papua New Guinea) in a small
village boat. Did it matter that my GPS
could show me where I was and how much
more sea we had to cross?

You could earn a university degree from
travel, I’ve learnt so much stuff about so
many things.

If I hadn’t got into travel publishing
perhaps I’d have ended up a travel guide.

I’d be a lousy guide in some ways. I’d
quickly lose all patience with people who
want their hand held and their luggage
lifted off the carousel, but I find when I’m
with people I do a pretty good job (if I
say so myself!) of explaining things in an
interesting fashion.

For a long time now I’ve tried to spend at
least one week each year exploring on foot
and although I’ve not managed that every
year, last year I spent nearly a month on
multi-day walks in South Korea, Israel and
Nepal. As well as the day walks.

I have to admit, I do love the view from
airline windows.

I’ve often said my favourite place is
the airport departure lounge, because it
means you’re about to go somewhere.

I have two homes and when I’m home in
Melbourne (the bigger house) I never miss
the home in London (the smaller one). Or
vice versa. When I’m on the road I don’t
miss either.

When I do get home, to either home,
about six weeks is the maximum I can
take before my itchy feet want to head off
somewhere else.

I sometimes think Antarctica tops the
lot. It’s a continent of absolutes, even the
colours are utterly absolute, everything is
either blue or black or white, nothing falls
in between.

If there’s a golden rule of travel, it’s
to leave your preconceptions at home,
however far you’ve gone down the road
you’re still likely to meet somebody who
has gone even further.

How you travel and who you travel
with – these can change from trip to trip.
There’s no right way, no right combination.

When I started out it was all about
shoestring travel, making your money go
as far as it could.

There are so many travel experiences
that only money can buy. These days I
don’t worry about costs, but I haven’t lost
sight of the value of experiences that only
travelling close to street level (on street
costs) can bring you.

Travelling alone, you meet people you
wouldn’t meet if you were already with
somebody else and you certainly never
have any arguments about what you
should be doing!

Travel with kids can be a strain, but it’s
amazing how they open doors for you.
In lots of places an offspring or two can
instantly convert you from just another
tourist to a real human being.

For me travel has been a job as well as
a pleasure for so long it’s hard to separate
the two reasons for my travelling. Even
when I don’t need to I can’t help taking
notes, ‘somebody might like to know about
that restaurant, that great shortcut, that
interesting new museum, that great bar.’

I’m always looking forward to the
next trip, there’s always a wish list and
sometimes it amazes me how long things
have been on that ‘must do’ list. Why have
I never travelled across Russia on the
Trans-Siberian Express?

I never really thought of it as work, I
reckon I’d have paid to have my job.

STEFAN LOOSE

FOUNDER, STEFAN LOOSE GUIDES

Our parents travelled only where the
world spoke German but the post-war
generation used their school English to
discover the world. They’d had enough
of German society’s stuffy atmosphere
in the 1960s and they just pulled out,
always a little further, going overland to
Italy, Ibiza, Morocco, and then India and
Nepal – the world seemed limitless. Those
who returned months or even years later
told their friends about their adventures
and gave tips for the trip. And some made
notes and had them printed.

In the 1970s, more than a dozen ‘one
author-one book’ publishers came into
existence with titles like The Cheapest Trip
to India, Afghanistan and Nepal or Africa
for Self-Driving. The flippantly written texts
were peppered with spelling mistakes
and hand-drawn maps but they were also
packed with insider tips and concrete
information about cheap places to sleep.
They were very practical and up-to-date.

In 1975 during a garden party in Berlin
some travellers founded a club, the ‘German
Centre for Globetrotters’. In their magazine,
Trotter, they published travel stories and
an event calendar. Once a year, insiders
and newcomers met, slept in tents, cooked
together and exchanged experiences.

The oil crises of 1973 and 1979, regional
wars in Afghanistan and new complicated
visa rules made overland travelling
more arduous. Student travel agencies

NAVAGIO BEACH,
ZAKYNTHOS ISLAND, GREECE

discovered the grey market for cheap
airline tickets. Now, you could travel to
distant places for a short time without
giving up career and home. Guidebooks
became increasingly professional and the
authors of the alternative guides, now in
regular jobs, had no time to update their
books. It didn’t take long till their guides
disappeared from the shelves. Many
pioneers of the 1960s and 1970s have
retired but their passion for travelling
remains. The Trotter still exists, publishing
the exploits of globetrotters, mountaineers
and motorcyclists. Others, like me, turned
their hobby into a career.

The founder of Stefan Loose Verlag, Stefan
is working with Help Tourism in Kolkata
and is currently fundraising for a school in
Eastern Arunachal.

MARK ELLINGHAM

FOUNDER, ROUGH GUIDES

I set up Rough Guides as a 22-year-
old, fresh out of university. I wrote about
Greece because I liked the place and had
noticed there wasn’t a decent guidebook
to be found. Not one that reflected my
interests, anyway. I wanted a survival
guide, with decent tips on living cheap, but
also a book that opened up contemporary
life and culture and politics. Greece
was only five years out of the Colonels’
dictatorship yet the other guides seemed
to cut off somewhere around the fall of
Byzantium. And nobody seemed to think
we travellers might want to experience
local festivals, music clubs and the like.

I hadn’t heard of Lonely Planet at the

time because I hadn’t been to southeast
Asia, where that original yellow bible was
making waves. But I met Tony Wheeler
the year we published Greece. He had just
brought out an awesome tome on India.
‘Are you going to keep covering Europe?’
Tony asked. ‘Our focus is Asia.’ And for the
best part of a decade we had an unspoken
detente, until we each ran out of space on
the map. LP moved into the Mediterranean.
Rough Guides set off for China.

I LIKE TO THINK WE HELPED SHAPE
AN ATTITUDE THAT TRAVEL COULD BE
A GOOD THING. YOU COULD SPREAD
YOUR MONEY AROUND LOCAL
ENTERPRISES AND TREAT PEOPLE
WITH RESPECT AND CURIOSITY…

MARK ELLINGHAM

In retrospect, we were all hugely lucky.
Guidebooks had fallen into a generational
black hole. The good early ones – the
Baedekers – had disappeared after the
war, tarnished by the Nazis. Their place had
been taken by the banalities of Frommer’s
five-dollars-a-day and the mid-budget
platitudes of Fodor’s. It was a space for new
punks on the block. And so was the world.

Was there ever a better decade for
travel than the 1980s? Cheap(er) flights
brought places like Peru or Zimbabwe
(fun, post-Independence) or Nepal within
reach of us Europeans, while Eastern
Europe and China were opening their
gates. It was a thrill producing a guide to
a country that had never previously been

covered and drawing up the first decent –
well, half-decent – maps. Guidebooks
had powerful knowledge. I like to think we
helped shape an attitude: that travel could
be a good thing. You could spread your
money around small, local enterprises.
Treat people with a respect and curiosity
perhaps lacking in previous generations
of Western travellers. Maybe even give
something back by getting involved in
local projects and charities.

The guidebook is supposed to be in
crisis, crushed by the free knowledge of
Wikipedia, Google, Twitter, Facebook, or
the tiresome complaints of TripAdvisor.
But I’m not so sure about crisis. I think it’s
more like a transition. Sure, we’ve all gone
crazy for social media, for someone telling
us they went to a bar – just now! – and
how great it is. But we also want a take on,
say, Tangier or Budapest or Amsterdam,
from someone who has scratched below
their surface. And, of course, social
networks aren’t very useful for places
where nobody is tweeting. What’s hot in
Kigali, anyone?

My hope for travel is that it becomes
slower and longer. We don’t need to burn
up CO2 ticking off a mass of destinations.
Far better a month or a year’s travel in
one place, taking time to become a part
of it, getting the language and the culture.
That could be Greece or India, those first
Rough/LP destinations. Though if I was
setting off, right now, for an extended
trip, I’d head for Africa, where things are
changing fast and generally for the better.

To Addis, then … and beyond.

Mark Ellingham founded Rough Guides in
1982. He is currently involved in a new
venture, Cool Places (www.coolplaces.
co.uk), which reviews the best of
everything in the UK. And he is a trustee
of the charity Camara (www.camara.org),
which refurbishes computers and sets
up IT rooms in African schools. Camara
welcomes volunteers with good IT skills.

HILARY BRADT

CO-FOUNDER, BRADT GUIDES

The focus of our 1970s travels in South
America was backpacking in the original
American sense of the word – hiking for
several days in the wilderness, carrying all
our needs on our back. It was the questions
from other gringos about ‘how’ and ‘where’
that prompted us to write a little book about
five routes (including the now-famous Inca
Trail) in Peru and Bolivia. The opportunity
came when we took a river barge for three
days down a tributary of the Amazon. At
the Bolivian jungle town of Trinidad we
borrowed a typewriter and George (my
ex-husband) typed it up and sent it to his
mother to print in Boston. It retailed for
$1.95. And that, we thought, was that.

The internet has made an incalculable
difference in the way we travel. In the
Olden Days, George and I would get off the
bus and, while one guarded the luggage,
the other looked for a hotel. The cheap
ones were always near the bus station so
it was never a problem. These days most

travellers will have booked at least their first
night’s accommodation online.

The backpacker hostel that doesn’t have
a website is doomed to failure.

I sometimes miss our total ignorance
of what to see! I was never as bad as a
friend who drove through Italy in the 1960s.
‘There’s a town here called Firenze’, she
told her boyfriend, ‘should we stop, do you
think?’ ‘Never heard of it’, he responded.
And so they continued south.

George and I were almost as clueless
about Ecuador and Peru, but we learned to
look at postcards to find out which sights
the towns prided themselves on. It worked
pretty well. If we spotted other gringos –
a startling occurrence which happened
infrequently – we would make a beeline in
order to learn of their recommendations of
places to stay and things to do. We realised
that the clever thing was to travel from
south to north, so we could tap into the

IT WAS THE QUESTIONS FROM OTHER
GRINGOS ABOUT ‘HOW’ AND ‘WHERE’
THAT PROMPTED US TO WRITE.

HILARY BRADT

experiences of the majority of travellers
going the other way.

One very noticeable attribute of travel
today is the rise in responsible travel.
Backpackers in the 1960s and ’70s were
ever ready to sneak into game parks or
museums – and out of hotels – without
paying. They boasted about it; in those hippy
days it was the badge of an experienced

LAKE TITICACA, BOLIVIA

traveller. It sounds po-faced but it was not
something I was comfortable with, so the
rise of Tourism Concern and the general
concept of travelling responsibly has come
as a relief. It is a much better world for our
host nations these days; and that’s certainly
something to celebrate.

Hilary Bradt is the co-founder and director
of Bradt Travel Guides. She wrote her first
book in 1974 and continues to write and
lecture widely on travel.

TREMAYNE
CAREW POLE

FOUNDER, A HEDONIST’S GUIDE

I love cities. I love getting under their skin
and finding experiences that you wouldn’t
normally find in a weekend away. And I hate
looking like an outsider when I visit. People
treat you differently. We’ve always wanted
readers to explore local neighbourhoods.
Others do the practical information or the
history very well. We specialise in a city’s
decadent side – it’s all about comfortable
beds, great food, the best parties.

The idea for the Hedonist’s Guides
came after a frustrating weekend in
Budapest. I went away with a group of
friends and we couldn’t find the right
places to eat or drink and wasted a
weekend. At that time there was nothing
that focused purely on where to eat,
stay and play. I quit my job and moved to
Prague to research the first book.

I had no writing, travel or publishing
experience so it was a huge learning curve.

I had to go through the whole process for
myself. You can’t tell others what to do and
how to do it if you haven’t done it yourself
first. We started off with second tier
destinations – we felt we couldn’t compete
on London, New York, Paris – and went
for smaller ones like Marrakech, Madrid,
Tallinn, Beirut. The selection process is
fairly arbitrary and there is no set formula.

A guidebook is a companion, a faceless
friend who takes your hand and leads
you through a new city. Travellers want
an experience from a guidebook, they
want a story to tell not just a slideshow
of historical monuments. Thirty years
ago it was about the monuments, today
it is about the experience and Tony
Wheeler was the person who gave the
idea of getting off the beaten track to a
generation. He has opened up the world to
so many people.

In recent years I have moved away
from everyday tourism and started
going to slightly edgier, back-of-beyond
destinations and meeting politicians
and business people. I enjoy trying to
understand what makes a country and
people tick.

I loved Freetown, Sierra Leone. I had
no preconceptions but we ended up
having the most monumental week seeing
everything the country had to offer. I love
that tingling feel of not knowing what to
expect when you land somewhere.

Tremayne Carew Pole founded the A
Hedonist’s Guide to…series in 2004.

BILL DALTON

FOUNDER, MOON PUBLICATIONS

Ever since the doors of an old prop
plane were flung open in downtown
Jakarta 40 years ago, I’ve been intrigued
by the complexity, the diversity and
the mystique of Indonesia. As a wall of
suffocating heat and dust mixed with
the smells of diesel and clove cigarettes
rushed into the cabin, my first thought
was: ‘I love this place!’

Walking onto the hot tarmac of the
old Kebayoran Airport that day was to
ultimately lead to my whole professional
life writing about this maddening,
fascinating country. It started with the
publication of six mimeographed pages
of gypsy traveller’s notes and crude
handmade maps, stapled together and
sold in the flea markets of Australia, and
it culminated two decades later in the
6th edition of the Indonesia Handbook,
a 1000-page behemoth and the first
comprehensive guidebook on Indonesia
published in the post-war period.

There was a time when one lone,
determined guidebook writer – red-faced
and sweat-drenched at the end of each
day – could actually cover this sprawling
string of islands during one three-month
trip, working without competition for
royalties and retaining full copyright
ownership. But by the early 1990s, with
the country’s infrastructure exploding,
competing guidebooks arrived and it
became impossible for just one writer to

research all of Indonesia. Instead, teams
of writers were assigned to regions. Travel
guidebooks have since metamorphosed
into smartphone apps, but I still believe
that disciplined professionals give the best
obtainable version of the truth.

I glean fresh information from other
travellers met along the way or from
historical novels, which give more of a
feel for the subtleties of the culture and
the character of the people. If writers

THE EXTREMITIES OF INDONESIA’S
ARCHIPELAGO STILL OFFER
HIGH ADVENTURE STRAIGHT OUT OF
A JOSEPH CONRAD NOVEL.

BILL DALTON

lavish too much praise on a hotel, beach
or locale, I hit the other direction to avoid
places that have been sabotaged by
their own success. It beats the hell out of
throwing a dart at a map on a wall.

The extremities of Indonesia’s
archipelago still offer high adventure,
right out of a Joseph Conrad novel. In
the far-flung southeastern islands, crew
members onboard your perahu wear
bandanas and stick knives in their belts,
and a bottle of rice wine and a fellow
traveller’s yarn will lead you through the
night like the North Star.

Bill Dalton founded Moon Publications in a
youth hostel in Queensland. He published
the Indonesia Handbook in 1973 and now
lives with his Indonesian wife on a farm in
West Bali.

‘Indian and Thai cuisine may be world-renowned,
but Sri Lanka’s time in the global gourmet
spotlight can’t be far away’

SRI LANKA

POPULATION 20.6 million

FOREIGN VISITORS PER YEAR 900,000

CAPITAL Colombo

LANGUAGES Sinhala, Tamil, English (unofficial)

MAJOR INDUSTRIES Tourism, tea, textiles and apparel

UNIT OF CURRENCY Sri Lankan Rupee (LKR)

COST INDEX Rice and curry lunch packet LKR200 (US$1.65), bottle of Lion
Lager LKR250 (US$2), guesthouse in Ella LKR4000 (US$33), entrance to the
rock fortress of Sigiriya LKR3900 (US$30)

KANDYAN DRUMMERS IN
COLOMBO, SRI LANKA

WHY GO IN 2013? SERENITY
RETURNS TO SERENDIB

Dubbed Serendib – the origin of the word
serendipity – by seafaring Arab traders
centuries ago, Sri Lanka has been anything
but serene in recent decades. Battered
tragically by the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami
and wracked by civil war from 1983 to 2009,
many areas of South Asia’s most compact
country have remained off limits to even the
most intrepid traveller. Now the bitter conflict
is over, investment is fuelling the tourism
industry, and visitor numbers are steadily
increasing. Prices are affordable, and with
low-cost flights from the convenient travel
hub of Bangkok, Sri Lanka is emerging as one
of the planet’s best-value destinations.

North of Colombo on Sri Lanka’s west
coast, Kalpitiya and the Puttalam lagoon
are ecotourism hotspots with birdwatching
and kayaking, and near Dondra Head on the
south coast, mighty blue whales are regular
visitors from January to April. Land-based
wildlife thrills include the leopards and
elephants of Yala National Park, and the
more rugged and remote Wilpattu National
Park, open again after being closed for more
than two decades by the Sri Lankan civil war.

The gloriously arcing beaches of the
nation’s east coast are now challenging
traditional southern favourites. Arugam
Bay’s sandy crescent is one of Asia’s best
surf spots, and further north, Uppuveli and
Nilaveli near Trincomalee stretch for several

pristine kilometres. Fast-forward five years,
and both beaches will definitely be accorded
‘Where to go next’ status in the glossy travel
magazines. Why wait that long?

LIFE-CHANGING EXPERIENCES

Explore the glorious labyrinth of Galle’s
17th-century Dutch fort. In past centuries,
the Unesco-listed colonial town was a
prosperous hub of global trade, and now
boutique hotels and an emerging arts scene
instil a cosmopolitan allure. Further north,
discover Sri Lanka’s imposing Ancient
Cities, now emerging from a verdant
landscape. All around the country, tuck
into great-value local food including grilled
seafood, spicy kotthu (roti chopped and
mixed with vegetables) and multicourse mini
banquets of different curries at family-run
guesthouses. Indian and Thai cuisine may be
world-renowned, but Sri Lanka’s time in the
global gourmet spotlight can’t be far away.

FESTIVALS & EVENTS

Celebrate the enduring impact of the
printed word at January’s annual Galle
Literary Festival. Past bookish visitors to
the heritage fort town’s storied streets
include Orhan Pamuk, Pico Iyer and
Alexander McCall Smith.

In July, the annual Kataragama festival
draws thousands of Hindu devotees at the
completion of their multiweek Pada Yatra
walking pilgrimage through rugged eastern
Sri Lanka.

Held annually around July/August,
Kandy’s Esala Perahera honours the sacred
tooth of the Buddha held in the city’s Temple
of the Scared Tooth Relic. The festival
culminates on the tenth and final night

when dancers, drummers and around 50
lavishly decorated elephants parade through
Kandy’s narrow, lakeside streets.

HOT TOPIC OF THE DAY

Overseas investment, especially from China,
is transforming the skyline of Colombo.
Planned to open in 2013, the Colombo
Lotus Tower will soar 350m from the
oceanfront near Beira Lake. Throughout
2013, construction will be continuing on the
new Shangri La Colombo hotel overlooking
nearby Galle Face Green. Don’t worry, there
are still plenty of laid-back guesthouses on
Sri Lanka’s southern and eastern beaches.

RANDOM FACTS

Rapper and hip-hop artist MIA, aka
Mathangi Arulpragasam, is of Sri Lankan
Tamil descent, and spent part of her
childhood in the northern city of Jaffna
during the Sri Lankan civil war.

At the Millennium Elephant Foundation
near Kandy, elephant dung is used to make
stationery, books and greeting cards. All
the products are definitely odour-free.

Sri Lanka is one of the world’s top tea
producers, and accommodation in the
nation’s cool-climate Hill Country includes
former tea factories and gracious colonial
plantation houses.

MOST BIZARRE SIGHT

Rising from a halo of forest, Sigiriya rock
boldly punctuates the landscape of central
Sri Lanka. The route ascending Sigiriya
is studded with risqué centuries-old
paintings and graffiti, and atop the rock,
the remains of gardens and pools are a
reminder of its past as a temple or palace.

BATH TIME FOR
THE ELEPHANTS AT
ANURADHAPURA

‘Nature has been as prolific and creative here
as Picasso in his prime…’

MONTENEGRO

POPULATION 657,000

FOREIGN VISITORS PER YEAR 1.2 million

CAPITAL Podgorica

LANGUAGE Montenegrin

MAJOR INDUSTRIES Tourism, agriculture

UNIT OF CURRENCY Euro (€)

COST INDEX Glass of beer €1.50 (US$2), budget hotel double €20-
30 (US$20-40), two-course meal €8-20 (US$10-26), burek (meat- or
spinach- filled pastry) €1 (US$1.30)

SUN, SEA, SAND AND A FORT
AT SVETI STEFAN RESORT

WHY GO IN 2013? TAMING A
WILD BEAUTY

When it comes to tourism, Montenegro
is a country on the fast track to
superstardom. Nature has been as
prolific and creative here as Picasso in
his prime, producing such iconic draws
as the bewitching Bay of Kotor and the
buzzy beaches along its Riviera. But be
sure to pack a pair of hiking boots along
with your swimsuit, for Montenegro’s
beauty is no less intense in the wild
and rugged interior. Fierce mountains
loom over velvety valleys, glacial lakes,
precipitous canyons and dreamy villages
where life unfolds much the way it has
throughout history. A new – and steadily

growing – network of hiking and biking
trails and improved infrastructure is
making this glorious quilt of nature ever
more accessible, while creating new
employment for locals.

Back on the coast, the government’s
eagerness to roll out the red carpet to
foreign investors has resulted in such high-
profile developments as Porto Montenegro,
a luxury yacht marina and waterfront
community in Tivat, and the restored
glamour resort of Sveti Stefan near Budva.
Independent only since 2006, Montenegro
is also keen on becoming a full-fledged
member of the international community
and has applied for membership in the
European Union and NATO.

LIFE-CHANGING EXPERIENCES

Montenegro’s five national parks spotlight
its most breathtaking natural features.
Explore the country’s ‘upper storey’ in
dramatic Durmitor National Park, where the
soaring peaks harbour bears and wolves,
and also offer ski slopes and Europe’s
deepest gorge, the Tara Canyon, a rafters’
paradise. In nearby Biogradska Gora
National Park, a ramble through primeval
forest leads to an alpine lake shimmering
in countless shades of blue. It’s feathered
critters galore in water lily-fringed Lake
Skadar National Park, Europe’s biggest
bird reserve. Brave the white-knuckle drive
up to Lovćen National Park and you’ll be

rewarded with vistas across the entire
country. The newest national park, untamed
and remote Prokletije, on the border
with Albania, boasts some of the highest
mountains in the Balkans.

FESTIVALS & EVENTS

In early August, the streets of Kotor
erupt in song, dance and merriment
during the International Summer Carnival,
which culminates in a grand parade and
all-night street party.

Adventure racers from around the world
test their skills kayaking, rafting, biking and
high-roping through remote backcountry
during October’s 48-hour Montenegro

LACE UP YOUR HIKING BOOTS
TO EXPLORE DURMITOR
NATIONAL PARK

Expedition Challenge, one of Europe’s most
gruelling endurance races.

Budva goes dramatic in July and August
during the Budva Theatre City festival,
featuring plays, classical music, art exhibits
and poetry readings.

RECENT FAD

After you’ve baked in the sun all day, drag
your bronzed self to an ‘after-beach party’
and watch the sun dip into the Adriatic as
you dance with hundreds of other hedonistic
revellers. Throughout the summer, some 300
such parties take over the seaside resorts,
sometimes helmed by such DJ royalty as
David Guetta, Sam Divine and Jamie Lewis.

HOT TOPIC OF THE DAY

The economy, social inequality and
corruption. In 2012, thousands of
Montenegrins took to the streets to protest
against economic woes, including soaring
energy prices, regional discrepancies and
unemployment. The protestors perceived
the government as corrupt and catering
primarily for the interests of local tycoons
and foreign investors. Strong interest in
joining the EU and NATO, however, has
propelled the government to adopt a number
of anticorruption laws and initiatives.

RANDOM FACTS

Lovćen National Park is home to Crna
Gora or Black Mountain, which gave
Montenegro its name.

The water of the Tara River is clean
enough to drink.

Montenegro has more than 150
mountains higher than 2000m.

Lake Skadar, which is below sea level,
is a rare nesting site of the endangered
Dalmatian pelican.

Montenegro has no minimum legal
drinking age.

MOST BIZARRE SIGHT

Right in the heart of the mountain resort of
Kolašin looms one of the finest vestiges of
socialist architecture from the Yugoslav era:
the Memorial Hall, a futuristic concrete pile of
triangles, cubes and other geometric shapes.
It was designed in 1976 by Slovenian architect
Marko Mušič to commemorate the town’s role
as centre of partisan resistance during WWII.
Although badly in need of a makeover, it’s
currently home to municipal offices and may
be converted into a congress centre.

‘You’ll earn top bragging rights after cruising the
world’s most dangerous bike path’

SOUTH KOREA

POPULATION 48.9 million

FOREIGN VISITORS PER YEAR 9.8 million

CAPITAL Seoul

LANGUAGE Korean

MAJOR INDUSTRIES Electronics, shipbuilding, auto manufacturing, steel

UNIT OF CURRENCY Korean won

COST INDEX Cafe latte 3500 won (US$2.65), green fees, 18 holes, public golf
course 170,000 won (US$150), screen golf, 18 holes per person 15,000 won
(US$13), budget motel room 40,000 won (US$35)

DRINKING FOUNTAIN AND LADLES AT
BONGEUNSA BUDDHIST TEMPLE,
GANGNAM-GU, SEOUL

WHY GO IN 2013? TO ENJOY THE
GREAT OUTDOORS

Think South Korea is just another high-
density Asian country filled with towers,
temples and traffic? Think again. Without
fanfare, South Korea has quietly developed
into an outdoor recreation destination.
Though not quite undiscovered, few people
outside the Hermit Kingdom know about it.
That anonymity will likely fade away in 2013
as the country bursts onto the world stage
with three international sporting events.

So why visit in 2013? Because golfing,
hiking and fishing, the country’s three
hottest outdoor pastimes, are South
Korea’s untapped gems – until now. With
more than 100 golf courses, some designed

by noteworthy architects like Jack Nicklaus,
finding a course to test your mettle won’t
be a challenge. If you can’t get – or afford –
a tee time, try screen golf. Use real clubs
and balls to drive, pitch and putt and let the
computer take care of the rest.

Of course, you’ll want to experience
Seoul, a high-energy mega-city where
skyscrapers chisel the skyline, Buddhist
compounds offer a place for reflection and
traffic is a code word for organised chaos.
And when the din of urban commotion starts
to overwhelm you, as it most certainly will,
follow the Korean lead: grab your gear and
escape. Pristine hiking trails on South Korean
islands provide four seasons of solitude
and breathtaking scenery with just enough

THE HEART OF SEOUL BY NIGHT

commercial development to make your stay
comfortable. How’s the fly fishing? Cast
for cherry trout, lenok and river tarpon
in splendid isolation amid an immaculate
natural environment that moves even
the crustiest of souls to ponder the
magnificence of the universe.

LIFE-CHANGING EXPERIENCE

You’ll earn top bragging rights after cruising
the world’s most dangerous bike path.
Running alongside the demilitarised zone
(DMZ) separating North and South Korea –
the world’s most fortified border – the
scenery shifts between picturesque and
surreal as you pedal past well-preserved
biodiversity, barbed wire and landmines.
The 18km path starts in Paju and is open
two Sundays per month. If biking seems too
much like work, walking tours can take you
for a guided excursion along one section of
the DMZ’s razor-wire fencing.

FESTIVALS & EVENTS

In January and February, Pyeongchang
hosts the Special Olympics Winter Games.
There will be 3300 athletes competing in 32
events including skiing and snowboarding.
It’s South Korea’s largest ever winter
sporting event and a warm-up for the much
bigger 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.

Bowlers, brawlers and gamers converge
on Incheon for the 4th Annual Asian Indoor
and Martial Arts Games from 29 June to
6 July. It’s an eclectic mix of competition
with no shortage of physically demanding
contests like muay thai fighting, kickboxing
and sport dancing (all that smiling can’t be
easy). It’s another warm-up event as Incheon
gets ready to stage the 2014 Asian Games.

Sculls and coxes will be floating on
Tangeum Lake as Chungju hosts the World
Rowing Championship. From 24 August to
1 September, 2300 athletes and coaches
from 80 countries will compete in 27 events.

RECENT FAD

Low-cost air travel. Five budget airlines now
offer cheap seats (eg US$165 for a return
ticket to Hong Kong) to an ever-growing
number of Asian destinations, with frequent
service to China, Japan, Thailand, Taiwan
and the Philippines. In 2011 the number of
domestic and international passengers on
budget flights topped a record 10 million.

WHAT’S HOT…

Studying abroad, makgeolli (fermented rice
wine), ebooks

…WHAT’S NOT

Studying in Korea, wine, print books

HOT TOPIC OF THE DAY

North Korea is always topical. Dear
Leader, Kim Jong-il, is long gone and the
country is waiting to see if the new regime
(including Kim Jong-un as the supposed
leader) will continue the north’s tradition of
alternating between military provocation
and conciliation.

MOST BIZARRE SIGHT

Love Land on Jeju Island is a park where
statues of giant penises and nude women
come together in an inspiring display of
x-rated positions. It’s all for educational
purposes, mind you: Jeju Island is South
Korea’s honeymoon capital.

‘….Ecuador’s real lure: you can be in the high Andes
one minute, and either in the Amazon jungle or on
the beach a few hours later’

ECUADOR

POPULATION 14.3 million

FOREIGN VISITORS PER YEAR 1.1 million

CAPITAL Quito

LANGUAGES Spanish, Quechua

UNIT OF CURRENCY US dollar ($)

MAJOR INDUSTRIES Oil, bananas

COST INDEX Bottle of Pilsener US$1.25, midrange hotel double/hostel dorm
US$20/10, three-day Amazon excursion US$400

CARPET SELLER
AT THE MARKET
IN OTAVALO, ECUADOR

WHY GO IN 2013? MAKING TRACKS

There’s a buzz in the Andean air of Ecuador
this year – or, rather, a klaxon blast or three.
The country’s railway network, almost
totally closed down in the years following
the devastating El Niño–induced floods
of the 1990s, is scheduled to radically
revamp in 2013. A massive $250 million is
rebuilding train lines between increasingly
cosmopolitan Quito in the mountains and
the coastal port of Guayaquil. Tracks will
also connect Ecuador’s famed 5900m-high
volcano Cotopaxi and the Nariz del Diablo
(Devil’s Nose), claiming the steepest (and
most hair-raising) stretch of railway in
the Western world. Joining up these lofty
locales by track wasn’t easy – it’s not for
nothing that Ecuadorians dub their railway

the most difficult train in the world – and
the restoration has been Ecuador’s most
ambitious tourism project. But developers
believe the gamble will pay off and pull in
unprecedented tourist numbers.

And why wouldn’t it? International
visitors to this diminutive-yet-diverse South
American nation are already at an all-time
high and navigating it has never been so fun.
And, in a more-or-less trackless continent,
it’s fun that no other country can come close
to emulating. The highlight for travellers
will be the opportunities to visit places they
otherwise wouldn’t: Machachi, with Ecuador’s
finest old haciendas, or the poignant
archaeological site of Baños del Inca.

So: full steam ahead Ecuador. But if
trains don’t do it for you, chocolate will

(logically, right?). The country produces
some 60% of the world’s quality cacao, and
new, exclusively chocolate-themed tours
of Ecuador kicked off in November 2012,
planting the country firmly on the radar of
serious chocoholics. Ecuador’s wildlife, of
course, is why tourism here first started,
but this year the newsflash is that eco-
excursions just got flashier. Snazzy Mashpi
Lodge now offers Ecuador’s first ‘boutique
Amazon’ experience, with a treetop gondola
whooshing guests 2km through the
rainforest canopy.

LIFE-CHANGING EXPERIENCES

Quito is a great place to start your
Ecuadorian foray, with one of the largest
intact colonial cores of any South American
city. It’s Unesco-listed too, along with the
country’s other mountain metropolis,
Cuenca. Near Quito there’s the continent’s
best handicrafts markets at Otavalo, and
one of the world’s highest, most active
and dramatic volcanoes, Cotopaxi, amid
superb hiking in the surrounding national
park. If you only have time for one train
ride, make it the most legendary: the
Riobamba–Alausi–Sibambe rail ride has
been wowing travellers for generations,
thanks to the ridiculously sheer switchback
descent around the Nariz del Diablo. But
here’s Ecuador’s real lure: you can be in
the high Andes one minute, and either in
the Amazon jungle or on the beach a few
hours later. No other country in the world
can offer such starkly different regions
in such close proximity, or with such
accessibility between them. Descend from
the mountains to soak up volcanically
heated spas in beautiful Baños or for some

birding, Amazon-style, in the world’s most
biodiverse spot.

FESTIVALS & EVENTS

Otavalo’s Fiesta del Yamor is a
September celebration of harvest dating
to Inca times: traditionally the sun god was
offered copious amounts of Andean corn-
fermented liquor chicha (aka yamor), which
features prominently in festivities.

In November’s Fiesta de Mama Negra in
Latacunga, costumed characters reflecting
Latacunga’s diverse heritage parade the
streets. The show-stealing figure is the
mama negra (black mother): a combo of the
Virgin and African deities.

A MANY-BANDED ARACARI
ON THE BANKS OF THE NAPO
RIVER WITHIN THE AMAZON
BASIN, ECUADOR

Citizens of Quito go loco (mad) in the
week preceding the anniversary of their
city’s founding on 6 December. Top billing
at these Fiestas de Quito is one of Latin
America’s biggest bullfighting contests
(lasting eight successive days).

HOT TOPIC OF THE DAY

As if cross-country trains weren’t enough, it
seems Quito will get its own metro system
(due 2016). Construction started late 2012,
and Ecuadorians looked on with a mixture
of pride and scepticism: aware, perhaps,
of the see-saw nature of their public
transportation over the decades.

MOST BIZARRE SIGHT

Ecuador has cashed in on straddling
the equator and built the photo-friendly
Mitad del Mundo experience, supposedly
smack-bang on the divide between the
hemispheres. Never will you watch water
run down a plughole with such awe as
when you observe demonstrations of
the coriolis effect (water drains in an
anticlockwise direction north of the
equator and clockwise south). The actual
equatorial line, however, is disputed:
some say it’s up to 240m north of the
current mark. The experiment, strangely,
still seems to work…

‘Secreted in this landscape is Slovakia’s greatest
draw: its wonderfully preserved folk culture’

SLOVAKIA

POPULATION 5.4 million

FOREIGN VISITORS PER YEAR 1.3 million (2010)

CAPITAL Bratislava

LANGUAGES Slovak, Hungarian, Roma, Czech

UNIT OF CURRENCY Euro (€)

MAJOR INDUSTRIES Car production, electrical engineering

COST INDEX Slovak-brewed beer 500ml €1.50 (US$2),
midrange hotel double/dorm €75/12 (US$98/16), train ticket
Bratislava–Kosice €55 (US$70)

FUN FOR FRESH-AIR FIENDS:
THE MALÁ FATRA RANGE

WHY GO IN 2013?
COUNTRY OF CULTURE

Happy 20th birthday, Slovakia. Two
decades on from the Velvet Revolution that
saw the country separate from its Czech
neighbour, it has galvanised to form one of
the continent’s fastest-growing economies,
joined the EU and ranks right up there in
Google searches for bargain ski packages
and stag weekends. Signs of capitalist
success? Maybe. But Slovakia’s economic
boom has hampered visitor numbers (it’s
now too pricey for many Eastern Europeans
who once visited) and Slovakia’s tourism
industry is keen to distance the nation from
being all cheap pistes and piss-ups (they’re

not keen on overplaying the communist
past either).

The image overhaul has been overdue but
it’s here, and in time for the inevitable party
in 2013. Slovakia has come a long way, but
the message now is that visitors could and
should go a lot further into it. Slovakia’s ski
centres are looking spruced-up of recent
years, but snow-sports are merely the
gateway to a host of high-altitude activities
in this mountainous land, like tracking some
of Europe’s last major wolf populations, just
as Bratislava beer-bingeing can be traded for
tasting Slovak wines in timeless villages that
resound to ancient Romany or folk music.
In the lower lands, Kosice is 2013 European

City of Culture, and will offer a scintillating
program of film, folk, music, arts and crafts
festivals across atmospheric locations such
as its castle and restored amphitheatre.

Cruising along (or staying on) the Danube
is getting bigger and more luxurious
than ever. It’s on this illustrious river,
incidentally, that you’ll find one of Eastern
Europe’s most magnificent waterside
transformation projects: the Danubiana
Meulensteen art museum, undoubtedly one
of the region’s greatest contemporary arts
museums. Sorry, that should be Central
Europe: that’s the term Slovakians prefer
nowadays. ‘Eastern’ is so eighties.

LIFE-CHANGING EXPERIENCES

It seems strange for a country so close to
the hub of Europe, but Slovakia’s commonly
known parts are so sparse that travelling
virtually anywhere is an adventure: as befits
a nation more dominated by mountains
or forests than almost any other on the
continent. After sampling Bratislava’s
medieval Old Town and quirky communist
architecture (some of the most distinctive
behind the old Iron Curtain), head for the
Tatras Mountains. Classic skiing at a fraction
of Alpine prices awaits at resorts like Jasná,
but hiking is first-class too: taking to the
trails of national parks like Poloniny with
its ancient beech forests, or Slovenský raj
with its precarious cliff-scaling paths, is
as remote as Europe gets, and a nigh-on
primordial experience. Secreted in this
landscape is Slovakia’s greatest draw: its
wonderfully preserved folk culture, the
colourful roots of which are interlinked with
the Romany heritage hereabouts. Roll back
the centuries by stepping into one of Eastern

DON’T MISS THE DANUBIANA
MEULENSTEEN ART MUSEUM

Slovakia’s wooden churches, or tapping
into a folk festival at a venue like scenically
set Východná. The former Czechoslovakia
was Europe’s most castellated region
and Slovakia’s share comprises some
phenomenal fortresses: from moody Devín,
overlooking the Danube, to Spiš, one of the
continent’s largest castles.

FESTIVALS & EVENTS

Of all Slovakia’s foodstuffs, bryndza
(Slovak sheep’s cheese) is among the
most unique, enjoying EU protection of
origin. Celebrate this in June at the Stoličné
Dni, a 15th century-style Slovak market
taking over Liptovský Mikuláš, with locally

produced traditional foods like bryndza
showcased alongside folk acts.

In June/July, Folklórny Festival
Východná (Východná Folk Festival) erupts
in the homonymous town: it’s the biggest
celebration of Slovak folk culture… anywhere.

In early October, White Night transforms
Kosice into an open-air gallery, with all
manner of pioneering arty installations
displayed on the streets; in 2013 it’s one of
the city’s myriad cultural extravaganzas.

WHAT’S HOT…

Danube cruises, eco-excursions in the
Tatras, Rom-pop (Romany pop music), ice
hockey (still)

…WHAT’S NOT

Communist chants and the Quentin
Tarantino-produced film Hostel (it
portrayed Slovakia rife with people-
trafficking, loose women and murder)

MOST BIZARRE SIGHT

Plenty of Bratislava’s communist
architecture qualifies as odd (an upside-
down pyramid or Europe’s biggest socialist
housing development, anyone?) but the
Nový Most (New Bridge), with its UFO-like
restaurant/viewpoint/nightclub perched
high above, has to be as close to the Space
Age as a building on the Danube comes.

‘These islands are laid back, friendly and often
surprisingly untouched’

SOLOMON ISLANDS

POPULATION 538,000

FOREIGN VISITORS PER YEAR 20,000

CAPITAL Honiara

LANGUAGES Solomons Pijin and 74 indigenous languages, English is widely
spoken.

MAJOR INDUSTRIES Subsistence farming and fishing, timber

UNIT OF CURRENCY Solomon Islands dollar (S$)

COST INDEX Bottle of Solbrew beer S$15 (US$2.50), night at a village
homestay S$100-200 (US$15-30), a place with electricity and mod cons
S$500-1500 (US$80-250), beautiful carved coconut wood bowl S$200-500
(US$30-80)

SNORKEL THE SOLOMONS TO
SEE TROPICAL FISH, CORAL
AND WRECKS

WHY GO 2013? EVENTUALLY
THE OUTSIDE WORLD WILL
WAKE UP TO THESE ISLANDS

Forget what travelling the Pacific used to
be like – around the Solomon Islands it’s
still that way. These islands are laid back,
friendly and often surprisingly untouched.
This is not the Pacific of mass-market
resorts or of luxury retreats; you’re
definitely not tripping over other visitors.
What you will find is engaging eco-resorts,
village homestays and some of the best
scuba diving anywhere.

The Pacific theatre of WWII was never
fought more fiercely than in the Solomons,
and wartime descriptions like ‘The Slot’
and ‘Iron Bottom Sound’ have endured

on modern maps. Wartime history can
be traced around the battlefields of
Guadalcanal and the rusting wreckage in
the jungle. At Fatboys Resort just outside
Ghizo you can take a kayak and paddle out
to Kennedy Island: yes, that’s where JFK,
20 years before he became US president,
swam to after his PT 109 patrol boat was
T-boned by a Japanese destroyer.

But you need scuba gear for the real
excitement. There’s everything from
ditched US fighter aircraft to sunken
Japanese cargo ships for divers to explore
and the water is so warm you don’t even
need a wetsuit. ‘I’m a Solomons boy’, one
divemaster said. ‘When the temperature
drops below 30°C I shiver.’

Even flying in to Honiara, the capital, is a
reminder that the Solomons are well back in
the development rankings. You fly over an
awful lot of untouched jungle and towering
mountains as you cross the island from
the southern Weathercoast. It’s an early
indicator that this is a great destination if
jungle trekking, volcano climbing, ocean
kayaking and even surfing are on your
must-do lists. Birdwatching is right up there
as well; the bird list is long and colourful
and some of the islands are so remote that
new species are still turning up. Don’t miss
the local crafts either – the islanders turn
out some of the Pacific’s most beautiful
wooden bowls, often inlaid with shells.

In the past limited flights, difficult internal
transport, a lack of infrastructure, a nasty
little local civil war and some particularly
exotic strains of malaria all put travellers
off. Today travel is much easier, the civil
strife is off the radar and lately even the
mosquitoes aren’t so threatening, although
you should still pack your insect repellent
and take those antimalarials.

LIFE-CHANGING EXPERIENCES

With nearly 1000 islands scattered
over nearly 1000km from northwest to
southeast the old line that ‘getting there
is half the fun’ is bound to come in to play.
Flights touch down on grass airstrips
where the terminal is a hut, you do your
own baggage handling and dogs have to
be chased off the runway before you can
take off. The lineup of inter-island vessels
at Honiara’s town-centre dock clearly put
the tramp into ‘tramp steamer’. Safety
may not be their number-one feature,
but they can certainly make travel an

adventure. At some point you may find
yourself in a smaller boat, out at sea with
water splashing over you and that trusty
outboard buzzing in the background.

FESTIVALS & EVENTS

The missionaries had a huge influence
on the Solomons and many holidays come
from the Christian calendar, particularly
Whit Monday in May/June with marching,
dancing and singing on many islands.

Every province has its own regional
festival, scattered right across the year.

RECENT FAD

Internet connections, mobile phones and
ATMs. Internet cafes are popping up and
a ‘Bumblebee card’ lets you log on to wi-fi
networks with your own laptop. Mobile-
phone coverage is arriving in more island
centres and ATMs are no longer restricted to
just two banks in the capital city.

HOT TOPIC OF THE DAY

Flying to the Solomons is getting easier;
at one time Solomon Airlines managed
to acquire a plane which couldn’t fly to
the country carrying both passengers
and their baggage. Now there’s a choice
of connections to Australia and other
neighbouring countries.

MOST BIZARRE SIGHT

Uepi Island Resort’s ‘Welcome Wharf’ is
also home to the island’s ‘welcome sharks’
which seem to be on constant patrol. ‘It’s
the best snorkelling spot on the island’,
you’re told on arrival. Followed by, ‘oh
they’re quite friendly’.

A TRADITIONAL DANCE WITH
A WAR CLUB, TIKOPIA ISLAND,
THE SOLOMONS

‘Ask any tourist during your trip and you’ll quickly
see that everyone develops an unconditional love
for the little island nation’

ICELAND

POPULATION 318,452

FOREIGN VISITORS PER YEAR 495,000

CAPITAL Reykjavik

LANGUAGES Icelandic, English

MAJOR INDUSTRIES Fisheries, tourism

UNIT OF CURRENCY Icelandic króna (ISK)

COST INDEX Cup of coffee ISK350 (US$2.74), dorm bed per night ISK4400
(US$35), car rental per day ISK14,300 (US$117), hotel internet access free,
hlollar bàtar sandwich ISK790 (US$6)

SKINCARE IN THE MINERAL-
RICH BLUE LAGOON,
A THERMAL SPA NEAR
REYKJAVIK, ICELAND

WHY GO IN 2013? LAST CHANCE
TO BEAT THE CROWDS

Iceland is a land of strange phenomena –
volcanoes spew molten ash, streamers of
fluorescence dance in the winter sky, and
hidden elves are commonly believed to
lurk between the stone-strewn fjords. But
perhaps the most striking thing about the
country is the devotion it inspires among its
visitors. Ask any tourist during your trip and
you’ll quickly see that everyone develops an
unconditional love for the little island nation,
whether it’s for the mind-bending scenery
that crops up in every direction, the platefuls
of delicious lamb and fish dishes, or the
sincere local hospitality cloaked under the
gruff Nordic welcome.

Tales of deeply personal adventures
spread like wildfire upon one’s

homecoming, which has, in the last five
years, encouraged an exponential increase
in visitors. The currency crash – which
effectively devalued the króna by 75% –
also helped make a trip to Iceland much
more favourable to the wallet. But now, as
the global economy starts to heal, prices
are climbing once more.

The spoils of Iceland are no longer a
secret, but they’re still yours for the taking –
and in 2013 you’ll still be well ahead of the
curve, as there are plenty of rugged nooks
and crannies left to explore.

LIFE-CHANGING EXPERIENCES

Tackling the so-called Ring Road is a must
for all travellers: it will reveal Iceland as oh-
so-much more than a land of ice. Follow the
path anticlockwise, taking in the coloured

INTREPID EXPLORER LEIF
ERIKSSON STANDS BEFORE
HALLGRIMSKIRKJA CHURCH,
REYKJAVIK

sands and notorious volcanoes of the
southern coast before rounding up the east
to enjoy fishermen’s hamlets and tucked-
away puffin colonies. Check out the marshy
plains of the northeast, the mysterious lake
at Myvatn, and the myriad waterfalls of the
northwest, then round back towards the
capital, stopping in to see the misty cliffs
and hidden cairns along the Snaefellsness
peninsula – said to be one of the earth’s
energy centres. If time permits, take a
detour to the far-flung Westfjords region,
which looks like lobster claws clipping away
at the Arctic Circle – it’s here that you’ll find
the country’s most dramatic iteration of
thin, deep bays; the home of resting whales.

FESTIVALS & EVENTS

On 17 June the country’s largest festival
commemorates the founding of the
Republic of Iceland in 1944 with parades
and general merriment. Tradition has it
that the sun isn’t supposed to shine. And it
usually doesn’t!

Iceland Airwaves started in 1999 as a
bunch of DJs scratching records, and today
it’s grown to epic proportions, attracting
the likes of Robyn and Fat Boy Slim –
suddenly the weather-variable month of
October is one of the best times to visit!

WHAT’S HOT…

Eating hàkarl. Adventurous eaters looking
to dare their taste buds should try hàkarl –
rotten Greenland shark (tastes like old
cheese dipped in ammonia). Yum.

…WHAT’S NOT

Eating whale. Iceland’s whaling laws are
contentious on the world stage; besides,

there are other things to try in Iceland’s Hall
of Horrors (aka the kitchen).

RANDOM FACTS

Iceland has the highest density of
mobile-phone use in the world – there are
more phones in use than there are people.

Beer was illegal in Iceland until 1989. In
an attempt to circumvent the law, several
Reykjavik pubs served nonalcoholic beer
mixed with vodka.

Iceland publishes the greatest number
of books per capita in the world, and the
literacy rate is a perfect 100%.

During the filming of Dancer in the Dark,
director Lars von Trier was supposedly
so brutal to Icelandic singer Björk that
he drove her to the brink of sanity – she
apparently ate her own cardigan.

MOST BIZARRE SIGHT

The Inuit thought they were the souls of
the dead, Scandinavian folklore described
them as the spirits of unmarried women,
and the Japanese believed that a child
conceived under the dancing rays would be
fortunate in life. Modern science, however,
has a very different take on the Northern
Lights, or aurora borealis: the magical
curtains of colour that streak across the
northern night sky are the result of solar
wind – a stream of particles from the sun
that collides with oxygen, nitrogen and
hydrogen in the upper atmosphere. These
collisions produce the haunting greens and
magentas as the earth’s magnetic field
draws the wind towards the polar regions.

The best time to see the Northern Lights
in Iceland is on a clear night between
September and April.

‘Breakfast of local honey, freshly baked flatbread,
cheese and yoghurt from your host family’s sheep
should make the tourist buzz seem very far way’

TURKEY

POPULATION 79 million

FOREIGN VISITORS PER YEAR 32 million

CAPITAL Ankara

LANGUAGES Turkish, Kurdish (unofficial)

MAJOR INDUSTRIES Tourism, textiles, petroleum

UNIT OF CURRENCY Turkish Lira (TL)

COST INDEX Lahmacun (Turkish pizza) in Gaziantep TL5 (US$2.50), bottle
of Efes beer TL8 (US$4.50), boutique hotel room in Mardin TL200 (US$110),
entrance to Gaziantep’s Zeugma Mosaics Museum TL5 (US$2.50)

HOT-AIR BALLOONS
OVER SNOW-COVERED
ROCK FORMATIONS
IN NEVSEHIR,
CAPPADOCIA, TURKEY

WHY GO IN 2013?
EASTERN PROMISES

OK, maybe you’ve already been to Turkey,
but have you really seen Turkey? Plan a return
visit to venture southeast and discover Turkey
beyond Istanbul and the coastal resorts. New
low-cost airlines conveniently link the region
to Istanbul, and excellent bus services make
getting around easy.

The honey-coloured old towns of Mardin
and Midyat showcase boutique hotels in
heritage Ottoman mansions, and terrace
teahouses feature views across the Plains of
Mesopotamia. Gaziantep’s culinary firepower
is renowned across the country, and the
city’s superb new Zeugma Mosaics Museum
features astounding works of art including
the poignant Roman-era Gypsy Girl.

Significantly older are the recently
uncovered ruins of Göbekli Tepe near
Sanliurfa. Predating Stonehenge by 6000
years, the 12,000-year-old Neolithic
structure is reckoned to be the world’s
oldest temple. The slow, but scenic, way
to reach Göbekli Tepe is on the recently
inaugurated Abraham’s Path walking trail.
The trekking route begins in Harran, the
nearby birthplace of the prophet Abraham,
before continuing on through Syria, Jordan,
the West Bank and Israel.

Accommodation on some parts of
the path’s meandering route through
southeastern Turkey’s sun-baked Biblical
landscape is in simple Kurdish homestays.
A breakfast of local honey, freshly baked
flatbread, and cheese and yoghurt from your

host family’s fat-tailed sheep will make the
coast’s tourist buzz or Istanbul’s Old Town
seem far way. Welcome to the real Turkey.

LIFE-CHANGING EXPERIENCES

Ferry-hop between Europe and Asia on the
bustling Bosphorus before extending your
seaborne explorations to include the sleepy
Princes Islands. Tease your taste buds with
a tour of Istanbul’s markets, and then learn
the secrets of Turkish cuisine at a cookery
class. Further east in Anatolia, experience
the echoes of past civilisations amid the
poignant remains of Ani and Afrodisias.

FESTIVALS & EVENTS

One year after the London Olympics the
mightiest of the Med’s athletes will descend
on Mersin for June’s Mediterranean Games.
Turkey’s fourth on the all-time medal
ladder, so factor in 2013’s home advantage
and prospects are good.

Late June sees pehlivan (wrestlers) from
around Turkey grapple with other slippery
olive-oil-slathered sportsmen at the annual
Kirkpinar Oil Wrestling Festival in the
western city of Edirne.

For two months from mid-September
2013, the 13th International Istanbul
Biennial will further cement the city’s
reputation as one of the planet’s hip hubs
for visual arts.

RECENT FAD

Regional cuisine from eastern Turkey is
becoming popular in Istanbul. Catch a ferry
across the Bosphorus to Kadikoy for Ciya
Sofrasi’s spin on eastern Anatolia’s collage
of Levantine and Arab flavours. In the hip
suburb of Cihangir, the Van Kahvalti Evi (Van

Breakfast House) specialises in the feasts
of the eastern city of Van. Tuck into herb-
studded cheeses, kaymak (clotted cream)
with honey, and menemen (scrambled eggs)
for the ultimate kick-start to the day.

HOT TOPIC OF THE DAY

Many regional Turkish cities are investing
in new museums. Leading the way is the
southeastern city of Gaziantep where
the superb Zeugma Mosaics Museum is
complemented by excellent exhibitions of
Turkish ethnography and cuisine. The city is
also planning a new museum to feature the
history of traditional Turkish bath houses.

RANDOM FACTS

Baklava is famed from Bosnia to Lebanon,
but the world’s finest alchemy of gossamer-
thin filo pastry, chopped pistachios and
syrup comes from Gaziantep.

Coffee was introduced to European
society following 1683’s Battle of Vienna
between the Ottoman and Holy Roman
Empires. Reputedly, bags of the fragrant
beans were found discovered in abandoned
Ottoman military camps.

Pure-white Van cats from the eastern
city of Van often have eyes of two different
colours. They also love to swim – handy
when you live around Turkey’s largest lake.

MOST BIZARRE SIGHT

Explore Cappadocia’s honeycombed
landscape of wind-eroded volcanic tufa by
hot-air balloon, horseback, or on your own
two legs. Central Anatolia’s premier tourist
destination is now wildly popular, but it’s still
easy for intrepid travellers to escape deeper
into the region’s quirky moonscape labyrinth.

THE BLUE MOSQUE,
ISTANBUL, TURKEY

‘It’s as if someone took a look at your wishlist and
purpose-built the perfect vacation destination’

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

POPULATION 10 million

FOREIGN VISITORS PER YEAR 4.2 million

CAPITAL Santo Domingo

LANGUAGE Spanish

MAJOR INDUSTRIES Sugar, tourism

UNIT OF CURRENCY Dominican Republic peso (RD$)

COST INDEX Bottle of Presidente beer RD$50 (US$1.30), overnight stay in
midrange hotel in Punta Cana RD$3500 (US$90), one-hour merengue lesson
RD$250 (US$6.50)

THE WARRIORS BASEBALL TEAM
IN SAN ANTONIO DE GUERRA,
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

WHY GO IN 2013? GET THERE
BEFORE EVERYONE ELSE DOES

There is a reason Columbus landed here
first. Travelling to the Dominican Republic
(‘the DR’) now is akin to seeing a great
new band in a small club before they
start playing arena shows. But people are
catching on: in the first quarter of 2012 the
Dominican Republic saw an 8.4% increase
in tourism. With more airlines offering
stops to the country’s eight international
airports, as well as cruise ships adding the
DR as a major port of call, more people
are escaping to the land of sun, sand and
surf. In preparation for this new wave of
visitors, a large number of new hotels and
resorts are set to open their doors in 2013.
Relatively untouched by the devastating

2010 earthquake in neighbouring Haiti,
the country has major infrastructure
development underway, including road
construction, to make it even easier to
spend more time on the beach and less
time getting there.

So now that the secret is out, we can
share why the DR is on our hit parade. It’s
as if someone took a look at your wishlist
and purpose-built the perfect vacation
destination. Sip a cocktail made from local
rum while you watch the whales swim
by. Own the dance floor with salsa and
merengue lessons. Brave the rapids in the
only raftable river in the Caribbean. This
small but mighty country boasts plenty of
action for the adventurer in you, as well as
400km of coastline to help you get in touch

FISHING BOATS ON A
BARAHONA BEACH,
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

with your inner beach bum. The warm
climate is year-round and, unlike many
other tropical getaways, the Dominican
Republic is still relatively affordable. As if
it needed any more going for it, how about
adding friendly locals who are always ready
to share a smile, a beer and a story?

But scratch the sun-soaked surface of
the DR and you will find a destination that
exudes culture, including a rich history
of music and dance (it’s the birthplace of
merengue), a proud legacy of sports heroes,
and influential art galleries and museums.

LIFE-CHANGING EXPERIENCE

Hike, climb and swim your way up the 27
waterfalls of Damajagua. Once you have
made your way to the top of mountain
the only way down is to slip, slide and
jump into the waters below. Some of the
leaps are 10m high. And yes, you are
handed a helmet and a life preserver at the
beginning of the journey, but don’t give it
a second thought. The journey is a test of
will that will make you feel like a true bad-
ass explorer once you splash down into the
final pool of water.

FESTIVALS & EVENTS

Carnival is celebrated all month long in
February, and each weekend the streets are
filled with costumes and parades. The final
blow-out fiesta is held the last weekend in
February. It’s a raucous dance party, street
festival and heated costume competition all
rolled into one.

Who needs to spend money on big-
league baseball tickets and overpriced beer
when you can have the same experience
in the ballparks of the DR? The country’s

leading players compete for the top spot
during the winter months, ending with the
championship series in January.

A giant birthday party for the merengue,
the Puerto Plata Merengue Festival lasts
three days in October and is filled with
local food, arts and crafts, and of course,
musicians and dancers. The streets are
closed off to traffic, allowing for maximum
room for sultry dance moves.

WHAT’S HOT…

Coffee-tourism, ecotourism, baseball
(always)

…WHAT’S NOT

Bribery scandals, misinformation about
damage from the 2010 earthquake

HOT TOPIC OF THE DAY

Roads. Yes, roads. The newly opened Coral
Highway is a fast and modern link between
two major destinations: Punta Cana and the
capital city Santo Domingo. The road takes
drivers along a gorgeous stretch beside
beaches and small fishing villages.

RANDOM FACTS

The Dominican Republic has provided the
second-largest number of players to Major
League Baseball (after the US).

Forget finding a bar or nightclub. For
locals, the place to party is the car wash.
Yup, suds mixed with Presidente beer,
music and dancing.

Nelson de la Rosa was not only a native
of the DR and an actor, he was one of the
shortest men in the world, measuring just
71cm. You can spot him opposite Marlon
Brando in the film The Island of Dr Moreau.

‘Prepare to be overwhelmed: in both fauna
and landscapes, the world’s fourth-biggest
island is otherworldly’

MADAGASCAR

POPULATION 21 million

FOREIGN VISITORS PER YEAR 225,000

CAPITAL Antananarivo

LANGUAGES French, Malagasy

MAJOR INDUSTRIES Agriculture, tourism

UNIT OF CURRENCY Ariary (Ar)

COST INDEX Ice-cold THB beer Ar2000 (US$0.92), single dive Ar100,000
(US$46), double in a midrange hotel in Antananarivo from Ar80,000 (US$37),
catch-of-the-day fish Ar12,000 (US$5.50)

RING-TAILED LEMURS ARE
NATIVE TO MADAGASCAR

WHY GO IN 2013? A WORLD
OF WILD WONDERS

After years of political instability and
uncertainty, which has hampered tourism
development, Madagascar is on the verge
of recovery. In 2013, expect a fresh wind
of change with a move towards greater
democracy following presidential elections.
For visitors, the time to go is now, before
the country reappears in travel agents’
windows. Be prepared to be overwhelmed:
in both fauna and landscapes, the world’s
fourth-biggest island is otherworldly.
When Madagascar slipped away from

the ancient megacontinent of Gondwana
some 90 million years ago, its cargo of
primitive animals was pushed and pulled by
evolutionary forces into myriad shapes and
sizes. Today, more than 80% of the wildlife
inhabiting this 1600km-long territory
is unique to Madagascar. It’s an African
country with a unique twist. No elephants,
lions or hyenas here, but an array of quirky
species found nowhere else on earth:
lemurs, tenrecs, fossas, chameleons and
jabadys, among others. The undisputed
stars are lemurs (more than 50 species!),
especially the diademed sifaka and the

indri, which are great fun to observe. Small
wonder that for a good number of visitors,
this Noah’s Ark in the Indian Ocean is
synonymous with wildlife-watching and
ecotourism. Good news: most species
can be approached with relative ease,
and a large number of national parks and
reserves ensure that they’re protected.

The scenery is almost as surreal and
stimulating as the exotic wildlife: high
plateaus that plunge into semitropical
rainforest, mangrove swamps, volcanic
craters, uninhabited offshore islands,
beautiful untouched beaches, dry hills in

all shades of brown, pristine coral reefs
and grandiose mountain ranges. The whole
country is pockmarked with trippy natural
attractions, such as the Avenue du Baobab,
which features a line of giant trees more
than one thousand years old. To those
seeking paradise lost and a place out of the
ordinary, Madagascar cannot fail to delight.
Just don’t forget your adventurer’s hat!

LIFE-CHANGING EXPERIENCES

If you’re in search of unforgettable
memories, plan several days of hiking in the

A LOCAL WOMAN PASSES
BAOBAB TREES IN MORONDAVA,
TOLIARA, MADAGASCAR

Parc National de l’Isalo. The geography of
this vast national park is mind-blowing, with
a mix of canyons, plains, cliffs, waterfalls and
colourful mountain ranges made of eroded
Jurassic sandstone. It also offers superb
wildlife-viewing opportunities – you’re sure
to see several bizarre species of lemurs,
including sifaka and ringtail lemurs.

FESTIVALS & EVENTS

Among the most unusual Malagasy
ceremonies are the Famadihana (literally
the ‘turning of the bones’). These reburial

ceremonies take place every year between
June and September in the highlands region
from Antananarivo south to Ambositra.

You can attend circumcision festivals
held by most tribes between June
and September, and in November and
December in the southwest.

If you’re after something light-hearted,
make a beeline for the Santabary in April
and May – it’s the first rice harvest.

RANDOM FACTS

Air Madagascar, the national carrier
once officially called Madair and now
known affectionately as Airmad, has never
suffered a crash.

Madagascar has the world’s smallest
chameleon – the pygmy leaf chameleon –
which is smaller than your thumb. It
resembles a dead leaf.

When drinking in Madagascar, it’s
customary to pour a little on the ground
first as an offering to the ancestors.

Presumably a legacy of the French, cakes,
croissants, pastries and baguettes are on
sale in even the most humble of cafes.

MOST BIZARRE SIGHT

The tsingy! These pointy, limestone
pinnacles that seem to soar like missiles
from the ground were sharpened to razor
edges by the movement of wind and water
over centuries and are Madagascar’s most
striking attraction. They often reach several
hundred metres in height. Walkways and
bridges allow visitors to climb on top of
the smaller areas of tsingy. The most
impressive tsingy are within the Parc
National des Tsingy de Bemaraha.

‘It’s this epic beauty combined with the challenging
topography that makes it a spectacular choice to
host the historic centenary of the Tour de France’

CORSICA, FRANCE

POPULATION 260,000

MAIN TOWNS Ajaccio, Bastia

LANGUAGES French, Corsican, Italian

MAJOR INDUSTRY Tourism

UNIT OF CURRENCY Euro (€)

COST INDEX Glass of beer €2.50 (US$3.30), hotel double for a night €80-300
(US$100-30), short taxi ride €10 (US$13), diving session from €50 (US$65)

SCANDOLA NATURE RESERVE,
CORSICA, FRANCE

WHY GO IN 2013? THE CENTENARY
OF THE TOUR DE FRANCE

Mixing the cultures of Italy and France yet
remaining fiercely Corsican, the French
Mediterranean island of Corsica has a
furious beauty. Its mountainous interior
is carpeted in jade-green maquis (scrub),
which scents the air with wild herbs and
equals the blue sky in the intensity of colour.
The greenery runs all the way down to the
blinding white sands of the beaches, and in
springtime is dotted with floral colour: poppy
reds and delicate violet. It’s this epic beauty
combined with the challenging topography
that makes it a spectacular choice to host
the historic centenary of the Tour de France.

Race organisers wanted the hundredth
Tour to have an enchanting and spectacular

location, and decided Corsica was the place;
this will be the first time the race has braved
its challenges. The island will host the first
three stages: first is Porto Vecchio to Bastia
(201.5km), a beautiful coastal route, with
an exciting sprint finish. Bastia to Ajaccio
(153km) crosses Corsica’s vertiginous
interior, and involves some intense climbs,
such as that over the Col de Vizzavona pass.
The final stretch is another mountainous
stage from Ajaccio to Calvi (145km),
offering mesmerising views over the pink-
red rock formations around Piana to the
northwest. And if you’re wondering why the
race, created by French rider and sports
journalist Henri Desgrange in 1903, marks
its centenary this year, it’s because it did not
take place during the two World Wars.

LIFE-CHANGING EXPERIENCES

With no vehicle access or footpath, you’ll
have to get to the beautiful, protected
Réserve Naturelle de Scandola, to the
west of the island, by sea. Here golden-
red rocks meet the saturated turquoise
of the sea in an extraordinary marriage of
colour. Corsica’s rocky, green interior also
offers some unforgettable landscapes and
challenges, including the world-famous
GR20, a long-distance walking route,
which can be done in its entirety in two
weeks or in more manageable sections.

FESTIVALS & EVENTS

Every July, the small village of Patrimonio
hosts the Nuits de la Guitare, a music festival
at which previous headliners have included
Tom Jones and Iggy and the Stooges.

The Festival d’Erbalunga is another
excellent music festival in a small town,
which takes place in August, and makes use
of Brando’s small amphitheatre.

HOT TOPIC OF THE DAY

The centenary of the Tour de France,
the world’s most famous cycle race, in
cycling-mad Corsica is definitely the
talking point of 2013.

RANDOM FACTS

No part of Corsica is more than 42km
from the sea.

It’s said that Ulysses and his men took
shelter in Bonifacio’s cliff-shadowed port,
where they met with a race of giants.

During his education in France,
Corsica’s most famous son, Napoleon, was
mercilessly teased for his Corsican accent.

The maquis (shrub) consists of more
than 2000 different species of plants and
flowers, 78 of which are unique to Corsica.

MOST BIZARRE SIGHT

Menhirs with carved faces at Filitosa, south
of Ajaccio: these haunting faces peering out
from the rock date from 1500 BC.

DEFINING DIFFERENCE

Due to its prime position in the
Mediterranean, Corsica has been invaded
by the Romans, Vandals, Ostrogoths,
Byzantines, Saracens, Aragons and
Greeks, and was fought over by Italy and

TRAVERSING A RIDGE ALONG
THE SPINE OF CORSICA

France for centuries. The island had a
short-lived period of independence from
1725 to 1807 before the French took over
again, and since then Corsica has been
officially part of France. Yet this magical
island feels different from the mainland
in everything from customs to cuisine,
and its language and temperament are
very distinct. The proud, austere Corsican
character has long been epitomised by
its historical devotion to the vendetta.
This tradition of revenge over matters of
honour claimed many lives during the 17th
and 18th centuries, and still resonates
today – so, whatever you do, do not cross
a Corsican.

REGIONAL FLAVOURS

Corsica is famous for its delicious
charcuterie, with a delectable array of cured
meats bulging out of its specialist shops. The
distinctive, aromatic flavours arise from the
fact that Corsican pigs are free to roam, and
feed on chestnuts. Look out for prisuttu (dry
ham), lonzu (tender smoked fillet), coppa
(shoulder), figatellu (liver sausage), salamu
(salami-style sausage), and terrine de sanglier
(wild-boar pâté).

Local cheeses are also good, with glorious
flavours and textures, from the hard, tangy
tomme corse (semihard ewe’s-milk cheese)
to the king of the island’s cheeses, brocciu (a
crumbly white ewe’s- or goat’s-milk cheese).

‘…you’ll be sure to discover a sense of freedom in the
desert as you pass craters, canyons and caves’

THE NEGEV, ISRAEL

POPULATION 630,000

MAIN TOWN Be’er Sheva

LANGUAGES Hebrew, Arabic, English

MAJOR INDUSTRIES Tourism, agriculture, greentech

UNIT OF CURRENCY New Israeli Shekel (NIS)

COST INDEX Double/dorm room in guesthouse 450/100NIS (US$120/27),
labaneh (yoghurt cheese) and pita bread 20NIS (US$5.30), three-hour bus ride
from Be’er Sheva to Eilat 55NIS (US$14), 90-minute camel ride 135NIS (US$36)

THE RED SEA UNDERWATER
OBSERVATORY MARINE
PARK, EILAT, ISRAEL

WHY GO IN 2013? A NEW
LEASE OF LIFE

For decades the Negev was regarded
as nothing but a desolate desert. But
today this region is a giant greenhouse
of development. Think eco-villages, spa
resorts and wineries. Yes, wineries.

Thanks to computerised drip irrigation,
the Negev Highlands now has its own wine
route. A crop of 21st-century vineyards has
been springing up south of the city of Be’er
Sheva, offering a taste of the Napa Valley in
the Negev.

The desert also provides the perfect
environment to learn about water
conservation and renewable energy, both
important issues in 2013. The kibbutzim
of Sde Boker, Lotan and Ketura all offer

ecological workshops and the last is home
to Israel’s first solar field.

Then there’s the Makhtesh Ramon crater,
Israel’s very own Grand Canyon. Last year
the Mitzpe Ramon Visitors’ Centre was
reopened with a new astronomy museum
and the surrounding lunar landscape is an
atmospheric space to do some star-gazing.

But a bigger bang is coming. In the next
few years a new international airport at
Timna is scheduled to open, followed by a
high-speed railway to Eilat and more hotels.
Time is running out to experience the
desert as nature intended.

LIFE-CHANGING EXPERIENCES

Whether you go off-road by 4WD, bicycle or

on foot, you’ll be sure to discover a sense of
freedom in the desert as you pass craters,
canyons and caves. Get a taste of the
ancient spice route at the Nabataean ruins
of Avdat, Shivta and Mamshit, try a spot
of Watsu (water shiatsu) at Kibbutz Lotan
and take a dive at the colourful Red Sea
reef. Explore the galaxy by star-gazing at
Makhtesh Ramon, spot a wild ibex in the Ein
Avdat National Park and witness migrating
birds from Africa as they pass through the
Arava valley, a great highway in the sky.

FESTIVALS & EVENTS

Shake your money-maker as the
International Belly Dance Festival comes to
Eilat in January.

Open your chakras with a yoga workshop
at the Zorba Festival held at Ashram in the
Desert, south of Mitzpe Ramon, on Passover

(late March) and Sukkot (September).

Cool it down after a day in the blazing
desert sun at the Red Sea Jazz Festival held
every August, with free outdoor jams at the
Yam Suf Hotel on Eilat’s Coral Beach.

WHAT’S HOT…

Solar heating, creative recycling, wine-
tasting, Red Sea kite-surfing, birdwatching

…WHAT’S NOT

Nuclear testing, landfilling, water-wasting,
Red Sea polluting, TV-watching

HOT TOPIC OF THE DAY

Refugees. The western Negev has become
a frontline in the refugee debate. Every
month more than a thousand Africans cross
the Egyptian border into Israel. In 2012 the

A road skirts the rim of
makhtesh ramon crater,
Negev desert, Israel

Israeli government approved a bill to build
a detention centre in the Negev that could
hold up to 10,000 people. The topic has split
the nation, with some arguing that Israel
cannot support an endless influx of people,
while others believe that it has a duty to offer
shelter to those fleeing persecution.

RANDOM FACTS

The Negev makes up nearly 60% of
Israel’s landmass but is home to just 8% of
the population.

The ancient ruins of Avdat provided the
backdrop for the 1973 film of Andrew Lloyd
Webber’s musical Jesus Christ Superstar.

The Negev is home to around 160,000
Bedouin, half of whom are nomadic.

The world’s biggest curved solar dish
(nicknamed PETAL) is at the Ben-Gurion
National Solar Energy Centre in Sde Boker.

DEFINING DIFFERENCE

The Negev feels like a different planet, well
away from the hustle and bustle of the rest
of the country. The pace of life is so laid back
that locals call it zaman midbar (desert time).

REGIONAL FLAVOURS

The harsh conditions of the Negev make
surprisingly good terrain for mountain goats
and there are a number of farms offering
dairy delights. Kornmehl Farm near Sde
Boker specialises in goat’s-cheese platters,
pizzas and yoghurts. Wherever you are in
the Negev, you’re never far from a plate of
labaneh – yoghurt made from cheese, usually
served with za’atar (hyssop herb), olives and
pita bread. But for a real taste of the desert,
try some Bedouin maqloobeh (upside-down
chicken and rice), followed by the traditional
three cups of mint tea or black coffee.

‘Up here everything is sharp, severe
and absolute: the colours are vivid, the terrain
is rugged, the air is crisp…’

MUSTANG, NEPAL

POPULATION 15,000

MAIN TOWN Lo Manthang

LANGUAGES Tibetan, Nepalese

MAJOR INDUSTRIES Trade, apples, tourism

UNIT OF CURRENCY Nepalese rupee (Rs)

COST INDEX Nepal government trekking permit for Mustang US$500, hot
shower at a village guest house Rs100 (US$1.25), a cutthroat razor shave in a
Pokhara barber after the trek Rs100 (US$1.25)

TRADITIONAL TIBETAN
CULTURE THRIVES IN
MUSTANG, NEPAL

WHY GO 2013? SEE THE
FORBIDDEN KINGDOM BEFORE
THE ROAD CHANGES IT FOREVER

Only a few years ago it was ‘nobody’s been
there’, now it’s heading towards ‘last chance
to see’. The completion of a road connecting
Mustang to China in the north and the
rest of Nepal to the south will make all the
difference. Lo Manthang, or Mustang as it’s
usually called, has been dubbed ‘little Tibet’
or ‘the last forbidden kingdom’. Politically
part of Nepal, in language, culture, climate
and geography, it’s Tibet. The remote region
is north of the Himalayan watershed and on
the Tibetan plateau, and just south of the
border with ‘big Tibet’, the Chinese one.

Until 1992 nobody from outside was
allowed in; for a while after that it was
opened up to a few hundred a year, and
these days anyone can enter, though the

pricey trekking permit keeps the numbers
down. There’s also a restricted season for
visits: in winter it’s too cold and the snow
too deep, so for months each year it again
becomes a ‘forbidden kingdom’. Much of
the population heads south to India and
further afield during these winter months to
exercise their legendary trading abilities.

Up here everything is sharp, severe and
absolute: the colours are vivid, the terrain is
rugged, the air is crisp; it’s either desert-dry
or river-rapids, sere and barren or a flash of
irrigated green.

LIFE-CHANGING EXPERIENCES

From the moment you enter the restricted
Mustang region at Kagbeni you’re in
a different world. Villages are medieval
and often focused on the monastery; Lo
Manthang is a walled town where you feel

Mustang chorten,
near Tsarang village

the main gate could still be slammed shut
nightly. This is a place where until recently
the wheel was used for spinning prayers,
not providing transport, and you’ll still meet
horse and mule trains carrying goods and
people along the trails. As you hike, look for
the monastic cave retreats pockmarking
sheer cliff faces – you might catch a glimpse
of a monk looking out from one, as retreats
still form part of religious life. Keep your eyes
open for snow leopards on the remote trails
(you’ll certainly see moth-eaten, stuffed
ones in some of the monastery gompas).
But yaks, at high altitudes, and blue sheep, if
you’re lucky, are much more likely.

FESTIVALS & EVENTS

Around May, Tiji (or Tenche) marks the
end of winter and the start of spring with
colourful dances, the burning of a demon
figure and explosive musket fire.

The Yartung festival in late August features
parades, horse races and the consumption of
large quantities of chhang (barley beer).

RECENT FADS

Technology is the big story these days,
whether it’s solar water heating, solar power
panels, the solar kettle (like a shiny satellite
dish that focusses the sun’s rays on a kettle),
real satellite dishes or mobile phones.
There’s even internet connection in Kagbeni,
the entry point to the Mustang region, and
in Lo Manthang itself. Guesthouses are
popping up along the trekking trail, opening
the route to independent trekkers, not
just for organised treks carrying camping
equipment. Kagbeni even features a
YakDonalds, although surprisingly there’s no
Big Yak on the menu.

HOT TOPIC OF THE DAY

That road is the big topic. The connection
with Tibet and China has been there
for some time, while the route south to
Kagbeni, Jomsom and on to Pokhara gets
more like a road every season. Of course,
Himalayan highways can be notoriously
fragile constructions: avalanches, floods
and other disasters can cut them in
seconds and repairs can takes weeks,
or longer.

RANDOM FACTS

Throughout the 1960s the CIA
supported a low-level guerrilla campaign
by fierce Khampa Tibetan warriors based in
Mustang, against the Chinese.

The dry climate and infrequent rainfall
means buildings can be constructed out of
rammed earth or sun-baked mudbricks.

The Ghar Gompa was built to placate
demons who had repeatedly destroyed
the Samye monastery near Lhasa in Tibet.
Once the Ghar Gompa was completed the
demons caused no further trouble to the
Samye monastery.

MOST BIZARRE SIGHT

Goat herds heading south to the lowland
Nepalese markets as winter approaches.
Stand aside as they flow by; they can clog
the trails.

LOCAL LINGO

A hearty ‘Tashi Delek’ – hello, greetings,
welcome, how are you? – goes a long way
in Mustang. It’s easy to remember because
half the people you meet – male or female –
are likely to be named Tashi.

‘This vast and thinly populated wilderness…
has a grandeur and beauty that can only be
appreciated in person’

THE YUKON, CANADA

POPULATION 34,000

MAIN TOWN Whitehorse

LANGUAGE English

MAJOR INDUSTRIES Tourism, government, mining

UNIT OF CURRENCY Canadian dollar ($)

COST INDEX Double/dorm room in guesthouse $100/40 (US$100/40), locally
brewed Yukon Gold beer $4 (US$4), 16-day kayak rental for the trip to Dawson
City $550 (US$550), official campsites $12 (US$12)

BUTTING HEADS: DALL SHEEP
IN THE YUKON, CANADA

WHY GO IN 2013? IT’S NOT GETTING
ANY LONELIER OR COLDER

The name Yukon is evocative as well as
descriptive: adventure, the far north,
wilderness, moose. How can you even
hear ‘Yukon’ and not feel a stirring within?
And for good reason. This vast and thinly
populated wilderness – most animal species
far outnumber humans – has a grandeur
and beauty that can only be properly
appreciated in person.

But while few places in the world today
are so unchanged over the course of time,
change has started coming fast to the
Yukon. In 2013 it is still one of the least
densely populated regions on the planet
(there’s almost 14.2 sq km/5.5 sq miles
for each hardy local) but its tremendous
mineral wealth is drawing new residents in a

reprise of the fabled Klondike Gold Rush of
1898. Climate change means that parts of
the far north are actually dissolving into the
Arctic Ocean and the glacier-clad parks are
undergoing profound change.

Come and revel in this land – which still
puts the wild in wilderness – now.

LIFE-CHANGING EXPERIENCES

Canada’s five tallest mountains and the
world’s largest icefields below the Arctic
are all within Kluane National Park. Canoe
expeditions down the Yukon River are epic.
You’ll also appreciate the people; join the
funky end-of-the-road vibe of Dawson City,
the bustle of Whitehorse and the unique
character of villages throughout. The first
time you spot a moose wading through a
marsh by the side of the road, or a mother

grizzly shepherding her cubs, you’ll feel
you’ve really made it to the Yukon.

FESTIVALS & EVENTS

The legendary Yukon Quest, a 1600km
dog-sled race, goes from Whitehorse
to Fairbanks, Alaska through February
darkness and -50°C temperature.

The Yukon River Quest, the world’s
premier canoe and kayak race, covers the
classic 742km run of the Yukon River from
Whitehorse to Dawson City in June.

The best tickets for the hugely popular
Dawson City Music Festival sell out two
months in advance of this late-July party
that doubles the town’s population.

Discovery Day celebrates gold being
found in 1896. On the third Monday in
August there are parades and picnics,
especially in Dawson City.

WHAT’S HOT…

Betting on early breakup (when the Yukon
River thaws for the spring), setting speed
records in river kayaks, guys who chop
wood all winter for their girlfriends, calling
the rest of the world ‘outside’

…WHAT’S NOT

Huge projects to run pipelines through the
territory, proposals to bring mobile-phone
service to places beyond Whitehorse and
Dawson, miners who spoil the land, people
who want the conveniences of ‘outside’

HOT TOPIC OF THE DAY

Mining literally put the Yukon on the map
in the late 1890s. News of gold being
discovered near today’s Dawson City lured
thousands of prospectors with dreams of

A dog sled team racing in
the Yukon Quest sled race
between Fairbanks in Alaska
and Whitehorse in the Yukon

getting rich quick. Most had no experience
and returned home penniless – if they
survived at all. The anything-goes gold
extraction left disfiguring scars on the
landscape that can be seen today. Now
the Yukon is in the mist of another boom
driven by the record prices of gold and
other valuable minerals. But instead of
individuals, this time it’s huge corporations,
and the potential impact on the Yukon is
huge. Exploration can scar the land even
before extraction and the need for workers
is expected to send the population rate
soaring by up to double digits. Yukoners
have to weigh unexpected new wealth
against unexpected new challenges.

RANDOM FACTS

The Yukon is the birthplace of gold-
discoverer Keish, aka Skookum Jim

(1855–1916), the Alaska Hwy (1942) and
White Fang, the wolf-dog character of the
Jack London novel (1906).

Its rich literary tradition includes Robert
Service, the poet who immortalised the
Yukon through works like The Shooting of
Dan McGrew.

Aboriginal people continue to hunt and
trap as they always have even as they live in
villages and drive pickups.

The 68,000 moose outnumber people
two to one.

DEFINING FLAVOURS

People eat what they can kill or gather, be it
moose or wild berries. But salmon from the
Yukon River is a delicacy appreciated the
world over. Few Yukon homes won’t have
racks of the succulent fish smoking during
the summer run.

‘Go now – while the ruins at Kuélap can
be enjoyed in the company of little more than
an ethereal layer of cloud-forest mist’

Chachapoyas
& Kuélap, Peru

POPULATION 24,000

MAIN TOWN Chachapoyas

LANGUAGES Spanish, Quechua

MAJOR INDUSTRIES Agriculture, cattle ranching

UNIT OF CURRENCY Peruvian Nuevo Sol (S)

COST INDEX Double room at a B&B S130-160 (US$49-50), admission to
ancient ruins at Kuélap S12 (US$4.50), shot of local fruit liqueur S3 (US$1),
internet per hour S3 (US$1)

Street singers in
the central plaza of
Chachapoyas, Peru

WHY GO IN 2013? A TREASURE
TO BE UNCOVERED

Nestled into a minuscule plain in the
northern Peruvian Andes, the placid
mountain city of Chachapoyas isn’t
exactly the stuff of traveller lore. For one,
it’s small, checking in at roughly a dozen
blocks around its middle. It’s also quiet –
the sort of place where the mutts still
snooze in the streets and an evening’s
entertainment consists of strolling around
the tidy town centre before sipping a shot
of guava liqueur at a combination bar-
convenience-liquor store. And it’s a pain
in the neck to get to – roughly six hours
of vertiginous mountain roads from the
nearest domestic airport.

      But Chachapoyas couldn’t be more
worthwhile. This charming agricultural
centre sits amid some of the country’s
most incredible cultural and natural
treasures. To the south is an entire river
valley’s worth of pre-Inca ruins, including
the majestic citadel of Kuélap, which
resides on a mountain-top amid a tangle
of cloud forest. To the west is the funerary
site of Karajía, a series of adobe sarcophagi
tucked into a mountain crevice, all of which
are painted to look like human figures, and
some of which bear skull headdresses. And
to the north is the Catarata de Gocta, one of
the world’s tallest waterfalls – with a frigid
stream that roars over sandstone-coloured
rock before plunging into the forested
banks of the Cocahuayco River.

For decades, this rugged area has lain
largely unexplored by foreign travellers. But
that isn’t going to last for long. For the past
half-dozen years, the Peruvian government
has been quietly paving roads and
improving other infrastructure to make the
area more visitor-friendly. It has also begun
to promote the destination as an important
historical site. With Machu Picchu deluged
by hundreds of thousands of travellers
every year, it means that the time to go to
Chachapoyas is now – while the nearby
ruins at Kuélap can still be enjoyed in the
company of little more than an ethereal
layer of cloud-forest mist.

LIFE-CHANGING EXPERIENCES

Trips to any of the area’s sights will involve
going up and down, then down and up one
of the area’s dizzying Andean roads. (The
bumpy access road to Kuélap is a renowned
white-knuckler.) But even though the
curves can be daunting, the scenery could
not be more spectacular: jagged peaks are
draped in high-altitude forest and covered
in a patchwork of farms. And there’s always
the possibility of surprise: tucked into
various strategic promontories are the
remains of long-abandoned Chachapoya
villages, some of which are more than a
thousand years old.

FESTIVALS & EVENTS

The first week of June, Chachapoyas
celebrates Tourism Week with fireworks,
horse parades, contests, games, art
exhibits and colourful folk dances.

The entire town (down to the Peruvian
Paso horses) turns out for special masses

and processions in honour of the patron
deity, la Virgen de Asunta (the Virgin of the
Assumption), in the second week of August.

HOT TOPIC OF THE DAY

Chachapoyas has an airport but it’s
currently used exclusively by the Peruvian
Air Force. The site, however, recently
received a freshening-up courtesy of a
commercial concession, leading to plenty
of scuttlebutt that commercial air travel to
the area may not be far behind.

MOST BIZARRE SIGHT

With its towering sarcophagi tucked into
a visible mountain crevice, Karajía is the
area’s most iconic burial site. But these
are not alone. The Chachapoya planted
their dead into mountains all over the
Utcubamba River Valley. Pull out a pair of
binoculars and you just might find yourself
staring at the impassive human likeness of
a burial chamber. In Chachapoyas, the dead
are always watching.

REGIONAL FLAVOURS

A bit of the Andes and a little of the Amazon
is what you’ll find on the Chachapoyas table.
High altitudes and chilly nights mean that
soup is a staple: in particular, cazuelas,
oversized tubs of clear consommé studded
with chicken or beef and potatoes, simmered
for hours and flavoured with fresh Andean
herbs. Tropical flavours also come in the
form of juanes, steamy, fist-sized dumplings
crafted from seasoned yuca (cassava) and
meat and then steamed in a bijao leaf. Most
frequently served at breakfast, these hearty,
fragrant treats go down well any time of day.

Anthropomorphic
wooden coffins
under a cliff at a
Karajĺa funerary site,
Chachapoyas, Peru

‘This area is all about spending
the day outdoors – swimming, fishing,
boating, sailing, beach bumming…’

THE GULF COAST, USA

POPULATION 3.2 million

MAIN TOWNS New Orleans, Biloxi, Mobile and Pensacola

LANGUAGE English

MAJOR INDUSTRIES Petroleum, fishing, military, tourism

UNIT OF CURRENCY US dollar (US$)

COST INDEX Shrimp po’ boy sandwich US$12, suite for a family of four on the
beach in Biloxi US$230-320, admission to the USS Alabama battleship US$12, a
dozen oysters on the half shell US$8-10

The Mystic Krewe of
Barkus Parade in New
Orleans’ French Quarter

WHY GO IN 2013?
THE COMEBACK COAST

The area of the United States that has
become synonymous with the words ‘oil
spill’ doesn’t sound like it’d be a vacation
must-do. But a lot has happened since a
deep-water drilling operation off the coast
of Louisiana went fatally awry in 2010. The
Gulf Coast – never a place to take disaster
lying down – has rebounded. Rolling sand
dunes once again sparkle and seasonal
travellers are again enjoying the Gulf’s tepid
waters, not to mention its tender, locally
caught fish.

Granted, things aren’t perfect. Shrimp
harvests are down, some marshes are still
mucky and long-term damage has yet to
be assessed. But this singular patch of

American coast has banded together to
make a comeback (with the assistance of
$60 million in tourism grants from BP, the
oil company that oversaw work on the leaky
rig). Effective clean-ups and other post-spill
programs can claim part of the credit for
the turnaround. But any traveller who’s
been to the Gulf Coast can tell you that it’s
hard not to feel loyal to the plucky character
of the region, affectionately dubbed ‘the
Redneck Riviera’.

It’s not for nothing that folks have been
travelling here for generations. There’s
Louisiana, with its blazing Mardi Gras
parties and its warren of swampy bayous,
keepers of singular pockets of French-
American culture. There’s Mississippi, with
its windswept ivory beaches, shoreline

casinos and a billowy new museum
designed by Frank Gehry (the Ohr-O’Keefe
Museum of Art) in Biloxi. In Alabama,
there’s a dramatic bay, a battleship
from World War II and idyllic patches of
seashore. And, in the Florida panhandle,
there is all that gleaming crystal-quartz
sand that feels like sugar in between the
toes. All of this is tied together by roughly
650km of coastline and a zestful appetite
for all things seafood, pork sausage and red
beans and rice.

Gulf Coast, USA, it’s good to have
you back.

LIFE-CHANGING EXPERIENCES

This area is all about spending the day
outdoors (swimming, fishing, boating,
sailing, beach bumming), then coming back

to roost at sunset, preferably with an icy
drink in hand. And then, of course, there’s
the cuisine: this is the place to dip into fresh
trays of silky oysters and some down-home
Cajun-Southern cooking. Cheers to that.

FESTIVALS & EVENTS

The Gulf is renowned for its Mardi Gras
celebrations and nowhere else are they as
rambunctious, licentious or openly drunken
as in New Orleans, where you’ll find
parades, live music, ladies flashing their
hoo-hahs and lots of beads. This year, the
big party falls on 12 February.

Every year in late April/early May, the
planet’s biggest names in jazz, R&B and
folk descend on New Orleans for the Jazz
and Heritage Festival – otherwise known
as JazzFest.

THIS WAY TO THE SEA:
SANTA ROSA ISLAND NEAR
PENSACOLA, FLORIDA, USA

RANDOM FACTS

For two decades in the early 18th century,
Mobile, Alabama served as the capital of
the French territory of Louisiana, before the
capital was moved to New Orleans.

During the course of its history,
Pensacola has been under the control
of five different national governments:
the Spanish, the British, the French, the
Confederacy and the US. For this reason, it
is known as the ‘City of the Five Flags’.

MOST BIZARRE SIGHT

Perhaps no event in the US is as delightfully
ridiculous as the annual Mullet Toss, held
every April at the Florabama, a rickety old
honky-tonk that sits on the beach at the
Alabama–Florida state line. The goal: to
imbibe vast quantities of beer, devour lots

of crawfish and then toss a dead mullet fish
into Alabama from the Florida side of the
border. Truly sublime.

REGIONAL FLAVOURS

Welcome to Cajun country! This part of the
United States is renowned for its cooking –
a savoury melange of spicy sausage,
buttery sauces and piquant bisques, as well
as countless other permutations of French
Creole traditions. The Louisiana area is the
beating heart of Cajun cuisine, but you’ll
find its influences all over the Gulf – namely
in the form of stewed red beans, spicy
gumbos bursting with pork and seafood,
and heaping po’ boy sandwiches: two
slabs of baguette stuffed full of fresh fried
shrimp, crawfish or oysters. It’s hard to
make a belly any happier than this.

‘…Carinthia dilutes the Austrian efficiency with
Mediterranean laissez-faire’

CARINTHIA, AUSTRIA

POPULATION 560,600

MAIN TOWN Klagenfurt

LANGUAGES German, Slovene

MAJOR INDUSTRIES Tourism, engineering, forestry

UNIT OF CURRENCY Euro (€)

COST INDEX Glass of beer €3.30 (US$4.30), two-course meal €20-30
(US$26-39), hotel double/dorm room for a night €100/25 (US$130/33),
ski pass per day/week €40/220 (US$52/288), internet access per hour
€4 (US$5.20)

summer pursuits on Lake Ossiach
in Carinthia, Austria

WHY GO IN 2013? IT’S THE ALPS
YOU CAN STILL AFFORD!

With belts tightening across Europe, the Alps
are fast becoming the exclusive preserve of
the champagne set…again. Lesser mortals
are having to think twice before booking
that ski trip to Trois Vallées or a summer
weekend on Lake Geneva. That’s where
Carinthia (Kärnten) comes into its own. Long
overlooked in favour of more showy corners
of the Alps, Austria’s southernmost province
offers all the rugged scenery and winter
powder, without the Swiss banker price tag.

With ski resorts nestled on every
mountaintop, Carinthia is best known
outside Austria for uncrowded slopes and
après-ski where you don’t have to take
out a second mortgage just to buy a beer.

Locals would rather you didn’t find out
about Carinthia in summer; from June to
August, families gambol in geothermally
heated lakes that simmer at almost bathtub
temperatures, and stroll in broad valleys
that trap the sun for longer than anywhere
else in Austria.

Why more people don’t know about this
peaceful corner of the Alps is a mystery.
Backing onto Italy and Slovenia, Carinthia
dilutes the Austrian efficiency with
Mediterranean laissez-faire. Add a shake of
stunning scenery, a squirt of quirky cuisine
and a handful of eccentric festivals, and you
should have a recipe for Alpine perfection.
So where are the crowds? Check out
Carinthia now, while peace and quiet reigns,
because it won’t stay like this forever.

winter wonderland:
Heiligenblut,
Carinthia, Austria

LIFE-CHANGING EXPERIENCES

Water is the attraction in this laid-back
corner of the Alps. In summer, the
languorous lakes of Wörthersee, Faakersee,
Ossiachersee and Millstättersee earn
Carinthia its Austrian Riviera nickname. With
natural central-heating from geothermal
springs, water temperature can reach 26°C,
on par with the Mediterranean, perfect for
swimming, paddling or floating dinners
for two on a raft (a popular diversion on
Millstättersee). Think of it as a less-exclusive,
family-friendly alternative to the Italian lakes,
with fewer villas but more apple strudel.

FESTIVALS & EVENTS

On the first Sunday in February, locals
gather in front of the town dairy in Stein to be
pelted with bread rolls as part of a 1000-year-
old festival to celebrate the generosity of
local noblewoman Hildegard von Stein.

Church opera (exactly what it says on the
tin) is the hallmark of the Carinthia Summer
Music Festival, with music events at
churches, stately homes and castles across
the province from July to August.

Normally tranquil Faakersee gets a
wake-up call every September from 70,000
throbbing motorcycle engines for European
Bike Week; think leather, Harleys, heavy
rock, facial hair.

RECENT FAD

An icier version of riding a river on an old inner
tube, snowtubing is all the rage in Carinthia.
The resort of Nassfeld is the focal point for
the family-friendly fun, with dedicated runs
where you can launch yourself downhill on a
giant inflatable doughnut.

HOT TOPIC OF THE DAY

The topic people would prefer you didn’t
mention is Jörg Haider, the former governor
of Carinthia, still ruffling feathers years after
his death. The furore over Haider’s stance
on immigration has died down; these days,
the conversational no-go areas are his role
in the collapse of Hypo Alpe-Adria Bank, and
the court case that made it illegal to suggest
that Haider had a secret gay lifestyle.

MOST BIZARRE SIGHT

Most people will be surprised to learn that
the world’s most famous sports car has its
origins in an old sawmill in the mountain
town of Gmünd in western Carinthia. After
WWII, Ferry Porsche retreated here to create
a car that was worthy of his love of driving –
and lo, the Porsche 356 was born. The birth
of the Porsche marque is celebrated at
the Helmut Pfeifhofer Porsche Museum, a
shrine to speed with more than 40 vintage
Porsches, including the Porsche 911 driven
by local traffic cops (presumably to keep
up with other Porsche drivers).

REGIONAL FLAVOURS

Noodles are Carinthia’s unlikely contribution
to the European cooking canon. It’s a
little-known fact that the word noodle came
to the English language from the German
nudeln, used to describe a whole family of
pasta-like treats from the Eastern Alps. In
Carinthia, nudeln most commonly take the
form of pasta pouches, stuffed with curd
cheese, potato or minced meat. On special
occasions, look out for kletzennudeln,
pudding pasta stuffed with a tantalising mix
of dried pears, cinnamon, honey and nuts.

‘…travellers willing to make the trek out to the
Philippines’ western fringes can expect adventure to
be served up by the spoonful’

PALAWAN,
THE PHILIPPINES

POPULATION 2.6 million

MAIN TOWN Puerto Princesa

LANGUAGE Tagalog (Filipino)

MAJOR INDUSTRY Agriculture

UNIT OF CURRENCY Philippine Peso (P)

COST INDEX Cup of coffee P40 (US$.95), internet access per hour P20
(US$0.50), pension/double hotel room P900/2100 (US$21/50), short tricycle
ride P30 (US$0.70)

View towards Inabuyatan
Island from El Nido
in Palawan, the Philippines

WHY GO IN 2013? ADVENTURES
IN THE ECOLOGICAL FRONTIER

Although its rowdy Philippine neighbour
Boracay may be the darling of the beach-
hopping jetset – Travel & Leisure voted
it the fourth-best island destination in
the world – sedate Palawan manages to
impress without need of such baubles.
Stretching between Mindoro Strait and
Borneo, Palawan incorporates thousands
of sparkling, rugged islands and is fringed
by 2000km of pristine coastline. Sparsely
populated and with nary a traveller to
be seen, that’s a lot of beach real estate
to go around. So far Palawan’s natural
marvels have only been sampled by plucky
backpackers willing to brave the region’s
dusty roads and walloping distances in

search of adventure. Not for much longer.
The trail these pioneers have blazed is set
to explode, with regional airlines waking
up to Palawan’s potential and clambering
to schedule direct flights to the capital.
Throw in the mushrooming growth of style-
conscious boutique hotels normally found
in places like Ko Samui or Bali, and you can
feel that Palawan is ready to hit the big-time
in 2013.

Chiselled out of the Sulu Sea and isolated
from the hubbub of other Philippine
islands, Palawan today remains one of the
country’s last ecological frontiers. The
hardy island interiors heave with mountain
ranges carpeted by thick jungle, while at
water’s edge the virgin shoreline melts into
a mantle of coral swarming with marine

life. Throw in some underground rivers,
towering limestone karsts, world-class
diving, shipwrecks and infinite island-
hopping opportunities, and you have the
proverbial Garden of Eden on your hands.
Although sporadic public transport and the
lack of paved roads mean that these isles
do not lend themselves to easy exploration,
travellers willing to make the trek out to
the Philippines’ western fringes can expect
adventure to be served up by the spoonful.

LIFE-CHANGING EXPERIENCES

Exploring the jaw-dropping underground
rivers of St Paul Subterranean National
Park is unforgettable. Navigable by boat,
the 8km-long river system weaves deep
under limestone cliffs and through gaping
caves before spilling its turquoise waters
into the Sulu Sea.

Jungle trekking through untouched
rainforest interiors will have you coming face-
to-face with troops of monkeys, giant monitor
lizards and a rainbow swath of birdlife.

Visitors should not leave without island-
hopping around the Calamian Islands –
with hundreds of picture-perfect beaches
and coves, volcano-heated lagoons,
snorkelling reefs, and world-class diving
among fish-packed WWII Japanese wrecks.

FESTIVALS & EVENTS

The Easter Holy Week sees sombre
re-enactments of Christ’s last days,
sometimes with enough gory enthusiasm to
make Mel Gibson proud.

The ancient springtime Lambay festival
celebrates the beginning of the traditional
hunting-and-gathering season, with Batak
tribesmen thrusting about hunting tools

during re-enactments of the hunt.

Celebrated by the Tagbuana people in
April, the Pagdiwata Ritual Festival involves
the giving of thanks to traditional deities and
asking for help in the healing of the sick.

In May, the Pasinggatan Festival is yet
another opportunity to release the unbridled
Filipino passion for music and dance.

RANDOM FACTS

Palawan is comprised of 1780 islands
and boasts 1959km of coastline!

Three major indigenous communities are
found in Palawan: Batak in the central and
northern regions, Pala’wan in the south,
and Tagbanua throughout.

MOST BIZARRE SIGHT

In 2009 a massive species of carnivorous
pitcher plant large enough to devour
creatures the size of rats was discovered in
the Palawan highlands.

REGIONAL FLAVOURS

Although much of its regional cuisine is
based on dishes from the Visayas and
Mindanao, Palawan dishes are famous for
using green mango to provide a sour kick
to many meals. Not surprisingly, seafood
features dominantly, though one local
delicacy stands out: tamilok. Although
it’s called a woodworm, this mollusc
is actually a type of unusual saltwater
clam that bores into submerged wood –
particularly rotting mangrove roots. Thin,
long and slippery, tamilok is served raw,
eaten by hand and swallowed whole like
a slimy, foot-long oyster. In a tradition of
belated Dutch courage, it is often followed
by a swift swig of local hard liquor.

Tagbanua tribesman
paddling on Lake Kayangan
on Coron Island, part of the
Calamian Islands, Palawan

‘Many of the islands…offer the chance to
experience Japan without all the bells, whistles and
bullet trains’

INLAND SEA, JAPAN

POPULATION 35 million

MAIN TOWNS Hiroshima, Takamatsu, Onomichi, Matsuyama, Iwakuni

LANGUAGE Japanese

MAJOR INDUSTRIES Fishing, ship building, agriculture, tourism

UNIT OF CURRENCY Yen (¥)

COST INDEX Glass of beer ¥600 (US$7), plate of grilled oysters ¥1300
(US$15), night in a minshuku (family-run lodgings) per person with meals
¥5000-9000 (US$60-108), bicycle hire per day ¥500 (US$6)

Cherry blossoms in
twilight at Kintaikyo
Bridge, Iwakuni, Japan

WHY GO IN 2013? FINE ARTS
AWAY FROM IT ALL

Tokyo, Kyoto, Mt Fuji…the islands of the Seto
Inland Sea? You’d be forgiven if the name of
this stretch of water in Japan’s west doesn’t
ring any bells. With the exception of Miyajima
and its oft-photographed vermillion ‘floating’
torii (shrine gate), most of the Inland Sea
islands aren’t on the usual tourist hit list. Fair
enough. They’re out of the way and there’s
just so much to do in Tokyo.

But those who make the effort are
rewarded. Many of the islands in this roughly
400km-long waterway offer the chance
to experience Japan without all the bells,
whistles and bullet trains. Catch a sea breeze
while strolling down a narrow village lane,
hike to a hillside temple, stay in a traditional

inn, or just sit back and sigh at the blue-
green water vistas. On some islands, see
how the new is finding its place alongside the
traditional. Take arty isle Naoshima, where
you can explore world-class contemporary
art museums before retiring to your
minshuku (guesthouse).

And what better time to drop by than
2013, when the second Setouchi Triennale
Art Festival rolls around, this time held over
three separate seasons with art, music and
drama events and exhibitions on some 11
islands. Let the island-hopping begin.

LIFE-CHANGING EXPERIENCES

For the rare thrill of cycling 50m above the
sea, ride the Shimanami Kaidō (Shimanami
Sea Route), a highway with a monster chain

Stone lantern and Itsukushima
jinja shrine, Miyajima Island,
Hiroshima, Japan

of suspension bridges linking Japan’s main
island Honshū with Shikoku, via six small
islands. If you prefer less pedalling, try
sleeping in a Mongolian tent on Naoshima,
soaking in a sea-view rotenburo (outdoor
bath) on Manabe-shima, or walking in the
1200-year-old footsteps of revered monk
Kūkai (aka Kōbo Daishi) at Mt Misen on the
holy island of Itsukushima.

FESTIVALS & EVENTS

The Setouchi Triennale Art Festival
runs 20 March to 21 April, 20 July to 1
September and 5 October to 4 November.

Nōren Kabuki (rural kabuki, stylised
traditional theatre) has been performed on
the island of Shōdo-shima for about 300
years. Two thatch-roofed outdoor stages
remain, where you can see performances in
early May and mid-October.

In late July Miyajima’s Kangen Festival, a
Shintō ritual, sees decorated wooden boats
float by under the night sky to the sound of
traditional drums and flutes.

O-bon, when ancestral spirits are
honoured throughout Japan, is especially
stirring on the island of Shiraishi, where in
mid-August the traditional bon-odori (bon-
festival dance) is performed on the beach
as it has been for centuries, and lanterns
are sent bobbing out to sea.

HOT TOPIC OF THE DAY

As the young are predictably lured away
by big-city opportunities, depopulation on
the islands is a serious issue. There is much
talk of revitalisation, with art sites, galleries
and artist-in-residence programs among
the initiatives to attract new stayers and
draw in the tourists.

RANDOM FACTS

An abundance of passing ships and all the
handy hidden coves once made the Inland
Sea prime territory for pirates.

Stone from quarries on Shōdo-shima
was used in the early 1600s to reconstruct
Osaka Castle.

Setonaikai National Park covers swathes
of the Inland Sea and is one of Japan’s oldest
national parks (designated in 1934).

MOST BIZARRE SIGHT

What does a steel-tube magnate and arms
manufacturer do when his beloved mother
dies? Become a Buddhist priest and put his
fortune into building an elaborate temple
complex, of course. Kōsan-ji, on Ikuchi-
jima, is the garish result of one man’s love
for his mother and includes, among its
many features, decorative gates, a pagoda,
and a cave of 1000 Buddhas where you can
view several illustrations of hell.

REGIONAL FLAVOURS

No surprises here – seafood is the star
across the region, so you’re in for a treat if
you love nothing more than a plate of fresh
sushi. Kaki (oysters) are a raw, grilled or
crumbed-and-fried speciality on Miyajima,
and tako (octopus) is the central character
in suigun-nabe, a seafood-laden hotpot on
Ikuchi-jima. Head to Onomichi for a hearty
bowl of rāmen (thin noodles in broth) with
pork, or to Takamatsu for sanuki udon
(thick white noodles). Elsewhere, the mild
climate means citrus groves flourish – try
the local mikan (mandarins). For something
a tad unexpected, how about olives?
Shōdo-shima is famous for them.

‘….even its harshest critics can’t deny the complex
allure of its volcanic geography, beautiful coastline,
mad energy, and punchy cuisine’

CAMPANIA, ITALY

POPULATION 5.8 million

MAIN TOWN Naples

LANGUAGES Italian, Neapolitan

MAJOR INDUSTRIES Construction, textiles, food processing, metallurgy

UNIT OF CURRENCY Euro (€)

COST INDEX Cappuccino €1 (US$1.30), hotel double/dorm room for a night
from €60/18 (US$79/24), short taxi ride €5 (US$6.60), slice of pizza €2
(US$2.60)

AMAZING AMALFI: THE
VILLAGE OF RAVELLO,
CAMPANIA, ITALY

WHY GO IN 2013? CHARISMATIC
CAMPANIA’S CULTURAL INJECTION

Campania, a region of Italy with a permanent
twinkle in its eye, is already home to Italy’s
most sumptuous stretch of coastline
(the Amalfi Coast), one of the ‘beautiful
country’s’ most mind-blowing and ebullient
cities (Naples), the menacing beauty of Mt
Vesuvius and the frozen-in-lava ancient
Roman city of Pompeii. This epic region is
where Icarus fell, Odysseus outwitted the
sirens and Aeneus took a trip to Hades.

But this year Campania has even more
reason to have a swagger in its step, as it’s
receiving an enormous injection of cash,
with €500 million flowing into the west
Naples district alone. It’s all part of its
role in hosting the UN’s fourth Universal
Forum of Cultures from April to July.

Events will include art exhibitions from
all five continents, music, cinema, dance,
street artists and theatre, circus acts, food
markets and workshops.

LIFE-CHANGING EXPERIENCES

Make your way along the epic Amalfi
Coast, a scenic rollercoaster, where
soaring cliffs meet azure seas, the hills are
dotted with fragrant lemon groves, and
pastel-hued medieval villages cling to the
vine-covered slopes.

Visit the ghostly remains of Pompeii, the
busy Roman city that was forever frozen
in time when Mt Vesuvius erupted on 24
August AD 79. You’ll see the extraordinarily
preserved ruins of what was a busy
commercial centre, and some awe-inspiring
ancient Roman frescoes.

FESTIVALS & EVENTS

From 11 to 19 May, Bagnoli, a western
suburb of Naples, will host the America’s
Cup World Series, bringing the cream of the
world’s sailors to Italy to race in futuristic
AC45 wing-sailed catamarans.

In June, it’s the turn of Amalfi to host the
Palio delle Quattro Antiche Repubbliche
Marinare. This annual traditional regatta
shifts locations among the four ancient
maritime republics – the others being
Venice, Genoa and Pisa. The boating
competition is preceded by a grand
medieval parade complete with flag bearers,
horses, drummers and trumpet players.

RECENT FAD

After years of rubbish-collection crises,
thought to have been exacerbated by the
Camorra (local mafia), some closure has
been brought…by regularly shipping the
region’s rubbish to the Netherlands.

HOT TOPIC OF THE DAY

The 2013 election: the first since
Berlusconi was replaced by the
‘technocrats’. Will influential comedian
Beppe Grillo make it into office?

DEFINING DIFFERENCE

Campania is famous for its sense of
humour and sense of anarchy. There’s
something intangibly extreme here; for
example, at New Year, when Italians set off
fireworks to celebrate, there are usually
more accidents in Campania than anywhere
else in Italy. The region is a furiously
creative place, famous for its theatre and
comedians. Before Italian unification in
1860, Naples was one of Europe’s most

brilliantly cultured cities. Many Italian
traditions were born here: it was the first
place to top pizza with tomatoes, and to
host a comic opera. Goethe, who visited in
the 19th century, said, ‘Naples is a paradise:
Everyone lives in a state of intoxicated self-
forgetfulness.’ Today Campania attracts
a contradictory cocktail of accolades and
infuriated critiques, but even its harshest
critics can’t deny the complex allure of its
volcanic geography, beautiful coastline,
mad energy and punchy cuisine.

LOCAL LINGO

Neapolitan is spoken in Naples and the
surrounding area of Campania, and

Grab a meal at Pizzeria
Trianon, naples, Campania

rather than being a variant on Italian,
is a language all of its own, officially
recognised as such by the region in 2008,
and remains very much the language of
the people. It’s unintelligible to those who
speak only Italian, with its own grammar,
pronunciation and vocabulary. It evolved
from the Latin spoken by Roman invaders,
and was afterwards influenced by different
settlers in and invaders of the area: the
Greeks, Normans, French and Spanish.

yamme (let’s go; Italian: andiamo)

va buo (OK; Italian: va bene)

munno (world; Italian: mondo)

guaglione/a = boy/girl; Italian:
giovanotto/a)

REGIONAL FLAVOURS

Campania is world renowned for its
delicious pizza Napolitana, which has
a thicker crust than the paper-thin
incarnations further north. The region’s
exuberance is reflected by what it serves
on the table. Vegetables and herbs grown
in the fertile soil around Mt Vesuvius form
the base for many flavourful dishes, which
often include capers, pasta and fresh
buffalo mozzarella. Fresh-from-the-sea
fish and shellfish also feature, while the
area is also famous for its richly exotic
pastries, in which the use of honey, nuts
and spices displays unmistakeable Arab
and Greek influences.

‘…San Francisco continues to attract kindred
spirits, eagerly embracing all newcomers to the
bosom of its cultural mélange’

SAN FRANCISCO, USA

POPULATION 805,235

FOREIGN VISITORS PER YEAR 4.7 million

LANGUAGE English

UNIT OF CURRENCY US dollar ($)

COST INDEX Cup of coffee US$2.50, cable-car ride US$5, dorm room/double
hotel room US$25/120

‘TASTY TUESDAY’ IN
ROHNERT PARK, CALIFORNIA

WHY GO IN 2013?
THE AMERICA’S CUP!

As gorgeous as it is eccentric, San
Francisco is the darling of America’s west
coast. Famous for hills, earthquakes and
a penchant for liberal politics, this is the
city that introduced the world to denim
jeans, inspired the beat generation to
go on the road, gave the first hippies a
place to sit-in and thrust gay rights into
the collective conscience. Today San
Francisco continues to attract kindred
spirits, eagerly embracing all newcomers
to the bosom of its cultural mélange. In no
other town are you as likely to see scions
of Silicon Valley propping up the same
bar as skinny-jeaned culture vultures,
Meso-American immigrants and brassy
drag-queen divas.

The city’s fine edifice has aged gracefully
over the years – a whiff of bygone charm
clings to its jaunty Victorian abodes, rattling
cable cars and that gloriously Art Deco
bridge. Add to this some of the best dining
options in the world, an explosive street-
art scene, dozens of raucous festivals
and a photogenic backdrop of foggy San
Francisco Bay, and you can imagine how
hard it is to leave before you even get here.

In the unlikely event that you need an
extra incentive to get yourself to San
Francisco, the city has an ace up its sleeve –
the 34th America’s Cup is coming to fog
city in 2013. Big changes and upgrades
are afoot all along San Francisco’s heaving
waterfront, with smart new businesses
setting up shop to take advantage of
sensational Bay Area views.

LIFE-CHANGING EXPERIENCES

The iconic Golden Gate Bridge is a marvel
of cable-suspension engineering – bike over
its span and hike up the Marin Headlands
for postcard-perfect vistas.

Alcatraz Island, home to America’s most
infamous prison, rather ironically sports
some of the best views of both the city and
the Golden Gate Bridge.

Born in San Francisco, the California
Cuisine creed embraces fresh local produce
and inventive fusion. The city’s enviable
eating options can satisfy any palate.

FESTIVALS & EVENTS

The Valentine’s Day Pillow Fight, begun
as a flash-mob gathering, has become a firm
calendar fixture. Thousands of strangers
descend on downtown to whack each other
with pillows. We kid you not, this is the most
fun you can have with your pyjamas on.

The most gay-friendly city in the world
throws one of the most impressive LGBTQ
festivals around. SF Pride (June) heaves
with tourists, sequins, wigs, flesh, boas,
hugs, music and revelry into the night.

Catering to ‘specialist’ sexual proclivities,
the Folsom Street Fair (September) is
dedicated to bondage, S&M and anything
leather. Get ready to see more arse-less
chaps than you can poke a riding crop at.

Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead),
a traditional Central American festival, is
observed on All Saints Day (1 November)
and includes a candlelit procession, music
and art honouring the dead.

RECENT FAD

Independent food carts and trucks are all the
rage. Live-tweeting their locations to hungry

digerati, mobile-food collectives serve up
everything from Korean tacos to crème-
brulée-to-go to Jamaican jerk chicken.

WHAT’S HOT…

Parklets: guerrilla art installations
commandeering metered-parking spots to
create temporary microparks

…WHAT’S NOT

Chain-store coffee: no competition for fresh-
roasted artisanal coffee and fine barista-ship

RANDOM FACTS

The first America’s Cup race rounded the
Isle of Wight in the UK in 1851. It was won
by a schooner called America – hence the
name of the trophy.

San Francisco boasts more restaurants
and patents per capita than any other city.

CLASSIC RESTAURANT EXPERIENCE

For all its high-end eateries, nothing beats
wandering into a hole-in-the wall taqueria,
grabbing a wobbly plastic table and
attempting to finish the pinnacle of Tex-Mex
gastronomy, executed to greasy perfection:
the burrito. Everybody you meet will swear
by a different taqueria: to find the ‘best’, ask
seven locals and take the average.

BEST SHOPPING

Valencia St corridor, in painfully hip Mission
district, is a microcosm of San-Fran culture.
Expect to find independent retailers hocking
’50s vintage gear, life-size movie props, vinyl
records, authentic pirate supplies, vegan
shoes, contemporary art, dog-eared books,
modernist furniture and so much more.

THE BAY AREA’S FOG
CONCEALS SAN FRANCISCO’S
FAMOUS LANDMARK

‘…the party ramps up in 2013, when
more anniversaries than you can shake
a herring at coincide’

AMSTERDAM,
THE NETHERLANDS

POPULATION 780,600

FOREIGN VISITORS PER YEAR 4 million

LANGUAGES Dutch, English

UNIT OF CURRENCY Euro (€)

COST INDEX Glass of beer €3 (US$3.90), hotel double €110-160 (US$144-
209), frites with mayo €3 (US$3.90), bike rental per day €13 (US$17)

ORANGE IS THE ONLY COLOUR
TO WEAR ON QUEEN’S DAY

WHY GO IN 2013? LOTS OF
BIRTHDAY CAKE

Amsterdam’s Golden Age charm and
progressive attitude always cast a spell on
travellers, but the party ramps up big-time in
2013, when more anniversaries than you can
shake a herring at coincide. The famed canal
ring turns 400 years old. It’s Vincent van
Gogh’s 160th birthday and the 40th for his
colour-swirled museum. The Rijksmuseum
re-opens after a 10-year renovation,
splashing Rembrandts, Vermeers and 7500
other masterpieces over 1.5km of galleries.
The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra –
often considered the world’s best (and
not just because they played on The Big

Lebowski soundtrack) – blows out 125
candles. Plus the Artis Royal Zoo and Felix
Meritis cultural centre mark 175 years and
225 years, respectively. It all adds up to a
slew of celebratory concerts, exhibits and
street fests grooving throughout 2013.

LIFE-CHANGING EXPERIENCES

Pull up a stool and hoist a beer in a candlelit
‘brown’ cafe. Most have been in business
for 300 years or so, and earn their name
from the smoke-stained walls. A wander
through the Red Light District will make
your jaw go limp, even if near-naked women
beckoning from backlit windows is the
oldest Amsterdam cliché. At the other end

CYCLING THROUGH AN
ALLEYWAY OFF SINGEL
CANAL, AMSTERDAM

of the spectrum, Anne Frank’s melancholy
bedroom and diary, sitting in its glass case,
provides a heartbreaking WWII flashback.

FESTIVALS & EVENTS

Queen’s Day (Koninginnedag) celebrates
the monarch’s birthday every 30 April.
Uproarious boozing, throbbing techno
music and the entire population dressed in
ridiculous orange outfits set the scene for
the rip-roaring street party.

In August the Grachtenfestival (Canal
Festival) floats classical concerts around
the city’s waterways – many performances
literally take place on boats. Expect extra
action for the canal ring’s 400th anniversary.

The International Documentary Film
Festival Amsterdam rocks 25 years of
screen time come November. Yes, it’s
another big 2013 birthday, and the festival
will honour it with films about Amsterdam
made by Amsterdammers.

RANDOM FACTS

More bicycles than people fill the city:
there are 881,000 two-wheelers versus
about 781,000 citizens. Fifty-eight percent
of locals cycle daily.

Arriving at Amsterdam’s airport, your
plane lands 4.5m below sea level. The city
would be underwater were it not built on
huge stakes driven into the ground. Centraal
Station has 6000 of them keeping it afloat.

Amsterdam has more canals than Venice,
with 1281 bridges arching over the water.

HOT TOPIC OF THE DAY

A weed pass, man. In January 2013, new
laws will ban foreigners from toking in the
city’s coffeeshops. Only Dutch residents

who have a one-year pass will be able to
purchase pot. Politicians initiated the
legislation, citing gang-related crime and
health risks, but Amsterdammers fought
it, saying the new law would drive the trade
underground. As of press time, it was still a
wait-and-see issue. But it’s possible by the
time you’re reading this, only card-carrying
Dutch residents will be able to light up.

CLASSIC RESTAURANT EXPERIENCE

Open since the 1940s, Van Dobben’s
specialises in traditional Dutch fare: try
the pekelvlees (something close to corned
beef), or make it a halfom – pekelvlees
mixed with liver. In winter, supplement with
a bowl of erwtensoep, a thick pea soup with
smoked sausage and bacon. Van Dobben’s
kroketten (croquettes) rule the town and
are compulsory after a late-night booze-up.

BEST SHOPPING

The Negen Straatjes (Nine Little Streets)
comprise a tic-tac-toe board of tiny shops
dealing in antiques, vintage fashions,
housewares and oddball specialities ranging
from toothbrushes to velvet ribbons to doll
repairs. Atmospheric pubs, cafes and wine
bars pop up in their midst, making it easy to
wander away the day here.

MOST UNUSUAL PLACE TO STAY

Xaviera’s Happy House is a one of a kind,
just like owner Xaviera Hollander. The
former madam and author of The Happy
Hooker welcomes guests to her B&B in
the ritzy Beethovenstraat neighbourhood.
Rooms are decked out with erotic photos,
red heart pillows, and books, such as her
most recent Guide to Mind-Blowing Sex.

‘Elegant and blossoming, but also
weathered and undiscovered, the Old City
is ripe for exploration’

HYDERABAD, INDIA

POPULATION 7.7 million

FOREIGN VISITORS PER YEAR 322,825

LANGUAGES Telugu, Urdu

UNIT OF CURRENCY Rupee (₹)

COST INDEX Plate of biryani ₹100-200 (US$2-4), double room in a
minor heritage building/major palace ₹1650/19,500 (US$30/380), short
autorickshaw ride ₹20 (US$0.40), admission to royal sites ₹10-150 (US$0.20-2)

the tomb of the Qutb
Shahi dynasty is one of
Hyderabad’s highlights

WHY GO 2013? THE ROYAL
SECRETS ARE OUT

Hyderabad was once the capital of a
filthy-rich princely state, with the world’s
largest collection of gems and the world’s
richest man. The last nizam wore the same
thing every day, was said to spend his days
smoking opium and composing poetry
in Persian, and used a US$90 million,
185-carat diamond, which he found in one
of his father’s slippers, as a paperweight.
He had cars pin-striped in ivory, 38
servants (out of 11,000) employed only
to polish chandeliers, 42 concubines and
15 million subjects. Local gem mines kept
the money flowing, which generations of

nizams used to build fanciful structures and
pleasure gardens across the city.

After India’s independence, the palaces
and pleasure gardens were sold off,
built over and looted, and you had to be
really sharp to see the city’s beauty. But
several palaces in Hyderabad’s Old City
have recently been refurbished, including
Falaknuma Palace, a seven-star hotel (yes,
there is such a thing) that was skilfully
restored by the Taj Group and is now an
exceedingly plush time capsule. Other
monuments and buildings are being
fixed up, but the city, and many of its
architectural gems, are still off the radar
and require a little hunting – which keeps

DOWNTOWN HYDERABAD

the masses at bay. Elegant and blossoming,
but also weathered and undiscovered,
Hyderabad’s Old City is ripe for exploration.

LIFE-CHANGING EXPERIENCES

Falaknuma is where you can most easily
imagine yourself as royalty, but the Purani
Haveli (now HEH the Nizam’s Museum) and
Chowmahalla palaces are also conducive
to regal fantasies. Chowmahalla has
a durbar hall with gargantuan Belgian
chandeliers, period rooms full of bling and
tchotchkes, and displays of outrageously
ornate clothing, palanquins, swords and
cars. It also has the Royal Photo Studio,
where you can dress up like a princess and
get your sepia-tone picture taken. Displays
of the seventh nizam’s lush architectural

tastes are all over town, as are lunches of
superb Hyderabadi biryani – a rice dish
with Persian origins created by the nizams
in their royal kitchens.

But the real joys of Hyderabad are
beyond the main attractions: get
lost while searching for noble-family
cemeteries still sprinkled daily with
rose petals, ornate mosques and
shrines tucked behind shopping plazas,
garden complexes named for beloved
courtesans, and neighbourhoods of
fading mansions with centuries-old
architectural flourishes.

FESTIVALS & EVENTS

During January’s Sankranti, everyone is
either on their rooftops flying colourful kites

or observing the fluttering of thousands of
kites against the skyline.

Muharram, a 40-day festival
commemorating the martyrdom of
Mohammed’s grandson, sees throngs of
Hyderabadis coming together at mosques
and shrines for prayer, processions and
fire-walking.

Serious evening eating happens during
Ramadan, when the city lights up special
clay ovens to make its famous haleem –
pounded, spiced wheat mixed with goat
or mutton.

WHAT’S HOT…

Designer Ritu Kumar’s Falaknuma couture
line (and the sari revival in general), gay
pride, Hyderabad’s nightlife and food scene

…WHAT’S NOT

Wearing shorts or tight T-shirts in the Old
City, those new electronic autorickshaw
meters, the city’s Cinderella nightlife laws
(clubs close at midnight)

HOT TOPIC OF THE DAY

For decades, a separatist movement has
pushed to make Telangana – a region of
Andhra Pradesh that includes Hyderabad –
its own state. The debate grew heated
in 2011–12, with mass strikes, fasts and
political wrangling. Andhra’s ‘tribal’
minorities, meanwhile, are still waiting for
basic civil and property rights.

MOST BIZARRE SIGHT

The Charminar, a beautiful odd bird of a
monument with 56m-high minarets, was
built in 1591 to celebrate the city’s founding.
It’s right in the middle of the Old City’s
busiest street and, though it has a mosque
on its second floor, mostly exists just to be
beautiful, especially when lit up at night.

CLASSIC RESTAURANT EXPERIENCE

The little local joint Hotel Shadab, at a
chaotic intersection in the Old City, is full
of friendly waiters, families and ladies who
lunch (in black), and serves exquisite takes
on traditional Old City cuisine.

BEST SHOPPING

In addition to too many megamalls,
Hyderabad has the ancient and enthralling
mall of Laad Bazaar – a vast labyrinth of
vendors dealing in pearls, burqas, sequined
slippers, tools, gems, bangles, fabrics and
artisanal perfumes.

‘This vibrant, historic, walled city is undergoing
a renaissance’

DERRY/LONDONDERRY, NORTHERN IRELAND

POPULATION 83,700

FOREIGN VISITORS PER YEAR 278,141

LANGUAGES English, Gaelic

UNIT OF CURRENCY Pounds sterling (£)

COST INDEX Pint of beer £3.30 (US$5.20), hotel double for a night from £50
(US$80), short taxi ride (minimum fare) £2.50 (US$4), wi-fi access per hour £1
(US$1.60)

troubled water: The
Peace Bridge over the
River Foyle

WHY GO IN 2013? A YEAR
IN THE LIMELIGHT

Derry/Londonderry is the UK City of
Culture 2013, which means this vibrant,
historic, walled city is undergoing a
renaissance, despite a rocky reputation
in the media. It’s already gained a sinuous
new foot and cycle bridge (the 235m
‘Peace Bridge’), which forms an elegant
wiggle across the River Doyle. The bridge
symbolically links the city’s Protestant and
Catholic communities, and is designed to
resemble a structural handshake.

The year will see a wealth of cultural
events. The city will host the 10-day All
Ireland Fleadh, the world’s biggest Irish

festival, which usually attracts around
300,000 visitors. The always-controversial
Turner Prize will take place here, and other
major art exhibitions include the best
Magnum Photography and a show from the
IMMA (Irish Museum of Modern Art).

Acclaimed Irish poet Paul Muldoon is
writing a special piece to mark 400 years
of the Derry walls along with the composer
Mark Anthony Turnage, and the classical
oratorio will debut in the Derry Guildhall
and the London Guildhall simultaneously.
Derry’s famous fortifications will be further
celebrated when Hofesh Schecter – the
world’s foremost young choreographer –
stages a dance spectacular atop the walls.

THE GIANT’S CAUSEWAY,
COUNTY ANTRIM

The riverside Ebrington Barracks,
to one side of the Peace Bridge, were
once occupied by British troops. Today
the former parade ground forms a
performance space bigger than Trafalgar
Square, with a contemporary art gallery
in what was the headquarters building, a
museum in the sometime military hospital,
plus studios, cafes and bars.

The city will buzz throughout the year
with hundreds of other events, from
pageants to music to contemporary dance.
Derry/Londonderry also hosts lots of
regular festivals, such as the Jazz Festival
and Earhart Festival (in 2013, celebrating
80 years since American aviation pioneer
Amelia Earhart landed here), celebrations
for which will all be cranked up a notch.

LIFE-CHANGING EXPERIENCE

Derry/Londonderry has a tumultuous
history, and nothing illustrates this more
movingly than the 12 murals that decorate
the gable ends of houses along Rossville
St, near Free Derry Corner. These are the
work of the ‘Bogside Artists’: Tom Kelly,
Will Kelly and Kevin Hasson. These three
local men lived through the worst of the
Troubles, and have poured their personal
experience into the works, which are the
city’s most compelling and unusual sight.

FESTIVALS & EVENTS

A huge pageant, with a cast of 2000,
will take place on the river to celebrate St
Colmcille on his feast day, 9 June.

In mid-June, Foyle Days sees Derry/
Londonderry take to the water for this
river-based festival, featuring visiting navy
ships, yacht races and boat trips, and
shore-side music and entertainment.

The Gasyard Wall Féile takes place in
August with live music, street performers,
theatre and Irish-language events.

From 27 to 31 October, Derry gets
over-excitedly spooky with the Halloween
Carnival, Ireland’s biggest street party.

HOT TOPIC OF THE DAY

Will Derry/Londonderry’s status as
European Capital of Culture help to
bridge the gaps between Protestants
and Catholics?

RANDOM FACTS

Derry/Londonderry is a town with three
names. In the 10th century it was named
Doíre Colmcille (Oak Grove of Columba),
in honour of the 6th-century saint, so the
Gaelic name is Doíre; Nationalists use
Derry; and Unionists use Londonderry,
which is still the city’s official name. The
‘London’ part is often crossed out on the
region’s road signs.

The Derry/Londonderry city walls were
designed by Italian engineer Hieronimo
Marino, who based their layout on the grid
plan of a Roman military camp.

MOST BIZARRE SIGHT

Giant’s Causeway, 64km eastward along
the coast, is a collection of 40,000
interlocking ancient basalt columns created
following volcanic action, the tops of which
appear like sculpted stepping stones.

CLASSIC RESTAURANT EXPERIENCE

Housed over three floors of a handsome
former shirt factory decorated with local
art and photography, the Halo Pantry & Grill
on Market St is held with great affection
in town for its warm, New York–loft
atmosphere, reasonable prices and lovely
home-cooked food.

CLASSIC PLACE TO STAY

The Georgian Merchant’s House is a
grandiose townhouse, now a B&B, which
transports you back to the elegance of 19th-
century Derry, with its gracious drawing
and dining rooms, polished woodwork,
marble fireplaces, antique furniture, and
homemade marmalade at breakfast.

‘…the entire city feels like the Wild West meets
circa-1980s Tokyo meets, well, modern-day China’

BEIJING, CHINA

POPULATION 19.6 million

VISITORS PER YEAR 4.9 million

LANGUAGE Mandarin

UNIT OF CURRENCY Chinese renminbi (RMB) also referred to as the yuan (Y)

COST INDEX Bottle of Tsingtao beer Y15 (US$2.30), hotel double room per
night Y400-2500 (US$64-400), dorm bed per night Y100-150 (US$16-24),
short taxi ride Y18 (US$2.80), admission to the Forbidden City Y40-60 (US$6-
10), Peking duck meal at Quanjude Restaurant Y170 (US$27)

WAIST DRUM DANCERS
REHEARSE FOR NATIONAL
DAY CELEBRATIONS IN
BEIJING

WHY GO 2013? BEIJING – BIGGER
AND BETTER

Shanghai may be flaunting its financial cred
(yawn), but Beijing firmly remains as the
cultural and artistic centre of China. While
the 2008 Olympics may now seem like a
distant memory, its effect is enduring –
there are English street signs and a
multitude of architectural gems such as the
Bird’s Nest studded across the sprawling
city. More recently, the Beijing–Shanghai
high-speed rail now connects the two cities
in under five hours.

Today, Beijing tentatively balances
a multitude of (growing) populations
and subcultures. Expats number in the
hundreds of thousands, migrants from
around China come to seek their fortunes

here, and the entire city feels like the Wild
West meets circa-1980s Tokyo meets, well,
modern-day China. While the classical
sights such as Tiananmen Square, the
Forbidden City, the Great Wall and the
Summer Palace remain as they’ve always
been, there’s a plethora of varied activities
coming to a boil in Beijing.

Artist colonies have sprung up in
Caochangdi (Ai Weiwei instigated the move
here) and Songzhuang (more than 2000
artists), while the city’s growing alternative
rock and punk scene rocks local clubs.
Sitting somewhat uneasily beside this is
China’s largest nouveau-riche population,
with their Ferraris and penchant for Hermès
and Chateau Margaux. Beijing truly is the
sum of its disparate parts. There’s a palpable

LING JIAN’S EXHIBITION, MOON IN
GLASS, AT THE ULLENS CENTER FOR
CONTEMPORARY ART, BEIJING

sense of change in the air, though no one
quite knows what to expect. China is on the
cusp of true greatness and one day, people
will look back and say it all started here.

LIFE-CHANGING EXPERIENCES

Get a kick walking through the huge double
doors into the Forbidden City – the pièce
de résistance of China experiences – and
it’s not an easy feat to stand out in the
world’s third-largest country. At night,
let a local punk rock band set your ears
ringing while you chug back Tsingtao at the
wildly popular MAO Livehouse. Recharge

on street snacks such as fried scorpion,
stinky tofu and spicy pancakes before
clambering along the less-touristy Jiankou
and Simatai sections of the Great Wall and
doing something crazy on it (marathon?
camping? Take your pick).

FESTIVALS & EVENTS

Nerds, bibliophiles and intellectuals come
together in March for the Beijing Bookworm
International Literary Festival. For details,
visit www.bookwormfestival.com.

Each May, fitness freaks get a kick out
of running a marathon… on the Great Wall!

The route goes over some steep ascents,
up and down thousands of steps and
through local villages. Check out www.
great-wall-marathon.com.

While the rave party on the Great
Wall has been banned, organisers have
managed to keep shenanigans going
by having an annual rave party on the
beach in the Shanhaiguan section –
where the wall meets the sea. Come July,
locals and expats don their swimsuits
for a bit of hedonistic partying at the
Great Wall Beach Party. Book at www.
greatwallbeachparty.com. So, can you
wear a bikini? The organiser’s FAQ says,
quite emphatically, ‘Yes!’.

WHAT’S HOT…

Caochangdi Art District, obscure hutong
(alleyways), cycling

…WHAT’S NOT

Boorish expats, traffic jams, sandstorms

MOST BIZARRE SIGHT

The embalmed body of Chairman Mao lies
in a crystal cabinet in a mausoleum complex
at – where else – Tiananmen Square.
White-gloved guards wave the crowds
along to the souvenir shop stocked with
Mao memorabilia. Lines snake out the main
entrance and locals adopt an air of almost
religious reverence when in the presence of
China’s late statesman… so no giggling here.

CLASSIC RESTAURANT EXPERIENCE

It may be a cliché, but you have to sample
Peking duck in Beijing. The Beijing Dadong
Roast Duck Restaurant is a long-time

favourite and its popularity is certainly
warranted. The air-conditioned setting may
lack atmosphere, but it serves up a yummy
lean version (15% fat versus the normal
42%) of the fowl complete with plum sauce,
scallions and pancakes. For a decidedly
more low-key experience, visit the grungy
Li Qun Roast Duck Restaurant, run out of
a traditional courtyard house. The mighty
oven stands in the courtyard, turning out
perfectly crisp-skinned ducks.

BEST SHOPPING

For a big-city shopping experience,
take a stroll along Wangfujing Dajie,
home to malls, malls, malls. The trendy
set hang out at Sanlitun for its luxury
brands – though pirate DVD stalls are
often tucked across the street. The
hutong (alleyways) of Dashilar are a
jumble of silk shops, old stores selling
bric-a-brac, and herbal medicine shops
(dried starfish anyone?). For antiques and
curios, drop by Panjiayuan Market on the
weekends. Up to 50,000 people rummage
for calligraphy, Cultural Revolution
memorabilia, Tibetan carpets, vintage
furniture and everything in between.
Bargain hard as some mark-ups are said
to be 10 times the selling price!

CLASSIC PLACE TO STAY

Beijing’s fast-disappearing courtyard
houses provide great settings for some
fabulous boutique hotels. Courtyard 7
(www.courtyard7.com) has traditional
rosewood-furnished rooms spread out
across three lovely buildings. Also try
Mao’er 28 (www.maoer28.com), often
booked out a year in advance.

‘…Christchurch, with a unique opportunity to rethink
urban form, is bouncing back with a new energy and
inventiveness’

CHRISTCHURCH,
NEW ZEALAND

POPULATION 380,000

FOREIGN VISITORS PER YEAR 70,000

LANGUAGE English

UNIT OF CURRENCY New Zealand dollar ($)

COST INDEX Pint of beer $7 (US$6), dorm room per night $30 (US$24), short
taxi ride $15 (US$12), hassle-free city tour $29 (US$23), admission to Antarctic
Centre $35 (US$28)

Pop-up shop: the mall
made from shipping
containers in central
Christchurch

WHY GO IN 2013? SOAK IN THE
ENERGY OF THE REBUILD

New Zealand’s second-largest city is rising
from the rubble created by devastating
earthquakes in 2010 and 2011 with a
breathtaking mix of spirit, determination
and flair. Half the city centre was
knocked over and 185 lives were lost, but
Christchurch, with a unique opportunity
to rethink urban form, is bouncing back
with a new energy and inventiveness. In
the city itself, exciting things are going on.
Foodies will be surprised by the variety of
what is on offer, from Burmese to Turkish
to local specialities, live-music venues have

popped up all over the place, and innovative
artworks fill empty demolition sites. Who
would have believed that the humble
shipping container would emerge as a funky
option for housing everything from noodle
bars to book shops and fashion boutiques?
Meanwhile, the recovery effort is well under
way and 2013 will be an intriguing year to
join the rebirth of this proud southern city.

Christchurch’s CBD may have taken a
hit but nearby hotspots such as Akaroa,
Hanmer Springs, Kaikoura, Mt Hutt and the
Southern Alps were relatively untouched by
the quakes, and remain fantastic options for
side-trips from Christchurch.

THE RAKAIA RIVER
FLOWS ACROSS THE
CANTERBURY PLAINS,
CLOSE TO CHRISTCHURCH

LIFE-CHANGING EXPERIENCES

While the earthquakes and aftershocks
provided plenty of life-changing and nerve-
rattling experiences for the locals, the
resilience and determination they displayed
has helped bind the people of the Canterbury
region together. The ‘Farmy Army’
descended on the city from the region’s rural
heartland with shovels and food hampers,
social media mobilised a 10,000-strong
Student Volunteer Army for clean-up action,
and heartfelt aid arrived from across New
Zealand and around the globe.

Expect a warm welcome. Locals, while still
hurting, are fighting back, and the energy
of the rebuilding effort is sure to rub off on
visitors. This is drive and determination at
its best. Marvel at the ‘cardboard cathedral’,
the stunning inspiration of Japanese
architect Shigeru Ban, which will replace
the city’s iconic stone cathedral. The
700-seat transitional cathedral, built of
durable cardboard tubes, to be completed in
December 2012, is expected to serve the city
for the next 20 years.

FESTIVALS & EVENTS

The World Buskers Festival hits
Christchurch in mid to late January with
entertainers from far and wide enthralling
passers-by on city streets.

The Garden City comes alive for the
Festival of Flowers and Ellerslie Flower
Show in February and March. Be part of a
blooming spectacle.

In November, the NZ Cup and Show
Week includes the NZ Cup horse race,
complete with best-dressed fashion
competitions and the centrepiece A&P
(Agricultural & Pastoral) Show.

RECENT FAD

The Gap Filler Charitable Trust is filling the
gaps left at empty demolition sites with
creative projects such as the Lyttleton
Petanque Club, the ‘Think Differently
Book Exchange’ (a fridge crammed with
books), giant chess boards for the public
to use, and all sorts of artworks and
performances. Some of the ‘gaps’ being
used are semipermanent, some are only
available for a few days.

HOT TOPIC OF THE DAY

What’s opening today? Christchurch is
buzzing with positivity and constantly
evolving. Everyone wants to keep up to date
with new openings and reopenings. Check
out Pop-Up City (www.popupcity.co.nz).

MOST BIZARRE SIGHT

The Re:START development on Cashel
Mall sees retailers back in action on the
fringe of the CBD in a colourful labyrinth
of shipping containers. Besides the
opportunity for some retail therapy, free
wi-fi and alfresco cafes help provide a
distraction from the hustle and bustle of
demolition and rebuilding.

CLASSIC RESTAURANT EXPERIENCE

Captain Cook may have called it the ‘tea
tree’ and used its leaves to brew tea, but
at Holy Smoke (www.holysmoke.co.nz)
on Ferry Rd they use the manuka tree’s
wood to smoke everything from pork ribs
and salmon to garlic! This multi-award-
winning place also serves up local craft
beers and top NZ wines to give you a unique
Christchurch and Kiwi dining experience.

‘Now is the time to discover what’s going on down
there before the rest of the world catches on’

HOBART, AUSTRALIA

POPULATION 214,000

FOREIGN VISITORS PER YEAR 112,000

LANGUAGE English

UNIT OF CURRENCY Australian dollar ($)

COST INDEX Coffee $3.50 (US$3.60), meal in a restaurant $20-25 (US$21-26),
MONA art museum admission $20 (US$21), midrange hotel double $140-180
(US$145-186), schooner of Cascade beer $6 (US$6.20)

Lobster pots on a fishing
boat in Victoria Dock,
Hobart, Tasmania

WHY GO IN 2013? A HISTORIC
CITY REINVENTING ITSELF

Resting on the banks of the Derwent River
against the backdrop of Mt Wellington,
Hobart’s allure has always been its natural
beauty. A sleepy reputation attracts a solid
‘outdoorsy’ set dressed in the obligatory
fleece and boat shoes, but the recent
arrival of the world-class MONA museum
has the waters rippling, hip tourists flocking
and Hobart rousing from its slumber.

MONA is Australia’s largest private
art museum, housing the $150 million
collection of its eccentric owner, David
Walsh, in a subterranean space built into
the sandstone banks of the Derwent. In
2013 the new kid on the block will team
up with the Tasmanian Museum and Art

Gallery (TMAG) for the Theatre of the World
exhibition curated by Jean-Hubert Martin,
former director of the Centre Georges
Pompidou in Paris. Not to be outdone by
MONA, TMAG will be getting a significant
makeover – to be revealed in early 2013 –
that will see spaces previously off limits
to the public showing off a suite of new
exhibitions and heritage works.

And since the art revival began, a free
bicycle-hire service, Artbikes, has been set
up for visitors to access the city’s art trails
and there’s a map to guide you to Hobart’s
best galleries.

This year will also prove exciting for
Hobart’s already burgeoning gastronomic
scene as the city’s culinary credentials
continue to rise. A focus on organic,

sustainable and biodynamic ingredients
is an emerging theme (particularly with
restaurants Garagistes and Ethos),
boutique microbreweries are popping up,
Salamanca Market and Farm Gate Market
continue to show off the regional produce
and city food tours have also taken off.
Now is the time to discover what’s going
on down there before the rest of the world
catches on.

LIFE-CHANGING EXPERIENCE

Australia’s second-oldest city, Hobart is
steeped in history and not an altogether
pleasant one. Take in the Louisa’s Walk tour
for an informative insight into the infamous
Female Factory where female convicts were
incarcerated. If your newfound knowledge
of this chilling past has you rattled, head
over to the Lark Distillery for one of their

whisky tours and end it with a smooth
single malt to get you back on track.

FESTIVALS & EVENTS

Ex-Violent Femmes bassist, Brian Ritchie,
curates MONA FOMA, a music/arts festival
in January. Past performers include the
Saints, John Cale and Grandmaster Flash.

The biannual visual arts festival, Ten
Days on the Island, runs in March and draws
talent from all disciplines including dance,
theatre, installation and literature.

One for the boaters, the famous Sydney
to Hobart Yacht Race sees yachts finishing
this race around 29 December; the
celebrations last for days.

Hobart’s waterfront is transformed into
a feast for foodies from December through
January where the fine Tassie produce is on
show at the popular Taste Festival.

THE MUSEUM OF OLD AND
NEW ART (MONA) LANDED IN
HOBART IN 2011

RANDOM FACTS

The last known living Tasmanian tiger
died in captivity at the Hobart Zoo in 1936.

Errol Flynn and the Crown Princess of
Denmark were born-and-bred Hobartians.

Hobart is home to Australia’s oldest
brewery, Cascade Brewery, established in
1824 and still in operation.

WHAT’S HOT…

MONA, of course. So hot that Hobart’s
recent tourism boom is referred to as ‘the
MONA effect’ (in its first year, the museum
attracted almost half a million visitors).

…WHAT’S NOT

The weather – Hobart has a deserved
reputation for having more than its fair share
of wet days and frosty Antarctic winds.

CLASSIC RESTAURANT EXPERIENCE

Housed in an old mechanics garage,
the star of the growing dining scene is
Garagistes, with a menu that respects
the land and the sea using locally grown
and foraged ingredients. Tetsuya-trained
chef, Luke Burgess, dishes up innovative
fare such as chawan-mushi and spanner
crab with dashi poached onions. It’s not
all about the food here though: organic or
biodynamic wine is the focus and food is
served to match, rather than vice-versa.

CLASSIC PLACE TO STAY

The Islington Hotel, a grand historic
residence in manicured gardens, was built
in 1847 as a hotel and still houses many
southbound visitors today. It is filled with
antiques, artefacts and contemporary art.

‘Montreal’s mastered the art of living the good life
and now everyone wants in on her secret’

MONTREAL, CANADA

POPULATION 3.8 million

FOREIGN VISITORS PER YEAR 7 million

LANGUAGES French (official), English widely spoken

UNIT OF CURRENCY Canadian dollar ($)

COST INDEX Cup of coffee $2 (US$2), bottle of wine from the SAQ $10-20
(US$10-20), midrange hotel double $90-150 (US$90-150), short taxi ride $10-15
(US$10-15), Schwartz’s Deli sandwich $6.20 (US$6.20), poutine $4-8 (US$$4-
8), Musée des Beaux-Arts permanent collection free

Montreal’s Biosphère
museum on Île Sainte-
Hélène Island

WHY GO IN 2013? BECAUSE SHE’S
ON EVERYONE’S LIPS

Like the girl everyone wants to go out
with, Montreal has a confidence that has
always attracted people in droves. She’s
mastered the art of living the good life
and now everyone wants in on her secret.
Having recently gained a high rank on city
lists including the world’s happiest (Lonely
Planet, 2010) and hippest (New York Times,
2011), this year she’s angling for a top spot,
showing off in Steven Spielberg’s summer
release Robopocalypse, and inviting
everyone for drinks at the new urban beach.

But Montreal’s making sure we know
she’s got brains as well as beauty. Spring
2013 marks the launch of the new Rio
Tinto Alcan Planetarium, rounding out

the ambitious ‘Space for Life’ project, a
natural-science extravaganza that includes
the extant and mammoth-sized Biodôme,
Insectarium and Botanical Garden. A
model for architectural sustainability, the
planetarium features two conical theatres
for space education and a green roof that
visitors can even walk on.

Montreal’s social calendar is also
bubbling over with the unveiling of the
Grévin wax museum at the Eaton Centre (at
twice the size of the original in Paris), the
50th-anniversary celebrations of the Place
des Arts, and the new Point Zero hotel,
owned by the eponymous fashion label.

And what of the endless quarrel
between this French style maven and the
pesky Anglophones? These days a whiff

of libertarianism is breezing through a
heady mélange of cultures. More universal
concerns like food and water are soaking up
Montreal’s energy. It’s turning into a bit of a
love-fest all around, and everyone is invited.

LIFE-CHANGING EXPERIENCES

Part of the urban dream and the city’s
namesake, the hills of Mt Royal require no
training to summit and it’s magical in winter:
squirrels dart across the path as you zoom
up and around the trees on cross-country
skis or snowshoes. Take in the spectacular
cityscape and a glimpse of the St Lawrence
at the Kondiaronk Belvedere lookout. Then
head down to tuck into the Québec comfort
food that has become de rigeur: tourtière,
maple-syrup soaked pudding au chômeur
(poor man’s pudding) and an ice cider.

FESTIVALS & EVENTS

Canada Snow Village, in the Parc Jean-
Drapeau, is a frozen spectacle that runs
from January through March and includes a
spa, ice hotel, bar, five-star restaurant and
chapel; 2013’s theme is New York.

The Festival Mondial de la Bière in
May/June features more than 500 beers,
including local microbrews: it’s Oktoberfest
with a French twist.

A three-day celebration of wheels,
Montreal Bike Fest in May/June includes
a 50-km day tour and Friday-night ride
through the city.

RECENT FAD

Now you see it, now you don’t: ‘pop-up’
shops, galleries and restaurants have been
popping up all around town.

WHAT’S HOT…

Socially responsible businesses, Little Italy,
Italian food, Italians, winter

…WHAT’S NOT

Homelessness, climate change

HOT TOPIC OF THE DAY

Two icons met up and made headlines
when songstress Celine Dion and husband
Rene Angelil were recently named in a
group that bought Schwartz’s Deli —
adding to their stock of restaurants, which
includes the local diner chain Nickels. Is
one of Montreal’s favourite landmarks
destined to become a Las Vegas–style
franchise? The celebs are saying no… let’s
hold them to it.

MOST BIZARRE SIGHT

Visitors are occasionally bewildered to
encounter the Tam Tams on summer
Sunday afternoons in Mount Royal Park:
a congregation of drummers and dancers
that may well be the beating heart of the
city. Remember this was where John
Lennon and Yoko Ono held a love-in…

BEST SHOPPING

Minimalist classics, plus recycled wear,
plus Québec-designed leather bags and
accessories equals Montreal chic. Pair
locally produced, ecofriendly Second
Denim jeans with a jacket or knitwear
from Preloved. Visit Rudsak, M0851 and
Want les Essentiels de la Vie for leather
accoutrements that will give your look
that je ne sais quoi long after you’ve
returned home.

Lipstick forest in the
Palais des Congrès,
Montreal

‘….the Merkato is lined with stalls and shops, where
you can buy anything from Kakashnikovs and
camels to spices and jewellery’

ADDIS ABABA,
ETHIOPIA

POPULATION 3 million

FOREIGN VISITORS PER YEAR around 50,000

LANGUAGE Amharic

UNIT OF CURRENCY Ethiopian birr (ETB)

COST INDEX Cup of macchiato birr4 (US$0.22), cover charge at a disco birr50
(US$2.80), double room in a midrange hotel from birr700 (US$40), traditional
meal at a reputable restaurant birr120 (US$6.75)

Ethiopian coffee
ceremony, Addis Ababa

WHY GO?
A BLOSSOMING FLOWER

Like the Ethiopian marathon runners, Addis
Ababa (often shortened to plain Addis) is
evolving at a fast pace. The fact that the
country’s economic growth should reach
almost 5% in 2013 helps create a feeling
of confidence and stamina. Founded little
more than a century ago, Addis Ababa,
which in Amharic means ‘New Flower’, is
not only the diplomatic capital of Africa and
a thriving metropolis, but also a groovy city
that takes pride in its multifaceted assets.
Perched on the Abyssinian plateau, some
2400m above sea level, Addis boasts a
climate classed as ‘tropical highland’;
in other words, balmy and temperate,

with cloudless blue skies for about eight
months of the year – all the more reason
to visit. It’s well endowed with museums,
including the culturally stimulating
Ethnological Museum, set within Emperor
Haile Selassie’s former palace, which gives
a great insight into Ethiopia’s many rich
cultures. Another highlight is the National
Museum, the collection of which ranks
among the finest in sub-Saharan Africa; its
star attraction is Lucy, the oldest hominid
ever found by archaeologists. Addis also
gets rave reviews for its restaurant scene
and nightlife. Bole Road – the avenue that
connects the airport to the centre – is the
fashionable district, with plenty of fancy
bars, eateries, galleries and clubs. Addis

Bright lights, brilliant city:
Addis Ababa by night

has lots of great surprises up its sleeve –
it’s time to delve in!

LIFE-CHANGING EXPERIENCE

A few hours spent wandering the alleys of
the sprawling, open-air Merkato is an
experience you won’t forget. East Africa’s
largest market, it is a grid of roads lined with
stalls and small shops, where you can buy
anything you want, from Kakashnikovs and
camels to spices and jewellery. Be prepared
for a sensory overload.

FESTIVALS & EVENTS

The 10km Great Ethiopian Run takes over
the city on the last Sunday of November.
With more than 20,000 runners, it’s the
biggest mass-participation race in Africa.

During the Ethiopian Orthodox festival
of Leddet (6 and 7 January), priests don
their full regalia and the faithful attend
all-night church services. Horse races and
traditional games, such as genna (a kind of
hockey), are also organised.

Less than two weeks after Leddet, on
19 January, Timkat (Epiphany) is another
highly colourful religious festival. Dressed
in white, the monks march in procession
and dance.

RANDOM FACTS

At an altitude of 2400m, Addis Ababa is
the world’s third-highest capital city.

The city’s largest square, Meskal
Square, is where runners jog every
morning before dawn. The country’s elite
marathon runners can be seen training
in the windy Entoto Mountains, on the
capital’s northern outskirts.

Tej beat (pronounced ‘tedj bet’) are
specialist bars that focus on serving tej, the
powerful local mead brewed from honey.
Tej beats are the traditional haunts of men.

The Holy Trinity Cathedral is the final
resting place of Emperor Haile Selassie,
who is buried in the church grounds.

MOST BIZARRE SIGHT

Meet your long-lost Auntie Lucy, our
common ancestor, in Addis. The remains
of this fossilised hominid woman were
discovered in 1974 in Ethiopia’s northeast
and are now conserved in the National
Museum. What you can actually see
consists of two casts – one lays prone,
while the other stands much like she did 3.2
million years ago.

HOT TOPIC OF THE DAY

When will a final peace agreement with
Eritrea be reached? For more than two
decades, tensions have been high between
Ethiopia and its neighbour over the
demarcation border.

CLASSIC RESTAURANT EXPERIENCE

For newcomers to Ethiopian fare, Habesha
Restaurant is the perfect venue to get an
initiation in local specialities, such as zilzil
tibs (marinated beef cooked on clay) or
doro wat (chicken drumstick or wing in a
hot sauce). After your meal, indulge in the
coffee ceremony. The coffee is served in
small china cups; at least three cups must
be accepted. The interior is lush, with
scattered low tables and assorted indoor
spaces, and the atmosphere is great, with
traditional music most evenings.

‘It might not quite be El Dorado, but it’s fair
to say that despite its popular waterfalls, Iguazú
is still an undiscovered treasure’

Puerto Iguazú,
Argentina

POPULATION 82,000

FOREIGN VISITORS PER YEAR 1.1 million

LANGUAGE Spanish

UNIT OF CURRENCY Argentine peso (A$)

COST INDEX Mixed grill for two with bottle of Malbec A$150 (US$35),
midrange hotel double/hostel dorm A$90/40 (US$20/9), Foz de Iguazú
entrance fee A$130 (US$30)

fancy footwork: a Gaucho
dance performance in
puerto iguazú

WHY GO IN 2013? FALLING
HEAD OVER HEELS

It’s official: votes are in and the Foz de Iguazú
has won its place among the prestigious
new seven wonders of nature, following a
worldwide 2011 poll. That this waterfall,
spreadeagled along the Argentine–Brazil
border, should make the final reckoning
of nature’s most enthralling sights is no
great shock. The stats speak volumes:
higher, wider and with several times the
flow capacity of Niagara Falls, 275 separate
cataracts tumble 80m through jungle in a
body of water more than 2km across.

So tourism to the falls is set to morph,
which is good news for Puerto Iguazú, the
main tourist base hereabouts. The town,
Argentina’s most northeasterly and known
to locals as ‘Iguazú’, is used to others waxing

lyrical about its nearby star attraction well
before the town gets so much as a mention,
but it doesn’t just want to be the fall guy.
After all, Puerto Iguazú offers some of the
best hostels, top-end hotels and spas in the
country. The lavish Iguazú Grand picked up
‘Argentina’s best resort’ at the 2011 World
Travel Awards and the other fancy digs in
town, the Sheraton Iguazú, has just been
refurbished. And, almost as refreshing
as a dunk in the Devil’s Throat (that’s the
Falls’ most gargantuan cataract), local
tourism agencies are finally featuring trips
to the stunning Wanda mines, one of the
continent’s most important gem deposits,
on the itineraries. It might not quite be El
Dorado, but it’s fair to say that despite its
popular waterfalls, Iguazú is still a largely
undiscovered treasure.

LIFE-CHANGING EXPERIENCES

Iguazú is a growing honeymoon and casino-
holiday destination, but you don’t have to be
a love bird to get passionate about the place.
Visits to the nearby waterfalls on both the
Argentine and Brazilian sides are essential:
take a boat trip under the biggest cascades
or a helicopter ride over them. And, in a
surrounding jungle featuring some 2000
plant species and animals such as jaguars,
it’s worth exploring away from the water.
If possible, splash out accommodation-
wise in Iguazú (the Sheraton has the best
waterfall views) for some of the most
sublime hotel experiences Argentina offers.
But the backpacking scene is as buoyant
as they come, and Iguazú’s renowned
social life enhances chances for travellers
to seek kindred spirits. A night at the Tres

Fronteras (three frontiers) nightclub, at the
point where Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay
meet, is a must-do for nightlife-lovers.
Representatives of each nation start the
night in separate corners and, as the alcohol
flows, start mingling with the flip-flop–clad
gringos. Return by the subtropical light of
day for cross-river views where the Iguazú
and Parana converge: at the point where
the borders touch, the three countries
have erected respective obelisks prettily
decorated in their national colours.

FESTIVALS & EVENTS

May’s Iguazú en Concierto (Iguazú in
concert) is probably the biggest youth-
orchestra event on the planet, with
performances in the top hotels and against
a waterfall backdrop.

surrounded by water at
Iguazú’s waterFalls

On Brazil’s side of the Falls in Foz de
Iguaçu, June sees the Festival do Turismo
das Cataratas (tourism festival of the falls),
showcasing tourism across Mercosur
countries Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay
and Uruguay. Look out too for the special
emphasis on the cuisine and customs of
southernmost Brazil.

RANDOM FACTS

The Falls have been deemed exotic and
otherworldly enough to have featured in
James Bond and Indiana Jones films.

Iguazú sits on the Guarani Aquifer, the
world’s biggest body of groundwater.

According to legend, Foz de Iguazú
was created when a god coveted a local
woman who chose to flee with her lover
downriver instead. The nasty god split the

river; the lovers got consigned to falling
for eternity.

CLASSIC RESTAURANT EXPERIENCE

If your taste buds are whetted for food
few foreigners find, head to Iguazú’s feria
(market). There you’ll find little Recanto
Argentino (translating as Argentine hidden
place), a humble but renowned booth
staying open late for wine (get the Malbec)
and gorgeous platters of cured meats,
cheese and olives.

CLASSIC PLACE TO STAY

Lovingly restored Panoramic Hotel Iguazú
is the least-known luxury hotel, but with
its 1940s architecture and infinity pool
overlooking the river-flanked tri-border, it
could be top dog for ambience.

THE PARTY STARTS IN
RIO DE JANEIRO

BEST-VALUE
DESTINATIONS

Savour every centimetre of that shoestring with these
budget-friendly boltholes, perfect for an economic
downturn-busting break.

RIO, BRAZIL

If you’ve an unfulfilled plan to
visit Rio de Janeiro’s beaches and iconic
landmarks then this may be the year to do
it. After 2013 the big events come thick and
fast – the football World Cup in 2014 (also
taking place in cities around Brazil), then
the Olympic Games in 2016. One thing’s
for sure: big-name events bring fresh
development, a boost to infrastructure)
and, in many cases, higher prices for
visitors. Come now to see a city in the
process of gearing up to welcome the

world, but before the costs of doing so rise.
Indeed, if you visit during June you can be
among the first to check out the recently
upgraded Estádio do Maracanã, the world-
famous venue that is slated to host not
only the World Cup final in 2014 but also
the opening and closing ceremonies of the
Olympics and Paralympics.

GOTHENBURG, SWEDEN

There’s good value in Sweden if you
know where to look. That said, if you don’t,
even popping out for a pizza and beer can
make for a pricey night by your home town’s
standards. Unless you’re from Norway.
Either way, the savvy traveller makes tracks
for Gothenburg. Away from the glitzy main
drag, Kungsportsavenyn (referred to as
Avenyn by everyone), are character-filled
neighbourhoods (hello, Haga and, a little
outside town, Kvarnbyn), cheap eats and
some great attractions, including edgy art
space Röda Sten and picnic-friendly city
views in Keillers Park. If that wasn’t enough,
ferries trundling round the beautiful, car-free
southern archipelago are a tram ride from
the city centre. In short, this is as much
Scandinavia as you can get for your money.

CAMBODIA

While not the whoops-of-delight-
inducing bargain it was a decade ago,
Cambodia is still a great deal. Despite the
boom in the number of midrange hotels in

Phnom Penh and Siem Reap in particular,
a huge amount of budget accommodation
remains at lower prices. The imaginative
visitor to the country exploring less-well-
visited parts will find it easy to afford that
extra Angkor beer or three. A budget of
US$15 is tight but achievable, provided you
forgo a room with air-con and don’t dwell for
too long in the headline destinations.

BOLIVIA

South America’s best-value option continues
to delight travellers. With public transport as
cheap as anywhere on the continent, filling
street food (another empanada? Don’t mind
if I do!), and good-for-the-money excursions,
this country is more than a bridge between
the east and west coasts, it is an essential
journey in itself. True, things are a little
more expensive in La Paz and must-visit
Uyuni, but away from here set-menu meals
will rarely tip over US$5, budget rooms
are not much more than double that and,
should the chilly Altiplano nights require a
higher standard of accommodation, you
may find that you still leave for a pricier
neighbourhood with a smile on your face.

A WARM WELCOME TO
PORTLAND AT HOPWORKS
URBAN BREWERY

SPAIN

Spain has been getting much friendlier for
budget travellers in the past few years, as
currency fluctuations and falling costs for
many items have combined to make what
was once Europe’s best bet for a cheap
break a contender once again for many
international travellers. Presumably if you’re
reading this you’re not really the fly-and-
flop type, but the wonders of Spain’s cities,
wilder north coast and fabulous national
parks are more affordable now than for the
past few years. To make your money go
as far as possible anywhere in Spain, live
without a pool, go easy on the wine and extra
courses when eating out, and visit outside
peak season, when price hikes remain.

SLOVENIA

It’s tempting to leave this as one
sentence: Slovenia is as picture-perfect
as Switzerland or any other northerly
Alpine area, but much smaller and easier
on the wallet. Yes, there’s devil in the
detail – the adoption of the euro and
popularity of Ljubljana, Bled and coastal
areas in summer can push prices up – but
that’s hardly the point. Small distances
keep travel costs down, and buses
radiating out of Ljubljana are plentiful and
inexpensive. Private rooms offer affordable
accommodation and anyone arriving from
Austria or Italy will notice the difference in
hotel prices at all budgets. If you’re keen
on trekking, skiing, rafting or simply taking

in the scenery of one of Europe’s most
attractive countries then Slovenia will not
disappoint.

NEPAL

With visitor numbers rising, Nepal remains
a tremendous option for budget travellers.
After all, the number of countries where
you can live on the price of a Starbucks
latte or two are diminishing rapidly. Sure,
to do that you’ll need to stay in budget
accommodation somewhere other than
Kathmandu and resolutely stick to simple
local food, but many consider this a price
worth paying. Though costs rise once you
enter national parks, if you’re up for trekking
on your own and staying in teahouses, Nepal
is not only the best-value spot for Himalayan
hiking, it must be a contender for offering
the most astonishing rewards for the least
upfront investment of anywhere in the world.
This is true even if you factor in a porter and
guide and opt for an organised trek.

PORTLAND, OREGON, USA

Travel writers speak with one voice when
asked to nominate their fave US cheapie:
Portland, OR. Cheap food! Free things to
do! Free light rail and streetcar services
in the city centre! Forty breweries (and
counting) with pints of perfectly crafted
beer often costing US$4! Yes, budget-
conscious but still fashionably minded
travellers may have reached the promised
land in Portland, Oregon. The city has been
thrust into the limelight by the Portlandia
TV series, but was hardly unknown before,
offering as it does a progressive take on
urban life in a part of the Pacific Northwest
that’s best appreciated slowly.

GEORGIA

Georgia is, like its Caucasian neighbours,
little known to most travellers. Those who go
come back raving about a beautiful, friendly
country offering excellent, inexpensive
(though potentially waist-expanding) cuisine,
typified by the near-universal khachapuri
(cheese pie). Recently, the country has
been speeding up its tourism development,
resulting in a growing number of good-value
hostels and homestays – great ways to
meet locals, as well as keep costs down.
Look out for August if you’re hitting Batumi
or elsewhere on the Black Sea coast, but
otherwise anytime is a good time to visit this
up-and-coming destination where even a
bus, train or marshrustka minibus ride will
give jaw-dropping views worth far more than
the meagre fare you’re likely to be charged.

NAMIBIA

Namibia beckons those in search of a
good deal. While neighbouring Botswana
courts the big-budget traveller, the desert
state to the west welcomes all, and offers
a spectacular set of attractions to boot.
True, you need your own wheels or must
join a tour to see some of the wonders on
offer, such as Etosha National Park and the
Skeleton Coast, but Namibia’s big-ticket
draws remain affordable for budget and
midrange visitors via locally arranged tours
or self-drive car hire. Towns and cities,
many offering keenly priced hostels and
campsites, are linked by inexpensive buses
and minivans. Some of the most fun things
you can do here – sandboarding around
Swakopmund and hiking Fish River Canyon,
for instance – are also some of the best-
value outdoor pursuits in southern Africa.

BEST BACK-IN-TIME
ENTERTAINMENTS

EXPERIENCE TIME TRAVEL WHILE ENJOYING PRESERVED
PLEASURES THAT TRANSPORT YOU BACK DECADES,
OR EVEN CENTURIES.

 CIRQUE ROMANÈS,
PARIS, FRANCE

This is a unique, magical experience: a red-
tented Roma circus in the French capital
surrounded by housing blocks. The whole
event is mesmerising, with a lost-in-time
atmosphere. There are no spangles and
sequins here, just circus skills that have
been honed in the wasteland around the
caravans – from fire-eating to tightrope
walking, acrobats to jugglers. The women
swish and dance in their long skirts, and the
soundtrack is frenetic Balkan folk from the
live band.

For more information and tickets see www.
cirqueromanes.com; tickets €20 (US$25).

 FAIRMONT PEACE HOTEL,
BUND, SHANGHAI, CHINA

A Shanghai landmark, the tall, graceful
Peace Hotel, overlooking the Bund, is
one of the most resonant relics of old
Shanghai. Its time-capsule nature is even
more pronounced as it faces the futurist
landscape of Pudong on the opposite
riverbank. Renovations have given the

hotel’s Art Deco interiors a facelift, but
one thing remains eternal: the Jazz Bar
in the basement. You’ll feel transported
back to the 1920s and ’30s listening to
the Old Jazz Band’s six veteran musicians
(average age: 77).

To book or find out more, visit www.
fairmont.com/PeaceHotel; the band plays
nightly from 7pm.

 BALINESE DANCE,
INDONESIA

Resembling ancient temple reliefs come to
life, Balinese dancers are exquisite, even
otherworldly looking, elaborately dressed in
outfits of bright colours shot through with
delicate gold, with fresh flowers adorning
their headdresses. They use stylised
hand and feet gestures, as well as eye
movements, imbued with ancient meaning.
Traditional dances are tied up with religious
expression, and tell the stories of the
great Hindu epics. But beyond its liturgical
function, Balinese dance is also a majestic
spectacle, and one that connects you
directly to the past.

BALINESE DANCER AT THE
BALI ARTS FESTIVAL

At Ubud Palace, Jl Raya Ubud, Bali, there
are near-nightly performances in a royal
setting, while Pura Dalem Ubud, Jl Raya
Ubud, is one of the prettiest venues.

ROYAL OPERA HOUSE TEA
DANCE, LONDON, ENGLAND

Harking back to the days when the Royal
Opera House was the place in London to
dance the cha-cha or quick step, it now holds
regular tea dances throughout the season in
the stately Paul Hamlyn Hall. Huge windows
overlook Covent Garden piazza, while the
nimble feet of all ages do the steps, and
it’s all to the accompaniment of the Royal
Opera House Dance Band. Sundays here will

transport you to a seemingly gentler time,
when dancing meant gliding around a room
rather than throwing shapes.

For dates and to buy tickets see the Royal
Opera House website at www.roh.org.uk;
tickets £10 (US$16).

GREEK TRAGEDY,
AMPHITHEATRE,
EPIDAURUS, GREECE

To experience theatre as people did in
Ancient Greece, go to the amphitheatre of
Epidaurus, one of the world’s great buildings,
a fan-shaped, open-air auditorium set into
a hillside. The amphitheatre is famed for
its incredible acoustics – even if an actor

speaks quietly, they will be heard from
every seat. The theatre is situated within
the archaeological site of the Sanctuary of
Asklepios, around two hours’ drive from
Athens. During the annual summer Athens
& Epidaurus Festival there are regular
performances of ancient classics, such as
plays by Euripides. Attend for an uncanny
sense of what the experience was like for
theatregoers around 2000 years ago.

For more details see www.greekfestival.
gr/en; most performances take place in
August and September; book tickets on
+30 210-32 72 000.

QAWAALI SINGERS,
DELHI, INDIA

Rather than providing pure entertainment,
the Qawaali singers at the shrine of Hazrat
Nizamuddin perform for an important
religious, devotional purpose. However, the
songs after evening prayers are open to all,
and visiting when the performance is taking
place is a mystical and evocative experience
that should not be missed if you’re in the
area. The devotional concert feels as if it
has barely changed for hundreds of years;
pilgrims collect smouldering incense and
buy trinkets to leave at the shrine, and the
hypnotic music mesmerises the crowd.

The singing takes place nightly from around
sunset at Hazrat Nisamuddin Dargah, Delhi;
it’s most spectacular on Thursdays and
feast days.

SHAKESPEARE’S GLOBE
THEATRE, LONDON, ENGLAND

Close to the site of the iconic Elizabethan
Globe theatre, London’s contemporary

Globe was created to evoke the original;
a half-timbered theatre-in-the-round,
open to the sky. Attending a Shakespeare
performance here today is unlike any other
theatrical experience, especially if you
stand with the ‘groundlings’, the cheapest
price ticket, though you don’t have to
contend with brawling and lack of toilets as
the Elizabethans standing in this area would
have. Although you have to stand, there’s
no better way to feel involved in the show
and close to the action.

To read more, see the program and book
tickets, see www.shakespearesglobe.com;
groundling tickets £5 (US$8).

WHIRLING DERVISHES,
ISTANBUL, TURKEY

At the Silivrikapı Mevlana Cultural Center
you can see the ancient spiritual Sema
Ceremony, where whirling dervishes spin
to encourage communication with Allah
and intoxicate the soul, as has been the
tradition for hundreds of years. Of course,
this is not entertainment but an important
religious ceremony, but it’s a beautiful event
to experience purely aesthetically as well as
spiritually. The dervishes spin with complete
control, their long robes circling outwards,
forming a pattern like stylised blooms.

For information on the regular evening
Sema ceremonies, see www.emav.org.

PRESEPE VIVANTI (LIVING
NATIVITY), SUTRI, LAZIO, ITALY

Living Nativities – re-enactments of the
story of Jesus Christ’s birth in a stable –
take place all over Italy during Christmas.
Some are impressive pageants, some small

TREAD THE BOARDS AT
SHAKESPEARE’S GLOBE
THEATRE, LONDON

and local re-creations of the Christmas
story. The one at Sutri in Lazio, a short
trip from Rome, is of the latter variety, but
deserves particular mention because of
its mesmerising, back-in-time setting; the
hollowed-out Etruscan tombs that surround
the town. The scenes are candlelit; the
atmosphere compelling. It definitely feels
not-of-this-century.

For more information, contact the Sutri
Turismo; check the local town hall website
at www.comune.sutri.vt.it, in Italian.

EL MISTERI D’ELX, SPAIN

The Mystery of Elche is one of the world’s
great mystery plays, depicting the Virgin
Mary’s death and ascendance into

heaven, and is performed every year in
the picturesque town of Elche, close to
Alicante. The mystical rendering of the
story has been performed in this way, in
Elche’s Basilica of Santa Maria and the
evocative Moorish streets of its palm-
shaded old town, since the 15th century.
To watch is to be suspended in time: it’s
medieval to its core, with its epic pomp,
flowing robes and solemn, emotive
processions. The event is on Unesco’s
List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of
Humanity, and was designated a ‘national
monument’ in 1931.

For more information on the event, which
takes place annually over two days in mid-
August, see the Elche Tourist Board website
at www.visitelche.com.

THE UNLUCKIEST
PLACES IN THE WORLD

The Mayans thought the world was going to end in 2012, but
could ’13 be our unlucky year? If you’re not superstitious, a
trip to these cursed destinations might change your mind.

Mauritius

Today Mauritius may be known
as an island idyll, but it wasn’t always a
paradigm of paradise, especially for the
dodo. The flightless creature ruled the
roost until the Dutch set up shop in the
1600s. Sailors’ logs indicate that the
dodo wasn’t particularly tasty, but the
colonists’ menagerie of pigs and macaques
quickly annihilated the entire species by
gorging on their eggs. And it wasn’t just
this unfortunate bird that vanished after
the arrival of Europeans; the red rail, the
solitaire and two kinds of sea turtles went
the way of the dodo as well, so to speak.

Flights fly direct to Mauritius from London,
Paris and Johannesburg; www.horizon.mu
creates tailor-made vacations.

 DRAKE PASSAGE,
PATAGONIA, CHILE &
ARGENTINA

A grey expanse of crashing and curling
waves, the Drake Passage cuts between the
southern tip of South America and the icy
fingers of Antarctica, providing a turbulent

route between seas. With winds that gush
through at torrential speeds and then
suddenly change direction, the passage –
named after British explorer Sir Francis
Drake – has long been one of the most
difficult bodies of water to negotiate; in fact,
it’s been the demise of countless vessels,
including the San Telmo, the flagship of the
Spanish armada bound for Peru. More than
600 souls were lost.

Cruseros Australis (www.australis.com)
is currently the only operator that runs
vessels to Cape Horn – the southernmost
point in South America.

 BHANGARH,
RAJASTHAN, INDIA

It is believed that in the early 17th century,
Madho Singh, a fierce local ruler, sought
to construct his capital at Bhangarh. While
surveying the land, he met a curious ascetic
named Baba Balanath who was engaged
in intense thought. The devotee allowed
the ruler to build his fortress but warned
him that the shadow of his palace could not
pass over his cherished meditation spot.

Madho Singh obliged, but years later Ajab
Singh – his arrogant progeny – added on
to the sprawling fort, unleashing a string of
uncanny events that swiftly led to the city’s
undoing. Today, it’s a ghost town.

Base yourself in Jaipur, 75km away, and
live like a king at the ITC Rajputana; www.
itchotels.in/hotels/itcrajputana.aspx.

TOWER OF LONDON,
LONDON, ENGLAND

The infamous Tower of London is where
many unlucky nobles met their untimely
end at the edge of the executioner’s blade.
Popular spirits said to walk the brick and
stone halls include Thomas Beckett and
Henry VI. Perhaps the most chilling tale is
that of the Countess of Salisbury, who in

1541 – after being charged with criminal
wrongdoings – tried a running escape from
the gallows, but was swiftly captured and
hacked to pieces by her masked executioner.
Some people claim to have seen her grisly
death acted out by the resident spirits.

The Tower of London (www.hrp.org.uk/
toweroflondon) is open 9am to 5.30pm
Tuesday to Saturday, and 10am to 5.30pm
Sunday and Monday. Tickets are £18
(US$28) when purchased online.

BERMUDA TRIANGLE,
ATLANTIC OCEAN

No unlucky list would be complete
without the famed isosceles of doom that
spreads across the Atlantic Ocean from
the shores of Florida, over to San Juan,

TAKING ON DRAKE
PASSAGE IN ANTARCTICA

CALL A CHIROPODIST: THE
CURSED MUMMY OF THE
PHARAOH TUTANKHAMUN

Puerto Rico, and up to the pink-tinged
sands of its namesake, Bermuda. The idea
of the ominous Bermuda Triangle grew
in popularity during the 1950s when five
fighter planes mysteriously disappeared
during a training mission. It has since
secured its place in modern legend after
subsequent tragedies befell additional
planes and boats. Sceptics blame magnetic
fields and hurricane-prone winds; kookier
theorists believe that the work of extra-
terrestrials may be to blame.

The main airports near the Bermuda triangle,
should you not wish to arrive by ship, are Miami
International (www.miami-airport.com) and
Nassau in the Bahamas (www.nas.bs).

UNLUCKY LAKE,
SASKATCHEWAN, CANADA

Canada has long been known for its quirky
place names, such as Medicine Hat or Moose
Factory, which have their roots in aboriginal
lore, but the moniker of this prairie puddle –
in the middle of Saskatchewan’s lakes – is
a mystery. Perhaps there was a fruitless
fishing season many years ago? Besides the
hard beds at the nearby motel, there doesn’t
seem to be anything particularly unlucky
about this place besides its name…

Unlucky Lake is within in the confines
of Meadow Lake Provincial Park (www.saskparks.net/MeadowLake), roughly 4½
hours north of Saskatoon.

TUTANKHAMUN’S TOMB,
VALLEY OF THE KINGS, EGYPT

Nothing’s unluckier than a good curse, and no
one knew how to better conjure up a wicked
spell than the ancient Egyptian pharaohs.
Though difficult to completely decipher, the
markings on Tutankhamun’s crypt were
thought to be warnings against looters and
marauders – threats that were ignored by
Howard Carter and his team of archaeologists
when they cracked open the tomb, effectively
launching the modern era of Egyptology. Six
weeks later, Lord Carnarvon – the group’s
benefactor – died from an infected mosquito
bite, and by the end of the year six more
members of the group had perished from
unexplained fevers and murders.

When in Luxor, try Salahadeen (095 236
5081), which offers a set menu of Egyptian
home-style favourites. Go local and dip
your breads in the tasty sauces.

ROSE HALL,
MONTEGO BAY, JAMAICA

When it comes to curses, nothing quite
beats a good voodoo spell, and Annie
Palmer really knew how to spread her
fair share of disease, despair and death.
It is commonly believed that Annie – the
one-time proprietor of Rose Hall – was
responsible for the murder of three
husbands and many lovers during the
course of a decade, until she herself was
killed as she slept. Today, she regularly
wanders around her house with a coterie of
murdered men, stalking visitors and causing
bloodstains to appear as if from thin air.

Half Moon (halfmoon.rockresorts.com), a
160-hectare luxury resort, is the ultimate
Caribbean getaway.

INOKASHIRA PARK,
TOKYO, JAPAN

With dozens of spooky locales depicted in
Japanese horror films, it might come as a
surprise that one of the unluckiest places
in Tokyo is the peaceful Inokashira Park,
located on the city’s western edge and
hemmed by delicate cherry blossoms in
the spring. Locals believe that if a couple
takes a rowboat out onto the lake their
relationship is destined to end. This is
largely attributed to the fact that the deity
Benzaiten is worshipped at a shrine nearby,
and she is commonly believed to ignite
jealousy and distrust among loved ones.

Pair a visit to Inokashira Park with a stop at
the Ghibli Museum (www.ghibli-museum.
jp/en/), home to Hayao Miyazaki’s oeuvre.
Ticket must be booked in advance.

HYANNIS PORT,
MASSACHUSETTS, USA

Known for their combed coiffures and ‘pahk
the cah’ Boston drawls, the Kennedys have
long been considered American royalty,
and their unofficial headquarters is a large
seaside estate in Cape Cod’s Hyannis Port
known as the Kennedy Compound. Although
they have enjoyed the trappings of a veritable
aristocracy, the family has seen their share
of unlucky incidents during the past few
decades – namely from 1940 to 2000.
From multiple plane crashes to devastating
assassinations, the ‘Kennedy Curse’ may
be a fabrication of the media, but it remains
rather uncanny just how many unlucky
events can befall one household.

Dine nearby at the Barnstable Restaurant
and Tavern (www.barnstablerestaurant.com)
in the heart of historic Barnstable Village.

CITIES WITH
BIKE-SHARING
SCHEMES

Keep fit, stay green, beat congestion, live viscerally and
take in a city’s sights on two wheels in a growing number
of bike-sharing schemes.

PARIS, FRANCE

Bicycles give you freedom, or
so Paris’ Vélib would like you to believe;
the name is a contraction of vélo liberté,
meaning ‘freedom bike’. Sitting pretty in a
city that hosts cycling’s biggest stage race,
the Tour de France, 20,600 bikes await
potential users in 1450 docking stations
spaced a handy 300m apart. Thanks to
its ambitious size and heavy usage, Vélib
has become a blueprint for bike-sharing
schemes worldwide, though it gained early
notoriety for its high number of thefts.
Pilfered petite reines (little queens), as
the bikes are known, have been found as far
away as North Africa.

The 24-hour access fee is €1.70 (US$2);
usage charges for 30min/1hr/2hrs
free/€1/7 (US$1.20/9). For more
information see www.velib.paris.fr.

HANGZHOU, CHINA

If you want to see how far
China has embraced green living come
to Hangzhou, Zhejiang province’s oasis

of urban beauty and proud home of the
world’s second-largest bike-sharing
scheme (fellow Chinese city Wuhan is first).
Hangzhou’s statistics make Paris’ Vélib look
almost insignificant: 60,000 bikes residing
in 2500 docking stations, most of which
have been cleverly integrated to link up with
the public transportation network. Nearly
250,000 people in this 6.7 million-strong
metropolis use the bikes daily, taking
advantage of a generous borrowing scheme
which offers residents and visitors the first
hour of usage for free.

Special Z cards procured at City Smart
Card centres can be used to store up to
¥300 (US$47) of usage time.

COPENHAGEN, DENMARK

Rivalled only by Amsterdam for
its bike friendliness, Copenhagen has a
long history of sustainable transportation.
Today, 37% of daily commutes in the
Danish capital are undertaken by bicycle
and its bike-sharing scheme, introduced
in 1995, was the first of the modern city

CRUISE BY THE EIFFEL
TOWER ON YOUR VéLIB

models. Copenhagen’s system is unique
in that the borrowing is free; you just push
a 20 kroner returnable coin into a slot to
release your bike like a shopping trolley.
The bikes, which are currently being
upgraded, are famously durable. In 2005,
in a publicity stunt, a Danish journalist rode
one 3500km from Copenhagen to Istanbul
inside a month.

Access deposit is DKK20 (US$3); usage is
free. Bikes are available March–November.
For more information: www.bycyklen.dk.

LONDON, ENGLAND

London’s 6000 ‘Boris bikes’, named after
city mayor and avid cyclist Boris Johnson,
first graced the UK capital’s asphalt in July
2010 in a scheme based on Montreal’s Bixi.
On streets more accustomed to red double-
decker buses and black taxis, the 23kg

two-wheeled machines were a surprising
hit; usage during the first year was an
average 25,000 per day and it has been
rumoured that even members of the royal
family ride them. Edging east from London’s
‘square mile’ financial district, Boris bikes’
geographical reach will be extended in 2012
to the borders of the summer Olympics site.

The 24-hour access fee is £1 (US$1.50);
usage charges for 30min/1hr/2hrs
free/£1/6 (US$1.50/9). For more
information see www.tfl.gov.uk.

MONTREAL, CANADA

Montrealers are a hardy bunch to whom
the odd October snow flurry n’est pas
un problème. Nevertheless, cycling in a
city where January temperatures can
plummet to -20°C requires a bit of seasonal
adjustment. Consequently, Montreal’s Bixi

BORROW A BIKE TO
SEE THE SIGHTS IN
MELBOURNE

scheme – the first comprehensive bike-
share in Canada – hibernates in November
and reopens in April when the weather is
less frigid. Using aluminium, puncture-
resistant bikes and smart solar-powered
technology to fire its 405 docking stations,
Bixi’s 2009 launch was so successful that
the company has gone on to found bike
schemes in numerous other cities including
London, Washington DC and Toronto.

The 24-hour access fee is C$5 (US$5);
usage charges for 30min/1hr/2hrs free/
C$1.50/10.50 (US$1.50/10.50). For more
information see montreal.bixi.com.

TEL AVIV, ISRAEL

Bike-sharing arrived in the Middle East
in May 2011 with the inauguration of Tel
Aviv’s Tel-o-fun system stocked with 1500

green bikes, most of which come handily
equipped with adaptable child-seats
pinned over the back wheel. In a country
well known for its collective kibbutz spirit,
the sharing system has been well received
by urban communities whose apartment-
style living leaves little room for bike
storage. More than 70km of marked bike
lanes, many of them traversing the city’s
attractive beachfront, add a touch of class
to the cycling infrastructure.

The 24-hour access fee is 14NIS (US$3.50);
usage charge for 30min/1hr/2½hrs
free/3NIS/30 (US$0.80/8). For more
information see www.tel-o-fun.co.il.

WASHINGTON DC, USA

Bixi rides again in the US capital!
The nation’s second big-city bike-sharing

scheme, founded in 2010 and known
locally as CaBi (Capital Bikeshare), is
funded by public money and largely apes
the road-tested system set up in Montreal
a year earlier. Although relatively small
by European or Chinese standards,
Washington’s average usage of 4000 daily
trips is an encouraging start in a country
that has long had a love-in with the motor
car. What’s more, technology geeks
equipped with a smartphone can download
a free app called Spotcycle which informs
you of bicycle availability at the nearest
docking station.

The 24-hour access fee is US$7;
usage charges for 30min/1hr/2hrs free/
US$2/14. For more information see
www.capitalbikeshare.com.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA

Melbourne Bike Share, introduced in
2010, was slow out of the blocks in such
an ostensibly sports-loving city thanks
primarily to its helmet law. The Australian
city’s scheme was the first in the world
to insist on mandatory helmets and early
figures (only 250 users a day) suggested
reluctance to adapt to the rule. Undeterred,
city authorities have begun offering cheap
helmets from strategically located vending
machines and numbers have picked up.
Another Melbourne quirk is its bike-share
tours, designed to orientate visitors to the
intricacies of the sharing system and the
sights of the city.

The 24-hour access fee is A$2.60
(US$2.50); usage charge for 30min/1hr/
2hrs free/A$2/17 (US$2/16). For more
information see www.melbournebikeshare.
com.au.

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO

The planet’s most improbable and possibly
most necessary bike scheme (given the
pollution) kicked off in February 2010 with
the city authorities rescinding a mandatory
helmet law to encourage more subscribers.
The system, Ecobici, was an immediate
success, garnering 30,000 subscribers in
its first year and expanding its coverage
beyond Mexico City’s Federal District into
the historical core. There are 1000 bikes,
with each being utilised on average eight
times per day, but unlike other schemes,
Ecobici is for residents only who pay annual
subscriptions. Not surprisingly, in a city of
21 million, there’s a long waiting list.

Annual subscription is M$300 (US$22);
usage charges for 45min/1hr/2hrs
free/M$10/45 (US$0.70/3). For more
information see www.ecobici.df.gob.mx.

SEVILLE, SPAIN

Few cities have undergone such radical
greening in recent years as Seville which,
since 2007, has initiated an underground
metro, a tram system and a pioneering bike-
share scheme, Sevici. Turning your pedals
in Andalucia’s flat, balmy cultural capital
while inhaling the aroma of ripening oranges
is one of Spain’s most enjoyable outdoor
experiences, made easier by the city’s
traffic-light arterial roads, many of which
have been pedestrianised to accommodate
trams and bikes. Sevici offers a minimum of
seven days access to short-term visitors – a
good incentive to extend your stay!

Seven-day access fee is €10 (US$13);
usage charges for 30min/1hr/2hrs free/
€1/3 (US$1.20/4). More information see
www.sevici.es, in Spanish.

Best Places
TO SEE ELEPHANTS
(UP CLOSE)

There’s nothing quite like an elephant encounter to gain
some perspective on life (and we’re not talking zoos). Here
are our top picks.

CHOBE NATIONAL PARK
& OKAVANGO DELTA,
BOTSWANA

With an elephant population of 70,000, the
highest concentration in the world, Chobe
tops the bucket list of any ellie lover. This
is a pachyderm paradise: you’ll hear the
calls and rumbles of these Kalahari kings,
the largest of all elephants, see them in
massive groups at the river (don’t get too
close), and encounter them on the road.
Got an elephantine bank balance? Venture
outside the park to the sumptuous Abu
camp for one-on-one time with the on-site
herd, and take up the rare opportunity to
snooze among the elephants in the ‘star
bed’ overlooking their boma (enclosure).

During the dry season the ellies congregate
around the Chobe and Linyanti river in
Chobe; in the rainy season head for the
southeast of the national park.

HONGSA, LAOS

Situated on an emerald plain
ringed by densely forested mountains,
the remote town of Hongsa, Sayaboury

province, is little-touched by modern life.
For Laos, once called the ‘land of a million
elephants’, it’s elephant central: with a
concentration of domesticated elephants
in this part of the province, mahouts still
carry on an age-old tradition with their
charges, working in the logging industry.
Give an ellie and its owner a well-deserved
day away from the grind by inviting them
to be your tour guides. There are also
elephant encounters of hefty proportions
in mid-February at the Elephant Festival
in Sayaboury, a day devoted to all things
elephant.

Hongsa is a day’s journey by public bus
from Luang Prabang. For accommodation
try the Jumbo Guesthouse at www.
lotuselephant.com.

SELOUS RESERVE,
TANZANIA

You’ve heard of peeping toms, but how
about an elephant trunk peeking over the
top of your bathroom door? Or being
escorted to your tent by an ellie (and a
Maasai guard) after breakfasting mere steps

EXPLORE BOTSWANA’S
OKAVANGO DELTA BY
CANOE OR ELEPHANT

from the massive and beautiful creature?
More rustic and untamed than many areas
on the safari circuit, the Lake Manze area in
southern Tanzania is a prime site for daily
elephant encounters as they amble through
camps on their way to water points. Gliding
along the river on a boat safari, don’t be
surprised if you’re obliged to stop several
minutes for an elephant crossing.

The Selous Reserve is an approximately
40-minute flight from Dar es Salaam. Stay at
www.lakemanze.com.

MARGATE CITY, USA

Stuck on North American soil and don’t
like zoos? Get a different kind of elephant

high by visiting Lucy the Elephant: the
first ever, patented ‘zoomorphic’ building,
constructed of wood and tin in the 1880s.
Fashioned in the image of the world’s
most beloved creature, all 20m and six
storeys of Lucy are still standing tall — the
howdah carriage atop her back was once
a lookout point — and she’s listed on the
national historical register. While Lucy can
be spotted from miles away, you can’t get
much closer to an elephant than this: her
interior has faithfully served as a real-estate
office, summer cottage and tavern.

Lucy is located at 9200 Atlantic Ave, Margate
City, 15 minutes from Atlantic City. See www.
lucytheelephant.org.

SOUTHERN
DAMARALAND, NAMIBIA

No, you’re not hallucinating. In the piercingly
bright light and rolling sandscapes of
western Namibia stands before you a
genuine herd of ellies, though they may look
a bit otherworldly. They represent a unique
species and only one of two populations of
desert elephants in the world (the other’s
in Mali). Conservation efforts have helped
the population increase considerably this
century but they’re often scattered far and
wide in the search for water. Get acquainted
with the desert ellies by a team of elephant
trackers who document the herds, monitor
their movements, camp under the stars
and help elephants and humans cohabitate.

Learn more at www.desertelephant.org.

TSAVO NATIONAL
PARK EAST, KENYA

If you’ve never seen a red elephant – aside
from that stuffed animal in your nephew’s
play box – head straight to East Tsavo for
some famously unique-looking ellies. They
weren’t born that way, but you’ll soon learn
elephants love to roll and play in the dust,
and this is an area where there’s plenty:
a few rolls around and they’re coated in a
rusty hue. The population of elephants in
Kenya is 36,000 and about a third of them
live in the Tsavo-Mkomazi ecosystem, so
chances are you’ll see a bunch.

Check with the Kenyan Wildlife Service
for up-to-date information on campsites:
www.kws.org or book direct at the Voi
Safari Lodge.

PUCKER UP IN CHIANG
MAI, THAILAND

UDAWALAWE NATIONAL
PARK, SRI LANKA

Happily munching on a vegetarian buffet and
trampling through the marshes and open
grasslands, an estimated 250 or more Sri
Lankan elephants – the most speckled of
the subspecies, and darker – permanently
live on the Udawalawe reserve. See young
ellies at the Elephant Transit Centre, an
orphanage where they can be protected and
nurtured through their early years. You can’t
exactly hold their bottles, but observing a
collection of young calves (39 at last count)
at close range while they feed is a sight to
behold. Human contact is minimised so that
one day these tots can live on the wild side.

Accommodation can be reserved
through the national park or try www.
kalushideaway.com.

MFUWE LODGE, SOUTH
LUANGWE NATIONAL
PARK, ZAMBIA

You’re not the only one who loves those
succulent sweet mangoes: the ellies love
them, too! One herd is so partial to a
particular wild mango tree, they showed up
one day at the newly constructed lobby of
the Mfuwe Lodge in Zambia and proceeded
to traipse through just to get to their fix. The
parade of pachyderms made international
news and the mango migration carries on:
the 10-strong herd arrives each year when
the luscious fruit ripens. Guests can see
them up-close at Mfuwe’s base camp.

The elephants make their yearly pilgrimage
to the mango tree for four to six weeks
between October and December. See www.
mfuwelodge.com.

MONDULKIRI, CAMBODIA

The dense forest crackles under your
feet, an eagle swoops and you’re
serenaded by the sounds of gibbons as
you spend time with the ellies in northern
Cambodia’s province of Mondulkiri, home
of the Bunong tribe and about half of
the country’s ageing domestic elephant
population. A handful of them are now
getting R&R at the Elephant Valley Project,
a sanctuary that encourages the mahouts
to retire their charges and tend to them on
this sustainable forest reserve. You can
feed them bananas, muck about with the
gentle giants as they take their baths or
simply sit and watch them close-up.

Guest accommodation is available in
bungalows or dorm-style in hammocks. The
project is located 11km from Sen Morom, an
area known for its waterfalls and trekking.
See www.elephantvalleyproject.com.

CHIANG MAI, THAILAND

Throughout Asia the centuries-old
tradition of domesticating and tending
to elephants created a lifelong career
for people known as mahouts – who
would train and work one-on-one with an
elephant for decades, creating a unique
bond. Get a chance to be a mahout for
a day (or more) and be paired with an
elephant while you learn basic commands
to communicate, get to scrub them down,
and even have a chance for a short ride
behind those elephant ears.

For more information, see www.
baanchangelephantpark.com or the
Elephant Nature Park near Chiang Mai, see
www.elephantnaturepark.org.

BEST PLACES TO DO
SOMETHING NEW

IT’S HUMAN NATURE TO WANT TO BE THE FIRST. THESE ACTIVITIES
ARE NOT JUST NEW TO YOU, THEY’RE NEW TO THE WORLD. SO BE
THE AMONG THE FIRST TO GET YOUR BRAGGING RIGHTS.

WATCH THE NEWEST
SPORT: PHILADELPHIA,
USA

Make haste to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
to ‘join the revolution’ – that’s the official
slogan of kronum, the world’s newest
sport. A mashup of football, basketball
and rugby (with a dash of quidditch for
good measure), it’s played on a special
one-of-a-kind circular field – hence
the trip to Philly. Billed as ‘fast-paced,
action-packed and unpredictable’, it was
invented in 2008 and aims to be the first
major sport invented in a century. We’re
not sure whether it’ll rival baseball or
football for sports fans’ hearts – there

are currently only six teams in the US
-only Kronum League – but it’s certainly
fun to watch.

Get more info and game dates at www.
kronum.com.

SEE THE NEWEST ANIMAL:
THE PHILIPPINES

What’s two metres long, lives in the
trees and has a double penis? Varanus
bitatawa, of course. The enormous
monitor lizard, though well-known to local
tribes (who consider it tasty eatin’), was
only identified by scientists in 2009. A

herbivorous relative of the komodo
dragon, it’s about as close to a dinosaur
as you’re going to get. To spot one, head
to the misty Sierra Madre mountains on
the Philippines island of Luzon and cross
your fingers – the secretive tree-dwelling
lizards only spend about 20 minutes a day
on the ground.

Arrange a guided trek of Northern Sierra
Madre Natural park by visiting the mayor’s
office in the town of San Mariano.

EXPLORE THE NEWEST
FRONTIER: OUTER SPACE

All of a sudden, the future is here. Space
travel, once a kiddie fantasy (‘I’m gonna be
an astronaut when I grow up!’) is suddenly
a reality for ordinary citizens (at least,
those who can afford it). In 2012 several
private companies will blast off, carrying
tourists into the great blackness of outer
space. For $200,000, you can book a seat
on Virgin Galactic’s 2½-hour suborbital
flight, which includes a six-minute interval
of weightlessness. Virgin trips take off from
the newly built Spaceport America in Las
Cruces, New Mexico, where passengers
spend three days training before liftoff.

If you’ve got a couple of hundred grand to
spare to fulfil your astronaut fantasies, see
www.virgingalactic.com.

TRY THE NEWEST JUNK
FOOD: US STATE FAIRS

In terms of sheer novelty, America’s
annual state fairs beat chic palaces of
molecular gastronomy by a country mile.
Each year, fairs compete to come up
with the most bizarre, artery-clogging
invention. In 2011 California’s San Diego
County Fair came up with deep-fried Kool
-Aid – a creation consisting of battered
and oil-dunked Kool-Aid brand fruit
drink. Not to be beaten, North Carolina
countered with deep-fried bubble gum.
Iowa fought back with deep-fried butter
on a stick, while Texas honoured its
Tex-Mex roots with deep-fried salsa. You
may call it disgusting; we call it pure,
unadulterated Americana.

Most state fairs take place in the summer
or autumn (fall).

VISIT THE NEWEST
COUNTRY: SINT MAARTEN

OK, technically the world’s newest
country is South Sudan. But barring

active war zones, the newest country
is the Caribbean’s Sint Maarten. Until
2010 it was a territory of the Netherland
Antilles. Now, it’s a constituent country of
the Netherlands. Of course this doesn’t
actually change much on the ground. But in
Sint Maarten, nothing needed to change –
when you’ve got pink-sand beaches,
sparkling cerulean seas and charming
colonial towns, why mess with perfection?
So grab a piña colada and head straight for
the warm waters of Simpson Bay.

The official website www.st-maarten.com
has tons of local travel information.

TREK THE NEWEST
HIKING TRAIL: ISRAEL

Starting in Nazareth and winding through
hills and olive groves to the ancient town
of Capernaum, the 63km Gospel Trail
supposedly follows the footsteps of Jesus.
Opened in late 2011, the trail intends to
attract Christian tourists interested in
exploring the area. But you don’t need to
be religious to enjoy the trail, which passes
through the verdant Jezreel Valley, the
shaded Beit Qeshet Oak Reserve and the
arid slopes of Mt Arbel before ending at the
shimmering Sea of Galilee.

Israel’s Ministry of Tourism site, www.
goisrael.com, has much more info on the
trail and stops along the way.

VISIT THE NEWEST CITY:
SONGDO, SOUTH KOREA

Like something out of a sci-fi film, the
world’s newest city is rising, full-fledged,
from the South Korean flatlands 65km
west of Seoul. Songdo, a master-planned

city, aims to avoid the plagues of
many Asian megalopolises – pollution,
overcrowding, gridlocked traffic – through
careful design and environmentally
sustainable building standards. Like Las
Vegas, Songdo will replicate international
landmarks such as the Venice canals
and New York’s Central Park, while also
building its own signature buildings such
as the planned 151-floor Incheon Tower.
While the city won’t be entirely finished
until 2015, the Sheraton Hotel is already
open for curious guests.

See www.songdo.com for interactive maps
and other information.

SEE THE NEWEST ISLAND:
ZUBAIR ISLANDS, YEMEN

Following volcanic eruptions in late 2011,
the world’s newest island was born in a
part of the Red Sea belonging to Yemen.
Part of an island group known as the Zubair
Islands, the unnamed protrusion of volcanic
rock is a rarity – most volcanic islands
crumble back into the sea shortly after
their creation. Though Yemen’s political
instability is currently making travel
there a difficult undertaking, the Zubair
Islands are said to have magnificent scuba
diving around their underwater volcanic
outcroppings. We’re sure this baby island
will be no different.

Check out www.yementourism.com for info
on diving the Zubair Islands.

TRY THE NEWEST FOOD TREND:
COPENHAGEN, DENMARK

Crowned the World’s Best Restaurant
in 2011, Copenhagen’s Noma has been

ESCALOPES FLAVOURED WITH
LEEK FLOWERS BY RENÉ REDZEPI
AT NOMA, COPENHAGEN

instrumental in introducing a radical new
concept in dining: foraged cuisine. Chef
René Redzepi has achieved rock-star
status for his gathering skills, combing
the countryside for local lichens, mosses,
pine needles and other things generally
not recognised as food. Critics have been
raving over his earthy cuisine, and other
chefs are taking note: the foraging trend
has spread far and wide – ingredients
such as wild sorrel, yarrow and acorns are
popping up on menus from Los Angeles
to London. If you want to try Noma, better
get a head start: the restaurant books up
months and months in advance.

For more information see www.noma.dk.

EXPERIENCE THE NEWEST
VACATION CONCEPT: ST VINCENT
AND THE GRENADINES

From 2012, the Caribbean islands of St
Vincent and the Grenadines are offering the
‘digital detox’ vacation. Guests arriving in
the islands hand over their smartphones,
laptops and other devices, and receive
personal coaching about living the
unplugged life. Participating hotels help
guests keep their resolution by removing
TVs and other electronics from the rooms.
Fortunately, the island offers plenty of low-
tech distractions, from snorkelling to jungle
hikes to sailing the azure seas.

See www.discoversvg.com for more.

THE BEST
CAPITAL CITIES BUILT
FROM SCRATCH

Why stick with the same old boring capital cities when
you could build a new one from scratch? We run through
purpose-built capitals around the world…

ASTANA,
KAZAKHSTAN, 1997

A lonely outpost ravaged by bitterly cold
winds, the provincial town of Akmola wasn’t
the bookies’ favourite to be named capital
of the newly independent Kazakhstan
in 1994. Nonetheless, the menace of
earthquakes and a general lack of building
space meant the original capital Almaty
lost its crown, and the president et al
packed their bags for its smaller successor
in the steppe. Akmola was duly renamed
‘Astana’ (an imaginative feat of rebranding
that means ‘Capital’) and has slowly
transformed into a Blade Runner-esque
metropolis in the middle of nowhere, with
no shortage of space-age monuments.

Take the lift to the top of the lollipop-shaped
Bayterek monument (locals affectionately call
it Chupa Chups); it’s open from 10am to 10pm.

BRASíLIA, BRAZIL, 1960

The idea of building a capital
closer to the centre of Brazil was first
dreamt up in the early 19th century, but
it was more than a century later when

construction began on Brasília. The town
quickly became a test lab for modernist
architecture – artificial lakes, sprawling
parks and wide highways were designed to
make for a leafy, utopian metropolis (along
with a few flying saucer-shaped buildings
thrown in for good measure). Some
grumble it’s all looking a bit tired 50 years
on – others cheerfully point to the fact that
it looks like a giant aeroplane when seen
from above.

The Santuário Dom Bosco is an
architectural highlight of Brasília – a
modern church illuminated by tinted-blue
glass; it’s open from 7am to 7pm.

WASHINGTON DC,
USA, 1790

Though it may be older than most planned
capitals, Washington DC’s glorious
existence started in the same way as many
others – as a compromise arrangement.
Given its own special, stateless wedge
of land – today known as the District of
Columbia – the city was meant to be
independent from bickering factions of

IWO JIMA MEMORIAL WITH
WASHINGTON MONUMENT AND
CAPITOL BUILDING BEHIND

northern and southern states, with its
site handpicked by President George
Washington himself. Ever since, the city’s
fortunes have mirrored those of the United
States – attacked by the British in the 19th
century and by Al Qaeda in the 21st, its
streets have also been the battleground
of the Civil Rights movement and anti-
Vietnam war demonstrations.

Washington’s Capitol is the point around
which the city was planned. The visitor
centre offers guided tours of the building –
see www.visitthecapitol.gov.

ABUJA, NIGERIA, 1991

With Nigeria’s ethnic and religious tensions
threatening to tear the country apart, Abuja
was chosen as a neutral middle ground at

the centre of the country – replacing the
overpopulated leviathan city of Lagos on the
southern coast. Twenty years on, Abuja is still
playing catch-up with its predecessor – it has
less than a tenth of Lagos’ population, and a
fraction of its commercial clout. Fortunately
it has compensated by building a number
of grandiose structures – but none are as
impressive as Aso Rock, the craggy cliffs that
preside smugly over the city.

Wuse market is Abuja’s favourite place
to go shopping, stocking everything from
boxer shorts to bananas. It’s busy most of
the week – come prepared to haggle.

NAY PYI TAW, MYANMAR, 2005

Myanmar’s new capital city popped up
under peculiar circumstances a few years

ago in a remote corner of the country, and
has remained something of a mystery ever
since. A bizarre town of six-lane motorways,
King Kong–sized statues and grandiose
palaces, it was built under the stewardship
of Myanmar’s military dictators – allegedly
on the advice of general Than Shwe’s
personal astrologer. It’s been little visited
by outsiders since – those who are able
to travel there mostly remark on the
enormous scale of the place, and its eerily
empty streets.

The National Herbal Park counts as one of
Nay Pyi Taw’s very few tourist attractions –
last we heard, entry is free.

ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN, 1967

Built as a capital to crown the newly
independent Pakistan, Islamabad took the
reins after the powers that be decided that
the old capital, Karachi, was vulnerable
to attacks from the sea. Fifty years on,
and Islamabad’s tourism industry teeters
somewhere between small and nonexistent
but urban development has carried on
undeterred. Dominating the skyline is the
Shah Faisal Mosque – a gift from Saudi
Arabia designed in the style of a Bedouin
tent. A dubious urban legend has it that the
CIA suspected its minarets were missiles.

The Shah Faisal Mosque is located at the
north of the city, at the foot of the Margalla
Hills. Non-Muslims are welcome, but are
asked not to visit during prayer times.

CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA, 1913

With Melbourne and Sydney scrapping
over the title of Australian capital, it was
decided that the lowly settlement of

Canberra would get top honours instead.
Work started on the city in 1913 – although
unimpressed Aussies initially dubbed it ‘six
suburbs in search of a city’ and ‘a cemetery
with lights’. Various additions and tweaks
followed in the years thereafter, and today
Canberra has a sedate charm of its own,
with national institutions and museums
arranged around Lake Burley Griffin – an
artificial body of water dug up in the 1960s.

Visit the National Carillon on the edge of
the lake – a musical tower that chimes
out melodies at lunchtimes on Mondays,
Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.

NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1911

New Delhi simultaneously manages to be
both a new capital city and a very old one.
By the time the British Empire was getting
itchy feet in its capital at Kolkata, Delhi
was already an old hand – it had been the
site of seven successive ancient cities and
had at various points already ruled over
whole swathes of the Indian subcontinent.
This didn’t stop the British from going
one further and building ‘New’ Delhi – a
spacious city of bungalows and boulevards
built up around the ancient sites – that is
still the Indian capital today.

Don’t leave without visiting the National
Museum of India – a whistle-stop tour
through 5000 years of Indian history. It’s
open Tuesday to Sunday.

BELMOPAN, BELIZE, 1970

With Belize City completely wrecked by
Hurricane Hattie in 1961, the authorities of
British Honduras sensibly decided that there
was nothing for it but to pack their bags

NEW MEETS OLD IN INDIA’S
CAPITAL, DELHI

and shift their capital city inland – a safe
distance from the ravages of the Caribbean
Sea. Despite being initially met with
incredulity by the international community,
little Belmopan has clung on against the
odds. It gets few visitors – among them
Prince Harry, who caused a minor sensation
by throwing some dance moves at a street
party last year.

Pay a visit to the Belize Archives
Department, which has various displays
on the country’s history – its website is at
www.belizearchives.gov.bz.

RAMCIEL, SOUTH SUDAN, 2016?

What’s the first thing you do when you find

yourself in charge of the world’s newest
country? Why, set about building the
world’s newest capital city of course! Such
is the thinking behind the South Sudanese
government’s decision to up sticks from
their current capital Juba to the proposed
city of Ramciel in their country’s central
grasslands. The proposed move isn’t
without its opponents – some think that
the money required to build a flashy capital
would be best spent elsewhere, particularly
given the extremely high levels of poverty in
South Sudan.

At the time of writing, Ramciel was little
more than a construction site –
find out about what’s going on at www.
ramcielconstruction.com.

MARVELLOUS
METEOROLOGICAL
SITES

MANY OF US TRAVEL IN SEARCH OF SUNSHINE. BUT THERE’S MUCH
MORE TO EXPERIENCE THAN MERE GOLDEN RAYS. SO, EVERYWHERE
YOU GO, ALWAYS TAKE A GOOD LOOK AT THE WEATHER WITH YOU.

CATATUMBO LIGHTNING,
LAKE MARACAIBO,
VENEZUELA

Catatumbo National Park comes as something
of a shock. Unusual climate conditions –
thought to result from the unique proximity of
5000m-high peaks (the Andes) and a sea-level
reservoir (Lake Maracaibo) – cause one of the
world’s longest and most consistent lightning
displays, though its power has diminished
somewhat in recent years. Even still, on average
the skies here are electrified on 160 nights a
year, with bolts striking up to 40 times a minute
for up to nine hours, visible from 400km away.
Strangely, though, the associated thunder is
inaudible, rendering this fury an eerily silent
spectacle.

Tours to Catatumbo can be arranged from
Mérida; lightning is more likely during the
wet season (May to December).

MOONBOW, VICTORIA
FALLS, ZAMBIA/ZIMBABWE

Mosi-oa-Tunya (the Smoke that
Thunders) is no ordinary waterfall. Here,
a 1700m-wide sheet of Zambezi River

plunges more than 100m into the gorge
below. And here, on certain evenings,
it puts on some extra sparkle. By day,
rainbows often arc over this roaring
cascade, caused by sunlight reflecting
off the considerable spray. But when the
moon’s full and the sky’s cloud-free, the
same happens at night – though colours
are barely discernible due to the fainter
light. Stand on the Zambian side just after
moonrise for the best chance of a glimpse.
Just watch out for the buffalo and elephant
that like night-walking too.

Moonbows are best seen April to July, when
water levels are highest, thus creating
sufficient spray.

MORNING GLORY,
GULF OF CARPENTARIA,
AUSTRALIA

There’s a wonderful Aussie-ness to weather
prediction in far-north outback Queensland.
They say: if a brisk sea breeze has been
blowing through Burketown, and if the
fridges in the pub have frosted over, there’s
a good chance the next day will bring a

Morning Glory. Scientific? Maybe not. But
the Gulf of Carpentaria is the only place
where these enormous roll clouds – often
1000km long, 1km to 2km high, hovering
just 100m above the ground and travelling
at up to 60km/hour – can be predictably
seen. And scientifically forecast or
otherwise, it’s worth raising a tinny to that.

Morning Glories form early in the day in
September and October; scenic flights are
available from Burketown.

TORNADO ALLEY, MIDWEST USA

There is no Tornado Alley. At least, not in a
discrete, accurately mappable sense. But
there is a clump of the American midwest –
states such as Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas
and the Dakotas – where whirlwinds
whip through with particular oomph and

frequency: 90% of the USA’s tornadoes
twist here, as the cold, dry Rocky Mountain
air hits the moist breezes from the Gulf
of Mexico. Peak time for such Dorothy-
bothering cyclones is May to June, when
the best plan is to hole up in Oklahoma City
or Denver, and be ready to make a dash
when you hear the forecast…

Storm Chasing Adventure Tours runs small,
six-day trips in Tornado Alley; see www.
stormchasing.com.

EXTREME COLD, ANTARCTICA

It’s no surprise the planet’s coldest
temperature was recorded in Antarctica – a
downright nippy -89.2°C at the Russian
Vostok Station. Much stranger is the fact that
the White Continent is a desert, due to its lack
of rain. It’s scientists who feel the region’s

LET’S TWIST AGAIN:
TORNADO TRACKERS IN
THE MIDWEST, USA

harshest extremes – they visit the coldest,
darkest reaches at the coldest, darkest
times. Passing travellers get off lighter,
most cruising to the wildlife-crazy Antarctic
Peninsula in summer, when the weather’s a
‘balmy’ 0°C – the mere tip of the iceberg.

Most Antarctic expeditions depart from
Ushuaia, Argentina; the summer cruise
season runs from November to March.

CAMANCHACAS, ATACAMA
DESERT, CHILE

The Atacama Desert is a mighty parched
place. The region sees an annual average
of less than 1mm of rain; some areas
haven’t had so much as drizzle for 400
years. Barren plains are prevalent, soil is
Mars-like, ancient bodies are mummified
by the arid air. And yet there is life here –
largely thanks to the camanchacas, vast
banks of marine fog that float inland off the
Pacific and provide a few cleverly adapted
residents (llama-like guanacos, foxes,
prickly cacti) with a little liquid. Sit and
watch the mists roll in, and you may also
glimpse the wildlife taking a grateful drink.

San Pedro de Atacama is the region’s
tourism hub; it is 1670km and a 20-hour
bus ride from Santiago.

AURORA BOREALIS,
ABISKO, SWEDEN

The time is nigh to catch the most
magical of celestial spectacles: NASA has
predicted 2012–13 will see a 50-year peak
in auroral activity. And what activity – the
northern lights are the ballerinas of the
meteorological world. Graceful shimmers
of green, yellow and red, they pirouette and
cabriole across the skies, a dazzling dance

on a heavenly stage. The performance
can be seen at high latitudes all over
the northern hemisphere, but clear and
perpetually cloudless Abisko is one of the
best spots – during winter at this outpost
in Swedish Lapland, the lights come out to
play almost every night.

Abisko is 100km west of Kiruna, which has
an airport. The best time for aurora viewing
is December to March.

MONSOON, MEGHALAYA, INDIA

In Hindi, Meghalaya means ‘Home of
the Clouds’ – an appropriate epithet for
India’s soggiest state, wherein lie a couple
of contenders for ‘world’s wettest place’.
The village of Mawsynram, tucked into
the unsurprisingly lush East Khasi Hills,
receives an annual average of 11,872mm of
rain – a boon for the waterfalls that thunder
dramatically down the surrounding steep
slopes. However, it’s nearby Cherrapunjee
that declares itself to be the dampest spot of
all; to cope, locals traverse the surrounding
countryside via ‘living bridges’ – natural
fairytale spans made of rubber-tree roots,
which don’t wash away in the rain.

Most rain falls during the summer
monsoon, which starts by the third week of
May and continues to October.

HEAT HAZE, DEATH VALLEY, USA

El Azizia, Libya, is officially the hottest
place on earth, having once pushed the
mercury to 57.8°C. But Death Valley runs
a close second. The fieriest temperature
recorded in this Californian depression
(at aptly named Furnace Creek) is 56.7°C;
moreover, it’s the most consistently
sweltering spot anywhere (not to mention

THE NORTHERN
LIGHTS ILLUMINATE A
HOUSE IN SWEDEN

boasting the world’s biggest thermometer
in nearby Baker, in case you’re interested).
Despite all this, Death Valley is far from
dead: sidewinder rattlesnakes, kangaroo
rats, even a species of fish all survive here.
And catch it after a rare mini-downpour to
see wildflowers put on a brief but brilliant
show of colour.

Various ranger-led programs run
throughout Death Valley National Park from
November to April; see www.nps.gov/deva.

STORMS, VANCOUVER
ISLAND, CANADA

Most places keep quiet about their bad
weather – it tends to put tourists off. Not
so Vancouver Island, which positively

revels in the wild wind-lashings and
8m-high wave poundings it receives. From
October, a low-pressure system amasses
ominously in the Gulf of Alaska, nudging
the tempestuous Arctic-meets-subtropical-
air front southwards. And this places the
British Columbian island right in the path
of the resulting storms; from November to
February, a gazillion gales smack into the
exposed west coast. Spend the winter in
Tofino to watch the full Pacific fury. When
it’s subsided, head out beachcombing, to
see what treasures have blown in on the
storm’s coat-tails.

Tofino, near Pacific Rim National Park, is on
the southwest coast of Vancouver Island, a
five-hour drive from the capital Victoria.

BEST PLACES
TO GET A TATTOO

We bring you a list of ink-redible spots to get
a one-of-a-kind souvenir.

WAT BANG PHRA,
THAILAND

Looking for superhuman powers, such as
the ability to stop a speeding bullet? The
Buddhist monks at Wat Bang Phra can help.
They’re known for inking yantra tattoos that
bestow the wearer with mystical strength,
protection and good luck. It’s not for wimps,
as the holy tattooists carve the monkeys,
tigers and ancient Khmer/Cambodian
designs using a scary 45cm needle. But
hey, if Angelina Jolie can take it, you can
(she’s yantra’s most famous canvas). Each
year in early March the temple holds a wild
tattoo festival where attendees go into
trances and ‘become’ the animal spirits of
their tattoos.

Wat Bang Phra is in the Nakhon Chai Si
district of Nakhon Pathom province, about
60km west of Bangkok.

NORTH ISLAND,
NEW ZEALAND

Think ‘Maori warrior’, and an image of
a fierce-looking dude with blue tattoos
swirling across his face appears. In New

Zealand’s indigenous culture, the complex
designs – called ta moko – represent a
person’s identity, origin and bravery. It’s like
a history on the skin for those who know
how to read it. Traditionally artists made
their mark using a bone chisel, though
today they tend to use less-painful modern
technology. True ta moko is sacred, so if
you’re Mike Tyson or otherwise non-Maori,
you can get a similar-type motif called
kirituhi. Auckland and Rotorua are centres
for the art form.

Te Uhi a Mataora is a national collective of
ta moko artists; many are listed at www.
maoriart.org.nz (under Profiles).

HENNA SOUK, FEZ,
MOROCCO

Henna is the tenderfoot’s tattoo: an orange-
red paste that is stencilled on and which
washes away in a few weeks. In Morocco,
women henna their hands and feet with
whirls for weddings, while boys get the job
done before circumcision ceremonies to
protect against evil spirits. Fez has an entire
souk dedicated to the art, tucked into the old

walled medina past the gilt-thread wedding-
belt souk and around the corner from the
carved-wedding-throne souk. Browse the
hennas and lucky-talisman stencils for sale,
then settle in with an artist who will paint
your hands in the tree-shaded courtyard.

The Henna Souk is located off Tala’a Kebira
and generally opens from 9am to 6pm
(closed Friday mornings).

YOKOHAMA TATTOO
MUSEUM, YOKOHAMA, JAPAN

Horiyoshi III, arguably the globe’s most
famous ink man, sets up shop here. He
specialises in Japan’s age-old, full-body
tattoos intertwining dragons, peonies, koi
and other mythic images – a process that
can take up to five years of weekly visits
and cost US$30,000. Tokyo’s Yakuza mafia
are the most famous practitioners. Tat fans
make a pilgrimage to the museum to see
underworld photos, traditional tools of the
trade and curios that range from shrunken
heads to stuffed tigers, and even letters
from Charles Manson. Horiyoshi’s studio
sits above the spooky collection, though
he now limits his work to finishing existing
clients’ tattoos.

The museum is located near Yokohama
Station in the Imai Building, Hiranuma 1-11-
7; it’s open from 1pm to 6.30pm daily.

THE BIGGEST TATTOO SHOW
ON EARTH, LAS VEGAS, USA

The Guinness World Record–certified name
doesn’t lie. More than 40,000 tattoo-ees
converge at this raucous show in Sin City
each year. Big-name international artists
wield ink guns on site, so you can offer up
skin to a master for whom you’d otherwise

have to travel oceans. Afterward, indulge in
an only-in-Vegas establishment located in
the same building: King Ink Tattoo Studio
& Bar brazenly combines alcohol and
body art, all to the thumping beat of a DJ.
A little tequila, a little Lady Gaga and the
possibilities become endless…

The Biggest Tattoo Show on Earth (www.
lasvegastattooshow.com) takes place in
October. King Ink (www.kinginklasvegas.
com) opens daily at noon.

AMSTERDAM TATTOO
MUSEUM, NETHERLANDS

Opened in 2011, the Amsterdam Tattoo
Museum holds enough relics to earn its
‘Tatican’ nickname. The first electric tattoo
machine (from 1891), preserved pieces
of tattooed flesh, painful-looking tribal
implements, freak-show posters and a
serious research library stuff the rambling
building. Want a memento of your visit?
Sure there’s the gift shop, but ascend to the
second floor where resident artists apply
the ultimate keepsake. Note, too, when you
patronise the museum you’re doing good:
the venue provides work experience to 300
socially disadvantaged people per year.

The Amsterdam Tattoo Museum (www.
amsterdamtattoomuseum.com) is at
Plantage Middenlaan 62; open 10am to 7pm.

MIAMI, USA

The prize for most tatted-up city in the
USA goes to Miami, which has about 24
tattoo parlours per 100,000 people. No
wonder tattoo reality TV got its start here.
Miami Ink was the genre’s first, following
the life and times of five guys working the

scene on South Beach. Assorted porn
stars, skateboarders, death metal bands,
comedians, film actors and NFL linebackers
walked through the door, as did celeb chef
Anthony Bourdain (who opted for a skull
tattoo on his shoulder). The drama was so
intense producers spun off the series to LA
Ink, London Ink and NYC Ink.

The Miami Ink guys operate LoveHate
Tattoo (www.lovehatetattoos.com) at 1360
Washington Avenue; open 11am to 11pm daily.

LONDON TATTOO
CONVENTION, ENGLAND

London has had its ink on from the get-go.
Pritani, the oldest known name for Britain’s
inhabitants, means ‘the Painted People’,
after their whopping tattoos. By the end
of the 19th century, British sailors were
carrying on the custom, with more than
90% drawn upon. So tattoo culture runs
deep, and it’s why 20,000 people stream
in for the convention, keen to take in the
tattoo art exhibits, Oxford-curated tattoo
historical displays and of course, tattoo
contests. Best of Day, Best Back Ornament,
Best Colours and Best of Show are just a
few prizes to aspire to.

The London Tattoo Convention (www.
thelondontattooconvention.com) takes
place in late September.

TAHITI, FRENCH POLYNESIA

This is the nation that gave the world
tattoos, or at least the word. It comes from
the Tahitian tatau, ‘to strike’. Long ago,
artists took a comb with teeth of sharpened
bone, dipped the tips into organic black
ink, then used a second stick to tap it into

HORIYOSHI THE 3RD, A
MASTER TATTOOIST,
IN HIS STUDIO IN
YOKOHAMA, JAPAN

the skin. The sound it made was tat tat tat.
Artists mostly use tattoo guns now, but you
can opt for the old-school method at many
shops. It’s more expensive, requiring helpers
to stretch your skin while the artist pokes
you thousands of times. Turtles (fertility)
and tikis (protection) are common symbols.

On Sundays in the capital Papeete, local
tattoo artists sling ink on the main market’s
upper level.

DELHI, INDIA

Indian mehndi is similar to Moroccan
henna – temporary, orange-red tattoos
that last a few weeks or so – but artists
apply the paisley, peacock and other
flowery designs more densely. Women
typically henna their hands in an elaborate
ceremony before getting married, with the
groom’s name written somewhere within
the pattern. If he can’t find it, the bride
will have control in the marriage, so the
story goes. Beauty parlours have mehndi
artists on staff, and markets often have
mehndi-wallahs. The latter are particularly
prevalent in Delhi’s time-hewn bazaars.

Mehndi-wallahs cluster around the Shelton
Hotel at 5043 Main Bazaar, Paharganj.

SNAKES ALIVE!

Ophidiophiles rejoice: the Chinese Year of the Snake is
upon us – an excuse to explore the world’s scaliest,
slitheriest spots.

NARCISSE SNAKE DENS,
MANITOBA, CANADA

Twice a year these limestone crevasses
and caverns host the world’s biggest
concentration of serpents – more than
50,000 red-sided garter snakes slithering,
swarming and seducing. During the first
weeks of May, masses of males emerge from
their winter hibernation; frisky in the spring
air, they descend in scores on receptive
ladies as they appear, forming writhing
‘mating balls’ – up to 100 males wrestling
for the right to mate with each female. For
a slightly less intense experience, return in
September to see the snakes return to their
hibernacula to enter their winter torpor.

Narcisse is 130km north of Winnipeg;
viewing platforms are spaced along a 3km
trail looping around the snake dens. See
www.gov.mb.ca/conservation/wildlife/
viewing/narcisse.html.

EL CASTILLO,
CHICHéN ITZá, MEXICO

Make a date with Kukulcán, the feathered
serpent-god of the Maya, and head over

to his place – the millennium-old step
pyramid known as El Castillo at Chichén
Itzá, in Mexico’s Yucatán. How does 20
March suit? Or perhaps 22 September?
On those evenings – the spring and
autumn equinoxes – the shadows cast
by the setting sun against the northern
slope create the illusion of two serpents
(whose stone heads guard the base of the
staircase) crawling down the pyramid, their
slender bodies wriggling down the steps.
Visit a day or two either side of the equinox
to avoid the biggest crowds.

The site is open 8am to 5pm daily. Day trips
from Cancún or Mérida are possible; stay
overnight to devote more time to exploring.

BASKING ADDERS,
DORSET, ENGLAND

Venomous serpents? In Britain? Oh yes:
to paraphrase the famous song, mad
dogs and English snakes go out in the
midday sun – and Dorset’s the place to see
these beautifully zigzag-patterned vipers
basking in sheltered, sun-kissed spots,
typically among clumps of heather along

TEMPLE OF KUKULKAN AT CHICHÉN
ITZÁ ARCHEOLOGICAL ZONE ON
MEXICO’S YUCATAN PENINSULA

the cliff paths, on commons or in woodland
clearings. This southerly county boasts the
full complement of the UK’s snake species,
with rare smooth snakes and larger grass
snakes making up the numbers. Walk softly
on warm spring days to witness adders,
newly woken from hibernation, coiled like
ammonites – try Powerstock Common or
Fontmell Down for reliable sightings.

Dorset Wildlife Trust manages several
reserves where adders can be spotted –
see www.dorsetwildlifetrust.org.uk.

ANACONDAS,
PANTANAL, BRAZIL

There are plenty of big reasons to explore
this wet and wild wonderland, which

straddles the borders between Brazil,
Bolivia and Paraguay: capybara (the world’s
biggest rodent), jaguars (the Americas’
biggest cat), giant river otters (the world’s
biggest… oh, you guessed?). And then
there’s the anaconda, the world’s heftiest
snake – 8m and 200kg-plus of scale-
clad muscle. They’re not venomous – no,
instead they’re designed specifically for
squeezing the life out of tasty mammals.
That’d be you, then… With their beautifully
patterned olive-brown skin, full-grown
anacondas are entrancing to watch – just
don’t get too mesmerised, or too close.

Watch for basking snakes on the Estrada
Parque, a dirt road that runs through the
south centre of the Pantanal.

WATCH YOUR STEP: THE
ADDER IS ENGLAND’S ONLY
(MILDLY) VENOMOUS SNAKE

NAAG PANCHAMI, SOUTH INDIA

Celebrate sacred serpents with fasting and
festivities at the height of the monsoon,
when flooding forces many snakes from their
lairs. Legends connected with the gods –
Krishna’s defeat of the serpent Kalia, Shiva’s
reptile companions – inspire offerings of milk
and flowers to cobras (both images and real)
in the hope of securing protection against
snakebites and evil. The festival is celebrated
most actively in Maharashtra, West Bengal
and the southern states. In 2013 Naag
Panchami falls on 11 August.

Head to Mannarsala Temple in Haripad,
near Alappuzha, Kerala for year-rou.ornd
snake-worshipping action. See http://
mannarasala.org.

TEMPLE DES SERPENTS,
OUIDAH, BENIN

Do you do voodoo? If the thought gives you
the heebie-jeebies, it might be an idea to give
the coastal town of Ouidah a hiss – sorry, a
miss. Here, in the heartland of West Africa’s
traditional religion, the annual Voodoo
Festival is celebrated each January with
singing, dancing, drinking and sacrifices.
Central to the worship of the snake-god Dan
(or Dangbé) is the Temple des Serpents,
where several dozen royal pythons doze,
curled in a hut until needed to communicate
with the deity (and ready to be draped over
your shoulders by a persuasive guide).

On Benin’s Atlantic coast, the Temple des
Serpents is typically open from 8am to 7pm.

GREAT SERPENT MOUND,
OHIO, USA

Snakes and spirituality are inextricably
linked: these death-dealing, egg-laying
reptiles allude to both the beginning and
end of life, gods and demons, protection
and destruction. We don’t know why the
Great Serpent Mound was built – though
alignment with celestial events suggests
some astronomical significance – or
who built it, or when. Whoever made
it, it’s impressive: a 420m-long, turf-
covered snake coiling through the trees in
southern Ohio, mouth gaping to swallow
the moon, the sun or perhaps a frog… A
marvellous mystery.

The grounds are open daily, sunrise to
sunset; the museum opens 10am to 5pm,
weekends only in March, November and
December (closed January and February).

SNAKE PAGODA,
PALEIK, MYANMAR

If a couple of very large snakes decide to
take up residence, it pays to be nice to them.
That’s the philosophy adopted by the monks
of the Yadana Labamuni Hsu-taungpye Paya,
the pagoda better known as Hmwe Paya, or
‘Snake Pagoda’. Here, some 40 years ago, a
pair of pythons reportedly appeared, coiled
around a statue of Buddha at this temple in
Paleik, southwest of Mandalay. Today, their
successors are treated with such reverence
that the pagoda is virtually a snake spa: the
reptiles receive a daily bath in a flower-filled
pool, regular feedings and the freedom of
the village.

Bath time is 11am daily; do explore the
surrounding area, which is littered with
hundreds of stupas and pagodas.

RAINBOW SERPENT,
KAKADU, AUSTRALIA

In the deepest waterholes lurks a
gargantuan snake. Some call her Almudj
or Ngalyod, others Myndie or Bunyip;
she sings and names places, creates and
shapes landscapes, protects and punishes.
The Rainbow Serpent is a character that
dominates the creation myths of Aboriginal
peoples across Australia; where she passed,
she left her mark in geological formations
and ancient art painted on rocks. At Ubirr, in
Kakadu National Park, Northern Territory,
astonishing images – some daubed more
than 10,000 years ago – recreate legends
and daily life. Among them, the Rainbow
Serpent, known here as Garranga’rreli,
writhes with power in her own rock gallery.

Ubirr is open 8.30am to sunset 1 April to
30 November, 2pm to sunset 1 December
to 31 March.

BOA CONSTRICTORS, PALO VERDE
NATIONAL PARK, COSTA RICA

A well-fed snake is a happy snake – and
everyone prefers to be near a happy snake
(hungry, bad-tempered snakes tend not to
make the best companions). That’s why Isla
Pájaros in Costa Rica’s Palo Verde National
Park is the place to see boa constrictors.
The national park attracts the greatest
concentration of waterfowl and water birds in
Central America – which means nests, eggs
and chicks, which means dinner. Spot the
serpents from the safety of a boat tour down
Río Tempisque, led by a ranger who can point
out both reptile predators and avian prey.

Visit in the dry season – in January, water-
bird nesting peaks, providing ample food
for the boa constrictors.

BEST
PLACES TO GET FIT

THEY SAY EVERYONE ALWAYS GAINS WEIGHT ON VACATION. NOT ON
THESE ACTIVE ADVENTURES!

WILDFITNESS KENYA

Get in touch with your hunter-
gatherer roots at this nature-oriented
fitness resort, where you’ll be instructed
in the principles of ‘wild moving’ (barefoot
running, swimming, climbing), ‘wild eating’
(lots of meats, fruits and vegetables, no
dairy or processed foods) and ‘wild living’
(good sleep habits, ‘tribal bonding’ with
others). The location for all this back-to-BC
learning is a palm-shrouded boutique hotel
overlooking the white sand and gin-clear
waters of the Indian Ocean. So when you’re
not channelling your inner caveman, you
can relax on the roof deck or luxuriate in a
deep tissue massage – thanks, modernity!

A nine-day course starts at about
US$3550. See http://wf.rechord.com.

HIKING THE
APPALACHIAN TRAIL, USA

Though most ‘thru hikers’ aren’t tackling
the 3500km-long Appalachian Trail just
to lose a few pounds, it’s certainly a side
benefit for some. In fact, keeping the weight

on while trekking up the sides of heather-
shrouded mountains and through rugged
green valleys is so difficult that hikers swap
tips on the highest-calorie foods to bring
along for the journey. Most hikers can pack
in 4000 to 6000 calories a day while still
losing weight and gaining enough muscle
to tackle the killer peaks of Maine’s Mt
Katahdin at the end of the trail.

The Appalachian Trail begins in Springer
Mountain, Georgia and traverses 14 states
before ending in Maine. For trail info, see
www.appalachiantrail.org.

DETOX RETREAT, BAGUS
JATI, BALI, INDONESIA

Offering detox regimes promising to cure
you of everything from anxiety to bloated
stomach to ‘vagueness’, this New Age-
meets-Eastern retreat in Bali’s Ubud
district will help centre your mind as it
slims your waist. Set on a steep emerald
hillside, Bagus Jati’s Balinese-style villas
overlook a lush, misty valley of ferns and
betel-nut palms. Daily treatments range
from herbal teas to acupuncture to mud

WALK THIS WAY: THE
APPALACHIAN TRAIL, NEW
HAMPSHIRE, USA

wraps. For exercise, get your downward dog
on in the round yoga pavilion surrounded by
sun-dappled bamboo forest. Or kick it up
with a five-hour predawn trek to witness the
sunrise from the peak of Mt Batur.

Packages start at $620 for two nights; see
www.bagusjati.com.

BIKINI BOOTCAMP,
TULUM, MEXICO

The setting – a luscious stretch of golden
beach on Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula –
should take some of the sting out of the
butt-kicking daily schedule at this much-
imitated fitness retreat. Days begin at

6.45am and hop from gruelling vinyasa
yoga classes to sweaty beach volleyball
games to power abs workouts. Downtime
means swimming in local cenotes (water-
filled sinkholes) or hiking through the
spooky Mayan ruins of Tulum. If you’re
down with a bit of a New Age-y vibe (think
‘tribal drumming’ lessons, dawn journaling
sessions), then this might be just the
place to kick off your New Year’s get-fit
resolution. Solo travellers are welcome and
encouraged.

The Bootcamp is in Tulum, 1½ hours south of
Cancun. A six-day session costs US$1950. See www.bikinibootcamp.com.

SURFERS AT BYRON
BAY, AUSTRALIA

SIVANANDA YOGA ASHRAM,
THE BAHAMAS

Staying at this jungle retreat on the aptly
named Paradise Island means following
a few rules, such as committing to eight
hours of yoga and meditation a day, and
eschewing alcohol, cigarettes and meat.
What the ashram lacks in tropical cocktails
it makes up for in uber-healthy communal
vegetarian meals, massages and Ayurvedic
spa treatments, from the postcard-perfect
views of the turquoise Atlantic. No need
to be a professional yogini to stay here –
guests range from Spandex-clad weekend
warriors to hardcore devotees.

The ashram is across the bay from
downtown Nassau. Accommodation ranges
from bare-bones dorms (US$70) to nicely
furnished private huts (US$130). See www.
sivananda.org.

FATPACKING, VARIOUS
LOCATIONS

OK, we’re not fond of the name (admittedly,
‘CurvyPacking’ or ‘RubenesquePacking’
don’t have quite the same ring). But these
weight loss-oriented backpacking sessions
are a great way to lose a few kilos. Intended
for people 7kg to 34kg overweight, the one-
to two-week wilderness hikes promise a

weight loss of between 2kg and 3kg a week,
combined with an increase in muscle mass.
Hike locations range from the craggy, cloud-
shrouded peaks of Chilean Patagonia to the
steamy subtropical swamplands of north
Florida to the bewitching red-rock desert of
Utah’s canyonlands.

Trips start at about US$1000. See www.
fatpacking.com.

SURF CAMP AUSTRALIA

Did you ever see a pro surfer with less-than-
flat abs? Exactly. Newbies are welcome at
this fun-loving Aussie surf school, where
you’ll learn to ride the waves, and likely tone
up your core in the bargain. Days are spent
paddling in the sapphire waters of iconic
Byron Bay and Seven Mile Beach, while
nights mean relaxing at your rustic beach
cabin or partying with your instructors. Just
take it easy on the free beer, lest you undo a
good day’s work! Courses run from short-
and-sweet three-day weekenders to ten-day
Ultimate Surf Adventures.

A three-day camp starts at about A$395
(US$385). See http://surfcamp.com.au.

FOLLOW THE TOUR DE FRANCE

You’ve watched the Tour de France – why not
ride it yourself? Get enviable calf muscles
while gawking at the sunflower fields of
Provence or the icy knifelike peaks of the
Pyrenees. Several companies offer cycling
tours of chunks of the competition route –
scale the dizzying heights of Mont Ventoux
or choose a gentler route through the velvety
hills of the Basque Country. Most companies
recommend you come with a fairly high
level of fitness to begin with – a recreational

cyclist who does a couple of 30km rides a
week should be fine. If you get too winded,
you can always crash in the sag van.

Trips tend to range from about €2000 to
€4000 a week (US$2500–5000).

TRIATHLON TRAINING, PERLA
HOTEL, RICCIONE, ITALY

Quick, pick three words to describe an
Italian vacation. ‘Pizza, pasta, gelato’? How
about ‘swim, bike, run’? The Perla Hotel,
on northern Italy’s stately Adriatic Riviera,
is one of many in the region that cater to
both triathletes and recreational cyclists.
Join hotel-led group training rides into the
surrounding hills, or just borrow a bike for
a casual spin along Riccione’s oceanside
cycling path. Afterwards, cool off with a quick
dip in the navy sea, or take a run down the
boardwalk. Hey, with all that training, you can
afford a little pizza, pasta and gelato!

Rooms range from budget to luxury. See
more at www.perlahotel.com.

THALMAR BIARRITZ,
BIARRITZ, FRANCE

If exercise is not your thing, do as the French
do: go for a round of thalassotherapy in
Biarritz. ‘Thalasso-WHAT?’, you say? This
water treatment involves being wrapped
in mud and hosed off with sea water and is
très chic among vacationing Parisians. The
French consider it medicinal, and many claim
it’s the secret to their slimness in the face of
foie gras and chocolate mousse. We make no
promises, but we can say that a stay at the
Thalmar will leave you refreshed and glowing.

A three-day getaway starts at about €550
(US$700). See www.biarritz-thalasso.com.

GREAT
WALL WALKS

ORIGINALLY BUILT TO DIVIDE, THESE MIGHTY BARRIERS NOW
ENABLE EXCELLENT ACCESS ON FOOT.

BERLIN WALL, GERMANY

Not so very long ago, this walk
was strictly verboten. The Berlin Wall – its
barbed-wired length manned by armed
guards – only fell in 1989. Today, most
of the 160km-long barricade that once
encircled West Berlin is gone. But it’s not
forgotten: a marked walk and cycle trail
follows its former route, from Potsdamer
Platz and Niederkirchnerstrasse (where
200m of wall has been preserved), via
Checkpoint Charlie and the Sonnenallee
border crossing, out into Berlin’s bucolic
surrounds. The contrast is stark: pretty
lakes and churches – the picture of
innocence – are blemished by eerie flecks
of crumbling concrete.

The Wall Trail is divided into 14 sections
between 7km and 21km long; each section
is accessible by public transport.

HADRIAN’S WALL,
ENGLAND

Roman Emperor Hadrian was a philhellenic
soul – a lover of Greek culture. It seems,
however, he wasn’t so fond of the Scots.
From AD 122, he commenced building a
barrier of stone, turf, forts and ditches
from Wallsend (on the River Tyne) to the
shores of the Solway Firth, to demarcate the
northernmost reach of his empire. What lay
beyond was just too wild to be tamed. And

it’s still pretty wild – Roman remnants sit out
amid Cumbrian hills, rough uplands and salt
flats. A 140km National Trail navigates the
route, and you can imagine the sandal-slap of
centurions still audible on the breeze.

Hadrian’s Wall Trail takes seven days.
Segedenum Roman Fort (eastern start/
end point) is a 10-minute Metro ride from
Newcastle.

GREAT WALL, CHINA

It’s hard to walk the whole Great
Wall of China. And not just because it’s
vast (though the fact that it measures
around 5000km long presents a significant
impediment). No, it’s just so disparate, with
different bits, from many dynasties, making
a conclusive route hard to pinpoint. A classic
through-walk is from wild-west Jiayuguan to
eastern Shanhaiguan, on the Bohai Sea – a
4000km-plus epic across mountains, steppe
and desert. More manageable perhaps is a
day-trip from Beijing: the 11km Jinshanling–

Simatai hike has fine far-reaching views; the
little-known 12km stretch at Huanghuacheng
is really wild wall walking.

Visit from September to October or April
to May for the best weather and avoid busy
Chinese national holidays (first weeks of
May and October).

CARTAGENA, COLOMBIA

Strolling atop the 16th-century fortifications
that cloister old Cartagena is the best way
to get a feel for this Unesco-listed city. It’s a
place that deserves protection – initially for
its strategic importance to the Spanish, now
for its comely cobbles and pastel prettiness.
It’s not a long walk along the thick murallas
(the whole loop takes about 90 minutes)
but it is a beauty. Start from Balaurte de
San Francisco Javier at sunset, to watch
the warm light glitter on the Caribbean
and set Cartagena’s yellow-pink mansions,
palm-fringed plazas and profusion of
churches aglow.

The wall stands in four sections; the
Balaurte de San Francisco Javier–La India
Catalina section is longest.

ÁVILA, SPAIN

Approach by train from nearby Madrid and
it seems that a colossal sandcastle has been
made on the high plains of Castilla y Léon.
The almost-too-perfectly walled city of Ávila
looms large and castellated, its old centre
enclosed within 2.5km of 12m-high, 3m-thick
stone; 88 towers and nine gates ensure it
looks properly fairytale. These are the best-
preserved medieval walls in the world, and
much of them can be strolled along. That
said, arguably the best views are extra-
muros – leave the city confines to walk
around the outside, to see the defences in all
their intimidating, impenetrable glory.

Ávila is 1130m above sea-level; it can
get cold, even in summer, so pack warm
clothes.

OFFA’S DYKE, ENGLAND–WALES

You’ve heard of Hadrian, but who on earth
was Offa? King of Mercia, that’s who; he
ruled most of England in AD 757, but Wales
was another matter. Unable to best those
feisty dragons, he built a wall to keep them
out. Well, not a wall – more a ditch, backed
by a mound of mud (more interesting than it
sounds…). Offa’s Dyke National Trail traces
these ancient remains, wending 285km from
Sedbury Cliffs to Prestatyn, via the Black
Mountains, book-town Hay-on-Wye and the
heather-clad Clwydian Range, traversing a
land that still feels like a wild frontier.

Offa’s Dyke National Trail takes around 12
days to complete. Chepstow train station is
1.6km from Sedbury Cliffs.

ESSAOUIRA, MOROCCO

The ramparts ringing Atlantic-slapped
Essaouira aren’t the world’s longest
or biggest. But they do have a certain
superstar status. In 1949 Orson Welles
came to town and filmed the Moroccan
city’s walls for the opening sequence of
his movie, Othello. There’s certainly drama
here: built in the 18th century by Sultan
Mohammed III, who was keen to own a
coastal stronghold, these Vauban-style
defences perch on sea cliffs. Walk along
their parapet to look down on the rambling
medina within – a huddle of slipper-sellers,
tagine-makers and labyrinthine alleys – and
to look out over the harbour and golden
beach beyond.

Essaouira is a 2½-hour bus ride from
Marrakesh and a six-hour journey from
Casablanca.

QUéBEC CITY, CANADA

Architecture often isn’t that old in North
America. Which makes the 17th-century
walls surrounding Québec City all the
more notable. The capital of Canada’s
Gallic province is a bit ‘France-lite’: there’s
European flair in the higgledy streets, frites
served in the cafes and history sunk deep
into these great grey military fortifications.
The whole wall is 4.6km long, incised by
gates and bulged by towers. At times you
can stand atop it, to look across to the St
Lawrence River and down on the huddled
alleys of Vieux Québec; at others, stroll
alongside to feel just how impervious a
barrier it still is.

Parks Canada runs guided, 90-minute wall
tours, departing from the Frontenac kiosk
on Dufferin Terrace.

WALKING THE SEA WALLS
AT ESSAOUIRA, MOROCCO

WALLS OF JERUSALEM
NATIONAL PARK, AUSTRALIA

Australia is far from the Holy Land, but
explorers with a Biblical bent let rip when
they assigned names to this corner of
Tasmanian countryside – Herod’s Gate
stands by the Walls of Jerusalem, the Pool of
Bethesda and Solomon’s Jewels. The ‘walls’
are dolerite hills, topping at the 1509m King
David’s Peak, in a people-free landscape of
conifer forest and heath. There are no roads
so bushwalking is the only way to worship
here. Follow the track from Lake Rowallan
to Dixons Kingdom and up Mt Jerusalem for
views over this antipodean Eden.

Walls of Jerusalem is not accessible by
road; visitors must walk in from the car park
off Mersey Forest Rd, near Lake Rowallan.

AURELIAN WALLS, ROME, ITALY

In AD 270, Emperor Aurelius got a bit
twitchy. With barbarians threatening from
the north, he decided to encircle Rome with
a big brick barricade. And he did it fast: this
19km-long, 6.5m-high obstacle – boasting
381 towers and 18 gates – was constructed
in just five years. Today it’s tatty in places;
in 2001 a 12m section collapsed; 2007 saw
another stretch fall. But considering its
venerable age, it remains impressive. One
of the best-preserved bits is by Porta San
Sebastiano, where the parapet is strollable,
and offers fine views; the keen history-hiker
could get a map and trace the entire route.

The Museo delle Mura, on Via di Porta San
Sebastiano, is inside the walls’ Sebastiano
Gate; entrance costs €4 (US$5).

LEGENDARY
LAST STANDS

STAND IN THE SPOTS WHERE SOME OF THE WORLD’S MOST
FAMOUS AND INFAMOUS FIGURES CAME TO UNTIMELY ENDS.

SAN VICENTE, BOLIVIA

A last stand? Or a red herring?
There’s some doubt surrounding the
deaths of Robert LeRoy Parker and Harry
Longabaugh – aka Butch Cassidy and the
Sundance Kid. These American bandits
were supposedly gunned down in dusty
San Vicente: a stand-off in the village
in 1908 certainly resulted in two gringo
corpses riddled with bullets. They were
buried in the local cemetery, but no formal
identification was ever made – some claim
the duo were alive and well years later. You
can still follow the Butch and Sundance
trail around southern Bolivia however,
including the adobe hut where it all ended.
Perhaps…

San Vicente is 100km northwest of Tupiza;
local tour agencies run two-day jeep trips
to the sites.

THERMOPYLAE, GREECE

For King Leonidas of Sparta,
Thermopylae (‘the Hot Gates’) was an
all-too-real gateway to hell. It was here, in
480 BC, that he lingered defiantly with a

handful of warriors (some say just 300) to
defend Greece from 30,000-odd invading
Persians. He was slain, eventually, but
succeeded in delaying the intruders in a
battle that’s now a byword for bravery in
the face of outrageous odds. The sea has
retreated 4km since that time, making
Thermopylae a less strategically important
defile. But Leonidas stands here still: his
heroic statue watches over the burial
mound of his courageous comrades.

Thermopylae is on the motorway, just south
of Lamía; trains from Athens to Lianokládhi
(6km from Lamía) take 2½ hours.

TENOCHTITLáN,
MEXICO CITY, MEXICO

In what was less a last stand than a
last stand-by-and-watch, Moctezuma
II did little to stop Cortés and his
conquistadores from raiding the Aztec
capital of Tenochtitlán in 1519. Indeed,
he invited Cortés in, thinking the
Spaniard a fair-skinned god. The result?
Moctezuma was killed by his own people,
who couldn’t bear his passivity. Cortés

razed Tenochtitlán; now, Mexico City
sprawls over the top. However, in 1978
ruins of the ancient site’s Templo Mayor
were discovered, right in the heart of the
modern metropolis; its stone pyramid,
altar of toads and wall of skulls are all
reminders of glories past.

The entrance to the Templo Mayor site and
museum is beside the cathedral; the site is
closed on Mondays.

LITTLE BIG HORN,
MONTANA, USA

The Battle of Little Big Horn, or the
Battle of Greasy Grass if you’re of Native

American descent, is famed for being
Custer’s Last Stand. Though the Unionist
general did lose his life combating Chief
Sitting Bull on the Montana plains in June
1876, this legendary ruckus really did
more damage to the Sioux and Cheyenne
he was fighting: victorious on the day, the
Indians lost the struggle for their nomadic
traditions soon after. Today you can walk
round the historic site and to the very spot
where Custer finally fell.

Little Big Horn National Monument is
100km south of Billings. Native American
guided tours are available May to
September; see www.nps.gov/libi.

A DANCER DRESSED AS
AN AZTEC WARRIOR AT
TEMPLO MAYOR,
MEXICO CITY

RORKE’S DRIFT &
ISANDLWANA, SOUTH AFRICA

Rorke’s Drift – that’s the one where
Michael Caine faced down 4000
marauding Zulus, no? Not quite. The epic
1964 movie Zulu, depicting the plucky
resistance of a British garrison against
a horde of spear-waving locals, is not
entirely historically accurate. It’s true
to say that the 140 men who, in January
1879, defended their remote post in
rugged KwaZulu-Natal were massively
outnumbered yet ultimately triumphant.
But it’s also true that the Battle of
Isandlwana, just hours earlier, had a very
different outcome, with the Zulus besting
the Brits. Museums now stand at both
sites, while Isandlwana Hill is peppered
with memorials, marking where each
soldier fell.

Isandlwana (70km southeast of Dundee)
and Rorke’s Drift are 15km apart; a dirt road
connects the two.

CAJAMARCA, PERU

It shouldn’t have been this way.
Atahualpa had 500 times more men
than conquistador Pizarro. But, in 1532,
the well-armed Spaniard managed to
massacre thousands of indigenous
people in Cajamarca – and capture the
Inca Emperor in the process. Atahualpa
was imprisoned in the Cuarto del Rescate
(Ransom Chamber), the only Inca building
still standing in this northern highlands city.
And though he collected enough gold and
silver to buy his freedom, he was executed
anyway, hung in the main square – on the
site of Cajamarca’s modern-day Plaza de

Armas – in what marked the beginning of
the end of the Inca Empire.

Cuarto del Rescate is open 9am to 1pm and
3pm to 6pm daily; entrance includes the
Belén church and hospital complex and
Ethnographic Museum.

BATTLE, ENGLAND

Other last stands may have been
immortalised in movies, but Harold II’s
final throes were given a much classier
commemoration. The 70m-long Bayeux
Tapestry gives an embroidered rundown
of events leading up to 1066 and the
Battle of Hastings, where King Harold of
England was slain by a Norman arrow. The
tapestry may be in France, but all the action
occurred in Sussex, at Senlac Hill – now
site of the appropriately named town of
Battle. To mark his famous victory, William
the Conqueror built the Abbey of St Martin
here, its altar reputedly placed on the very
spot where Harold floundered.

Battle of Hastings Abbey and the
battlefield is managed by English Heritage.
Entrance costs £7.30 (US$11.50); see
www.english-heritage.org.uk.

GIBSLAND, LOUISIANA, USA

There’s a small grey marker by the side
of Highway 154, 8km south of Gibsland,
Louisiana. It reads ‘On This Site, May 23,
1934, Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker
Were Killed By Law Enforcement Officers’.
It may read other things, too – it is often
daubed with graffiti (from couples on, it
seems, odd romantic pilgrimages); also,
bullet-holes pock its surface. Such defacing
seems fitting: Bonnie and Clyde had little

THE LITTLE BIGHORN
BATTLEFIELD NATIONAL
MONUMENT, MONTANA

respect for property themselves. But the
pair are still weirdly lauded, and Gibsland’s
Ma Canfield’s Cafe – where they dined
their last – is now a museum devoted to
America’s first ‘celebrity’ criminals.

The Bonnie & Clyde Ambush Museum, in
Gibsland, is open daily (except Wednesdays),
admission is $7/5 adult/child; see www.
bonnieandclydemuseum.com.

ISTANBUL, TURKEY

It had lasted for more than a thousand
years, so Emperor Constantine XI wasn’t
going to give up on the Byzantine Empire

easily – even if its time was clearly up.
When Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II came to
conquer Constantinople (today’s Istanbul)
in 1453, the emperor fought to the death
alongside his soldiers on the city’s land
walls. There are still remnants of those
defences – largely crumbly – to the west
of the old town. Also here, Yedikule Fort
is more solid; according to Greek legend,
Constantine is buried under its Golden
Gate, waiting to be resurrected to reclaim
the city for Christendom.

Yedikule Fort can be reached by train from
Sirkeci station or by bus from Taksim and
Beyazit.

BEST PLACES TO
HUNT FOR BURIED
TREASURE

THERE’S A SECRET WORLD OF GOODIES BURIED BENEATH THE
EARTH’S ROCKS AND WAVES. LOOKING FOR LOOT – FROM PIRATE
BOOTY TO SECRET STASHES – IS AN ADVENTURE ALL ITS OWN.

OPAL MINING, COOBER
PEDY, AUSTRALIA

Outback adventure and the chance to
strike it rich: can you dig it? The good
folk of Coober Pedy can… and have done,
ever since opal was first discovered there
in 1915. Named from the local aboriginal
term ‘kupa-piti’ (meaning ‘whitefella in a
hole’), this far-flung town is known as the
opal capital of the world; it’s also famous
for its underground homes, excavated to
escape the desert sizzle. While hardcore
miners need a government permit, anyone
is allowed to fossick – in local parlance,
‘noodle’ – through the town’s many mine
dumps. Don’t let the whimsical verb fool
you: many a noodler has hit paydirt.

Before going it alone, try a sanctioned
noodle at Tom’s Working Opal Mine (www.
tomsworkingopalmine.com.au) or Old
Timers’ Mine (www.oldtimersmine.com).

NORMAN ISLAND, BRITISH
VIRGIN ISLANDS

Peg-legs, black spots, West Country
accents: if there was a map showing the
home of every pirate cliché known to fancy-
dressers, Norman Island would be marked
with an X. Not shivering your timbers?
Perhaps its fictional name, Treasure Island,
will make you go ‘aaargh’. The inspiration
behind Robert Louis Stevenson’s tale of
mutiny and booty, Norman Island today is a
haven for snorkellers and nature lovers. But
rumours of undiscovered doubloons hidden
in the Caves – a series of aptly murky
watery caverns – attract rum-hoisters

convinced the island remains home to
‘plenty of prizes and plenty of duff!’.

Norman Island is a short boat trip from
Tortola, the biggest and most populated of
the BVIs. Tortola is reached via ferries or
flights out of various Caribbean hubs. See
www.normanisland.com.

OAK ISLAND,
NOVA SCOTIA, CANADA

Home to a huge, mysterious hole nicknamed
the Money Pit, this otherwise unremarkable
island is the destination for those answering
the call of booty. First discovered in 1795, the
cryptic Pit is the site of the world’s longest-
running treasure hunt… although just which
treasure is being hunted remains the cause
of frenzied debate. Rumoured riches hidden
within the hole (which supposedly runs at
least 60m deep) include Captain Kidd’s
stash, the lost jewels of Marie Antoinette,
documents proving the ‘real’ identity of
Shakespeare (Francis Bacon, FYI) and the
holy grail of treasure seekers, the, erm, Holy
Grail. Beware the booby traps!

Oak Island is privately owned and permission
is required before setting off to solve the
mystery of the Pit. Start here for legends and
links: www.oakislandtreasure.co.uk.

GEOCACHING,
LAS VEGAS, USA

Cache-ING! Looking for loot in Las Vegas?
Forget fruit machines and bank breaking:
these days, thousands of Sin City visitors
are forgoing gambling for geocaching. A
real-life treasure hunt that relies on GPS
and cryptic clues, geocaching is more likely
to yield a Kinder Egg than that of the nest
variety, but that hasn’t stopped five million
enthusiasts worldwide. Vegas has become
a must-do for the high-tech hobbyists,
with more than 2400 stashes hidden in
and around the city, including scores on
the Strip, in the surrounding desert and in
spooky spots for ‘haunted’ night caching.

Head to www.nevadageocaching.com and
www.geocaching.com for the lowdown on
what lies beneath.

GOLD DETECTING,
PAPUA NEW GUINEA

There’s gold in them thar hills… and on them
thar islands… and under that thar sea. Papua
New Guinea is absolutely awash with the
shiny stuff, and while much of it falls into the
hands of multinational mining companies,
there’s no reason the budding prospector
can’t have a pick or a pan as well. Gold fever
peaked in the 20th century, with nuggets
the ‘size of goose eggs’ attracting feverish
prospectors, including a certain Mr Errol
Flynn. These days, PNG’s rough-and-tumble
landscape (social and geographic) make

ROMAN HOARD:
UNEARTH ANCIENT
COINS IN ENGLAND

joining an organised tour a better idea than
striking out on your own. They’re not cheap,
but with a potential ‘Eureka!’ moment lurking
beneath every step, who cares?

PNG Gold Tours offers fully escorted, two-
week gold-hunting trips to Misma Island,
an area renowned for rich alluvial deposits.
Visit www.pnggoldtours.com.

ROMAN COINS, ENGLISH
COUNTRYSIDE

Either togas suffered from a lack of pockets
or departing Romans hadn’t time to stop at
a currency exchange, because England is
aglitter with ancient currency. And it’s yours
for the picking. Amateur archaeologists
and quaint folk with metal detectors have
been responsible for massive finds across
the island; in 2010, a chef uncovered a pot
filled with 52,000 coins dated between
AD 253 and 293, the largest such hoard

yet discovered. Study up, be sure to get
landowners’ permission and you too could
hold history in your hands!

Contact the National Council for Metal
Detecting for information on detector hire,
regional clubs and valuing your treasure:
www.ncmd.co.uk.

DIGGING FOR
DINOS, AUSTRALIA

Thrilled by theropods? Is ‘muttaburrasaurus’
more than just an amusing tongue-twister
to you? Then it’s a fair bet that joining a
dinosaur dig is your idea of the ultimate
treasure hunt. And where better to pander
to your inner palaeontologist than outback
Winton, home to Australia’s largest hoard of
dino bones? The not-for-profit organisation
Australian Age of Dinosaurs holds tri-
annual Dinosaur Discovery Weeks, giving
enthusasauruses the chance to excavate,

plaster and prep fossils buried for the past
95 million years. No experience is necessary,
but only 13 spots per dig are available. Book
quickly: they’ll be gone before you can say
‘Diamantinasaurus matildae’.

Digs run between July and September. Find
out more and reserve your spot at www.
australianageofdinosaurs.com/aa-dig-a-
dino.php.

ARCTIC AMETHYSTS, KOLA
PENINSULA, RUSSIA

Far above the Arctic Circle, all that glitters
is not ice: western Russia’s extreme
north sparkles with the purple slivers of
the prized amethyst. The rugged Kola
Peninsula – a mineralogist’s dream with its
hundreds of rare rock and metal species –
is home to the windswept, amethyst-rich
Tersky Coast. Unlike gold, the amethyst is
surprisingly easy to find if you know where
to look (Tersky’s Korabl Cape – ‘Ship
Cape’ – is a great place to start): simply
look for the purple clumps. In addition to its
beauty, amethyst has a legendary quality
which may come in handy in these frozen,
vodka-loving lands: it’s believed to protect
its bearer from drunkenness.

While spotting amethysts is simple enough,
getting around Kola Peninsula is not.
Consider joining a mineralogical tour with
the South Kola group (www.kolaklub.com/
southkola/mne.htm) or Kola Travel (http://
kolatravel.com/mineralogical_holidays.htm).

FOSSIL GAWKING,
GOBI DESERT, MONGOLIA

To the hurried eye, the vast Gobi Desert
looks like 1.3 million sq km of dusty nothing.
But stop, stoop and focus: the Gobi is one

of the world’s richest fossil depositories,
with many ancient (as in 100-million-years-
ancient) remains lying only centimetres from
the surface. It was here the first dinosaur
eggs were discovered; other major excavated
finds include rare, mid-evolutionary birds
and some of the world’s best-preserved
mammal fossils. Hunting hotspots include
the Flaming Hills of Bayanzag and Altan Uul
(‘Golden Mountain’). You’re not supposed
to take your finds home with you – they’re
rightfully considered national treasures – but
here, especially, the thrill is in the chase.

Independent (not package) tours can be
hard to stumble across, but not impossible.
Many guesthouses in Mongolia’s capital
Ulaanbaatar can help get your expedition
underway.

WRECK DIVING, FLORIDA, USA

It may be known as the Sunshine State,
but many of Florida’s richest attractions
haven’t seen the light of day in centuries.
Thought to be home to more sunken
treasure than any other state in the USA,
Florida’s blue waters may be hiding more
than US$200 million worth of loot. Now
home to Disneyworld and pampered
retirees, the state was once a notorious
pirate haven (even Blackbeard dropped
anchor here), and its hurricanes sent
countless Spanish galleons to Davy Jones’
locker. Check local legalities before you
wriggle into your wettie, and never dive
alone in Florida’s oft-treacherous waters:
those wrecks are down there for a reason.

The website www.treasuresites.com/
indexn.htm is a treasure trove of super-
detailed listings of potentially enriching
(and legal) wreck-dive spots across Florida.

ODDEST
FOOD MUSEUMS

FROM CURRY SAUSAGES TO FERMENTED CABBAGE, THIS
SELECTION OF SHRINES TO HUMBLE AND STRANGE FOODSTUFFS
WILL TITILLATE YOUR TASTEBUDS.

CURRYWURST MUSEUM,
BERLIN, GERMANY

Sausages have long been a popular German
food, but what’s the connection with curry?
Enterprising Berliner Herta Heuwer obtained
curry powder from British troops after WWII,
then mixed it with ketchup to create a sauce
that was a hit on top of wurst. Now this iconic
Berlin snack has been given its very own
museum. You can simulate the experience
of running a currywurst stall, learn about
the history of Heuwer’s original sauce, and
view clips of German film and TV characters
scoffing currywurst onscreen. Enter the
Spice Chamber… if you dare.

The best-value option is the Snack Ticket
costing adult €13.90 (US$17.50), including
entry and a serve of currywurst. Visit www.
currywurstmuseum.de.

PICK SALAMI & PAPRIKA
MUSEUM, SZEGED,
HUNGARY

You should never enquire too closely into
how a sausage is made, and the same is
probably true for salami. However, who

could resist buying a ticket to a salami
museum in a country famous for this tasty
food? Within the Pick Salami & Paprika
Museum, captions explain how salami
is made, next to displays of industrial
equipment operated by dummies wearing
overalls, enormous moustaches and cloth
caps. The upstairs section is devoted
to paprika, the ever-present spice in
Hungarian food. Price of entry includes a
sample of the in-house salami.

The museum is only open from 3pm to 6pm
from Tuesday to Saturday, so pick your
arrival time carefully. More details at www.
pickmuzeum.hu.

SHINYOKOHAMA RAUMEN
MUSEUM, YOKOHAMA,
JAPAN

The popular noodle dish ramen (sometimes
spelled raumen) can be found across Japan
in a dazzling array of regional variations. It’s
often topped with pork, fish, dried seaweed
or green onions. This museum, which styles
itself as a ‘food amusement park’, features
a replica of a Tokyo streetscape of 1958,

the year in which instant noodles were
invented. However, this is the best type of
food museum – the type in which you can
eat the food. Within its walls are branches
of ramen restaurants from across Japan,
serving their own unique take on the tasty
dish. Itadakimasu!

A one-off adult ticket is ¥300 (US$4), but
if you’re really keen a three-month pass is
¥500 (US$6). See www.raumen.co.jp.

SPAM MUSEUM, AUSTIN, USA

In the days before unsolicited email, the
Monty Python comedy team had fun
creating a song in homage to this mundane
processed pork product. Derived from the
words ‘spiced ham’, canned Spam was first
manufactured in 1937 and is celebrated in

this museum in its home town of Austin,
Minnesota. Within, you can learn about
Spam’s heroic role in WWII, peruse old-
fashioned advertising, have a go at canning
the foodstuff and watch a movie about it.
And it’s all for free. Just don’t spam your
friends about it when you get home.

Swing by the Spam Museum from 10am to
5pm Monday to Saturday and from noon
to 5pm on Sunday. Find out more at www.
spam.com/spam-101/the-spam-museum.

PULMUONE KIMCHI MUSEUM,
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA

Kimchi, usually made from spiced-up,
fermented cabbage, is an omnipresent
dish in Korea. The crunch of the cabbage is
complemented by the heat from red chillies,

DEUTSCHES CURRYWURST
MUSEUM (GERMAN CURRY
SAUSAGES MUSEUM),
BERLIN, GERMANY

THE BURLINGAME MUSEUM
OF PEZ MEMORABILIA,
CALIFORNIA, USA

and the result is a side dish that goes well
with all Korean cuisine. The Pulmuone Kimchi
Museum celebrates this everyday food and
its cultural pre-eminence via displays on
its history, its many varieties, its regional
variations and the jars it’s been stored in
during the centuries. If you’re really keen, you
can watch a film on how to make more than
80 types of kimchi.

The museum is located beneath the COEX
Mall, 159 Samseong-dong, Gangnam-gu.
Visitor guide at www.kimchimuseum.co.kr.

JELL-O GALLERY, LEROY, USA

When carpenter Pearle Wait invented a
simple gelatine-based dessert in his home
in LeRoy, New York in 1897, he had no idea
how big his wobbly invention would get. He
sold his recipe, and in the hands of clever

marketers, Jell-O became a hit in the early
20th century. Recipe books were widely
distributed, as the USA and eventually the
world enthused over the just-add-water
treat. The Jell-O Gallery presents displays
on the history of the foodstuff, focusing on
the stars of TV and radio who’ve promoted
it over the years. There’s also a gift shop
packed with jelly-related memorabilia.

The gallery is located between Rochester
and Buffalo. For a map and opening hours,
see www.jellogallery.org.

FRIETMUSEUM,
BRUGES, BELGIUM

‘Do you want fries with that?’ might be one
of life’s most mundane questions, but you
can’t help but say yes when visiting this
institution. Those humble fried strips of

potato may be known as ‘French fries’ in
the USA, but this museum insists that they
originated in Belgium. Within are displays
on the history of the potato, fries and the
sauces that Belgians like to put on them.
The 14th-century building itself is part of
the attraction, being a classic example
of Bruges’ historic charms. You can even
sample fries and other Belgian dishes here.

The museum is only 300m from the Central
Market Place and its famous belfry. Adult
admission is €6 (US$7.50); see www.
frietmuseum.be.

SU NO SATO VINEGAR
MUSEUM, HANDA, JAPAN

Vinegar has long been sprinkled on fish and
chips in Britain, but it’s also been a popular
condiment in Japan since the 5th century.
In Handa, south of Nagoya, vinegar was
created as a by-product of sake brewing,
and the small town became prosperous
by exporting it to Tokyo. Today Handa is
home to the Su No Sato Vinegar Museum,
adjacent to the Mizkan vinegar factory.
Exhibits explain the history of vinegar
making and its healthy aspects, along with
traditional utensils used in its creation. A
fermentation room demonstrates how to
make the best vinegar.

From Nagoya, catch a train to Obu, then
switch to Handa. The museum is at 2-6
Nakamura-cho, open daily from 9am to 4pm.

BURLINGAME MUSEUM
OF PEZ MEMORABILIA,
SAN FRANCISCO, USA

Pez consists of small brick-shaped pieces
of confectionery, invented in 1927 by

Austrian businessman Eduard Haas – but
the taste isn’t what makes this sweet treat
stand out. Its claim to fame derives from
its novelty dispensers, often shaped like
celebrities or fictional characters. The rarer
examples are hugely collectable, selling
for thousands of dollars, and this museum
holds one of the widest collections. Check
out dispenser heads ranging from Wonder
Woman to Miss Piggy, along with a specially
made 2.4m-high dispenser.

Located between San Francisco
International Airport and the San
Mateo Bridge, next to Burlingame
Avenue train station. Details at www.
burlingamepezmuseum.com.

EUROPEAN ASPARAGUS
MUSEUM, SCHROBENHAUSEN,
GERMANY

Germans go crazy for asparagus. Visit
the country in springtime and you’ll find
restaurants breathlessly promoting
their chefs’ dishes involving the fibrous
vegetable. The green version is good, but
Germans wax even more lyrical about the
thicker white asparagus. The Spargelzeit
(asparagus season) each year provokes
much celebration, including public events.
This museum, located within a medieval
tower in Bavaria, houses a wide-ranging
set of exhibits on asparagus, covering
such aspects as its farming, history,
health benefits and cultural significance. It
even has a painting of asparagus by Andy
Warhol.

The museum can be found at Am
Hofgraben 3, Schrobenhausen. Adult
admission is €5 (US$6), which includes
other city-run museums.

INDEX

Aa

Antarctica 173-4

Argentina 138-41, 152

Australia 126-9, 159, 170,
172-3, 183, 187, 191, 196, 198-9

Austria 84-7

Bb

Bahamas 186

Belgium 202-3

Belize 170-1

Benin 182

Bermuda Triangle 153-4

Bolivia 145, 192

Botswana 160

Brazil 144, 168, 181

British Virgin Islands 196-7

Cc

Cambodia 145, 163

Canada 72-5, 130-3, 154, 157-8,
175, 180, 190, 197

Chile 152, 174, 187

China 118-21, 148, 156, 189

Colombia 189-90

Costa Rica 183

Dd

Denmark 156-7, 166-7

Dominican Republic 50-3

Ee

Ecuador 30-3

Egypt 155

England 149, 150, 153, 157, 178,
180-1, 188-9, 190, 194, 198

Ethiopia 134-7

Ff

France 60-3, 148, 156, 187

French Polynesia 178-9

Gg

Georgia 147

Germany 188, 200, 203

Greece 149-50, 192

Grenadines 167

Hh

Hungary 200

Ii

Iceland 42-5

India 110-13, 150, 152-3, 170, 174,
179, 182

Indonesia 149, 184-5

Ireland 114-17

Israel 64-7, 158, 166

Italy 96-9, 150-1, 187, 191

Jj

Jamaica 155

Japan 92-5, 155,
177, 200-1, 203

Kk

Kazakhstan 168

Kenya 162, 184

Ll

Laos 160

Mm

Madagascar 54-7,

Mauritius 152

Mexico 180, 185, 192-3

Mongolia 199

Montenegro 22-5

Morocco 176-7, 190

Myanmar 169-70, 183

Nn

Namibia 147, 162

Nepal 68-71, 147

Netherlands 106-9, 178

New Zealand 122-5, 176

Nigeria 169

Northern Ireland 114-17

Oo

Outer Space 165

Pp

Pakistan 170

Papua New Guinea 197-8

Peru 76-9, 194

Philippines 88-91, 164-5

Puerto Rico 154

Rr

Russia 199

Ss

Sint Maarten 165-6

Slovakia 34-7

Slovenia 146-7

Solomon Islands 38-41

South Africa 194

South Korea 26-9, 166, 201-2

South Sudan 171

Spain 146, 151, 159, 190

Sri Lanka 18-21, 163

St Vincent 167

Sweden 145, 174

Tt

Tahiti 178-9

Tanzania 160-1

Thailand 163, 176

Turkey 46-9, 150, 195

Uu

USA 80-3, 102-5, 147, 153, 155,
158-9, 161, 164, 165, 168-9, 173,
174-5, 177-8, 183, 184, 187, 193,
194-5, 197, 199, 201, 202, 203

Vv

Venezuela 172

Ww

Wales 190

Yy

Yemen 166

Zz

Zambia 163, 172

Zimbabwe 172

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

PUBLISHING DIRECTOR Piers Pickard

PUBLISHER Ben Handicott

COMMISSIONING EDITOR &
PROJECT MANAGER Robin Barton

ART DIRECTION & DESIGN Mark Adams

LAYOUT DESIGNER Paul Iacono

EDITORS Kate Whitfield, Kate James

IMAGE RESEARCHERS Rebecca Skinner,
Nicholas Colicchia, Aude Vauconsant

PRE-PRESS PRODUCTION Ryan Evans

PRINT PRODUCTION Larissa Frost

WRITTEN BY Brett Atkinson, Sarah Baxter,
Ryan Ver Berkmoes, Joe Bindloss, Abigail Blasi,
Jean-Bernard Carillet, Laura Crawford,
Leslie Davisson, Tom Hall, Amy Karafin,
Shawn Low, Emily Matchar, Craig McLachlan,
Carolina Miranda, Kate Morgan, Brandon Presser,
Tim Richards, Brendan Sainsbury, Dan Savary Raz,
Andrea Schulte-Peevers, Tamara Sheward,
Oliver Smith, Caroline Veldhuis,
Ryan Ver Berkmoes, Luke Waterson, Tony Wheeler,
Rob Whyte, Rafael Wlodarski, Karla Zimmerman

FOREWORDS BY Hilary Bradt, Tremayne Carew
Pole, Bill Dalton, Mark Ellingham, Stefan Loose,
Tony Wheeler

THANKS TO Patrick Kinsella, Imogen Hall,
Heather Howard, Wibowo Rusli, Marg Toohey

Best in Travel starts with hundreds of ideas from
everyone at Lonely Planet, including our extended family
of travellers, bloggers and tweeters. Once we’re confident
we have the cream of 2013’s travel choices, the final
selection is made by a panel of in-house travel experts,
based on topicality, excitement, value and that special
X-factor. Our focus is on the merits of each destination
and the unique experiences they offer travellers.

Front Cover Image Corsica - Douglas Pearson/Getty Images

October 2012

ISBN 978 1 74220 999 9

eISBN 978-1-74321-714-6

Published by Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd
ABN 36 005 607 983
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Victoria, 3011, Australia

www.lonelyplanet.com

© Lonely wPlanet 2012
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THERE SHE BLOWS:
GO GEYSER SPOTTING
IN ICELAND

GEORGE STEINMETZ » CORBIS ©

JANUARY

MONA FOMA, AUSTRALIA Ex-Violent Femmes bassist, Brian
Ritchie, curates MONA FOMA, a music and arts festival in Hobart.
Past performers include PJ Harvey, The Saints, John Cale and
Grandmaster Flash.

SPECIAL OLYMPICS WINTER GAMES, SOUTH KOREA In January and
February, Pyeongchang hosts the Special Olympics Winter Games.
There will be 3300 athletes competing in 32 events including skiing and
snowboarding. It’s South Korea’s largest ever winter sporting event.

GALLE LITERARY FESTIVAL, SRI LANKA Celebrate the enduring impact
of the printed word at January’s annual Galle Literary Festival. Past
bookish visitors to the heritage fort town’s storied streets include Orhan
Pamuk, Pico Iyer and Alexander McCall Smith.

MARCH

BEIJING BOOKWORM INTERNATIONAL LITERARY FESTIVAL, CHINA
Nerds, bibliophiles and intellectuals come together in March for the
Beijing Bookworm International Literary Festival. For details, visit www.
bookwormfestival.com

TEN DAYS ON THE ISLAND, AUSTRALIA Hobart’s biannual visual arts
festival, Ten Days on the Island, runs in March and draws talent from all
disciplines including dance, theatre, installations and literature.

SETOUCHI TRIENNALE, JAPAN The Setouchi Triennale festival hosts, music,
drama and art exhibitions across islands of the Seto Inland Sea. It runs 20
March to 21 April, 20 July to 1 September and 5 October to 4 November.

FEBRUARY

CARNIVAL, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC Carnival is celebrated all month long.
The final blow-out fiesta is held the last weekend in February. It’s a
raucous dance party, street festival and heated costume competition
all rolled into one.

MARDI GRAS, USA The Gulf is renowned for its Mardi Gras
celebrations and nowhere else are they as rambunctious, licentious
or openly drunken as in New Orleans. This year, the big party falls on
February 12.

YUKON QUEST, CANADA The legendary Yukon Quest 1600km dog-sled
race goes from Whitehorse to Fairbanks, Alaska through February
darkness and -50°C temps.

APRIL

SANTABARY, MADAGASCAR If you’re after something light-hearted, make
a beeline for Madagascar’s Santabary celebrations in April and May –
it’s the first rice harvest.

PAGDIWATA RITUAL FESTIVAL, PHILIPPINES Celebrated by the
Tagbuana people in April, the Pagdiwata Ritual Festival involves
the giving of thanks to traditional deities and asking for help in the
healing of the sick.

JAZZFEST, USA Every year in late April/early May, the planet’s biggest
names in jazz, R&B and folk descend on New Orleans for the Jazz
and Heritage Festival – otherwise known as JazzFest.

MAY

GREAT WALL MARATHON, CHINA Each May, fitness freaks run a
marathon… on the Great Wall! The route goes up and down thousands
of steps and through villages. See www.great-wall-marathon.com

FESTIVAL MONDIAL DE LA BIÈRE, CANADA The Festival Mondial de
la Bière in May/June features over 500 beers, including local
microbrews: it’s Oktoberfest with a French twist.

NŌREN KABUKI, JAPAN Nōren Kabuki (rural kabuki, stylised traditional
theatre) has been performed on the island of Shōdo-shima for about
300 years. Two thatch-roofed outdoor stages remain, where you can
see performances in early May and mid-October.

JULY

ESALA PERAHERA, SRI LANKA
Kandy’s Esala Perahera honours the sacred tooth of the Buddha held in
the city’s Temple of the Scared Tooth Relic. The festival culminates with
a parade of dancers, drummers and lavishly decorated elephants.

CARINTHIA SUMMER MUSIC FESTIVAL, AUSTRIA
Church opera is the hallmark of the Carinthia Summer Music Festival,
with events across the province from July to August.

NUITS DE LA GUITARE, FRANCE
The village of Patrimonio on Corsica hosts the Nuits de la Guitare, a
music festival; previous headliners include Tom Jones and Iggy Pop.

SEPTEMBER

FIESTA DEL YAMOR, ECUADOR Otavalo’s Fiesta del Yamor is a celebration
of harvest dating to Inca times: traditionally the sun god was offered
copious amounts of Andean corn-fermented liquor chicha (aka yamor),
featuring prominently in festivities.

13TH INTERNATIONAL ISTANBUL BIENNIAL, TURKEY For two months
from mid-September 2013, the 13th International Istanbul Biennial
will cement the city’s reputation as one of the planet’s hubs for arts.

EUROPEAN BIKE WEEK, AUSTRIA Normally tranquil Faakersee gets a
wake-up call from 70,000 throbbing motorcycle engines for European
Bike Week; think leather, Harleys, heavy rock, facial hair.

NOVEMBER

GREAT ETHIOPIAN RUN, ETHIOPIA The 10km Great Ethiopian Run takes
over Addis Ababa on the last Sunday of November. With more than
20,000 runners, it’s the biggest mass-participation race in Africa.

NZ CUP & SHOW WEEK, NEW ZEALAND The NZ Cup and Show Week
includes the NZ Cup horse race, complete with best-dressed fashion
competitions, and the centrepiece Agricultural & Pastoral Show.

INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY FILM FESTIVAL, THE NETHERLANDS The
International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam rocks 25 years of
screen time in 2013. The festival will honour this big birthday with films
about Amsterdam made by Amsterdammers.

JUNE

SAN FRANCISCO PRIDE, USA During this LGBTQ festival, the city heaves with
tourists, sequins, wigs, flesh, boas, hugs, music and revelry into the night.

ASIAN INDOOR & MARTIAL ARTS GAMES, SOUTH KOREA Bowlers, brawlers
and gamers converge on Incheon from 29 June to 6 July. The physically
demanding contests feature muay thai, kickboxing and sport dancing.

PALIO DELLE QUATTRO ANTICHE REPUBBLICHE MARINARE, ITALY
In 2013, Amalfi hosts this annual traditional regatta, which shifts
between the four ancient maritime republics – the others being Venice,
Genoa, and Pisa. The competition is preceded by a medieval parade
complete with flag bearers, horses, drummers, and trumpet players.

AUGUST

GRACHTENFESTIVAL (CANAL FESTIVAL), THE NETHERLANDS
In August the Grachtenfestival (Canal Festival) floats classical concerts
around the city’s waterways. Expect extra action for the canal ring’s
400th anniversary in 2013.

INTERNATIONAL SUMMER CARNIVAL, MONTENEGRO
The streets of Kotor erupt in song, dance and merriment during the
International Summer Carnival, which culminates in a parade and party.

LA VIRGEN DE ASUNTA, PERU
The town of Chachapoyas turns out for masses and processions in
honour of la Virgen de Asunta (the Virgin of the Assumption).

OCTOBER

PUERTO PLATA MERENGUE FESTIVAL, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
A giant birthday party for the merengue, the Puerto Plata Merengue
Festival lasts three days in October and is filled with local food, arts and
crafts, and of course, musicians and dancers.

ICELAND AIRWAVES, ICELAND
Iceland Airwaves started in 1999 as a bunch of DJs scratching records,
and now attracts the likes of Robyn and Fat Boy Slim.

HALLOWEEN CARNIVAL, NORTHERN IRELAND
From 27 to 31 October, Derry/Londonderry gets over-excitedly spooky
with the Halloween Carnival, Ireland’s biggest street party.

DECEMBER

FIESTAS DE QUITO, ECUADOR Citizens of Quito go loco (mad) in the
week preceding the anniversary of their city’s founding on 6 December.
Top billing at these Fiestas de Quito is one of Latin America’s biggest
bullfighting contests (lasting eight successive days).

SYDNEY TO HOBART YACHT RACE, AUSTRALIA One for the boaters, the
famous Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race sees yachts finishing this race
around December 29; the celebrations last for days.

TASTE FESTIVAL, AUSTRALIA Hobart’s waterfront is transformed into a
feast for foodies from December through January where the fine Tassie
produce is on show at the popular Taste Festival.